To join by Zoom, use Meeting Id: 711 1611 1887, and Meeting PassCode: Bf3ZLP. Special guests include Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson, Alaska Family Council Jim Minnery, Anchorage Police Chief Ken McCoy, and others.
Redistricting board has two maps under consideration for new political boundaries
On Thursday, the Alaska Redistricting Board adopted two proposed redistricting maps.
The draft plans can be seen at www.akredistrict.org/maps.
The Alaska Constitution requires adoption of at least one proposed plan within 30 days after the official reporting of the census of the United States. The census data was received by all the states on Aug. 12.
These are not the only maps in the process. Third parties have been working on maps, and those will be reviewed by the board on Sept. 17, with public testimony expected. Some Republican interests are drawing maps, as are Democrats.
“I was pleased the Board came together this week and found consensus on many areas of the state. We adopted two proposed plans today to begin the process of hearing from Alaskans about how they would like their legislative districts to be crafted,” said John Binkley, chairman of the Alaska Redistricting Board, in a statement.
The Alaska Redistricting Board will hold public hearings statewide prior to finalizing the new political boundaries no later than Nov. 10.
The board has met all week, but the public’s ability to monitor the discussions has been severely curtailed by faulty audio and visual equipment. The Friday meeting was canceled, since the draft maps are complete, and the group will meet again on Friday, Sept. 17, to consider third-party maps.
The board found quite a bit of consensus on the two maps but there are areas of disagreement, including:
- The northern line of Bristol Bay region — how far north it should extend.
- Fairbanks and how it expands into Interior districts
- Valdez, about whether it should be paired with Interior villages, Mat-Su or Anchorage.
The maps being worked on right now were the products of Bethany Marcum and Nicole Borromeo, both board members.
Marcum’s map, particularly around the Mat-Su, is more compact and also socio-economically integrated. There was general agreement that Marcum’s and Borromeo’s maps for the Mat-Su are similar. Both of their maps have Whittier and South Knik with Anchorage.
It appears the maps take Nenana out of the Mat-Su region and put it into the Interior. The group has not resolved the Gulf Coast yet — whether to include Cordova with northern Southeast Alaska, or leave it paired with Kodiak; a case can be made either way.
On Thursday, the Democrat group calling itself Alaskans for Fair Redistricting gave testimony concerning the draft plans. The group is represented by Democrats Robin O’Donahue of Fairbanks and David Dunsmore of Anchorage .
While the Democrats had their people ready to testify about districts, the Republicans have not had anyone testify during this entire process started except Republican former party Chairman Randy Ruedrich. Word has spread that former Sen. Cathy Giessel, a Republican dissident, is playing a shadow puppeteer role by directing the lead staff, Peter Torkelson, from behind the scenes.
Sen. Tom Begich testified and has his own map to offer the board. He said the Mat-Su and Anchorage are underpopulated. Begich said it is imperative that Mat-Su and Anchorage draw population from outside their boundaries, not from each other. Begich agreed that adding Yakutat to Southeast Alaska makes sense, and would put Valdez with Kodiak and Cordova with the Interior. Begich was representing Senate Democratic Caucus.
The board appeared to disagree with Begich on some of his assertions.
Chairman John Binkley appeared to be tiring of the process on Thursday, calling it “tedious,” and said that Marcum was “driving the bus.”
Marcum was working hard to keep Eagle River compact and the group was trying to make slight adjustments to all of the Anchorage districts on Marcum’s map to accommodate the loss in the northernmost district of the South Knik.
Borromeo, general counsel for the Alaska Federation of Natives, was adamant that they not work from a pre-made map; she wants to start from scratch for Anchorage, which would advantage her Democrat interests. At this point in the meeting she refused to participate and said she would watch watch they do, indicating this may be a point for her allies to mount a legal challenge.
Binkley reiterated that they were, indeed, starting with fresh maps.
Borromeo also disagreed with the role and duties of the board chair, saying he has been unfair about public testimony, not giving equal time, and giving disparate treatment. That complaint didn’t hold water since all but one of the testifiers has represented Democrat interests.
She said some board members get the benefit of counsel, while others do not. She said she felt shafted and that Binkley has been inconsistent. Borromeo was upset by an email from Monday that suggested the board set broad policy, such as where to put Valdez, and have the staff draw the maps, rather than draw them as a group exercise.
Borromeo further complained that Binkley found that process “tedious.” She said people should keep those thoughts to themselves. At that point, Binkley apologized and said “I’ll try to do better.”
Borromeo continued to complain about small-group side discussions, and said too many unilateral actions have been taken.
After an at-ease, Borromeo acknowledged that she shut down earlier and blamed her Athabaskan heritage for her temper, which had gotten the best of her. She then re-engaged with the map process that was finalizing and began working with Marcum on variations on the Anchorage districts. Borromeo’s map variations greatly swung to help Democrats, and with planted Democrats testifying, it may result in a more Democrat-leaning Anchorage.
By the end of Friday, the public will be able to see which incumbents might be paired with each other in these draft maps, with PDF documents being released by the end of the day.
Art Chance: September 11, the busiest day
By ART CHANCE
Sept. 10, 2001, was just another day. I was a labor relations analyst IV for the Department of Administration, Division of Personnel, and I had an arbitration scheduled to begin the next day.
The hearing was with the Alaska State Troopers’ union and, as it was decades ago, I don’t have a clue what it was about. I think it was held in Juneau because the union representative was there.
Sept. 11 promised to be just another day at the office, at least if your office is an adversarial proceeding in front of a labor arbitrator.
I awoke at my usual 5:30 am, went to the kitchen and brewed a cup of coffee. I turned on the radio, as was my custom, and instead of the local announcer on KINY, it was an ABC network feed with Peter Jennings. I knew something was going on in the world, so I turned on the TV.
To this day I can’t sort out what I saw in real time and what was on tape; time is pretty elastic that day.
I do know that the first aircraft had hit the first World Trade Center tower at 4:45 am Alaska Daylight Time, so I began watching about an hour after the first impact and 20 minutes after the second tower was struck.
After the first tower was hit, there had been talk of it possibly being an accident. During World War II, a US B-25 crashed into the Empire State Building and the World Trade Center was built to withstand the impact of aircraft of the time of its design, the late 1960s. When the second aircraft struck the South Tower, that ended talk of accidents; it was evident that the world had changed.
I awakened my wife, told her we were likely at war, and quickly set off to work. I told her I’d see her when I saw her.
I wasn’t the first one at the office; everyone knew it was going to be an interesting day. You don’t know what you don’t know until people start asking questions you never even thought about. We knew enough about emergencies to know that this day was going to result in something between extraordinary security and martial law.
I got a couple of people working on how we exercised emergency powers and how we differentiated between an emergency and martial law and had someone get on the horn with the Department of Law to see who was in command if there was a federal declaration of martial law. I still don’t know a hard answer for that and I’m really glad we never had to find out, though we might yet.
Being bureaucrats, the first questions were of course who could do what and who was on top. Then the practical questions began to arise. As soon as the U.S announced the ground stop of all aircraft, it became evident that we had employees and State authorized travelers scattered all over Alaska and the United States.
Fortunately, we didn’t seem to have anybody traveling internationally; that luxury mostly passed with the mid-80s oil price crash. It also quickly became evident that we had no centralized way to know who they were or where they were and we had no reliable way to contact them.
Cell phones were far from ubiquitous in 2001, and the State didn’t issue them to any but very high-level employees; I was a direct report to a political appointee and I didn’t have a State phone.
The internet was still in its infancy. The State had a website and we could post information and notices, but it offered no real communications capability. We basically resorted to bureaucrat instincts; we knew we couldn’t direct it or control it, so we had to concentrate on making sure that whatever happened. we could fix it.
It’s been lost in the clutter over 20 years but there was no certainty that the threat was over. There had been chatter of an attack on the West Coast using trans-Pacific airliners, and Alaska was in the cross-hairs of that. Some airliners en route from Asia got to look at Elmendorf F-15s off their wings and were escorted to a ground stop at Anchorage Ted Stevens International Airport. Some major buildings were evacuated. In those days the State was pretty cranky about closing buildings. Our basic attitude was if the building is habitable, the State will inhabit it, and you will come to work or use your own leave.
After what we’d seen on TV that morning it didn’t seem that we should quibble about whether people should get out of tall buildings.
In something that seemed straight out of World War II, the Air Force put up a combat air patrol over most of Alaska. I’d been in a few conversations with law enforcement, emergency, and military people over the threat of an aircraft attack on the Valdez Terminal and its effect on the Alaska and US economy; we took it seriously.
Most of the day was a blur. Typical of bureaucracy, every question went up the org chart at warp speed; there was a helluva lot of “upward delegation” that day. Since there were only a couple of steps on the org chart above us, a lot of it landed on us, and we’d been around long enough to know we didn’t want to explain why we couldn’t handle it and sent it to the commissioner or the governor. I think we got most of it right, but some if it we just “winged it” and hoped for the best.
As I look back my most striking memory from that day other than the event itself was going out on the eighth floor deck of the State Office Building in Juneau for a smoke, (yeah, I smoked back then), sometime that afternoon and experiencing the astounding quiet. You don’t realize how much aircraft noise there is in Juneau in summer, and Sept. 11 is still sort of summer, until there is no aircraft noise and almost no traffic noise; things seemed to have just stood still.
I worked with a pretty rowdy crowd and long, busy, demanding work days often, even commonly, ended in an “after action analysis” at some local watering hole. It had been a long, hard day, but nobody wanted to do anything other than just go home and be with their family.
Don’t get me started on what I think of the current White House resident and the events of August and September 2021.
Art Chance is a retired Director of Labor Relations for the State of Alaska, formerly of Juneau and now living in Anchorage. He is the author of the book, “Red on Blue, Establishing a Republican Governance,” available at Amazon.
Liberty lawsuit: Republican Party to sue Biden over vaccine mandates
The federal employee unions are agreeing to President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandates for all federal employees, but the Republican National Committee is having none of it — not for federal workers or the private workforce.
On Thursday, GOP Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel announced the party will sue the Biden Administration over his executive orders that require most American workers to get vaccinated.
“Joe Biden told Americans when he was elected that he would not impose vaccine mandates. He lied,” McDaniel said. “Now small businesses, workers, and families across the country will pay the price.”
“Like many Americans, I am pro-vaccine and anti-mandate,” McDaniel said. “Many small businesses and workers do not have the money or legal resources to fight Biden’s unconstitutional actions and authoritarian decrees, but when his decree goes into effect, the RNC will sue the administration to protect Americans and their liberties.”
Earlier Thursday, the president unveiled that he is forcing companies with more than 100 employees to require workers be vaccinated against Covid-19 or face penalties from the federal government of $14,000 per violation.
“This is not about freedom or personal choice. It’s about protecting yourself and those around you, the people you work with, the people you care about, the people you love. My job as president is to protect all Americans,” Biden said.
Read: Biden lashes out at 168 million unvaccinated Americans
Alaska District 14 Republicans, which is the Eagle River area of Anchorage, issued a statement that makes it clear the president has overstepped his authority:
“Our forefathers, the founders of this country, fled the tyrannical governments of the known world at the time. They hacked this country out of the wilderness. They became landowners, established farms and small businesses to realize the American dream. They wrote the US Constitution to establish the laws to run a just government of the people, by the people, and for the people.What we witnessed today out of Biden’s mouth, reflects the tyranny of those governments the American people fled to establish liberty and justice for all Americans. With the 20th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks only two days away he now moves to enslave the American People to the Tyranny we came here to escape. The Veterans that have served since 9/11 now feel the same emotional betrayal our Vietnam Bothers and Sisters felt.”
The entire executive order can be read at this White House link.
Jamie Allard: Sept. 11 was a taste of tyranny, but have we learned our lesson, America?
By JAMIE ALLARD
On Sept. 11, 2001, the heart of America was broken, but our spirit stood strong. As we suffered the pain and shock from the violence against our people that totalitarianism breeds, Americans united in our resolve against tyranny.
An enemy sought to divide us. We flew our flags high. We enlisted. We stood ready to fight.
With the resilience and fortitude that defines the American spirit, beauty rose from the ashes. That day we were one, a wonderfully diverse people united against terrorism, against hatred, and ready to take on those who threaten liberty and justice for all.
For a brief moment in time, we were united as Americans.
I can never forget that day. Dan and I were stationed at Fort Carson, and the post was locked down immediately. I was no longer in the service, but Dan was a Green Beret assigned to the 10th Special Forces Group. We lived in a house that was on the way to Gate 2.
All the guys heading to work had done P.T. and had gone home to shower and change, and they were returning to post, only to find the world had suddenly changed, and even they, our Special Forces warriors, who are known as the “quiet professionals” because they work mostly in secret, unnoticed, and unrecognized, and are among the best soldiers America has — could not get on post.
Instead, they came to our home; one by one special operators walked into our living room. There were 20 of them, and they stayed until late in the evening.
But over the next few days, all of them disappeared into isolation. Soldiers started to deploy to missions. They were being notified, and soon they were “going.” Eventually, these elite fighters were all gone. Special Forces spouses were left behind to tend the home fires.
Our nation was willing to give our all to protect what we hold most dear. We sent our very best into battle to fight what can only be called evil. It was a just cause.
On this 20th anniversary of 9-11, I wonder, have we learned anything? Has the division, violence, and hatred spewed by terrorists reached our own shores? We have people in government who are now acting like power- and blood-thirsty despots against our fellow Americans.
The enemy is no longer across the ocean; it has become our own government. When a government forces compliance, threatens livelihoods, violates parental rights, and disregards our most precious right to bodily autonomy, it is no different than the tyrants who sought to destroy us 20 years ago, 80 years ago, or 258 years ago.
It is the duty of each generation to secure their own freedom. The price is high, but the cause is still just.
Sept. 11 reminds us of those values that make us proud to be Americans. Our heroes run toward danger to save a stranger. Our neighbors give in times of need. Our Gold Star families carry the burden of grief to their own eventual graves. Our Constitution defends the minority from the mob. Our dreams have no limits.
We are a nation worth fighting for and will always be a target of those who seek power and control.
Much will be written on this 20th anniversary of 9-11. And yet the words, like mine, will fall short of the task, they will never be enough to describe the emotions we felt during that time and the resolve we had that day and during the terrible days and weeks that followed.
As we reflect on this day, will you commit to do your part in this generation’s battle against tyranny? Only a united people, loving their neighbors, sacrificing for liberty, and standing against all forms of injustice and inequality, will overcome that which once again seeks to destroy America.
Jamie Allard is an Anchorage Assemblywoman representing Chugiak / Eagle River.
Dunleavy: ‘Outrageous and unenforceable,’ Sullivan: ‘Unconstitutional overreach,’ Tshibaka: ‘Shaming, discriminating’
Leaders in Alaska were harsh in their assessment of President Joe Biden’s executive orders forcing vaccines on Americans who don’t want them.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy blasted Biden for his sweeping vaccine mandate that will affect more than 100 million Americans in the federal and private workforce.
“This is ridiculous and unenforceable. If there was ever a case for the 25th Amendment,” Dunleavy said on Twitter, referring to the process for removing a president due to his/her incapacitation.
To Must Read Alaska, Dunleavy said it is also unAmerican.
“If Biden’s goal is to split the country apart, he is a master at it,” Dunleavy said. “I say good luck — who is going to enforce this?”
Read: Biden lashes out in anger at anti-vaxxers, anti-maskers, signs orders to comply
Sen. Dan Sullivan said the president’s mandate was unconstitutional.
“This is unconstitutional overreach by the President of the United States, pure and simple. Individual freedoms and the rule of law are too often an afterthought with this administration, while broken promises are piling up. Last month, President Biden told the American people that “we’re going to stay until we get [all Americans] out” of Afghanistan. In July, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said a vaccine mandate is “not the role of the federal government,” Sullivan said.
“The federal government does not have the constitutional or statutory authority to mandate vaccines on tens of millions of Americans, businesses and families. We all want to put this pandemic behind us for the benefit of our health, our families and our economy, but placing these outrageous mandates on individuals, employees, and American businesses, which are the backbone of our economy, is another example of federal government overreach from this administration. I am waiting to see what the administration cooks up to justify these lawless actions and meddling in private business so significantly.
“I got vaccinated because I wanted to protect my family, the people I work with, and the Alaskans I represent and interact with, and I have encouraged others to consider getting the vaccine in consultation with their doctor. However, I remain adamant that this is an individual choice, and should not be mandated by the federal government.”
Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka said that a vaccine mandate is not the way to encourage vaccines among those who are unvaccinated.
“People should talk to trusted sources like their medical providers. Shaming or discriminating against people will not build trust in a government. Biden’s poor leadership does not fix problems. It creates problems,” Tshibaka said.
Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson called the mandate immoral and flat-out wrong.
Read: Bronson says Biden mandates are beyond authority of president
Colorado GOP Chairwoman Kristi Burton Brown released a statement that also blasted Biden: “The poor decisions made by the Biden-Harris Administration continue to astound me every day. This latest decision is a shocking federal invasion into the rights of both businesses and individuals. Make no mistake – the Colorado GOP stands with business owners, minority communities, and families who deserve to make their own medical decisions. I look forward to seeing this forced mandate challenged in court and found unconstitutional. ”
Mayor Bronson statement on Biden’s vaccine mandates: They are ‘flat-out wrong and immoral, beyond authority of president’
Mayor Dave Bronson issued a statement in response to President Joe Biden’s directive to the U.S. Labor Department that would require all businesses with 100 or more employees to get vaccinated or get tested once a week.
“The idea that government would mandate businesses to force personal medical decisions on their employees is flat out wrong and immoral, and beyond the authority of the President. I will not mandate that businesses require their employees to vaccinate.
“The Municipality will not comply with this directive of the President that will invite endless litigation; this is a obvious attempt to shift the national focus from President Biden’s devastating failure in Afghanistan, and we will not violate the privacy and independent healthcare decisions of our citizens in the process,” Bronson said.
“The President’s one size fits all approach does not look at the science to getting to natural immunity. The personal choice to vaccinate or not is up to the individual person. My administration is committed to fighting COVID-19 and to get Anchorage’s economy back up and running. My administration is committed to giving access to Anchorage residents with all the resources and information they need to make informed personal decisions for themselves and their families,” the mayor said.
The mayor said that his directives in fighting COVID-19 in the Municipality of Anchorage include:
- Asked and received authorization from the Assembly for $8 million dollars for more testing, vaccinations, and mass care; approved on 8/24.
- Encouraging people in consultation with their medical provider to consider vaccination.
- Worked with the State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services and private providers to stand up access to two monoclonal antibody treatment sites. Residents who are ages 12 and older, who have recently tested positive for COVID-19 and are at risk for severe illness should consider monoclonal antibody treatment to prevent severe symptoms and hospitalization. Contact your medical provider for more information and a referral. If you do not have a health care provider, or need additional information about treatment sites, call the Statewide COVID-19 Helpline at 907-646-3322 and ask for an interpreter if needed.
- Canvassing businesses and community centers to pass out flyers and share information in areas near upcoming pop-up vaccine clinics;
- Conducting in-person and phone outreaches to potential vaccination clinic hosts;
- Sending daily emails to community and media members about vaccination clinics and testing;
- Conducting direct outreach to specific industries as requested (e.g. childcare facilities) with information about prevention strategies, vaccines, testing, and community resources;
- Updating the MOA COVID-19 website to reflect current information on testing, vaccines, prevention strategies, recommendations if someone tests positive, data, language updates, and community resources (e.g., a weekly health metrics report can be found on the Municipal Updates page);
- Radio and digital PSA’s with a message from Mayor Bronson about COVID-19 testing (that message is also on social media via the Anchorage i-teamFacebook Page);
- Regular posts to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter on Anchorage Health Department (AHD) and Office of Emergency Management (OEM) about vaccine clinics, testing, prevention, and data;
Sullivan signs letter calling for hearings on botched withdrawal from Kabul
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan and nine other members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), sent a letter on Wednesday to committee Chairman Jack Reed, D-R.I., calling on him to hold hearings on the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Specifically, the senators requested sworn testimony from senior military leaders, including Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, Commander of U.S. Central Command General Frank McKenzie, Jr., and the final Commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan General A. Scott Miller.
Senators Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) also signed onto the letter.
“The American people, and in particular many of those who serve our country in uniform, are hurting, angry, and disappointed,” the letter says. “We owe them a clear and comprehensive understanding of what happened, why, and how best to learn from these events for the future. We owe it to our nation, those who served, their families, and our allies and partners who fought alongside us, to preserve the records of how our fight in Afghanistan concluded. The insights we gather will help prevent future loss of American blood and treasure, a solemn responsibility and sacred trust we believe all members of our committee will seek to uphold.”
Photo: Sen. Dan Sullivan met with Sec. of Defense Lloyd Austin earlier this year, when Austin toured Alaska bases.
‘Show some respect!’ Angry Biden lashes out at anti-vaxxers, anti-maskers, and GOP governors
President Joe Biden, in a speech that lasted nearly 30 minutes, took direct aim at those who have resisted getting the Covid-19 vaccine.
He announced executive orders that include sweeping vaccine mandates for two-thirds of America’s workforce, specifically for the federal workforce, federal contractors, and for businesses that employ more than 100 people, who will come under penalties from the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration if they don’t mandate vaccines.
He asked doctors to reach out to their unvaccinated patients and make a personal appeal to them to get the shot.
“My message to unvaccinated Americans is this: What more is there to wait for what more do you need to see. we’ve made vaccinations free, safe, and convenient,” he said.
“We’ve been patient,” Biden said, speaking to those who have refused the vaccine. “But our patience is wearing thin, and your refusal has cost all of us. So please, do the right thing,” he said.
“We’re going to protect vaccinated workers from unvaccinated co-workers,” Biden said.
Watch Biden’s speech at this link.
“If you break the rules, be prepared to pay — and by the way, show some respect!” Biden said, in reference to airline passengers who have refused to mask their faces. He said the federal government will double the fines against those who refuse to mask on airlines.
“The anger you see on television toward flight attendants and others doing their job is wrong, it’s ugly,” he said .
OSHA will issue a regulation requiring vaccines or tests for employers. The enforcement against those companies that do not comply include $14,000 fines for every violation.
Those who are in the medical field will also be covered by the federal mandate, although enforcement will be done through a different agency.
Biden is also using the Defense Production Act to get more test kits into production, and will force retailers to sell the kits at cost for the next three months.
“We’re going to reduce the spread of Covid-19 by increasing the share of the work force that is vaccinated in businesses all across America.”
“We can and we will turn the tide on Covid-19,” he said.
Biden also lashed out at some governors. In reference to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, he said that if the state of Florida withheld funds from school district because they defy his ban on requiring masks, the federal government will step in and make payments directly to those districts.
Biden’s speech was historic in that it revealed an unprecedented takeover by the federal government of state and local authority. It also made it clear that Americans are not in control of their own health decisions.
The entire executive order can be read at this White House link.
Earlier: White House Spokesperson Jen Psaki says that mandates are not the role of the federal government:
