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Context: With courage and compassion, we must not yield our civil liberties

By REP. BEN CARPENTER

This weekend there has been a firestorm of comments and concern regarding my part in an email conversation between Alaska legislators.

My email comments have been perceived by many to be offensive. For any offense taken, I apologize because my words are my responsibility. It was not my intent to be offensive; quite the opposite. 

I take my responsibility as the voice of the people who elected me very seriously. I also hold the Jewish people in the highest regard. I do not take myself so seriously that I cannot recognize that the words I wrote, and those attributed to me, do not adequately reflect the esteem I hold for either group of people. I hope to correct that error now. 

The purpose for my word choice in my email was torpedoed by the analogy I chose to use and the inadequacy of a few sentences. As I reflect back on those few moments it took to draft my words, I had hoped to draw attention to a complex mix of issues: government overreach, personal liberty and privacy, and fear. These are issues that are near and dear to myself and the constituents that I represent.

In haste, I chose to juxtapose a proposed Alaskan legislative requirement to wear a ‘COVID-19 free sticker’ with the Star of David that the Jews were required by their government to wear during the Holocaust.

This comparison was not intended to marginalize the memory of the Holocaust but to ensure similar behavior can never happen again.

What I couldn’t possibly say in the moment was that the Holocaust didn’t begin with the labeling of undesirables and heinous deprivation of personal liberty. It began with a contagious fear amongst the German people that eventually led to the widespread support of horrifying government overreach.

While not reaching the level of depravity of the German people, and certainly not an equal comparison, our own people labeled women with a scarlet letter and interned Japanese-Americans during WWII out of fear. We must be eternally vigilant and hold liberty in high regard if we are to prevent such behavior in the future. 

I could have chosen a different analogy that didn’t detract from the fact that we are faced with a decision to accept or reject our government’s deprivation of our liberty, privacy, and economic security because of fear of a viral disease that has claimed only ten lives in the state of Alaska out of a population of about 700,000.

I do not want to minimize the tragic loss of life but I must call attention to the disproportionate government response. Without a miracle cure, it is likely that as we open the Alaskan economy back up, we will experience more COVID-19 illnesses.

The fear associated with the illness isn’t going away. We must not allow our response to our fear to drive us to accept additional security at the expense of our liberty. The price to maintain the freedom and liberties we take for granted is high. We must be willing to pay the price or we will lose both.

If legislative leaders can force legislators to wear a badge revealing their medical status, then they can force the general public to be labeled too. And when the label isn’t enough to prevent disease transmission, what then? Shall we follow the lead of other states and bring legal sanctions on people who refuse to take a COVID-19 test or reveal the results of their medical procedure? If there is no cure, will we willingly support the forced segregation of Alaskans? Will we demand loved ones be separated from their families in the name of protecting children or the one or two percent of the population that may die from the disease? I hope the answers are a resounding no!

Our National Motto is still ‘In God We Trust’. So, I have hope for the future. I know that white supremacists like Adolf Hitler are fearful bullies who must be exterminated from the face of the earth.

I know that it may be next to impossible to do the same with the COVID-19 virus. I know that Alaskans cherish their independence and individual liberties and I know they are fully capable of standing up to bullies and viruses with courage and compassion.

Ben Carpenters is a representative from District 29, Nikiski.

Leftist calls for gas chamber for Rep. Ben Carpenter; Left stays silent on social media

Rep. Ben Carpenter made a sardonic comment in an email blast to his fellow legislators, asking about the “compliance sticker” that legislators will be forced to wear in the Capitol building this week as they gather to vote on whether the CARES Act relief money can be released to Alaska communities and businesses.

The purpose of his comment was to point out the slippery slope of mandates: If legislators must wear compliance stickers, will the public also be required to wear them at some point, to show that they have submitted to government testing for COVID-19?

His was a statement making the case for civil liberties and what happens when they are eroded bit by bit, without anyone standing up to say “no.”

As occurs on social media, the Left used Carpenter’s inter-office note to weigh in with hate, calling him anti-semitic, as well as a number of other invectives.

The social media leftists had a field day turning what was obviously an anti-fascist remark by Carpenter into what they are characterizing as anti-Semitic.

Perhaps none of the comments were as graphic as this one, which called for the gas chamber for Rep. Carpenter:

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But many of the comments appeared on a discussion begun by former Chief of Staff to Gov. Bill Walker were full of hateful invectives, as commenters egged each other on.

Kendall is the lawyer and lead advocate for the recall of Gov. Mike Dunleavy, and has become a next-level leftist social media warrior who attacks all Republicans. His next move may be to ask the governor and other Republicans to disassociate themselves with the representative from Nikiski, but meanwhile, he is ginning up the hate on Facebook:

Equally disturbing in the Kendall-fueled rage was that Rev. Matt Schultz of the First Presbyterian Church of Anchorage did not tamp down the rhetoric but fueled it with his own social media jabs, engaging in a battle of wits with former Dunleavy Chief of Staff Tuckerman Babcock, who said the critics were obviously mischaracterizing the statement.

A sampling of other messages Carpenter was sent by those who think he supports Nazism.

The memo Rep. Carpenter wrote that is getting leftists spun up on social media on Saturday:

Carpenter, who represents District 29, a conservative area of the Kenai Peninsula, is a graduate of Nikiski High School who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, and Kuwait with the Air Force. Prior to election, he retired from the Alaska National Guard, where he was a special staff officer in the commanding general’s office. A farmer, he grows peonies on the peninsula.

When America blinked

By DAN SULLIVAN

The year 2020 will be studied, analyzed and debated by political scientists, sociologists, judicial scholars, health experts and economists for many decades, if not centuries to come. 

Faced with a pandemic whose virulent nature was not readily understood, America instituted the most draconian restriction on individual rights that we have seen in over one hundred years, with the notable exception of FDR’s internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. 

The severe reaction to the Wuhan virus, or COVID-19, was particularly shocking given the fact that pandemics of this nature are not that unusual.  In the last few decades we have seen viral attacks known as SARS, MERS, the Swine Flu, Ebola, West Nile and various strains of the influenza virus.  

Just recently, during the 2017-2018 flu season, over 60,000 Americans died and many more were infected by a strain of influenza.  

If we look back a bit further, the Hong Kong flu swept through the world in 1968-1969, infecting more than a million Americans and killing over 80,000.  The deadly impact was even more crippling in Europe.  

And yet, we didn’t quarantine healthy people and didn’t shut down our economy.  During that period, the Detroit Tigers won the 1968 World Series, the upstart New York Jets won the 1969 Super Bowl and the Boston Celtics won their eleventh championship, all in front of capacity crowds.  

There was even an historic music festival in upstate New York that drew hundreds of thousands of people that you may have heard about.  

Today, the fields of play are empty and Americans sit huddled at home.  We even had a presidential election in November, 1968 and people showed up to vote in person.  Were the right choices made then or is today’s reaction the so called ‘new normal?’

That will be the great historical debate.  I believe that the government at both the national and state and local levels have overreacted to the point where the cure has quickly become worse than the disease. In all of the pandemics previously mentioned, the vast majority of deaths occurred in our most vulnerable populations, the elderly and those with underlying conditions such as heart disease, COPD, diabetes, obesity, cancer, etc. 

It’s not a coincidence that in Washington State and in New York, for example, the hot spots were in nursing homes and senior care facilities.  New York even sent infected patients back into nursing homes after being treated for COVID-19 in a hospital, dramatically increasing the sickness and deaths in those facilities.

Even in Sweden, which took a much more relaxed approach to dealing with the pandemic, the government admits they did not do a good job protecting their nursing home population, allowing staff and outside visitors to interact with the residents without proper protective equipment.  Their failure to take better precautionary measures for that segment of their population skews a death rate that is already showing to be statistically better than many other comparable countries.  

Sweden now estimates that they will achieve ‘herd immunity’ by June, meaning that approximately 70% of their population will have been exposed.  They will be far less likely to have a spike in the fall, which means that schools will open and health care facilities will be back to normal functions.

The closure of ‘non-essential’ businesses, the millions of people forced out of the workforce, the disruption in our supply chains, the quarantining of healthy people and the denial of health care to non-Covid-19 patients has killed the momentum of one of the strongest economies in American history. 

That disruption has severe consequences that I believe will prove to be much greater that the pandemic itself. We are seeing the negative effects already. Sociologists tell us that the loss of a job and isolation are debilitating factors that negatively affect individuals as well as their families, friends and associates.  The increase in suicides, alcoholism, drug abuse, domestic violence, divorce, child abuse, obesity and crime are well chronicled. 

The loss of production affects our GDP and government revenues, leading to fewer services at a time when certain social services and infrastructure are needed more than ever.  All of this leads to collective despair and hopelessness.  It is a vicious cycle of our own creation.  Part of the response has been to add trillions to our national debt and there will be consequences from that for generations to come.

With apologies to Sir Isaac Newton, he could have added one more law of physics: For every government overreaction, there will be another equal government over reaction.  To deal with the initial government overreaction, which shut down businesses and put over 30 million Americans out of work, Congress passed an act giving employers loans to keep their employees on the payroll, and thus ‘tied to the business’ for when things recover.  

At the same time, they increased unemployment benefits so that the unemployed are making over $1,000 per week for staying at home.  Many businesses are having a hard time getting employees back on their payroll, particularly in the restaurant and bar businesses.  Even as these businesses do re-open in some areas, the restrictions on capacity and the reluctance of a cautious customer base will make it hard for employees to make what they are making from the government check.  

The newly passed second phase stimulus bill, which was cruelly denied to struggling Alaska businesses for several weeks by a few House Democrats, has provisions for direct grants to small businesses, which depending on the conditions, may or may not help.  One such condition suggests if you received a phase one loan, you may not qualify for a grant.  Unfortunately, the loans were not of much use to many businesses except to increase their liabilities, so I am hopeful that there will be flexibility in how this phase is administered.  The goal should be to help businesses that were shut down by the government get back on their feet.  I truly hope on behalf of my fellow business owners that these measures help prevent additional closures.

So, what will we do when the next pandemic hits, and it is a certainty that there will be more in the future?  

If we are smart, we will make sure every facility that deals with vulnerable populations, including hospitals, nursing homes, senior housing etc. are well prepared with the right personal protection items, pharmaceutical supplies and life support equipment as well as policies that limit interaction from outside the facilities and employ strict sanitation protocols.  

All levels of government need to be prepared to assist with backup supplies, facilities like field hospitals and personnel where needed.  Individuals will need to continue to follow healthy procedures like hand washing and keeping surfaces clean.  If you are feeling sick, you stay home from work.  Avoid contact with anyone already vulnerable.

Information needs to be clear and consistent.  To this day, many folks are still uncertain whether face masks are an effective tool in stopping the spread of the disease or not. The media has not been helpful, fueling the flames of pandemic fear with constant negative reporting and finger pointing, seemingly for political purposes. After all, it’s another presidential election year and it’s not a secret that the mainstream media wants President Trump gone.  As President Obama’s former chief of staff notably stated, “Never let a crisis go to waste.” 

Will Americans tolerate another government mandated shutdown of their businesses and their lives?  I think not.  From California to Pennsylvania, the protests against limiting our civil rights are growing and courts are starting to weigh in, such as the recent Wisconsin Supreme Court decision that declared their mandates unconstitutional.  

In the future, business owners will not and should not tolerate government choosing winners and losers, declaring one business essential and another business not.  It’s hard for the small book shop owner or restauranteur to see businesses like pot shops or airport bars be allowed to stay open as ‘essential’ while others are forced to lock the doors.  Try and tell the single mom who is the sole provider for her family and was just laid off that her job is non-essential.

Americans see the results from places like South Dakota and Sweden that employed much more moderate pandemic response policies, policies more in line with our historical response.  

We rightfully question whether that would have been the better course of action for the rest of the country.  Will Americans tolerate mass arrests if millions of our citizens rise up and defy future mandates that limit our individual freedoms?  Again, I think not.  It is our right and obligation to question, and if necessary, oppose orders that violate our constitutional rights. Elon Musk did just that in California, where he re-opened one of his plants in defiance of the County edicts.  The County backed down.

When our political leaders are faced with similar challenges in the future, they would be wise to exercise their power with great caution.  Destroying a robust economy and throwing our country into a deep depression simply cannot be the right answer.  Yes, we are a strong and resilient country, but it’s hard to get up off the canvas when the heavy fist of government has smacked you in the forehead.  Too many businesses are down for the count. 

It is a tragedy when anyone dies from a virus like COVID-19 or from any other disease.  When it happens to a loved one, it is easy to think that more should have been done and that extreme measures are justified.  Having lost two brothers in the last 18 months to chronic diseases, I know firsthand the sorrow and pain. It is a tremendous challenge for policy makers to find the right balance between protecting its citizens and causing them more harm.  

When the experts examine the year 2020 in the years to come, will they see that we achieved that thoughtful balance or will they conclude that America looked the pandemic square in the eye………… and blinked?

Dan Sullivan is the former mayor of Anchorage and is a business owner.

COVID-19 update: Alaska has seen 20 cases in May, so far

Dillingham has reported its first case of COVID-19, as the fishing season heats up in Southwest Alaska. Dillingham is 329 air miles from Anchorage and is the hub of the Bristol Bay-based commercial fishing industry.

In addition to the one case in Dillingham reported over the past 24 hours three cases emerged in Anchorage, Chugiak, and Homer.

But across the state, only 20 cases of the Wuhan coronavirus have been diagnosed in Alaska during the month of May, through May 15. Twelve of the 20 were in Anchorage.

As of now, one Alaskan with the illness is on an invasive ventilators and 10 are hospitalized. Alaska currently has 297 ventilators available, and 925 hospital beds, with 99 intensive care unit beds available.

There have been 392 cases of COVID-19 diagnosed in Alaska since March 3, and 344 of those are considered recovered. Ten deaths were attributed to the illness.

How safe is that marijuana? Leaked audio raises doubts

An audio recording of a detailed phone conversation between two people in the Alaska marijuana industry surfaced on YouTube this week, posted by an account that goes by the name of “Bobb Dogg.”

In the audio, a person who appears to be a manager of one of Anchorage’s largest marijuana stores admits that his company sold 100 pounds of possibly moldy marijuana, and that CBD oil that was supposed to have a low psychoactive level of THC was found to, in fact, contain high amounts.

The conversation cannot be confirmed as legitimate, and could even be business espionage, but it has raised an eyebrow over at the Alaska Marijuana Control Board, which has opened an inquiry, Must Read Alaska has learned.

In the 8-minute, 13-second audio, an astonished interviewer named “Keisha” asks “Jordan” to explain how the company got around testing of the 100 pounds of possibly contaminated pot, which according to Jordan came with the acquisition of another marijuana business on King Street. Jordan said managers knew the product was contaminated. Jordan insisted to Keisha that he followed orders to sell the product, and to sample portions of it that did not appear to be contaminated to send in for testing.

If the allegations are true, it’s a glimpse into how marijuana purveyors may cut corners to capture profit, possibly at the expense of their customers’ health.

Must Read Alaska has forwarded the audio to the Marijuana Control Board. More than 1,000 viewers have seen the video, and some commenters noted that they’ve known about the incident for a while and have chimed in on the comment section with remarkable specificity about how the moldy cannabis made its way to market.

The company in question is owned by a variety of people, a few of whom are well known in liberal politics and media, some with powerful connections to the mayor’s office.

The video can be viewed by searching for Bobb Dogg on YouTube. The audio is labeled “Weedileaks.” Whether it’s valid is certainly a question, and it is only one side of what appears to be a very serious allegation. The retail value for 100 pounds of marijuana can vary widely, but could be worth $100,000.

Such a matter would probably be taken up at the next meeting of the Alaska Marijuana Control Board, scheduled for June 10-11, but likely would be taken up in executive session, if there is indeed an investigation underway.

The doctor is in: 100 days until Charlotte and the Republican convention

Today marks 100 days until Aug. 24, the first day of the Republican National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.

In a time when the nation has reeled from a pandemic that came over from China, the Republicans are moving forward with a full convention, although with many health and security safeguards.

The Republican National Committee has brought onboard a medical doctor to be part of its core planning team to ensure that the event follows all the CDC guidelines during the coronavirus pandemic, which is expected to be ebbing in August.

“While COVID-19 was certainly not something anyone could have anticipated, our team has worked incredibly hard to adapt,” said Marcia Lee Kelly, the chairwoman for the convention.

“One detail you can expect to see throughout convention week is our consistency and devotion to a ‘five-star’ theme. Everywhere you walk, you’ll see it from the tips of your toes to the tops of the ceiling. We continue to work on week-of programming including a show-stopping lineup of speakers and never-been-done-before events. With planning underway, our team has continued to take meaningful steps to demonstrate our commitment to ensuring the health and safety of convention participants,” she said.

“We recognized that large-scale events would need to look different in light of COVID-19, and our team unveiled step one of many this month: Hiring an experienced health and medical preparedness expert to advise on the implementation of health and safety protocols.”

No, it’s not Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who advises the nation on COVID-19 and is a household name.

The doctor for the Republican National Convention is Dr. Jeffrey W. Runge, who has over 35 years of experience as a board-certified physician, as well as extensive experience in safety and risk management, medical preparedness, and planning. He is considered an expert in bioterrorism and chemical .

Runge (pronounced Run-ghee) spent seven years as the head of two government agencies, as the Chief Medical Officer for the Department of Homeland Security, which he reorganized into the Office of Health Affairs, and as the head of the National Highway Transportation and Safety Agency. At NHTSA, he instituted programs that led to the first absolute declines in U.S. motor vehicle deaths in nearly a decade and the lowest highway fatality rate in history. His emphasis on safety belt use using the innovative “Click It or Ticket” program led to national belt use over 80%, saving over 3,000 lives a year.

Until 2001 he practiced emergency medicine and taught in North Carolina’s busiest emergency department and trauma center, while performing research in injury prevention, trauma care, and emergency service delivery.

Some 2,550 total GOP delegates are expected to attend the convention from all over the nation.

Meanwhile, this week the Democratic Party Rules Committee approved a change that allows delegates to take part even from a distance, if they don’t want to attend in person. The Democrats have already delayed their Milwaukee, Wisconsin convention that was originally set for July 13-16. They’ll now gather the week before the Republican convention — Aug. 17-20 — if they do gather at all.

Pelosi pushes mandate that all voters get ballots in mail, allow same-day registration

Democrats in Washington slipped in an item in their $3 trillion coronavirus bill on Friday that would force states to adopt mail-in elections this fall.

The bill, which now heads to the Senate, has been given no chance of passage, and President Donald Trump has said he would veto it if it reached his desk. But among the 1,400 pages of the bill is the new flavor-of-the-month attempt to

The Pelosi bill would require states to end any requirements they have that voters provide a reason to request an absentee ballot. It mandates states to enact 15 days of early voting, and orders states to mail a ballot to every voter during declared emergencies.

Voters in Alaska do not need to provide an excuse for getting an absentee ballot and they already have 15-day voting prior to Election Day.

But on Friday, Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer said the Division of Elections would not be mailing ballots to every voter. Voters can request absentee ballots as usual, and he said the Division of Elections would make a concerted effort to encourage people to request those ballots, which they have been able to do at any time since Jan. 1.

The Democrats’ bill would provide $3.6 billion to expand vote by mail across the country. Also as part of the bill, voters could register to vote on the same day they vote, and states would be prohibited from asking for identification beyond asking for the last four digits of a voter’s Social Security number.

The change would apply to the November General Election and all subsequent federal elections.

Pelosi’s proposal requires all absentee ballots sent out to have prepaid return postage printed on them. The bill prohibits state election offices from “refusing to accept and process an absentee ballot from a qualified individual based on notarization or witness signature, paper type, or envelope type requirements.”

Additionally, the plan would prevent voter identification verification by allowing all voters to self-certify that they are the person who is eligible to vote a given ballot: “An individual may make a sworn written statement attesting to their identity to fulfill the identification requirement.”

Sen. Sullivan files for reelection

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan quietly filed for reelection this week, without fanfare. His registration with the Alaska Division of Elections came Thursday, while he was in Washington, D.C. The deadline for candidates is June 1, but at this point he faces no Republican opponent in what looks like will be a sleepy Aug. 18 primary.

Many voters may have presumed he would run for reelection, and he has a campaign headquarters set up close to the Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage, but he had not yet made it official with the Division of Elections.

Sullivan has served for six years as a U.S. senator, after replacing former Sen. Mark Begich in 2014 by a slim margin, 48-46 percent, just 6,014 votes. This is his first reelection season.

Sullivan is being challenged by Al Gross, who is registered as undeclared and calls himself an independent, but who is running in the Democrats’ primary, with the Democrats’ endorsement, and who openly communicates that he seeks to “flip the state blue,” and “ditch Mitch” McConnell. The mainstream media has not asked him which party he will caucus with, but he has made it clear in his campaign materials that he is with the Democrats.

It appears that Sullivan is not focused on campaigning as much as his opponent is. Gross is running an aggressive campaign around the state, attempting to connect with thought leaders, and raising funds using the Democrats’ Act Blue software, while Sullivan is still focused on the national and state crisis that has developed this year, in what should be a year of campaigning.

Al Gross’ campaign presents the candidate as an independent as he attempts to connect with voters by text.

While Gross crisscrosses the state, Sullivan holds a comfortable advantage in his approval rating with voters, with an 12-point advantage among independent voters, and strong approval among conservatives. The polling site fivethirtyeight.org gives Sullivan a 15-point advantage and calls his seat safe for his reelection.

Sullivan serves on several committees that impact Alaska:

  • Committee on Armed Services
    • Subcommittee on Airland
    • Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support (Chairman)
    • Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
  • Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
    • Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
    • Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet
    • Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
    • Subcommittee on Space, Science and Competitiveness
    • Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
  • Committee on Environment and Public Works
    • Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water and Wildlife (Chairman)
    • Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Management, and Regulatory Oversight
  • Committee on Veterans’ Affairs

Washington governor Inslee reverses decision on restaurant logs of customers

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee issued a clarification today on his requirement that restaurants must collect contact information from all diners on behalf of state health officials.

He said the mandate is now voluntary for patrons.

“We are asking visitors to voluntarily provide contact information in case of COVID-19 exposure. We only need information for one person per household. If we learn you may have been exposed to COVID-19 during your visit, the information will only be shared with public health officials. They will contact you to explain the risk, answer questions and provide resources,” he said in a statement on his official website.

He assured the public that the information will not be used for any other purpose, including sales or marketing. “If this list is not used within 30 days, it will be destroyed,” Inslee said. “This will not be required of anyone.”

Anchorage has a requirement for restaurants that they must collect the contact information from all their diners, something that has been met with resistance by Alaskans who say this is an invasion of their privacy.

The State of Alaska also has such a mandate as part of the govenor’s plan to reopen the state’s economy.

Neither the municipality of Anchorage or the State have put safeguards around the collection of the information.