Warm May | Trump Talks Too Much | Animal News
This news comes to you from the ALO home office in Bethel, after spending April and May at the Elk Farm. The scene at the law office upon return included trees that were fully leafed out in May for the first time in ALO history. River break up was early, and warm sunny weather prevailed for several weeks making it seem like mid-summer over Memorial Day weekend. The warming trend is a pleasant change for most people in the short term. 60-70 degree days in western Alaska make it easy to be outside. But the problem stems from the fact that many of the plants and animals that live here are adapted to a cooler climate and the grand experiment now underway might work out badly for some of those species. One example is fish. Water temperature has been shown to affect most species of fish. Some simply need cold water to survive. A community like rural Alaska where fish are an important part of the year round diet should be nervous about the warmth. One interesting product of warmer weather in Alaska is lightning. In recent history lightning was rarely seen in Bethel, but now it has become common. This stunning photo from Greg Lincoln captured a strong bolt over Bethel.
The biggest legal news of the month is also a big political story. Donald Trump is not a client of ALO, but the office has represented a few loud mouth jackasses over the years. If one of them had decided to publically comment on a judge hearing a pending case the way Trump recently did, the phone conversation between ALO and the client would have gone something like this. "Are you out of your mind? You can't take on a judge who is trying your case. That's why we stand when the judge walks into court and that's why everyone says 'Your Honor'. The judge is wearing a robe and you aren't. If you are unhappy with the rulings so far, just wait until his next ruling. Remember, about half the people who go to court are unhappy with the final result because only one side usually wins. Now shut up and let your lawyer handle this case."
Its doubtful anyone will actually get that message to Trump, but he sure needs to hear it. Publicly challenging a Federal Judge who is appointed for life is the work of a moron. Of all the ridiculous things Trump has said during the campaign, this one reveals the most about his attitude. He doesn't care about the consequences of what he says, and that is a bad trait in a President. His other most disturbing trait is his inability to speak the truth, or even be consistent when he lies. This article about testing the truth in campaign statements is very revealing. It shows that all of the candidates have been less than stellar when it comes to being truthful. The numbers are fairly consistent for both parties at around 50%, except when it comes to Trump. Only 8% of his statements are true. That is not a misprint. 8%. This comes from a non-partisan group that has consistently revealed the false statements of politicians from both parties for many years. It should be an interesting few months as more and more attention is focused on this man.
ALO has long maintained that when shopping for a lawyer, one should always seek out the firm with the biggest sign. An alert Anchorage reader sent along this shot which confirms that advice.
TV doesn't get much attention in these parts, but good clips that appear online are sometimes worth watching. This one falls in that category. Another video involving kids was posted by Uriah Clarkson. Uriah must dream up these adventures during slow times at the pharmacy.
Animals make up most of the rest of the monthly news. Most of the feedback from readers comes from animal postings, and why not? The internet brings Mother Nature indoors for a lot of people who would otherwise never see much of the outdoors. This camping trip in South Africa might be a little more exciting that some could handle. This deer stand turned into a bear stand.
This grizzly bear might be the answer for all you folks who are wondering how to get rid of dandelions.
Maybe this black bear is looking for dandelions.
By now most Alaskans have seen this shot of a moose giving birth to her baby in an Anchorage parking lot, but many ALO readers are not in Alaska.
Gracie, the little Terrier that showed up at ALO
isn't ready to take long walks yet, and two months without a furry walking companion serves as a daily reminder of the hole left here from Tanner's departure. Summer was his time, and the first trip to the cabin last week was one of the very few times he didn't ride in the back seat of the airplane for that jaunt. Sure miss that dog.
