COMPASS: RICK WEBB

Vision loss isn't always total, but still disabling

Not long ago I swerved to avoid running into a man who stepped in front of me as we crossed Fifth Avenue in Anchorage from opposite directions. His response was to berate me, accusing me of being the perfect example of fraud -- taking advantage of the system.

EDITORIAL

Our view: Gays in military

Simply being gay shouldn't be cause for discharge from the military.

EDITORIAL

Who's up / Who's down

Winners and losers in last week's news

COMPASS: DOUGLAS ABBOTT

Freezing wages of those tipped is cold act

Here we go again. CHARR has managed to rope in the Legislature on the latest pursuit of its longstanding dream of rifling through the pockets of tipped Alaska employees.

JUDITH KLEINFELD

A dog's nose is a many-splendored thing

Try entering the mental world of a dog. Pick up a newspaper or book. Bury your nose up against the page and smell every odor. Smell deeply and repetitively.

PAUL JENKINS

Gay soldiers fight to keep us free; let them be free

Let's get this out of the way. I'm not gay. Never have been. Don't want to be. You can, however, count me among those -- gay and straight -- utterly mystified by the ridiculous "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays, lesbians and bisexuals in the military.

COMPASS: JEFF PANTAGES

Holmes' caution applies to warming issue

There is great line in the new Sherlock Holmes movie, but first, an old joke.

EDITORIAL

Our view: Campaign law

Alaska lawmakers should make sure campaign disclosure laws are on the books well before the next election.

STEVE HAYCOX

Books remain popular but deeply flawed

To aging lefties, especially, but to many others as well, the deaths of J.D. Salinger and Howard Zinn on the same day last week seem a stark silencing of needed critiques of American culture. Both writers schooled their readers on a pessimistic view of society and power, distorted and corrupt in its assumptions of the right to rule.

EDITORIAL

Our view: Gas line realities

Gas line challenge now is to cover the distance between dream and reality.

ALASKA NOTEBOOK

Still draws a crowd

The line on Saturday stretched up one aisle and down another, twisting from one end of Anchorage's Artique Ltd. art gallery to the other. Eventually, perhaps 500 people stood in it.

COMPASS: MARVIN YODER

US has reasons to spend a lot in Alaska

Julia O'Malley in her column ("Dear feds: We loathe you. Please send money," Jan. 22) implies it is hypocritical for conservatives to complain about federal spending when Alaska receives so many federal dollars. Well, let's examine those dollars.

EDITORIAL

Our view: Don't panic

Panic makes bad policy; current and future Alaskans count on lawmakers to keep their cool.

ELISE PATKOTAK

Try to harness power of community

Sometime, amidst all the noise and clamor of recessions, lost jobs and rancorous political fighting, we forget what's really important. We forget those things that get us from here to there, from today to tomorrow. We forget the people and actions that make life happen with some modicum of peace and comfort.

EDITORIAL

Our view: Fauna exotica

Don't open wide the door to exotic pets.

COMPASS: FRANK BAKER

Lighten up, Alaska -- the sun is coming

Soaring health care costs, an astronomical federal deficit, double-digit unemployment, insidious global terrorism, high energy costs... These and other critical issues pervade our consciousness day in and day out. They claim prime real estate in this newspaper and other news media. They seem to rule our lives.

EDITORIAL

Our view: How long for good law

Need more time to learn and legislate? Take it -- on the condition that the people's business isn't finished in a sleep-deprived poker game in the last hours.

EDITORIAL

Our view: Take care of the vets

Make sure the Anchorage VA office has the means to keep our promises to Alaska veterans.

EDITORIAL

Who's up / Who's down

Winners and losers in last week's news

GREGG ERICKSON

Japan's view of kamikaze pilots has lesson for rest of us

A couple of years ago I paid an emotional and disturbing visit to an old air base near the southern tip of Japan. Kamikaze pilots received training here and many were launched from here for their one-way attacks on American ships.

COMPASS: JOANNE KENEN

Integrated teams here lead way to comprehensive care

The buzzwords of health reform can sound abstract and confusing. Yet ideas like patient-centered medical homes, integrated care teams and chronic disease management are already reality in Alaska, at Southcentral Foundation, a nonprofit health provider owned by, led by, and serving Alaska Natives.