Free Republic

18 states allow for recall votes on US Senators. The 18 states allowing for recall are as follows: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin. The Senate oath of office is: I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well...

Over the past few days, Arnold Schwarzenegger has been in Copenhagen making the bizarre claim to anyone who will listen that his job destroying environmental regulations are somehow good for the economy. He also made the even more off the wall assertion that America's economy would be stronger if only the entire country followed California's lead in this area, and that Governor Palin's common sense skepticism to the man-made global warming religion was somehow wrong. All of these musings by the Governator were forthcoming despite the fact that foisting his regulations on California's economy have chased businesses and the jobs...

Leadership: Alaska's ex-governor asks a question we'd like answered: Why is California's current governor pushing the same policies in Copenhagen that helped drive his state into record deficits and unemployment? The movie series that made Arnold Schwarzenegger a household name involved cyborgs traveling through time to alternately try to destroy or save one John Connor, who would grow up to be the leader of the resistance against a race of machines that ruled the planet. Prominent in the series was his tough cookie of a mom, Sarah Connor. Another Sarah has taken the lead in another resistance against another group...

I'd like to thank Eugene Robinson for highlighting Alaska's achievements on climate change ["Palin's own 'Climate- gate,' " op-ed, Dec. 15] and for noting that I've "treated the issue as serious, complex, and worthy of urgent attention," while making "any number of pragmatic, reasonable, smart decisions as governor." But he's wrong to suggest that my views have somehow changed or that now I'll have to "renounce" my past efforts. Continues....

Global Warming: The Alaskan governor who knew polar bears weren't endangered says the planet isn't either and challenges the oracle of climate change. Al Gore says despite the CRU e-mails, the situation is of the utmost gravity. In a Dec. 9 Washington Post op-ed, Sarah Palin noted that the Climate-gate e-mails from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia "reveal that leading climate 'experts' deliberately destroyed records, manipulated data to 'hide the decline' in global temperatures and tried to silence their critics from publishing in peer-reviewed journals." This did not sit well with Gore. "The entire North...

Anchorage resident Lisa Moore says she traded sex with then-Veco boss Bill Allen in 1996 for an apartment, money and jewelry. He was 59; she was 19. She also says she introduced him to a 15-year-old girl who became his sex partner.

This book tour has been an amazing and inspirational experience for me and my family as we crisscrossed the country and met so many wonderful Americans. At nearly every stop we met someone with a connection to Alaska – usually through the military from being stationed at one of Alaska’s bases. With that in mind, we’ve decided to hold the final book signings at Alaska's Elmendorf and Eielson AFBs. Hope to see you there! - Sarah Palin

Obama is so transparent, petty and small, he is an embarrassment. O's latest Chicago way payback? He has nominated Larry Persily, who writes hit pieces on Palin for the Puff Ho, got that? Obama defines the hatred of the good for being the good. You go Sarah. W'vee got your back. Obama nominates former Palin aide to pipeline job [note lefturd Reuters headline -- as if he was part of her camp /not] WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama nominated Larry Persily, a former aide to ex-Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, on Wednesday to be federal coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas...

A male student at Service High School was taken into custody shortly before 1 p.m. today after a female student was found stabbed several times at around noon. She was taken to a hospital in critical condition, police said.

The Iditarod plans to test mushers for drugs and alcohol in March, a change many mushers have no problem with -- but one that three-time champion Lance Mackey scoffs at. "I think it's a little bit ridiculous," Mackey said Wednesday night from his home near Fairbanks after a training run. "It is a dog race, not a human race. It (using a drug) doesn't affect the outcome of the race." Mackey, a throat cancer survivor who has a medical marijuana card, admits to using marijuana on the trail and thinks his success has made some of his competitors jealous. "It...

Winds as high as 125 mph toppled a 110-foot gantry crane at a shipping facility in Dutch Harbor. A spokesman for American President Lines Ltd. says no people or other structures were damaged when the crane fell at 8:45 p.m. Friday evening.

When President Obama spoke to troops at Alaska's Elmendorf Air Force Base last month, the unit there parked a shiny new F-22 fighter plane in the hangar. But according to multiple sources, White House aides demanded the plane be changed to an older F-15 fighter because they didn't want Obama speaking in front of the F-22, a controversial program he fought hard to end. "White House aides actually made them remove the F-22-said they would not allow POTUS to be pictured with the F-22 in any way, shape, or form," one source close to the unit relayed. Stephen Lee, a...

A family that planned to spend winter in a woodstove-heated wall tent ...near Talkeetna with a dozen dogs gave up over the weekend, a few days after the mother was evacuated with severely frostbitten hands. The father and a teenager walked 7 miles out to civilization on Saturday, the son also suffering from frostbite. Then, authorities had to mount another difficult operation to rescue a dozen dogs ...

Some people in the Lower 48 might be saying," what is with you people up in Alaska?" You might be wondering why people in our State would kick Sarah Palin around like she's the enemy? Also, you must think some of us are crazy to file 20 Ethics complaints on our former Governor that were all dismissed? If you ask me, these people who filed the complaints are crazy! Prior to Sarah running with McCain, her popularity in Alaska had peaked at about 92%. Sarah had bi-partisan support on Oil and Gas legislation; she signed into law new ethics laws....

NEW YORK – "Going Rogue" has sold a million copies. HarperCollins spokeswoman Tina Andreadis said Tuesday that just two weeks after publication, Sarah Palin's memoir has sold 1 million copies. The print run for "Going Rogue" has been increased again, to 2.8 million copies. The original printing was 1.5 million, then moved up to 2.5 million.

Our friend and colleague Thomas Lamb reports on the S1P1 Virus, also know as Palin Derangement Syndrome (PDS), a nasty strain which infects those with unhealthy Palin obsessions. The dread disease incubated in Alaska and spread to the lower 48, carried by nutroots bloggers and media elites. Tom begins by describing the symptoms of S1P1: "There is a 'Euphoric cadence' (it has a catchy sound to it) in speech patterns when it comes to talking about Sarah Palin’s son Trig, her family or the father to Palin’s grandsons, Levi Johnston." "Thus the PDS patient has repeated illusions of Trig not...

A group calling itself Alaska Wild Salmon Protection, Inc. recently ran full-page advertisements (see above) in Politico against development of the Pebble Mine in Southwest Alaska. The Pebble deposit is one of the largest finds in America, believed to contain 72 billion pounds of copper and 94 million ounces of gold, among other minerals. Alaska Wild Salmon Protection's advertisement was filled with distortions, but more on that later. I wanted to learn more about the group, so I went to check out its website. It didn't have one.* Odd, I thought, for an environmental group leading local opposition to the...

I am going to start off with saying you can judge a man’s character by his past and the friends he keeps or kept. And when you look at both Senator Begich’s past and who his friends were, no one should be surprised with the new revelations on Anchorage’s budget deficit and how then Mayor Begich left out some important information when it came to signing union contracts that cost Anchorage taxpayers more money. When Begich ran against Ted Stevens for the U.S. Senate seat, Begich saw an opportunity because Senator Stevens was under investigation for not properly filing campaign...

Former Gov. Sarah Palin's book, "Going Rogue," blames her first legislative director for moves early in her term that helped poison her relationship with state lawmakers. But the ex-aide, John Bitney, calls Palin's account a fabrication and said he wishes his former boss would leave him alone. "I'm just pilloried right and left and turned into the big bad wolf here for stuff I didn't do," said Bitney, who is now an aide to Valdez Republican Rep. John Harris. "It's like I'm this fictional character that she's decided to make me out to be this sort of incompetent slob." Palin's...

Fort Wayne, Ind. -- Sarah Palin got her start in the public eye at Channel 2 Sports. John Carpenter joined her on her book tour last week and conducted an interview where he asked questions about what it's like on tour, her take on Alaskan issues and her future plans. Here is Part 1 of the interview: Channel 2 News: Thank you very much for taking the time out of your very busy schedule to talk with us. Sarah Palin: I'm so happy to see you, to see this touch from Alaska. Thank you, John. Channel 2 News: So, first...

They say politics is local but the reality is; it is local, but many times Outside influences come into play on local matters and those influences were best displayed when Sarah Palin was chosen to be Senator John McCain’s running mate. Alaska for the most part, was viewed by many people in the Lower 48 as a place that was cold, was completely dark in the winter, people lived in Igloos and English was a second language. It wasn’t until Sarah Palin was chosen as the Vice Presidential candidate that people in the Lower 48, through the lens of the...

The last 45 of my 66 years I’ve spent in a commercial fishing town in Alaska. I understand Alaska politics but never understood national politics well until this last year. Here’s the breaking point: Neither side of the Palin controversy gets it…It’s not about persona, style, rhetoric, it’s about doing things. Even Palin supporters never mention the things that I’m about to mention here. 1- Democrats forget when Palin was the Darling of the Democrats, because as soon as Palin took the Governor’s office away from a fellow Republican and tough SOB, Frank Murkowski, she tore into the Republican’s “Corrupt...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Wide-eyed children around the world will be hearing from Santa's "elves" at the North Pole after all. During Christmas seasons for decades, these dedicated elves responded to thousands of letters addressed to "Santa Claus, North Pole." All that was ending with a U.S. Postal Service decision to discontinue the program based in the small Alaskan town amid privacy concerns. The elves from Santa's Mailbag vowed to fight the decision, while North Pole residents voiced outrage. A reversal of the Postal Service move was announced Friday. "We never wanted to spoil people's Christmas," said agency spokesman Ernie...

RESCUE: Snowmachiners come to aid of passengers, including infant twins. Without a word, with the plane at 4,500 feet, pilot Bradley Amos tapped something on the instrument panel. Seven passengers -- including twin 8-month-old girls -- were in the cabin. Soon came a loud popping sound. The plane's single propeller suddenly stopped turning and the smell of engine smoke filtered past the seats. The Cessna 207 glided without power above the tundra in Southwest Alaska. That was the low point of the Wednesday night flight. Here's the highlight: Within what felt like two minutes, the plane was on the ground....

The mayor of North Pole, Alaska is calling a recent postal service decision an assault on Christmas. For years, the U.S. Postal Service has delivered thousands of letters to Santa Claus in North Pole, Alaska. Now, in the interest of efficiency and security, the post office has changed its policy. It will no longer deliver letters to Santa here, and requests for a North Pole postmark will be filled through its Anchorage office. The decision has angered many residents, most notably the owner of the area’s primary attraction, the Santa Claus house.

While record low temperatures were recorded elsewhere in Interior Alaska, Fairbanks has been an island of relative warmth. That could end tonight or Friday as the low clouds and flurries that have blanketed the area move out, according to the National Weather Service. Lows could drop to 35 below zero Friday night, according to Allura Weimer, hydrological meteorological technician at the National Weather Service. Normal temperatures range from 9 above to 9 below zero. The record low for Thursday is 33 below zero, set in 1969.

Trying to rain on Jolly St.Nick? The United States Post Office will not be forwarding letters to Santa at the North Pole this year. Other programs and private efforts go on, but some are questioning why the USPS is unwilling to forward letters to the North Poll where volunteers – not employees – respond to the kids with letters including sought-after North Pole postmarks on the letter.

Starry eyed children around the world are writing letters to the jolly man at the North Pole, but this holiday season they'll not likely to get a response from Santa or his helpers. The U.S. Postal Service is dropping a popular effort begun in 1954 in the small town of North Pole, in Alaska's interior, where volunteers tackle up to 150,000 letters addressed to Santa. Postal Service officials cite privacy concerns loomed last winter when a postal worker in Maryland recognized a volunteer in the agency's Operation Santa program as a registered sex offender. The postal worker interceded before the...

WASILLA -- The story of Yukon Don Tanner and the four bears has a happy ending -- for Tanner, at least. A judge last week dismissed all wildlife charges filed against the well-known 59-year-old Talkeetna man who tells a wild story about the family of marauding grizzlies that visited his remote cabin north of Talkeetna last July. State prosecutors agreed to the dismissal, even though the wildlife authorities involved say they still don't quite believe Tanner's story. Here's the short version: Tanner shot a sow and her three male cubs in the space of a few minutes around 4 a.m....

You know the episodes of 30 Rock in which Liz Lemon, played by wicked Sarah-Palin impersonator Tina Fey, decides whether women's boyfriend troubles are deal-breakers? "Yes! I saw that the other day. It was hilarious," says none other than Palin herself. The former Alaska governor and VP candidate sat down with PEOPLE on Nov. 14 to answer some reader questions – such as that from Samantha Harris, of Boca Raton, Fla., who wrote that the man she's dating "doesn't believe in politics because it doesn't affect him. Do you think this is a deal-breaker?" Answered Palin, "The deal-breaker is that...

Why all the gang up on the new Sarah Palin book? Three video clips to peruse for you this morning. The Sunday talk shows were abuzz with Palin talk on the eve (no pun intended) of the release of the former Alaskan Governor’s new book, “Going Rogue”. Normally I would not post on this. BUT, what I found interesting is how the battle lines were drawn. The men, even the sol called conservatives dismissed Palin as a non factor in 2012 … and that my friends kinda ticked off the women … even the liberal women. First the sound bite...

It is stunning to read and hear about this “coin controversy.” At a recent speech in Milwaukee I discussed the troubling fact that we too often move God to the side in our public life, and gave as an example the shift of the words “In God We Trust” to the edge of the dollar coin. My comments were not about this President or this Congress – this change predated them. I was merely making a point about a disturbing trend in our country, after which I moved on to discuss some encouraging trends. People who try to read more...

Love dogs? Pristine Alaska wilderness? Then you’ll be pleased to learn that the lone federal dog-mushing job is open. The position at Denali National Park pays up to $66,542 (plus cost-of-living adjustment), but it’s not all easy sledding. The kennel manager is in charge of 31 dogs, and all the shots, poop and bureaucracy-mandated paperwork that comes with them. It’s “a great job,” the outgoing musher tells the Anchorage Daily News. “There’s really nothing that quite compares to being out on the trail in the middle of winter. It’s beautiful, it’s completely silent.” Karen Fortier says helping out researchers is...

Bush pilots know that wildlife can be a hazard to your health. Aircraft have collided with giraffes and other large animals on various remote African airstrips, and there are numerous stories of downed pilots being hassled by predators after making forced landings out in the boonies. Lion and hyena are also know to be partial to certain aircraft components, tyres being a documented favourite of the big cats. My father was once left with the (hefty) bill after a gang of hyenas chewed his wingtip navigation lights and strobes (both wings) and then did a runner after dinner. These pictures...

Scattered across the beaches of Southeast Alaska, and indeed along the entire Northwest Pacific coast from Kodiak to the Columbia River, are intensely staring eyes, totemic animals and geometric patterns carved into boulders and bedrock. These mysterious petroglyphs, carvings in stone, raise questions that have perplexed archeologists and casual observers for well over a century. Most of those questions remain unanswered and may ultimately be unanswerable. Perhaps because of these mysteries, petroglyphs arouse fascination in anyone fortunate enough to see them, particularly if they are still embedded in their original location. Questions about petroglyphs-their age, purpose, makers and method of...

<p>ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Suspected swine flu is sweeping a traditional Eskimo whaling village on a remote Alaska island — prompting an urgent medical mission to deliver help.</p> <p>"Diomede is probably the most isolated place in the United States right now," said David Head, a doctor involved in the effort. "We thought it would be better to go out there and just vaccinate people."</p>

When it comes to energy, first and foremost in importance is; our national security. And what I mean by national security is; the energy security of the United States as a whole. You have heard the urgent call to “drill baby drill” with our need to become less dependent on foreign countries for our energy needs. And while it may seem that Alaska has moved ahead on finally achieving a plan to build a natural gas pipeline to the lower 48, foreign countries like Russia are moving in on the U.S. market and they are taking a big chunk of...

A senior Coast Guard official removed earlier this year from his command position in Alaska is facing a long string of charges within the agency, including sodomy, indecent acts and conduct unbecoming an officer and gentleman. The U.S. Coast Guard filed 31 violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice against Capt. Herbert Hamilton. It did not provide details of the alleged offenses, which also include fraud, adultery, indecent language and soliciting another to commit an offense.

FAIRBANKS — An 81-year-old man was Tasered during a traffic stop last week. It is the second time since 1998 that police have had to make a show of force during a traffic stop to arrest Glen M. Wilcox, a Fairbanks-based Episcopalian priest and real estate agent. Court documents allege that officers with Eielson Air Force Base’s 354th Security Forces Squadron pulled Wilcox over just after 1 p.m. Wednesday for going 11 miles over the speed limit on the Richardson Highway. An officer, identified as a senior airman in court documents, took Wilcox’s license, registration and proof of insurance and...

Bill Allen, the central figure in Alaska's public corruption scandal, was sentenced this morning to three years in prison fined $750,000. U.S. District Judege John Sedwick acknowledged Allen's cooperation with the long-running federal investigation. Allen pleaded guilty to bribery, conspiracy and tax violations more than two years ago and since then has been a key witness in a string of high-profile corruption trials.

Ecology: The administration creates the mother of all protected habitats for a species whose numbers have increased since Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth." It's our hopes for energy independence that are drowning. When filmmaker Phelim McAleer, whose documentary "Not Evil Just Wrong" takes apart the myths of global warming, got to ask Gore a question at the annual conference of the Society of Environmental Journalists, McAleer brought up the nine critical errors in Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth." A British court two years ago listed them and said they must be righted before the film could be shown in schools...

Alaskans await progress on Palin pipeline plan By DAN JOLING, Associated Press Writer 1 hr 9 mins ago ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Sarah Palin hit the vice presidential campaign trail last year and touted what Alaska could provide for the rest of America — a natural gas pipeline to help lead the country to energy independence. When a pipeline might be built remains a giant question for Alaskans who need the project to support a vulnerable economy and for the Lower 48 states that need the gas, and a petroleum economist who spent more than 25 years in the Alaska Department...

Belief in the myth of Global Warming has dropped 20 points in the last 3 years according to polling done by the Pew Research Center. Obama has followed this up by opening a polar bear habitat in Alaska, which will make drilling for oil and natural gas there much more difficult. ...

We are living in a new America these days, an America that has been fundamentally changed from the exceptional Republic that has been entrusted to us down through the generations. This gift is paid for again and again, with our people's sacrifice in suffering, deprivation, expensive treasure, and dearest blood.

I guess I've reached that point in my life where you begin to think honestly about retirement. Not happy with the current state of politics and not happy with the politics of my current home state, its gun laws, the criminal injustice system et al... I'm looking for a new home. Fortunately its just me, no wife, no kids just me. What are the opinions of Alaska? I like the landscape, I love winter, wilderness and the outdoors. I am talking with some small charter operators who own and operate small planes for a part time slot. I've been there...

In March 1867, U.S. Secretary of State William Seward negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia for two cents an acre. On October 18 of that year, authority over the territory of Alaska officially transferred to the United States when the American flag flew over Fort Sitka for the first time. Alaskans have celebrated “Alaska Day” on October 18 ever since. Though the purchase was derided at the time as “Seward’s Folly,” Seward was a visionary, and history has proven that his purchase of Alaska from Russia was never folly. Alaska has contributed greatly to the United States through our...

Some Russians rethink Alaska sale142 years later, sale still a sore spot in Russian history, fuels nationalist rhetoric By Pat Forgey | JUNEAU EMPIRE Is Russia having a case of seller's remorse for letting Alaska go for a pittance? And if so, why did it take so long? It was today in 1867 that Russia formally let Alaska go, peddling its Russian America territory to the underdeveloped United States for $7.2 million to ensure that its rival European power, Great Britain, didn't get it. Now, some Russian nationalists are talking of a return of Alaska to Russia, and blaming corruption...

Given that we’re spending billions of stimulus dollars to rebuild our highways, it makes sense to think about what we’ll be driving on them. For years to come, most of what we drive will be powered, at least in part, by diesel fuel or gasoline. To fuel that driving, we need access to oil. The less use we make of our own reserves, the more we will have to import, which leads to a number of harmful consequences. That means we need to drill here and drill now. We rely on petroleum for much more than just powering our vehicles:...

An Army aircraft made a gear-up landing on an Elmendorf airstrip Tuesday, though no injuries were reported. The Cessna Citation-560 aircraft was scheduled to land on the main strip and radioed ahead it was having mechanical problems with its gear, Air Force spokesman Master Sgt. Mikal Canfield said.

This site will always support and honor our men and women in the military and express gratitude to those who serve, both past and present, those living and those who have past. To the brave who have survived and to the ones who have given life and limb in defense of this country. To feel differently would be to ignore and belittle those who are the backbone of our freedom. Yet, sadly, this is exactly what our President, Barack Obama has done to those members of the WWII era, Alaskan Territorial Guard. (ATG) As incredible and insensitive as this sounds,...