The conservative movement prides itself on being the standard-bearer of life, liberty, and traditional values. We rally under the banner of “pro-life,” championing the sanctity of the unborn and the preservation of moral foundations.
Yet, when it comes to our political battles, we often turn our fiercest weapons not on our ideological opponents but on each other. The left may throw punches, but it’s conservatives who deliver the knockout blows; to ourselves.
The infighting within the conservative ranks is more than just a distraction; it’s a self-inflicted wound that cripples our ability to advance our principles. While the left maintains a disciplined front, coalescing around shared goals despite internal disagreements, conservatives splinter into factions; each claiming to be the “true” champion of the movement. From primary purges to social media slandering, we’ve become experts at devouring our own.
I will admit, it’s quite disheartening watching the onslaught of accusations from fellow Republicans shouting out “RINOS” any time a vote isn’t taken in a lockstep binding caucus fashion (because a binding caucus isn’t an ideal Republicans hold to). There is an old Ronald Reagan quote that “The person who agrees with you 80% of the time is a friend and an ally, not a 20% traitor.” Do we believe that?
Contrast this with the left’s approach. Progressives, even with their own flaws, know how to close ranks. When one of their own strays; like a senator or representative voting against a party-line bill; they don’t unleash a public execution. Instead, they negotiate, regroup, and redirect their energy toward their common political enemy; us. Their ability to maintain unity, even when fractured, gives them a strategic edge we squander through our relentless infighting over ideological purity.
Oh the irony. We call ourselves pro-life, yet we’re quick to politically abort anyone who doesn’t perfectly align with our ever-shifting litmus tests. This isn’t principle; it’s cannibalism. Every time we ostracize a conservative for a single disagreement, we shrink our coalition and hand the left a gift-wrapped victory.
The pro-life conviction should transcend legislation, promoting unity and collaboration with partners instead of constant discord.
If we want to win, we need to stop eating our own. That means embracing spirited debate without resorting to excommunication; recognizing that a conservative who disagrees on tactics or tone isn’t a traitor but a potential ally; directing our criticism toward the left’s policies we deeply oppose, rather than fixating on our own small differences; and sometimes picking up the phone and calling to ask questions instead of reading clickbait and becoming a Facebook ninja warrior.
The left doesn’t beat us because they’re stronger; they beat us because we’re too busy beating ourselves. If we truly believe in the principles we so proudly stand upon, we’ll stop the fratricide and start fighting as one. Only then can we live up to the pro-life label we claim; and turn our values into victories.
Before my dad passed, his last corporate message he gave to a group of leaders was charging them to lay down differences and unify for the sake of one cause (which was to be a light in this dark world and to leave people better than they were when you met them).
It is a message I will continue to build my own life upon and I charge others to do the same; especially in the realm of politics.
Jubilee Underwood is a representative for House District 27, Wasilla.
A Wasilla physician has been arrested following a federal grand jury indictment alleging possession of child sexual abuse materials, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska.
Dr. Jeffery Sponsler, 67, was charged with one count of possession of child pornography. Sponsler is a practicing doctor at the Alaska Brain Center and is also the owner of Alaska Music and Arts, a studio offering music, dance, and karate classes to children.
According to the Department of Justice, federal authorities allege that on March 17, Sponsler possessed and accessed a computer containing images of child sexual abuse. The material reportedly included depictions of a prepubescent minor under the age of 12.
The FBI Anchorage Field Office began investigating Sponsler after receiving a tip regarding his alleged possession of child pornography. A search of Sponsler’s residence led to the seizure of multiple electronic devices, including desktop and laptop computers, external hard drives, memory cards, DVDs, and VHS tapes.
The initial forensic review of these items revealed videos and images described in court documents as “nude beauty contests” involving both minors and adults, DOJ said. Prosecutors allege that Sponsler edited and enhanced the material to focus on the genitalia of girls believed to be between the ages of 5 and 12, creating slideshows from the images.
According to his biography at Alaska Brain Center, he sees patients with disorders such as epilepsy, neuromuscular disorders, neuropathy, stroke, headaches and migraine, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson disease, myasthenia gravis, spinal cord disorders, dysequilibrium, balance, dizziness, and carpal tunnel syndrome.
Sponsler has admitting and consulting privileges at Matsu Regional Medical Center in Palmer, where he manages a two-bed epilepsy monitoring unit with full time EEG technician monitoring.
“Dr. Sponsler enjoys backpacking, running, exploring Alaska and Shotokan Karate. He also knows 10 computer programming languages and plays 5 musical instruments. He plays piano and saxophone in the worship band of Wasilla Community Church and is an instructor of Shotokan Karate at Alaska Music and Arts,” his biography states.
Sponsler is scheduled to make his initial court appearance on June 9, before US. Magistrate Judge Kyle F. Reardon in Anchorage. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison. Sentencing, if applicable, would be determined by a U.S. district judge in accordance with federal sentencing guidelines.
The FBI and Alaska State Troopers are leading the investigation. Authorities are urging anyone with information related to the case to contact the FBI Anchorage Field Office at (907) 276-4441 or submit tips anonymously attips.fbi.gov.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Ivers.
People can peacefully protest to express dissatisfaction with policies or actions, to raise awareness about a cause, to connect with like-minded individuals, and to push for negotiation, compromise and policy changes.
Terrorism, however, is the unlawful use of protest, force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce governments, civilian populations, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives. This includes actions that cause death, serious bodily injury, or hostage-taking, with the intent to provoke a state of terror in the public or to intimidate a population or compel a government. Indeed, Hamas’s horrific attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, was an act of genocidal terrorism under the slogan of “Free Palestine.”
Historically, Nazi’s propaganda against Jewish people from 1933 to 1945 often used slogans and phrases designed to dehumanize, blame, and incite hatred. These slogans were a core part of the Nazi regime’s efforts to scapegoat Jewish people for Germany’s problems and justify their persecution.
The main purpose of Nazi’s antisemitic slogans was to blame Jewish people for Germany’s socio-economic problems; foster antisemitic sentiment; justify discrimination and persecution; and, ultimately, commit the horrific crimes against Jewish people during the Holocaust, exterminating six million European Jews.
Other forms of Nazi’s propaganda reinforced these ideas, including antisemitic publications; antisemitic public displays and signs; children’s books depicting Jewish people in a negative and hateful light and reinforcing harmful stereotypes. These slogans and other propaganda played a significant role in creating a hostile environment for Jewish people in Nazi Germany and, therefore, contributing to the atrocities of the Holocaust.
The most well-known Nazi term for the extermination of Jews was the “Final Solution of the Jewish Question.” This was a euphemism used by Nazi leaders to refer to their plan for the systematic and intentional mass murder or genocide of millions of European Jews.
The “Final Solution” represented the central part of the horrifying culmination of Nazi anti-Jewish policies and ideology, which viewed Jews as a dangerous threat to the German “race” and its racial purity. In fact, progression of the Nazi anti-Jewish policies evolved over time, starting with discrimination, exclusion, forced emigration, violent attacks of the civilian population, and culminating in the “Final Solution.”
The decision to systematically murder all European Jews, including my grandfather Roman Umansky and my uncle Shura Dolitsky, was made likely with the invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941.
It is well documented that implementation of the “Final Solution of the Jewish Question” was carried out through mass shootings by mobile killing units and in extermination camps with gas chambers in occupied territories. The Nazis used “resettlement” and “special treatment” tactics to hide the truth about their genocidal policies.
The Wannsee Conference held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee on 20 January 1942 was a meeting of high-ranking Nazi officials to coordinate and formalize the implementation of the “Final Solution.” In summary, while the Nazis used various terms and slogans to promote their antisemitic agenda, the term “Final Solution of the Jewish Question” is the most direct and specific reference to their plan for the extermination of the Jews.
Today’s pro-Palestinian antisemitic slogan for freedom from the “Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea” is calling for a complete eradication of Israel and extermination of Jews worldwide.
Clearly, the Free Palestine organization and its movement opposes the existence of Israel and its historic connection to the ancient land of Judea. In fact, Israel is the only country in the Middle East that was founded by Jews nearly 3200 years ago, while other countries in the region in close geographic proximity to Israel, except for Egypt, were artificial constructs of British and French mandates of the early 20th century.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was formally established in 1932 by King Abdulaziz (Ibn Saud) after unifying various regions and Bedouin tribes under his rule. Bedouins in Saudi Arabia were traditionally nomadic desert-dwelling tribes; part of a larger group of Bedouins who inhabited the Arabian Peninsula and other nearby regions.
The creation of Jordan as a modern state is a story of evolving borders and political transitions. It began with the formation of the Emirate of Transjordan in 1921 under British mandate. This entity was later transformed into the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan in 1946, gaining independence and eventually becoming known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
The modern Syrian state was officially created in 1946 after World War II, gaining independence from the French mandate after a long period of Ottoman rule and then French administration. Prior to this, Syria was part of larger empires and regions, including the Ottoman Empire, and was later administered by France under a mandate from the League of Nations.
The creation of Iraq as a modern nation-state followed the end of World War I (1914-1918) and the official collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1922. Initially, the region, encompassing parts of the Ottoman provinces of Baghdad, Basra and Mosul, was placed under a British mandate by the League of Nations in 1920. This mandate period, lasting until 1932, saw the establishment of a Hashemite monarchy under British protection. In 1932, Iraq achieved independence and became a constitutional monarchy.
The modern State of Lebanon has existed within its current borders since 1920, when Greater Lebanon was created under French and British mandate, resulting from the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I.
The murder of Israeli diplomats Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., on May 21, 2025, by a pro-Palestinian terrorist, along with the recent attack in Boulder, Colorado on a march in support of hostages held in Gaza (both terrorists were yelling “Free Palestine”) reverberates and resembles a beginning of the Nazi’s-like “Final Solution.”
European Jews and others were silent when antisemitic atrocities emerged in Europe, naively hoping that the “wind of the Final Solution” will eventually stop or change its direction; but it did not, resulting in a massive extermination.
American Jewry and all the civilized world must recognize a danger of the “Free Palestine” terrorist organization and its movement to all humanity and peace-seeking nations; and they must do all possible in preventing its growth, advance and being of existence. Indeed, the slogan “Free Palestine” is a call for the destruction of Israel and extermination of Jews worldwide.
Alexander Dolitsky was born and raised in Kiev in the former Soviet Union. He received an M.A. in history from Kiev Pedagogical Institute, Ukraine in 1976; an M.A. in anthropology and archaeology from Brown University in 1983; and enrolled in the Ph.D. program in anthropology at Bryn Mawr College from 1983 to 1985, where he was also lecturer in the Russian Center. In the USSR, he was a social studies teacher for three years and an archaeologist for five years for the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. In 1978, he settled in the United States. Dolitsky visited Alaska for the first time in 1981, while conducting field research for graduate school at Brown. He then settled first in Sitka in 1985 and then in Juneau in 1986. From 1985 to 1987, he was U.S. Forest Service archaeologist and social scientist. He was an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Russian Studies at the University of Alaska Southeast from 1985 to 1999; Social Studies Instructor at the Alyeska Central School, Alaska Department of Education and Yukon-Koyukuk School District from 1988 to 2006; and Director of the Alaska-Siberia Research Center from 1990 to 2022. From 2006 to 2010, Alexander Dolitsky served as a Delegate of the Russian Federation in the United States for the Russian Compatriots program. He has done 30 field studies in various areas of the former Soviet Union (including Siberia), Central Asia, South America, Eastern Europe and the United States (including Alaska). Dolitsky was a lecturer on the World Discoverer, Spirit of Oceanus, and Clipper Odyssey vessels in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic regions. He was a Project Manager for the WWII Alaska-Siberia Lend Lease Memorial, which was erected in Fairbanks in 2006. Dolitsky has published extensively in the fields of anthropology, history, archaeology and ethnography. His more recent publications include Fairy Tales and Myths of the Bering Strait Chukchi, Ancient Tales of Kamchatka, Tales and Legends of the Yupik Eskimos of Siberia, Old Russia in Modern America: Living Traditions of the Russian Old Believers in Alaska, Allies in Wartime: The Alaska-Siberia Airway During World War II, Spirit of the Siberian Tiger: Folktales of the Russian Far East, Living Wisdom of the Russian Far East: Tales and Legends from Chukotka and Alaska, and Pipeline to Russia: The Alaska-Siberia Air Route in World War II.
A fall has claimed the life of a climber on North America’s tallest peak this week, the first fatality of the 2025 climbing season on Mount McKinley.
Alex Chiu, a 41-year-old ski mountaineer from Seattle, died on June 2 after falling approximately 3,000 feet from an area known as Squirrel Point, along the West Buttress route. According to the National Park Service, Chiu was climbing unroped with two partners when he fell.
After witnessing the fall, the climbing party lowered over the edge as far as possible but was unable to see or hear Chiu, the Park Service reported. They then descended the West Buttress route for additional help.
Due to high winds and snow, ground and air search was unable to access the accident site until the early morning hours of June 4. Two mountaineering rangers out of Talkeetna conducted a helicopter search to locate and recover the body.
Chiu was originally from New York but lived in Seattle and Brooklyn, N.Y., and was involved in the climbing community. He volunteered as an instructor with the Boeing Employees Alpine Society, teaching mountaineering, ice, and rock climbing. At the time of his death, was an aviation engineer at the Federal Aviation Administration, and prior to that, he worked as a software engineer at Boeing.
Chiu’s death was in the same general location as a 2010 fatality of a French climber, who was also unroped. His body was never recovered. The West Buttress route is McKinley’s most popular climbing path, but despite its accessibility, it has witnessed multiple fatal accidents since 1980, often involving unroped climbers.
The McKinley climbing season is entering its busiest phase. The National Park Service reports that 936 climbers registered for the 2025 season, which runs from early May through early July.
As of late May, 230 climbers were already on the mountain and 17 had completed successful climbs. Currently, approximately 500 climbers are reported to be on McKinley.
By this time last year, two climbers had died on McKinley. Over 130 climbers have died on McKinley since records began.
On Thursday, Alaska Republican Party District 26 (Wasilla) convened and voted in favor of a resolution to censure Sen. Lisa Murkowski. The resolution, charging Murkowski with a series of offenses against core GOP principles, was formally adopted and will now be forwarded for consideration at the State Republican Central Committee meeting on Saturday.
The district had sent the charges to Murkowski and given her time to respond, but did not hear back from her.
This action follows a growing trend across the state. Earlier this year, a Kenai district committee unanimously passed a censure resolution, citing Murkowski’s repeated criticism of former President Trump, endorsement of Democratic candidates (notably support for Mary Peltola in 2022 and 2024), resistance to Trump’s nomination of Pete Hegseth for defense secretary, and her advocacy for ranked-choice voting, viewed by Republicans as a direct conflict with their platform.
Since then, at least seven other districts have followed suit, supporting similar resolutions demanding sanctions. The Valley Republican Women of Alaska also passed a similar resolution condemning Murkowski.
This is not the GOP’s first move to formally rebuke Murkowski. In January 2021, the State Central Committee itself voted 77 percent in favor of censuring her, officially cataloging actions such as her public call for Trump’s resignation and her impeachment votes among the catalysts.
At this Saturday’s Alaska Republican Party State Central Committee meeting, delegates from around the state are expected to deliberate on these censures and consider another party censure of Murkowski.
Under party rules, if 19 of the 37 organized districts support, the Central Committee may enforce sanctions, ranging from formal censure to prohibiting Murkowski from receiving party support or attending convention events. Murkowski, originally appointed by her father Gov. Frank Murkowski to fill his seat in the Senate, has not actually received state party support since 2016 and she is not invited, nor does she attend party conventions.
The outcome would carry no direct effect on Murkowski’s Senate seat, which does not come up again for election until 2028. But a party-wide censure would send a message to Alaska voters that the Republicans are following a set process. Murkowski is the only member of the Senate or House in Alaska history who has been formally censured by her own political party.
For months, leftists have pushed the narrative that Elon Musk was the shadow president, the real power behind the curtain. “We didn’t vote for Elon Musk!” they cried on social media and in street protests, implying that his growing influence over public policy, whether through X, Tesla, SpaceX, or his brief stint heading the Department of Government Efficiency, was somehow undemocratic, dangerous, and unprecedented.
Well, now that Musk and President Donald Trump are locked in a very public, very messy war of words, that particular talking point has collapsed under its own weight.
This week, Musk and Trump went from political allies to billionaire ballistic enemies in a matter of hours, with attacks escalating over the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” the sprawling piece of legislation that Trump backs and Musk opposes. Trump says Musk helped shape the bill. Musk says he never even saw it. Trump says Musk is just upset about EV subsidies being cut. Musk says the bill is a financial disaster that undermines all the work DOGE did to reduce government bloat.
And then it got personal — fast.
Trump took to X to suggest slashing all federal subsidies and contracts to Musk’s companies: “The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts.” A stinging rebuke from a former ally.
Musk, in turn, didn’t mince words. He accused Trump of lying about his departure from DOGE, called for his impeachment, and even claimed, without evidence, that Trump’s name is in the Epstein files and that this is why they haven’t been released.
This is not how shadow governments behave.
This is not how puppet masters treat their marionettes.
If Musk ever was running the White House, he’s certainly been fired in spectacular fashion. The idea that he was ever really in charge is now laughable.
The truth is this: Elon Musk is not above politics. He’s in them now, deep in the mud like everyone else. And when billionaires enter the political arena, they lose the illusion of being untouchable geniuses floating above the fray. Musk has gone from revered innovator to cable-news feud fodder, and from technocrat to Twitter brawler.
It’s also worth noting how quickly the Left has shifted its tone. Remember when Musk was the face of authoritarian techno-dystopia, supposedly controlling everything from speech to subsidies? Now that he’s taking a blowtorch to Trump on the very platform he owns, where are those same voices? Suddenly, silence — or even applause. The Left may embrace him again, and quickly.
Musk is learning the hard way that politics isn’t physics. It’s not a clean equation. It’s dirty, personal, and often irrational. And Trump — well, Trump is a master of the battlefield. He builds you up until you’re useful. Then, if you cross him, he can burn you to the ground. That’s not new.
What is new is Musk learning it the hard way.
So to all the critics who insisted Musk was secretly calling the shots: You got your answer. Elon Musk was never in control of the White House. But today, it looks like he’s on the outside, bloodied, tweeting, and very much not running anything.
Suzanne Downing is founder and editor of Must Read Alaska.
On June 3, Alaska State Sen. James Kaufman shared an optimistic message on social media:
“One of my top priorities is supporting responsible resource development in Alaska… Alaska has the ability to provide reliable, affordable energy not just to Alaskans, but to America and our allies. I am excited that we are once again taking meaningful steps in that direction.”
On June 5th, Congressman Nick Begich started his opinion piece in MRAK:
“When we talk about Alaska’s energy potential – we are talking about more than molecules in the ground or development projects. We’re talking about a true cornerstone of American prosperity and a valuable tool for national security.”
These are the kinds of sentiments Alaskans have heard for decades. These sound bites are filled with promise, always met with public hope, and too often followed by disappointment. Despite rich natural resources and enduring public support for development, Alaska repeatedly fails to launch major projects that would secure energy independence, create jobs, and restore fiscal sustainability. The culprit isn’t a lack of federal interest or industrial potential. It is Alaska’s own state legislature and its unwillingness to eliminate bureaucratic entrenchment.
To fulfill its promise as a national leader in responsible resource development, Alaska must go beyond words. It must confront its internal inertia with decisive action. A new generation of legislators, united with the executive branch, must systematically dismantle the regulatory and administrative barriers that block progress.
Governor Dunleavy needs to start immediately to exercise constitutional executive control where applicable. A new 2026 legislature must do the rest, because the current state legislature won’t.
Breaking Bureaucratic Entrenchment: A Five-Point Action Plan
1. Audit and Streamline State Regulatory Agencies
Alaska’s Departments of Natural Resources (DNR), Environmental Conservation (DEC), and Fish & Game (ADF&G) have grown into overlapping bureaucracies that too often delay rather than facilitate development.
Action: Launch a performance audit across these agencies to identify duplication, inefficiencies, and regulatory bottlenecks.
Objective: Establish a unified, expedited permitting process for energy, mining, and infrastructure projects.
2. Assert State Sovereignty Under ANILCA and the Tenth Amendment
Federal agencies—including the EPA, BLM, and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service—have exceeded their jurisdiction, imposing restrictions that undermine Alaska’s development goals.
Action: Expand the Department of Law’s litigation capacity to challenge unlawful federal actions and to press RS 2477 claims for access and infrastructure.
Objective: Reclaim state jurisdiction over submerged lands, navigable waterways, and resource-rich public lands guaranteed under the Alaska Statehood Compact.
3. Forge a Legislative-Executive Alliance for Permitting Reform
No governor can reform Alaska’s development framework alone. Legislative collaboration is essential.
Action: Introduce and pass legislation which clearly establishes Alaska’s state sovereignty to reform permitting laws, protect state authority, and fast-track responsible development.
Objective: Ensure Alaska’s legal infrastructure promotes rather than obstructs economic opportunity.
4. Incentivize Private Infrastructure Development
Large-scale infrastructure, roads, pipelines, terminals often face crippling delays due to litigation and red tape.
Action: Create a public-private development model, similar to North Dakota’s, through a State Development Corporation, but avoid the missteps created by Alaska state NGO’s like the Alaska Industrial Export and Development Authority, the Alaska Energy Authority and other failing Alaska NGO’s.
Objective: Attract private capital to build essential infrastructure quickly and cost-effectively.
5. Rebuild Public Trust Through Transparency and Local Benefits
Years of delays, reversals, and litigation have left many Alaskans skeptical. Public support will require visible returns.
Action: Increase transparency in permitting and revenue use. Implement revenue-sharing agreements with local communities impacted by development.
Objective: Ensure Alaskans see and feel the benefits of the resources developed in their backyards.
The Consequences of Inaction
If Alaska fails to confront bureaucratic inertia, the consequences will be immediate and compounding.
1. Permanent Loss of Resource Sovereignty
Without state-level assertion of permitting and land-use authority, federal agencies will dominate development decisions.
Result: Billions in untapped mineral, energy, and infrastructure potential will remain buried beneath federal red tape.
2. Economic Decline and Outmigration
Without new development, Alaska’s economy will stagnate, and its working-age population will continue to decline.
Result: High-paying jobs in construction, energy, and resource sectors will vanish or move out of state, further weakening the tax base.
3. Fiscal Crisis Under Low Oil Scenarios
If oil drops near $40 per barrel and production lags, state revenues will collapse.
Result: Alaska will face increasing pressure to impose a state income tax, further cut the Permanent Fund Dividend, or deplete the Permanent Fund itself.
4. Loss of National Influence
Inaction diminishes Alaska’s credibility as a serious development partner in national energy strategy.
Result: The federal government will bypass Alaska for states with stronger infrastructure and clearer permitting processes.
5. Entrenchment of Anti-Development Narratives
When Alaska fails to act, environmental and anti-development lobbies fill the vacuum, entrenching policies that make future reforms even harder.
Result: Alaska may permanently lose the legal and institutional tools needed to reclaim its economic destiny.
Conclusion: The Choice Is Now
Alaska can choose another decade of drift, rhetoric without reform, federal control over state destiny, or it can choose decisive action. With the right leadership and aligned will between the legislative and executive branches, Alaska can become what it has always had the potential to be: a global model of responsible resource development, prosperity, and self-determination.
But that future will not be handed to us. It must be claimed. A claim that can only be secured by clearing bureaucratic barriers, confronting inertia, and affirming that Alaska’s land and future belong to its people.
The US Department of Justice has announced charges against two Chinese nationals accused of smuggling a dangerous biological agent into the United States. The agent in question is Fusarium graminearum, a toxic fungus considered a potential agroterrorism weapon.
Authorities say the fungus was discovered in luggage at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. According to the DOJ, Fusarium graminearum causes “head blight,” a disease that devastates crops like wheat, barley, maize, and rice. It is responsible for billions of dollars in agricultural losses globally each year. Its toxins are also dangerous to humans and livestock, potentially causing vomiting, liver damage, and reproductive issues.
Who are the individuals charged? A boyfriend-girlfriend pair — Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34 — both citizens of the People’s Republic of China and, according to prosecutors, loyal to the Chinese Communist Party. Jian, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Michigan, received funding from the Chinese government to conduct her research. Liu was conducting similar work at a lab in China.
Notably, the University of Michigan does not hold federal permits to possess or study Fusarium graminearum, the FBI reports.
The pair now face charges of conspiracy, smuggling goods into the U.S., making false statements, and visa fraud. While Jian has been apprehended, Liu remains in China. The US does not have an extradition treaty with the Chinese government, making his arrest unlikely unless he returns to US soil.
FBI Director Kash Patel described the case as “a sobering reminder that the CCP is working around the clock to deploy operatives and researchers to infiltrate American institutions and target our food supply.” He warned that such actions put American lives and the economy at serious risk.
It’s important to note that a complaint is merely an allegation. The individuals charged are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The FBI and U.S. Customs and Border Protection are continuing their investigation.
When asked for comment, Chinese Embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu said he was not familiar with the specifics of the case but emphasized that the Chinese government expects its citizens abroad to follow local laws while also pledging to defend their legitimate rights.
This is a developing story, and more details are likely to emerge.
But the bottom line is clear: The CCP is showing an alarming interest in actions that could harm the American people.
From buying up American farmland to attempting to smuggle a crop-destroying fungus into the country, the signs are hard to ignore. China is not our friend.
Sure, we can trade with them, and many Americans enjoy inexpensive goods imported from China, especially around the holidays. But we must not confuse economic partnership with trust.
Is the CCP’s endgame to weaken our food supply? To cripple us from within?
It’s a question worth asking. And it should concern us all.
Linda Boyle, RN, MSN, DM, was formerly the chief nurse for the 3rd Medical Group, JBER, and was the interim director of the Alaska VA. Most recently, she served as Director for Central Alabama VA Healthcare System. She is the director of the Alaska Covid Alliance/Alaskans 4 Personal Freedom.
The Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference continued this week with a panel called “Financing the Future of Sustainable Energy.”
The affair was marketed as a technical conversation about capital deployment and community resilience. In reality, it was a tightly scripted showcase for dark money networks, federally entangled “green banks,” and billionaire-backed influence peddlers laying the groundwork to control Alaska’s energy future, all without public consent and under the pretense of grassroots support.
Former Alaska legislator Lesil McGuire—who served in the House and Senate from 2000 to 2016-moderated the panel on behalf of New Energy Alaska, a group funded by the New Venture Fund, one of several nonprofits managed by Arabella Advisors and backed by billionaires like George Soros and Swiss national Hansjörg Wyss.
In 2023, the House Natural Resources Committee launched an investigation into Wyss’s influence, citing concerns that foreign nationals are steering U.S. energy and environmental agendas. Wyss has funneled hundreds of millions into Arabella’s political network, which plays a central role in shaping national climate policy. McGuire opened by boasting about a poll claiming 82 percent of Alaskans support renewable infrastructure, 86 percent believe it will create jobs, and 74 percent think it will diversify the economy. What wasn’t mentioned? How much are Alaskans, as federal taxpayers and ratepayers, actually willing to pay for this in dollars and lost reliability?
McGuire’s panel included representatives from Meridiam, Ameresco, Sustainability Partners, and Banyan Infrastructure. These four companies have polished credentials in ESG finance, infrastructure-as-a-service models, and public-private partnerships. This was far from a conversation about free markets. It was about financializing Alaska’s energy sector under a new regime of climate capitalists who frame their profit models as philanthropy while leaning on public dollars, federal loan guarantees, and regulatory capture.
Case in point: The Coalition for Green Capital (CGC), the Biden administration’s designated national green bank, received $5 billion from the Environmental Protection Agency in August 2024 under the Inflation Reduction Act’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
Days before the Trump administration took office, a former EPA staffer was caught on hidden video referring to this disbursement spree as “throwing gold bars off the Titanic”—a desperate rush to get billions into friendly hands before oversight could kick in.
Panelist Ileana Riverón referenced a $10 million investment in Spruce Root, a native Community Development Financial Institution in Southeast Alaska—formally announced in October 2024 through a partnership agreement with the CGC. On June 3, 2025, the same day the energy cabinet visited Alaska to speak at the Sustainable Energy Conference, CGC placed a full-page ad in the Anchorage Daily News, seemingly as a public plea to the Biden administration to unfreeze EPA funds.
The $10 million commitment is part of CGC’s $5 billion award under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which is now tied up in litigation after the EPA moved to revoke the grant.
Ameresco has been involved in energy system upgrades in Alaska, including work at Elmendorf Air Force Base, the installation of LED street lighting in Anchorage, and energy audits for the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) and the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS). Meridiam is involved in a project pitched as a solution for wind integration—at an estimated $330 million, a “long-duration” energy storage facility at the site of the soon-to-be-retired Healy coal plant. It doesn’t generate a single kilowatt of power on its own. The justification? By their own admission, only 10 percent of wind disruptions last less than four hours.
This means that expensive, multi-day storage is a requirement for something that is constantly sold to the public as inexpensive. During the keynote lunch presentation on Tuesday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright stressed the consideration of total system cost—highlighting how projects like this reveal the real price of integrating unreliable energy sources. The project is also part of Golden Valley Electric Association’s plan to meet its CO₂ reduction goals, replacing baseload coal with intermittent energy, which is often backed by costly storage that is often overlooked when promoting the renewable narrative.
As this conversation was about financing the transition, equally troubling is what was left out of the discussion. Curtis Thayer of the Alaska Energy Authority, during the lunch presentation, later pointed out that the Renewable Energy Fund has already spent $325 million, including $47 million on renewable energy projects in the last five years alone. Additionally, under a 2014 law, 20 percent of Alaska LNG project revenues (after paying into the Permanent Fund) are set to be allocated to the Renewable Energy Fund, potentially resulting in significant funding for renewable energy.
With key tax credits set to sunset under the current version of the “Big Beautiful Bill,” the future of these projects is anything but certain. Now is not the time to keep heads buried in climate slogans, ESG spreadsheets, or the rebranding of old climate policy as “resilience” or “energy equity.” It’s time to return to energy reality. The frozen funds and growing reliance on government guarantees are exactly what you get when we embrace the delusion of “all of the above.”
The government was never meant to serve as the backstop for risky investments disguised as climate virtue. That mindset has steered us into uncertainty and chaos—and it’s high time to course correct.
