The People's Paper December 2022

The Christmas season is here! That means the Christmas Friendship Dinner volunteers are gearing up to provide the Mat-Su Valley a Christmas event hosted at the Menard Sports Complex. On Christmas Day from 11am to 3pm, it will be packed with good food, friendly

“... Christmas Friendship Dinner volunteers are gearing up to provide the Mat-Su Valley a free Christmas event hosted at the Menard Sports Complex. On Christmas Day from 11am to 3pm, it will be packed with good food, friendly volunteers, entertainment and of course, Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus!”

volunteers, entertainment and of course, Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus!

The dinner started 32 years ago by Bob and Judy Bower and Harold Newcome feeding 67 people who had no place to go for the holidays. It has now grown today to feeding 2500 meals last year and now an estimated 3000 this year.

We are all community volunteers that have a heart for making the holidays special by sharing a meal and our time together. We also deliver meals to families that have a home bound member who can’t join us in person from Talkeetna to Sutton. In addition to In- House dining at the Menard Sports Complex, from 11am to 3pm, we also have a drive through where you can pick up a meal and take it home to enjoy.

We have gift bags for the kiddos and seniors that Santa gives out with a smile.

If you have a heart for giving to others and have time, we could always use more help decorating, working in the kitchen and setting up tables and chairs. On Christmas day we have many volunteering opportunities, and all are welcome.

Call Tia at 907-631-9767 to share your gifts and talents or call Linda at 907631-9776 with any questions. Merry Christmas and hope you will join us for all the fun!

AK Museum of Science & Nature MORE ON PAGE 5 OF MAKE A SCENE MAGAZINE

WOW! The World of Wearable Art

MORE ON PAGE 3 OF MAKE A SCENE MAGAZINE

Wings of Freedom Art Project MORE ON PAGE 8 OF MAKE A SCENE MAGAZINE

Contributed by Tia and Linda

COMMUNITY

Contributed by Darlena Fritzler

Thanks to the generous donation from MTA Foundations, Mat-Su Senior Services (MSSS) is excited to announce the opening of our new FULL service

On December 17th from 10am to 6pm, we will be hosting an exciting fundraising event to collect Toys for children in need this Holiday Season. With the help from other local businesses around the Mat-Su, we are already on our way to having a successful fundraiser.

Alaska Helicopter Tours is making it possible for children who bring One New Unwrapped Toy to Denali Harley Davidson to get a chance to win a Helicopter Flight with Santa!

We are also looking for sponsors for 40 bicycle’s that were blissfully given to us by Distinctive Ride. Sponsorships are $50-$100 per bike. All of the funds collected from these sponsorships will be donated to the Special Santa Program. If you do decide to sponsor, please share with the shop a child you had in mind to receive a bicycle and we can set it up for them.

While you’re donating, grab a Doughnut and a Hot Cocoa for the family that were graciously donated by Krispy Kreme and Kaladi Brothers.

We are so thankful for all the support and sponsors from local businesses in our beautiful Mat-Su Valley area and hope to see you there enjoying this cheerful giving event.

Happy Holidays and Happy New years

S.

during normal business hours of Monday-Friday from 8am – 4:00pm.

There are 3 computers, 4 tablets, and 2 smart TVs available for use.

Here we are in our winter that finally decided to show up…all at once!

We are in the depths of helping gather / purchase food to distribute to those in need. This is a generous time of year, and we appreciate people like you sharing your food with others year-round. Keep in mind the holiday season is not the only time in the year people are hungry.

While the government food supplies are based on income for eligibility the Pantry has no such restrictions.

Anyone coming in can ask for food. Our only restriction is you have to live in the valley and have proof of that.

With prices on the rise lately (food is up to 10% already) we would ask when you shop throw an extra can or other food in the cart to donate?

We also work with Safeway and F. Meyers rewards program and if you list us on your rewards account we can receive donations based on your spending amounts. This is no cost to you and helps us fill our shelves. You can also choose to make monthly do-

nations through PayPal or directly to us. We are asking you to consider:

If you donate just $30 a month, a dollar a day, you can help provide for someone in need.

Let’s think about those $30 bucks. That’s $1 dollar a day, what else can you buy that goes so far, for a dollar a day? Not very much in the scheme of things.

If you go to our website, www.matsufoodbank.org and hit the donate button, you can become a sustaining donor. Or look into Legacy Gifts. You can call 907-357-3769 and talk to the office about how you may help. Easy, right?

As the number of clients increase, we are trying hard to keep some flow of food to folks who need a little help.

“Here in the land of plenty, it sometimes is not acknowledged that we, as the most prosperous, strong and healthy nation in the world, have children who go to bed hungry every night. Even if you don’t see eye to eye…, we as a nation should hang our heads in shame because people go

hungry.” Charles P. Pierce.

“So, what can I do?” you say. Well, you start small. Your own neighborhood, then your city, borough, the state, nation and eventually the world. We can’t be overwhelmed with the idea of a drop in the bucket will not matter. If there are enough drops in the bucket, the bucket will at some point run over.

A little can go a long way. Please donate what you can to your favorite charity (hopefully ours) but whatever is given, is greatly appreciated and can make a difference in someone’s life and you may never know the effects of that act of kindness. It’s tough in these financial times but remember “You can’t teach a hungry child.” Please share what you can.

We are asking for a commitment of $30 dollars on a monthly basis. That money can go a long way to help lift a family out of poverty, help a Senior on fixed income get through the month. Help a child not go hungry or help a Veteran in need.

The Staff, Volunteers and Board of Directors wish you a healthy and Safe Holiday Season.

Golden Heart Computer Lounge!

The Golden Heart is location inside the MSSS building located at 1132

Chugach Street in Palmer. The computer lounge is open to all area seniors

Contributed by Glenn Butts, a.k.a The Dude

from The Denali Harley-Davidson Family and our partners Mat-Su Special Santa, Alaska Helicopter Tours and so

many more! Thank you all and God Bless.

Contributed by Lauralynn Robison

Poinsettias are a popular flower during the holiday season. Poinsettias (Eupitorbia pulcherrima Wild.) need consistent temperature and care. Keep them out of hot or cold drafts and they will do much better!

The colorful “flowers” of poinsettias are actually modified leaves called “bracts.”

When buying your poinsettia, choose a plant with well-expanded, wellcolored bracts. Foliage should be medium to dark green with uniform coloring. Flowers should be present in the center of the bracts, but ideally still

mainly closed with little pollen present. Poinsettias are not poisonous, but the sap may cause dermatitis.

“Poinsettias are not poisonous” Steve Brown, University of Alaska Cooperative Extension Service agent states. The plants are intended for ornamental purposes. Some people are allergic to the milky sap and may develop a rash when exposed to the sap. Avoid breaking the leaves and stems, as this will release the sap. It is wise to keep any houseplant out of the reach of small children and pets.

Poinsettias grow well in moist soil and temperatures between 65 and 70 degrees F.

Temperature - After you purchase your plant, protect it from chilling temperatures or cold drafts of air. Wrap the plant when taking it to your car. In the home, avoid cold drafts and excessive heat from heating ducts, or large incandescent lamps.

Keep the plants away from windows, as cold glass may injure it.

Water - Water the poinsettia thoroughly when the top of the growing medium is starting to feel dry, but do not too dry. Slight wilting of the plant is not harmful, but avoid severe wilting, which will cause leaves and bracts

to drop faster shares Mike Schnelle Extension Specialist, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service. Make sure a small amount of water drips through the drainage holes of the container. If the plant is wrapped with decorative foil, punch a hole in the foil beneath the pot to allow excess water to escape. The plant should be placed on a saucer to prevent damage to the furniture or carpet.

Do not water the plant too frequently when the soil or growing mix is already wet or this may result in roots suffocating from lack of oxygen, causing the leaves to wilt, yellow, and drop. A carefully chosen plant should remain attractive in the house for a minimum of eight weeks.

Poinsettias bloom when the days get shorter.

Light - The plant survives best in an area where it receives at least six to eight hours of direct natural or artificial light. This is similar to good desk lighting in an office.

Poinsettias can be displayed with other houseplants. The adjacent plants raise the humidity and allow poinsettias to last longer. Also, the regular houseplants can be spruced up for the holidays. extension.umn.edu/ houseplants/poinsettia

you can meet and network with other business owners!

Are you a local business owner?... Let’s talk business! Have you heard of Mat-Su Business After Hours?

Mat-Su Business After Hours is a business networking and referral group with over 400 Alaskan business owners!

One of the best parts? No membership fees! Mat-Su Business After Hours is a casual environment with great food and adult beverages — a tax deductible date night where

Join the Mat-Su Business After Hours community for free and enjoy great perks, like: increased business, monthly giveaways, member discounts, camaraderie, and more.

We meet the first Thursday of every month from 7 to 9pm, at various locations hosted by local business owners and restaurants. Visit www. matsubah.com for more info and definitely check out Mat-Su Business After Hours group on Facebook!

Isn’t interesting to see how quickly one’s life can be turned around. I have to admit. I was somewhat flummoxed by the events that overtook our lives in mid September of 2022. I am writing this to thank the many people in Palmer who stepped up to help my partner and I during our short time of urgent need. We have thanked most of you individually, but I want the world to know what wonderful people live in Palmer, Alaska.

I have had severe eye problems since the mid 90’s when I lost all but the peripheral vision in my left eye. Then when we moved to Alaska in 2017 I began to have trouble in my right eye. I went to a retinal specialist and learned that the macular degeneration in my eye could be kept under control by getting injections in my eye.

I started getting these shots every eight weeks then decided it was time to have the cataracts removed from my eyes to determine if I would be able to see well enough to drive comfortably. Since we moved to Alaska, I have not driven more than 2 miles from home. So my partner drives 90% of the time. After the cataract operations, I picked up my new glasses on Friday, the 16th of September.

Then Saturday morning, as if on cue, my partner Doug’s back pain became too severe for him to stand. I called my daughter and she lent me a pair of crutches that were left from a ski

accident. Then Monday, I had to drive to Wasilla for my heart rehab exercises. I’m doing this because I had to have a stent put in my heart a few months back. It was a scary drive for me because I was not used to driving far, let alone in Alaska. Then Doug took a turn for the worst. I reached out to a friend to find out where I could get a wheelchair. He told me I could rent a wheelchair at the Turn A Leaf Thrift Store, in Wasilla. I drove out there and It turned out I could have the wheelchair “rent free” for a year! I was amazed and very grateful.

On Wednesday Doug had an appointment at his neurosurgeon. We used both the wheelchair and the crutches to get him into the car. After the appointment we came home and were supposed to have an appointment to get x-rays the following Monday. He could no longer sleep in his bed and so spent the time in the recliner in the living room. His pain increased during the week and so by Sunday we both realized I could no longer care for him. I called 911 and they came with an ambulance and took him to the hospital. At the hospital they x-rayed him and his neurosurgeon decided he should have surgery on Tuesday, the 27th of September. The surgery was a success! He was referred to a rehabilitation facility until he could walk well enough to go home.

The next problem was that I was due to leave the country October 10th and would be gone for two weeks. I had to get the house ready for winter

as well as find someone to look after the house while I was gone. Between trips to the hospital, trips to Wasilla for my heart rehab, figuring out how to winterize both barbecue grills for the winter, putting the lawn mower away and taking all the hanging plants into the house my hands were full. We had so many people offer to help us that I feel I could spend the rest of my life giving back and still owe more. A good neighbor looked after our house while I was gone and also visited Doug at the rehabilitation facility.

When I returned from my trip, the house was in great shape and winter had arrived. I then settled back into my routine of visiting Doug at the rehabilitation facility and resuming my own exercise at the heart rehab facility. They have been monitoring my heart after I had the stent put in while I exercise. This is to try and increase the amount of exercise my heart can stand in my day to day life.

Doug came home on Veterans Day, November 11th. He was doing so well, tooling around the house with a walker that we were able to return the wheelchair so it could be given to someone who had a greater need. We are now at a new normal and it works for both of us. I am so happy to have someone to cook for, as I didn’t do well just cooking for myself. Doug is back to writing at his computer and working to get stronger. Thanks to our Palmer friends, we weathered a tough time really well and learned a lot about adapting to whatever life has in store. Thanks again Palmer, I am full of gratitude for this wonderful community.

Contributed by Julie Cascio University of Alaska Cooperative Extension Service

Contributed by Marilyn Bennett

Contributed by John James Rice

“Your sneakers were made in Taiwan but mine look just like yours and the label says China!” And “Our grapes are now coming from Peru and yours from Mexico, not California. Winter does change our food sources”.

Similar comments were expressed as participants in the Big Lake Library

Advocates first Geography Awareness Week contest, held November 14th18th, turned in their activity sheets.

National Geographic created Geography Awareness Week to raise awareness and excite people about geography as both a discipline and as a part of everyday life.

Each year more than 100,000 Americans actively participate in Geography Awareness Week. Established by presidential proclamation more than 25 years ago, this annual public awareness program encourages citizens young and old to think and learn about the significance of a place and how we affect and are affected by it. Each third week of November, students, families and community members focus on the importance of geography.

The contest sponsored by the Big Lake Library Advocates encouraged participants to check labels on clothing and foods, or discover where a vehicle was manufactured, then log the item and its source on the contestant’s activity sheet. Maps and a globe in the Library entrance were available to then locate the place of origin. Participants, through Geography Awareness Week, learned more about how our daily lives rely upon products from Alaska, states outside, and other countries worldwide as well as finding on maps where those places are located.

All participants’ names were entered for a drawing on November 19. Library Advocates President Kit Duke drew the winning name and awarded a beautiful

world atlas to the winner, Rachel.

Next year the Library Advocates plan to extend the celebration of Geography Awareness Week’s contest to two weeks to give more time for participants to learn more about geography while adding items to their lists. Stay tuned for particulars!

The Big Lake Library Advocates is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that supports the Big Lake Library, encourages reading and lifelong learning, and offers educational and civic activities. The Geography Awareness contest was a way to connect our community to the world of information and ideas. Please join to enjoy and participate in fun and informative activities.

Sign up by emailing: biglakeadvocates@gmail.com or view our website: bl-libraryadvocates.weebly.com

As the holiday season is in full swing this year, United Way of Mat-Su would like to pause to say thank you to each and every Mat-Su residents!

We are turning 35 this year, and for over 3 decades, we have relied upon all of you to help us achieve quality Education, strong Financial Stability, and good Health for all in our community. We would especially like to thank

the following sponsors, who have donated to our 35th Anniversary campaign... These generous donations will help ensure that we are able to continue serving the Mat-Su for years to come:

AKTive Soles Performance Footwear

Chris Huling, Veteran Realtor with Key Realty Group

First National Bank Alaska

Hello Darlin’ Hair Studio Glacier Med Spa & Glacier Surgical

Contributed by Randi Perlman

Many of you know that the Valley Recycling Center is located off the Palmer Wasilla Highway at the end of 49th State Street, the road that leads to the Central Landfill and the Animal Shelter, making it a convenient drop-off stop in the core area of our borough. The recycling facility is open 6 days a week to accept your clean and sorted recyclables.

Since our borough is so large, with many residents living in locations well outside the core area, there are four Transfer Sites that offer recycling opportunities to our outlying neighbors. Through a cooperative effort with the Mat-Su Borough, Valley Recycling

(VCRS) and community volunteers, Transfer Sites are located in Big Lake, Willow, Talkeetna and Sutton.

Residents in the Big Lake area can drop off recyclables on Saturdays and Sundays from noon-3pm at 13507 N Hollywood Road, or call 907-892-2400.

In Talkeetna, recycling volunteers man their transfer site at mile 12.5 Talkeetna Spur on Tuesdays and Saturdays from noon-4pm, or call 907-355-8324. Willow recyclers can drop off material at 15469 Willow Station Road on the 2nd Saturday and last Friday of the month from 11am-1:30pm, or call 907-495-6633. And in the Sutton area, and communities further north, residents can visit their transfer site at 15625 N Glenn Hwy

road are open, “wild” land, but Wild Life can’t access it. Within a year or two that will change with a football field-sized overpass designed to allow everyone –including plants, insects, snakes, cougar, etc. - to cross unhurt.

Every dollar raised by United Way of Mat-Su stays right here in the Mat-Su, allowing us to rise to meet the needs of our friends and neighbors as soon as we are aware a need exists.

There’s still time to pledge $35 (or more!) to further our important work! Simply visit unitedwaymatsu.org and click “Donate” to begin your gift, text

on the first & third Sunday and Monday of the month from 2-5pm, or call 907745-0737 or 907-861-7640.

Our marketing team has worked very hard to make sure signage and messaging is consistent throughout all the transfer sites, making everybody’s job and efforts a little easier and much more cohesive.

As the Borough’s population continues to expand, and recycling momentum continues to grow in the Mat-Su Valley, it’s possible that additional transfer sites may become an option. If you are interested in making recycling more available in your community, or have any questions about it, please contact

GIVEUWMS to 41444 and follow the prompts, or call (907)745-5822 for assistance.

Without each and every one of you, we would not be able to reach and change as many lives as we have over the last 35 years.

We need all of you, because YOU are United Way of Mat-Su!

unitedwaymatsu.org

the Mat-Su Borough, VCRS, or any of the transfer sites. Recycling is a TEAM endeavor, and volunteers are the HEART of our team.

This will conclude the Recycling Repeats Itself Series. Thank you for joining me on this romp through recycling’s history-defining moments. I have thoroughly enjoyed bringing the series to you over the past 12 months, learning an enormous amount myself through my research and writing. I hope you’ve learned a tidbit or two about the history of recycling, its impact on our community and on the world, and the reasons why Recycling Done Right just makes GOOD $EN$E…

Thanx to all of you who make up our huge community TEAM! TOGETHER, WE ARE TURNING IT AROUND…

This season as we contemplate the return of more daily sunlight and warmth, I must share some good news and good books. On a recent “Science Friday” segment, I listened as the moderator discussed the new project on a busy freeway in California where as many as 30,000 cars pass on 8 lanes of road daily. The areas on either side of the

Perhaps you have heard of E. O. Wilson’s half-earth proposal – that if humans are to thrive we must dedicate half of the planet to wild, unsettled (by humans) space. Kim Stanley Robinson’s novel Ministry for the Future is an exploration of that and other necessities of a thriving planetary system. Jim Kristovic’s Reservation Restless in which he shares

his bio and his reverence for the land of the Southwest and the traditions they inspired is another good read. Zia Tong’s The Reality Bubble is an easy read but covers important concepts like evolution, self-perception, world view, time and ownership. Her premise, as I see it, is that the artifice of our civilization is destroying our connection to Earth. Some of us understand that already. Now we need to translate that into the activities of our daily lives!

Last night I was thinking of our Human place as I gazed out of the darkened house into the snow-covered, moonlit

world outside. Young trees were rounded humps of snow. The naked Birches reflected the light. Nearby, no doubt, Chickadees were huddled near Spruce trunks. Spruce Hens were huddled in their tiny “igloos.” Moose and Fox were gathering their daily sustenance. Frogs, Bear, overwintering Butterflies and larvae of all kinds were suspended in time. Likewise, seeds, roots, eggs of others are awaiting the coming warmth and light to burst into their active lives.

What a privilege to be part of all that!

Happy Solstice!

Contributed by Michele Harmerling

MAC Federal Credit Union The Mat-Su Sea Hawkers

Contributed by Sammy Taylor

Contributed by Big Lake Library Advocates

POLITICS & OPINION

Contributed By Mike Coons

We had our first meeting of Concerned Conservatives of Alaska (CCA) on 19 November! Wow, what a big turn out! There is a thirst for knowledge as to what our legislature is doing “to us” and “with us”. Our main mission is to educate members as to bills that are being presented and debated in the State Legislature and as we can, US Congress. Then with that knowledge for members to contact their Representatives and Senators in support or opposition to those bills. What with the latest on the Senate so called “Bipartisan Caucus”, this is even more important!

We worked on our Bylaws, Purpose/ Mission Statement. The Purpose and Mission Statement was approved. The Bylaws will be voted on at the December meeting. Our Purpose and Mission Statement is:

Purpose Promote The Growth of Conservative Truth & Policy to Voting Age Alaskans

Mission Statement Be a Focal Point for Fair and open Debate, Election Issues, Candidate Information, and Issues that affect the promotion of a just and responsive government.

Increase Knowledge of Conservative Values, Policies, Issues and Support Through Membership, Meetings, and Technological Outreach to Alaskans. Advocating for Responsible City, Borough, State and Federal Government to ensure our Freedoms, & Liberties.

Phil Izon spoke for Alaskans for Hon-

est Elections as to Rank Choice Voting (RCV). Alaskans for Honest Elections has gathered and submitted to the Lt Governor the needed 100 plus sponsor signatures to start up the Repeal RCV petitions process. This is but the first step in the process to repeal RCV and return back to Primary and General elections that we enjoyed prior to RCV. Remember, RCV passed by a narrow margin thanks to the same players from the Lower 48 that did such a good job in stopping Ballot Measure 1 this election through 5 Million dollars of Dark Money, fear and lies!

There are attacks on Republican Legislators through what many consider frivolous lawsuits. Randall Kowalke is trying to overturn the election and he doesn’t even live in the district. This would strip over 18,000 District voters over David’s being just a member of The Oathkeepers. The contention is The Oathkeepers call for overthrow of the US Government. Speaking for myself, as a retired USAF NCO and having looked at Oathkeepers, this is a flat out lie.

To be a member you must have taken and still support that oath to “protect the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic”, I have not joined since I had/have a lot going on in my life and if I do something I want to be able to put that effort into it. Yes, I am an Oathkeeper, like so many other Vets, Police Officers and yes even legislators!. I took the oath in 1971, 1975, 1979, etc., for a full 20 years in the Air Force. That oath has never been and will never be withdrawn! The accusation is, by being a member of Oathkeepers, Rep Eastman is in violation of Article XII, Section 4

Disqualification for Disloyalty. The trial is set for 12 Dec of this year. If you want to help with his lawyer and court costs go to www.davidlegal.org. Another one is against Kevin McCabe for “blocking” a person from Kevin’s personal FB page.

From Kevin: “I hate asking for money. I hate even asking for campaign donations. Unfortunately lawyers do not hate it. They work hard for it. I currently owe the attorneys $30,000 dollars. They predict, if this does go to court, it will be a $100K lawsuit. Leg council has declined to provide legal representation, so I am on my own. I am hoping that a few of you can find it in your hearts to donate. It is the fear of many of us that weaponizing the courts, like the leftists and the Northern Justice Project have done, will prevent good conservatives from running for office.”

Go to https://www.givesendgo.com/ G9HMK

This is a Christian organization that unlike others does not WOKE Cancel. The information presented will hopefully create an advocacy to support David Eastman and Kevin McCabe as well as any future suits against other well known conservatives in the House and Senate. Lastly we discussed sending CCA leadership to Juneau during the upcoming session to establish to the legislators who we are, what our mission is and how best to be effective in educating our membership on legislation.

Since our mission is predominately

education, we must take that education, then be advocates at an individual level for or against legislation. Taking that knowledge, we also must be able to speak to those bills directly to our legislators, either in person, on the phone, e-mails and during effective committee hearing testimonies.

Our next meeting is Dec 17th, at 11AM at the Real Life Church, 10697 E PalmerWasilla Hwy, Palmer. The agenda is simple. Approval of the Bylaws, I have invited and most likely will have Senator Hughes, Rep Tilton and maybe others, speak to us. I would like all to come and have a lunch style Potluck and after the legislators speak, an open invitation to all to speak about who they are and why they have joined along with what are their expectations for CCA in the future. Since this comes out with just a few days prior (all meetings start at 11AM) the following are upcoming dates and speakers.

January 21st Real Life Church Robert Yunt speaking on ballot initiatives, including Rank Choice Voting. Feb 18 tenentively at Chugiak Senior Center 22424 Birchwood Loop Rd, Chugiak, AK 99567, Jason Floyd on efforts to use the Grand Jury to correct wayward Judges. I am awaiting confirmation by mid December as to Chugiak Senior Center. If as I expect, we will then rotate month to month, thus March 18th, Real Life Church Bethamy Marcum, Americans For Prospertiy. We hope those reading this will come and check us out and then of course become members.

Contributed By Katherine Baker

Has anyone noticed how Alaska has political dynasty families? It has the look and feel of elitism and power entitlement, and yet, that is definitely not what Alaskans are about.

During the Alaska midterm primary, Nick Begich, of the Democrat dynasty Begich family came in third in the Republican primary. Begich then refused to step aside and let the race be between first and second place, Peltola and Palin. That guaranteed a win for Peltola as everyone paying attention had anticipated.

Then in the 2022 midterms Murkowski received by far, the vast majority of Chesbro’s second choice votes. This indicates Murkowski’s percentage base among Democrats is greater than her percentage base among Republicans! Her endorsement of Democrat Peltola, rather than Republican Palin, may have been intended to convince any holdouts among Chesbro’s voters to make Murkowski their second choice. If so, that political strategy seems to have

worked wonderfully well for Murkowski.

Also, announced by Murkowski, it was because of the Republican selected Justices to the Supreme Court who don’t support abortion that there was no ‘red wave’. Almost sounds like an attempt to nudge Senate Republicans to the left.

The newly re-elected Murkowski has wasted no time in providing a reason for herself and other Republican Senators (if she can persuade them) to not support or vote for Republican selected Justices to the Supreme Court who don’t support abortion. That is-if they want to be re-elected. Yet, Murkowski has a record of voting for a radical activist Democrat Justice appointed by Biden. Seems hypocritical?

Meanwhile, Mitch McConnell, who as with Biden, has questionable China ties, climbed out on a thin, dry-rotted tree ranch and made the decision to use Republican campaign funds, not to campaign against a Democrat but to campaign against an Alaskan Republican who dared to run against the entitled dynasty daughter, Lisa Murkowski.

An action inherently designed to divide Republicans in Alaska. It’s not the first time McConnell has exhibited questionable objectives. McConnell’s scheme could have damaged future Republican fund-raising efforts.

That does seem to indicate that they knew with ‘Ranked Choice Voting’ Murkowski could win by adding the inattentive Republican votes to the second choice ranked votes of Chesbro’s in advance. Interestingly, several members of Murkowski’s staff made the ‘push’ for ‘Ranked Choice Voting’ in Alaska. A northeast coast, Maine, I think, current voting fad.

That other darling dynasty daughter, Liz Cheney, is probably kicking herself and wishing her staff had ‘pushed’ for ‘Ranked Choice Voting’ in Wyoming.

A few years back when Palin was campaigning as vice-president and during her time as Alaska’s Governor, she was inundated with mudslinging narratives, and a continuous stream of lawsuits. The noise sounded like a deafening hatred and disrespect of women to many ears. And many Alaskan women have not forgotten it. And many never will. Palin would have made history as the first woman vice-president of the USA.

But Palin wasn’t qualified according to the radical Democrats. And we know why. Palin is NOT an entitled, dynasty daughter.

When Palin ran for vice president, these radical political strategies of the Democrats were not yet realized by most of the American public. Palin was redefined as a person by nonstop radical noise. She was taught to fail. Everything she did, no matter what it was-got labeled as wrong. Palin was CANCELED before our eyes. It would have been impossible for her to be effective in that artificially invented environment which was nothing more than managed confusion. Everyone, everyone at the time was like-what is happening?

Sarah Palin with her experience and insight, and Kelly Tshibaka with her determination to represent the will of Alaska’s people, lost the election before the polls were ever opened and before the people of Alaska ever cast a single vote.

When everything is politicized, everything is corrupted. And we can see it with our own eyes.

ALASKA DESERVES BETTER.

Mike Coons President, Concerned Conservatives of Alaska

Stop the No-fault divorce scam NOW: 1. We the People of Alaska respectfully demand an immediate videoed full and fair public criminal investigation and hearings on the no fault divorce scam perpetrated in the Alaska Court System, by ALL of the members of the Bar Association: Judges and Lawyers as accomplices in the fraud scam against We the People.

2. Everyone knows and is deemed to know the Law and Command: “Thou shalt not steal” = “Crime and Sin” especially Judges who took an Oath to support and defend our Constitutionsthe Law, and ignore-ance of the Law is NO excuse!

3. “A man’s home is his CASTLE free from ALL government invasion of the SANCTITY of a man’s Home and the privacy’s of life.” Ker v. California 374 U.S. 23 (1963), Ravin v. State, 537 P.2d 494

(1975).

4. A Divorce case is NOT “in Law” and a “ ‘private’ realm of family life which the state CANNOT enter” because grounded in no violation of law, and no fault.

5. There can be NO “legal right” to divorce because it’s not a proceeding “in Law.”

6. A spouse has NO superior “legal right” over the other spouse of “their” Castle, or “their” private property: “equal” protection of the Law.

7. The Home/House/Castle is specially protected see our Warrant clauses.

8. I respectfully demanded a meeting with Dunleavy on July 4th, 2021 yet to-date NO meeting, NO remedy, and containing mass caselaw that proves: “They Stole My Castle!

9. And those who received a Decree of Divorce from the Alaska Court System are still MARRIED! With caselaw properly calling it a “MONSTER” and an Offense against God!

10. The servants of the Law are engaged in fraud and Crime not Justice according to the Law? Now you know! David Colton!

Contributed by Sean Murphy

“Anything worth doing is worth doing right the first time”. My grandfather shared this sentiment with me often as I was growing up.

The Eaglexit board has adopted this attitude with our petition to detach and incorporate to the Local Boundary Commission. Our legal team has completed the draft petition, charter, and legal brief. The legal team presented to the board last month and has strongly recommended we do some homework, and work on four areas of the petition. This will mean more legal and consulting fees. We want to have a solid document that will gain us a favorable review by the Local Boundary Commission (LBC). With these in hand, we will be taking the petition and charter to the public.

Presenting the petition and the charter to the public will be a monumental step towards giving the citizens of Assembly District 2(AD2) a clear choice. Before

this happens, we continue to work with legal staff to make sure our petition will be successful. This may take a couple more months, but our board believes that the more thorough the petition and charter are the more successful we will be in gaining our independence.

“We are farther along in the process than we ever have been”. This was a comforting thought as we are working on paying our legal fees. Thanks to all your generous support we now have a product. Completing this petition and making it right will be at a cost. The board is committed to raising the necessary funds. We have always budgeted for 150-200K for our legal fees. So far, we have endured 60K in fees and are working on paying for them.

We have a matching funds fundraiser which recently started. An anonymous donor will match all donations received up to $5000. The QR code for the matching donations is at the bottom of this article. You can make your donation grow with this match.

We are reaching out to all members of our communities for fundraising ideas. We appreciate all the support we have been given. As we collect more data for our petition and legal brief, we are also interested in what developments our communities would like to see. New business, land development, and manufacturing could all be included in that development.

Happy Holidays from the Eaglexit Board! We thank you all for the support to selfgovernance of our communities. Our next newsletter will be in January. Enjoy the holidays and family!

We continue to meet on Tuesday evenings at 7pm. We have a new meeting place at Cozy Carpets warehouse. We are always looking for new board members and volunteers are always welcome. Please contact our Chair if interested.

This process of writing a petition, including a charter and legal brief. Turning the petition into the LBC for review and getting their approval of content will allow us to take a completed document to the public. Then we will start collecting signatures required by the

LBC. When signatures are completed, we will turn in this petition with signatures to the LBC for analysis and judgment. If they approve the petition the question will be taken to the Citizens of AD2 ONLY with vote in an election governed by the LBC.

Please consider supporting the creation of the next new borough in Alaska. As anticipated by our founders, when communities grow and are ready to become independent, it is right that they do so. It takes all of us! Alaska is ready for this!

Local Voices making Local Choices! Donate at www.Eaglexit.com

Thank you for joining us in this effort!

Sean Murphy, Chair

Sean Murphy came to Alaska in the Army. Met his wife and moved to Eagle River in 1999 with his family. He is a retired Anchorage School District educator and administrator. He is active with his community council and is the new chair of Eaglexit. He can be reached at Sean.Eaglexit@gmail.com or 907-6325307.

In the six years since Trump’s ascension to the White House, we’ve seen the establishment stoop to lower and lower depths in order to keep their power. Two failed impeachments. The Russia hoax. Riots. A non-credible election was aggressively declared to be the most credible in history.

And yet, so many otherwise-good people are still primed to see the dismal 2022 midterms as a failure of candidate selection, not a failure of election security. The words “election fraud” are suddenly being treated as radioactive, even on the right. How many times have you heard or seen the following takes since the election?

“Trump ruined the election and the Republican party! He just needs to shut up and go away!”

“We lost because too many of our candidates were still talking about 2020 and election fraud, while the voters are over it!”

“Dr. Oz was a carpetbagger from a state Pennsylvanians don’t like, so of course no one voted for him!”

It’s all manure. Literally all of it. People were and still are one hundred percent fed up with the left. With fair elections, the red wave would have crushed all. Without fair elections, we’ll never win anything important again, even with the best candidates in the world.

DeSantis in Florida banned ballot harvesting, banned mass-mail-in ballots, required voter ID, then set up election policing at the state level and told the federal goon squads to get stuffed –and the left got rocked in Florida.

Spiritually, chalking this election up to a candidate failure is a defeatist mindset.

It accepts the left’s preferred narrative: that the country is moving farther left over time, that this is inevitable, that

nothing can be done about it, that we just have to get used to a world where morals and freedom aren’t popular anymore and never will be again. Giving in to this demoralization is a sure path to giving up and letting the left have it all without challenge. If we accept this election as fair, then we cannot help but trick ourselves into defanging the right and becoming once more the party of Bush, McCain, and Romney.

The establishment would like very much for us to do this, of course. Since the first appearance of the Tea Party movement over a decade ago, their project has been to re-tame the American people. They want us back in that 1980s-2000s stupor where we just sort of bumbled along in a haze of national arrogance, war fury, debt-fueled false prosperity, and crisis-driven thinking. An economyoriented right wing, catering mostly to big business, is no problem for the establishment; it’s already an integral part of such. An economic right that’s serious about good jobs, living standards, and personal freedoms for the quoteunquote little people, and not just making stocks go up, is bad news for them. A social right that’s serious about rejecting leftist hedonism and making America good again, that’s worse.

Both of those right wings working together, as started to happen around the end of Trump’s term, is an extinctionlevel event for the establishment – so they made a full-court press to save themselves, and “fortified” the election rules to ensure they could never be seriously challenged again. If we give up on this issue, they will be able to keep doing this – taking away the people’s voice any time the people start saying things they don’t like – in perpetuity.

Politically, state and local governments have taken on a special significance. This doesn’t mean the federal level no longer has any – even the establishment has finite resources, so some good people might still squeak through – but state and local governments can use their rights and responsibilities as a powerful bulwark against the federal overreach that the establishment runs on, buying time and room. In order to use them as such, however, we cannot fall for the lie that the left won the last two elections on their own merits – otherwise we will never solve the real problem. Don’t be afraid to speak the five-letter F-word – fraud. Facing it head-on is the only way forward.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that each of us is a literal spirit son or daughter of God, created in His image. We call God our “Heavenly Father” because he is the father of our spirits. Before this life we lived with Him; He knew us and loved us… and we knew and loved Him. Because God is the Father of all humankind, we recognize each other as spiritual brothers and sisters. In our faith, the family is central to God’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children, and marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God.

Understanding those fundamental theological tenets, many have expressed surprise that the Church has supported the approach of the Respect for Marriage Act, as Amended by the Senate, which ensures federal government recognition for lawful same-sex marriages.

As a member and Communication Director of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints here in Alaska, I

write to thank Senator Murkowski and Senator Sullivan for their votes on final passage to ensure the balanced approach represented in the Respect for Marriage Act.

For some time now, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints has supported a “fairness for all” approach that seeks to both preserve the rights of our LGBTQ brothers and sisters while including religious freedom protections. For us, the foundation of fairness for all comes from the two great commandments taught by Jesus Christ: to love God and to love our neighbor.

We recognize that people in the LGBTQ community and people and institutions in the faith community—including many who are in both—have significant interests at stake in the treatment of same-sex marriage. The Respect for Marriage Act represents a balanced approach to addressing these interests. I am grateful for Senator Sullivan’s efforts to meet with faith leaders and work relentlessly to advocate for our concerns. Similarly, I thank Senator Murkowski

who has been a stalwart supporter of a balanced approach for some time.

At its core, the Respect for Marriage Act both recognizes same-sex marriage and protects religious rights. Of specific interest to us, the Respect for Marriage Act:

Affirms explicit Congressional support for traditional marriage supporters;

Directs courts that recognition of samesex marriage does not diminish current statutory religious liberties;

Protects the rights of religious and social services organizations from being required to host, participate in, or accommodate same-sex wedding ceremonies;

Protects such organizations from being sued for not accommodating or participating in same-sex wedding ceremonies; and

Prevents the federal government from discriminating or retaliating against

religious organizations that hold a traditional view of marriage.

While I suppose that neither side got everything it may have wanted, the Respect for Marriage Act balances religious liberties and LGBTQ rights without either side having to compromise core values. We believe in freedom for all, and we believe in fairness for all. In the effort to balance competing demands, we will work to resolve issues in a way that doesn’t extinguish another’s rights and invite others to do the same.

As we hold to our teachings in these important and often very personal issues, we support others in doing the same. We seek to heal rather than injure and to unify rather than divide. We hope to work together to preserve the principles and practices of religious freedom together with the rights of others, and to foster greater understanding along the way. I thank Senator Sullivan and Senator Murkowski for their thoughtful and courageous leadership in addressing what could otherwise remain a divisive issue.

Contributed by David Bartels

Contributed by Chuck Cambell

“We kept choosing candidates like Palin who are crazy and no one likes them! We needed to choose more electable candidates!”

Contributed by Sheldon Fisher

Liberty, Liberally

The Age Of Automation And Co-Creation

The above image was the result of the prompt “The Age of Automation and CoCreation”, the title of this essay. It was generated (as were the other images in this edition of Liberty, Liberally) by a free-todownload app called Wonder.

November 23, 2020

We face a crisis in our civic lives. We’ve the greatest access to education ever, not only with access to public education, but more so with our open source access to almost all information via the internet.

When we consider the roots of an education system at all, it’s predicated upon access to information. Early on in the history of education, books weren’t simply printed in mass quantities, but instead scholars and scribes would produce each volume. Books and scrolls have traditionally held great monetary value for this reason: they were rare, and labor intensive. It makes sense that education, then, was for rich men.

But now that financial barrier is all but dismantled, and our access to information is nearly limitless, at least in the Western World. Most of the world is connected, for the first time, in such a way that there is very little real cost in acquiring information, and becoming educated. But with information literally granted to us, it’s easy to take it for granted, and waste the opportunity.

Long ago, education was afforded to those few who were wealthy, or deemed worthy by the wealthy. The wealthiest were the powerful kings or rulers of the earth, and these worthy were the pious, righteous class of priests and religious leaders. These people literally ruled the world until the relatively recent rebellion of individual Liberty, a rebellion of the mind itself.

Those ancient god-kings were afforded an education that prepared them to be Sovereign; they had liberty while others knew little about such subjects.

In fact, it’s worth mentioning (for the umpteenth time) that the word ‘Liberty’ is rooted in the Latin root ‘liber’, meaning “book”. It is the root of related words, like Library, Liberty, Liberalism, Deliberation, and others.

The association of Liberty with education has always been, although our modern mores tend to miss this forest for the trees. While we have been freely given a ‘public’ education, the end result for the average citizen is that they are oblivious to the inner workings of their civic systems. They’re disconnected, ill-equipped to engage in the process of self-governance, leaving their elected representatives to run roughshod over Liberty.

An AI art app produced the image of Epictetus, while I supplied it only with the prompt language “Epictetus on education”.

The education that was available to the kings and priests of the old world was quite different from the modern public education that was established during the Industrial Revolution. We’ve been preparing people for jobs, and not for civic engagement.

Now, AI and automation are taking more and more of these jobs. With a proper education, an individual can navigate the systems of self-governance, but our public discourse has devolved to the point that it’s pointless.

By All Means a poem

2, 2021

Artificial Intelligence And Automation, too Who will serve It’s Kurzweil’s curve That’s constantly coming true

Robotic arms are perfect for The job they’re made to do They need no man Or human hand

To replace a fast food crew

Long ago in days of old Prometheus stole the flame And Humankind Were not left blind When nightfall nightly came For this transgression he was bound Consumed in feelings, pain Heracles Or Hercules Freed him from these chains

But we are bound by feelings still In this mortal coil We remain In hidden chains As we are made from soil

An AI art app yielded this lovely sketch using only the prompt language: “Walter Lippmann thinking”.

Consider, for a moment, how social media illustrates this assertion of mine.

On social media, where debased debate proliferates, the average person is not engaging their rational thought. Their thoughtless comments, written in haste, lack substance. They are unreasonable and dogmatic in their beliefs, and their ideas are not their own.

Clearly, this is not Liberty, but its opposite.

This is not an attack on teachers, so don’t get tribal. Teachers are not to blame for the failure.

There is no blame to be had, this is all to be expected as we outgrow this old system. That’s what history teaches us. In fact, the teaching of people during the dawn of the Industrial Age, preparing them for a new economy, when the average person was living an agrarian lifestyle, is a perfect metaphor for what I’m attempting to communicate now.

The people of the world who had to transition from their agrarian lifestyles into an industrial lifestyle probably felt quite similar to how we’re feeling today.

Those who are paying attention to the trends have been sounding the alarm for a long time. Ray Kurzweil wrote about the singularity in 2005.

His academic predictions have proven true.

Toil and trouble brings us forth And soon enough to foil

When life has failed Our names unhailed To labor we die loyal

But the flame of intellect is Burning bright within A titan there We’re unaware The demigod defends We have made a tool of light To view through darkened lens Technology Would set us free But what will we do then?

Augmented reality The internet of things Who’s to say In coming days What the future brings

Humankind is capable Of more than these machines By blood is bought Creative thought And wrought here by all means

All of these images were generated by an AI art app, using the accociated stanza of this poem as a prompt.

From the Journal of Joshua Fryfogle

November

By Joshua Fryfogle

An AI art app rendered this image with only the prompt language, “Ray Kurzweil futurist”. I don’t think it looks all that much like Kurzweil. The other generated graphic images of quoted individuals were more accurate.

“Our intuition about the future is linear. But the reality of information technology is exponential, and that makes a profound difference. If I take 30 steps linearly, I get to 30. If I take 30 steps exponentially, I get to a billion.”

- Ray Kurzweil

In 1999, I said that in about a decade we would see technologies such as self-driving cars and mobile phones that could answer your questions, and people criticized these predictions as unrealistic.”

- Ray Kurzweil

“So what used to fit in a building now fits in your pocket, what fits in your pocket now will fit inside a blood cell in 25 years.”

- Ray Kurzweil

Anyone can see now what Kurzweil could see then. Technology is multiplying exponentially. The ages I’ve referred to in this essay (Agrarian, Industrial, etc...) represents a technological triumph of some kind. Someone, somewhere, developed something that made something easier. “Well, ain’t that something!“ More and more we stand in amazement, at yet another piece of technology that makes another task simple. And this phenomenon is trending upward, all the time. This trend isn’t changing, but everything else...

Automation Age should be prepared to participate in their civic systems to a higher degree than we’ve ever done before.

In the agrarian age, people didn’t need a curricular education, but instead a practical education about how to survive. When survival became easier, because of mechanization and industry (creating newfound abundance of material goods) those people had to adapt. They had to adopt a system that was entirely foreign to their ancestors, lest they lose their livelihoods.

Free Will Is Self-Evident

The early liberal philosophers made use of the existence of human free will as literal ‘self’ evidence that “all men were created equal, and endowed by a Creator” with a creative spark of their own. Their philosophy turned the concept of ‘Divine Right Of Kings’ on it’s head.

It was a logical continuation of that prior philosophy of Authoritarianism, making each of us the authors of our own destiny, and with the use of grammar and rhetoric this novel premise was printed and published for all the world to see... well, at least for those who were literate.

Now, literacy is at an all time high, while civic engagement is limited to the bare minimum of voting for a lesser evil every couple of years. We’ve engaged in the democratic process, voting dutifully, but failed to avail ourselves of our constitutional, representative Republic. Really, our form of government severely limits the influence of that democratic voting process, through decentralization of power. This is all in keeping with the philosophy of Liberty.

We’ve never fully engaged our civic process as a nation, because we’ve all been too busy paying bills. However, as jobs are done better by bots, and general wealth is increased as a result, we must rise to the occasion. This is the destiny of our nation, and also our inheritance, to manifest the untapped potential of millions and billions of creative souls.

The Age of Automation and Artificial Intelligence will, like the industrial revolution before it, and agrarian age before that, allow society to labor less... but Liberty begins with the choice to invest an individual’s labor in the Self. Our creative spark will always be needed, while the execution of those ideas will be achieved in the material realm by machines, more and more.

Yeats On Technology a poem

By Joshua Fryfogle with AI Chatbot

Artificial intelligence (AI) cannot truly create as we do. Seeing how I initiated the poem, using my command prompt (below), this poem is my own intellectual property, legally. The AI is, according to legal theory as it stands today, only a tool that I made use of; I own this poem, but I didn’t write it.

We’re in new territory, People.

My command prompt to AI chatbot: Write a poem in the style of Yeats, but regarding modern technology

AI chatbot response:

In the digital age we live, Where screens are all we see, And screens within screens, ad infinitum, Technology consumes us whole.

We click and tap and swipe and scroll, In search of something more, A connection, a distraction, A brief escape from the mundane.

But as we plug in, we disconnect, From the world outside our screens, We lose touch with those around us, And our humanity is lost.

Yet still we crave the latest tech, The newest gadgets and apps, We sacrifice our time and peace, For the sake of progress.

But progress comes at a cost, As Yeats knew in his time, And only when we unplug, Can we find our true divine.

Nikola Tesla, famed inventor, bares a striking resemblance to this AI generated image that I prompted using simply the name “Nikola Tesla”.

The Rise of Rhetoric My reason for writing this essay is to make a simple suggestion regarding rhetoric.

Forget the negative connotation of the modern usage of the word ‘rhetoric’. The Sophists gave rhetoric a bad name, but that’s another essay. The civic process is mastered by those who have command of language, who can think it through and write it, too. The first amendment describes in a single sentence the free will of the individual confined only by their own conscience. It describes that conscientious contribution being made to society via thought, speech, publication, and gathering together to exchange our concerns.

Those who really want to actively BE free, by engaging the constitutional, representative process, simply must learn how.

Rhetoric is the ability to use grammar and logic (according to classical, prepublic school era education) to advance ideas from the individual. When used in good faith, it represents the will of that individual, their contribution to the public discourse, where the will of the People is worked out for all to see. Those individuals who are free, who have Liberty, and who would advance beyond the Industrial Age and into the

Liberty, Liberally

Rather than resist the inevitable, while losing our cultural sense of purpose as contributing members of society, we must proactively engage our creative capacities that have, for many of us, atrophied in our pursuit of the workaday world. It is our creativity that is needed, now more than ever, while our labor burden is needed less. Creativity is the free will of the individual made useful by education. Our free society, which allows for us to engage the process as much as we want, is waiting for us, the People, to finally self-govern.

We’ve gotten a surprising number of donations from community members at The People’s Paper and Make A Scene Magazine over the years, and recently it’s increased with the publication of Liberty, Liberally.

This image of Lincoln is instantly recognizable. Although generated by the AI, with the prompt “Abe Lincoln”, it is clear that the AI has a lot of source data on Lincoln, whereas the images of less known people, like Lippmann and Kurzweil (depicted above), are lesser approximations.

Slaves and serfs are kept primarily in the bondage of ignorance, kept in the dark, away from the light of liberty. The classical liberal arts empowered kings to know how govern. Slave masters don’t want slaves to even know HOW to read; a People who would govern themselves must edify themselves accordingly.

We’ve also received many requests for subscription services, requests to mail Liberty, Liberally, and our other publications to people near and far...

So we thought, why not make it easier to donate, and get something in return, too?

With a minimum $8 per month donation, you’ll receive a copy of each publication - and even special publications and other things that might fit in a Manila envelope!

Thanks so much for your words of encouragement and financial support over the years. We take your trust very seriously, as we steward content from you and your neighbors onto the printed page. It’s an American tradition which we are blessed to uphold.

From the Journal of Joshua Fryfogle

Contributed by David Vesper

As Alaskans made their voices heard in the voting booth this past November, Alaskan noncustodial parents joined them. Noncustodial parents are biological parents of children with limited or no parental rights with their children. As a result of their legal status with the state, noncustodial parents are often with limited time with their children, absorb exorbitant legal costs, and become socially ostracized.

Traditionally, noncustodial parents refused to participate in the democratic process for various reasons. Often, they are too busy to advocate for themselves and their children because they usually work multiple jobs to pay for legal and state costs in addition to their monthly budgetary constraints. Noncustodial parents lack the faith in all three branches of state government in listening to their concerns to make the Family Court system egalitarian. As a socially ostracized and financially strained constituency, noncustodial parents withdraw themselves into physical, emotional, and psychological isolation from the rest of the world with little to no hope of developing a meaningful and fulfilling relationship with their children.

Following years of legal battles and parental alienation from my children, I have been advocating for noncustodial parents and their children since 2016 in seeking shared parenting legislation. I regularly speak to legislative members and candidates around Alaska. Interactions with legislators have certainly exposed apathy and ignorance on the issue of Parental Rights in Child Custody by both Republicans and Democrats.

When I broached the topic with Republican Senator Cathy Giessel at a townhall event in 2017, she cut me off, told me to “talk to” REP Lance Pruitt, and walked away. REP Pruitt, to his credit, listened to the issue and said he would support shared parenting legislation. But he fell

short of active support in the legislature, even as the Minority Leader of his caucus, for fear of losing his seat in a “purple district.”

Noncustodial parents in their swing districts voted against them in 2020.

REP Pruitt lost to Democratic challenger Liz Snyder by 13 votes in District 27 and SEN Giessel lost both her post as Senate President and her seat in District N.

At another town hall event in House District 16 in 2018, Democratic House Representative Ivy Spohnholz was introduced to a noncustodial parent from her district as a “vulnerable parent.” Research and data placed this father in a vulnerable category of parents more likely to experience diminished legal rights as a parent due to his gender and single marital status. REP Spohnholz disagreed and dismissed this father’s concern by asserting he already had full legal rights as a parent.

Since the Tender Years Doctrine was gradually replaced by the Child’s Best Interest standard in the 1970’s, the principle of Maternal Preference has been the practice in every US state. On average, mothers retain sole or primary custody in 85% of all Child Custody cases despite state law that says “neither parent… is entitled to preference in the awarding of custody.” As an unwed father, REP Spohnholz’s constituent was not presumed to have any legal parental rights as an acknowledged putative parent and, therefore, he must petition the state for those same rights inherited by the mother when their daughter was born. Thus, making him a vulnerable parent.

As word reached other noncustodial parents in House District 16, parental rights groups reached out to 2020 Republican challenger Paul Bauer. He also dismissed the need for shared parenting legislation deeming any legislative action as “redundant.” So, many noncustodial parents threw their support behind

Libertarian Scott Kohlhaas. As a result, incumbent Ivy Spohnholz, with 53% of the vote, easily held off Paul Bauer (40.6%) and Scott Kohlhaas, who earned a respectable 6.3% as a third-party candidate. While Spohnholz maintained her 2018 election support, Paul Bauer was unable to make the contest competitive with a surging Kohlhaas siphoning away noncustodial parent votes.

Other legislators such as SEN Elvi GrayJackson, SEN Shelley Hughes, REP Harriet Drummond, REP Ken McCarty, and REP Kelly Merrick were just as dismissive. On my second in-person visit to REP Geran Tarr’s office in Anchorage for a follow-up, her staff even refused to let me in the common area of her office.

Former Senator Berta Gardner in 2017 consulted with Legislative Legal and responded by email by stating her opposition to shared parenting legislation as she believed current statutes to already be “egalitarian” despite the child custody disparity between mothers and fathers.

Her House counterpart, lawyer and Representative Andy Josephson, opposed HB 13 Shared Parenting bill because he wrongly believed the bill would “decrease judicial discretion” in Domestic Violence situations. He also dismissed the complaint made by many Alaskan noncustodial parents of false accusations of Domestic Violence to be used against them as leverage to gain Child Custody and Child Support.

As co-chairs of the House HSS Committee in 2020, REP Tiffany Zulkosky and REP Lyz Snyder held a public hearing on REP George Rauscher’s HB 13 Shared Parenting Bill. After my invited testimony was complete, the co-chairs opened the floor to “public testimony.” Oneby-one, they allowed a Fairbanks law firm and their associated DV groups to publicly oppose HB 13, place their comments on the record and run the clock out… leaving nearly a dozen noncusto-

dial parents and adult survivors of child parental alienation in the phone queue and unable to use their voice in support of the bill.

There are supporters of shared parenting legislation. House Republican Representative George Rauscher has introduced shared parenting legislation for the past two Legislative Sessions. He was joined by REP David Eastman and former Representative Sharon Jackson as co-sponsors. SEN Shower has vowed to take up the bills should they reach the Senate.

There are other legislators that either support shared parenting or have listened to the noncustodial parents in their district like Representatives DeLena Johnson, Ben Carpenter, Christopher Kurka, Sara Rasmussen, Laddie Shaw, and Senator’s Peter Micciche, Mia Costello, Lora Reinbold, and Josh Revak.

In return, many noncustodial parents in their districts either voted for them or gave what little money they had to their campaigns. As noncustodial parents came up empty after each Legislative Session over the past 6 years, they remain resilient and hopeful as they endure an oppressive and broken legal system.

Parental Rights in Education may have taken center stage on child advocacy issues, but Parental Rights in Child Custody is a completely different voting bloc. They consist of mostly noncustodial parents, their loved ones, and their adult children who are survivors of Parental Alienation. And, they deserve to have their voices heard as well. Politicians may not see them line up to the microphone at a townhall event like their fellow child advocates, but they deserve to be heard through legislative action. Believe me… as history has shown, they are turning into single issue voters, and they are beginning to impact Alaskan elections. Unlike many other voting blocs, noncustodial parents are not favoring any political party because no political party has accepted leadership on the basic human right of a parent-child relationship.

Contributed by Ray Metcalfe

A little known Supreme Court Decision Can Be A Game-Changer in Fixing Citizens United, and Combating Corruption

The Roberts Court gave us a path to fixing Citizens United, one state at a time.

By Ray Metcalfe, a two-term Alaska state legislator who was also the whistleblower that, in 2006, 2007, and 2008, led to the indictment and conviction of Veco owner Bill Allen and the six Alaska Legislators who were accepting his bribes. While the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision guaranteed corporations the right to exercise political speech through political spending but, according to the Roberts Court, Citizens United did not guarantee corporations the right to receive political favors in return.

In a 9-0 decision, the Court guaranteed every state the right to make it a crime for elected officials to reward contributors by voting to give them money from the State Treasury or a leg up on their competitors.

To take advantage of this 9-0 decision, states must first pass legislation that complies with the Court’s definition of public corruption and makes it a crime to repay one’s contributors with appropriations or unfair advantages over competitors.

The Supreme Court upheld a Nevada ethics statute requiring elected officials to recuse themselves from voting if they have a conflict. (Nevada Commission on Ethics v. Carrigan) Many Court watchers thought the Supreme Court would overturn the Nevada statute for being vague and too broad because it doesn’t define conflict; it leaves it to the trial court or jury to judge whether or not a conflict exists.

A Nevada court determined that an elected official had violated Nevada’s ethics statute when he proposed, and voted for, legislation that provided his contributor with a gaming license.

The court agreed that the elected official would not have done the same for someone who had done him no favors. The conviction was upheld unanimous-

ly by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court also upheld a federal statute known as the “Honest Services Act” when an Alaska Legislator appealed his conviction of violating it. The Honest Services Act” simply says that you are entitled to honest services from all of your public officials, including your US Senator. A more recent ruling raised the bar to require proof that something of value has been given to a public official, who, in exchange, used the powers of their office in the making of an official act, such as a vote or the execution of a contract for the benefit of the giver.

Bottom line, the Supreme Court signaled that they will uphold legislation enacted to prevent local, state and federal elected officials from repaying contributors through official acts that deliver valuable favors, and they have signaled that elected officials can be barred from voting when they have conflicts. We believe that the legislative language below meets both of the Court’s new standards.

Voters in 23 states can enact legislation by initiative. Large population states like California require several million dollars to collect enough signatures to put an issue on their ballot. In Small population states like Alaska, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota, it costs between one and two hundred thousand dollars. If enough of our elected officials are forced by their home states to end their practice of repaying contributors from state and federal treasuries, they will soon demand their colleagues end the practice as well.

It is my objective to raise one million dollars to put the legislation proposed below on the ballot in six western states. As proposed, it meets the Supreme Court’s narrowed definition of corruption, penalizes the elected, and those who bribe them; the severity of punishment if caught makes it self-enforcing, and its ten-year statute of limitations ensures that would-be perpetrators would have to consider that the prosecutors they bribe to look the other way today, may not be there to protect them ten years later.

The full draft of the proposed legislation would not be applicable to widely distributed appropriations appropriated for the general welfare of large segments of society.

The proposed legislation reads:

(a) It is a class C felony (1 to 5 years prison) for public officials to legislate or engage in the formal exercise of governmental power to regulate or otherwise create competitive advantages for, or direct appropriations to themselves, their business partners, their clients, their immediate family, persons who have given them gifts, their past, present, or sought-after employers, or their contributors, including contributors to independent expenditure campaigns intended to increase the probability of their election.

(b) It is a class A felony (5 to 20 years prison) for a public official to engage in an “official act,” resulting in, or attempting to result in, a quid pro quo intended to convey something of monetary value, for something of monetary value in return. In return includes but is not limited to gambling proceeds, past or future campaign contributions, past or future employment, gifts to one’s self or family members.

(c) It is a class A felony to receive an appropriation or secure a competitive advantage over competition for profit through regulation or statute by inducing public officials to violate (a) or (b) of this section.

(d) Prohibited conflicts, defined in (a) of this section, and official acts by public officials, defined in (b) of this section, shall be narrowly construed. This act is not applicable to contributions affecting votes on public policy unless that public policy also has a narrowly focused and substantial monetary impact on a select few. It is applicable to transactions with narrowly focused monetary consequences. Actions affecting legislation and/or regulations which similarly impact a broad spectrum of the population, and have relatively minor fiscal impacts incidental only to implementation, are exempt. Members of deliberative bodies may absolve themselves of the kinds of conflicts defined in (a) of this section by entering their conflict

into the record and refraining from voting. Conflicted members of deliberative bodies may participate in the debate of an issue in which they are conflicted if their conflict is announced and they refrain from voting on the issue.

(e) For purposes of governing limitations of actions, in a prosecution under this act, the statute of limitations begins to run with the last act associated with the violation and continues for ten years.

(f) The provisions of this Act are independent and severable. If any portion is found to be unconstitutional, the remaining portions remain enforceable.

Dark money will no longer be dark if prosecutors can serve the source with a subpoena. What corporation would spend a dime to help a candidate if, once elected, the candidate would be barred by conflict from helping them access the public purse?

Members of Congress are exempt from state ethics and state campaign contribution limits. They are not exempt from the criminal statutes of their home state. That is one of the many reasons the above is proposed as a criminal statute rather than an ethics statute. If a Congressman uses elective office to provide a competitive advantage to a contributing constituent, to the detriment of a non-contributing constituent, could they be prosecuted in their home state? While I believe they could, it’s probably a question for the Supreme Court, but who would want to be the first to test it?

If the proposal above gains traction, I believe it will catch fire with voters and sweep the nation. If it does, it will level the playing field and change America.

https://bribestop.us/ or google “the bribery stops here”

Also see: Citizens for Ethical Government, Inc. www citizens4ethics.com

Ray Metcalfe PO Box 231007

Anchorage Alaska, 99523

Ray@RayMetcalfe.com Text or voice 907-250-5442

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Alaskans only pay federal, not state, income taxes—but by one important measure, their income tax burdens are higher than the combined federal-state burdens in many states. The Alaska income tax premium cannot be ignored as state policymakers contemplate implementing a state-level tax.

Living in Alaska is not cheap. Alaskans must earn 30 percent more than residents of other states just to break even on purchasing power. Fortunately, Alaska salaries partially—not wholly— reflect this cost premium. The flip side is that the federal income tax bite is larger even if the income stretches no further.

Alaska’s median household income of $77,790 is the equivalent of only $59,885 nationally and comes with an additional $4,888 in federal income and payroll tax liability for a married couple ($6,679 for a single filer). A higher cost of living is not a tax, but it does carry tax implications because more federally taxable income is necessary to purchase the same lifestyle that lower wages could purchase elsewhere.

Even at a conservative estimate, married couples face an additional 5 to 6 percent income tax burden because of the state’s high cost of living—the equivalent of what a state income tax would cost in many states. Under scenarios in which most income is consumed and relatively little is saved or invested (there’s no investment premium in Alaska, just a consumption premium), the extra tax burden can run several points higher than that.

Meaning that if Alaska ever reimposed its own individual income tax, it would

Locals

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TAXI

Contributed By Doug Ferguson

It was in October of 1964. I was a 24 year old campaign volunteer and walked up the steps to a porch in Endicott, NY and knocked on the door. An irritated looking middle-aged man answered and said, “What do you want?” I said, “I am here to ask you to support the election of Barry Goldwater for President of the United States!”

He opened the door and said, “Get off of my porch, you s—of-a-b---ch before I punch you in the nose!” So went one of my first introductions to how some people reacted to one of my early political heroes!

Political discussions were no stranger to me growing up and later as a college student with regular dinner table discussions that my parents had and sometimes with other relatives. My young adult life had started with an interest in history and, of course, politics.

This continued when I was a student at Case Institute of Technology (now part of Case University) in Cleveland, Ohio in the late 1950’s. There, as with many colleges in that era, every four years a “Mock Presidential Nominating Convention” was held on campus by the students to both celebrate and educate about the upcoming presidential election.

Thus it wasn’t unusual that when I went to work and live in Upstate New York after college I got involved with politics. I joined the Republican Party in our area and first got involved in the first “TV” presidential campaign between Nixon and Kennedy and then, of course, four years later with the Goldwater–Johnson campaign.

I, like many, was attracted to Goldwater back then for his forthright and outspoken opposition to what he saw as an increasingly growing and powerful central government that threatened the independence of our state govern-

be the financial equivalent of paying two state income taxes in many other states. That’s a lot to ask of Alaska workers.

Were Alaska to adopt an income tax, it would be bucking a nationwide trend of reducing tax burdens on income. In the past two years, 21 states have cut individual income tax rates, while only New York and the District of Columbia have raised them. An Alaska income tax would not only cut more deeply into take-home pay than most state income taxes, but it would also come at a time when most states are making their income taxes more competitive.

Here’s another Alaska distinctive: 99 percent of all businesses are what are known as pass-through businesses, meaning that they would be subject to the individual income tax if one were imposed. That’s a larger share of businesses than in the Lower 48, and those businesses already face unusually high costs, including under the federal income tax.

An Alaska income tax would have a twofold effect on small businesses: first, it would increase the direct cost of doing business in the state by imposing a new tax on small business owners’ income, and second, it would increase labor costs, since the income tax also falls on labor and this burden would be borne, to varying degrees based on employment elasticities, by both employers and employees. In a state that already has a federal income tax premium baked in, that’s a significant burden to bear.

Over the past decade, states (as a class) that forgo income taxes have seen their populations grow at twice the national rate. The ongoing migration from high-

ments and also our individual freedoms. He also wanted a strong national defense as a deterrent to the growing communist threat. He was one of the few politicians even discussing these issues at the time.

He had been a popular five term senator from Arizona and in 1963 was emerging as the nation’s leading conservative politician to get the Republican nomination to run for president in 1964 against President Kennedy’s re-election. Goldwater was devastated when those plans were cut short by Kennedy’s assassination in late 1963, and he mourned the passing profoundly.

From an interview on PBS with Robert McNeil years later:

“Jack Kennedy and I had been friends for a long time. I actually had a few telephone conversations with him throughout the summer and early autumn of 1963. We eventually developed a debate format that would have completely altered how Americans choose their president. Unfortunately, the President died later on that fall. Afterward, his successor – Lyndon Johnson – wanted no part of it.”

He did win the Republican nomination in 1964, setting up a showdown with Johnson. The campaign was one of the nastiest ever held up to that time. Johnson’s strategy was to paint Goldwater as fanatical warmonger who would get us into a nuclear war if elected.

The most damning and personally offensive ad to Goldwater showed a young girl pulling petals from a flower as a voice counted down from ten to one. At the end, the girl’s face was frozen as images of nuclear war played in the background. The voice implied Barry would launch a nuclear attack if elected. This marked the beginnings of today’s routine negative television ads.

As a result of this and many other

to low-tax states, and particularly states with low-income taxes, is likely to accelerate with the growing viability of telework post-pandemic. Increasingly, many people will be able to live wherever they wish. Those who are highly sensitive to taxes will find it easier than ever to relocate to jurisdictions with lower tax burdens, regardless of where their employer is located. And employers themselves will have more location flexibility as geography becomes less of a constraint on their workforces.

This may mean that back-office employees of Alaska-based companies are no longer bound to Alaska and could leave if their overall cost of living—which would take both taxes and the Permanent Fund Dividend into account—was lower elsewhere. It could also mean, more optimistically, that people drawn to Alaska’s natural beauty could move to the state, either full-time or for part of the year, despite working for an employer located elsewhere.

We know that, compared to consumption taxes, income taxes are more economically harmful. They increase outmigration and reduce in-state employment mobility, investment, and the size of the state’s economy. That’s a lot of downside for a tax that only modestly moves the needle on revenues.

In 1980, the last year Alaska’s income tax was in operation, it generated $100.5 million with a top rate of a now-astonishing 14.5 percent. Adjusting collections for inflation, an income tax with similar parameters would only have increased state revenue by 1 percent in FY 2021 because of how much the state generates from oil and investment income.

Let that sink in: Alaska could adopt the nation’s highest income rate and its revenues would have only been 1 percent higher than they were without it. Is the cost to taxpayers and the state’s economy worth it?

personal attacks in the media, Goldwater lost in a landslide. In a turnabout, however, having made his reputation as someone who could forthrightly frame issues in congress from a patriotic and conservative/libertarian point of view, he himself was re-elected to the senate in Arizona in 1968 in a landslide! He was critical to establishing the climate that elected Ronald Regan 16 years later. Regan was often quoted as saying Goldwater was one of his role models.

Regardless of his politics, his accomplishments during his long public and military career are impressive. One of the best summaries of his career and character are recorded in an eulogy in the 1998 Washington Post by Senator John McCain, who replaced him from Arizona. It’s worth a read here:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wpsrv/politics/daily/may98/apprec30.htm

The following is one of his little known military exploits and is an example of his dedication to his country. Prior to WWII he was a gunnery training officer. After Pearl Harbor, he tried to get transferred to the Air Force and was rejected due to age. Later in 1943 he was accepted as a pilot in the Air Transport Command where he flew aircraft to China for Allied Forces over the very dangerous “Hump Route” from India where many planes and pilots were lost.

As my hero, and a former “Ham” myself, it also increased my admiration that he was an avid amateur radio buff for his whole life and made many contributions to the hobby as a senator!

He was a role model for me as a young professional in many ways and still is. He showed that being honest, fair and rational in your discussions with those with whom you disagree, you can build personal trust and friendships upon which actual solutions to real problems can be initiated.

A great lesson for life in our times from a Great American.

Contributed by Jared Walczak, Tax Foundation

What Does Neurological Tension Mean for Your Baby?

Cord tension is an early indicator of dysfunction within their nervous system.

Nervous system dysfunction in the baby shows up as torticollis, inability to nurse on both sides, colic, reflux, poor feeding, poor pooping, and poor sleeping. We use gentle and

safe adjustments to help remove cord tension and neurological dysfunction. This can help balance the nervous system and reduce symptoms.

Parents report a decrease in all of the above listed symptoms under regular chiropractic care.

PARENTING HACK-> Lift both feet together up over the head. If the feet stop due to tension or the baby is

uncomfortable, this lets us know that there’s tension on the spinal cord.

Well-adjusted baby’s feet will easily and painlessly go up above their head. It’s a simple and very effective way to check for neurological tension in a baby. For more information go to Beewellak.com

Contributed by Jason Goldsmith

It is the time of year marked for the season of giving, and with the times we are living in it is important for us all to remain tolerant and forgiving as well.

As we look about ourselves in today’s climate of divisiveness it is easy for us to forget the importance of this holiday season. Regardless of your personal beliefs, this season’s holidays are given to us to remember those who have banded together for common causes of freedom, the acknowledgement of achievements and the recognition of sacrifice.

It is easy to look about ourselves and think about how we lack the money or resources to participate in the holiday or think there is nothing worth celebrating. We have forgotten the face of our forebears and the sacrifices they made for us to be here today and we are selling ourselves short. Look about you and ask yourself what grudges you might release by showing forgiveness. This shall lighten your burdens. Look about to see who you know that might need a kind word of support. This shall raise and inspire others.

It costs nothing for us to share kind words. If possible, spend a little of your

time to check in on those you know who are alone this season. You may be saving someone from misery or worse.

For many of us the season represents darkness, loneliness and suffering. We may feel the desire to isolate ourselves or even go so far as to mock others. Depression and anxiety during the holiday season are not unusual and kind words, deeds and hands reaching out in friendship can have a lasting effect on those who might feel forgotten, dismissed or hated.

Many of us might feel that forgiving others and being kind are tools of those who are weak or show we are giving in somehow. However, almost every study made on the subject, shows it to

lessen stress. You are not excusing or forgetting the poor actions and words of others in the forgiveness…you are removing the control of your emotions from another and giving yourself peace.

Season’s greetings to all from the staff here at HOW! For more tips and warning signs, feel free to contact us. Here at HOW, we would like to make ourselves available to you in answering some of your questions and concerns.

Please contact us, and we will reply in the next edition, or directly, while keeping you anonymous. We look forward to hearing from you.

hatsofwisdom.com instagram.com/hats_of_wisdom907

you are not.

Contributed by Jeff Winke

Cold weather can be dangerous to work in, play in, or just survive in. I know that what someone considers cold can differ where they live. Cold in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska is different from Key West, Florida. For most Alaskans, there is a respect for being in cold air temperatures and the accompanying even colder wind-chill. The risks are too great.

Those who must work outside are mindful of weather extremes and usually don’t work if they can get away with it during those brutal stretches or limit the amount of time spent out in the elements. Sometimes a project needs to be furthered or completed in cold weather.

If you must be outside in extreme weather, here are five tips, which we likely already know, but can never be reminded too much.

Beware of Slips and Falls – Slippery ice patches can loom where least expected. Hands out for balance, walk slowly and flat-footed with weight distributed over your feet. Be one with your inner penguin.

Wear Proper Clothing – Wear multiple layers to stay warm and dry, as well as waterproof shoes or boots with slipresistant treads. It’s better to remove your insulated gloves and unzip a goose-down jacket when you are warm, then to regret not having them when

When Driving, Drive Defensively – It’s not a race, so don’t drive to win…drive to stay on the road and out of accidents. In wintery weather, there is always the hot dog and the absentee driver – watch for them and stay out of their way and decide if you want to be nice and call 9-1-1 or yank them out when you see them later crash off the side of the road.

Drink Plenty of Liquids – Water and sport drinks are best. Each time you see your breath in the cold you’re watching water leave your body. Hot drinks will keep you warm, but chug good oldfashioned water every chance you can.

Optimize and Conserve Your Energy –The colder it is outside the more energy you burn to stay warm. Add wind and snow, and the body uses more energy

and loses heat faster. Take breaks in warm, dry locations to restore yourself for the next exposure to the cold. Establish the buddy system for working outside. That way you can monitor each other for signs of fatigue, frostbite, and hypothermia.

Winter can be wonderful for recreation, sports, or just an invigorating walk outside. Nothing is better than making snow angels, building snowmen, or writing your name with yellow ink (sorry, for the crass guy thing, I couldn’t resist!).

Unfortunately, we can’t always live in a magical snow globe, so when working or playing outside we need to prepare for hazards that can occur. Surviving in cold weather requires extra thought, preparation, and awareness to prevent accidents, illness and injury.

Contributed by Daniel N. Russell

Humans need touch and we, in the United States, touch and hug each other less than just about any other culture, especially during this pandemic. I believe, this lack of human touch causes people to reach for more and more over-the-counter medications to feel good, and to demand more and more medications and pain-killers from doctors, even when doctors advise against it. Teresa Carr in Consumer Reports (9/3/2017) writes, “Americans take more pills today than at any other time ... and far more than people in any other country.” And “Almost 1.3 million people went to U.S. emergency rooms due to adverse drug effects in 2014”, and she reports, “$200 billion per year is spent in the U.S. on unnecessary and improper use of medication, for drugs themselves and related medical costs, according to market research firm, IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics”

[See: https://www.consumerreports. org/prescription-drugs/too-manymeds-americas-love-affair-with-prescription-medication/#nation ].

“The health of Americans is far worse than the health of people in other countries despite the fact that we spend more money on health care,” says Steven H. Woolf, MD, MPH, author of a comprehensive report by National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, which

looked at multiple diseases, injuries, and behaviors across the entire life-span among 17 nations

[See: https://www.webmd.com/a-toz-guides/news/20130104/americanssicker-other-nations ].

One reason, I believe, people in United States take more medications, spend more money, but are sicker and require more doctorin’ than any other people in the World is that they have been taught to place their full faith in the pharmaceutical and medical industrial complex, rather than in the healing touch of each other and in God and in our God-given immune system. In WebMD (4/19/2021)

Alexandra Benisek reports, “Pleasant touch ... releases a hormone called oxytocin. This makes you feel good and firms up emotional and social bonds, while lowering anxiety and fear”, and “helps regulate sleep, digestion, builds your immune system”, and “when you don’t get enough physical touch, you can become stressed, anxious, or depressed ... which increases your chance of infection”

[See: https://www.webmd.com/balance/touch-starvation ].

So, two of the reasons people have been dying of COVID-19, in my opinion, is that too many pharmaceuticals interfere with their immune response, and because many patients are over-

come by fear, as soon as they test positive, because they are aware that there is no cure, and because are, then, put into isolation with only their fear for company. Their overwhelming fear puts them in a fight-or-flight response mode, which stops their immune systems, already weakened by pharmaceuticals, from working to destroy viruses, as Alexandra Benisek explains, above.

Faith, on the other hand, prevents fear and, thus, allows our immune system to work efficiently. But, 90% faith leaves a door open for fear to set in and stop our immune system from working. So, one’s faith must be 100%!

I have founded an energy touch therapy ministry to enhance faith by providing touch and prayer, free, without charge. I also apply hot, super-saturated, salt

solution, I anoint the body with oils, and I ask patients to actively help me center their Qi at their hara with conscious intent. Certainly, people should consult doctors and take their best advice. Increasing one’s faith with touch, I believe, enhances recovery from injury, and illness, in general, and even from surgery, under care of doctors, too.

The author may be contacted at (907) 444-5647 and at email: dnrussellms@ yahoo.com for energy consultation, touch therapy, and energy centering appointments.

The author, Daniel N. Russell, has earned a master of science degree in biophysics, and is ordained, certified, and founder of Russell Energy Consulting, a new energy touch therapy ministry in Anchorage, Alaska.

Contributed by Dr. Josh BeeWell Chiropractic

PETS & ANIMALS

Contributed by Nancy Wade

You don’t own a pair of binoculars, and you choose to not hang bird feeders, so how can you enjoy birds in the winter?

Just watch the clever, rambunctious, noisy, acrobatic jet black Common Ravens who share our neighborhoods.

Until you spend a little time watching them, you cannot appreciate how fascinating these birds are. Among all the birds that spend the winter with us, the raven is arguably the best adapted to humans and their developments.

Last winter I watched a group of ravens sliding down a hill. Each bird would lie down on top of the snowy slope and roll down. Upon reaching the bottom it would shake off and fly back to the top. Several birds at a time were engaging in this obvious play. I have watched young ravens learning to fly, engaging in a game of follow the leader, all the while being coached by parents out of sight, but not out of earshot. Young birds have

been observed gathering sticks, dropping them while in flight, then diving down to catch them in mid-air.

Ravens are the largest member of the Corvid family, which also includes crows, jays and magpies. Corvids are recognized as some of the most intelligent birds. Ravens have been known to mimic other birds, and even human sounds. They have one of the most varied repertoires of natural sounds of any bird, including croaks, clacks, grunts, clicks, caws and whistles. Researchers working with ravens have found that they recognize individual humans, can open doors and use reasoning to solve problems. Their intellect and creativity have caused problems for humans when the birds open tents and steal the contents, peck at airplane wings, and tear at building insulation.

There are 2 species of ravens in North America; the Common Raven is found in most of the United States and Canada, and the Chihuahuan Raven in southern deserts. Both are large black birds with heavy serrated bills and wedge-shaped tails. When compared side by side, the Chihuahuan Raven is slightly smaller and may sport a tuft of white feathering at the neck. In areas where ravens and crows coexist, compare the raven as noticeably larger, with a wedge-shaped tail (crows’ tails are square) and a more varied vocal repertoire (crows generally just caw).

Ravens are found throughout all of Alaska, from damp coastal areas to the cold dry interior. They have even been seen at the top of Mt. McKinley. They are the only bird regularly seen in winter around inhabited areas along the northern coast.

It is easy to watch these interesting birds and appreciate their intelligence. Notice how they communicate to each other, repeating sounds. When two ravens meet on a perch they will often touch bills in greeting. In flight they are extremely agile, frequently flying upside down and performing aerial displays with other ravens. In town, notice how they navigate through parking lots and around other human disturbances. Watch their distinctive skip-hop and strutting walk, interspersed with short agile flights.

Ravens have uniquely adapted to living among humans, possibly more so than any other wild bird. One of the easiest places to see large numbers of Ravens is at the local dump or garbage containers. They are known for their relationship to humans, following wagons, hunting parties and settlements looking for an easy meal. Hunters report that ravens will respond to a gunshot, and once food is found will loudly call to inform all the locals of the feast. Other equally loud sounds are ignored if there is no promise of dinner.

They can and will eat almost anything: berries, carrion, mice, insects, and of course, our garbage. In the spring and summer, Ravens will prey on eggs and chicks when the opportunity presents

itself. In some areas the abundance of Ravens has caused the reduction in numbers of some threatened species, where the eggs and young are vulnerable.

Ravens roost in the hills for the night, in huge groups filling trees and rock bluffs. At dawn they fly down to the populated areas for their daily feast and play time. Notice how they seem to head directly for garbage bins behind stores, fast food parking lots and the perches above these favorite grazing grounds. Mid to late afternoon they will once more head to the hills for the night.

Ravens have a place in history and literature, being the nemesis bird of Edgar Allen Poe’s poem, The Raven. Legend has it that if the resident ravens at the Tower of London ever depart, the British Empire will fall. Thus, the birds are protected and fed there. Natives of the Pacific Northwest consider the Raven to be a trickster, and yet he is revered as a clan symbol.

In the dark and snowy winter, Common Ravens are one of the bright spots, if you take the time to enjoy them.

The Alaska WildBird Rehabilitation Center participates in the rescue and rehabilitation of up to 25 Ravens a year. If you find any injured birds, please contact us at 907-892-2927. Due to the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, we are temporarily unable to care for injured birds on site but can assist with information on where they can go for treatment. www.akwildbird.org

Contributed by Jeff Winke

The other day, I was talking with a guy who I just met, who seems likable (and could be added to my collection of friends). We were exchanging information to get to know each other better...

Working? Married? Children? All the typical cordial stuff to better acquaint each other. And then he asked, “Do you have any pets?”

I must have bristled when I responded, “We have two cats that we consider our companions” in a tone that was a bit brisk.

He stepped back a bit and I thought, where did that come from? I said, “Where did that come from—Sorry man, that came across pretty harsh.” We talked further until things smoothed

out. My unconscious reaction to calling my companions ‘pets’ reveals something that all pet owners know, and those that don’t have a dog, cat, bird, or animal in their lives, have a difficult time understanding — our pets are more than pets.

They are true companions. They are always there for us, no matter how happy or blue we might be. They can be our best friend or feel like our children.

My thinking as of late has been that referring to them as pets is a bit demeaning. My cats, and the dogs I grew up with, have personalities that make them each distinct. They are individuals.

Yeah, I know, I may be talking crazy and I have friends who will agree, but somehow referring to these companions as

pets, to my way of thinking, puts them in the same category as a Pet Rock you might display on a shelf. Cats, dogs, and other animals have personality traits in much the same way humans do, says a University of Texas at Austin psychologist who is working toward developing a new field in animal personality.

Dr. Samuel D. Gosling has said “there is no unified body of research on animal personality. Some of the early pioneers of psychology studied personality in animals, and then the subject disappeared. I suspect that psychologists thought it didn’t sound very scientific. Scientists have been reluctant to ascribe personality traits, emotions and thoughts to animals, even though they readily accept that the anatomy and physiology of humans is similar to animals.”

Gosling went on to say, “Darwin himself argued that emotions exist in nonhuman animals, and his evolutionary theory suggests that behavioral traits, including personality, can evolve in just the same way as fins, wings and arms. We should realize that studying the personality of animals could help us understand a lot about human personality.”

So, I guess what I want to say is that it’s OK to think of your animal companions as being more than pet rocks. They do exude personalities and do exhibit fondness for you that’s as real as a close relative or friend.

Go ahead and give them a hug and a kiss. They’ll appreciate it and you’ll feel better too.

PETS & ANIMALS

Contributed by Angie Lewis

Sir Duke has a cancerous growth on his back leg. The surgery is very expensive, but his chance of survival is quite good. Alaska Animal Advocates has decided to help Sir Duke’s human family to raise funds. We have never seen a more devoted family – they are willing to do everything to help their dog.

This compels us to do what we can

to raise cash. Any money raised will automatically be applied directly to Tier One, the vet clinic that is working with the family.

Please call Angie at Alaska Animal Advocates at (907) 841-3173.

If you can think of any other way in which you can help, please call. Think outside the box.

Thank you, Angie

If there is anything to a name, this name nails it. I am all that and so much more! I am a fluffy black boy and a couple of years old. I am all about loves, cuddles, snuggles, pets, purrs, kisses. In addition to affection, I have many other skills. I get along with most any cat who is nice to me. I lived with five other cats in a happy, peaceful home and it was great...until my mom lost her home.

I am an excellent hunter and can do a pretty good job of keeping any invad-

ing rodents at bay. I like to go outside, but please don’t make me stay out. If my people are in the house, I would like to be there for all the cuddling, petting, and just plain hanging out with you. I am a wonderful / amazing boy.

I will do well in a home with a happy family that could include mid-age kind children, a friendly cat, and maybe even a gentle dog. I am so ready to have a family again, and hopefully for a long time.

To meet me, please call or text 907980-8898.

I will definitely need a buddy in my new home.

I am the sweetest little boy. It doesn’t matter that I was born outside and lived part of my kittenhood in the ‘wild’, I was settled into a home right away. My mom was friendly with people, remembering better times when she too had a home, and she told me that being rescued was a good thing.

I am a handsome little teenage boy about 9 months old. I am all soft and pretty and ready to be some happy family’s best boy. I was raised with a brother and sister and I love other kitties. Playtime is oodles of fun and

I’m a fan of pets and cuddles too. I love to get loving attention from my people and am sure to be the light of someone’s life. I hope to have a perfect person to be my beloved one. Come summer, I will need a chance to enjoy good weather fun in the yard with my family. I so want to race across the warm grass and hunt bugs in the bushes. For now, I am happy playing in a cozy home with loving hands to hold me and kitty friends to romp with.

To meet me, please call or text 907980-8898.

Burning candles can be a concern this time of year: Put candles in areas that are not accessible to your pets. Do not leave the house with candles lit at any time. There are battery operated candles that can be used with safety in mind.

Celebrating the holidays can be such a wonderful experience for many of us. The smells, foods, decorations and gifts make this time of year very enjoyable.

Being surrounded by our pets is a true joy this time of year. However, the holiday season can be very dangerous for your pet if you are not cautious.

Let’s start with the Christmas tree: If you use a real tree, make sure the water in the stand is covered so that your pet cannot drink it. The pine sap is not safe for ingestion.

Also, it is best to turn off the lights on your tree when you are not at home. Pets might chew on the cords and get electrocuted. Pets can get tangled up in the cords as well. Do not use tinsel,

ribbon, or other glittery items as these can be very enticing to pets, particularly cats. Decorating the bottom of your tree with ornaments made of wood or plastic, that won’t break, can prevent intestinal blockages

Gifts that include human food can present problems for your pets as well; Chocolate, raisins, onions, coffee, tea and alcohol are delicious to us humans, but are quite dangerous for animals. Foods such as yams, sweet potatoes and canned pumpkins (minus spices) are safe for your pets to eat.

Although plants add to the ambiance of our holiday celebrations, there are more than 700 plants that are toxic to pets: Poinsettias, mistletoe are dangerous to animals. So, keep these plants out of reach of your four-legged companions, or buy artificial ones.

So, if you are feeling as though there are too many restrictions on your holiday experiences, just imagine this time of year, or any time of year, without your faithful companion at your side. This will make the decision to be safe an easy one.

Enjoy the holidays with your animal friends!

Contributed by Angie Lewis

COMMUNITY

Reading is somewhat of a solitary activity. Somewhat.

We read to ourselves. Reading is also a social activity. We read to others. Lucky the child who has a parent, brother, or sister to read to him or her.

Books contain stories. We speculate about the characters, their intent, as well as the plot and setting and endings. Stories about books also abound. We’re often compelled to talk about how we acquired a specific book, as well as our response to it.

I along with several other Bright Light Book Project volunteers, salvage, clean, sort, and distribute books on a daily basis. Every volunteer has a task they most like to do. Me, I do all the project-related tasks, but I most enjoy

distribution.

Mat-Su Borough Building, the Pioneer Home, Car Quest, The Sunrise Grill, and lastly, the Koslosky Building. I was standing beside our newest bookcase, the one that now holds crafts, cooking, gardening, and Alaskana books. Head Salvager Bill Schmidtkunz had done the early morning distribution and I was doing the late afternoon distribution.

On this particular day, clusters of readers were checking out the books in all three bookcases. I waited until two people were left, a father and his son, then sidled up next to the father. I didn’t say anything; rather, I put a gardening book on the topmost shelf of the new bookcase.

“You put these books here?” the man asked. I nodded. He was short, stocky, had bushy brown eyebrows that looked like caterpillars.

“Oh, all right,” the father said.

The boy held the book close to his chest as his father resumed browsing.

“Just wait here,” I said to the boy. The father and son continued to browse as I raced out of the building, in the direction of my book-filled car. I lifted the rear hatch and pulled forth what I’d been looking for.

I raced back to the waiting pair and handed the boy what I held in my hands, a world atlas. This was no ordinary copy. It was thick, like a city phone book, and twice as large. The cover featured a photo of the planet earth, taken from a considerable distance.

“This book is brand new!” I exclaimed.

The boy handed the home repair book to his father and took the book out of my outstretched hands.

“It’s heavy,” I said.

“Very heavy,” he said.

Distributing is when I’m most apt to make connections with other readers. In other words, I’m waiting for the shared ‘ahh haa’ moment.

I remain quiet as patrons browse the shelves. After a bit, I move in and ask them if there’s anything in particular that they’re looking for? Some say yes, some say no, some say nothing in particular.

My question often sparks further conversation. This was the case late one Friday afternoon. I’d just finishing distributing books locally; my stops had included the Bugge Park Library, The Department of Motor Vehicles, the

The man told me that his brother was building an airplane, a Piper Cub, and so he was wanting to learn to fly. He was holding three pilot manuals. “These books will come in handy,” he added.

I looked over at the man’s son, who was examining the books in the second bookcase, which is the one containing memoirs, history, and how to books. Smiling, the child, who I estimated to be about 12 years old, pulled forth a book on home repair.

“You don’t need that book!” his father said.

“Yes I do!” the son replied.

“If you want that book, take it,” I said. “Thank you,” the boy said.

“Are you sure you want this book?” the boy’s father asked.

“Yes.”

“And the home repair book?”

“He can have them both. There’s no limit on the number of books you can take with you,” I said.

The father and the son then headed in the direction of the Vagabond Blues café. I finished distributing, walked over to the doorway, then peered inside the near empty café. What I saw made me laugh. The pair were seated, and their finds were piled on the table in between them. The father was thumbing through the home repair book and the son was flipping through a pilot manual.

Contributed by Alys Culhane

You’ve seen me: I’m the one who hovers by the three bookcases in the Koslosky Center Building lobby, books in hand, poised to get them onto one of the three hallway shelves.