The Knowledge Economy

Howdy Folks, I can't tell you where I am because it's an undisclosed location. But it's in or near Waukesha, WI, I think, that's what they tell me. Apparently there is a stronghold here and we're just tying to get them out of their comfortable houses to mobilize. At least, that's what the adviser (one also named Todd, funny) said. Wow, this really is like some kind of a military operation. John's amazing, you never sense that military attitude with him but it somehow transfers through everyone. Anyway, this is good stuff.

So, one of the big themes of our campaign is the knowledge economy. Like in using computers and technology to create higher paying jobs. It was either the energy economy or the knowledge economy and this one seemed like the better choice for now (you don't need change the law to buy a computer but you sure do to drill for oil). Anyway, since I told other Todd that I am interested in computers and stuff, he's been sending me articles to read. Most of them I don't understand, but this one is like I'm reading some random words someone just stuck together that don't tell me anything. I mean, cloud computer, webvan? What does that mean? I didn't listen to a lot of music in high school but those sound like pink floyd. I don't understand this stuff. 

The knowledge idea seems pretty good but my mind's not made up.

Tight Lines,
Todd

Don't Misunderestimate Putin

Hi folks, I'm up early and it looks like we're not going to France but instead we're going to Wisconsin. Both places have a lot of cheese, but Wisconsin has slightly fewer socialists, except for the hippie town Madison. I'll give you more details later.

The adviser passed on this article. Like we've been saying, Sarah's international Russia experience in staring Putin down across the Bering Sea is going to pay off big time. Last time I looked at the map Illinois and Delaware don't have a clear view of Russia.

More later.

Tight Lines,
First Dude Todd

Breaking News!

Hey People, I just wanted to let you know that John is talking again about suspending his campaign so he can go to the European countries like London and France to help with their bank issues. Apparently they have it worse than us because they are socialist and the governments have spent so much money on welfare and health care that they can't even bail out the banks. That's why John wants to help them. If this happens (I think it's gonna, who else can help?) I will need to travel with Sarah. Although I haven't gotten a passport yet they can fast-track it. 

Anyway, one of the advisers gave me this funny looking newspaper called the Financial Times. I could hardly even read it because it looked like salmon and the last thing I want to see in salmon season is more salmon colored stuff, yuck. If you're going to sell this in Wasilla at this time of year you may want to change the color, first, and second it has a lot of pretty wacky opinions. I mean, I read the Wall Street Journal to see about BP or some stocks that are in our trust but I always find that pretty comfortable because they know how to talk to liberals now that it's owned by FoxNews. This other paper is talking about nationalisation, socialisation, Libor this, Libor that, who in cripes is Libor? Anyway, I checked the internet version and it's a little better because it's not pink, but it's still hard to understand and I think it slants left. I also saw an article by Al Gore in there, if I see another one I'm refusing to read it anymore, I don't care where we're going. Like I said, it's salmon season so I need a lot of fish wrappers.

You can make up your mind here.

Tight lines, watch out for news from the left,
Todd

Correction about Goggle

Hi Folks - A very pleasant reader let me know that one of the Goggle guys is in fact a Russian, who would have thought that Russians know so much about computers and technology. I bet he just traded a couple thousand cubic feet of gas for the company after some Seattle guy started it. Anyway, it's probably OK because he came over here and therefore isn't a deep Commie. Unless he's a spy with the KBG. Whatever, let Goggle have their bikini picture searches and whatever, as long as they don't start owning actual valuable land that Americans should own. I mean, we bought Alaska from the Russians like 100 years ago, after they trapped all the otters and seals and it was worthless to them. I don't want to give it back. Sending a few crab fisherman over is one thing, but owning land is another.

It's OK if they take San Francisco. Maybe they'll clean it up.

Tight lines,
Todd

Strong Women to Guard The Treasure

Howdy folks. I wanted to congratulate John on his dismantling of that liberal in last night's debate. Although I agreed with John on every single point, the one thing that struck me is his answer for who could be secretary of the treasure. I love the chance for Meg or Carly to do that, to start with they are super smart and they have helped to made America an economic powerhouse. (little disclosure here, I use an HP laptop and we sure went through a lot of color inkjet cassettes when Sarah was first named VP candidate, also I have bought a few chainsaw and snowmachine parts on eBay and it worked great). Second, women make great secretaries of almost anything, if you just look at most companies you will see that. Anyway, the more women the better, I say. Carly is a little easier to look at than Meg but it's brains that count for that stuff.

I also just wanted to give you a quick heads-up that Sarah is back here from the campaign trail on Thursday so we may need to do a lot of stuff and I may not be able to post for a day or so. This posting is getting kind of addicting, pretty weird for a guy who never paid too much attention in English class.

Tight Lines People,
First Dude Todd

PS Kind of weird that Carly couldn't get us a discount on those color cassettes directly from HP considering that she practically ran the company for a few years, but anyway I goggled them and got a good price mail order. It's really surprising that I'm giving computer advice but that's how much I've learned on this subject!

PSPS I watched the debate last night with the one adviser who knows all the tech stuff, he's the one who has been coaching me. Anyway, he kept saying something like where's BHO's 'day-sheeki' at the screen every time he said anything about taxes. That sounds like a Japanese word but I like the sound of it. I may just start calling BHO Day-Sheeki because it's funny!

Take No Prisoners John!

Hello people, I know I already wrote a lot of words at you earlier but I just have to say that I'm very excited about tonight's debate because Town Hall Meetings work for John. Instead of getting biased questions from a liberal moderator who is anything but moderate, the crowd has the chance to ask the questions. It has always been John's biggest strength on the campaign trail. So instead of getting Jim Lehrer,  who everyone knows is as liberal as they come and whose network constantly asks the government for handouts (unlike FoxNews which is both very reliable and profitable), Joe or Jill Sixpack can ask a question directly. Some questions that people could ask tonight include:
  • Why do you think that the mainstream media report that the surge is anything other than wildly successful?
  • Why aren't we drilling more in states like California, and oh, I don't know, Alaska?
  • Is a president who didn't serve in the military, or who doesn't have a son in the military, able to make sound judgments as commander-in-chief? (You might think that Biden's son would count here but he's actually a military LAWYER so he's not exactly a soldier)
  • How can the government call polar bears an endangered species when they're just a subspecies of the grizzly and grizzlies are in my garbage every other night?
  • And so on
Basically, you get the picture. All of these questions get to the heart of what people care about but what they are not getting straight from their mainstream liberally-biased media. I'm sure that John shares my view here. He doesn't want to be interrogated by anyone, least of all a socialist with a toopay and a fancy laptop.

Best wishes for a great debate John!

Tight lights,
First Dude Todd

Who Can Fight the Rise of Russia?

One of the advisers was talking to Sarah about how she can make her case that her experience with Russia really does count, and he sent her this link. This is proof that Russia is going to be more important to the U.S. future than anything that liberal Barack Hussein Obama knows about in this election. I mean, who doesn't want a Vice President who has been on the front line with Russia, and especially if she has been on a front line that has a lot more oil and gas energy supplies could be flowing in America to keep us safe from these oil dictators?

I've always said that if you want to see the most patriotic business leaders, look to the oil companies. They are not out making all these deals that put America at risk, and they definitely have the interest of the people in basic values like heat and transportation and snowmachining as their #1 priorities. Those are all basic American values.

Meanwhile, who supports the Democrats? Well, it's the classic San Francisco type crowd, with people from all those liberal do-nothing companies like Apple and Goggle. I mean, what do the founders of Goggle know about Russia? How can they understand anything about the ultimate power that a state like Russia can exert if they control all of the access to the basis of our entire economy? I'm afraid that you're in over your heads fellas when it comes to dealing with Russians and ultimate power. How can a company like Goggle know anything about ultimate power? Go back to your video games and goggle some nice pictures of women in bikinis computer boys because Russians are not to be messed with. Oh, and when you get a little older you'll learn that being a liberal doesn't build anything for the economy. Look at Mr. Buffet for that lesson.

I'm really hoping that John can get this message out to the people in the debate tonight, but all anyone wants to talk about is these banks and how safe or unsafe they are. If people just had some faith in the free market, all these things would sort themselves out. In fact, if the next president is committed to the free market, why don't they follow through with privatizing socialist security like should have been done a few years ago? I'm no investment expert, but it seems like a great time to get in the market -  you know, buy low, sell high, that kind of business. I mentioned this to Sarah and she thought it was a pretty good idea too, but the adviser seemed really nervous about it. It's funny, I could swear I heard him mention the same idea just before the convention, like before we had all this bank trouble, but maybe I'm wrong. There was a lot going on then and it's really hard to remember some of the policy details.

I'm sorry that I covered a lot of topics but I got a chance to clear my head in the float plane last night and I feel really really energized with new ideas right now.

Anyway, on to the debates! Kick some liberal tail John!

Tight Lines, and watch those sneaky Russians
First Dude Todd

This will be John and Sarah In Washington

Howdy folks, just a quick post before I head out in the float plane for short flight. I was thinking about the campaign slogan "John and Sarah, They'll Terminate The Tax and Spenders in Washington" after one of my favorite movies, Terminator. Anyway, it's sort of hard to understand this woman because she's from London or Germany, but she's apparently talking about some bank CEO who got punched when his bank went belly up. There should be more of that. Survival of the fittest, just like where I'm taking the float plane with the grizzlies and the salmon and the wolves and the moose. At least, after we get this bailout done they should go with less regulation and just let the crooked and inefficient banks fail.

The adviser said that we haven't taken any money from this particular bank so it's OK if we put this video up. I'm not sure what he meant by that.

Tight lines,
Todd

My Miss Wasilla belongs to America

Well people we had a BBQ to celebrate Sarah's victorious defeat of that Mid-Atlantic fraud (or elder statesman if you prefer) and we had the advisers leave us alone for a night. Most nights they are correcting some aspect of Sarah's behavior, but if they could have seen us tonight it would have seemed to them like my same old Sarah who charmed them during the initial picking process when they had that guy up here for almost 3 hours. She was so charming that half-day, like the times I remember that we would go to holiday parties for the station where she was a sports reporter and then she actually became the sports anchor. One time she got to meet Joe Montana who was here on a fishing holiday, and she absolutely connected with him. That's when I know that she could make it on the big stage. I never doubted it from the second that I first saw that in her.

I don't understand why we can't just run her as she is, because you could see that the Sarah she is connected with the people of St. Paul and the rest of the nation who traveled to see her speak. I mean, Alaska is cold like Minnesota (though they don't have near as many moose there) and people play hockey, ice fish and snowmachine. The people who founded Palmer, Sarah's town for some time, came from the Minnesota during the depression (the same depression that was created by a Democrat according to the one adviser who was in the first group of her debate managers, as he also explained why this new depression can be blamed on Democrats) according to this information that our strategist came across here. It's totally why she connects with those people and people from the south who were also affected by the depression. A lot of towns in the south that we've travelled through seem to have a pretty good connection with Sarah as well, although they definitely talk a lot different. In reality, everywhere that we've been - what I call Real America - has been really friendly and positive to us (but I even have problems understanding people from the really southern states like Indiana or Arkansas). United we stand, regardless of the accents, or how much you can understand from your fellow patriot, as far as I'm concerned. States like Michigan where there are too many socialists, we can't connect because they are who caused the depression in the first place. That's why we spend a lot of time in Alabama and Georgia where Sarah is at her best.

And that's what still gives me hope for this fight.

Tight Lines
There's still a lot left to fight,
First Dude Todd

Technical Issues

Sorry folks but the computer adviser on the campaign said that some people with the fancy phones can't really see the videos or more complicated stuff that we load on the site. I don't understand why someone would be looking at the computer on their phone, but if you are then you should not maybe trust the way the site looks and you should try to re-look at it once you're back at a real computer. Again, it's not anything that I understand but it is some kind of an internet problem.

Todd

Now here's a guy who calls it like he sees it!


I don't know where he lives, but it's not Alaska so he can't see Russians like we can, and he still gets it right about the commies.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hby_5Pku5ywmfC_rEtEV5BcYKR5gD93KDFPO0

Darn right Joe! An extra-strong spine must run in that family.

He's like another Joe M. that I idolize, the guy who tried to clean out Washington (and that sinpot Hollywood) back in the 50's.

Keep Up the Good Fight,
Todd

Thank The Liberals

Have a look at this. This is why America needs John McCain and my Sarah. If only we would adopt the same common sense policies as companies like Exxon and BP, we wouldn't be in such a spot. Heck, those oil companies make billions in profits every quarter and the government loses money and runs a deficit? Doesn't make any sense.

Todd

Back to the Real World

Only a little over a day since I've been back in Alaska and I've come back to my senses. Dang, it's hard to believe that I got so swept up in that mess that I actually looked forward to those advisers carrying that coffee all the way from Arizona. I mean, it is pretty tasty coffee but I've never been a very fancy guy and I just kind of got used to having people serve me hand and foot. It's not my usual manner to care so much about things. I think part of it was that I spent so much time around Cindy, and she always has someone doing something to organize her stuff or her flowers or get her those skim decaf coffees that she drinks all day. I know I'm going to have to spend a lot of time with her when we move to Washington, it's just that I really don't know what to talk about with her. She's never fished or hunted, and I'm not a patron of the arts. I also haven't been to any of those countries where she goes to help all those harelipped kids. Maybe I can find some kids for Cindy to help here, and then we will have something to talk about.

One of the advisers was talking to Sarah and me and he kept saying something about a 'crisis of confidence' but I don't see any lack of confidence in Sarah. She just steamrolled through that debate this week and doesn't let up. She missed spending a lot of time with Trig and she's been enjoying that. It's good that we had Bristol around. She's going to make a great mother. She already acts very motherly with Trig, they just seem to have some kind of biological connection more than brother and sister. It's just amazing how those hormones must work.

I've concluded that I will just drink whatever coffee that they have at the Java Bear in Wasilla, I always though it was pretty good before and it's just easier than to trying to organize those advisers. I do look forward to when Cindy comes up here, because her assistant said that she was going to bring of those coffee machines with the steam nozzle. That will be nice but I can't forget my roots when I'm drinking those fancy things. It will ruin me for when I go to moose camp or next year when I'm hunting whitetails at Camp David.

Tight Lines and Straight Shots,
First Dude Todd


Good idea

They just old me that there would be another 2 planes of advisers arriving here tomorrow, we can get them to bring up the coffee beans from Sedona in the jet and have the Java Bear try to make them here. So maybe I can post sooner.

Todd

One more thing

We're already thinking about our coffee for tomorrow morning but now we're back in Wasilla and we can't get those machiatos like we had in the morning on the patio. They really do have better coffee in Sedona than we do in Wasilla at the Java Bear. It seems like a business idea but in the meantime I know that Sarah is going to be grouchy. That's why I thought I'd send this out in case I can't post for a while.
Todd

Finally in Wasilla

Holy cow, I'm tired after all that whirlwind. We touched down tonight and it was warmer in Anchorage than where we took off in Sedona. Weird. Sarah went ahead of me by about 8 hours because of some protocol. 

Private jets really do make travel easier. That's why Warren Buffet invested in that company and I'm sure he's no Democrat. Are the liberals telling me that the economy is bad when so many people fly in private jets? I don't buy it.

Anyway, I'm really tired and can't think straight. Talk to you later.
Tight Lines,
First Dude

You reeled in a big one Sarah!

Howdy folks! I'm so dang proud of my Sarah that I could just burst. Not only did she answer every question better than that America-basher at the other podium, she looked graceful and effortless doing it. Everything that liberal host (didya know that she's writing an Obama book?) threw at her she answered, and she dropped the hammer on that old socialist Biden.

But that doesn't mean it was fair. For one, I did think that the moderator personally wanted to make Sarah appear a little uncomfortable about the gay marriage stuff. I think that's for personal reasons that the moderator has, you know, if you read about how she's not too worried about not being married, hint, hint, hint. She really meant to make Sarah squirm under those lights. Hey, just because Sarah and me toe a firm line by God's law doesn't mean that we look with scorn upon those men who like to decorate the living room or women who play softball better. I mean, we watch those home makeover shows up in Wasilla and there's always some guy who knows too much about decorating with pillows and candles. That's OK as long as he doesn't want to have his 'marriage' made legal which would lower the value of the concept of marriage which has existed since the bible times.

It's important that your president share the same values that you do, and John and Cindy and Sarah and I just happen to believe that marriage is between one man and one woman for life. If you look at someone deeply honorable like John McCain, you see that what he and Cindy share is a lifetime commitment to each other. That may not be common in today's society, but the only way we can keep the value is by keeping that just where it is.

Tight Lines,
Soon-to-be Second Dude Todd

PS Oops, at the beginning of the debate I actually thought that guy was some used boat salesman who was warming up the crowd, until someone said that it was Joe Biden. I didn't realize that he had such a big dopey grin and that spray on tan. At the end when I shook his hand, I was still worried that he was going to try to sell me a used 52 foot Beneteau with twin Cummins. Thanks but no thanks mister. And I don't want to buy your tax-and-spend policies either.

Countdown to Action!

Howdy Howdy Howdy everyone! I am so excited for tonight because Sarah has been preparing really hard and she's finally ready to bag and skin herself a liberal who has spent the last 30-some years holed up in Snafu (that's what we call DC up around 60 North latitude). He's about a 36-pointer, so I prefer a head mount, but maybe she'll also hang the pelt in our living room next to the moose she shot 2 years ago. It probably won't look as good as the moose because the moose doesn't have plugs. 

The advisers really worked hard to help Sarah understand a lot of foreign policy issues that she didn't really get a chance to work on as Governor of the largest state of the nation. Sure, she knows about Russia, but commies aren't the only threat we face. A lot of the complicated stuff comes down to the strategy of how we keep the America safe from terrorism. Did you know for instance that many of our NATO partners look to us for pretty much everything that needs to be done if there's an international crisis that demands strong reaction? I guess that's what happens when you have a socialist government like France. Everyone works 20 hours a week, they all eat some cheese, drink some wine, and the economy doesn't produce Tom Dickey. Plus, the government over there is always meddling in the markets and deciding how many cars of whatever models should be made. It probably doesn't matter anyway because he showed me some pictures of a car called the 'Lemon' and it looked like a cross between a spaceship and a really ugly minivan, so no one buys them. Yuck. I guess the French are better at making pizza and fondue than they are at making cars.

This adviser seemed to know a lot about the French, and none of it seemed too good for small business owners over there. The adviser said that the French don't even have a word for 'entrepreneurship'. They also don't have a word for 'laissez-faire' which basically means in Roman or Latin that a government just lets its people do what's best for their own lives, families, and money.  In Alaska we have a lot of that laissez, like if you don't want to have indoor plumbing you can live that way, if Mr. Grizz is in our burn barrel and you want to take a shot at him, go ahead. We like to keep it copasetic, as long as you're not causing your neighbor any grief. 

That's just the thing with the philosophy of liberals like Old Pluggy we'll be seeing tonight. They want to take away your chance to shoot your gun so that you don't develop any marksmanship, then when you do need to protect your family from a bear who's in heaven licking nacho cheese residue from your garbage, you're not prepared to take the shot. It's a slippery slope, and it slides right into the outhouse pot like our neighbors have.

Is that what the greatest nation on earth needs? Heck no! 

Give 'em the business Sarah!

Tight lines and tight answers,
First Dude Todd

Sarah Doesn't Need Help Finding Her Voice

Howdy folks. I'm still holed up down here in Sedona and I'm gettin' pretty bored since I can't go out shootin' or haulin' anything with my truck. I've been spending a lot of time on the internet just goggling different things to try to help Sarah get ready.

The advisers keep using Hilary Clinton as a good example of how women politicians can connect with other women, so I looked at all kinds of pictures and videos and articles about Hilary. At first, I was pretty unimpressed with her. I mean, in one video she made some comment about finding her voice, and I was thinking - is that the same voice that you use to scream at Bill when he porks another intern? If that's the voice she found, I'll pass on listening to it. I've heard that she throws a lot of lamps too. In that case, she must be channeling her voice through her arm.

But then I got to thinking about women and my better half to understand Hilary. I mean, Hilary really represents all of the women who have stood in the shadows of their men, and who have even been embarrassed or shamed over some aspect of his behavior that they couldn't control. I don't believe that I've ever done anything to shame Sarah. In fact, she always says that she's proud of me for winning the Tesoro Iron Dog, 4 times in fact, even though that's not the only reason she vetoed Alaska House Amendment 117 (Amendment Authorizing Personal Taxation on Snow Endurance Event Monetary Prizes). In her quest for the second-highest office in the land, I sure hope that I don't drag down her image.

On the other hand, I can't find God's love in my heart for all women. That Katie Couric is a bitter shrew. Did you see the muck that she was slinging in that interview? If that's the state of liberal yellow journalism in the United States, maybe we don't want to live in that house on Washington Avenue.

I have other reasons for being nervous about moving there, like when I asked if Camp David was a moose- or caribou-hunting camp. The adviser guy just looks at me and shakes his head. I guess that means it's just deer.

Tight Lines,
First Dude Todd

Holed up in Sedona, Arizona

Well folks, they have Sarah and me holed up down here in Arizona while all the consultants do their magic to help Sarah come up with perfect answers. This stuff sure is a lot tougher than up in Wasilla. When she was running for mayor, her debate took place next to the barbecue stand in the gravel lot in front of the Wasilla Sportsman's Show and Game Feed. Sarah had good answers but didn't even need them because her opponent had BBQ sauce all over his cheek for the first half of the debate and the citizens found it hard to listen to what he was saying. Plus, the crowd was about 90% men who had mostly all gone to the Sergei's Kamchatka Bride Service booth and they were kind of 'interested' to see a woman who could talk as good as Sarah. Nothin' sexier than a smart woman, I'll tell you that.

In Sarah's debate for her Governor race, it was town hall style, and she had to field a lot of really tough questions just like any citizen in any state in the nation would ask. I expect there will be a lot more of those on Thursday night. The good news is that, once again, Sarah had all the right answers on all of these subjects.

When that Vice Presidential debate moderator asks her about her personal beliefs, it will really help the American people understand what Sarah will be fighting for against those liberals in Washington. I can't tell you any secrets about her answers, but if you are concerned like me about the following issues:

  • Drilling: Which slope should be next?
  • Assault rifles: Mandatory?
  • Registration fees for float planes and personal snowcraft
  • Salmon bag limits
  • Grizzly nuisance shooting - porch shots or not?
  • Personal taxation on snow endurance event monetary prizes
  • Halibut fishing season regulations
then you'd better tune in. I know that Sarah's ideas will wow you like they did the people of Wasilla and the people of Alaska.

What makes me a little worried, though, is that Sarah will be urged by these debate advisers to take a position that's not natural for her. For instance, building code in Wasilla requires that Douglas fir logs used in log homes be at least 12 inches in finished diameter. What if those advisers are influenced by lobbyists from the building industry who try to sneak in laws allowing 11 inch logs? Or even 10? What would that do to the logging industry?

No way, I tell Sarah. Stay strong and keep your values for the American people.

It's the only way, and it's the American way.

Tight lines and Right answers,
First Dude Todd

Hippies Need Not Apply

Hi Everyone - We just got back from golfing like 28 holes on a beautiful course outside of Sedona, and I really got sunburned after I had a few too many beers. It was pretty cool because we saw rattlesnakes and all, but I'm too tired to write something about today. Here's a little something that I wrote before we left Wasilla for the debate preparation. I miss Wasilla. Send me back!

Folks, I'm really pretty steamed today. It appears that either a hippie or a meth head siphoned all the gas out out of my truck. While I did see a few fellas with nubby teeth hanging around the gravel lot where my truck was parked, I'm leaning toward blaming the hippies.

You see, a lot of people think Alaska is full of tough frontier types like yours truly and the whole Yuu'taak clan over in East Wasilla. Well, it's true that Alaska is really America's frontier, where people who working hard in the forests, on the fields, and in the boats can make a good living and raise a family in God's country. What surprises a lot of people is just how many gosh-darned hippies there are up here. They're everywhere!

I don't really know when they started to wander up here. I say 'wander' because a hippie never has a plan, and by cripes, they are so aimless with their lives, relying on other peoples vehicles to bring them up from Berkeley or San Francisco or whatever sin-pot they come from. They hitch rides in on the long-haul trucks coming from anywhere and everywhere. They grab some unsuspecting young person who just happens to have four wheels and a trust fund to be able to drive his crappy VW bus all the way up here. I really don't know why someone in Wasilla doesn't own a VW Bus repair shop. It would serve 2 purposes, first it would make money off liberals, what I like to call perfect capitalism, and second it would help them get their cars fixed so that they could leave Wasilla and get the heck back to Portland or San Francisco. A win-win as we like to call it on the oil fields when we find both gas and oil in the same well.

I mean, look at that whole San Francisco area. What have they ever done for the national economy? When I look at all the technology coming out of the University of Alaska, and I see real innovations like making roads out of peat moss, They could probably put a few oil wells underneath that fancy golden gay bridge, but it wouldn't be worth it. That's not a win-win.

Tight lines and Gushers,
First Dude Todd

No Passport Required

A lot of Wasilla folks have asked me if I need to get a Passport once Sarah reaches the White House. Cripes, no, I reply, why would I need to have that new 800cc model from Snow Wolf if we're living down in Washington DC where there's no snow? No, not the Snow Wolf Passport, they say, a United States Passport that allows you entry to foreign lands? Well, first of all, if I want to visit a foreign land, I would just take the Piper across the Bering and glance down at Commieland. Second of all, why would I want to spend the taxpayers' hard-earned money to act like a tourist in some liberal country like Paris, where I have to eat cheese and horse entrails? Thanks but no thanks, I say.

But this raises a few interesting points.

First, the United States puts a lot of effort into making friends in other countries and this is often a good thing. For all of our frontier abilities here in Alaska, we don't have 100 million people to assemble toys, circuit breakers, potpourri candles, or other things like that that don't need to be the absolute highest quality like snowmachine tracks or new chainsaw bars. For those of you in the lower 48, the highest quality parts are often made in countries like Sweden, where their dedication to the free market (unlike the socialist liberals) makes sure that they are the absolute highest quality. In the United States, all of the really good stuff comes from companies like Minn-Kota and Johnson, in Southern states like Minnesota where they completely reject liberal philosophies.

Second, sometimes history reverses itself, like what happened in Russia, where that one politician who liberated them ended up in charge of the KBG. I don't know how they brainwashed him, but now it affects everything like the price of titanium that goes into my snowmachine brakes to how many Kamchatka brides we can import annually up on the North Slope. By December, when it finally gets down under 30 degrees here, I'm hoping that the Russians keep the gas prices down. I'm not too optimistic, because it's all a bunch of reformed commies who are trying to extort money for that LNG on the markets. They just don't believe in the free market like us in the U.S.

Third, and this is most important, the United States has a kind of image to keep up and those clowns in Washington don't help. I bet the world thinks that we're completely incompetent with all of these liberals in Washington and how they've been behaving. We're about to go from the ownership society, which was working perfectly well, to a pinko state where the government owns all the banks. Well, that will never happen in Wasilla, because my Uncle Stanley Yuu'taak owns the biggest bank in town, which is the East Wasilla Savings & Loan and Small Motor Repair Depot. He's a trustworthy red-blooded American who is as honest as the day is long. Remember that he was acquited, no thanks to those commies at the Progressive.

I can't wait for Sarah to get to Washington so that she can clean them up for good. Uncle Stanley can't wait either, and he is curious about how many small motors need good repair services down there. I guess we'll just have wait till next January to see.

Tight lines and Tight-Sealed Pistons,
First Dude Todd

My Better Half and The Media

A lot of people seem to be concerned that my wife Sarah is getting some rough treatment in the media. Well, to them, I say don't worry because Sarah's been managing this stuff for years. You don't get to be a successful woman in Alaska without some tough questions from the likes of Alaska Woman, Frontier Bride, or Food Smoker Recipes Monthly.

As far back as I can remember, these reporters would be lining up to ask Sarah all manner of questions about her family, life in Alaska, her kids, balancing her career with her family, balancing her career with her aerobics schedule, how to handle bad hair days, fashion tips, and so forth. Some of the tougher questions included things like:

  • How do you manage your role as Mayor of the third-largest town in Alaska?
  • What special activities do you encourage your family to do to get them through Alaska's long winters?
  • What does your husband think of your success?
  • How do you keep your kids off meth after the first episode?
  • Do you have any special pemmican recipes for the holidays?
  • Do you have any fashion tips for expecting brides?

Of course, those communists over at the Wasilla Progressive always tried to get her to answer some questions about her policies about birth control, abortion, and some other topics that Sarah though were pretty dang clear if you would just pay attention in church on Sunday morning and then make government follow those rules. Along with that hatchet job article about my uncle's Trading Post,
that's why she banned them from her office. Good for her I said. Don't tell me Sarah doesn't know anything about Russian foreign policy. She's fighting communism right here in Alaska.

I guess there are just some in every crowd, but Sarah's a lot tougher than me. I'm not sure that I could handle such hard questions. Usually when I get interviewed by North Slope Petroleum Operator Quarterly or Musher, I just have to answer technical questions like how to how to manage flare lines or on-the-trail splinting techniques.

That's why Sarah really is my better half!

Tight lines,
First Dude Todd

PS Fellas, check out that issue of Alaska shown above! Your wife'll love it because of the article about Sarah, but she doesn't need to know that your bought if for the article about catching barn-door sized halibut in the Barren Islands!

Substance Abuse

My soon-to-be son-in-law Levi comes from a kinda wild family, and I'm not too sure that he has enough role models. I was a little bit the same way when I was his age, until Uncle Dwight Yuu'taak took me aside and gave me a little bit of advice. I think times have changed since my come-clean, as Uncle Dwight called it, but it's pretty clear that Levi needs a little wisdom from the elders. Levi is known to get a little bit rowdy on the beer, which is perfectly understandable for a young fellow who can skate and shoot the puck like he does. But there are 3 things that I'm going to tell him that he really needs to avoid.

First, he should never get caught with more than a quarter pound of weed, and I would say even 2 ounces of that BC Dee-Lite might be too much. It just looks bad, and people in the lower 48 may not understand it. Sure, we have lighter laws up here, and a lot of us use it to get through the winter, but it's all about perception. Plus, with Cheetos at $6.95 a bag over at the Trading Post, this can be an expensive hobby.

Second, avoid the gas. It's just too dangerous, because it never fails that you just get the tent set up when someone comes around with a lighter, which scares the cripes out of you. No gas, Levi.

Third, and this is really a must - meth has to be avoided at all costs. I should say most costs, because if you are a stripper, a roofer, or a Russian crab fisherman, it can actually make you more productive, until all your teeth turn brown and rot and you have to use all your savings to get the nubs pulled and to buy dentures. So, Levi, unless you find yourself in one of those professions, stay away from the meth.

I guess I'm gonna need Sarah to have this same talk with Bristol, although there's no way she could end up as a roofer or a crab fisherman.

Tight lines,
First Dude and Father-in-Law Todd

The Wasilla Town Hall

A lot of people have told me that people all over the world are looking at pictures of the Wasilla Town Hall. I know what they're thinking - we must be pretty proud to have a fine building like that in which government operates and does the will of the people and of God. I also want these people in faraway countries like Japan or London to know that our Wasilla government works because we've learned some lessons from the private sector.

First, you'll note the thing that looks like a drive through window. That actually is a drive-through window, but instead of getting a caribou burger, you can take care of quick business with the town hall, like handling minor meth violations or registering your truck. The only time we had to make someone come inside was when my cousin Darryl Yuu'taak, who owns the East Wasilla Trading Post, tried to pay his fine for selling Jager in his outside vending machine. The paperwork took too long to do from the drive-through. He later co-sponsored the '2008 Paperwork Reduction Act' in Wasilla Town Council that made it legal to sell hippers of Jager in a vending machine, next to the spawn sacks and fuel additive.

Second, the sign looks really good, but it actually is a sign that we made up of the old sign from the "Wasilla City Mall", which was the old building. We just had my brother-in-law (not that one) replace the "M" with an "H"! See, cost savings and efficiency, just like BP or GM in the private sector!

The only problem that we need to fix is the roof, which sometimes lets go with a big pile of snow or ice onto the person in the car using the drive-through window. I'll get my brother-in-law on that right away, or at least before winter. We still have a few months because winter doesn't really start here anymore until December or so.

Plus, here's the best part. Because part of the strip mall used to be a dry cleaner, they have a sealed storage area where the Wasilla police can safely store chemical drums that they seize when they make a really big meth bust. It's a good thing that this hasn't happened since August, but at least we have it when we need it!

Tight lines and firmpacked tracks,
First Dude Todd

That's No Moose, That's Greta Van Susteren.

She's interviewing me. You'll see it on Fox.

Cripes, you could see her hair move when she blinked. Good thing she's such a patriot, with her long ancestry of commie hunting.

http://gretawire.foxnews.com/2008/09/12/behind-the-scenes-todd-palin-the-first-dude/

Snowmachine Racing - Better than NASCAR!

I got a letter from Roger in Georgia asking about snowmobile racing. He likes NASCAR and wants to know if I like that too.


Roger, I try to be modest about my racing but I have won the Tesoro Iron Dog snowmachine race four times. The course is difficult but I rely heavily on the Lord Jesus Christ and my native heritage to guide me through the challenges of the track. I’m one-eighth Yup’ik and have some Curyung blood, but I haven’t huffed any gasoline in several years, despite what those liberals at the Wasilla Progressive wrote about me.

As for other motor sports, I am very happy at any endeavor that uses up what we up here on the North Slope like to call ‘black gold’. For NASCAR, I have seen a few races on the satellite but I haven’t gotten too excited. For one, the drivers don’t seem to need to navigate too many ravines, unstable ice shelves, wolf packs, or fallen trees to get to the finish. They seem to just go round and round. And also, the sponsors aren’t something that I can really see helping me push on and all. Home Depot? FedEx? Texas Instruments? How about some real sponsors that make a real product that the racers use, like Dr. Metcalf’s Pelt Salt, Sergei’s Kamchatka Bride Service, or Federal Bear Loads? Back in 2005, I was racing for Nevr-Freeze Fuel Additive but they got shut down due to them finding a couple of barrels at that meth lab in East Wasilla. But that's a different story.


I even busted my arm in one race but got a doctor to brace me up for the finish. Believe me, if I believed in all that Darwin stuff I would think snowmachine racing is one of the best examples of survival of the fittest.


If you ever get a chance to come up here, you should try your hand at NASCAR of the North!


Tight lines and firmpacked tracks,

First Dude Todd