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FBI investigating multiple bomb threats to Alaska schools

Suzanne Downing
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20
FBI investigating multiple bomb threats to Alaska schools

Several school districts reported today that bomb threats were made against them. Some schools closed out of abundance of caution, including those in Dillingham and Metlakatla.

The threats were of a similar nature, and local, state, and FBI investigators have been brought in to look into the matter.

Anchorage School District reported, “Today, multiple school districts across Alaska received a bomb threat via email including the Anchorage School District. This email has been reported to local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. At this time, the threat is broad in nature and lacks specific information. Regardless, we are taking this threat seriously. Our schools remain open and there is no change to the school day schedule. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your school. As always, if you see something, say something. We will share more information as it becomes available.”

The Annette Island School District, which oversees Metlakatla schools, told parents on Facebook that “Twenty-five school districts in Alaska have received a bomb threat. Alaska State Troopers and MPD have been made aware of this incident. We DO NOT believe this is a credible threat, but we have chosen to evacuate all AISD buildings and will have MPD do a sweep of all buildings. Parents are able to pick up their students at Wil la mootk immediately.”

Dillingham wrote, “This morning, many school districts in the state of Alaska, including Dillingham City School District, received an identical threat to their buildings. Local law enforcement responded immediately to our school. Out of an abundance of caution and to protect student and staff safety, school was closed for the day and students and staff were released. Because this was a statewide threat, local, statewide and National law enforcement will be investigating. Unless otherwise informed, school will be open tomorrow as usual.”

Judge Nesbett named to Anchorage Superior Court, and Judge Haas is new Alaska Public Defender

Suzanne Downing
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4
Judge Nesbett named to Anchorage Superior Court, and Judge Haas is new Alaska Public Defender

Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced the appointment of Judge David Nesbett to the Anchorage Superior Court, and has named Judge Terrence Haas the new Alaska Public Defender.

Judge Nesbett was previously appointed to the Anchorage District Court in 2019. He is a lifelong Alaskan who has lived in Anchorage his entire life, earned a bachelor’s degree at Wesleyan University, College of Letters, and a J.D. at University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law.

Nesbett was a shareholder at Nesbett & Nesbett, from 2011-2019, and was an associate at
Dorsey & Whitney, and Jermain Dunnagan & Owens from 2007-2010. From 2004-2007 he was special assistant U.S. attorney and assistant district attorney, and had been an assistant municipal prosecutor in Anchorage from 2001-2004. He was a law clerk for U.S. District Judge H. Russel Holland.

The state courthouse in Anchorage is named for Nesbett’s grandfather, Buell Nesbett, the first Supreme Court Chief Justice when Alaska became a state; Justice Nesbett was appointed by Gov. Bill Egan, Alaska’s first governor.

Judge Haas was previously appointed to the Bethel Superior Court in 2018 and was the presiding judge of the Fourth Judicial District. Apparently he is done with being a judge and wants to go back to public defender work. Judge Haas worked for the Alaska Public Defender Agency in Bethel for more than a decade prior to his appointment to the bench.

Of 10 applicants for the job, Judge Haas and assistant Anchorage Public Defender Gary Soberay were nominated by the Alaska Judicial Council to replace Samantha Cherot, whose four-year term as head of the Public Defender Agency expires this month.

Both appointments were chosen from a list of applicants vetted by the Alaska Judicial Council, which forwarded the top candidates on to the governor.

Providence Medical says health workers must get new Covid vaccines, or they may (or may not) get fired

Suzanne Downing
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81
Providence Medical says health workers must get new Covid vaccines, or they may (or may not) get fired

The information coming out of Providence Providence Health & Services, a Catholic health care organization, is confusing at best when it comes to the new Covid vaccine and the medical organization’s workforce.

The workers at Providence reportedly received a memo this week that advised them of the updated Covid vaccination policy. Those who don’t want to take the vaccination could be fired, the memo said.

According to the memo, posted by users on X/Twitter, and allegedly received by Providence workers in other states, all caregivers need the newest vaccine for Covid and to provide proof to the company by Nov. 30 that they have taken the shot.

“Caregivers who do not obtain a COVID-19 vaccine or decline by Nov. 30 may be removed from the schedule, placed on unpaid leave and may be subject to termination for continued noncompliance with their facility policy,” the memo says. The company is developing a tool for providing proof of vaccination or submitting a declination; it should be ready by early October.

But some of those those who posted the memo online said they later heard back from Providence’s public relations team, which said the shots are not mandatory at all.

“This is not the same as the vaccine mandates that we were required to implement by state law and CMS during the pandemic. Caregivers can choose to decline the vaccine. Those who do not wish to receive it simply need to submit a declination form by Nov. 30. They no longer need to request approval for a medical or religious exemption as many of our states and CMS required at the height of COVID,” according to the Gateway Pundit, which quoted Providence spokesman Michael Connors.

“All declinations will be automatically accepted. They do not need to be approved. This process is not the same as the medical or religious exemptions that many states and federal regulators required us to review and approve during the pandemic,” Connors was reported as saying.

Yet, on the Providence website, the company makes it clear the shots are mandatory.

The caregiver vaccination policy “aims to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19 transmission to workforce members, our vulnerable patient population, and the community. Vaccination is one of the most effective preventive measures available against COVID-19,” the medical company’s website says.

“The policy applies to all workforce members, including employees, caregivers, volunteers, trainees, interns, medical staff, students, independent contractors, vendors, and all other individuals working at the facility, whether or not they are paid by or under the direct control of the facility. Receipt of the most current up-to-date vaccine according to CDC recommendations will meet policy requirements,” the company says.

Linda Boyle: Latest Covid ‘vaccine’ is here, but is Emergency Use Authorization still valid?

Some Providence health care workers work remotely, or partly remotely, but that may or may not exclude them from the policy.

“As health care workers, we all play an important leadership role in protecting the health and safety of our communities. Hybrid caregivers who visit our facilities on occasion are required to comply. Caregivers who work 100% remote are exempt from this process, but are encouraged to be vaccinated. It’s important that we all work together for the greater good for our communities,” the policy says.

California legislature passes call for national Constitutional Convention to strip gun rights

SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR
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22
California legislature passes call for national Constitutional Convention to strip gun rights

By KENNETH SCHRUPP | THE CENTER SQUARE

The California State Legislature passed Governor Gavin Newsom’s call for a national Constitutional Convention to limit gun access.

Prominent Democrats and Second Amendment advocates alike have criticized the decision to push for a convention, noting that there would be no limits on what such a convention could add or remove in a new draft of the national constitution. 

“In the face of decades of Congressional inaction and unelected judges that are putting Americans in danger, it is time for citizens to stand up for common sense to protect us against the uniquely American epidemic of gun violence,” said Newsom in a public statement. 

Newsom’s proposed national amendment would end most gun ownership for those under 21, mandate universal background checks (and thus, a national gun registry), a minimum waiting period before a gun is transferred to a buyer, and ban “assault weapons and other weapons of war.” 

Thirty-four state legislatures would have to adopt resolutions calling for a convention, and three quarters of states would have to ratify whatever the convention produces. Instead of a convention, the Constitution could also be amended by a two-thirds vote from both bodies of Congress and ratification by three quarters of states. 

Prominent Democrats, including State Senator Scott Wiener, have voiced significant concern about such a convention. Wiener was the lone Democrat to not vote for the resolution in committee, and one of two Democrats to vote against the bill during the Senate floor vote. 

“This is not a non-binding resolution. This is California going on record for the process of triggering a constitutional convention. When you reach a legal threshold, a constitutional convention is triggered,” said Wiener during the hearing before the vote in the Senate Committee on Public Safety. “There is nothing that says the calls for a convention have to be identical. There is nothing in the Constitution that says we can have a Constitutional convention limited to one topic.”  

 Many Second Amendment advocacy groups, including Gun Owners of California, have voiced similar concerns about a runaway convention while also noting the low odds such a convention could occur and that such a change would even be ratified.

“The door will be flung wide open for other issues – not related to firearms – to be addressed.  Even though the resolution states that the request for an amendment would be withdrawn if the delegates consider any other subjects, it is naïve to believe this would happen, plus its very clear that once a Constitutional Convention is called, it cannot be undone,” said Gun Owners of California Executive Director Sam Paredes in a letter to the California Senate. “No resolution from the State of California will have any binding authority on what could occur should a Convention actually be called.”

“Given that 27 of the 50 States have declared themselves “Constitutional Carry” and are actively working to divest themselves of statutes that violate the Second Amendment, this is an obvious [sic] unattainable goal,” Paredes continued.

Rep. Josiah Patkotak fundraiser for mayoral bid for Utqiagvik draws dozens of supporters

Suzanne Downing
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8
Rep. Josiah Patkotak fundraiser for mayoral bid for Utqiagvik draws dozens of supporters

The distance from Utqiagvik to Anchorage may be over 700 miles, but for Josiah Patkotak, it’s all about building relationships for the North Slope Borough with people all across the state.

About 40 people showed up at the fundraiser for Rep. Josiah Patkotak, who is running for the mayor of the North Slope Borough. The event at Little Italy in Anchorage brought out well known names like Adam and Joey Crum, former Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Joe Balash, former DEC Commissioner Jason Brune, oil company executive Ray Latchem, and Rick Green, who is with the Department of Fish and Game.

The election for the North Slope Borough seats are the same as most other local entities around the state — Oct. 3. Also running in the race for mayor are Anthony E. Edwardsen, John Hopson, Doreen Lampe.

In his remarks to the group at Little Italy, Patkotak spoke about building relationships on behalf of his community throughout Alaska and strengthening the local economy on the North Slope.

Also running for seats in the North Slope Borough are Assembly candidates Rex Allen Rock Sr., Eva Kinneeveauk, Don Anthony Nungasak, Martin Edwarsen, Doreen June Leavitt, Corrine Danner, and Frederick Brower. Robyn Burke, Qaiyaan Harcharek, and Frieda Kaleak are running for school board. No Assembly candidates filed for Point Lay’s seat and no school board candidate filed for Point Wainwright’s seat.

If Patkotak wins, he will relinquish his seat in the House of Representatives, and the governor will appoint his replacement for District 40. Patkotak is not a member of any political party.

Marine Corps orders two-day stand down; stealth jet has been found

Suzanne Downing
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20
Marine Corps orders two-day stand down; stealth jet has been found

After an F-35B Lightning Bolt fighter jet went missing over South Carolina on Sunday and was found on Monday afternoon, the acting commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps has ordered a stand down for safety.

Such stand downs are common after accidents, but jets going missing over American soil are not common. The incident has led to speculation, dark humor, and online social media insults to the competence of the Department of Defense.

In a press release, Acting Commandant Gen. Eric Smith announced the stand down for all Marine aviation units. Over the past six weeks there were two fatal accidents and now a stealth fighter went missing.

The jet was found in Williamsburg County, S.C., some 75 miles north of where the pilot ejected. The F35 could have flown hundreds of miles on autopilot without the pilot but appears to have crashed after perhaps a minute without a human on board.

The pilot landed in a neighborhood adjacent to Charleston International Airport. His wingman landed at Joint Base Charleston.

The base didn’t indicate where in Williamsburg County the crash occurred but local news outlets say a road in Indiantown was blocked off, according to WMBF. The Marine Corps will take over the investigation, now that the jet has been located.

The Marine Corps said “three Class-A aviation mishaps over the last six weeks” led Smith to direct all Marine Corps aviation units “to conduct a two-day pause in operations this week to discuss aviation safety matters and best practices.”

“During the safety stand down, aviation commanders will lead discussions with their Marines focusing on the fundamentals of safe flight operations, ground safety, maintenance and flight procedures, and maintaining combat readiness,” the release continues.

The other two aviation accidents include one in Australia that cost the lives of three Marines aboard an MV-22 Osprey, and another in California involving and F/A-18, also fatal to the pilot.

The Marine Corps had asked for the public’s help in locating the stray F-35.

Report: F-35 keeps flying, missing after pilot ejects over Charleston, S.C.

Rep. Emmer introduces bill to ban central bank digital currency

Suzanne Downing
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12
Rep. Emmer introduces bill to ban central bank digital currency

Rep. Tom Emmer has introduced a bill to ban the Federal Reserve from creating a central bank digital currency.

“A CBDC is nothing more than a CCP-style surveillance tool that can be weaponized to oppress the American way of life,” the Minnesota congressman said in remarks he made after introducing the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act.

A CBDC is a digital form of central bank money that is available to the general public. Central bank money refers to money that is a liability of the central bank.

In the United States, there are currently two types of central bank money: physical currency issued by the Federal Reserve and digital balances held by commercial banks at the Federal Reserve.

While Americans have long held money predominantly in digital form, such as bank accounts, payment apps like Venmo, or through online transactions, a CBDC would differ because a it would be a liability of the Federal Reserve, rather than a commercial bank.

CBDC is also different from decentralized cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, because a CBDC is a digital form of sovereign currency that is designed and issued by a government and transacts on a digital ledger that is controlled by that government.

In short, a CBDC is government-controlled programmable money that, if not designed to emulate cash, could give the federal government the ability to surveil Americans’ transactions and choke out politically unpopular activity. 

The CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, to halt the efforts of unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. from issuing a central bank digital currency that dismantles Americans’ right to financial privacy, Emmer said. He is joined by 50 original cosponsors on his legislation.

 “The administration has made it clear: President Biden is willing to compromise the American people’s right to financial privacy for a surveillance-style CBDC. That’s why I’m reintroducing my landmark legislation to put a check on unelected bureaucrats and ensure the United States’ digital currency policy upholds our values of privacy, individual sovereignty, and free-market competitiveness,” Emmer said.

Club for Growth President David McIntosh said that the CBDC concept is a form of social tracking, such as is found in China.

“Two world visions for the future of digital currencies are in conflict: China and a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) where government creates digital assets and surveils, spies, monitors, and restricts consumer behavior versus an American free marketplace that enables private competition that protects consumer data, allows economic freedom, enables innovation, and encourages competition. Club for Growth is pleased to work with House Majority Whip Tom Emmer so America doesn’t go down the China road and the Federal Reserve never develops a CBDC. We fully support this new legislation which does just that,” McIntosh said.

Specifically, the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC directly to individuals, ensuring the Fed cannot mobilize itself into a retail bank able to collect personal financial data on Americans. It prohibits the Fed from indirectly issuing a CBDC to individuals through an intermediary, preventing the Fed from launching a retail CBDC through our two-tier financial system.

It also prohibits the Fed from using any CBDC to implement monetary policy, ensuring the Federal Reserve cannot use a CBDC as a tool to control the American economy. The legislation protects innovation and any future development of digital cash. 

Whip Emmer first introduced the leading Republican bill to address central bank digital currencies in January of 2022.

The bill is now co-sponsored by 50 of Whip Emmer’s Republican colleagues, including Members of the Financial Services Committee, Representatives French Hill (AR-02), Warren Davidson (OH-08), Byron Donalds (FL-19), Pete Sessions (TX-32), Young Kim (CA-40), William Timmons (SC-04), Ralph Norman (SC-05), Barry Loudermilk (GA-11), Bryan Steil (WI-01), Scott Fitzgerald (WI-05), Mike Flood (NE-01), Bill Posey (FL-08), Mike Lawler (NY-17), Andy Ogles (TN-05) and Ann Wagner (MO-02). 

Breaking: Russia fires missiles near Alaska in Bering, Chukchi Seas

Suzanne Downing
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29
Breaking: Russia fires missiles near Alaska in Bering, Chukchi Seas

Russia fired cruise missiles on Monday at mock targets in the Bering Sea, which are the waters separating eastern Russia from Alaska. The Russian Defense Ministry said it is an exercise to protect the northern shipping route in the Arctic.

Russia has increasingly been using the Arctic Ocean for shipping and four weeks ago a group of Russians from the Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute unveiled a massive Russian flag on the sea ice nearby the drifting polar station, “Severny polyus-41,” in an event that was meant to display dominance.

On Monday, Vulcan, Granit and Onyx cruise missiles were fired over distances of hundreds of miles to strike targets that were simulating enemy ships in the Bering Sea, according to Reuters. About 10,000 Russian military troops are involved in the exercise, along with multiple planes, helicopters, and other equipment.

“The drills took place on Russia’s Chukotka peninsula and in the Chukchi and Bering Seas, and were supervised by Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, commander-in-chief of the Russian navy,” Reuters reports.

In July, Russia conducted similar exercises in the Black Sea to the south.

This story will be updated as details emerge.

Parker Thayer: Voter registration charities are an overlooked scandal

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
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18
Parker Thayer: Voter registration charities are an overlooked scandal

By PARKER THAYER | REAL CLEAR WIRE

“Nonprofit voter registration” doesn’t sound interesting. Yet nonprofit voter registration, or the use of tax-exempt charitable organizations to conduct and fund voter registration drives, is one of the most important and underreported political scandals of our time.

Nonprofit voter registration, and the get-out-the-vote (GOTV) activities that usually accompany it, have become the heart of a billion-dollar industry in America. According to Candid’s Foundation Funding for U.S. Democracy database, since 2011 nearly 60,000 grants have been made for “Voter Education, Registration, and Turnout” and “Civic Participation,” benefitting 15,000 different organizations to the tune of $5.9 billion dollars.

Most of the largest grantors and grantees in this industry are left-leaning. Despite IRS rules prohibiting 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit groups from engaging in partisan electioneering, it has long been an open secret that the purpose of their work is to register voters from favorable demographics in order to help get Democrats elected. The voter registration industry has always retreated behind the fig-leaf of “nonpartisanship” when necessary, which has protected it from serious scrutiny..

Until now, that is. My recent special report, How Charities Secretly Help Win Elections, ripped away that fig-leaf. The report reveals the untold story of a nondescript charity named the “Voter Registration Project” that was used to funnel over $100 million into a five-year voter registration scheme hatched by Clinton campaign operatives to help Democrats win elections in 2020. Using tax forms, leaked documents, and leaked emails, the report shows how the scheme aimed to register over 5 million “non-white” voters in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia, and Nevada; how it was developed through multiple drafts and edits into a highly sophisticated plan dubbed the Everybody Votes Campaign; and how that plan was eventually adopted by a super PAC tied to Sam Bankman-Fried that instructed billionaire donors to keep it completely secret since it was the most “cost-effective” method for “netting additional Democratic votes.”

The report even shows several of the plan’s major donors admitting, in signed tax forms, that their “charitable” grants to the Voter Registration Project were made for the express purpose of supporting the super PAC that had recommended it to them. It was the largest, most organized, and most blatantly partisan nonprofit voter registration drive in American history. By our estimates it generated between 1 and 2.7 million swing-state votes for President Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Americans are expected to believe the excuse, given on the Everybody Votes Campaign’s new website, that their left-wing donors are merely “committed to creating a more representative democracy by building and supporting large-scale, long-term voter registration in communities of color.” Their website notably boasts that 76% of the 5.1 million voters they have registered were people of color, but then curiously declines to mention which states said people of color were from. A recent job listing from the organization shows that their targets states for 2024 will be Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin.

That’s right, the donors and directors of the Everybody Votes Campaign care deeply about the civic participation of “communities of color.” So deeply, in fact, that they have been, and will be, registering millions of minority voters, but only in the most important presidential swing states. No room for California and New York (two of America’s most populous states) nor Mississippi and Louisiana (which have the highest Black population by percentage).

It should be obvious to anyone who looks a little deeper than the mission statement that “Everybody Votes” is more than a little bit of a misnomer.

This article was originally published by RealClearPublicAffairs and made available via RealClearWire.

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