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Elon Musk moves Twitter’s blue-check verification relaunch until after Election Day

Suzanne Downing
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Elon Musk moves Twitter’s blue-check verification relaunch until after Election Day

Twitter will postpone the revamping of its “blue check” verification system until after Tuesday’s midterm elections. Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, announced he would end the current subjective system for awarding blue checks to accounts, amid scandalous reports now emerging that blue checks were being sold by Twitter’s workers under the table for as much as $15,000.

Blue checks indicate the account has been verified and is a status symbol that has been awarded to famous people. After Musk bought the social media platform, he announced that verified accounts would be charged $8 a month as a subscription to the verification service, and that new verification applications would be processed starting Monday, Nov. 7. But now, the switch to a subscriber model will start after the 2022 election is over.

“The blue Verified badge  on Twitter lets people know that an account of public interest is authentic. To receive the blue badge, your account must be authentic, notable, and active,” Twitter’s help page still says, reflecting the old system.

Under the expiring rules, a Twitter account “must represent or otherwise be associated with a prominently recognized individual or brand, in line with the notability criteria described below. In addition to confirming the identity of the controller of the account, Twitter will Verify the following types of accounts based on the criteria described. In all categories, Twitter may independently confirm qualifying affiliation through business partnerships or direct outreach. For each category we may request the following type of information to confirm notability:

  • “News Coverage: Provide news articles that are about or reference yourself or your organization multiple times in the article. These articles must be from Verified news organizations and cannot be a blog or self-published content. Some categories may require you to submit articles that reference or link to your or your organization’s Twitter handle in addition to referring to you or your organization.
  • “Google Trends: Provide a link to a profile on Google Trends that depicts search history and is linked to the category in which you are applying.
  • “Wikipedia: Provide a link to a stable Wikipedia article about you or your organization that meets the encyclopedia’s notability standards.
  • Other industry specific references: Depending on the category, we may ask for more industry specific references such as a link to an IMDB page for entertainment.
  • “Follower or Mention Count: If your account is detected to be in the top .05% follower or mention count for your geographic location, it may count towards notability evidence for certain categories.”

Under the new system, people can ask for verification and go through a verification process even if they are not famous or “noteworthy.” But the new account will be a subscription rather than a caste system, Musk has said.

Some journalists who have been regulars at the back-alley fight club at Twitter are moving their social media accounts to a new site called Mastodon Social, a microblogging site where liberals have herded out of protest against the new owner of Twitter, who has ended the practice of banishing conservative voices. Anchorage Democrats have set up an account at Mastodon Social, as has Vicky Ho, the managing editor of the Anchorage Daily News, and reporter James Brooks of Alaska Beacon.

Dolitsky: World at war — lessons from Siberian Yup’ik

SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR
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Dolitsky: World at war — lessons from Siberian Yup’ik

By ALEXANDER DOLITSKY

The world’s political leaders, including main actors such as Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, European Union, United Kingdom, United States and Canada, failed a trust giving to them by the world’s communities by allowing Russian/Ukrainian conflict to erupt quickly into a menacing threat of a global war with devastating consequences for all humanity.

As a result, we are witnessing a brutal hot war between Russia and Ukraine, a renewed cold war between the West and the East, and the emerging threat of World War III.

Indeed, the world’s political leaders and power elites have failed us with their lack of foresight, their ineffectiveness to compromise with opposing parties, and their truancy of an altruistic, cognitive wisdom (i.e., when we act to promote someone else’s welfare, even at a risk or cost to ourselves).

They should take a lesson on preserving peace from the ancient societies. One such lesson is found in the Siberian Yup’ik tale “The Two Strongmen and the Oldster.” 

This tale falls into the genre of a magical tale about two strongmen weaned by animals. One of the men, Ettuvi, is from Kigi, Arakamchechen Island in the Senyavin Strait, Bering Sea. The second man, Kaynuvi, is from Yanrakinot, also in the Bering Sea, on the shore of the Senyavin Strait. 

The tale was narrated in 1960 by A. Algalik, an inhabitant of Chaplino Village in the Chukchi Peninsula of the Russian Far East. It was recorded and translated into Russian by Gregoriy A. Menovshchikov and later translated into English and edited by Henry N. Michael and Alexander B. Dolitsky.

The Two Strongmen and the Oldster

“On the island of Kigi, there lived a man who had been suckled by a wolf. They called him Ettuvi—a Chukchi name meaning “of a dog.” And in Yanrakinot, there lived another man who had been suckled by a brown bear. They called him Kaynuvi—a Chukchi name meaning “of the wild deer.” From the milk of their animals they had derived enormous strength. They had never seen each other, but Ettuvi from Kigi had heard that Kaynuvi was very strong, and the people of Yanrakinot told Kaynuvi that there was nobody stronger in the world than Ettuvi. Through his people, each sent word to the other of his desire to compare their strengths in a great contest. 

One day an old man from Yanrakinot was casting a fishing net into the lagoon. In the bottom of his baydara [an open skin boat with a light frame of driftwood and covered with split walrus hide, similar to Alaskan Yupik umiak] lay two hard poplavoks—hunting floats made of the skin of a variegated ringed seal. Suddenly, he caught sight of the two strongmen—Ettuvi and Kaynuvi—coming toward him. 

“Watch us, old man,” they said, “as we compete in our strength. And tell us who is stronger!”

The old man replied, “Wait for me here while I place the net.”

Keeping his eyes on the strongmen, the old man spread the net slowly. While he worked, Ettuvi and Kaynuvi lay down on the sand, propped up their chins with their hands and talked peacefully to each other. From the sand, Kaynuvi picked up a bone from the joint of a walrus flipper and crumbled it into dust with his fingers. Ettuvi’s elbows rested on a float made of seal skin. He reached to pick it up to mend it, and had barely touched it when the float collapsed. 

The little old man watched all of this out of the corner of his eye as he continued to work. When his net was spread, he said to them, “You have already competed. One of you has turned a bone into dust with his fingers, and the other, by just a light touch of his hand, has collapsed a float made of seal skin. 

“Could you not, Ettuvi, say that your body is better at making dust of bones? And you, Kaynuvi, could you not say that your body is better at squashing floats of seal skin filled with air? 

“Both of you are so strong that if you start competing you will kill each other. It will be better if you don’t fight! And you know you live in different villages!”

The strongmen listened to the old man from Yanrakinot. They did not fight. Each went his own way. 

That is all. And that’s the way I heard it. The end.”

Clearly, a small minority consisting of members of the economic elite and policy-making networks, holds the most power — and this power is independent of democratic elections.

This power elite occupies the dominant positions in the three pillar institutions — state security, economic and political of the dominant and technologically advanced countries. Nevertheless, democratically elected officials must hold the power elite responsible for the atrocities we are witnessing today in Central Europe.

Indeed, I blame current world leaders for what is happening in Ukraine; for initially ignoring and now, actually, supporting all of it, regardless of its effects on the poor Ukrainian people and Russian conscripts used as simple political pawns. 

World leaders cannot undo the devastation that has ransacked the people and communities affected by the Russian–Ukrainian war/conflict. However, with a concerted effort to focus to humanitarian values, an effort to compromise, and their determination to adhere to altruistic, cognitive wisdom, peace and stability can be restored.

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:

Read: Alaska Day remembrance of Russian expansion into Siberia and Alaska

Read: Beware of activists who manipulate history

Read: What is freedom?

Read: Understanding anti-semitism

Read: Russian Old Believers in Alaska live lives reflecting bygone centuries

Read: Russian saying: Beat your friends so your enemies fear you

Read: Neo-Marxism and utopian Socialism in America

Read: Old believers preserving faith in the New World

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

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

Read: For American schools to succeed, they need this ingredient

Read: Nationalism in America, Alaska, around the world

Read: The case of the ‘delicious salad’

Read: White privilege is a troubling perspective

Read: Beware of activists who manipulate history for their own agenda

Read: Alaska Day remembrance of Russian transfer

Read: American leftism is true picture of true hypocrisy

Read: History does not repeat itself

Read: The only Ford Mustang in Kiev

Read: What is greed? Depends on the generation

Read: Worldwide migration of Old Believers in Alaska

Read: Traditions of Old Believers in Alaska

Read: Language, Education of Old Believers in Alaska

How many have voted so far in Alaska? About 22% of expected election turnout

Suzanne Downing
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How many have voted so far in Alaska? About 22% of expected election turnout

On Friday, the mid-afternoon line to vote at Anchorage’s Gambell Street polling location stretched out the door and into the sunny, chilly day. Voters had to wait a good half hour to get to a ballot.

As of Saturday, 62,847 Alaskans had already voted in the Nov. 8, 2022 midterm election, where a governor, a senator, and Alaska’s only congressional representative will be chosen, along with all seats for state House and Senate, except for Senate Seat T, the Nome-Kotz-North Slope area, which did not change substantially during redistricting.

That breaks down into 33,597 who have voted by absentee ballot, and 29,250 who have voted early in person. There are about 55,000 absentee ballots issued, which means another 19,000 or more have not yet been returned.

The number of total votes cast may be approximately 22% of the total expected by the time all the absentees must have arrived at the Division of Elections.

192,542 votes were cast in the Aug. 16 primary and special general election.

During the last comparable general election — 2018, a non-pandemic year and a midterm election — 285,009 Alaskans cast ballots for a 49.84% turnout.

If the turnout is comparable, then so far 22% of Alaska voters have already done their civic duty.

Rural Alaska, from Kaktovik to Adak, and all the villages in between, hasn’t shown up for the election yet, which is typical of those districts, where voters are not keen on early or absentee voting.

Bethel has the second worst turnout of any district in the state. That’s Congresswoman Mary Peltola’s hometown, although she actually lives in Goldenview, a south Anchorage area filled with luxury homes.

Turning out in higher numbers are voters on the road system. Homer District 6 has cast 2,818 votes, Kenai District 8 has cast 2,103, South Anchorage District 9 has cast 2,823, Eagle River District 23 has cast 2,349, House District 3 North Juneau-Skagway has cast 2,747 votes, while House District 4 Juneau Downtown has cast 2,608.

Unique on the road system is District 18, which is the area represented by Republican Rep. David Nelson. That strong military district that wraps around Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson has many soldiers and airmen living in it and often has a low turnout in the midterm elections; in fact, it nearly always one of the lowest turnout districts in the state. Only 639 have voted in that district, so far. Formerly known as District 15, it was once represented by former Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, who now is in court for allegedly committing voter fraud. Only 3,600 people voted in that district in 2018. Nelson faces tough competition this year from two extreme leftists and turnout for Nelson will be critical, as the area now encompasses the more liberal-leaning Government Hill.

All in a day’s work: Temporary state election worker by day, voter suppression troll by night, (a federal crime)

Suzanne Downing
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All in a day’s work: Temporary state election worker by day, voter suppression troll by night, (a federal crime)

On Tuesday, the Division of Elections will open the voting polls at 7 am.

But one Donald Hennessey, a temporary poll worker at the Division of Elections, has been busy in his off hours giving out disinformation to voters, especially voters who might cast a ballot for House candidate Kathy Henslee, (District 13).

Hennessey’s disinformation campaign, to try to dissuade Henslee voters from heading to the polls early, was caught by a watchful volunteer, who reported it.

On candidate Henslee’s official Facebook campaign page, Hennessey argued with the campaign manager, a volunteer, and Henslee herself, called names, and gave out the wrong information for voting times on several occasions.

That is a federal crime listed on the FBI’s election security page, which describes numerous ways that bad actors can attempt to suppress the vote. The FBI lists “An election or polling place official abuses their office” as one of the crimes.

“Intentionally deceiving qualified voters to prevent them from voting is voter suppression—and it is a federal crime,” the FBI says.

“There are many reputable places you can find your polling location and registration information, including eac.gov and usa.gov/how-to-vote. However, not all publicly available voting information is accurate, and some is deliberately designed to deceive you to keep you from voting,” the FBI reports on its Election Crimes and Security page.

“Bad actors use various methods to spread disinformation about voting, such as social media platforms, texting, or peer-to-peer messaging applications on smartphones. They may provide misleading information about the time, manner, or place of voting. This can include inaccurate election dates or false claims about voting qualifications or methods, such as false information suggesting that one may vote by text, which is not allowed in any jurisdiction,” the FBI explains.

That is what Hennessey was attempting: He dissuaded people from voting by giving them inaccurate, false claims about voting hours, and casting a candidate in a bad light, accusing her of giving out bad information.

“Polls are not open at 7 am; we don’t let anyone in until 8 am. LMFAO,” Hennessey wrote on Henslee’s Facebook page. He was criticizing a Henslee campaign flyer, which let voters know that polls on Tuesday will open at 7 am.

“Nope instructions from the boss are such: We need to report to work about 7 AM Tuesday morning – to set up voting machines before polls open at 8 AM,” Henessey wrote, referring to his boss at the Division of Elections. This was Henessey speaking on an official capacity as an election worker, not in a citizen capacity.

His disinformation can be classified as voter suppression. Hennessey may have committed a federal crime.

Henslee responded politely to the man, saying, “Thanks Donald, but I’ll go with the information on the official Division of Election website. Polls have always been open early (7am) during general elections.” Henslee’s campaign manager also responded that she’ll go with the official website notice.

Must Read Alaska checked again and found that polling places will indeed be open at 7 am on Tuesday.

But that wasn’t the only offense made by the partisan election worker. After identifying himself as an election worker, he got nasty with the Henslee volunteers, and wrote on Henslee’s Facebook page that she was “blowing wind out of your buttocks.”

“I’m still LMFAO at Kathy Henslee she is quackery,” Hennessey also wrote on Henslee’s campaign page.

Not only was this election worker suppressing the vote by giving voters wrong information, he was then showing bias against a campaign for someone in his own district. Hennessey lives in House District 13, where Henslee is facing Democrat Rep. Andy Josephson, who Hennessey actively supports, according to his yard signs:

Election worker Hennessey used his position as an election worker to criticize a candidate and to spread disinformation
about election times. Above, he shows his yard signs in his Twitter account.

Two hours after Henslee volunteers sent the screen shots of the insults and voter suppression attempts to Division of Elections Director Gail Fenumiai, the social media posts suddenly disappeared. But Must Read Alaska has the screen shots. All of them. A couple of examples:

Hennessey is a repeat offender. A political activist when he is not employed as a teacher in the Anchorage School District, Hennessey was on social media during the municipal election in 2021 and insulted now-Mayor Dave Bronson and volunteers in several instances that were so notable that when he showed up again as a social media troll in in the District 13 race this year, Kathy Henslee volunteers spotted him immediately.

Photo above: Screen shot of Donald Hennessey’s Twitter profile photo.

Joe Rogan: Red wave election on Tuesday will be like elevator doors opening in ‘The Shining’

Suzanne Downing
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Joe Rogan: Red wave election on Tuesday will be like elevator doors opening in ‘The Shining’

The polling forecaster FiveThirtyEight is projecting the Republican Party will win control of the U.S. Senate comfortably.

FiveThirtyEight says the Republicans have a 55% chance of having a majority, a change from when FiveThirtyEight made a projection on Oct. 15, when it gave Democrats a 55% chance of taking the Senate. GOP is now “slightly favored” to win the majority.

In the House, the Republicans have an 84% chance of reclaiming leadership from Rep. Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats.

Joe Rogan, who has a pulse on the national mood, said on his podcast, “The red wave that’s coming is going to be like the elevator doors opening up in ‘The Shining,'” in reference to the 1980 Stanley Kubrick horror film scene depicting a river of blood rushing out of hotel elevator doors.

Rogan said the election could be dominated by those in the silent majority.

“There are a lot of people that are afraid of talking about it. But they’re not afraid of voting about it,” Rogan said of the more controversial topics of the election season. “Because there’s a lot of people that are afraid of the reprisal. They’re afraid of getting attacked and they’ll silently, when they’re amongst friends going, ‘What the f— is going on? Like, what is going on?’ And those people — that’s gonna be responsible for the red wave.”

“That’s what I think. I think people are just like, ‘What the f— are you saying?’ They’re making Republicans,” Rogan said.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich predicted on Fox News that the Senate will be between +3 to +5, with Senate seat pickups in New Hampshire, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, and +44 seats in the House.

As the Tuesday election nears, President Joe Biden is campaigning in typically blue strongholds like New Mexico, skipping over swing states. It’s an indication that the Democrats have given up on swing states and are now just attempting to shore up their reliably Democrat seats. Biden will be heading from New Mexico to California, but will skip Arizona and Nevada, where two close Senate seats could determine the control of the Senate.

Biden is also being deployed away from states and races where it’s feared he can do more harm than good. In his recent trip to Oregon, neither Democrat candidate in competitive congressional districts joined him at his scheduled events, which were sparsely attended by under 200 people.

Alaska dropped from first to nearly dead last in seniority in the U.S. House. Peltola would put Alaska at the bottom

Michael Tavoliero: Reject Murkowski, just as she has rejected Alaska’s best interests

SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR
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Michael Tavoliero: Reject Murkowski, just as she has rejected Alaska’s best interests

By MICHAEL TAVOLIERO

Ernest Gruening wrote in “Colonialism in Alaska,” “Alaska is the oldest of the dependent areas of the United States … Ours is the colony; Alaska its name … and ‘the people of the United States as a whole have also been the losers…’”

In 2022, Alaska is still a colony, and the people of the United States as a whole are still the losers.

The Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals has jurisdiction over the district courts in the following states: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Alaska. It is the largest US Circuit Court of Appeals representing over 20% of the US population.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ judicial activism is the “legislative” weapon of choice used by the Left to keep Alaska a colony. Alaska, the colony, is not a sovereign state. It is a region judicially controlled by a distant authority, the federal bureaucracy, through its steadfast enforcer, the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals. The Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals has closed Alaska’s opportunities for sovereignty.

The removal of this closure now has never been more critical to Alaska’s and the nation’s solvency.

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has appellate review of a lower court’s ruling and cases. There are 16 judicial jurisdictions under SCOTUS review. The Ninth Circuit Court is included in this number. 

From 2007 to 2021, SCOTUS reviewed and decided 219 Ninth Circuit Court cases. During that span, SCOTUS overturned a total of 176 Ninth Circuit Court cases. This number of cases was more than any other circuit court of appeals.

On February 17, 2021, Murkowski issued a press release titled ” Alaska Delegation Deeply Troubled by Ninth Circuit Decision to Halt Willow Project”. 

The Willow project is a North Slope multi-billion dollar development proposed by ConocoPhillips in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A).

She stated in part, “The Ninth Circuit’s ruling over the weekend is a kick in the gut to Alaska….This decision could lead to a possible delay in the production of hundreds of billions of barrels of oil and desperately needed revenue for the State of Alaska and the federal government…This new North Slope development project gives Alaska a real chance to rebuild and bolster our economy – it is pivotal that the project be allowed to move forward.”

Of the 29 nominations to the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals since her appointment to the US Senate on December 20, 2002, Murkowski has voted in favor of 23. 

These broke down as 6 votes in favor of Bush nominations with 1 “Not Voting” nomination, 4 in favor and 2 not in favor of Obama nominations, and 10 in favor of Trump nominations.

Of the 6 Biden nominations to the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Murkowski has voted in favor of 3. 

During the Biden administration, Murkowski has voted in favor of 64 out of 84 nominations. Sullivan, Alaska’s junior Senator, has voted in favor of none. 

Is it important to understand that Murkowski only focuses on professional qualifications, while Sullivan weighs his decision on ideology, in a time where Marxism has never been more pervasive in the United States?

As senior Senator for the Alaska, one of the most bountiful natural resource development states in the nation and the world, Murkowski betrayed the voters who elected her, the Republicans who supported her election, and the Alaska Republican Party by her repeatedly siding with Democrats and against every one of her Republican colleagues in supporting the confirmation of radical appointees to the federal judiciary, especially to the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and SCOTUS.

When challenged on the wisdom of these actions she has declared publicly that judicial nominees “deserve an up or down vote”, regardless of which President appointed them.

What does that have to do with confirming judicial radical nominees to the US Court system who share an ideology which is repugnant to our nation’s?

When President Trump nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court and the Senate voted to move his nomination to an up or down vote, Sen. Murkowski sided with Democrats and against every one of her Republican colleagues by attempting to deny Judge Kavanaugh a confirmation vote in the Senate. 

It was one of the most disgusting SCOTUS confirmations in history.

When the confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh came before the U.S. Senate, Senator Murkowski voted against the confirmation by requesting simply to be listed “Present”, thereby denying Judge Kavanaugh his 51st vote, making him the only Supreme Court Justice in history to be confirmed to the Supreme Court by less than a majority of U.S. Senators. 

She explained her vote of “Present” as a courtesy to a fellow Republican, Senator Steve Daines, saying that she hopes “it reminds us that we can take very small, very small steps to be gracious with one another, and maybe those small gracious steps can lead to more.”.

“Small gracious steps”! The arrogance of royalty is great in Lisa Murkowski.

While her vote had no effect whatsoever on this fellow Republican Senator, other than to now be associated in the public eye with Murkowski’s behavior, it appeared much more the case that her change of vote to “Present” was made to appease Democrats by minimizing the negative repercussions to Democrat Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia in his re-election race against Republican West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey.

By voting “present”, Sen. Murkowski removed Democrat Senator Joe Manchin as the deciding vote in Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation, thereby depriving the Morrisey campaign of a crucial vote that would have almost certainly proved politically fatal in a state in which President Trump won by 68% to Clinton’s 26%, the largest vote share garnered by Trump of any state. 

Think about this one move to deny a Republican in a red state a seat in the US Senate orchestrated by Murkowski and the leadership of the US Senate. Senator Murkowski’s actions assisted Senate Democrats in their attempts to retain a seat that might otherwise have been lost to them.

In 2020, Murkowski opposed moving forward with Amy Coney-Barrett’s nomination since it was so close to the presidential election, although she ultimately voted for Coney-Barrett after Republicans decided to push forward the nomination anyway.

If Kavanaugh’s and Coney-Barrett’s nomination to SCOTUS had not been confirmed, bureaucracies, like the Environmental Protection Agency, may have continued to maintain authority over major environmental policy. Their judicial participation helped lead SCOTUS to a 6-3 decision on West Virginia v. EPA. This was a major blow to the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan rule by removing EPA’s authority to reduce greenhouse (GHG) emissions from coal-fired power plants. 

Murkowski is the second most frequent GOP supporter of Biden’s nominees. Along with Collins (R-ME) and Romney (R-UT), she was one of just three Republican senators to vote to confirm Biden Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson.

With the kickoff of SCOTUS’ 2022 term, the questions raised in the upcoming argument in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the overreach of the EPA’s Clean Water Act may have never seen the light of day without Cavanaugh’s and Coney-Barrett’s confirmation.

Is Murkowski really working for Alaska? Reject Murkowski. Vote for Kelly Tshibaka.

Michael Tavoliero is a realtor in Eagle River, is active in the Alaska Republican Party and chaired Eaglexit.

Michael Tavoliero: Murkowski, queen of lies, promised to repeal Obamacare, then pulled a fast one on voters
Michael Tavoliero: Reject Murkowski’s path to colonialism

Resolution: Alaska Republicans in House District 27 call on Anchorage judge to end interference in House election

Suzanne Downing
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Resolution: Alaska Republicans in House District 27 call on Anchorage judge to end interference in House election

Alaska Republicans in District 27 are telling an Anchorage Superior Court judge to step away and quit interfering in the District 27 House race.

Superior Court Judge Jack McKenna has already ruled that it’s likely that Rep. David Eastman is ineligible to hold office due to his membership in the group known as Oath Keepers, which is described by Democrat-aligned media as a far-right group.

Judge McKenna has ruled that the Division of Election can’t certify the election if Eastman wins his Wasilla district on Nov. 8, until the court case against Eastman’s eligibility is resolved.

The voting officers of the Alaska Republican Party District 27 committee passed a resolution earlier this week that says Eastman has broken no laws, and in 2020 won his district with 73.70% of the vote — more than any other candidate for the Alaska State House in a contested race that year.

Rob Youndt, chairman of District 27, is a homebuilder in the Mat-Su Valley who also serves an an elected official on the borough Assembly. But in his role as chairman of the district, he and the other officers have called on Judge McKenna to cease election interference from the bench.

The resolution points out that Eastman has not been charged with any crime, and that the lawsuit filed by the Northern Justice Project on behalf of Randall Kowalke is based on a wrong interpretation of the Alaska Constitution, which has a clause in it that prohibits anyone from serving in the Legislature if they belong to a group whose purpose is to overthrow the U.S. government. The Republicans say that the Northern Justice Project/Kowalke lawsuit has weaponized the judicial system against Americans.

David Eastman: The Left’s dogma can change on a dime, as Kowalke v. Eastman shows

At the same time, the national leader of Oath Keepers is on trial for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 rally that went rogue inside the U.S. Capitol, when a couple of hundred supporters of President Donald Trump attempted to disrupt the certification of the Electoral College vote that sealed the victory for President Joe Biden.

Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the group, took the stand in his own defense in Federal District Court in Washington, where he is charged with seditious conspiracy. But he has not been convicted and it will be many months before his case is resolved, should whatever decision the jury comes up with be appealed. Meanwhile, the Northern Justice Project/Kowalke lawsuit is attempting to tie Eastman to Rhodes.

“The public campaign to remove me from office for ‘violating the constitution’ began two years ago. At that point it was for asking for investigations into the 2020 election and for attending the president’s speech. That’s all they could accuse me of at the time. They flogged that horse for 8 months without success,” Eastman said. “They next changed to arguing the exact same thing but added Oath Keepers into it after they found out I joined years ago. Kowalke has been part of that from the very beginning, even publicly tweeting that I needed to be removed from office. Same group. Same attack. Now just flogging a slightly different horse.”

Eastman has a lifetime membership in Oath Keepers. On Jan. 6, 2021, he went to Washington, D.C. to hear President Trump speak and just hang around outside the Capitol, not as a part of Oath Keepers, just as an interested citizen. He took part in no vandalism, violence, and never went inside the Capitol. But Kowalke and the Northern Justice Project say it’s his membership in the Oath Keepers that disqualifies him from serving in the Legislature.

Earlier this year, a coalition of leftist groups led by the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) tried to get Eastman expelled from the Legislature. The group has labeled Eastman a “fascist.”

“Over the course of the last month, a grassroots movement against fascism in Alaska has united around the Coalition to Expel David Eastman. This coalition, formed by the Anchorage branch of the PSL, Sol de Medianoche, Growing Alaskan Leaders, the Anchorage NAACP and several other unaffiliated community activists, has seen a growing amount of public support around one goal: expelling state House Representative David Eastman from office.”

Alaskans call for expulsion of fascist State Rep. David Eastman
Party for Socialism and Liberation website.

The resolution by District 27 Republicans ties the Party for Socialism and Liberation to attorney to Scott Kendall, the campaign ally of Sen. Lisa Murkowski, and points out that the plaintiff, Randall Kowalke, ran against Eastman in 2020, and previously ran against Sen. Mike Shower, both without gaining much support. Since then, Kowalke left the Republican Party and declared it to be “fascist.” The resolution also ties in the Alaska Democratic Party’s efforts to have Eastman removed from office.

David Eastman: The Left’s relentless campaign to make loyalty to Constitution ‘unconstitutional’

David Eastman: The Left’s relentless campaign to make loyalty to Constitution ‘unconstitutional’

‘Election by ballot’ supporters turn out for Rep. Eastman hearing

The resolution by District 27 Republicans follows:

A-Resolution-Opposing-Election-Interference-in-the-District-27-House-Race-with-linksDownload

Alaska dropped from first to nearly dead last in seniority in the U.S. House. Peltola would put Alaska at the bottom

Suzanne Downing
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27
Alaska dropped from first to nearly dead last in seniority in the U.S. House. Peltola would put Alaska at the bottom

There is a practical side to the Nov. 8 congressional election that most Alaskans never consider: No matter who wins the at-large U.S. House of Representatives seat for Alaska, they’ll be starting at the bottom in seniority.

Just how far down at the bottom depends on whether Alaska votes in a Democrat who will be the starting at the bottom of the barrel in a Republican-led House.

With the death of Congressman Don Young in March and the temporary seat filled by Mary Peltola, Alaska dropped from first to nearly last in seniority in the U.S. House.

How seniority is calculated is key: Members of the House are arranged by the number of terms they have served, before being ranked by the beginning date of their most recent continuous service. In instances where members have served the same number of terms and have the same date of service, they are arranged alphabetically by last name.

Thus, a “ranking minority” member on a committee would be the minority member with the most seniority. They don’t have any real power on the committee, but they have a title.

The calculation for how long members have served has its own clock, which starts from the time they are elected. In Alaska’s ranked choice voting, compliments of Ballot Measure 2, the results will be some of the last to be known in the United States. Being further west, our “time elected” starts on the election certification date — Nov. 29.

Peltola is, at present, ranked 430 among 432 members of the House. As a Democrat in a Nancy Pelosi-led majority, she enjoyed the advantage of being given the courtesy of filling out the term of Don Young, and thus was awarded to finish the term in some of his committee seats.

That will change in January, when the new members are sworn in and Republicans take over.

This is an aspect that Sen. Lisa Murkowski knows well. She is going to be as high as 15th in seniority in the Senate, and if the Senate moves into Republican leadership, she will enjoy her top ranking.

And yet, Murkowski, who knows the importance of seniority for Alaska’s only congressional seat, has endorsed Peltola. Murkowski would rather see Peltola powerless in the House than see a Republican who can get things done in the majority.

Political pundits say that Peltola won’t stay in the House, because the Democratic National Committee will tap her to challenge Sen. Dan Sullivan in three years. Sullivan comes up for reelection in 2026.

Such a scenario, with Murkowski pulling for Pelosi and Biden with her endorsement of Peltola, makes for an awkward dynamic in the Alaska delegation.

Ballot Measure 2, with its open primary and ranked choice general election, has put Alaska in a weak position in the U.S. House. It has also created a difficult timeline for governance in the Alaska Governor’s Office. It was designed by Murkowski supporters expressly for the reelection campaign of Sen. Lisa Murkowski, and it remains to be seen if it will work as it was intended in that race.

Ranked choice vote scheme has long wait for results, and extremely compressed timeline for governor-elect

NBC yanks from airwaves story that raised questions about Paul Pelosi behavior, attack, and official narrative

Suzanne Downing
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31
NBC yanks from airwaves story that raised questions about Paul Pelosi behavior, attack, and official narrative

NBC News broadcast a followup on the attack on Paul Pelosi in San Francisco last week, and then quickly deleted the story from the Friday edition of the Today Show, saying it didn’t meet the news organization’s reporting standards.

NBC News national correspondent Miguel Almaguer’s report contradicts the official narrative by the District Attorney of what happened when police knocked on the door of the home of House Speaker Nancy and Paul Pelosi. According to Almaguer, when Paul Pelosi answered the door, he did not declare an emergency, but instead walked back into the house toward the man who soon attacked him.

“Sources familiar with what unfolded in the Pelosi residence now revealing when officers responded to the ‘high priority call,’ they were seemingly unaware they’ve been called to the home of the Speaker of the House. After a ‘knock and announce,’ the front door was opened by Mr. Pelosi. The 82-year-old did not immediately declare an emergency or tried to leave his home but instead began walking several feet back into the foyer toward the assailant and away from police. It’s unclear if the 82-year-old was already injured or what his mental state was, say sources,” Almaguer reported in the now-removed broadcast.

The report that was removed by NBC News.

David DePape, an illegal immigrant from Canada, has confessed to breaking into the home last Friday in the early morning hours. After police arrived, DePape struck Paul Pelosi on the head with a hammer.

U.S. Capitol Police said this week they will be conducting an internal review to determine why the police who were assigned to monitor the house through security cameras did not see the break-in.

“While the Speaker was with her security detail in Washington, D.C., the San Francisco cameras were not actively monitored as they are when the Speaker is at the residence. The Command Center personnel noticed the police activity on the screen and used the feeds to monitor the response and assist investigators,” U.S. Capitol Police said. 

“The Department has begun an internal security review and will be gathering input and questions from our Congressional stakeholders. We have been immensely grateful for the critical support the Congress already provided to secure the U.S. Capitol Complex after January 6, 2021. The funding was vital for us to implement dozens of immediate improvements. Now we will fast-track the work we have already been doing to enhance the protection of Members outside of Washington, D.C., while also providing new protective options that will address concerns following Friday’s targeted attack. 

“Our brave men and women are working around the clock to meet this urgent mission during this divisive time. In the meantime, a significant change that will have an immediate impact will be for people across our country to lower the temperature on political rhetoric before it’s too late,” the department said.

Hammering man: Read the federal criminal complaint against Paul Pelosi’s attacker

“According to court documents, when the officer asked what was going on, defendant smiled and said ‘everything’s good’ but instantaneously a struggle ensued as police clearly saw David DePape strike Paul Pelosi in the head with a hammer. After tackling the suspect, officers rushed to Mr. Pelosi who was lying in a pool of blood,” Almaguer reported, adding, “We still don’t know exactly what unfolded between Mr. Pelosi and the suspect for the 30 minutes they were alone inside that house before police arrive. Officials who are investigating this matter would not go into further details about these new details.”

After social media users began sharing the report, NBC News removed the report from its website and from its social media accounts, and the news company posted a note on its website: “This piece has been removed from publication because it did not meet NBC News reporting standards.” It did not elaborate on what standards the story violated.

Meanwhile, Paul Pelosi was released from the hospital Thursday, after undergoing surgery for a skull fracture, and DePape has been charged with attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, and other crimes.

Read: Pelosi husband emerges from surgery after hammer attack at San Francisco mansion

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