Inktrails from Alaska

Fuck Trump: A Coloring Page

It's not my best work, but sometimes you just have to do something with all that angst.

This can be downloaded from my Pinterest page, SadieBlack.

Coloring page or political cartoon, enjoy!

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Being Prepared is Smart Optimism

It's not being a pessimist to be realistic. We have the data on Trump. NOW: be prepared to survive!

DONATE: to Planned Parenthood, ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center, NAACP, and so on. All the organizations that protect rights and make our lives better. Volunteer!

CONNECT: Hug your friends and family. Offer shelter to those who are being persecuted by crazy Trump followers, those who are feeling crushed and who need nurturing.

CREATE: More community. If you don't know your neighbors, get to know them. Start a coffee klatsche, a monthly or weekly get together. Organize a creative protest.

DON'T BE A VICTIM: Get all your medical stuff done NOW if you have ACA insurance or Medicaid or Medicare. Sign up for the ACA healthcare NOW if you need medical insurance. It will be here for a few months.

Stick together, love, hug, sing, dance and be very aware of what's going on. It's not "pessimistic" to be prepared! Like I said before: it's the Blitz and we can have the strength and fortitude and creativity to get through this alive together!

Voting: A responsibility to be taken seriously

An election isn't about finding the perfect winter coat. It's not about getting what you want for your birthday. It's not about feeling good. It's not about consumption.

Candidates are not something you vote for to make yourself feel good.

Voting is a deep responsibility. You must consider what is best, overall, for our country. It's not about one issue. *Unless that issue is whether or not the person elected is capable, intelligent, and trustworthy enough to do a good job.*

You have to be able to trust the person to make good decisions. Not to make all the decisions YOU would make, or some fantasy perfect person would make. Hard decisions. Decisions that you will never have a chance to make, and can't truly understand. Complex, dire decisions.

I don't want to be President. It's not an easy job, it's a scary job.

You need a stable, smart, experienced person for this job. Don't fall into the me, me, me type of voting. "Protest vote?" "Vote your conscience?" Is that helping anyone but YOU feel satisfied? If it's not helping our country, you are not doing your job as a responsible voter. Step back. Consider, seriously, how each candidate is qualified for the office.

People died for your right to vote. Don't ever take it for granted.

Time To Man and Woman Up

Americans take our benefits for granted. We take our safety, roads, food supply, law and order, ambulances, fire departments and many other advantages for granted. So many advantages! While so much of the world lives under war or threat of war, of famine, disease, desertification of formerly fertile land, Americans have it so good. Most of us have a floor under our feet while lots and lots of the world have dirt. Even when we are very, very poor (and I am an American who has actually starved) there are still helpers here, and grocery stores and food banks. In some countries there isn't even any food. Period. No medical care, paid for or not, just no medical available (which is why I donate to Doctors Without Borders every month). Americans, in general, have it far easier than so many other people. (Please realize I am fully aware of the inequality of lives in our culture, the problems, too, with racism and intolerance. But compared to the rest of the world, Americans have it much better in general.)

Hillary Clinton has worked tirelessly for the health and well-being of all of us, and for women and children in those dirt-floored houses, too. She knows how to get things done. She has survived a decades long misogynistic propaganda attack by the Republican party and she's still here fighting. I don't think I could do that. I think she's one of the strongest women alive.

We need to make sure she is elected because Trump isn't an option. You all know what he is. He has no real policy. He has only "I'm gonna do this" and "I'm gonna do that" statements that in real life, cannot be done. His knowledge of how a bill becomes law, for instance, something every child learns in school, is nil. What do people get when they uplift people who are celebrities just for being celebrities? Trump is the culmination of the Paris Hilton/Kardashian phenomenon of adoring the famous for being famous. That's it. Most people wouldn't know who he was if he hadn't had a ridiculous "reality" show.

It's far past the time for a third-party "protest" vote. Young people, you need to get real. Trump is following the path to dictatorship. It's what he admires (Putin, Kim Jong Il and I bet if Mussolini were around he'd go out to dinner with him) and it's what he will try to achieve. This isn't to be pooh-poohed. You say, "Oh, he won't get elected anyway so I'm going to vote my conscience." But what you are doing is throwing away your vote. Your candidate, whomever he or she is, can't win. Can't make a statement, can't affect anything. But what happens is that it takes away a vote from sanity.It takes a vote away from community services, health departments inspectors, the FDA (which guards the food and medicines we take), the Environmental Protection Agency, which keeps Big Oil from drilling fucking everywhere and fracking your water into total, undrinkable poison. And so on.

Under Trump our road system would fall to bits. All the government safeties that keep your life livable would go away. No health insurance except for the rich. No food stamps, no public health departments to get vaccinations for your children. Possible martial law. Wars in multiple countries. Possible world war. Massive inflation, and food shortages as the road systems fall apart. Jobs going overseas just like that. Higher taxes to fund the wars and weapons and military. A draft to supply fodder for the wars. You may have to leave your family to fend for themselves and go to fight to protect the interests of Trump's beloved corporations.

If you are a person of color, LBGTQ, or any other marginalized group, voting for Trump is like signing your death warrant.

It's not time to get all "principled" and "show them how mad you are" that Bernie didn't get nominated, or that you think Hillary is a "crook," even though she's not. It's time to be a grown up and realize what is at stake here. Vote for the woman who is a real candidate, not for the crook who will destroy the country.

Is this what you want your children to live? Is this what you want for your family?

Go ahead and vote for Gary Johnson, Jill Stein, Daffy Duck. But remember you have been warned.

Note to Modern Young People

Dear Young People,

You don't have to be famous, you don't have to want to be famous, and you don't need to fix yourself to be on Youtube or Facebook or Vines...Please go out into the world and volunteer to help at the animal shelter, or join a choir, or a band, or help Habitat for Humanity. Learn to paint, play an instrument, or how to invest! Take a hike, play with the dog, or your cousins or little brothers and sisters.

Stop obsessing about how you look, and taking pictures of yourself all the time. Enjoy experiences without taking movies of them. Snap a couple pictures if you will, but move on and ENJOY life, instead of holding it at arm's length with a cell phone.

Trust me, you'll be happier in the long run!

Love,

Your Universal Mom

An Angry Town

Fairbanks is the angriest city in the USA. It's still snowing here. You should see the Facebook news feed from all my friends and acquaintences. We are mad. And as May 1st rolls around, we are madder than ever.

There won't be any Maypoles here. Instead, we are calling on all our friends with plow trucks to come over and clear our driveways. I am not making this up. Check this out.

That's my yard, except that it has snowed since then and there's more snow than ever. In fact, I'm going to go out tomorrow or the next day and make a snowman or two, since this is the heavy kind of snow. We usually get powder here, so it's one way of trying to make lemonade out of lemons. Snowmen out of snow. And then the dogs attack and destroy the snowmen with great glee. It's a zen thing.

Today it got up to 35° and the roads cleared and some even dried out. This morning it was a total goat rope with icy roads sending scores of vehicles into the ditch during the morning commute. Several hours after morning rush it was all clear, wet and driveable. I got home around 6:30 and the nightly snow began again. AGAIN.

According to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, our local paper, this is the third coldest winter on record. Not to mention that on certain days, the cold has broken ALL records. Yippee. Whoop tee doo.

As of tomorrow, this will be our third month of March. March is when you can expect the winter to start to get wobbly, and the temperatures to fluctuate, causing wacky weather. Sometimes the roads are dry, sometimes, wet, and sometimes a bunch of black ice stops everyone cold. But it's to be expected. It's March. Breakup can be messy, muddy and even icy. But we love it because it means winter is over!

Or not. We had March, and then we had an April that was March, and now, starting tomorrow, we are having May, which is yet again March.

The whole town of Fairbanks and the folks in North Pole are all screaming UNCLE!

When this all first started some kept of up that Alaskan litany, "Well, at least it isn't forty below!"

No one is saying that now.

Even seasoned Alaskans in the Interior are beginning to feel that this is the way it will be. Forever. Until next winter when it IS forty below.

It's like when my son was almost three weeks late being born. At one point I just began to feel that it was a lie, that everyone was wrong, that I was going to be pregnant forever, uncomfortable forever and that's just how it was.

That's how this winter feels. It's never going to end. It's just going to snow every night forever.

We should be able to put our houseplants outside, to start building our gardens. Fairbanksans plant their seeds in February and plan to plant outside near the middle to end of May. We have a short, but very intense growing season because we are gaining daylight at 7 minutes per day until we have close to 24 hours daylight by June 21. Plants love this.

Now people have these leggy seedlings that are way too big for their pots...and nowhere to plant them.

I've started scanning airline tickets and I'm sure other people have, too. I thought I'd go Outside at Christmas time to get away from the darkest part of winter. Little did I know that I'd want to get away from winter in May.

This is one grumpy, angry, irritated town. If I had Xanax, I'd take it.

Guns in the Classroom?

 A Klingon in every classroom!

Yes, I was having some thoughts today and decided to express myself graphically.

Don't Be A Black Friday Sheep

I think that the most annoying ads on television, now that the elections are over, are the Target Ads. They've done away with the insane woman, (who gave me the distinct impression she smelled like pee), and now have two younger insane people. They are still using the same perverted renditions of the Hallelujah Chorus and miscellaneous Christmas carols all with words about how they are so excited about Black Friday (that they might pee themselves).

Not I. I will not be getting up before 9 am, mind you forget about going shopping at 5am. Do they think we are crazy. Yes! They do!

I resent the assumption in all those commercials: that buying tons of STUFF will make you happy. That we are all just that greedy. That we would rather go shopping on Thanksgiving (yes, some stores are advertising that their Black Friday begins on Thanksgiving) than spend time with our families, friends, loved ones. Really? Are you really that greedy? I don't think you are.

I've never "done" Black Friday and I never will. The most exciting (though nothing could make me pee myself) present I could get would be seeing three special people step down those stairs at the Fairbanks International Airport: my son, my daughter-in-law and my grandbaby. That would be the best Christmas present ever.

Christmas is about love, whether you celebrate a religious holiday or not. It's all about love. So ask yourself, is buying some Chinese factory-made electronic gizmo or sweatshop clothing really showing love?

Make the love go further than the box. Buy something locally made. Here are some ideas:

1. There are multitudes of arts and crafts fairs going on these days. Attend one. Discover the talent that lives in your city, and find something unique and lovely to give to someone.

2. Buy a gift certificate for a local restaurant. Not only is this a great present, but you might be invited along!

3. Hire a local band or musician for an hour or two of music. Make that dinner together really special.

4. Have your loved ones car detailed. I'd love it if someone would buy this for me!

5. How about music lessons? A month's worth of music lessons is a creative and fun gift.

6. For the person who "has everything" you can make a donation in their name to whichever local charity they appreciate, whether it is Planned Parenthood, Association of Retarded Citizens, Fairbanks Arts Association, Red Cross, Fairbanks Counseling and Adoption, KUAC (local public radio/TV), an animal rescue or Animal Control, or, if you can't figure out which organization would appeal to him/her, donate to United Way. They spread the donations around in your local area.

7. Bake something wonderful, or buy some lovely baked good from a local bakery. Or even buy a gift certificate from the bakery. Yummm!

 

Once you start thinking "out of the big box" you can find oodles of lovely ways to show someone you love them. And at the same time, you can boost your local economy in a big way. Buying locally also spreads the love both ways, to the seller and to the recipient of the gift. Let's kick Black Friday to the curb and stand up and hug each other, whether it is an economic hug, or a real one, it has real impact.

Show the love. Shop locally, shop American-made this year!

Day 5: One American-Made Gift a Day

 

Christmas presents aren't just for people. Your dog wants a present, too! Because of the toxicity of Chinese toys and treats, it's absolutely great to find a place that pays attention to the safety of the treats they sell. Not only that, but Funtime Dog Shop is a non-profit pet store that allows you to choose which dog rescue will get the profits from your purchase!

I always choose John Nelsen Moosedog Recuse as the recipient of my dollars, but there are many rescues to choose from.

Here are a couple treats as examples.

Ole and Sofia LOVE these, and when you compare the ingredients to Greenies, you'll never buy Greenies again.

The same folks make "Belly Bones" which have probiotics and help keep your dog from that rumbly tumbly (as I call it in my house).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are going to try these!

Venison Joe's Snacks are bursting with flavor and highly palatable to your pup! Made with a single source protein, Venison, the recipe is not only healthy but mild & easy on sensitive stomachs.

* Elk Antler as a natural source of calcium, glucosamine & chondroitin.

* Made with natural U.S. Elk meat & antlers

* Smaller pieces that easily break into smaller training size bites.

* No wheat, corn or soy.

* No artificial added ingredients.

Made in the USA

Day 4: One American-Made Gift A Day

We have a wonderfully diverse bunch of artists up here in the Golden Heart City. I hope that you are as lucky in your town. If not, you can purchase gifts from the artists featured here.

Mariska Wright's work is unique: hand crafted dolls that represent all things Alaskan. If the subject isn't an Alaskan, somehow Alaska shines through anyway.

She uses recycled, found and nature items in her pieces, and is always inspired by Alaska.

Find her on Facebook here: Mariska's Creations   There are many, many pictures! You'll find trappers, mushers, polar bears, wolves and much more.

Here is a sampling of her art.

Santa

One of many Ravens.

Grandma