LIBERAL SPACE BAR . . . Darlings, we all make mistakes, especially when typing. Which is why Ear felt so guilty about laughing at a painful correction The Fairbanks News-Miner ran Thursday under editor Rod Boyce's byline and titled "An apology to Sarah Palin":

"The Daily News-Miner has had its agreements and disagreements with now-former Gov. Sarah Palin at various points during her time serving the state of Alaska. We have tried to maintain respect for the office of governor and to be generally civil when discussing Mrs. Palin, her policies and the actions she took while serving as governor. The same has been true for the time since she left office.

"Today I must apologize to Mrs. Palin personally and on behalf of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner for the choice of words used on the bottom of Wednesday's front page regarding her speaking engagement in Hong Kong this week to a group of global investors.

"We used offensive language -- "A broad in Asia" -- above a small photograph of the former governor to direct readers inside the newspaper to a full story of her Hong Kong appearance."

It went on for a few more paragraphs, with Rod, who obviously did not personally insert the offending space, beating himself up. But Ear was laughing too hard to read further.

OUT AND ABOUT . . . By all accounts, the Alaska Republican Party picnic at Kincaid Park last weekend was a big success. Lots of people, decent food, a petting zoo for the kids and a good selection of party stars. Gov. Parnell was his usual low-key self. Lisa Murkowski stayed for a while but earwigs report she had to leave early to take some Outside visitors fishing at Eldon Mulder's place on the Kenai.

Lite Gov. Craig Campbell couldn't be there. Condolences to him on the death of his mother.

Wannabees Valdez Rep. John Harris (governor) and Andy Halcro (congressman) worked the crowd, as did former Lite Gov. Loren Leman, although Ear hasn't heard he's actually running for something.

Lesil McGuire had an info table. (No mention of Jay Ramras in tow.) Eddie Burke was there, but behaving himself.

Compared to the same event a couple years ago, which you'll remember featured a hostile confrontation between pro- and anti-Sarah people, it was friendly and fun.

Except when a couple of Palinistas got mouthy at Andree McLeod on the food line.

ARMED AND STUPID . . . With so many politicians behaving themselves so as to collect the maximum allowable contributions before the end of the year, earwigs have to rely for entertainment on those goofy civilians showing up at public forums.

Example: The Anchorage Police Department felt it necessary Friday to issue a public warning that people attending a town hall on health care with Sen. Begich not show up with guns. The meeting was on school grounds and guns are not allowed in schools. (OMG! That must be a violation of our Second Amendment rights, right?)

APD warned that stumpheads who felt the need to pack heat at that particular public policy meeting would be arrested. Ear could only hope.

NEW FACE . . . A specialist in communications technology who is also a doctor (Ph.D.), a lawyer (J.D., U. of Texas) and a professor (U. of San Francisco) is the new head of ISER, the public policy research arm of UAA. Heather Hudson takes over in January.

She's coming up from California, but apparently knows something about Alaska -- she was a member of a research team that studied the economics of the Alaska telecommunications industry.

The old ISER boss, former Lite Gov. Fran Ulmer, is now UAA chancellor.

TROUBLE . . . Is the writer of the fab Dutch Harbor-Unalaska police blotter studying Latin? Reading dictionaries?

This recent report allegedly came from the city cop calls report, although Ear couldn't find it online:

"Suspicious person, Sept. 13 -- One of three men fled as soon as he saw an officer approaching, scampering up some stairs and over a roof before disappearing from sight. The other two men denied a third person had ever existed, though officers later located the absquatulating individual, who said it was just a natural reaction on his part to run away from police officers."

Ear had to look it up, but it's a real word: absquatulate means to flee or abscond. Various Web pundits claim it was popular in the old West, along with skedaddle and hornswoggle, and is making a comeback.

Spell check doesn't care for it.

OUT AND ABOUT . . . Seen having dinner at The Crows Nest Thursday night with Hall of Fame former NFL player Lynn Swann -- GOP state boss Randy Ruedrich, Anchorage Assemblyman Dan Coffey and a bunch of others. Swann, a former Republican candidate for governor of Pennsylvania, was in Alaska to attend a Republican fundraising event and to be the keynote speaker at that "Unity" dinner Friday night.

WANTED . . . Wasilla officials are counting on art to spiff up their city's problematic image. (Remember what rude things those national reporters said about poor Wasilla during Sarah's VP campaign?) Anyhow, they're looking for a city flag design.

Oddly, they've limited the design competition to kids -- ages 12-17 who are currently enrolled in school or being home-schooled.

The deadline is Nov. 14. Entries have to be hand-delivered to the Wasilla Public Library.

Wonder if they'd consider a design featuring road construction and a strip mall.

ALSO WANTED . . . At last, a bennie for old women. The Alaska Women's Hall of Fame invites you to nominate outstanding women to be considered for induction into the Hall of Fame. Nominees must have lived some part of their life in Alaska and made contributions of community, state or national importance and "of enduring value."

If a nominee is dead, she can be any age. But if she's living, she has to be at least 65 as of Nov. 1, which is the date nominations are due. See www.alaskawomenshallof fame.org. Or call Janet Weiss at the YWCA.