About 150 Alaskans attended the celebration and memorial for the life of the late Sen. Lyda Green, who died Dec. 19, 2023 in Soldotna.
At the chapel in Janssen’s MatSu Funeral Home, Gov. Mike Dunleavy presented to Sen. Green’s husband Curtis Green an Alaska flag that had been flown above Alaska’s Capitol. Along with dozens of friends and family, Must Read Alaska spotted several former state lawmakers, local political figures, and former aides to Green who attended to share the memory of the woman who served for 14 years in the Alaska Senate, starting in 1994.
Presenting a memoriam from the Alaska Legislature was Sen. David Wilson. Also present was MatSu Borough Mayor Edna and Noel DeVries, Wasilla Mayor Glenda Ledford, former Reps. Dick Randolph, Lindsey Holmes, and Ralph Samuels, former Sens. Bill Stoltze, Charlie Huggins, Gretchen Guess, and Scott Ogan; Sen. Shelley Hughes, Rep. David Eastman, House Speaker Cathy Tilton, former Green aides Portia Babcock Samuels and Jeff Turner.
Also present were congressional candidate Nick Begich, Cheryl Frasca, Chris Nelson, former Green staff aide Dirk Craft, Palmer Councilman Richard Best, Renee Reeves, former Wasilla Councilwoman Gretchen O’Barr, State Senate candidate Jared Goecker of Eagle River, and others who were mentored or befriended by Sen. Green.
Gov. Dunleavy recalled how he first came to know the senator while he was a school superintendent in rural Alaska, during a time when there were troubles at one of his village schools. He later got to know her when he ran for MatSu School Board and she hosted a fundraiser for his first run for Senate in 2012. Speakers described how Sen. Green could command a room with the raising of her eyebrow, and how much they admired her steadfast loyalty and resolve.
“From both sides of the aisle, Lyda was respected for her honesty, decorum, and conviction,” her family wrote. “Lyda will be remembered for engaging conversation, devotion to family, love of God, hospitality and welcoming nature, and fondness for sewing and gifting beautiful items.”
Former Border security leaders serving under multiple presidents and whose careers span decades in law enforcement say President Joe Biden’s “border security” announcement Tuesday won’t secure the border but instead will facilitate more illegal immigration, bringing in another two million people into the country illegally a year.
“The border will never be ‘shut down’ under this executive action but rather serve to legalize an unjustified level of open borders that will further perpetuate the chaos and lawlessness we’ve experienced during the entirety of the Biden Administration,” former U.S. Border Patrol Chief Mark Morgan told The Center Square. “The proposed action will, at a minimum, allow more than one million illegal aliens to be released into the county annually, along with another one million inadmissible aliens being allowed to fly into interior airports within the U.S.,” referring to the CBP One app that allows migrants to apply for entry remotely.
Biden said that through his executive action, “Migrants will be restricted from receiving asylum unless they seek it through an established lawful process, making an appointment through a port of entry,” he said, referring to the CBP One app.
Multiple attorneys general have sued to stop the app from being used, arguing it bypasses laws established by Congress and creates an “illegal visa” program.
The president’s executive action doesn’t secure the border in any way, Morgan said. “It doesn’t end catch and release; it doesn’t end the unlawful use of parole; it doesn’t increase interior enforcement; it doesn’t end the significant loopholes being exploited by the cartels, and it doesn’t provide additional resources to U.S. Customs and Border Protection to secure, defend and protect our nation’s borders.”
Morgan has been sounding the alarm about known or suspected terrorists (KSTs) coming through the southwest and northern borders, something Biden’s executive action doesn’t address.
Biden’s action applies only to the southwest border, not the northern border, which is experiencing record illegal entries and the greatest number of KSTs being apprehended in the country, The Center Square reported.
Asylum restrictions kick in when “high levels of encounters at the Southern Border exceed our ability to deliver timely consequences,” Biden’s plan states.
The number of KSTs apprehended at the northern border continue to outpace those apprehended at the southwest border and record numbers of illegal border crossers continue to be reported entering the northern border, The Center Square reported.
“Cartels are expanding their operations, flying people into Canada, which doesn’t require a visa, presenting an opportunity for terrorist watch-listed individuals to exploit. It’s much easier to get to Canada to come across,” Morgan told The Center Square. “Data from 39 months shows terrorist watch-listed individuals are coming here every day and they aren’t stopping.”
Tom Homan, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Trump administration, asked why the president was taking any action after he has said for years the border is secure.
“Why is he taking any action?” he told The Center Square. “He and the DHS Secretary [Alejandro Mayorkas] have claimed for three years the border is secure.”
Mayorkas repeatedly testified before Congress that his agency had operational control and the border was secure, claims for which he was impeached in February.
Homan said if Biden really wanted to be reelected as president and respond to the outrage Americans are expressing about Biden’s border policies, he would close the border and “end this action.”
But the president and his administration, “they want open borders,” he said, reiterating what he’s said before: President Biden is the only president in U.S. history to “unsecure the border on purpose. … and has created the greatest national security crisis since 9/11.”
The record number of KSTs coming through the border, cartel and gang crime flooding U.S. cities, “this is all by design,” Homan said. “This administration isn’t fooling anyone. Everyone on the Hill knows it but the Democrats play along with the lie. This is a shameful political move just before an election.”
Former U.S. Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott also took issue with a claim that Biden’s plan reportedly limits illegal entries to 2,500 a day, calling it “political theater.”
“Immigration policies that allow the current lawlessness to continue are not going to discourage foreign nationals from attempting to illegally enter our country,” Scott said. “If we cannot control who and what enters our national home, any sense of safety is a façade.”
The Biden plan’s restrictions have exceptions as the daily limits in the Senate bill did. The Senate bill, which Biden claimed was the strongest in the country, failed to get a hearing in the Senate and went nowhere. Exceptions to immigration limits included families and unaccompanied minors who are not Canadian or Mexican citizens, meaning people from all over the world would be processed for entry, which is current policy, The Center Square reported.
“Anyone being remotely intellectually honest knows that, five months before the election, this is not a serious and meaningful action being taken by the president to secure our borders,” Morgan said. “It’s a political stunt.”
San Francisco opened its first $5.5 million free food “market”, where approved residents can show a benefits eligibility card, put what they want in their carts, check out to keep track of outgoing inventory, and leave without paying.
The Bayview-Hunters Point facility aims to be a food pantry alternative that replicates the supermarket experience in an area where many grocery stores have come but few have remained due to high crime.
The 4000-square foot District 10 Market is the first of San Francisco’s food empowerment “markets” funded by the San Francisco’s Human Services Agency. Eligible individuals receive a Costo-like benefits card that allows use of the facility once per month. Eligibility is limited to individuals who live within one of three zip codes, are verified social services clients, have dependents under 25 or a qualified food-related illness, and be referred by one of eleven community organizations in the market’s referral network.
Geoffrea Morris, who spearheaded San Francisco’s Food Empowerment Market legislation in 2021 while working for a county supervisor and is a senior consultant for the District 10 Market, explains the program is meant to supplement food stamps that run out towards the end of the month, especially due to rising food costs from inflation.
“This is a supplemental source for food. Food stamps should be the primary source. This is a supplemental source especially close to the end of the month when families are facing the pain, especially with inflation,” Morris told The Center Square.
The facility is designed to closely replicate the supermarket experience, with individuals’ items weighed and scanned upon “check-out” to keep track of inventory and manage supply chains. District 10 Market, which is operating on a $5.5 million grant from San Francisco, uses taxpayer funds to purchase high-quality fresh produce from Rodriguez Brothers Ranch in Watsonville, and largely relies on donations from other grocery stores for its shelf-stable items and toiletries.
“If we didn’t tell you it was free you’d think you’d have to pay,” Morris said.
Morris also detailed how District 10 Market’s referral process is meant to ensure use of wraparound services.
“If you’re having food insecurity you’re having other issues as well and you need to be engaged with the services the city has put in place to improve your life and the life of your children,” Morris said.
District 10 is one of San Francisco’s poorest communities, and is home to some of the city’s largest public housing projects. As a result of high crime, grocery stores have had a hard time staying in businesses in the area, despite the large population.
“We’ve had plenty of chains come in and out of the community. Over my lifetime plenty of chains have come in and left,” recalled Morris.
The Bayview-Hunters Point community has 40,495 residents, is home to designated United States Department of Agriculture “food desert” with low fresh food availability, and a high property crime rate in the area. In the first six months of 2019, the area had reports of 143 robberies, 129 assaults, 195 burglaries, 308 motor vehicle thefts, 889 larceny thefts. Those numbers largely declined in the first six months of 2024, in which 78 robberies, 120 assaults, 174 burglaries, 353 motor vehicle thefts, 431 larceny thefts were reported, but business organizations say apparent crime reductions as reported in San Francisco and much of California are from less reporting of crime, not less actual crime.
“We know that there is underreporting. Since Prop 47 was passed, murder, rape and robbery increased by more than 20% in the number of crimes. Same holds true for motor vehicle theft which is up 19.8% since the passage of Proposition 47,” said Matt Ross, Communications Director for Californians Against Retail & Residential Theft, to The Center Square. “The only significant drop is burglary at 30% So either California is doing an amazing job at stopping burglary when every other crime stat is on the increase, or there is underreporting.”
Should the Bayview-Hunters Point facility meet city goals, the city plans on rolling out more facilities in other low-income districts.
A 10-minute push-poll was conducted over the past few days in Alaska. Those receiving the call were not able to identify the sponsor of the poll for Must Read Alaska, but provided some of the questions — they were all negative on congressional candidate Nick Begich and were favorable toward congressional candidate Nancy Dahlstrom. The poll also had negative messages about Rep. Mary Peltola.
The questions included things like: If you were aware that Nick Begich has no Alaska employees would you be more or less likely to vote for him? (Begich only has Alaska employees).
If you were aware that Nick Begich has millions of dollars in dark money, would you be more or less likely to vote for him? (He has the least amount of campaign cash of the three major candidates, with Peltola receiving $10 million in dark money).
If you were aware that Nancy Dahlstrom went to the border with Mexico, would you be more or less likely to vote for her? (Dahlstrom visited the Texas border last month, with several other congressional candidates from other states).
The poll may have been conducted by the Dahlstrom campaign or an independent group supporting her, or may have even been done by the campaign of Rep. Peltola, who would probably rather run against Dahlstrom, and take Begich out of contention in August. Begich, a Republican, has said repeatedly that he will drop from the race if he comes in third during the Aug. 20 primary.
Either way, it appears that Begich is the one to beat. In an analysis done by Decision Desk HQ, a Republican in the Alaska race currently has a 53% chance of winning with 53%, versus Democrat Peltola, who is polling at 47%.
Cook Political Report poll shows that, as of the latest polling, Alaska’s Republican congressional candidate will win by 8 points over Peltola, who has $2.5 million in cash at her disposal, compared with the mere hundreds of thousands of dollars that Begich and Dahlstrom have combined.
Begich is one of the toughest campaigners Alaska has seen in many years but has kept his focus on beating Peltola and returning Alaska’s congressional seat to a Republican.
The Colony Day Parade took place Saturday, June 8, in Palmer, continuing the decades-long tradition of celebrating Alaska’s original farming community. The turnout for the event was one of the biggest ever. This year’s theme was “Harvest of Gold.”Palmer was founded in 1935, when under the New Deal, 200 families were relocated to Palmer from Midwest states such as Minnesota. They were given 40 acres and materials for a barn in exchange for creating a farming community in Alaska. The families endured much hardship on the way to creating the community as it is known today, which supplies much fresh produce to Alaskans. The first winters were bitter cold and pioneers huddled in chilly shanties and tents while they cut wood, built cabins, chopped through ice to get river water, and somehow survived.
If you have a family anecdote from the early days of the Palmer colonists, please add it in the comment section below.
Here are some of the photos from this year’s parade:
The Palmer High Class of 1979 made a showing.Bernadette Wilson and her daughter Penelope were part of the Nick Begich for Congress entry.Mat-Su Mayor Edna DeVries on the judging stand.Nick Begich for Congress float was organized by Mat-Su Republican Women’s Club and friends.Colony Days Parade in Palmer, June 8, 2024
Every day, more truth emerges concerning Covid-19 and “vaccines.” For years there have been debates and arguments whether or not the Covid-19 mRNA jab is a vaccine by definition. The truth is finally coming out.
While the debate raged, the CDC changed the definition of vaccines to include treatments like the Covid-19 shots. This caused further outrage.
An “AP fact checker” wrote in 2022 that to claim it wasn’t a vaccine was “missing context.” Yes, CDC had changed its definition and yes, it was after the development of the Covid-19 jab. But it did not “alter the overall definition” and was done to prevent “misinterpretations.” The changes were just accomplished to “reflect evolution of the vaccine research and technology.”
The AP fact checker stated that the CDC has changed the definition of vaccine over the years and the latest change had nothing to do with problems with the coronavirus vaccines”.”
“The CDC has altered the language in the definition of vaccination on its website, including after the development of COVID-19 vaccines, but the changes were made to prevent potential misinterpretations, and did not alter the overall definition, according to the agency. Experts confirmed to The Associated Press that the changes reflect the evolution of vaccine research and technology. The AP was able to verify through web archives that the language on a CDC page titled “Immunization Basics,” has changed in these ways over time. But this does not mean that the agency altered it because of problems with the coronavirus vaccines,” AP wrote.
That was in February of 2022.
Those who have argued the Covid-19 shot is not actually a vaccine received good news this week from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
TheNinth Circuit Court ruled the Covid-19 jab does not meet the definition of a vaccine under “traditional medical definitions.”
The case came out of a lawsuit filed by the Health Freedom Defense Fund and other plaintiffs against the Los Angeles United School District and its vaccine policy that required all employees to get the Covid-19 shots by a certain date.
The plaintiffs stated the shot requirement “infringed upon their fundamental right to refuse medical treatment” citing mRNA shots don’t prevent transmission of Covid-19—they only mitigate symptoms.
The court, which covers nine states and two territories to include Alaska, agreed with the plaintiffs and stated this “crucial distinction undermines the foundational premise of the vaccine mandates enforced by various governmental and educational institutions.” Judge Collins went on to say forcing people to get something for their alleged health benefits infringes on “the fundamental right to refuse such treatments.”
Although the Los Angeles school district dropped its Covid vaccine mandate for school staff last year, the lawsuit over workers’ rights may proceed, the 9th District Court ruled on Friday.
Perhaps there is finally some justice that will occur for those who exercised their individual rights during this mass fear campaign. Perhaps they will get their jobs back and not have to take any more of these “vaccines” that violate their rights.
How many federal employees lost their jobs for refusing this so-called “vaccine”? How many military members lost their jobs? How many health care employees lost their jobs? How many private-sector employees lost their jobs?
As Mark Twain once said, “It is easier to fool people than to convince them they’ve been fooled.”
It’s more than a matter of semantics. It’s about individual freedom to decide about medical treatment.
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.
The Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game will open the Copper River personal use dipnet fishery at the Chitina Subdistrict on June 13 for 72 hours, starting at 6 p.m. Thursday and ending at 6 p.m. on June 16, a reduction of 96 hours from the earlier tentative schedule.
The annual limit for salmon from the famous personal use fishery for Alaskans is 25 salmon for the head of household, and an additional 10 salmon for each dependent of the person who has the permit. Only one king (chinook) salmon may be kept and no steelhead may be kept.
All Alaska residents qualify for this personal use fishery and must have a Chitina Personal Use Salmon Fishery permit and a resident Alaska sport fishing license when dipnetting. Both dip net permits and fishing licenses can be obtained at the online ADF&G store. A $15 fee is charged for the Chitina Personal Use Salmon Fishery Permit, and the fee supports the sanitation services at the fishery and trail maintenance from O’Brien Creek to Haley Creek.
The Chitina Subdistrict personal use dipnet salmon fishery is managed under direction of the Copper River Personal Use Dip Net Salmon Fishery Management Plan, which establishes the general season from June 7 through September 30 and directs the department to establish fishing periods within that period based on Miles Lake sonar counts.
During May 27 – June 2, there were 46,991 salmon counted past the Miles Lake sonar, while the preseason projection for this period was 111,918 salmon. This is a deficit of 64,927 salmon.
Copper River sockeye salmon migratory timing and the previous three-year average harvest and participation rates indicate sufficient numbers of salmon available to allow 72 hours of fishing time during the week of June 10 – 16, a reduction of 96 hours from the preseason schedule, the department explained.
Other dip net openings are anticipated as the season goes along, and those wishing to fish this fishery can check the schedule at this link.
Fish and GameJ urges dipnetters to respect rights of private landowners in the area and familiarize themselves with the land ownership in the area before fishing. For information on access across private lands contact Chitina Native Corporationat (907) 823-2223 or Ahtna, Inc. at (907) 822-3476.
Additionally, the department urges users to adhere to signs and detours constructed along the O’Brien Creek to Haley Creek section of Copper River Highway Right of Way. The detours were constructed to avoid disturbing recently identified cultural sites within and along the right of way. Any violation or disturbance to protected cultural sites will result in immediate closure of this access road. For more information visit the Alaska Department of Transportation Copper River Public Access page describing the changes to the access route.
Information regarding the fishery can be found at the ADF&G web site. This site provides information regarding the Upper Copper River fisheries including: fishery descriptions and summaries, maps of the subdistricts, a list of vendors that issue permits, and links to the sonar numbers and fishing schedule emergency orders.
The current fishing schedule is announced on the Chitina Fishery information line at (907) 822-5224. Please contact the information phone line prior to planning your trip to Chitina to ensure that the fishery will be open when you arrive. If you have any questions regarding the Chitina Subdistrict personal use dipnet salmon fishery, please contact the ADF&G office in Glennallen at (907) 822-3309.
A new poll found that former President Donald Trump’s conviction on 34 felonies in New York hasn’t dented his support with voters.
Forty percent of voters said Trump’s criminal conviction of 34 felonies does not impact their vote this November, according to a new Emerson College Polling national survey. Another 33% said it makes them less likely to support Trump and 27% said it would make them more likely to back Trump.
“Trump’s support in our polling remained the same before and after his conviction,” Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, said. “A majority of Democrats say it makes them less likely to support Trump (51%) and a majority of Republicans (55%) say it makes them more likely to support Trump. A plurality of independents say it makes no impact (41%), while 38% are less likely to vote for Trump and 21% more likely.”
The poll found Trump had a narrow lead over President Joe Biden, with 46% of voters behind Trump and 45% backing Biden in the 2024 presidential election. Nine percent were undecided.
A jury convicted Trump, 77, of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to an adult film actress. The judge in that case has scheduled sentencing for July 11, four days before the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Republicans are set to select Trump as the 2024 nominee.
Under New York state law, falsifying business records in the first degree is a Class E felony, punishable by a maximum of four years in prison per count.
Voters won’t have a say at sentencing, but if they did, 40% said Trump should get prison time, 25% think he should pay a fine, and 15% think he should get probation. Twenty percent were unsure, according to the Emerson survey.
What was the secret of New England republicanism? In short, the answer is, the faith of the people of New England, from which all their institutions were formed.
In Genesis 22:18 God promises Abraham that “in your seed all the nations shall be blessed,” and in Galatians 3:28 the apostle says, “there is neither Jew nor Greek, nor male nor female nor bond nor free, but ye are all one in Jesus Christ.” Both the Old and New Testament demonstrate that in God’s eyes all mankind is equal.
The Hebrews were a special people because they were the bearers of this gospel, that the Babylonians no less than the Hebrews were dear to God. In its secular version, this principle could be rewritten, “all men are created equal.” This principle was advanced in New England government 150 years before Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence and before John Locke was born.
The Catholic Church had carried this teaching forward from its founding. Saint Augustine, Pope Saint Gregory the Great, Saint Thomas Aquinas all advanced the idea that all men are created equal. The priests reformed rulers. We can find in old European archives plenty of evidence of scolding and threatening priests, reminding monarchs that they are servants of the people, not wolves. By the late Middle Ages the church forced the European monarchs to abolish slavery and softened the conduct of rulers.
Renewed zeal drove the reformers to purify the religion of Christendom, not only in the practice of their religion, but in every aspect of their lives, their social and political lives included. The protestant sects that dissented from the Church of England were such as these reformers, and the early settlers of New England came from those sects.
Their pastors observed in the Bible that the only form of government that God ever ordained was a republican form of government, administered by judges under law. Only with reluctance and after a stern warning did God allow the Hebrews to abandon that form and anoint their first king, Saul. That God preferred republican government made sense to these protestants, because if all are equal, as the Bible maintains, then no government but government of and by equals was preferred by God. This became the basis of the organization of their churches. Equal elders ruled the congregations and the pastors and ministers were chosen by them. This also became the basis of their political organizations.
As a result, from their earliest settlement, the people of New England ruled their churches and in government they ruled themselves as coequals. They made their own laws that they lived under. Town halls were built where coequal citizens could debate all political questions. They elected their officers of government, whom they deemed to be servants of the public, just as pastors and ministers were servants of their congregations.
Because they perceived from their studies of the Bible, that only by each reading the Bible could each hope for salvation and learn how to live a pious life, the instruction of the young was a religious duty. Education, therefore, grew out from New England households and was administered by parents, concerned that their young become literate at the earliest possible age. Families working together, not government, established schoolhouses. By the time of the American Revolution, New England boasted of the highest literacy rate in the world. The incidental result of this was elevated public intelligence and in New England, the highest incidence of newspapers in the world.
The principle of natural equality by which they organized their way of life and mode of governing themselves, also structured how they organized themselves for war and law enforcement. They did not form standing armies or professional police forces, the latter of which is a relatively new kind of law enforcement in the United States. The people of New England depended on themselves. War and law enforcement was a community affair, conducted by citizens who regularly trained in militia companies and kept their own arms.
Town halls, schoolhouses, mustering grounds and churches were the essential props of New England self-government. Their republicanism was impossible without their faith. Their faith inculcated the principle that was the bedrock of their social and political lives, the principle of natural equality, that all had a right to life and liberty.
Their faith also inculcated the virtue of charity. This virtue, peculiar to Christianity, prevented the rise of unjust factions, which had always been the bane of prior republics. All other prior republics had been small, and all had been destroyed from within by one unjust faction achieving a majority then oppressing their fellow citizens. But charity encouraged kindness and justice and discouraged haughtiness and vengeance and injustice. While the New England communities were small, charity steadied them, preserved justice and public tranquility. Charity also obviated the need for “safety nets” managed by government. Communities took care of each other and their own.
Virginia was the largest and most influential colony southward of the New England colonies. George Washington, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson among other famous Virginians of the revolutionary period all are on record acknowledging New England republicanism, expressing their admiration for it, and attempting to reform their state on the New England model. Many statesmen southward requested assistance from John Adams of Massachusetts, the acknowledged savant of republicanism, in writing their constitutions and learning how to model their states after the New England states.
New England influenced the future political development of the United States in another way, by sending her offspring to new territories, who brought their way of life and institutions with them. At their foundation, many territories and new states reproduced the institutions found in New England.
Finally, in 1787 the Federal Convention drafted the Constitution under which we live today. That constitution was modeled after the constitution John Adams wrote for the state of Massachusetts in 1780. Both constitutions were written for a free people and required them to depend on themselves for their livelihoods and to govern themselves.
After ratification, the size of the federal government remained slight for more than one hundred and fifty years, yet the country was ambitious, energetic and strong because the people were accustomed to rely on their own virtue to rise in life, rising on the basis of merit, not preferment.
New England republicanism had thus become American republicanism.
The Eaglexit Board would like to thank Forrest Nabors for his support and efforts. This is the first of a four-part series. Please consider joining the cause and keeping up on our progress at Eaglexit.com.
