Alaska
Alaska Democrat in Toss-Up Race Voted Against Parental Rights Bill While Taking Thousands from Anti-Parent Teachers Unions
A member of Congress from Alaska voted against a bill allowing parents to access the curriculum at their children’s school while accepting thousands from groups that support schools hiding gender identity from parents.
Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola voted against the Parents Bill of Rights Act in March 2023, which would have required schools to allow parents to inspect curriculum and library books; to obtain parental consent before letting a child socially transition at school; and to inform parents of violent activity at school.
Aimed at protecting the right of parents to guide their children’s education, the Parents Bill of Rights passed the U.S. House of Representatives on March 24 on a 213-208 party-line vote. Peltola was one of the 208 Democrats who voted against parental transparency in education.
Peltola has received more than $40,000 from far-left groups’ political arms that support schools socially transitioning kids and giving kids access to sexually explicit library books, like the National Education Association, American Federation of Teachers, and Human Rights Campaign.
Since 2022, Peltola has accepted $20,000 from the PAC of the far-left National Education Association, which also opposed the Parents Bill of Rights. The NEA, America’s largest teachers’ union, recommended that teachers assign “Gender Queer” as summer reading even though the comic book style novel graphically depicts gay sex.
Peltola has received $15,000 from the American Federation of Teachers’s AFL-CIO Committee on Political Education since 2022. AFT President Randi Weingarten said the Parents Bill of Rights “would require schools to divert their limited resources from teaching, censor education, ban books, and harm children who are just trying to be themselves and live their lives in peace.”
The Alaska Democrat also has taken $6,000 from the Human Rights Campaign Fund. The Human Rights Campaign supports irreversible transgender medical interventions for children and peddles the lie that children are less likely to commit suicide if they transition.
The Human Rights Campaign’s Welcoming Schools Program trains elementary school teachers on “creating LGBTQ+ and gender inclusive schools.”
Last summer, Peltola took to X to urge followers to donate to Identity, which helps children get sterilizing hormone treatments and irreversible transgender surgeries.
“Many people feel alienated from their bodies during puberty under the best of circumstances, and for children who are trans* and aware of their sex incongruence, being forced to undergo puberty and have their bodies change into the wrong sex is devastating,” Identity’s website says, promoting puberty blockers for children.
Peltola became the representative of Alaska’s singular congressional district after beating former Gov. Sarah Palin and small business owner Nick Begich in a ranked-choice voting election in 2022.
She will face Begich again in November.
The Alaska congressional race could determine whether Republicans or Democrats control Congress in 2025. Peltola’s race is a key toss-up election, according to the Center for Politics.
Begich told The Daily Signal that his opponent, Peltola, is on board with the Biden-Harris administration’s plans to push gender ideology into the classroom, “forcing teachers to push concepts that are neither rooted in science nor basic logic.”
“Parents trust the school system to educate and protect children while at school, not indoctrinate them in the latest leftwing political fads,” Begich said. “Congresswoman Peltola has been part and parcel with this agenda, voting against the Parents Bill of Rights and even encouraging Alaskans to donate to organizations that support so-called ‘gender transitions’ for children.”
“Parents should have a right to access their children’s curriculum, receive full transparency from the school system, and continue to be the ones responsible for raising their children,” Begich added.
Cindy Glassmaker, an Alaska mother of three girls,was disappointed in her congresswoman’s vote against the Parents Bill of Rights.
“To me, being a parent means having a say in decisions that affect our children until they reach 18,” Glassmaker told The Daily Signal. “I believe our congresswoman should be advocating for greater parental involvement, fostering a partnership between parents and schools to prioritize the well-being of our students.
“I am outraged that she accepted significant donations from anti-parent groups that support schools keeping gender identity issues hidden from parents,” Glassmaker continued.
Peltola told Anchorage Daily News she voted against the Parents Bill of Rights to protect students’ “right to privacy.” The bill prohibits schools from hiding student gender identity from the parents.
“The reason I did not vote for this particular bill, is because I feel like students should have some right to privacy,” Peltola said in 2023. “And I think they should have a right to feel safe at school.”
Peltola did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment about her position on parental rights.
Alaska mother and Anchorage Moms for Liberty Chair Gabby Ide told The Daily Signal she feels Peltola doesn’t stand up for her rights as a parent.
“Mary Peltola isn’t looking out for Alaska’s families,” Ide said. “She voted against the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023. She co-sponsored the Equality Act, which would allow males in female locker rooms and bathrooms. When she does vote, she appears totally out of touch with parents’ desire for accountability in education results and our fundamental right to direct the upbringing of our children.”
Alaska
Temperatures Falling Across Alaska
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – The week started with snowfall and rainfall for some areas. Monday may the warmest day for many areas. Trend will be for decreasing temperatures across Alaska going through the week.
Snow fell in the interior Monday. Going into Monday evening, another inch of snow is likely in Fairbanks, Delta Junction and Tok.
Juneau and surrounding areas are under a Winter Weather Advisory for 8-14 inches of snow. Snow will affect Yakutat and many other areas too. Farther south, a higher chance of rain.
Forecast shows colder air is moving south. Snow will taper off in mainland areas Tuesday, with the focus going to a colder airmass that will drop temperatures to well below zero in the interior and northern regions.
Sunny to the west, with temperatures sliding down. Windy over the Aleutian Chain and Pribilof Islands.
Southcentral sees sunshine and clouds. Anchorage and many communities in the region will see colder temperatures.
Hot spots for Alaska Monday were Adak and Unalaska with 45 degrees and the cold spot was Atqasuk with a temperature of 10 degrees below zero!
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Copyright 2024 KTUU. All rights reserved.
Alaska
Alaska Native culture bearers bless Cook Inlet Fin Whale
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Alaska Native Heritage Center staff gathered on the Cook Inlet mudflats on Monday to honor a whale that washed ashore over a week ago.
“We came here today to offer some prayers and ceremony to the whale that washed up,” Ben Baldwin, with the Alaska Native Heritage Center, said.
Baldwin was one of several staff who took part in the blessing ceremony for the nearly 50-foot fin whale.
“The reason that we’re here as Native people is to be respectful of all living things,” Marilyn Balluta, with the center, said. “This [the whale] is your non-human relative.”
During the ceremony, Baldwin performed both a prayer and a song for the whale. According to Baldwin, this was the first time he had done a blessing like this in front of a large crowd of people. Traditionally, he said he tends to do blessings like this when he is out hunting.
“I offered a prayer in smoke inside an abalone shell and that [shell] had plants from here, from the Cook Inlet basin,” Baldwin said. “It’s the medicine of the land that we’re offering to our non-human relatives from the land as well.”
According to Baldwin, whales are significant in the Alaska Native culture. Both for sustainability purposes and their spirituality.
“They’re very spiritually strong and they carry a lot of meaning,” Baldwin said. “And we felt that it was really important to offer a prayer as a community, offer it a final drink and make sure that we are interacting with our non-human relatives in a really good way.”
Monday’s blessing was also a somber moment for some people who gathered around the whale. Emily Edenshaw, the CEO of the Alaska Native Heritage Center, shared how she struggled with seeing images surface that showed chunks of meat missing as well as its fin chopped off.
“I know for myself it was really hard to see the photos and to see the post, but understanding that this is an opportunity to apply what we’ve learned but also show our respect,” Edenshaw said.
It’s a similar feeling for Baldwin, who asks that people pay their respects when visiting the whale.
“It’s more than just flesh and bones, it’s spirit, it’s a relative and it should be respected,” he said.
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Copyright 2024 KTUU. All rights reserved.
Alaska
Alaska Republicans bring in national lawyer, will ask for recount on Ballot Measure 2
The Alaska Republican Party said on Sunday that it will be asking the Division of Elections for a recount of the votes on Ballot Measure 2, which gave Alaskans the option of repealing ranked-choice voting.
Although dark money from Outside Alaska overwhelmed proponents of the repeal, it ended up failing to be repealed by just 664 votes, a tiny margin.
Of the 340,110 votes cast on the measure, the margin of “No” votes to “Yes” votes was 160,619 to 159,955, or 50.1% to 49.9%. The state must cover the costs of a recount when the margin is this close.
“We will submit this request, along with the names of the requisite Alaskan voters required to initiate this process, once the election is certified, which is scheduled for November 30, 2024,” said the statement issued by the Alaska Republican Party.
The party has hired the Dhillon Law Group, led by Harmeet K. Dhillon, to be on the ground during the recount and review, along with Alaska-based party counsel and observers.
“Ms. Dhillon and her firm are a nationally recognized, seasoned election integrity legal team, and bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to this recount process. Ms. Dhillon is an expert in election law. She and her colleagues Michael Columbo and Mark Meuser were recently on the legal teams in Arizona, Pennsylvania, and other crucial locations nationally to ensure a fair, transparent, and thorough process,” said Party Chairwoman Carmela Warfield. “Our Party Counsel, Ms. Stacey Stone and her team, are experienced Alaskan election law practitioners, and in September 2024, they successfully intervened on the Alaska Republican Party’s behalf in the case of Alaska Democratic Party v. State of Alaska Division of Elections, ultimately prevailing in the Alaska Supreme Court.”
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