Free Republic

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, might not want her Democratic colleague, Mark Begich, to win re-election in 2014, but her habit of breaking with the GOP on several key votes could give him some political cover ahead of 2014. “As an Alaska delegation, we’ve got to be working on those issues that are important to our constituents,” Murkowski told the Anchorage Daily News this week. “Sen. Begich has been keying in on the issues that I think Alaskans are worried about and doing what he was tasked to do.” “I’m going to be working to get Republicans elected,” she later added....

Inquiring minds are digging into a George Washington University paper on State Fiscal Conditions, a ranking of 50 states, by Sarah Arnett. PolicyMic Produced this Chart of State Fiscal Conditions based on the working paper. Highlights and Lowlights Let's return to the original working paper for some highlights and lowlights. At the bottom of the rankings are New Jersey and Illinois. New Jersey faces long-run solvency problems due in part to nearly 15 years of underfunding its state and local pensions. It has an estimated unfunded pension liability of around $25.6 billion as well as $59.3 billion in unfunded liabilities...

The facts 1. There are 21 US Senate seats held by Democrats in the 2014 election. 2. There are nine US Senate seats held by Democrats in the 2016 election. This is likely to be 10 due to a special election in HI in 2014. 3. Republicans need to pick up six senate seats to have a majority. The Analysis The failures of ObamaCare and broken promises by Democrat senators create a target rich environment in 2014. This is a year Republicans have to do well. Winning a majority in the senate by only one seat or maintaining the status...

Alaska has signed an agreement with major oil and gas firms to build an 800-mile pipeline to bring natural gas from the state's North Slope to a proposed export plant and on to Asia. The project, expected to cost between $45 billion and $65 billion, would be one of the largest projects of its kind in the world and would free gas stranded for decades without a market. The project, which would liquefy the gas for shipment in tankers overseas, is expected to take ten years to build, according to the state. Asian nations like Japan and South Korea are...

As Democrats have been pushing extending unemployment benefits in Washington this week, Alaska Democratic senator Mark Begich missed an important vote to give a speech to a lobbying organization in Hawaii. Begich, one of a handful of vulnerable red-state Democrats, delivered a speech at an annual event hosted by the American Association of Airport Executives, according to the Hill. While in Hawaii, he attended two fundraisers and met with Hawaiian governor Neil Abercrombie. An aide stated that the senator committed to the speech before the vote was scheduled, and the additional events were later planned. The Senate voted to invoke...

Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) is drawing praise from across the aisle from one of Alaska's top Republicans. Rep. Don Young (R), the state's lone congressman, praised the work Begich has done as senator. "Mark's done a great job of, very frankly, representing people. He's not always on my page, that's for sure, but he's done a good job," Young told The Hill on Wednesday. Young, the longest-serving House Republican, said he expected Begich to face a tough race, however, due to some of his votes for Democratic priorities. "His big challenge is some of the votes he made are not...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., blocked a last-ditch effort by Republicans Thursday to restore full military pensions. Their proposal would have been paid for by denying tax credits to undocumented immigrants. Pensions to retired and disabled veterans were cut last month in a budget compromise hammered out by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wa., and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., according to the Washington Free Beacon.

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu contributed a statement to an announced breakthrough in research into tapping the vast fuel resource of methane hydrates that could eventually bolster already massive U.S. natural gas reserves.As Al Fin pointed out yesterday natural gas is priced to a barrel of oil equivalent at about $10-$11 per the estimable Geoffrey Styles view, something less than 10% of the cost of oil. For North Americans adding a viable and hopefully low cost means to make use of gas hydrates could be giant boost to low cost fuel sources and a massive kick to...

You can feel the charm when you watch her operate in person, that Sarah Palin. You don’t expect it, but it’s there – the awkward mix of pseudo-authenticity and charisma, the smooth way with a room full of reporters, the way she just carries on, regardless. Me, I was taken aback. She’s practically my new bestie, now. Squeezed my hand, called me “honey,” even stopped to squeeze my shoulder on her way out and thank me. We had a wee chat and a laugh. Palin was here Friday for an early breakfast event to promote her new series on a...

The Great American Oil & Gas Boom & the Future of Iran No country, No Nation, has ever added oil production capacity – yes ever – like the United States has in the past few years. America has gone from producing 5 Million barrels of oil per day in 2011 to over 7.5 Million barrels this past year; and will soon surpass 10 Million barrels of oil production domestically. It’s an incredible oil boom that will have a profound impact on the lives of ordinary Americans. By the time Obama leaves office, he will have presided over a country that...

The EPA's much-anticipated wood stove regulations are proposed to go into effect throughout the country in 2015, requiring newly manufactured stoves to cut maximum emissions by more than a third. Those standards would tighten dramatically in 2019 [80 percent in five years]. Wood stoves that already are installed or are for sale are not affected by the regulations, a Friday press release from the EPA stated. Only a handful of the stoves on the EPA's certified stove list would meet those standards in 2019. However, the EPA focused primarily on the savings to health costs and money spent on wood...

Salvage logging on lands burned by last summer's Douglas Complex wildfire in southwestern Oregon is in full swing on privately owned forests, but not on public lands. ... On BLM lands, federal environmental laws require a lengthy planning process that includes the public. The Douglas Complex fires burned through 76 square miles on a patchwork of public and private lands.

President Obama endured a terrible 2013, raising GOP hopes of a Senate takeover in next year’s midterm elections that would turn him into an early lame duck. The GOP needs to win six seats in the upper chamber to take a 51-49 edge, something clearly obtainable with Democrats defending difficult seats in South Dakota, Montana, West Virginia, Arkansas, Alaska, Louisiana and North Carolina. With the Senate and House in GOP hands, Obama would have little if any hope of moving his legislative agenda, and would be left to play defense against a GOP Congress in his final two years in...

**SNIP** The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), the oldest and largest national organization of tribal governments, along with attorneys representing the Osage Nation and 20 Arizona tribes, met with the White House to discuss the FWS’ eagle “take” rules. After the meeting, the NCAI passed a resolution accusing the administration of failing to consult meaningfully with tribes while pursuing a rule to lengthen eagle take permits for wind farms from five to 30 years. The resolution said eagle permits should not be issued without the consent of affected tribes. **SNIP** Wind farms must be located where the wind blows...

Shale has the spotlight for now. But there's another, lesser-known substance with the potential to yield even greater quantities of natural gas: methane hydrate. Hydrates consist of a lattice-like structure of frozen water molecules and methane. On the surface, they look like an ordinary block of ice. But when you hold a match to them, they burn—a visual cue signaling methane release. "A lot of geoscientists are fascinated by hydrates because of how odd it is that you can take methane gas and add water and have it result in something with such a concentrated store of energy," said Peter...

As you’ve probably heard, Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson has been suspended by A&E over what many are describing as “anti-gay” comments he made to GQ. So what did he say that was so bad? Here’s an excerpt, via E!: “‘Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men,’ he tells the magazine. Paraphrasing Corinthians, he says, ‘Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers—they won’t inherit the kingdom of...

The Senate voted 56-38 Tuesday to confirm Patricia Millett to the D.C. Circuit Court, making her the first nominee of President Obama’s to clear the Senate since Democrats unilaterally changed the rules in a vote last month. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) voted with Democrats. The rule change means only 51 votes are needed to end a filibuster on nominations below the level of the Supreme Court. The move outraged Republicans, who said Democrats had severely undermined minority rights in the upper chamber. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) triggered the “nuclear option” to make the change. It allows the...

On Thursday, a former U.S. Secret Service agent who is running for a House seat and has written a book about his life in the Service cancelled his prescheduled appearance on MSNBC's Bashir Live because of Martin Bashir's suggestion that someone should defecate and urinate in former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's mouth.

Past experience in Idaho, northeastern Oregon and Washington state illustrate that it's time to take gray wolves completely off the federal list of endangered species. The West’s wolf problem started in 1995 and 1996. That’s when 66 wolves from Canada were reintroduced in Idaho and Yellowstone National Park. Those wolves multiplied and spread into Wyoming, Utah and Oregon. They also took up residence in Washington state and Montana, where other wolves from Canada already lived. Today at least 1,674 wolves live in 321 packs within the region, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. That’s in addition to the...

Martin Bashir, the MSNBC host who has come under fire for the controversial remarks he made about Sarah Palin, is "on vacation" and will not host his namesake afternoon program on Monday, POLITICO has learned. Sources at the network said Bashir had been temporarily suspended from the network following graphic remarks he made last month about the former governor from Alaska. In that segment, Bashir suggested that Palin should be forced to endure slavery like conditions, including the consumption of feces. MSNBC spokesperson Lauren Skowronski told a different story: "He’s still out on vacation," she wrote in an email. Asked...