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Alexander Dolitsky: U.S. Lend-Lease aid to Soviet Union during World War II

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Alexander Dolitsky: U.S. Lend-Lease aid to Soviet Union during World War II

By ALEXANDER DOLITSKY

 “The structure of world peace cannot be the work of one man, or one party, or one nation…it must be a peace which rests on the cooperative effort of the whole world.” ~ Franklin Delano Roosevelt, March 1, 1945, address to Congress on the Yalta Conference

Part I: Stalin’s tragic error and the Nazi Germany invasion of the Soviet Union

On Aug. 23, 1939, the Soviet Union astounded the world by signing a non-aggression treaty with Nazi Germany.

The Hitler–Stalin Pact (often referred to as the Ribbentrop–Molotov Pact) meant that the Nazi leaders now had a “green light” to attack Poland and other democracies without fear of intervention from the Red Army.

With the signing of the Nazi–Soviet Pact, the conditions for the start of World War II were set. On Sept. 1, 1939, Nazi Germany attacked Poland, and, on September 17, the Red Army advanced into the eastern part of that country, claiming its share of old, pre-revolutionary Russian Poland. Several days after the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France, honoring their treaty commitments to Poland, declared war on Nazi Germany and the other Axis powers.

Not only did Stalin place an almost naive faith in the 1939 Non–Aggression Pact, but up until June of 1941, provided Hitler with all sorts of raw materials and logistical support to feed the Nazi war machine.

Then, on June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany launched a massive attack against the Soviet Union. Operation Barbarossa had begun. One hundred and fifty-three German divisions crossed the Soviet border along a wide front, while German planes carried out heavy bombing of border installations, airfields, railway stations, and towns. At the same time, Romania, Hungary, and Finland sent a combined total of 37 divisions against the Soviet Union.

Altogether, the Axis powers amassed 190 divisions, comprising 5.5 million men, 3,712 tanks, 4,950 planes, 47,260 guns and mortars, and 193 military ships, along the Soviet borders. Fascist Italy also declared war on the Soviet Union, and Spain and Bulgaria further aided Germany. At the same time, Japan held a million soldiers of the well-trained Kwantung Army ready for action along the Soviet Far Eastern borders.

The situation along the Eastern Front at the beginning of the invasion proved extremely unfavorable for the Soviet Army. The Soviets suffered devastating damage from enemy air attacks that destroyed almost the entire Soviet Air Force in the first week of the invasion—4,017 out of the 7,700 aircraft in western Soviet Union (this may not include 1,445 aircraft of the three western naval air forces) for the loss of only 150 Luftwaffe aircraft.

Some sources suggest that on the second day of the war alone, the Soviet Air Force lost a total of 3,922 aircraft, while downing only 78 enemy planes. 

By early July of 1941, the Germans occupied Lithuania, a large part of Latvia, and the western territories of Belorussia and Ukraine and were approaching the Western Dvina River and the upper reaches of the Dnieper River. Through unparalleled acts of bravery on the part of thousands of Soviet soldiers, by mid-July 1941, the enemy was halted near Kiev and remained stopped for 73 days. The German Wehrmacht killed or captured more than 660,000 Soviets in the battles of Kiev—about one third of the deployed Red Army.

The battles at Kiev and Uman would prove to be the greatest defeats in the history of the Russian people. As a result of the defeat, the north, center, and south were left wide open to rapid German advances.

By November of 1941, the Germans occupied the Baltic States, Byelorussia, Moldava, most of Ukraine, Crimea, and a large part of Karelia east of Finland. They had also seized considerable territory around Leningrad and Moscow. Before the war, those occupied parts of the country had contained 40 percent of the total population of the Soviet Union and had produced 63 percent of the nation’s coal, 58 percent of its steel, and 38 percent of its grain. Not only were the human losses enormous, but the Soviet people suddenly found their independence threatened once again. 

Part II: To Help or not to help? Many conservatives in the United States argued vociferously against the U.S.–Soviet Pact, asserting that America’s aid should be disbursed only to proven friends, such as Great Britain and China. In congressional debates on the subject in late July and August, isolationists insisted that to aid the Soviet Union was to aid communism. Read about the political fight in Congress in Part II on Friday.

Photo at top: Soviet and American officers and enlisted personnel mix under the wing of the Soviet Li-2 transport plane in Nome upon arrival of the first contingent of the Soviet Military Mission. September 3, 1942. Courtesy of USAF.

Alexander B. Dolitsky was born and raised in Kiev in the former Soviet Union. He received an M.A. in history from Kiev Pedagogical Institute, Ukraine, in 1976; an M.A. in anthropology and archaeology from Brown University in 1983; and was enroled in the Ph.D. program in Anthropology at Bryn Mawr College from 1983 to 1985, where he was also a lecturer in the Russian Center. In the U.S.S.R., he was a social studies teacher for three years, and an archaeologist for five years for the Ukranian Academy of Sciences. In 1978, he settled in the United States. Dolitsky visited Alaska for the first time in 1981, while conducting field research for graduate school at Brown. He lived first in Sitka in 1985 and then settled in Juneau in 1986. From 1985 to 1987, he was a U.S. Forest Service archaeologist and social scientist. He was an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Russian Studies at the University of Alaska Southeast from 1985 to 1999; Social Studies Instructor at the Alyeska Central School, Alaska Department of Education from 1988 to 2006; and has been the Director of the Alaska-Siberia Research Center (see www.aksrc.homestead.com) from 1990 to present. He has conducted about 30 field studies in various areas of the former Soviet Union (including Siberia), Central Asia, South America, Eastern Europe and the United States (including Alaska). Dolitsky has been a lecturer on the World Discoverer, Spirit of Oceanus, andClipper Odyssey vessels in the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. He was the Project Manager for the WWII Alaska-Siberia Lend Lease Memorial, which was erected in Fairbanks in 2006. He has published extensively in the fields of anthropology, history, archaeology, and ethnography. His more recent publications include Fairy Tales and Myths of the Bering Strait Chukchi, Ancient Tales of Kamchatka; Tales and Legends of the Yupik Eskimos of Siberia; Old Russia in Modern America: Russian Old Believers in Alaska; Allies in Wartime: The Alaska-Siberia Airway During WWII; Spirit of the Siberian Tiger: Folktales of the Russian Far East; Living Wisdom of the Far North: Tales and Legends from Chukotka and Alaska; Pipeline to Russia; The Alaska-Siberia Air Route in WWII; and Old Russia in Modern America: Living Traditions of the Russian Old Believers; Ancient Tales of Chukotka, and Ancient Tales of Kamchatka.

A few of Dolitsky’s past MRAK columns:

Understanding anti-semitism and anti-semites in America

Russian Old Believers in Alaska live lives reflecting bygone centuries

Russian saying: Beat your friends so your enemies fear you

Neo-Marxism and utopian Socialism in America

Old believers preserving faith in the New World

Duke Ellington and the effects of Cold War in Soviet Union on intellectual curiosity

United we stand, divided we fall with race, ethnicity in America

For American schools to succeed, they need this ingredient

Nationalism in America, Alaska, around the world

The case of the ‘delicious salad’

White privilege is a troubling perspective

Beware of activists who manipulate history for their own agenda

Alaska Day remembrance of Russian transfer

American leftism is true picture of true hypocrisy

History does not repeat itself

The only Ford Mustang in Kiev

What is greed? Depends on the generation

Worldwide migration of Old Believers in Alaska

Traditions of Old Believers in Alaska

Language, Education of Old Believers in Alaska

Alaska education industry wants your PFD, but will our graduates even be able to read their diplomas?

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Alaska education industry wants your PFD, but will our graduates even be able to read their diplomas?

By DAVID BOYLE

We knew this was coming—the coordinated assault by various special interest groups to increase education funding, and using your PFD to pay for it.

The special interest groups believe they know better than you about how to spend your money.

The education industry attended the Senate Education Committee on Jan. 25, hands outstretched for more and more money to solve Alaska’s K-12 education problems.

All the industry members, NEA (teachers union), Alaska Council of School Administrators, Alaska Association of School Boards, and the Coalition for Education Equity want to increase the Base Student Allocation.

Their common mantra was, “The BSA has been flat funded since 2017” and Alaska must adjust for inflation now and for the future.

The NEA’s presentation stated that the Anchorage School District was proposing to close six schools. That proposal went nowhere. The ASD is now recommending five of the six be repurposed for new programs and putting the Alaska Native Cultural Charter School in another.   This statement by the NEA was, it appears, misinformed.

The NEA’s presentation also included this slide:

At first blush one would conclude that the districts with high teacher turnover directly correlate with low student reading scores. Once again, this is misinformation because the reading scores are outdated; these may be the 2014 reading scores. None of our reading scores are anywhere near the cited 85.8%.

The recent AKSTAR statewide tests showed that only 29.46% of students statewide were proficient at reading. The best reading proficiency score was the Sitka School District with a 40.62% for all grades.

Hopefully, members of the Senate Education Committee are aware of the significant differences and misleading NEA statements.

Calculating funding for school districts is not as simple as it seems.

The Base Student Allocation is used to determine funding for school districts. Once it is set, it is then multiplied by the adjusted average student membership. The BSA is not multiplied by the actual number of students, as some would like Alaskans to believe.

This adjusted average student membership is the result of a multiplication process. Through that process, the actual Anchorage School District student count of 41,196 goes to a whopping 73,746 students.

The Alaska Council of School Administrators wants a 14-18% increase in the Base Student Allocation and wants it inflation-proofed in future years.

That would mean at today’s (FY23) adjusted student population of 259,015, an increase of the BSA by 18% would be $7,033. The total cost of K12 would be $1.8 billion. This would be an increase of $604.4 million. Even at the low end of a 14% increase in the Base Student Allocation, the increase would be $542.6 million, and change.

The Anchorage School District repeats the “flat funding of the BSA since 2017” mantra and wants an increase in the BSA of $860, or a jump from $5,960 to $6,820 per student.

In terms of last year’s Permanent Fund dividend ($3,284), that would be 168,193 dividends.  Do that many Alaskans want to use their PFD to funnel more money into K-12 public education? 

The Education industry cherry picks the base year of 2017 because it was the last year the BSA was substantially increased. But for a more accurate look, one should go back further—to the year 2000. This would ensure a smoother funding curve with more accurate inflation numbers.

The FY 2000 BSA was $3,940. If we inflation adjust that to 2022 dollars that would mean a BSA of $6,528. The result would be $1,692,096,768, an increase in K12 funding of $472,568,205. This would be the equivalent of 143,900 PFDs.

All the organizations listed above go to Juneau to lobby for more and more money. Alaskans, through their various taxes, pay the membership dues of those organizations that descend upon the Legislature to ask for more money.

The circle of funding is to pay for more for K-12 with little to no accountability by educators.

Lon Garrison, President of the Alaska Association of School Boards, said about accountability, “We measure success by a student receiving a diploma. We need to stop measuring success with spending.”

Fewer than 28% of Alaska’s 9th graders are proficient at reading. Will they be able to read their diplomas?

The BSA should be increased somewhat. Many will argue that the districts need to also be more accountable for that funding and that Alaska cannot continue to throw more money at K12 education and hope to get better results. The funding needs to be tied to results.

Without accountability, we can expect to see even more future demands for your PFD.  

David Boyle is the education writer for Must Read Alaska.

NEA pushes transgender-identity agenda in Alaska

Alaska joins lawsuit over new ‘woke’ retirement investment rule at Department of Labor

Suzanne Downing
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Alaska joins lawsuit over new ‘woke’ retirement investment rule at Department of Labor

Alaska and 24 other states filed a complaint last week against a U.S. Department of Labor rule that, starting today, will allow retirement account managers to invest their clients’ money into funds that prioritize or consider environmental and social values, rather than traditional fiduciary standards.

The new rule, allowing the fiduciaries for retirement funds to choose what they may believe is best for the world, rather than best for the client. The “woke” funds are known as ESG, or Environmental, Social ,Governance funds, and investments in these funds may bring smaller returns to the retirement accounts of millions of people. Two-thirds of Americans’ retirement savings are held in accounts that could be converted into “woke” investments without their knowledge.

The rule also runs counter to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

“This rule is contrary to longstanding federal law and fiduciary principles that require fiduciaries to place their clients’ financial interests first,” Gov. Mark Gordon of Wyoming said. “Allowing political agendas to guide managers investing Americans’ retirement accounts is unacceptable and shortsighted. Their sole responsibility must be the best financial interests of the beneficiaries.

The rule, “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights,” went into effect on Jan. 30, 2023.

“The 2022 Investment Duties Rule makes changes that authorize fiduciaries to consider and promote ‘nonpecuniary benefits’ when making investment decisions. Contrary to Congress’s clear intent, these changes make it easier for fiduciaries to act with mixed motives. They also make it harder for beneficiaries to police such conduct,” the lawsuit reads.

The 25 states participating in the lawsuit, which is led by Wyoming, are: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

A copy of the complaint may be found here and below:

ESG-2023.01.26_1-ComplaintDownload

Flying community abuzz over indictment of restaurateur who endangered floatplane passengers in Halibut Cove

Suzanne Downing
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Flying community abuzz over indictment of restaurateur who endangered floatplane passengers in Halibut Cove

A federal grand jury charged Marian Tillion Beck of Halibut Cove last week with willfully harassing the pilot of an aircraft, Eric Lee, who was attempting to taxi his floatplane out of the cove on Aug. 23. Lee operates Alaska Ultimate Safaris in Homer and was preparing to take a group of people on a flight-seeing tour, when Beck operated a boat “in a grossly negligent manner that endangered the life, limb, or property of a person.”

Beck owns the Saltry restaurant in the quaint settlement across Kachemak Bay from the Homer Spit. A video that was shared on Facebook showed a boat buzzing the de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver, and appearing to threaten it with collision. The plane, with seven aboard, at one point wobbled and a propeller hit the water. The boat appeared to be within inches of the plane.

In all his years of flying, Lee said last summer, he had never encountered such an incident like the one that day.

There are two counts in the federal indictment: 1. Attempted destruction of aircraft, and 2. Gross negligent operation of a vessel.

Beck, the daughter of the late Sen. Clem Tillion and artist Diane Tillion, is a lifelong Alaskan who is a licensed maritime captain and the owner of the Kachemak Bay Ferry, the M/V Danny J., which her father operated for decades as the private ferry to the cove. Born in Seldovia, she attended high school in Homer and college at CalPoly.

An artist like her mother, Beck owns the Halibut Cove Experience Gallery, and she runs the Saltry Restaurant in Halibut Cove. Observers say that she was annoyed with all the tourism activity in the cove, which is on an island largely owned and controlled by the Tillion family for generations.

Marian-Beck-indictmentDownload

Agencies involved in the investigation included the U.S. Coast Guard, which submitted its findings to the U.S. Attorney for review and possible action. Amanda Gavelek, a lieutenant in the U.S. Coast Guard, was copied on the indictment. Assistant Federal Public Defender Jane Imholte has been assigned to represent Beck until such time as Beck can financially secure her own representation.

Destruction of an aircraft is a serious crime and may be subject to a fine as much as $10,000 and prison of not more than twenty years, or both, although the Beck case is more about endangering the lives of seven people in what appeared to be a reckless disregard for human life.

According to 18 U.S. Code § 32 – Destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities, as found at Cornell Law School’s website:

(a)Whoever willfully—

(1) sets fire to, damages, destroys, disables, or wrecks any aircraft in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States or any civil aircraft used, operated, or employed in interstate, overseas, or foreign air commerce;

(2) places or causes to be placed a destructive device or substance in, upon, or in proximity to, or otherwise makes or causes to be made unworkable or unusable or hazardous to work or use, any such aircraft, or any part or other materials used or intended to be used in connection with the operation of such aircraft, if such placing or causing to be placed or such making or causing to be made is likely to endanger the safety of any such aircraft;

(3) sets fire to, damages, destroys, or disables any air navigation facility, or interferes by force or violence with the operation of such facility, if such fire, damaging, destroying, disabling, or interfering is likely to endanger the safety of any such aircraft in flight;

(4) with the intent to damage, destroy, or disable any such aircraft, sets fire to, damages, destroys, or disables or places a destructive device or substance in, upon, or in proximity to, any appliance or structure, ramp, landing area, property, machine, or apparatus, or any facility or other material used, or intended to be used, in connection with the operation, maintenance, loading, unloading or storage of any such aircraft or any cargo carried or intended to be carried on any such aircraft;

(5) interferes with or disables, with intent to endanger the safety of any person or with a reckless disregard for the safety of human life, anyone engaged in the authorized operation of such aircraft or any air navigation facility aiding in the navigation of any such aircraft;

(6) performs an act of violence against or incapacitates any individual on any such aircraft, if such act of violence or incapacitation is likely to endanger the safety of such aircraft;

(7) communicates information, knowing the information to be false and under circumstances in which such information may reasonably be believed, thereby endangering the safety of any such aircraft in flight; or

(8) attempts or conspires to do anything prohibited under paragraphs (1) through (7) of this subsection; shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years or both.

(c) Whoever willfully imparts or conveys any threat to do an act which would violate any of paragraphs (1) through (6) of subsection (a) or any of paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (b) of this section, with an apparent determination and will to carry the threat into execution shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

Anchorage schools add 30 minutes to school days starting Monday through March 9 to make up for snow days

Suzanne Downing
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Anchorage schools add 30 minutes to school days starting Monday through March 9 to make up for snow days

Anchorage students will be in school for an additional 30 minutes starting on Jan. 30 through March 9. The Anchorage School Board voted to extend the days to make up for several snow-day closures during December’s epic snowfalls.

Students in the public schools have lost seven days of classroom time due to snow this year. By adding a half hour every day, the school district will recover three full days.

Another lost day will be made up by the district making Feb. 22 and 23 into school days. They were previously half days, in order to hold parent-teacher conferences. An in-service teacher preparation day — Feb. 24 — will be another learning day instead. The final two other snow days were already worked into the schedule and won’t need to be made up.

March 10 marks the end of the third quarter and the beginning of a week of Spring break. The school year is currently scheduled to end May 23.

Arab and North African: Biden Administration revising Census forms to add in new race and ethnic categories

Suzanne Downing
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Arab and North African: Biden Administration revising Census forms to add in new race and ethnic categories

The Office of the Chief Statistician in the Biden Administration is revising categories for race and ethnicity to be finalized before the next U.S. Census, which takes place in 2030.

The draft recommendation is to:

  • Collect race and ethnicity together with a single question;
  • Add a category for Middle Eastern and North African, which would be separate and distinct from the “White” category; and
  • Update Statistical Policy Directive 15, which defines race, with new terminology, definitions, and question wording.

The recommendations are preliminary and the agency is asking for input from the public by April 12.

A change in the racial designation of Americans from Arab and North African ancestry could dramatically change the result of the next Census. Currently, there are thought to be nearly 3.5 million Arab Americans in the United States, with 94% living in major metropolitan areas, such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. In 2013, the Census Bureau reported less than 1.5 million Arab Americans, although that number is not based on actual Census data.

In the early days of U.S. immigration from the Middle East, Arabs seeking to gain citizenship in the United States had to check the “white” race box to become naturalized. In 1977, the Office of Management and Budget issued Directive 15, officially classifying as white those who descend from Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. Defining the boundaries of the Middle East and North Africa have never been without controversy.

In 2010, Arab-American activists started a campaign to change how they are classified, resisting the idea that they are white. The Arab American Institute has taken a leadership role and wrote to the Census Bureau, requesting a new set of categories. The official effort began in earnest in 2014 under President Barack Obama, but ended during the Trump Administration in 2020. The Biden Administration has picked up the initiative to continue creating new race and ethnic categories.

The Working Group’s new website and the Federal Register Notice have more information and provide a place for feedback from the public.

“We are committed to a full, transparent revision process, guided by input from the American people. Your participation in this process will play a critical role in helping us improve the way Federal agencies safely and accurately collect and use information on the race and ethnicity of our diverse America. This is vital to ensure our programs and policies are effective across the Federal government—and we look forward to sharing additional updates in the months ahead. We are on track to reach the goal of completing these important revisions by the Summer of 2024,” said Karin Orvis, chief statistician of the United States.

Utah bans giving gender-changing hormones and performing transgender surgeries on children

Suzanne Downing
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Utah bans giving gender-changing hormones and performing transgender surgeries on children

Gov. Spencer Cox of Utah signed legislation Saturday banning the use of puberty-blocking hormones on children to begin their chemical transition into transgendered children. Surgeries, such as the removal of breasts of girls and and the castration of boys, would be banned.

A major industry has developed in the transgender field, with doctors growing lucrative practices around these irreversible procedures, most of which are paid for by taxpayers or insurance companies. Utah is the first state in 2023 to enact such a ban, and lawsuits will likely follow from transgender activist groups and their legal teams.

SB 16 sponsor Sen. Michael Kennedy, a family doctor, said he understood the risk of lawsuits and would “bet every dollar that I have in my bank account right now that this will be litigated.” 

SB 16 bill passed 20-8, with two Republicans crossing over to vote with all Democrats against the bill. The bill had already made its way to the House, where it was modified from its original version, which had a four-year moratorium on these procedures and surgeries. It came back to the Senate with stronger provisions that place an indefinite moratorium on hormonal treatments for children and teens who have not been treated for gender dysphoria for at least six months. In the House, a provision was also added that will allow a minor to bring a malpractice lawsuit against health care providers who do these treatments if the young person later changes his or her mind, up until the patient is 25 years old.

On the Senate floor, Sen. Kennedy said, “I’m committed to doing my best in this area. I’m afraid that I’m going to be working on this for the rest of my political life. But I’m happy to partner with honest, professional people to try to do justice to this community. Because I have great respect for them and want nothing but the best for the children in all of our state.”

Gov. Cox said S.B. 16 may not be perfect, but it’s thoughtful: “Legislation that impacts our most vulnerable youth requires careful consideration and deliberation. While not a perfect bill, we are grateful for Sen. Kennedy’s more nuanced and thoughtful approach to this terribly divisive issue. More and more experts, states, and countries around the world are pausing these permanent and life-altering treatments for new patients until more and better research can help determine the long-term consequences. 

“We will continue to push the Legislature for additional resources to organizations that work to help this important Utah community. While we understand our words will be of little comfort to those who disagree with us, we sincerely hope that we can treat our transgender families with more love and respect as we work to better understand the science and consequences behind these procedures.” 

Another bill is working its way through the Utah Legislature that prohibits the changing of a birth certificate to indicate a non-biological gender designation for a minor. S.B. 93 would prevent people under the age of 18 from being able to have their birth certificate altered to show that they are a different gender than they actually are.

F is for free speech, unless you’re a bar in Anchorage, in which case trolls will try to destroy you

Suzanne Downing
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F is for free speech, unless you’re a bar in Anchorage, in which case trolls will try to destroy you

F Street Station, a popular watering hole in downtown Anchorage, is being dragged through the proverbial mud by radical leftists on social media this week, after the bar management posted a clever and brutally honest comment on the company’s well-known comment chalkboard:

“We now live in a world where your kid cannot pretend to be an Indian … But a grown man can pretend to be a woman.”

The leftists went nuts. Several started a social media campaign to destroy the bar: “Allies, time to do your thing,” wrote one, and included the F Street Station phone number.

Another wrote, “…if y’all work there I’d fuckin quit asap…unless of course you’re racist and transphobic too.” It appears the words “transphobic” and “racist” have been the most popular among the haters on Twitter, referring to the popular saying about kids, Indians, and men-as-women that has been making the rounds.

The Mudflats (a former leftist blog with a Twitter account) wrote more civilly than most and with less acidity than usual: “This is F Street Station in Anchorage. Time to learn to make your own French onion soup, people.”

One person suggested that the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce expel the business, and a local nonprofit dedicated to LGBTQ people used the occasion to start a fundraising drive to raise money for its cause of “Celebrating Queer Alaskans.”

The hate came fast and furious over the past few days, with dozens of nasty comments on Twitter and so many negative reviews from fake customers on Yelp that the review website had to shut down the comment section for the bar. It was being bombarded by people who have probably never been to Anchorage and their reviews of reuben sandwiches and French onion soup were smothered with a smearing of fakery.

TripAdvisor also suspended comments on its page for F Street Station. Although the establishment has a four-star rating from nearly 1,000 reviewers, TripAdvisor said that “Due to a recent event that has attracted media attention and has caused an influx of review submissions that do not describe a first-hand experience, we have temporarily suspended publishing new reviews for this listing. If you’ve had a firsthand experience at this property, please check back soon – we’re looking forward to receiving your review.”

Even former gubernatorial candidate Les Gara got in on the Twitter action, calling on the bar to sincerely apologize.

But whether that will dissuade longtime customers is another matter. In 2015, now-Rep. Zack Fields wrote glowingly about F Street Station’s food and ambiance in a long review for the Anchorage Press:

“F Street Station has been serving food and drinks in the same downtown Anchorage location since before statehood. With brass rails at the double bars, honey-toned wood paneling, and white smocked line cooks, it is a space that suspends time for those who enter. The food is unpretentious and impeccable, served straight from the kitchen for patrons who sit at the bar,” Fields wrote.

“Eating a meal at this often-packed establishment is a privilege; in a city full of mediocre and overpriced restaurants, F Street Station is consistently flawless,” Fields wrote, and then proceeded to wax poetic about the thin-sliced roast beef cooked to perfection for the roast beef sandwiches, and the exquisite Friday French dip lunches: “This French dip ($11) is the best I’ve eaten in Anchorage or anywhere else. It is certainly the finest lunch available in Anchorage for less than $20. After countless Friday French dip lunches, I’ve never encountered dry, overdone, or underdone meat. The French bread roll has never been under or over toasted. The cheese has always been perfectly melted, broiled briefly on the rolls until it bubbles slightly. The fries are always cooked correctly, and are real fries from potatoes-a surprisingly rare phenomenon. No wonder, then, that they sell out so quickly. Most Fridays, the line cooks call out ‘last dip’ right around noon.”

Fields went on to exclaim profusely about the buttered clams and calamari, the shrimp, and the pasta. Anyone who knows Rep. Fields knows he does not hand out compliments to conservatives, or to anyone for that matter, but he closed his review by writing:

“In some ways, it isn’t surprising F St has been around for more than a half century. It serves a very limited menu with unpretentious and expertly prepared food. The reason that certain dishes run out is because the food is sourced in limited supplies for maximum freshness. F St doesn’t have or need such trivialities as a website or Facebook page: Judging by the crowds, a significant percentage of Anchorage residents know it continues to be one of the best places to eat in town.”

F Street Station: Where the food is excellent and free speech is still a thing. For now.

Senate bill would repeal Biden $600 IRS reporting threshold

SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR
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Senate bill would repeal Biden $600 IRS reporting threshold

By KIM JARRETT | THE CENTER SQUARE

Eight Republican senators have signed onto a bill that would repeal the tax threshold for reporting third-party payments. 

Under a provision in the American Rescue Plan Act, business transactions over $600 annually would be reported to the IRS by the payment platforms.  

Led by U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., the Stop the Nosy Obsession with Online Payments Act, (SNOOP Act) would keep the threshold at $20,000 a year for at least 200 transactions. 

“Small business owners and independent contractors need rescuing from this American Rescue Plan Act provision, which, fortunately, has yet to be implemented by the IRS,” Sen. Cramer said in a news release. “Our bill would prevent enforcement of the onerous regulation and institute a more reasonable reporting threshold.”

Cramer co-sponsored a similar bill last year. According to congressional records, it was assigned to the Senate Finance Committee but never made it to the Senate floor for a vote. 

The IRS has delayed enforcing the regulation for the 2022 tax year. 

“This invasion of taxpayer privacy is another example of overreach by the Administration and should be stopped in its tracks,” he said.

“The IRS and Treasury heard a number of concerns regarding the timeline of implementation of these changes under the American Rescue Plan,” Acting IRS Commissioner Doug O’Donnell said in December. “The additional time will help reduce confusion during the upcoming 2023 tax filing season and provide more time for taxpayers to prepare and understand the new reporting requirements.”

Sens. John Hoeven, R-N.D, Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., Ted Cruz, R-Texas, John Kennedy, R-La., John Barrasso, R-Wyo. and James Lankford, R-Okla. are co-sponsors of the bill.

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