Free Republic

So what say we conduct the experiment that could – and I emphasize could here – finally settle the question once and for all. Let’s just nominate somebody who has welded on all three legs of the stool and leaves not a sliver of daylight for the squishiness question. A nominee who will state without ambiguity that we’re going to bomb the crap out of anyone who is actively working against our interests. One who flatly proclaims that there will be no abortions for anyone and new Supreme Court justices will be inclined to overturn Roe v Wade. They will...

Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell’s open-ANWR strategy isn’t working, at least not so far. The Obama administration has again turned back a Parnell proposal to conduct exploratory activity on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Republican governor had submitted, on July 9, an application to the Interior Department for a “special use permit” allowing the state to conduct 3-D seismic surveys across the coastal plain from 2014 to 2017. On July 26, the governor’s office released a July 23 rejection letter from Geoffrey Haskett, Alaska regional director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages ANWR....

Key lawmakers told Puerto Rico's governor on Thursday that it's time for the island to choose between statehood and independence. Gov. Alejandro García Padilla has been fighting to retain the island's status as a U.S. territory without voting rights, arguing that it provides the economically troubled island with an advantageous tax status. Leaders of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which has jurisdiction over U.S. territories and insular possessions, said that's unacceptable. “After 115 years, it is clearly time for Puerto Rico to determine what political path it will take,” said committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). “The current status...

Sarah Palin @SarahPalinUSA Did Bob Beckel just defend Obama's anti-Keystone stance by claiming the Alaska pipeline employs "about 100 people"? Seriously?! -snip Beckel: “Do you know how many permanent jobs there are on the Alaska pipeline? About a hundred.” And with that, school was in session:

Sarah Palin's political action committee—simply named Sarah PAC—took in $460,537.83 so far this year, according to new filings with the Federal Election Commission. That sounds like a pretty big number! But when you look at how much the PAC has been spending, how it has been spending it, and the way things used to be, the picture looks far bleaker. First, the spending picture: In the first six months of 2013, Sarah PAC spent $496,505.68. That's $35,967.85 more than the PAC was able to raise. To be clear, Sarah PAC isn't in debt: In the latest filing, the PAC reports...

Alaska should be a top tier pick up opportunity for Senate Republicans next year...but their top choice of a candidate is Sarah Palin. 36% of GOP primary voters in the state say they'd like Palin to be their standard bearer against Mark Begich to 26% for Mead Treadwell, 15% for Dan Sullivan, and 12% for Joe Miller. Palin leads mostly based on her strength with 'very conservative' voters where she gets 43% to 20% for Treadwell, but she also leads him 28/25 with moderates. The problem for Republicans with a Palin candidacy is that even though she is in good...

FAIRBANKS - The commander of the Pacific U.S. Air Force told a group of defense journalists this morning that Eielson Air Force Base is one of the top contenders to be the second base to house the military’s newest fighter plane, according to the publication Inside Defense. The final decision for the next generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter won’t Be made until 2014, but Gen. Herbert Carlisle said that among nine Pacific region bases, Eielson was likely to be among the top four picks. "We haven't downselected, but I would say that Eielson, Misawa, Kadena (two bases in Japan) and...

What’s the outlook for the 2014 Senate elections? As in 2010 and 2012, the Republicans once again have a chance to overturn the Democrats’ majority. Much attention has been focused on whether Republicans this time will nominate candidates capable of winning key races, which they failed to do in the two previous election cycles. But another interesting question is how Democrats will try to hold onto seats in Republican-leaning states even as Barack Obama maintains his strong tilt to the political left. The lineup is certainly favorable to Republicans. Assuming the New Jersey seat now held by Republican appointee Jeff...

There's a lingering sense in Alaska that the field of GOP Senate candidates isn't done growing yet. But we won't know for sure until after Labor Day at the very earliest, when the latest potential candidate returns from military deployment to Afghanistan. Alaska Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Dan Sullivan, a Republican, will spend the next six weeks in Afghanistan on military duty, the Associated Press reported Monday night. Sullivan is in the Marine Reserves and deployed to Central Command twice in the last nine years, according to his office biography. Sullivan's most recent assignment means he will be out...

Sarah Palin underexposed? It’s hard to imagine. But in Alaska, where she is considering a Senate run, she might be. The former governor “has no profile in Alaska. She’s not active,” says a Republican consultant familiar with Alaska politics. “She’s doing her own thing personally. She’s not giving speeches and doing Republican-women events and fundraisers and helping people. She’s just very much under the radar.” That kind of invisibility may have prompted her potential opponent, Democrat Mark Begich, to snarkily remark to Politico yesterday, “I don’t know if she’s a resident. She’s been away from Alaska a lot.” According to...

It goes without saying that you shouldn’t cross a grizzly. Sen. Mark Begich just learned that the hard way. Sarah Palin—former Alaska governor, failed vice presidential candidate, and America’s most famous Mama Grizzly—launched a bit of cyberwarfare against Begich, the Democratic senator from her home state, in a series of vitriolic Facebook posts on Thursday. The wrath of Palin was likely incurred Wednesday when Begich told Politico that the former governor had “quit on Alaska” when she resigned before completing her term. He also questioned whether she was still a resident of the state. Palin said Tuesday that she was...

"If she runs, it's going to instantly become the most covered, the most scrutinized, the most hotly debated Senate race of the 2014 cycle," Geraghty said. American Conservative Union chairman Al Cardenas said Republicans have a 50-50 chance of taking the majority back in the Senate in next year's midterm elections, and said it's an even more significant possibility if Palin runs for the Alaska seat. "If she runs, all the odds are off the table," he said. "She would win a general election." "The benefits of having her as a U.S. senator and helping us get back the majority...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - An Alaska glacier is exposing remains from a military air tragedy six decades later.Relics from an Air Force cargo plane that slammed into a mountain in November 1952, killing all 52 servicemen on board, first emerged last summer on Colony Glacier, about 50 miles east of Anchorage. That discovery, by Alaska National Guard crews flying training missions out of Anchorage, put into motion a sophisticated recovery program carried out by the Hawaii-based Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command. After last year’s initial work - when nearly everything that rose to the glacier’s surface was picked up - the JPAC...

Sarah Palin “quit on Alaska” as governor and “ has lost touch” with her home state, Mark Begich told POLITICO. The Democratic senator said Palin, who said Tuesday she’s considering challenging him for his seat in 2014, might not even be a resident of Alaska and is someone he won’t take seriously unless she emerges from a competitive Republican primary. “I don’t know if she’s a resident. She’s been away from Alaska a lot and has probably lost touch with what’s going on. She should go to my webpage,” Begich said. “Most Alaskans I see on a pretty regular basis,...

Wednesday morning, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions approved the Employee Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, as it’s commonly referred to. The bill prohibits workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It was first considered by the committee in 2002 and was the subject of hearings in 2009 and 2012. Three Republicans, Sens. Orrin Hatch (Utah), Lisa Murkowski (Ark.) and the bill’s original co-sponsor, Mark Kirk (Ill.) joined 12 Democrats to quickly approve what committee chairman Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) called “historic legislation.” In his statement, Harkin reiterated the main points of the bill, stressing that...

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin on Tuesday said that she is considering running for Senate in 2014. Appearing on Sean Hannity’s radio program, Palin also reiterated that she would consider supporting a third party if Republicans don’t return to their conservative roots (video courtesy MoFoPolitics) ~~snip~~ “I’m glad you brought that up,” she continued, “because Senator Mark Begich (D-Ak.) has got to be replaced. He has not done what he has promised to do for the people of Alaska.” For those wondering, Begich is up for re-election in 2014. “If you think that whoever is running doesn’t have the ability...

http://www.ktvn.com/story/22778322/police-fatal-plane-crash-at-alaska-airport

Good news from Arkansascarry.com: In July, 2013, Arkansas will become the fifth state in the United States to enact “Constitutional Carry” into law. Act 746 of the 2013 General Assembly was signed into law by Governor Mike Beebe on April 4th, 2013, after receiving only one “nay” vote from the legislature. Constitutional Carry occurs in a state when no laws exist that generally restrict the carry of handguns (open or concealed) for self-defense purposes. Arkansas law 5-73-120 currently prohibits the possession of a handgun if it is possessed “readily available for use with a purpose to employ the handgun… as...

Palin posted on Facebook a status update that “Folks like me are barely hanging on to our enlistment papers in any political party – and it’s precisely because flip-flopping political actions like amnesty force us to ask how much more bull from both the elephants in the Republican Party and the jackasses in the Democratic Party we have to swallow before these political machines totally abandon the average common sense hardworking American.” The GOP establishment should take careful heed of these rebukes. Rather than listening to overpaid, gimmicky consultants and campaign managers, Republicans need to start listening to Palin. While...

ConocoPhillips octolateral well accesses oil pockets in maturing Kuparuk field In the early days of developing the huge Kuparuk River field on Alaska’s North Slope, producing oil involved drilling steeply inclined oil wells through a series of prolific reservoir sands. Now, with the easy oil gone but much oil still remaining underground, field operator ConocoPhillips is using ever more challenging techniques to access remaining pockets of oil in the field’s complex and fragmented system of reservoir sands. The company recently drilled an octolateral well — a well with eight horizontal wells originating from a single near-vertical well bore — as...

Earlier this year, Jeb Bush told ABC that both his father George H.W. Bush, and brother George W. recommended he run for president in 2016. Mama Barbara Bush is not keen on the idea, declaring in April that “the nation’s probably had enough Bushes.” But in the constantly shifting equations of potential Republican hopefuls for future president and vice president, the former Florida governor’s name has been tied with another former governor: Sarah Palin. The pair have now been framed as a “the GOP’s only chance” in the race by American Thinker contributor Michael Sheppard. “Would Jeb Bush have as...

A landmark Supreme Court ruling that struck down a key part of the Voting Rights Act has set up a stand-off between Republican-led states and the Obama administration over controversial voting laws that until now had been stalled. The 5-4 ruling on Tuesday addressed a 1960s-era provision that largely singled out states and districts in the South -- those with a history of discrimination -- and required them to seek federal permission to change their voting laws. The court ruled that the formula determining which states are affected was unconstitutional. ********************** Attorney General Eric Holder warned states against going too...

Today, Alaska Governor Sean Parnell signed HB69, the 2nd Amendment Preservation Act, into law. The bill nullifies a large swath of unconstitutional federal power over the right to keep and bear arms. It begins with the premise that violations of the 2nd Amendment are not law at all. It reads, in part: a statute, regulation, rule, or order that has the purpose, intent, or effect of confiscating any firearm, banning any firearm, limiting the size of a magazine for any firearm, imposing any limit on the ammunition that may be purchased for any firearm, or requiring the registration of any...

PALMER — The Valley was picked as the location for the signing of several pieces of legislation Thursday. Gov. Sean Parnell, along with Sens. Charlie Huggins (R-Wasilla), Lesil McGuire (R-Anchorage) and Mike Dunleavy (R-Mat-Su Valley), were among those present at a signing ceremony at the Matanuska Valley Sportsmen Shooting Range. Included in the signing ceremony: • House Bill 24, which adds Alaska to the list of states with so-called “stand-your-ground” laws; • House Bill 69, which says any federal laws that violate the Second Amendment are unenforceable in Alaska; • House Bill 83, which clarifies that a federal statute, regulation...

Yesterday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) became the third Republican in the Senate to endorse gay marriage. Conservative media outlets haven't been attacking her for it. They haven't been praising her either. They've been ignoring her ... So what's going on? A substantial share of the staffers at these publications, especially the younger ones, are now supporters of gay marriage ... Those who oppose gay marriage are sick to death of talking about the issue. They know they are losing the fight over public opinion and that their complaints are not going to convince anybody ...

The Pursuit of Happiness – Without Government Interference Not too long ago, I had the honor of nominating an Alaskan family as “Angels in Adoption,” a celebration of the selflessness shown by foster care families and those who adopt children. They arrived in Washington, DC, a military family who had opened their doors to not one child but four siblings to make sure that these sisters and brother had the simplest gift you can give a child: a home together. We had lunch together, and they shared their stories with me. All the while, the children politely ate lunch and...

Republican Alaska Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell announced Tuesday that he will run for Senate next year. He enters as the apparent frontrunner against Joe Miller, a conservative who blew the 2010 race, in a GOP primary. “Alaskans are very concerned about what is, or is not, happening in Washington, D.C,” Treadwell said in a statement on his web site. “So am I.” Now attention turns to Natural Resources Commissioner Dan Sullivan, who was Sarah Palin’s appointee as Alaska attorney general. If he gets in the race, the two candidates acceptable to the establishment could divide the vote.

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska publicly backed gay marriage on Wednesday, becoming the third Republican senator to do so as she spoke out ahead of potentially landmark rulings from the Supreme Court on the issue. Murkowski, 56, wrote in an essay posted on her Senate website that her decision was swayed, in part, by meeting a lesbian couple from Anchorage, one of whom was in the National Guard, who had adopted four children. "This first-class Alaskan family still lives a second-class existence," Murkowski said in her essay. Her announcement comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule...

A new director of customs in Skagway, Alaska, is creating confusion for Yukon boat owners with new registration and reporting rules that don't seem to be written anywhere. The rules affect about 250 Yukoners who have bought and registered boats in Alaska and moor them in Skagway. “We're ready to go,” said Yukon boater Bob Cameron. “We all want to go, but what do we do? We're a little bit scared to untie our boats." That's because if the boater is Canadian, Skagway's director of Customs and Border Services is requiring them to report where they’re going. They must also...

By the time Ken Ilgunas was wrapping up his last year of undergraduate studies at the University of Buffalo in 2005, he had no idea what kind of debt hole he'd dug himself into. He had majored in the least marketable fields of study possible –– English and History –– and had zero job prospects after getting turned down for no fewer than 25 paid internships. "That was a wake-up call," he told Business Insider. "I had this huge $32,000 student debt and at the time I was pushing carts at Home Depot, making $8 an hour. I was just...

There is a town in Alaska that has had a cat as mayor for 15 years. The cat named Stubbs has been the mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska for nearly all of his life -- no joke. It's been that way for more than a decade in the small tourist town that boasts nearly 900 residents. The part-manx was named honorary mayor shortly after his birth, and now locals all know the cat as "Mayor Stubbs." "He was just in the Alaska Magazine, and he's been featured in a few different things," said Lauri Stec, who works at Nagley's General Store...

BP is set to announce Monday that it will sink $1 billion into revving up crude production from Alaska’s declining North Slope, weeks after the state decided to give the oil industry a $750 million annual tax cut. The British oil giant plans to add two drilling rigs to its Prudhoe Bay field, bringing the count up to nine, the highest in about six years. New well work and drilling, along with upgrades of existing facilities, could support 200 new jobs, the company said. Separately, with the agreement of its working interest partners at Prudhoe Bay, including ConocoPhillips and Exxon...

It looks like it’s time to stop calling Joe Miller a former Senate candidate. The Alaska conservative activist who lost a 2010 bid for the Senate after besting incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski in a GOP primary, has filed a form indicating he intends to run for Senate again in 2014, according to documentation from the office of the Secretary of the Senate. On May 2, Miller filed a Federal Election Commission Form 2 stating his intent to run for Senate next year. It’s a document that any candidate must complete upon receiving more than $5,000 in contributions to a political...

PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) - An Arizona man on an Alaska Airlines flight from Anchorage to Portland tried to open the emergency row exit door as the plane descended into Portland, officials said. The attempt happened on Flight 132 around the 10,000-feet level Monday morning, said Annie Linstrom, a spokeswoman for the Portland International Airport. The flight crew and some fellow passengers restrained 23-year-old Alexander Herrera until the plane landed. Port of Portland police then boarded the plane, which originated in Anchorage, AK, to take him into custody. Passengers told police Herrera made unusual statements before trying to open the door,...

FAIRBANKS — It’s common knowledge among frequent customers that Tuesdays are ammo days at Sportsman’s Warehouse in Fairbanks. Ammunition shipments usually arrive on Tuesdays at the Johansen Expressway store. Popular calibers, such as .22 and .308, generally sell out in minutes despite a store-imposed limit of three small boxes or one large box per customer, hunting department manager Jason Kohfeld said. What used to be a three-week supply of ammunition sells in less than a week. The surge in demand has been seen across Fairbanks and across the country. It’s part of a nationwide trend that started in December after...

Former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin won over racing fans this weekend at the Indianapolis 500, again showing how well she resonates with people because she genuinely loves retail politics and meeting them. As was observed, that genuineness--and patience--cannot be faked. Palin met with people in the lobby of the hotel she was staying at on Saturday night, and those who observed her noticed how patient she was with everyone as they asked for her time. It is worth noting that those who do not even have as many speaking engagements and television appearances as requests...

The streams emerging from beneath an Arctic glacier are several degrees warmer than the icy water Alaska’s Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski has tossed on a Tea Party group’s effort to draft former Gov. Sarah Palin as a U.S. Senate candidate in 2014. Reviving one of Alaska’s great political feuds, Murkowski told The Hill newspaper in Washington, D.C.: “I think there are a lot of outside interests that would like to see Sarah Palin in some form of elected office. Most in Alaska recognize our former governor is rally not involved in or engaged in the state anymore, that she’s moved...

House Republicans on Wednesday took one of the first steps toward overturning a new Obama administration plan for managing wildlife and oil development in the 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. During a House subcommittee hearing on a bill to repeal the reserve management plan, Republicans insisted the administration’s blueprint tilts too heavily toward conservation by walling off energy development in roughly half of the reserve. “The Obama administration appears determined, against the wishes of most Alaskans, to keep their energy resources off limits,” said Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash. who sponsored the repeal bill along with Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska. Finalized by...

Reader Psalmon writes: "Nenana River ice breakup nears top three latest dates in 97 years of contest." It may have escaped notice, but this last Saturday the locals in Nanana, AK hooked up the clock to determine the breakup and winner of the annual Nenana Ice Classic. Further ice measurements were apparently suspended last Thursday with the last measurement of 40 inches (just). If you think May 11 seems late for starting the countdown, it is. After the fourth earliest breakup in 2012 (April 23), as of this afternoon on May 14th, the tripod still stands, making 2013 the fourth...

The Lower 48 may not have seen the last of Sarah Palin. The controversial ex-Alaska governor and former Republican vice presidential candidate is her party’s top choice in the upcoming race for the U.S. Senate, according to a new Harper Polling survey. The poll found that, among likely Republican primary voters in the state, Mrs. Palin would take 32 percent of the vote. Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell is right on her heels with 30 percent, while former Senate candidate and tea party favorite Joe Miller comes in third with 24 percent the vote. But 14 percent of the Republican primary...

State, ConocoPhillips, ASRC join defense of permit for first NPR-A development - - - - Quite a legal battle is shaping up over the expansion of oil and gas development into Alaska’s western North Slope frontier. The conflict centers on a planned project known as Colville Delta 5. ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc. has a federal permit to build and operate the CD-5 drill site inside the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. Seven residents of Nuiqsut, a predominantly Inupiat Eskimo village a few miles southeast of CD-5, are suing in Anchorage federal court to invalidate the permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of...

"Superficial" "A source close to the Senate negotiations [says] that two senators who voted against the background check bill would vote for it after minor, superficial changes." - Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC, May 6, 2013ACTION: Senators who voted pro-gun last month are under intense pressure - by Senate Democrats and Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s hit ads - to switch their votes.  We need to keep applying the heat and let them know that gun owners are ready to help in any Senate campaign, no matter which state, to defeat ANY SENATOR who votes for gun control.LEGISLATIVE UPDATE FROM WASHINGTON, DC. It’s...

Dan Savage is an author, advice columnist, and founder of It Gets Better, an anti-bullying project. If you’ve ever seen one of those videos of a celebrity telling gay teens “it gets better,” that was Dan’s idea. A noble goal, to be sure. But when he says things like this, it makes me wonder just how noble he is: Woke up to Sarah Palin’s voice. She’s taken up chewing tobacco now cuz LIBRULS or Bloomberg or something. Now seeing upside of oral cancers. — Dan Savage (@fakedansavage) May 4, 2013 And yes, that’s the real Dan Savage. His Twitter handle...

Russian strategic bombers conducted flights within the U.S. defense zone close to northern Alaska and the Aleutian Islands last week in MoscowÂ’s latest incident of nuclear saber rattling against the United States, according to defense and military officials. Two Bear H nuclear-capable bombers were detected flying into the militaryÂ’s Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) near the Aleutians, where a strategic missile defense radar is located, and AlaskaÂ’s North Slope region by the Arctic and Chukchi Seas on April 28 and 29, military officials told the Washington Free Beacon. Lt. Cmdr. Bill Lewis, a spokesman with the U.S. Northern Command,...

<p>Would you support Sarah Palin should she decide to run for the presidency in 2016?</p>

A national tea party group — the Tea Party Leadership Fund — hopes to convince former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to run for Senate next year. As part of the effort, it is soliciting donations, The Los Angeles Times reports. The group sent an e-mail this week telling potential donors that Palin has a "clear path" to defeat The Last Frontier's incumbent Democrat, Mark Begich. “You and I both know that Sarah Palin is a fighter who will stand up to Harry Reid and his pals in the Senate to protect our Constitution on issues like amnesty, gun control and...

Tea Party group hopes to draft Sarah Palin for Senate run in Alaska By Justin Sink - 05/01/13 08:36 AM ET A tea party group is encouraging supporters to give money in an effort to draft former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin to run against Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) in 2014. "You and I both know that Sarah Palin is a fighter who will stand up to Harry Reid and his pals in the Senate to protect our Constitution in issues like amnesty, gun control and our nation's crushing debt," said the fundraising email from Todd Cefaratti of the...

Democratic leaders are wooing staunchly pro-gun candidates to run in pivotal Senate races at the same time they are discussing a strategy for bringing gun control legislation back up for debate. The two-pronged effort has prompted Republicans to accuse the Senate Democratic leadership of hypocrisy, but Democrats say it is simply smart politics. The question is whether two of the Democrats’ most promising potential candidates in Montana and South Dakota will pay a price for the leadership’s political maneuverings in Washington. Or will recruiting candidates who do not support President Obama’s gun control agenda have any effect on Democratic fundraising...

The operator of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline has been working for years to modernize pump stations along the 800-mile route. The chief objective of this “strategic reconfiguration” program is to save costs. But it has yielded other important benefits, says operator Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. After an oil leak forced a pipeline stoppage in January 2011, new pump station equipment helped avert a shutdown of unprecedented length, a top Alyeska manager said. The problem facing Alyeska was the rapid chilling of idle oil inside the pipeline. New pumps and power units installed as part of strategic reconfiguration were able to...

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) -- Build-out of a large-scale mine near the headwaters of a world-class salmon fishery in Alaska could wipe out as many as 90 miles of streams and alter stream flows, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said in a revised assessment released Friday. The report said mining activity would claim at least 24 miles of streams in the Bristol Bay region, based on the scenarios evaluated, with the loss of wetlands ranging from 1,200 to 4,800 acres. The EPA focused on the Pebble deposit and took into account information related to the proposed Pebble Mine but also noted...