what, no thoughts and prayers today?

 Aku has moved to Florida. he is at the SeaWorld center with another walrus his age.  Ginger and he will grow up together.  i hope they treat him well.  i know SeaWorld has taken some heat for their cares of late so hopefully that means they have improved the lives of the animals in their care.  our sweet boy is away from Alaska. he will be happy to have a friend to play with that is for sure. 

 yesterday, a guy who claims to have followed IS rammed into bikers/walkers on a path in New York. it's the first attack such as this in NY since 2001 when the Towers were hit.  New Yorkers seemed to return to normal by celebrating Halloween despite this terrible event.  a sort of F you attitude.  it's the right one to take i think. 

 i believe the last i heard 9 souls were lost and another 15 injured.  many of those lost were sadly tourists from other nations. 

 unlike the event in Las Vegas that killed over 50 and injured over 500 there have not been the calls of thoughts and prayers that seem to usually accompany these events.  the guy was a self proclaimed home grown terrorist so instead of prayers calls to action on the right seem to be more the way.  where as those who believed the Las Vegas shooting merited a discussion on gun control, the talk today is for control of all immigrants.  closing of borders, stronger vetting.  the left was said to be disrespecting those who were killed or injured by even daring to discuss guns rights, it's not the time, it's irreverent to speak of such things.  now the dead are quickly forgotten in the quest to have stronger vetting and to restrict immigration more.

 by the way, nothing has changed since Las Vegas.  well, yes one thing did change, those bump stocks that allowed that horrid man to kill so many so quickly...have sold out many times over.  that is the end result of any white crazy guy who shoots up our citizens.  more guns sold.  of course, I'm sure there will be a similar response to this...buy more guns.

 sad for the victims of this yet again.  we should do what we can to prevent such events however we can.  just as we should do what we can to prevent mass shootings.  we will never stop all of these.  we do live in a world where these sort of things will happen.  making it more difficult for cars to access areas where pedestrians are could help.  this guy wasn't from one of the already numerous nations iitoo has chosen as the nations to ban any immigrants.  you can't ban the whole world.  that just isn't how it works.  this guy has been here since 2010. sounds like he was hoping for suicide by officer.  he wrote a note and left it in the truck and came armed with non-lethal guns? 

 i suspect it's an embarrassment to him that he survived this.  he was shot in the gut.  better if he'd been shot by a female, that is what i have heard.  the main terrorists organizations want us to become paranoid, want us to close our doors and create more hate and anger.  many are falling right into this trap.  making a miserable life even more miserable for the many good people who wish to just live a normal life, to escape the hell of these battled nations. it's a cycle...not sure how we can break these cycles, but hate filled twitter rants probably not a good start.

 he will get a fair trial in New York and will be found guilty no doubt...that is how it works in the United States and that is what they should see the world over.  we are civilized.  we are fair. we aren't hate filled and reactionary.  not sure how long we can keep the paranoids at bay though.  those who want to ship him to gitmo  and ban all who are not like them.  who they see as different and different is uncomfortable and scary. 

 there was a thing on Bergdahl.  he left his post in Afghanistan, he was captured and subsequently tortured by the Taliban.  he was later exchanged for prisoners we held at gitmo i believe.  he is here awaiting trail for crimes against our nation. 

 i know one dogs life was lost.  6 other lives were lost over the next months. the actual search had been called off at the time the 6 lives were lost, so it is pretty questionable if they were directly lost because of Bergdahl, but don't tell that to the haters.  our nation has a history of not leaving soldiers behind...even crappy ones. we do what we can to bring them home...then they are afforded the same fair trial they, like all US Citizens deserve. 

 i have never served.  i do not agree with what this man did, but i can have empathy that there is much in a war zone that can make people do things they wouldn't normally do.  it's tough for me to judge this soldier.  i can have compassion and not agree.  our nation seems to have lost this, at least a large percentage of our citizens.  there are calls for firing squads, death by all sorts of horrific means before a fair trial.  our nation is spitting blood everywhere i turn.  these folks seem to be losing sight of the things our founding fathers built our nation on.  our nation doesn't leave soldiers behind, even bad ones and our nation believes in fair trials before punishment is served up. 

 if we can't fight for these things then we may as well just accept ourselves as a lawless state , like those nations we are trying to ban people from. we must rise above. we must remain calm and rational.  we must stop and view things from multiple vantage points and come up with solutions that work, not that just fulfill our anger at the moment.  our nation has a history of being inventive and problem solvers.  we could return to this if we would repair our education system and focus more on our people, all our people. 

 if i post a comment i am shredded by haters.  i can take it.  it's pretty disgusting though.  these are fellow Citizens who are saying these things.  they don't look for the truth but instead take what is fed them and begin screaming and reacting.  they direct this hatred at someone, such as myself, who simply writes a rational comment,  attempts to make a rational thought or start a rational discussion. they call me names like snowflake.  i still think this is funny.  i am apparently a terrible person because i am kind.  that is the new America.  kindness and compassion are seen as weakness.  we are seen as traitors.  see things our way or we will hate you. it's all pretty twisted right now.

 hate and anger make people weak and that means that our nation becomes weaker each day because of the hate and anger that we are allowing to feed and grow. 

 our current potus feeds into the hate and anger. he lives that fear and puts that fear back out there. we should stand tall against terrorists.  not cower as the right seems to want us to do.  we need to be united in our stance that these acts will not define us.  that we will not waver in our values of kindness and compassion and strength of character. we will not become them...

 despite horrible events such as this we all generally continue to live normal free lives.  we pursue happiness.  yes we must be aware and alert, but events are planned and carried out.  we are free.  we remain free.  we practice our religions or lack of religion freely, we come and go to work freely, we gather with friends freely, we exercise freely.

 the paranoid folks would have you believe you are not free or that your freedoms are going to be suddenly lost.  they aren't.  we have the greatest military out there.  we must put some faith in them.  currently there is little faith in our government, but i try to believe that the truth will come out and i try to have faith in the systems.  we may need to do some tweaking and our nation is still young and adapting to a changing world...but we will adapt. 

 will be beat terrorists. eventually yes, but there will always be another threat on the horizon.  how we handle each of these threats is how we are defined. 

 we must choose to be brave instead of weak, we must choose to be strong and steadfast instead of angry. 

 we must continue to be the melting pot we were built on.  it is our strength.  the best of people coming to the greatest of nations to work hard and make the entire earth better.  sometimes we will bring in a bad seed, or we will grow a bad seed.  we must be aware and vigilant to seek those out and prevent them from destroying what we have. 

 by and large it isn't the worst that make their way here, it is the best...it could be if we are open to this.  there are brilliant people born across the earth each day.  we should make our nation welcoming to the best of the best.  there is so much potential on our earth.  so much good that could be done if we are only open minded enough. if we can keep fear and anger at bay.

 i often wonder as i see children across the globe killed in wars, famines, as refugees...could that child have cured cancer if they had lived and been allowed to thrive.  could that child have been the one who advanced space exploration, could that child have made medical advances or technological advances or could that child have been an amazing artist that brought our hearts peace and joy...? 

 i hear the scream each life matters...but it doesn't just matter at birth, it matters all the way through. 

 we lost some lives yesterday. i have no idea what sort of people they were, or in what area they excelled, but each loss is devastating to us all. 

 this is our planet.  we are all in it together. i know there are borders, but this earth is one nation.  we must find ways to work together, to build together and to live together.  it's not us vs them.  it is just us. 

 so thoughts and prayers, yes, to those who are trying to heal and those who will never heal.  action yes, to attempt to understand and to attempt to prevent these sorts of events from happening again.  not just for this event but for all the events...for the events that happen across the earth that then make their way to us in the form of hate and anger. closing borders doesn't stop hate from building and really probably only makes them hate us more for having what we have and not trying to help them find a better way.

 was one of those who died yesterday someone who was going to help repair our damaged earth? bring peace?  were they just like you and I. trying to pursue a life of peace and happiness. a life that is productive?  one that gives a little more than it takes from this world? 

 these are beach shots.  i better get the dogs out for a little stretch. i start back to work tonight.

 the big mountain,Denali. 

 it was clear for a bit but it's foggy again.

 not too many trick or treaters last night, i did make a pretty good dent in the Nestle bars.  everyone seemed to be having fun out there.  it was a week night.  perhaps folks didn't stay out as late.  trick or treating just isn't as common as it used to be.  still fun though.  the pups had fun. 

 i chilled and watched the Dodger game. they won.  now a game 7 tonight. I'll be at work.  low census doesn't happen anymore. 

 had a couple  bills to pay.  be safe, be kind

thankful for:  A.  being a snowflake....better to fight for good than fear evil  B.  the health to take these pups out for walks all the time.  C.  the joy in the simple things in life.  peace to all

Serenity Now...i'm in a ranting kind of mood!!

 quote from Seinfeld for other fans out there.  still love that show.  classic!

 feeling recovered today.  still a bit weaker than usual on my walk today but it was a bit of a work out coming back up the hill in the slushy snow...went to the beach at Kincaid.  there were police officers there and tape up.  guess they found a body there.  the tape was by the host RV set up.  another walkers phone blipped as we walked a bit together and he said it was saying no foul play suspected. made me wonder if it was the camp host that had passed?

 these pics are still from Homer.  did get out for the sunset here today and the dog park yesterday and then today we headed over to the beach as i said.  turned out to be pretty. wasn't sure how the trail would be. not too crowded anyway and the walking wasn't bad at all so i was happy.  the pups were their usual crazy selves though.  since there were hardly any folks out walking i let them off leash for much of the walk down and just used treats to keep them in check when others passed us.

 the world with iitoo looks more and more bleak imho.  i may be totally wrong and i hope i am.  he is alienating our allies.  world politics doesn't work like a reality show.  his being an a-wipe to others and tweeting inflammatory things is not seen as quirky and entertaining to the world. when did our nation become so arrogant that we decided we no longer have to play nice with others?  our bully in the white house is moving ships in to taunt the nut job with nuc's in N Ko.  sounds like a great idea.

 thank you GOP and your love of war...they will get us mired in for more years of hell.  or perhaps his dark and hidden relationship with Put will somehow come with a grand plan.  I'm sure that plan includes a lot of money and oil and the relief of sanctions.  for now Put is just acting pissed off.  acting may be all it is.  I'm not sure iitoo is really capable of such a plan however.  I'm not sure he has any plan for any given day for our nation.  it changes with whatever he seems to have watched on tv the night before.

 I'd also like to thank them for changing the rules yet again to get their selection in the supreme court...doing damage to yet another check and balance that our founding fathers felt was valuable.  getting 60 votes to put these in position seems rational..you have to have someone who is fair and balanced enough to get those votes.  they have destroyed that this week.

 McConnel looking all smug as he destroys the tenets of our nation.  he lies when repeatedly asked about Garland, Obama's pick.  they refused to even speak to him. he kept saying a justice is never placed in an election year.  bull crap, there is no rule.  And by the way...we are in an election year.  iitoo signed up to run on the day of his inauguration and has already held several election rally's...by this logic he shouldn't be allowed any choice on the court for his entire 4 years since he pulled that crap.

 it weakens the court and quite frankly it weakens their selected member on the court.  he's the only guy who couldn't get all the votes his co-workers got.  i would think an honorable judge, who respects the law and the rules would have stood up and said, no, i insist on getting the full 60 votes.  he would have answered questions instead of clamming up.  the GOP did not do any favors to Americans...they have only proven what we already know.  they are self serving and are putting party before country.

 I'm sure many do not like hearing that, but it is true.  otherwise.  they would insist on seeing his taxes and making sure he has a blind trust for his companies.  they would insist that he not visit his businesses several times weekly.  they would have insisted he speak to congress before dropping bombs on a sovereign nation...as heinous as that nations leader is, our troops were not in imminent danger but are now in worse danger due to his actions.  they would also want to really get to the bottom of what Rus did in this past election to turn it.  yes i realize that actual votes weren't cast by RUs but they were able to have influence over the election.  all they must ask is if this were reversed what would we insist upon.  a thorough and independent investigation.  those GOP guys would investigate the crap out of this if it was thought that Clinton or Obama had gotten in with Put's help.

 that is the truth...it's not a witch hunt...there is smoke, a lot of smoke. it is worthy of an investigation.  they would have investigated HRC to the end of time...they already did for nearly 20 years....without actually ever getting her on anything.  so either they are crap investigators or they have zero proof....that, by the way, is a witch hunt.  iitoo has been in court many times and paid out money many times...the latest was within weeks of him coming into office to the tune of some 20 mil+.  he is as shady as they come.  it's not like i loved HRC...but with her in office we would at least have some check and balance...now we just have the rule of fools...and the checks and balances that were promised are simply tossed to the side.

 sorry i really needed to rant about all that.  i can't see why so many are defending this iitoo and then acting like I'd do the same for her(HRC) .  as citizens we should all be awake and question all our leaders do.  we should seek out the truth and throw whatever book we can at them if they are not following the rules.  if they ever actually found something to take HRC down and not just stuff they could write memes on facebook about I'd be screaming lock her up.  they never found anything to take down Obama and they tried for 8 years.  all they got to take down bill was that he had sex in the oval office and lied about it after making several runs at him.  they eventually just learned that to try these guys on social media and in the media in general was much easier than actually doing the work to get proof and convictions.  so if you believe they are all the crooks you have been told they are,  blame the GOP for failing to actually do their jobs at investigation.  the bottom line is...either they failed or she didn't do it.  ps...look up the uranium stuff. it's not as simple as it sounds, but feel free to investigate it and if it bears out take her down.  I'm guessing that won't be happening either.  there is no proof.

 over 24 hours without chocolate...perhaps that is the cause of my ranting.  the stomach flu will do that to you. i just cracked open a dove bunny and I'm eating his ears off so that should help...

 as for leaks...thank God for leaks.  as citizens we should love that the media is able to get leaks.  the GOP hates leaks though...Watergate perhaps?  leaks got them then and leaks will get them again.  sadly, we have a government that has been taken over by big money and special interest groups.  leaks and the media are all us regular folk have to defend us against the corruption in those running our government...we all need appreciate them.  also people need to VOTE!!  i get so pissed at my fellow citizens who can't be bothered.  we leave it to basically the most extreme who seem to be the bulk of the people who show up to vote.

 people are ticked at these Islamic theocracies and yet seem to forget that we could head that way pretty easily if some in this nation have their way...it would be a Christian theocracy.  it's not impossible.  was reading that there are some in Israel that want the rules there to be more based on some of the more strict tenets of Judaism.  extremism in all religions is bad for nations.  lets learn from the hell that is the middle east and avoid that crap.

 i do have a funny about the nuclear option...one liberal friend has mostly just ignored news of late...too depressing.  she read a headline that our state senators were planning on going for the nuclear option and was obviously very concerned about us getting nuclear weapons or energy here i think...i quickly explained that this was what they were saying about getting the supreme court pick in by changing the rules...

 on lighter news...there is apparently a spider the size of a softball in Baja California..in caves. so i would suggest avoiding any caves if you do not like spiders.  similar to tarantula i guess.  apparently there are over 1.1 million spiders and insects that have been identified but they guess there are over 4 million more that haven't ever been identified.  seems like a good job for someone!!  guess this new guy can't kill you...unless your bite gets infected.  sepsis does kill

 our local hockey team is going away...boo!! bye Aces.  such a bummer.  always seemed like pretty packed house to me but who knows how these things go.

 the pups were successfully worn out today. they are sleeping

 just so many different ways to capture this sunset.  sorry if it's too much.

 love the different colors and how they reflect

 the beach here is still pretty ice covered.  it was very walkable.  was able to get down past the ice but then you hit mud and it is pretty suck you in mud.

 did go down there a bit but mostly stayed up top.

 the pups found the actual sandy bits and they had a grand time digging and wrestling.

 these are from the next morning.  a few above you can see ice has formed in the rivulets.

 the water running down was thick and icy as well.

 guy out for walk with dog...just made for a nice shot.

 ice on the seaweed as well.  freezes up pretty fast.

 pups were so happy to have beach time all day...of course if i lived there we would not be able to spend the entire day on the beach...or could we?  :-)  it is tempting.

 have to think in terms of safety a bit...if the big war happens...Anchorage and our bases will be on the bomb list...so comforting.

 pups get wild

 love to just watch them run and play with such joy.

 my dogs have pretty good lives...i must say.  we spend a lot of time together.  thankfully, dogs seem to like me. I'm not sure how much the other humans really like me most of the time.  I'm for sure less confident around the other humans.

 ice and sludge in the puddles...

 my cute girl

 you can see the ice build up on Tuskers legs. that happened fast as well.

 looks cool actually

 more icy rivulets.

 well, i have hopefully released the ranting from my brain to the paper.  that will make me sleep better.  i have a small group of readers...thank you for coming and actually reading my ramblings. i try not to offend but i speak what is on my mind or in my heart.  the pictures are pretty nice too sometimes i think.

grateful for:  A.  freedom of speech.  they haven't taken that away so far.  B.  my good health  C.  dogs, they are good for my soul.