Joe Miller Endorses Christopher Kurka in Contested District 7 Valley House Race

/0 Comments/in , /by

Former Republican US Senate Nominee Joe Miller has decided to jump into the District 7 State House race with both feet, endorsing Christopher Kurka as the clear conservative choice for Wasilla.

In January, Representative Colleen Sullivan-Leonard announced that she would not seek re-election to the Alaska State House seat in District 7, clearing the way for an open primary.

While three candidates have filed to replace Sullivan-Leonard, according to his Facebook page, Robert Yundt II has withdrawn from the race in favor of former Representative Lynn Gattis. His stated rationale was that he feared he and Gattis would “split the moderate vote and hand Kurka the victory.” Gattis, who liked the post, presumably agrees with his assessment.

This sets up a head-to-head primary race in District 7 between proven conservative and former Alaska Right to Life Executive Director Christopher Kurka and former Representative Lynn Gattis.

Christopher Kurka is a husband, father of four, businessman, and long-time political activist, serving multiple stints on the Alaska Republican Party’s State Central Committee, both as a Bonus vote and as a District Chair. He also served as Vice President of Alaska Right to Life, and subsequently as Executive Director of Alaska’s largest advocacy group dedicated solely to the Constitutional Right to Life. In addition to his duties as Executive Director, Kurka also ran the Alaska Right to Life Political Action Committees, and has volunteered on numerous candidate campaigns for both State and Federal office. Christopher and his wife Haylee met volunteering on Joe Miller’s 2010 US Senate campaign.

Kurka is promising to take on the State spending issue, advocate for a full PFD, oppose the binding caucus, vote against a State income tax, and stand up for conservative Wasilla values.

His opponent, Lynn Gattis, is a long-time politico in the Valley, serving in various capacities with the District and State Republican Parties, on the Mat-Su School Board, as State Representative, and as staff for the Democrat-controlled House Majority. For conservatives, her time in the State House was at best unremarkable, and at worst problematic. Having voted for some of the largest budgets in State history, and for the infamous SB 91 jailbreak, it would be easy to see her as part of the problem.

In the comment section of the aforementioned Yundt Facebook post, State Senator Mike Shower, who represents much of the mat-su in the State Senate noted: “Lynn is part of the system that got us here.” He went on to call for “new ideas and new people” to bring about “real change.”

Joe Miller’s full statement on the race is as follows:

“If you’re like me, you’re sick and tired of the games being played in Juneau. Conventional politicians tell you what you want to hear at election time, but when it’s time to gavel in they do what they’re told. What we need above all else right now are leaders who are willing to stand up to the Big Government Special Interests and deliver for the citizens they represent. Christopher Kurka is a proven conservative who has not just talked the talk, but has also walked the walk. He has invested years in conservative advocacy, fighting to reform the Alaska Republican Party, to elect conservative candidates, and to defend the weakest and most vulnerable among us as Executive Director of Alaska Right to Life. If you’re worried about the size and scope of government, runaway State budgets, the future of the PFD, proposed State taxes, the Right to Life, the 2nd Amendment, parental rights, private property rights, election integrity and a host of other important issues facing our state – I urge you to vote for a proven conservative. Don’t believe what the politicians say, believe what they do. Christopher Kurka is definitively the right choice for Wasilla District 7 conservatives looking for principled leadership in the Alaska Legislature.”

Christopher Kurka is a known champion of the Constitutional Right to Life, the 2nd Amendment, the Right to Work, parental rights, and private property rights.

The State House District 7 race seems pretty clear cut from the perspective of Restoring Liberty: a long-time Establishment politico versus a proven conservative challenger. Doing the same thing and expecting a different result is, well, less than rational. We vote for change, and so should you. Juneau needs a wake-up call. Vote Christopher Kurka in the Alaska Republican Primary on August 18th.

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

In Alaska, Summer’s Getting Too Hot for the Salmon Run

/0 Comments/in , /by

Last summer, across southwest Alaska’s Bristol Bay region—home to the largest sockeye salmon fishery in the world—tens of thousands of fish washed up dead along riverbanks. Rivers running at temperatures above the threshold for salmon health were killing the fish even as record numbers of them were returning from the ocean to reproduce.

On the Ugashik River, a wide, muddy tributary of the bay, salmon schooled near the river’s mouth, hunkered down in the deeper, cooler water, but they refused to swim upstream into the too-warm waterway. Because no salmon were reaching spawning grounds upriver, the state closed commercial fishing on the Ugashik in early July, right at the normal peak of the run.

Unable to wet their nets and unsure when the fishery would reopen, Ugashik fishermen bided their time at seasonal camps, looking on as jumpers pocked the water all day long. “You’re pretty much watching your income go by,” Catie Bursch, a commercial setnetter on the Ugashik, said later. As Bristol Bay fishermen gear up for this year’s salmon season—one beset by fears that Covid-19 could overwhelm this remote region as thousands of seasonal workers from across the world descend on fishing communities with scant medical resources—they must also contend with a slower-moving hazard: the warming temperatures that threaten a $1.5 billion industry and the people it supports. . .

The state stipulates that water temperature must not exceed 59 degrees Fahrenheit in order for salmon to stay healthy during upstream migration. Last summer, however, river temperatures in Bristol Bay reached 76 degrees. That spells problems for the fish: When salmon can’t avoid warm water, they can sicken or die. Warm water adds stress at a time when fish are already tackling the herculean task of returning to headwater lakes and streams to spawn, making them more susceptible to diseases and speeding up their already-taxed metabolisms. Something like a heart attack can follow: Warm water holds less oxygen than cooler water, but at higher temperatures, salmon actually need more oxygen to survive. Under those conditions, their hearts can’t pump blood fast enough to support their brains and bodies. (Read more from “In Alaska, Summer’s Getting Too Hot for the Salmon Run” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Lisa Murkowski Celebrates Mattis’s Attack on Trump, Says She Might Not Vote for Trump; President Hammers Lisa Following Joe Miller’s Tweet to @realDonaldTrump

/0 Comments/in , , /by

By Lauren Fox, Manu Raju and Ali Zaslav. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska broke with many of her Republican colleagues Thursday, applauding an op-ed by General James Mattis that condemned President Donald Trump’s actions this week.

“When I saw General Mattis’ comments yesterday I felt like perhaps we are getting to a point where we can be more honest with the concerns that we might hold internally and have the courage of our own convictions to speak up,” Murkowksi said on Capitol Hill. . .

“I was really thankful. I thought General Mattis’ words were true, and honest and necessary and overdue,” Murkowski said. “And, I have been struggling for the right words, and I was encouraged a couple of nights ago when I was able to read what President Bush had written. And I found that to be empowering for me as one leader.”

Murkowski . . . told reporters Thursday that she was still “struggling” with a decision about whether she would support Trump in November. (Read more about Lisa Murkowski and her criticism of the President HERE)

___________________________________

President Trump Hammers Lisa Murkowski After Joe Miller Tweets @realDonaldTrump

By News Editor. Maybe it was coincidence, maybe not. But shortly after Joe Miller called on President Trump “to call out corrupt Lisa Murkowski,” he did:

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

ZOOM Meeting NOW: Election Integrity in Alaska, Will It Ever Be Fixed?

/0 Comments/in /by

There will be a presentation by Joe Miller and Brian Endle about Election Integrity in Alaska tonight, June 1, 2020. Lt. Gov. Meyer will be present and participate. All will be available to answer questions.

The waiting room will open at 6:30 pm on Zoom. The host will add you to the meeting. The meeting begins at 7 p.m.

Invite Link: HERE

Meeting ID: 854 5924 2565
Meeting Password: 5E20gB

Lisa Murkowski Supports Fraud-Laced Mail-In-Voting For Any Purpose, Zero Accountability

/0 Comments/in , , /by

Why Using Mail-In Ballots is a Bad Idea

By Hans von Spakovsky. If a state switches to all-mail elections (as Ore­gon has) in which the state mails ballots to all regis­tered voters, such ballots will unquestionably be sent to the addresses of registered voters who are dead or who no longer live at their registered addresses. Most states are notoriously slow in cor­recting their voter registration lists, and the num­ber of registered voters in some, as shown by Census data, is greater than their voting-age popu­lations. When the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Indiana’s voter identification law, it pointed out that “as of 2004 Indiana’s voter rolls were inflated by as much as 41.4 percent.”

Thus, there will be thousands of blank absentee ballots arriving in the mail that individuals will use to cast bogus ballots. For example, in 2000, a sur­vey of just one county in Oregon reported that about 5 percent of residents admitted that other people marked their ballots and 2.4 percent admit­ted that other people signed their ballot envelopes. The professor who conducted the study suspected that the real numbers were higher since most peo­ple are reluctant to admit being a party to a crime.

When the author of this paper attended a meet­ing of the Board of Advisors of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission in Oregon several years ago, an Oregon election official gave a presentation on how “secure” their voting system was. As he was speaking, an election official from another state leaned over and told the author that his sister-in-law, who lived in Oregon, had admitted to him that she had voted three times in the last election. She voted her husband’s ballot, her own ballot, and a third ballot that had been mailed to her house in her maiden name.

Mailed-in votes are often cast in unmonitored settings where no election officials or independent observers are present to ensure that the registered voter is actually the person voting and that there is no illegal coercion or payment for a vote. As a result, the secret ballot is under siege; it is too easy for wrongdoers to request absentee ballots in the names of registered voters, particularly poor resi­dents and senior citizens, and then either intimi­date them into voting a certain way or fraudulently completing their ballots for them. Such intimida­tion is much more difficult to achieve when indi­viduals vote in a polling place by casting a secret ballot under the supervision and observation of election officials and poll watchers. (Read more about why Lisa Murkowski’s love of mail-in ballots is a bad idea HERE)

__________________________________________

Lisa Murkowski Loves Mail-In Ballots

Lisa Murkowski put out the following YouTube on her Senate webpage explaining her view that mail-in ballots should be permitted for any purpose. Given Lisa Murkowski’s historic reliance on vote fraud to win her past elections, this should not surprise anyone:

Alaska Legislator Compares Coronavirus Screening Sticker to Nazi Germany’s Star of David

/0 Comments/in , /by

A Republican state lawmaker in Alaska is facing backlash from Jewish legislators after he compared coronavirus safety measures at the statehouse to the Nazi treatment of Jewish people.

Alaska state Rep. Ben Carpenter (R) complained about the new health screening required for lawmakers returning to the Capitol building this week, Anchorage Daily News reported Friday.

In an email copied to all 40 members of the Alaska House, Carpenter reportedly ranted about legislators being asked to wear a sticker proving they’ve passed the screening.

“How about an arm band that won’t fall off like a sticker will?” Carpenter wrote. “If my sticker falls off, do I get a new one or do I get public shaming too? Are the stickers available as a yellow Star of David?”

His message was immediately condemned by two Democratic members of the legislature who are Jewish, the outlet reported. (Read more from “Alaska Legislator Compares Coronavirus Screening Sticker to Nazi Germany’s Star of David” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Alaska Airlines Makes Masks Mandatory

/0 Comments/in , /by

Citing a desire to align with CDC recommendations, Alaska Airlines announced it will make masks mandatory for all passengers starting May 11.

Guests will be expected to bring their own masks, Alaska said in a blog post Friday. . .

“In light of COVID-19, we’re in a new era and are continually updating our safety standards to better protect our guests and employees,” aid Max Tidwell, Alaska Airlines’ vice president of safety.

Alaska says they’ve also stepped up cleaning efforts on their airplanes to combat COVID-19. They’re also encouraging more social distancing at the airport and on the planes.

The Seattle-based airline says they will reevaluate the mask rule periodically, and change it as the situation evolves. (Read more from “Alaska Airlines Makes Masks Mandatory” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Are Struggling Americans Ready for Their Coronavirus Lockdown to End — or Terrified?; Alaska Begins to Open Back Up

/0 Comments/in , /by

By New York Post. America’s coronavirus lockdown is causing economic pain across the country like nothing this nation has seen since the Great Depression. . .

The Post has talked to a group of hard-hit people, here are their stories:

Rose English, 57, owner of a horse riding school and summer camp in Anchorage, Alaska

Normally, English gets a flood of deposit checks from parents signing kids up for her equestrian summer camp every April — but this year she has received none. . .

English said she’s lost at least $20,000 since the shutdown, and that number stands to double by this summer. (Read more from “Are Struggling Americans Ready for Their Coronavirus Lockdown to End — or Terrified?” HERE)

_______________________________________________

As U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Tops 51,000, Handful of States Move Toward Reopening

By Reuters. With the U.S. coronavirus death toll topping 51,000 and nearly one in six workers out of a job, Georgia, Oklahoma and several other states took tentative steps at reopening businesses on Friday, despite disapproval from President Donald Trump and medical experts. . .

Georgia, one of several states in the Deep South that waited until early April to mandate restrictions imposed weeks before across much of the rest of the country to curb the outbreak, has become a flashpoint in the debate over how and when the nation should return to work. . .

While the COVID-19 illness is killing thousands of Americans daily, stay-at-home orders and business closures have thrown more than 26 million people out of work, a level of unemployment not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s. . .

Oklahoma was permitting some retailers to resume business on Friday, Florida began reopening its beaches a week ago, South Carolina started easing restrictions on Monday, and other states will follow suit next week. (Read more from “As U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Tops 51,000, Handful of States Move Toward Reopening” HERE)

_______________________________________________

These Are the States Opening Back up for Business

By New York Magazine. After a month with much of the country locked down, sheltered in place, and healthy at home, some states have begun lifting restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Georgia has gotten the most attention, and for good reason. No governor has thrown open the doors to his state’s businesses as aggressively as Brian Kemp, whose decision to reopen the state first drew praise, and then criticism, from President Trump. . .

Alaska

Governor Mike Dunleavy announced phase one of the state’s reopening, which begins Friday, April 24. He is allowing restaurants to open for in-person dining and personal-services businesses (nail salons, barbers, etc.) to operate, though they are only allowed to take customers by reservation. Retail stores are also allowed to reopen with social distancing and masks worn by all employees and customers. (Read more from “These Are the States Opening Back up for Business” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

HBO Documentary: Strong Evidence Alaska Division of Elections was Hacked in 2016

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

Restoring Liberty has been reporting for years that the Alaska Division of Elections is incredibly unreliable. As numerous sworn statements showed in the aftermath of the headline-grabbing 2010 election, Alaska votes are routinely miscounted, election machines stuffed, and ballots not secured. Post-election surveys in 2016 suggest that Alaska’s U.S. Senator received only a fraction of the vote officially counted for her. Other indicators of fraud continue to plague Alaska elections, including evidence of repeat voting, illegal alien voting, and mishandled ballots.

Despite this, Alaska’s political leadership seems more interested with covering up election malfeasance than backing election reform that would restore vote integrity to the state. Some think that’s because they are beneficiaries themselves of a corrupted election process.

Now, a documentary just released by HBO reflects that many of these problems are not imagined. Not only does Alaska continue to use many Diebold AccuVote machines whose results can be changed in seconds, the Division of Elections itself was hacked in the middle of the 2016 election:

Although the HBO documentary focuses primarily on interference by foreign actors, it is important to remember that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has blocked election integrity reforms for years. That begs the question as to who is actually benefiting from hacked elections. Restoring Liberty maintains that, just as Mitch’s friend, Lisa Murkowski, appears to have stolen at least two Alaska elections, it is the Establishment that is the primary beneficiary of a corrupted election process. We must assume that any elected leader who does not back paper-ballot-only election reforms is benefiting from the same corrupted process, as well.

Vote integrity lies at the heart of self-governance. Can government have legitimacy without it?

New Arctic Tab Comes With a Ranger Tab Spin to Show Importance of Cold-Weather Fighting

/0 Comments/in , /by

The Army upgraded the design of its Arctic Tab and issued new guidance for wearing the accoutrement as the Defense Department increasingly looks to bolster its cold-weather warfare capabilities.

While the move may seem small, it comes during a time of increased competition for resources in the Arctic region with Russian, and even China. As sea ice increasingly recedes, new economic opportunities emerge, but so does competition.

The Arctic Tab was originally worn below a soldier’s unit patch and could only be worn while assigned to Army Alaska, a subordinate command to Army Pacific and the ground force defending much of the U.S. territorial claims near the Arctic region.

Now, the redesigned tab is worn above the unit patch like the Ranger and Sapper tabs. It can also be worn by those serving at all Army Pacific installations throughout that command’s area of operations.

“I think what makes U.S. Army Alaska and our units unique is that we are the Army’s proponent for cold weather training,” said the Alaska-based commander, Maj. Gen. Peter B. Andrysiak Jr., in a press release this week. “We not only live here; we thrive here, and I want to make sure the tab properly recognizes our unique expertise.” (Read more from “New Arctic Tab Comes With a Ranger Tab Spin to Show Importance of Cold-Weather Fighting” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE