It's Daylight Savings Time Again Today So The Legislature Has Yet Another Bill To End It

We set the clocks ahead again last night or this morning.  And the Alaska legislature has a bill to end Daylight Savings.Again    [I suspect the link to the Anchorage Daily News is paywalled for non-subscribers.]

The session I blogged the legislature from Juneau (2010) there was also a bill.  And it seems there's one every year.  So I'm not expecting it to pass.

From an Alaskan perspective there are extra wrinkles in all of this.

1.  When I first got to Alaska in 1977 the state had four (yes 4) time zones.  That was ended so it was easier for Alaskans, scattered across so many time zones, to know what time it was everywhere else in the state and for airlines and their passengers to stay sane traveling in the state.  

2.  Besides size, Alaska is north.  In the summer much of the state never actually gets dark.  In the winter much of the state has, at the winter solstice, five hours or less from sunrise to sunset.  So school kids are going to go to school or come home in the dark no matter what.  In some places both.  (Though when there is a white ground cover, it isn't quite as dark as you would expect.)

3.  I don't think we're going to end Daylight Savings time this year.  But I expect that one day it will happen.  Maybe on the national level.  But the legislature meets in Juneau, and as the post below says, 

"People in Southeast Alaska have a real issue because they are basically in Pacific time, so they get less light in the evening while the sun comes up 3am at solstice."

Below is that 2010 post on Daylight Savings time: 

Thursday, March 18, 2010

HB 19 to End Daylight Savings Time

The other two meetings going on right now are dealing with issues of far greater impact on Alaska I presume.  But this is one most Alaskans can understand easily and are impacted by most directly and tangibly.


Here is the table with copies of emails and letters for and against the bill.  










[Update:  I looked through these and they are all dated March 18 and some 17.  Actually this stack is misleading.  I didn't realize I have one big stack twice.  The vote was 62 for HB 19, 18 against, and four had other options, like get the US to change, but not just Alaska.]

Sen. Olson and Sen. Menard listen to phone testimony on the ending daylight savings time in Alaska.  

Rep. Anna Fairclough, the bill sponsor, responded to the comments received through the mail, email, and by phone today.  She said there were two reasons that have real justification for not changing:

1.  People in Southeast Alaska have a real issue because they are basically in Pacific time, so they get less light in the evening while the sun comes up 3am at solstice.
2.  The difficulty in coordinating with people outside of Alaska.  (I think this was the second one)

Other than these two points, most people prefer getting rid of daylight savings time.  A lot of this is about having to change and the disruption that causes with relatively little daylight impact for most Alaskans (further north and west than Southeast.)

Other issue:  Why don't we just spring forward and stay on daylight savings time the whole year.  There area a couple of issues:
1.  Feds, not states, can change time zones.
2.  Western Alaska would be even further off of sun time (opposite problem of Southeast.)

Meeting was adjourned just about 5pm with the decision postponed.

A South African Jewish Podcast On The War On Iran (Updated)

 I've been keeping too busy.  There are different events to comment on.  The attack on Iran seems to be on the top of the list, though it shouldn't displace so many other things, like ICE and the Epstein files.

The video below is from a podcast/Youtube channel called the South African Jewish Report.  After all the fatuous speculation in the US media, this is a refreshing change.  It is a discussion from people who actually know something.  

There's a lot missing.  They treat the US and Trump as important allies in the attack on Iran.  My sense is that like others have figured out, you need to stroke Trump's ego.  They don't do that directly, but neither do they say anything negative about Trump.  

The podcasters have two guests:

Col. Miri Eisin and Brig. Gen. Amir Avivi

Miri grew up in California and got her college education in Israel.  She was part of the higher ranks of Israeli military and, she tells us, she now advises the military.  She explains that the military brings her and others in to look at and critique their plans.  Of the two, she seems to have a larger perspective, a more balanced and nuanced view of the world.  At one point she tells us that as someone who grew up in the US and has many relatives there, and whose first language is English, she sees things a bit differently from other Israelis including the other guest.  

She hopes that a new regime, made up of leaders of a new generation in Iran, will abandon the goal of eliminating Israel.  She hopes there is a new Middle East focused more on economic development and peace.  That's how it came across to me. 

Amir talked about the golden age of Israel arriving now, it will become an economic giant, and Jews around the world should be ready for Aliya - return to Israel.  (Ironically, I saw an article today that said more Israelis are emigrating than immigrating.  

While Miri says a problem for Israel, with its dominant military power, has often been that they did not know when to stop and often went on too long.  Amir disagreed and said too often they stopped too soon.  

But basically, they see the goal of this war as regime change in Iran.  They portray Iran as the many headed serpent which funds and arms groups like Hamas and Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations and they quote the Ayatollah as having declared the goal to destroy Israel.  

[UPDATE Sunday, March 8:  In the video, Miri emphasizes that they are leaving the Iranian oil production sites alone so that the next Iranian government will have a source of income.  But reports today say that oil facilities have been attacked.]

My sense is that having the US as a partner in this war gives them cover as well has the fire power of the US.  But they also make it sound like this is an Israeli operation, based on sophisticated intelligence gathering.  

'

Some context:  

• The whole situation is not black and white.  I made a series of posts on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which you can see here.  
• Israel is 20,770 square kilometers (8,019 square miles).  The most similar sized US state is New Jersey at 22,591 square km or 8,722.58 square miles.

• When the the Twin Towers were destroyed in 9/11, the US went to war with Iraq and 

The September 11 attacks were the deadliest terrorist attacks in human history, causing the deaths of 2,996 people, including 19 hijackers who committed murder–suicide and 2,977 victims. (Wikipedia) 

• That comes out to about  0.00087% of the US population.  And the US immediately went to war against  

• When Israel was attacked on October 7, they went to war to eliminate Hamas

In total, 1,195 people were killed by the attacks:[22][e][f] at least 828 civilians[22][23](including 36 children[24] and 71 foreign nationals)[24] and at least 367 members of the security forces. 364 civilians were killed while they were attending the Nova music festival and many more wounded.[39][40] At least 14 Israeli civilians were killed by the IDF's use of the Hannibal Directive.[41][42] About 250 Israeli and non-Israeli civilians and soldiers were taken as hostages to the Gaza Strip. (Wikipedia)

• That comes out to 0.0124% of the Israeli population.  

Why Was Stephen Colbert Told To Pull James Talarico Interview?

Fascist states censor. They want to control what people believe to be true.  

Stephen Colbert interviewed Texas state representative James Talarico, a Democratic candidate for US Senate in Texas.  His opponent in the upcoming primary is Member of Congress Jasmine Crockett.  Both appear to be strong candidates.  Both have Democratic detractors.  Or bots doing it.  I've seen social media posts saying Talarico isn't really a Democrat and will be another Fetterman.  And there are those that say a Black woman can't win in Texas.

But, apparently the White House doesn't want Talarico to be the Democratic candidate.  Watch the Colbert show where Colbert tells us that CBS didn't let him play the Talarico interview, but that you can see it on Youtube.  (By the way, Colbert did interview Jasmine Crockett July 2025.)  (Googling "Colbert interview with Jasmine Crockett July 2025" gave me four pages of links to stories about the Talarico interview!!  I had to work to find the link to the Crockett interview.)

And then watch the interview that was blocked, on Youtube.  

I'm guessing that the Republicans are more concerned that a white guy who's a Christian pastor will be more more competitive against the eventual GOP candidate than a fiery, smart Black woman.  Or they think that it will be easier (and more fun) for them to smear the Black lady than the choir boy.  But there's backlash against Talarico from the left too.

"There's a definite battle waged on behalf of
the old guard "dems" who believe that a safe
white man is always the answer. . ."

I'm not sure they're wrong.  But I'm also not sure they're right.  

We've been told that Texas was going to go blue with Beto O'Rourke and then with Colin Allred , both formidable candidates.  So I'm not counting my Senators before they're elected.  

But Trump's heavy handed misadministration has set up 2026 to be the year of the Democrats. One could well argue that if it doesn't happen this year, it's not going to happen.  But it will eventually, given that the demographic shifts continue.  And that's one reason ICE is trying to deport as many people as possible.  

But non-citizens can't vote and don't vote (no matter how loudly the GOP yell about the need for every voter to prove they are citizens), so at this point they aren't thinning the rolls through deportation.  Though the SAVE Act would have a massive impact on elections.  [The SAVE Act link goes to a post from May last year, and there have been some changes, but you can see this is intended to prevent as many people as possible from voting, particularly those more likely to vote blue, like women.]

From what I've seen, both Talarico and Crockett are formidable candidates.  Will Talarico get more white Christians and maybe get votes from Republicans?  Possibly.  But will a white candidate cause Black voters to skip voting because he beat their bright and most in-your-face Black candidate?  Will Crockett get out the Black vote that other candidates haven't reached?  

Step one is the primary, which has already begun in Texas.  From the Texas Newsroom via the Texas Standard:

"Texas voters can now cast their ballots early for the state’s March 3 party primaries. The results of these elections will determine who represents Republicans and Democrats on the ballot in November.

Despite the important role party primaries play in state politics, Texas has consistently seen low voter turnout for them. Take 2022, during the last midterm election year. During those primaries, only 3 million Texans cast ballots — just 17% percent of the state’s registered voters at the time.

Because relatively few of Texas’ more than 18 million eligible voters show up for these elections, that means those who do vote have an outsize influence on the Lone Star State’s political landscape."

Somewhat relevant to all this is the video below I came across of Texas Rep. Barbara Jordan telling us what impeachment is all about in 1974.  I've been a giant fan of Barbara Jordan since I first came across her about that time.  Just listen to the authority in her voice.  But with no condescension or sarcasm. (or am I missing it?)  If I were doing a movie that had God as a character, her voice would be perfect.  

Epstein Files - An Archeological Find That Will Be Dissected Forever

There are so many pages of documents in the Epstein files that have been released so far, that any kind of definitive conclusions are a long way off.  They have to be read, put into some kind of context, and links between documents have to be figured out.  Then links between the Epstein files and other data bases - court records, news articles, and other breaches like the Panama Papers.  Plus, many released files are still redacted and unredacted in ways they shouldn't be (hiding names other than victims, not hiding all the victim data.) 

What's public so far is about 50%. There are millions of files left,  which the administration seems to hope they won’t have to release.  People speculate these have more damning information in them.  That’s one logical train of thought.  Another is that the DOJ staff aren’t that organized that they can separate out the worst.  Another strategy would be to have them be nothing revealing as a way to tease, and then shut this all down.  That doesn’t seem too likely either.  

When I looked into one set of the Epstein files - court documents - there were hundreds of pages of routine court documents as lawyers made motions and set deadlines that seemed to be of little consequence, with a few more substantial documents about the specific court case (Epstein suing someone, Wexner?,  but nothing terribly revealing stood out to me at first glance.  Boring procedural motions and rulings mostly.  

Some online commentators are writing breathtaking headlines, overusing words like "BREAKING" and "BOMBSHELL" (all caps in originals) pointing to a newly revealed name, or evidence of the very sexual nature of Epstein and his clients/friends.  

Whether there is an important story or it's just more clickbait can be discerned by whether the 'punchline' is revealed in the social media post or whether you have to click to find out the allegedly important nugget.  Most of those nuggets will be micro level news.  

The meaning and context of everything will take a while to tease out.  After all, historians are still finding new twists to justify new biographies of people like Abraham Lincoln and there is far less actual information about Lincoln than there is, probably, about Epstein and his buddy Donald.  

The Bigger Picture

It’s clear to me that there is a bigger, complicated web of connections, influence, and crime.  Some sex trade related, some financial, some political, some national security related.  And while I write ‘some’ as

though these are all separate categories, I’m sure the Venn Diagrams will show a lot of overlap.  

I’ve seen several story lines that seem pretty likely and worth thinking about already:  The first is the idea that the culture of male power (sexual and otherwise) over young (and even older) females is not restricted to Epstein’s island and other properties or Mar-a-lago.  

1.  Rather it IS the culture of the US and probably most of the world.    

From Carole Cadwalladr's Substack, How to Survive the Broligarchy, We all live in Jeffrey Epstein's world , here are a couple of excerpts to give you a sense of her story (and which will come as no surprise to most women and the men they trust to talk to):

“Epstein has given us an extraordinary portal through which we can now see how hostile state influence, criminality and the impunity of the billionaire class are intimately enmeshed. That’s the piece I still want to write. But we can’t understand any of this until we realise that Epstein isn’t just a doorway, he’s also a mirror.  His culture is our culture.

The latest tranche of Epstein documents made it obvious. Consider all the “contrarians” and “anti-woke” warriors who show up in the latest dump: Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Larry Summers, Steve Bannon, and of course, Donald Trump. With apologies to George Carlin: It’s a big club, and the worst people are in it — because their interests are all aligned. Pushing back on social justice, it turns out, was coordinated.

Being able to see their emails makes something very clear: The “anti-woke” movement was not a genteel intellectual inquiry, made by disinterested parties who cared deeply about free speech. It is a social circle of powerful people who feel threatened by #MeToo. Reading through the emails, it’s possible to see that Epstein himself coordinated pushback against #MeToo. Looking back, it seems obvious that sinking #MeToo also led to where we are now: a place where laws simply don’t apply if you have enough money and power. The same players are involved.”  (Emphasis added)

2.  "kind of a super concierge"  In this one, Epstein is a fixer for powerful people, to the point that a lot of people owe him favors.  This one gets into financial issues (to an extreme with Wexner) and politics

Molly Jong Fast's New York Times opinion piece, says the Epstein files show that it's more than just sex, "Mr. Epstein won favor and friendships by acting as a kind of superconcierge."  Here's an excerpt:

"Many people stuck with him even after he had gone to jail in 2008 in Florida for sex crimes, and in some cases even after he landed in jail again in 2019 on sex-trafficking charges. Back then, the plight of the victims often seemed to be an afterthought. That’s most likely because whatever they received from him in the past — access to career-enhancing people, access to young girls and an endless supply of freebies — might still be on offer. This is the nature of the Epstein files: It’s the record of what a global class of very privileged, accomplished and self-important people want to get gifted.

Sometimes it was a Prada bag. Other times it was a flight on Mr. Epstein’s jet, or a weekend at his island. Sometimes it was a donation to a charity or school. Or a job for their kid working on a Woody Allen film, or a shortcut for Mr. Allen’s own kid to get into Bard. Sometimes it was a “tall, Swedish blonde.” Other times it was a young woman who might be a “a little freaked by the age difference.”

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In writing about an earlier tranche of emails, in The Times, Anand Giridharadas asked: “How did Mr. Epstein manage to pull so many strangers close? The emails reveal a barter economy of nonpublic information that was a big draw. This is not a world where you bring a bottle of wine to dinner.”

Inside dope wasn’t the only thing Mr. Epstein had on hand. The picture provided by the latest files shows how Mr. Epstein won favor and friendships by acting as a kind of superconcierge. Sometimes that meant sending the helicopter to pick up guests, as Mr. Epstein offered to do for Elon Musk in a 2012 email, writing, “How many people will you be for the heli to island?” On another occasion, Mr. Musk asks his concierge Epstein, “Do you have any parties planned?” Mr. Epstein provided private plane trips, internships, Apple Watches, Hermès bags, extra-large zipper sweatshirts (those went to Steve Bannon), nearly $10,000 worth of boxers and T-shirts (Woody Allen) and an XXL cashmere sweater (Noam Chomsky). And then there’s the resistance Substack star Michael Wolff, who is all over the Epstein files, who emails Mr. Epstein, 'Shoes are very nice. Thanks.'”

3.  Epstein's Russian connections  - This one takes us into national security and politics

From Phillips P. O'Brien's Substack, Phillips's Newsletter, we get: "Why Does A Narcissist Accept Humiliation? Epstein Might Be The Answer."

"... another batch of millions of documents from the Jeffrey Epstein files were released and they made a very strong case that Epstein was closely linked to elements in Russian intelligence. There were trips, emails, and other assorted hints that Epstein was associated with and even coordinated activities with members of the Russian intelligence service. The evidence was strong enough that Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a man not prone to histrionics or overstatement, said that the Poles were investigating whether Epstein had been a Russian agent. Tusk’s exact words in a government meeting were:"

Even if the next set of documents released by the Department of Justice includes a video tape with a naked Donald Trump humping a 14 year old, that won't be the end of the insights we learn about the United States, about the very rich, about male privilege, especially while male privilege, about the network of ultra rich, and even international links to nations that are not considered our friends that amount to serious breaches of national security.  

It's going to take many years to map out all the connections and how those connections set up a class of people who, for the most part, have been above the law, and have perverted democracy in many ways.  

Stay tuned.  But don't hold your breath.  This is not a television mystery that ends with a neat conclusion after 90 minutes.  This is more like an archeological dig that will take decades to tie up the many threads and loose ends.

Bohemian Waxwings Harvest Our Mountain Ash Tree Berries

 Grey shadows streaked across our window shade Sunday morning and I knew the waxwings were back.

And when I slowly pulled up the shade, there they were, feasting on the berries.  

What is my favorite Alaska bird?  The Bohemian Waxwings are among the top five.  They come in flocks of 50 or more and swoop down to tree in smaller squads.  Then they fly off and another squad takes over.  

The lighting was tricky with the birds between me and the sun.  There was also a dirty window between me and the birds. 

But they are such elegant birds with their crests, the light grey bodies adorned with yellow bands on their tails and black and red and yellow adornments on their faces.  These aren't my best waxwing pics, but they give you a sense of why I so enjoy their visits.  

Here's a post from 2015 that has better pictures.  

Bohemian Waxwings Visit Our Mt. Ash Tree

This Weekish In Anchorage

Friday/Saturday/Sunday January 31/February 1   7-10 pm Anchorage Folk Festival.  FREE. Just go to 

 The Festival website and download the program.  There are also concerts around town - mostly free - as well as workshops during the weekends.  Lots of good cheer and good music.  Locals and imports.  

Sunday, February 1, 2026. Loussac Library, 4th Floor  3pm-5pm- Sunday Solidarity -  Group meets to

 write letters to Alaska’s US Senators and Representative, post cards to voters, and many other activities to resist the slide into Fascism.  Chance to meet others with concerns and learn what others are doing.  See this recent post for more information.

Monday, Feb 2 - Las Abogadas: Attorneys on the Front Lines of the Migrant Crisis ~ Presented by the ACLU   Bear Tooth Theater 6pm  

Or get comfortable with a good book.  (At my book club meeting Monday, they started talking about The Art Thief.  I got confused.  What were they talking about?  “Did we all read the same book?”  I asked?  Turns out they were reading The Art Thief by Michael Finkle.  I had read Hitler’s Art Thief  by Susan Ronald.   And someone else had read another book called The Art Thief.)

Sunday Solidarity Group Growing

Every Sunday people concerned about the survival of US democracy show up at Loussac Library - 4th floor.  I'm not sure quite how to describe the event.  It's a gathering place to connect with like minded people.

Looking through the photos on my phone, it appears the first time I came was December 21.  At that time there were about 15 or 20 people attending.  The numbers seem to be climbing each week.  There were over 40 people there tonight.  

It's a place to find folks to help with your pet political project.  A place to just see that there are others who are concerned enough about the attacks on democracy to show up Sunday afternoon.  A place to find projects that fit your schedule and comfort level.

Sometimes there's a speaker.  Always there are POMs (Public Official Messages) on which to write your thoughts to your members of Congress.  Someone then takes them to Rep. Begich's and Senators Murkowski's and Sullivan's offices.  They've delivered about 700 POMs so far since November. 

There's also information about other groups working toward the same goals.  They also pay attention to people's mental health.  A couple of weeks ago, there were two therapists who work with people who have experienced political trauma.  

Several tables were for writing postcards.  At this table people were writing cards to US Senators who someone decided might be persuaded to vote against funding ICE further with first reining them in.

I wrote one to someone in California whose district had been redrawn in response to Texas gerrymandering to gain five GOP seats, telling the voter that his district had changed and when the primaries and general election were.  

There was a table for making sandwiches for the homeless.  People had brought in sandwich fixings and people were going to take them to a group that gathers food like this from all over Anchorage.   

More post card writing.  This one was for Mazon, and people were sending post cards to the Secretary of Agriculture regarding foreign aid that feeds the poor, particularly children.  

Before the Sunday Solidarity group meets, a book club meets from 2pm-3pm.  They are currently reading a book called Capitol Crude:The Impact of Oil on Alaska Politicsby Lisa A. Weissler.  Weissler was a legislative staffer for many years and this is an account of the building of the pipeline, the influence of oil money on the legislature, the

history of the unsuccessful attempts to build a natural gas pipeline.  We read a few chapters a week.  

It's particularly interesting because I know the names of so many of the people involved, and I know many of them personally.  Next week we'll read about the political-corruption trials which I blogged starting in 2007.  

The AI Bubble Explained And Some Venezuela Background

 I spend too much time on Bluesky and Spoutible, but I do get links to articles I probably wouldn't have otherwise seen.  Here are two I thought were worth more attention.  The first is the most comprehensive and comprehensible piece I've seen on the AI hype.  I'm offering a link and some excerpts to help you believe that this one is worth your time to read. Among other things, Doctorow is a science fiction writer and he thinks and writes exceptionally well.

AI companies will fail. We can salvage something from the wreckage

Cory Doctorow

And you can read about who Doctorow is and why he has the expertise to write about this:  Doctorow Wikipedia

"I am a science-fiction writer, which means that my job is to make up futuristic parables about our current techno-social arrangements to interrogate not just what a gadget does, but who it does it for, and who it does it to.

What I do not do is predict the future. No one can predict the future, which is a good thing, since if the future were predictable, that would mean we couldn’t change it."

"There are lots of AI tools that are potentially very centaurlike, but my thesis is that these tools are created and funded for the express purpose of creating reverse centaurs, which none of us want to be."

"Tech bosses want us to believe that there is only one way a technology can be used. Mark Zuckerberg wants you to think that it is technologically impossible to have a conversation with a friend without him listening in. Tim Cook wants you to think that it is impossible for you to have a reliable computing experience unless he gets a veto over which software you install and without him taking 30 cents out of every dollar you spend. Sundar Pichai wants you to think that it is impossible for you to find a webpage unless he gets to spy on you from asshole to appetite."

He then writes about 'growth' stocks and 'mature' stocks.  Growth stocks have lots of advantages, particularly because their stock can be used to buy up competitors whereas mature companies have to use money.  But eventually the growth stocks become monopolies with 90% of the market and so they can't grow any more and they slip down to mature stock status.

"This is the paradox of the growth stock. While you are growing to domination, the market loves you, but once you achieve dominance, the market lops 75% or more off your value in a single stroke if they do not trust your pricing power.

Which is why growth-stock companies are always desperately pumping up one bubble or another, spending billions to hype the pivot to video or cryptocurrency or NFTs or the metaverse or AI.

I am not saying that tech bosses are making bets they do not plan on winning. But winning the bet – creating a viable metaverse – is the secondary goal. The primary goal is to keep the market convinced that your company will continue to grow, and to remain convinced until the next bubble comes along.

"Now I want to talk about how they’re selling AI. The growth narrative of AI is that AI will disrupt labor markets. I use “disrupt” here in its most disreputable tech-bro sense."

"The promise of AI – the promise AI companies make to investors – is that there will be AI that can do your job, and when your boss fires you and replaces you with AI, he will keep half of your salary for himself and give the other half to the AI company."  

Then he talks about how all this is creating a bubble, and gets back to 'centaur like jobs' and 'reverse centaur like jobs.'  How companies look to getting rid of most of their employees, and then when AI screws up, they'll blame the lone employee who is supposed to monitor AI mistakes. 

And then he gets into art jobs and why copyright protection online needs to be pushed way back.  And even what to do with the litter of unused data centers.

It's a great comprehensive article that takes a macro view of AI, not just a focused view that leaves out the larger context.  

So here's the link again:  AI companies will fail. We can salvage something from the wreckage

Cory Doctorow

 

And if you're confused about what is happening with Venezuela, here's a piece that gives you background to understand how he concludes that this appears to have been negotiated with the Cubans and life won't get better for the average Venezuelan.

The Dog That Didn't Bark in the Maduro Op - Michael Weiss   [You can click on Weiss to get Wikipedia's entry on him.]  

Cuban intelligence runs Venezuela's security apparatus. Where was it when the U.S. snatched the Venezuelan strongman?  

“Were the Cubans really “incompetent,” as Rubio suggested, or were they somehow made to accept their client’s violent removal with the promise of regime continuity led by someone they know well and trust? Might Rodríguez’s transitional stewardship have been part of a quiet deal brokered between Washington and Havana, now on notice that it will have to deal with an administration for which shoring up American interests in the Western Hemisphere with gunboat diplomacy and kinetic operations is codified as a national security strategy? A former U.S. intelligence officer with experience in Latin America told me, ‘Even if we didn’t expressly tell the Cubans what was going to happen, they’d likely still know.’”

Read it all at the link: 

https://macspaunday.substack.com/p/the-dog-that-didnt-bark-in-the-maduro?utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true

A few people have used a "The dog that didn't bark" reference lately,  Here's an explanation for those who don't get it.

Full Blown Police State In Minnesota

 I can't figure out how to simply copy this Bluesky post, so here's a screenshot and a link to the post so you can watch the whole video.   This sort of video is all over social media.  It's appalling that the GOP in Congress have no consciences, not a shred of courage.  But this is the United States at the beginning of the year 2026.  A faltering democracy.  

Some liken this to Jim Crow in the South when thousands were lynched.  Is it different?  I was going to say that now these terrorists are wearing what some call law enforcement uniforms, whereas during Jim Crow they were wearing white cloaks and white hoods.  But some of those in the white hoods were law enforcement.  And law enforcement stopped cars with Black folk in them and treated them like this.

So this isn't new in the US, but it's new that

• it's federal agents
• lighter skinned people are being targeted
• it's in broad daylight in the north with lots of witnesses

Again, here's the link.  It's not pretty, but we have to look and change Congress in November.

https://bsky.app/profile/noturtlesoup17.bsky.social/post/3mcdab3qrvs2g

We have a white nationalist Nazi wannabes acting as immigration prosecutor:

"In February of last year, the Texas Observer reported that t James “Jim” Joseph Rodden—an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) assistant chief counsel who acts as a prosecutor for ICE in immigration court in Dallas—operates a white supremacist X account named GlomarResponder, based on an overwhelming number of biographical details that the Observer matched through publicly available documents, other social media activity, and courtroom observation.

The account has over 17,000 followers and has routinely posted hateful statements, including that “America is a White nation,” that “‘Migrants’ are all criminals,” and that “All blacks are foreign to my people,” in addition to posts with apparent praise of Adolf Hitler." (From Texas Observer)

While this is just one example, the fact that he's back in court after a complaint, reinforces the idea that not only is this reasonable in the eyes of the Trump administration, it's, in my opinion, the dream of Stephen Miller, who is rabidly anti immigrant, especially those whose skin is darker than Scandinavian.  Here's a 2018 article referencing his uncle's condemnation of Miller.  Here's an MSM article saying Miller's target is 3000 arrests per day, and not criminals, but any undocumented immigrant.

From the Libertarian
leaning CATO Institute

3000 per day.  That's 90,000 per month.  That's over a million a year.  The campaign rhetoric about criminals, rapists, murderous gangs, was simply rhetoric.  Somalians eating pets was pure fiction.  But they are Black.  And Miller and others want to protect the "purity" of the white "race."  And they also want to protect Republican candidates who they feel will lose more and more elections if the population gets less pure white.  It's hard to attract people of color to a party that welcomes white nationalists and Nazis.  

So combine Miller's fanatic racism and the GOP's fear of losing future elections, and exporting a million or so darker immigrants makes cruel sense.  

And these arrests, like the one in the Bluesky post above, are violent and intended to intimidate.  These ICE agents have been given a license to be roaming domestic terrorists.  

But the US is nothing but a country of immigrants.  Except for the indigenous peoples who lived here before Europeans came, every one is an immigrant or descendent of one.  

Everyone should be outraged.  Everyone should make a plan to find ways  they are comfortable with, to fight this administration.

For some that may 

• be writing post cards to voters.  
• giving money to candidates who have a record of courage and fighting for people, not corporations. 
• marching in protests.  
• working with refugee and immigration rights groups.  
• joining local groups fighting to save democracy
• volunteering for pro-democracy candidates
• writing letters to you representatives and senators
• pick something from Robert Reich's list of ten things to do

Just feeling helpless will worsen one's anxieties and make one feel hopeless.  Joining a local group of activists will connect you with like minded people and show you ways to fight back.  The recent Democracy Fair in Anchorage showed people a dozen or more such organizations.  This is where internet is you friend.  Just search for "local progressive activist groups in _[your town]_"  I got this FB page, for example, when I put in Boise, Idaho.

found posted multiple times on Spoutible, not sure of the author/creator

While many claim all these current events - kidnapping the president of Venezuela, threatening to invade Greenland,  ICE thugs violently dragging people out of cars and sending them off into a black hole are distractions from the Epstein files.  

Given how much has already come out in the Epstein files, I'm not sure that additional files will change many people's minds.  (But that doesn't mean we shouldn't be continuing to demand their release with pedophiles unreacted.)  

But it's possible that in a perverse way, the Epstein files are a distraction from the authoritarian takeover of the US.  

Democracy Fair Draws Crowd To Loussac

The League of Women Voters sponsored a Democracy Fair at Loussac Library in Anchorage Saturday. 

On the 4th floor there were twenty tables staffed by employees and volunteers for Municipal agencies and non-profits.  

email: alaskamarchon@gmail.com

Facebook:  Alaska March On

Bluesky:  @alaskamarchon.bsky.social

In the Marston Auditorium there were speakers most of the day.

And in the Moose Room, they had two showings of the film The Officials about election officials who, despite all the the attempts to challenge the 2020 elections stood firm.  

The Anchorage Equal Rights Commission takes complaints about discrimination in housing, employment, and other areas in businesses and in government agencies within the boundaries of Anchorage.  

equalrights@anchorageak.gov 

it was a good way to meet a lot of people from a wide range of groups who are working to preserve democracy in the United States.  [I know, that sounds bizarre, but that's where we are.  The outcome is uncertain.]  Each group has its own key issue and approach, but my sense was they were all open to working together when that made sense.  Ultimately they all have a common goal.  

My personal goal is to work to get as many non-voters to vote, with a particular focus on young voters.  Not much is going to change in Alaska politics unless we engage the people who have decided that 'voting is not my thing' or 'every party is equally corrupt so why vote?’  A huge swath of people eligible to vote, regularly do not vote.  They can make all the difference.  There are several groups that seem to be working toward that goal and I will follow up with them.