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David Eastman: Malicious prosecution and persecution of conservatives

Suzanne Downing
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David Eastman: Malicious prosecution and persecution of conservatives

By REP. DAVID EASTMAN

Many Alaskans are blissfully unaware of how intolerant the State Capitol building has grown toward conservatives in recent years. To be known as a conservative legislator or a conservative activist in Juneau is to have a target on your back. Sooner or later, that means being subjected to a politically motivated prosecution from the misnamed Legislative Ethics Committee. 

Rep. Tammie Wilson of North Pole was targeted by the Ethics Committee when she served in the Legislature. Sen. Lora Reinbold of Eagle River was targeted. Rep. Christopher Kurka of Wasilla was targeted. And my staff and I were targeted as well. It wasn’t any better when I was a member of the Ethics Committee several years ago.

Setting aside its original purpose, the function of the Ethics Committee today is to censor what legislators can say, especially conservative legislators. In addition to policing more traditional forms of communication, the committee has lately decided that it should also be able to police what legislators say on social media as well.

Of the five permanent members of the committee, all of whom are appointed by the chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court, there is not a single Republican. Four are non-partisan, one is Democrat, and three of the five signed a petition to recall Gov. Mike Dunleavy in 2019.

Often, just the threat of being hauled before the committee, even on the most dubious of accusations, is enough to convince legislators to steer clear of things they would otherwise say and do. Over time, policing what legislators are permitted to say results in a huge power disparity between legislators who have the option to simply let the liberal media or unions do their talking for them, and conservative legislators who usually do not have that option. But that is a topic for another day.

It was April 14. I led the House in the Pledge of Allegiance that day, and I introduced two guests who were visiting Juneau from the Mat-Su. All told, the introductions lasted less than twenty seconds. 

When I was first elected, it was not uncommon for legislators to extend the courtesy of an introduction to anyone visiting the legislature from out of town, even candidates who had run against them in the last election. But that has begun to change. All guests are equal, but some conservatives are less equal than others.

I was told afterward that, during this briefest of introductions, I had crossed a line. A fellow legislator, Rep. Kevin McCabe, told me that I shouldn’t have done that. The guest I introduced was a political enemy of his. The message was clear: I should have joined others in cancelling him, not welcomed him to the Capitol.

Who was the guest? The oft reviled Pat Martin of Alaska Right to Life, who was in Juneau that day to deliver 5,000 signatures on a petition asking legislators to halt the state taxpayer funding of abortion. There are at least two things that today’s legislators are disinclined to do: Moving the capital and ending state funding of abortion both make the list.

Even so, both are popular issues that a majority of Alaskans have supported in the past and continue to support today. I suspect an activist roaming the halls of Juneau advocating to move the capitol would have been treated similarly. To be clear, I would have welcomed such a person to Juneau as well. But some legislators would prefer to make the capitol building a safe space, insulated from such dangerous ideas and those who advocate for them.

On April 14, one legislator’s office flat out refused to accept the 5,000 signatures. One responded by calling security and saying that Martin had been seen with a firearm in the capitol building.

Security responded. There was no firearm. It was a “swatting” incident, the first I am aware of in the state Capitol. All Alaskans are welcome to come to the capitol building, but some are more welcome than others.

Three weeks later, Rep. Christopher Kurka awoke to the news that an ethics complaint had been filed against him by Rep. McCabe for the political crime of welcoming Kevin’s political enemy, Pat Martin, into his office at the State Capitol Building. Seven minutes later, I received, word for word, the exact same complaint.

Until April 14, it was unheard of that someone would file an ethics complaint against you because they were offended at who you chose to meet with in your office at the capitol building. It was also unheard of that the ethics committee would ever allow themselves to be used to prosecute such a complaint. Not anymore.

Picture, for a moment, yourself as a legislator in Juneau. It’s April 14, you just spent your day debating and voting on eight different bills, ranging from bills to unionize childcare providers to bills dealing with various oil royalties. Immediately afterwards, you move to a committee hearing where you consider further bills, including a potential salary increase for state employees and a bill requiring legislative confirmation hearings for members of the Alaska Permanent Fund Board.

At 5:23 pm, the committee finally adjourns and you get to begin preparing for the next day, where you will take up a bill redefining the definition of rape in state law. As part of that bill, you will be hearing public testimony from rape victims whose assailants were never prosecuted because of the way the legislature defined rape in state law decades ago. That evening, you and your staff finally part ways to get some rest and begin the process anew the following day.

Three weeks later, you are informed by authorities that a fellow legislator has charged you with violating state ethics laws for your work that day. Instead of spending your day in committee and voting on bills, the legislator accuses you of spending most of the day in your office, with a political enemy of his no less. The kicker — and this is where the story takes a turn towards the incredible — the legislator who filed the charges wasn’t even in the capitol building that day. In fact, he missed the entire voting session that day because he was over a thousand miles away when it happened.

It seems like an open and shut case, right? Someone accuses you of spending most of the day in your office with someone they are publicly at odds with, and video from the day’s events shows that you were present for the entirety of that day’s protracted house floor session and the committee meeting that immediately followed it. Further, the written record shows that you were present for every vote taken that day, and it also shows that the person filing the charges was not.

But we don’t need to imagine this. This happened to two Mat-Su legislators. I was one of them.

These two complaints triggered an investigation and legal proceedings that lasted more than 18 months—all at state expense of course. I and the other legislator were of course obliged to hire attorneys to defend ourselves against the charges. The subsequent legal proceedings involved no less than four hearings and committee meetings, as well as numerous interviews over the 20-month period, between the legislator initiating the charges in April 2022 and the case finally being dismissed in December 2023.

Even after Rep. Kurka left office in January, rather than dismiss the complaint against him, the committee chose to continue the charade for another 11 months. 

When Rep. Kurka and I were finally told that we were free to go in December, we had been obliged to spend more than $6,000 dollars in legal fees, and had invested hundreds of hours of time over the nearly two-year episode. Even in the very moment of dismissing the cases against us, the committee insisted on  publicly criticizing both Rep. Kurka and I for the fact that we had each been unavailable during the height of our election campaigns. To add still further injury, we were told that the Ethics Committee considers legal representation a luxury. Accordingly, even after we were found innocent, we were told that the committee would not aid us in recovering any of our costs.

Alaskans are not able to recover any of their costs from these two cases either; the costs associated with the numerous committee hearings spanning nearly two years, the cost of the state hiring an investigator, the travel and per diem costs for each of the five public members of the committee, the time spent by at least six legislators who were involved in the case, and the time that our respective staff spent on these two cases instead of being able to engage with constituents. All told, it is quite the bill—and to think it was all triggered by a guest introduction lasting less than 20 seconds.

Rep. David Eastman is a Republican House member from Wasilla, House District 27.

National debt: $34.2 trillion and counting

Suzanne Downing
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National debt: $34.2 trillion and counting

Worried about government spending? The debt that the nation owes due to government borrowing and spending reached over $34 trillion on Jan. 2, according to the U.S. National Debt Clock.

Six weeks later, it has reached $34.2 trillion. On this trajectory, the national debt will reach about $35 trillion before the end of summer and $36 trillion when the next president is sworn in in January of 2025, some 343 days from this report.

Debt is different from deficit spending. Last year, the Biden Administration ran a spending deficit of about $2 trillion. Compare that to the end of 2020, when the government’s budget deficit was $3.1 trillion, due in part to the Covid pandemic response. Prior to the pandemic, in 2019, the budget deficit under the Trump Administration was $1 trillion.

Driving the deficit higher was $659 billion in interest payments on borrowing, which has blasted through the Congressional Budget Office’s forecast by 137%.

Treasury notes are now 4%, rather than the 1.6% estimated by the CBO, and the federal debt is $2.5 trillion higher than CBO projections before Biden took office and Congress started passing big spending packages, like the Inflation Reduction Act, about $515 billion in borrowed money, referred to as the largest piece of federal legislation ever to address climate change.

The debt that the federal government has incurred on behalf of citizens now amounts to $265,000 per taxpayer. That’s about $19,000 more per taxpayer than one year ago.

The nation’s fiscal and economic outlook has deteriorated substantially since the last Congressional Budget Office (CBO) baseline in May, when CBO projected debt would reach a record 110 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2032. Under an updated current law baseline, we now project debt in 2032 will reach 116 percent of GDP, deficits will reach 6.6 percent of GDP, and interest will reach a record 3.4 percent of GDP. Under a more pessimistic (and in many ways realistic) scenario, debt in 2032 would reach 138 percent of GDP, deficits would reach 10.1 percent, and interest would total 4.4 percent of GDP. These projections suggest an unsustainable fiscal trajectory,” wrote the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget in 2022.

The CBO was off by a few years. It only took two years for the debt-to-GDP ratio to reach 122.7% and for the Treasury notes to reach 4%.

View the U.S. Debt Clock at this website.

“A study by the World Bank found that countries whose debt-to-GDP ratios exceed 77% for prolonged periods experience significant slowdowns in economic growth. Pointedly, every percentage point of debt above this level costs countries 0.017 percentage points in economic growth,” according to Investopedia.

The U.S. has scored over 77 since 2009, but recently exploded into the “fiscal cliff” category. Only Japan, Greece, Singapore, and Italy are higher in the world’s advanced economics, according to Visual Capitalist.

The Biden White House predicted that in 2024, the national debt would be $28 trillion, and would reach $33 trillion in 2027.

Here’s what the U.S. debt clock looked like one year ago, on Feb. 9, 2023, when the debt was $31.5 trillion:

U.S. Debt Clock in February, 2023

What would it take to get the federal debt back into its box?

According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, it would take about $8 trillion of 10-year savings to stabilize debt as a share of the economy and about $15 trillion to balance the budget under the Congressional Budget Office’s February 2024 baseline.

“Under current law, CBO projects that federal debt held by the public will rise from roughly 97 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) today to a record 106.3 percent by the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2028 and grow further to 116 percent of GDP by the end of FY 2034. With this in mind, policymakers should set a fiscal goal to stabilize or reduce the debt and prevent substantial risks and threats to the budget and economy,” the watchdog group says.

“While there isn’t one ideal fiscal goal, there are several that represent a significant improvement to the current fiscal outlook. For example, policymakers could aim to stabilize debt or reduce debt to a target level of GDP over five or ten years. Stabilizing debt at its current level of roughly 97 percent of GDP would require $3.6 trillion of deficit reduction (including interest) over five years or $7.9 trillion of savings over ten years. Reducing debt to 80 percent of GDP, which would be in line with the pre-pandemic level, would require $9.4 trillion of five-year savings or $15.0 trillion of ten-year savings,” the group says. Read more here.

For consumer borrowers, on Feb. 14, 2024, the current average 30-year fixed mortgage interest rate is 7.25%, according to Bankrate.com. The rate has risen 15 basis points over the last seven days.

Some are predicting a fiscal crisis in 2025, with the expiration of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act coming at the same time the national debt continues to soar.

Here are some of the effects of the sunsetting of the TCJA, according to Howard Gleckman of the Brookings Institute, who writes that all of the individual tax provisions of the 2017 legislation expire at the end of 2025. Among the changes:

Gleckman says taxes will likely increase for most US households. Read his report at this link.

National debt heating up fast, says independent group, and is expected to reach 138% of GDP in 10 years

Alaska Airlines flight attendants authorize strike: ‘Pay us, or CHAOS!’

Suzanne Downing
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Alaska Airlines flight attendants authorize strike: ‘Pay us, or CHAOS!’

Alaska Airlines flight attendants have authorized a strike, if their union, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, fail to reach an agreement with the company.

“Alaska Flight Attendants today backed up our fight for an industry-leading contract with a 99.48% strike vote. And we’re out on the picket line demonstrating that we’re ready to do whatever it takes to get the contract we deserve. There’s no excuse: Alaska management has the money to buy another airline, they certainly have the money to invest in Flight Attendants. We have a simple message for management: Pay us, or CHAOS!” said AFA Alaska President Jeffrey Peterson.

The last time Alaska Airlines flight attendants went on strike was in 1993, when the Alaska flight attendants adopted the CHAOS slogan. A CHAOS strike is an intermittent strike strategy, where attendants could strike any flight at any time without notice to management or passengers.

The group has even trademarked the CHAOS strategy, which is intended to do maximum damage to the company.

“This trademarked strike strategy has the power to disrupt operations system-wide by striking just a few flights at a time, one hub location, or the entire system. In 1993’s strike, Alaska saw dramatic reductions in ticket bookings as passengers never knew whether Alaska flights might take off until they had already arrived at the airport,” the union said.

“You can’t fly without Flight Attendants. If Alaska management doesn’t remember what happens when you disrespect Flight Attendants, we are ready to show them. It’s past time for a fair deal,” said AFA International President Sara Nelson. 

Now that members have authorized a strike, the union can request a release from the National Mediation Board leading to a 30-day “cooling off” period and strike deadline.

Fly the gay-friendly skies: Alaska Airlines goes all out
Alaska Airlines pilot pickets snarl travel in Northwest

Peltola votes against impeachment of Mayorkas, but this time Republicans had the votes

Suzanne Downing
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Peltola votes against impeachment of Mayorkas, but this time Republicans had the votes

Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola chose to let Joe Biden and his border crisis off the hook, sticking with Democrats in voting against impeachment on Tuesday of Alejandro Mayorkas.

But the historic impeachment vote succeeded anyway, by one vote — 214-213 — making Secretary Mayorkas the first cabinet member to be impeached since Secretary of War William Belknap was impeached in 1876.

Since Biden took office and appointed Mayorkas, more than 8.3 million illegal crossings have occurred at the southern border.

“As Joe Biden’s enabler in Congress, Mary Peltola is choosing to let Biden’s Secretary of Open Borders off the hook for the disaster they have caused for every community. Peltola is not serious about securing our border,” said National Republican Congressional Committee Spokesperson Ben Petersen.

The two articles of impeachment are “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” and “breach of public trust.”

“Alejandro Mayorkas deserves to be impeached, and Congress has a constitutional obligation to do so,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson.

It was the second impeachment vote. The first one failed last week because Rep. Steve Scalise was undergoing treatment for blood cancer. He was present for the vote today.

The impeachment is expected to die in the Democrat-majority Senate.

Homeland’s Mayorkas escapes impeachment, with Alaska Rep. Peltola sticking with Biden

A tradition continues: Juneau Republican women deliver treats to legislators on Lincoln’s birthday

Suzanne Downing
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A tradition continues: Juneau Republican women deliver treats to legislators on Lincoln’s birthday

Every year, the Republican Women of Juneau bake birthday cakes to deliver to Republican legislators in Juneau, in honor of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. He was the first Republican president and ushered in the era of the Republican Party.

This year, they tried something different — gingerbread cookies, which known to be one of the 16th president’s favorite sweets.

During one 1858 debate with Stephen Douglas on the campaign trail, Lincoln told some personal details, which have endured through time: “When we lived in Indiana, once in a while my mother used to get some sorghum and ginger and make some gingerbread. It wasn’t often and it was our biggest treat.”

He continued, “There was a family near us poorer than we were, and their boy came along as I sat down. ‘Abe,’ he said, “gimme a man.’ I gave him one. He crammed it into his mouth in two bits and looked at me while I was biting the legs off my first one. ‘Abe, gimme that other’n.’ I wanted it myself, but I gave it to him and as it followed the first, I said to him, ’You seem to like gingerbread.’ ‘Abe,’ he said, ‘I don’t s’pose anybody on earth likes gingerbread better’n I do- and gets less’n I do ….”

Inside each package of cookies delivered on Monday, the Republican women slipped in a note explaining the history of the gingerbread cookie and President Lincoln, compliments of the Blue and Gray Education Society, a non-profit that is dedicated to the preservation of Civil War history.

“February 12, 2024, is our first Republican president’s (215th) birthday. In honor of Lincoln’s birthday, Capital City Republican Women have baked each of our Republican legislators a batch of Taku Glacier Lodge spicy ginger cookies. It may be too cold to go outside and sit under a tree, but we hope you find a comfy spot and someone to share them with. Thank you for serving Alaska!,” the women wrote in a note to GOP House and Senate members. In all, over 1,110 cookies were delivered to legislators, the Governor’s Office, and the Lieutenant Governor’s Office.

The Republican Women of Juneau have carried on this welcoming tradition for Republican legislators for over a decade. New residents of Juneau may think of the Capital City as a Democrat stronghold, which it is. But the Republican women’s club is a storied, organized, and enduring group that provides a balance to the tax-and-spend perspectives of the Democrats who dominate the political landscape.

The Capital City Republicans are hosting a Lincoln Day Dinner on Feb. 21, with keynote speaker U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan:

Sullivan explains vote on Ukraine aid package: Due to Biden Administration, we live in dangerous times of dictators and despots

Suzanne Downing
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Sullivan explains vote on Ukraine aid package: Due to Biden Administration, we live in dangerous times of dictators and despots

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska explained why he voted in favor of the nearly $100 billion aid package to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, reminding his fellow Alaskans of the despots who are causing wars to pop up around the glob:

“The United States is in one of the most dangerous periods since World War II,” Sullivan said. “Authoritarian dictators—Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and the Ayatollahs in Iran—are on the march and working together across the globe to weaken and challenge America’s national security and that of our allies. Our ability to defend our nation has dramatically atrophied due to the Biden administration’s lack of seriousness on national security issues and America’s declining capacity to produce weapons.

Sullivan noted that the primary focus of the aid package is to enhance America’s industrial capacity to build weapons systems and produce ammunition.

“This has to be our number one priority during these dangerous times. Tens of billions of dollars will go to our country’s capacity to rapidly produce an entire array of weapons—everything from nuclear submarines to 155-millimeter artillery rounds,” he said.

“That’s why I believe this bill should be called the ‘Revitalizing America’s Defense Industrial Base’ supplemental. Helping our allies defeat unprovoked authoritarian aggression by providing them much-needed weapons and intelligence is also critical. The citizens of Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine all face true existential threats posed by dictators that want to crush them,” Sullivan said.

“I was heartened to see 70 U.S. senators come together to support this important legislation that will bolster our defense industrial base, create thousands of good-paying jobs, and help America and our allies deter authoritarian aggression and, if necessary, fight and win wars,” Sullivan said.

Whether the measure will pass the U.S. House of Representatives is another matter. Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana has rejected the Senate proposal.

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski urged the House to vote in favor of the bill.

“Today the Senate delivered an important message to our allies around the world – you can count on the United States. With the Senate’s support of this comprehensive national security bill crafted through months of bipartisan negotiation, our allies in Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan will be one step closer to receiving much needed and overdue support. It is also an investment in U.S. military readiness in an increasingly chaotic world. There is a military saying that ‘The only thing more expensive than deterrence is actually fighting a war.’ I urge the House to carefully consider this package as a strong deterrence to our enemies in Russia, Iran, and China. If we are to preserve freedom both home and abroad, the time to act is now,” she said.

Senate passes nearly $100 billion in aid for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, but carves out border funding

Senate passes nearly $100 billion in aid for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, but carves out border funding

SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR
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Senate passes nearly $100 billion in aid for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, but carves out border funding

By CASEY HARPER | THE CENTER SQUARE

The U.S. Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid bill for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan after days of delay from Republicans who did not want to pass the funding without provisions to secure the southern border.

The legislation passed early Tuesday morning after a filibuster largely led by U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., ended.

Now the legislation goes to the House, where it remains unclear if they can get the votes.

“This morning the ‘America Last’ caucus got a $61 billion aid package out of the Senate. But they paid dearly for this small win. The House won’t pass the current bill,” Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, Tuesday morning. “We must fix our country before devoting more resources to Ukraine. That’s our message, and the fight goes on.”

The bill includes $60 billion for Ukraine, about $14 billion for Israel and roughly $4 billion for the Indo-Pacific region, which will help Taiwan, a small but economically important island experts fear could be invaded by China at any time.

The bill also includes about $9 billion in humanitarian aid, much of it for Gaza. Republican critics of the bill were vocal after its passage, but it will likely have broad Democratic support, meaning only a portion of House Republicans will have to defect. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill if it makes it to his desk.

“Borrowing money from China to give it to Ukraine, at rising interest rates, does not make America stronger,” U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., wrote online. “I can’t even believe I have to say this.”

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the U.S for its support online Tuesday morning.

“The decision by the United States Senate to continue the support for our country and our warriors has been anticipated not only by us, but also by many other nations, particularly those in Europe,” Zelensky wrote on X. “The world is looking for American leadership to remain steadfast, help protect lives, and preserve freedom. “This truly contributes to confidence and motivation.”

Republican senators were nearly split in half on the vote, half in favor and half opposed. Both senators from Alaska voted in favor of the bill.

“In the early morning when nobody was watching, the Senate voted to plow another $60 billion of your money into Ukraine,” U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., wrote on X. “Not a penny for Missouri. Not a penny for radiation victims. But the Big War machine gets its billions. What a betrayal.”

The vote came after a previous foreign aid bill failed last week. That $118 billion bill included a litany of border measures negotiated by Senate Republican leadership with Democrats.

When the text of the bill was released a little over a week ago, though, a large contingent of the Republican party immediately rejected the deal. The bill tightened restrictions on amnesty and put in place a measure to close the border immediately if it becomes overwhelmed.

Republicans said the bill included loopholes allowing the head of the Department of Homeland Security to grant asylum at large. They also said that the border is already overwhelmed and should be shut down immediately.

Former President Donald Trump warned Republicans, “don’t fall for it,” and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said that bill would be dead on arrival.

Several Republican senators publicly critiqued the bill as well, helping kill the legislation almost immediately. After the failed border and foreign aid compromise, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., brought up the nearly $100 billion piece of legislation.

“With the passage of this national security bill, the Senate is telling Putin he will regret the day he questioned America’s resolve,” Schumer wrote on X. “With the passage of this national security bill, the Senate is sending a clear bipartisan message of resolve to our allies in NATO.”

Apologize!!! Indignant Democrats pile on Republican woman representative over her use of the ‘W’ word

Suzanne Downing
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Apologize!!! Indignant Democrats pile on Republican woman representative over her use of the ‘W’ word

Rep. Sarah Vance of Homer was trying to add context to a meeting, saying that Native women aren’t the only victims of sexual and domestic violence, and that all victims deserve justice.

But she forgot about the Democrats’ playbook and how it could come into play in the House Tribal Affairs Committee, where week after week, Alaska Natives testify about the terrible conditions of their lives and how awful things are for Natives in the 49th state, what with the lack of justice and funds.

Vance’s mistake was to say the phrase “white women” in reference to others who have been victims of violence.

On Monday, the House Democrats shamed her and used their go-to standard — performative “gotcha” politics — to score points against the representative from Homer.

It’s straight out of Saul Alinsky “Rules for Radicals” Rule No. 13: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.

Here’s what Vance had said last Wednesday that spun the Democrats into mobilizing the Rules for Radicals playbook:

“What I hear in this committee is that Alaska Native women feel that it’s exclusive to your experience. Because it sounds exactly what I have heard of white women in my community. It’s the same thing. But what I continue to hear in this committee, over and over again, as if you’re the only one. And I know that’s not your heart,” Vance had said in committee. She said that “white sisters” go through the same thing.

“There’s clearly a mass of Alaskan Native women who have been abused at very high rates, but I can tell you, there are innumerable white women who have the same internal experience of the trauma that Native women have expressed,” Vance said last week.

The Democrats demanded an apology. They issued a lengthy press release filled with indignation.

It was “Rules for Radicals: Rule No. 3: Whenever possible go outside the expertise of the enemy.

“I can’t say how much it hurt my heart to hear of the violence and disparities of violence for indigenous Alaskans, and while the suffering is the same for victims, the causes of that violence are not the same, and the response to that violence is not the same, and the justice for the victims is not the same,” said Rep. Ashley Carrick, a Fairbanks Democrat, in the press release. “Until it is, we have a lot of work left to do. Comments such as those made by Rep. Vance fly in the face of the brave indigenous women who testified before the Tribal Affairs Committee and she should apologize for her words.”

Other Democrats said essentially the same thing: “Apologize!”

It was “Rules for Radicals” Rule No. 4: Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.

Vance bent to their wishes and issued a heartfelt apology on the House floor on Monday.

“What I should have said is evil does not discriminate,” Vance said, as she attempted to apologize to a group that was making hay at her expense. Although the House minority had been advised that she would apologize during the floor session, they had issued their demand anyway, just moments before the floor session.

Radicals’ Rule No. 8: Keep the pressure on.

“Numerous Alaskans traveled from across the state to visit legislators and advocate for MMIWG2S legislation and were in the room during Rep. Vance’s insensitive and harmful comments which neglected the immediate crisis facing Alaskan Natives,” the Democrats said in their release, which was unusually long for a press release.

The Tribal Affairs Committee had been told by Native testifiers that over half of Native women report having experienced sexual violence at some point in their lives

Vance wasn’t wrong: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over half of all American women and one in three American men have experienced sexual violence.

The righteous indignation of the Democrats and the drama created for the media was reminiscent of when Republican Women of Juneau posted an ad that said anyone voting for Jesse Kiehl for senator would be handing over their wallets. The Democrats accused the women’s club of being anti-semitic and created a flurry of media attention. That attack on Republicans made it all the way to the Washington Post, with this headline: “Republicans attack Jewish candidates across the U.S. with an age-old caricature: Fistfuls of cash.”

It’s Alinsky’s Rule No. 6: A good tactic is one your people enjoy.

The Democrats enjoyed picking on the Homer Republican this past week, and forcing her to apologize to them was a demonstration of the successful tactic of Alinsky’s Rule No. 1: Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.

Chugach Electric Board sorts through what it would take to extend decision on Eklutna dam removal

Suzanne Downing
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Chugach Electric Board sorts through what it would take to extend decision on Eklutna dam removal

Removing a major source of energy by dismantling the Eklutna Dam was the topic of both an open and a closed meeting of the Chugach Electric Association Board of Directors on Monday. The meeting had been abruptly called, poorly advertised, and the board went into executive session for at least a half an hour.

The board, which is the governing body for Anchorage’s electric coop, considered recent policy pronouncements by the Anchorage Assembly.

The Assembly majority, including the chairman of the Assembly Chris Constant, wants to remove the dam and restore salmon runs, but also wants to postpone the decision until there is a governor in place that might be more supportive of the idea. Although the Assembly has not stated that as their motive, Gov. Mike Dunleavy has the authority over the dam’s future, and the Anchorage Assembly is on opposite ends of the political spectrum.

Eklutna provides a major amount of electricity used in Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley. It was constructed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation between 1951 and 1954 for less than $30 million and provides 177,438 megawatt hours energy, enough energy to power more than 24,600 residential homes for an entire year.

The project has proven durable and after the March 27, 1964 mega-earthquake, returned to partial operation within about 30 minutes.

Environmentalists want the dam removed because the river was once a minor salmon run. But even if the owners of the dam — Matanuska Electric Association, the Municipality of Anchorage, and Chugach Electric Association — removed the dam, it would only return the flow of the Eklutna River to what it was before the dam went up, and that means no fish, because there were no salmon swimming upstream before the dam went in. That’s because hydro projects downstream in prior years had already modified the river to the point where it was not a salmon run.

The Project was sold in 1991 to the Municipality of Anchorage, Chugach Electric Association, and Matanuska Electric Association. The municipality sold off its utility to Chugach and is now owner of 52% of it through the ML&P and Alaska Waste and Water Utility. When the sale of ML&P went through, the Municipality was supposed to designate a liaison for the Eklutna Dam, and didn’t. So the Muni is an owner but has no representation.

As part of the 1991 sale, the utilities entered into an agreement with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to develop and propose to the governor a program to protect, mitigate damages to, and enhance fish and wildlife impacted by the development of the hydroelectric project. The governor appears to be under no obligation to agree with whatever the proposal might suggest. For this reason, the liberals on the Anchorage Assembly are working to get a delay, while they work on electing a Democrat governor in 2026.

Notes from the Chugach open meeting on Monday:

1. Chugach Electric Board’s legal counsel appears to disagree with the Anchorage Assembly on several issues.

2. Chugach Electric does want to establish year round flows and restore habitats.

3. Board Member Susanne Fleek-Green stated that all parties can agree to extend, as the Assembly has requested, because there is no specific rule that says all parties cannot agree to an extension. 

4. The 1991 agreement with USFWS will likely be enforced in federal courts.

5. Technically, Anchorage Municipality has no representative to come to the table and vote and agree on all alternatives because it is no longer an owner. 

6. CEA would like to make sure owners agree together.

7. There were 380 copy-and-pasted letters sent in favoring dam removal, with 275 of them from out of state.

8. The public may continue to provide comment on the proposal to remove the dam until Feb. 19 by writing [email protected].

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