Home Blog Page 704

Texas becomes ninth state to withdraw from ERIC voter roll organization

On Tuesday, the Texas House of Representatives voted to withdraw the state from the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a nonprofit organization aimed at identifying duplicate voter registrations and facilitating the cleansing of voter rolls.

The decision comes amid growing concerns among conservatives about ERIC’s perceived liberal ties and the lack of transparency surrounding its operations.

Senate Bill 1070, which proposed Texas’ withdrawal from ERIC, passed the House with a vote of 85-61. However, before becoming law, the bill must return to the Texas Senate for concurrence on an amendment that adds requirements to adhere to federal and state privacy guidelines in case an alternative system is contracted by the state. It must also be signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott.

Texas joins eight other states that have already withdrawn from ERIC: Ohio, Iowa, Virginia, Florida, West Virginia, Missouri, Louisiana, and Alabama. The withdrawals highlight a growing trend of conservative-leaning states expressing skepticism and distrust toward the organization.

One concern voiced by conservatives is ERIC’s perceived liberal roots and alleged lack of neutrality. The organization’s initial funding was provided by the nonpartisan Pew Charitable Trusts, which receives funding from philanthropist George Soros. Although ERIC asserts that the funds from Soros were separate from its financing and were not directed toward the organization, conservatives remain skeptical, because funding is fungible — funds for one project allow other funds to be used for another project. The fact that ERIC allows non-voting board members, who appear to be affiliated with left-leaning entities, has raised concerns about potential partisanship within the organization.

ERIC has also faced criticism over its handling of sensitive voter information. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, during the process of withdrawing his state from ERIC, expressed concerns about the organization’s lack of accountability and misinformation campaigns.

“I cannot justify the use of Ohio’s tax dollars for an organization that seems intent on rejecting meaningful accountability, publicly maligning my motives, and waging a relentless campaign of misinformation about this effort,” LaRose wrote in March.

Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd cited the need to protect citizens’ personal information as the reason behind Florida’s loss of confidence in ERIC.

“As Secretary of State, I have an obligation to protect the personal information of Florida’s citizens, which the ERIC agreement requires us to share,” Byrd said in March. “Florida has tried to back reforms to increase protections, but these protections were refused. Therefore, we have lost confidence in ERIC.”

Another issue that has added to ERIC’s declining membership is the lack of trust among conservatives regarding the organization’s objectives.

ERIC’s main function involves comparing voter registration data from member states and cross-referencing it with other information to identify outdated registrations due to factors such as death, relocation, or duplicate registrations.

However, the loss of 25% of its membership within a year raises questions about the future viability of ERIC, and its actual effectiveness. Losing Texas and Florida and their tens of millions of voter data, is a significant blow to the organization.

Assembly won’t settle wrongful claims made by former municipal manager

The Anchorage Assembly debated whether to settle wrongful discharge claims made by former Municipal Manager Amy Demboski. Several of them took turns bashing Mayor Dave Bronson, calling his administration toxic, and some of them said that the $550,000 was just a lot of money.

In the end, on a vote of 8-4, the Assembly decided to let the matter go to court. They were not able to resist the political temptation to have the mayor in court with Demboski during what will be an election year, because due to the slow nature of justice, this case will not be settle before 2024. Such election year drama will likely hurt all conservatives on the ballot, and may doom the mayor’s chances for a second term.

Demboski does not have an actual lawsuit filed yet, because the Bronson Administration asked for the matter to go to mediation, and she agreed.

But now that the Assembly has turned down the amount agreed to by both parties, all of the details that led to her firing will be revealed in court. Demboski will claim a protected status of whistleblower, and the Assembly will use possibly millions of dollars to allow the court case to become a campaign against Bronson’s reelection. It’s lawfare — legal warfare, and during a campaign cycle.

Going to court could cost the city triple damages if Demboski wins, if the court agrees with her that she was fired for being a whistleblower.

In a separate matter, the Assembly approved a $277,000 legal case brought by a member of the Ombudsman’s Office. Heather McAlpine worked in the Office of Equal Opportunity, but now works for the Assembly, and her claim was settled without much debate. In fact, several Assembly members praised her for suing the Bronson Administration.

Assemblyman Chris Constant slams Muni Planning Dept: ‘You’re lying and I no longer trust you’

During Tuesday’s Anchorage Assembly meeting, an ordinance pertaining to residential zoning came up before the Assembly and ruffled some feathers.

Assembly Chairman Chris Constant begged his fellow members to vote down an amendment on the ordinance, but the amendment passed 8-4.

The next thing that Constant was supposed to do was return to the main motion, but instead, he shocked the room and, evidently, most of the Assembly.

In a fit of pique because he did not get his way, Constant went on a diatribe against the Planning Department. Without even handing over the gavel to Vice Chairwoman Meg Zaletel, he said:

“To the Planning Department, I believe you are lying to the public and I no longer trust you. So that is the condition that now exists. Because you have presented to communities one message, and you had another move in your hands. That move is now before us, as we heard it was brought on behalf of the Planning Department,” Constant started.

“And we saw this with Town Square Park, and this is now the new pattern. And I’m sad, because I’ve been an ally with the Planning Department since I joined the body and before, when I worked on neighborhood planning to achieve harmonious neighborhoods. I believe you are now agents of disharmony. And it’s fine, you want to be disruptive, and it’s fine that members of this body are all about ‘let’s just get rid of all residential zones, let’s just do radical change right now without contemplating the impacts and without telling the public,'” he continued.

“So for my part, my takeaway on this is that you can’t trust the Planning Department anymore,” Constant concluded.

The amendment had been offered by Assembly members Meg Zaletel and Felix Rivera, and it removed some restrictions on heights for some properties that are zoned for multi-family, or apartments and condos. The aim is to get more affordable housing built in Anchorage in properties are zoned R-4A.

Assemblyman Kevin Cross said he didn’t see it the same way as Constant.

“And I think we ought to be real careful when we make statements like that, Mr. Constant, because many times we’ve brought actions before us to do public hearings, and then make radical amendments. We used to have an open session of [public comments] from 5:30 to 6 pm … and we told people we were bringing forward an action to adjust the time, and during that, we amended it [the public hearing time slot] to completely remove it. And the public said the same thing about us.”

Cross went on to defend the integrity of the Planning Department. He was joined by Assemblywoman Anna Brawley, who said that “as a planner, I also feel compelled to defend the Planning Department.”

Assemblywoman Meg Zaletel then said the amendment had been brought the first day the item was available for a public hearing “and so it’s been around. It wasn’t brought at the last minute. It wasn’t brought today. It has ridden with this item through its prior postponement.” She called the change a minor drop in the bucket compared to all the other changes to zoning that need to take place to ensure there is more housing in Anchorage.

Zaletel said, “I’m all for big bold moves because until we do it we don’t actually move the ball forward.”

Assemblywoman Karen Bronga said the area that the zoning change would affect is relatively small, and that height of buildings restricting sunlight for existing buildings is minor compared with the need to build more housing in Anchorage.

Assemblyman Randy Sulte also cautioned against disparaging the Planning Department, reminding Constant that it’s hard to get people to even work these days, “and if it’s not a welcoming environment where they feel valued they’re not going to want and come work for us.”

Sulte added that Anchorage is out of really easily buildable land, “and the only way to go is up.”

Constant violated the rules more than once, by not formally handing the gavel to Vice Chairwoman Zaletel, but simply by arguing with members of the Assembly who disagreed with him and besmirching the integrity and impugning the motives of the Planning Department, without following Roberts Rules of Order. No member called him out for his transgressions.

Mayor Dave Bronson objected to throwing “the Planning Department under the bus,” and said that he is impressed with the quality of the people in the department.

“I know sometimes in the heat of emotions when we lose we get that way but I’ve got to agree with some folks here….These are great people, and I think they need our support,” Bronson said.

In the end, Constant was the only one on the Assembly to vote against the main ordinance, which passed 11-1.

Trolling NAACP warning on Florida travel, Sen. Rick Scott issues one of his own — for Socialists

Sen. Rick Scott of Florida issued his own “formal travel advisory for socialists visiting Florida,” in a statement that advised the state is “openly hostile” to socialists and their enablers.

“The state of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and the challenges faced by Socialists and others who work in the Biden Administration,” wrote Scott in a press release.

His statement came after the NAACP issued a travel advisory for Florida on Saturday describing Florida as a terrorist state and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ stance against racism in schools as “aggressive attempts to erase Black history and to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in Florida schools.”

The NAACP said that Florida has “become hostile to Black Americans.” The NAACP board of directors chairman Leon W. Russell lives in the Tampa Bay area.

Sen. Scott mocked the NAACP with his own spin: “The state of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and the challenges faced by Socialists and others who work in the Biden Administration.”

Scott continued, “Let me be clear – any attempts to spread the oppression and poverty that Socialism always brings will be rebuffed by the people of Florida. Travelers should be aware that attempts to spread Socialism in north Florida will fail and be met with laughter and mockery.”

Scott was using the language of the NAACP statement and turning it back on the radical organization. Scott said his travel advisory was “in direct response to the Biden Administration attempts to erase capitalism and the system that has brought prosperity to Florida and the entire United States.”

Bob Bird: Tribute to an unselfish man, Kenai’s Dan Gensel

By BOB BIRD

This column is not a “local” column for only the Kenai Peninsula, because Dan Gensel was known statewide, especially for anyone who loved their high school sports.

Our station KSRM and its five affiliates carried anywhere from 250-300 sporting contests a year in football, basketball, hockey, ABL and high school baseball, softball, even wrestling. We often did courtesy broadcasts with our play-by-play for other stations.

We were picked up directly in anchorage and the Mat Valley whenever their teams came here.

It was all Gensel’s doing since 1999, when he “retired”, after just 20 years of teaching and coaching basketball at Soldotna, and went into his true love, sports journalism. He made KSRM the absolute and unquestioned leader in broadcasting sports in Alaska. I was lucky to be recruited as primarily a hockey announcer, but also did basketball, football and softball when the occasions required.

Dan was more than a sports guy, however. He filled in the morning radio show with station owner Matt Wilson five days a week. Like juggling chainsaws, he would get to the station at 5:15 am (often after calling games late into the night), start doing his pre-recorded sports report, join in early-morning banter and follow the usual routine from 6-9 am. His ad libbing with Wilson made our station THE station to listen to while getting ready for work, disdaining the Anchorage stations … which of course ignored our hometown news and problems.

Summers saw him take Peninsula Oiler baseball. We did home games jointly for 14 years, while he did road games and I stayed at home and lived my life. He once did a 22 inning game in Anchorage. In 2016, he recruited a tremendous young man from Anchorage, Casey Rohl, into the profession. I think he did it just so he could have road games free with his grandkids.

Gensel was a shark that cruised endlessly, knowing that if he rested, he would sink. I often asked him, “When do you sleep, for Pete’s sake?” He answered, “Sleep is overrated.” 

Unknown to most, he used the iPad that posted the running statistics after each pitch, so the players could have distant major league scouts keep track of our games and its nuances … all the while he did the play-by-play! 

Dan was a devout Lutheran and with his equally busy wife Kathy, supported her philanthropic works. He even gave sermons at his parish when invited to do so. He and Kathy attended my Shroud of Turin lecture and knew the truth of Christ.

He gave of himself right to the end, starting with his grandsons, whom he adored and baby-sat for during the day. And he was coaching track and field for Soldotna. This winter he actually called eight straight basketball games in one day during the state tournament. It just might be a world record. I don’t know how he got to the restroom. He was the Alaska Broadcasters Association “Broadcaster of the Year” in 2021 and is a shoo-in to make the ABA Hall of Fame, with station founder and owner, the recently retired John Davis.

He already is in the Alaska Schools Athletic Association Hall of Fame in all three categories as a player, coach and broadcaster.

Dan was in robust and vigorous health at age 66 when he died instantly on May 14 at his home, while working on his back deck for summer repairs. Call it SADS: Sudden Adult Death Syndrome. There has been a lot of that going around lately, especially to athletes, so Dan fit right in with the best of them.

The loss to our station is incalculable, but Matt Wilson, 25 years Dan’s junior, is as talented, resourceful, smart and strong as was Gensel. The two were like brothers. 

For those who love their families, their children’s sports and understand the problems we face is carting them around our enormous state for their competitions, please don’t forget Dan Gensel and his family.

We have lost a Giant.

Bob Bird is chair of the Alaskan Independence Party and the host of a talk show on KSRM radio, Kenai. A celebration of life of Dan Gensel will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 23, at Soldotna High School, 425 W. Marydale Ave. The public is welcome.

Photo Credit: Radio Kenai

Double-dip: Peltola pays chief of staff with taxpayer funds, and also pays him from campaign treasury

Rep. Mary Peltola has seen a lot of turnover in her office since her first swearing-in last September. She has rid her staff of almost all registered Republicans, although the legacy media lauded her for her bipartisan staff during her first few weeks in office.

But one Democrat has stuck with her and has risen to the top of the heap: Anthony (Anton) McParland. He’s her chief of staff and her campaign manager.

McParland came from the union organizer world and shapes Peltola’s daily pro-big-union messages. He had never worked in Congress before, but McParland took over as chief of staff, after Peltola let go of Alex Ortiz, who had been Congressman Don Young’s chief of staff, departed.

McParland worked for Service Employees International Union and the National Education Association. He was a Democratic Party organizer in Oregon, Illinois, and Virginia. He moved to Alaska last August to run Peltola’s campaign, and he does not show up on Alaska voter rolls.

Peltola has arguably one of the most politicized offices in Congress, with her chief of staff also running her reelection campaign, calling into question whether McParland can really separate the two different roles.

According to GlassDoor.com, the average chief of staff in Congress makes $140,000 to $190,000 per year. On top of that, Peltola’s campaign has been paying McParland over $1,700 every two weeks for campaign services, according to the Federal Election Commission.

Congress allows staff to work on political campaigns on their own time, but there’s a cap on how much can be paid. To work on campaigns inside of federal facilities is a violation of the Hatch Act, and there are different rules for campaigns than there are for official duties on behalf of a congressional representative — things like accepting free meals.

Five have left Peltola’s office this year. Besides Ortiz, others include Paula Conru, Josh Wilson, Mark Black, and Claire Richardson.

Peltola’s current staff is listed as: Simone Auger, Logan Basner, Sam Erickson, Tyson Fick, IntiMayo Harbison, Samuel Hiratsuka, Bre Klayum, Emily Larsen, Anton McParland, Lauren Noland, Elizabeth Othmer, Josh Revak, Renee Royal.

Alaska Target stores skip over Memorial Day, go straight for Pride Month themes at entryways

A visit to two Target stores in Alaska show that Pride Month is already here, as least for the LGBTQ-promoting marketers who create store experiences.

Prominent displays of transgender-themed apparel, including breast-binding bathing suit tops and penis-binding bathing suit bottoms, are at the front of the stores, the first things shoppers see when they come through the door. The rainbow flag is accompanied with a transgender flag, lesbian flag, but not an American flag in sight. The flags Target sells are made in China.

On Tuesday, Fox News reported that some Target stores in southern states were forced by the corporation management to move LGBTQ Pride merchandise away from the front of their stores after customer “outrage.” The stores were given 36 hours to get the displays to the back of the stores. The company wants to avoid getting boycotted the way Bud Light has been boycotted after its partnership with transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney.

Target stores have skipped over Memorial Day and gone straight for gay. There are no American flags to be seen in the entryway displays. Instead, it’s all rainbows and transgender flags. Pride month is in June, and Target has been a leader in the LGBTQ+ celebrations, and was also one of the first major stores to allow men to use women’s bathrooms.

In the display, there are items for men, women, gender indeterminant, and children. There are mugs, cards, purses, sweatshirts and more with gay, queer, and transgender themes.

“A Target insider told Fox News Digital that many locations, mostly in rural areas of the South, have relocated Pride sections to avoid the kind of backlash Bud Light has received in recent weeks after using a transgender influencer in a promotional campaign,” Fox reports.

But Alaska Target stores did not get that memo, although there were no shoppers in that section during a store visit on Tuesday.

A visit to a Fred Meyer store in Anchorage on Tuesday was markedly different.

The first items that shoppers see in the Fred Meyer non-grocery entryway is an American flag bunting in front of barbecue-themed items, and American flag cowboy hats, and some American flags. Memorial Day is the federal holiday honoring those who sacrificed their lives for America in wartime. It will be observed May 29 this year, and is typically a day for family get-togethers, and flag placing on the graves of the fallen.

Target made the news last week when it was discovered that one of the designers for its Pride Month collection also has a Satan-inspired line of clothing.

Alaska has three Target stores — two in Anchorage and one in Wasilla. California, however, has over 200 Target stores, one tenth of the over 2,000 Target stores nationwide.

L.A. Dodgers to honor anti-Catholic trans-activist ‘bigots’ at home game

The L.A. Dodgers are getting reamed for the team’s decision to step deeper into the transgender culture war on America.

A group of transvestites who play-act as demonic Catholic nuns and mock sacred Catholic rites, including the crucifixion of Christ, will be honored by the Los Angeles Dodgers next month during the home game against the San Francisco Giants.

The team’s management invited the hedonistic, anti-Christian transvestites to take part in a June 16 “Pride” ceremony honoring community service of LGBTQ organizations, but the backlash from the public caused the team to uninvited the group.

Then it reversed again, apologized, and invited the group to receive an award.

Less than a week after removing the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence from the list of groups to be honored on Pride Night, the Dodgers did a big mea culpa:

“The Dodgers would like to offer our sincerest apologies to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, members of the LGBTQ+ community and their friends and families,” the Dodgers said in a statement, in which the team also changed its logo to include the LGBTQ rainbow. “We have asked the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to take their place on the field at our 10th annual LGBTQ+ Pride Night.”

The Los Angeles Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence said they accept the apology and will appear to accept their award.

In “Queer Nuns,” author Melissa Wilcox says the group is “a congregation blessed by a dildo dipped in poppers,” or drugs that produce chemical vapors inhaled by homosexuals for their “mind-altering effects” and that “cause a euphoria that can reduce inhibitions, increase sexual drive, and intensify the sensations of orgasm,” according to the National Institutes of Health.

The group uses “yogurt-filled chalices offered at a funeral to represent the intake of semen” and a “Condom Savior Mass” where “participants vow to use protection,” Wilcox writes.

Read more about the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence in this sympathetic report by Jessica Lipsky.

Catholic leaders reacted as might expected on Monday, calling the decision disrespectful of the Catholic faith. Leaders of the faith have long condemned the bigoted and anti-Catholic message being spread by the transvestites.

“The decision to openly embrace a group whose demeaning behavior is anti-Catholic and anti-Christian is misguided and disrespectful to the sisters of the Catholic Church who minister in Orange County and selflessly dedicate their lives to God’s underserved people. We cannot condone any actions that have historically shown such high levels of disregard for the sincerely held beliefs of the faithful,” wrote the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange.

“When did mocking Catholic nuns become America’s pastime?“ the Catholic group CatholicVote wrote. 

CatholicVote President Brian Burch vowed to launch a “barrage” of advertising against the team across Los Angeles and in game broadcasts.

“This is a slap in the face of every Catholic,” he said. “We’re raising $1 million as fast as we can, and we will pummel this decision in advertising that the Dodgers can’t ignore.”

“Every advertiser, every season ticket holder, every charity, every fan must speak out against the Dodgers’ decision to promote anti-Catholic hate,” Burch said. “Why does ‘pride’ have to include honoring the most grotesque and scandalous anti-Catholic perverts?”

CatholicVote says 323 attacks on Catholic churches have been reported in the past three years.

A new rash of at least 159 attacks occurred after the draft Supreme Court opinion proposing to reverse Roe v. Wade abortion decision was leaked in early May 2022, with many including graffiti with pro-abortion messages, he said. 

The vast majority have only involved property destruction, indicating that the primary motive is not material gain, the group reports on its website in a May 19 update.

Included in that destruction was vandalism at St. Andrew Catholic Church in Eagle River, and Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Emmonak, where a crucifix was smashed.

Sen. Marco Rubio weighed in: “Shamefully, (but not surprisingly) the @dodgers have been bullied into apologizing to & ‘re-inviting’ a group of anti-Catholic bigots,” he wrote on Twitter.

Iin a letter to Major League Baseball Commissioner Robert Manfred. “Today our great country is controlled by socio-political ruling elites who don’t just tolerate anti-Christian bigotry, they encourage [it].”

“Recently, you stated that Major League Baseball needs to “make decisions that are as inclusive and welcoming to everyone as possible, and keep us as apolitical as possible.” I write to ask whether your League wants to be “inclusive and welcoming” to Christians, and if so, why you are allowing an MLB team to honor a group that mocks Christians through diabolical parodies of our faith,” Rubio wrote.

“The ‘sisters’ are men who dress in lewd imitation of Roman Catholic nuns,” Rubio wrote. “The group’s motto, ‘go and sin some more,’ is a perversion of Jesus’s command to ‘go, and sin no more.’ The group’s ‘Easter’ ceremony features children’s programming followed by a drag show where adult performers dress in blasphemous imitation of Jesus and Mary. The group hosts pub crawls mocking the Stations of the Cross and even the Eucharist, the sacrament that unites more than one billion Catholics around the world.”

Anti-Catholic violence is rising. CatholicVote reports that 87 pregnancy resource centers and pro-life groups have been attacked and vandalized since the draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked by someone in the Supreme Court one year ago.

“Pro-abortion domestic terrorists have claimed responsibility, and delivered on their promise of a ‘summer of rage,'” the group reports.

Plot twist: Man arrested with drugs used his brother’s identity at booking

A traffic stop conducted by Alaska State Troopers on the Seward Highway near Seward in the early hours of May 20 took an unexpected turn, after two days later it was discovered that the driver, initially identified as Paul J. Hakala, was actually his brother, Kevin E. Hakala.

During the initial investigation, the 42-year-old driver, identified as Paul Hakala of Seward, was found to be driving under the influence of drugs.

Inspection of the vehicle led to the discovery of suspected methamphetamine, fentanyl, buprenorphine hydrochloride, clonazepam, packaging materials, a digital scale, two cell phones, and $91.

Consequently, Paul Hakala was arrested on multiple charges including intent to deliver methamphetamine, possession of various controlled substances, driving under the influence, and operating a motor vehicle without liability insurance. He was remanded to the Seward City Jail.

However, on May 22, Troopers received notice that the arrested individual, Paul, had used his brother’s identity during the arrest. The true identity of the suspect was revealed to be Kevin E. Hakala, also 42 years old, and also resident of Seward. The revelation came to light after Kevin was fingerprinted upon his arrival at the Seward City Jail.

The Seward Police Department was promptly informed of the development, and they have requested a summons for Kevin Hakala on one extra count of false information. The charging documents have been amended to reflect Kevin’s true identity.

The plot twist has raised numerous questions about the motives behind Kevin’s decision to assume his brother’s identity during the traffic stop.

Kevin Hakala has been in trouble with the law before. In 2020, he was arrested for misconduct with weapons and drug crimes, and pleaded down his crimes to felon in possession of a weapon, with other charges dismissed by the prosecution.

According to official records, Kevin has been released from custody in advance of his court date in June.

Alaska State Troopers and Alaska Wildlife Troopers across the state are conducting additional traffic patrols through June 4 as part of the Click It or Ticket campaign.

While Troopers will be focused on identifying drivers and passengers not utilizing seatbelts, they are on the lookout for dangerous drivers and drivers operating their vehicles under the influence of alcohol or drugs.