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I write this letter on 7/5, the day after America has celebrated her independence with flags, parades, and hot dogs. I have become quite aware how some of our history has become skewed to fit the edification of politicians, who want history written to support their viewpoint. Last night, Charlie Rose reran his program featuring three different writers who have written autobiographies about the American Revolutionary leaders who founded our nation. I thought about how dry my old high school history classes had been, and wondered why some of that material wasn’t ever taught in high school. I believe the answer has to do with the purification and homogenization of our great leaders by way of the political process in Washington, DC, and the American Christian Church. A little power mixed with money will give you the ability to separate yourself from the general population. Keep saying the same old things and people will become bored and stop paying attention to all actions taken. Wrap it all up in a flag and declare it unpatriotic to say anything against the president’s policies, regardless of whom that president might be, and you have a nation of people who no longer think about laws, rights, our constitution, or our history. I decided to keep count of the American soldiers killed after May 1st, when President Bush announced our war with Iraq was over. Apparently, we are just in a police state now. Right, tell that to the soldiers who fought in Korea and had to wait some fifty-odd years to be recognized by Congress and the Pentagon, as they debated whether or not that was a war. In the June 29th Fairbanks newspaper, it was reported that 63 U.S. troops had been killed since major combat was declared over on May 1st. By my calculations, that is close to the number, since we watch the news and heard the causality count, but it is not declared official until it runs through the Pentagon about one to two weeks later. On Thursday night, over the radio, I heard the top of the hour broadcast and ABC reported 26 troops killed since May first. I thought, "Where did that come from?" Sure enough, in the July fourth edition of the Fairbanks newspaper, it reads that 27 US troops have been killed since May first. On the day we celebrate our country’s independence, our government rewrites history to suit its needs. I am outraged. The poor grunts, the foot soldiers who lay their lives on the line, are stripped of their honor by the top brass who want to cover their butts for anything that might happen in the unforeseeable future. My hotdog is curdling in my stomach. Joseph J. Ellis’s book is titled the Founding Brothers. Mr. Rose asked him why the change to brothers from fathers and he replied that the father image is one that separates and makes one above the others. Our leaders all knew each other, were neighbors, real people, and not the ‘holy ones’ our history has made them out to be. We could learn that lesson, and stop putting Washington politicians on a pedestal. They work for us. They are responsible for putting our sons, daughters, co-workers, and neighbors into faraway lands under a preemptive war, which still has not been justified to many Americans. As of a few days ago, the talk is now of putting about 5000 soldiers in Liberia. How do you feel about that? I hope you will pay attention to the history and how it is being written. Apparently, we do not have to wait years to see the changes. Now the changes are coming in a matter of days. Keeping the count, July 7, 2003 If my accounts payable clock is correct, it is time once again to renew my subscription to the True Voice of the North. As a subscriber of distance, reading the articles and studying the photos, I can’t always put faces to names, but I enjoy putting names to faces (sometimes, admittedly, with the help of the cut line—e.g., Columbo mit out his beard) thus keeping abreast of civic and social events in the greater Ester area. I am particularly taken with the Spamfest (art in a can, who’d a thunk it?) On the other hand, while we have a curious menagerie of our own here in California, thanks to articles, editorials and cartoons in the Republic, I am beginning to form opinions of Alaska’s electees. This could be the down side of subscribing. I see that Mayor Dave has been redeployed to harsher climes. Is a mailing address available? And, after this furlough from the burden of local government, does his term of office resume where he left off, does he have to go back to the beginning and start over again, or does his spell in the desert count as time served? The answer to this question could influence how quickly he returns. All the best to you and the other Good Folk of Ester! July 10, 2003 Citizens’ ignorance of legal and political process aids the loss of rights. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner’s choice to place the story of Judge Savell's dismissal of Mr. Thomas’ marijuana conviction as the headline on July 4th was puzzling. A judge following existing State Supreme Court precedence, and not the first judge, by any means, to do so, isn't THAT astounding, is it? A judge doing his job, upholding the letter of the law, shouldn't be major news to the average thinking person, should it? The Ravin Decision of 1975 has been the state's supreme law on personal possession of cannabis for twenty-eight years now. Judge Thompson of Ketchikan, and tens of other judges, have agreed that the recriminalization initiative of 1990 was an improper method to change the constitution. Not news to those of us who actually paid attention in civics class in high school.. Rather than guffawing at a judge honoring the law, the good citizens might instead ask how safe ANY of their constitutional rights are if the district attorneys, attorney general, and various state and local law enforcement can, for federal grant monies, propaganda, and political bias, simply decide not to honor the state’s law of the land. To date, a number of cases have been decided similarly; State v. McNeil, the case of Charlie Davis, Jr., and now Thomas’ case are amongst those formally dismissed. Other cases, to include Frank Brown of Hoonah, Kent Warren, Donny Mills, and many, many more, have been less formally dismissed by DAs when either the "defendants" or their attorneys made it known to the DA that the parties in question were aware of the constitutional nature of Ravin. In the case of Charlie Davis, Jr., the City of Haines paid Charlie $7,500 for the trouble he endured as a result of their arresting him at Haines Senior Center housing, where he'd had nine female plants under lights in the closet, and a quarter pound of dried pot on the counter top. In the case of Frank Brown, the Hoonah City Police Chief made a public statement to the Juneau Empire’s reporter that until Alaska had straightened out its inconsistencies, he would enforce the constitution of the State of Alaska, and tell his officers not to arrest adults for personal possession in their homes. Doesn't it seem that the people who swore an oath to uphold the state constitution SHOULD be the ones to stand up for the rights of the people under Ravin? And yet the very persons who swore an oath to uphold Ravin, as well as the rest of the constitution, are quite often the very persons who attempt in every way possible to undermine it... Odd, huh. You see, if you are ignorant of the fact that you have guaranteed rights under Ravin, the less-than-honorable persons in law enforcement and the courts will happily take your money and give you a criminal record where none should exist. It’s a lot like ketchup at a fast food restaurant; they often don't just give it out. First, you have to know that they have it, and then you have to ask for it, sometimes in a demanding tone... Maybe too many folks have difficulty accepting that the system of "blind justice" regularly succumbs to political pressures and the accompanying corruption of ethics. Kudos to Judge Savell, and a "job well done" to Mr. Satterberg, Thomas’ attorney. Wake up, Alaska; when a judge honoring the law is headline news, we're in deep doo-doo... Dirk Nelson July 12, 2003 I never had the pleasure of meeting Rusty. My first introduction to him came via postcard showing a then-seventeen-year-old "Red" and his close friend Charlie Lassell (LaSalle) working on a ranch in Texas. As I began researching my wife’s relatives, Charlie "Lank" Lassell and Aiden Lassell Ripley, I continued to find more and more references to Rusty. The more I learned about him the more I wanted to know. I am struck by the fact that three young boys from Wakefield, Mass., decided at an early age (ten) to become artists. Not only did they each excel in the chosen field of interest but they remained fast friends for life despite the many miles that separated them—Aiden in Massachusetts, Charlie in Arizona, and Rusty in Alaska. I don’t know if Rusty would have wanted to speak with me about his adventures and his career but I am sure that he would have gladly shared the memories of his friends. I’m asking Rusty’s friends to share their memories of him. Also if any of you have heard stories about Charlie and Aiden or know of any of their art work we’d love to hear about it. (I know for instance that Rusty kept at least one watercolor given to him by Aiden of Boston where they used to walk daily on their way to the fenway school of illustration) This project of mine has become a long journey instead. I have had the pleasure of meeting or speaking with many wonderful people who knew Rusty, Charlie, and Aiden. I want to thank again, all of you who have been so generous with your time. I hope that someday my family can make the trip to Alaska to thank you in person and to view Rusty’s work in person. I’ll be happy to pay for the cost of duplicating any photographs of Rusty and or his artwork. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you,
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