Ear is sick of winter. Really. Dark. Cold. Icy streets. Dirty snow.
And if that weren't bad enough . . . Russ Millette is out as Republican Party boss. Now Ear has officially no reason to get out bed in the morning. Rats!
NO I-SMACK EITHER . . . The most fun quote from Thursday night's big Republican Party smackdown on Fireweed Lane came from Ear's favorite NRA officer and former attorney general:
At one point, the Republican Executive Committee asked Russ Millette for digital copies of his written response to the complaints against him. His attorney, Wayne Anthony Ross, couldn't provide them. He's not tech adept.
"I don't have a Blueberry. I don't have a Walkboy. I don't have a cell phone," he told the Republicans.
Someone suggested the Divine Appendage consider a cruise, but then a helpful earwig forwarded this tidbit from a report on cruise ships' Advanced Water Treatment Systems (AWTS), which surfaced in conjunction with cruise ship legislation now wending its way through the Legislature.
"The sewage influent processed through AWTS is much more concentrated than the sewage influent received by municipalities. Cruise ship toilet systems generally use fresh water vacuum flushing and conveyance to reduce water use per flush. ... The amount of organic waste loading per person is probably slightly higher onboard a cruise ship due to a high number of meals available.
OK. Nevermind.
TARGETING . . . They're already polling on Sen. Mark Begich's U.S. Senate seat -- on the ballot in 2014. This week, Harper Polling -- described in a Washington Post column as a GOP automated pollster -- found thatDemocrat Begich would beat Our Sarah, Lite Gov Tread Meanswell and Honor Code Joe but not Capt. Zero.
National Republicans have targeted Begich's seat and are open about their plan to spend the next two years and lots of money supporting a candidate who can take it away from him.
Negatives for Palin and Miller are really high. The only candidate openly campaigning is Treadwell. Parnell has indicated he's not interested, but don't bet on it.
OMG . . . Are you following the Facebook fight fueled by an Ivan Moore column in the Anchorage Press defending Lindsey Holmes and attacking Les Gara, et al? The Dems are hysterical and Moore is fanning the flames. Check it out for yourself. It's too childish even for Ear.
FLYING FACTOID . . . The state is reducing the size of cubicles inhabited by unimportant state workers. They say it will save money. They've been meeting about it here and in Juneau. It's hard to plow through the bureaucratic gobbledygook known as the Universal Space Standards, but it looks like they're cutting in half the square footage of each cubicle.
Lawyers and psychiatrists get private offices. (Make up your own joke).
According to an earwig present at one meeting, they used BP's office plan as a good example.
Because BP manages stuff so well? Ya think?
Does this mean they're going to have to do all kinds of reconstruction, and buy smaller desks, cabinets, etc. Wanna bet this saves money?
REALITY? . . . Ron Holmstrom, who tracks these things, warns that a new reality TV show is in the works. According to Ron, producers are looking for "groups of Alaskan girlfriends in the age range of 21-mid-30s who are single, and interested in giving a new city a try in their search for love. This is an amazing opportunity for the right group of friends . . . Filming will occur here and in MIAMI for 5 weeks in April-May 2013 . . . You do not need to be a professional actress."
ON APPEAL . . . It's bad enough losing in the lower courts, but take a look at the initial rejection letter Attorney to the Stars Rex Butler got from the U.S. Supreme Court after he filed an appeal there:
"The text of the petition and appendix must be typeset in a Century family . . . 12-point type with 2-point or more leading between lines. The type face of footnotes must be10-point or larger with 2-point or more leading between lines. . . . All of the pages in the petition and appendix must contain margins of at least three- fourths of an inch on all sides . . . (and) may not exceed 4 1/8 by 7 1/8 inches."
It goes on like that for several more tediously precise paragraphs. The legal issue? Whether troopers in a Mat-Su case could get a search warrant based on their ability to smelldope coming from someone's house or car.
Compiled by Sheila Toomey
Message Sheila at ear@adn.com or 257-4341.
Compiled by Sheila Toomey