Tuesday is a “Twos” day, as in the second month, 22nd day, in the year 2022 — or 22222.
It seem like an auspicious number, and it is the ultimate palindromic date, a number that remains the same when its digits are reversed. There’s even a countdown website for the date, appropriately at https://22-2-22.com. It even has its own quiz.
If it’s “Nacho Typical Taco Tuesday,” take heart: The next time there will be this twinning symmetry will be 200 years from now, 2-22-2222.
On President’s Day, 2022, Congressman Don Young started reviving his campaign’s Facebook page, with his first real messages of the 2022 cycle. He placed one message that was “Happy Presidents Day,” and a second that was a professionally produced video, in which Young said, “Alaska, it’s time to put the rumors to rest…I’m running for re-election to continue serving you in Congress. Join us and a strong coalition of Alaskans as we work to build a stronger, more resilient Alaska in the face of unprecedented challenges.”
Young assumed office on March 14, 1973, 49 years ago. His current term ends on January 3, 2023. His main opponent is Republican Nick Begich, who was Young’s co-chair of his 2020 campaign. Recently, Anchorage Assemblyman Chris Constant filed as the first Democrat to run for the seat this year.
Young is in Alaska this week, as the House and Senate are not meeting and members are in their districts. Now 88 years old, the congressman has made several appearances around Anchorage.
The Biden nominee to the Federal Communications Commission thinks all Republicans are racists and white supremacists.
At least that’s what her message history on Twitter shows. Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan made sure that was on the record on Feb. 9, during a confirmation hearing.
Gigi Sohn is also on the record saying that Fox News has the “most negative impact on our democracy.” She called it “state-sponsored propaganda with few if any opposing viewpoints,” meaning that Fox News was sponsored by a foreign government.
But at contentious hearings over recent months on her nomination, Sohn insisted she is completely unbiased: “”I am fair and unbiased and they know my door will be open and I will always listen. Absolutely I believe that I can be impartial … My opinions as a public interest advocate will have no bearing on how I behave as a policymaker, if I’m confirmed … I said some things maybe too sharp, but they will have absolutely no determination on how I would rule in a proceeding with any of those companies.”
Sohn’s well- documented politics is coming back to bite her. She formerly headed up the special interest group Public Knowledge, which advocates for government control over digital platforms, such as Facebook.
Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan questioned Sohn about her clear history of bias.
“I don’t know where to begin,” Sullivan said, practically in disbelief of her record. He said he is “very disturbed” by Sohn’s social media commentary. “We’re not nominating you for any normal assistant secretary. You’re going to be an FCC commissioner. Enormous power, particularly as it relates to free speech, particularly as it actually relates to liberty in our country. And I think Sen. Scott raises some really important points, which is I don’t see how you can be unbiased.”
Then he continued, “‘Fox News is state-sponsored propaganda” he read aloud from Sohn’s Twitter account, putting a question mark in his voice. “Republicans know the only way they can win an election is to suppress the vote?” he continued. “Your raggedy white president would…” he said. “Wow, that’s way out there right? You think most Republicans are racists and white supremacists?”
Sohn said of course she doesn’t think that at all, and she has sent over 10,000 Twitter messages, and simply cannot remember every single one of them.
In a letter to President Biden, Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist and a long list of other freedom-focused groups called for the president to withdraw her nomination.
“As the decisive vote on controversial matters at the agency, Sohn would have the power and incentive to push the FCC towards government control of communications. Further, the Biden Administration has shown a willingness to mislead Senators when it comes to agency leadership, as demonstrated by the bait-and-switch the White House pulled with the Federal Trade Commission, when Chair Khan was elevated after being confirmed under false pretenses. The potential for Sohn to become chair of the FCC makes her nomination all the more concerning,” the letter said.
“Throughout her career, Sohn has favored policies that undermine intellectual property rights protections. She spearheaded an FCC proceeding that would have enabled tech platforms to effectively steal and monetize television content without paying for usage rights. Sohn also served on the board of Locast, a “non-profit” that was determined to be illegally retransmitting broadcasters’ content without their consent in violation of the Copyright Act. The case resulted in a permanent injunction that required Locast to pay $32 million in statutory damages. Sohn cannot be an impartial regulator of the broadcast industry after joining the Board of an organization that openly violated that industry’s copyrights,” the groups said.
Rep. James Kaufman, in his first year in office, has been working on ways to make state government more efficient. His first piece of legislation, in a suite of bills he has been championing, has passed the House unanimously.
HB 187 is a paperwork or document reduction bill that would require agencies to examine what publications they are producing each year and assess whether they can be consolidated, eliminated, or moved to digital delivery.
The bill received warm reception in the House, where it had 21 cosponsors, including a handful of Democrats. It passed unanimously last week.
HB 187, which now must work its way through the Senate, would require state agencies to use an existing yearly list of publications to identify and highlight those that are outdated, duplicative, or excessive. In other words, the state already builds a list of its hundreds of publications, and would now simply be required to go through that list to assess the actual need for each document.
Kaufman ran for office to represent District 28 (now District 11) in South Anchorage in 2020 on a theme of making government more efficient, and he has other active bills that continue this theme. One year into his first term in office, it looks like his first bill could have smooth sailing through the Senate.
Any bill that doesn’t make it through both legislative branches this year would need to be reintroduced next year and start the process all over again.
By DAN FAGAN
It’s all happening so fast. Our freedoms are disappearing. We’re engulfed in a whirlwind of unprecedented lies. Good is called evil and evil is called good.
Too many Americans and Alaskans are unaware we are about to lose everything.
Who can you trust? Certainly not the media.
The Democrat Party is now full-on Communist. The party’s tradition of supporting slavery, segregation, the welfare state, abortion, infanticide and chemical castration of gender-confused children is now unabashedly all in on destroying capitalism.
They want to annihilate free markets and replace them with a top down, government-controlled, micro-managed approach to our economy.
They assault the job creating private sector in hopes of creating more government dependents.
The woke crowd is crazy. Certifiably so. They want to create a society where all are equal and there are no haves or have nots.
Freedom is their enemy.
They know nothing of history. The deadly ideology they pimp as if they invented it, is responsible for the death of one-hundred-million noncombatant souls in the past century.
If only that were our nation’s only threat. Swamp-friendly crony capitalist Republicans like Alaska’s congressional delegation made up of Don Young, Dan Sullivan, and Lisa Murkowski also represent a clear and present danger.
At least the Communists do what they do to make them feel better about themselves. It makes them feel compassionate to redistribute wealth.
But the RINO crony capitalists go along to get along Republican types are in it for their own political power. They don’t want to lose their coveted front row seat in the inner bowels of the Swamp.
So, what can we do? How do we fight back?
Never, ever, under any circumstance vote for a Democrat. That’s the easy part.
It gets more difficult when attempting to discern the difference between an artificial Republican and a legitimate conservative. Folks like Kelly Merrick, Louise Stutes, and Bill Walker may wear an R in front of their name, but don’t have a conservative bone in their body.
China Bill Walker has worn the R label for years.
He did more harm to Alaska in four short years than all other governors combined. He almost handed over control of Alaska’s gas to the Communist government of China. We really dodged a bullet with that one.
Then there are the Republicans who may very well hold freedom loving beliefs but are afraid of their own shadow and reluctant to fight. This is much more difficult to discern. We must learn to see the difference between a feckless and refuses-to-make-waves Mike Dunleavy and a fire-in-his-belly type like Dave Bronson.
Dunleavy may very well hold conservative beliefs, but if he’s afraid to act on them what good is he?
Alaska’s Chief Medical Officer Anne Zink’s demonizing of ivermectin and other proven treatments for Covid has led to the unnecessary deaths of too many Alaskans. Dunleavy simply stands by Zink, an Anthony Fauci clone, and says nothing. His refusal to fire her speaks volumes about who and what he fears most.
Another thing we can do is to cease supporting Leftist media outlets like the Anchorage Daily News. By supporting, I mean giving them your cash. Take that $16 a month you pay the ADN to lie to you and instead give it to Must Read Alaska or the Alaska Watchman.
If we lose Must Read Alaska or the Watchman, the communists and RINO’s will have close to free reign in the state.
We must also support freedom loving and courageous politicians. By supporting I mean give them your money, talk them up, and volunteer to help them get re-elected.
This weekend, Must Read Alaska posted a video of State Sen. Mike Shower of Wasilla speaking at a small gathering. Shower is a true courageous champion of freedom. He, unlike many other elected Republicans, has the bravado to say what he believes regardless of how much it may anger Ryan Binkley and the Marxist minions he has running the Anchorage Daily News.
“You’ve already lost your power folks. You don’t control your state. Somebody else does,” Shower passionately told the crowd.
“Whether it’s big money, whether it’s big business, whether it’s big unions, whether it’s special interests. They control your government folks. You don’t. You lost it a long time ago. You don’t control your government.”
Shower’s bluntness was refreshing. The Wasilla Republican argued a constitutional convention could shift the power away from the special interest dominated legislature back to regular Alaskans.
The days of sitting on the sidelines are over. It’s time to get engaged. If we don’t fight back, and by fight, I’m speaking figuratively, we will lose it all and won’t recognize Alaska and America sooner rather than later.
Dan Fagan hosts a morning drive show on Newsradio 650 KENI. 56,000 unique users downloaded his podcast last year. It can be heard on 650KENI.com or the IHEART Media App.
Fences will go back up around the U.S. Capitol in anticipation of the days ahead — the arrival of a U.S. truckers’ convoy in the nation’s capital and Biden’s first State of the Union address.
While all 535 members of the House and Senate are invited this year to attend the speech in person, none will be able to bring guests, and all will be required to wear a “FDA-authorized, KN95 or N95 mask that completely covers the nose and mouth,” according to the House Sergeant-at-Arms. All members attending must also submit to a Covid-19 test on Feb. 28 and provide a negative result by speech day, March 1. Those tests are being given to members at the Capitol Visitor Center.
Meanwhile, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser will allow the indoor mask mandate in Washington, D.C. to expire on Feb. 28. That change will not apply to the Congress, however.
Last year, Biden addressed a joint session of Congress on April 28, but it was not labeled a State of the Union Address.
On Friday, U.S. Capitol Police released a statement about security preparations for the Freedom Convoy:
“Law enforcement agencies across the National Capital Region are aware of plans for a series of truck convoys arriving in Washington, DC around the time of the State of the Union. As with any demonstration, the USCP will facilitate lawful First Amendment activity. The USCP is closely coordinating with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, including DC’s Metropolitan Police Department, the United States Park Police, the United States Secret Service and other allied agencies to include the DC National Guard.”
Later in the day, the police updated its advisory to include news about the fence:
“The United States Capitol Police and the United States Secret Service have been closely working together to plan for the upcoming State of the Union. The temporary inner-perimeter fence is part of those ongoing discussions and remains an option, however at this time no decision has been made,” the Capitol Police reported. The fence was also installed around the Capitol in advance of a protest on Sept. 18.
Organizers of the truckers’ protest known as the People’s Convoy are saying the trucks will leave California on Feb. 23, heading east on Interstate 40. It crosses the country as far as Virginia.
“American truckers are launching The People’s Convoy, a peaceful and unified transcontinental movement, on Wednesday, February 23, 2022, from the Adelanto Stadium in Southern California. Starting at 10:00 a.m., hundreds of truckers will hear words of encouragement and blessings from a group of speakers including FLCCC [Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance] President Dr. Pierre Kory and Godspeak Church Pastor Rob McCoy,” according to a press release from the group on Sunday. “The truckers and blue-collar workers of the United States will be joined by freedom-loving supporters from all walks of life – frontline doctors, lawyers, first- responders, former military servicemen and women, students, retirees, mothers, fathers and children – on this peaceful and law-abiding transcontinental journey toward the east coast. The truckers encourage one and all to come out to the stadium in the heart of Adelanto, California to wish them well, see them off and join in the journey.”
The convoy schedule, subject to change, has the convoy arriving on March 5 in the nation’s capital. Other convoys are also being planned, including some that will take a northern route. The American Truckers Freedom Fund is connecting truckers with a convoy in their region.
Read the People’s Convoy press release here.
Footage on social media shows unrest continuing in the Canadian capital of Ottawa, as police have moved in horses, have smashed truck windows, and arrested more than 200 people involved in the Freedom Convoy, a trucker-led protest against government tyranny.
As many as 60 vehicles have been towed, according to official reports.
Ottawa Police wrote that they will financially ruin and prosecute anyone involved with the protest, essentially making protest illegal in Ottawa and enacting ex post facto law, punishing people for their political beliefs.
“If you are involved in this protest, we will actively look to identify you and follow up with financial sanctions and criminal charges,” Ottawa police said.
One woman was trampled by police on horseback who barged through a crowd standing in protest on Friday. The woman, a Native woman who was on a walker, was seriously injured, according to the police’s watchdog agency, the Special Investigations Unit. She is recovering in the hospital. She was filmed saying, “This is what we are doing it for. So we can have peace, and love and happiness,” just before she was trampled by the horses.
“At approximately 5:14 p.m. (Friday), there was an interaction between a Toronto Police Service officer on a horse and a 49-year-old woman on Rideau Street and Mackenzie Avenue. The woman has a reported serious injury,” the SIU said in a statement.
The Ottawa police said that was misinformation and that law enforcement have used lawful and safe tactics. Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported that the protest was by white colonialists, even while posting an illustration of mixed-race protesters.
Protesters are posting the images of what is happening on the ground on Twitter and TikTok. Must Read Alaska is refraining from posting these videos on our Facebook account because of the real possibility that our account would be shut down by censors. On Twitter, videos have been released showing police beating up people. Businesses in downtown Ottawa have been forced to close.
Massive protests were under way in Toronto, Quebec City, and Calgary on Saturday as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tries to contain the protest by brute force in the nation’s capital, where provincial police officers have removed their name tags and badge numbers from their uniforms.
The national emergency due to the Covid-19 pandemic, first declared by President Donald Trump in 2020, was set to expire March 1. On Friday, President Joe Biden extended that national emergency. It expires in a year unless he ends it or continues it for a fourth year.
Read the declaration of emergency.
Biden wrote “Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date. In accordance with this provision, I have sent to the Federal Register for publication the enclosed notice stating that the national emergency declared in Proclamation 9994 of March 13, 2020, beginning March 1, 2020, concerning the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, is to continue in effect beyond March 1, 2022.”
Biden wrote, “There remains a need to continue this national emergency. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause significant risk to the public health and safety of the Nation. More than 900,000 people in this Nation have perished from the disease, and it is essential to continue to combat and respond to COVID-19 with the full capacity and capability of the Federal Government. Therefore, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared in Proclamation 9994 concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.”
As the national emergency continues, the order gives over 130 special powers to the president, including the ability to deploy troops inside the country to tamp down civil unrest. He can freeze bank accounts, and shut down various types of communications during an emergency. It also gives the federal government vast powers involving other aspects of Americans’ lives, such as their health insurance premiums, deadlines for filing for federal relief or benefits, and the ability for the government to waive requirements for Medicare, Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA.
There are already several national emergencies that on the books, specific to prior national crises, usually involving national security, terrorists, or terrorist states. President Trump declared a national emergency to secure the southern border, for example, after Democrats blocked him in Congress from building a wall on the border with Mexico to stem the millions of non-citizens coming north to America through non-legal means. He was also trying to stop the massive influx of illegal drugs. Democrats in Congress were in an uproar over it, saying he had overstepped the separation of powers in the Constitution.
But Democrats in power have made no similar objection to the extension of Biden’s vast authorities. Nor did they object when he extended the national emergency one year ago.
Read the Trump declaration of emergency on March 13, 2020.
Read the Biden declaration of emergency in 2021.
As the president maintains the national emergency status for the pandemic, most states are easing up the policies and restrictions that have crippled normal life for Americans and have harmed their states’ economies, led to a mental health crisis, a worsening of the opioid epidemic, and that have stunted the education of America’s young.
