Alaska Rep. Disavows Twitter Impostor

Texas' Louie Gohmert says Alaskan pipeline is hot date meet-up

(NEWSER) - A Texas Republican congressman is adamant in his backing of the trans-Alaska pipeline, but not because of silly energy independence. No, we must keep the oil flowing for the sake of ... caribou romance. So argued Rep. Louie Gohmert, tongue perhaps in cheek, during a meeting of the House Natural Resources committee last week, reports the Washington Post . Gohmert made the case that the warmth of the oil making its way through the pipeline encourages the randy behavior (and population boom) of the region's caribou. More»

Mark Begich, Don Young both targeted

(AP) - A day after a bomb squad had to blow up briefcases left at John Boehner's offices, more suspicious packages targeted two Alaskan lawmakers. A box containing a white powder was delivered to Democrat Sen. Mark Begich's Fairbanks office and opened by a staff member. Begich spokeswoman Julie Hasquet says the staff member, following office procedure, opened the package in a plastic bag today and white powder spilled out. Hasquet says the package was turned over to US marshals, who were located in a nearby office in the Fairbanks federal building. More»

Former governor attempts to explain famous gaffe

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin used her TLC soapbox last night to repudiate, er, refute, er, whatever, that whole refudiate ruckus, explaining that it was a mere typo. "I pressed an F instead of a P and people freaked out," Palin said. "Make lemonade out of lemons." Critics, however, aren't buying, reports the Huffington Post : Palin used the term on a Fox News appearance before the fateful tweet, and the "F" and "P" are not near one another on any standard keyboard. More»

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin has returned to her Facebook soapbox to reinvigorate the "death panels" meme she helped popularize. "We had been told there were no 'death panels' in the bill," says an essay posted to the former Alaska governor's page. "But look closely at the provision mandating bureaucratic panels that will be calling the shots regarding who will receive government health care." More»

Republicans have more followers, but benefits are unclear

(NEWSER) - If you think Twitter is the preserve of skinny-jeaned urbanites, think again; in the corridors of power, Republican microbloggers are leading the way. Politico reports that 101 GOP members of Congress have Twitter accounts to only 57 Democrats, and Republican legislators posted 932 messages over two weeks this summer—nearly four times the Democratic total. The most popular tweeter in Congress? Onetime technophobe John McCain, with 1.4 million followers. More»