The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday denied President Joe Biden his plan to force taxpayers to pay off the debts of college students, at least until the lawsuits against the Biden Administration make their way through the appeals courts.
Last year, the court also halted a Biden Administration plan to transfer $400 billion in college loan debt to taxpayers.
Under the now-dead Biden plan, student loan borrowers would not have to make payments on they loans if they earn less than $32,800 a year.
A coalition of states filed a legal challenge in April against the Biden Administration’s efforts to at least partially forgive the debts of 30 million Americans, transferring those debts to working class Americans. Biden has pursued loopholes to get around the Supreme Court.
A year ago, the Education Department finalized its Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE plan, after the court had already said that Biden could not do what he intended to do, which was to transfer the debts of Americans to other Americans.
Rep. Bruce Westerman, who is chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, announced Wednesday his endorsement of Alaska’s Nick Begich for Congress.
“It is my honor to endorse Nick Begich for Congress. Nick put Alaskans first, and he will fight for Alaska’s right to produce energy, manage their resources and have good paying jobs. Nick knows Alaska has what America needs. He will be a tireless advocate for all Alaskans and I look forward to serving with Nick in the next Congress,” Westerman said.
Rep. Mary Peltola, Alaska’s Democrat currently serving in Congress, serves on Westerman’s committee, but has not been effective for Alaska. After Tuesday’s announcement from the Biden-Harris Administration of another 28 million acres of land being locked up in Alaska, Peltola said nothing either for or against the move, which kills the Ambler Road, oil and gas in the Arctic and Beaufort Seas, and other natural resource uses. If she opposed it, she was unable to stop the lock up.
Westerman’s endorsement joins those of House Speaker Mike Johnson, Rep. Byron Donalds, Rep. Elise Stefanik, Rep. Tom Emmer, and Rep. Scott Perry, in addition to Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and the Alaska Republican Party’s chair.
Westerman is a native of Hot Springs, Ark., now serving his fifth term in Congress.
Ken McCarty, former Alaska House representative running for Chugiak-Eagle River Senate Seat L, has withdrawn his name and is supporting Jared Goecker, the top challenger to leftist Sen. Kelly Merrick, who is a registered Republican but who caucuses with the Democrats.
After receiving 777 votes, (11.36%), McCarty’s withdrawal will offer a more unified front for conservative voters heading into the fall election, Goecker said. Voters will now have a more clear choice between Merrick, who is paid for by Big Labor, and candidate Goecker, who is running as a fiscal conservative.
“After careful consideration and numerous discussions with supporters and community leaders, I have decided to withdraw from the race for the Alaska State Senate,” said McCarty. “I am proud to endorse Jared Goecker, who shares our core conservative values and has demonstrated the ability to defeat Kelly Merrick. I believe Jared is the best candidate to represent our interests and advance our shared goals in the State Senate.”
Jared Goecker, whose campaign has gained momentum following a strong primary performance, stands as a committed advocate for accountability in government, getting tough on crime, fiscal responsibility, and protecting individual rights and the Chugiak-Eagle River way of life.
Goecker’s primary result was 2,240 votes, just 82 votes behind Merrick, who received 2,322 votes.
“I am deeply honored and grateful for Ken McCarty’s endorsement,” said Goecker. “Following last week’s primary, Ken and I have talked every day to review the numbers and strategize on the best path forward. We have enjoyed a good relationship throughout this entire election and I deeply appreciate the careful and methodical approach Ken applied to this process. This is a prudent calculated strategy; the best path forward is to consolidate behind a single conservative. Together, we will work towards a prosperous and resilient future for Alaska.”
Earlier, Sharon Jackson, another former House representative running for the conservative district’s Senate seat, announced she was dropping and endorsing Goecker. She, too, shares conservative Republican values and sees how the ranked choice voting system works against Republicans.
With McCarty and Jackson withdrawn, that leaves Goecker, Democrat Lee Hammermeister, and Merrick on the Nov. 5 ballot, where voters will be asked to rank their preferences. It’s believed that Hammermeister’s voters will rank Merrick second, since she shares most of their core values, and that may give her the boost she needs, since many Republicans in Chugiak/Eagle River are discouraged by her performance, as evidenced in the primary results that demonstrated the deep trouble she is in.
The CEO of Facebook’s parent company, Meta, says the Biden-Harris Administration pressured his social media company to censor Covid content during the early days of the pandemic in 2021, after Biden became president.
Multi-billionaire Mark Zuckerberg wrote a letter to Rep. Jim Jordan, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee on Sunday, which some people are characterizing as an apology.
“I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret that we were not more outspoken,” he wrote to Jordan. “Like I said to our teams at the time, I feel strongly that we should not compromise our content standards due to pressure from any Administration in either direction — and we’re ready to push back if something like this happens again.
“In 2021, senior officials from the Biden administration, including the White House, repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain covid-19 content, including humor and satire, and expressed a lot of frustration with our teams when we didn’t agree,” Zuckerberg said in the letter. “Ultimately, it was our decision whether or not to take content down.”
He also said that his parent company Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads, had suppressed a 2020 New York Post story about Hunter Biden’s laptop — a story that broke right before the election and which the Democrats and their media partners said was disinformation. Zuckerberg wrote that the company has since changed its policies to avoid any similar move. He said his social media networks would not “demote” potentially false posts or stories while awaiting fact-checking, which is done by its liberal media partners.
The House Judiciary Committee wrote on X: “Mark Zuckerberg just admitted three things: 1. Biden-Harris Admin ‘pressured’ Facebook to censor Americans. 2. Facebook censored Americans. 3. Facebook throttled the Hunter Biden laptop story.”
Mark Zuckerberg just admitted three things:
1. Biden-Harris Admin "pressured" Facebook to censor Americans.
2. Facebook censored Americans.
3. Facebook throttled the Hunter Biden laptop story.
— House Judiciary GOP ?????? (@JudiciaryGOP) August 26, 2024
But, as revealed on the Dan Fagan Show on KVNT on Wednesday, a Must Read Alaska columnist had an experience recently that contradicts the reforms Zuckerberg is now claiming to have enacted.
Linda Boyle, who writes about health issues for Must Read Alaska, had posted one of Fagan’s podcasts to her Facebook account, only to have it removed by Facebook.
The warning note she received from Facebook said, ” “We do not allow content that is designed to deceive, mislead, or overwhelm users in order to artificially increase viewership. This content detracts from people’s ability to engage authentically on our platforms and can threaten the security, stability and usability of our services. We also seek to prevent abusive tactics, such as spreading deceptive links to draw unsuspecting users in through misleading functionality or code, or impersonating a trusted domain. “
Here is the link to Fagan’s podcast that Boyle tried to share on Facebook:
Zuckerberg’s letter, which was posted on Facebook and X/Twitter on Sunday, said, “I also think we made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn’t make today. We’re ready to push back if something like this happens again.”
Alaska Democrats also tried to get Must Read Alaska banned in 2021 on Facebook.
That year, Alaska Rep. Zack Fields wrote to Zuckerberg, demanding that he take down information that Fields said was misinformation about Covid.
Fields, the former director of communication for the Alaska Democratic Party, said at the time that Facebook was the “primary vector of misinformation on COVID-19, and it’s killing Alaskans.” He linked stories from Must Read Alaska and the Alaska Watchman, with a strong implication that they should be censored from the platform.
Lawmakers demanding that news organizations be censored are in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.
According to some users of Facebook, the shadow banning and taking down of content continues unabated at Facebook.
As for the Biden-Harris White House, it waved off the criticism, saying, “When confronted with a deadly pandemic, this Administration encouraged responsible actions to protect public health and safety. Our position has been clear and consistent: we believe tech companies and other private actors should take into account the effects their actions have on the American people, while making independent choices about the information they present,” it said.
The California Senate passed a contentious bill to allow for undocumented immigrants to use the state’s zero-down, zero-interest home “loans” program despite national backlash following coverage of the bill’s looming passage.
With 23 votes for and 11 votes against — including all nine Republicans and Democratic State Sens. Catherine Blakespear, D-Encinitas, and Dave Min, D-Irvine — the bill narrowly passed the 21 vote majority threshold in the Senate.
California’s Dream for All Shared Appreciation Loans program allows applicants to secure “loans” of up to $150,000 or 20% of the home’s purchase price — or, about what a typical down payment is — with zero down payment on this state “loan,” and no payments. In exchange, the state receives the original loan amount plus 20% of the appreciated gain when the home is refinanced, sold, or transferred.
In the last fiscal year, the state allocated $255 million for the program for 1,700 lucky “winners” of an application lottery. KCRA reports that the California Department of Finance confirmed this year, legislators did not appropriate any money for the program, meaning this bill allowing undocumented immigrants to apply would only apply in future years when additional funds are provided. With the state narrowly balancing a $47 billion deficit this year, the state may not be able to allocate funding to this program for some time.
It’s not clear what happens if a family decides to hold on to a home as there are no provisions on how long a property can be held for, which means certain kinds of trusts could potentially allow the loan to not be paid back. Democrats argued those applying for the funds have to work to qualify for mortgages and are thus paying taxes, while Republicans argued the program, which ran out of funds in 11 days, is already overcrowded.
“With many legal residents not able to afford a home, should we really be giving free cash to illegal immigrants? Every dollar that goes to an illegal immigrant is one less dollar available to legal residents including veterans, teachers, and families,” said California Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, R-San Diego, in a statement. “California already spends $5 billion per year on free healthcare for illegal immigrants—will it ever be enough for Democrats’ political agendas?”
AB 1840, which has now passed both the California Senate and Assembly, must now pass back again in the Assembly with the Senate’s amendments before the end of the legislative session on Aug. 31 before going to California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk for approval.
The Alaska Division of Elections released another tranche of ballots from the primary. These newly released numbers are from absentee ballots, questioned ballots, and the final set of early votes.
The full count of ballots is now up to 106,208 ballots voted of 605,482, for a 17.54% turnout.
In the congressional race, the current numbers are:
Mary Peltola: 53,598, 50.7%
Nick Begich: 28,110, 26.59%
Nancy Dahlstrom (she has dropped out): 21,147, 20.01%
Matthew Salisbury: 627, 0.59%
John Wayne Howe: 588, 0.56%
To compare, last Tuesday, Democrat Peltola won 50.3%. Nick Begich received 27%, Nancy Dahlstrom was held to 20%. Matthew Salisbury received .62%, and John Wayne Howe was at .57%.
On the first released count last week, there were 96,946 ballots counted of the entire 605,482 voter file, a total of 16.01% turnout.
Dahlstrom verbally dropped out last Friday. That means that another congressional candidate will move up to the final four for the November ballot, which will be ranked-choice voting. Unless Salisbury or Howe drop, the final four are basically set now, and it will be the challenge of Republican Nick Begich to persuade voters to come over to his camp.
“Following todays news of Biden’s lockup of over 10 percent of our state, its never been more important for Alaska to have a consistent, reliable advocate in the United States House. I am committed to working tirelessly in Congress on behalf of all Alaskans, their families, and the generations yet to come,” Nick Begich said on Tuesday evening.
No other races were notably changed with the new numbers released late Tuesday.
In one fell swoop, nearly 7% of Alaska’s lands have been locked up by the Biden-Harris Administration.
The announcement from the Bureau of Land Management came in the afternoon on Tuesday, locking up 28 million acres of lands and waters, and implementing what the administration called “maximum protections” for 13 million aces in the western Arctic, including 2.8 million acres of the Beaufort Sea, placing the entire U.S. Arctic Ocean off limits to new oil and gas leasing. The order prevents the Ambler Road from being able to be built to the state’s mining area at Ambler. The access to that area is guaranteed by federal law passed by Congress.
The order today also shrunk the pool of land that Alaska Native Vietnam veterans have available to fulfill their promised land allotments. Instead of being able to select from 28 million acres, they are now limited to 100,000 acres to choose from — less than 2% of the land that the Trump Administration had given them.
About 1,900 aging Alaska Native Vietnam-era Veterans are eligible to select their 160-acre land entitlement under the Dingell Act.
The Biden-Harris public land order land grab will be recorded in the Federal Register on Thursday, the administration said.
Congressional candidate Nick Begich responded immediately to the attack on Alaska:
“LOCKING UP ALASKA: The Democrats have done it again. This time they are locking up another 10% of the entire state of Alaska, crushing hopes for Ambler, and robbing us of our ability to sustain and grow our own economy. Unfortunately, Mary Peltola has proven to be an irrelevant voice, completely ineffective at stopping her side of the aisle from their continued attacks on our state. Alaska must fight back with every tool it has available to restore access to this land and make it available to Alaska Native Vietnam veterans, villages, and other communities. In Congress, I will fight for Alaskans and do all I can to ensure that Alaska is not continuously steamrolled by the radical left,” he said.
Some of the most influential liberals in the Anchorage bowl have written a letter to the Anchorage Salaries and Emoluments Commission, asking that the commission make the health benefits for Anchorage Assembly members the same as it is for other municipal employees.
If approved, this will cost the Anchorage taxpayers roughly $500,000 a year.
The Assembly members already receive a $250 bi-weekly municipal benefit stipend in addition to their salaries, which are about$60,000 per year. The chair of the Assembly is paid $67,000 per year.
Signing the letter was Mayor Suzanne LaFrance and numerous liberal former members of the Assembly, including now-Sen. Forrest Dunbar, now-Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson, former Assemblywoman Austin Quinn-Davidson, and retired Municipal Clerk Barbara Jones, who was most recently a major player in the election of LaFrance as mayor.
The decision by the commission is something that would be final and not voted on by the Assembly. The matter was brought up at the Aug. 6 meeting of the commission, details about which can be found at this link. No vote was taken and no future meeting has been publicized.
“The recent debate over salaries for Alaska legislators demonstrates that fair pay and benefits for elected officials is a growing concern. When the pay and benefits for elected officials are so low that only wealthier residents can participate, it harms the democratic process and leads to elected officials who have less in common with the people they represent. The Anchorage Assembly functions best when it is a true reflection of our community, and the addition of health care benefits will make the job more accessible to a wider range of people,” the letter said.
“The issue is also a matter of fairness. The work of an Assembly Member frequently exceeds 40 hours of work a week. If any other municipal worker put in this many hours and did not receive the full health care benefits package, it would be a violation of municipal policy. In fact, even part-time municipal employees are eligible for the full monthly health care benefits contribution. To get an idea of an Assembly Member’s schedule, in a recent two-week pay period in June, a time when the Assembly tends to have a lighter schedule, the Assembly had 28 hours of meetings in which members were expected to participate. They also spend about 4 hours a week in committee meetings, 10 hours a week responding to constituents, 10 hours a week working on legislation and research or related communication with municipal employees and partners, and 6 hours a week at community council meetings and community events, which yields well over 80 hours of work per two-week pay period,” the letter said.
The group goes on to argue that without health benefits, there is no equity.
The letter demonstrates that the Assembly has made its work a full-time job and now wants not only full-time pay, but is starting down the road of full-time benefits for something that used to be considered public service.
The winningest pumpkin for the Alaska State Fair in 2024 was the ginormous orange gourd entered by Anchorage grower Dale Marshall, who defended his title for the 18th annual Alaska Midnight Sun Great Pumpkin Weigh-Off.
The 2,035-pound pumpkin was the 16th time that Marshall has had an entry into the competition.
In 2022, his winning pumpkin weighed 2,147 pounds, breaking all previous records. In 2023, he again brought the winner in; it was 2,023.5 pounds at weigh-in.
Dale Marshall and his winning pumpkin. Photo credit: Alaska State Fair.
Second place went to father-son duo Seth and Silas Dinkel, who had their first fair entry ever in the pumpkin category. Theirs weighed in at 734 pounds.
The giant cabbage weigh-off takes place Friday at 6 p.m.
The fair is closed on Tuesday and Thursday and ends Sept. 2. Find out more about the iconic Alaska State Fair here.
