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Jim Palin met both me and calamari for the first time at lunch last month at Evangelo’s, the best Italian restaurant in Wasilla, Alaska. Jim Palin, Todd’s father, has been hunting and fishing in his state for almost 50 years, but somehow he had never crossed paths with a squid, alive or fried. As for reporters from the “lamestream media,” he had met a few, but had never actually sat down to break bread with one before. I had come to lunch hoping to learn a little about Jim’s elusive son, Todd—a figure of enduring fascination who just might, if...

As you all are probably aware by now, the leftist publication known as Wonkette attacked Trig Palin on his birthday. They didn’t stop there… They attacked Governor Palin, Todd Palin, and other members of the family by the end of the day. The “editor” released what he called an “apology,” but anyone with half a brain knows that it wasn’t. We’ll have full coverage tomorrow but for now, the governor sent this message to all of the people who stood up on Twitter today, in defense of the special needs community and basic human decency:

just had an interview with sarah, todd and eric are in 1st or 2nd right now

Current Stats: http://www.irondograce.org/race-tracking/2011-pro-class/ Here's the link for the live-stream. It should come up in less than an hour: http://conservatives4palin.com/2011/02/iron-dog-race-to-the-finishopen-thread.html/comment-page-6#comments Here's the GPS tracking: http://www.ionearth.com/2011/irondog/web/ The race is about to finish, and it looks like Team 11 is in the lead.

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — At about 5:00 I found out that the racers were stopping in Golovin due to life-threatening conditions. Apparently race veteran and one of team members who was first to Nome, Marc McKenna, called race marshal Chris Graeber and told her that they were stopping in Golovin because the trail was impassible, they were all wet, and "Someone's going to die out here," (this is a... fourth-hand quote, but I'd imagine that's the gist of it). According to GPS and a since-deleted Facebook post by an administrator of the Iron Dog page, three teams have decided to go...

ron Dog racers spend countless hours preparing for and riding in the 2,000-mile snowmachine race -- the world's longest. It's also hard on their wives, but for former Alaska Gov. and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin it's part of the routine. "It's stay out of the way," Palin said as her husband Todd Palin and his Iron Dog teammate, Eric Quam, worked on their sleds on a blustery Wednesday night in Nome. "Those who are closest to these guys know what they need to do." (snip) "I think these guys are the toughest men on the planet," Palin said. "Girly...

Live Stream of the Iron Dog Start!Go Team #11! Go First Dude!

Feb 07, 2011 (Anchorage Daily News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- For the first time in race history, the start and finish of the Iron Dog snowmobile race will be televised live across much of Alaska. Anchorage's KTUU-Channel 2 will broadcast the Big Lake start and the Fairbanks finish. It will also send broadcast team to Nome for reports that will air on its newscasts. Nome is the only place racers stop for an extended period during their 2,000-mile journey from Big Lake to Nome to Fairbanks at speeds sometimes exceeding 80 mph The station will also offer...

Looks like the First Dude is off the hook. The Anchorage Police Department blasted the National Enquirer’s recent report that Todd Palin is embroiled in a sex scandal involving an extramarital affair with a massage therapist who belonged to a prostitution ring. "It was just guilt by innuendo, nothing else," Lt. Dave Parker told the Daily News on Wednesday. "There’s not one scintilla of evidence that Todd Palin had anything to do with this." The Enquirer claimed 36-year-old Shailey Tripp was arrested for maintaining a house of prostitution in March and that cops had confiscated physical evidence that could tie...

According to infotainment site TMZ, the Anchorage Police Department has released a statement explaining although they have seized evidence in a massage parlor sting operation, none of the evidence shows any sort of link between a massage therapist named Shailey Tripp and Todd Palin. Not only does the APD statement directly refute allegations made in the tabloid National Enquirer and spread across the internet by leftist and gossip web sites, but the police department also revealed that the Enquirer published their lies without ever bother to contact police officials to verify their misinformation. The website Uncoverage.net finds a curious coincidence...

The House of Palin is crumbling, at least if you're willing to believe the most notorious liars in media, the National Enquirer, who report today that Todd Palin, the famed "First Dude" and father of five, cheated on Sarah Palin, potential presidential hopeful, with a "female massage therapist who was busted for prostitution!" Shailey Tripp, the woman in question, does at the very least exist in Wasilla, Alaska, but beyond that, the tabloid's tip comes from an anonymous email address, thepalinmorals@hotmail.com, who writes: "My sources reveal that a massage therapist and computer technologist, SHAILEY TRIPP, had an affair with Todd...

After Bristol Palin brought 'Dancing With the Stars' unprecedented buzz and ratings, it sounds like the show's producers are dying to go back to the Palin well. This time, they want Bristol's dad. "They want him big time," a source told E! Onlione. "They'd love Sarah, but they don't think that will ever happen, so why not go for the dad." The show is also after another politician's daughter, Meghan McCain, as well. Which would mean, if producers have their way, that family members of the 2008 GOP Presidential ticket would be instead be competing against one another. Weird.

(Graph at link) Conservatives4Palin(C4P) today reported that Gov. Palin’s internet search traffic is six times greater than the traffic for Romney, Gingrich, Huckabee, and Pawlenty. C4P’s story is based on Nate Silver’s “The 800-Pound Mama Grizzly Problem” published last night in the New York Times. The numbers are even more staggering when each candidate’s search traffic is analyzed. Silver wrote: Ms. Palin’s search traffic, since the start of 2010, is roughly 16 times that of Mitt Romney, 14 times that of Newt Gingrich, 38 times that of Mike Huckabee, and 87 times that of Mr. Pawlenty. (It is about six...

South Carolina Gov.-elect Nikki Haley had warm words this morning for Sarah Palin, whose backing was crucial in netting her the Republican primary nomination. But there's one word Haley wouldn't utter about the possible presidential contender: "endorse." Asked on NBC's Today show this morning whether she would back Palin in a potential 2012 presidential bid, Haley demurred. "You know, I think the responsibility to the citizens of South Carolina is that I look at the environment, I look at the slate of candidates that are running, and I make the choice that is best for the people of this state,"...

Burnett was keen to work with Sarah Palin from the moment she burst onto the national political scene in August 2008 and, interestingly enough, he was just one of hundreds who had similar ambitions even after the election when she became, to so many “experts” from the left and the right, an irrelevancy who would soon melt back into the arctic tundra.

"Oh gosh" ... Video Trailer: Sarah Palin's Alaska

Any English teacher will tell you: Typos have consequences. Republican Joe Miller intended to forward an e-mail last month from an irate Todd Palin to a few of his campaign advisers, but the Alaska Senate nominee accidentally plugged in the wrong e-mail address for one of the recipients. As a result, the juicy e-mail message from the state’s former first dude – which hints as his wife’s presidential ambitions – has now been posted for the entire world to see on an Alaska political blog. SNIP On Sept. 19, Todd Palin angrily e-mailed Miller and SarahPAC Treasurer Tim Crawford, berating...

Meeting Mr. Palin By Robert Stacy McCain on 9.3.10 WASILLA, Alaska -- The young lady at the desk of the Dorothy Page Museum and Visitor Center has blue hair -- not the blue-silver of advanced age, but a punk-rock razor-cut style dyed cerulean blue. She is friendly and helpful to out-of-towners who stop by the Main Street museum to ask about the town's most famous resident. Has Sarah Palin become a tourist attraction in Wasilla? "I don't know," says the blue-haired woman. "I guess a lot of people have added it to their itinerary." Rumor is that the Palins are...

The young lady at the desk of the Dorothy Page Museum and Visitor Center has blue hair -- not the blue-silver of advanced age, but a punk-rock razor-cut style dyed cerulean blue. She is friendly and helpful to out-of-towners who stop by to ask about the town's most famous resident. Has Sarah Palin become a tourist attraction in Wasilla? "I don't know," says the blue-haired woman. "I guess a lot of people have added it to their itinerary." Rumor is that the Palins are out of town and hope of an interview seems doomed to disappointment. Then my cell phone...

Traffic to Palingates (along with Mudflats) has absolutely imploded recently. In an effort to boost their traffic, they have produced the following video of Governor Palin and Todd at the Valdez airport. My primary thought is why would a Palin opponent want anyone to see this video? This video shows nearly everyone in the airport approaching Palin for autographs and pictures. They all want to have a conversation with her. And once again, she approached this hack who couldn't even hold a video camera without shaking. I thought the narrative about Palin was that she didn't ever face dissenting viewpoints...