Admittedly, I assumed this was an ad for Sarah. It sums up her experience as a Wasilla councilmember and mayor, as an oil and gas policy administrator, and of course as the state’s elected governor. Sarah Palin has worked in all of these sectors as a local policymaker, local and state executive, and industry regulator.

But as I continued to listen, I realized the ad isn’t for Sarah despite essentially summarizing her credentials.

The ad is for Nick Begich, Mark Begich’s nephew, of all people.

The guy who challenged former Assemblymember Amy Demboski in Eagle River and lost by almost 20%.

As far as candidate Nick Begich is concerned, his latest radio ad is unbecoming of a wanna-be congressman because not only does it list attributes he doesn’t possess, but also the second half of the ad is highly disrespectful towards Sarah. The ad reeks of desperation.

Nick has very little experience in anything, from what I can gather. It’s laughable he highlights policy sectors in which he has zero experience. His ad is misleading to the public.

Then there’s the line about Alaska needing a fighter in Washington DC.

Ever met Nick Begich?

He’s a bureaucrat like the rest of his family. He’s certainly not a fighter because of a mailer with him holding a shotgun. I’ve owned some pretty rough-and-tumble bars in my day, like in Valdez during the Alaska Pipeline build. I’ve seen really tough people fight. I’ve also dropped my share of wild game as a longtime hunter.

To my knowledge, Nick Begich is neither a fighter (in the physical or policy-centric way) nor a hunter. Don’t let radio scripts and posed photos make you think any different. He’s a tech guy.

Further, Begich hasn’t protested the onslaught of negative diatribes from Americans for Prosperity against Sarah over the last three weeks. AFP has wasted so much money on mailers that are being tossed into the garbage and are unnecessary against a superior Republican (Sarah Palin) candidate to Nick. Who is deciding on this expensive and counter-productive AFP messaging in Alaska? They should be fired for incompetence and bias.

Ever heard of former President Ronald Reagan’s use of the “11th Commandment”?

Thou shall not speak ill of any fellow Republican.

I have to hand it to Sarah and her campaign manager, by the way. I haven’t seen any negative ads from the Palin team. Sure, a response to mudslinging, but otherwise 100% positive.

That’s a true Alaskan for you.

So tomorrow, Tuesday, August 16th, it’s Primary Election and I’m voting for Sarah Palin for Congress because, without question, she actually has the credentials, experience, aptitude, and tenacity to get the job done and move Alaska forward.

Sarah is the best fighter we have on the ballot for Alaska’s next U.S. Representative.

And when it comes to filling the titan Don Young’s shoes, do you want a poser – or the real deal?

Reject “Negative Nick” and vote your conscience for Congress.

For me, that’s Sarah Palin.

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

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

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

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

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

Ann Brown is the Alaska Republican Party’s Chairwoman.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Why U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan’s Arctic Focus Act is vital to maintain
America’s pole position in the region

In November 2021, more than 20 cargo ships were stuck in ice while trying to navigate Arctic Sea routes, according to The National. These paralyzed vessels included internationally owned bulk carriers and an oil tanker, notes the news publication, which blamed “unseasonably bad weather” with waters “frozen earlier than expected.”

20 ice-immobilized ships appear to be a record for a single month.

Cargo sent from the Bering Strait to the Barents Sea has risen dramatically, with more than 1.5 million tons of goods shipped by mid-October, according to Russian government statistics. That’s about 80% higher than 2020. But sea ice is becoming a big problem. Despite numerous claims the opposite is happening, sea ice is growing, according to Arctic Today’s website, and by late October, much of that Northern Sea Route was covered.

Over 2021, Russia gladly stepped up to the centerstage for accolades, deploying icebreakers to free the vessels and their crews, as getting stuck can lead to potentially disastrous supply shortages. Russia has dozens of icebreaking ships – many of them nuclear-powered – while the United States Coast Guard (USCG) has three and the “Polar Star” is the only operational heavy icebreaker in service, with three more VT Haltering Marine Polar Security Cutter design vessels expected in the mid to late-2020s, but already falling behind schedule.

It’s no surprise then that news stories about the USCG rescuing seamen trapped in ice are rare.

With Russia and China among the countries scrambling for resources in the region, U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) has responded to the communist countries’ presence by introducing the Arctic Focus Act.

The new law aims to ensure investment in the region while benefitting the United States by improving access in the Arctic. Expedited ingress and egress through the labyrinth of ice that limits transportation will also protect U.S. resources, and territory, from wandering adversaries.

“We are making significant investments in vessels, infrastructure, research, and personnel to expand America’s presence in the Arctic, yet the United States continues to trail Russia, and even China,” said Sullivan.

The United States, it seems, appears to have missed the boat when it comes to preparing itself for the current scramble for Arctic resources, choosing instead to pour billions of dollars into building expensive ships. The USS Gerald Ford (CVN-78) aircraft carrier is, at $13 billion, the world’s most expensive ship. Then there’s the almost-too-expensive-to-operate Zumwalt-class stealth destroyer, which is equipped with a rail gun that fires rounds costing $200,000 each. The U.S. has three of these juggernauts in operation.

The Arctic seems to have been off the radar in terms of strategic importance by successive governments. For several years, Senator Sullivan has been trying to resolve the problem and counter foreign aggressors.

“If we are to keep pace with our adversaries and realize our role as an Arctic nation, these historic investments need to be directed by policy and clearly defined objectives that advance America’s economic and national security interests in this important region,” added Sullivan. “I look forward to discussing the goals of the Arctic Focus Act with my colleagues as we work to protect America’s sovereignty in our Arctic and build upon the enormous progress we’ve made these past six years.”

Previously, Sullivan spearheaded the Strategic Arctic Naval Focus Act in 2019. SANFA followed warnings because of Chinese and Russian movements in the region. Russia has been refurbishing dozens of military ports and airfields, while China unveiled plans for a polar “Silk Road.” Both nations continue to escalate drilling, commercial fishing, and exploration in the region, and in some instances, perilously close to Alaskan waters.

Head of the United States Strategic Command, General John Hyten (currently the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) said at the time of Sullivan’s first measure, the Arctic “is no longer a buffer zone” and “we need to have a presence there that we have not invested in in the same way that our adversaries.” Meanwhile, General Terrence O’Shaughnessy, Commander, United States Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, insisted “defense of the homeland depends on our ability to detect and defeat threats operating both in the Arctic and passing through the Arctic,” pointing to Russia’s deployment of long-range cruise missiles.

Senator Sullivan’s Arctic Focus Act puts more power in the hands of the USCG, diverting money to Alaskan waters that would otherwise be spent far away on Antarctic operations as there are “not enough assets” for both regions. The Coast Guard will have to develop a plan for how it wants to move this forward and submit it to Congress as a condition of the Act.

The proposed bill also sets a 2030 deadline for enough icebreakers to keep the Northwest Passage open to trade, defense, rescue operations, and scientists. Sullivan wants “at least one major cutter on patrol in the Arctic” at all times for search-and-rescue operations, helping enforce fishing rules, and responding to pollution incidents. Supporting defense operations is also an aim of the icebreaker.

As the Arctic truly is one of our last frontiers, in concert with Antarctica, the deep sea, and outer space, the region’s connectivity and proximity to the 49th state is of particular concern to Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski, as it should be.

Here’s hoping their congressional colleagues on both sides of the aisle concur.

Alaska’s role in safeguarding the Arctic’s (and America’s) future as the international search for resources heats up

As our readers know, the Arctic is a vast frozen landscape, and hiding below the ice and rock are billions of barrels worth of oil or natural gas, rare minerals, and lots of fish. Much of this region is classed as international territory, meaning anyone, including Australia and China which are nowhere near it, can go there and seemingly help themselves.

Besides the U.S. and Canada, the Arctic nations of Russia and Norway, and Greenland (the autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark) also lay claim to parts of the region. Norway announced this month it is splashing out more than a million Euros on research for resources.

Easy-to-find oil is becoming rare these days, sparking the move North.

People are desperate for oil. The U.S. is believed to have some of the largest untapped reserves in the world, although President Joe Biden doesn’t want Americans drilling into them, even at a time when pump prices are emptying our wallets. Meanwhile, things are very different in other parts of the globe.

In Russia, President Vladimir Putin said in October “large-scale projects” on the Yamal Peninsula will play “a key role in developing Russia’s gas industry in the 21st century.” Gazprom’s reserves exceed 20 trillion cubic meters and at the largest field in Bovanenkovo, gas will be “produced here for many decades, for 100 years, maybe even longer,” Putin boasted, ignoring Western-led ideas that the planet should be carbon-neutral by the middle of the century to stop climate change.

The international scramble for resources involves allies and perceived foes of the United States. As we reported in September, the U.S. Coast Guard revealed that several Chinese ships were spotted conducting unexplained “military and surveillance operations” off the coast of Alaska. The same month, Russia held a 50-vessel exercise in the Arctic region.

These concerted movements appear to have the U.S. Department of Defense planning contingencies. With the Democrats pushing for the nation to expedite the transition to unreliable renewables, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has welcomed the move to put the new Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies on Alaskan soil. It makes complete sense, she says.

“We are the state that makes America an Arctic nation, and our geostrategic location creates unparalleled possibilities available nowhere else,” says Murkowski. “Alaska is indeed the geostrategic crossroads of the world and the logical place for an Arctic Studies Center.”

Named after late U.S. Senator Ted Stevens, the center will “support and strengthen advances…in the Arctic, using security cooperation, research and academia, and diplomacy,” notes the U.S. Department of Defense. The new center will address “full-spectrum security cooperation” and “collaborate against shared threats.”

“As a nexus for security cooperation, the center will soon play host to America’s global partners and allies along with a variety of federal and state authorities and academic institutions, also bringing economic benefit to the area,” adds Murkowski. “I appreciate that the Department of Defense took our advice and made the right choice to locate the Center in Alaska.”

Alaska’s complex will be the sixth regional center but the only one focused on the Arctic. The Pentagon listed “territorial security”, “transnational and asymmetric threats” and “defense sector governance” as priorities.

Senators Murkowski and Dan Sullivan (also R-AK) sponsored the planned Stevens Center and secured the $10 million price tag from the federal government.

“Our work to secure authorization and funding for the center was a huge accomplishment on its own, but now to know that the Center will officially be located in Alaska is incredibly welcomed news,” says Senator Murkowski. “I’m proud to have helped ensure the Ted Stevens Center continues to move forward from a mere concept to reality. As this project comes to fruition, we will all see the tremendous value it will provide as America pursues and defends our interests in the Arctic.”

As the new Arctic Center comes online, one added benefit is a strengthened relationship between Alaska (representing the U.S.) and the Arctic Council, the intergovernmental forum comprised of eight Arctic states (Canada, The Kingdom of Denmark [Greenland], Finland, Iceland, Norway, The Russian Federation, Sweden, and the U.S. [Alaska]) and six Indigenous Permanent Participant organizations, promoting “coordination, cooperation, and interaction” and now led (2021-2023) by Russian chairmanship.

Federal Infrastructure Bill is the first step

The infrastructure bill is a milestone. It’s also indicative of what’s possible when our policymakers confer and partner.

We don’t see this in the Anchorage Assembly. The Alaska Legislature remains in Majority-Minority gridlock that’s manifested into even further subdivisions of hard-right and hard-left to the point I actually look forward to some housecleaning with the reapportionment lines and incumbent pairings. A 4th Special Session with no results? #DoYourJob

Our lawmakers, business owners, and non-profit and civic leaders need to ramp up their cooperation game. Yes – maintain your ground on principles; hold firm to your faith and community sentiment; keep elected officials and our media professionals accountable.

But also give credit where it’s due and support rational-based team players.

As 2022 Primary and General Elections move closer, and Ranked Choice Voting becomes the new voting method for our state, I urge Alaskans to research candidates. Contact them and ask relevant questions. Then make sure – as you contour your litmus test on who to support, to add a checkmark by those who legitimately worked together and across the aisle (House/Senate and GOP/Democrat) to deliver on their campaign promises and for the betterment of our state and future generations.

Too many policymaking bodies in our state can’t get along with themselves or their executive (mayor/governor) counterparts to our suffering and detriment.

The less polarization and vitriol from political blog sites and pseudo-journalists, obnoxious social media-frenzied campaign staffers, and political party mouthpieces, the more room there will be for continued Infrastructure bills and an improved economy.

I’m a faith-based Republican conservative and I’m growing tired of the storm of anger. Results really do matter.

We can do better. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is a great start.

It’s that time of year again when world leaders, celebrities, and truant student Greta Thunberg gather to remind Earthlings they’re killing the planet.

I’m here in Glasgow at the COP26 (UKCOP26.org) because it’s that time of year again when world leaders, celebrities, and truant student Greta Thunberg gather to remind Earthlings they’re killing the planet and must give up more liberties to save it. They, and influential billionaires, are jetting into Glasgow, Scotland, to deliver this message. How dare anyone challenges them?

President Joe Biden is one of those aforementioned as he demands Americans pay more tax, stop using planes, and shell out more dollars for gas and unreliable renewable energy.

Here in Alaska, the loss of thousands of jobs has been the carnage after Biden canceled President Trump’s oil drilling licensure plan.

There’s no debate Earth’s temperature is changing, otherwise, we’d still be in an Ice Age. But the cause is not entirely human. One tangible effect, however, is Western democracies throwing cash at ‘climate victims’ in developing nations as taxpayers foot the bill.

The good news remains, the end of our world is nigh.

Let’s have a look at an example of how that’s played out so far.

In October 2009, President of the Maldives at the time, Mohamed Nasheed, held a high-profile cabinet meeting underwater to highlight the plight of nations like his supposedly threatened by rising sea levels caused by man-made global warming. The world had to get ready for millions of forthcoming ‘climate refugees’ for whom global media served as the harbinger.

At the same time, Nasheed’s government was in negotiations with a Hong Kong architecture firm, Indian builders, and British structural engineers on plans for a new $200 million USD airport. It was named ‘Future Project of the Year’ at the World Architecture Festival 2011. E-architect website gushed that “the building has 50% of its area outdoor on decking for passengers to witness the rich marine life at sea level”. Yes, ‘at sea level.’

I asked the Hong Kong firm – Integrated Design Associates – why the Maldivians wanted to build such an expensive airport while complaining their islands were sinking. Was it part of an exotic escape plan? The company said it wasn’t (sinking) and rising sea levels were not a threat to the airport, which was to be about four feet above the ocean. Drawing up concept plans was as far as the company got.

Nasheed’s underwater stunt was a success, gaining island nations like his considerable sympathy and huge amounts of real and pledged cash at climate change summits from the United States and other Western countries weakened by climate-guilt complexes. The influx of bundles of ‘free’ foreign cash probably led to Nasheed being ousted in a coup in 2012.

A year later, the Hong Kong Observatory told me the sea level had risen less than two millimeters since 1998, the year fear-mongering-about anthropomorphic global warming influencers kicked off their diatribes. At that rate, it would be 9,000 years before the new – relatively speaking – Maldives airport needed to get out the sandbags.

Naheed has been here at COP26 for a few days, peddling the same line about his island sinking and Western countries apathetic about his plight.

“I think 1.5C must be asked for again and restated and never left,” he said in an interview with The Guardian. “Anything above 1.5C and the Maldives will not be there. We cannot sign a suicide pact.”

Nasheed insisted the Maldives had lost a whole island so far.

“We are losing ground. We are losing people. We are losing our livelihood. We are losing our culture,” he told the newspaper. “This is happening now. It is upon us.”

As the leader of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, Nasheed speaks for other tiny island nations. They are asking for $100 billion USD every year from 2020 to 2024 for “adaptation and mitigation” against climate change.

The real questions remain how much of that money will be actually spent on new airports, and why wouldn’t that funding be directed to U.S. projects rather than a small foreign cluster of (ethically) questionable bureaucracies?

Meanwhile, Alaska’s Governor Mike Dunleavy battles and defends against Biden Administration policy strangleholds from ANWR to the Tongass while Biden, here in Glasgow, placates, if not outright acquiesces to nonsensical narratives like those from the Maldivian government.

Indeed, COP26 may be an ocean away from Alaska, but the spirit and subterfuge surfacing from its conference speeches and work sessions will undoubtedly cause a ripple effect, if not a tsunami, of continued restrictions and natural resource development barriers splashing onto Alaskan shores if not checked by Senators Sullivan and Murkowski, and by engaged voters.

The White House is under siege.

A two-pronged attack led by Republicans has forced Joe Biden into a corner of the Oval Office where he may be hoping a helicopter will land on the lawn, ready to extract him out of his stickiest situation to date as Commander in Chief. But there are no choppers coming for Joe.

Marine One is on standby after the President was forced to cancel a trip to Illinois to discuss vaccines for businesses. Instead, he needs to stay and rescue his ‘landmark’ budget, which desperately needs a shot in the arm.

On the other front, he is trying to save face after the U.S. military’s disastrous departure from Afghanistan. Joe, whose image is more pussycat than lion, might see it as his first military victory. But international media cameras captured a different story and broadcast it live to the world.

Under intense questioning from the Senate Armed Services Committee, some of Joe’s top military men admitted that his statements in public have not been entirely accurate.

“Would you use the term ‘extraordinary success’ for what took place in August in Afghanistan?” Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) asked Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley at the hearing on Tuesday.

“It was a logistical success, but a strategic failure, and I think those are two different,” Milley replied.

That was just one of Sullivan’s beefs with the President’s version of events, which included him telling the public “al-Qaeda was gone from Afghanistan” in mid-August.

“True or not true?” Sullivan quizzed the generals.

“Al-Qaeda is still in Afghanistan,” replied Milley. “They were there in mid-August.”

CENTCOM Commander General Kenneth McKenzie backed him up: “Al-Qaeda was present in Afghanistan.”

Since the fall of Kabul, global media has been documenting the exploits of Taliban fighters, from riding bumper cars in a theme park to battling ISIS. The new government is signaling Afghanistan is back in business, as far as resources are concerned, with Beijing undoubtedly reaching for the phone at the first opportunity.

Sullivan reeled out a list of headlines slamming the foreign policy fiasco, including ‘China Sees America Humbled’. The Alaska senator is demanding accountability from the armed forces and ultimately Joe himself for complicity in the high-profile disaster.

“The problem here – these are not marginal misstatements by the President to the American people,” he told the hearing. “These are dramatic, obvious falsehoods that go to the very heart of the foreign policy fiasco we have all witnessed. These are life-and-death deceptions that the president of the United States told the American people.”

Sullivan and 22 other senators have introduced an act they contend will limit some of the damage caused by the Biden Administration and perhaps restore some of America’s standing. The Afghanistan Counterterrorism, Oversight, and Accountability Act addresses the issues related to the President’s “rushed and disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.”

“The faith of our allies has weakened, our adversaries have been emboldened, hundreds of Americans and thousands of our Afghan allies were left at the mercy of a ruthless Taliban, and Afghanistan is once again a safe haven for global terrorism,” said Sullivan.

The Act includes slapping sanctions on the Taliban and ‘foreign governments’ that support them and calls for Washington to ignore any candidates for Afghan ambassador to the U.S. or United Nations, among other things. It also helps holders of SIVs (Afghan Special Immigrant Visas) get processed quicker if they are stuck in Afghanistan.

Reports military interpreters are being rounded up like French collaborators after the Second World War have unsettled those who say they played a vital role in the conflict. At Tuesday’s hearing, Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) asked how many American citizens are still there.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin admitted there was no definite figure but suggested the State Department’s estimate might be accurate. That had been put at 10-15,000 in mid-August by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, but Milley insisted about 6,000 had got out. By anybody’s calculation, that leaves anywhere from 4,000-9,000 people left behind – far above the White House claim of 100 in early September.

“The President has not been leveling with the American people at all, during this fiasco,” Sullivan told Fox News after the hearing. “We went through a number of things where I pressed the witnesses today on things that the President had said. You mentioned a number of them… The President said that his generals recommended that there should be no forces in Afghanistan. That was not true. This president said that al-Qaeda was gone from Afghanistan. That was not true. The President said that our military would stay until all Americans were out of the country. That was not true.”

Back at the White House, Joe is under lockdown while he tries to avoid a shutdown. The senate evacuation hearing has only compounded his problems. Now his domestic and foreign policies are inching towards the shredder.