Occasionally, the tactic is to paint the upcoming vote as a victory so huge, so massive that a single vote won’t make any difference either way.  There are some warning signs that November’s election might be one of these.

We conservatives are generally not real disciplined with elections.  We stay home.  We refuse to vote.  The Other Side knows this and exploits it as often as they can.  Sadly, it works more times than it should. 

With this in mind, what do we make of the 29% turnout in the Municipal election April 5?  As of this writing, the results are not all that bad, with two term incumbent John Weddleton going down to a narrow defeat, the ASD and Muni capital improvement bond packages going down to narrow defeats. 

The problem comes with the other races.  Three other Assembly incumbents are on their way to winning their races 52 – 55%.  The races did not get appreciably closer as more votes were counted.  School Board incumbents won with 49 – 50% victories.  Third and fourth candidates in the two races siphoned off 8 – 10% of the total votes.  There were around 8% undervotes in both School Board races.

I wrote a year ago about lack of conservative voting discipline in the down-ballot races.  While there was an undervote in both School Board races, it was smaller than what we saw last year.  More surprisingly, there was very little undervote (just over 1%) in both rejected bond packages.  Appears our discipline is getting better, at least during Muni elections.  This is a positive sign.    

What could have been a Very Good Night becomes a Meh, which is unfortunate, as Republicans have been doing pretty well in state and local elections nationwide for months. 

What happened during this election?  Internal polling for Assembly must have been pretty bad, as all of the incumbents ran public campaigns tying themselves as closely to the goals of Mayor Bronson as possible.  There was a lot of happy, happy, joy, joy talk about marching arm in arm with him into the future.  This lasted until the last week or so when we got the standard round of “(s)he’s being mean to me” ads.

For the School Board, ASD and the Board have been adept in hiding the hideously destructive CRT instruction and the grooming effort aimed at the youngest students.  Both of these have been aided and abetted by active censorship of online comments by the ADN.  This will not last.  There will be a reckoning, likely sooner rather than later.  

From here, it appears that the political left (including their backers in the unions) spent most of their time and effort simply turning out their side to vote.  And it seemed to work.

What did we do on the right?  We spent an inordinate amount of time bellyaching about mail-in voting, usually with some variation on the corruption riff.  We heard it from the mayor, online conservatives, talk radio, most of the opinion makers for an entire month.  We are hearing it after the election too. 

Given what we have seen about conservatives staying home, it occurs to me that all this negativity about mail-in voting is unintentionally suppressing the vote on the conservative side.  How big is this effect?  On the macro, it didn’t seem to hurt overall turnout, which is only down a few percent from previous years.  On the individual race level, it probably turned what should have been excruciatingly tight races into comfortable wins for three Assembly incumbents. 

Now, I in no way am defending by-mail elections.  I don’t like them.  I don’t want them.  And I would remove them as soon as I can.  They were put into place by the liberals to make it easier to elect liberals.  And from that perspective, it has worked pretty well.  Still, we do win races that we shouldn’t win from time to time, three of them this election. 

But mail-in elections are what we have here in Anchorage today.  And it is the system we need to master and win with.  Think of it as the functional equivalent of a bad call in a basketball or football game.  The game goes on.  While we are whining, complaining, and throwing a tantrum about a terrible call, democrats and unions are roaring down the field for another bucket, touchdown, and election win.

Why give them a free path?

The reality of Anchorage elections WILL NOT CHANGE until we win sufficient Assembly and Mayoral elections to overturn the bloody thing.  The longer we complain, the longer it will take to get rid of it.

We have another opportunity to win mail-in elections this summer with Don Young’s replacement.  We will have another round of Assembly and School Board seats up in 12 months here in the Muni.  Perhaps we conservatives should change our focus to winning, and more importantly, turning out Our Side rather than giving them reasons to stay home.

For future campaigns, I would suggest the following:

• Spend most of your resources turning out your voters. 
• Spend a lot of time getting the best candidates for each race. 
• Stop bellyaching about mail-in and learn to use it to win.  Conservatives in California are starting to figure this out.  We should also. 

Final thought is about election fraud.  I tend to believe that elections here in Anchorage are pretty clean.  While I am convinced that democrats love mail-in elections because it makes it easier to cheat, the last charges of election fraud I recall were filed against Gabby LeDoux and associates in 2020 – 2021 for irregularities during the 2014 and 2018 state elections. 

Bottom line here is when you actively undermine confidence in the election process, you by definition are actively suppressing turnout of the very voters you need to win elections.  Stop it.  Now. 

Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.

The post Analysis of April 2022 Muni Elections appeared first on Alaska Politics and Elections.

By APE Staff

April 8, 2022

Senator Joe Manchin praises Senator Lisa Murkowski on energy and Arctic policy leadership

 

As over 600 policymakers, advocates, dignitaries, and diplomats launch the 2022 Arctic Encounter Symposium in Anchorage, Alaska, at center-stage stand West Virginia U.S. Senator Joe Manchin and Alaska’s senior federal delegation member, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski.

Particularly over the last decade, Arctic policy has gained the attention of the global community as sea ice melts and Democracy-hostile nations like China and Russia inch their way into the region with intent to assert jurisdiction claims. Along with Antarctica, deep space, and our oceans, Arctic ecosystems and geography are one of the few remaining frontiers of discovery. National defense concerns along with resource development opportunities, deep-water ports, and supply-chain routes are foundational topics on the Symposium agenda.

Alaska is the only Arctic state in the U.S. so its nexus to international policy is inextricable.

When asked about the importance of Arctic policy to the U.S. on the Tom Anderson Show, Senator Manchin noted the connection he has with Senator Murkowski. “I’m now Chairman of the Energy and Natural Resource Committee which Lisa has been the chair of quite a few times,” said Manchin. “She was the chair two years ago and I was the ranking member as a Democrat, and she was the Republican chair because they were the Majority. When the Democrats were the Majority, I became the chair. And together we have done so much and worked in a bi-partisan, unbelievable way, that got things accomplished.”

When asked about the importance of this year’s Arctic symposium, Murkowski noted the robust attendance as an indicator of the event’s impact. “All you need to do is look at what is happening at the Dena’ina Center this morning with the level of interest, not only around the country – this is not just a state event – this is an international event that is convening here (in Alaska), and the level of interest about the Arctic and all that is going on – this is something that I have been singing from the roof tops for years now,” she said.

Heather Reams, President of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES), is a participant of the Symposium. Reams and her organization have been making the case for Republican leadership on clean and renewable energy, particularly in areas of critical mineral development, streamlining permitting, and efforts to pursue market-based innovation rather than top-down harmful policies that eliminate certain industries.

“We’ll be talking about solutions to address a rapidly changing Arctic, and really how the Arctic region can be key to solving some of these very complex problems which is one of the reasons I’m here,” notes Reams. “(The Arctic) has the oil and gas, but it also has so much in terms of renewable energy. The minerals that are needed to fuel this energy transition, and also, just a fragile environment. If anyone thinks Alaskans don’t want to protect the environment, they’re dead wrong. I think this state is so sensitive to the balance that is needed to move forward the economy, make sure there’s energy independence, but also protecting the environment – and that’s one of the reasons why CRES loves Lisa Murkowski. She talks so much about this balance that’s been so well done in the state.”

While Arctic innovation is the week’s dialogue in Alaska, the carnage of the Russian-Ukrainian war in Europe weighs heavy on American policymakers’ minds. In response to a national call for sanctions against Russia, on March 3, 2022, Senators Murkowski and Manchin introduced S. 3757, the Ban Russian Energy Imports Act, to prohibit the importation of Russian crude oil, petroleum, petroleum products, liquefied natural gas, and coal. Their bill, which has 37 bipartisan cosponsors, is widely credited with prompting President Biden to issue an executive order to block Russian energy imports on March 8, 2022.

In a March 7^th press release, Murkowski’s office highlighted the Senate’s passage of two measures to impose additional penalties on Russia. The first measure, H.R. 6968, imposes a legislative ban on Russian energy imports and contains language crafted in part by Murkowski to expedite its implementation. The second measure, H.R. 7108, suspends permanent normal trade relations (PNTR), a key benefit of World Trade Organization membership, for Russia and Belarus.

“Congress remains united in our support for Ukraine, and we will hold the Russian regime accountable for the devastation, atrocities, and war crimes it has committed. As part of that, I’m grateful to Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo of the Finance Committee for working with Senator Manchin and me to reinforce and tighten the language of the Russian energy import ban,” praised Murkowski. “Now, President Biden needs to step up and remove his Administration’s sanctions on resource projects in Alaska. There is no question that Alaska can and would do more to produce the energy and minerals that America and the world need, if only the administration would partner with us instead of blocking us at every turn. If there was ever a time for the President to look in the mirror and bring his policies back to reality, it is right now.”

In his interview on the Tom Anderson Show, when asked about his respect for Senator Murkowski, Senator Manchin sung high praises. “I’ve been there for 11 years now in the Senate. I was the Governor, a two-term Governor before. I was Secretary of State in my state before. I was a State Senator and in the House of Representatives, so I’ve been in all different aspects of the government. I’ve never had a colleague – as Lisa Murkowski has been with me – that’s willing to meet me in the middle every time. To find the middle, not to defend the position. Not to say, ‘Well this is my position, I’m sorry – you’re going to have to agree with me or we just can’t come to an agreement!’”

Manchin added, “I have never in my experience of over 40 years being in the political arena found anybody that would always say ‘Let’s see if we can make this work, Joe. Let’s see what we can find out. How do we make it better? Who all can we bring on board? And then basically let the facts take us where it goes.’ She’s the best of the best and I’m just saying, Alaska – and I mean this – Alaska is very, very fortunate to have a Lisa Murkowski with her knowledge, background, and her common-sense approach of working together for the betterment of our country.”

The post Moving the United States forward with collaboration appeared first on Alaska Politics and Elections.

As usual, I did see some notable things, which, viewed through a persuasion glass may or may not be Good Things.

First and best of all, the no fun organization, Trout Unlimited, which has fought tooth and nail against all resource development here in Alaska for decades was nowhere to be found.  I particularly despise them for lobbying the Board of Fish to pass a rule prohibiting felt sole wading boots a decade or two ago.  Rationale was the presence of whirling disease, a deadly trout parasite prevalent in the Lower 48 making its way into Alaskan waters.  Problem is that whirling disease was (and has) never positively identified in Alaskan rivers and streams.  In the Lower 48, it is supposedly spread from stream to stream via mud in felt-soled wading boots.  Nobody ever proved it up here and felt-soled wading boots are really useful in rocky streams like the Russian River.  Felt-soled boots go away, and fishing there gets a lot more interesting.  Trout Unlimited also participated in the Pebble Mine wars, sadly successfully.

The second group was an advocacy group in support of commercial hatcheries.  The people there were all young.  And they all are well aware that they have a problem, under increasing pressure from sport fishermen, subsistence and personal use users, worried that their yearly dumping of a billion or two pink fry into Prince William Sound was harming returns of wild salmon (king, coho, chum and red).

While they know they have a problem, they are clueless about how to address it.  Being hired advocates, they are approaching the problem from a “gotta get my message right” perspective.  Their problem is that they have already lost the argument, as have the commercial hatcheries.  Ocean ranching, the dumping of hatchery fry into the ocean, letting them fend for themselves, and harvesting whatever returns, is quickly becoming an identifiable, provable vector for destruction of wild salmon runs, particularly in Prince William Sound with Cook Inlet not far behind. 

The commercial hatcheries have lost the argument and the persuasion war, and don’t know how to get from where they are today (ocean ranching) to where they want to be (a sustainable business model that does not impact wild salmon runs).  Sadly, they and the people who pay them are sticking their fingers in their ears, singing “la, la, la, la, la, la” as loudly and long as possible. 

There is a way out.  Craig Medred has written long and eloquently about the problem and suggested solutions.  The sooner the commercial hatcheries adopt Medred’s suggestions (onshore or offshore fish farming), the better chance they have for a soft landing and a continued business.  Sadly, they appear not to realize they are in the deep trouble they currently are.

Finally, we have the anti-Pebble crowd.  After supposedly winning the argument against the mine, they are back at the show with the same sort of happy youngsters and the same message.  One wonders what they are worried about.

From here, they ought to be worried, for Pebble will be back, this time as a rare earth’s mine (the minerals that are found alongside gold and copper).  When that happens, the current anti-Pebble crowd will be using the same arguments that won the argument the last time around, completely oblivious that this is a new war, with new facts, and new national imperatives.  Their anti-Pebble arguments will empower China, a poor lifestyle choice for Americans interested in so-called renewable energy and electric vehicles.

If the pro-Pebble people learned the lessons so painfully documented by Mark Hamilton in his 15-part Pebbled series in Must Read Alaska, they will be successful the next time around.  First and foremost, they must remember that this is a persuasion war, and the anti’s are well positioned and well-funded.  It matters not if you have all the solutions or answers, if you are viewed as self-officious jerks, contemptuous of the locals, they will (and should) destroy you.

On the other hand, if you can craft your message presenting the argument as either the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) or us, then you have a good opening bid and a place to operate from, the high ground maneuver, deadly in the persuasion world.  My prediction is that Pebble will be back.  It will be built, if for no other reason than the greens are demanding what comes out of it (rare earth metals are central to any and all renewable energy schemes).

All in all, it was a productive visit.  Many, many opportunities for a positive persuasion approach to change things here in Alaska for the better, particularly in mining and commercial hatcheries.  Think of it as free money sitting on the table.  Will be most interesting to see who can reach out and grab that free money and move us forward.

Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.

The post Persuasion and the Great Alaska Sportsman Show appeared first on Alaska Politics and Elections.

A 2011 ADN piece by Craig Medred updated five years later listed the Point Mac Dairy Project, Anchorage Seafood Plant, Prinz Brau Brewery, Healy Clean Coal, Airport Railroad Depot, and dairy and barley farming as examples of this sort of foolishness. 

It is the gift horses that are ignored or worse, simply declared illegal that are more problematic.  Best example of this is the 1990 ban on fish farming in Alaska.  This was a constitutional amendment via ballot initiative sold as a way to both increase the number of salmon available to sports fishermen but also to protect commercial fishermen from competition by fish farms.  Sadly, it did neither.  What it actually did was to protect commercial fishermen from competing in a burgeoning marketplace for salmon that now supplies 75% (and growing) of all salmon sold worldwide. 

The economic squeeze has increasingly pitted commercial fishermen (who believe they are owed all the salmon) against sports fishermen (who believe the state constitution definition of salmon as a shared resource).  In recent years we are treated to an increasingly bitter fight over a shrinking pie.

Evidence of the shrinking pie is found with the crash of king, red and coho stocks in Prince William Sound, the statewide crash in king population, the decrease in size of king, red and coho size in Cook Inlet and the Copper River, and the spectacular increase in pink salmon population in southcentral Alaska.  A case can be made that the increase in pinks in the North Pacific are due to a couple billion pink fry released by Prince William Sound hatcheries every year out competing the longer-lived fish.  Who benefits from this ocean ranching?  Commercial fishermen.

Aquatic farming is detailed in Alaska Statute in AS 16.40.100, Article 2.  Aquatic Farming.  All manner of invertebrates are approved for aquaculture.  So is kelp.  Finfish are prohibited in AS 16.40.210, Article 3, Finfish farming prohibited.   This section does not prohibit hatchery operations for aquarium or ADF&G stocking / run enhancement purposes.  Commercial hatcheries are regulated earlier in the statute. 

But the world continues to move on.  And a new opportunity presents itself, that of fish farming warm water finfish, which wouldn’t compete with any Alaskan commercial fishermen, as Alaska is a cold water fishery.  Salmon grow best 12 – 13°C.  Yellowtail grow best at 20°C.  Note also that the same technology can be used to farm shrimp, which would be legal under current state law. 

The new technology is taking a look at farming yellowtail onshore in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS).  Yellowtail is Japanese amberjack, found between Japan and Hawaii.  It is light, excellent meat, very popular in sushi and traditionally a winter delicacy.  Fish farmers typically grow them to 3 – 5 kilograms.  This is a small, but rapidly growing commercial market with total worldwide sales around 180,000 tons / year, about double that of a good year for Bristol Bay salmon. 

A Dutch firm is building a $110 million RAS system for yellowtail in Bangor, Maine.  Permits for this have been approved.  They plan on a production of 6,000 – 8,000 tons of yellowtail every year.  One Norwegian company rebuilding a salmon-oriented RAS system is converting to yellowtail.  There is an Australian company capable of producing 6,000 tons annually. 

What do we have in Cook Inlet that would support such an operation?  We have plenty of energy in natural gas.  We have a lot of undeveloped land on the west side of Cook Inlet.  We have plenty of food for the RAS operation in terms of salmon waste.  And we have a fish processing and shipping operation already in place.  That operation is always looking for something to do in the offseason when the salmon aren’t running.  Best of all, this wouldn’t be in direct competition with Alaskan commercial fishermen and could be used as an opening bid for participation in the global marketplace for farmed fish, a marketplace sooner or later we are going to have to participate in. 

I view this as another opportunity for Alaska.  And this one doesn’t even need state intervention or support.  Rather, all the State of Alaska has to do is get out of the way.  While I support the complete repeal of the ban on fish farming for salmon, an interim step would be in order, that of modifying the language so as to allow warm water fish farming. 

Is anyone in the legislature interested in taking this up? 

Addendum:

To put this all in perspective, a single Norwegian company sold more farmed salmon in 2021 ($729 million) than all Alaskan commercial fishermen sold statewide in 2021 ($644 million).

h/t Craig Medred for the pointers and assistance in putting this together.

Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.

The post Farming Yellowtail appeared first on Alaska Politics and Elections.

By Paulette Simpson

Sunday, February 6, 2021

President Lincoln, back in 1864, felt it “not best to swap horses while crossing the river”
when it came to his nomination for a second term as President.

 

He never suggested himself the epitome of greatness, but his efforts and notable management of the nation and command of the Union troops were skillsets that kept the North stable enough to ultimately win the Civil War.

Lincoln’s phrase is apropos today, as Alaskan Republicans face a looming shadow of Independent and Democratic candidate challengers, polemic political blogs and social media content undermining our goals, and a new electoral Non-Partisan Top-Four Primary and Ranked Choice Voting process that is both confusing and concerning.

Now, more than ever, our state’s GOP must prepare for 2022’s campaign battles with leadership intact and momentum unfettered.

It is no easy task to keep all of our “wings” flying in the same direction.

Ann Brown is the Alaska Republican Party’s Chairwoman.

Ann is not only getting the job done for our diverse membership, but she is also bringing together a formidable team of supporters and fundraising assets.

Admittedly, the first time Ann was a candidate for the Alaska Republican Party (ARP) chairmanship, I supported Tuckerman Babcock, who I knew for decades. Tuckerman later transitioned into Governor Dunleavy’s Cabinet, and Pastor Glenn Clary took over the ARP as Ann rose to Vice-Chair. During this time I observed her work ethic and organizational skills and realized Ann has both aptitude and intellect to help grow and protect our Party.

When Glenn moved to Virginia to help his mentor, Dr. Prevo, at Liberty University, Ann became the Party’s state chair.

And ever since, I remain impressed and pleased at her success.

Facts are facts. Results matter.

One of Ann’s most notable accomplishments has been to create a stable donor base to fund state GOP operations and get-out-to-vote (GOTV) efforts. She’s made sure supporters and campaign volunteers are trained to use GOTV tools while increasing the GOP’s state email recipient lists. She helped establish and increase digital fundraising while targeting a concerted effort to increase social media followers and engagement online. Ann helped establish the template for the election day operations hub, and most recently ramped up recruitment and training of poll watchers.

When I last spoke with Ann and asked her about her vision for 2022 and beyond, she expressed the goal being to make sure fellow Republicans have a shared sense of purpose and esprit de corps to carry out the Party’s two main purposes:

1. 1. Generating consistent fundraising streams for GOP messaging and voter communications.
   2. Ensuring Republican majorities are secured in federal, state, and local Alaskan elections.

At the end of last year, retired Alaska Lt. Governor and General Craig Campbell, Anchorage District Chairman Mike Robbins, and our new state Finance Chairman Jason Warfield forged a fundraising game plan to recruit a group of  GOP supporters committed to consistently donate to help cover GOP administrative costs. Ann championed the idea. These donors are in addition to the Freedom Club roster of monthly supporters. Our Party’s finances are stable now, and our bank account continues to build. Ann deserves credit for this, under her watch.

The list is long of Ann’s service above self and accomplishments to our cause, with no income or expectation of compensation.

Chairwoman Ann Brown puts the Alaska Republican Party and its members first, with courtesy, professionalism, and an intent to generate solidarity when it comes to the underlying reason we have a Republican organization in the first place: To elect Republicans!

I encourage GOP members planning to participate in the April 2022 Alaska GOP State Convention in Fairbanks to connect with Ann and get to know her. Consider her record of success.

This is not the time to change leadership as we cross the river.

Alaska’s GOP is moving in the right direction thanks to Ann Brown.

The post Don’t change horses midstream. appeared first on Alaska Politics and Elections.

And their excuse for going after Oath Keepers?  It took the Harris – Xiden Department of Justice a mere year to indict its leader and 10 other members for sedition in connection with the Jan 6, 2021, protests.

In the eyes of the House majority, mere membership in the organization confers guilt sufficient to remove Eastman from House committees, in other words, guilt by association.  And they are doing their level best to do so.

This little stunt was most recently performed by Nancy Pelosi’s House majority last year, removing Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R, GA) from her committee assignments based on the notion that she had unacceptable public views.  House Minority Leader McCarthy vowed a response in kind should Republicans take the majority next January.

Alaska democrats are gleefully attempting the same thing up here, having found a shiny new toy to use in the political wars.  But like a three-year-old with a match and a firecracker, they are about to lose some fingers.

Why?  Because Republicans are counterpunchers, adept at taking the new rules in congress and the legislature and using them on the democrats.  Good and hard.

We don’t have to go back any farther than 2005, when senate democrats first started using the filibuster to block Bush judicial nominations.  Republicans afterwards used that rule change to block Obama judicial nominations, frustrating Senate Majority Harry Reid to the point where he gutted the filibuster for judicial nominations in 2013.  This change, in turn cost the democrats Supreme Court seats during the Trump years, flipping the court.

How should Alaska Republicans respond to the new precedent being demanded by House democrats?  Well, if the new standard is an indictment, any indictment, for any reason, then anyone touched by that organization, membership in that organization, or accepted campaign donations from that organization would be liable for the same treatment.

For instance, former UCIDA head Roland Maw has been indicted multiple times on PFD fraud.  This is a commercial fishing organization.  Does this mean that anyone touched by commercial fishing in the legislature should be removed from committees?  How about union membership?  Any union member or officer indicted for anything would then be a vehicle to remove any legislator who took union campaign donations.  Don’t forget APOC rulings on campaign finance / reporting violations.  These are worse than indictments, as a paid fine is a defacto admission of guilt.  Can’t have any of that in the legislature either.  And who can ignore anyone who supports or is supported by BLM, which burned, looted and committed mayhem nationwide in 2020?

There are more, but I expect you get the idea.  If we are now operating the legislature on the basis of guilt by association, I say bring it on.  Do it early.  Do it often.  Do it with impunity.  Do it gleefully.  And when you do, you better hope and pray to whatever it is that you pray to that Republicans never, ever get a majority in anything in this state again.  For payback will be devastating.  It will also be demanded by the voters.  In the words of Kurt Schlichter, you guys really, really aren’t gonna like playing under your new rules. 

Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.

The post Guilt by Association appeared first on Alaska Politics and Elections.

Such is the opportunity presented by the Alaska Black Caucus promise to mount a campaign to bring Critical Race Theory (CRT) into Alaskan classrooms.  The opportunity also presents itself with the CRT-friendly requirements the Anchorage School Board is using to hire the next Superintendent. 

Where is the opportunity in this?

It comes by virtue of the campaign for the next Alaska governor.  Virginia just elected its first Republican governor in decades, mostly on the back of public anger at public schools.  And there was a lot of anger to go around, with issues ranging from COVID restrictions, School Board intransigence, trans ideology, and CRT.  The winner, Glenn Younkin, promised to do his level best to return control of the public schools the Virginia parents. 

Upon taking office, he issued a handful of Executive Orders.  The very first one of these (Executive Order Number One) prohibited the teaching of CRT in state classrooms.  He went farther and deconstructed a state education office tasked with pushing the hateful ideology on the kiddos.

Here in Alaska, the race for governor is heating up nicely, and while CRT is not yet an issue, it can and should be one.  While ASD is doing its level best to deny it is being taught in Anchorage schools, we have multiple teachers publicly stating they will continue teaching it in the face of any law or order prohibiting it.  We have the Alaska Black Caucus promising to mount a campaign to formally introduce it into the classroom.  And the Anchorage School Board is hiring their next Superintendent with a lot of CRT language in their criteria (equity is one such red flag). 

The first gubernatorial candidate who proposes to ban it from Alaska’s schools (and for the rest of state government at all levels, for that matter), will have a leg up in the campaign.  It wouldn’t even take all that much work, as they can use Youngkin’s Executive Order as a model.  The trick here is being first, as any follow-up will be a faint and feckless “me too.”

Governor Dunleavy can (and should) issue such an order.  He can do it at any time.  If he hasn’t or won’t, that would be a good question to ask him during the campaign. 

From a political and persuasion perspective, this is a layup, an opportunity to get on the right side of Alaskan parents and kiddos in the public schools.  In what is expected to be a tight campaign for governor, you can’t blow too many layups and stay in the game.  Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.

The post The CRT Opportunity appeared first on Alaska Politics and Elections.

Apparently, everyone is vaxxed and the remaining money can be spent elsewhere.  Congratulation on that success. 

Now, these taxpayer funded grifters are going to do their level best to ensure our wonderful children and grandchildren will be taught how to hate one another based on nothing more than the color of their skin. 

This brings up a potential exercise in cognitive dissonance, as a political pressure group (Alaska Black Caucus) is going to pressure the Anchorage School District (ASD) to do something that they claim they aren’t doing, but likely are (if the presence of the CRT reading list on the ASD web site until last summer is any indication).

The teachers are likewise torn between telling the truth and lying.  On the one hand, we have at least one self-proclaimed substitute teacher claiming CRT does not exist in the ASD curriculum in an e-mail to Representative Tom McKay.  On the other hand, we have a large number of Alaska teachers, including several here in Anchorage signing a pledge last summer that no law will stop them from teaching CRT in the public schools.  Which one is it?  If CRT is not in the classroom, why are the teachers falling all over themselves defending it?  Better yet, why is ASD lying about it?

Add to that the position of the national teachers unions since at least 2018 that they will do everything humanly possible to push CRT in the classroom.  Alaska teachers are part of those unions and have supported resolutions pushing CRT in the classroom over the years.

CRT is pure racial poison, every bit as bad as the worst you would ever expect from all the old democrats who used to eat, sleep and breathe the race business.  And the Alaska Black Caucus, democrats all, just announced they will be doing their level best to bring it into the classroom, manufacturing bigotry where none exists.  The apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree with this one, as they return to their awful, reprehensible historic roots. 

At least they are out in the open about it.  Note that they wouldn’t have the resources to do this unless the Anchorage Assembly hadn’t given them $1.5 million in COVID recovery funds last year.  Taxpayer paid and supported bigotry.  Institutional racism being pushed by an institution, which was supposed to be a Bad Thing.  What can possibly go wrong? 

Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.

The post Pushing CRT With Your Tax Dollars appeared first on Alaska Politics and Elections.

• a given sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, or national origin is inherently superior or inferior,
• an individual should be treated adversely based on the individual’s sex, race, ethnicity, color, or national origin
• an individual, by virtue of the individual’s sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, or national origin, is inherently responsible for actions committed in the past by other members of the same sex, race, ethnicity, religion, color, or national origin.

Essentially, it is a ban on teaching Critical Race Theory (CRT) in the public schools. 

The pre-filed bill drew a quick and earnest response basically denying any such thing was going on in ASD.  The response claimed that none of these things are taught in ASD and asks why McKay believes otherwise.  The respondent then went on to point out that the legislation would create a false impression among parents and the general public about what ASD students are being taught, create dissatisfaction and anger wrongly directed at dedicated hard-working teachers and schools.  The note ended with the conclusion it would do much more harm than good.

That’s a lot to unpack.  Let’s start.

At the very top level, parental concern over CRT nationally and here in Anchorage is very real and very deep.  The official position of ASD and the Anchorage School Board is that there is nothing to see here, move along, move along.  But their actions belie that.  If there is no CRT at ASD, why then did they disappear a CRT reading list from their web site last July?  If there is no CRT at ASD, why did multiple Anchorage teachers sign a pledge last June to break any laws that might prohibit them from teaching CRT? 

For no fire, that’s a lot of smoke.

Teachers unions at the national level have been in full throated support of CRT since at least 2018.  Alaskan teachers participate in the national union and if they are in opposition, haven’t seemed to have much impact shutting it down.  Indeed, Jim Minnery writing in Alaska Watchman last July noted that the NEA passed Resolution 39 last year to continue pushing expanded CRT teaching and funded defense of teachers challenged by parents or lawmakers for doing so.

I do not have access to resolutions from either the Alaska or Anchorage Education Associations but based on the reaction to the proposed HB 228 and the action of ASD on its web site, the official position is to simply deny any of this is being done at ASD or in Alaska.

If ASD is not dabbling in CRT, then passing HB 228 will not do anything other than make parents and taxpayers more comfortable that their children and grandchildren aren’t being taught to hate one another based on nothing other than the color of their skin.  All by itself, that will be a positive outcome.  If, as I believe, they are lying to us, then their professional lives will get a little more uncomfortable, and they will have to defend themselves in public, another positive outcome.

Much was made last summer during the BLM protests and riots about the existence of what they described as institutional racism and how harmful that racism is.  With CRT, and its complete support by the teachers unions, I believe we have identified the source of institutional racism here in the US.  It is coming out of the teachers unions, who are busily taking our wonderful kiddos and filling them with as much racial hatred as humanly possible in the classroom on a daily basis. 

Tom McKay is on the right path with this proposed legislation.  He should be celebrated and supported in trying to get it passed.  And the rest of the legislature needs to get on board. 

Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.

The post Pushback on Proposed Anti-CRT Legislation appeared first on Alaska Politics and Elections.

With that in mind, the latest whispering campaign out there is that retiring Anchorage School District Superintendent Deena Bishop is mulling a run for LtGov on the Republican ballot.  The kicker is that there are those out there that believe that the Dunleavy campaign is supportive at some level.

This rumor was denied in a Must Read Alaska piece Nov 3, a piece that blamed it on left-wing bloggers.  Yet it persists 60 days later. 

With Kevin Meyer’s announcement that he will not run for reelection the position will be open in the August primary, and there are a lot of names floating around.

Should Bishop run, her campaign could be pure comedy gold.  Why?  In the words of the sadly departed Desi Arnez, his character Ricky Ricardo:  She has some ‘splaning to do.

Deena is not without baggage in this race.  Granted, she is smart, professional, and presents well in front of the camera, all good opening bids.  But she carries significant baggage into the race, especially for conservatives. 

First and foremost would be presiding over the failed social justice experiment that is the Anchorage School District (ASD) since 2016, a school district which seems not to excel in much other than failing to educate its students.  If you can’t do something as simple as ensure students in the largest school district in the State of Alaska get a proper education given the enormous resources at your disposal, how are you going to ensure state elections (her primary job LtGov) are completely transparent and instantly auditable?

Add to the failure of ASD, dabbling with gay porn, Critical Race Theory (CRT), and the great masking wars, it would appear that the actual educational mission has morphed into one of leftist indoctrination, all paid for with our property taxes.   

There was an internal investigation into the book, which was quietly pulled from the library shelf.  All efforts to find out who authorized its purchase, its display, which school it was displayed in, how many times it was checked out, and most importantly how many similar books are still sitting on the shelves remain unanswered.  As Richard Nixon discovered half a century ago, it is not the crime, it is the coverup afterwards that matters, though to topics of interest to the leftists infesting local media, not so much.

Following discovery of a CRT reading list on the ASD website, that page was quietly removed.  No public response was made to a number of current teachers publicly stating they both support CRT and will resist any and all efforts to remove it from their classrooms.  Nothing like teaching the kiddos to hate one another based on nothing more than the color of the skin to ensure a good education.  This one quietly went away too.

We haven’t even started a discussion on the coddling of trans activists via restrooms, locker rooms and women’s sports, all fun topics for a statewide campaign. 

So, go ahead and run for LtGov, Deena.  Choose any party or run as an indy.  It will be rollicking good fun campaign.  I hope you and your supporters are ready to answer a few questions falling out of your employment at ASD.  Perhaps you can.  Perhaps not.  Either way, they will be asked.

Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He was a small business owner and Information Technology professional.

The post Deena Bishop for LtGov? appeared first on Alaska Politics and Elections.