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Summertime, and Alaska livin' is easy... except for the politics

It's that point in the summer where Alaskans are feeling the pinch, the rub, the squeeze.

Maybe you are up to your armpits in salmon processing or counting the days until your guests pack up and fly south. I understand if you haven't had time to follow the news -- you've been chasing your Alaskan summer dreams. Regardless of how busy the berry picking is, the news just keeps happening without your help.

Here's a wrapup of stories I thought you should know, because it doesn't matter to me if you wet or dry brine your salmon, we need you to pay a tiny bit of attention.

Alaska, no stranger to invasive species, now has evidence of the presence of the dreaded Kochroach. Yes, Junior Sen. Dan Sullivan has been identified as such a bug. He was one of six senators invited to join 10 other politicians at the Koch brothers' seaside resort in California. Joining the 16 were 450 donors that represent $889 million "in advance of the next White House election."

The philosophy of the Kochroaches is no less destructive to Alaska than the spruce bark beetles. Whatever fast track Sullivan is on to top puppet position for his masters, I wish it would go a little quicker so he could drop his "I care about Alaska" act.

Not to be outdone on the sad story of senators this week, Lisa Murkowski voted to defund Planned Parenthood. To be fair, so did Sullivan. Oh, not to worry, the insanity was stopped by senators from other states who don't suck.

I wasn't surprised. Remember when Murkowski voted for the Blunt Amendment? That was a measure attached to a highway funding bill that would have allowed any employer with "moral objections" to opt out of covering birth control for its employees. She caught a lot of grief from Alaskans who had written in her name thinking they weren't going to get Joe Miller-type votes. Oops. Not so fast. She then said she regretted voting for it. Well, if that crazy amendment had passed her regret would not have reversed it.

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Again, she votes against women. There's a pattern. Because of Murkowski, Alaska Native women were exempted from the Violence Against Women Act.

Here's the rub. People who thought they were going to have a "reasonable" senator who wouldn't vote against women were duped. At least with Joe Miller you know where he stands. I guess we know where women stand with Murkowski too ... in line behind the rights and privileges of oil companies. It's time to start looking for a replacement. You can't just say you're a moderate. You have to vote like one.

In other news, Donald Trump is leading the polls for the Republican candidate for the 2016 election. Really. A man in need of a personality transplant, and a hairdo that doesn't look like it could be found on the side of a highway, is leading. Immigrants are rapists and women are dogs are just two of his making-friends plan.

Good luck with that, Republicans. You created a monster and now it is roasting you over an open fire of hostility. This should go well. The best part? Trump now says Fox News wasn't fair. Shocking. But was it balanced?

President Obama is on his way to Alaska. Part of his plans include a trip to Bristol Bay. Oh, from these words to God's ears, please let him invoke the Clean Water Act on the Pebble Mine and protect our resource from -- well, what Colorado is dealing with this week. In case you missed it, there has been a mine waste spill into the Animas River and it's on its way toward New Mexico. Officials seemed to spin the fact there are no fish populations to kill in the Cement Creek watershed "because of longstanding water quality impairment" as a blessing. Hey! It doesn't kill any fish here because the mine already did. Yeah! Oh, wait ... that's heading downriver, like water tends to do. Too many times other mines fail and it's insane to think it won't happen in Alaska. The profits are privatized during production and then the cost and damages are socialized to everyone.

So, dear Alaskan, I am wishing you wonderful visits, full nets and freezers, and fingertips that stay blue for a week from the berry juice. Oh, and also that you find a few minutes to pay attention to the crazy that is our politics.

President Obama, no Pebble. Thank you.

Clarification: Upon first publication, the following sentence may have incorrectly given the impression of containing direct quotes from Donald Trump: "'Immigrants are rapists' and 'women are dogs' are just two of his 'making friends' plan." Trump did not actually use these exact phrases. The punctuation has been changed to prevent confusion.

Shannyn Moore is a radio broadcaster.

The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com

Shannyn Moore

Shannyn Moore is a radio broadcaster. You can hear her show, "The Last Word," Monday through Friday 4-6 p.m. on KOAN 95.5 FM and 1080 AM and 1480 We Act Radio in Washington, D.C., and on Netroots Radio.The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, e-mail commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com.

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