Quote of the Day

"Consider getting a carry permit for protection, and maybe take a friend to a range to enjoy some safe shooting. Self-defense is a God-given right."

~ Sarah Palin, Sweet Freedom (2015, Regnery Press)


The lady knows whereof she speaks.

P.D.S.

Palin Derangement Syndrome remains one of the Left's favorite conditions.

I'm sure you've read or heard that the Palin family was involved in an altercation at a party over the weekend. The syndicated blogger claims that Sarah was yelling, "Don't you know who I am?", Bristol was throwing "mean" right hooks, and Track and Todd both got bloodied.

Sigh ...

Okay; time for some sanity.

Yes, there was an altercation. Track apparently got into a shoving match with a guy who is/was dating Track's former girlfriend.

Bristol is left-handed.

Sarah was warning the guys who ganged up on Track, "Don't you know who he is? He's a veteran!"

Todd jumped in to help Track, who by that time was under a dogpile (where he sustained several cracked ribs). Todd caught a fist or an elbow in the face, bloodying his nose.

You can't believe everything you read, especially when it's about Sarah Palin and/or her family. The Left wants to make sure she can never go back into politics, and they've done a darned good job of smearing her reputation.

A Strong Case of Stoopid: Gun Store FAIL

How Not To Do It Dept:  From the Alaska Dispatch/Anchorage Daily News (now one and the same), there's a cautionary tale about a gun store clerk doing everything wrong, and it's going to bite the store, BIG time.

JUNEAU -- Two days after Jason Coday got his new gun from a Juneau gun shop, he used it to kill -- apparently for no reason -- Simone Kim, a young Anchorage man working as a painting contractor outside Juneau's Fred Meyer store.

...Hoping to get some answers, the Kim family is suing the gun shop where Coday got the gun used in the murder. And it is the intriguing method by which Coday, looking homeless, walked out of Juneau's Rayco Sales with a .22 caliber Ruger rifle that's now at the heart of the case.

Rayco owner Ray Coxe declined comment on the specifics of the case, other than saying he'd done nothing wrong.

What Rayco also didn't do was conduct a federally required background check that's supposed to be done before a firearm can be sold. Coday, with a history of drug abuse and erratic behavior, was a fugitive from the Lower 48 who'd arrived in Alaska not long before the 2006 killing.

"He never would have passed a background check," Choate said.

In court filings and elsewhere, Coxe has said there was no need for a background check because there was no sale. He said he personally showed Coday the Ruger he asked about and discussed its attributes for the "target shooting" Coday said he was interested in doing. It was priced at $195.

Coxe left the gun with Coday and went to the back of the store to do paperwork. Coday had a sleeping bag wrapped in plastic tied around his waist.

When Coxe returned to the counter, Coday and the gun were both gone, but two $100 bills were on the counter. Coxe said the gun had been "stolen" even though he banked the $200 as a sale. Two days later Coday shot Kim.

The stoopid is strong with this one.


* * * * *

Love/Hate Relationship Dept:  Love her or hate her - and there doesn't seem to be a middle ground - Sarah Palin called in to a local radio talk show yesterday. She spent some time bashing the current governor, who just undid her signature legislation with a substantial revision to the oil tax structure.

She praised one of the current crop of candidates for the governor's job, Bill Walker, who responded later with faint thanks. Perhaps he's afraid that her negatives might taint his campaign. Who knows?

Who nose. It'll come to you.

* * * * *

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes Dept: The National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center is predicting a cloudy, wet summer for southcentral Alaska, with possible thunderstorms in the Interior, sparking wildfires.

It's the El Nino thing again. From the article:

Already this year 72 fires have ignited statewide and as of Thursday had burned 145.2 acres. A decade ago, in one of the worst years on record, 6.59 million acres went up in flames statewide. According to Thoman, the 2004 El Nino year was one "we all want to forget."

The last El Nino was in 2009; the Climate Prediction Center claims there is a 65 percent chance of an El Nino developing during summer months.

The summer of 2004 was hot and dry. Clouds? Not so much. What we had that year was smoke from all the wildfires, which obscured visibility here for most of the season. Rain would actually be an improvement, for us.

Time will tell.

* * * * *

One of THOSE Weeks Dept:  Not nearly so bad as Old NFO's (see his blog on the sidebar). Nothing like that, actually.

It's one of those weeks when I've struggled mightily to find anything at all to post. I haven't written anything substantial in some time, either.

But I keep trying. (Some say I'm very trying, but let's leave my mother-in-law out of this). Heh.

* * * * *

That's all I have for now. Y'all have a great Friday and a better weekend, and thanks for stopping by.

Morning Update

You're Never Too Old Dept:  A 78-year-old man - Alaskan mountain-climbing pioneer Tom Choate - has scaled Denali (Mt. McKinley to you Lower 49 folks).

In fact, he'll turn 79 in three months. So what's your excuse?  (insert grin here)

* * * * *

Painstaking Word Dept: The air taxi crash in Soldotna over the weekend, which killed all 10 on board, will be a bit harder for the NTSB folks: there are no witnesses, voice recorder, or black box. Looks like this one will be one of those "put it all back together one piece at a time, and then try to find something wrong" cases.

Another complication: the fire was extensive, and there's not much of the plane left to reconstruct. This could take a while.

* * * * *

You Never Know Dept:  U.S. News & World Report, among others, is reporting that former Gov. Sarah Palin is "mulling over" running for Mark Begich's (D-AK) Senate seat.

That could be interesting, as the leftist press here has gone out of its way to smear her reputation, every chance it gets. Hardly a day goes by when they don't say something snarky about "Our Sarah".

On the other hand, by refusing to talk about her, they've kept her in the public eye. Could it backfire on them? Anything's possible.

* * * * *

Every Picture Tells a Story While Smoke Gets in Your Eyes Dept:  The Daily News has a photo essay on the efforts dealing with Alaska's wildfires, here.

It Must Have Been Monday Today

No energy, little ambition, and endless hours of tedium. Sure, after many decades in the workforce I'm aware that such days happen, but today was lackluster in both style and technical performance. And I didn't land a triple during the entire program.

Well, you know. Heh.

* * * * *

It's warm again today, although the sun is straining to be seen through a high haze. Last time I checked, it was 63 outside. That's pretty warm for mid-May in Anchorage. The guys at AccuHunch have consulted their weather stick and are guessing we'll have sun all week.

* * * * *

The local newspaper-cum-fish wrapper is leading off its website this afternoon with a reposting of McClatchy News' story of the lack of evidence in the Martin/Zimmerman case. I'm not sure if they think this is news to Anchorage residents, or just their latest attempt to appear relevant to ... well, somebody somewhere.

Only not so much.

* * * * *

Speaking of the Daily Fishwrap, they've had yet another epiphany, wherein they discovered that Sarah Palin is a "kingmaker" whose "political clout is underrated." Ya think?

Duh.

This Alaskan's Take on Sarah Palin's Decision

I think she made exactly the right decision.

It's pretty simple: the media hasn't stopped savaging the woman, her politics, and her family since the day following the Republic National Convention in 2008. Whether you agree with her or not, she has suffered a great deal of damage to her reputation.

She has proven that she is an inspirational speaker, and has been working to support conservative candidates.

She's sticking with what is currently working for her, and I support her decision to remain a private citizen.

The BIG News of the Day ... Sort Of

JUNEAU -- The state of Alaska will release thousands of Sarah Palin's emails from her first two years as governor today, a disclosure that has taken on national prominence as she flirts with a run for the presidency. 

The emails were first requested during the 2008 White House race by citizens and news organizations as they vetted a vice presidential nominee whose political experience included less than one term as governor of Alaska and a term as mayor of the small town of Wasilla. The nearly three-year delay has been attributed largely to the sheer volume of the release and the flood of requests.

Read the rest at the link.

If you're among those who want to peruse the e-mails, for whatever reason, go here and read about the volume of documents (24,199 pages), where they will be available later today, and how to access them.

Sheesh. Palin Derangement Syndrome, moving ahead at full throttle.

No Temperature, and Other Surprises

It's zero degrees at my place this morning. The skies are clear, but Accu-Oops and the Weatherguess Service are split on whether it will merely cloud up this afternoon, or throw snow showers at us.

It really doesn't matter. We get some sun this morning, and sunrise keeps getting earlier by about three minutes per day.

Our plans for the day generally don't include the future. Okay, they do, but nothing long-term. After a late breakfast we'll head over to The Dome for a walk, and then ... well, I told you there weren't any long-term plans. Heh.

* * * * *

On a personal note, a few of you have left encouraging remarks about my attempt to write fiction. The first two chapters of The Outside Job are posted here and here. Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think.

* * * * *

A guy who worked with Sarah Palin during the 2008 campaign has been writing a book, and it's supposedly all so hush-hush.  Suddenly, the busybody who moved in next door to the Palins has leaked it to the press. Strangely enough, he's not answering questions about how he got it, or why he released it.

Sure.  Pull the other one; it's got bells on.

So today's Daily Worker (they'd want a link, here) has a couple of pages on the story, and all the sordid details they could glean or recall. Oh! did I mention that the author's co-writers include the so-called blogger who's been spearheading the anti-Palin smear campaign all along?

This is my shocked face. Really.

* * * * *

I suppose I'd better get moving. All y'all have a great day, hear?

Middle of the Week

It's another cloudy day; we seem to be having a lot of those, lately. Temps will be normal (mid-60s), with a possibility of scattered showers. That usually means we'll get nothing at all.

Joated and his wife are currently touring southeast Alaska, and will be here in another couple of days. He's been posting a nicely detailed travelogue, with great pictures, on his site - be a pal & check it out.

Joe Miller's campaign to unseat Republican incumbent Senator Lisa Murkowski is apparently going well. He was in Anchorage last night, along with his buddy, Todd Palin (you remember him). He's been endorsed by Todd & Sarah, and now has the Tea Party Express supporting him. This will be interesting.

Levi "My 15 minutes are SO over" Johnston has apologized to the Palins for all the lies he told about them, last year. No word on whether Ariana Huffington had a similar fit of honesty ... but I'm not holding my breath.

That's all I have time for, this morning. Duty calls.

Palin to Refund Most Monies

from her "legal defense fund" set up while she was Governor of Alaska. According to an article on-line at the Anchorage Daily News:

An independent counsel has determined that former Gov. Sarah Palin's legal defense fund violated state law because it provided a "private financial benefit" to her and her family.

In announcing his findings this afternoon, the independent counsel, Anchorage attorney Tim Petumenos, said Palin agreed to settle the ethics complaint by the trust returning $386,856 donated to the trust before she resigned last year.

~ snip ~

Petumenos found the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee acted in good faith and relied on the advice of lawyers when setting up the fund, and recommended no further sanctions. He said the evidence supports Palin's contention that she did not "knowingly" break state ethics law with the legal defense fund.

In the settlement, signed by Palin, she agrees "to continue to decline to accept funds donated prior to the date of her resignation from the governor's office."

Click to read the whole thing.

Sarah Palin Takes Fox News Commentator Job

The AP is reporting:

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Sarah Palin is taking her conservative message to Fox News. An attorney for the former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate says Palin will provide some type of commentary for the cable network.

Attorney Thomas Van Flein declined to elaborate on the deal.

Palin is hugely popular with conservatives and has more than 1 million Facebook followers.

The Anchorage Daily News adds content:

Palin is expected to provide political commentary and analysis for a number of Fox properties, including Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, FoxNews.com and special event political programming for Fox Broadcasting. That means she'll be on a number of shows, the network said.

~ snip ~

She also will host periodic episodes of the cable news channel's "Real American Stories," a new series the network describes as "exploring inspirational real-life tales of overcoming adversity throughout the American landscape." The series is expected to debut this year. It will be produced from New York, meaning Palin will be spending much of her time on the East Coast.

Conservative Alaskans continue to be amused by watching the left-stream media squirm & contort themselves, as Gov. Palin insists on taking unexpected directions.

Have the progressives ruined her reputation up here? Yes, to be blunt, there is a segment of the population which has completely forgotten why they voted for her, and why she was so popular. They believed the lies, innuendo, and the whimperings of that ineffectual little wimp who nearly married her daughter. Traditional Alaskans still wish she was the governor, and would like to get their hands on the half-dozen progressives from Wasilla who formed the "Get Sarah" club, two years ago.

Will she run for another political office? I don't know, but suspect she's been too badly damaged by the relentless smear campaign. That being said, I have no direct connection to the Palins*.

*In the interest of full disclosure, I have met with Atty. Van Flein on an unrelated matter for my employer, and I know several people who know the Palins. I've never met the Palins themselves.

Heh

U.S. News & World Report: on Sarah Palin

Dan Gilgoff, writer for U.S. News & World Report, wrote an article about Sarah Palin today. Here's an excerpt:

The evangelical movement's eye-popping numbers (new megachurches are opening as mainline churches shrink), cultural power (think The Purpose Driven Life or crossover hits from Christian radio), and political success (George W. Bush, Mike Huckabee, Tim Pawlenty, etc.) makes it easy to forget that evangelical Christianity is very much a countercultural phenomenon.

Even as it adapts to the contemporary American cultural landscape—look at Rick Warren's Hawaiian shirts or the number of megachurches that now boast coffee shops—the American evangelical movement nonetheless defines itself as separate from the rest of the country.

"Religions that grow are the ones that are hard-core in some way—they have something that differs sharply from the culture in which they operate," Stephen Prothero, a religion professor at Boston University, told me recently. "That's the problem with mainline Protestantism: It's not different enough from mainstream America. Evangelicals have been able to pitch themselves as the alternative to mainstream culture."

Does this remind of you of someone?

During last year's campaign, the Republican vice presidential nominee

portrayed herself as fighting not only the liberal media elite but the McCain campaign itself and the broader GOP establishment.

Palin has reportedly modeled her leadership on the biblical Queen Esther, who pulled off a long-shot gambit to save the Jews from an oppressive king. When she stepped down as Alaska's governor this year, Palin quoted Esther directly in reference to her own political future: "If I die, I die."

Palin's much anticipated memoir, to be released next month, is poised to solidify her appeal to the embattled evangelical psyche. Just look at the title: Going Rogue. With the book already in the No. 1 slot on Amazon, the pitch seems to be resonating.

There's a reason for that. Sarah's appeal isn't just because she's "one of us", although that's certainly true.

I believe Sarah's appeal is more easily explained: she has that "something that differs sharply from the culture". She stands for rock-solid principles which have made this country great, and which the leftists/statists/marxists/progressives (did I leave anyone out?) can't figure out.

She resonates with people who loved Ronald Reagan, again for cause: she believes those things, and won't waiver on them. President Reagan once said, "A political party cannot be all things to all people. It must represent certain fundamental beliefs which must not be compromised to political expediency, or simply to swell numbers. This is the very basis of conservatism."

The "progressives" and the formerly-mainstream media - now on the ragged edge of the fringe - will never understand her, nor grasp why she's so popular. They'll put up with almost anything, except conservatives and Christians.

Like the rapidly-growing churches, Sarah Palin stands for something. She is a hard-core traditional conservative who won't accept anything less.

We shouldn't have to, either.

(cross-posted at ThePalination)

Attention, Palin Fans

Regardless of how the story is reported, under-reported, misquoted, or ignored by the Left-stream Fringe Media, here's what happened in Hong Kong.

Sarah Palin knocked it out of the park, and no less than the New York Times (yes, them) declared her a viable candidate for President in 2012.

Wow.

Go see for yourself.

Tuesday Morning

Good morning. It's 40 degrees, and AccuHunch guesses we'll get up to 58 today, with partly cloudy skies. I suppose I'm getting into a winter-time frame of mind: any day with any sunshine is a good one. But that's a negative mindset, considering that most of the leaves have yet to fall, and in fact haven't all turned yellow, yet. I don't see much brown, either, so we're still another week - or one good windstorm - away from falling leaves.

* * * * *

In Your Face Dept.: It's worth noting that Sarah Palin's oh-so-controversial predator control program is proving itself to work. With absolutely no apology to the remaining Elite Liberal Media (or at least the ones that haven't gone bankrupt yet), it seems there has been a 50 percent increase in the moose and caribou herds since she decided to allow wolf hunting. You can read the rest, here.

You may recall that one of the animal rights outfits ran anti-Palin ads during last year's presidential campaign, decrying her inhumane attitude toward those poor, misunderstood wolves. They'd want me to mention who they are.

* * * * *

A recent editorial in the Daily Worker News opined that the Municipality should dip into funds set aside for marketing Anchorage as a tourist destination, due to budget shortfalls. This seems unusually short-sighted, even for the Noise.

The money spent on trolling for tourists results in tens of millions of dollars pouring into the local economy, including that which trickles into the city's coffers via the hotel bed tax, and inventory taxes on the tourism-based businesses.

Advertise less = fewer tourists.
Fewer tourists = fewer dollars.

Apparently Journalism 101 didn't include basic economics. Tsk, tsk, children; didn't your mothers tell you to think before you put words on that computer screen?

* * * * *

Ain't Technology Wonderful Dept.: It's wonderful to see all the familiar "followers'" faces & icons when I visit my home page. Except when it's not working, like for most of Monday.

I also notice that the dashboard tells me, about one visit out of five, that I'm not following any blogs. Except, you know, for all the ones I do. But that's nit-picking, eh?

* * * * *

Money Grows on Trees Dept.: I see that the Anchorage School Board - you know, the one that's always just moments away from insolvency - has voted to add 30 teachers and 23 staffers for a larger-than-expected enrollment. I wonder if anyone will question where they found the money. I know that some of it will be offset by additional funds paid to the district by the State and/or Federales.

I fully expect the Superintendent to appear on local TV before the year is out, expressing her bewilderment at how short of funds they are, and threatening all sorts of dire program closures if people don't pony up more dough.

The first time I saw her do such a thing, it was the same day that then-Governor Murkowski announced he was sending her district an additional $40 Million. The. Same. Day.

Pathetic crisis-of-the-week mentality. And all the while, test scores keep dropping, and rarely is there an improvement in the graduation rate.

* * * * *

That's enough local news for one morning. I need to go wash my brain out with some quiet music.

Have a great day, folks! Thanks for stopping by.

Thursday Afternoon, 9/10

Good afternoon!

We started at 47 degrees this morning, and haven't climbed very far. It's up to 56 now, and isn't supposed to go much higher. Cloudy, with yellowing leaves adding the only splashes of color to an otherwise grey day.

* * * * *

The hopeful-romantic-never-say-die Dept.: Yet another Dimocrat has announced he plans to run against Rep. Don Young (R-AK) in 2010. The guy ran as an independent for governor, against Mayor Sarah Palin and former governor Tony Knowles. We know who won, but what you Outside folks won't know is how the independent candidate did. There's a reason they call him Mr. 9%. And he thinks he can knock off the guy who has been our only Representative since the early 1970s.

P.T. Barnum was an optimist.

* * * * *

There-must-be-something-in-the-water Dept.: It's not uncommon, in any multi-story, multiple-tenant buildings for customers to get lost, or at least turned around. This morning's winner, however, is the gal who entered the coffee shop and asked, "But where do I get my tooth pulled?"

The dentist's office, with the same suite number, is across the road in another building.

To the barista's credit, she offered to pull the tooth, as long as the lady didn't mind "regular pliers followed by a triple shot of espresso." The offer was refused; it seems you can't please everyone.

I also had an unusually large number of people stopping by my office, looking for someone else (The story of my life!) and usually on a different floor. Maybe there really is something in the water.

* * * * *

Try-try-again Dept.: We've been trying to have the grade of our parking lot changed, meaning we have to pour a new layer of asphalt 3.5" thick on the low side, and taper it down to nothing on the high side. This is to cause the water which forms a rather large and dangerous skating-rink in the winter, to flow in the direction in which it was originally designed to go.

Last weekend, we had three days of blue, sunny skies - and because it was a holiday weekend, the asphalt plant was closed. This week, it looks iffy, but there's no rain in the forecast for Friday evening/night, and Saturday looks mostly dry.

This is significant ("It is?", you ask) only because we're down to the last four weeks of operation for the asphalt plant, before it closes for the winter. And winter, of course, is the enemy in this case.

* * * * *

What-goes-around-comes-around Dept.: The woman who filed a series of ethical complaints against Governor Sarah Palin was denied - again - on her latest attempt to appeal a previous denial. The review board told her they perceive that she has a "personal vendetta" against Mrs. Palin, and has cost the State quite enough money already. The woman took umbrage, and got mouthy (judging by the newspaper report for the whole story).

She accused a member of the board of being part of the "culture of corruption." Things went downhill from there, as you can imagine. The accused member is threatening now to file a complaint against the woman. It seems he got riled up, and also said he may sue her.

It seems only fair.

"Palinettes" Lead Republican Revival

In a copyright story in the Times Online, they report that "conservative women" whom some wag has termed "Palinettes" are appearing as possible candidates for political positions across the country.

You can go to the link and read the whole thing, then come back. I have an issue with something they say:

"Meet the Palinettes, a new generation of clever conservative women who are emerging as some of their party’s most effective critics of Democratic rule. Like Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor who has become a conservative icon, they combine shrewd political instincts with eye-catching personal histories.

"Unlike Palin, most of them are carving out a moderate political path that Republican officials hope will help the party to compete for the middle-of-the-road voters [emphasis added] whom it lost in droves to Obama last year."

My problem? They Just Don't Get It.

Sarah Palin kicked open the door. True enough. And I'm happy to see women expressing conservative values getting involved in politics at all levels. But Sarah didn't make the HUGE splash that she achieved by appealing to moderate voters.

Gov. Palin is a conservative first, and a Republican second. She's not trying to resurrect the Republican party per se, except insofar as it's the best current candidate for a party that at least used to represent what she is.

If there were an Independent Party of widespread, national presence, I have no doubt that she would be front-and-center there, cheering on those want to take this country back from the liberal-slash-progressives who are trying to destroy it ... and us.

Don't be fooled by cheap imitations. If there is a conservative candidate running where you live, then by all means support her or him. Don't be concerned about party affiliation.

Actions speak louder than words, and conservative candidates don't lose sleep worrying about how to attract "moderate" voters. Any conservative worthy of the name will know better. You don't chase them ...

... you make the conservative idea so appealing that they come to us. Ronald Reagan (aka Ronaldus Magnus) did it, and so should we.

Why Alaska Is a Mystery to Liberals

Over at ThePalination.com (a blog to which I occasionally contribute, although most of my contributions have been technical in nature), "gamsbo" has reposted an excellent 2008 article about Alaska and Sarah Palin.

It explains much, including why the East Coast illiterati have decided that Sarah Must Be Stopped.

Here's an excerpt:

"The frontier — the possibility of packing up and moving on to make your own life as you wish to live it — was enormously important, and generations of American historians have recognized its significance. Indeed, the great Frederick Jackson Turner pondered with profound alarm the significance of the closing of the frontier in the 1890s. He feared American democracy would not survive the results of the most recent census, that showed there was no longer a vast expanse of virgin land.

[...]

"For the first time in memory, we have a major candidate who comes from the frontier, and it’s not surprising that the pundits are having a hard time coming to grips with this phenomenon. For Sarah Palin’s world is not defined by the major media or by the glossy magazines; she hunts and fishes, she’s unabashedly patriotic, her son is in the Army, her husband races across the snow. Unlike the other three candidates, she is not a member of the World’s Greatest Deliberative Body. When she talks about shattering the glass ceiling, she actually means it; it is not a mask for yet another ideological program. Some of her supporters sense this when they call her “authentic.” It’s the wrong word, however; Barack Obama is an authentic radical, for example. Palin is a frontierswoman. Her state capital, Juneau, cannot be reached on the highways of Alaska. If you want to get there, you must either fly or sail. And for much of the year, sailing isn’t smart. No subways in Juneau, but lots of bars. The main bookstore caters mostly to the tourist trade, with a small selection of used paperbacks and a few recent best sellers.

"It’s not so much authenticity as independence, and self-reliance, which have always been the basic characteristics of frontier people. They think for themselves. They have to think outside the box, because there’s no available box for them to think in. If they accepted the conventional wisdom they wouldn’t be on the frontier, they’d be in some city and they’d brag about their degrees from the failed institutions of higher education. They’re not big on “conflict resolution,” they prefer zero-sum games. If you go up against a grizzly, you’re poorly advised to look for a win-win solution.

"She comes from a world that’s almost totally unknown to the pundits, which is why so much of the commentary has been unhelpful."

Read the whole thing, as they say, here.

Quote of the Day & Other Things

"It only stands to reason that where there's sacrifice, there's someone collecting the sacrificial offerings. Where there's service, there is someone being served. The man who speaks to you of sacrifice is speaking of slaves and masters, and intends to be the master."

~ Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

* * * * *

It's another rainy, foggy morning, with a temp of 50 degrees. It will keep the wildfires away from here, which is good. The fires in the Interior are still expanding, unfortunately, and many homes are now threatened. Fire officials have called for the voluntary evacuation of a small town to the east.

The new Attorney General is calling for "sweeping changes" to the ethics laws, in the aftermath of the frivolous complaint debacle surrounding Governor Palin. He proposes putting the cost of "bad faith" complaints on the people who bring them and wants to ban abusers of the system from filing any more complaints. It's about flippin' time. You can read about it here.

It's fun watching the Palin-hating "Alaska mafia" scurry, now that they've been outed on video, with faces & names exposed for all to see. You want to see? Go here.

Thanks for stopping by.

Rainy Afternoon Digest

* I don't know when it started raining, but we have a steady drizzle, with 65 degrees. It's the type of steady drip that would put me right to sleep, if I were to close my eyes or sit still for a few minutes.

* Here's the story of the "Alaska Mafia" which conspired behind the scenes to harass Sarah Palin. There's a video where those folks are "hoist by their own petard", or in this case, by their own words. The see the article & video here.

* There's yet another wildfire in the Fairbanks area, where they've just concluded the driest July on record. You can read the details here.

* There's an opinion piece in the Daily Noise wherein the writer acknowledges that "Some of Palin's influence has helped." How big of them to notice that Sarah Palin is currently the most famous Alaskan of all, and has a wonderful opportunity - along with a national stage, so to speak - to discuss Alaskan issues like oil and energy. Drill Baby Drill, anyone? The piece includes the following paragraph:

As for Palin's legacy, that remains to be seen beyond her celebrity -- the most famous Alaskan, ever. But one woman I overheard in Fairbanks did point out a concrete Palin achievement we all can celebrate. "Thanks to Sarah, when I order stuff over the phone from Outside, the sales clerks no longer say, 'Sorry, we don't ship to foreign countries.'"

Unfortunately, there are a lot, and I mean a LOT of U.S. companies that won't ship to Alaska, for various reasons - including the notion cited above.

* MoBro, my sometimes co-author here, is really excited about being here next week. I'll be taking him to see all my favorite sights, including at least one long drive up into the mountains. It's always fun to show off my part of Alaska to friends and family. I'm also available to provide info, suggestions, and/or directions for anyone from the Lower 48 who might be planning to visit.

We're trying take-out from Chili's for supper. The last time my wife & I visited a Chili's restaurant - in Creve Coeur, Missouri (a suburb of St. Louis) - the food was uniformly without taste. We're told that it's better here, so we'll give it a shot.

Have a great evening, folks; thanks for stopping by.