November 1, 2004

• I’ll go vote tomorrow.

  I don’t suppose my vote in the presidential election will have any more
  impact than a fart in a hurricane, but I’ll cast it anyway.  Most
  of my fellow Alaskans are either Republicans or disaffected
  non-voters.  I’d be dumbfounded if Alaska’s piddly bit of
  electoral clout went to Kerry.  It’s mostly for the local races
  and a few important ballot measures that I’m going.

  One initiative seeks to remove the governor’s power to appoint a U.S.
  Senator to fill a vacancy.  That’s because Frank Murkowski abused
  the power by appointing his daughter to fill his seat when he was
  elected governor.  Some of the propaganda being mailed out for
  that measure says, “Some things should be handed down from generation
  to generation, but a senate seat should not be a family
  heirloom.”  Yeah!

  One other hot issue concerns bear-baiting — specifically, putting out
  food to attract bears for hunting, viewing or photography.  The
  state fish and game department’s official stand is that baiting bears
  contributes to “problem” encounters between bears and humans and forces
  their officers to kill too many bears who become garbage-eating
  rogues.  Proponents of the measure, in addition to the fish and
  game management people and many environmentalist and animal rights
  activists, include celebrities such as Lowell Thomas, respected
  Alaskans such as a former governor, and a native subsistence hunter who
  says in a radio spot I heard that bear baiting is “beneath human
  dignity.”

  Those who oppose the measure are bear baiters:  hunters,
  photographers, and tour operators who need those bears in a certain
  place at a certain time because they have promised a bunch of tourists
  that they will see bears.  Some of them simply claim that the
  government has no right to meddle in their affairs.  Others are
  using scare tactics, telling us that the measure is poorly worded and
  will result in innocent people being jailed for their bird feeders and
  garbage cans.

  Having once, in my ignorance, inadvertently attracted a bear by leaving
  a bag of apples outside, I’m opposed to bear baiting.  That bear
  got shot for my carelessness, but he wasn’t killed.  He stayed
  around the neighborhood for years, getting into garbage cans and
  compost piles.  He was recognizable by the scar on his side. 
  He hasn’t been seen for a few years, and I suppose someone eventually
  killed him.  I’d be in favor of anything that might prevent fatal
  encounters — fatal to either the people or the bears.

  I haven’t read the exact wording of the measure, but if in fact it only
  mentions food lures, it isn’t broad enough in my opinion.  I’ve
  been told that one of the best lures for a bear is a woman’s used
  tampon or sanitary napkin.  I’m guessing that’s not mentioned in
  the proposed law.
  

  • 10:21 pm
  • 11 Comments