Visions for Alaska

Contributed by Huhnkie Lee

Greetings friends, this is Huhnkie Lee, running for 2022 US Senate as an independent Alaskan. As a practicing Christian, I’m notoriously friendly to other candidates. So, I strongly encourage them to implement the plans outlined here if they get elected instead of me. //:-)

Earlier this year, I wrote a white paper about Pebble Mine, which you can download freely at https://privpapers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3833159 . Basically, the idea is this... Go ahead and mine the gold, copper, molybdenum in Pebble, make 500 billion dollars there, and save Alaskan lives.

Pebble Site, besides minerals, has an amazing tourism opportunity. The biggest lake in Alaska, Iliamna Lake is there. Kodiak Island and Katmai National Park and Bristol Bay are around Pebble Site as well. Aleutian Chains is there as well. So, if we mine Pebble, make $500 billion dollars, and build a highway from Mat-Su to Pebble Site, then people can travel there by cars. People around Pebble site will find tourism gold, as well as mined gold. Imagine people sailing, hopping from one to another island along Aleutian Chain, all the way to Attu Island, to visit and learn about World War 2 history there.

Now, yet another humongous opportunity is a new trade route between Alaska and Russia/Asia along the Aleutian Chain. How wonderful a shipping industry would it be, if the cargo ships simply sail along the Aleutian Chain Islands, staying over some hotels in some Aleutian Islands along the way? We’ll need initial investment money to make this trade/tourism industry and Pebble money can provide that.

Of course, Alaska has more to offer than Pebble potential. We got Arctic National Wildlife Refuge too. Another $500 billion dollar there with oil and gas. If I become US senator next year, I shall work with President Biden, Vice President Harris, and yes, I will work with both Democrats and Republicans and make ANWR oil/gas development happen. How? I’ll convince them that ANWR development won’t hurt the environment and polar bears, just like I’ll persuade them Pebble won’t hurt a single salmon.

My dear fellow Alaskans and Americans, let us be realistic. Fifty percent of Americans will always be Liberal/Democrats, 50% of Americans will always be Conservative/Republicans. That will never change, and no one can ever change that. To make something happen, to pass a bill in Congress, you have to work with both Democrats and Republicans. What we should focus on is common goal: to save Americans’ lives by making money and by creating jobs.

Once we build Pebble Mine and ANWR oil/gas, we’ll be left with one trillion dollars. We can invest some of that for social programs to rehabilitate drug addicts, criminals and homeless people in Alaska. All we need to teach them is how to work, how to study, and how to have fun without breaking the law. We, law-abiding and hard-working citizens, learned how to live good from our parents, but not everyone was blessed with good parents like us. So, once we make one trillion dollars from Pebble/ANWR, we will help out people who are less well-to-do.

Another vision for Alaska is farming of Alaska’s wild plants and wild animals. Russians learned how to tame and farm moose, as you can see in the following documentary for free: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UZpOvnAL_M .

I think we can farm any wild animals, including tigers, elephants, lions, leopards, etc. What if they refuse to breed in captivity? No problem. We got amazing reproductive technologies available these days, including artificial insemination. We will get them pregnant, snatch their babies, and sell them. Sounds too harsh? Well, my dear fellow Alaskans and Americans, where do you think your puppies and kittens come from? Does a stork come fly, carrying those baby cats and canines to deliver to your doorstep? No. Baby snatching and baby selling of animals are the reality of animal farming that has been done everywhere in human history for tens of thousands of years.

Animal rights activists? We will convince them to. How? Like this: Farmed animals never go extinct. Let’s say, we farm polar bears. We can rent out baby polar bears as pets and take them back after they grow too big. Let’s say polar bears live for 15 years on average. In their 13th birthday, we shall harvest polar bears and sell their furs. We can make serious money here. And, we shall release about 5% of farmed polar bears, back to their natural habitat. What if the climate changes and the polar bears start to starve? Again, no problem. We’ll feed them. With ANWR oil/gas money, we can build a highway from Fairbanks all the way to ANWR. We can have a fully-fenced polar bear safari, which will also serve as a feeding zoo. Polar bear cubs can be petted as well as fed by human patrons in that polar bear zoo. It will be safely operated. People will feed polar bears by dropping the food they came with, through a funnel or conduit built-in through the fence.

As you can see, the possibility in Alaska is endless. So, vote for me next year. Thank you //:-D

Let’s Celebrate Mollie

Contributed by Randi Perlman

Dear Mollie –
You lead a movement
You educated a community
You raised a Leed Gold building

Dear Mollie –
You fostered our collective consciousness
You awakened our passion
You believed in us and our mission

Dear Mollie –
You honored your friends and family
You cherished our planet
You held tight to your vision

Dear Mollie –
You created so much good
You accomplished your dream
You left a sustainable legacy

Dear Mollie –
You touched us all in meaningful ways
You made the most of all your days
Your energy was contagious 

Dear Mollie –
You always cared & persevered
You inspire us all by what you shared
Your lessons will guide us forward 

Dear Mollie –
You remain large in our hearts
Your presence surrounds us always
You will forever be missed
And we will dance in your honor

This poem was written in celebration of the life of Mollie Boyer, long-time executive director of our local Recycling Center. She made our wonderful Valley an even more incredible place to ‘hang yer hat’, and taught some valuable lessons along the way.  She is missed, but never forgotten… 

-Randi Perlman
6/26/21

Alien

Contributed by Caitlin M.S. Buxbaum

Someday we’ll see / alien is only / a matter of perspective.

Palmer Museum of History & Art Photo of the Month: Colony Barn on the Move

Contributed by Richard Estelle, Palmer Museum of History & Art

The most common barn design in our part of Alaska is that associated with the Matanuska Colony project and has become a symbol of agriculture throughout the Valley. While four or five Colonist farmers constructed their barns of the rounded “barrel vault” roof design, most of the over two hundred Colonists chose the highly recognizable design that we now often refer to as the “Colony Barn” style.

Over the years, as land ownership changed and farming practices evolved, many of the barns were no longer actively used and their maintenance was neglected. Consequently, winter winds stripped away protecting roofing paper, allowing rain to invade and cause structural timbers to weaken. Untreated logs of the foundations and ground floor crumbled from rot and were not replaced. Accidental fires consumed some and others have been intentionally torn down. Consequently, many of the iconic barns have collapsed and disappeared.

However, numerous barns in the Valley have been moved from farms where they were no longer needed or wanted, to a different farm or location where they have been restored and placed back in useful service. Our photo this month features one such barn with developing plans to move it from its original Colony farm to another original Colony farm where it will be preserved and placed back in use.

The photo shows portions of three Matanuska Colony farms as seen in the fall of 1939. In the foreground is the farmstead of Clarence and Alice Sjodin (pronounced “Shodeen”) on tract 98, with their field of harvested hay. The hay has been raked into windrows and near the house we can see work has begun placing the gathered hay into haystacks to dry. Across what is now Scott Road to the right, are the house and outbuildings of Claude and Helen Hesse on tract 101, and beyond the Sjodin barn can be seen the barn of Virgil and Lillian Eckert on tract 100.

The Sjodins used their first summer here, 1935, to clear land for planting and build their log house, seen in the center of the photo. Their typical Colony barn, at left in the photo, was probably built the following summer.

At the same time, another Colony family was establishing their new farm a short distance south of Palmer. Ray and Edna Rebarchek were clearing trees from their selected tract #52 and building their log house. Their barn, almost identical to Sjodins’, was likely also going up in 1936.

The Rebarchek’s established a Grade A dairy enterprise, of which their barn was an integral part. When fire destroyed their original barn, Rebarcheks acquired a duplicate barn from a nearby farm and moved it to replace the one he lost.

Many years later, when the family no longer worked the farm, the replacement barn was sold and moved away, and the property was sold to the adjacent Alaska State Fair. Rather than turn the land into a typical carnival venue or back lot storage, the Fair set out to establish a unique agriculture-based park that would preserve the buildings of the original Colony farmstead and make the farmland available for agriculture-based education, demonstrations, and other uses. Programs will support youth groups including Future Farmers of America and 4-H.

Part of the objective of preserving and restoring the farm buildings of the Rebarchek Agricultural Park is to maintain structures representative of those commonly found on Colony farmsteads to help visitors better understand the living and working situation of Colony families. Until recently that objective was challenged by having a farmstead that lacked the very heart of the Colony farm - the barn. 

However, the original Sjodin Colony barn (of the same design as the previous Rebarchek barns) has now become available to be moved to take its central place on the Rebarchek Agricultural Park. Numerous hurdles have yet to be overcome to make it happen, but fund-raising efforts will soon be underway, and volunteers will be working hard to make the move happen this summer. If successful, one more iconic symbol will be saved to stand tall as a representative of a unique social experiment and a reminder of an important part of our Matanuska Valley heritage.

For more information on how to become involved or contribute to this unique preservation effort, you may contact LaMarr Anderson at 232-5082.

November 8, 2022: The 2022 Election

Contributed by Katherine Baker

This is a vitally important election for our country and for Alaska. Each state will be assessing the kind of leadership it requires and every voter will decide who best represents them. The voters of Alaska may very well give pause before giving their vote to Lisa Murkowski ever again. Can Alaskans be certain of what exactly Murkowski will do in Washington, DC? We can get a glimpse of what to expect based on her past ‘bouncing off the walls’ leadership style.

In January of 2021, Murkowski made what could be the worst political power play in recent memory. Murkowski threatened to change her political party and go Democrat. (Seriously, some Alaskans saw that as confirmation of what they already suspected). The Alaskan voters had been led to believe that they had elected a moderate Republican, as, for example, President Donald J. Trump is. Instead, after being elected as a senator from Alaskan by conservatives and expected to solidly and faithfully represent the state and its people, Murkowski wiped the bottom of her shoes all over their ballots. Murkowski had the rudeness (like her partner-in-crime, Liz Chaney) to side against her state and the people who elected her. Murkowski opted to side with (wait for it…) the radical, not a bit moderate or reasonable, hardcore, elitists extremist, the socialist fascists of the Democratic Party, the Biden-Harris-Pelosi-Schumer Show. What is that? No, really, what IS that? Would any true conservative, moderate or otherwise, pull such an erratic stunt? Reasonable minds all know the answer to that.

In the past, whenever Murkowski opposed the duly elected moderate Republican POTUS and/or her Republican colleagues in the Senate, she would loudly and proudly proclaim how she wasn’t up for re-election in 2020. She bragged about it, actually. That sounds suspiciously like the Democrat strategy of “the people have short memories”.

No politician can long stand without the support of the people UNLESS they can somehow control the outcome of the election and don’t have to represent the people or their state to get votes. Then the politician would have enormous power to do whatever they wanted.

The office of the President of the United States isn’t on the ballot in 2022. Plan on voting anyway. VOTE. Every voice matters. Every VOTE matters. Your VOTE matters. No matter who you decide to VOTE for, please VOTE. Participate in history-VOTE. The power of the people is in the ballot box. The politicians have forgotten how they represent the people, the voter, you! Remind them. VOTE.

SOA Becomes A Transgender Factory

Contributed by Larry Wood

As reported in the Alaska Watchman, the State of Alaska, by order of Governor Michael J. Dunleavy, has now signed up the state as a factory to finance the manufacture of faux females and males. These are individuals who suffer gender dysphoria, which may be a transitory and readily treatable condition that is not that uncommon in adolescence. (“Sexuality and Gender”, Lawrence S. Mayer, M.B., M.S., Ph.D. and Paul R. McHugh, M.D. The New Atlantis, (No. 50, Fall 2016))

The World Health Organization defines adolescence as the growth phase of puberty from 10 to 19 years of age.

Approximately 1.8% of adolescents in the U.S. identify as transgenders.

Puberty blockers are being given now to children as young as age 8, even though the “official” age limitation is 12 years of age. Girls have been given mastectomies at age 13 and testosterone as young as 8. The side effects of the puberty blockers are calcium leaching from the bones and infertility. Weakening of the skeletal structure can lead to osteoporosis and increase the potential for injury. Infertility will lead to further mental and physical duress.

The biological sex still does not change, males still have the X chromosome after surgery. Females do not gain an X chromosome as a result of surgery.

However, as disturbing as the idea of surgical mutilation of the individual in pursuit of an impossible goal is the unstated issue of “non-heterosexuals are 2-3 times more likely to have experienced childhood sexual abuse”. (“Sexuality and Gender”, Lawrence S. Mayer, M.B., M.S., Ph.D. and Paul R. McHugh, M.D. The New Atlantis, (No. 50, Fall 2016) p7)

A disturbing factor of transgenderism is the prevalence of suicide attempts in adults. 46% of trans men and 42% of trans women who responded to a study survey have attempted suicide. Cross-dressers who did not undergo sexual reassignment surgery and hormonal treatments had the lowest suicide attempt rate at 21%. 69% have experienced homelessness, over 50% have experienced violence, harassment or other discrimination. (“Suicide Attempts among Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Adults”, Ann P. Haas, Ph.D, Phillip L. Rogers, Ph.D, Jody L. Herman, Ph.D, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the Williams Institute, (Jan, 2014))

The point is, transgenderism does not appear to be a happy state of being.

Given the potential mental and physical harm to the individual, minors should be adults before making the decision to make an irrevocable decision to permanently change their sexual identity.

Further, the state has a fiscal imperative in ending state funding for this elective surgery. The surgery and hormonal treatments will increase the potential for self-harm and increase the likelihood of further injury. This will mean a continuing commitment by the state to ongoing medical care after surgery and hormone treatments for an individual who may not have had a voice in the decision as a child to effect an irrevocable change of sexual identity.

Recently, there was a study showing that pubertal suppression may be associated with lower suicidal rates in later life. The recommendation was for gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues (GnRHas) to be made available for transgender adolescents who want it. Which then begs the question of how young, and to what degree such a decision should be left to someone under the age of majority? There is apparently some degree of benefit in the treatment of certain illnesses that have nothing to do with gender dysphoria. (“Pubertal Suppressions for Transgender Youth and Risk of Suicidal Ideation”, Jack L. Turban, MD, MHS, ALM; Jeremi M. Carswell, MD, Alex S Keuroghlian, MD, MPH; Pediatrics (Feb., 2020))

One aspect of these studies that is never revealed, is the sexual orientation of the authors in many of these studies. If they are LGBTQ, they have a “self-interest” in an outcome that is beneficial to them. After all, LGBTQ is a biological dead end, new “meat” must be continually found or created through conditioning for acceptance of the acts and then sexual abuse. Sexual abuse may play a strong factor in motivating an individual’s acceptance of a sexual lifestyle that would otherwise be rejected. (“Sexuality and Gender”, Lawrence S. Mayer, M.B., M.S., Ph.D. and Paul R. McHugh, M.D. The New Atlantis, (No. 50, Fall 2016) p7)

Given the physical and mental issues associated with transgender “conversion”, a legislative bar to such irreversible treatment of adolescents prior to age 18 should be passed this coming special session. Further, state money should be barred any individual seeking such “conversion”, given the lack of resources available for those who are suffering from debilitating disease, the high rate of veteran suicides, and families suffering mental decline of a loved one.

The Legislature should be protecting minors from irreversible harm. If at age 18, they wish to follow through, fine. Let them. At their own expense. Public funds should never be used to support self-delusion. How is it that these people think that We the People are their piggy bank for them to use to do self-harm? This surgery does not erase the birth DNA, their sex is determined by biology and not by doctors playing God, or by wishful thinking.

This is my opinion, nothing more.

If You Can Draw Stick Figures, Then Mat-Su College Has Art Courses For You!

Contributed by Felicia Desimini

Have you finally come to the realization that art stirs your soul? Has your passion for art been sitting on the back burner or needing a little guidance? If so, the Mat-Su College Art Department has just what you need! Come and explore art and improve your art-making skills with us.

Are your paintings not catching your audience’s interest? If that’s the case, perhaps a beginning painting and/or a beginning drawing class can help sharpen your technique and put some ‘POP’ in your style! Are your skills in painting and drawing good - but something still feels off? Color Design is a terrific course for anyone who doesn’t truly understand how colors react with and entice your audience. In 15 weeks, if you apply yourself, you will learn this life-time skill for artists - color mixing.

If music strikes a chord with you, or if you think Broadway is calling, Mat-Su College offers four courses in these disciplines during the fall semester. Music and theater are fundamental - the Greeks used music as the framework for the educational system - and we all know about the great Greek myths and their playwrights.

Does learning a bit about why visual culture is so important in our lives interest you? It is everywhere, influencing (almost) everything we think, do, and say. For this reason, an art appreciation course will help you navigate the art world, from pre-history to Banksy and the Global Art Market. Want to delve even deeper into the history of Art? Then the college’s offering of Western Art History I is just the course for you.

·      Beginning Drawing, ART A105, Jason Isley, M-W, 3 Credits, 9am - 11:45am

·      Beginning Drawing, ART A105, Jason Isley, M-W, 3 Credits, 4pm - 6:45pm

·      2D Design, ART A111, Jason Isley, M-W, 3 Credits, 1pm - 3:45 pm

·      Color Design, ART A112, Barbara Laucius, Online, 3 Credits

·      Art Appreciation, ART A160, Barbara Laucius, Online, 3 Credits

·      Art Appreciation, ART A160, Felicia Desimini, Tue. 3 Credits, 9am - 11:45am    

·      Western Art History II, ART A262, Barbara Laucius, Online, 3 Credits

·      Art Education, ART A203, Felicia Desimini, Online, 3 Credits

·      Beginning Watercolor, ART A212, Felicia Desimini, T-Thurs. 3 Credits, 1pm - 3:45pm

·      Beginning Painting, ART A213, Felicia Desimini, Friday, 3 Credits, 9am - 3pm (oil and acrylic)

·      Music Appreciation, MUS A121, Meghan Aube, Online, 3 Credits

·      Music Appreciation, MUS A121, Naomi Stamoolis, M-W, 3 Credits, 1pm - 2:15pm

·      Theater Appreciation, THR A111, Matthew Sale, Online, 3 Credits

·      Theater Appreciation, THR A111, Matthew Sale, T-Thurs. 3 Credits, 1pm - 2:15pm

Seasoned artists continue their studies - forging ahead, working day to day to add new tricks and techniques to their skill sets. Now is the perfect time to hone your skills. Apply yourself to art studies at Mat-Su College during the fall semester.

Questions? Contact Felicia Desimini at fdesimini@alaska.edu or by telephone, (907) 745-9755.

See you in the fall!

Portugal. The Man Adds Second Show at 2021 Fair Due to High Demand

Tickets on sale now for shows on August 20th and 21st.

Contributed by Melissa Keefe, Alaska State Fair, Inc.

Opening night at the 2021 Alaska State Fair on August 20th just got even better with hometown heroes Portugal. The Man adding a second show as part of the Fair’s 2021 AT&T Concert Series. The band is also playing the Fair on August 21st. High demand led the Fair to add a second night of music with Alaska’s homegrown Grammy®-winning rockers, who will take the ConocoPhillips Borealis Theatre stage on Friday, August 20th and Saturday, August 21st at 7 p.m.  Tickets are available now for both shows, with limited tickets remaining for August 21st.   

“In celebration of a third weekend of the Alaska State Fair, we are pleased to add a second show featuring Portugal. The Man on opening day of the 2021 Fair,” said Jerome Hertel, Fair general manager. 

The band that first came together at Wasilla High School has gone on to play over 1,700 shows around the world, but are still proud of their roots in the Last Frontier. Portugal. The Man has performed on legendary main stages at the biggest festivals, including Coachella, Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo and many more, and is bringing that show back to Palmer for the Alaska State Fair. 

“We spent our childhoods going to the Fair. Those memories are etched in our minds, and we look forward to playing for our fellow Alaskans. We will see you in the funnel cakes line!” said Zach Carothers, bassist of Portugal. The Man.  

The band soared to epic heights with the release of the RIAA certified-gold album, Woodstock, which included the trans-global, six-time RIAA platinum-certified single, “Feel It Still,” as well as the RIAA-certified gold single, “Live in the Moment.” The band is comprised of John Gourley, Zach Carothers, Kyle O’Quin, Eric Howk, Jason Sechrist and Zoe Manville.

Tickets for both Portugal. The Man shows are now on sale on the Fair website, www.alaskastatefair.org. Limited tickets are available for the August 21st show, and seats are expected to sell quickly for the August 20th concert. Concert-goers have the option to purchase concert-only tickets or tickets including Fair admission. The included admission is at a discounted price and good any day of the Fair. Concert tickets including Fair admission must be purchased by August 25th. Details on ticket options and pricing areavailable on the Fair website. Convenience fees apply.

The Fair’s 2021 concert line-up also features Martina McBride on August 22nd, Michael Jr. on August 23rd, Dashboard Confessional on August 27th, Jon Pardi on August 28th, The Guess Who on August 29th, Zach Williams on August 30th, Common Kings on September 2nd, and Billy Idol on September 4th. 

For more information, visit www.alaskastatefair.org or contact Melissa Keefe, marketing and communications manager, at mk@alaskastatefair.org.  

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, REVIVE!

Recycle Revival 2021 is LIVE!

Contributed by Terry Matteucci Koch, Valley Community for Recycling Solutions

3rd Annual Recycle Revival Music
7/31/2021 – 3PM
Valley Community for Recycling Solutions
Settler’s Bay Golf Course
7307 S Frontier Dr. Wasilla
Tickets: $20

It’s back! Our 3rd Annual Recycle Revival Music Festival is live at Settler’s Bay golf course on Saturday, July 31st, from 3pm-11pm. Musical performances by Alaska’s favorites: Braided River, Carhartt Brothers (The “Bobs”), Denali Cooks and H3 Hawaiian Reggae Band. There will be vendors, a silent auction with cool stuff, food and beverages available from the Albatross, and best of all, a real crowd of people you haven’t seen in person since lockdown. See first-hand how everyone really looks, without the help of Zoom and Instagram filters!

We always strive for zero-waste events, so if you have a reusable container and/or sustainable straw to consume your beverages with, please bring them along. And a folding chair or blanket to sit on. If you don’t own any of these items, they will all be available to bid on in the silent auction. Be prepared to live a sustainable future!

Bring your own drinking vessel and receive a free sticker! Or count the

exclamation points in this exciting article and get a free sticker!! Hint: there are two in that last sentence! And it’s not too late to donate to the silent auction. We are accepting items until July 26th at the VCRS office.

Major funding for this event provided by SUBARU of America - #DontFeedTheLandfills. There will be dedicated “rock star” parking for Subaru vehicles only. Additional funding provided by 95.5 THE PASS, The People’s Paper, Aethereal Coffee, Green Jar, Valley Market Real Estate and Dr. Joanie Kirk, ND. Come and join our sponsors, supporters, volunteers, recyclers, music lovers and anyone else willing to pay a paltry $20 donation for a full day of fun and music, all while supporting a good cause – recycling in Alaska!  

If you are unable to attend, feel free to donate at www.valleyrecycling.org. Donation link is valid year-round! And I needed to end this with an enthusiastic sentence and the final exclamation point. Count ‘em up.

BEWARE

Contributed by Katherine Baker

Manipulative charm,
of causes which harm,
the twisting of truth,
in a rhetoric of ethics.

Judgment errors,
a camouflage of cares,
when special interest decide,
a demise of the wise.

Freedom disguised,
rights compromised,
liberty abused, vividly bruised,
Seduction of Destruction.

ARE KNOWN…

Contributed by Katherine Baker

The young are known as truth is unrecognized.
The uneducated are known as truth is unheard.
The ignorant are known as truth is denied.
The lawless are known as truth is manipulated.
The scholarly are known as truth is questioned.
The wise are known as truth is understood.
And the nations are known as truth is either
Feared or revered.

Join the Alaskan Scottish Club (ASC) for our 1st Annual Tartan Tourney at the Beautiful Settler's Bay Golf Course in Wasilla, Alaska

Contributed by Joan Massart-Paden, Alaskan Scottish Club

1st Annual Tartan Tourney
7/24/2021
Registration Opens at 2 pm with a Shotgun Start at 3 pm.
Settler's Bay Golf Course
Settler’s Bay Golf Course
7307 S Frontier Dr. Wasilla
Cost: $125 per golfer, $500 team of 4

Could there be a more appropriate event that the Alaskan Scottish Club should host than a golf tournament? With Scotland being the home of golf, we think not! So, grab three friends and your favorite tartan schwag and join the Scots for a day of golf and Scottish fun!

Register TODAY! https://alaskanscottish.square.site/
$125.00 per individual golfer or $500.00 for a team of 4.

This entertaining tournament will host up to 30 teams of 4 golfers and will feature: fun games, a beer cart, prizes, a golf bag toss, Grenades and Strings, closest to the pin and longest drive awards, dinner banquet after the tournament, and so much more! Plus, first drink is on us!

The dinner will include: lemon thyme chicken, beef wellington, roasted potatoes with rosemary, roasted vegetables, salad bar, and fruit trifle

The dinner banquet can be attended by Alaskan Scottish Club members who are not golfing for an additional fee of $40.00. This fee includes dinner and your first drink.

Odem will also be providing a scotch tasting during the dinner!

More about The Alaskan Scottish Club:
The Alaskan Scottish Club is a non-profit organization established to promote the Scottish culture, heritage and teachings to the people of Alaska. We achieve this through events, workshops, concerts and other social gatherings in Alaska throughout the year. The Alaska Scottish Highland Games is the largest event the ASC puts on and brings approx. 10,000 people throughout the State of Alaska and beyond together to celebrate the traditions and culture of Scotland. Money from this fundraising event will help to continue the events that the ASC holds year round, along with helping to fund the the Alaskan Scottish Club's Education Assistance Program. This Program encourages and assists interested applicants in developing an understanding, appreciation and study of Scottish lore in music, sports, dancing, traditions, heritage, literature and art.

Slàinte & warmest regards,
Joan Massart-Paden, President
Alaskan Scottish Club

Tel: 907.229.0022
P.O. Box 244416
Anchorage, AK 9924-4416
Emails:  president@alaskanscottish.org / adstrategies@icloud.com 
Website: alaskanscottish.org

Unalienable Rights

Contributed by Wes Keller 

Belated Happy 4th! We must recognize the significance of this national holiday more than ever before. By next July 4, 2022, we will be in the big election cycle of crucial significance for future generations. The long-standing awe and esteem for the superiority of America’s founding values has been tarnished by the polarization of the 2020 election fiasco. The power and dignity of voting was gravely damaged and must be restored quickly. Our society has been rudely jerked out of an era of lackadaisical voting to suddenly find our voting power was likely stolen! We had better spare no expense re-certifying election credibility if we expect meaningful future July 4th celebrations. I encourage you to keep the red, white and blue décor up all year! This is a way we can each take part to help defeat the ridiculous aversion to patriotism we are seeing happening recently while watching for other things we can do to help repair the damage.

It is as if we have researched and found a perfect house, car, property to buy… a “deal”. But, when we try to pay, we find our identity has been stolen, our bank account emptied, and our credit destroyed. There is no “quick fix”, we have simply become marginalized because of theft! As voters, we seem to have lost the control and rights we presumed we had! The only consolation we have is we are supposedly “on the Board of Directors” to catch and punish the thief and re-secure our dignity. It turns out we really haven’t been paying enough attention so now there is confusion on how to make the repairs.

My hat is off to the few State legislatures who understand this, and to various organizations in America such as the Heritage Foundation, who are working hard to restore election credibility. Do not make the mistake of just assuming justice will automatically prevail in this matter! We must never forget the Judiciary and Executive Branches have an intrinsic interest in an ever bigger and stronger government! By original design, applying founding values, government power is supposed to be limited by “We the People” via elected representatives in the legislative branch. It is very disappointing to see our Alaska Legislature continue to flounder on this issue. Some good election bills have been introduced by clear thinkers, but they languish in committees as victims of ignorant, petty politics. If our legislature does not stand up and assert Alaska’s constitutional state sovereignty in our national presidential vote, Alaska will be part of the problem — the national crisis we are facing.

We celebrate, confirm, and review the source and maintenance of “unalienable” human rights described in the Declaration of Independence every July 4th; “…certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men…”. The parades, the red, white, and blue, the picnics…, they all celebrate what the Statue of Liberty iconically proclaims to the seven continents of the earth; our government (America) is here to secure these rights for all who legally join us and become Americans! We dare not forget this bottom-line, intentional design for our limited government. We have become “dull” and lost much of the excitement of America’s greatness and how it is sourced in traditional, monotheistic, constitutional values. We need to sharpen-up these values immediately to defeat the foolish, failed philosophies being promoted in our schools, our reactionary knee-jerk social media posts, and the popular media.

Ask yourself what “unalienable” human “rights” are: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This is not as simplistic as you may have come to believe. Every signer of the Declaration — actually, every rational human being — can and does “justify” the denial of these rights in certain circumstances! Such as cases of self-defense, war, incarceration for crimes committed, and pursuits oppressing another’s pursuits without restraint. The default question is what rational moral standard will be used to restrict unalienable rights? If you think it through, you will see this question inevitably requires religious analysis! If our society claims no absolute values, to be utterly secular and areligious, we would not be able to claim “rule of law”. Law is not law if it is not based on some ultimate moral value.

Religion is inevitable and, as goes the individual “religion” of voters, so goes the nation. Remarkably, our government is specifically banished from “establishment” of ANY religion, so each person must bring his or her standard of absolutes with him/her when voting or working for government. These standards are meant to be applied in transparent public debate to shape and enforce our laws. This has been working wonderfully well (America IS Great), arguably because the voting majority embraced “true” religious concepts of justice, forgiveness, mercy, love, holiness, and Supreme-ness of the one true God. We are about to find out if these foundational truths will prevail so America’s greatness can be restored!

Wes Keller | www.WesKeller.com

The Most Important Matter Affecting Today All Alaskans & Future Generations

Contributed by Eugene Carl Haberman, Self-Appointed Government Watchdog

The time was 12:58 pm, Tuesday, June 22, 2021. I had just completed preparing my speech that I had planned to give approximately four hours later. 

I considered this to be my most important speech in a public meeting in my life.

I am now more than seventy years old. Forty-three of those years I have and continue to be a resident in the State of Alaska.

I was scheduled to address the Anchorage Municipal Assembly that evening.

Their meeting was scheduled to begin at 5:00 pm in the Assembly chambers at Z. J. Loussac Library located in Anchorage, Alaska.

I would be addressing the Anchorage Assembly that evening sometime between 5:10 pm and 5:35 pm under person to be heard.

I had received word the previous week on Tuesday morning on June 15th that my written request to address them under person to be heard was granted.

I had focused my time since then on preparing the speech and contacting many Alaskans who I have been personally in contact with during my life in Alaska asking them to schedule three minutes of their time to listen to my address the evening of Tuesday, June 22, 2021, sometime between 5:10 pm and 5:35 pm.

Most of them agreed to my request and that they would contact others they knew and ask them personally to listen in to my three-minute address.

My words to them in my conversation on the telephone were limited to simply asking them to listen to my speech and to personally ask others they knew to also listen to my three-minute address that evening.

They did not know the content of my speech. They only knew the significant commitment over the years I have played in the state to make our community a better place to live in for all Alaskans.

Many of them knew that I had not received any financial compensation for this work. The funds I had used for this work came from my own personal financial resources that were available to me to use as I wish.

My most recent commitment occurred full time seven days and nights a week that started from April 4, 2012, through the present day.

But when I found myself continued to being faced with the financial resources of local, and state governments in our state in order to interfere with my work there is limits to the financial resources that one person on their own can do.

Approximately ninety minutes after finishing the preparation of the speech, I was now traveling from the Matanuska-Susitna Borough to the Municipality of Anchorage.

After traveling approximately eighteen miles, about four miles north of Peters Creek located in the Municipality of Anchorage I found myself suddenly faced with being an individual in a scene that I might have watched in a horror movie.

Traveling in the right lane of two lanes available for those traveling south on the Glenn highway I found myself suddenly pulled off the road after hearing a thump sound.

The car within a few seconds, stopped after drifting off to the right side of the road.

Those few seconds, I could see nothing.

When the car came to a halt, I opened the car door and got to my feet and walked about six feet from my car.

I found myself standing not knowing what happened to me. What others could see was me covered with blood and glass.

Within seconds getting out of the car, I was greeted by many concern parties about my welfare. Included among them were members from the Chugiak Volunteer Fire and Rescue that just happen to be in the area.

I appeared alert particularly when a party at my request handed me my phone from my car and then I asked a party to turn off my car so I could get a telephone call through.

The call was to a friend who was expecting me just four miles away in Peters Creek.

A few minutes later, he arrived with his brother and followed me to Providence Hospital.

I believe it was not until I was traveling in the emergency vehicle to the hospital that I was informed that I was struck by a moose.

The blood that many saw and thought was mine was mostly moose blood that poured over me while I was in the driver’s seat.

On Friday, July 2nd, I viewed my car that had been towed to a lot without my being informed or notified where my vehicle had been transferred to.

When viewing the inside and outside of the vehicle, I realized how true what my friends said to me in the emergency room in Providence Hospital in that I was very fortunate in that I could have been more seriously injured.

The car I viewed on July 2nd showed a vehicle with a front hood substantially changed from its original condition; and a front windshield leaving a significant part being broken in pieces the size of salt from a saltshaker.

The damages included a section of the top hood ripped apart and the rear windshield shattered.

With all this damage no air bags were deployed. I was surprised and concern that with so much destructive force by the moose to the vehicle that no air bags had been deployed.

The vehicle crash had left me in a substantial weaken position. My first reaction when getting out of the car was with not necessary fearing what I did not know of my injuries, but the fear of not being able to address early that evening my most important speech of my life.

There was a lot riding on this speech. Any delay would interfere with receiving urgent need for immediate help that I considered a matter affecting all Alaskans and future generations.

After two brief telephone calls with parties familiar with the content of my prepared speech they agreed with me that if I was able to, I needed to make that speech that evening before the Anchorage Assembly.

I left the hospital around 7:35 pm that evening with great difficulty but with the assistance of close friends I managed to address the Anchorage Assembly a few hours later.

I did not realize it until several hours later that I still had fragments of glass from the car crash in my hair and even in my ears.

Before leaving the hospital, staff had failed to warn me of these conditions or provide me with any recommendations for medications to deal with my pain.

With the assistance from my friends and others I managed to cover my disfigurement from the car crash with clean clothes, a hat and face covering. A pair of pants, tie, hat, and face covering was purchased that evening.

That evening, I made my speech before the Anchorage Assembly. I had requested an additional minute of time due to my weakened state and to allow for an opportunity to explain my delayed appearance.

My request was denied.

This resulted in my speech being read quickly in my weakened state and it made this more difficult for the public to listen to and follow what I was saying. There were no questions asked by the assembly.

That evening there was still one member of the press present at the meeting. I provided a copy of my speech to a representative of the Anchorage Daily News. I am not aware of any reporting by the Anchorage Daily News in reference to this speech.

I left the assembly chambers that evening knowing their next meeting would be the assembly committee on homeless the next morning.

I had thought of calling in and speaking before the morning meeting but a news story by KTUU-TV reported that they would probably not provide any time for public comment.

I knew this being a violation of Alaska State Law AS 29.20.020 (a) in providing a reasonable opportunity for the public to be heard at public meetings.

My thoughts at the time that if I were able to address the assembly committee, I would question whether they had the ability to show compassion during the homeless meeting after exhibiting a lack of compassion to myself when addressing the assembly the evening before.

Before closing, I appreciate if you would take the time to first read Attachment A that follows toward the end of this email that represents my address to the Anchorage Assembly on Tuesday, June 22, 2021.

After reading the speech, please note the following with regards to the lawsuit filed by the State of Alaska (Plaintiff) against myself (Defendant):

1) I conducted approximately a two-year ongoing audit of the public process of the Alaska Court System reporting serious issues of concern affecting both past, present and future cases in the Alaska Court System.

2) The lawsuit was overcharged by the State of Alaska (Plaintiff) leaving a sentencing for grabbing someone’s arm a possible sentence for the Defendant of one year in jail and a $25,000.00 fine.

3) This legal case by the State of Alaska (Plaintiff) against me with this presiding judge for trial was the first case opened for criminal trials since COVID-19. The trial was held on June 8, 9, and 10th. Sentencing is scheduled for July 12, 2021.

4) There was a gag order that prevented the Jury for this trial to be informed by the Defendant that since this so-called incident noted in the legal complaint a temporary restraining order was never requested.

The gag order prevented the Jury for this trial to be informed by the Defendant that when this legal complaint was filed approximately six months later the Defendant could not inform the Jury that the arraignment judge and another judge two days later denied a restraining order on the Defendant.

5) The officer’s affidavit in the complaint noted two different years for the so-called incident to occur leaving confusion as to when this so-called incident occurred.

6) The police officer affidavit in the complaint failed to identify what police force he was assigned to. No city and state was referenced for this police officer.

7) The presiding judge for this legal case denied a request by the Defendant for a copy of the policies and procedures for the Police Department for the City of Wasilla. Verbal reason given by the presiding judge was that this was too much litigation.

8) The presiding judge for this legal case denied a request by the Defendant before the start of trial for financial hardship legal assistance. Verbal reason given by the presiding judge was that it was too late.

9) The presiding judge for this legal case refused to provide a careful and thoughtful review of Defendant’s motion to dismiss. Trial started without defendant havng opportunity to do a motion of reconsideration.

10) Several presiding judges for this legal case ignored Defendant’s requests in obtaining a copy of the policies and procedures for the Alaska Court System.

There were several judges for this legal case due to retirement of two judges that then required this case to be reassigned to another judge.

11) Several presiding judges for this legal case ignored repeated concerns raised by the Defendant that staff with the clerk’s office refused to provide their full name when requested by Defendant.

There were several judges for this legal case due to retirement of two judges that then required this case to be reassigned to another judge.

12) Several presiding judges for this legal case ignored Defendant’s concern of the court record in that the court file had been doctored and altered from the original record.

There were several judges for this legal case due to retirement of two judges that then required this case to be reassigned to another judge.

13) Several presiding judges for this legal case ignored concern by the Defendant on the court recordings for the teleconference proceedings being of poor quality leaving serious flaws with the quality of the transcripts.

There were several judges for this legal case due to retirement of two judges that then required this case to be reassigned to another judge.

14) The presiding judge for this legal case during trial inappropriately limited the character witnesses’ testimony for the Defendant.

15) The presiding judge for this legal case during trial prevented the Defendant from introducing during trial an expert witness with regard to the American with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The so-called incident occurred during a joint meeting of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly and the members of the Alaska State Legislature representing the Matanuska-Susitna Valley before these members of this legislature went to Juneau to start the legislative session of that year.

The meeting was held in a meeting room in the legislative information office located in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley.

Defendant witnessed there were very few members of the public in attendance. Almost everyone present was elected or governmental officials from the Matanuska-Susitna Valley.

The Defendant during the meeting photographed the meeting. A standard the defendant does at public meetings he attends.

During trial the Defendant was only able to enter these photographs into the record and for distribution during trial after Defendant called himself as a witness.

The presiding judge for this legal case during trial prevented the Defendant from introducing during trial an expert witness with regard to the American with Disabilities Act (ADA).

This interference prevented a review of these photographs and testimony by an expert witness to the violations with regard to the American with Disabilities Act (ADA).

16) The presiding judge for this legal case during trial ignored Defendant’s concerns on selection of jury that show cause for mistrial.

17) The presiding judge for this legal case for trial refused to grant Defendant’s request for his removal from presiding over these legal proceedings. This would have been the first time Defendant requested this since the lawsuit was filed. The Defendant has a right to have this granted without reason when requesting it for the first time in a legal proceeding.

18) The Defendant recalls only one occasion in which the state of Alaska (Plaintiff) filed a written response to Defendant’s numerous written motions regarding this legal matter. The written response by the State of Alaska (Plaintiff) occurred to Defendant’s request for dismissal that Defendant filed on May 24, 2021.

(See Attachment B that follows towards the end of this email representing letter dated May 24, 2021)

19) The State of Alaska (Plaintiff) falsely stated to the court before at least two presiding judges for these legal proceedings that Discovery was available for the Defendant to pick-up.

The Defendant found on Thursday, June 3, 2021, that Discovery was not available for the Defendant to pick-up from the Plaintiff.

Defendant informed the Court that same day during legal proceedings that Discovery was not available for Defendant to pick up from Plaintiff.

On Friday, June 4, 2021, the Defendant informed the Court that Defendant had just prior to these legal proceedings picked up Discovery from the Plaintiff.

During these legal proceedings that same day the presiding judge recessed for a few minutes and then returned to the proceedings noting he had spoken to parties not-mentioned by the judge and decided the Defendant had previously had time to pick-up Discovery and stated that the trial would begin on Tuesday, June 8, 2021.

On Tuesday, June 8, 2021, before trial began the Defendant informed the court that the Defendant reviewed Discovery and found the failure of Plaintiff to properly mark items. Among them included recordings that appeared to be duplicates leaving the Defendant with difficulty not knowing there were other recordings.

In addition, the Defendant informed the court that when reviewing the recordings the Defendant was unable to identify parties who were speaking leaving a situation as who was saying what at what date and time.

The presiding judge inappropriately allowed the case to proceed to trial that same day without these concerns by defendant being corrected.

20) The trial judge failed to correct the record in the complaint filed by the Plaintiff before, during and after trial to issues raised by the Defendant in number 5, 6, 12, and 13 noted above.

21) The Defendant informed the Court in writing in more than one occasion that these proceedings have violated the Pledge of Fairness as stated on the website for the Alaska Court System viewed by the Defendant on Monday, August 3, 2020.

The Pledge of Fairness states: 

“ … PLEDGE OF FAIRNESS 

The fundamental mission of the Alaska Court System is to provide a fair and impartial forum for the resolution of disputes according to the rule of law. Fairness includes the opportunity to be heard, the chance to have the court process explained, and the right to be treated with respect. The judges and staff of the Alaska Court System therefore make the following pledge to each litigant, defendant, victim, witness, juror, and person involved in a court proceeding:

We will LISTEN to you

We will respond to your QUESTIONS about court procedure 

We will treat you with RESPECT …”

In this pledge noted above it stated:

“… The chance to have the court process explained, …”

(See Attachment C that follows towards the end of this email representing letter dated August 3, 2020, with regard to the Pledge of Fairness)

Most recently in a successful lawsuit by the State of Alaska I have been found guilty by a Jury that I grabbed someone’s arm at a public meeting and that they felt threaten.

I am innocent of this. Thousands of Alaskans have been witnessed to my character over the years and know this could not possibly be true.

On July 12th, I will be sentenced by a judge that I could receive a maximum sentence of one year in prison and $25,000.00 fine. 

I plead for your assistance for help both legal and financial assistance in order to file an appeal and stay sentencing and allow for justice to be done.

Please note that throughout this case I have been representing myself without sufficient financial and legal support that I desperately needed.

You have decided those priorities in life and continue to reexamine and change those priorities of importance. 

I am asking you to direct your priority of importance to what I consider being important.

I am asking you today to focus your efforts in forwarding this communication with attachments to others you know in the community you live in, in your state, in our country and elsewhere in the world. 

Please provide a personal request that they would also follow up this request in the same manner.

It is my hope that the more people are made aware of this in a very short time that this could reverse the path that my journey appears to be taking by parties that I have no control of stopping without yours and others assistance.

Before first sending this communication out on July 10, 2021, I have witnessed a silence in the community since the Jury found me guilty on Thursday, June 10th, 2021.

I am not aware of any reporting or even comments on the internet with regards to the matters that I address you today. 

This should have not surprised me since for years my work had resulted with a standard response by elected and governmental officials with a policy of indifference to my continued charges that they being in violation of the following Alaska state laws:

1) Alaska’s Open Meetings Law – AS 44.62.310 

2) The governing body shall provide a reasonable opportunity for the public to be heard at regular and special meetings. AS 29.20.020 (a)

This was carried out with the cooperation of members of the press who rarely ever reported my concerns at hundreds of public meetings over the many years of work in Alaska.

But what was even more puzzling for me was that the social media has failed to report anything with regard to these legal matters.

I need your help today. For example, I need legal representation from criminal attorneys practicing law in Alaska in order to properly file an appeal and stay sentencing and allow for justice to be done.

Simply sending me a name of an attorney to contact would not be workable at this time.

Law firms in Alaska are now faced with a backlog of cases that have been delayed for trial due to COVID-19.

Now with the courts opening trials for these cases my legal ability to obtain legal counsel is even more difficult at a critical moment.

I need your assistance to reach directly with the criminal attorneys you know and encourage their assistance at this critical moment.

But one important note to mention is that any attorney willing to come to my assistance must be willing to cooperate and treat me more of a co-counsel in this case.

I will not be agreeable for them to proceeding in a matter that continues to allow for an inappropriate public process of the Alaska Court System.

The ongoing deterioration of the public process of the Alaska Court System is the result of the cooperation of all parties involved in the Alaska Court System today.

The future of our state is in your hands. 

Sincerely,
Eugene Carl Haberman

Attachment A

Address by Eugene Carl Haberman

to Anchorage Municipal Assembly

During Persons to be Heard

for the Meeting of Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Address by Eugene Carl Haberman

to Anchorage Municipal Assembly

During Persons to be Heard

for the Meeting of Tuesday, June 22, 2021

My name is Eugene Carl Haberman, an Alaskan resident for over forty-three years. 

Tonight, I am addressing you in a matter of importance in which I consider my most important address in a public meeting in my life.

I am now more than seventy years old. Forty-three of those years I have and continue to be a resident in the State of Alaska.

Tonight, each one of you have decided those priorities in life and continue to reexamine and change those priorities of importance.

Tonight, I am asking you to direct your priority of importance to what I consider being important.

It is a matter affecting today all Alaskans and future generations and those not yet been born.

We all make choices in life. Over the years my choice has been and continues to be focus on improving the situation that I was born into on this earth, and once my life ends, I believe I have been part in making this a better place for others here now and future generations. 

For a number of years, I have been known to many throughout the state as a self-appointed government watchdog providing an audit of the public process and frequently stating at these meetings that when the public process is done appropriately the decision made by the governing body is more likely in the public interest.

During these years I have frequently reported at public meetings being hosted by local and state officials in Alaska my concerns that these meetings were in violation of:

(1) Alaska’s Open Meetings Law – AS 44.62.310

(2) The governing body shall provide a reasonable opportunity for the public to be heard at regular and special meetings. AS 29.20.020 (a)

During these years, I received a standard response by these same officials with a policy of indifference.

I also received a standard response to my words of concern in silence by the members of the press.

During these meetings I had witnessed members of the press violate their professional journalism by rarely reporting what the public states at a public hearing, and instead generally report only statements by elected and governmental officials.

While this was going on I receive words of encouragement for my work from many members of the public.

Unfortunately, those words of encouragement were directly to me and rarely would they ever be made at the microphone at a public meeting that I attended.

This left open an opportunity for elected and governmental officials to carry out efforts to interfere with the success of my work by providing a false narrative to my character.

Most recently in a successful lawsuit by the State of Alaska, I have been found guilty by a jury that I grabbed someone’s arm at a public meeting and that they felt threaten. 

I am innocent of this. You have been witnessed to my character over the years and know this could not possibly be true.

On July 12th, I will be sentenced by a judge that I could receive a maximum sentence of one year in prison and $25,000.00 fine.

I plead for your assistance for help both legal and financial assistance in order to file an appeal and stay sentencing and allow for justice to be done.

Please note that throughout this case I have been representing myself without sufficient financial and legal support that I desperately needed.

The future of our state is in your hands.

Attachment B

Motion of Dismissal Letter Dated May 24, 2021

Eugene Carl Haberman

P.O. Box 1581, Anchorage, Alaska 99510-1581

Telephone (907) 277-2415

May 24, 2021 

Honorable Thomas V Jamgochian

District Court for the State of Alaska Third Judicial District in Palmer

435 South Denali Street

Palmer, Alaska 99645 

Subject: In the matter of State of Alaska Plaintiff vs. Eugene C Haberman Defendant

Case Number 3PA-19-01623CR

NOTICE OF MOTION FOR DISMISSAL

BY THE DEFENDANT

IN THE MATTER OF

STATE OF ALASKA, PLAINTIFF

VS

EUGENE C HABERMAN, DEFENDANT

A Citizen’s Petition

Contributed by Teresa de Lima

A Citizen’s Petition 

A citizen’s petition to the federal government?  Why???     What on earth would possess someone to do something like that?  It’s an uphill fight all the way. A Sisyphean effort.  But when one has the lofty goal of exposing egregious misdeeds carried out on the populace, one becomes energized by employing the power of the citizens' petition.  One hopes that one’s concerns be addressed, reparations be made, and lives improve.  After all,  the people who work for the federal government are public servants, there to do a job that supports the stated mission for whom they work.  Nae-  doesn’t really work that way.  You have to wait years.  One wonders if there is justice. One hopes so.  One knows who Karma is.  And that other saying about the woman scorned.  

I was driving home one evening after putting in a day at work (or trying to work) and afterwards taking care of my parents, Rose and Don de Lima,  before heading home to my children.  A normal long day for a person of the sandwich generation.  I was bone tired.  You see, I’d been taking care of my beloved for seven years by then and there were 200+ doctors visits, with a dozen by ambulance to the Emergency Room.  The illnesses were staggering.  I was listening to the local radio station and a report by KUAC’s Dan Bross came on.  The report was about coal ash and toxic chemicals found in coal combustion waste in Alaska.  Boy, did my ears ever perk up!  As a matter of fact,  the coal fired power plant that powers most of Fairbanks and beyond is less than 500 feet from our family home.  The next day I went to the Northern Alaska Environmental Center and picked up a publication dated February 2011 entitled “Coal Ash in Alaska, Our Health Our Right To Know”.  This publication is available here at this link. 

https://www.akaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Coal_Ash_in_Alaska_Feb_2011.pdf

The author, Alaska Community Action on Toxics. 

After analyzing our situation, I decided the only thing that I could do for my parents was to move them back to Manley Hot Springs.  Neither wanted to go to the Pioneers Home.  And thankfully, they had the Manley house.  There were two sides to that coin though because of the Manley house and the Fairbanks house, my folks did not qualify for Medicaid and so there were A LOT of bills that were not covered, even with Medicare Part D.  (Whatever the heck that means).  No private insurance.  Thank God in Heaven above for mothers native health care.  But that doesn’t pay for prosthesis for your boob or pacemakers or the prescriptions that your dad is on or the custom shoes that have to be made when all of your toes are amputated because the drugs you are being treated with do not effect the condition because the poison is raining down on you 24-7 [twenty four seven].   That poison being Arsenic, Cadmium, Mercury, Lead, Zinc, Barium, Beryllium, Selenium.   Figure 7-3 Metals Concentrations in Surface Soil Aurora Power Plant Fairbanks, Alaska from Site Inspection Report dated September 2013 prepared for the EPA Region X by EE&C.  Please excuse my run on sentence. 

I am a 7th generation Alaskan, born in Fairbanks.  I grew up in a town that had a one room school for kids from kindergarten to eighth grade.  We were taught social responsibility by an enormously important person in the village.  We were taught that mission statements mean something.  The mission statement of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is to “protect human health and the environment”.    The mission statement of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) is “conserve, improve and protect Alaska’s natural resources and environment to enhance the health, safety, economic and social well-being of Alaskans”. I did not go to college.  I do not have any formal training other than that for piloting an aircraft.  In my humble opinion, neither the EPA or ADEC are fulfilling their mission statements.  After hearing what I have to say, you decide for yourself.  I will continue to share my experience with you.

I love my hometown.  I enjoyed a quick trip to Fairbanks this week.  It was so wonderful to see some of my friends.  Some parts of Fairbanks are just beautiful.  There are many new restaurants and I look forward to returning.  I hadn’t a chance to explore in depth, but what I did see in my follow up to coal ash makes me want to get in a little plane, take some nice aerial shots, time stamp that info and get it to the Feds.  Again. 

I’ve heard it said before, don’t take it personal, Teresa.  Hmm. Really?  I beg to differ.  

Mental Health Trust “Does Not Care”

Contributed by Patti Fisher

I am writing to let your readers know about a gravel pit for which a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) has been applied for with the Borough. The pit would be located on Sylvan Road in Meadow Lakes just about two-tenths of a mile off the Parks Highway. The site, owned by the Alaska Mental HealthTrust, is surrounded on three sides by homes, closely abutting the property, with wetlands through the middle of the site, and on a narrow roadway. The CUP application lists approximately 1000 truck trips a day. The Meadow Lakes Comprehensive Plan written in 2004 has designated that site as the Town Center for Meadow Lakes. Placing a gravel pit in this location would be extremely detrimental to the physical, financial, and mental health of the residents which live directly next to the site, and to the community at large.

This property is owned by the Alaska Mental Health Trust. Contact was made with an administrator of the Trust, and he advised us that the health of the people in the neighborhood is “not their concern”. The administrator basically did not want to listen to our concerns about the proposed site. This site does not need to be developed for the gravel. It is a location which could be developed for many other uses, family residences, retail establishments or senior housing.

The Ending of a Sewing Era

Contributed by Pat Younack

Fabric Sale
8/21/2021 – 10AM
Trinity Lutheran Church
10355 E. Palmer Wasilla Hwy. Palmer
FREE Admission 

I am retiring from sewing. (Maybe.) After a lifetime of sewing, I think I want to quit. My mother taught all the girls in my family to sew. As a small child, it was hand sewing (Embroidery). Training with Mom meant the inside of the piece had to look as good as the face of the project. Later, it was making your own clothing for school. In high school, all the girls had Home Economics classes for sewing and food. All the boys got to go to Shop classes. I am not sure what all they learned, but I bet it was more interesting than in our class.

When I got married, I continued with sewing for the house and family. I always had fun with Halloween costumes. My husband almost never had a store-bought shirt. He liked the ones I made because they fit and had SNAPS.

I worked at many other interesting jobs after the kids were in elementary school. One of the special places I worked was a small shop where we made wedding gowns for Sak's 5th Avenue in New York. I moved on from there when I found out one of the gowns I worked on sold for $31,000 and my salary was $150 a week.

In 1992, my husband and I moved to Wasilla and I bought my cousin's custom sewing shop. My specialty of wedding gowns would not work in Alaska, but men's custom shirts did. I also learned to work on Carhart's and sled bags. I had fun entering things in the Alaska State Fair. I even got a grand champion ribbon for a doll-sized wedding gown.

Over the last years, I have mostly been making and selling the Alaska Native-style dress called Kuspuks or Atiglicks. 1 have made wrestlers capes, magic hats and even a ham for Valley Performing Arts Theater.

My own stock of fabric grew recently by an inheritance from a friend. I can no longer turn around in my work room, so I am having a sale. On Saturday, August 21st, from 10 am to 4 pm. I will have crates and bags of fabric to sell. I have cotton, satin, wool, fleece, real cotton linen, knit fabric. I have real Japanese silk too, but I want to try my hand at painting silk first. Please come by Trinity Lutheran Church 10355 E. Palmer Wasilla Highway in Palmer 

Thank you
Patricia Younack
p_toosha@yahoo.com

Reflections on Patriotism

Contributed by Marilyn Bennett

What does having a flag on your property signify? Is flying the American flag now a divisive act?

It seems that every year, there are more and more people who are offended by our flag. The New York Times ran a story this year that seemed to state that our flag that was once a unifying symbol is now alienating to some. Who are those people who are alienated by our flag? The flag was designed to be inclusive of everyone, which is why two stars were added when Alaska and Hawaii were added to our Union as states.  

The flag is a symbol of respect for those who fought and died for the freedoms we all share. It is a shame that our schools are teaching our children to dislike their country and disrespect our flag and the national anthem. I watched several ivy league college students being asked if they were proud of being an American. They all stated that they were not proud and in fact were ashamed of this country. It doesn't seem to occur to them that the reason we are having such a problem at our borders is that many people in this world are willing to walk through water, climb walls and cross deserts to get into this country. Yet, these privileged college students think they are being cool by denigrating the most-free country that has ever existed.

It makes me sad, that behavior that has been normal since the founding of this country has suddenly become offensive. Our educational institutions are trying to make any patriotic display seem in poor taste or some kind of political statement. The schools are pushing a “Woke Culture” on our children that is dividing us into tribes. We were a nation that strived to be a melting pot of people. Over the years I have seen people from many nations come here, integrate into our society, intermarry and become one out of many.  

We learned to enjoy foods from around the world and fashion has taken on the styles of many nations and our music reflects a myriad of cultural traditions. The melding of many cultures and traditions has not always been smooth, but up until someone came up with the dumb idea of “celebrating diversity”, which led to “cultural appropriation”. The melting pot strived to unite people while the current landscape only divides us.

I do not understand what an athlete or celebrity is thinking of when they disrespect our flag or our anthem. Do they think they are doing a good thing? Who benefits from the negativity of disrespecting our country? These people seem to feel that they are sending a message that they want change, but what is their blueprint for such change? This country has witnessed many changes over the years and has survived. The Civil Rights Movement led by Martin Luther King brought in well needed change. Also, the Feminist Movement gave more equality for women in the workplace. Our country has been moving closer each year to the ideal of total equality of opportunity for everyone and this has been a good thing.

The current negative movements of defunding our police, denigrating our founders, tearing down statues and re-writing our history does not bode well for the future of our country. It is no longer a movement to improve our country, but just tear down and criticize. It is especially unsettling that our children are being given such a negative view of their country as this cannot make things better.

We are not, and have never been a perfect country, but we have more freedom than any country in the world. If we can throw off this terrible negativity that is dividing us, we can improve and grow even better together.

Fourth Wave Foresight

Contributed by Cathy Medici, 2015

American feminists are at a crossroads of debate. Discussion about defining waves as segments in time can be intriguing. That debate is interesting to both adherents to feminist persuasions, and those not persuaded. The first wave had as its primary focus, eventual suffrage.

That achievement in 1920, after a century long struggle, ushered in an ironic extended nap, until a reawakening some forty years later. Recognizing the significance of acquiring the vote has fallen away, in the consciousness of present-day feminists.

Awareness within American feminism of the now commonly articulated waves came to popular acceptance, with the generational shift from the second to the third wave. The second wave’s inception is tied in time to a beginning in the late 1960s, and an ending in the early 90’s. The third wave, beginning at the end of the second, has now surpassed the roughly twenty year duration of the second. That raises the question of the possibility that it is time for a progressive fourth wave.

The adage that hindsight is better than foresight is relevant. Questions raised by younger participants in the third wave, about the circumstances and role model personalities from the past, contain some interesting challenges.

It may be quite constructive to look back further in time, before the 19th century initial wave and integrate feminism with principles of global multiculturalism. Consideration starts with the impact of European Imperialism on the participation of women, in absorbed societies.

Any multiculturalist will assert that Western influences eroded local cultures in deleterious ways. An obvious example was the absorption of India into the British Empire. Fourth wave feminism could instill awareness of cultural preservation and diversity.

The popularity of yoga in the West came from both Hindu and Buddhist meditation practices. Its broad western acceptance originated in the 60s counter culture. The closely related practice of sati or sutti, articulated in Sanskrit, was drastically abridged by British intrusion into India’s culture.

The human rights of India’s women were subjected to Western disruption. No longer were women allowed to exercise their cultural persuasion, and climb atop their husband’s funeral pyre for cremation. Women in India had their identity changed through male chauvinist imperialistic dictation, forcing widow status upon them.

Is it time to foster a reinstatement of the right of India’s women to display their complete, absolute identification as extensions of their husband’s life? That aspect of an Indian woman’s liberation could become globally accepted. Is it time for feminists in the West to affirm the multicultural, cosmopolitan revival of female sati by way of yoga? Should they demonstrate solidarity with Hindu women by completely merging their identity with their husbands, and be cremated alive? Was Joan of Arc way ahead of her time as a feminist statement?

It adds perspective to cultural diversity to make multiple queries along the same lines. It is generally accepted in academia, that European Imperialism had draconian, degenerating, exploitative disregard, as per Marx, for the people subjugated outside the West. When multiple European powers colonized China in the 19th century, prior to the advent of feminism, they forced an end to the crushing and binding of the feet of aristocratic girls.

Is it time for a renaissance revival of the identity of women in Chinese culture, reversing the domineering, diluting influence of the West? Can China be persuaded to value cultural diversity, revert to pristine, preindustrial, sustainable mud huts and let females once again choose to have their feet crushed? Perhaps, like being incinerated with their husbands, it would add to cultural diversity amongst western feminists, if they would join in global, female liberation from masculine, western dominance and have their feet crushed.

A dialogue over fashion accessories behind burkhas might now be in order, in the transition into the fourth wave. Can burkhas be recognized for their gender neutral influence on Zorro and Darth Vader? Would considering Mata Hari’s vocal range and dance movements, contribute to a broader debate of women’s issues, shifting focus from current pop culture preoccupation beyond Kardashian derrières?

Can questions of political significance be debated, drawing on prominent women from the past like Catherine De Medici? While ruling in Paris, did she manage bimbo eruptions any differently, than current prominent political women? Further back in time, we could ask what of Cleopatra’s contribution to feminine political development, through notable seductions. Was it an early example of male chauvinism, when Marc Antony outlived her? He couldn’t have been preoccupied with eating Doritos, so why did he neglect addressing her untenable political circumstance?

When Plato wrote The Republic and admonished women to take a greater role in society in both government and business, did he have any idea how wealthy he would make lawyers in that process? If his masculine advice has not been implemented to the satisfaction of feminists in the past 24 centuries, is it all because of a vast, masculine wing conspiracy, including head bonking on invisible ceilings?

Why did a man, Plato, first articulate the core within feminism, framing the debate, and not a woman? Will that realization lead to Dudeology Studies departments for masculinist meninists in universities, with motorcycles, beer, and fishing in the syllabus? Can gender identification in language ever get past word processors trying to change “meninist” to “feminist?” What a stride forward for gender equality that would be, richly deserving celebration!

Did Albert Einstein die without completing his cosmological constant theory, because he did not take into consideration the causation for the constant, cyclical movement of matter through time and space, in terms of living room furniture? Is the current circumstance anything more than a nihilistic, past tense, abandonment of the core of western culture?