Philip Munger

Last winter, author Joe McGinnis, who is writing a critical book about Sarah Palin, was looking for a place in Wasilla to rent this summer, as he continues his research. He was offered the house next door to the Palins’ Lake Lucille cult compound-in-progress. He wasn’t looking for the place. It came looking for him. What would you do?

A young Army Major’s Masters thesis is making the rounds. Some believe his essay presages the persecution of Christans by the anti-Christ Obama. Others see in his thinking a message that goes beyond the dangers of Christian millennialism and touches upon the perils our country encounters by endorsing or cursing any fundamentalism, without engaging the issues through clear thinking.

I’ve got it from two informants now. One in Juneau and one in Anchorage. Here are the elements of what appears to be the deal:1) Attorney General Colberg will be forced to resign, allowing the Alaska Legislature to blame him for Gov. Sarah Palin’s probable role in the witness tampering that occurred during the Branchflower Investigation.2) Alaska Senate President Gary Stevens and Alaska Speaker of the House Mike Chenault will assure

While Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been telling Esquire Magazine that “Bored, anonymous, pathetic bloggers who lie annoy me,” Alaska’s bloggers are trying to mobilize people around the United States and elsewhere to come to the aid of the Lower Yukon community of Emmonak. In Emmonak, people are having to flip coins to decide, “food or fuel.”

The political evolution of Friend of Blog Philip Munger

Dr. Riki Ott’s most recent book, Not One Drop: Betrayal and Courage in the Wake of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, seeks to braid together four threads into a single strand. The result is less a “fisherma’am’s” yarn than it is a sturdy rope from which one might create a noose for the likes of corporate monsters like ExxonMobil.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the most polarizing figure in recent American politics, will be at a Sunday evening fundraiser, and four big Monday rallies for the closing day of Saxby Chamliss’ narrowing U.S. Senate race. Is she there to throw red meat to “morans,” or is she there to muck things up?

John McCain’s choice for Vice President, Alaska’s first-term Governor, Sarah Palin, was daring, audacious, novel, disturbing to some Democrats, and – most likely – very, very lame. As August unfolds into September and October, the national spotlight will now inspect Alaska politics more closely than ever. The upcoming corruption trial of Sen. Ted Stevens is already due to bring more scrutiny toward our politics, but the little-known “Branchflower Investigation” into Palin’s firing of her top cop, will now also become a national story.

firedoglake had hoped to wrap up the TedFest! poetry contest here today because it is the first anniversary of the FBI raid on his Girdwood chalet. The raid was the first in the history of the United States upon the home state dwelling of a sitting member of the U.S. Senate.

But serendipity mucked up our plans. I don’t think “anybody could have predicted” that between the beginning of TedFest! and its wrap-up, Ted would be busted. To answer once and for all the question I’ve dealt with dozens of times since yesterday morning – no – I didn’t know in advance. And I’m not sure Ted did.

When we began the TedFest! poetry contest at firedoglake last week, Alaska’s very senior Senator Ted Stevens was ahead of his most likely November challenger, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, by one point. Now, as we let you choose the final winners, Mark Begich is up by nine points. Way to go, gang!