It's disingenuous to call them "food stamps." You have two options at the register when you swipe your EBT card: EBT Food, or EBT Cash. EBT Food, is any food item not pre-prepared, such as hot deli food, and includes everything from lobster tail to Rockstar energy drinks. Or, if you are buying a new cell phone case, an Adam Sandler Blu-Ray or any other non-essential item, you can pay for it with the EBT Cash option. I'm in the business, and we see these people come in for the first week of the month. They have the worst entitlement mentality, least respect for others, and most bombastic self-opinion of themselves of any caliber of customers.  Most accounts we see are well over $1000 per month. Everyone who works there loathes the 1st-7th of every month, even the liberals. 

I got unfriended by my ultra-liberal mother in law for countering her arguments too often. All in all, I'm putting that one in the win column. 

He disregards his oldest daughters wishes and arranges for her to marry a disgusting man for his own benefit. When that blows up in his face he is disrespectful to her and his son-in-law. He disowns his youngest daughter  for marrying a Christian and then, reluctantly, when he has nothing left except his family, implies that maybe she can have a relationship with him again, but not that he loves her. The only semblance of fatherly affection he shows at all, is at the train station when he sends off his middle daughter. It's a great film, my favorite musical in fact, but it is a case study on what not to do as a father. 

Top of the list was Tevye (Fiddler on the Roof)?  How's that exactly?

Luke removing Darth Vaders helmet from Anakin in Return of the Jedi. 

Harry telling A.J that he always thought of him like a son, but that he'd be proud to have him marry his daughter Grace in Armageddon. "You take care of my little girl, that's your job now." 

Benjamin Martin and Jean Villeneuve discussing their deceased children while marching into battle in The Patriot. "I'll bet (your daughters) were beautiful." "They were." 

Phillipe (never having known his father until a few minutes before his death) asking Athos (who's son was recently murdered) whether or not he would be willing to love him as a son in The Man in the Iron Mask. 

No. If the physical world we see teaches us anything at all about God, it is that He loves diversity.  He enjoys the tone-deaf man's strained and cracking voice every bit as much as the world best choir. He smiles at the three-year old's rendition of "I've got the joy, joy, joy," and He wraps His arms around the symphony performing Bach. The style doesn't matter, its the heart of worship that does. Empty religion, lukewarm congregations, barriers that separate Him from us (whether it be institutions, organizational hierarchies, church leadership), impotent music, contemporary or traditional; these are what He warns us against. He wants our heart. Worship Him with rap, organs, chants, ten-piece bands, silence, so long as you are sold out to Christ, and nothing else. His children are all very different, there is nothing in scripture to suggest His desire for our worship should be any different. 

Joseph, my experience has been that it's not so much music styles that lead to the divisions. It has a lot more to do with how much we will allow Christ to do with us. Will we be willing to set aside what we want, what we think, what we expect and what we are comfortable with, in order to let Him do all he is capable of? Many people are afraid of a God that big.

When I was a young, happy-heathen, I despised going to church, not so much because of the message, but rather because the music was so bad. It was typically middle-aged white guys singing off-key with an organ or piano thrown in. Church, I said, was not for me. Fast-forward five years and I began going to my wife's church on Sundays, only when there were no good games on, because I didn't want to be alone. This time there was power in the worship. These people sang to the Lord and (gasp) meant it. The instruments produced incense for the Lord. The ground and the rafters shook with excitement and joy for Him. This is the outward expression of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit within us. This, I concluded, was for me, because it was for Him, and not for us.

Last week I was undone in our service. The worship was so powerful, I had to sit down and collect myself afterwards. This was the song we sang, and the effect was similar. Lives were changed, souls were saved, bodies were healed and strongholds were broken. That's what genuine worship does.

I guess I'm surprised that none of us have mentioned moose yet. They're huge, stupid, fast and can be very dangerous. They can pop up anywhere, at anytime and they stay as long as they want. You absolutely cannot shoot them, ever. You can scare them off if need to get to your car to get to work, but you're usually better off just hanging back and letting them have their way. They get hit on the highway all the time, so watch out while you're driving up. I know guys who's trucks have been totalled by hitting bull moose.

I second that. It is very spendy but worth it for a special treat. I hear that if you order hors d'oeuvres from the happy hour menu at the bar its actually pretty well priced.  Also, you can get discounted gift cards for Simons at Costco in the fall. 

It's not that bad. Way over exaggerated in my opinion. There were a few high profile cases two years ago, and a few encounters that made the news last year, but the vast majority of Alaskans never see a bear and fewer still ever find themselves in a life or death scenario. It's similar to shark attacks.

A lot of people recommend Boondocks in Eagle River for guns. I hike with a .44 as do most guys I know. You will probably never see anything bigger than a black bear in the cities, and even then only way up on the hillside. I've never seen any bears at any campsite either (everyone is packin and the bears know it).  It's only an issue off the beaten path. I know a ton of hardcore hikers who only carry bear spray too. 

Not a lot of nightlife in Eagle River but Anchorage is only 15 minutes down the highway. Eagle River has one of the best coffee shops, Jitters. It also has very high priced homes, though very beautiful ones on the hillside; ditto for Chugiak (another 15 minutes north). If you're looking at houses you can get a lot more land at a much better price in the valley (Wasilla/Palmer/Houston) which is about a 45 min commute to Anchorage (an hour when it's snowing hard), but well worth it in my opinion. For restaurants I recommend Glacier Brewhouse and Orso's downtown, and Sea Galley or Moose's Tooth in mid-town. Moose's Tooth has the best pizza in town and also some of the best beer, locally brewed and better than Brewhouse or Humpy's.  Also there is Bear Tooth theater pub (same menu pretty much) but it is a movie theater that shows second run films and you eat and drink while the movie plays. There is a bar inside the auditorium.

Where is "outside of Anchorage", Eagle River, Girdwood, Wasilla? We are from Wasilla, and although we don't do the bar thing anymore (six kids kinda take the appeal away) I can recommend plenty of places to eat drink and be merry depending on where you're moving to.

L.A.

You could not pay me enough money to live there again for any period of time.

Theme from Schindler's List by John Williams performed by Itzhak Perlman