The Alaska Democratic Party realizes that ranked-choice voting was a big win for their candidates in 2022, and so it hopes that Democrat Presidential candidate Kamala Harris will win Alaska because of ranked-choice voting, if only Alaskans will donate money to the party.
The latest fundraising letter says that Harris will be the best choice for Alaska because she is not an extremist and will work on the “issues that Alaskans care about most.” The party said nothing about the coup that it just conducted on the sitting president.
“Ranked-choice voting helps ensure that our leaders represent the interests of ALL Alaskans by requiring candidates to receive support from a majority of voters, taking power out of the hands of dark-money special interest groups, and giving it back to the people!” the party wrote in its letter.
“This will be the first time ranked-choice voting is used in a Presidential election. With Vice President Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket, Alaska Republicans are desperate to repeal ranked-choice and push through their extreme agenda!” said the party that represents 73,500 voters in Alaska.
“Make no mistake: the future of ranked-choice voting may be on the ballot this November, and we need your help to reach voters across the state to let them know what’s at stake this election,” the fundraising letter said, then asking for $10 to “build up our voter outreach, education and turnout efforts so we can defend ranked-choice voting.”
The presidential race does not appear on the Aug. 20 primary ballot because the parties still are allowed to choose their candidates for the November ballot. But when November comes, voters will get to rank their first, second, third, and fourth choices for president.
Now that the Democrats don’t have to worry about defending Joe Biden’s dementia, the tone of their fundraising letters are more upbeat than last month, when they wrote, “We are writing to ask if there’s anything we can say to convince you to make a contribution to the Democratic National Committee today.“
This November, Alaskans will have the opportunity to undo the ranked-choice voting system. This year’s Ballot Measure 2 would would return Alaska to semi-partisan primaries. General elections would be decided by the usual form of voting, with whoever getting the most votes wins. It’s also known as plurality voting. The Democrats will be working to try to defeat this initiative.
Republicans in House District 8, the Nikiski area of the Kenai Peninsula, have voted unanimously to endorse Nick Begich for Congress.
It’s the third Republican Party district group to do so in just a few weeks. Also endorsing Begich are six of the seven Republican women’s clubs in Alaska, which provide a lot of help to the candidates they support. Alaska Young Republicans, known as the YRs, also endorsed Begich. District 26 and 34 were the first two district subdivisions of the Alaska Republican Party, to announce their endorsements.
Altogether, that makes 10 districts and clubs that have endorsed Begich, who is the only Republican who is endorsed by any Republican group or district in Alaska.
Begich also has the endorsement from the U.S. House Freedom Caucus, Sen. Mike Lee, Rep. Scott Perry, and Rep. Byron Donalds, who is in Donald Trump’s inner circle. Trump, at the request of the National Republican Congressional Committee and Gov. Mike Dunleavy, endorsed Nancy Dahlstrom, creating a split in the party leadership, although the grassroots across the state seems to be “sticking with Nick.”
The Alaska primary is Aug. 20, with early voting starting Aug. 5. That includes absentee in-person, early vote, electronic transmission, and special needs voting. There are 12 candidates on the ballot, with Democrat Rep. Mary Peltola trying to keep her seat for a second term. Sample ballots for each Alaska House district can be found at this link.
The organizers of the Paris 2024 Olympics have not provided enough high-protein foods for the athletes attending, and the team from Great Britain has been forced to fly in its own cook, after shortages of chicken and eggs and even the serving of uncooked meat added to the problem of poor food quality.
Andy Anson, the British Olympic Association’s chief executive, told The Times of London that the food in the village “is not adequate” and “a dramatic” improvement is needed.
“British athletes have even taken to bringing back to the village packed lunches for their evening meal. In one of the gastronomic capitals of the world, catering organisers admitted to some supply issues and have promised to rectify the situation,” the Times wrote.
“There are not enough of certain foods: eggs, chicken, certain carbohydrates, and then there is the quality of the food, with raw meat being served to athletes,” Anson said. “They have got to improve it over the next couple of days dramatically.”
“They are saying the Games are more sustainable and there is way more plant-based food but sometimes if you go at peak times it’s challenging to even get a piece of chicken,” said one athlete, who asked to be kept anonymous.
The news of the lack of high-quality food comes as the United Nations and the Paris Climate Agreement has reworked the expectations of the host country to make this year’s Olympics the first-ever “carbon neutral games.”
After Federal Bureau of Investigations Director Christopher Wray told the House Judiciary Committee earlier this week that he wasn’t sure it was actually a bullet that struck Donald Trump on June 27 during a rally in Butler, Penn., the F.B.I. has pivoted.
Now, the agency says it was a bullet.
“What struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle,” the F.B.I. statement said.
What Wray told Congress was, ““As I said, I think with respect to former President Trump, there’s some question about whether or not it’s bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear,” leaving the question open as to whether it was a bullet or some undefined object.
Dr. Ronny Jackson, the former physician to the president and now a member of Congress representing Texas, released a statement on Friday, in his role as a medical consultant to Trump, responding to the F.Bl.I.’s mixed messages. It follows:
Update on the health of President Donald J. Trump
“As the former Physician to the President for President Donald J. Trump, I have continued to monitor his health and well-being, along with his primary care physician, since the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania on the evening of July 13″‘. The would-be assassin fired multiple rounds from a relatively close distance using a high-powered rifle, with one bullet striking the former President, and now the Republican Nominee for President, in his right ear.
“I have reviewed President Trump’s medical records from Butler Memorial Hospital, where he was initially evaluated and treated for a ‘Gunshot Wound to the Right Ear.’ Having served as an Emergency Medicine physician for over 20 years in the United States Navy, including as a combat physician on the battlefield in Iraq, I have treated many gunshot wounds in my career. Based on my direct observations of the injury, my relevant clinical background, and my significant experience evaluating and treating patients with similar wounds, I completely concur with the initial assessment and treatment provided by the doctors and nurses at Butler Memorial Hospital on the day of the shooting.
“During the Congressional Hearing two days ago, FBI Director Christopher Wray suggested that it could be a bullet, shrapnel, or glass. There is absolutely no evidence that it was anything other than a bullet. Congress should correct the record as confirmed by both the hospital and myself. Director Wray is wrong and inappropriate to suggest anything else. As a former White House Physician for 14 years, who served during three presidential administrations, and served as the appointed physician for both President Obama and President Trump, I fully understand the global significance of this attempt on the life of the former President and the current Republican Nominee for President. As such, I want to reassure the American people and the rest of the world, that President Trump is doing extremely well. He is rapidly recovering from the gunshot wound to his right ear. I will continue to be available to assist President Trump and his personal physician in any way they see fit and will provide updates as necessary and with the permission of President Trump.”
Brett Rotermund, serving on the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly, has resigned his seat in protest of the Assembly censuring Assemblywoman Barbara Haney, a fellow conservative, over having expressed her opinion.
Haney wrote an opinion column in the Fairbanks New Miner, and the editors added to the end of it that she serves on the Assembly. The reference had not been included by Haney, but a radical in the Fairbanks community lodged an ethics complaint about the reference, and during Thursday’s meeting, the Assembly majority censured Haney and fined her $1.
Rotermund resigned because he believes the Assembly has violated the Constitution. The leftists on the Assembly were saying that Assembly members have no right to any public communication without a disclaimer — email, campaign literature, op-eds included, but not, apparently, verbal communication, only written. Borough code they cited her under says “all communication,” which implies op-eds have to have a “paid for” disclaimer on them.
The presiding officer of the Assembly, Savannah Fletcher, is running for state Senate. She is a specialist in using law fare to get her way and suppress the rights of others and is associated with the Northern Justice Project. As an attorney, she has gone after Rep. David Eastman, Rep. Kevin McCabe, Sen. Lora Reinbold, the Mat-Su School District, and others.
One of the featured acts for the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games in Paris on Friday was a drag performance that recreated the Last Supper, the final time that Jesus broke bread with his disciples before he was arrested and hung on a cross.
The burlesque act that mocked one of Christianity’s most sacred moments shocked Christians around the world. The Last Supper marks the first-ever sacrament of Holy Communion, through which Christians are symbolically united with Christ and receive His grace and forgiveness.
— Billboard Chris ???? (@BillboardChris) July 26, 2024
The Last Supper living diorama was not the only drag event starting the Olympics. The Friday night show featured men in drag grotesquely parading, gyrating, and preening for the thousands of people from around the world who are attending the opening ceremony, which is scheduled to last three hours.
“Queens everywhere! We couldn’t be happier about this huge moment for drag performers breaking through the mainstream and showing their talents to the entire world,” wrote Out magazine, a publication for LGBTQ. Some 320,000 are expected to be in Paris for the international athletics competition.
The show this year is a far cry from the opening ceremony in 2008, when 2,008 drummers performed at the Beijing Olympics.
The sound of 2,008 people drumming together at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics pic.twitter.com/836Lrcj9Jc
Former Fairbanks Assemblyman Aaron Lojewski, who has been a budget hawk and champion of preventing higher taxes in Fairbanks, has dropped his bid for mayor of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, which gives fellow conservative John Coghill a stronger shot at winning against leftist hardliner Grier Hopkins, son of former Mayor Luke Hopkins.
Lojewski has been a champion of the tax cap.
Coghill is the former state senator from Fairbanks, while Hopkins is a former representative.
Lojewki’s departure from the race means that Coghill still has to contend with Hopkins and Robert Shields, who is a member of the Green Party of Alaska. Shields may drain votes from Hopkins, however.
Mayor Bryce Ward has served three terms as borough mayor and has to sit this one out.
Also on the borough ballot are three Assembly seats: Assembly Seat A, with Miguel Ramirez and incumbent David Guttenberg as current candidates; Assembly Seat F, with Garrett Armstrong and Tammie Wilson the current candidates; Assembly Seat G, with no declared candidates (Kristan Kelly, incumbent); School Board seats A (no declared candidate yet) and B (declared candidates are April Smith and Morgan Dulian); and two seats on the Interior Natural Gas Utility Board.
Filing for elected office in Fairbanks closes on Monday, July 29 at 5 p.m., and candidates who wish to withdraw have until Aug. 5 to do so.
Voters participating in the election will be asked to consider Proposition 1, an ordinance relating to the renewal of the current tax cap, which the Assembly liberal majority wants to blow through. The tax cap must be renewed every two years or the politicians can increase the cap. The wording on the proposition is:
Shall Sections 8.04.290 And 8.04.300 Of The Fairbanks North Star Borough Code Of Ordinances Be Enacted As Follows? These Sections Will Provide For Limitations On The Maximum Allowable Tax Revenues For The Fairbanks North Star Borough. Under Section 8.04.290 The Borough Will Be Able To Levy Or Impose Only The Same Amount Of Taxes For One Fiscal Year As The Borough Levied Or Imposed For The Preceding Year, Except That The Borough Can Increase The Amount Of Taxes Levied Or Imposed (A) To Adjust For Inflation: (B) To Take Into Account New Buildings And Land Coming Onto The Tax Rolls; (C) Make New Payments On Bonds; (D) Pay For Services Approved By Voters; (E) Pay For New Legal Judgements Entered Against The Borough; And To Pay For Expenses In Emergencies. Section 8.04.300 Provides A Formula And Definitions For The Limitations Of Section 8.04.290. A “YES” vote means that the current “tax cap” will remain in effect. This “tax cap” will be enacted in borough code, and be unable to be modified or negated for a period of two years. A “NO” vote means that the current “tax cap” will be able to be modified or negated by action of the Borough Assembly.
The borough and City of Fairbanks elections end Oct. 1, with early voting starting Sept. 16.
During President Joe Biden’s address to the American public Wednesday night, he said his administration secured the border.
Without discussing border policies in his 10-minute address, he touted his efforts in two sentences, saying, “We are also securing our border. Border crossings are lower today than when the previous administration left office.”
Several news outlets made similar claims.
“July is on track to see the fifth consecutive monthly drop in migrant apprehensions along the U.S.-Mexico border and the lowest level in illegal immigration there since the fall of 2020,” CBS News reported. “Migrant crossings plunge 55%” Newsweek reported; they dropped “over 40% since Biden announced asylum restrictions,” CNN reported.
“Biden finally got border numbers down,” The New York Times reported. PolitiFact labeled Biden’s claim that “migrants coming to our … border unlawfully … dropped dramatically,” as “mostly true” in its so-called “Truth-O-Meter.”
Accounting for all the data, including new ways the Biden administration is allowing foreign nationals to enter the country, the claims are verifiably false.
As The Center Square has reported every month since early 2021, after Biden took office, the number of illegal border crossers has increased, not gone down.
Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and several corporate media outlets cite incomplete apprehension data, excluding at least 2 million gotaways, those who evaded capture and are in the country illegally. It is unknown how many gotaways are violent criminals or potential terrorists.
The data they cite also excludes millions of foreign nationals who were unlawfully released into the country instead of detaining and removing them, former border officials have explained, including through parole programs that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas created, which Republicans attorneys general and other elected officials maintain are illegal.
“Biden and Harris cannot hide the truth about our open border. To this day, they are still encountering on a daily basis, almost four times what the Trump administration did after Trump implemented his policies,” former director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tom Homan, who served under six presidents, told The Center Square.
Harris, who Biden tapped as his “border czar” in 2021, and the president “are simply playing a shell game by bringing thousands of illegal aliens into the country through the CBP One program and the CHNV program,” Homan said. “They claim they are ‘lawful pathways’ so they don’t have to count them as illegal between the ports of entry,” which are referred to as apprehensions.
Those entering through the parole programs, at the ports of entry and between ports of entry “are the same exact population,” Homan said, regardless if the administration labels them otherwise. The processes Harris and Mayorkas created are “an illegal abuse of the federal parole statute and they know it,” Homan said.
Homan also repeated a previous warning, saying, “The most important data point is this: how many illegal aliens has this administration released into the U.S. despite the legal requirement to detain them? At least 8 million.
“That is a horrendous data point that is far beyond many administrations combined. Historic.”
By apprehension data alone, Biden’s claims are verifiably false.
In June, for example, apprehensions totaled nearly 206,000, compared to nearly 212,000 in June 2023, nearly 248,000 in June 2022 and nearly 209,000 in June 2021, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.
Monthly encounters at ports of entry of foreign nationals with no lawful basis to enter increased from nearly 20,000 in January 2021 to more than 117,000 in June 2024.
Last month, the greatest number of illegal foreign nationals were apprehended at the northern border for the month of June in U.S. history, more than 17,700.
Under Trump, there were nearly 527,000 apprehensions in fiscal 2017, 683,000 in fiscal 2018 and over 1.1 million in fiscal 2019, according to CBP data. Under Biden, there were over 1.95 million in fiscal 2021, over 2.7 million in fiscal 2022 and over 3.2 million in fiscal 2023, according to the data.
This fiscal year’s numbers so far total more than 2.5 million apprehensions, dwarfing any year under Trump.
The apprehension totals also exclude 680,500 foreign nationals brought into the U.S. using a CBP app, which Homan and attorneys general who sued to block the app’s use say is illegal.
The totals also exclude 104,130 Cubans, 194,027 Haitians, 86,101 Nicaraguans, and 110,541 Venezuelans released into the U.S. through (CHNV) parole programs contrary to federal law prohibiting their entry. The CHNV process is directly linked to violent crimes committed against Americans by the parolees, The Center Square reported.
As soon as he became President Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon for any crimes he may have committed as President. President Kamala Harris could pardon not only Joe, but the whole Biden crime family.
The resignation would be best done before the November election. If Biden resigned after losing the election, and was then pardoned, it would like a quid pro quo, a deal they cut. But if Biden resigned in the next few weeks, and President Harris pardoned him shortly before leaving office on January 20, 2025, it would look like clemency, and a path out of the tawdry business of prosecuting your predecessor in office, a terrible precedent set by Biden himself.
I think this would appeal to all the criminals in the family. Biden could go out gracefully and be responsible for the first woman to become president, if only for a few months. Hunter, especially, would like this.
Biden is an abandoned, broken man, a shell of his former self. He’s no more capable of being President than he was of running a campaign. All he has left is his pride. His party wounded that pride by muscling him out of the nomination. If necessary, they’ll force him out of office as well. He should just resign, soon, for health reasons, as gracefully as possible.
President Harris, campaigning from the White house, flying around on Air Force One, would be a more credible candidate than she is now. This process, including hearings on her selection of a new Vice President, would dominate the news for weeks. Attending to presidential duties would keep her off the campaign trail, limiting the chances of her reverting to her trademarked cackle.
This would best be done before the Democratic Convention, so Harris can deliver her acceptance speech as incumbent president of the United States.
Ain’t politics fun?
Fritz Pettyjohn’s first venture in politics was working for Goldwater for President in 1964. He served in the Alaska Legislature in the 1980s and writes the blog ReaganProject.com.
