Free Republic

Power Players He once worked for Sarah Palin and has been dubbed a “protégé” of Condoleezza Rice. Now Dan Sullivan is fighting to become a high-profile conservative brand name of his own, trying to unseat Democratic Sen. Mark Begich of Alaska in one of the most closely watched political races of the year. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin appointed Sullivan attorney general in 2009. Before that he worked within President George W. Bush’s inner circle as a senior adviser to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Now, Sullivan has the task of convincing GOP primary voters that he is Alaskan enough,...

A former EPA official tied to a controversy over allegations of federal overreach at an Alaska mine project has mysteriously gone off the grid, sources tell FoxNews.com, complicating lawmakers' efforts to question him. Emails from Phillip North, a now-retired Environmental Protection Agency employee, recently surfaced that seem to show the Alaska-based biologist tried to get the Pebble Mine project killed as far back as 2008. Those emails -- and memos indicating government officials worked early on with tribal leaders and environmental groups to oppose the venture -- raised questions about the agency's claims that when it ultimately vetoed the gold-and-copper...

Former vice presidential candidate discusses the state of the GOP

Four Russian strategic bombers triggered U.S. air defense systems while conducting practice bombing runs near Alaska this week, with two of the Tu-95 Bear H aircraft coming within 50 miles of the California coast, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad) confirmed Wednesday.  “The last time we saw anything similar was two years ago on the Fourth of July,” Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Norad spokesman, told the Free Beacon. Davis said the latest Bear H incursions began Monday around 4:30 p.m. Pacific time when radar detected the four turbo-prop powered bombers approaching the U.S. air defense zone near the far...

The Mount Vernon Assembly – Indianapolis FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Skip Brown skip.brown@iga.in.gov 317-232-9521 The Mount Vernon Assembly to Meet at Indiana Statehouse June 12 and 13 INDIANAPOLIS (June 9, 2014) – More than 100 state legislators representing 33 states will meet at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis on June 12 and 13 to continue establishing the rules and procedures needed for a future state-led convention for proposing amendments to the U.S. Constitution, as authorized by Article V of the Constitution. The meeting is a continuation of efforts that began in December 2013 at George Washington’s historic Mount Vernon estate...

Energy company investments in Alaska could reverse declining oil production in the state. Firms are planning the largest energy project in the state’s history along with a series of moves to rejuvenate Alaska’s biggest oil fields. That is unless, the companies are saying, voters in the state in August dismantle a new oil tax regime that Houston-based ConocoPhillips and others say makes Alaska far more attractive than it was under higher levies imposed in 2007. In a story at HoustonChronicle.com, FuelFix reporter Collin Eaton takes a look at the energy projects that area planned and issues surrounding the tax vote.

It’s only a small matter of time until the Obama administration finally, rapturously releases what its hopes will be the crown jewel of its rise-of-the-oceans-slowing climate-change agenda: Regulations capping the emissions from existing power plants, a.k.a., stamping out coal plants across the country. This set of regs is going to be even more complicated and controversial than the regulations for only new power plants the administration released last year, and as the AP obliquely explains, we’re likely to start seeing those “necessarily skyrocketing” energy prices Obama once mentioned pretty quickly here: Electricity prices are probably on their way up...

Challengers see themselves in the Texas senator, even in races where their odds of an upset are considered steeper than Cruz’s surprise victory over a GOP establishment figure two years ago. He’s made endorsements in the Oklahoma and Nebraska Senate races, plus the Nebraska gubernatorial race, and sent almost $26,000 to federal candidates through his leadership PAC. “Ted Cruz would be extremely helpful as an endorser and a fundraiser,” said C. Edmund Wright, a consultant to longshot South Carolina Senate hopeful Lee Bright, in an email. “Rand Paul and Mike Lee would be great also.” But, he said, “the reason...

In the Alaskan tundra, inspecting a pipeline isn’t easy. Most pipelines don’t follow what few roads are there, so trucks often aren’t an option. And using low-flying airplanes can be unsafe to pilots in snowy, windy weather. Now, though, the emergence of sophisticated, pilotless aircraft is presenting energy companies with another possibility for keeping an eye on operations in the Arctic and other harsh environments where they often work. Unmanned aerial vehicles flying over pipelines while outfitted with special sensors could detect leaks quickly. And that’s not the only potential application. Energy companies are testing drones to inspect hard-to-reach spaces...

As political shenanigans continue to delay approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, Alaskan voters hold the key to avoiding a similar fate for what could be North America’s largest pipeline project. At an estimated cost of at least $45 billion, the Alaskan LNG natural gas pipeline project will deliver jobs and provide a boost to the economy in towns and villages all along the 800-mile route stretching from the North Slope to the Kenai Peninsula. After decades of talking about how to tap into the vast gas resources on Alaska’s North Slope, this project is poised to make that reality....

Democratic Sen. Mark Begich leads all of his GOP rivals, according to a new PPP poll; he leads Dan Sullivan, 42 percent to 37 percent; Mead Treadwell, 41 percent to 33 percent; and Joe Miller, 43 percent to 27 percent. Within the GOP primary race, Sullivan leads his rivals with 40 percent supporting him. Treadwell comes in second with 26 percent followed by Miller with 14 percent

PPP's newest Alaska poll finds the Republican primary for Senate becoming increasingly less competitive. Dan Sullivan is now out to a 14 point lead with 40% to 26% for Mead Treadwell, 14% for Joe Miller, and 3% for John Jaramillo. The race has been moving more and more in Sullivan's direction in our polling over the last nine months. In July Treadwell led Sullivan 33/25. Since then Sullivan's support has moved from that 25% mark last summer to 30% in February and now 40%. Meanwhile Treadwell dropped from 33% in July to 25% in February and is now pretty much...

Is it possible to be the anti-establishment candidate in a Republican primary for the U.S. Senate and be the choice of the Republican establishment in your state at the same time? By definition, this would seem impossible. Yet, State Senator Joni Ernst has managed to be the establishment backed, anti-establishment candidate in Iowa’s Republican U.S. Senate primary. Iowa’s Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds was an early endorser of Ernst’s campaign, and Governor Terry Branstad has reportedly been helpful behind the scenes, especially in the fundraising department. Ernst has also been backed by national Republican establishment figures like Mitt Romney, Sen. John...

<p>WASHINGTON – The Environmental Protection Agency came under fire Thursday after new emails surfaced that allegedly show government officials worked in secret with tribal leaders and other environmental groups to preemptively oppose the controversial Pebble Mine project in Alaska before a review was even conducted.</p>

As two state troopers struggled to arrest his father, a 19-year-old man armed himself with an assault rifle and shot them seven times, killing them outside his home in a remote Alaska village, authorities said in charges filed Saturday.

19-year-old arrested for killing two troopers in Tanana; 2nd man charged after standoff By SUZANNA CALDWELL and TEGAN HANLON Alaska Dispatch / Anchorage Daily News May 2, 2014 UPDATE 10:30 AM FRIDAY: The Alaska State Troopers say they have taken two men into custody in connection with the shooting deaths of two troopers in Tanana on Thursday. Nathanial Lee Kangas, 19, of Tanana was arrested Thursday for the murders of Sgt. Patrick "Scott" Johnson and Trooper Gabriel "Gabe" Rich, according to a troopers release issued Friday morning. Formal charges are being prepared by the troopers with the help of the...

FAIRBANKS—Two Alaska State Troopers were killed in Tanana today, according to a troopers news release. One person has been detained in association with the killings. The troopers were in the community following up on a report of someone brandishing a firearm the night before. The circumstances surrounding the deaths is unknown. The trooper news release did not indicate whether gunfire was involved. The Alaska Bureau of Investigation is responding to Tanana to investigate. Troopers are in the process of contacting next of kin of the slain troopers. Shots were fired somewhere in town at 3 p.m., according to resident and...

Reader Richard sends this comment: I remember corresponding with you when John McCain tapped her as his choice for nominee for Vice-President. As a former Alaskan, I never saw her as the second coming, but like many people (and – I will quickly add – unlike many others)I found the potential story playing itself out of “Mrs. Palin Goes to Washington” to be very appealing. The person whom I had met a couple of times to spend time with in conversation (Alaska being a one-degree-of-separation state) was engaging, grounded, attentive to others and someone who had clearly and sincerely sought...

Watching the celebration at the NRA convention over the defeat of background checks was the most nauseating experience of the day. I am not a New York gun control liberal, either. I support a shotgun for home defense, a handgun for limited conceal/carry, and an assortment of hunting rifles to balance West Virginia's exploding deer population (as evidenced by hourly collisions with cars). So, I am hardly out of the mainstream. But, the gun safety debate is B.S. This foaming at the mouth, Obamar is coming for the guns, Nanny Bloomberg is a bad billionaire, and most despicable of all,...

In a bizarre op-ed in The Charleston Gazette last week, journalism professor Christopher Swindell argued that the National Rifle Association “advocates armed rebellion against the duly elected government of the United States of America.” Stirring words, to be sure, but Swindell was hardly done — not even close. He also said that the NRA is guilty of “treason” “worthy of the firing squad.” “To support the new NRA president’s agenda of arming the populace for confrontation with the government is bloody treason,” Swindell charged in his wacky essay. After briefly playing the race card and alluding to the Civil War,...