Briefs was disappointed to miss the fundraiser last Monday night for Alaskans for Parental Rights, in support of Proposition 2, the parental notification initiative. Jim Minnery of the Alaska Family Council heads the group, and had pulled together an impressive list of co-hosts for the much-publicized confab at Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Walker’s house. Among those co-hosts listed on the invite (all Republicans) were U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller, Congressman Don Young and his challenger Sheldon Fisher, lieutenant governor candidates Eddie Burke, Mead Treadwell and Representative Jay Ramras, plus Governor Sean Parnell and his two opponents, Ralph Samuels and Walker. Even Senator Lisa Murkowski showed up for a few minutes, despite not being listed on the flier.

The day after, Briefs gave Eddie a call to get the debrief on what could have been a tense evening, with all those competing candidates in one room. But Eddie reports that several didn’t show—Governor Parnell, Congressman Young and Representative Ramras. According to Eddie, when Walker introduced Samuels, he said to him, “it’s always just us two,” referring to both gubernatorial candidates’ charges that the governor is dodging debates.

Without those three present, there was little acrimony except perhaps between Eddie and Mead Treadwell, who Eddie said he didn’t speak to. With the tea party Conservative Patriots Group’s recent endorsement of Treadwell in the race, many, including Eddie, are scratching their heads, since Eddie’s been boosting for the tea party since its inception, particularly on his former talk radio program. Eddie says he told Mead at the Republican Women’s Luncheon to stop lying and saying he’s a conservative, and points out that Mead donated $200 to Matt Claman’s failed reelection bid for the Anchorage Assembly. (Claman was one of the so-called “socialist six” on the body, and previously, when he was acting mayor, introduced Proposition 64, the gay rights ordinance which Mayor Dan Sullivan later vetoed.) “I think the tea party has been misled and duped into thinking he’s the guy,” Eddie says. “I think [the Conservative Patriots Group] caved to power and politics instead of principle.” Briefs was also flabbergasted the CPG didn’t endorse Eddie; until his radio program, which Briefs was a frequent guest on, ended, Eddie was the voice of the tea party. Then again, this is why Briefs loves Alaska politics.

Shockingly, Anchorage didn’t make CNNMoney.com’s list of the 100 best small cities to live in. But if you click on our town’s name, it calls us a ‘contender,’ and you can compare various quality of life factors with the top ten “terrific small cities,” which “boast plenty of jobs, great schools, safe streets, low crime, lots to do, charm, and other features that make a town great for raising a family.”

Eden Prairie, Minnesota tops the list, which also includes Fort Collins, Colorado, Bellevue, Washington, and Rogers, Arkansas. Using the comparison feature, it would seem a large factor in our missing out on the top 100 is the rate of personal crime; it says we have nine personal crime incidents per thousand people, while the highest of the top ten is four per thousand people (and there’s only one that high, Fort Collins). Of course we’re comparing apples to oranges here—Fort Collins is more than 100,000 people smaller than Anchorage— but perhaps the Sullivan administration could take this as a reason rethink its slashing of funding for public safety… Naw, we’re just kidding; that ain’t gonna happen.

So Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin tell Us Weekly they’re getting hitched within the next six weeks. Shocker! There are rumors swirling that a Levi/Bristol reality show is in the works. If that’s the case, maybe Levi’s attorney Rex Butler will officiate, with his body man Tank Jones as best man?

bjk@anchoragepress.com