The Last Frontier: For voters in remote areas, SAVE America Act would impose massive burdens “Alaska is — I don't even think it's close — the most difficult place in the United States to conduct elections."

While the president lobs false claims of voting fraud in a partisan post about Alaska's elex, there are people in the story who know the actual challenges the state's voters face, and I'm glad for their work and voices.

www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

House Finance Committee — Please Note Time Change — HB 263 – APPROP: OPERATING BUDGET;AMEND;SUPP HB 265 – APPROP: MENTAL HEALTH BUDGET Amendments Bills Previously Heard/Scheduled

This was a theme of a House Finance committee mtg last week, when an amendment to cut $20m was proposed in response to DOC's massive budget increases. Shortly after, the House unanimously passed a bill to toughen penalties for an existing crime. It's not congruent.

www.ktoo.org/video/gavel/...

Opinion: Being No. 1 in prison isn’t making Alaska safer? Tough-on-crime policies and rising prison spending have not delivered safer communities or better outcomes.

Great piece. The DOC budget continues to raise a lot of eyebrows, but policy choices influence that a lot.

"Rather than encourage policies that put more people behind bars, Alaska politicians should seek alternatives proven to reduce crime and save money." #akleg

www.adn.com/opinions/202...

We generate so much data every day, it's frightening to think how it can be abused and how easily the government can collect and buy it. Real restraints on the govt and private entities need to be put in place at all levels.

the confidence to drive a chevy malibu out in that is, really, something to aspire to

Opinion: Half a billion dollars later, Alaska still won’t use its cheapest public safety tool With incarceration costing $202 a day and parole just $13, lawmakers looking to cut corrections spending should expand supervised release instead of shipping inmates Outside.

Such a strong piece. We have to reconsider blocking entire classes of offenses from parole and Alaska's byzantine eligibility criteria, including special medical and geriatric parole, which are almost never used because of those barriers.

www.adn.com/opinions/202...

Lawmakers question Alaska’s decision to turn over confidential voter data to DOJ Lawmakers in the predominantly Democratic bipartisan House majority said they were concerned the state didn't push back harder on the DOJ's request.

This was a really well done hearing, especially input from experts. People who want to justify sharing the VRL will find ways to explain away data vulnerabilities and risk of disenfranchisement, but both are real even if the intent isn't nefarious. #akleg

alaskapublic.org/news/politic...

Yeah, I caught that. Incredibly insulting to the Alaskans who took time out of their day to go to the Cap. A lot of people are paid to be in that building, and the protesters aren't among them.

Editorial: Why is the Dunleavy administration sending your personal info to D.C.? Private information about Alaskans doesn’t belong in a federal dragnet, especially when the error rate is real.

I think it's obvious that if the Biden Administration demanded this info, the current state administration would make a show of non-compliance. But privacy matters regardless of who's in office and we need leaders who will make the effort to adhere to principles.

www.adn.com/opinions/edi...

Trump wants to ‘nationalize the voting,’ seeking to grab states’ power Trump, who continues to falsely claim that he won the 2020 election, has baselessly alleged widespread fraud.

"15 places" is such a specific number, I really wonder where that comes from.

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

It Was the Most Violent Prison in America. Then the Guards Went on Strike What happens when a group of incarcerated men are left to self govern? In Walpole State Prison in 1973, “peace reigned”—until the guards were sent back in.

A long, but fascinating history of prisoner organizing, how organizing can benefit the whole working class, and attitudes toward the prison system in general. My pervasive thought reading it is: brutal systems of detention don't have to be a societal given

www.gq.com/story/walpol...

I'm getting a lot of inspiration these days from the way the Philadelphia Eagles confronted scabs during the 1987 strike; finding them at their hotels and trying to talk them out of it, blocking the entrances, and using the immortal Scab Busters truck

This isn't some storied government agency with an incredible track record. Its first year was the same as LeBron James' rookie year. And packaging together all these agencies, functionally, gives Congress way too much cover to overlook problems.

This moment should solidify Congress' resolve to not just hold up funding for the rest of this fiscal year. It should call them to reconsider the existence of DHS, including ICE and CBP, whose abuses have gone on for years, largely out of public view. It's horrifically public now.

Thank you for taking time during the first week of session to say this, and express it so well.

House approves DHS funding, other final spending bills amid ICE uproar Only seven Democrats joined most Republicans in approving the Homeland Security bill ahead of a Jan. 30 shutdown deadline.

People disappointed in this - as I am - should absolutely keep urging their MoCs to reject funding, and building the call to action. The next fiscal year appropriations cycle is underway, and by the time these packages get rolled out, changes are difficult.

www.politico.com/news/2026/01...

Oh, this Dick Uihlein?

chicago.suntimes.com/2017/11/28/1...

Moose standing in front of deck gate

Yeah, I'll decline to come sign for the package, thanks

Could not agree more. We hear a lot of talk about military readiness and its strategic importance of the Arctic, especially when it comes to securing $. Time to see if that position is malleable or not.

Genuinely curious if there was this much tsk-tsk hand wringing when Reagan called to abolish the Dept of Education, and to see an analysis of whether or not taking a definitive and simple position set back conservative goals or rather created space to move in that direction

House GOP offer to Dems: Explicit funding for ICE body cameras following Minneapolis shooting Rep. Mark Amodei, the House Republican negotiating the DHS funding bill, said the agency needs more law enforcement equipment under President Donald Trump.

Absolutely dumb sidestep that Democrats will probably go for. ICE is already voluntarily videotaping themselves using expensive kit or phones. The only thing this would achieve is giving everyone more footage to argue over. Total waste of taxpayer funds.

www.politico.com/live-updates...

Uhhh, this seems like a concern? Further down it says DOE has not reached out to members to update their registration. #akleg

Currently can't imagine something more American and more needed than mouthing off to the president directly

Comments like this - and the idea that people just obey federal officers - should probably underscore the flimsiness of the 'constitutional sheriff' premise/movement

Americans by Name, Punished for Believing It In a small Alaska town, American Samoans face prosecution for voting in the only country they’ve ever known. They live in a limbo, created by colonial expansion, that now confuses even public officials—and has made them a new target for policing voter fraud.

NEW in Bolts: In a small Alaska town, American Samoans face prosecution for voting in the only country they’ve ever known.

Read our new collaboration with High Country News:

Minneapolis schools cancel classes after Border Patrol clash disrupts dismissal at Roosevelt Minneapolis schools closed for the week citing safety concerns after an encounter involving armed Border Patrol agents near Roosevelt High School.

We have to starve them of funding and get rid of the 100-mile enforcement zone. This is an occupying force policing American streets.

www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

"just comply" from the same folks who just yesterday couldn't have been bothered to condemn a hoard of people seeking out cops to assault with weapons

The data center rebellion is here, and it’s reshaping the political landscape As the buildout of AI infrastructure alarms communities, it is fast emerging as a potent electoral issue across the political divide.

“It feels like these data center companies have just put a big target on our backs,” said Kyle Schmidt, leader of the newly formed Protect Sand Springs Alliance.

www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Ah yeah, can get that now

I have similar questions but cannot imagine there is a person less qualified to speak about speech rights of state employees than this person over in comments on The Alaska Story