Alaska is right next to Russia!

Okay, I got sick of hearing this so I'm doing some calculations. Using the helpful "Google Maps Distance Calculator" I'm going to compute a few distances.

1. Wasilla to Russia -- 685.372 miles



I assume I have picked the closest point in Russia, but I'm not exactly sure. In any case, it's far. How far is 685.372 miles? By way of comparison, Greenville, South Carolina and Toronto, Ontario, Canada are only 632.556 miles apart.

2. Juneau to Russia -- 1227.829 miles



Once again: far. New York City is closer to Miami than Juneau is to Russia.

Why not build up foreign policy cred by pointing out that Alaska actually shares a border with Canada? Makes at least as much sense, doesn't it?