Ed Salvato @  Gay.com/Travel did a great article on Gay Alaska...

 

"In all likelihood, gay isn't the first word that pops to mind when you think of Alaska. It's true that the 49th state is largely rural and conservative, and with 70 percent of the electorate Republican, it's firmly entrenched in the "Red" column.

But if your vision of the "last frontier" includes only igloos, polar bears, oil drillers and moose, look again. Rich with resources and drenched in pipeline dollars, the state boasts well-endowed and well-attended arts centers, civic organizations, parks and museums."

Alaska is also home to "hockey-mom" and   newly minted Republican vice presidential candidate,  SARAH "Barracuda" PALIN. This site is really not about politics  - it's about travel. But how we can resist going here?!  Unless the Republicans give her a helluva crash course, in the Oct. 2 debate with Joe Biden, Sarah Palin will be the Dan Quayle of 2008!  Does it really make sense to elect a former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience, to be placed within  a heartbeat away from the presidency?

What is really amusing is how rock band HEART ties into all of this! I actually worked with Heart in the early 80's and both Ann and Nancy are wonderfully sweet and talented. This morning Heart called in their attorneys.  The Wilson sisters said the Republicans should have asked permission before belting out their 1970s hit Barracuda at Mrs Palin's address to the Republican National Convention last week.

 

Not impressed that Mrs Palin was nicknamed "Sarah Barracuda" as a high school basketball player, the Wilsons have sent a "cease and desist" lawyer's letter to the Republicans ordering them not to use the song again.

"The Republican campaign did not ask for permission to use the song, nor would they have been granted that permission," the sisters said in a statement.

A spokesman said: "The McCain campaign respects intellectual property rights. Accordingly, prior to using Barracuda at any events, we paid for and obtained all necessary licenses."

Under US copyright law, the Heart song is licensed for public performance under a blanket fee paid by the convention venue in St Paul to ASCAP, an artists' royalties collection company.

Roger Fisher, Heart's former guitarist, initially said he was "thrilled" that the Republicans had used Barracuda, originally written about an unscrupulous record producer. However, he later said he would donate a percentage of the royalties he received to Barack Obama's election campaign.


AS A SIDE STORY -

Gay groups are outraged over a scheduled ex-gay conference supported by Republican Vice Presidential nominee Governor Sarah Palin's church that aims to “cure” gays and lesbians of their sexuality.

The conference, called Love Won Out, takes place on Sept. 13th,  at Abbott Loop Community Church in Anchorage and is being organized by James Dobson's conservative Christian organization Focus on the Family. Promoters of the conference say being gay is a choice.

“We are deeply concerned that Sarah Palin may share the extreme and medically unsound view that gay and lesbian people can and should be cured,” said PFLAG. “We call on Palin to express her views on this issue so we have a clear idea on where she stands. We hope this is an area where she disagrees with her church.”

http://www.ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=2360&MediaType=1&Category=26