Dan Fagan

DAN FAGAN

2009 saw a parade of colorful politicos

The end of the year has come to an end and I don't know about you but for me it went by lightning fast.

DAN FAGAN

Going through motions is no way to live

A phone call that came into my radio show this past week reminded me that so many in our culture have been hurt so badly they now believe true love is no longer possible. I hate to sound sappy here, but they have literally given up on love.

DAN FAGAN

Begich withheld important information

Assemblyman Matt Claman has said he didn't see anything to suggest that former Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich was hiding something.

DAN FAGAN

Success is great, but I can always do better

In 2010 I will begin my eighth year as host of a radio talk show. I spent most of my adult life as a reporter and I always thought it was the best job in the world. That was until I got my own talk show. Hosting a show with a big audience has been very rewarding. Of course I've made a lot of mistakes along the way. I still struggle each day to handle my show responsibly. It's not always easy, but I do try.

DAN FAGAN

On his way out, Begich left us with a big mess

By now, only the obsessively partisan have yet to understand former Mayor Mark Begich deceived the public so he could push through labor union contracts he knew we couldn't afford.

DAN FAGAN

Former mayor deceived Assembly, public

The Anchorage Daily News headline read, "Begich administration union contracts stir battle in Assembly." Really? Is that the story? There's a battle brewing over the Begich-backed union contracts?

DAN FAGAN

Australia's gas-deal gain is Alaska's loss

Wouldn't it be exciting to wake up one morning and read in the Anchorage Daily News that a $40- to $50 billion gas project has been approved and gas will be flowing out of Alaska by 2014?

DAN FAGAN

Big spender Begich left money mess for Sullivan

The city of Anchorage is broke. Actually, we are more than broke.

DAN FAGAN

Gay laws just widen community divide

Personally, I would have no problem hiring or renting to someone who wants to have sex with his or her own gender. But if my value system prohibited me from doing so, I would be out of luck.

DAN FAGAN

Policy, not personality, will be new focus

Clarity is a wonderful thing. You can be plugging along in life day-by-day thinking everything is fine, when all of a sudden out of nowhere it hits you: a moment of clarity. You start seeing things differently.

DAN FAGAN

Crazy Palin leaves stain on Alaska's oil industry

Between the bizarre tweets, the incoherent "good-bye Alaska" speech, and the ensuing and constant pleading that quitting is fighting and fighting is quitting, it has become abundantly clear to anyone with any sense that Sarah Heath Palin has become "Crazy Governor Lady."

DAN FAGAN

Pollster's column was a liberal manifesto

Christian bashing is in these days, but pollster Ivan Moore took it to new levels this week with his column in The Anchorage Daily News. Moore ties in French President Nicholas Sarkozy's decision to ban the wearing of the burqa in his country to Christians in Anchorage opposing Prop 64, which creates special rights for people who like to have sex with members of their own gender.

DAN FAGAN

Proposed code violates founding principle

It's been so disappointing seeing some of my fellow conservatives condemn the gay community in an effort to defeat the ordinance adding sexual orientation to discrimination laws in Anchorage.

DAN FAGAN

State holds one big key to pipeline's construction

The ever-elusive Alaska gas pipeline is making headlines once again. Former Gov. Frank Murkowski and Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich have all expressed frustration over the lack of progress regarding the pipeline.

DAN FAGAN

It can take time to see the real Sarah Palin

I admire talk show host Rick Rydell, and listening to his show in the morning several years ago is what motivated me to jump ship from journalism to talk radio.

DAN FAGAN

New mayor well equipped to lead city in new direction

Nobody likes a naysayer, a critic, an obstructionist. You know the guy who is always trying to put a damper on things, slow down progress, refusing to get with the program. Nobody likes that guy.

DAN FAGAN

Begich must work for US, not Obama

I've been thinking a lot lately about my friend Mark Begich. I've been hoping to share my heart with him over what I see coming out of Washington, D.C.

DAN FAGAN

Levi hasn't changed; the Palins have

It is amazing how quickly Palin Nation can turn on you. Remember the outrage after I questioned how Levi Johnston was accepted into the coveted ASRC apprentice program without meeting the requirements?

DAN FAGAN

Dad's death a loving last lesson in how life should be lived

The beginning of life is much like the end. From the moment life begins, we are completely dependent on others. Through the time in our mother's womb to birth and even after that. The older we get, the less dependant we become.

DAN FAGAN

Populist politicians rarely help populace

I've never understood why it takes people so long to catch on to populist politicians. They are rarely policy wonks. They don't have to be. There's no need to understand issues and policies as a populist. The only real skill a populist needs is the ability to measure public opinion. Get a read on people. Determine what they want and then connect with them.

DAN FAGAN

Conservatives have no love for media

At the 2004 Republican National Convention former Georgia senator and Gov. Zell Miller was giving a stirring speech and the crowd was loving it. Miller, a Democrat, started talking about the American soldier saying, "It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech."