The Democratic Party’s favorability rating among Americans has plummeted to a historic low, according to a recent CNN poll conducted by SSRS.
The survey, carried out from March 6 to 9, reveals that only 29% of respondents hold a favorable view of the Democratic Party, while 54% express an unfavorable opinion. This marks the lowest favorability rating for the party in over three decades of polling.
SSRS conducts polls regularly for leftist media organizations such as The Washington Post and CNN.
This latest poll also indicates a growing sentiment among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents regarding the party’s strategic direction. A majority, 57% to 42%, believe Democrat leaders should focus primarily on opposing the Republican agenda rather than collaborating with the GOP majority to advance shared priorities.
Although the Democratic Party has become more radicalized, Gallup polling from last month indicates that a plurality of Democrats would like their party to become more moderate, while a similar plurality of Republicans favor the status quo for the Republican party.
“Both party groups’ preferences have shifted significantly since 2021, at the start of Joe Biden’s presidency, the last time Gallup measured opinions on this question. Support for a more moderate Democratic Party among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents has grown by 11 percentage points, to 45%, since 2021. At the same time, Democrats’ and leaners’ desire for a more liberal party has declined five points, to 29%, and preferences for no change in party ideology have fallen nine points, to 22%,” Gallup reported.
Increasing the private Alaskan ownership of land is a priority of Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who introduced Senate Bill 105 (SB 105), allowing eligible residents to more easily purchase or lease state land for recreational cabin use.
The bill will be the subject of a hearingin Senate Resources on Monday, March 17 at 3:30 pm, with both invited and public testimony. Legislative hearings in this committee have been scheduled and canceled twice so far.
SB 105 refines the existing remote cabin sites program by updating eligibility requirements and establishing clear processes for nominating and staking cabin sites. Under the proposed legislation, eligible applicants may nominate up to 10 acres of available state land for a cabin site if the land is not already included in the state’s schedule of land offerings.
To complete a purchase, applicants must conduct a survey and appraisal of the selected site and pay its fair market value. This ensures land sales are fair, while allowing Alaskans to directly engage in the selection process of their recreational sites.
“Alaskans currently own about one percent of state land, and after 60 years of statehood, we need to change that,” said Dunleavy. The bill promotes settlement, fostering economic growth, and reflects the principle that private land ownership is fundamental to personal freedom and prosperity.
Gov. Dunleavy’s bill aligns with his broader vision of empowering Alaskans to have greater access to the state’s natural resources. If passed, the bill may streamline the process for obtaining remote cabin sites and make land acquisition more accessible to residents across the state.
President Donald Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act on Saturday to deport five Venezuelan nationals associated with the Tren de Aragua gang, designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. government.
The White House’s proclamation described gang as a violent group conducting “irregular warfare and undertaking hostile actions against the United States.”
Democrat organizations, including Democracy Forward, challenged the administration’s use of the law, arguing that it is intended for wartime scenarios and has been historically invoked only during major conflicts.
Trump, however, says asymmetrical warfare is warfare.
Hours after the proclamation, US Federal Judge James Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order blocking the deportations, emphasizing the need for a court hearing to assess the legality of using the Alien Enemies Act in this context.
So far, roughly 250 Venezuelan gang members have been deported to El Salvador, with the US government covering the costs of their detention in the Central American nation, under an agreement with the Trump Administration.
The Alien Enemies Act, part of the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, grants the president authority to detain and deport non-citizens from hostile nations, usually during wartime.
Tren de Aragua, originating in Venezuela’s prison system, has expanded its operations across South America and recently into the United States, with involvement in various violent criminal activities, including human trafficking, drug trafficking, murder, and extortion.
President Trump’s proclamation marks the first use of the Alien Enemies Act since World War II. The Act grants the President authority to detain and deport non-citizens from hostile nations without due process during times of war or invasion. The administration argues that TdA’s actions constitute an invasion, thereby justifying the Act’s invocation.
In line with the President’s directive, the Department of Homeland Security reported the arrest of nearly 300 individuals affiliated with TdA over the weekend.
Who is Democracy Forward?
In March 2017, attorneys from the Perkins Coie political law practice incorporated two organizations: Democracy Forward, a 501(c)(4) political action entity, and the Democracy Forward Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is a tax-deductible charity. The two groups share a website.
The sources and levels of funding for both Democracy Forward and its foundation remain unclear. By late 2018, the organization listed 27 employees, including a legal team of 10 attorneys, on its website, according to InfluenceWatch.org.
A 2017 report from the Washington Free Beacon outlined the creation and mission of Democracy Forward. According to the report, the organizations were designed to use litigation as a means of obstructing the Trump administration’s policies. They use the Perkins Coie law firm, which has had its security clearances removed by President Trump this month. Trump issued an executive order to end all federal contracts with Perkins Coie, which had an office in Anchorage.
The Free Beacon report alleged that the strategy behind Democracy Forward was conceived at a confidential meeting in January 2017 at a “posh resort,” attended by prominent liberal donors.
Among those reportedly involved was David Brock, a longtime Democratic operative. The Free Beacon pointed to “confidential documents” allegedly obtained from the event that indicated a broader effort among liberal donors to challenge the Trump administration through legal action.
Since its founding, Democracy Forward has been active in filing lawsuits against federal agencies during the Trump 1, and now Trump II administrations.
Democracy Forward is also involved in suing the Trump Administration to halt the terminations and reinstate federal workers.
A small coven of mostly aging, non-diverse, and cold people protested outside the Valley Republican Women’s Lincoln Day Dinner on Saturday.
The dinner is an event held every year to honor the first Republican and to raise money to elect Republicans in Alaska.
The protesters brought with them an angry chicken costume that was worn by one of the protesters. The group chanted the tired “Hey Hey, Ho, Ho” and “This is what democracy looks like” chants that are being repeated around the country, as Democrats follow the instructions of Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and take their “fight to the streets.”
The event, which was focused on protesting the Republicans’ ending of fraud, waste, and abuse in government, was very “on brand” for the Democratic Party.
In other places in America, protesters vandalized and torched Tesla electric automobiles on Saturday, even though they previously wanted everyone to buy an electric vehicle. Now, because Tesla was invented and owned by Elon Musk, they want that model extinguished. Some Democrats are engaged in the “swatting” of Republican leaders, calling police and telling them there is a violent crime being committed in a house owned by a Republican, which activates a swat team to the house. The terrorism being conducted across the country was not seen at Settler’s Bay Lodge, where there was a wall-of-guns auction going on inside.
In all, it was a small crowd of protesters who didn’t have a lot of words to say other than “Medicaid,” while those inside the Lodge were gathered to hear an update from Congressman Nick Begich, who had flown from Washington, D.C. to be the keynote speaker for the dinner honoring the first Republican, President Lincoln, and the ending of slavery in America.
Alaska State Troopers had been alerted to the protest and were on scene well in advance to prevent the protesters from going inside the building, which they were trying to do.
The protest was organized by Stand Up Alaska, a radical leftist collective whose president was also the chair of the committee that attempted to recall Gov. Mike Dunleavy in 2019.
A gallery of the pro-slavery protesters for readers’ enjoyment:
President Donald Trump signed an executive order that reduces the scope of the federal bureaucracy by eliminating nonessential government agencies and functions.
The order mandates certain agencies to reduce non-statutory functions, including:
The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
The United States Agency for Global Media, including Voice of America
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in the Smithsonian Institution
The Institute of Museum and Library Services
The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness
The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund
The Minority Business Development Agency
The order instructs the agencies, some of which are not even on the radar of most Americans, to reduce operations to the bare minimum required by law.
Trump’s approach allows the agencies to continue legally mandated duties, but eliminates superfluous activities that may divert resources from more pressing national priorities, such as shrinking the $36 trillion national debt.
The executive order also directs the heads of the affected agencies to submit a compliance report to the Office of Management and Budget within seven days. The report must detail which functions are statutorily required and assess the extent of necessary personnel and funding reductions.
OMB and other relevant executive offices will review these agencies’ budget requests as the process continues to ensure they align with the new directive, and are not spending on non-essential services.
Many of Trump’s previous executive orders have landed in the liberal District of Columbia Court as nongovernmental organizations and former employees of the federal government sue the Trump Administration. But that may be part of the Trump strategy of revealing whether the executive branch is really in charge, or if the judicial branch is actually the one running the government. Americans should have that answer, either way.
In the pressure cooker of Juneau, the Alaska Legislature is wrestling with two bills that strike at the heart of both U.S. and Alaska constitutional rights:
House Bill 71, seen by some as a leash on the First Amendment’s guarantee of assembly.
House Bill 89, a red flag law that many argue violates the Second Amendment.
I’ve received emails from folks who oppose HB 71 but support HB 89 — a contradiction that exposes a deeper, more uncomfortable truth: The debate isn’t just about rights. It’s about whose rights matter more and which is more important.
HB 71 takes aim at those blocking public spaces, restricting protests that interfere with others’ ability to move freely. The core of the debate inside this bill is clear — is the right to protest more important than the right to go about your business unimpeded? Some point out that HB 71 could be abused, suppressing spontaneous protests — a serious concern in a state that values raw, unapologetic free speech. The First Amendment, echoed in Alaska’s Constitution (Article I, Section 6), guarantees the right to “peaceably assemble” without government interference. While the bill may not intend to silence dissent, there is always the fear that it could end up doing just that.
HB 89, on the other hand, proposes gun violence protective orders — allowing courts to seize firearms from individuals deemed a threat, often based on accusations from family or close friends. No arrest, no conviction — just an order. Similar red flag laws in other states have shown questionable results. California had such laws in place before the Monterey Park shooting in 2023, which claimed 11 lives. Illinois has them, too — but that didn’t stop the Highland Park tragedy in 2022, where 7 people died.
Keep in mind that HB 89 isn’t just a Second Amendment issue — it’s a due process issue, cutting into protections guaranteed by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. It allows firearms (lawful property) to be taken based on rulings made without the accused present to defend themselves. That’s a dangerous precedent, built on subjective judgment of untrained people who may have an agenda.
The Second Amendment exists to safeguard the First Amendment — and the Founders didn’t arrange them in that order by accident. The First Amendment ensures freedom of speech, the press, and assembly. The Second Amendment ensures the government thinks twice about trampling those rights, and in fact all rights. History teaches us that oppressive regimes start by disarming the people — and then they muzzle free expression.
“A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State,” isn’t poetic fluff — it’s a warning. The Founders, burned by British gun grabs, knew an armed citizenry was the last line of defense against tyranny. James Madison, in Federalist No. 46, wrote that a people with muskets deter despots. In Alaska, where 60% of residents own firearms and Juneau feels like a distant planet to many, the Second Amendment isn’t theoretical — it’s survival. And it’s not just for hunting or self-defense — it ensures the First Amendment doesn’t become nothing more than a powerless suggestion.
Let’s play this out. HB 71 suppresses protests, and HB 89 disarms those labeled “threats” — potentially without a chance to defend themselves. Now imagine an environmental protest against oil leases turns “unlawful” because they didn’t get a permit. Protesters block the Dalton Highway with their bodies, and law enforcement moves in to break it up. But now take it one step further: the Second Amendment has been weakened or stripped away, and the government grows increasingly oppressive. What’s stopping them from just going in and scraping the protestors off the pavement? Without an armed, empowered citizenry, the state no longer fears resistance from the now-defenseless protesters — compliance or jail becomes the only outcome.
The First Amendment is toothless without the Second to back it up. And while most Second Amendment supportersprobably don’t cheer on protesters who glue themselves to highways, especially when they interrupt commerce or impact others’ rights, the bigger picture remains: defending the Second Amendment is, by extension, defending the First — even for those you disagree with. Freedom doesn’t pick sides. I would go so far as to say if you oppose HB71 then you must also oppose HB89
Lexington’s militia didn’t chant their way to freedom in 1775 — they loaded rifles. The Second Amendment wasn’t written for hunters or sports shooters. It was written for citizens facing an oppressive government. Additionally, in Alaska’s vast, unforgiving wilderness, the right to bear arms isn’t just a constitutional principle — it’s a practical necessity.
The tension between HB 71 and HB 89 reveals an uncomfortable paradox. And those advocating for free assembly while supporting disarmament ignore a crucial reality: these rights are interconnected. You can’t claim to defend the First Amendment while tearing apart the Second. Red flag laws have shown limited success in stopping mass shootings — but they’re incredibly effective at stripping law-abiding citizens of their rights without due process. Meanwhile, HB 71, while meant to protect the rights of non-protesters, could — if misapplied and without the Second amendment in place — crush the right to protest altogether. When our most fundamental rights hang in the balance, we can’t afford to play favorites. The First Amendment guarantees the right to speak out. The Second Amendment ensures we keep that right, even when the government would rather we didn’t.
Alaska’s lawmakers face a tough job balancing public safety with personal liberty. But in a state defined by independence and self-reliance, protecting both the right to free assembly — without squashing others’ freedoms — and the right to bear arms isn’t just important. It’s essential.
Rep. Kevin McCabe serves District 30 (formerly called District 8), the Big Lake area.
Corned venison is a delicious way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day while paying tribute to a preparation style popular among Irish immigrants, but with an Alaskan twist.
Whether you have deer, moose, caribou, or elk in your freezer, brining is an excellent way to add variety to your dinner table. The salt-cured game can be served with the usual St. Patrick’s Day accompaniments of cabbage, carrots, and onions, and it also makes a wonderful Reuben sandwich. But if you want to channel your inner Sourdough, making corned venison hash with potatoes from your root cellar is a tasty way to do so.
Prior to refrigeration and modern canning techniques, people used salt to preserve food. A research paper titled Irish Corned Beef: A Culinary History discusses the popularization of corned beef, attributing its name to the crystals of salt used in the beef-curing process in seventeenth-century England, which were known as corns. While exported salted beef contributed significantly to Ireland’s economy from the 1660s to 1800, corned beef and cabbage is not a traditional Irish dish. The dish’s popularity has been attributed to nineteenth-century Irish-American immigrants, giving rise to its St. Patrick’s Day tradition.
An advantage to curing your meats is the ability to control the ingredients used in the process. Today most cured meats are prepared using a combination of salt, seasonings, and nitrates or nitrites. Nitrates and nitrites increase shelf life, enhance flavor, and give the meat a pinkish color. However, many people choose not to consume foods processed with them.
This Poison Control websitediscusses the safety of eating nitrates and nitrites on their website. In response to a question about whether cured meats are safe to consume, it states that, “The curing process involves the addition of nitrates and nitrites to meats. While swallowing large amounts can be dangerous, exposure to levels typically present in meats is not likely to be harmful.”
The recipe below includes the option of avoiding processed nitrates or nitrites. Although the color is not as vivid, the salted meat is tender and full-flavored, making it a delicious way to enjoy venison for any occasion.
Instead of listing the brining spices individually, the recipe suggests using prepackaged pickling spice, which can be obtained at your local grocery store, to simplify the process. Pickling spices vary by brand but usually include black peppercorn, coriander seed, mustard seed, dill seed, allspice berries, cloves, red pepper flakes, bay leaves, and cinnamon. The recipe uses a stalk of celery to provide natural nitrate, aiding in the curing process without the need for processed additives. If you prefer a vibrant pink color, substitute the celery with the optional sodium nitrite pink curing salt.
The curing process requires a week of brining the venison before cooking, but it is well worth the wait.
Corned Venison
Ingredients:
1 each 3-to-5-pound piece of deer, moose, caribou, or elk
For the brine:
2 1/2 quarts of water
3 tablespoons of pickling spice
1 tablespoon of cardamom pods (optional)
1 cup of kosher salt
1/2 cup of brown sugar, packed
1 stalk of celery, washed and cut into pieces to juice or puree (or use pink curing salt)
1 tablespoon pink curing salt, sodium nitrite (optional – do not add for nitrite free option)
For cooking the corned venison and cabbage:
1 tablespoon of pickling spice
2 bay leaves
1 head of cabbage, halved and cut into thick slices
1 large onion, sliced
3 medium carrots, sliced
Makes 8 to 12 servings depending on venison size
Preparation Time: 30 minutes active preparation time. Seven days curing time in the brine. Three to eight hours to finish after curing.
Preparation:
Curing the Venison
Curing the venison
Place the water in a large pot; add all brining ingredients except the celery. Stir and bring to a boil. Allow the mixture to boil for a minute or two, stirring constantly to ensure the salt and sugar dissolve. Remove from the heat and place in the refrigerator to cool to room temperature.
When the brine has cooled, wash the celery stalk, ensuring that all of the ribs are soil-free, and cut it into pieces before juicing. If you don’t have a juicer, puree the celery in a blender with 1/2 to 3/4 cup water, blending until fully pureed. Strain the juice to eliminate any pulp.
Prepare the meat by rinsing and removing gristle and sinew. Then place the venison in a container that is large enough to allow it to be fully submerged in the brining solution. Add the celery juice to the container, then top it off with the brining solution to completely cover the meat. Place a cover on the brining container and place in the refrigerator.
Each day, flip the venison over to ensure even brining.
Allow the venison to brine under refrigeration for 7 days.
Cooking Corned Venison
Remove the venison from the brine and rinse under cool water. In a pot, cover the venison with one inch of water. Add pickling spice and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for three to four hours, until the corned venison is fork-tender. Alternatively, you can cook it on low in a slow cooker for approximately 8 hours.
Corned venison and cabbage
To prepare corned venison with cabbage, add the onion and carrots when you reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the cabbage approximately half an hour before removing the corned venison from the heat and cook until tender.
Serve hot and enjoy!
Brenda Josephson is a Haines resident. She holds degrees in Culinary Arts and Food Business Leadership from the Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, New York. She enjoys spending time fishing, foraging, and savoring Alaska’s abundance of natural and wild foods with her family.
The EPA issued over $500,000 in fines against Alaska businesses in 2024, for violating such things as the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Toxic Substances Control Act. Some of the violations are due to simple deficits in recordkeeping and most fines were settlements with the entities listed.
In one violation cited by the EPA, Couer Alaska, a mining company working in Southeast Alaska, did not treat leather work gloves and leather mining belts as hazardous waste, as required by the agency.
Click on the names of the companies in blue to see the violations for which they were cited:
As the saying goes, when you find yourself in a hole, quit digging.
There’s little doubt Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s plan to expand Alaska state government by creating a brand new Department of Agriculture is unpopular. Especially on social media, where 99% of those commenting say they don’t like the governor’s idea. It’s become a topic of ridicule.
The governor’s advisors should have seen this debacle move a mile away. After all, they’ve been at this for six years, and they might have learned a thing or two about rolling out an initiative as big as an executive order expanding government.
The timing could not be worse. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are putting on a clinic showing how big and bloated the federal government has become. So much unnecessary and foolish spending!
Meanwhile Dunleavy’s team is putting on a clinic demonstrating how to not read the room.
It’s like bell bottoms are all the rage and you show up to a party with skinny jeans.
Alaskans are very aware that as bloated as the federal government is, it’s just as bad in the 49th State, where the number of state government employees exceeds twice the population of Wasilla alone. Per capita, Alaska has five times the state employees as some states and double the number of most states.
But it’s the governor’s team’s ever changing story on the unpopular expansion plan that really has us scratching our heads.
His office first claimed the creation of Dunleavy’s new Department of Agriculture would cost $2.7 million. But they then changed their story, claiming there would be little or no cost to create the department because existing staff would be transferred and reclassified.
So which is it?
Those versions were followed by a nine-minute video produced to promote his new department. In it, Dunleavy attempted to address the fears of those worried about how he would pay for the expansion. If the governor is addressing how he’ll pay for his new department, he must be back to the notion his plan will indeed cost something.
“…eventually, hopefully sooner rather than later, some of the proceeds from what the farmers are growing begins to help to pay for that department,” said Dunleavy.
It seems obvious taking “proceeds from what farmers grow” is a tax on the very farmers he claims he wants to help. It’s certainly not a stretch to assume that.
Farmers grow crops, they sell them for proceeds, and then the state swoops in and takes – or one could say tax – those proceeds to pay the salary of bureaucrats.
When the governor’s taking proceeds from farmers comment was pointed out here in Must Read Alaska, his plan went from being in intensive care to being on life support.
But the governor’s team kept digging, issuing a statement claiming Dunleavy’s “taking proceeds from what farmers grow” comment was not a call for tax on farmers.
“The ‘Proceeds’ that I was referencing in my video had to do with agricultural land sales to help underwrite aspects of the ag department,” wrote Dunleavy in response.
But in his video he said nothing of land sales. He said “proceeds from what farmers grow.”
So which is it? Proceeds from what farmers grow or proceeds from land sales. These are two very different things.
After posting my original story about the governor’s plan to tax farmers on Facebook, the governor’s policy advisor, Andrew Jensen, posted this response on my page:
“Latest load of garbage. Funny you’re still promoting this even after your entire premise was debunked.”
I’m reminded of “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” in which the lead character Tom Sawyer said, “Your saying so don’t make it so.”
Jensen claiming Dunleavy didn’t say what he clearly said is hardly a “debunking,” even if the governor’s policy advisor wishes it so.
The real question is how did Jensen not catch Dunleavy’s call for taxing farmers? Was he on a smoke break when the video was recorded? How could a policy adviser miss what was not exactly a nuanced reference to proceeds from what is grown being used to pay for the department itself.
Seasoned political handlers know when your hole gets deeper and deeper, stop digging. It appears that after six years of practical experience, the “Standing Tall” governor is still somewhat short on advisors who understand this basic fundamental principle.
That said, the governor seems very sincere and passionate about addressing food insecurity in Alaska. It’s not as though he has a selfish motive here. But his government-centric approach to solving Alaska’s dependence on outsiders for food is not sitting well with his base. You would think his advisors could have seen this one coming, but perhaps they have lost touch with the base altogether.
Dan Fagan reports and writes columns for Must Read Alaska. He’s covered Alaska politics for close to 30-years. He currently hosts a morning drive radio talk show on 1020 am 92.5 and 104.5 fm on KVNT. For news tips, email Dan at[email protected]
