Alaska Department of Administration Commissioner Kelly Tshibaka has released the following statement:
“Over the weekend, we were made aware several Alaskans were concerned about messages conveyed on Alaska personalized vehicle registration plates. The plates in question had previously been recalled by the DMV, and the DMV issued replacement standard plates to be displayed. We are notifying law enforcement that these plates are unauthorized by the DMV.”
She is referring to at least two license plates that were noted on social media by Recall Dunleavy Committee attorneys — one plate says “FUHRER” and the other “3REICH.” These plates may refer to Nazi beliefs.
“The Alaska DMV has strict guidelines and protocols for issuing personalized license plates, which prohibit references to violence, drugs, law enforcement, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and other government entities. The DMV has a recall process in place should a plate be issued that later is determined to be inappropriate or offensive, which was used in this circumstance,” Tshibaka said.
“I am ordering a review of DMV guidelines and processes to determine how these plates were issued and to ensure that Alaska’s personalized plate program continues to protect the public’s interest – both in terms of preventing inappropriate messages, and also the state’s obligation to protect Alaskans’ constitutional rights to free speech,” Tshibaka said.
Any Alaskan who wishes to provide input on these processes is encouraged to do so by e-mailing the Department of Administration at [email protected].
“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it,” – Voltaire
The French writer and devoted defender of free speech had not heard about “3REICH” and “FUHRER” vehicle license plates in Alaska. He would not recognize the Democrats of 2021 as a party that once, if only for a few short years, championed constitutional rights.
Over the weekend, Democrat activists in the state accused this writer of being a Nazi, a Nazi sympathizer, and a fascist. This is their playbook — Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, in the Saul Alinsky tactics they use. MRAK is that target.
Until you’re called a Nazi, you really haven’t lived on the wild side. After all, that is about the lowest form of life, down with rapists, and murderers. In some circles, it is the fashionable way to dehumanize people who have a different viewpoint in life. “They’re Nazis” is all the rage now, on the Left.
In fact, the Left has now reached “Godwin’s Law,” or the Godwin rule of Nazi analogies. It goes like this: the longer an online discussion goes, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1.” And that is exactly where Democrats have found themselves on Twitter — they can be counted on to spew the “N” word on any given day. The word just slips out automatically.
This writer has no specific position on the 3REICH license plate that two Alaska attorneys are complaining about on Twitter and that Rep. Sara Hannan is asking the Division of Motor Vehicles to revoke. Perhaps a 4REICH would be more concerning to this writer — after all the Third Reich is so far in the past that hardly anyone living remembers the actual Nazi Regime; they just remember the stories and the lessons. One commenter says he knows the family who owns the plate, and they are not Nazis or Nazi sympathizers. But who knows?
As for “Fuhrer,” there is a former well-known National Education Association president from Alaska named Ron Fuhrer who might object to being called a Nazi, just because he inherited a German name from his father.
None of that can soothe the rage of the extremists and hate-mongers of the Left, including the MidnightSunAK blog, which has decided to try to deplatform Must Read Alaska.
Having a reasonable dialogue about why that license plate was ever issued doesn’t fit the narrative of the Left. The destruction of conservatives, however, is blood sport.
It’s sad that the Democratic Party and its surrogates have now become the party of hate speech (calling someone a Nazi is hate speech) and anti-free speech.
Their drift toward totalitarianism since those heady days of the 1960s is stunning.
For this writer, I won’t die on a hill for Nazis or race-baiters. Racial superiority is not a concept to defend. I won’t debate hateful people on social media, either.
I will, however, die on the hill for the First Amendment, and the right of people everywhere to express themselves without the government curbing their rights of free speech. (Unless, of course, government is paying for the University of Alaska artwork depicting the decapitated head of President Trump. That, I’ll continue to argue, is a misappropriation of public funds. And no yelling fire in a theater, please.)
In the case of license plates, who can say what the panel from the Division of Motor Vehicles will do with “3REICH” or ‘FUHRER.” They will have to discuss them, now that a legislator has made a request that the plates be revoked. And because of the viciousness from the Left, it’s doubtful the panel will be able to take the pressure of being called Nazi sympathizers.
How would you judge these plates if you were on the the panel?
What if you discovered that the first was on an auto owned by the son of President Clinton’s Labor Secretary Robert Reich? That would be a Robert Reich III, since Robert Reich is the son of Robert Reich, a Jewish immigrant. Would that color your perception?
What if the other was owned by Filthy Fuhrer, the Alaska man (and convicted killer) who got a judge (an African American judge, at that) to allow him to legally change his name from Timothy Lobdell in 2017?
If someone’s name is Adolf, would that be allowed on his license plate? How about the alternate spelling, Adolph?
A story in Vice magazine describes a documentary, “Meet the Hitlers,” about the unusual and diverse people with a very distinctive and unfortunate last name, and how some of them changed their names, while others did not.
Could the “H” name go on a license plate in this day and age of political correctness or would it be subject to savage social media attacks?
How about Pol Pot, of the Khmer Rouge, who was responsible for the deaths of 1.5 to 2 million Cambodians, who perished from starvation, execution, disease or overwork under that regime?
Or Mao Zedong, the Chinese leader responsible for the deaths of as many as 70 million Chinese, as a name on a license plate? Can Mao go on a plate? Fidel? Che?
These questions are not meant to provoke rage from the Left, (although they will) but thoughtfulness from all who truly are interested in dialogue.
But beware, that is not where hard-left political operators are coming from these days.
Taking their cues from Antifa, and led in Alaska by the most hardened, cynical, and calloused lawyer of them all, Scott Kendall, (Recall Dunleavy and Alaskans for Better Elections) they are going full scorched earth. They’re coming for Must Read Alaska today, but keep in mind, conservatives, they’ll come for you tomorrow — to deplatform you, strip you from your revenues, cancel you from your job, and as Juneau’s Chris Dimond has stated, run you out of the state altogether.
The straightforward story that offended Scott Kendall’s & Co:
Airmen and soldiers in the Alaska National Guard are on their way home over the next few days after assisting the District of Columbia National Guard and federal and civilian authorities with the 59th Presidential Inauguration last week.
About 70 Alaska National Guard Airmen and soldiers joined nearly 26,000 Guard members from every state, territory, and the District of Columbia to assist with the historic event, according to the Alaska National Guard, which released a statement, allaying concerns about how guardsmen were treated in D.C.
Alaska’s airmen and soldiers were not part of the group that was banished to sleep in a cold parking garage by the House and Senate Democrat leadership of Congress, which led to Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Gov. Greg Abbott calling their troops back to their states.
All Alaska Guard members were assigned individual lodging in hotels, according to the Alaska National Guard press release. They were in the garages only for short periods of time, and the conditions were tolerable, according to one of them quoted by the Guard’s press office.
“During our duty periods, we have opportunities to take breaks while others swap out with us,” said Capt. Jennifer Ward, the medical readiness officer for the 176th Wing, Alaska Air National Guard. “The day before the inauguration, we were staged in a heated parking garage for about five hours, which was great because it was only 38-degrees outside.”
“It was clean, had porta potties, and we were able to rest and relax before going back out,” she said. “It’s important to take breaks in areas that are in close proximity to the zone we’ve been assigned so that we can respond quickly if needed, but so far that hasn’t been necessary.”
Alaska’s airmen and soldiers assisted with security, logistics, and transportation operations around the Capitol, National Mall, and White House. They conducted up to 24-hour operations and implemented rest-work cycles in staging areas for safety reasons.
Alaska guardsmen also staged at FedExField, a football stadium in Landover, Maryland, five miles east of Washington, D.C.; and in the Library of Congress.
“The library is spacious, beautiful and historic,” said Maj. Nathan Pooler, the troop commander for Alaska guardsmen in D.C. “It takes a long time to load up and be transported back to the hotel, so it’s not feasible to leave the area during our breaks,” he said.
Military involvement in the Presidential Inauguration dates back 232 years to when members of the U.S. Army, local militias (the modern-day National Guard), and Revolutionary War veterans escorted George Washington to New York City—the seat of government for his inauguration ceremony. The National Guard and other military units have continued this tradition of inaugural support ever since.
Photo credit: U.S. Airmen and Soldiers with the Alaska National Guard climb the stairs inside the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., Jan. 21, 2021. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Mike Risinger)
In the sweeping oil-and-gas moratorium order by President Joe Biden last week, Alaska Native Vietnam War veterans and their heirs got the shaft.
After 50 years of trying to get the Native land allotment they are owed, those selections have now been put on ice.
During the Vietnam War, hundreds of Alaska Native men went to fight overseas in Vietnam. They missed out on being able to select up to 160 acres of land before the Alaska Native Allotment Act of 1906 was repealed in 1971 with the advent of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
For years, the Alaska delegation in DC has fought to restore that right to acquire their lands, robbed from them under an unjust oversight. But with the stroke of a pen last week, President Biden has once again pulled that land back to federal control.
Biden also put a hold on the transfer of land to the State of Alaska — land that was promised as part of the Alaska Statehood Act.
Former Sec. David Berhardt, as one of his final acts in the Trump Administration, signed four public land order revocations to allow these land transfers to go forward. The new administration is putting them on ice.
As for the State selections of its final land allotment from the federal government, Alaska has been waiting to see where the mineral potential was on the various lands it might select to become developable state lands. Those mineral lands might have become revenue for the State.
In another order last week, Biden ordered that face masks be worn on all public lands. That includes subsistence hunters in places like Kaktovik, who might leave Native land to hunt for food on federally owned lands. According to the order, they must wear a face mask.
The Washington Post reports that former President Donald Trump has been considering forming a third party, called the Patriot Party. He is also working on challenging lawmakers who opposed him during his final time in office, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Alaska’s Republican senior senator.
Others in the crosshairs are Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R), and Rep. Tom Rice (R-S.C.), according to the Washington Post.
By launching a campaign against several sitting Republicans, Trump may force the hands of those who are likely to vote to convict him during the Senate impeachment trials, a list that may include Murkowski. These lawmakers may have to recuse themselves due to the Senate Ethics Code, either in fact or by perception.
“Multiple people in Trump’s orbit, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations, say Trump has told people that the third-party threat gives him leverage to prevent Republican senators from voting to convict him during the Senate impeachment trial. Trump advisers also say they plan to recruit opposing primary candidates and commission polling next week in districts of targeted lawmakers. Trump has more than $70 million in campaign cash banked to fund his political efforts, these people say,” the Post reported.
One factor the Trump camp may not have fully grasped is that, although Murkowski is up for reelection in 2022, Alaska Republicans are no longer allowed to have a closed primary, under the new conditions set by Ballot Measure 2, which passed in November. The open primary system, along with ranked choice voting, makes Murkowski stronger than a candidate to her political right might be in Alaska.
On Friday, The Hill reported that Murkowski admitted she did not vote for Trump in 2020, but rather wrote in a name of someone else. But she also said she would remain in the Republican caucus, and not caucus with Senate Democrats, who are now in power.
Murkowski is on record previously saying, “if the Republican Party continues to be the party of Trump, I’m not quite sure where I fit.” She has not ruled out becoming an undeclared (independent) registrant.
“I would like us to be that party that is inclusive of young people and minorities and LGBTQ and all people everywhere regardless of demographic or background,” she said. “I think the Republican Party has so much to offer if we can just get away from the personalities that have shaped it into a more narrowly defined view,” she told The Hill.
The Biden administration has suspended new oil and gas leasing and drilling permits for federal lands and waters for 60 days. Fulfilling his campaign promise to end leasing of federal lands for drilling, the suspension was signed on Wednesday by Acting Interior Sec. Scott de la Vega. Existing oil and gas operations, operating under currently valid leases, are not impacted.
Biden’s order also halted approvals of new mining proposals, and land sales or land exchanges. The order forbids the hiring of new Department of Interior personnel at or above the level of GS 13, considered a temporary measure so that DOI’s new leadership, Deb Haaland, can get her people in place.
Some companies had already taken preemptive action to protect their future viability, and had obtained nearly 1,400 permits on federal lands in primarily Wyoming and New Mexico from the Trump Administration during the period leading up to the election.
American Petroleum Institute President Mike Sommers said the order amounts to an “import more oil policy.”
“Energy demand will continue to rise—especially as the economy recovers—and we can choose to produce that energy here in the United States or rely on foreign countries hostile to American interests. With this move, the administration is leading us toward more reliance on foreign energy from countries with lower environmental standards and risks to hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions in government revenue for education and conservation programs. We stand ready to engage with the Biden administration on ways to address America’s energy challenges, but impeding American energy will only serve to hurt local communities and hamper America’s economic recovery,” Sommers said.
In 51 days the Municipality of Anchorage will be sending out the ballots for the April 6 municipal election.
Of course, electing a conservative mayor is absolutely essential to change the socialistic direction of Anchorage, aggressively being promulgated by an uber-Leftist Acting Mayor and Assembly.
Traditionally, local elections don’t have a large participation rate. Unless the conservative community votes in record numbers this year we may end up with Forrest Dunbar as mayor and no change on the assembly. That should scare the hell out of everyone.
Here’s a guy that believes our Constitution is based on racism, has voted for every far-left proposal passed by the Assembly, was a strong supporter of disgraced former mayor Berkowitz, and when Maria Athens first spoke out about Berkowitz lewd sexting photos, Dunbar defended Berkowitz. So much for liberals really supporting the “Me Too” Movement. Such phony hypocrites.
What a disaster a Dunbar administration would be in accelerating the pace of destroying our individual liberties, replaced by entrenched socialism. So, every registered conservative must vote in this municipal election to reverse this destructive path towards a despotic autocracy.
OK, now that I have your attention, let me focus on just as big a problem in Anchorage, the Anchorage School Board. That Board is comprised of six liberals and one conservative. Just like the Assembly, the liberals run shotgun over the conservative, Board Member Dave Donley. He needs some help, and you can give it to him this election. There are four school board seats up for election, all liberals who need to be replaced.
Do I need to remind anyone why these liberals are a failure to our children? Let’s start. The Anchorage School District is one of the largest unified districts in America, has one of the largest budgets of any school district of comparable size, with one of the lowest performance levels. Last year the World Population Review ranked ASD 48th worst, with its Quality Ranking dead last, 50th.
According to an analysis done by WalletHub, ASD ranked last in reading test scores and had one of the highest drop out rates.
For these results we pay $12,628 per student. This is the highest cost per student in the history of the district at a time when the student enrollment (45,366 in 2020) has been on a steady decline since reaching its high of 48,493 students in 2015.
The ASD operating budget for 2020 is $572.5 Million. Just for reference, the municipality operating budget, which is also way too high for a city of only 300,000 people, was $531.9 Million in 2020. Yup, we are paying over $1.0 Billion to support our city and school district. That should make your eyes bleed red with fury.
In the business world, one looks for a favorable return-on-investment. In education, we should expect excellent performance against national standards for the incredible financial investment we are making in ASD. That would be a good return-on-investment, one we are not getting today.
But wait, there’s more. While having one of the nations highest budgets and producing some of the worse results, our ASD pursues a feely, touchy social emotional curriculum, not centered on the basics of reading, writing, and math. No wonder our students are not getting properly prepared for college and life.
And what did we get for most of 2020, a school district shut-down due to coronavirus. Of course, just up the road the Mat-Su School District has been open this entire school year and it has not been a super-spreader center for COVID. The ASD has cowered to the Leftist’s propaganda that to protect our population, we must not open schools to educate our children.
In Anchorage, children stay at home, sitting at a computer like zombies, learning very little, not interacting with other children, and deprived of physical activities, school nutrition programs, and other essentials we have entrusted to our school districts in an effort to educate our future leaders and workforce. ASD is ruining our children’s future.
Think these politicians will give us a tax break next year for the money they didn’t need this year with schools closed. In your dreams. They will keep and spend every penny on a bloated administration, teachers who are not in-class, and unnecessary new and expanded programs as the good book of socialism dictates.
But this week, the wizards at ASD opened classrooms for Pre-K-3. Yup, kids get to go to school sit/kneel on the floor, six feet apart, do their work on the seat of their chair, with no recess, no lockers, and fully masked over nose and mouth for up to six hours. This bizarre set-up feels like a government indoctrination center, not a robust center for learning in a free society.
Need I say more. It’s time to put four conservatives on the Anchorage School Board to reverse this horrific trend.
I strongly recommend you get to know:
Judy Eledge, a retired educator with over forty years’ teaching and administrative experience in Anchorage and Alaska;
Pierce ‘Coach’ Blewett, A life-long Alaskan, parent of young children, football coach, and Anchorage School District alumni;
Sandra ‘Sami’ Graham, a retired educator who held many positions during her educational career, such as teacher, counselor, assistant principal, and principal and was a prior member of the Anchorage Education Association and Anchorage Principals’ Association; and
Kimberly ‘Kim’ Paulson, a resident of South Anchorage who has three children, two graduates of South Anchorage High School with the third currently enrolled at South.
These four conservatives would be fantastic additions to the school board. They come from a variety of backgrounds, but all are laser focused on bringing change to ASD that will result in measurable improvements in the scholastic performance of all students.
If you like what you see, as I do, connect with them, invite them to speak to you and your friends at your home, donate, and spread the word that Anchorage has four solid conservative candidates for the ASD School Board who will bring a higher standard of education to our community.
These candidates will empower parents, take a community minded approach to education, focus on the basics required to be successful in life, and create more accountability for the dollars we invest in education in this community. They need your support and vote to be successful. Now is the time to take a stand.
I enthusiastically endorse Eledge, Blewett, Graham, and Paulson for ASD School Board. Please consider voting for these four outstanding candidates this election.
Craig E. Campbell served on the Anchorage Assembly between 1986 and 1995 and later as Alaska’s Tenth Lieutenant Governor. He was the previous Chief Executive Officer and President for Alaska Aerospace Corporation. He retired from the Alaska National Guard as Lieutenant General (AKNG) and holds the concurrent retired Federal rank of Major General (USAF).
Deena Bishop, superintendent of Anchorage public schools, says this blogger got it all wrong, and that children are not being forced to kneel all day on gardening pads. They can also sit criss-cross on the floor.
In a note to a parent, Bishop also misreported the story from Must Read Alaska, which did not indicate the photos were from Whaley School.
Bishop’s wrote, “Blogs are not the best place to find truth.”
She continued, “Thank you for inquiring though. Please know, I regret a blogger posted pictures and statements without the actual story of the classroom. You see, the pictures depict two elementary classrooms, one kindergarten and one second grade to be exact, and not Whaley school. In preparing classrooms for learning with 6 feet of distance or 3 feet with a divider, these teachers desired to be innovative and creative in their early learning classrooms where children, sing, learn, and play with movement utilizing small groupings. Primary classes utilize carpet time and often sit “Criss Cross Applesauce” as you might remember from school.”
The pictures in question that were posted at MRAK came from parents who toured their children’s schools in Anchorage. Must Read Alaska was careful to not name the schools, but a national writer at The Blaze mistakenly referred to the photo as depicting a classroom at the Whaley School.
To be clear: This is NOT the Whaley School.
“Rather than adding tables to their room and utilizing plexiglass dividers which take up a great deal of space, they chose to allow movement and grouping—freedom rather than the ‘militant’ restrictions as reported. I regret that a blogger took something positive and turned it so negative. These teachers were eager to get their kids back. They had a wonderful day yesterday!” Bishop wrote to the parent who asked for an explanation.
“Additionally, the teachers have access to other rooms as well with tables for alternate learning needs where a seat and a table are more conducive. Please know our schools are welcoming, and we hope the blogger will update her site as we have provided her the opportunity to get the facts in these classrooms,” Bishop stated. MRAK has received no such outreach from Bishop, however, but did get a note from the Whaley School principal, after which we were able to explain to her that MRAK did not identify the school in the photo, and did not say it was Whaley.
Another parent sent a photo from her child’s classroom, which has an entirely different set up for the youngest students.
Some young students in Anchorage are enjoying better conditions. This is from Kincaid Elementary School.
Editor’s note: Read at your own risk. Democrat activists and Recall Dunleavy lawyers are alleging this story supports Nazis.
Rep. Sara Hannan of Juneau says she has requested the Division of Motor Vehicles revoke the vanity license plate that spells “3REICH.”
Her action comes at the request of her constituent Libby Bakalar of Juneau, who is deeply involved with various liberal political causes and who is an internet sensation who specializes in vulgarity.
Presumably the 3REICH refers to Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich. But it may also be someone’s last name — there are at least 75 voters in Alaska with the last name of Reich.
The Third Reich means “Third Realm” or “Third Empire,” and was meant to indicate Nazi Germany’s heir to the Holy Roman Empire and the German Empire.
Bakalar also wants the state to cancel another vanity plate that spells out “FUHRER,” the German word for “ruthless leader,” often used to refer to Adolf Hitler.
At least five voters in Alaska have the last name of Fuhrer.
The process for removing a plate is not as simple as a representative demanding it. The Division of Motor Vehicles puts together a panel to review the plate in question, and the panel asks the owner of the plate about the meaning of it before making a decision.
