Republican Party in deep trouble nationwide
"The Republicans are losing candidates non-stop due to scandal, arrests, and Bush worship. Voters are finally waking up to the fact that the Republican message is flawed."

Quote of the Week
I don't remember any episode of that show where Andy Griffith took cash from anybody
Prosecutor Joseph Bottini ripping Vic Kohring's lawyer's suggestion that Kohring is like Andy Griffith.

By Vic Kohring
Guest Post by Vic Kohring
"The media as a whole, with a few exceptions, has been a lynch mob and will not be satisfied until I'm in prison. My innocence matters little to them. Some folks have tried to be open minded and look at things objectively, for which I'm grateful, because in reality our government had no interest in seeking truth and justice."


By Bill McAllister
Don't cry for me, Alaska
Ironically, Sarah Palin's popularity makes her especially unpopular with some people. Today a radio talk show host scoffed at the notion of popularity, saying it should be of no relevance in a political debate. A different shock jock once spat out, "What is this 'will of the people' nonsense?" Yeah, what's with this democracy business, anyway?


By Terry Haines
Mr. Terry Goes to Town - Part Two
From the peanut gallery the floor of the Alaska State Senate is a little underwhelming. You could fit the whole thing into a good size Denny's. From ours seats, a couple of rows crammed into the corner of the room, the Senators looked remarkably lifelike. Even Senator Cowdery, who is so curmudgeonly he used dumpster babies as a political tat.


By Steve
Kohring - More thoughts and questions
Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross has named five stages of grief people go through following a serious loss. Sometimes people get stuck in one of the first four stages. Their lives can be painful until they move to the fifth stage - acceptance.

Bush's Iraq sacrifice - I gave up golf
As violence in Iraq continues -- clashes today left 11 dead and 19 injured -- President Bush has for the first time revealed the great sacrifice he's made for the sake of our soldiers: he's given up golf. From an interview with Politico and Yahoo News: "I don't want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf," he said. "I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal."


By Paul Rieckhoff
Congress: Money for War, But No Money for the Troops?
When it comes to hypocritical "Support the Troops" rhetoric, I thought I'd seen it all. But I was wrong. This week, a small group of Democrats are using back door dealings to torpedo the widely-supported new GI Bill.


By Alex Strachan
Crab fishing series unlikely hit; Deadliest Catch returns for 4th season
Once again, the crab-fishing boats turn into the stiff headwinds of the Bering Sea, battered by waves the size of four-storey buildings while, on deck, deckhands take time out from trolling for crabs to smash away the ice with sledgehammers so the boats don't become too heavy and capsize in the roiling grey seas.

It's a new season of Deadliest Catch, Discovery Channel's unlikely hit documentary series, and this time the crab-fishing boat crews of the Time Bandit, Cornelia Marie and other vessels will experience serious injuries in their day-to-day battle against 100 km/h winds, subzero temperatures and vicious squalls.


By Brent Batten
Brent Batten: Young's speech, investigative debate
Two points about U.S. Rep. Don Young’s defense last week of the Coconut Road earmark.

Point One: It provides fertile ground for federal investigators.

Point Two: Point One may not matter.

As to the first point: The defense offered by Young, an Alaska Republican who in 2005 chaired the House Transportation Committee, was confused and scattered. He on one hand argued that $10 million to study an interchange at I-75 and Coconut Road was a good project with local support and on the other hand claimed not to know exactly how it got into the 2005 highway appropriations bill.


By The Editorial Board
Congress Ventures Down the 'Slippery, Slippery Road'
Congress is in the business of making rules to live by, but things always get tense when it has to start applying rules to itself. Congress's usual response to an ethical scandal has been to hope that it blows over.

Right now, Congress is engaged in a low-level civil war over ethics. The House resents the fact that the Senate has intruded into what it regards as a House ethics matter. Nevertheless, it has approved a Senate-originated proposal for the Justice Department to investigate the House’s latest embarrassment, dubbed the Mystery of Coconut Road.