Did Social Issues Sink Republican in Anchorage Mayoral Race?

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Alaska_flag_mapOne of the most important and yet difficult things to do in our faith journey is to trust God in all circumstances. Elections come and go but His purposes are never thwarted. It often takes loss to bring that in to clarity.

The numbers on the scoreboard Tuesday were obviously a disappointment for those of us living in the Anchorage area. At the same time, what happens here often has a rippling effect throughout the state so all Alaskans were impacted. The fact is Amy Demboski was always the underdog on this playing field, as measured by fund-raising and name familiarity.

But I am grateful that Amy entered this campaign, because she gave Anchorage voters a clear, conservative alternative to an opponent who basically seemed to be running for the 3rd term of Mark Begich.

Thankfully, Amy will remain on the Anchorage Assembly – and her role there will be even more crucial, as a conservative check against the liberal agenda of Ethan Berkowitz. I believe that Amy Demboski has a bright future ahead of her in local politics. Expect to see bumper stickers in the near future: “Don’t blame me! I voted for Demboski.”

Though the outcome was a disappointment, I’m indeed proud of the independent campaign that Alaska Family Action undertook to help a conservative candidate for mayor. I’m especially grateful to all of the donors and volunteers of AFA who made that effort possible.

Perhaps you’ve heard this saying from Teddy Roosevelt:

“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure… than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”

That’s a good thought to embrace in the realm of political campaigns. Over the last eight years, AFA has been involved in numerous political campaigns, for issues and candidates alike. We’ve won more than we’ve lost – but make no mistake, we know the taste of both victory and defeat.

At the beginning of each campaign, we always start with the knowledge that the outcome is affected by a hundred different variables – and only a few of them are within our control. But the essential truth is: for those variables that we can control, we have a moral responsibility to engage. You give it 100 percent of your time and energy, you leave no stone unturned, you strive for excellence. And then the rest is in God’s hands.

I predict one of the accusations that will be made is that Amy Demboski lost the race because she and her supporters focused too much on “controversial” social issues. As usual, this is a one-sided analysis.

Andrew Halcro, when he ran the Anchorage Chamber, was constantly grandstanding about how pro-gay he was – yet nobody ever accused him of being “obsessed” with social issues. When Halcro lost the Mayoral race on April 7, did anyone in the liberal media say, “Oh, he lost the race because he was crazy-liberal on social issues?” Of course not. Such thoughts are not in keeping with the liberal narrative of reality. Yet there is no question that social conservatives avoided voting for Halcro precisely because of his liberal record, and that lack of support was decisive in causing him not to make the run-off election.

What about Ethan Berkowitz? He was endorsed by Planned Parenthood, the nation’s No. 1 abortion profiteer, and he was also endorsed by a local gay rights organization, precisely because he opposed the will of 57 percent of Anchorage voters who rejected Proposition 5. Berkowitz proclaimed, “I would like to be the first Anchorage mayor to officiate a gay wedding.” Wow – does that kind of rhetoric indicate that you’re too obsessed with social issues? Not in the view of the liberal media. You only get branded as being “obsessed” with social issues if you come down on the conservative side.

Let’s not forget Dan Coffey. Remember him? The guy who entered the race first, spent more money than everyone else, and finished dead last among the major candidates. The Republican establishment rallied around Coffey as the “electable” candidate who had the best chance of winning. Oh yes, and Coffey studiously ignored the social issues – isn’t that what “smart” candidates are supposed to do?

Coffey proclaimed at one debate, “My politics is fiscal conservatism. On social issues, what you do and how you do it is your own business. It’s not a concern of the government.” Ah yes – music to the Establishment’s ears. Yet Coffey struggled mightily to finish with barely more than 14 percent of the vote. Did you recall anyone in the political “chattering class” saying that maybe Coffey lost because he ignored social issues – thereby losing the votes of both social conservatives and social liberals? Not a chance. That would require discerning reality in a novel way, and many in the liberal media and the Republican Establishment have proven themselves incapable of doing that.

So the bottom line is: be wary of all the political “spin” that you will hear in the coming days, especially as it relates to social issues. The primary reasons that Ethan Berkowitz won this election is because he had a 2 to 1 fundraising advantage, an adoring local media, and higher name ID from running three previous statewide campaigns and serving 10 years in the Legislature. (See “Did Social Issues Sink Republican in Anchorage Mayoral Race?”, originally posted HERE)

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‘Ultimate Survival Alaska’ Reality Star Found Shot Dead [+video]

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1430926377_1stAn outdoorsman and past character on National Geographic’s reality show “Ultimate Survival Alaska” has been found shot dead, and Alaska State Troopers were investigating the case as a homicide.

Officers responded to 69-year-old Jimmy Gojdics’ residence in Fox Sunday to find the victim with gunshot wounds, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported. Gojdics was transported to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Gojdics sometimes spelled his last name Gaydos, the way it’s pronounced and the name he was known as in “Ultimate Survival.” National Geographic Channel’s website says he had worked as a fisherman, horse wrangler, blacksmith, forest service firefighter, river guide and wilderness guide.

“Jimmy Gaydos… appeared on the second season of National Geographic Channel’s series ‘Ultimate Survival Alaska,’ airing in 2014,” a network rep said in a statement sent to FOX411. “Mr. Gaydos appeared in the first three episodes of the second season but sustained an injury that made it impossible for his team to continue in the competition. We were saddened to learn of Mr. Gaydos’s untimely passing and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family at this difficult time.” (Read more from “‘Ultimate Survival Alaska’ Reality Star Found Shot Dead” HERE)

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Alaska Media and Establishment Republicans Deliver Yet Another Electoral Victory for Liberal Progressives

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Demboski_signs7The results are in on Tuesday night’s Anchorage Mayoral race, and they aren’t pretty. Aided by the Alaska media and Establishment Republicans, liberal Democrat Ethan Berkowitz won the mayoral runoff handily.

Preliminary numbers showed Berkowitz finishing the night with 59% of the vote. Demboski received just under 41%.

But the larger story of this race was the Alaska media’s slimming of yet another conservative candidate.

After trumping up a story that accused Demboski of implying that Ethan Berkowitz believed in incest, Alaska Dispatch News then fanned the flames of public outrage, while allowing Mr. Berkowitz to brush the suggestion off as a “false and obscene accusation.” Demboski never implied any such thing.

A local talk-radio host ambushed Demboski on air and pressed her to defend Berkowitz against Anchorage Baptist Temple Pastor Jerry Prevo, who merely repeated what he had been told on good authority that Berkowitz himself said, which was that a father should be allowed to marry his own son. Demboski, who heard Berkowitz radio show on which the comments were made, merely declined to speculate on what Berkowitz had said and referred the host to Berkowitz for an explanation of his comments.

Meanwhile the press went on a feeding frenzy, hounding Demboski for an explanation of the Berkowtiz statement, and castigating her for steering the campaign into controversial waters.

But when the tape emerged on Monday afternoon, proving that Mr. Berkowitz had indeed made the controversial statements and had further lied to cover it up, Alaska Dispatch News didn’t even deem the revelation deserving of its own headline.

The local CBS television affiliate, KTVA, never reported the revelation of explosive audio recording, and election morning added insult to injury by announcing in a special segment on endorsements that Republican United States Senator Dan Sullivan had endorsed liberal Democrat Ethan Berkowitz for mayor. Sullivan had publicly endorsed Demboski a week earlier.

Alaska Dispatch News had also written a hit piece on Demboski stemming from an almost 20-year-old divorce. It was completely unsubstantiated, and vicious.

Both Establishment Republicans defeated by conservative Amy Demboski in the April 7th election, Dan Coffey and Andrew Halcro, declined to endorse when Demboski moved to the runoff, despite pre-election promises to do so.

Not only did they decline to endorse, but they openly attacked Demboski in the press, on talk radio, and by social media. Andrew Halcro then endorsed liberal Democrat Ethan Berkowitz just days before the May 5th runoff.

When the history of the 2015 Anchorage mayoral election is written, it will tell yet another sad tale of a corrupt Alaska media, and a divided Republican Party whose faithless Establishment wing once again delivered a victory for liberal progressives.

Smoking Gun Evidence: Podcast of Anchorage Mayoral Candidate Ethan Berkowitz Endorsing Father-Son Marriage

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Here it is folk; the long-awaited RECORDING of Ethan Berkowitz endorsing father-son marriage.

As to the other stories relating to the Alaska media’s jihad against Amy Demboski on this issue, make sure you read these:

Opinion: Corrupt Bastards at Alaska Dispatch News Continue Jihad Against Christians, Take Tabloid Journalism to New Low

and

Surprise: Anchorage Mayoral Candidate Ethan Berkowitz Really Did Support Disgusting Father-Son Marriage

It’s Time for Ethan Berkowitz to Man Up! [+video]

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ethan_b-300x300Politics is notorious for dirty tricks. But the one Ethan Berkowitz and his team pulled off last week, with the full cooperation of the mainstream media, takes the cake.

The Tuesday April 28th edition of the Bernadette Live show on KFQD was guest hosted by the former morning host Casey Reynolds. What Reynolds didn’t disclose at the time was that his long-time girlfriend was a paid staffer of the Berkowitz campaign.

Two days earlier, Anchorage Baptist Temple pastor Jerry Prevo had publicly called Ethan Berkowitz out for his public stance on gay marriage, and more particularly for comments he made on KFQD regarding his libertine views back in the fall of 2014.

During that broadcast, the Democrat mayoral candidate went so far as to say that it was alright with him if a father wanted to marry his own son as long as they were consenting adults. But at the time Jerry Prevo raised the question about Berkowitz’s statement, no one seemed to have the podcast of the radio show in question.

What came next is one of the most sinister political stunts I have ever seen.

Reynolds invited Anchorage mayoral candidate Amy Demboski on the show, purportedly to talk about the mayor’s race and her vision for the economic future of the Municipality.

But it appears Reynolds’ primary motive was to ambush Demboski with the incest question in an attempt to divide her base and exonerate Berkowitz.

The problem is, Demboski didn’t cooperate. Instead she affirmed that she too had heard the conversation in question, and wouldn’t presume to speak for Berkowitz.

Repeatedly, Reynolds pushed Demboski to affirm that Ethan Berkowitz didn’t really mean what he said. She continued to decline and referred Reynolds to Berkowitz for an interpretation of his own comments. Reynolds responded by accusing Demboski of implying that Berkowitz approved of incest.

The next day, Alaska Dispatch News ran a story with the headline “Demboski stuns radio host by implying opponent might approve of incest.” It was a complete fabrication.

Until the Reynolds interview, Amy Demboski had never mentioned Ethan Berkowitz’ obscene comments, and declined to editorialize on them when they did come up.

Fast forward five days. Berkowitz’ co-host on that fateful October day has now come out with an op-ed affirming that Ethan did indeed make the comments, the station manager at KFQD, Joe Campbell, has also confirmed that the conversation happened, and a number of other witnesses who recall hearing it have come forward.

And now, a copy of the podcast has found its way into the public sphere.

But the media continues to coddle Berkowitz, refusing to demand answers. A KTVA guest columnist on Sunday evening even went so far as to call his conduct in the campaign “gentlemanly.”

How is it gentlemanly to sit silently by while someone else is punished for your crimes? For days, Berkowitz was silent while Amy Demboski was pummeled by the media and subjected to verbal abuse on social media just for having the audacity to admit she heard the Berkowitz conversation, and refusing to comment on it.

The truth is, Ethan Berkowitz dragged the public through the gutter, and blamed Demboski for it.

Berkowitz has serially sought to mislead the public by deflecting, saying only that he wasn’t going to dignify the question with an answer.

When finally Berkowitz was forced out of the closet by his co-host, he would only say that he does not support father-son marriages, calling the substance of his earlier comments on talk radio an “obscene accusation.”

On the May 4th edition of Bernadette Live, Mr. Berkowitz opined, “It’s incredibly sad that people put me in a position where I have to deny things that are false and obscene, but those accusations are false and obscene.”

But who made the accusation? According to witnesses – and now the podcast itself – it obviously came out of Ethan Berkowitz’ own mouth. Not only is Ethan Berkowitz not squaring with the public, he has compounded his error by feigning virtue.

And that gentlemanly thing – apparently marriage isn’t the only thing he wants to redefine.

Where I grew up, a gentleman acted out of noble motives, took personal responsibility, and told the truth.

Ethan Berkowitz has missed the mark on all counts. Not only has he failed to do the right thing, he has sought to transfer the blame for his own words to his opponent.

It’s not for Amy to defend Ethan’s indefensible comments, as the media would have her do. Nor is it her responsibility to absolve him, as though she had the power to do it.

It’s time for Ethan Berkowitz to stop hiding behind Amy Demboski’s skirt, man up, and take responsibility for his own actions. The public deserves an explanation.

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Opinion: Corrupt Bastards at Alaska Dispatch News Continue Jihad Against Christians, Take Tabloid Journalism to New Low

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download (3)The days when Alice Rogoff and her minions at Alaska Dispatch could masquerade as legitimate journalists have long passed, if indeed they ever existed.

Today the gutter suits them just fine. And that quaint notion we used to call the truth? It doesn’t exist in their world.

On an ordinary day they peddle kitsch for the masses, topped off with the warmed-over politically correct flavor of the day.

But when it’s election season, they go full jihad. But it’s a ‘holy war’ of a different variety, a secular war with ‘moral’ invocations, and ironically, religious undertones.

These vile character assassins will stop at nothing in an attempt to destroy any candidate who dares to oppose their ideological agenda – which is clearly far left.

Enter Anchorage mayoral candidate Amy Demboski, a first-term Assembly Member who shocked the powers that be by winning enough votes to come in second in the April 7 Municipal election and force a runoff.

Ms. Demboski is a straight-talking, no-nonsense conservative. She champions limited government, lower taxes, and sound fiscal policy; opposes corruption and cronyism; and identifies as an evangelical Christian who believes in traditional values.

This past week Alaska Dispatch has run with two non-stories aimed solely at smearing this dedicated public servant, who also happens to have served honorably in our nation’s armed forces.

The first was a piece ostensibly written by Devin Kelly with the title “Demboski stuns radio host by implying that opponent might approve of incest.”

The problem is, Demboski never implied anything of the sort. She was asked by a local radio host about comments made by her opponent Ethan Berkowitz, who reportedly suggested that he had no problem with a father marrying his son.

Because Demboski didn’t brush off Berkowitz’ bizarre statement and tell the host what he meant, Reynolds accused her of implying that her opponent actually meant what he said.

Demboski simply referred the host back to the source of the original comment, further explaining to Reynolds that while she heard the conversation, she would like to hear it again before commenting.

Alaska Dispatch, of course, ran with the storyline that Demboski had implied that Berkowitz might approve of incest. Nothing could be further from the truth. Berkowitz himself plainly said that he did, as long as they were consenting adults.

Demboski was smeared simply for acknowledging that she heard the comments, and for refusing to defend the indefensible.

There’s a reason why Berkowitz won’t talk about it. He too knows it’s indefensible. Yet he stands idly by while the media trashes his opponent for refusing to do what he himself won’t do. I’d call that more than a little bit hypocritical.

The Alaska Dispatch is essentially functioning as a mouthpiece of the Berkowitz campaign.

Enter Rich Mauer, longtime “reporter” for the Anchorage Daily News, and current Alaska Dispatch hack.

Mauer teamed up with Devin Kelly to drudge up obscure details of a divorce case almost twenty years ago alleging that inconsistencies in the record of the then-nineteen year-old call into question her integrity. The only problem is, none of the Dispatch claims stand up to scrutiny, not to mention they’re ancient history.

What’s more troubling though, is these unscrupulous people dragging her child into the discussion by questioning paternity.

That is beyond reprehensible!

Mauer and Kelly spend the rest of the article speculating about what the divorce records mean for the current mayoral candidate.

I’ll answer that for them – absolutely nothing! They have no relevance to the Anchorage mayoral race.

For a putative news organization to engage in that kind of rumor-mongering and gossip about things they know little or nothing about should be denounced for what it is: tabloid trash.

It’s time for people of good will to push back. Alaska Dispatch has engaged in the systematic character assassination of Sarah Palin, Joe Miller, and Sean Parnell. Now they’re trying to do the same to Amy Demboski. Let’s not let them succeed again.

Palin, Miller, Parnell, and Demboski, while very different in some ways, all share something in common: their evangelical Christian faith.

It’s time to name the elephant in the room. The leftists at the Alaska Dispatch News continue to wage a secular jihad against people of faith and it’s time to call them out. The truth is, they are intolerant anti-religious bigots who use the platform of media to accomplish their ideological ends.

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Surprise: Anchorage Mayoral Candidate Ethan Berkowitz Really Did Support Disgusting Father-Son Marriage

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Ethan_BerkowitzOn Sunday, April 26th, Dr. Jerry Prevo, the pastor at Anchorage Baptist Temple, made the comment that Ethan Berkowitz had once said on his radio show that he ‘would not be opposed to a father marrying his own son.’

Roughly 24 hours later, the fill-in for my radio show on KFQD asked candidate for mayor, Amy Demboski, to comment on Pastor Prevo’s statement.

Laying in bed with a newborn in my arms, my phone began to ring – family, friends and media outlets… ‘Ethan Berkowitz was co- hosting the show with you, you were there. Is it true?’

It was a debate I had preferred not to engage in, but a conversation I remember well and a day I will never forget.

It was Monday, Oct. 13, 2014, Columbus Day. The topic was same-sex marriage. As I sparred with my co–host Ethan Berkowitz, I brought up the topic of incest. If the argument against incest was grounded in reproduction, and if reproduction was not a consideration in a same-sex marriage, then could a father marry his son?

Yes, a father should be able to marry his son, Mr. Berkowitz informed me. Surely, I thought, he could not be serious. Mr. Berkowitz went on to explain that ‘love is love’ and if it is through a marriage that a father felt he could best provide for, and exemplify his love for his son, then who are we to judge?

After more of an explanation than I could possibly wrap my thoughts around, I interrupted him and suggested he was crazy. Not appreciating the interruption or the labeling of his judgment, my co-host, who had been a friend and confidant, got up and walked out of the studio. It was a conversation I remember well and a day I will never forget.

To be clear, we were not talking about pedophilia. We were talking about a hypothetical regarding two grown men.

Individuals will draw their own conclusions and assign motivations. Did Mr. Berkowitz mean it? Did he get too far ahead of himself? Did he choose his words poorly? Those are questions Mr. Berkowitz must answer.

I don’t doubt that the audio file from that day’s radio show has been captured. And if and when it is released, you might just realize, Mr. Berkowitz’s comment, ‘I’m not going to dignify that with a response’, probably says and explains it all right there, perhaps even better than any audio.

The comments that Mr. Berkowitz made on Oct. 13, 2014, belong to him – and only he is in a position to explain them. It is not ‘politics of personal destruction’ nor should it be below him to offer clarity to voters regarding any issue, his values or his thought process.

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Bernadette Wilson is an Anchorage talk radio host.

Russia Conducts Nuclear Bomber Flights Near Alaska; Massive Troop Build Up Near Ukraine

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Russian_Bear_H_Aircraft_MOD_45158146By Bill Gertz. Two Russian nuclear-capable bombers intruded into the U.S. air defense zone near Alaska last week in the latest saber rattling by Moscow, defense officials said.

The Tu-95 Bear H bombers flew into the Alaska zone on April 22. But unlike most earlier incursions, no U.S. interceptor jets were dispatched to shadow them, said defense officials familiar with the latest U.S.-Russian aerial encounter.

Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a spokesman for the U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), declined to confirm the incursion. But he said no jets were dispatched last week to intercept intruding aircraft.

The incident was the first Russian bomber incursion of a U.S. or Canadian air defense zone this year. Officials said it likely signals the start of Russia’s long-range aviation spring training cycle. Further aerial incursions are expected.

Last year, U.S. and Canadian jets intercepted Russian bombers on at least six occasions, and intruding Russian long-range aircraft were detected on 10 occasions, Davis said. (Read more from “Russia Conducts Nuclear Bomber Flight Near Alaska” HERE)

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Russians Amassing Forces on Ukraine Border

By FoxNews.com. Russia has recently sent arms and drone aircraft into eastern Ukraine and is massing its troops along the tense border, which raises concern about new escalation in the conflict, the State Department said Wednesday.

Russia has built up its air defense systems to their highest levels since August of last year, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement. Russia has been supporting separatists battling Ukrainian government forces.

Harf said Russia has now deployed more troops and military material on its border with Ukraine than at any time since the heaviest fighting in October.

“After maintaining a relatively steady presence along the border, Russia is sending additional units there,” Harf said. “These forces will give Russia its largest presence on the border since October 2014.”

Despite Moscow’s denials of any involvement in the escalating tensions, Harf said Russians and separatists are conducting complex training missions that leave “no doubt” that Russian troops are present in that part of the embattled country. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Anchorage Mayoral Candidates Debate Religious Freedom, Sexual-Identity Legislation

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Mayor-debates-1160x480The two Anchorage mayoral candidates squared off in a debate this week in which they disagreed over religious freedom protections and whether the city should legally enshrine sexual-identity legislation.

In a debate before the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, candidates Ethan Berkowitz and Amy Demboski were sharply divided on the question of whether Anchorage should adapt legislation to establish sexual orientation and transgender identity as protected classes under the city’s nondiscrimination laws.

An attempt to enshrine special legal rights for sexual orientation and transgender identity was rejected by Anchorage voters in 2012. The failed measure would have required government agencies, private employers, schools and nonprofit groups to legally recognize and accommodate the preferred sexual orientation and transgender identity of employees, customers, teachers, students and others regardless of their actual physical biology.

The law was reflective of gender theories claiming that the realities of male and female are social constructs and not part of any natural law or given reality. Thus, according to gender theorists, varied types of sexual behaviors are perfectly acceptable.

According to a report from the Alaska Dispatch News, Ethan Berkowitz expressed his support for the failed 2012 law, which affirmed that there should be legal recognition and accommodation based on a person’s sexual practices and desires, including “heterosexuality, homosexuality and bisexuality.”

According to the Alaska Dispatch News, Demboski strongly disagreed with Berkowitz and said such legislation would “effectively discriminate against people of faith.”

Demboski noted that similar legislation in other cities has threatened religious freedoms for business owners and non-profits.

Several high profile cases have emerged in recent years including a recent situation in which a Christian family in Oregon was fined $135,000 for refusing to bake a cake explicitly for the homosexual “wedding,” which they said ran contrary to their religious beliefs.

In the 2012 Anchorage case, religious liberty advocates expressed concern that the Anchorage ballot measure would have force local churches, faith-based groups and business owners to violate deeply held beliefs and force them to promote and facilitate homosexual activities and causes. There were particular concerns that service-oriented businesses such as caterers, florists, bakers, print shop owners and others would no longer have been able to decline their services for homosexual and transgender functions and events which advocated for sexual activities that ran contrary to their deeply held beliefs.

According to the Alaska Dispatch News report Berkowitz was active in promoting the 2012 law and worked on the campaign through his job as a senior vice president of the marketing and consulting group Strategies 360.

During the recent debate Berkowitz said he supported the law for “moral reasons” and “because it makes business sense.”

Demboski, however, called it a “war on Christianity.”

In 2012, opponents of the initiative said the government oversteps its rightful limits when it requires people to violate their conscience and religious beliefs over a highly controversial moral issue in order to operate in the public square.

Both supporters and opponents of the initiative noted that the 2012 law would likely have impacted church-owned facilities in Anchorage which are often rented to various groups for public concerts, community gatherings, retreats and other events not specifically related to the religious mission of the church.

According to city code, refusal to abide by the proposed law would have resulted in a $500 fine, 30 days in jail, or both.

At the April 27 mayoral debate, the Alaska Dispatch News noted that Berkowitz spoke to the question of how a homosexual rights law would impact religious groups. While claiming to support religious freedoms Berkowitz said, “once people enter the public arena, we have to treat everybody equally.”

But opponents of such laws maintain that there is a considerable difference between denying someone basic human rights and refusing to condone or facilitate homosexual and transgender activities and causes. (See “Anchorage Mayoral Candidates Debate Religious Freedom, Sexual-Identity Legislation”, originally posted HERE)

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Governor’s Medicaid Expansion will “Destroy the Budget, Wipe Out the PFD & Bring Taxation”

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Lance Roberts_1998The legislature has just been called back by the Governor for a special session, with two of the topics being Medicaid Expansion and the Budget. The legislature is being bombarded by requests for more money and to expand the Medicaid system. The State is currently looking at an approximately four billion dollar deficit, a number that is understandably hard to get your head around. In essence, we’ll be completely out of money before 2020, excepting the Permanent Fund. Yes, it’s that bad, but yet there are many voices out there crying for the legislature to spend what little we have now and not make the hard decisions. A good example of a bad program that needs drastic reform is Medicaid.

Currently in Alaska we spend $1.6 billion per year on Medicaid. It has grown 149% in the last 10 years, and will eventually overwhelm the entire budget including education. Expansion will add around 40,000 people to those rolls and by 2022 is estimated to cost the state around $36 million, with a total cost up to then of around $109 million. Medicaid is admitted even by its proponents, like the Governor, to be a broken system; in fact, its level of brokenness is like a helicopter crashing in some new action movie where the blade goes off spinning and destroying all in its path. No exaggeration, it is on course to destroy the Alaskan State budget, wiping out the PFD and bringing in unnecessary taxation.

From a philosophical viewpoint, expansion’s design dis-incentivizes the young adults under thirty that would be the main recipients of it from pushing themselves to find better jobs or build businesses that would allow them a higher level of healthcare. Actually, it’s not just philosophical, based on last year’s election results. In 2014, Alaskans voted to not just raise minimum wage, but to unsustainably raise it every single year. Currently those on minimum wage will be eligible for Medicaid, but in 2017 those working full-time for minimum wage will exceed the eligible income for Medicaid. The choice then will be keep Medicaid or keep a full-time job. This is a huge problem that exists for these types of entitlement programs, that anyone who tries to better themselves financially loses the benefits, thereby offsetting the benefits of working. Why in the world would we want to expand a system to young single adults that encourages them not to work or improve their situation?

Another aspect that has been overlooked by many is that Medicaid pays more than Medicare, for senior citizens, and Tricare, for military families and veterans, so those few doctors who are left that see patients on that program will make more by serving Medicaid patients than those on Medicare or Tricare. This will only make it harder for senior citizens, veterans and our military families to be able to get the health care they need.

There are way more broken aspects of Medicaid, fraud and abuse, than can be addressed in this short article, but it’s consistently shown that reform is mandatory to be able to even keep the Medicaid system we have in place, let alone add more people to that system. The State needs to work out the large amount of billing problems it has, and implement some cost controls. Be wary, some are proposing reforms, which are really just taxes, like up to a 6% tax on providers, even if they don’t have Medicaid patients.

There are also problems with how Medicaid pays out much less than the costs of doing business; for example, the Fairbanks North Star Borough only gets approximately half of what it costs us to do an ambulance run. These underpayments add up considerably and contribute substantially to the high cost of medical care.

Remember when they talk about all the free Federal money that we’ll get: There’s Free Cheese in a Mouse Trap. Please let the legislature know that we need to reform Medicaid before we even think of expanding it. You can email them all at [email protected].

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Lance Roberts is an engineer, born and raised in Fairbanks. He is a member of the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly. The views expressed here are his own and do not represent the assembly or borough administration.

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