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Listicle: Biden’s cabinet

Suzanne Downing
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16
Listicle: Biden’s cabinet

The inauguration of Joe Biden will take place Jan. 20, and then he’ll offer his slate of cabinet members to the Senate for approval. The Senate has a 50-50 split between Democrats and Republicans, but in case of a tie, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be able to break that tie.

Biden’s incoming chief of staff and deputy chief of staff will not face confirmation hearings, and neither will Biden’s climate czar, Gina McCarthy, but cabinet members will need confirmation.

White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain: He was chief of staff for Vice President Joe Biden, and was the Obama Administration’s ebola-response coordinator in 2014-2015.

Deputy Chief of Staff Bruce Reed: Longtime aide, he was Biden’s chief of staff, 2011- 2013.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen: She is former Federal Reserve chair.

Attorney General Merrick Garland: His nomination to the Supreme Court was blocked by Republicans in 2015.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin:  Retired four-star general, has served on the board of Raytheon.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken: Longtime aide Antony Blinken, who was Biden’s national security adviser when he was vice-president and was President Obama’s deputy secretary of State, 2015-2017.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael S. Regan: North Carolina environmental secretary.

Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry: Obama’s Secretary of State. Former candidate for president. Former U.S. senator.

White House Climate Czar Gina McCarthy: Obama’s head of the EPA and now president of National Resources Defense Council. No confirmation needed.

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland: New Mexico Democratic Representative Deb Haaland; first Native American to run DOI.

Labor Secretary Marty Walsh:  Boston mayor, top union leader.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo: Rhode Island governor, venture capitalist.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas: The deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security under Obama, he led the implementation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which Biden has promised to restore.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough: Obama’s White House chief of staff, he has never served in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg: Former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, before running for Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.

Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm: Former Michigan Governor, former Michigan Attorney General.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield: Foreign Service diplomat. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs in the United States Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs, 2013-2017

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines: Deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency, 2013-2015. Former deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan: Biden’s national security adviser when he was vice president. Nonresident senior fellow in Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Geoeconomics and Strategy Program.

Office of Management and Budget Director Neera Tanden: President of the Center for American Progress, leftist think tank.

White House Press Secretary Jennifer Psaki: White House communications director in Obama Administration. Former spokesperson for the Department of State.

White House Top Economic Adviser Brian Deese: BlackRock institutional investment executive. Deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget under the Obama Administration, and was the acting director during the summer of 2014.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai: U.S. Trade Office lawyer on China during the Obama Administration. Now, chief trade counsel for the United States House Committee on Ways and Means.

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy: Former U.S. surgeon general for Obama.

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra: California Attorney General.

White House Domestic Policy Council Director Susan Rice: National security advisor and ambassador to the United Nations under Obama.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack: Department of Agriculture Secretary under Obama.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge: Ohio Democrat congresswoman.

Education Department Secretary Miguel Cardona: Education commissioner of Connecticut.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky: Chief of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Coordinator of the COVID-19 Response and Counselor to the President Jeff Zients: He led the HealthCare.gov tech conversion under Obama Administration. No confirmation needed.

Chief Medical Adviser on COVID-19 Dr. Anthony Fauci: Fauci will also continue as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. No confirmation needed.

No Alaskans on list of donors to Biden Inauguration

Suzanne Downing
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14
No Alaskans on list of donors to Biden Inauguration

They come from California, New York, Texas, and Florida. Also Idaho, Georgia, and Colorado. The list of those donating more than $200 to the inauguration of Joe Biden is long, includes companies like Google, Microsoft, Qualcomm, and Microsoft.

And it includes donors from every state but two — North Dakota and Alaska.

Biden wasn’t Alaska Democrats’ first choice for president, but he did get 153,778 votes after the counting was done in November of 2020. President Trump received 189,951 Alaskan votes.

The Biden Inaugural Committee has also banned energy companies from donating to the inauguration, a sign of things to come under the new Biden Administration. Joe Biden has promised to end all extraction leases on public lands.

“PIC 2021, Inc., does not accept contributions from fossil fuel companies (i.e., companies whose primary business is the extraction, processing, distribution or sale of oil, gas or coal), their executives, or from PACs organized by them,” the inaugural committee stated on its home page.

The Democrats are, in general, opposed to the fossil fuel industry, and this is going to be a cheap inauguration, comparatively, since many are staying away.

The list of Biden Inauguration donors.

The exact amount that each donor gave to the committee will not be disclosed for 90 days.

The Biden-Harris inauguration will follow the official swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 20, which will include a Pass in Review by the military on the East Front of the Capitol, which is a long-standing tradition. It will include a presidential escort to the White House, and a “virtual parade” across America.

Anchorage Assembly sets public hearing on govt-to-govt relations with Eklutna Village

Suzanne Downing
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14
Anchorage Assembly sets public hearing on govt-to-govt relations with Eklutna Village

Eklutna is a bit of an enigma in Anchorage. There are believed to be under 50 tribal members who live in the Native Village of Eklutna proper, north of Anchorage.

As many as 150 make up the tribe itself; these are people spread around the state. The group is comprised of only a few families, and the village is run by one family, more or less — the dominant clan.

The Assembly of Anchorage is about to pass an ordinance that will formalize government-to-government relations with the Village, whose actual membership number is closely guarded information.

At the heart of the matter is a long-sought-after casino. In October, the Eklutna sued the Department of Interior, challenging the ruling that the tribe does not hold governmental authority over the land in question, and can’t establish gaming operations there.

The ordinance that is advancing would help establish more government authority for the village.

Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, Native tribes can open electronic bingo halls on sovereign land without permission of the state, so long as there are other similar operations legally operating elsewhere in the state. There is one electronic bingo hall in the reservation of Metlakatla.

Eklutna graveyard, a combination of Russian Orthodox tradition and Native American practices, is outside of the St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Eklutna.

The land that the Eklutna want to build their gaming hall was granted by the Alaska Native Allotment Act, and the tribe says it has jurisdiction and has provided governmental Services ever since 1906.

For this reason, the word “sovereignty” is inserted in the ordinance and takes on greater importance, as does the government-to-government relationship status.

At a work session last week, the Assembly discussed the ordinance to acknowledge the sovereignty of the Native Village of Eklutna and start including its leader, Aaron Leggett, in negotiations of various sorts. For instance, Leggett told the Assembly, if there was a major development at the Port of Anchorage, the village leaders would need to be consulted.

Listen to the discussion about the ordinance among Assembly members on Jan. 8:

The ordinance is limited to the Native Village of Eklutna, but the sponsor, Assemblyman Chris Constant, says this is just a start to having the municipality create government-to-government relationships with villages and/or tribes all over the state.

And he also wants an office of rural affairs established in the municipality.

The Assembly majority has made it a priority to “decolonize” Anchorage, and this ordinance is a step toward that goal.

View the Anchorage Assembly Jan. 12 agenda at this link.

According to the village’s website, the Eklutna Native Village government office was organized in 1961 by the traditional people of Eklutna Village in order to be recognized for protecting land rights. By then, the 326,000 acre Eklutna Reservation had been reduced over the years to a mere 1,819 acres. The tribe became federally recognized and is recorded under IRS code 83.87, section 7871, the Indian Tribal Governmental Tax Status Act of 1982.

The ordinance at Tuesday’s meeting is at this link.

Cook it out of them? Victory savored by spice company exec, who says cooks can cure conservatives

Suzanne Downing
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22
Cook it out of them? Victory savored by spice company exec, who says cooks can cure conservatives

In an approach that is open to interpretation, the owner of Penzey’s Spice Company, based in Wisconsin, has penned a letter to his customers telling them that it’s time to heal the Republicans, although he says everyone has a right to be horrified by them.

Bill Penzey is not suggesting reeducation camps, but he’s asking his customers to help Republicans get past their anger and accept the new reality. He advises special unnamed treatment for those who “crafted and told and broadcast the lies that made these last four years happen,” who he says “have to be held accountable.” Here’s what Penzey wrote:

“Certainly not today, and maybe not tomorrow, but most likely soon all of us will find ourselves doing our part to help heal Republicans. Seventy million Americans have been lied into voting for the most un-American administration in our lifetimes. As much as we don’t need the approval of those seventy million to get America back to being America, those seventy million are our family, co-workers, neighbors and friends and they need our help.

“At this moment after all the cruelty they made possible you may well be thinking: I’m not helping that. I get it, but I also know as a cook your heart is not one that can stay closed for long to anyone in need, even if they brought that need upon themselves. What will your help look like? You have some time to plan that out. From grief there is the path of denial, anger, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance. With just how long Republicans have been in denial, I’m guessing the anger stage we are now beginning to enter will be both long and intense. Once they start getting past the anger our chance to help will begin.

“As much as we have a lot of Republican anger, and even a fair amount of denial yet, to work through we can still begin planting the seeds for what comes next. Though this administration never did make much of an effort to build the promised wall around our borders, like so many cults they were very successful in building a wall around their followers to block out any voice of reason. Breaching that wall with a simple text or email with something along the lines of: “Saw a clip of that movie we liked, thinking of you” to let them know you have not given up on them might be the first step. You are creative and have good judgement. I trust that you can figure this out.

‘You certainly have every right to look at the horrors of this week and be horrified by them, but this really has been the first so very needed step in getting our loved ones back. Those who crafted and told and broadcast the lies that made these last four years happen have to be held accountable. But if we can find a space in our hearts for those who believed the lies there is hope that our children and grandchildren will never again have to repeat these last four years.

“Everything that has made you a cook has prepared you to heal this world. These next few years will need your healing more than you can possibly imagine.“

Penzey takes off from there with his sales pitch for various spices, including cinnamon, pepper, and garlic. Those who shop with Penzey’s and load up enough on herbs and spices will get a free “victory” pin commemorating the election. But he’s warning Democrats:

“…but seriously the Republicans are entering their anger stage of grief big time right now. From the angry responses I’m receiving it’s clear this weekend’s emails will at least temporarily cost us more customers than we’ve lost in quite some time. Please don’t worry, business-wise we are doing better than ever before. But if you wanted to make up for any losses by placing an order at penzeys.com or by forwarding this email to a few possible new customers that would be sweet and greatly appreciated. Thanks!”

“And thanks for caring, and thanks for at least considering opening your heart to those who, through their voting, have done such great damage to our country and to so many good people as well. Not everybody has your strength and that’s why everybody needs you so much. Thank you for making us possible, but thanks even more for being you…”

Alaska population down, but voter registration highest in state history

Suzanne Downing
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18

Alaska’s population decreased by 3,831 people from July 2019 to July 2020, based on population estimates released by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development last week.

It is the fourth straight year of decline for the state’s population, which peaked at 740,637 in July 2016 and was down to 728,903 as of July 2020. 

It’s 0.5 percent year over year, and 11,734 fewer Alaskans in four years, roughly the the population of the City of Wasilla, which is Alaska’s sixth largest city.

At the same time, the Division of Elections reports that 599,704 people are registered to vote in Alaska, which is over 18,000 more than were registered the year prior.

Voter registrations typically fluctuate but have never before reached so close to 600,000. The voter registration total was 581,601 just one year ago.

On the surface, it’s an apparent gain of more than 18,000 voters in one year. Even when the state was at its height of population in 2016, there were no more than 530,653 voters (December, 2016 count).

There’s at least one reason: Voters are being added due to the automatic Permanent Fund dividend application process and it takes years to legally purge people from the voter rolls, due to state law. Voters approved the automatic voter registration in 2016 through Ballot Measure 1.

Every spring, the Division of Elections purges the voter rolls, publishing the pre-purge and the post-purge numbers on its statistics page. That will happen again in February or March. But the voter rolls just keep growing, even while population shrinks. The purging is not able to keep up; federal law governs how voters may be purged.

Comparing Division of Elections data to Department of Labor data, 84 percent of the Anchorage municipality residents are now registered to vote. The remainder, presumably, are children. According to the Census Bureau, 24 percent of Anchorage residents are under the age of 18.

The population loss in Alaska is due largely to net migration — in-migrants minus out-migrants, which accounted for a loss of 8,873 people from July 2019 to July 2020, the Department of Labor said.

That means fewer people are moving to Alaska, rather than that more are leaving. A decrease in births also contributed to the overall decline. 

Alaska’s population from infancy to 64 years old declined 1 percent, while the 65-and-older group actually grew by 4 percent. The state’s oldest borough is Haines, at 48.6 years. The Kusilvak Census Area was youngest at 24.3. 

Twenty-three of Alaska’s 30 boroughs and census areas lost population between 2019 and 2020, for a total of 76 percent of the boroughs and census areas losing population.

The Municipality of Anchorage lost the most (-3,517).

Fairbanks, with its expanding military population, grew the most, gaining 1,064 people, followed the Matanuska-Susitna Borough (523).

Counts from the 2020 Census have not been released and are not part of these estimates, the department noted.

Complete estimates for the state, boroughs/census areas, cities and census-designated places are available here.

House, Senate still not organized but talks underway

Suzanne Downing
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11
House, Senate still not organized but talks underway

With nine days before the Legislature convenes, Rep. Kelly Merrick of Eagle River has organized a Zoom meeting (via computer video) for House representatives from both sides of the aisle for Monday, 1-5 pm. It is designed so those who wish to be Speaker can make their presentations to the group.

The meeting is called “49 First, an honest conversation about the future of Alaska and how the House of Representatives can lead the way.” The rules say those participating must enable their cameras on their computer to be functioning, for security purposes. It’s not open to the public.

Normally, these kinds of organizational meetings are done in person and in secret, but due to COVID-19 and various travel and quarantine logistics, organizing the House and Senate have become even more difficult. Merrick’s approach is an effort to try something different.

Security for in-person organizational meetings is usually tight, but rarely water-tight; this meeting may end up with leaks to the media because of how easy it will be to record the proceedings or allow others to listen in.

Most legislators and their staff are now in Juneau and in their 10-day quarantine period, which means they can’t leave their homes, apartments, or hotel rooms, under the COVID safety rules established by the Legislative Council.

In the House, the Republican-Democrat split is basically 20-20, as Rep. Louise Stutes, a Republican from Kodiak, has decided to remain with the Democrats.

The current House Speaker is Rep. Bryce Edgmon, a Dillingham Democrat who is currently a registered undeclared. Not all Democrats are happy with continuing his leadership, however. Edgmon has been Speaker since 2017.

On the Republican side, many lawmakers and incoming lawmakers do not wish to caucus with Rep. David Eastman of Wasilla, which is part of the problem the Republicans face, since without him they are only 19 strong. Eastman is seen as too far right for many of the Republicans in the House. With the current split, some political observers believe a bipartisan caucus will emerge.

The 32nd Alaska Legislature convenes Jan. 19 in Juneau. Regular session ends 90 days later, on April 18.

Google, Apple ban Parler from their app stores

Suzanne Downing
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47
Google, Apple ban Parler from their app stores

The purge is happening. The world’s largest tech companies have banned an upstart social media service from their App Stores.

Google, owned by Alphabet, went first, saying Parler is allowing its users to incite violence and is not policing the conversations people are having on the new alternative to Twitter.

Apple, the world’s largest tech company, gave Parler 24 hours to clean up its act. It has now suspended Parler from its App Store entirely and the app is dysfunctional for those who already have it.

Twitter has been blocking and banning conservative voices on its messaging platform, with a massive purge that began last week with the blocking of the president. The site’s staff and computer algorithm appear to be making their way through thousands of accounts, which are being curtailed, hidden, blocked, shadow-banned and outright banned due to what Twitter thinks is unhelpful speech.

Parler is majority owned by Dan Bongino, who also publishes the Bongino Report, an alternative to the formerly conservative Drudge Report. There are a lot of angry voices on Parler, many who have been banned from Twitter, and some are inciting violence against politicians and journalists. Parler was created as an alternative to Twitter due to policing of free speech.

The social media account purging is underway on other platforms and with some big names: Steve Bannon, formerly of Breitbart, was banned from YouTube, which has also blocked Rudy Giuliani’s videos. Facebook has blocked the @WalkAway page that encourages Democrats to leave the Democratic Party. It had a half million followers.

Mozilla wrote on its company blog that “de-platforming” was not enough. Companies like Mozilla need to do more to shut down misinformation and disinformation, and elevate “factual voices.”

Mozilla blog posting here.

In the business world, the Cancel Culture is all the rage. Randall Lane, editor of Forbes magazine, advised businesses that they should not hire press secretaries who had served in the Trump Administration. To do so would make their companies untrustworthy, and a target of journalists.

“As American democracy rebounds, we need to return to a standard of truth when it comes to how the government communicates with the governed,” Lane wrote. “The easiest way to do that, from where I sit, is to create repercussions for those who don’t follow the civic norms.”

In other Cancel Culture news, the Lincoln Project, a Democrat organization that worked to unseat the president, announced it is building a blacklist of Trump Administration employees to ensure they cannot find employment.

“At @ProjectLincoln we are constructing a database of Trump officials & staff that will detail their roles in the Trump administration & track where they are now. No personal info, only professional. But they will be held accountable & not allowed to pretend they were not involved,” wrote Stuart Stevens of the Lincoln Project.

Income tax included in first batch of pre-filed bills published by Legislature

Suzanne Downing
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41
Income tax included in first batch of pre-filed bills published by Legislature

The first batch of bills that have been pre-filed for the upcoming legislative session are now published.

Among them, Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson has filed a bill to make it illegal for police officers to use chokeholds. She has also filed a bill relating to de-escalation procedures used by police officers, and the reporting of misconduct of officers. Another of her bills relates to justification of use of force by police and would prohibit an officer shooting from a moving vehicle. Gray-Jackson has another bill establishing Juneteenth as a legal holiday.

Rep. George Rauscher of the Mat-Su has a bill that would provide for audits of the CARES Act funds that have been expended for community assistance programs and to municipalities. Rauscher also has a bill that would relocate the place that the Legislature meets from Juneau to Anchorage.

Rep. DeLena Johnson has a bill to add cybersecurity attacks affecting critical infrastructure to the list of crises that are included in the official definitions of disasters.

Rep. Andy Josephson has reintroduced a bill adding more duties to the State Commission for Human Rights, to prevent discrimination based on gender identity or expression.

Rep. Sarah Hannan has an income tax bill that has many complicated provisions relating to various forms of income.

Rep. Daniel Ortiz has a bill to move Alaska to Alaska Standard Time throughout the year.

There are also bills relating to abortion, the Alaska Judicial Council, restricting of binding caucuses in the Legislature, and more.

Must Read Alaska will be combing through the list and providing more detail, but readers can begin their own research at this link:

2021-Prefiles-First-ReleaseDownload

A second batch of pre-filed bills will be published next week.

Dunleavy administration files to challenge decision denying Pebble permit

Suzanne Downing
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21
Dunleavy administration files to challenge decision denying Pebble permit

In what appears to be a lost-cause and last-ditch effort, the Dunleavy Administration has filed a challenge of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit refusal for the Pebble Mine.

The Recall Dunleavy Committee wasted no time in using that as an opportunity to drum up more recall petition signatures, sending out an email blast right away to point out that Dunleavy was on the side of the Pebble Mine.

The administrative appeal filed by the Department of Law asks the United States Army Corps of Engineers to rethink its decision denying a needed water use permit for the proposed mine in Southwest Alaska.

“The flawed decision by the Alaska District creates a dangerous precedent that will undoubtedly harm Alaska’s future and, any potential project can fall victim to the same questionable standards,” Dunleavy said in a press release. “We have to prevent a federal agency, in this instance, the Alaska District of the Army Corps of Engineers, from using the regulatory process to effectively prevent the State from fulfilling a constitutional mandate to develop its natural resources.”

“The Alaska District’s decision has far-reaching and ominous implications for our rights as a state to develop our resources for the benefit of all Alaskans, whether its mineral deposits like Pebble, or oil and gas on the North Slope, or other resources anywhere in the state,” said Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Corri Feige. “The Alaska Constitution specifically directs us to develop our resources in the public interest. When a federal agency arbitrarily tries to deprive us of our rights with the stroke of a bureaucrat’s pen, we simply must challenge that action.”

The appeal asks the Army Corps Pacific Ocean Division to remand the permit decision back to the Alaska District for a more thorough review. Because Alaska has so much more intact wetlands than any other state in the nation, and in fact more than all the Lower 48 states combined, the Corps has depended on guidance documents in the past that treat Alaska differently than the Lower 48.

The 404 permit, required under the federal Clean Water Act, is required for any natural resource development project to move forward.

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