Alaska Digest & 2nd Amendment News: Friday, Feb. 4

Time for the end o' the week wrap-up:

• Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On:  There was a 4.6 magnitude earthquake last evening at approx. 8:30. Personal observation: Many of the 'quakes which occur to the north and northwest affect the northern two-thirds of Anchorage, but are rarely felt on the south side of town, where I live. Last night's tremor was something else: there was a barely-discernible trembling, followed by a loud bang and a sharp jolt which rattled dishes and windows, caused the kitchen cabinet doors to open slightly & close with a slap, and moved the couch. It then continued to shake, diminishing gradually over the next 10 seconds or so.
• Money (That's What I Want): The Anchorage School District, amid much hand-wringing and warnings of the dire consequences of poverty, passed a $638 MILLION budget last night, in this city of only 280,000 people. That's right, folks: something close to $16,000 per student. And what do we get for this massive bloat?  A graduation rate in the neighborhood of 52 per cent.
• Mo’ Money Mo’ Problems: The proposed reductions in federal spending also have people in the Bush wringing their hands. It seems that many of the small air carriers here have been receiving subsidies for their flights to remote villages (which means almost ALL of them). Without those subsidies, the numbers of flights would be cut, and air fare would go up. And I thought it was rather expensive already. Example: Current price for a round-trip flight to Homer - 230 miles away, by road, making a 5-hour drive - is $246.  That buys a lot of gas, even at our current price of $3.49/gallon. 
• When Seconds Count: You're familiar with that old saw about how "when seconds count, the police are minutes away"? There's a letter to the editor in today's paper from a gentleman who intervened in an assault, stopping a man from hitting a woman. But here's the money quote: "A man began to assault a woman on Ingra Street. Intervening, I held him in an armlock for 25 minutes until police arrived."  25 minutes. Are you paying attention yet? 
• And finally, there's this: JPFO ALERT: Good Cop ... Bad Cop.  Excerpt:"One of the most laudable movements in America today is the group known as “Oath Keepers”. (Visit the “Oath Keepers” website.)
  The Oath Keepers represent the very best in American law enforcement (as well as the U.S. military … but that’s another story). The police of Oath Keepers are the “Good Cops”, the truly Good Cops.
  These loyal men and women have publicly re-declared that they will keep their oath to support and defend the Constitution from all enemies “foreign and domestic”. To them, this solemn promise is a sacred honor, not just some patriotic homily. This means they have sworn to obey the Second Amendment.
  Sadly, if there are “Good Cops” then there are also some “Bad Cops”. Fortunately for us, the Good Cops outnumber the Bad Cops by at least twenty to one. This is an imprecise estimate, but candid (and very private) discussions with police officers seem to support the reality that, at the most, five percent of cops nationwide are “dirty”.
  What makes a Bad Cop? Two things leap right out front in the personality profile of a Bad Cop: Arrogance and Authoritarianism."  Read the rest.