Wednesday, February 14, 2007 Got a question? Get an answer. Send an e-mail to Dear Mr. Mullings Dear Mr. Mullings: I wonder if you could answer some questions on the State Legislature meeting in Juneau. Seeing as Juneau is unaccessible by road and not exactly in the middle of a very huge state, how do the legislators get there? It must be difficult - and probably impossible - for the average citizen to go to Juneau to lobby on a particular subject. How do they open up the process to the citizens? Patti Wilmington, NC All good questions. The first time I came here I asked someone how long it might take to drive from Juneau to Anchorage. "You can't drive between the two," I was told. I thought it was like living in Dallas and being asked how long it would take to drive to El Paso. If you told someone "You can't" it would really mean "You can, but why would you?" Juneau is the only mainland state capital in the US which cannot be accessed by road. The only way to get there is by sea or air. Cars and trucks are transported by barge or ferry. Alaska Airlines runs a non-stop between Anchorage and Juneau - which is about an 90 minute flight. The plane I was on Monday was almost full. People in Alaska are used to getting around to places which most of us would consider inaccessible (if not inhabitable), so getting to Juneau to lobby is not a big deal. The traveljuneau.com website has the following: Some people will tell you that you can't drive to Juneau - but it's not true. Like many other communities along Alaska's coastline, Juneau has a floating roadway, the Alaska Marine Highway System. This nine-vessel ferry system offers convenient and reliable service from where the road ends. Yeah, well, inasmuch as most of us think the verb "to drive" includes getting behind the wheel, starting the engine, getting lost and ignoring your wife when she insists you stop at the Seven-Eleven to ask directions, putting the Mullmobile on a ferry does not qualify as "driving." The State Legislators have provided themselves with travel money to get between here and home. The law requires the legislature conclude its work in 120 days, although the House Speaker told me the other night he is trying to get it done in 90 days which will be the mandate starting next year. That being the case, the Legislators do not appear to go home every weekend. Interesting fact: The total mileage of all the roads in Juneau? 40. Dear Mr. Mullings: As an astute, highly-experienced media maven, Mr. Mullings, do you have a solution to the problem of four people, on a 23-inch screen, all talking at the same time? Norm Sacramento, CA I do, in fact have a solution. I won't do it. I don't do televised food fights, I will not be on a program which is going to have more than two guests (the host makes three); and I will not, if at all possible, be on with someone I don't know because more often than not they haven't done any homework and resort to shouting bumper sticker slogans. One of the reasons Bob Beckel and I get on so well during our weekly nano-debates on Fox, is because we are not trying to convince each other of our position, not trying to convince the viewers of our position, and not trying to convince the host of our position. By design and agreement we try to demonstrate how our differing positions on a topic will likely play out in the politics of Washington. It makes for much better television. Dear Mr. Mullings: I noticed you have a trendy, ergonomic stand up desk. Where does one purchase such a desk? And, do you stand at it all day long? Do you have a seat, a stool, or a couch to fall back on at times? What are the virtues of a stand up desk? How many questions am I allowed to ask in one email? Jeremiah Morgantown, WV I bought this stand up desk when I worked out of Mullings Central which was my den. I became alarmed at the notion of sitting on my couch for 15 hours a day with the blood rushing to my butt. I do stand at it all day long, but I have a chair in the office to sit on - mostly when I'm having a sandwich for lunch. The virtues of the stand up desk are many. One of them is a person will burn a few more calories per hour standing and typing than they will sitting and typing so it - this is true - can result in the loss of about a half a pound per month. As to the number of questions you are allowed to ask? One. Dear Mr. Mullings: In the run-up to the 2008 election, why is Hillary being refered to as Mrs. Clinton, rather than Senator Clintion? Suzanne I don't think that's true. I did a quick Google search and found the following: "Mrs. Clinton" - 1,203 current articles "Senator Clinton" - 1,752 articles "Sen. Clinton" - 2,018 articles It is likely that she is often referred to by more than one title in the same article, but I think that shows reporters are referring to her, in large part, by her Senatorial title. By the way, I didn't look for all the variations on the theme: Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, etc. I only looked for the exact phrases I listed. Just for fun, I did the same with President Bush. "Mr. Bush" - 4,683 current articles "President Bush" - 123,824 articles. Last one Dear Mr. Mullings: I'm looking for a button to advertise on the websites I build. What did you use to make that cool Dear Mr. Mullings button? Mike Northern California Having no friends and no hobbies, I did a search on "mailbox" in Google images and found the one you see there. Then in Microsoft Word I typed out the letters in a font named "comic sans MS." I made the letters something like 24 points high, changed the font effect to outline, clicked the italic and bold buttons and then changed the color to blue. I cut and pasted the letters into a blank document in a program called Paint Shop Pro by Corel, pasted in the previously saved line drawing of the mailbox, tinkered with it for a half hour or so and, as our friends in England would say, "Bob's your uncle." $150 please. See you next week. Rich Got a question? Get an answer. Send an e-mail to Dear Mr. Mullings                                     Click here to return to the Secret Decoder Ring page Copyright © 2007 Barrington Worldwide, LLC