PANTS ON FIRE . . . Poor Levi Johnston. A young man will do almost anything for the woman he loves, even say he's a liar. Did you see the magazine story where he "confesses" that some unspecified things he said about Sarah weren't true? As usual, Skeptical Ear knows nothing but can't believe Levi did that out of the blue.
A couple of weeks ago, Bristol put out a statement that she and Levi weren't going to fight anymore, for the good of their kid. Outside media then reported they were a couple again. But none of that is enough to explain Levi's I'm-a-liar announcement. Was he telling the truth when he said it? (And does it count as a lie if you say you lied when you didn't? Never mind. Ear's lobe may explode.)
Darlings, something big is coming. Count on it.
GETTING WELL . . . Rep. Mike Doogan is still in Seattle at Harborview Medical Center recovering from brain surgery and doing well. So well he can probably come home in two weeks, after a course of rehab. Doctors predict a full recovery, according to the woman who lets him live with her. Proof of this is the fact he's already cracking wise.
You can send Mike your own good wishes at wishmikewell@gmail.com.
ONE TO GO . . . House Speaker Mike Chenault has named former legislator Jim Holm as the fourth member of the state Redistricting Board, the panel that will re-draw our election districts based on new census numbers and as much political manipulating as can be shoved past the Supreme Court.
That means it's a clean sweep so far for middle-age, white male Republicans. Holm, from Fairbanks, served two terms in the state House. Chief Justice Walter Carpeneti gets to fill the last vacancy on the five-person board.
Not that anyone cares, but Alaska is 48 percent female and almost 36 percent minority.
ON THE MOVE . . . Rick Sinnott, the best-known employee of state Fish and Game, the hands-on scientist who clocked wildlife in Anchorage for nearly 20 years, quietly retired June 30. Just walked into the woods, so to speak, and vanished.
• Earwigs report Janie Leask has resigned as CEO of First Alaskans Institute, the Alaska Native education and research nonprofit. Leask took over as CEO in 2006. No word about future plans.
A FOR EFFORT . . . An earwig reports seeing candidate Mia Costello and an aide working hard for votes in the District 27 House race, putting campaign brochures on the windshields of cars parked at the Jehovah's Witnesses Hall on Strawberry.
Excellent effort. Just one problem. Jehovah's Witnesses don't vote.
LET US GATHER . . . Whatever one might think of conservative Jim Minnery's preachings, the guy is a gonzo organizer. Ear loves watching him strong-arm politicians, especially a few weeks before the Republican primary, when everyone wants to look as right wing as possible. Catch the star-studded crowd co-hosting a fundraiser Monday for the parental rights initiative; it includes Bill Walker and wife Donna, Joe Miller, Eddie Burke and wife Linda, Don Young, Ralph Samuels, Jay Ramras, the Governor and First Lady, Sheldon Fisher and wife Christine, and Mead Treadwell.
A QUESTION . . . How mad was Eddie Burke when the tea partiers endorsed Mead Treadwell for lite gov instead of him? It's one of the more bizarre political acts of the season.
AN ANSWER . . . As usual, earwigs know everything. Recently the Luscious Lobe asked if anyone knew an Alaska politician related to Julia Guillard, the new prime minister of Australia and the first woman ever to hold the office. A morning TV chat show in Melbourne mentioned that Gillard has politicians in her family, including an Alaska senator.
Turns out former state Sen. Glenn Hackney, R-Fairbanks, is a cousin -- at a couple of removes, through his mother. Hackney served two terms in the House and one in the Senate in the '70s.
More amazing to Ear than his relationship to the prime minister is the fact that Hackney, now 85, still lives in Fairbanks year-round and runs four to six miles a day, or so says his son, Art Hackney.
FROM OUTSIDE . . . A bumper sticker: "Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't."
Compiled by Sheila Toomey. Message Sheila at 257-4341 or ear@adnh.com. Find Ear online at www.adn.com/ear.