License, Not Freedom

It is quite difficult to get people who are used to modern city or suburban life to move into the villages and small towns of bush alaska.  While these places have acquired many of the technological features of the rest of the united states, such as television, phones, indoor heating, and so on, they remain difficult to get into or out of, especially in the winter, and lack many modern conveniences.  It has been especially difficult to attract dentists. Continue reading

The Inhumane Society

On June 8, 2007, the local newspaper carried a telling story.  It was about the experience of a baby moose that was apparently starving to death because it could no longer nurse after its mother had been killed by a bear.  The moose was picked up by a local group dedicated to increasing the alaskan moose population, treated for a couple of days by a vet, then turned over to the zoo which killed it when it appeared not be thriving.

The reason this all was considered newsworthy was because the state’s head wildlife cop wanted charges filed against the folks who “rescued” the moose because they had no permit to do so.  Continue reading