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Corri Feige: ‘Bait and switch’ tax policies are killing Alaska’s reputation

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
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Corri Feige: ‘Bait and switch’ tax policies are killing Alaska’s reputation

By CORRI FEIGE

Alaska has a credibility problem. We have a habit of attracting investment, especially in our oil and gas sector, and then changing the rules after companies have come and made a commitment, by investing and doing business in our state.  

Don’t kid yourself by thinking “Oh, they are oil companies… they can afford to pay more.”  This reputation is bad for Alaska and very bad for our ability to attract new companies to do things like explore for gas in Cook Inlet, invest in pipeline projects, and explore for the critical minerals that will make Alaska a powerful player in the energy transition. 

Yes, you read that right. Our bad reputation has now begun to spread into the mining sector and companies are questioning whether they can trust Alaska to not change the rules and raise their taxes or reclassify the tax status of their business after they have made huge investments in exploration and possibly development.  

I have spent the last few days at a major global energy conference talking about the massive critical mineral development that will be necessary to achieve the energy transition to more renewables, and how Alaska will help support that. Alaska is prolifically endowed with the very minerals – nickel, cobalt, graphite, copper, and many more – that are essential to making renewables and new battery technology a reality. 

But as I have spoken with people at this conference attended by roughly 30,000 from around the world, I have been shocked and saddened that Alaska’s reputation for changing the rules on oil companies is now recognized more broadly – outside the oil sector — and Alaska is considered a dangerous place to do business because of it. 

In Alaska’s heyday, we attracted very large multinational, public companies that came to explore for and discover huge oil fields. They were successful and we have the Permanent Fund Corporation, an annual dividend, and 70% (or more) support for the State’s operating budget as a result. 

As the years have gone by, our oil fields have declined and most of the big public companies have left Alaska for other places that provide big opportunities at a lower cost than Alaska. Yes, it is expensive to do business in Alaska, even for big oil companies.  

But rather than recognizing that we need to work with companies to make it attractive for them to stay in Alaska, we have seemingly acted out of desperation and raised taxes and removed incentives at exactly the wrong times.

We’ve been successful in one thing, driving companies out because of a misguided notion that they somehow needed to be penalized for producing oil in Alaska, paying taxes, employing Alaskans, contributing to the Permanent Fund and driving the state’s economy.  

And now that reputation has begun to spread like cancer. The perception of Alaska as an unfair place to do business is impacting the reality of our ability to attract companies in other resource development sectors beyond oil.  We should all be a little horrified by that.

There is currently a bill (SB 114) in the Legislature that would again “bait and switch” on Alaska’s businesses. This one is aimed at changing the tax status on private “S-Corporations” in the oil business, making them subject to the same corporate taxes that the big public corporations pay.

But the implications of this seemingly oil-only change are far reaching. The resource development community broadly doesn’t trust that Alaska won’t change the rules on their companies, too. This will result in them going to other places in the world to develop the minerals needed for energy transition. It will also ensure that the smaller private companies that Alaska so desperately needs for the future of our oil business will go other places as well.  

Corri Feige, retired commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources and current president at Terra Piniun, LLC., has over 30 years of global experience in resource development. Photo: Rob Bussell

AG Treg Taylor adds name to appeal in Colorado case of Christian cake baker

Suzanne Downing
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AG Treg Taylor adds name to appeal in Colorado case of Christian cake baker

Attorney General Treg Taylor of Alaska, along with 21 other Republican attorneys general, has signed onto a legal brief appealing to the Colorado Supreme Court to consider the case of a Christian cake artist who lost a First Amendment lawsuit in a lower court.

Jack Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, and the Alliance Defending Freedom, petitioned the highest court in Colorado to overturn a decision made by the state Court of Appeals.

The Appeals Court ruled that Phillips had violated Colorado’s Anti-Discrimination Act in 2012 when he declined to create a blue and pink cake for attorney Autumn Scardina, who requested it to commemorate his transition from male to female during a phone conversation.

Scardina is the same attorney who filed an unsuccessful complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission in 2017 over the same custom cake request the attorney made at that time.

The request was for a custom-designed cake, pink on the inside and blue on the outside, to reflect and celebrate a gender transition.

Masterpiece Cakeshop turned away that request because the customer specifically requested that the cake express messages and celebrate an event in conflict with Phillips’ sacredly held religious beliefs. The decision was not because of the person who requested it, as Phillips would not create a cake expressing the requested message no matter who asked for it.

The amicus brief asks the Colorado Supreme Court to review Phillips’ petition and declare that he cannot be compelled to design a custom cake that contradicts his religious beliefs.

The 14-page brief asserts that Phillips’ actions constitute “expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment.” It argues that the requested gender-transition cake, like any other cake, would require Phillips to communicate a clear message about sexual activity with which he fundamentally disagrees. The brief calls upon the court to uphold Phillips’ right to abstain from expressing such messages.

The brief contends that a gender-transition themed cake qualifies as symbolic speech and claims that the lower courts have misapplied the doctrines of the First Amendment. It says a ruling in favor of Phillips would not endorse discrimination.

Scardina and the lower courts perceive Phillips’ refusal to bake a gender-transition cake as an attack on LGBT equality. The attorneys say, however, that a ruling in favor of Phillips would not undermine the established principle that business owners cannot deny “protected persons” equal access to goods and services.

Rather, it would simply affirm that Colorado’s anti-discrimination law cannot be enforced in exceptional cases where it would require compelled speech.

The brief also highlights that Phillips willingly serves LGBT customers by selling them pre-made cakes for any occasion and creating custom cakes that do not express messages contrary to his religious beliefs.

Attorney General Taylor is joined by attorneys general from the states of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia in the appeal.

Americans For Prosperity Foundation has also filed a brief: “Must reasonable and sincere people acting in good faith—who simply adhere to a traditional, Biblical view of the world—be compelled to engage in artistic speech that contravenes their deeply held beliefs? The answer must be no,” AFP’s brief declares.

State attorneys general find fault with JP Morgan Chase for discriminating against Christian groups

Suzanne Downing
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State attorneys general find fault with JP Morgan Chase for discriminating against Christian groups

Alaska’s Attorney General Treg Taylor, along with a coalition of attorneys general from states across the U.S., signed a letter of complaint to JP Morgan Chase regarding its alleged unfair treatment of certain Christians.

The letter, addressed to JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, highlights the contradiction between the bank’s professed “openness and inclusivity” and its persistent discrimination against certain religious liberty groups.

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, leading the coalition’s efforts, wrote, “Chase cannot claim to be ‘inclusive’ and denounce all forms of discrimination while simultaneously marginalizing its clients based on religious and political differences. I am spearheading this coalition to defend the rights of Kentuckians.”

The eight-page letter reminded Chase that it terminated the National Committee for Religious Freedom’s account last year, an action referred to as “de-banking.” The account closure occurred shortly after the group opened an account at a Chase branch in Washington, D.C.

The attorneys general assert that Chase offered to reinstate the account only if the National Committee for Religious Freedom provided a list of donors, a record of supported political candidates, and an explanation for its endorsements.

The letter highlights that the de-banking of the NCRF was not an isolated incident. It also mentions the account termination of the pro-life Family Council by a credit card processor owned by Chase, labeling it a “high-risk” group.

In contrast, Chase proudly promotes its high ratings and accolades received from organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign, which advocates for LGBTQ+ rights. Kentucky Attorney General Cameron finds this display concerning, calling it a “troubling double standard.”

The letter added, “This discriminatory pattern exposes many Kentuckians and residents of states represented by the signatories of this letter to the risk of being de-banked without warning or recourse.”

A Republican candidate for Kentucky’s gubernatorial nomination, Cameron urged Chase to cease its discrimination against certain groups based on their religious or political beliefs. JPMorgan Chase & Co. is a U.S.-based multinational financial services company headquartered in New York City, and incorporated in Delaware. It is the largest bank in the country and the world’s largest bank by market capitalization.

In addition to Attorney General Cameron, the letter bears the signatures of attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia.

This story is co-written by The Center Square’s contributor Steve Bittenbender.

Bronson and Johnson: Let’s make year-round shelter a priority

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
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Bronson and Johnson: Let’s make year-round shelter a priority

By MAYOR DAVE BRONSON AND ALEXIS JOHNSON

Wednesday’s weather was a strong reminder that winter is always nearby. Snowfall in May seemed like an impossible feat, yet less than 48 hours after the closing of Anchorage’s largest low-barrier shelter – temps dropped below freezing and it began to snow. At the time, an estimated 800 people were living unsheltered outdoors. We can and should do better. 

This is a warning call before next winter; we need year-round shelter. Cities and towns across the country struggle to provide adequate shelter to those in need, particularly during the winter months. However, the problem of homelessness does not disappear once the snow melts and the temperatures rise. We see this right now with the closure of the Sullivan, the need is higher than ever. Year-round, there is a lack of low-barrier shelter for those experiencing homelessness in Anchorage. 

Low-barrier shelters provide a place to sleep and have basic amenities without many of the restrictions that traditional shelters have. For example, low-barrier shelters may allow pets, couples, and people with active substance use disorders. They may also have fewer restrictions or barriers on the time of day when individuals can come and go or allow people to bring in their own belongings. 

Unfortunately, many cities do not have enough low-barrier shelters to meet the needs of their homeless populations, Anchorage is no different. This leaves many people on the streets year-round, vulnerable to the elements and without a safe place to sleep at night. The consequences of this lack of shelter can be devastating, leading to illness, injury, and even death.

Moreover, the Covid-19 pandemic made the need for low-barrier shelters even more urgent. Social distancing guidelines had forced many shelters to reduce their capacity, leaving more people without a place to sleep. The pandemic also highlighted the need for more resources to support those experiencing homelessness, including access to healthcare and mental health services.

One solution to the lack of low-barrier shelter is the Tudor/Elmore Navigation Center and Shelter, which is currently a project that has been halted. If constructed, this new facility will provide at least 150 beds for people experiencing homelessness, as well as case management, job training, and other supportive services. It will be open year-round and will operate on a low-barrier model, with few restrictions on who can stay. 

We have an opportunity before next winter to reimagine what low barrier shelter looks like in Anchorage. Year after year, we continue to learn from the mistakes of our past. With winter 2023/24 right around the corner, let’s take the wins with the losses, and refocus our sights on what shelter looks like this year. 

The Tudor/Elmore Navigation Center and Shelter is an important step forward in addressing homelessness in Anchorage. However, it is just one piece of a larger puzzle. Providing year-round low-barrier shelters is not a simple task, but it is a necessary one. It requires collaboration between government agencies, non-profit organizations, and community members. It also requires a willingness to think creatively and to look for solutions beyond the traditional shelter model.

One example of this kind of innovative thinking is the tiny home village model, which has been successfully implemented in several cities. These villages provide small, private dwellings for individuals experiencing homelessness, along with access to communal spaces and supportive services. This model has proven to be effective at reducing homelessness and improving the health and well-being of those who live in these villages.

Ultimately, we must recognize that homelessness is not just a winter problem. It is a year-round crisis that demands our attention and our resources. Providing low-barrier shelter is a crucial step in addressing this crisis and helping those who are most vulnerable in our communities. It is time for our leaders to act and make year-round low barrier shelter a priority.

Mayor Dave Bronson was elected to lead Alaska’s largest city in 2021; Alexis Johnson is the municipality’s homeless coordinator.

Hans Rodvik: The need for servant leaders in politics

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
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Hans Rodvik: The need for servant leaders in politics

By HANS RODVIK

What do Lao Tzu, Jesus Christ, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, and Nordstrom all have in common? Each of these powerful leaders and brands adhere to the leadership model of servant leadership. 

Robert K. Greenleaf’s 1970 essay “The Servant as Leader,” put servant leadership into a cohesive and defined model that revolutionized the conventional power structure of leadership.

According to the Servant Leadership Institute, a leader who embraces the core tenants of servant leadership is a leader with a hyper focused mission to serve those around them through collaboration, trust, empathy, and the ethical use of power. Larry C. Spears summarized Greenleaf’s writings, and produced a list of 10 characteristics practiced by servant leaders. They are: listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to the growth of people, and building community.

SL is an approach to leadership that should mesh well with work in the public sector. The fundamental job of public office holders and those who work in government is to advance the needs of those they serve. To do this politicians must listen to their constituents, empathize with their problems, present bold ideas to unify their community, be forward thinkers, be good stewards of public resources, fight for their constituents and staff to succeed, and work toward a brighter future that advances all people.

We are facing a systematic weakening of trust and support for America’s political institutions: congress, the federal executive branch, and even the US Supreme Court all face record low approval ratings. What is causing this decline? Is it polarization, the influence of 24/7 news, social media echo chambers, or the increase in apathy and narcissism stemming from our affluent culture?

These factors certainly play a part, but I would argue that a key element to the state of our current political system is a lack of education about servant leadership. It is the lack of elevation of individuals to public office who practice the 10 characteristics defined by Spears.

The need for servant leaders in government, and elected office is paramount in America today. Cases of public corruption, fraud, and enrichment at the expense of taxpayers occur ad nauseam around our country. In Alaska, we’ve seen our fair share of misgivings on the part of those entrusted to serve us: here, here, here, and even in Anchorage in recent years.

These so called “leaders” are not the servant-leaders described by Greenleaf, who wrote that servant leaders possess a “natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead.” In contrast, an unwise leader is one who according to Greenleaf, clamors for positions of influence to “assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions.” These unwise “leaders” undermine the trust citizens have in our republican form of government. 

Without servant leadership, we will further become a nation governed by grifters set on accumulating power and wealth for themselves. Instead of leaders playing an infinite game, in which our society slowly makes improvements for the benefit of all, we’ll remain trapped in a cycle of short term crises that only benefit those in power. Efforts like Sen. Josh Hawley’s proposed ban on stock trading by Congress is one example of a policy underpinned by SL principles.

Elected officials and government agencies who provide public services require armies of staff to carry out their missions and assist the public. Servant leaders who listen, inspire, develop, and establish trust with their staff will help their employees serve the public at the highest level possible. When servant leaders model the right behaviors to employees in their care, they will breed a work culture that is high performing, mission driven, and customer focused.

The benefits of servant leadership are not just theoretical. Organizations that embrace servant leadershipexperience higher employee moral, less turnover, higher profits, greater trust in leadership, and more productive workers. TDIndustries, a 100% employee owned company that emphatically embraces servant leadership, for example, has earned a spot on Fortune Magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For 21 years in a row, continues to increase profits, and is loved by both its customers and employees.

Shouldn’t our elected officials and public agencies be striving to achieve similar results?

When those at the top of organizations demonstrate the power of servant leadership to those around them, it becomes contagious within an organization. Take the United States Army for example, where one of the primary functions of officers is to meet the needs of enlisted men and women.

The concept of servant leadership is woven into the fabric of the Army, and the Warrior Ethos to never leave a fallen comrade. Elected officials and those in government would be wise to follow the Army’s lead when it comes to crafting legislation or policies. The question politicians should ask is, “How will this law, regulation, or action benefit all members of society, and not just those in power?”

Government officials and office holders who embrace the proven model of servant leadership can help steer our society in a different and more enlightened direction. A direction to ensure the citizens of our great nation are served as individuals, and become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous and more likely themselves to become servant leaders.

Servant leadership can help provide the foundation for a rebirth of the American dream. You and I can do our part to assist in this rebirth by voting for candidates at the local, state, and federal level who have demonstrated track records as servant leaders. Additionally, we can hold our leaders accountable by measuring their actions and words against the standards of servant leadership. And let us challenge ourselves to serve boldly and authentically, whatever our station in life, to improve the lives of those we are fortunate enough to care for.

A lifelong Alaskan and servant leader in training, Hans Rodvik, has worked for elected officials in Alaska at the state and local level for most of his career. He has a BA in Political Science from the University of Alaska Anchorage and recently took a course titled Servant Leadership, conducted through Gonzaga University’s School for Leadership Studies. This piece serves as his capstone project for the course.

Tim Barto: Who is Alaska Baseball League’s new commissioner?

SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR
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Tim Barto: Who is Alaska Baseball League’s new commissioner?

By TIM BARTO

The Alaska Baseball League is looking to save itself. For the past several seasons, save one, the league has been filling the responsibilities of league commissioner through rotating assignments of the general managers of each team.

Seeing challenges from other summer wood-bat leagues, as well as concerns by college coaches about pitch counts and playing time, the five-team league thought it best to hire a commissioner, and that man is Chip Dill.

Besides having a great name, Chip has a strong baseball and business background. A native of southern California, where baseball is a year round sport, Chip played Little League, travel ball, and high school baseball, then went on to the college level at Cerritos College and the University of Arizona.

He was good enough to attract the attention of big league scouts, and was drafted three different times by Major League teams during his college career. In the summer of 1983, he was headed to Fairbanks to play for the Goldpanners, but ended up in New England’s Cape Cod League for the season. In an ironic twist, Dill is coming to Alaska 40 years later, in part, to help prevent such defections.

A life in professional baseball didn’t work out as hoped, so Dill turned to coaching, spending time at Orange Coast College, California Baptist University, the University of Tennessee, and the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod League. But his full-time career was as a firefighter with the Costa Mesa Fire Department, from which he retired as Captain.

In 2018, Chip went on to found FastChart Sports, a successful company that combined state of the art technology and the increasingly important field of analytics, to create digital coaching tools. 

Chip wasn’t looking to be the Alaska Baseball League Commissioner when friend and successful college baseball coach Dave Serrano called to let him know that the league’s general managers were looking for one. Although unexpected, the call piqued Dill’s interest, as he was also familiar with Peninsula Oilers’ Coach Larry McCann. Talks convinced Chip he could help make a difference in bringing Alaska baseball back to the forefront of the summer college leagues.

Dill shares the general managers’ collective vision in elevating the Alaska Baseball League to wood bat league prominence. His goals are to raise awareness of the league; promote it through social media; find new revenue streams such as online merchandising; and adapt to the inning and pitch limits that college coaches place on their players for the summer seasons. He wants to see the league attract new fans and become financially prosperous.

It turns out that Dill’s Alaska connection was not only that (near) summer of 1983 with the Goldpanners. His wife was a flight attendant for Alaska Airlines, so he took advantage of her travel benefits and came up here with his family, visiting the state. He specifically recalled seeing the sights in North Pole, Girdwood, and Anchorage. 

Dill will be living in Anchorage during the season, which runs all of June and July and ends with the playoffs during the first week of August, but he expects to be at one ballpark or the other each night of the week, getting a feel for the community, the fan base, the talent level, and what it will take for the business end of the league to be successful. 

Alaska Baseball League was the first summer college league, and it has a rich history. The list of alumni is impressive: Two-time World Series championship manager Terry Francona; All-Star and Gold Glove second baseman, and long-time baseball analyst Harold Reynolds; Most Valuable Players Josh Donaldson, Jason Giambi, and Jeff Kent; American League single-season home run leader Aaron Judge; Hall of Fame outfielder Dave Winfield, and Hall-of-Fame pitchers Tom Seaver and Randy Johnson. (Yes, home run record setters Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire also played in Alaska, but their professional accomplishments have been tainted by steroid use which has prevented them from being elected to the Hall-of-Fame.)

Alaska was once the place for highly talented college baseball players with an eye on the big leagues to come for the summer, but other programs such as the Cape Cod and Northwoods leagues, as well as Major League Baseball’s own sanctioned summer leagues, have supplanted it. Commissioner Dill and the Alaska Baseball League general managers (baseball devotees all), have a goal of bringing Alaska back to the primary destination for top tier of college baseball talent.

The five team Alaska Baseball League consists of the Mat-Su Miners, Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks, Anchorage Glacier Pilots, Anchorage Bucs, and Peninsula Oilers. Pick a team to root for and get out to the ballparks this summer. Games begin the first week of June.

Tim Barto is obsessed with baseball, so Suzanne Downing lets him write about it so he maintains some semblance of sanity. He is the former president of the Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks Booster Club, a current coach at Grace Christian High School, and will be joining the coaching staff with the Chinooks this season. His full-time gig is as vice president of Alaska Family Council.

Tim Barto: Spring baseball in Alaska: Story of recovery

Hilcorp gets grilled in Senate Finance

Suzanne Downing
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Hilcorp gets grilled in Senate Finance

Senate Bill 114, which would expand oil and gas tax to S Corporations like Hilcorp, was the topic of a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Friday, during which Hilcorp Alaska Senior Vice President Luke Saugier gently explained to the committee that the company has made billions of dollars in investments both in Cook Inlet and in Prudhoe Bay since entering the state in 2012.

Saugier said that the company now has 1,300 Alaska employees and that Alaska makes up nearly 60% of the business.

Hilcorp came to Alaska in 2012, just as larger companies were exiting Cook Inlet’s natural gas fields and the Railbelt was preparing for natural gas shortages and brownouts.

Since then, the company has invested over $1 billion in Cook Inlet natural gas, and has increased the supply, drilling 90 new wells and completing 400 well repair projects.

“Hilcorp is proud of the role we’ve played in keeping the heat and lights on for Alaskans and we look forward to continuing to play an important role in fueling Alaskans’ homes and businesses,” he said.

In 2014, Hilcorp entered the North Slope, and took over at the operator in 2015. The company has invested over $1 billion and drilled more than 100 new wells, with another 20 wells planned for this year. It’s grown from 18,400 barrels per day in 2014 to over 41,000 barrels per day today, and Saugier expects it to grow to 60,000 barrels per day in the next four or five years.

But Sen. Lyman Hoffman was not impressed. He wanted to know why there isn’t one million barrels per day going through the Trans Alaska Pipeline System. He said that Hilcorp was making a veiled threat of shutting down gas production in Cook Inlet if SB 114 passes.

Hoffman said that SB 114 is “baby steps” in rewriting Alaska’s oil and tax tax laws, which were last changed in 2012 with SB 21. “And I find it hard to believe the industry doesn’t come to that same conclusion.”

Hoffman appears ready to not only go after Hilcorp as an S corporation that doesn’t pay the same rate as publicly traded corporations, but to come back later with legislation to ratchet up the government’s take on other companies by moving the dials on existing tax laws.

“We need to reevaluate where we are and are we getting our fair share,” Hoffman said.

It was a remarkably hostile approach to a company and an industry that has poured billions of dollars in investment into Alaska’s aging oil and gas fields in recent years.

Sen. Donny Olson also raised the point that when Hilcorp took over the assets from BP, it was not subject to the same tax structure as BP, something that clearly also bothers him.

Saugier took the hostility in stride, reiterating that the company has made not only significant investment, but has helped the energy sector stem the pipeline and natural gas decline from the trajectory it was on before Hilcorp arrived.

Photo: Luke Saugier, Vice President of Hilcorp, testifies in Senate Finance.

Walensky to step down as CDC director

Suzanne Downing
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Walensky to step down as CDC director

Dr. Rochelle Walensky will leave her job as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in June, the CDC said on Friday. The move comes as the Biden Administration has said it will end the Covid-19 national health emergency declaration in June.

“I took on this role, at your request, with the goal of leaving behind the dark days of the pandemic and moving CDC—and public health—forward into a much better and more trusted place,” Walensky wrote in her resignation letter.

It’s unclear if she has accomplished the trust goal. About one-quarter of Americans say they trust the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s health recommendations “not very much” or “not at all,” according to a survey co-authored by the agency itself. That result is four times worse than trust in doctors and nurses. Other polls show trust is far worse.

“Dr. Walensky has saved lives with her steadfast and unwavering focus on the health of every American. As Director of the CDC, she led a complex organization on the frontlines of a once-in-a-generation pandemic with honesty and integrity. She marshalled our finest scientists and public health experts to turn the tide on the urgent crises we’ve faced,” the White House wrote in a published response. “Dr. Walensky leaves CDC a stronger institution, better positioned to confront health threats and protect Americans.  We have all benefited from her service and dedication to public health, and I wish her the best in her next chapter.”

The president’s chief medical adviser on Covid, Dr. Anthony Fauci, resigned in December.

Also on Friday, Covid-19 is no longer a global public health emergency, the World Health Organization said.

Director of CDC has all the shots, and she has the Covid
Fauci heads for the exit as president’s medical adviser

In Colorado, Democrats fail to block bill increasing penalties for indecent exposure to children

Suzanne Downing
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In Colorado, Democrats fail to block bill increasing penalties for indecent exposure to children

The majority of Colorado Democrats in the Colorado State House voted against a bill increasing penalties for indecent exposure when it occurs in the presence of a minor.

Democratic Rep. Leslie Herod of Denver objected to the bill and said the legislation could be used to prohibit drag shows and could cause harm to transgenders — those individuals who believe they were born into the wrong body.

During remarks in the Colorado House, Herod said the bill discriminates against transgender individuals who want to use a bathroom reserved for the opposite sex.

HB23-1135, introduced by two Democrats, would increase the penalty for indecent exposure from a class 1 misdemeanor to a class 6 felony, if committed in the presence of someone who is under 18.

Although 27 out of 46 Democratic representatives voted against the bill, it passed with unanimous support from Republicans.

Increasingly across the country, drag queen shows are targeting children as audiences. Many of the shows are highly sexualized, even if they don’t show actual genitalia.

For example, this drag show in Plano, Texas, performed in front of a child, would not be covered by the penalties proposed in the Colorado bill. It was filmed by Blaze TV’s Sara Gonzalez and blasts the lyrics by recording artist Lady, while the drag queen lifts her skirt to show undegarments.

“My pssy good, pssy sweet
Pssy good enough to eat…fck me all night”

Jeremy Carl: Who is Montana’s rogue Rep. Zooey Zephyr?
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