Page 174 – Must Read Alaska

DOGE: Feds gave POLITICO $44 million since 2017

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February 17, 2025

DOGE: Feds gave POLITICO $44 million since 2017

BY JEREMY PORTNOY | REAL CLEAR INVESTIGATIONS

Topline: The White House subscribes to POLITICO Pro, a premium service meant to inform the public what is happening inside the White House, spending $16 million since 2017, according to a new report from OpenTheBooks.com.

It’s part of $44.2 million the federal government has paid POLITICO in subscription fees since 2017: $32.3 million from 38 different executive agencies and subagencies, and $11.9 million from offices in the House of Representatives.

Key facts: The Department of Health and Human Services is POLITICO’s best customer on the Hill, with $6.9 million spent on subscriptions since 2017.

President Donald Trump’s administration spent between $1 million and $3 million on POLITICO subscriptions during each year of his first term. Then, spending increased under President Joe Biden, reaching a high of $7.8 million in 2023.

The premium subscriptions to POLITICO Pro cost nearly $3,000 per person.

The Pro service is meant to help “lobbyist, executive, consultant, researcher, strategist, or analyst” get “the inside scoop on the public policy and players that matter most to you” with “elite access” from POLITICO’s reporters.

One might expect that having a job inside the actual White House would be a better kind of elite access than anything POLITICO can provide.

The government has not sent any direct assistance to POLITICO, aside from a $1,000 Covid-19 relief grant in 2020.

Search all federal, state and local government salaries and vendor spending with the AI search bot, Benjamin, at OpenTheBooks.com.

Background: On Feb. 5, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the more than $8 million the U.S. Agency for International Development has sent to POLITICO would be canceled by the Department of Government Efficiency. There was only one problem: USAID has only spent $44,000 on POLITICO subscriptions, OpenTheBooks found in its review of federal data.

The false claim originated with a social media post on X. It was picked up by online political commentators, and within hours was repeated by Leavitt.

“Upon coming out here to the briefing room, I was made aware of the funding from USAID to media outlets including POLITICO,” Leavitt said in her press briefing. “The more than $8 million in taxpayer dollars that have gone towards essentially subsidizing subscriptions to POLITICO will no longer be happening.”

Rep. Lauren Boebert also falsely claimed during a Congressional oversight hearing that POLITICO is laying off staff because its nonexistent USAID funding was cut, Will Sommer of the Washington Post reported.

Summary: Paywalls and subscription fees are enough of a nuisance in taxpayers’ personal lives without having them funding the White House’s reading material.

The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com.

They protested DOGE, Trump, and Musk at Alaska’s State Capitol

DOGE Alaska: Interest on US national debt hits $13.8 trillion. How much is that per American?

DOGE Alaska finds federal grant giving one Alaska tribe $2.4 million to buy king crab, salmon

Linda Boyle: DOGE puts stop to the fawning Fauci museum exhibit that taxpayers would have paid for

DOGE Alaska: Federal grant creates a ‘pipeline of NextGen food policy workers’ for feds

Iditarod start moved to Fairbanks due to snow

The 907

Suzanne Downing

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February 17, 2025

4

Iditarod start moved to Fairbanks due to snow

The Iditarod start has been moved to Fairbanks due to lack of snow on the route that usually leaves from Willow. Over the weekend, mushers reached out to the Iditarod committee with their concerns, saying that aerial footage of the usual route shows there are miles upon miles of trail that has no snow on it.

The committee wrote on Monday afternoon:

“After careful consultation with our dedicated Trail Breakers and thorough review of current trail conditions, the Iditarod Trail Committee has made the difficult but necessary decision to move the Official Restart of the 2025 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race to Fairbanks, Alaska. Previous flyovers and information collected at the end of January proved for a safe, very passable trail on the Southern Route for all areas except this stretch which was still questionable. Unfortunately, due to the absence of snowfall since the January 31st decision to take the Southern Route, the on-the-ground data that our Trail Breakers provided today after their assessment has deemed this portion of trail unpassable.

“Our Trail Breaker crew has just spent over a week prepping the trail from Skwentna through to Rohn, historically the most challenging terrain of the race. After a heavy discussion with our lead Trail Breaker and other friends of the race including local knowledge, and with no new snow on the horizon, there is simply no way we can allow the teams to progress through that 20-mile stretch just before the Salmon River, 20 miles from Nikolai. It is a shame because the remainder of the trail is in great shape all the way to Nome,” said Race Marshal Warren Palfrey.

The Anchorage Ceremonial Start will still take place as scheduled at 10 a.m. in Downtown Anchorage on Saturday, March 1, 2025.

Mushers and their crew will have to pack up their dogs and sleds and head to Fairbanks after the ceremonial start, which is part of the Anchorage Fur Rondy festival and which is also a money-maker for the racers.

The official restart will now occur at 11 a.m. on Monday, March 3, 2025, in Fairbanks.

The 2025 route will run as follows: Fairbanks, Nenana, Manley, Tanana, Ruby, Galena, Nulato, Kaltag 1, Eagle Island 1, Grayling 1, Anvik, Shageluk, then looping back up river to Grayling 2, Eagle Island 2, Kaltag 2, then to Unalakleet then continuing onto Nome using the traditional checkpoints between Unalakleet and Nome.

“While this change will be a logistical feat for many, it is a necessary adjustment to ensure that the race can proceed safely and fairly. The Iditarod remains committed to upholding its legacy as the most challenging and exciting sled dog race in the world, and we appreciate the understanding and support of the community, mushers, and fans,” the race organization said.

Further updates will be made available on our website and through official race channels.

Pro-Hamas flag flies in face of Iditarod mushers, spectators in Anchorage

David Boyle: President Trump lifts Covid mandates on children

SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR

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February 17, 2025

6

David Boyle: President Trump lifts Covid mandates on children

By DAVID BOYLE

A new executive order signed on Valentine’s Day ended mandated Covid jabs for children in K-12 schools, as well as for university students.

The K-12 schools and universities either stop the mandated Covid jabs or they stand to lose millions of dollars in federal funding.

The executive order stated some universities and school districts continue to force children and young adults into getting the Covid jab and have made it a requirement for them to remain in school or get admitted to a university.

Parents should be able to make decisions for their children and young adults should be able to make their own decisions. Forcing these children and young adults to get a Covid jab is an infringement on their personal freedom and interferes with parents’ rights..

The EO went on to state that discretionary federal funds should not be used to directly or indirectly support or subsidize an educational service agency, State educational agency, local educational agency, elementary school, secondary school, or institution of higher education that requires students to have received a Covid-19 vaccination to attend any in-person education program.

The EO includes the following:

“The Secretary of Education must issue guidelines to all educational entities as soon as possible regarding “those entities’ legal obligations with respect to parental authority, religious freedom, disability accommodations, and equal protection under law, as relevant to coercive COVID-19 school mandates.”

“Within 90 days the Secretary of Education together with the Secretary of Health and Human Services “shall provide to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, a plan to end coercive COVID-19 school mandates, consistent with applicable law, and including, as appropriate, any proposed legislation.” The plan will include:

A list of discretionary Federal grants and contracts provided to these entities that are not in compliance with the guidelines issued.
1. Each executive department or agency’s process for preventing Federal funds from being provided to, and rescinding Federal funds from these entities that are non-compliant with the issued guidelines, to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.

This EO fulfills a promise President Trump made on the campaign trail that he would “not give one penny to any school that has a (Covid) vaccine mandate”

According to the CDC, Alaska had zero deaths from Covid in the age group 0-24through October 2021. There were no Covid deaths in that age group for the following years as well.

Now the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development and the Department of Health must send guidance to all districts and schools to implement this EO once direction comes from the US Department of Education.

So, what would be the fiscal impact on Alaska if this EO is not followed?

In Fiscal Year 2023 Alaska received more than $138 million in federal funds, not including federal Impact Aid funds ($74 million) and E-Rate funding of $100 million.

Some of this $138 million comes for the school lunch program, Title I funding for low-income students, and funding for the disabled. How much of the funding will be impacted by President Trump’s EO will be determined by the USDOE.

The State Department of Education and Early Development must guarantee that the K-12 schools/districts do not have a Covid vaccine mandate in place. This needs to be a documented requirement before the schools/districts receive some of the millions of federal funding.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Will the K-12 schools and universities merely hide the Covid vaccine mandate?

Will parents and students be apprised of the EO and the rescinded Covid mandates? We await answers from the local districts and the Department of Education and Early Development.

David Boyle is the education writer at Must Read Alaska.

David Boyle: Calling BS on BSA and the fiction that flat funding and inflation caused Alaska schools to fail

David Boyle: Anchorage teachers’ union wants another $100 million. Where will it come from?

They protested DOGE, Trump, and Musk at Alaska’s State Capitol

Suzanne Downing

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February 17, 2025

97

They protested DOGE, Trump, and Musk at Alaska’s State Capitol

Protesters converged on the Alaska Capitol and other capitols around the country to express their disapproval of President Donald Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency, run by his appointee Elon Musk.

The crowd appeared to be about 250.

They converged on the State-owned building because no one is at the Federal Building in Juneau, due to it being a federal holiday.

Signs read, “BAD DOGE,” “CALL IT WHAT IT IS A COUP,” “MUSK MUST GO,” RESIST FASCISM,”and “FREEDOM MEANS GAY TRANS FEMALE IMMIGRANTS.”

Although most of the raucous crowd of federal employees stayed outside the state Capitol, a few came inside to the press office to make sure the mainstream media appropriately covered their grievances.

The crowd was larger than the usual protests at the Capitol, in part because of it being a federal holiday, when federal workers in non-essential positions have the day off. Many of them brought their dogs. But unlike other protests, few children were at this one, even though schools were closed due to Presidents Day. Juneau, which is largely a government town, is facing a population crash because the current generation is not having children. By 2050, the state estimates the population, now at about 31,500, will be down to 27,000, what it was in 1990.

See photos from around other capitals in the United States at this USAToday link.

FAA lets go of 300 probationary employees hired under Biden’s ‘on-the-spot’ recruiting plan

DOGE Alaska: Who are the ‘insider’ big winners of noncompetitive bids from Anchorage Assembly? The usual suspects

DOGE to audit IRS, and Rep. Donalds says it’s about time

Murkowski says Trump cuts to a few dozen federal jobs in Alaska do ‘more harm than good’

Air Force orders end to all DEI and gender ideology special awards

DOGE Alaska: Interest on US national debt hits $13.8 trillion. How much is that per American?

FAA lets go of 300 probationary employees hired under Biden’s ‘on-the-spot’ recruiting plan

The 907

Suzanne Downing

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February 17, 2025

15

FAA lets go of 300 probationary employees hired under Biden’s ‘on-the-spot’ recruiting plan

On Friday, about 300 Federal Aviation Administration employees were given pink slips. These were probationary employees who were hired during the Biden Administration under the policies that included aggressive hiring of mentally ill people. Some plan to sue.

The FAA’s targeted disabilities under Biden included:

Hearing (total deafness in both ears)
Vision (Blind)
Missing Extremities
Partial Paralysis
Complete Paralysis, Epilepsy
Severe intellectual disability
Psychiatric disability
Dwarfism

“Individuals with targeted disabilities have the greatest difficulty obtaining employment. This is the only protected group for which Federal agencies may have a hiring goal,” the FAA said on its web page last year. According to the FAA, many people with these disabilities could be hired “on the spot.”

“The ‘On-the-Spot’ special appointment authority is a non-competitive hiring method for filling vacancies for people with disabilities. Full benefits are awarded to the non-competitive appointee.”

The Federal Aviation Administration employs over 35,000 people, including air traffic controllers, technicians, engineers, and support personnel. Thus, the employees being released represent less than one percent of the workforce. President Trump has offered many public employees buy outs, and has ordered that the federal workforce be reduced because America faces a debt crisis.

At the same time, the agency is still hiring. Here’s an example of some of the jobs being advertised this weekend:

One man who was fired put out an “URGENT – NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT” message on his LinkedIn account and revealed much about the top-secret work to which he was assigned.

Charles Spitzer-Stadtlander wrote that he believes his firing was in retaliation for his posts on Facebook speaking negatively about Tesla, the automobile company owned by Elon Musk, and about X/Twitter, also owned by Musk. He said he plans to file an appeal:

“I work(ed) for the FAA National Defense Programs (NDP). My position is/was a national security critical-designated job that was supposed to be exempted from the massive (and unlawful) firings of probationary employees.

“On Saturday morning at 12:43AM CST, while I was actively working on an extremely important and classified project in response to a credible threat to America’s national security, I was fired.

“Before I was fired, the official DOGE Facebook page started harassing me on my personal Facebook account after I criticized Tesla and Twitter. Less than a week later, I was fired, despite my position allegedly being exempted due to national security,” he said.

Stadtlander, who lists himself as as a “he/him” in his bio, is a lawyer and has a masters degree in public administration.

“For those who do not know, FAA NDP is tasked with protecting the National Air Space from threats such as missiles, enemy drones, aircraft used as weapons (think 9-11), and so forth.

“FAA NDP is a small, yet critical part of protecting the American public and many of our border states that are at risk of attack from our foreign adversaries such as China and Russia.”

Stadtlander, who has worked in government his entire life, has been with the FAA since March of 2024, after leaving his job as legislative director for the government of Washington, D.C., one of the most socialistic government organization in America.

“In March 2024 – I was recruited from my job as Legislative Director at the DC Government to the FAA NDP for the purpose of working on a critical national defense project and in response to a grave and credible threat to the American Air Space.

“While working for the FAA NDP, I served as the FAA Lead to the DoD for Open Mission Systems and Data Rights on an urgent project underway in response to a credible national defense threat to America’s National Air Space.

“When DOGE fired me, they turned off my computer and wiped all of my files without warning. I had just finished a classified meeting at Hill AFB in SLC and was on my way home when I was fired. I was also scheduled to be at Hanscom AFB this upcoming week for additional briefings.”

Stadtlander also lists himself as a member of the FAA Pride organization for LGBTQ that says, “FAA Pride is the FAA Employee Association dedicated for the needs of the LGBTQIA+ community but membership is open to everyone. Celebrating diversity is important for everyone. This is a non-government organization.” The organization directs civil servants who are worried about their jobs in the Trump Administration to read a Substack written specifically with them in mind, which advises them how to hide their political work and use secret communications.

“I will be appealing my termination based on political retaliation – which happened in the same unsigned form letter others received – and which my boss and FAA leadership appear to have had no idea of, thought was exempted, and vehemently disagreed with,” Stadtlander wrote.

“My boss and FAA leadership had actively advocated for my position to be excluded from DOGE terminations due to the grave national security implications of my work and believed that such an exemption had been granted,” he said, although it’s clear he was a probationary employee who believes the country depends on him alone.

“I had also received excellent performance evaluations and even received a valuing for performance pay raise in January as the FAA is one of the only federal agencies that gives pay raises based on merit and performance.

“I decided over the weekend that I want to talk publicly about what happened – especially the harassment I received from DOGE on my personal social media accounts prior to my being fired simply for criticizing Tesla and Twitter (X).

“I’m also deeply concerned about DOGE’s disregard of the national security implications of my termination.

“I believe that the public has a right to know that America’s national security has been made less safe,” Stadtlander wrote.

Trump says DEI hiring practices at FAA have got to go

FAA administrator who ushered in diversity-equity-inclusion hiring policy will leave on inauguration day

The union representing the employees called the firings a “hastily made decision” that would increase the workload of a workforce already stretched thin. The union statement referred to the Washington crash as well as two others in recent weeks across the country as evidence that it was not the time to cut personnel at the agency.

“This decision did not consider the staffing needs of the FAA, which is already challenged by understaffing,” David Spero, the national president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO, said in a statement. “Staffing decisions should be based on an individual agency’s mission-critical needs. To do otherwise is dangerous when it comes to public safety. And it is especially unconscionable in the aftermath of three deadly aircraft accidents in the past month.”

Alleged Alaska-born cult leader Jack LaSota, aka ‘Ziz,’ arrested in Maryland

Suzanne Downing

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February 17, 2025

10

Alleged Alaska-born cult leader Jack LaSota, aka ‘Ziz,’ arrested in Maryland

Jack “Ziz” LaSota, a born-and-raised Fairbanks resident and the alleged leader of a cult-like group of transgenders linked to multiple fatalities across the country, was arrested in Maryland on Feb. 16.

Authorities said LaSota was taken into custody along with Michelle Zajko, 32, another member of the group sought in connection with the Jan. 20 death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland in Vermont.

According to the Allegany County Sheriff’s Department, LaSota, 33, faces multiple misdemeanor charges, including trespass, having a handgun in a vehicle, and obstructing and hindering. He has, however, not been charged with murder or accomplice to a murder.

As far as Must Read Alaska can research, LaSota may have had no direct hand in the string of killings associated the the group, but is being seen by authorities as the cult leader who has used his influence to get others with unstable mental states to act.

LaSota were booked at the Allegany County Detention Center. He is scheduled for bail hearings at Allegany District Court on Tuesday.

Zajko has been linked to the acquisition of a firearm used by another member of the group, Teresa Youngblut, who was arrested following a vehicle stop that escalated into a deadly shooting, resulting in Maland’s death. In addition to her connection to the Vermont incident, Zajko is also a person of interest in the December 2022 murder of her parents in Pennsylvania.

LaSota maintained a blog called sinceriously.fyi, which is no longer available. His Facebook account is still active here.

He left Fairbanks to become a graduate student studying computer hardware engineering in San Francisco, before dropping out of college to pursue game development. He goes by aliases “Ziz” and “Andrea Phelps,” and describes himself as a “Vegan Transgender Anarchist Rationalist.” He appears to have transitioned into a female mimic.

LaSota bought a decrepit tugboat from a man in Ketchikan and took it to the Bay Area to create a communal living situation for others under his influence. He was cited several times by authorities. Ultimately the boat sank.

According to this account, “On November 15, 2019, LaSota participated in a protest at a CFAR alumni reunion alongside Danielson, Emma Borhanian, and Somni Leatham. The group arrived in a box truck, shuttle bus, and Toyota Prius, using the vehicles to block the entrance and exit while dressed in black-hooded robes, black gloves, black silicone shoe covers, and Guy Fawkes masks. Two individuals carried walkie-talkies, one wore a body camera, and another carried pepper spray. Deputies found a written protest plan at the scene.

“The protest resulted in their arrest on suspicion of felony child endangerment, false imprisonment, and conspiracy, as well as misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest, wearing a mask while committing a crime, and trespassing. A SWAT team and helicopter were deployed after reports that one of the individuals might have a gun, though no weapon was found. According to Danielson’s later account, the group experienced severe mistreatment while in custody, including alleged sexual assault, physical abuse, and denial of food and medical care.”

“On November 19, their bail was lowered from $50,000 to $10,000 after the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office reduced two of the felonies to misdemeanors. LaSota subsequently posted bail.”

In November 2021, LaSota and the other protesters filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Sonoma County, Westminster Woods, and others regarding the 2019 arrest. The following year saw a series of mysterious disappearances and apparent deaths among the plaintiffs.

On Sept. 7 of that year, LaSota’s family published an obituary announcing their death in a boating accident on Aug. 19. They filed for a death certificate.

Court filings detailed that LaSota had reportedly fallen from a boat into San Francisco Bay, with witnesses describing a Coast Guard search that yielded no body.

By 2022, he was found at a crime scene, apparently not dead.

LaSota’s father teaches at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and is the Democrats’ appointee to the Alaska Public Offices Commission.

Alaska’s Charles Manson? Mysterious transgender wanted in nationwide search, linked to ‘cult’ murders

DOGE Alaska: Who are the ‘insider’ big winners of noncompetitive bids from Anchorage Assembly? The usual suspects

Suzanne Downing

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February 17, 2025

21

DOGE Alaska: Who are the ‘insider’ big winners of noncompetitive bids from Anchorage Assembly? The usual suspects

Over the past five years, the Anchorage consulting firm Agnew::Beck has received nearly $487,000 in noncompetitive bid awards from the Anchorage Assembly. It’s a left-leaning group that helps prop up the leftists who dominate local government in Anchorage and in smaller towns across Alaska.

The Anchorage awards are listed for things like “Affirmative Action” and “Downtown Anchorage Market Data.” The group also got money to help figure out who to give alcohol tax funds to; and then there’s the $304,776 noncompete contract for a Covid analyst at Agnew::Beck.

During that timeframe, one of its employees became elected to the Anchorage Assembly. And the gifts just kept on coming in, as the grants went out.

When the competitive bids are added it, the amount of taxpayer dollars going to Agnew:Beck exploded to over $800,000 in taxpayer money.

Now-Assemblywoman Anna Brawley was a project manager for Agnew::Beck Consulting, resigning from that job after being elected in 2023 to represent West Anchorage in the position left vacant by Austin Quinn-Davidson, who started her own consulting company and now gets sole-source awards from the Assembly, like this one from 2024.

What goes around, comes around. In 2023 when Brawley ran, Agnew Beck “team members” contributed to their teammate’s campaign. Since she took office, the money kept flowing. And Anna Brawley made these contributions to others since getting elected:

Agnew-Beck team donations to Anna Brawley Download

Click to download Excel spreadsheet of a complete Agnew Beck campaign donation to Assembly members and Mayor going back several yearsDownload

Agnew::Beck makes its money off of pass-through taxpayer dollars through contracts with local and state government, as well as with nonprofits that are also funded by taxpayers through government grants.

For instance, the Haines Borough awarded the company $99,600 in 2023 and another $78,130 in 2024.

A list of Agnew::Beck’s clients is at this link.

(Editor’s note: The company has changed that URL for that page since this was published. It is now: https://agnewbeck.com/clients-weve-helped/ . For posterity, we’ve pasted the client list at the bottom of this story.)

The sole-source contract won by former Assemblywoman Austin Quinn-Davidson in 2024 can be seen here:

Anchorage, AK

No

General Government

2024

11

QD Sole Source

Non-Competitive(Sole Source)

QD Consulting Austin Quinn-Davidson

$ 35,000.00

It appears former Assemblywoman and Acting Mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson will be using the same tactic to squeeze Anchorage taxpayer dollars out of the Assembly. Here is her campaign finance report of donations made to candidates, as found at the Alaska Public Offices Commission. Quinn-Davidson and her wife gave campaign donations to five of the 12 members of the Anchorage Assembly in 2023 before getting her $35,000 reward in 2024. Those candidates are Zac Johnson, Karen Bronga, Anna Brawley, Chris Constant and Felix Rivera.

The Anchorage-based consulting company states that “equity” is core to its mission: “Working alongside our clients to grow healthy, equitable, thriving communities.” This may make it ineligible to receive any federally sourced grants during the Trump Administration.

Agnew::Beck client list:

Over 20 years, A::B has partnered with hundreds of clients. We are honored to support their work.

Alaska Conservation Foundation
Alaska Department of Corrections
Alaska Housing Finance Corporation
Alaska Literacy Program
Alaska Marine Conservation Council
Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority
Alaska Native Justice Center
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium
Alaska Peer Support Consortium
Alaska Youth and Family Network
Aleknagik Traditional Council
Aleut Community of St Paul Island Tribal
Aleutian Housing Authority
Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association
Anchorage Assembly
Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness
Anchorage Community Development Authority
Anchorage Community Land Trust
Anchorage Health Department
Anchorage Neighborhood Health Center
Anchorage School District
Arc of Anchorage
Arctic Slope Regional Corporation
Asa’casarmiut Tribe
Association of Alaska Housing Authorities
Association of Alaska School Boards
AVCP
AVCP Regional Housing Authority
Bartlett Regional Hospital
BBEDC
BBNA
Bethel Community Services Foundation
Big Sky Community Housing Trust
Blaine County Housing Authority
Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe
Boise Bicycle Project
Boise Elevated
Boise School District
Boise State University
Camai Community Health Center
Capital City Development Corporation
Casey Family Programs
CATCH Program
Catholic Charities of Idaho
Catholic Social Services
Center for Safe Alaskans
Central Bering Sea Fishermen’s Assoc.
Change 4 the Kenai Coalition
Chickaloon Village Traditional Council
Chignik Bay Tribal Council
City of Boise
City of Caldwell
City of Cordova
City of Dillingham
City of Hailey
City of Idaho Falls
City of Ketchum
City of Manokotak
City of North Pole
City of Palmer
City of Soldotna
City of Valdez
City of Wainwright
City of Weiser
City of Whitefish
College of Western Idaho
Cook Inlet Housing Authority
Cook Inlet Lending Center
Cook Inlet Tribal Council
Copper River Basin Regional Housing
Covenant House Alaska
Donlin Gold
Downtown Boise Association
Doyon Foundation
Eastern Aleutians Tribes
Fairbanks North Star Borough
Girdwood Health Clinic Inc.
Gulkana Village Council
Haines Borough
Hamakua Institute
Idaho Botanical Garden
Idaho Children’s Trust Fund
Idaho Commission on the Arts
Idaho Federation of Families for Children
Idaho Office for Refugees
Idaho STEM Action Center
International Rescue Committee Boise
Jesse Tree of Idaho
Juneau Housing First Collaborative
Kenai Peninsula Borough
Kenaitze Indian Tribe
Ketchikan Community Reentry Coalition
Ketchum Urban Renewal Agency
Knik Tribal Council
Knik Tribe Benteh Wellness Center
Kodiak Area Native Association
Koniag Education Foundation
Mammoth Lakes Housing
Maniilaq Association
Mat-Su Basin Salmon Habitat Partnership
Mat-Su Food Coalition
Mat-Su Health Foundation
Mat-Su Senior Services
Municipality of Anchorage Health Dept
NAMI Alaska
National Park Service, Alaska Region
Native Village of Chenega
Native Village of Eyak
Native Village of Iliamna
NeighborWorks Alaska
Nevada County Public Health
North Slope Borough
North Tahoe Community Alliance
Northwest Arctic Borough
Norton Sound Health Corporation
Nuvista Light & Electric Cooperative, Inc
Olgoonik Corporation
Partners for Progress
Pedro Bay Corporation
Petersburg Borough
Providence Health and Services, Alaska
PWS Regional Citizens Advisory Council
Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska
Rasmuson Foundation
Recover Alaska
Set Free Alaska
Seward Community Health Center
Shoshone-Bannock Tribes
Sierra Business Council
Sierra Community House
Sierra Watershed Education Partnership
SILC of Alaska
Sitka Homeless Coalition
Snug Harbor Seafoods, Inc.
South Peninsula Hospital
Southeast Alaska Independent Living
Southwest Alaska Municipal Conference.
Sprout Family Services
Standing Together Against Rape
Tahoe Prosperity Center
Tahoe Truckee Airport District
Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation
Tanana Chiefs Conference
Teck Alaska Incorporated, Red Dog Corpora
The Alaska Center
The Kuskokwim Corporation (TKC)
The Nature Conservancy Idaho
The Nature Conservancy of Alaska
thread
Tlingit Haida Regional Housing Authority
Town of Truckee
Tribal Government of Saint Paul Island
Truckee Donner Land Trust
Truckee Tahoe Airport District
Truckee Tahoe Workforce Housing Agency
True North Recovery
Tulalip Tribes
Tundra Women’s Coaliton
Twin Hills Village Council
Tyonek Tribal Conservation District
United Way of Anchorage
United Way of Treasure Valley
Univeristy of Idaho
University of Alaska Anchorage
University of Alaska Fairbanks
US Fish & Wildlife Service
USDA Forest Service
Valley Regional Transit
Voice of Arctic Iñupiat
Volunteers of America Alaska
Working Against Violence for Everyone
World Wildlife Fund US Arctic Program
Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center
Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation

DOGE Alaska: Interest on US national debt hits $13.8 trillion. How much is that per American?

DOGE Alaska finds federal grant giving one Alaska tribe $2.4 million to buy king crab, salmon

DOGE Alaska launches with a goal of exposing waste, fraud, and abuse of public funds in Alaska

DOGE Alaska: Federal grant creates a ‘pipeline of NextGen food policy workers’ for feds

Air Force orders end to all DEI and gender ideology special awards

Suzanne Downing

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February 17, 2025

9

Air Force orders end to all DEI and gender ideology special awards

The Department of the Air Force issued a directive to discontinue all awards related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and gender ideology. The memo, signed by Acting Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Gwendolyn R. DeFilippi, instructs all offices to eliminate individual, team, and unit awards specifically recognizing achievements in DEI initiatives.

The memo states that accomplishments related to DEI or gender ideology should no longer be considered as justification for any Department of the Air Force awards, including those reflecting off-duty personal participation in non-federal entity programs. Additionally, the Air Force will restrict its formal participation in NFE awards to those directly related to a Air Force career field or mission and prohibit involvement in awards that favor a particular race, ethnicity, or sex, including sexual orientation.

The order lines up with the president’s directive to end federal involvement in what many see as a discriminatory program.

“This directive ensures that awards align with the Air Force’s core mission and federal guidelines,” the memo states. “Services must ensure that event content and materials are not contrary to the Department’s policy on DEI.”

While individual service members and civilian personnel will still be permitted to participate in external DEI-related award programs in their personal capacities, the Air Force will no longer recognize or support these initiatives at an institutional level. Subordinate units—including Major Commands (MAJCOMs), Field Commands (FLDCOMs), Direct Reporting Units (DRUs), Field Operating Agencies (FOAs), Numbered Air Forces (NAFs), Centers, Wings, Deltas, Installations, and Career Fields—have been directed to review their own award programs for compliance with the new federal guidance.

The policy also requires that all units submit a list of discontinued awards and related actions by Feb. 28.

Will Anchorage School District comply with federal demand to ditch DEI programs or will it increase funding for them?

DOGE to audit IRS, and Rep. Donalds says it’s about time

SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR

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February 17, 2025

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DOGE to audit IRS, and Rep. Donalds says it’s about time

By MARIANE ANGELA | DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION

Republican Florida Rep. Byron Donalds said on Newsmax that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is getting a taste of its own medicine as the Trump administration launches a full-scale audit.

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency aide Gavin Kliger visited the IRS headquarters late last week to assess the agency’s operations and review future plans and risks of each business unit. In an appearance on “Rob Schmitt Tonight,” Donalds said he applauds DOGE’s initiative as overdue accountability.

“If this is the only thing that gets accomplished, it’ll be mission accomplished for Donald Trump and for his team because for far too long the IRS has had no problem peering into the books of every American, rich or poor, middle-income America,” Donalds said. “They love doing this stuff. But it’s time for them to be held accountable to make sure that everything that they’re paying for is fully accounted for.”

Donalds also criticized the Democrats, suggesting they exhibit selective concern about bureaucratic overreach.

“Let’s be very clear to the Democrats who are all concerned about the bureaucratic state. Elon Musk is going over to the Department of Defense as well,” Donalds said. “President Trump has a mission, and that is to make sure that our government is efficient and that it gets out of the way of the American people so that our country can be great again, and so we’re going to examine everything.”

The comprehensive audit, Donalds said, is not merely about fiscal accountability as it aims to promote a leaner government.

“Unlike the Democrats, we’re not going to pick and choose what gets the spotlight. Everything’s going to be examined. Everything’s going to be addressed,” Donalds added. “And it’s to the betterment of the American people because if we have an efficient government that spends less money then that helps every American when it comes to price stability and being able to borrow money.”

Senior IRS officials received an email directive to pinpoint and terminate all contracts deemed “non-essential.” The General Services Administration (GSA) characterizes these non-essential contracts as those primarily producing reports, research, coaching, or other artifacts.

“Consistent with the goals and directives of the Trump administration to eliminate waste, reduce spending, and increase efficiency, GSA has taken the first steps in a government-wide initiative to eliminate non-essential consulting contracts,” the email said, according to Reuters.

A July Pew Research poll said that the IRS holds the lowest favorability rating among all agencies, with 50% of Americans expressing a negative view. This sentiment is more pronounced among Republicans than Democrats, partly because of ongoing allegations that the IRS has targeted conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.

The IRS under the Biden-Harris administration approved approximately $2.4 billion in automatic stimulus payments set for distribution to qualified Americans by late January. According to a Dec. 20 press release, the IRS is distributing these funds to Americans who failed to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 tax returns and did not receive the economic stimulus payments issued during the COVID-19 pandemic. This announcement was made as former President Joe Biden’s term neared its end.

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DOGE to audit IRS, and Rep. Donalds says it’s about time

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