Peter's Publisher

A few months ago, I read this article about a presentation by the Ketchikan Gateway Borough's new manager, Ruben Duran. Near the end, the article states the following: I have to admit, this statement annoyed me a little. As a 26-year-old raised in Ketchikan who returned to living and working here as an adult, I believe there's a shortage of people my own age on the island, not people my parents' age. It seems to me that Ketchikan should prioritize attracting Millennials—young working people who will counterbalance the increasing number of residents who are retirement age or older. Over the last few years, media outlets have highlighted how Southeast has become the oldest region in Alaska, even calling the phenomenon a "silver tsunami." (See here and here .) Apparently, the biggest factor behind this trend is that older people are now better able to keep living in Southeast, rather than being forced to move elsewhere out of necessity, as often happened in ...

Laws banning ballot selfies—or any photos people might take of their completed election ballots—are absolutely, undeniably unconstitutional. Unfortunately, most media outlets don't seem to care about that clear legal reality; they've decided to simply sell the story "Uh oh, look! You're not allowed to take ballot selfies in these states!" Just look at the results for googling "ballot selfie": Most of these articles—or at the very least, their headlines—follow the premise that states banning ballot selfies have legitimate laws that readers (and Justin Timberlake) need to fear and obey. The writers therefore abdicate any journalistic responsibility of informing readers how the laws are obviously unconstitutional and should be actively opposed. Some mention later in their articles how courts have ruled some states' laws unconstitutional recently, but if that information is buried well into the article, where many readers never arrive. The onl...

Wherever you might live in the United States—north, south, east, west, or middle—it's important to know whether you're a West Coast or East Coast person. If you haven't done so already, please take round one of the poll right now. This second round will settle things once and for all. Choose which city you'd prefer to live in out of the following pairs to determine whether you're West Coast or East Coast. (Keep track of the number you choose on each side.) *Note: Again, these cities are not meant to be perfect counterparts to each other, just interesting choices. Not all of the cities are on the coast themselves, either, but they're all part of the West Coast or East Coast regions. So, are you a West Coast or an East Coast person? Leave a comment and let me know.

Moctezuma Xocoyotzin, early modern leader—not "ancient" (actor Cristian Esquivel, source ) The Aztec Empire—was it "ancient"? I hope your answer is no, because no empire formed less than 600 years ago qualifies as an "ancient" one. If it does, I guess we need to start calling Leonardo da Vinci an "ancient" artist and scientist. (Leonardo's life, by the way, was fully contemporaneous to that of the Aztec Empire, and he died the same year that Cortés landed in Mexico.) On two occasions this week, I saw the word "ancient" used in reference to indigenous histories that are anything but. The first example was what you just read: I saw someone refer to the Aztecs as "ancient" and it just made my head spin.

I haven't blogged here at all yet about the 2016 presidential election, but the primaries for both parties are at very important turning points right now, so I thought it was about time. There are now three candidates left in the race for the Republican nomination—Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and John Kasich. Trump has a sizable lead, and he most likely will become the Republican candidate. No one really expected that months ago, but his ability to excite voters with his nationalist rhetoric has been pretty powerful. via Wikipedia If you look at the map of the Republican primary so far, you can see the South has gone overwhelmingly for Trump, with the exception of Texas, Ted Cruz's home state. The only way Ted Cruz has a shot is if he wins the majority of the West in the upcoming primaries, and perhaps if Kasich is able to pick up a win or two in the Northeast, cutting Trump's advance. Given the results so far in states as diverse as Massachusetts, Illinois, and Nevada,...

Let me start by saying that I understand learning a fictional language is a hobby. Many people have hobbies that don't seem to have any particularly useful purpose. I'm sure I have hobbies that some would judge to be a waste of time, and I certainly have plenty of knowledge (including knowledge of fictional worlds) that many would judge to be useless. Nevertheless, I resent learners of fictional languages. I resent those who learn fictional languages not because I believe their pursuits are harmful, but because they clearly have aptitudes that could be put to exceptionally greater uses.

the rainbow flag of the LGBT movement Some Americans are panicking right now. Some are panicking about gay marriage becoming legal across the country , which just happened today. Some are panicking about the Confederate Battle Flag losing its official status and being taken out of stores, which has been happening at a rapid pace over the past week. Quite a few are probably panicking about both. Some Alaskans are even panicking about our governor deciding to rename Alaska's Wade Hampton census area , named for a slave-owning South Carolina Confederate who had nothing to do with Alaska. I'm not just exaggerating, either: I know these people are panicking because they're making extreme comments about the state of our country, the decline of our democracy, and the downfall of society. One of these people is even Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia . At the root of this panic is a fundamental issue that everybody struggles with: tolerance and open-mindedness. People ar...

I wrote up the following timeline for the Totem Heritage Center , an awesome museum in Ketchikan that preserves some of the oldest Tlingit and Haida totem poles in the world. I wrote the original version in 2012 when I first worked at the Heritage Center. Now I've been rehired for this summer, and this is my updated version. Early 1700s — Haida move north into Lingít Aaní (Tlingit country), begin living on southern Taan (Prince of Wales Island) 1741 — The Alexei Chirikov expedition sees Tlingit, the first European encounter of Northwest Coast people 1774 — Juan Perez leads the first Spanish expedition north of California, likely bringing smallpox to Haida Gwaii and Taan. 1774-1834 — Fur trade ongoing between Natives and Europeans in Southeast Alaska 1793 — George Vancouver circumnavigates and names Revillagigedo Island Late 1700s — Members of the Taant’a Ḵwáan (Tongass Tribe) move to Dàasaxakw (Village Island) 1830s — Members of the Taant’a Ḵwáan move to Kadúḵx̱uka (...

I watched the Superbowl today and briefly lamented the Seattle Seahawks' unfortunate loss. (They're Alaska's unofficial NFL team.) After my moment of caring about sports, however, my thoughts returned to something I'd tweeted earlier: next year's logo ( source ) Well, I found out there actually won't be a "Super Bowl L." It'll be officially labelled " Super Bowl 50 ," basically for the reason in my tweet: "Super Bowl L" would look dumb. In 2017, though, the NFL will return to its Roman numeral ways with Super Bowl LI . I don't know who originally thought up keeping track of the National Football League's championships with Roman numerals, or what the arguments for it were among those who decided on it 49 or 50 years ago. Regardless, I can understand it was simply a decision based on style and marketing, and it's been a steady tradition kept for 49 years, with only a short interruption next year. Who knows,...

November is Native American Heritage Month in the United States, and I figured I should share a selection of my blogging on indigenous knowledge, history, and education. Without further elaboration, here's my selection of posts: Maps: Maps That Infuriate Me: European Claims to North America Percentage of Indigenous People in Each Territory, Province and State Mapping Indigenous Autonyms Coast to Coast Mapping Indigenous Autonyms in Canada History: Quick Alternate Histories: A Post-Beringia Pre-Columbian Migration Two Research Ideas from Northwest Coast-North Pacific History College assignments: Movement, Diffusion, Diversity and Stateness: North American Historical Patterns Before 1519 Native Worlds of New Spain: The Diversity and Power of Indigenous Communities in Colonial North America Art: An Indigenous/Non-Indigenous or Western/Non-Western Art Dichotomy? Visiting 'Ksan in Hazelton, British Columbia Red: A Haida Manga and the Possibilities of Graphic Novel...

Compilation of the four candidates discussed here: The colors alternate nicely. Both  District 36's state house race  [Chere Klein (R) vs. Dan Ortiz (I)] and the race for Alaska's governor [Sean Parnell (R) vs. Bill Walker (I)] featured one independent candidate and one Republican incumbent or pseudo-incumbent. (While she's never served in office before, Chere Klein effectively assumed the mantle of retired Representative Peggy Wilson, at least among fellow Republicans.) Among other similarities, both races are very close right now and will be decided by absentee and early votes. Along with many Alaskans, I'm very anxious to find out the results. When considering the races for governor and state house in District 36, I expected most people would consistently vote the party line—or the non-partisan line, as it were: Most everyone voting for the independent Walker/Mallott ticket would also vote for independent Dan Ortiz; those voting for the Republican Parnell/Sulli...

District 36 includes the communities of Ketchikan, Wrangell, Metlakatla, Saxman, Hydaburg, and Hyder. To tell the truth, I was entirely ready for Dan Ortiz to lose his race to represent Alaska's House District 36. I was even ready to write about it. Instead, he's surprised everyone. Dan Ortiz was my debate teacher in high school several years ago, and my mentor teacher last year: I began my teaching career, and he retired from his. From the first moments I heard he was planning to run for office as an independent candidate , Dan had my full support. Still, elections for many years show that Ketchikan and Wrangell—the two biggest communities in District 36 —heavily favor Republican candidates. Just two years ago, Republican Peggy Wilson won her house seat with 4131 votes to Democrat Matt Olson's 2332—nearly a two-to-one margin. In addition, Wilson wasn't even the only Republican in the race! She was the incumbent from Wrangell's former district, and Republi...

combination Walker/Mallott-Ortiz sign I made I submitted the following letter to SitNews and the Ketchikan Daily News about two weeks ago, but forgot to post it here for good measure. In any case, it's three days till election day now, and if you haven't voted already, you'd better vote by Tuesday! Vote Independent — Walker and Ortiz If there’s anything present American politics teaches, it’s that the party system has failed us. Neither Democrats nor Republicans have been able to set the country on the right track. It’s no wonder George Washington, James Madison, and other Founding Fathers were opposed to political factions. When it comes to balancing budgets, protecting good jobs, making smart healthcare decisions, providing for children’s future, and so many other issues, we need leaders who can move beyond partisanship and rigid ideologies. Bill Walker and Dan Ortiz are two men who exemplify that kind of leadership. Governor Parnell and the state legislature ha...

some of my "books read" list This blog has been politics-heavy lately and will probably continue to be until the November 4th election and even afterward. For now, though, I'd like to take a break to write about reading. I've been recording the title, author, and date finished of every book I've finished reading since the beginning of my senior year of high school—August 2008. That's over six years of reading records I have now. I take care to say it's a list of books I finished reading, since there are many other books I began to read or even mostly read that didn't make the list. I don't really have a strict standard for book length, either; some were relatively easy reads that just took a day. Nevertheless, I think the list is dominated by good, full-length books. My list is now 153 books long, which works out to a grand average of one book finished every 14.51 days, or about 25 books per year. While that rate seems very modest to me,...

I'm really excited about the Bill Walker-Byron Mallott Unity Ticket for Alaska. To celebrate, I started making a bunch of memes related to Sean Parnell's flawed and failed governorship. Here are the first three: Feel free to make your own by going on  http://www.memecreator.org/ and using this base image (taken from Creative Commons ).

I voted yes in vain, I guess. A few weeks ago, I wrote about Alaska's House District 36 , the southern southeast region of the state centered on Ketchikan. On August 18th, a day before the election, I wrote urging people to vote yes on ballot measure 1 . A slight majority of Alaskans ended up voting against measure 1, convinced by the Parnell administration and the millions of dollars in campaign money spent by oil companies and their allies. Needless to say, I did not feel like writing about politics after that. I did, however, notice a striking pattern in some of the other electoral results from that day—the District 36 Republican primary.

It's our oil! Vote yes and repeal the giveaway. ( source ) I won't mince words. I want Ballot Measure 1 to pass in the election this Tuesday more than I want any other result in 2014's elections. In my view, Tuesday's vote on Ballot Measure 1 is a question that will massively impact my future, my family's, and that of all Alaskans. A no vote will put that future at risk, threatening the Alaska state government's fiscal solvency and calling its independent democracy into question. A yes vote will put Alaska back on track, preserve the state's finances, and affirm Alaskans' political independence from monied outside interests.

District 36 includes the communities of Ketchikan, Wrangell, Metlakatla, Saxman, Hydaburg, and Hyder. I live in Alaska's District 36, newly created after the crazy episode of redistricting that was this and this and this . (Ketchikan used to be in District 1, but apparently someone from Fairbanks managed to change the numbering so it's in their community now.) As a precursor to the upcoming primary election (August 19th) and general election (November 4th), I thought I should share some statistics about my district related to population and political affiliation—a sort of electoral "getting to know you" piece. (All statistics come from this state source .) As is true for all of Alaska, the majority of people in District 36 prefer not to identify with a political party. In fact, over 58% of District 36 voters are "undeclared" or "nonpartisan," compared with less than 54% in the whole state. (I am "undeclared." Read this to fin...

Alaska voter registration political affiliation options  "Undeclared" is the most popular political label in Alaska. According to these statistics , almost 37 percent (181,979) of Alaska voters are "undeclared," almost as much as Republicans and Democrats combined (202,237). When you add those who choose the label "nonpartisan," a full 53.8 percent of Alaska voters (266,072) refuse to register with any political party or group. While others might try to analyze why this might be the case, I would simply like to share my thoughts. I'm an Alaskan who chose to check myself "undeclared" when I registered to vote. Here's why: I can't think of myself as "nonpartisan." I clearly choose sides on political issues, and I'll support whatever side I agree with, so I reserve the right to be partisan. I am also not necessarily an "independent" voter, as the media often labels us, even if that term isn't an ...

Working in the visitor industry in Ketchikan, Alaska, you meet a lot of people. The majority of visitors arrive by way of one of a few major cruise lines—Holland America, Princess, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Carnival, or more recently, Disney . (Royal Caribbean owns Celebrity, and Carnival owns both Holland America and Princess, so there are even fewer major cruise corporations involved.) A clear majority of visitors to Ketchikan are also North Americans—vast numbers of Americans, many Canadians, and even a fair number of Mexicans. Add to that the large number of British, Australian, and other Anglophone visitors, and there aren't many visitors left who don't either come from the same continent, speak English, or—in most cases—both. Out of those I haven't listed yet, I would venture to say that most are European. There are plenty of people who visit speaking South Asian or East Asian languages, but I know many of them are Americans, Canadians, or Australians...