Posts

Troopers Use New Armored Vehicle to Arrest Homer Man Firing Pistol

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: Megan Peters

Photo Credit: Megan Peters

Alaska State Troopers used an armored tactical response vehicle Wednesday night to persuade a Homer man to surrender after troopers said he fired a .44-caliber handgun when troopers announced themselves outside his house on Char Court.

Timothy A. Magee, 39, was arraigned Thursday on two counts of third-degree assault, a felony, for causing fear of injury to Wildlife Trooper Trent Chwialkowski and Trooper David Chaffin. He also was charged with fourth-degree misconduct involving weapons for allegedly being drunk while shooting a weapon.

The Special Emergency Response Team responded to the scene with a BearCat armored tactical vehicle, one of three $280,000 trucks purchased last March. This was the first use of a BearCat on the Kenai Peninsula.

No weapons were fired by troopers and no one was hurt in the incident, including a woman at the home at the time, said Lt. Dane Gilmore, deputy commander for E Detachment.

Read more from this story HERE.

Mountain Rescue Ends Well (+video)

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: Wolfgang Kurtz

Photo Credit: Wolfgang Kurtz

A distressed hiker on Mount Marathon called into City of Seward Dispatch via 911 at 4:33 p.m. on Wednesday, June 12. Dispatch advised the Seward Fire Department that the hiker was calling from his cell phone and had said that “he was in a bad spot.” Fire department personnel made contact with the stranded hiker to determine an approximate location and identify the best access to him.

Phone conversations and visual scanning of the mountain eventually helped locate the hiker who was clinging precariously to the mountainside on a near vertical slope south of the established climbing and hiking paths.

Rescue crews were transported to the top by Seward Helicopter Tours and then hiked down the ridge to a point above the stranded hiker. During the operation, the fire department volunteers set off a flare which brought another couple of good samaritans racing to the scene.

According to SFD Chief Eddie Athey and Assistant Fire Chief Sean Corrigan, the hiker had received a laceration to the head, and was dehydrated and disoriented.

Read more from this story HERE.

Months Later, Deafening Silence from Alaska State Government Regarding Investigation of Assault, Interference with Juneau Pro-Life Protest

/5 Comments/in , /by

photo compre“What does it mean to be illegal? When you go through these various scandals, you are told “this was illegal, that was illegal, the next thing’s illegal.” Nobody gets held accountable. Nobody gets fired. Nobody goes to jail. So what does it mean to say these things are illegal? It’s just part of the decay of bureaucratic big government that is across the board just beginning to fall apart.” —Newt Gingrich

The scandals of the Obama Administration are what Newt Gingrich was speaking of. But he might as well had been speaking of what has happened in the aftermath of events on the steps of the Alaska State Capitol on April 2nd and 3rd of this year when a group of peaceful law-abiding citizens exercising their First Amendment Rights to free speech and assembly, were accosted, physically assaulted, and threatened by employees of the Department of Administration and the Legislative Branch. Using state vehicles and resources, state employees carried out illegal acts that also violated parking laws in an attempt to thwart a peaceful demonstration.

Governor Parnell’s office made a non binding, non committal statement that they would look into the matter when it first happened on April 2 and would make sure it didn’t happen again. Much to the shock, amazement, and frustration of the demonstrators, it did happen, even more strongly, the very next day. So much for Parnell’s standing up to defend Alaskans’ state and federal rights.

Senator Dunleavy was notified and on the Senate Floor spoke of these instances, calling them an outrage and asked that a Senate investigation be carried out.
Senator Huggins, as Senate President has stated in the interim, that a full investigation is underway and for people to allow time the process to work.

After waiting over two months for “the process to work,” I wrote Senator Huggins a letter by email, outlining my concerns [see letter below] on June 7, 2013. Well, it is now June 18th. I have yet to hear a single word from Senator Huggins, except for an automated response stating that his office had received my letter and that he would reply shortly. Apparently, Senator Huggins must use a different dictionary than me since “shortly” is long past and I fear as I said in my letter, it appears that Senator Huggins wants “this matter to be swept under the proverbial rug.”

“We need to fundamentally shake up the entire big government system. There has been a deep deep decay of the bureaucracy of this country—it’s out of control—it’s unaccountable—nobody manages it.—Newt Gingrich

So when people in high positions of leadership in our government, whether it be state or federal, violate and infringe on laws and fundamental GOD-given rights that are protected by the Constitution, both state and federal, and are not held accountable to those laws by others in government and the courts, what is the point first of all, of the laws, and secondly of all the money that is taken from hardworking Americans to pay these leaders whose job IS to uphold the Constitution?

_____________________________________________________________

Senator Charlie Huggins
Senate President

June 7, 2013

Dear Senator Huggins,

I am writing you today regarding the incidents that occurred on or near the Alaska state capitol steps on April 2nd and 3rd of 2013, when the First Amendment rights of peaceful law abiding citizens were violated. [see link]

Many concerned Alaskans, including myself, contacted Senator Dunleavy and asked him to get to the bottom of the issue. He had told us the Senate was investigating this matter.

He has been asked on more than one occasion since then, what the status of that investigation was. His response has been that it is his understanding that it is being investigated and if we want more information we need to contact your office.

Therefore I am contacting you to ascertain what is the status of this investigation? Sen Dunleavy has asked us to give the Senate time to investigate—we have. However it is long past due for a response. Sen Dunleavy asked us to trust in the process—we have. But in the words of the great President Ronald Reagan, we trust but must verify. What is the status?

I hope to hear from you shortly, with a full explanation and straight answers. Given the recent failures of government on Washington D.C. we still want to believe that our rights in Alaska will be protected. However, should this not be the case, I and others are prepared to take this matter to a higher level such as going even further with the news media, ACLU, Liberty Counsel, Heritage Foundation, and any other organization interested in transparent government. We will not let this matter drop. We will not allow this matter to be swept under the proverbial rug. The actions that occurred were blatant violations of the First Amendment. The perpetrators, regardless of position—up to the highest level of government, who ordered Alaska State government employees, property, such as vehicles, and other state resources to carry out these illegal acts—must be held accountable and charged with penalties to the fullest extent of the law.

Thank you for your prompt reply.

Sincerely,
Amy Walker
Palmer, Alaska

As Alaska Goes, So Goes America?

/3 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: TownHall

Photo Credit: TownHall

Mid-term elections are problematic for the party holding the Presidency; mid-term elections following scandals or highly divisive policy choices are particularly problematic.

The Republican Party experienced disaster in 1974 following Watergate, the granddaddy of all modern political scandals, losing 49 seats in the House and four in the Senate, giving Democrats a filibuster-proof majority in that body. When Reagan won his second term in 1984 (carrying 49 out of 50 states), the GOP held a 53 to 47 majority in the Senate only to give up 8 seats in 1986 and control to the Democrats following the Iran-Contra Affair.

Bill Clinton sold himself as a New Democrat in 1992, but after seeking to implement Hillarycare and raising taxes, voters sent his party to the cleaners in 1994, with the Republicans gaining back control of the House (in a 54 seat swing) and the Senate (9 seat change) for the first time since the 1950s.

The mid-term elections of 2010 followed a strikingly similar path. After the passage of the Stimulus Bill and Obamacare, the Democrats experienced the greatest reversal of party fortunes in House history. The GOP picked up 63 seats and leadership of the House, as well as 6 seats in the Senate, though Democrats retained control of that body.

Both scandal and unpopular policy choices are once again in the mix as 2014 begins to take shape, and the outcomes in a few key states may change the entire balance of power in Washington.

Read more from this story HERE.

Unusual Record-Setting Heat Wave Baking Alaska (+video)

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

A heat wave hitting Alaska may not rival the blazing heat of Phoenix or Las Vegas, but to residents of the 49th state, the days of hot weather feel like a stifling oven — or a tropical paradise.

With temperatures topping 80 degrees in Anchorage, and higher in other parts of the state, people have been sweltering in a place where few homes have air conditioning.

They’re sunbathing and swimming at local lakes, hosing down their dogs and cleaning out supplies of fans in at least one local hardware store. Mid-June normally brings high temperatures in the 60s in Anchorage, and just a month ago, it was still snowing.

Read more from this story HERE.

Alaska Makes Obama an Offer He Should, But Won’t Take

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: Human Events

Photo Credit: Human Events

When President Ronald Reagan recommended in 1987 that Congress should reopen a small sliver of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska to oil and gas exploration, it started an epic battle between those who believe more U.S. energy supplies make us more energetic and those who argue that we should not use or produce any more oil. Now, in an unexpected but bold move, Alaska Governor Sean Parnell has proposed that the Department of Interior join with the State of Alaska to fund a new, updated assessment of just how much oil and gas might exist under ANWR’s frozen tundra. It is a deal Obama should take, as it could settle once and for all the issue by providing ANWR’s owners — the American public – the information they need to make a decision.

Over almost 30 years, numerous bills to open ANWR have passed either the House or the Senate, and in one case, both bodies passed the bill, only to have it be vetoed by President Clinton. President Obama has stood firmly on the side of the anti-energy environmentalists against opening ANWR – the same ones who forced him to keep studying the Keystone XL pipeline to death – and therefore no one has expected any bill that might pass the House to be given a vote in the Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid decides what gets on the Senate calendar after getting his marching orders from President Obama. Part of the argument over ANWR has been over how much oil and gas might exist there.

Over those same 30 years, the information President Reagan based his decision on has gotten older and less relevant, given today’s technology for finding and producing oil. In 1984 and 1985, when the winter government seismic assessment program took place, technology was limited to 2 dimensional images (2D) with very little clarity and interpretative value. The government’s estimate of 10.4 billion barrels of recoverable oil at well below today’s prices, would be worth $1 trillion or more to our economy at today’s oil prices. But the government also estimated that the total oil in ANWR was between 16 and 42 billion barrels. Any of these numbers place ANWR in the highest class of oil reserves in the world. But the story could get much, much better.

In the thirty years since those estimates, the technology in the oil and gas business has gotten spectacularly better. Computers were very limited then, but today, the likelihood of oil and gas is found using 3 dimensional (3D) and even 4 dimensional (4D) analysis which shows what might have happened to hydrocarbons underground over time. When combined with new drilling as well as interpretive computing and materials technologies which would make NASA jealous, these amazing breakthroughs are remaking the United States and North America into the energy supergiant of the world. Governor Parnell’s proposal simply asks the president to join Alaska in the search for more information for the public about what they own, using the best technologies in the world in the dead of winter on some of the most forbidding territory in the world. An area, by the way, where the indigenous Inupiat Eskimo people overwhelming support efforts to find oil and gas in their traditional lands.

The implications of such new information could be staggering. In 1995 – 10 years after the ANWR report — the government estimated that the area around the famous Bakken formation in North Dakota held 151 million barrels of recoverable oil. Their estimate today is that the area holds 7.5 billion barrels, almost 50 times as much! If new information and new technologies had the same effect in ANWR that they have had on the Bakken, that would equate to about 500 billion barrels of oil, worth $50 trillion to our economy over its development.

Read more from this story HERE.

Alaska Man, 63, Charged With DUI on Shopping Cart

/0 Comments/in /by

dui on shopping cart

Photo Credit: Tobyotter

Police arrested an Alaska man who they say was driving a motorized shopping cart while drunk and in possession of stolen cookies and cake mix.

Merrill K. Moses, 63, was arraigned this week in Fairbanks on charges of drunken driving, shoplifting and refusing to take an official sobriety test. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 5, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported Saturday.

A grocery store employee called police Wednesday night after seeing Moses drive into parking lot traffic. The employee was worried that Moses would collide with a car.

“When an officer arrived, a store employee was holding onto the handlebars of the cart to keep the suspect from driving any further,” said Sgt. Bruce Barnette at the Fairbanks Police Department.

Read more from this story HERE.

Alaska Statewide Teleconference

/0 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: truth in american education

Every Sunday night in Alaska as the weekend comes to a close and to-do lists come back into focus, we jump on the telephone with like-minded people joining from all around the state. The Statewide Teleconference is an effort to facilitate a conversation on a variety of topics important to Alaskans with one goal in mind: restoration of The Rule of Law.

“I thought if we set aside a regular time to talk with one another about issues that are important to us we’d be able to discuss things before they get out of hand,” says Maria Rensel, founder of the group. “In May of this year a group of us got together and decided to spearhead the effort. We meet by teleconference to schedule topics ranging from nullification of unconstitutional Federal laws to drone strikes to corruption in party politics. Last week the discussion centered on the Common Core Curriculum and how it’s being implemented by the Alaska Department of Education right now.”

Michael Chambers, a member of a new group of concerned citizens, United for Liberty Alaska noted that the Sunday teleconferences are a powerful tool for communication. “Alaskans in every corner of this great state share their concerns regarding the intrusion of an oppressive government on every level. The past days of political apathy have led us to the mess we currently have. The only way out of this mess is to awaken the citizenry to action regarding what is best for their individual liberties instead of what is best for special interests.”

The group has no party affiliation and is made up of Libertarians, Republicans, Independents and Undeclared members and is firmly committed to avoiding a formal structure. It was started out as a grassroots group and will stay that way, composed of people calling in and talking. The group intends to address issues that specifically relate to individual liberty and maintaining the founding ideals of the country.

“… Building upon the knowledge of the founding principles embodied in our constitutional liberties coupled with traditional Alaskan independence encompasses the success of this venture,” quips Barbara Andersen an activist and national delegate to the Republican National Convention in 2012.

The “State Wide Teleconference” is a news sharing tool brought to you by Alaskans for Alaskans.  There is no hidden agenda.  It is direct, up front and honest.  This teleconference is a mechanism designed for concerned citizens to “get the word out” and raise awareness on topics that affect our everyday lives; directly or indirectly. 

Pamela Goode of Delta Junction notes that, “The information you receive by listening in, you will not hear or find anywhere else.  Our liberties are being lost due to lack of knowledge and action.  Counter that; do not miss one meeting.”

You can join us this coming Sunday evening at 8:00p.m. Alaska Time for a discussion by Ira Mehlman of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, FAIR, on the current state of the Amnesty Bill . Find “The State Wide Teleconference” on Facebook. Like us for updates.*

*If you don’t have a Facebook account, simply search “The State Wide Teleconference” to see the information on how to connect with us for the calls.

Man Killed in Bear Mauling in Interior Alaska

/3 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Jason Empey

A 64-year-old Fairbanks man was mauled to death by a bear at a remote lake in Alaska’s interior, authorities said Friday.

The man and a family member were at a cabin at George Lake, about 110 miles southeast of Fairbanks, when the attack occurred Thursday evening.

The family member sought shelter inside the cabin and called authorities, Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said…

Responders found the man’s body outside the cabin, and the traumatized family member inside. The victim was identified as Robert Weaver, Peters said.

Read more from this story HERE.

A Blast of a Find: 12 New Alaskan Volcanoes

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: James Baichtal

In Alaska, scores of volcanoes and strange lava flows have escaped scrutiny for decades, shrouded by lush forests and hidden under bobbing coastlines.

In the past three years, 12 new volcanoes have been discovered in Southeast Alaska, and 25 known volcanic vents and lava flows re-evaluated, thanks to dogged work by geologists with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Forest Service. Sprinkled across hundreds of islands and fjords, most of the volcanic piles are tiny cones compared to the super-duper stratovolcanoes that parade off to the west, in the Aleutian Range.

But the Southeast’s volcanoes are in a class by themselves, the researchers found. A chemical signature in the lava flows links them to a massive volcanic field in Canada. Unusual patterns in the lava also point to eruptions under, over and alongside glaciers, which could help scientists pinpoint the size of Alaska’s mountain glaciers during past climate swings.

“It’s giving us this serendipitous window on the history of climate in Southeast Alaska for the last 1 million years,” said Susan Karl, a research geologist with the USGS in Anchorage and the project’s leader.

Read more from this story HERE.