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RFK Jr. supporters say they’re part of unstoppable movement to Make America Healthy Again’

By ADAM PACK | DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION

Most cabinet nominees invite their families and key supporters to attend their confirmation hearing. Yet, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s team is calling upon thousands of Americans to descend on the nation’s capitol to rally behind his nomination.

Kennedy, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is set to appear before the Senate Finance and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committees Wednesday and Thursday flanked by a legion of “Make America Healthy Again (MAHA)” advocates. If busloads of supporters were to pack the Senate Dirksen building hallways as planned, it would be a striking display of grassroots support for one of Trump’s cabinet nominees whose confirmation fate is uncertain due to a number of Senate Republican holdouts.

Kennedy’s numerous supporters, many of who are calling their senators or visiting their offices in person to lobby on his behalf — view the confirmation hearings — and Kennedy’s nomination more broadly — as a once in a lifetime opportunity to reverse Americans’ worsening health outcomes.

“This is a pivotal moment in history,” Zen Honeycutt, founding executive director of the medical freedom and health advocacy nonprofit, Moms Across America, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Look how many people are coming to DC. A year ago, people were like the government was completely bought out and felt hopeless. Most people have had a crisis of trust in the government [during former President Biden’s term].

“He’s [Kennedy] bridging the divide,” Honeycutt, a prominent MAHA advocate who traveled to Washington to support Kennedy, added. He’s bringing people together.”

Kennedy’s opposition and current holdouts may include Murkowski

Opposition to Kennedy’s nomination, partly funded by Big Pharma, appears to be formidable. The former Vice President Mike Pence-aligned group Advancing American Freedom is running ads hammering Kennedy for his longtime support for abortion rights while Democratic Party-affiliated groups — Protect Our CareCommittee to Protect Health Care and 314 Action — are highlighting Kennedy’s past comments on vaccines and labeling the nominee as a threat to public health.

Left-wing Democratic senators, including Patty Murray of Washington, have come out hard against Kennedy for his “dangerous” views on vaccines despite the HHS nominee maintaining that he will not seek to ban the shots, but subject them to further scientific study.

Kennedy can afford to lose the support of just three Republican senators on the Senate floor assuming all Senate Democrats oppose his nomination. But his nomination has to clear the Senate Finance Committee first and due to the panel’s 14-13 Republican majority, just one GOP senator could prevent Kennedy’s nomination from advancing out of committee.

GOP senators who sit on the finance committee and have thus far refrained from endorsing him prior to Wednesday’s confirmation hearing include Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.

“Every Democratic Senate Senator and every Republican senator should be voting ‘yes’ on him,” Honeycutt told the DCNF, citing Kennedy’s commitment to tackle the various health crises facing Americans. “It should be practically impossible for senators to not confirm him.”

Kennedy’s team is also urging the HHS nominee’s supporters to call the offices of GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who are seen as potential “no” votes on Kennedy’s confirmation when his nomination reaches the Senate floor. All three notably voted against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s nomination last Friday.

MAHA advocates want Kennedy’s holdouts to understand that they are committed to funding and running primary challenges against senators who vote “no” on Kennedy’s nomination in their next election.

“Will they [senators] be on the right side of history,” Honeycutt questioned. “[Or] Will they be looking back at this point two years from now — before their elections — and be wondering maybe I should have listened to all of these Americans that were speaking up for Kennedy?

“They [Kennedy’s detractors] want to continue to be able to do business as the status quo, which is a corrupt system,” Honeycutt added.

An ‘unstoppable’ movement

Honeycutt and other MAHA activists are confident that Kennedy’s supporters outnumber his detractors, which they hope will be on full display during the HHS nominee’s back-to-back confirmation hearings.

“The MAHA movement is a tidal wave of people,” Honeycutt told the DCNF. “There are hundreds of us working together, collaborating — even people who don’t like each other — to ‘Make America Healthy Again’ right now.”

MAHA advocates’ conviction that senators must honor the will of the American people by confirming Kennedy and their determination to see his nomination through that could very well catch senators by surprise, Honeycutt told the DCNF.

“This has never happened before in the history of America that I remember where people have rallied for a [cabinet] appointee,” Honeycutt observed to the DCNF. “And I think this is a testament to the love that people have for Kennedy.”

“He has said I will die with my boots on for your children,” Honeycutt reflected. “He has inspired us and gives us hope.”

In the event senators were to reject Kennedy’s nomination, which MAHA advocates promise will be met with fervent backlash, the HHS nominee’s supporters believe the MAHA movement he helped launch will persist and demand accountability from the senators who chose to tank his confirmation.

“There’s no stopping it [the MAHA movement] even if Kennedy doesn’t get appointed,” Honeycutt told the DCNF. “There is an unstoppable movement of people who are fully aware that what Kennedy has been advocating for is absolutely correct.”

“[And] a lot of what Kennedy has been advocating for … is already underway,” Honeycutt added, citing the Biden administration banning the artificial food dye, Red No. 3 in the last weeks of the administration and Trump reinstating U.S. service members previously discharged for refusing to take the COVID-19 shots.

See ya: Trump wants to make a deal with federal employees — 8 months severance pay if they quit

Federal employees are one of the most powerful union blocs in the nation. But President Donald Trump has a deal for them — either come back to work in the office full time or leave with eight months of severance pay.

On Tuesday, the Office of Personnel Management told federal workers they have a Feb. 6 deadline to make up their minds. If they quit, they’ll get all the pay and benefits they get now until Sept. 30.

Alaska is home to about 15,000 federal workers, excluding military.

“If you choose to remain in your current position, we thank you for your renewed focus on serving the American people to the best of your abilities and look forward to working together as part of an improved federal workforce,” the email to federal workers says.

But that doesn’t mean they can keep their jobs, even if they decide to return to the office to work.

“At this time, we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency but should your position be eliminated you will be treated with dignity and will be afforded the protections in place for such positions,” the memo advises. It also said, “the federal workforce is expected to undergo significant near-term changes” and that “the majority of federal agencies are likely to be downsized through restructurings, realignments, and reductions in force. These actions are likely to include the use of furloughs and the reclassification to at-will status for a substantial number of federal employees.”

Most federal offices are lightly staffed since the Covid pandemic policies in the Biden Administration allowed workers to work from home. According to Congressman Scott Perry, federal government agencies are using just 12% of the space in their headquarters buildings on average, citing a recent report from the Public Buildings Reform Board. The taxpayers are paying for a “mountain of unused office space,” he said. Not to mention the lapse in productivity and accountability.

The Trump Administration estimates that between 5-10% of federal employees will accept the offer and leave, which could save taxpayers about $100 billion a year.

With a federal workforce (not counting military) of 2.4 million, the federal government provides jobs for about 2% of the U.S. workforce.

A birthday like no other for a congressman’s son

While Congressman Nick Begich III was in policy meetings in Miami with the Republicans of the U.S. House, his son, Nick Begich IV, was having his own “high-level” meetings.

Nick turned 13 on Tuesday, and was greeted by House Speaker Mike Johnson, who asked him to join in an adjacent meeting room, where he was introduced to Vice President JD Vance. The photos speak for themselves.

It was an unexpected birthday experience for the newly minted teenager that Congressman Begich celebrated on social media.

“As a father, there is no greater feeling than seeing your kids develop a love for their country and an understanding of what makes our nation so special,” Congressman Begich wrote, as he posted photographs of the younger Nick with both Speaker Johnson and Vice President Vance.

Then it got even better. Speaker Johnson noticed the cheery item on social media and shared it with the wold on his own X feed, where there are 928,000 followers who could see the birthday photos of the young Alaskan.

The Republican conference has embraced Begich and his family. As Alaska sees Congressman Begich making strides to grow Alaska’s prominence in the national debates about energy and economy, it’s also about family, and making sure the future has ample opportunity for future generations.

Whatever days away from the classroom young Nick has spent in Miami may have been exceeded by the education of a lifetime. Nick IV’s 13th birthday will be hard to top next year.

Robert Seitz: Education reform must happen first, before any increase in school funding

By ROBERT SEITZ

Recent news from Juneau has Rep. Rebecca Himshoot of Sitka introducing legislation, which if passed, would increase Alaska’s public school funding by more than 35%.  

House Bill 69 represents an increase of nearly $464 million each year to the state general fund. Gov. Mike Dunleavy is reported to have said that he would support increasing Alaska’s education budget by about $200 milliion, provided it is tied to some policy reforms.  

Rep. Himshoot has responded that she would not support the push for the policy reforms “because in my mind we have an obligation simply to fund.”

I have stated in other commentaries that the funding of Alaska’s education system must be tied to some criteria so that Alaskans, who are paying the bill, can be assured they will get good value for their money.  

The public education system is failing Alaska. Reading and math scores a still way too low and have been for a long time. There are indeed some good programs within various school districts, which produce students who excel.

I was educated in the Alaska public education system, in the 1940s and 1950s, in Fairbanks, Anchorage, and Homer.  I remember being told a number of times when I was in high school that Alaska was first or second in the nation academically.  

I have tried to confirm that but cannot find any articles that address much about the Alaska school system at that time.  I do have some confidence that there is some truth to that claim.

Many of my teachers were World War II veterans. I never had a teacher who taught anything that was contrary to what was common knowledge or understanding. Parents were very involved in their students school work and activities. We learned to read and write and do arithmetic. We studied American history, world history, finances, English (literature and grammar), algebra, trigonometry, general science, biology, physics, and chemistry.   

I was taught truth, was exposed to literature that was generally not degrading, and generally positive about  formation of America, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. All that I was exposed to in school way back then gave me confidence that America was a good place, a place worthy of pride.  

During my education I was made aware that there were those who were evil, who deprived people of their just due, who were dishonest and unjust in dealings, and who prevented citizens of their opportunity to “pursue happiness.” It is my experience that the evil in the land is due to the actions of individuals who consciously intend to do wrong. There is nothing systematically wrong or prejudiced with American, but with some of the individuals who live here. 

Since my time in public school I have watched the school system deteriorate as many focused on teaching what is wrong with America, rather than what is good and right. I have seen  relaxed standards of performance for students under the guise of compassion for those who struggle with school work, when the struggle is where the value is. New math was not a miraculous development, as it was not easier to learn or to teach and no parent, who learned arithmetic and math the old way, could not be a  help. Memorization was discarded. I have spent the last 40 years or so encouraging young students to memorize the multiplication tables, but have met resistance because their teachers did not promote that activity.   

Now we have public school teachers pushing Marxist philosophy, that gender is fluid, and that America is a land of white privilege. Anyone who teaches in this manner does not deserve a defined benefits retirement package. I have talked to many people about who their favorite teachers were, and all named the one or ones who made them work the hardest. My recommendation is that the retirement rate for each teacher should be by the vote of their former students.  

I have said all of this to say that anyone who thinks that “because in my mind we have an obligation simply to fund” is on the wrong track and is totally dishonest in the discharge of their duty to the State of Alaska. 

So again, I strongly urge legislators to consider criteria that would have to be met to allow an increase in funding for the school system. One of the problems may be that the teachers in place are not qualified to teach what needs to be taught and should be replaced with teachers who are veterans or who have demonstrated great capability and understanding, who have a love for America and an understanding of the struggle that was made to form this republic.  

The burden is going to have to be laid to the local school districts and their representative school boards. Many of the school boards in this state have accommodated or advocated for some of the misguided policies which are now in place in many districts. Many classes, when I was young, had significantly more than 30 students, yet the students learned because the teachers knew how to control their classrooms and the students did their work.  

Gov. Dunleavy is right in his insistence on reviewing and changing policies for the Alaska school system.

Robert Seitz is a very long time Alaskan and engineer.

Dunleavy’s State of the State Address: Optimism for Alaska, and a speech that fought through a head cold

Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s State of the State Address to the Legislature on Tuesday was upbeat and marked by several themes, including progress and economic growth in Alaska, infrastructure and business expansion, public safety, education, and most of all optimism for the future.

Dunleavy noticeably has a cold, evidenced by his hoarse voice, his stuffy nose and clearing of his throat throughout his 24-page speech. Nevertheless, the speech was upbeat.

He acknowledged that he is in his seventh year as governor, but he said, using football metaphor, “And I have no intention of running out the clock and taking a knee with the time I have left.”

“What is our State of the State,” he asked. It’s heading in the right direction, he answered, and then went into an inventory of positive outcomes for Alaska that have occurred this past year and throughout his administration.

Here are some of the main points of his speech:

The population of the state has not only stabilized, but has grown from about 734,000 in 2020 to more than 741,000 in 2024. A combination of immigration plus births has helped raise the population to the highest level since 2017, he said.

Alaska is projected to add another 5,300 jobs in 2025, which would break the all-time high reached in 2015.

Jobs grew at a faster rate than the US for each of the past two years.

Wage growth was 6.4% while the rest of the country averaged 5.5%.

Assets managed by the Department of Revenue grew by nearly $600 million in 2024, the best performance in 10 years.

The Alaska Permanent Fund has grown by nearly $16 billion since 2020, and is projected to reach the $100 billion milestone by 2031.

The state investment bank, known as AIDEA, grew its net income to a record high of $66 million in 2024 and has paid the State nearly half a billion in dividends since 1997.

Five new cargo carriers moved into Anchorage the last year, and cargo activity grew by nearly 5% in that time. In addition, Delta and United Airlines announced plans to expand their operations in Alaska, and WestJet will begin its first ever service between Anchorage and Calgary this summer.

The Red Dog mine received approval from the federal government for its permit to build a road to an additional find that will extend the life of the mine.

Graphite One mine construction could begin by 2027 and the mine could be producing as early as 2029.

During Dixon Diversion construction, estimates are for 3,250 jobs with a total economic output estimated at $584 million dollars.

During SSQ construction, an estimated 460 jobs will be created with a total economic output of $96 million.

During HVDC construction it’s estimated that 1,470 jobs should result in a total economic output of $332 million.

When Dunleavy took office there were just 382 budgeted State and Wildlife Troopers positions. Today, the state has 411 positions, and he is requesting an additional five troopers in his budget proposal to and to reopen the shuttered Trapper Creek post. There are 77 Village Public Safety Officers serving rural Alaska as first responders, the highest number the state has had since 2014.

“My proposed budget asks for funding for five more positions,” Dunleavy said.

Overall crime rate is down 37% since 2018. Property crime is down 42%. Violent crime is down 17%.
Felony sexual assault is down 27%.

In the last academic year, according to assessments used by school districts across the nation, the percentage of Alaskan students who met early literacy benchmarks grew from 41% to 57%. Among kindergarten students, proficiency rates rose from 24% at the beginning of the year to 60% by the end of the year. According to national data released last June, Alaska students outpaced the national growth in kindergarten, first, and second grades.

In fall 2023, research from Harvard University concluded that Alaska’s charter schools are the best performing charter schools in the nation.

Over six budgets, his administration has held operating spending growth to just 8% since 2019.

Ten years ago, in the 2014 Revenue forecast, North Slope production was predicted to be just 314,000 barrels per day by 2024.

The Department of Interior estimates the state could see as much as $2 billion per year in revenue if ANWR is fully developed.

In a few years, because of this investment on the Slope, Alaska may be reporting overall production of over 650,000 barrels per day, he said. The current production is about 480,000 barrels per day.

He reminded legislators that 20% of the income from the Alaska LNG Project will be devoted to rural energy projects.

He said he was excited about Alaska’s future because of Donald Trump as president. He said that Trump singled out Alaska for the first batch of his executive orders. No other state got that kind of attention, he said.

Dunleavy said Alaska was sanctioned more than Iran and North Korea by the prior administration of Joe Biden.

He ended on a note of optimism:

“I’m an optimist because I believe in the people of Alaska, and the great things we can accomplish together. The people are the reason I’ve stayed here for more than 40 years … The people are the reason I chose to serve. I’d like to believe that’s the same reason all of us are here to serve as well. There’s no doubt we’re going to have our differences over the next few months.
But I believe we’re going to find more areas where we agree than we don’t. That’s because we’re Alaskans. I believe that our wins are going to be Alaska wins. When we put our minds together to create good policy, great things will happen. I’m ready to get to work, and to work together. I know you are, too. So I want to thank you again for the invitation to speak with you and our fellow Alaskans tonight. And I want to ask God bless Alaska, and I want to ask God to bless the United States of America,” he said.

Video of F-35 crash at Eielson

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Must Read Alaska has received this video of the Jan. 28, 2025 explosive crash of the F-35 stealth fighter jet at Eielson Air Force Base:

Alaska’s Kennedy campaign calls on Murkowski to do what’s right for children & voters — confirm RFK Jr.

By MEGS TESTARMATA

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. garnered lots of support from Alaskans who liked what they heard when he declared his independent bid for president. Volunteers collected over 5,900 signatures from Ketchikan to Utqiagvik to petition him onto Alaska’s presidential ballot.  

His policies regarding health, medical freedom, and corporate capture (corporate political influence) were some of the reasons we wanted him as our leader.  Those reasons still stand with his nomination for Secretary of Health and Human Services.   

RFK Jr. suspended his campaign yet remained on the ballot. He told his supporters to vote for Trump as a vote for him. Despite that request, 5,670 Alaskan voters voted for him for president. That’s 2,630 more votes than the next third-party candidate, Libertarian Chase Oliver. In Alaska 1.7% of the votes went to Kennedy, a higher percentage than any other state except Montana. 

Adding Kennedy’s 1.7% to the 54.5% of Alaskans voting for Trump gave MAGA 56.2% of Alaska’s vote versus 41.4 % for the Kamala Harris. A 15-point difference sends a resounding message to our senators that we want Kennedy to Make America Healthy Again (MAHA).

Our senators are supposed to represent us, the people of Alaska, not their own opinions. Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s failure to commit to representing us does not sit well with Alaska voters. She has met with RFK Jr. but has not committed to support him.

On the other hand, Sen. Dan Sullivan also met with RFK Jr. and posted this on his Facebook, “I had a very productive meeting yesterday with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.  We spoke at length about tackling the roots of our country’s chronic disease epidemic and about Alaska’s unique health care challenges. I was particularly impressed with his knowledge of Alaska, the Indian Health Service, and the issues surrounding rural health care. I look forward to working with Bobby in his new role as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. MAHA!!”  

What is holding Senator Murkowski back from committing to the same?  Dr. Robert Redfield, former CDC director, wrote in September’s 2024 Newsweek that Kennedy is the right choice.   

Doesn’t Sen. Murkowski want to Make America Healthy Again and prioritize people over the for-profit medical-industrial complex?  

Health is not a political issue. It is a human issue. 

If Murkowski wants to put Alaskans before politics, and people before Big Pharma profits, this is her chance.  

Kennedy does not hesitate to put “Country before Party” and “People over Politics.”  He has maintained his stance on the chronic disease epidemic crippling our country while running as a Democrat, then an independent, and now being nominated by a Republican president.  

When he suspended his campaign he said, “We need to love our children more than we hate each other.”

Later that day, he spoke of divine intervention: “Since 2005, I spent 30 minutes praying every day when I get out of bed. For 19 years, I asked God to put me in a position where I could end the chronic disease epidemic and bring health back to our children, and in August, God sent me Donald Trump.” 

Kennedy has been chosen. His prayer and our nation’s healing are on the verge of realization. With respect for the divine and for the love of our children and future generations, Sen. Murkowski needs to vote to Make America Healthy Again with Kennedy in the lead. 

Alaska’s militia of Kennedy supporters devoted many hours, often adverse weather conditions, to collect signatures and then campaign for RFK Jr.  We are ready to activate and campaign against any Alaska senator who ignores Alaska voters and sabotages Kennedy’s calling to Make America Healthy Again as Secretary of Health and Human Services.  

If not him, then who?  

If not now, then when?  

Make America Healthy Again now with RFK Jr.

Contact Senator Murkowski to voice your support for RFK Jr. and find 5 friends to do the same today! Sen. Murkowski’s office is 907-271-3735; 907-376-7665; 202-224-6665; fax 877-857-0322 or 202-224-5301.  

Megs Testarmata, is a former scientist, commercial fisher, teacher, and engineer, who has lived and worked in Southeast Alaska, the Kenai Peninsula, Western Alaska, and the Aleutians during her 40+ years in Alaska.  She was the lead volunteer for RFK Jr’s campaign in Alaska. 

Judge blocks Trump from stopping taxpayer grants to Palestinian terrorists for condom bombs

DOGE and the Office of Management and Budget learned that the Biden Administration had awarded $37 million to the World Health Organization and another $50 million to buy condoms for Palestinian men in the Gaza Strip.

It’s one reason why OMB placed an emergency temporary hold on outgoing grants, to ensure they line up with the Trump Administration’s goals and objectives.

Condoms are widely used by Palestinian terrorists in Israel to set booby traps, according to the Jerusalem Post.

In 2020, the Jerusalem Post wrote, “Two years after Palestinians first started launching flaming kites and other improvised explosive devices (IEDs) like condoms and balloons into the South, the phenomenon has yet to abate.It started with kites with burning rags or embers attached to them. Three months later, booby-trapped balloons and condoms began to be carried east toward the South, carried by winds coming off the Mediterranean Sea. While the use of kites – a popular Middle Eastern pastime – seems to have disappeared, scores of balloons and condoms with explosive devices attached to them continue to land in schoolyards, agricultural fields and highways.”

President Biden was funding terrorism.

But a group of nonprofit organizations, which make up a web of quasi-government groups, has quickly sued and a federal judge has since put an emergency halt to the White House pause on grants. It’s unclear how the judge will be able to prevail over a White House temporary pause.

District of Columbia U.S. District Court Judge Loren AliKhan, who is an appointee of former President Joe Biden, ordered the halt on the White House action on Tuesday afternoon, Eastern Standard Time, preventing the Trump Administration from enacting the pause-and-audit directive until Monday.

Pilot survives F-35 crash at Eielson AFB

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An F-35 fighter jet crashed at Eielson Air Force Base; the pilot was uninjured and it’s not been announced whether or not he ejected. The crash on the runway occurred at about 1 p.m. The weather is cloudy, calm, and the air temperature is about 2 degrees Fahrenheit.

The F-35s are part of the 355th Fighter Squadron and the 356th Fighter Squadron. The first F-35s were positioned at Eielson Air Force Base on April 21, 2020, after the base was chosen in 2016 to house the stealth fighter jets.

Emergency vehicles, personnel, and equipment are on the scene.

This story will be updated.