Free Republic

A year of crazy elections in Alaska is finally in the rearview mirror. But without ridding the state of ranked-choice voting, this confusing and ill-advised vote counting system will continue to undermine the integrity Alaska’s elections and disenfranchise voters in the future. Ranked-choice voting—or RCV—was approved in 2020 and made its debut in Alaskan elections in 2022. Instead of declaring a winner based upon who received the most votes, as is commonly done in elections determined by plurality, RCV requires a candidate to earn more than 50 percent of all of the votes. But instead of giving voters a second...

In January 2023, a polar bear in Alaska attacked and killed a mother and her one-year-old son, the first fatal mauling of its kind in over 30 years. However, these types of interactions between humans and animals may become increasingly common due to the growing threat of climate change. Here's everything you need to know: Why might the polar bear attack be attributed to climate change? Polar bears have been acutely affected by the warming planet because arctic ice is rapidly shrinking. "It is rare for polar bears to attack humans, although anecdotal evidence suggests the frequency is increasing," David...

Rep. Mary Peltola announced the departure of three key members of her official Washington, D.C. staff, including Senior Policy Advisor Larry Persily, Interim Communications Director Josh Wilson, and her Interim Director of Scheduling and Operations Paula Conru. Although when she started her career in Congress much was made about how she hired Republicans (Persily is not among those), she is getting a staff of almost-all Democrats. Alex Ortiz of Ketchikan, her chief of staff who served as Congressman Don Young’s final chief of staff, may be the final remaining non-Democrat in her office. Persily is nonpartisan and a longtime Alaskan,...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska lawmaker with ties to the far-right Oath Keepers group is eligible to hold office, a state judge ruled Friday. Superior Court Judge Jack McKenna issued the ruling after overseeing a trial this month in the case against Republican state Rep. David Eastman. The decision can be appealed. The ruling found that Eastman is a member of the Oath Keepers, but that he “does not and did not possess a specific intent to further the Oath Keeper’s words or actions aimed at overthrowing the United States government.” Eastman was sued by Randall Kowalke, who was...

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) requested at least 19 earmarks totaling over $60 million in the $1.7 trillion, 4,155-page omnibus bill. If the bill passes both chambers of Congress, Murkowski’s state of Alaska will be granted by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), on behalf of American taxpayers, $60,852,000 worth of pork for housing and urban development, along with infrastructure. The specifics of the many line items include: Providence Alaska-Permanent Supportive Housing for Providence Alaska Foundation ($7,500,000) Cabin Community Projects for Sitka Homeless Coalition ($1,000,000) Rehabilitation of Bering Sea Women’s Shelter for Bering Sea Women’s Group ($2,000,000) Norton Sound Health Corporation Housing for...

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommended prohibiting the operators of Southwestern Alaska’s Pebble Mine from disposing of waste material in the nearby Bristol Bay, a regulation that would prevent the mine from opening. However, the mine could generate billions in revenue by producing minerals that are crucial in supporting the Biden administration’s “clean energy transition.” The EPA said Pebble Mine’s potential waste discharges would threaten nearby sockeye salmon fisheries by polluting the water and preventing the fish from spawning and reproducing, according to an agency proposal released Thursday. Despite this, the mine would extract about 1.5 billion tons of copper,...

The Biden administration will pay $75 in relocation costs to three Native American tribes whose homes are threatened by climate change, the Interior Department announced Wednesday. The Interior Department will provide $25 million each to Washington State’s Quinault Indian Nation and Alaska’s Newtok Village and Native Village of Napakiak. The Alaska communities are the site of severe erosion, which is projected to destroy critical infrastructure in Napakiak by 2030 and within the next four years in Newtok. Napakiak currently loses between 25-50 feet a year to erosion, according to DOI projections. The Quinault Indian Nation is located where the Quinault...

Alaska’s sole congressional seat, which had been in GOP hands for 49 years, was recently captured by Democrat Mary Peltola. The victory has been touted by liberals as either vindication of their agenda or as portending the end of the career of Sarah Palin, Peltola’s most high-profile opponent. Yet the result, which took weeks to finalize, was easily explainable: It was a function of Alaska’s new ranked-choice voting (RCV) and Top-four Primary (TFP) system — a system electoral engineers would like to institute nationwide. In essence, this system created a situation in which Palin and another Republican, Nick Begich, were...

We have been discussing the virtual elimination of Republican and conservative scholars from many faculties despite the fact that roughly half of the country regularly votes for Republicans or conservative causes. Now a new survey by The College Fix of 65 departments in various states found that 33 do not have a single registered Republican. For these departments, the systemic elimination of Republican faculty has finally reached zero, but there is still little recognition of the crushing bias reflected in these numbers. Others, as discussed below, have defended the elimination of conservative or Republican faculty as entirely justified and commendable....

12 RINOs …

Kelly Tshibaka, an Alaska Republican backed by former President Trump, is blaming Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for her failure to oust centrist GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski this election cycle. Tshibaka, a former Alaska state official, conceded the contest on Wednesday after the latest rounds of vote tabulations showed Murkowski winning. The race took weeks to call given Alaska's ranked-choice voting system, a process in which voters select their preferred candidates in order and the vote share is distributed to the top two after a process of elimination. While Tsibaka blamed ranked-choice voting for her loss, calling the system frustrating...

Sen. Lisa Murkowski has won re-election in Alaska, dealing former President Donald Trump another loss in what has largely been a miserable midterm cycle for his hand-picked candidates in competitive Senate races. Murkowski, one of only seven Republicans who voted to convict Trump at his second impeachment trial, survived a challenge from Trump-endorsed Kelly Tshibaka, a former Alaska Department of Administration commissioner, in the state’s first Senate election to be decided by ranked-choice voting. Rather than limiting voters to one choice, the format allows for candidates to be ranked in order of preference. Neither Murkowski nor Tshibaka, the top two-vote...

Democrat Mary Peltola has won the race for Alaska’s at-large congressional seat, NBC News projected Wednesday, defeating former governor and GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. While the election was held earlier this month, the race was not called for weeks because of Alaska’s new ranked-choice voting system where voters rank the candidates in order of preference. After the first round of voting, Peltola led Palin by more than 20 percentage points, with Republican Nick Begich, a scion of one of Alaska’s most well-known political families, in third. But because Peltola failed to win more than 50 percent, the voting...

Alaska’s lengthy and convoluted election process is set to come to an end on Wednesday when Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R) and Rep. Mary Peltola (D) are likely to finally emerge as the winners — largely thanks to the state’s new ranked-choice system. The Alaska Division of Elections will reveal the final unofficial results on Wednesday night. Murkowski leads Republican challenger Kelly Tshibaka by less than 1,700 votes — 43.3 percent to 42.7 percent. In the House contest, Peltola holds a commanding lead, with 48.7 percent support over Republicans Sarah Palin at 25.8 percent and Nick Begich at 23.4 percent.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) trolled her Republican opponent Kelly Tshibaka after she took a lead in the first-place votes for the state’s Senate race. Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system means voters ranked the candidates from first place to last. A candidate must win a majority of first-place votes to win outright without additional rounds being needed.

The bear who attacked the Bates family was a sow about 20 years old, estimated at 350 lbs. It was starving, with nothing in the stomach but parasites. The attack occurred as the Bates family, Weatherly Bates, her husband, their 12-year-old son, Rockwell, their 10-year-old daughter Vera, and two family dogs, on leashes, were hiking on the Glacier Moraine Trail in Kachemak Bay State park.Weatherly Bates had a .40 caliber S&W in her backpack. The bear came at them at about 3 p.m., even though they yelled at it and bunched together.Weatherly Bates explains what happened:“It did attack. It was...

I've been keeping track of election results from Fox News updates. (Of those that "count," Fox is better than CNN, NBC, AP and others.) Election outcomes seem to be permanently stuck while a few states get their acts together, submit their results, and someone in the news "calls" the results as decided. Republican victories in the House have remain stagnant, while the Democrats continue to pick up seats. Here's where it still stands on Fox's map (as of 11/12/2022, 11:30 PST): House of Representatives: Republican: 211/218 needed Democrat: 201/218 needed Where are those yet uncalled 23-25 races*? California: 15 Arizona:...

Kelly Tshibaka is leading but it will take days to know the winner. Kelly Tshibaka (R) has the most votes for Senator in Alaska, BUT she may still lose to RINO Murkowski due to the bizarre and undemocratic voting scheme they currently use there. It is a system that can be strongly manipulated. No Finals until Nov 23rd. Alaskans need to change it! “Preliminary results in Alaska’s U.S. Senate race show... Murkowski narrowly trailing her Trump-endorsed GOP challenger, Kelly Tshibaka, but the state’s new system of ranked-choice voting could still give Murkowski the edge in the final count.”

During A 11/6/22 Speech, Joe Biden Declares He's For "No More Drilling" Just Days Before Midterm Elections

The makeup of the next Alaska Legislature is as uncertain as ever, after redistricting and with nearly every seat up for election. In both chambers, political observers are wondering if enough like-minded Republicans will get elected to form a majority, or if there will be coalition majorities of moderate Republicans, Democrats and independents. It’s been that kind of coalition in the House that in recent years has bucked parts of Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s agenda. With Republicans showing divisions in the state Senate, there’s speculation that a coalition majority could form there as well. At least that’s what Alaska Beacon...