In a late Friday news dump, the Biden Administration finalized a rule President Joe Biden initially proposed on the 50th anniversary of Title IX.
His scheme expands the definition of sex to include “gender identity” — meaning biological men who identify as women can access women’s bathrooms and locker rooms and be housed in women’s dorms at colleges and universities. It eliminates protections for students in campus sexual assault proceedings.
It also means a crackdown on “misgendering,” the use of proper pronouns.
Meanwhile, the Biden Administration still can’t even say what a woman is.
The first time Biden has dehumanized biological women. The Biden administration threatened to withhold federal funding, including meal funding for low-income students at schools that prohibit biological men in women’s athletics.
The recent court decision dissolving the correspondence school system by Superior Court Judge Adolf Zeman has given the National Education Association-Alaska even more than it asked for.
The battle lines have been drawn between the Education Cartel and more than 22,000 correspondence school parents. The court’s decision struck down the allotment system in its entirety by which parents get reimbursed for choosing education materials and services for their students. Judge Zeman stated that this part of the statute violated the Alaska
Constitution because parents were using state funds to purchase educational materials from private and religious institutions. The NEA-AK filed the case to maintain and increase its power over our K12 education system.
Former NEA-National counsel Bob Chanin sums up the government union’s power:
“Which is why, at least in my opinion, NEA and its affiliates are such effective advocates. Despite what some among us would like to believe, it is not because of our creative ideas. It is not because of the merit of our positions. It is not because we care about children. And it is not because we have a vision of a great public school for every child. NEA and its affiliates are effective advocates because we have power. And we have power because there are more than 3.2 million people who are willing to pay us hundreds of millions of dollars in dues each year because they believe that we are the unions that can most effectively represent them, the unions that can protect their rights and advance their interests as education employees.” It isn’t about the kids—it’s about power. To get the real feel of the union leader’s message, watch this video:
The Education Cartel has taken on more than 22,000 correspondence students, 17% of our student population, and their parents. It fears that the growth of the correspondence schools will reduce its power by having fewer members and thus less dues money.
It sees the only way to keep power is to destroy a successful correspondence program and relegate its students to mediocre brick-and-mortar schools. It is all about power. It is about control. And it is about money.
If the NEA-AK can bring most of these students back into the brick and mortar schools, then there will be more union members, more union dues, and more union power.
Here is the NEA-AK’s president Tom Klaameyer congratulatory email he sent to supporters, “We’re still reading through the entire ruling but it’s fair to say that this is a big win for public education in Alaska.”
Here is what the NEA-AK sent out to its members: “Our goal since the beginning of this case was to uphold the Alaska Constitution and ensure public funds are used for public education.”
Nowhere did the NEA-AK say it wanted to improve student outcomes, improve opportunities for Alaska’s children, provide the best educational fit for students. Nowhere.
That is exactly why parents of more than 22,000 students chose to remove their kids from the brick & mortar schools. They wanted better student outcomes. They wanted more educational opportunities, and they wanted the best educational fit for their kids.
Parents whose children were bullied in school left to protect their children.
Parents whose children did not feel safe left to protect their children.
Parents of special needs children left so their children would have more opportunities.
Parents whose children had gender identification issues left.
Parents who were not satisfied with the teaching of diversity, equity and inclusion left.
Parents who disagreed with the placement of sexual gratification books in school libraries removed children from school.
Parents who disagreed with the school district keeping student gender transitioning from them.
Parents who were totally dissatisfied with the ability of the government school to teach their kids how to even read.
Here is one parent’s comment on the NEA-AK Facebook page, “It is unacceptable to use our children as your collateral damage because you did not receive the funding that you requested”.
And these 22,000 students are collateral damage which the union has kicked to the curb. The Anchorage School District has seized on the court’s decision to immediately stop paying vendors for services already provided. Even though a stay has been requested, ASD wasted no time in informing vendors they aren’t going to pay them.
This is an extreme position that will hurt vendors, parents and especially the 2,000 ASD correspondence students. ASD’s decision disregarded DEED Commissioner Deena Bishop’s direction to all school district superintendents which states, “Therefore, your school district may continue to administer its correspondence study program, including paying outstanding invoices and other administrative duties at the present.”
Seems as if the Anchorage School District values money more than a child’s education. That should be no surprise. The battle lines have been drawn. It’s time for parents to put on their armor and defend their children’s futures. It’s well worth the fight. Children are much more important than saving the institution of K12 public education.
Even Vladimir Lenin knew the importance of controlling the education of children, “Give me four years to teach the children, and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted.”
And Wilma Mankiller, chief of the Cherokee Nation, said, “Whoever controls the education of our children controls the future.”
Will you allow the Education Cartel to control Alaska’s K12 education system and our children? Or will you stand up to defend our children? The choice is yours.
David Boyle is the education writer for Must Read Alaska.
The U.S. House is expected to vote on funding for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan this weekend, a controversial climax to months of battling in both chambers.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has arranged the vote for this weekend, likely on Saturday, despite calls from many in his own party to abandon funding for Ukraine, which is set to receive about $60 billion in foreign aid in its war against Russia’s invasion if the measure passes this weekend.
Johnson will almost certainly need Democrat votes to pass the spending this weekend, which he could obtain, but possibly at the expense of his job.
The Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid package earlier this year with some Republican support, though many Republicans have said they will not support funding of this kind without serious border protections. Republicans and Democrats, though, have not been able to come to an agreement on provisions to address the border crisis.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, has been among the outspoken Republicans calling for stronger border provisions.
“To the wealthy Americans all excited about funding Ukraine & war – in the past we increased taxes on the wealthy to pay for such things…,” Roy wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “I look forward to your patriotic advocacy to pay more taxes to fund war.”
The spending plan up for a vote includes about $8 billion for the Taiwan region and $26.4 billion for Israel, which launched an attack on Iran late Thursday, the latest in ongoing exchanges and escalations between the two Middle East powers.
Ratcheting tensions between Israel and Iran is largely what pushed the vote for more funding up to this weekend.
Meanwhile, Johnson faces growing calls for his removal from the Speakership, a now-volatile position.
Under existing rules, just one member of of the House can file a motion to vacate the speakership. Earlier this week, Johnson expressed his disapproval of that rule but said he won’t change it, at least for now.
“Since the beginning of the 118th Congress, the House rule allowing a Motion to Vacate from a single member has harmed this office and our House majority,” he wrote on X. “Recently, many members have encouraged me to endorse a new rule to raise this threshold. While I understand the importance of that idea, any rule change requires a majority of the full House, which we do not have.”
In the battle over Ukraine funding, Roy and others have also pointed to the increasing national debt, which is barreling toward $35 trillion.
As The Center Square previously reported, the International Monetary Fund warned the U.S. this week about that debt, federal spending, and the inflation that goes with it. Earlier this year, in February, the U.S Government Accountability Office released a report echoing those concerns.
Despite concerns about the debt, Republicans have largely rallied around the border crisis, insisting that addressing the problems at the southern border come before funding for Ukraine.
“We are here to deliver wins for the American people,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., wrote on X. “We can’t talk about funding Ukraine while we do nothing about the border.”
As supporters of the Alaska Republican Party, and as members of the Founders Club, a group of people who have committed to providing foundational financial support of the Party, we are writing to advocate for Mike Robbins’ candidacy as the next Chair of our Alaska Republican Party. This endorsement reflects the commitment to conservative political values we share with Mike.
All of us know Mike personally. He recruited us as the Party’s Founders. Mike’s leadership skills, communication skills, and people skills make Mike a standout candidate for Party Chair. We have also been impressed with his organizational skills and ability to marshal large numbers of volunteers.
Mike has demonstrated his capability time and again through his extensive campaign experiences and pivotal roles within the Party, for example, by serving as the current Party Vice Chairman, co-creating the Founders Club, organizing the 2022 Anchorage Trump Rally, organizing the Party’s 2022 post-election observer program, and working on numerous statewide campaigns. All of these skills and experiences make Mike far and away the most qualified candidate for State Party Chair.
Mike’s platform, “Vision, Values, Victory” describes a plan for our Party that we can all get behind. Mike stands for Party unity, financial growth and responsibility, grassroots organization, and principled leadership. These are the priorities that we, as Party Founders, believe are crucial for victory in the 2024 election cycle. Moreover, Mike’s commitment to fostering a Party culture of co-operation and attracting the next generation of voters will strengthen our Party’s impact and ensure future electoral success. (Vision Values Victory).
Writing on behalf of myself, and the other undersigned members of the Alaska Republican Party’s Founders Club, we enthusiastically endorse Mike Robbins for State Party Chair.
Dr. John Morris, Kieth Manternach, Jerry Lewis, Abraham Gallo, Mike Baker, Dr. Tori Dallas, Lucy Bauer, Diane Bachman, Matt Thorpe , Roger Briley, and Jim Winegarner are founding members of the Founders Club, which provides major financial resources for the ARP.
As expected, the Biden Administration on Friday announced its restrictions on oil and gas leases in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, shutting down 13 million acres. The move was said to help caribou and polar bears in a warming Arctic.
This was the “final decision,” and one that was tied to the Biden approval of the Willow project, which may be the last project approved for Alaska. Biden, who is supported by Rep. Mary Peltola of Alaska, said he wanted to deny Willow, but his lawyers advised him he would lost in court. He said approving Willow and shutting down the rest of the NPR-A was a “hell of a trade-off.”
Sen. Dan Sullivan struck back, saying that Biden is lying about Native opposition to oil and gas leases.
“Joe Biden is lying. The elected Alaska Native leaders who live in the area vehemently oppose this rule on NPR-A,” he said. “The press should read their statement and give voice to these indigenous voices that have been cancelled by the Biden Administration.
Joe Biden is lying. The elected Alaska Native leaders who live in the area vehemently oppose this rule on NPR-A. The press should read their statement and give voice to these indigenous voices that have been canceled by the Biden administration. pic.twitter.com/5qN0zt60MC
Biden also announced the “no-build” option for the Ambler Access Road, a 211-mile industrial use road from the Dalton Highway to the Ambler Mining District. That access road is guaranteed in law, and the Biden decision will likely be challenged in court.
Must Read Alaska was the first to break the news that the Ambler Road decision would go against Alaska and would come around Earth Day, which is Monday.
“By denying access and the necessary right-of-way across federal lands, the BLM’s action essentially abandons these critical minerals, undermining not just regional economic growth but also national interests,” said Deantha Skibinski, executive director of the Alaska Miners Association. “This decision exposes a glaring hypocrisy: the Biden administration has repeatedly acknowledged the need for minerals and has touted sourcing them domestically. Unfortunately, it appears the Administration is content to rely on cobalt sourced through child and slave labor in Africa and China rather than supporting ethical, sustainable mineral production in Alaska.”
“We are incensed that the Biden administration has blatantly ignored Congress’ mandate in ANILCA that access ‘shall’ be provided to the Ambler district in Alaska and is once again blocking Alaska’s right to develop its resources,” said Leila Kimbrell, executive director for the Resource Development Council for Alaska. “While this obstructionist stance may curry favor with Outside environmentalists, this hurts Alaskans by denying thousands of jobs for this region and the economic uplift associated with developing new infrastructure that an access road would provide, as well as development of minerals crucial for reliable energy and national security.”
Rep. Peltola posted an objection to both of the decisions in a prepared post on X/Twitter.
“Closing of the NPR-A is a huge step back for Alaska, failing to strike a balance between the need for gap oil and natural gas and legitimate environmental concerns, and steamrolling the voices of many Alaska Natives in the decision-making process. The Ambler Road decision is premature, as real conversations among stakeholders in the region are ongoing. Alaska has a wealth of natural resources that can be responsibly developed to help boost domestic manufacturing and innovation—in the end, it should be up to Alaskans to decide what they want developed in their regions,” Peltola said.
An event sponsored by Chevron in honor of Sen. Lisa Murkowski was interrupted by a radical eco-terrorist group on Thursday in Washington, D.C.
Video footage by Climate Defiance shows people rushing the stage and Sen. Murkowski walking to the side and standing undefended, as people nearby intervene and a brawl breaks out, with people tumbling from the stage.
The group wrote on X that Murkowski is a murderer, who “incinerates us to enrich her cronies.”
Climate Defiance calls itself a “youth-led group using direct action to resist fossil fuels.”
BREAKING: We just shut down a gala honoring U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski. Murkowski is a murderer. She incinerates us to enrich her cronies. As Chevron's top lobbyist gave her an award, we stepped in and stopped the ceremony. Respect us or expect us. ? pic.twitter.com/Q72mHerpdg
An analysis by the liberal Sightline Institute shows that Alaskans who split their votes between Democrats and Republicans were most-often voters who chose Sen. Lisa Murkowski for Senate and Mary Peltola for House in 2022.
Under the newly adopted rules of open primaries and ranked-choice general elections, the Alaska Republican Party was stripped of its right to hold its own primary and determine its own candidate for the general election. Voters no longer pick a Republican or “Democrat+” ballot in the primary. All candidates are on the same ballot.
This new condition gives insight into the Murkowski voters in 2022, as Murkowski appeared on all of the top five most popular split-ticket combinations.
Murkowski’s voters who split their votes between parties also tended to pick Democrat Les Gara for governor.
A second combination was Murkowski for Senate, Peltola for House, and Democrat-collaborator liberal Bill Walker for governor. In both of these combinations, the voter also picked a Democrat for a state House and a state Senate seat.
Further down the list, a smaller number of voters picked Murkowski, Peltola, Gara, a Democrat for state Senate, and an independent for state House. About 1 percent made that combination.
The analysis proves what conservatives said would happen with open primaries — Democrats would cross over and keep Murkowski in power.
There were 19 candidates to choose from on the open-primary ballot fo Senate, eight of which were Republicans and four of which were Democrat. The Democrats received a total of 16,867 of the 192,542 votes cast:
The results from the 2022 Senate primary in Alaska.
Murkowski, Peltola are the common denominators. The Democrats ran a weak Democrat, Pat Chesbro to occupy the chair. Her assignment was to do nothing but go through the motions and look like she was running.
In 12% of all ballots in 2022’s primary, Murkowski and Peltola were voted on together, and either Gara or Walker were the pick for governor.
Murkowski owes her success to Democrats, something Republicans have pointed out since the open primary was brought into action by 2020’s Ballot Measure 2, an initiative of Outside dark money. Under the old system, there were two ballots — a Republican and an “everyone else” ballot for the primary. Murkowski wouldn’t have been saved, as she would have lost to Kelly Tshibaka in the primary. If Democrats had not crossed over, she would have been retired.
The Murkowski/Peltola combination showed up in 25,567 ballots in the primary in 2022.
Also that year, just 82 voters chose conservative Kelly Tshibaka for Senate along with Democrats Mary Peltola and Les Gara for House and governor. The Republican voters who crossed over were few and far between.
Murkowski, if she owes anyone besides her proponents of ranked-choice voting, owes Peltola; their fortunes are tied together. Murkowski also endorsed Peltola in 2022, and that endorsement still, apparently, stands, as she has stayed silent in the 2024 race, where there are two Republicans in the mix for Congress: Nancy Dahlstrom and Nick Begich. On the other hand, it’s likely that neither Begich nor Dahlstrom would court an endorsement from Murkowski.
According to the data analysis firm SmartAsset, Alaska is not even in the 15 top states for high cost of living. The amount a single person needs to make to live comfortably in Alaska puts it in the No. 16 spot.
Massachusetts is the state at the top of the list of expensive states, followed by Hawaii, California, New York, and Washington. A single adult in Massachusetts needs to make at least $116,022 to cover basics, wants, and savings in Massachusetts. That’s $55.78 per hour. For a family with two working parents of two children, the total family income will need to be about $301,184 for the same level of comfort, SmartAsset reports.
For Alaskans, a single person needs to make at least $46.52 an hour, or over $96,000 a year to support a comfortable lifestyle. A family of two adults and two children needs to be bring in $242,600 to live comfortably, SmartAsset reports.
That puts Alaska slightly above Vermont in terms of cost of a comfortable lifestyle, and just below Georgia, where a single person would need to make $46.58 to meet their needs, wants, and long-term goals.
The cheapest state to live in is West Virginia. There, a single adult needs to pull in $37.88 an hour, or $78,790 a year. For two working adults raising two children, the state is third-least expensive with the family requiring $189,364 in income across needs, wants, and long-term goals.
While West Virginia is cheapest for singles to live comfortably, Mississippi would be the cheapest place to raise two children, the report says. A family in Mississippi would need about $177,798 to cover the basic needs, wants, and savings goals. But it’s relatively more expensive for a single adult to achieve the same level of comfort in Mississippi. That person would need to earn $82,742.
States are ranked by the highest annual salary needed for a single adult to live in sustainable comfort using the 50/30/20 budgeting rule, SmartAsset explains. SmartAsset uses the MIT Living Wage Calculator data to figure out the basic cost of living for an individual with no children and for two working adults with two children. Data includes cost of necessities that cover housing, food, transportation, income taxes, and other miscellaneous items. The most recent data available was from February.
“Applying these costs to the 50/30/20 budget for 50 U.S. states, MIT’s living wage is assumed to cover needs (i.e. 50% of one’s budget). From there the total wage was extrapolated for individuals and families to spend 30% of the total on wants and 20% on savings or debt payments,” SmartAsset says.
Read the entire report and see the list of comfortable-wage salaries at this link.
The Must Read Alaska Show, hosted by John Quick, is has reached standing as the No. 1 podcast in Alaska, according to FeedSpot, one of the top podcast ranking services.
“I enjoy hosting the show and it seems to just be getting better as time goes on. It’s been a great ride and I want to thank everyone who has joined me on this podcast journey,” said Quick.
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In the early days of the podcast, Quick co-hosted with Must Read Alaska founder Suzanne Downing. Since taking over as solo host two years ago, Quick has had a diverse array of guests, including politicians from both sides of the aisle, CEOs of publicly traded companies, New York Times bestsellers, mayors of small towns in Alaska, and even presidents of countries. Not all of his guests are political.
For example, this week he chats with travel planner and Alaska entrepreneur Danika Baldwin, who left a desk job and launched a career as an internet influencer and Alaska travel planner.
The podcast has won numerous prestigious awards, such as the 2023 Gold Communicator Award for Political Podcast, the 2023 AVA Gold Award for Political Podcast, the 2022 Gold Dot Com Gold Award for Outstanding Political Podcast, and 2022 VIDDY Honorable Mention Award. It ranks in the top 200 podcasts worldwide in the “government” category of podcasts.
The Must Read Alaska Show can be found wherever you get your podcasts, as well as on Facebook.
