Meeting Bob Dole

It was 1997 and DC was a very new place for me. Luckily I had my charcoal Pierre Cardin double-breasted suit among my scanty supply of possessions as a recent transplant from California when my older brother Tom, then a congressional staffer, called me and said, "hey, do you want to meet Bob Dole? Come downtown and wear a suit."

Bob Dole had recently retired from a lengthy career in the United States Senate and just lost the presidential election in 1996 to Bill Clinton but would remain active politically for two more decades as it turns out.

Tom briefed me ahead of time to shake his LEFT hand, as he had lost full function of his right arm having been injured in World War 2. We met and got our photos taken. Senator Dole was tall, engaging and pleasant. He spent a few minutes getting to know us, and I shook his hand as instructed. Looking back, it certainly has been one of the highlights of my journey here in Washington, DC (so far), and I am proud to have met such a statesman and American war hero. 

While our visit was brief, it was an honor to meet you on the path. Thank you for your service and your time.

Rest in Peace - Bob Dole.

Scenic September Alaska

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All Photographs © J. Mark Porter Photography 2021

An Alaskan Adventure - My 50th State

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Along Glenn Highway between Anchorage and McCarthy

The idea of an Alaskan vacation can be daunting. How much warm clothing to bring? Will I need to know how to build an igloo or forage for food? Will I get eaten by bears? Typical.

Alaska is one of those destinations that if you overthink it, you may never go. Sure, planning is essential, as you don't want to be hunting for hotels and tours last minute. There are a variety of activities from sea life viewing to hiking to culinary and craft beer enjoyment. There is something for everyone from the rugged adventurer to the family of four. The important thing is to think ahead, choose your own adventure, and just go.

Anchorage

Early morning walk to the Anchorage train depot 

Supposing you fly in, your adventure launch point may likely be the city of Anchorage. To allay some of your packing concerns, if you find yourself lacking anything, it is likely you will find it here. There is an array of dining and lodging options, and it is very convenient to rent a car, access intrastate flights, or board a scenic train ride. While not terribly exciting in itself, Anchorage is a great base of operations and complete with most comforts you might expect to find in modern civilization. Try Kriner's Diner for biscuits and gravy - where locals go and service is friendly.

Ride the Train

Alaska has its own railroad, and it is a magnificent way of taking in optimal scenic beauty per minute by way of icy blue rivers, lush green forests and majestic mountains. We chose the trip to Seward in a railcar that surrounds you with large windows to take in all the views. The premier class serves a meal in the dining car and offers an open-air deck to feel the wind in your hair and get all the great photos as you zip through the countryside.

Seward Sea Life

Your plans really should include going out on the water in some fashion. We chose Major Marine Tours' three-hour cruise that took us out on Resurrection Bay where we were pleased to see many animals in their natural habitat up-close, such as bald eagles, puffins, sea lions, and humpback whales. The town is small enough to explore on foot.

  

Seeking out a delicious seafood dinner at one of the various restaurants, we walked past the marina and witnessed some salmon swimming up a nearby stream. Seeing the few campers nestled along the picturesque shore, we imagined a perfect evening might just be cooking up our own fish over one of the nearby fire pits.

Girdwood and Flightseeing

Along the same train route back to Anchorage is the town of Girdwood. While we could have planned to make that a rail visit, we instead rented a car for the day after returning to Anchorage. This allowed us to make various stops along the way, such as Beluga Point to do some light rock climbing and whale viewing. Also we made a quick excursion to beautiful Portage Lake before our dinner at Double Musky Inn - a local favorite that fills up upon opening at 5pm, serving New Orleans-inspired meats and seafood complemented by an extensive wine list.

Portage Glacier and Portage Lake

However, the primary purpose of our Girdwood visit was a ninety-minute Alpine Air helicopter flight which lands on a glacier high up in the mountains. Do this! The chopper was big enough only for a pilot and three passengers and provides an unforgettable journey through the clouds, over peaks and valleys to a giant piece of ice that looked a bit like Superman's home. Looking around we were in awe of the glistening bright whites and blues under our feet and streams of water carving their way around us. The trip may seem a bit pricey in planning, but if you can fit it in your budget, it will be sure to be a highlight and one of your best trip decisions.

Road Trip to McCarthy

On the advice from my friend Carrie, we rented a car and drove out to an old copper mining community at Kennicott and McCarthy. You should budget a whole day of driving each way from Anchorage and have a rugged vehicle to navigate the bumpy and gravelly McCarthy Road. In fact, national brand car rental companies do not allow their vehicles to be driven on this and several other unpaved roads in the state. There are other rental agencies that specialize in 4x4 vehicles, but require that you have your own primary insurance. I suggest staying at the peaceful and cozy Wrangell Mountain Lodge along McCarthy Road - log cabins on the edge of Chokosna River in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve. While there are many activities and tours in and around McCarthy, we chose a self-guided tour of Kennicott and were quite content to stroll around the old mining town (in the rain) and dip into the various buildings showcasing displays of life there in the early 20th Century. Luckily for us, it looks like the miners left here like Joe Biden left Afghanistan, so there I still a lot left to see from that operation.

We found a really cool spot for an early dinner at The Potato in McCarthy, which had a live band, delicious food (smoked salmon mac 'n cheese!) and a craft beer list into which I would have loved to delve further into had we not a substantial drive ahead of us.

Smoked salmon mac 'n cheese (The Potato)

Craft Beer in Alaska

Double Musky Inn serves local Girdwood Brewing

We were excited to see that Alaska is home to some great small breweries! For our last dinner of vacation we visited the very popular Glacier Brewhouse in Anchorage for Alaskan alder grilled salmon and herb-crusted Alaskan halibut with both the Tangerine and Blackberry IPAs. However the brewery highlights of the evening were at Midnight Sun Brewing Company with their "I Said Never, But..." pale stout and the "Panty Peeler" Belgian tripel; also a nightcap of "Passionfruit Permafrost Pucker" sour at 49th State Brewing was a fantastic last beer of the trip. In Girdwood, we visited Girdwood Brewing for a flight and great conversation with a couple from Utah visiting for a wedding. Favorites from there were the "No Woman No Cryo" Northeastern IPA and the "Hippie Speedball" oatmeal coffee stout.

Midnight Sun Brewing Co. Loft

Thanks, Alaska! It was a great birthday celebration exploration! I hope we meet again.

Joe Biden Failed America and the World, and That Needs to Change

Imagine having given the 9/11 hijackers the keys to the planes and also locking the the doors of the World Trade Center and Pentagon with everyone inside. My fear as the 20th-year commemoration of that horrible day fast approaches is that our own president has committed an egregious and unthinkable offense of a similar magnitude. I pray every day that I will be proven wrong. However Joe Biden has not only foolishly and dangerously mismanaged the United States' withdrawal from Afghanistan, and he may very well have unwittingly stranded thousands of our fellow Americans as potential hostages in the process to the terrorist organization assuming power in our absence. 

We would have preferred to leave with honor. Most Americans would have agreed that sending our military men and women home from Afghanistan was in our national interest, if not long overdue. We would have preferred to get our own citizens and allies out safely. We would have preferred to not leave the Taliban with billions of dollars-worth of our own weapons and technology. We would have preferred to not leave high-value prisoners to be set free and bequeath our military base and embassy to the Taliban. Everyone knew that the day would come when we were gone and the whole place would likely devolve into Sharia law, reprisal, and the forfeiture of the grand Western ideal of democracy. However there is honor in stepping aside while supporting the forces we trained (at least through the transition), making good on our commitments to the Afghans who risked their lives to help us, and evacuating our own citizens prior to surrendering our military position.

We must expect better of our president and administration who are meant to be among the best of us. This goes far beyond a political jab, and at this point there are many of different political persuasions who are rightly angry that President Biden either did not comprehend or did not care that he was creating perhaps the greatest catastrophe in American foreign policy history. He has either lied to us or been woefully unaware of reality. He is routinely confused or incoherent. He has placed Americans in grave danger and has consequently broken his solemn oath of office. We need a president who relies on more than knocking on wood to secure our survival.

The Taliban have been pledging some sort of tolerance as a smoke screen - likely to buy themselves time to consolidate power. Meanwhile they are going door to door initiating their persecution of Afghans disloyal to their objectives and forcing girls into slavery. These barbarians are killing and torturing in unimaginable ways. Concurrently, they have surrounded the Kabul airport and have made it either difficult or impossible for many to enter, seizing passports and documents. ISIS and Al Qaeda are reported to have resurfaced. At what point do our fellow citizens officially become hostages for a massive pay day... or worse? And now we have thousands of military personnel returned to Afghanistan who are far less secure after our recent hasty retreat. We should all pray this is not playing directly into the hopes for some Jihadi sabotage for the anniversary of September 11th - the day President Biden wanted for his political win of ending our Afghanistan operation. 

We are left with no good options and a president who claims he executed this catastrophe with no mistakes. The buck, we are told, stops with him... right after it stops with President Trump, the (former) Afghan government, the (former) Afghan military, and the Afghan people who didn't want to leave. President Biden owns this completely, whether he understands that or not. The clock is ticking, and our options dwindle with each day. Whatever future beyond our control that awaits Afghanistan, now is not the time to surrender our honor to political expediency. Surrendering our will at this moment surrenders tens of thousands of our own people and those friendly to us. Our only option should be to rescue all Americans from Afghanistan and fulfill our commitment to those who face certain unspeakable horrors for allying with our cause.

My initial response to the revelation of what has happened - and what it portends - is that our president should resign, but what is more imperative is for him and his team to step up and lead - to be the America we have promised the world. If he cannot, he should not be our president; if we cannot, we will have abdicated our role in the world and profoundly changed the character of our country.

In Trump's Own Words - The Supposed Incitement of an American Insurrection

 

President Donald Trump has been accused of inciting imminent lawless action in a terrorist attack on the United States Capitol for the purposes of disrupting democracy and perpetrating violence against members of our American Congress. 

In the interest of clarity, the following are quotations from the president's speech - most directly related to inspiring action - preceding the riot in question that prompted a swift impeachment by the House of Representatives: 

 January 6th, 2021

"I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard."

"We're going to walk down to the Capitol, and we're going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women, and we're probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them, because you'll never take back our country with weakness; you have to show strength, and you have to be strong."

Regarding the Vice President:

"Mike Pence is gonna have to come through for us. And if he doesn't, that will be a sad day for our country."

On how Trump supporters should consider their place in history:

"History is going to be made. We're going to see whether or not we have great and courageous leaders or whether or not we have leaders who should be ashamed of themselves."

"The best is yet to come."

Specific plans (in summation) to supposedly violently storm and illegally disrupt our legislature:

"We're going to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue, and we're going to the Capitol, and we're going to try to give... our Republicans - the weak ones, because the strong ones don't need any of our help - we're going to try to give them the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country."

(Then he danced to music by The Village People.) 

The Capitol Riot and Inhumanity Boiling Over

There have been a number of things over time that I have felt go without saying. 

However, violence and chaos in protest have no place in a civil society. Though perhaps we have not been so civil for some time. For a good part of last year, violence and chaos in protest were normalized by many on social media, on television, and from our leaders. I support my fellow Americans' right to assemble and protest - whether or not I support your cause - but I think we have all seen that when we lose control and resort to destruction, America loses. Indeed lives and livelihoods are lost as well. This cannot continue. 

In two weeks, we will have a new president, but that will not change how we have chosen to divide this country. First, we need to be honest and mindful and have fidelity to what makes us a people - neither color, nor party, nor religion, nor historical ethnicity. We don't have to always agree, but we do have to agree to disagree peacefully. Even if you believe your brother has strayed, you must always consider his humanity. Unfortunately, social media is prone to allowing us to treat one another with disdain, ridicule, and even inhumanity. That is either bleeding over into real human interaction or it is our nature which we have been trained to restrain in polite society. Either way, our country and our world depend on us being better. 

God, bless America.