Alaska Stalker - the best and worst of this week’s political social media and gossip

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Alaska Stalker, a lighthearted roundup of the best and worst of Alaska’s social media landscape and political gossip. Published in partnership with The Alaska Landmine.

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She’s baaack. Former Gov. Sarah Palin took to Instagram (as one does these days) to announce her defamation lawsuit against the New York Times was revived by a federal appeals court and allowed to proceed into discovery.

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With Sarah Palin back in the spotlight, and Ben Stevens being promoted to Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s chief of staff, I thought it would be a good time to trot out this throwback. I wonder what happens when you go to www.valleytrash.com? (Want the backstory? Here you go.)

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OMG. You heard it here first, folks: www.valleytrash.com is currently available for the bargain price of $2,095.

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Looks like someone needs to update their Facebook profile after receiving the boot. Shouldn't it read Tuckerman Babcock, Former Chair - Alaska Republican Party and Former Chief of Staff - Governor of Alaska?

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A warm Stalker congratulations to Alaska U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan and his wife Julie for celebrating 25 years of marriage. What an achievement. Take a look at this lovely tribute to Julie via Sen. Sullivan’s Facebook page. And, a special Stalker shout out to my husband on what is our 6th wedding anniversary. When you know, you know. 💓

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And then there’s this... While Sullivan was celebrating his silver anniversary, his opponent, Dr. Al Gross, was sponsoring this ridiculous ad on Facebook. In case you missed it, last week’s Stalker included a photo of Dr. Gross standing with the ferry workers and one of Sen. Sullivan winning a basketball game against Sen. Ted Cruz. I’m tickled to death Dr. Gross reads the Stalker, but saying the ADN “highlighted the clear difference in priorities between Dan Sullivan and me” when you were actually mentioned in a gossip column in the ADN’s opinion section is loose. In fact, I formally nominate Dr. Al Gross to be the Alaska Landmine’s “Loose Unit” of the week!

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Congressional candidate Alyse Galvin is in full campaign mode and posted this word cloud highlighting feedback from her last campaign. I was sad that “yellow blazer” and “Qiviut” weren’t featured prominently. Alyse’s quasi campaign uniform was one of the best things we’ve seen from a political newcomer. Whether she was on the debate stage, posting online, or pictured on the side of her RV, her ubiquitous yellow blazer helped people remember who she was. No comment on the absence of “handshake.” 😬

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Alaska Congressman Don Young celebrated “International Cat Day” by posting this photo of him holding a baby tiger. Or, the next addition to his “office collection.” I love that Sen. Dan Sullivan “liked” this post.

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While Southcentral is still experiencing a record heat wave, signs of fall are starting to creep into social media timelines across Alaska. Sen. Lisa Murkowski is home for summer break. From the look of her raspberry patch, she got here just in time.

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Not sure if it was those record high temps, or if 13 years was the charm, but Sen. Bill Wielechowski's cherry tree yielded fruit for the first time! 🍒 We hope Bill uses some of his bounty for a new batch of homemade mead. Bill, if you need someone to test any samples, let me know!

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Up in the Interior, Sen. Scott Kawasaki is getting an early start on canning season.

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And down in Southeast, Rep. Andi Story is enjoying a banner berry picking year.

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Gov. Dunleavy caused a minor scandal online last week when he posted this series of photos on his Facebook page. In some photos he has stitches, and in others no injury was visible. Wait, what? 🧐

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Turns out Gov. Dunleavy had a skin cancer scare, and someone thought it would be a good idea to Photoshop the scar out of any photos. Problem was, they only Photoshopped half of the photos. 🤦 Cancer is not funny, and we’re glad the governor was given a good bill of health. Whoever wrote the governor’s Photoshop mea culpa did a good job striking the right note. Stalker pro tip: Next time forget the Photoshop and stick with a good filter (and full transparency) instead.

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Over on Reddit.com/r/alaska, "AKTriGuy" had this to say about the Governor's procedure. Yikes.

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Seems like an apt moment to highlight this can’t-miss op-ed by former first lady of Alaska, Donna Walker. The Alaska Stalker may be a political column, but we strive to keep things lighthearted and fun. Thanks for the reminder, Donna.

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The big news of the week continued to be the Recall Dunleavy campaign. Things seem to be on track for the first round of signature gathering. Vic Fischer, the last living delegate to Alaska's Constitutional Convention, has been spotted speaking at recall events and out collecting signatures. He's 95!

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Santa Claus of North Pole has officially put Gov. Dunleavy on the naughty list, and was quoted saying, "The vetoes suck." I guess all he wants for Christmas is Kevin Meyer.

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Many legislators were down in Nashville, Tennessee, this week attending the National Conference of State Legislatures. Sen. Shelley Hughes participated in a high-level panel on criminal justice reform with political commentator Van Jones and Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant. Kudos to Sen. Scott Kawasaki for giving his colleague some internet love.

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I am living for Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson’s “From Juneau to You” legislative updates. While they read much like any other legislator’s e-newsletter, the photos set them apart. I don’t think anyone can beat this. If you have a nomination, please send it my way.

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Welcome to this week's edition of "guess the legislator." We blurred out the name of the league (that made it too easy) but think south of Anchorage if you want to take a stab at who this bearded lawmaker might be. Scroll down to the end to find out.

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Sen. David Wilson would like to remind everyone that Sonic is coming to Wasilla soon, only reinforcing his claim the Valley is better suited to host a special session than Juneau due to “better fast food options.”

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I’ve been meaning to share Alaska singer Marian Call’s “That’s My House - the Taxes in Alaska Song.” Luckily, Rep. Sara Hannan jogged my memory. If you like taxes, I’ve found your new jam. If not, then watching this might make your eyes roll out of your head. Either way, it’s worth a listen.

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On the other side of the political and artistic spectrum, Rep. Sarah Vance showed off a beautiful pair of her hand-knitted socks. She might want to get going on a pair for Gov. Dunleavy, just in case he gets cold feet on his full PFD promise.

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Representative Zack Fields’ daughter, Zara, is once again stealing the show on his Facebook feed. Junior lineman Zara is pictured below at an IBEW tour of their Electrical Training Facility. Labor runs in their blood. But, unfortunately, so does the fashion sense. 🤣🤣🤣 It’s OK, she can pull off the unbuttoned onesie and red pants with pink shoes look as only a toddler can.

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They say children imitate what they see... Oh. 😂 Zack, for the sake of the children, step up your fashion game and please, leave the bolo ties to Don Young.

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Overheard in Anchorage: "Did you hear about the new number neighbor trend? Folks in Alaska be like, Hi I'm your number neighbor. Do you want to sign the recall Dunleavy petition?"

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Spotted at the South Anchorage Farmer's Market: Sen. Lisa Murkowski manning her son's pasta company booth with Rep. Jennifer Johnston and her dog.

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Spotted at a local Anchorage gym, working on her fitness: Senator Elvi!

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Spotted at the National Conference of State Legislatures in Nashville, Tennessee: Sen. Shelley Hughes, Reps. Josephson, Knopp, Stutes, Tuck and Tuck’s longtime partner, Bernadette Wilson.

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Spotted at Tracy's Crab Shack in Juneau: famous actor Ashton Kutcher!

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Answer to this week’s guess the legislator: Sen. Peter Micciche.

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The Alaska Stalker was born and raised in Alaska, and lives in South Anchorage with her husband, daughter and son. She is not Jeff Landfield.

The views expressed here are the writer’s and are not necessarily endorsed by the Anchorage Daily News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)adn.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Read our full guidelines for letters and commentaries here.