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Glen Biegel: I’m voting for Robbins

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
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Glen Biegel: I’m voting for Robbins

By GLEN BIEGEL

Sitting in my chair this afternoon, I am oddly energized by the endless attacks on classical liberalism (our founding ideals) and western culture that is underway by the handlers of Forrest Dunbar, Bill Falsey, and George Martinez.

I am angered that the trade unions might follow their leadership into an election that hurts their country, their jobs, their children’s education and their city’s future.

But I am also hopeful that they will NOT follow their leadership. I am hopeful that trade union membership will see that common-sense Republicans are their present and future home. Briefly, this election is about opposing:

  • The 1619 project.
  • Anti-capitalism and (reverse) racism at the school district.
  • Cancel Culture
  • Standing up for the First amendment (speech, religion, assembly, association)
  • Opposing municipal overreach
  • Stopping another economically devastating Covid-10 response from the next strain of the virus.

As you know, I believe there are things to fight for beyond party, beyond rhetoric, beyond the momentary fog of this mayoral campaign. Most important for me is the fight for faith, and the ability to raise our children according to our beliefs and work out our salvation.

Stopping the trash-talking and ruining of this country is a close second.

Here is my take on this election and our political future:

  • Forrest Dunbar and Bill Falsey are slated to take on Congressman Don Young and Sen. Dan Sullivan, as our education system, and toxic cancel-culture, works to turn Alaska more purple.
  • I have seen a report that the National Democrats are targeting Alaska for a legislature takeover in the next cycle. They can smell weakness and confusion in our coalition of conservatives that stands against the left wing.
  • It is cheaper, more productive, and more satisfying to beat the left’s candidate in a Municipal election.

Bill Evans: I have only spoken with Bill Evans a few times. I haven’t thought very highly of his mailbox literature (though I blame his consultants more than him) and I don’t see him polling very well (Anchorage Press’ Change Research Democrat push-poll, or Robbins’ recently released polls).

He seems a good lawyer, and I hope he will support whoever wins the ‘primary’ ending April 6. (Note; If no one receives 45% of the total vote on April 6th, then we will have a runoff of the top two candidates in early May. The likelihood of anyone receiving 45% with 3 strong conservative fund raisers and 3 strong left wing candidates is hard to imagine).

If Bill will not personally support Bronson or Robbins, then I expect former Mayor Dan Sullivan will support the conservative, as I have worked with him many times and know his dedication to our city.

Dave Bronson: Dave Bronson is a good man, is working hard, and has energized a critical part of the base needed to win (Christian and business conservatives). He raised funds well, and the union/democrat backed Change Research poll showed him doing about even with Dunbar early on (though with only ~32% name recognition).

Based on the false information in the Democrat-backed Change Research poll, I believe Bronson is who Dunbar has shaped and prepped his campaign to run against.

Dunbar and Falsey have laid groundwork for several widely polled arguments against Bronson. It is my opinion, if Bronson were to win the primary (ending on April 6), that his support will top off at about 40% for a runoff in May, just below Amy Demboski’s efforts six years ago (she got 41% in a previous cycle against Ethan Berkowitz who won with 59%).

Finally, I believe Bronson or Mike Robbins will work closely with each other in the runoff, whoever wins. I will also be working hard for Dave Bronson should he carry the conservative banner after April 6th.

Mike Robbins: Mike and I have worked together for over 10 years. Mostly relating to radio, but recently within the Alaska Republican Party District 26. Mike has been chairman of the district for the last few years, and participated closely in the Elections of Sen. Josh Revak, Sen. Roger Holland and Rep. Laddie Shaw. Now, they are all supporters of Mike for very good reasons.

As a former Republican district chair, vice chair, state convention leader and candidate, I know a powerhouse when I see one. Mike thinks strategically, he speaks positively, he listens well, and faithfully represents conservative values. I understand the Anchorage Press has published an updated take (March 29th) on the election that differs significantly from their earlier article.

Their new data on this election more closely mirrors mine and recent polling. Mike is the only conservative candidate who can gather enough votes to first get into the runoff, and, depending on how well we work together, to win again in May. Don’t take Facebook, the comment sections of the Anchorage Daily News, or the fire-tossing trolls on various conservative sites as an indicator.

Conservatives, libertarians and classical liberals can work together to stop 1619, Cancel Culture and the planned National Democrat takeover of Alaska.

But we can’t do it by tearing folks down, we can’t do it without each other and we can’t do it without an inspiring leader and a good organizer.

I am supporting Mike in April with my vote, my money and my time. I am supporting whichever conservative might carry the banner in May as well. Please do the same. Also, invest yourself in this election.

This is not the time for good women and men to do nothing. The candidates can use your help. In fact, they will not be successful again in May without it.

I appreciate you giving me a few minutes of your time this Monday afternoon, at the end of a snowy March here in Anchorage. Please pray for our candidates. See you at the drop boxes, the polls, and all together again after victory.

School Board endorsements:

  • Judy Norton-Eledge (Seat B)
  • Sami Graham (Seat E)
  • Kim Paulson (Seat F)
  • Elisa Vikalis (Seat G)

Glen Biegel is a conservative activist and talk show host.

Nike files lawsuit over Satan Shoes

Suzanne Downing
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Nike files lawsuit over Satan Shoes

Nike has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against MSCHF Product Studio, which released a Nike custom shoe in collaboration with rapper Lil Nas X — shoes that purportedly contain a drop of human blood. The shoes, a limited edition of 666, quickly had sold out Monday for over $1,000 a pair.

“The Satan Shoes were produced without Nike’s approval or authorization, and Nike is in no way connected with this project,” Nike said in the lawsuit.

Lil Nas X was not named as a defendant in the case filed in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York, which argues that Nike must control its brand by “by setting the record straight” about what products bear its distinctive “swoosh” logo.

“In fact, there is already evidence of significant confusion and dilution occurring in the marketplace, including calls to boycott Nike in response to the launch of MSCHF’s Satan Shoes based on the mistaken belief that Nike has authorized or approved this product,” Nike said in the lawsuit.

Nike asked the court to make MSCHF immediately stop selling the shoes. But by then, the shoes had sold out.

Read the court filing at this link.

Nike brands itself on a ‘Satan Shoe’ with a drop of human blood in each pair

Biden says mayors, governors need to set mask mandates; Dunleavy says ‘no thanks’

Suzanne Downing
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Biden says mayors, governors need to set mask mandates; Dunleavy says ‘no thanks’

The Biden Administration’s head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned of “impending doom” from a resurgence of Covid-19 and appealed to governors and mayors to reinstate mask mandates. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, welled up with tears as she ask America to “hold on a little while longer” and continue wearing masks.

“I am asking you to just hold on a little longer, to get vaccinated when you can, so that all of those people that we all love will still be here when this pandemic ends,” Walensky said. The nation has “reason for hope. But right now, I’m scared.”

“Please, this is not politics — reinstate the mandate,” President Joe Biden said. “The failure to take this virus seriously is precisely what got us into this mess in the first place.”

Gov. Mike Dunleavy, on Twitter, said no, he would not be implementing a statewide mask mandate.

“No thanks, @POTUS – you can keep your mask mandate. We’ll keep doing it the #Alaska way: trust the people & let them live their lives,” Dunleavy wrote.

To date, 31 percent of Alaskans have received at least one dose of a vaccine against Covid. Over 21 percent of Alaskans are fully immunized. Anchorage has a mask mandate that has been in place for almost a year but the state has never had a one-size-fits-all mandate.

Former Murkowski consultant defects to Tshibaka campaign for Senate

Suzanne Downing
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Former Murkowski consultant defects to Tshibaka campaign for Senate

Kelly Tshibaka, who announced her candidacy for Senate on Monday, has put together a rockstar campaign team for her challenge to Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

That team includes former President Donald Trump’s top campaign professionals from 2020: Campaign manager Bill Stepien, deputy campaign manager Justin Clark and battleground states director Nick Trainer, as well as Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh, who has a company called Line Drive Public Affairs.

Stepien, Clark, and Trainer make up the firm National Public Affairs, and they are serving as senior advisers to Tshibaka.

In addition, Tshibaka has an in-state campaign team led by former Murkowski campaign consultant Mary Ann Pruitt, the principal at PS Strategies. Pruitt was formerly associated with Murkowski and, in fact, placed all the media for the 2016 Murkowski campaign; she was also in charge of the field and ground game for a portion of the campaign.

While none of that star power guarantees a Trump endorsement this early in the campaign season, the national team led by Stepien is the equivalent of the Trump Train that appears to be coming for Murkowski.

Trump has vowed to help retire Murkowski in 2022: “I do not know where other people will be next year, but I know where I will be — in Alaska campaigning against a disloyal and very bad senator,” he told reporters this winter.

Read: Kelly Tshibaka challenges sitting Sen. Lisa Murkowski

Breaking: Kelly Tshibaka challenges sitting Sen. Lisa Murkowski in bold rollout

Suzanne Downing
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Breaking: Kelly Tshibaka challenges sitting Sen. Lisa Murkowski in bold rollout

Sen. Lisa Murkowski has a serious challenger for the 2022 election. Former commissioner of Administration Kelly Tshibaka announced her candidacy on Seward’s Day, March 29. She made her announcement on Fox News early in the morning.

Her website, KellyforAK.com went live with a five-minute video that hits Murkowski hard on the issues and on being a DC insider.

Tshibaka was born and raised in Alaska, left for college. She was the acting inspector general for the Federal Trade Commission, served as counsel to the Inspector General in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and in the Office of Inspector General within the Justice Department. She was the chief data officer for the Inspector General of the U.S. Postal Service Office under both former Presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama.

She returned to Alaska to join the Dunleavy Administration in 2017, but said that when the Alaska Republican Party censured Sen. Murkowski earlier this month, she felt it was time to step up and offer to run. Many Alaskans had suggested that she do so and there was a “draft Kelly Tshibaka” movement under way.

The Alaska Republican Party had issued the harshest censure against Murkowski that any state party has done after seven Senate Republicans voted to convict and remove President Donald Trump — after he was no longer president.

Murkowski will be a formidable challenger. She has won reelection twice and has more than $1 million in her campaign war chest for the 2022 midterm election. She also has the support of her Senate colleagues, including a surprising statement on Sunday by Sen. Dan Sullivan, who told ABC News that he would support her if she ran. Murkowski has an experienced political team, strong ties in every community in Alaska, and is a household name.

Tshibaka is not part of the political establishment and sees herself as a new voice and a new generation of Alaska conservative.

“We know what Washington, D.C. thinks about Alaska: We’re here for their benefit, and we won’t put up much of a fight. After nearly 20 years in D.C., Lisa Murkowski thinks the same way,” Tshibaka said in her campaign launch video. “But you know what? Nothing scares the D.C. political insiders more than the thought of a strong, independent Alaskan leader in their ranks. One they can’t bully. One they can’t control. One they can’t silence. I believe in a better future for Alaska. One we can rise up together and rebuild.”

Tshibaka says she is unapologetically pro-life, which distinguishes her from Murkowski.

Her timing shows bold confidence in her prospects, because most candidates who file wait until the first few days of a fundraising quarter; the next fundraising quarter starts April 1. 

Tshibaka resigned from the Dunleavy Administration before announcing.

This story will be updated. Check back.

Marquee political race: Murkowski has conservative challenger in Tshibaka

Marquee political race: Murkowski has conservative challenger in Tshibaka

Suzanne Downing
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By SUZANNE DOWNING / MUST READ AMERICA / NEWSMAX

Out of seemingly nowhere this week, a bold campaign roared up to challenge Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. 

Kelly Tshibaka took the political establishment by surprise and set up what may be the most-watched race of the midterm elections.

Tshibaka (rhymes with Chewbacca), until Monday was the head of a state agency in Alaska. She announced her candidacy with a fresh website and stunning video, and appearances on national television and talk radio.

The announcement may not have surprised Murkowski, who has been watching Tshibaka rise for weeks, as her potential rival’s name started appearing in Alaska political circles. A “draft Tshibaka” has been circulating.

But the launch rollout had to have made an impression on the Washington political warhorse.

Tshibaka was firing on all cylinders with her campaign. She was on Fox News. The Associated Press carried the story. This was well-coordinated, professionally done — a solid start. 

The political chatter in Alaska is, “Others have tried. Can Tshibaka do it?” 

Perhaps. Like Congresswoman Elise Stefanik of New York, Tshibaka is a new generation of conservative.

Read: Breaking: Tshibaka challenges Murkowski in bold rollout.

Kelly Tshibaka runs for U.S. Senate.

The mother of five has frontier roots and a purely American story. Born and raised in Alaska, she came from humble beginnings. Her young parents had moved to the state and for a while were homeless and living in a tent, while they sought to establish themselves in the harsh 49th state. Tshibaka attended school in Anchorage, and then it was off to Texas A&M, and Harvard Law. 

The young Alaskan was recruited into federal service, where she became a watchdog against waste in government agencies and grew familiar with data analytics for detecting government fraud.

She married a man whose father had come to America as a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The two started a family and moved home to Alaska.

By contrast, Murkowski is the old guard of Alaska politics. A former state representative, she first came into the Senate when her father, former Sen. Frank Murkowski, installed her after he was elected governor in 2002. The Murkowskis are a dynasty political force in Alaska.

But Murkowski has never won Alaskans’ support with a majority of the vote. In 2004, she came close with 48.6 percent. In 2010, she held on with just 39.7 percent, and she won with 44.4 percent in 2016.

Unfortunately for Alaska, she is better known as a reliable vote for Democrats. She openly opposed President Trump, who has majority support in Alaska. This year, she voted to convict him for inciting a riot.

Then on President Joe Biden’s first day in office, the new president shut down Alaska’s already crippled economy when he put a moratorium on drilling in Alaska, costing the state thousands of jobs. Murkowski said it concerned her.

Finally, the Alaska Republican Party back home had had enough. It voted the harshest rebuke possible of any of the censures issued around the country for the seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump.

Members of the Alaska Republican Party said they’d prefer to see a Democrat in that seat than to see Republican values disrespected for six more years. At their State Central Committee meeting in March, some spoke to this writer and said they’d be willing to blow the party apart over Murkowski.

They didn’t have to – the vote was 77 percent to ask Alaska’s senior senator to stop identifying as a Republican, and to stop running as one.

It won’t be that easy for Tshibaka. “Ballot Measure 2” is a wild card for Alaska. It created a curious new voting scheme, with an “open” jungle primary followed by a ranked choice ballot in the general election. With this method, every ballot will have to be tabulated by a machine; there can be no hand count or audit. 

This new voting method, a Rube Goldberg-type contraption if there ever was one, has never tried before in the country. It was designed by Murkowski’s former campaign team to ensure the senator would not have to face a Republican primary.

Yet with the big political money from outside Alaska promising “better elections,” Alaskavoters passed the experimental scheme.

It’s all but certain that the 53 percent of Alaska voters who voted for Trump in November are not going to vote for Murkowski in 2022; she has lost these Alaskans. 

The Democrats are also gunning for Murkowski. They have seen the polling, sense she is weakened, and have promised for months to launch a candidate. If she is going to be removed in midterm elections, Alaska Democrats want to be the party to do it.

Nothing is certain this early in the election cycle, but this: Tshibaka came out of the gate strong and confident. Although she has a challenge ahead of her, Tshibaka represents an exciting new generation of conservative for a state that may be ready for change.

Suzanne Downing writes at NewsMax, MustReadAmerica and MustReadAlaska.

Richest man in Czech Republic was on helicopter that went down on Knik Glacier

Suzanne Downing
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Richest man in Czech Republic was on helicopter that went down on Knik Glacier

Billionaire Petr Kellner, who is the wealthiest person in the Czech Republic, was on the helicopter chartered for a heliskiing excursion that crashed near the Knik Glacier, according to the New York Times.

Kellner, 56, Benjamin Larochaix, also of the Czech Republic, and two of Tordrillo Mountain Lodge guides — Gregory Harms and Sean McMannany — all died, along with the helicopter pilot Zach Russel.

The lone survivor is in serious but stable condition, according to the Alaska State Troopers.

The helicopter was reported overdue at 10 pm on Saturday. Debris could be seen near the Knik Glacier and the airspace around the crash site was put under a temporary flight restriction on Sunday so rescuers and recovery could take place.

Greg Harms was an heli-skiing pioneer, who guided trips all over the world. He lived in Colorado but was extremely experienced in Alaska. Sean McMannany was a local guide from Girdwood who has heliski guide for 10 years and who was an avalanche instructor and experienced Denali mountain guide.

Kellner and Larochaix were longtime frequent guests of the lodge, whose owners considered them friends.

The official statement from Tordrillo Mountain Lodge reads, “On the afternoon of Saturday, March 27th, a helicopter crash occurred during operations. On the aircraft were Tordrillo Mountain Lodge guides, guests and a pilot from Soloy Helicopters. It is with deepest sorrow we report that only one member of the group of 6 survived the accident. This news is devastating to our staff, the community in which we operate and the families of the deceased. In 17 years of operations this is the first time we’ve had to face an event of this measure. Please be mindful that information at this time is limited and more information will be provided once the authorities in Alaska return to the accident site and all the families are properly notified. Our deepest condolences go out to the families and friends of those who died in this tragic event.” 

The crash took place in in transport, and Soloy helicopters of Wasilla was the operator.

Sen. Sullivan: President should see what we saw on the southern border

Suzanne Downing
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Sen. Sullivan: President should see what we saw on the southern border

On ABC News on Sunday, Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan said that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris should go to the border between Texas and Mexico “to see what we saw.”

In response to a question from ABC’s Jon Karl, Sullivan said, “It’s heartbreaking, what you see. And it’s shocking. And what I’ve been calling for, in a respectful way, I try to work in a bipartisan way, is for the president, for the vice president to come down and to see what we saw, to hear what we heard from officials who are on the front lines. But I would disagree with Kate [White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield] on a number of things. There is an open border policy. There is a catch and release policy. And these were changes that the Biden administration instituted.

“And here’s the thing, they were warned. We talked to the officials who briefed the Biden team during the transition. They were warned that if they undertook these major policy changes, getting rid of, for example, the remain in Mexico policy, and making sure that exceptions to Title 42 for families bringing 6-year-olds or under, and for unaccompanied minors, if they made those changes, which they did, that they would see this surge.

“So to me it was shocking. I think the president and the vice president need to go down there, see what I saw, see what the other Republicans and Democrat congressmen are coming down there. There are things that we can do immediately to address the challenges there. But right now it is open borders. It’s a humanitarian and also health crisis that we need to address.”

Fauci: Kids need to wear masks, even if their parents are vaccinated

Suzanne Downing
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Fauci: Kids need to wear masks, even if their parents are vaccinated

The president’s top medical adviser says that vaccinated parents should still keep their children in face masks while they are playing with other children, even outside.

“When the children go out into the community, you want them to continue to wear masks when they’re interacting with groups or multiple households,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday on CBS’ Face the Nation.

The comment came in a wide-ranging discussion about mutant variants of the Covid-19 virus, and how soon the nation can expect to open up.

Host Margaret Brennan asked Fauci, “So if parents are vaccinated, they still do need to be concerned about their unvaccinated children playing together in groups. Is that right?”

Fauci replied: “Yeah, the children can clearly wind up getting infected. When we talk about what you can do when you’re vaccinated, you can certainly have members of a family if the adults are vaccinated and you’re in the home with your child, you don’t need to wear a mask and you can have physical contact.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said children are less likely to spread the virus and when they do, and rarely experience illness from it. Yet, for many children, their lives have been diminished by lockdowns and mandates, including year-long school closures. The television interviewer did not address the adverse effects of the various government policies, including increased childhood anxiety, depression and obesity.

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