President Trump on Monday said a 25% tariff on all products from Mexico and Canada until the invasion of illegal aliens invasion is stopped and the flow of deadly fentanyl into the United States is ended.
More than 15 million illegal aliens – most of them military-age males – have come through the open border since Joe Biden became president and relaxed border policies in 2021. The number of illegal immigrant men of fighting age now inside U.S. borders outnumbers the enlisted men in the U.S. military.
The fentanyl crisis, according to a congressional study, costs the United States a record of nearly $1.5 trillion in 2020, up 37% from 2017.
The mainstream media pounded on Trump’s tariff statement, saying tariffs will raise prices on everything:
Trump is delivering on a promise to Americans that he will do everything to stop the invasion, starting Day One. He said both Mexico and Canada have the power to stop the illegal alien invasion and the tariff will remain in place until the tsunami of deadly Fentanyl and illegals is curbed. Trump said he would add an additional 10% tariff to Chinese goods, most of which already have a tariff that he imposed during his first term, which President Biden did not remove.
Here’s what the mainstream media is not explaining:
The federal government spent over $66 billion on illegal immigrants in 2023 alone, not including what states, counties, and cities spent last year, or the pass-through funds given to nonprofit organizations working with illegal immigrants.
From testimony by Steven Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies, before a congressional committee in January:
“The current surge of illegal immigration is unprecedented. Some 2.7 million inadmissible aliens have been released into the country by the administration since January 2021. There have also been 1.5 million “got-aways” — individuals observed entering illegally but not stopped. Visa overstays also seem to have hit a record in FY 2022.
“We preliminarily estimate that the illegal immigrant population grew to 12.8 million by October of 2023, up 2.6 million since January 2021, when the president took office. This is the net increase in the illegal population based on monthly Census Bureau data, not the number of new arrivals.
“Using the National Academies’ estimate of immigrants’ net fiscal impact by education level, we estimate that the lifetime fiscal drain (taxes paid minus costs) for each illegal immigrant is about $68,000, although this estimate comes with some caveats.”
Since Biden took office in January of 2021, over 54,366 pounds of fentanyl have been intercepted crossing American borders— more than enough fentanyl to kill the entire human population on the planet. Yet federal officials estimate they are only intercepting 5-10% of what is being smuggled across the border. Much of that fentanyl is coming from China, through Mexico.
According to a congressional study, the cost of the fentanyl epidemic was $1.5 trillion in 2020. The report can beread here.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s long-standing position as Alaska’s senior senator should, by now, have made her an unshakable advocate for her state’s prosperity. However, her record tells a different story.
Her antagonism toward former and now President-elect Donald Trump has been so all-consuming that it appears to guide her decision-making, even at the expense of Alaska’s interests.
Nowhere is this more apparent than her potential and likely opposition to critical Trump Administration initiatives and appointees.
As one potential example, Trump has appointed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services. Her expected opposition may reveal not just Murkowski’s disdain for Trump, but a glaring hypocrisy that undermines her self-proclaimed advocacy for Alaska.
Empty Rhetoric on Health and Reform
Sen. Murkowski likes to tout her commitment to addressing Alaska’s healthcare challenges, but her actions betray this claim. Not only does she continue to support the genocide of America’s unborn as a matter of moral convenience, but America’s health outcomes are horrifying:
Estimated 129 million Americans have at least one major chronic disease; 42% of these Americans have two or more chronic conditions with 12% having at least five.
40% of school-aged kids have at least one chronic health condition.
Autism diagnoses have skyrocketed from one in 150 children in 2000 to one in 54 in 2024.
American life expectancy has declined to 76.4 years (lowest in 20 years).
One in nine American children are diagnosed with ADHD
Alaska’s rural communities face significant barriers to healthcare, nutrition care and physical education access.
Despite this, Murkowski may choose to oppose RFK Jr., a nominee who has pledged to tackle systemic corruption in federal health agencies, eradicate chronic diseases, and prioritize evidence-based medicine. His vision aligns with reforms Alaska desperately needs.
This may be more in line with Murkowski’s interest in opposing anything associated with Trump than in supporting initiatives that could benefit her constituents.
The Hypocrisy of Murkowski’s Covid-19 Record
Murkowski’s contradictions are glaring when it comes to her stance on Covid-19. On one hand, she voted to overturn vaccine mandates for private businesses, acknowledging the dangers of federal overreach. On the other, she championed federal health protocols during the pandemic — policies many Alaskans blame for unnecessary suffering and loss of life. Alaska recorded over 1,200 Covid-related deaths, many of which were linked to hospital protocols dictated by federal guidelines.
Her willingness to stand by these protocols, while simultaneously claiming to oppose government intrusion, exposes a troubling inconsistency. This isn’t the behavior of a senator committed to her state’s well-being; it’s the mark of a politician picking and choosing her principles based on political expediency and longevity.
A Loyalty to Bureaucracy Over Alaska
At the heart of DHHS lies a sprawling $1.7 trillion budget and a bloated bureaucracy, including 294 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion staff members with a collective annual salary of nearly $40 million. These resources could be redirected to address Alaska’s pressing health crises, but under current leadership, they are squandered on ideological initiatives.
RFK Jr.’s implementation of Trump’s pledge to eliminate inefficiencies and focus on reducing chronic disease rates within two years offers a clear path forward.
The Food and Drug Administration, a subagency of DHHS, where Big Ag/Big Pharma/Big Labor feed Americans with chemicals and pesticides that contribute to the America’s health decay, is riddled with corruption.
The National Institutes of Health, another subagency of DHHS, spent $34.9 billion to 59,000 recipients of its total $47.7 billion appropriation in FY 2023 for competing and non-competing grant awards. Many of these government funded projects intentionally are designed to back ideological and social transformation through the use of “science-based” propaganda.
As one example, the Committee on Oversight and Accountability revealed on Nov. 4, is that one of America’s most prominent gender-transition providers, Johanna Olson-Kennedy, recipient of an NIH $9.7 million grant to an ongoing research project, has intentionally not published the results of her “multimillion-dollar federal project” on puberty blockers in minors — because she found that “puberty blockers did not lead to mental health improvements.”
Olson-Kennedy “was concerned the study’s results could be used in court to argue that ‘we shouldn’t use blockers’” in minors.
Murkowski’s potential rejection of RFK’s nomination reveals her loyalty, not to Alaska, but to the Washington establishment, Big Pharma, Big Labor and the rest of the Big Cronies who have made Washington DC the cesspool it is today.
Her potential opposition is a product of her irrational hatred for Trump and anyone associated with him. This vendetta blinds her to opportunities for reform that could directly benefit her state.
The Cost of Personal Vendettas
Murkowski’s disdain for Trump has led her to consistently prioritize personal grievances over Alaska’s needs. She could dismiss RFK Jr. as unsuitable, despite his clear alignment with conservative values of reducing waste, eliminating corruption, and prioritizing the public good. Her decision may also mirror her earlier dismissal of other Trump appointees, such as Matt Gaetz for Attorney General, as “not serious” — a critique grounded more in personal animosity than in substantive evaluation.
Additional evidence of her hatred for Trump can clearly be observed during Trump’s first administration where she was a true embarrassment to Alaskans.
Her behavior underscores a dangerous pattern: Murkowski places political feuds above her duty to represent Alaska and her oath of office. Her choices hinder reforms that could address the chronic diseases plaguing Alaska’s children and reverse the state’s declining health outcomes.
Alaska Deserves Better
Lisa Murkowski’s actions paint an ugly portrait of a U.S. senator more invested in unreasonably and smugly opposing Trump than in delivering results for Alaska and America. Her rhetoric about supporting the state’s health and prosperity is empty, as may be evidenced by her future opposition to RFK Jr. and other reform-oriented nominees. Alaska faces real challenges, such as declining life expectancy, rising chronic illness, and systemic barriers to healthcare. Its children deserve a senator who prioritizes their future over political vendettas, not a senator who puts personal grudges over improving and saving the lives of Alaskans.
Murkowski’s hypocrisy isn’t just frustrating, it’s irreparably harmful. Her resistance to change keeps Alaska trapped under the weight of federal inefficiencies and bureaucratic overreach. If she truly cared about Alaska’s future, she would set aside her personal grievances and embrace the reforms with genuine constructive discernment that could secure a brighter, healthier future for the state.
We’ve had the unique pleasure of observing Murkowski perform her political theater over the course of the Trump administration, and what a show it has been! Her histrionics against the former president were nothing short of Broadway-worthy, a combination of sanctimonious indignation and procedural stonewalling. Yet, for all her dramatic flair, where are the results for Alaska? Spoiler alert: They’re nowhere to be found.
In the years since she became a prominent voice of “principled opposition” (read: unbridled Trump hatred), Alaska hasn’t exactly blossomed under her leadership.
Natural resource development? Stalled. Healthcare reform? A mess. Advocacy for Alaskan families and children? Lukewarm at best. But at least she’s consistently been there to “resist”, whatever that means, while federal overreach and bureaucratic bloat chug along unimpeded.
It seems Murkowski has mastered the art of throwing tantrums while avoiding responsibility. And sure, she claims to champion Alaska’s interests, but the receipts tell a different story. Instead of using her seniority to secure tangible benefits for her constituents, she’s spent years waging ideological battles that produce a lot of noise but very little impact.
Perhaps it’s time for Alaska’s senior senator to do some soul-searching. Grow up. Step into the adult world. Maybe even try something revolutionary, like focusing on results instead of rhetorical doublespeak. After all, Alaskans deserve better than a full-time embarrassment who moonlights as a senator.
Michael Tavoliero is a senior writer at Must Read Alaska.
On behalf of the Northern Forum, a trans-Arctic association of Arctic states and regional governments, I attended COP29 (29th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) in Baku, Azerbaijan this month.
In technical diplomatic terms, the Northern Forum (northernforum.org) is a subnational governmental organization. Our guiding principle is “A Peaceful and Prosperous Arctic.”Gov. Wally Hickel led The Northern Forum’s organizational formation in 1991, and former Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell and I, as Wally’s Commissioner of Commerce, set up the legal, administrative, and financial structures. I serve as the group’s Arctic Goodwill Ambassador.
We sponsored an Arctic Pavilion during the eight days of the conference where we held many panels and presentations on climate change from an Arctic perspective.
Our main goals at the conference were:
Defending the Arctic against calls for discriminatory policies to eliminate all Arctic oil and gas production.
Promoting trans Arctic cooperation and the resumption of the activities of the Arctic Council which have been cancelled due to sanctions of the Ukraine conflict.
Advocating for safe shipping on the Northern Sea Route.
Let’s break down these three goals:
Discrimination against Arctic oil and gas
The European Union, and many U.S. and international nongovernmental organizations have taken the extreme position that “all Arctic oil and gas must remain in the ground.”
In response, we pointed out that of course we support alternative energy sources when they are practical. In fact, the Arctic is leading the world in renewable energy transition. Norway and Iceland 100%, Denmark 32%, Finland 25%, Sweden 55% and Alaska at 30%.
Shamefully, even after all the mandates and subsidies, the U.S. is only at 9% renewable energy and the European Union stands at 13%. We also pointed out that halting Arctic oil and gas development would not mean even one drop less oil being burned, it would just be produced somewhere else, usually under far less environmentally responsible standards.
The consensus was that this position of “all oil and gas must remain in the ground” was meaningless in reducing fossil fuel consumption and was just something politicians said to make it look like they were doing something, when, on balance, it is actually harmful.
As an example, we pointed out that at 500,000 barrels of oil per day, Alaska represents 2% of U.S. consumption. By comparison, the Alberta tar sands, the dirtiest oil in the world, provides 16% of U.S. consumption and they stand ready to replace Alaskan production. With current reserves, they claim they can produce 4 million barrels per day for the next 149 years. For the U.S., that is the alternative.
As for climate change, it’s not the 4 million people of the Arctic producing fossil fuels; it’s the 8 billion people of the rest of the world who are burning them. It is a consumption issue, not a production issue.
Resumption of Arctic Council Cooperation
Sanctions over the Ukraine conflict have halted the cooperative operations of the Arctic Council, which was established to address non-security issues. As a result, Russia is prohibited from reporting climate data even though Russia constitutes more than 40% of the Arctic. Climate modelers at COP29 openly lamented the loss of this data and say that their climate models do not work without it.
On of the items at stake are the ability to share best practices in renewable energy, engineering best practices for managing melting permafrost, cooperation in fisheries research and management, safe shipping practices and response capabilities on the Northern Sea Route. We advocated for an immediate resumption, or at least a provision in a negotiated settlement of the Ukraine situation, that we could immediately resume our Arctic cooperation. Hope was expressed at the conference that the election of Donald Trump would facilitate an end to the war.
Prevention Measures on the Northern Sea Route
Due to sanctions against Russian oil and gas in Europe, these shipments are being diverted through the Northen Sea Route to China, India and other Asian nations. The shipments of crude oil through ice covered waters presents a substantial risk. The panel discussing this issue focused on the extensive Russian monitoring of environmental conditions on the route. I promoted enhanced prevention measures and presented the offer from Alaska to jointly cooperate with Russia in the vessel tracking, monitoring and emergency response system of the Marine Exchange of Alaska Arctic Watch system. (mxak.org)
Other Conference issues
Negotiations at the conference revolved around transtitions to renewable energy and paying the developing nations of the world for climate change impacts and financing for alternative energy.
The subject of reparations to less developed nations was the real heart of the conference by the voting national delegates. A popular banner worn by activists at the conference was “Pay us $5 trillion dollars”. In the meantime, the European Union had put out an initial offer of $200 billion. Amidst protest by less developed nations, they settled upon $300 billion, although payment enforcement measures were considered weak.
The rest of the conference focused on energy efficiency and technical improvements in the production of alternative energy. One breakthrough of recycling was presented by a Singapore company that was offering a beer thay had made from processed sewage water although I must confess that I did not try it.
Our Arctic Pavilion was one of the few that presented an overall assessment of the history, current use and future projections of human energy consumption as represented in the graph below.
The clear conclusion is that rising energy demand is outpacing renewable energy capacities, requiring similar increases in fossil fuel production. And this increase is even before considering feeding the 730 people of the world who are starving and before the expected growth in human popluation from 8 billion today to a projected 11 billion by 2050. Food production, processing and distribution consumes 30% of overall energy use and people at least must be able to eat. It is estimated that by 2050 the world will need 70% more food production.
Artificial Intelligence is expected to provide another 160% increase in energy consumption in server farms. About 2 billion people of the world don’t have any modern energy and many are doing their cooking with dried cow dung. Their desire for a better standard of living is sure to create additional demands on energy production. The only time there was an actual reduction in world energy use was during covid and frankly, no one at the conference said they wanted to go back to that situation.
As human beings, we are also a major source of CO2 ourselves, emitting 2.3 pounds or 1 kilogram of CO2 per person per day. At 8 billion people, that is a lot of CO2, but we do have to breathe.
It is also projected that by 2050, production of plastics, synthetic fabrics and other materials will consume 50% of oil production, so it will be needed for quite some time. Although plastics have their own issues since they do not break down, they are probably the most effective carbon capture process to date.
Another point of reality we presented was that if the most ambitious of green transitions to electrification are realized, we are going to have to strip mine the planet for all the metals that will be needed. An electric vehicle takes 6 times as much metal as an internal combustion engine. Despite the obvious need for these metals in a non carbon transition, several of the organizations attending the conference have been involved in efforts to shut down Arctic and Alaskan mining projects.
The issue of sea level rise was also a large issue, since over the past couple of hundred years we have built up this massive infrastructure of housing, buildings, factories and ports at sea level and 95% of world trade is carried on the ocean. A rapid rise would have a substantial economic impact.
While we are entering the end of a period of glaciation, and temperatures and water levels would be expected to rise naturally, regardless of human impact, it is clear we are accelerating the rate of increase. I was able to provide some historical reference which was once given to me by an Inupiat elder from the North Slope, who told me “Yes, we have been here for at least 10,000 years at a time when the ocean levels were 300 feet below what they are today, so yes the oceans are rising and you people are just starting to figure that out?” He said with a wry smile… that was not mean spirited in any way. 300 feet of ocean level rise in the short period of 10,000 years….quite a sobering figure.
In the meantime, given the world’s trajectory of increased energy use and the practical limits of renewable energy, it seems that climate geoengineering in one form of another is going to have to be considered. There are several options, and we should at least be working with them now to test their effectiveness. However, most of the people at the conference were more interested in blaming the oil companies rather than considering this but it is probably where we are headed.
The country of Azerbaijan, which I must say did a wonderful job of managing a conference with 50,000 attendees, came under criticism for being a producer of oil and gas, just like the Arctic.
President Ilham Aliyev defended Azerbaijan’s progress in renewable energy and stated that “the fake news media, NGO’s and politicians” were “slandering and blackmailing them” when their CO2 emissions only represented 0.1%. He defended their right to produce, stating that “oil and gas are a gift of God” and that “oil, gas, wind, sun, gold, silver, copper, all… are natural resources and countries should not be blamed for having them and should not be blamed for bringing them to the market because the market needs them. People need them.”
Of course, a prevailing sense of uncertainty pervaded the conference, due to the election of Donald Trump as president. For better or worse, the rest of the world expects the U.S. to lead and foot the bill for whatever conclusions are reached. I think it’s at least safe to say that that a fresh set of eyes will be looking at this.
I was proud to represent our interests at the conference and we were well received, even though some may not have agreed with our approach. Nevertheless, we have to keep telling our story and defend our interests as Arctic people.
Paul Fuhs grew up in Anchorage, attending Denali Elementary, Central Junior High and graduated from West High in 1967. He was enlisted in US Army Military Intelligence, MOS 97 Delta, and a North Vietnamese linguist during the Vietnam War era, 1969-1971.He served as the commissioner of the Department of Commerce during the Hickel Administration and is one of the founders of Marine Exchange of Alaska, which was established to share information that aids safe, secure, efficient, and environmentally sound maritime operations in Alaska.
An October executive session by the Palmer City Council, during which the performance and employment severance contract of the city manager was being discussed, devolved into yelling, bullying, menacing gestures, and misogynistic behavior toward women on the city council, according to a written account by Councilwoman Victoria Hudson, who was newly elected as of October.
Hudson described in her account how then-City Manager Stephen Jellie screamed at her and the other woman councilwoman, Carolina Anzelotti Graber, causing them to both become fearful for their safety. Numerous times, Hudson said Jellie lifted himself out of his chair to menace and threaten them, and he used vulgar hand-gestures witnessed by other council members in order to demean them.
Since that hostile meeting, both Graber and Hudson were traumatized, and one slept with a firearm nearby. Graber, pregnant at the time, suffered a tragic miscarriage that her doctor said was due to the stress and sleep deprivation, she said.
As Mayor Steve Carrington had excused the public from the council chambers, Jellie started in with his antics. To Sarah Heath, the city attorney, who was asked to leave for the executive session, Jellie made the motion of someone flipping burgers and reportedly said, “Enjoy working at Wendy’s, you’ll be a great burger flipper.”
Later in the session, when Heath was present in the chambers, Jellie repeatedly used the gesture of a circle made by fingers and thumb on one hand and a finger from the other hand going in and out of the circle, Hudson said.
That is a known vulgar gesture that can also be experienced as a threat or intimidation.
Attorney Heath had originally been asked to leave the executive session because she had issued a public advisement about Jellie, which was only part of what was leading to his sudden severance from the city after just 52 days.
But Councilman John Alcantra pushed back and asked why the city attorney had to leave the executive session. “Last time we had an executive session without her there were open meeting act violations,” he reportedly said. Council members Graber, Josh Tudor and Hudson backed Alcantra. A vote was taken and Heath was allowed back in the room, but ordered to sit in the back of the room by the mayor.
The executive session continued, with Jellie reportedly targeting the women on the council, first starting with Graber and then moving on to Hudson, who described his statements as hostile and “screaming louder at her.” Graber tried to defend herself and finally broke down in tears.
“Are you done yet?” Jellie reportedly said, as she tried to stop crying. She was in her first trimester.
Later, some in the room described the entire meeting as abusive. But it went from bad to worse.
Jellie was next asked by Hudson if he had fired the police chief, which was the primary reason the entire city was in an upheaval over his leadership.
According to Hudson’s account, Jellie said, “You’re a nobody and I don’t have to answer that.” Hudson, in fact, is an elected official and his boss, but she had only been recently elected.
“I am somebody. I was elected and you do have to answer to me,” Hudson responded, according to her account, and she said Jellie smirked and made a chuckle toward her. Her microphone was turned off.
“At this point I was very confused as to why the Mayor was not defending Carolina and I. Also I truly felt that Stephen (Jellie) was pushing us to a reaction so he could have something else to use against us. Why else would you yell and yell and yell at a woman until they break and cry and then proceed to laugh at them?” she wrote.
She said the mayor, Councilman Richard Best or Councilman Cooper would not defend order and dignity in the room. In fact they laughed and egged Jellie on in his abuse.
The drama continued, with Jellie being allowed to berate the women on the council.
“There were multiple times where I personally was again concerned for her (Graber’s) well being and safety during this specific conversation. I also was becoming extremely concerned about the lack of leadership from our Mayor,” Hudson said.
Heath told the council that Jellie needed to leave the room so they could discuss his contract, but Jellie refused and said he could sue Heath for the things she said about him publicly, according to Hudson. Jellie was allowed to stay.
The mockery and degradation of the women — Heath, Graber, and Hudson — continued, Hudson said: “At this point I was crying and very uncomfortable. I was honestly scared. Throughout this entire session I was screamed at more times than I can count. Had hand gestures made at me. Stephen Jellie came out of his chair like he was going to come at me if I dared to upset him anymore or talk back to him. I also had no idea at this point that his lawsuit threats were not something I had to protect myself from personally. I truly felt like I was in danger. And was so shocked that the Mayor did nothing. I also want to note that Richard Best and Jim Cooper making those comments while I was speaking made me very uncomfortable. And were very harassing. Since this executive session I have had nightmares that I cannot escape that room. No matter what I do I cannot wake up and I cant get out. The nightmares end as Stephen Jellie approaches me. I have been scared to be home alone as well. I also feel very uncomfortable in a room behind the dais with three men that did absolutely nothing but make rude disparaging comments while I was speaking and a Mayor that did absolutely nothing to stop the outrageous behavior. “
Hudson and Graber felt so physically threatened that they filed a report about the incident with the Palmer Police.
Both women say they have been scared for their lives and asked the Palmer Police to do patrols near their houses because of the threats they experienced.
Immediately after the meeting that night, Jellie was gone, with his severance contract in hand.
Since that meeting, the seating arrangement in the room has been changed to place members Best by Graber and Cooper by Hudson, and observers say they continue to use intimidation tactics to distract, interrupt, and harass the women under their breath with derogatory statements.
Must Read Alaska recognizes this is a partial account of that executive session and will provide Mayor Carrington and the other members of the council the opportunity to respond to it. This account of what occurred has been condensed greatly and does not provide every behavior accusation lodged against Jellie.
The next meeting of the Palmer City Council is Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the Palmer City Council Chambers, 231 W Evergreen Avenue, Palmer.
Under unfinished business is “Discussion of Investigation of Previous City Manager Interactions with City Staff and City Attorney (postponed from 10/22/24 meeting).”
One day after the Alaska Republican Party announced its intent to request a recount of Ballot Measure 2, after the election is certified on Nov. 30, Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom announced she intends to hold that recount.
Ballot Measure 2 was a grassroots effort to get rid of ranked-choice voting. But opponents brought in $15 million in Outside dark money to fight the repeal, and succeeded by 664 votes. The grassroots group had only about $100,000, all from citizens of Alaska who wanted to stop the Outside billionaires from controlling Alaska’s elections.
“Alaska law ensures the integrity of our elections, and with results as close as these, a recount will be conducted as outlined by statute,” Dahlstom said.
According to Alaska Statute 15.20.450, if the margin of defeat for a ballot measure is less than 0.5% of the total votes cast or within 20 votes, the State of Alaska will bear the cost of the recount. Ballot Measure 2 failed by a margin of 0.4% triggering, upon request, a state-funded recount.
The Division of Elections has already begun preparations, said Dahlstrom, who oversees the division.
We are actively gathering the necessary resources to conduct a thorough and efficient recount. Our team is committed to meeting the 10-day recount completion deadline following the scheduled certification of the election by the State Review Board on November 30,” Division Director Carol Beecher said.
Additionally, under Alaska Statute 15.20.480, properly cast absentee and overseas ballots that are received after the respective 10- and 15-day deadlines but before the completion of the recount will be included in the recount. The Division of Elections will ensure compliance with all relevant statutes, according to the press release from Dahlstrom.
Upon certification of the election results, the recount will begin immediately following receipt of the formal request. Further details regarding the formal recount request and process will be provided after the election is certified, she said.
On Sunday, the Alaska Republicans said they’d bring in national Republican lawyer Harmeet Dhillon to help guard the integrity of the process.
Kathy McCollum has been elected by the MatSu School Board as their new chairwoman, replacing Jubilee Underwood, who was recently elected to the Alaska House.
At the Nov. 20 school board meeting, the first since the Nov. 5 election, reelected members Bergey and Brooks Pitcher were reseated and new member Andrew Shane joined the dais.
McCollum has previously been clerk and vice president of the board. Shane was elected as vice president and Kruse became clerk.
The district has over 19,000 students in 49 schools over 25,000 square miles. The school board’s next meeting is at 6 p.m., Dec. 4, at the MatSu Borough School District’s Central Office, 501 N. Gulkana St, Palmer.
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough is the only one in the state that has aligned its local elections with national general elections.
I am mystified by the lack of proactive and energetic response to provide support to the one Cook Inlet Natural Gas provider who is ready to increase natural gas production. A United States Geological Survey report from 2011 estimates that an undiscovered Cook Inlet gas 19 trillion standard cubit feet, which is 266 years of energy at the current demand.
Why are we not tapping this resource for the good of Alaska? HEX/Furie (the only Alaskan owned gas production company) believes there is ample gas for many years to come. If Alaska can help to remove the financial burdens on Furie, then we can tap into those opportunities for Alaskans.
As I dug into this more, I found there are those who are less than sympathetic to HEX/Furie President John Hendrix and say, “He knew what he was getting when he bought Furie in bankruptcy.”
I also see that there are those who want to use a Cook Inlet Gas crisis to provide more leverage for enabling the Alaska LNG project. Then there are those who want to use the Cook Inlet gas crisis in combination with a climate crisis, to push for Renewable Portfolio Standard legislation, which would provide mandates for more rapid addition of renewables to the Railbelt electrical system. The timelines for all other energy sources are much longer than it will take to ensure increased capacity of Cook Inlet gas, but we need to be able to demonstrate that the capacity is there, to government as well as the citizens of Alaska.
To try to improve my knowledge about Cook Inlet natural gas I flew to Kenai for the Alaska Alliance lunch meeting on Nov. 15 to hear Hendrix deliver an update on Furie Operations progress in Cook Inlet. While there I got to tour Furie’s Natural Gas processing facility. Since I have been involved with the design and installation of oil and gas facilities for the past 45 years, I could judge it was a good quality installation.
Furie is producing 9mmscf/d from the Kitchen Lights Unit through the Furie Julius R Platform. The system can flow up to 60mmscf/d provided there is somewhere to flow the gas. Currently there is a cap on the demand, at 190mmscf/d of which most is provided by Hilcorp.
Many are looking for more gas wells to be drilled so they can see the increase in available natural gas in Cook Inlet. The problem is that drilling wells without producing from them will not pay for the wells. There appears to be enough Cook Inlet Gas to warrant immediate action. Furie has sufficient infrastructure in place to produce up to 60mmscf/d right now, and that is one third of the current demand. But no producer can afford to drill wells and not use them.
On the North Slope all the wells in which natural gas has been stored over the years have been paid for by production of gas or oil. Since the gas has already been released from downhole and returned to below ground, that gas is known to exist. In Cook Inlet just drilling a well does not mean it has any gas capacity at all. It must be tested, but even if it proves to be a good well it still needs to produce before it can pay for itself.
Alaska needs to come up with some protocols and financial assurances, so producers are paid for the wells they drill, and the utilities have sufficient assurance that there are sufficient reserves for a specified period of time. If the well is a crude production well that has gas produced by separating it from the crude, the gas will have to be stored underground if there is nowhere to flow the gas, and the crude can be processed at a refinery to pay for the well.
To have a sustainable, reliable, resilient electrical power system we need to assure the availability of natural gas, especially to ensure we can all get through the cold of winter safely and healthily. All the alternative energy sources have too long a timeline to supply Alaska’s energy needs now. Natural gas is currently a heat source for most homes and businesses in Anchorage. Converting to electric heat for all those locations would be very costly, require massive upgrades to electrical systems, and would be much more difficult to be warm when the electric power is interrupted. The timeline for construction of a gas line from the North Slope is also too long to ensure the wellbeing of the Railbelt citizens in the near distant future. Cook Inlet gas is the most certain choice for Alaska’s security and well-being.
Some have estimated that the Kitchen Lights Unit contains 1.2 to 3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and Furie estimates that they have at least 300 billion cubic feet of natural gas within three miles of the Julius R platform, which is reachable by current drilling technology.
In addition to these estimates of available natural gas, Hendrix provided a chart which shows Alaska has one of the cheapest costs of gas at the home meter in the entire U.S even though we have the highest wellhead cost. This is due to the very short transport distance for Cook Inlet gas; approximately 40 miles. Every 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas represents 14 years, so 19 trillion would provide 266 years of energy at current demand, as stated earlier.
As a lifelong Alaskan with over 40 years experience in the field, John Hendrix had an opportunity to own the only Alaskan-operated, producing oil and gas company and he seized the opportunity. He would like to see more Alaskans operators. When Hendrix bought the company, he said he had to work on a number of historical foundational issues known and unknown to address past operator problems. Due to the efforts of his dedicated team and focus, they have now operated Furie more than any previous owner.
One source of Furie’s burdens is the refusal by a past state administration to pay the oil and gas incentives that were due. To grow production more and to help provide more gas to Alaskans Furie needs equalization of royalties. Royalties come off gross income. Furie pays 25%, while the average Cook Inlet gas royalty is less than 14%.
It is time to find a way to couple the utilities need for certainty in future supplies and the producers need to cover the cost of drilling wells, even if the well will not produce for a while. Then it is appropriate to adjust the royalty rate for Furie, as the supply of gas will be more beneficial for all Alaskans than would the addition of the royalty amount to the PFD. Now is the time for all Alaskans to stand together for our future and many years of Cook Inlet gas.
To demonstrate Furie’s commitment, they completed and tested a new gas well just last week.
Robert Seitz, is a professional electrical engineer and lifelong concerned Alaskan.
Must Read Alaska has long been blocked by Alaska Sen. Forrest Dunbar from his social media feed on X. Dunbar may be a reader of the publication, but is clearly not a fan.
But now, others are saying they are being blocked by him, as well. This person, for instance:
Screenshot provided by someone who Sen. Forrest Dunbar has blocked from his official government X account.
The matter of legislators blocking members of the public from the accounts associated with their official duties is still being litigated, ever since lawyers with the Northern Justice Project filed a lawsuit against former Sen. Lora Reinbold, who is till fighting it in court.
Last year, a judge ruled state legislators cannot block members of the public from commenting on the social media accounts maintained in connection with their elected offices.
Anchorage Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews said such accounts are considered public forums, where legislators can’t discriminate against a participant based on their positions on topics.
In a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court, “Lindke v. Freed,” the justices ruled that a public official can only be considered to be engaging in “state action” (actions that can be subject to First Amendment scrutiny) on social media if they have actual authority to speak on behalf of the government and are clearly exercising that authority when posting on their personal social media accounts; essentially, this means a public official can block users on their personal social media pages unless they are explicitly using the platform to communicate official government information, not just personal opinions.
The Alaska Legislative Council, the body that governs the Legislature when it is not in formal session and that handles other legislative business, will meet at 9 a.m. on Dec. 12 in the Anchorage Legislative Information Office; legislator social media policies are said to be on the agenda, which has not yet been posted.
It’s unclear how that relates to blocking people altogether from an official account, but the matter will be before Alaska legislators next month.
The Justice Department’s special counsel Jack Smith dropped his criminal case against Donald Trump. The case had revolved around Trump’s role in disorderly activity at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, leading up to the Senate’s certification of the victory of Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
Now that Trump has been reelected, there is a Justice Department policy that prevents prosecution of a sitting president.
“It has long been the position of the Department of Justice that the United States Constitution forbids the federal indictment and subsequent criminal prosecution of a sitting President. But the Department and the country have never faced the circumstance here, where a federal indictment against a private citizen has been returned by a grand jury and a criminal prosecution is already underway when the defendant is elected President. Confronted with this unprecedented situation, the Special Counsel’s Office consulted with the Department’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), whose interpretation of constitutional questions such as those raised here is binding on Department prosecutors. After careful consideration, the Department has determined that OLC’s prior opinions concerning the Constitution’s prohibition result this prosecution must be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated. That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Government stands fully behind. Based on the Department’s interpretation of the Constitution, the Government moves for dismissal without prejudice of the superseding indictment under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 48(a). The Government has conferred with defense counsel, who does not object to this motion,” the motion says.
