Six years ago, an Alaska domestic violence nonprofit posted an item on social that categorized the slogan “Make America Great Again” as a hate message, such as you might hear from the KKK or other white supremacy groups.
Must Read Alaska called out that characterization on these pages. It’s what we do here. Every day we defend sensible policy and conservative viewpoints from the attacks by the Left. It’s a lot of work, and the hits from the far left just keep coming.
Many Alaskans — at least 20,000 a day — come by here for news, commentary, and the vibrant forum in the comment section — the best in Alaska. It’s a respite from the woke liberal media that dominates the state, and it has grown more important than ever over the years because of your support and because of the current state of our nation.
Must Read Alaska has exceeded 30 million views as of last month, and I have approved over 220,000 comments on stories. The site has endured and fought off brute force attacks — hundreds of thousands of them — by bad actors from the Left.
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Your help is greatly appreciated in keeping Must Read Alaska alive and well, even as the Left tries to take MRAK down in every way possible. Thank you for supporting this project, dedicated to keeping the media balanced in Alaska.
The Alaska political group known as Native Movement is bringing a noted drag queen to Alaska and will make him available to teens and young adults at an event just for them at the Alaska Public Interest Research Group’s Anchorage offices.
Pattie Gonia is a drag queen who mixes environmentalism with drag in his public appearances. He has an Instagram following of 572,000, and posts photos of himself in the wilds in various drag and other costume attire.
While in Alaska, Gonia will be featured at a “lunch and learn” conversation for youth on the topic of “the with Pattie Gonia about the “intersection of climate justice and gender justice. For teens and young adults. Lunch will be provided.”
Gonia is coming to the state to help raise funds for Native Movement, Alaska Public Interest Research Group, and Alaska Community Actions on Toxins.
Screen shot of Pattie Gonia’s Instagram account shows him with Vice President Kamala Harris. More at: https://www.instagram.com/pattiegonia/?hl=en
Gonia will co-host an event for adults with another state-based drag queen named Golden Delicious, at the 49th State Brewery in Anchorage on Sept. 2, an evening that will also include drag queens Lamia Monroe, Athena Nuff and Ice Watah, a performer who describes himself as the “nicest a**hole you ever met.”
The No Labels Party may have a presidential nominee on the Alaska ballot next year.
No Labels, founded by mostly former Democrats and disaffected moderate Republicans, has won ballot access in 10 states, with North Carolina Board of Elections approving it for the 2024 presidential ballot earlier this month.
In Alaska, No Labels has been categorized as a “limited political party.” Per Alaska Statute, a group may file a petition to become a limited political party in the presidential campaign, and can maintain this status if its presidential candidate receives at least 3% of the vote.
A limited political party is a group that organizes for the purpose of selecting candidates for electors for president and vice president, according to statute.
The 10 states where No Labels Party ticket has ballot access are, so far: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, South Dakota and Utah.
“The No Labels movement has achieved a significant milestone, winning ballot access in 10 states,” said civil rights leader Dr. Benjamin J. Chavis, National Co-Chair of No Labels. “This is a historic victory for Americans who have said loud and clear they want more choices at the ballot box. The spirit of democracy is winning in America today.”
Former Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut was the founding chairman of the party in 2009. During his last term in office, (he served from 1989 to 2013), he listed himself as an independent Democrat and caucused with and chaired committees for the Democratic Party. Nancy Jacobson, a former fundraiser for the Democratic Party, became co-founder, president, and CEO of No Labels.
Since its founding, No Labels has been working to dismantle partisanship and “cultivating a spirit of unity among among elected officials from both sides of the aisle. The organization is focused on common-sense policy solutions, practical compromise and cross-party collaboration, aimed at addressing the pressing challenges facing the nation.”
During that time, however, partisanship has only deepened at every level of American politics, even in nonpartisan races.
Sen. Joe Manchin and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski have been much discussed as a possible No Labels ticket for president and Vice President. Manchin is on the right side of the Democratic Party, and Murkowski is on the left side of the Republican Party.
Murkowski fueled that rumor when she said on the record that if the choice is between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, she will vote for Manchin, who is not yet an announced candidate, but who faces an uphill battle if he decides to run for reelection to the Senate. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, a Republican, leads Manchin, a Democrat, in the polls by 22 points in a hypothetical Senate matchup.
No Labels, which held its first town hall in Manchester, New Hampshire on July 17, featuring Sen. Manchin and Republican former Utah Sen. Jon Huntsman, announced this weekend that it would hold a presidential nominating convention in Dallas, Texas, in April. No details were given about how the party would decide on its nominee.
The video of the first town hall has only garnered about 3,000 views on YouTube:
In a survey the group released last week of registered voters in the top eight presidential battleground states, 63%, said they are open to voting for a moderate independent ticket in the event of a Biden-Trump rematch, the party said. Some 69% of those surveyed supported groups like No Labels getting on the ballot “in case an independent wants to run for president.”
Alaska has four “recognized political parties” — Alaska Democratic Party, Alaska Republican Party, Alaska Libertarian Party and Alaskan Independence Party.
There are also several recognized “political groups,” some of which do not advance a candidate for president, but they have dozens or more registered members. These have applications on file with the Division of Elections: Alliance Party of Alaska, Freedom Reform Party, Green Party of Alaska, Moderate Party of Alaska, Patriot’s Party of Alaska, Progressive Party of Alaska, UCES’ Clowns Party, and Veterans Party of Alaska.
The No Labels Party is in the third category of a “limited political party,” along with the Alaska Constitution Party. There are no actual registered members of the No Labels Party in Alaska at this time, because it has no known local sub-organization that has registered with the state Division of Elections.
The presidential election in Alaska is not subject to open primaries or ranked choice voting.
Like California, Anchorage’s Assembly has this month relaxed jaywalking and bicycling laws in an effort to create more equity since, according to the Assembly, more people of color are arrested for violating pedestrian and cyclist rules of the road.
But in the City of Los Angeles, similar measures in the name of equity have led to an increase in pedestrian fatalities.
In 2023, according to the Los Angeles Police Department, while the city has seen a reduction from the 20-year high in pedestrian fatalities that was set in 2022, fully 75% of the fatalities this year involved jaywalkers.
Deputy District Attorney John McKinney, a district attorney candidate, is calling the deadly results “predictable outcomes,” Fox News reports.
“The new law, which legalized jaywalking, was enacted in January of 2023 and has already led to 19 fatalities due to unsafe crossings” out of the 26 pedestrian fatalities in Los Angeles through Aug. 7, McKinney said, according toFox reporting.
McKinney called the new state jaywalking law “equity run amok.”
This, in a state where the pedestrian fatality rate is already 25% above the national average.
Jaywalking became legal all over California after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law in January that allows people to jaywalk or cross outside of an intersection – without being ticketed – as long as it’s safe. The Freedom To Walk Act changed the law so people can only be ticketed for jaywalking if there’s an immediate danger of a crash.
Beginning in October, Anchorage pedestrians will not face fines for jaywalking, after the Assembly recently passed new laws in the name of equity that allow walkers to cross streets wherever and whenever the walker thinks it’s safe to do so. Typically, police have not ticketed people for jaywalking in Anchorage, but the new law will mean that if they do cite someone for unsafe crossing, they’ll probably end up in court.
This week, we commemorate the 60th anniversary of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream”speech.
There is a timeless power to Dr. King’s speech, a power that transcends his soaring oratory and rhetorical flair. His speech continues to challenge and inspire us because it is “deeply rooted” in the dream that birthed our nation.
That dream was conceived in a Declaration of Independence that set forth certain unassailable truths and “unalienable rights.” We have struggled to fully realize the dream ever since.
The Reconstruction Era witnessed the passing of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, making significant advancements in the cause of freedom and racial justice. During that period, 15 African-Americans were elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and two were elected to the U.S. Senate – Hiram Revels (R) became the first black U.S. Senator and Blanche K. Bruce (R), a former slave, became the first African-American to preside over the Senate.
Nevertheless, on Aug. 28, 1963, Dr. King stood before the statue of the Great Emancipator, President Abraham Lincoln, and convicted the conscience of a nation, reminding America that the evils of racism continued to corrupt our culture and to compromise its institutions.
The evils of racial segregation were still casting dark shadows across our national landscape, forcing African-Americans to live as “exile[s] in [their] own land” and denying them their full birthright as co-heirs to the American Dream.
Dr. King, however, believed a better future was possible – even imminent. After all, he was a dreamer. He described Black America as standing on “the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice[,]” and he foresaw a day when the children of slaves and slaveholders would sit together at “the table of brotherhood[.]”
His words proved prophetic. Less than one year later, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which, among other things, banned racial discrimination in employment and ended segregation in public places.
On June 12, 1967, in Loving v. Virginia, the U.S. Supreme Court took Dr. King’s dream a step further – the children of slaves and slaveholders could now legally marry. Finally, on August 30, 1967, four years after Dr. King shared his dream, Justice Thurgood Marshall became the first African-American to cross the threshold that led into our nation’s “palace of justice” and took his place in one of its judgment seats. The “arc of the moral universe”was inexorably “bend[ing] toward justice” at an accelerated pace.
Dr. King, however, sensed he would not live to enjoy the fullness of his dream; he would only see it from a distance. The night before his assassination, invoking biblical imagery, he likened himself to Moses, declaring that God had allowed him “to go up to the mountain.” He had seen a future of freedom and equality, “the Promised Land,” from where he stood. Like Moses, he would not cross over, but his people would.
As I reflect on Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, I am reminded that it also laid out the path to realizing his dream – love.
I am not talking about the kind of love that is borne of sentimentality or fleeting feelings. I am talking about the kind of love that compels one to lay down his life for another; the kind of love that inspires someone to identify with and advocate for those suffering injustice; the kind of love that forgives even the most grievous wrongs and gravest of transgressions. Dr. King believed that kind of love would forge a path through Jim Crow’s desert wilderness to the verdant hills and the mighty streams of the Promised Land.
Sadly, many politicians, pundits, and professors are actively working to dismantle the dream for which Dr. King and others gave their lives. They serve up frothing “cup[s] of bitterness and hatred,” encouraging aggrieved people of color to drink their poisoned ale.
Nevertheless, Dr. King’s booming baritone can still be heard today, inspiring us to choose a better way – love over hate, unity over division, forgiveness over bitterness, reconciliation over grievance, and partnership over partisanship.
Let freedom ring.
Niki Tshibaka is a former federal civil rights attorney and government executive.
Joining the long list of Biden officials touring Alaska this month was the chief executive officer of AmeriCorps, Michael Smith, who just came off of a week-long tour.
Smith runs the federal volunteer service that is the successor to Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA). His visit to Alaska included Scammon Bay, Bethel, Fairbanks, and Anchorage.
Smith was confirmed by the Senate to run AmeriCorps in December, 2021. Prior to the appointment by President Joe Biden, he was the director of youth opportunity programs at the Obama Foundation, and executive director of the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, a program of former President Barack Obama, who appointed him. He was special assistant to Obama for My Brother’s Keeper in the White House, where he served in the Obama Administration for two years and four months. He is a graduate of Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia.
Although AmeriCorps is called volunteer work, the average salary for “volunteers” in Alaska is $115,271 annually as of July 25, 2023. The annual range for Alaska falls between $99,205 and $134,853.
Dozens of federal officials from the Biden Administration have spread across the state this month in a full-court press to push the Biden agenda.
A federal judge appointed by President Joe Biden ruled against Maryland parents on Thursday, saying that parents have no right to opt their children out of classes teaching an LGBTQ+ curriculum.
Since Biden took office, the push has intensified to indoctrinate children into LGBTQ lifestyles through the public education system. Parents are increasingly pushing back and several lawsuits are moving through the courts.
The parents of elementary school-age children sued Maryland’s Montgomery County Public Schools, asking that the district reinstate a previous policy that allowed parents to withdraw their children from LGBTQ-related materials. The district had such a policy at the beginning of the year, but then withdrew the policy in March.
“In March of this year, the defendants—the Montgomery County Board of Education, the MCPS superintendent, and the elected board members (collectively, the “School Board”)—announced that parents no longer would receive advance notice of when the storybooks would be read or be able opt their children out. Following the announcement, three families of diverse faiths filed suit against the School Board, claiming the no-opt-out policy violates their and their children’s free exercise and free speech rights under the First Amendment, the parents’ substantive due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment, and Maryland law,” the opinion explained.
“A critical part of the School Board’s approach is representation of diverse identities and communities in the curriculum. ‘Representation in the curriculum creates and normalizes a fully inclusive environment for all students’ and ‘supports a student’s ability to empathize, connect, and collaborate with diverse peers and encourages respect for all,’” the school district argued.
“The Court concludes the plaintiffs’ asserted due process right to direct their children’s upbringing by opting out of a public-school curriculum that conflicts with their religious views is not a fundamental right,” wrote Judge Deborah L. Boardman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.
Late last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encouraged schools to push the LGBTQ agenda: “Schools play a critical role in supporting the health and academic development of all youth, including the success of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) youth,” the CDC stated. “Creating and sustaining inclusive school environments, policies, programs, and practices that include LGBTQ youth is one strategy for improving the health and academic success of all youth.”
The CDC also encouraged leaders to “advocate for LGBTQ inclusive and affirming materials in all school and classroom environments” and to participate in the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance.
The Functional Government Initiative, a government watchdog, has reported that the Department of Health and Human Services had no written scientific or academic basis to support Secretary Xavier Becerra’s controversial recommendation for Covid-19 vaccine booster shots every two months.
The revelation came after eight months of investigation and a lawsuit filed by FGI against HHS, shedding light on discrepancies within the Biden Administration’s approach to pandemic policy.
The saga began when on Nov. 28, 2022, Vice President Kamala Harris posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, a message advocating for an annual Covid-19 vaccine shot. Just a day later, Secretary Becerra, who lacks a medical background, took to Twitter with a contrasting message, advocating for booster shots every two months. This significant difference in recommendations raised concerns about the administration’s quality of its public health recommendations.
FGI tried to get information through several Freedom of Information Act requests showing scientific basis for Secretary Becerra’s recommendation. The HHS’s delay in responding to this FOIA request prompted FGI to resort to legal action, compelling the agency to provide an explanation.
After months of legal proceedings, HHS finally responded to FGI with what it said is its “final response.” It had no documents at all “relevant to your request.”
Th official government response has raised questions about the scientific integrity of the recommendation, as well as the commitment of federal officials to base public health decisions on empirical evidence, even if they appear to contradict the Biden agenda.
Peter McGinnis, a spokesperson for FGI, expressed strong criticism over the situation: “The lack of a single record supporting Secretary Becerra’s bold public health recommendation for six Covid boosters a year is a startling development. It is tremendously irresponsible for the government’s chief health official to fire off tweets recommending frequent injections of a new vaccine booster apparently based on no academic or scientific support.”
In 2021, Becerra had to backtrack after he said that “it is absolutely the government’s business” to know which Americans had not been vaccinated against the coronavirus. His comment drew sharp rebuke from Republicans in Congress.
His comments then, along with similar comments from President Joe Biden, who said public health officials would be going door to door to ensure the remaining Americans who had not been vaccinated are given the shot.
“Now, we need to go community by community, neighborhood by neighborhood, and oftentimes, door to door — literally knocking on doors — to get help to the remaining people protected from the virus,” Biden said.
Then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki also said at the time that the government would knock on doors, with “targeted, community-by-community, door-to-door outreach to get remaining Americans vaccinated.”
Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona responded, “It’s NONE of the [government’s] business knowing who has or hasn’t been vaccinated.”
“How about don’t knock on my door,” Rep. Dan Crenshaw also wrote on Twitter in response in 2021. “You’re not my parents. You’re the government. Make the vaccine available, and let people be free to choose. Why is that concept so hard for the left?”
On Friday, Aug. 25, 2023, President Joe Biden said he has asked Congress for money to develop yet another Covid vaccine “that works.”
Just one of the 19 co-defendants in the Georgia election fraud case that involves former President Donald Trump is being held without bail. He is a black man.
Harrison Floyd was booked into the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta on Thursday, charged with violating the Georgia RICO Act. He is also charged with conspiracy to commit solicitation of false statements and writings, and influencing witnesses.
Floyd is the leader of Black Voices for Trump and the judge decided he was a flight risk.
“I do find that based on the open charge against you there are grounds for bond to be denied at this point,” Judge Emily Richardson said. “So I’m going to go ahead and find that you are at risk to commit additional felonies and a potential risk to flee the jurisdiction.”
Floyd represented himself, saying that legal counsel was something he could not afford, although it’s unclear why he did not accept a court-appointed defender.
Floyd is a 39-year-old U.S. Marine Corps veteran who was the director of the political group Black Voices for Trump during the 2020 election cycle. He is a graduate of George Washington University, has been active in the Republican Party in Georgia, and in 2019 ran for Congress, dropping his candidacy after just a month.
In May, he was charged with charged in a federal case for allegedly attacking an FBI agent who was serving him a grand jury subpoena in the Department of Justice’s investigation into events surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021 efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
In that case, it’s unclear what occurred, but deduced from the FBI story is that Floyd body-bumped the FBI agent to get him to step back, and yelled some bad words at him.
