The People's Paper February 2023

Alaska Raceway Park has recently undergone some major improvements during the 2022 racing season, thanks to the hard work of Club 1320, their crowdsource fundraising platform.

Through Club 1320’s efforts, 33% of the project was funded, allowing for the installation of concrete walls, a new Portatree timing system, and new, larger LED scoreboards. Despite a short construction season, the walls were installed on time with the help

The installation of the concrete walls is part of the NHRA safety upgrades, which will help protect racers and spectators. With the help of Club 1320’s fundraising, these upgrades were made possible and will help ensure a fun and safe racing season for everyone.

Club 1320 members will be recognized on the tribute wall this spring. Future projects are still being planned.

Learn more about those projects and membership at raceak.com/ club1320.

Stay tuned for more racing and exciting events planned for the 2023 race season, which kicks off Mother’s Day weekend with NASCAR on Saturday, May 13th and NHRA drag racing on Sunday, May 14th.

For the complete schedule and sneak peeks of what’s to come check out raceak.com or follow Alaska Raceway Park on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or Twitter.

COMMUNITY

Contributed by Julie Bouchard

Talkeetna, AK - This scholarship was generously donated by Missy Lee, Owner of Alaska Floats & Skis in memory of her cousin, Taegge Lee, who unexpectedly passed away in Talkeetna on July 15, 2021.

Scholarship was open to high school students in the Talkeetna/Trapper

Creek area, to include: FAA Medical Examination, Private Pilot Ground School and supplementary materials, Private Pilot FAA Written Exam Fee, 30 hours of ground instruction from a Certified Flight Instructor, 50 hours of flight instruction/solo flight time & Private pilot Check ride.

Congratulations Caymen Kingery of Talkeetna!

radar. The Special Olympics Alaska Mat-Su Community is hosting the 21st Annual Spaghetti Feed and Auction, February 25th, 5pm-7pm dinner and 7pm-9pm auction. Tickets are $10. The event will take place at Mat-Su Career & Tech High School, 2472 N. Seward-Meridian Pkwy, Wasilla.

The Mat-Su has 200+ athletes. Our athletes are top notch, and we want to provide the best possible opportunity for them to train and compete. The program allows our athletes to stay healthy, make long lasting friendships, and gives them a sense of accomplishment. Our athletes will melt your heart at first sight.

If you don’t know what the Special Olympics is all about, come join us for a night of fun and fundraising. Did you know that individuals who are involved with their communities are generally happier and more con-

Mat-Su Valley - Put this event on your

Contributed

In less than two months Denali

Gymnastics will be playing host to the largest Men’s Gymnastics event held in Alaska in over 20 years.

Region 2 comprises Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska.

March 30-April 2 475 of the best and brightest Male athletes that our region

has to offer will be competing for the title of Region 2 Champion and looking for the ticket to qualify onto USA Gymnastics National Championships.

Denali’s very own level 9 team walked away from last year’s Regional Championships with a 3rd place team award. This year so far undefeated in the last two team competitions, Gold is in their sights for 2023.

would pass through this stretch of the interior as it headed for the coast. Strick’s job was to make sure the trail was clear and passable.

He realized he needed help to cut the course. After a quick ride around town, he managed to assemble five other riders who were strong, capable and ready to roll with him.

“Chuck you take up the rear,” he instructed. “I’ll take the lead and the rest fall in. Just make sure we have enough distance between sleds so we’re not riding on top of each other in this weather. It’s tough to see out there.”

Contributed By Debra McGhan

Photos:

–

The roar of snowmobile engines filled the air as Richard Strick put on his familiar black and red helmet and climbed aboard his sled. Pulling the starter rope, his Polaris fired to life.

The snow, which had been falling off and on for the past few weeks, was once again piling up on the trails around McGrath this Valentine day in 2006. The Iditarod race, just days away,

As Strict lead the way through Rainy Pass, the group triggered a massive avalanche burying three riders. Two of the riders were able to get out on their own or recovered quickly, but Strick, covered by more than 10 feet of snow, wasn’t so lucky. No one in the party carried avalanche transceivers or probes. It took hours to get the help needed to recover Strick’s body leaving his family devastated.

This year, before the Iditarod and Iron Dog racers set out along the same route, Alaska Safe Riders, led by Mike Buck, will serve as ambassadors. They will be carrying messages of safety and chances for the children to receive a new snowmobile helmet thanks to support from Donlin Gold, Eagle River Polaris Arctic Cat, Saltchuk Corporation and Iron Dog.

“Our goal is to share stories and safety

nected? I guarantee once you meet our amazing athletes you will want to get involved and become a unified partner, volunteer, or donor. The proceeds from this event stay right here in the Mat-Su Community to provide year-round sports training and friendly competition for our athletes and unified partners.

Contributions from our friends in the community make a HUGE difference in the lives of our athletes. It takes a village to continue the program and provide everything they need to train and compete. Our program provides all the uniforms, equipment, transportation, and hotel stays. Without support the program can’t continue.

So, if you want to feel you are making a difference in your community, come out and join us for dinner and stay for the auction, it is a blast! You will not be disappointed!

We love and appreciate our community supporters!

Come and join us at this once in a lifetime event at the Curtis Menard Sports Complex, March 30-April 2.

Adult Entry: $20 Students, Kids, & Seniors: FREE

tips that can save the lives of others,” said Buck. “We understand riding snow machines is a critical part of life in these rural communities. We want kids to grow up understanding and living a culture of safety so together we can reduce unintentional injuries and deaths.”

From avalanches to collisions, drowning to exposure, communication to companion rescue, this short program covers a wide range of potential hazards and ways to prevent tragic outcomes.

“There are many things we can each do to make sure our rides are roundtrip, not one-way,” said Buck. “But it takes lots of help and volunteers to make this possible.

“We depend on the generosity and compassion of those who understand the importance of these training programs and are able to support our work,” said Buck. “In memory of folks like Richard Strick Jr., we are working every day to prevent future tragedies like this through education.”

You can learn more, get involved and access safety videos compiled by Alaska Safe Riders and Iron Dog racers by visiting www.alaskasaferiders.com.

COMMUNITY

Thanks to the hard work of Rotarians in the Valley and the community, Wasilla Rotary will be awarding multiple scholarships, up to $5000, to graduating high school students across the Valley.

Are you eligible? You bet! Going to College, Trade School or any type of certification that furthers your educa-

tion and helps to get you on a career path qualifies. We are thinking outside of the box, and so should you! Completed applications must be turned in by April 15th!

The application is available at www. tinyurl.com/wasillarotary, on our Facebook page, or you can call Carolyn at 907-727-7127 or email mfjak@mtaonline.net for further information!

Wasilla Area Seniors, Inc. (WASI) announces the opening of WASI MidValley Adult Day Services at their Mid-Valley Senior Center location in Houston.

WASI’s mission is to enable seniors to live as independently as possible for as long as possible. In keeping with that mission WASI continues to develop programs that help seniors stay independent and living at home.

As the number of Seniors continues to increase dramatically in the Mat- Su Valley, families are often faced with exploring how to seek out the muchneeded care and support for a frail relative. An often-overlooked family support program is adult day services.

Adult Day programs offer an important and valuable service to our local community, and they are a creative alternative to traditional long-term care placement. Adult day services provide needed support to family caregivers and can help to lessen health care costs. WASI Mid-Valley Adult Day Services can provide clients with leisure activities, socialization opportunities and outings.

For many hard-working at home caregivers, adult day programs offer much needed respite and access to additional support systems and resources.

Contributed by Sally Barnes

Things were rockin’ and rollin’ at WASI on January 21, 2023! If you weren’t there then you missed quite the party. Even Elvis was in the house!

A great dance event that was put on by a group of our seniors titled “Boomers Rock” was a huge success. The

WASI Mid-Valley Adult Day Services can help improve your loved one’s overall quality of life.

WASI Mid-Valley Adult Day Services currently accepts Medicaid Waiver and self-pay clients. Currently, WASI is waiting for approval from TriWest Community Care Network for veteran billing. We’ll keep you posted once TriWest comes online.

The Adult Day Program offers a structured and comprehensive non-clinical, non-residential program, which provides a variety of health, social, and

or face the challenges of Alzheimer’s, Dementia, a developmental disability, or brain trauma. Healthy snacks are offered, and exercise programs are available. Loved ones can receive assistance with adult daily living, participate in arts & crafts, music, activities, fun games, and so much more! Transportation to and from the program is available.

In addition, WASI provides services at their Mid Valley Senior Center, Houston location. Lunch is available to Seniors 60+ from 11:30am – 12:30pm. Suggested donation is $6.00 for seniors 60+. If under the age of 60, the price is $10.00. There are daily exercise classes like Bingo Size, Strong Seniors, Tai Chi classes and many other activities like Puzzle Club and Trivia. The Center has a library, notary public, Free WIFI and Computer lab, Low vision magnification equipment, and in the Summer time there are garden planters available.

The Mid-Valley Senior Center is open Monday – Friday 8am – 4pm. Stop by and see all the great things available to the senior community at the Mid Valley Senior Center.

supportive services in a protective setting to adults who are physically frail

turnout that was planned with an expectation of around 50 people turned into around 150 in attendance.

There was music from the 50s, 60s and the 70s. Food was served and there was even a kumbucha bar. Everyone had a wonderful time laughing and dancing the evening away. This event was free.

For more information call 907-4165670, email wasiads@alaskaseniors. com, or check their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/midvalleyseniorcenter

Period dress was encouraged and was a big hit. Lots of people participated which made the event even more fun. There were a lot of great door prizes and table decorations. We look forward to more seniors stepping up to plan these types of wonderful gatherings. If you are interested, please contact us at 907-206-1001.

COMMUNITY

Contributed by Jodie White

Alaska Health Fair is a nonprofit serving Alaskans for over 40 years. We currently have events in Meadow Lakes, Trapper Creek, Wasilla, and Willow areas as well as Anchorage. We work with the largest clinical laboratory in the nation to bring you high-quality blood tests at nonprofit prices. Thousands of Alaskans take advantage of AHF services each year. We host both Community and Worksite events. Worksite health education has many benefits: reduced absenteeism, improved morale, increased productivity... AHF worksite health fairs are “turnkey” solutions customized to meet your

needs. Unlike virtual and out-of-state fairs, AHF events are curated by hundreds of local medical and non-medical volunteers and health, wellness, and safety professionals. Your employees will deepen their relationship with the local community while connecting with locally available health and wellness resources.

Volunteers are an integral part of our health and wellness fairs. We need both non-medical, and medically trained people. With positions ranging from foot traffic, meet and greet, cashiers, blood pressure, check out, health educators, and most importantly those that can draw blood. We are an approved

Every year students come from all over the world to study here in the United States. Their dream is to have a host family that loves them while experiencing everything American high school has to offer. These students are teenage boys and girls, aged 16-18, and they arrive in August for the entirety of the school year. While each individual student is unique and will steal your heart, the people that truly make this program amazing are YOU. Without gracious and loving host families, these kids would never get the opportunity to come to America and make their dreams come

true.

Host families, just like the students, are unique. They can be traditional families, blended families, empty nester couples, or young couples (at least age 25) who don’t have kids yet. Ultimately, almost anyone can host, as long as they have a heart for teenagers and are excited to experience new things. THIS MEANS YOU!!

As a federally recognized and CSIET accredited exchange organization, Pan Atlantic Foundation does require a thorough vetting process for any interested families. Steps include a

organization towards nursing hours. Head to our website, fill out an application, and select the events and duties you would like to volunteer for.

Exhibitors are very important too.

We view our Health Fairs as a way for Alaskans to get in touch with their local healthcare and wellness providers, receive useful information on topics they care about, and access affordable preventative screenings and tests. You are welcome to distribute promotional information about your practice, business, non-profit service or a government program; host a free class or demonstration; distribute free product samples—as long as it helps Alaskans

lengthy application process, a background check, an in-home interview, and positive references. As your local, born and raised Alaskan Area Representative, I will work with you every step of the way. I will be the one performing the interview in your home, and also the one who calls you every month to be sure things are going smoothly. I will take your student(s) out to dinner or an activity every month to offer them the same level of support. I will always be a phone call or a text message away and ready to jump in to support with whatever you might need.

Every year, these students – who come from all over the world including Europe, Mexico, and Thailand – go home singing their praises about their amazing host families. They tell their

maintain a healthy lifestyle. Collecting information from participants is allowed, but only with explicit consent. If you work in health care or wellness, our events can help you grow your practice, connect with the local community, and raise awareness about your cause. Our Health Fairs are designed to benefit the entire community: people, businesses, non-profits, and agencies – all working together to ensure great health for all Alaskans.

Events are conducted by walk-ins and appointments. You can make your appointment online. Just head to our website www.alaskahealthfair.org to schedule your appointment. You can also scan the QR code or call the office (907)278-0234.We hope to see you soon!

friends about the adventures they went on together, the vacations they shared, and the laughter they had around the dinner table at family birthdays. They bring home the holiday traditions that YOU shared with them, and you might find yourselves continuing some of the traditions they taught you.

Hosting is such a rewarding experience and, honestly, we could not make these amazing students’ dreams come true without you. For more information, contact me (Jessie Wetherell) at jwetherell.panatlantic@gmail.com. If you already know you want to apply, go to www.iwanttohost.org and fill out your application today. I’m excited to get to meet each of you and help make the world a smaller place, one student and family at a time!

was the fastest growing period of development of the human brain. After that it had been thought that there were slow and subtle changes to the brain well into adulthood and beyond. Little research was done on brain development after that early stage as focus shifted towards dementia at life’s end.

an amateur expert in social behavior or affairs. Originally I chose my “Great Americans” based on those people, outside of my family, who had the greatest positive direct influence on me from my childhood through my young adult days and about whom I could write confidently.

The new research now shows that the so-called “adolescent” period from age nine years going well into the third decade of life contains significant physical changes to the human brain, specifically the frontal cortex, the part of the brain that helps us make risk judgments, and is the last to physically mature.

After several years, my “Great American” themed series ended last month. Josh Fryfogle’s “The People’s Paper” has graciously published fifteen of these articles. I sincerely appreciate having such a citizen “free speech” venue in our Mat-Su Valley. My hat’s off to Josh and his small staff for providing this wonderful publishing outlet.

You may have an honest question:

Why only fifteen “Great Americans’ and why these particular individuals when there appear to be hundreds you could name? It is important to answer that question, especially as we view the deteriorating social, moral and ethical climate around us here in 2023 resulting in the violence and crime seen again around the nation.

First, I am not a professional nor even

Second, because of their dedication to being fine examples for our nation in their particular area of effort, they had a huge influence on many others like me.

Why are such people so important? That is because these role models, educators, and the like have an inordinate effect on our young people at the most critical period of their lives. It turns out that there is even more of an underlying reason beyond my original reasoning.

Just in the past decade or so, facilitated by advances in MRI brain scanning technology and research driven by frightening rises in adolescent suicide and drug abuse, there has been a sea change in understanding human brain development. Previously it was well known that the period from birth to three years old

This research about “white matter” replacing “gray matter”, neurotransmitters, etc. explains how these processes during adolescence cause the threat sensing and emotional centers of the brain to mature before this frontal cortex does. Scientists think it was part of the evolutionary process to make us more open to experiential learning to become independent and self-sufficient creatures. Therefore teenagers and young adults tend to take more risks and respond more emotionally to both stresses and pleasures as they go through this process. In today’s permissive and electronic world this also increases the possibility of substance abuse and suicide.

Also, a young person naturally trying to be more independent from their immediate family is more likely influenced by a teacher, a pastor, a coach, a college

professor, an author or even a national figure. The research shows why such role models are so important both positively and negatively during this period as the “risk judgment” part of the brain is still developing.

What can parents do to help their children through this with positive outcomes?

First, most experts in the field say that in their grade school years while they are still at home and under family influence, it is important to raise children to become as self-confident as possible as they enter their adolescent years. Giving them opportunities to build skills and accomplish goals at continually higher levels increases self-confidence. This will reduce the tendency toward typical “teenage” rebellion, and also later when they go off to college, trade school, take a job or otherwise first leave home.

Second, as they enter this difficult phase, support them with love, patience and understanding in a non-confrontational manner. Help them in their search for role models that are positive. This might be as simple as gifting them a book written by or about a potential hero or putting them in a situation where they meet and get to know a new role model. Watching a documentary together about such a person is another possibility. If they latch onto such individuals, they may be your son or daughter’s eventual “Great American!”

And by the way, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to create a list of the “Great Americans” in your own life and talk about how they helped you!

REAL ESTATE

If you’re a senior, family member of a senior or social worker, you know the frustration of trying to find availability in long term care. With long waitlists for senior housing across the state, Timber Creek Senior Living is welcome news not just for Fairbanks, but for the state as a whole. As the aging population continues to grow across the state, seniors and families sometimes feel left behind as senior services and care communities are not keeping up with the growing demand.

Timber Creek is expected to open end of February 2023 and will offer more options locally for those looking for an

assisted living community for a loved one. The 2 story lodge style community boasts 68 apartments, large restaurant style dining, worship chapel, community rooms for activities, housekeeping, laundry services and 24 hour care staff. Timber creek will also be participating in the Medicaid Waiver program upon Medicaid approval. Information will be provided to help families get started with the Medicaid Waiver application process along with information about the VA benefit “Aid & Attendance” that helps cover a portion of cost of care for assisted living.

Timber Creek is already building partnerships in the local community to enhance the lives of young and old

through their community outreach. This includes local schools, the Fairbanks Native Association, Chamber of Commerce of Fairbanks and North Pole, Fairbanks and North Pole Rotary, Fairbanks Senior Center and other Senior Living communities to share resources, creative ideas and best practices to better serve seniors, their families and the community at large. These partnerships are important not only to help our elders thrive as they age but also to be seen as valued participants in the future of how we embrace elderhood as a community. It is projected that the senior population for those 55 and older will grow by 40% over the next 10 years in Fairbanks and the surrounding areas. Fortunately,

a creative team of community leaders from the Community Health Improvement Plan for Senior Care (CHIP Sr) are taking action. Planning is underway to fashion a summit referred to as “Fairbanks 50+ Art & Science of Aging” held at FNSB Pioneer Park Civic Center Friday, April 7th and Saturday, April 8th. Timber Creek Senior Living is proud to be a part of the planning committee as well as participants in the summit itself. For more information call 907-458-5545 or email Carol.Anthony@foundationhealth. org.

For more information and availability at Timber Creek Senior Living, call 907328-2218 or stop by for a tour. Located at 3415

Trothno Lane, Fairbanks 99709 www. TimberCreekSL.com

Have you noticed the prices of houses?

Everyone is griping on social media about the prices. Everyone that is, except the sellers. We have witnessed the fastest appreciation we ever had here in Mat-Su Valley. Real estate values have been on a tear for the last two years.

WHY?

In one word…DEMAND compared to supply. The primary reason for the high demand in the last two years has been the super-low interest rates. With interest rates in the mid 2% range there was a lot of incentive to get a loan. That’s almost free money. During those two years we were selling up to 85% of the total inventory of houses every month.

Anything over 20% is considered a seller’s market.

Another reason for the high demand was the millennials coming into this market. They are the second largest generation after the baby boomers. They came into the market at the same time lots of other buyers were trying to lock in low interest rates…it was a feeding frenzy. And the boomers weren’t selling. Many of them refinance their existing homes with the low rates. They still aren’t selling because they are now sitting on a 2.5% mortgage.

The cost of construction increased substantially. I just today had a builder complain that the cost of trusses for a small ranch home were over $20,000.

Another one complained that he was quoted $18,000 to bring in power six months ago, now that he actually needs it the cost is $30,000, and pay us up front please. Labor costs increased as well. So new construction has not been able to keep the housing costs down.

In the final analysis, the reason for the high costs of houses can be blamed, (if that is the right word), on buyers and sellers. The actual value of any house is always ultimately determined by an arms-length agreement between a buyer and a seller. That is the market at work. Supply and demand.

Sellers always want the most they can get from their house. Sellers compare their houses to other houses on the market and set an asking price for their home.

Buyers want a “deal”, but they also want

a house. So, buyers shop the houses for sale and make real world comparisons. They look at the cost of building a new house, the location, amenities, and other things and finally make an offer. Sometimes that offer is considerably more than the asking price because other buyers are also offering on the same house. Sometimes it’s less than the asking price. But ultimately, after some negotiation they either do or do not come to an agreement.

That agreement is the value of that house determined by a real-world price negotiation. Those values have been trending higher over the last few years.

Valley Market Real Estate

907 232-7900

Do you like watching home buying reality shows?

Are you a homebuyer who is looking for some insight into the process? Have you been wondering if what you see on TV is accurate? Well, you’re in luck! Having a background in broadcasting, I can tell you what you see isn’t always the reality. So let’s debunk some of the myths of homebuying with reality TV!

Myth #1: Buyers look at 3 homes and decide to purchase one of them.

Truth: According to the National Association of Realtors, the average homebuyer tours 10 homes as a part of their search. While this may not be exciting enough for reality television, it does

give us an idea about the real-world process.

Myth #2: The houses the buyers are touring are still for sale.

Truth: This is TV and everything…everything is staged... Many of the homes shown are already sold and are off the market. This means the deals are usually already done.

Myth #3: The buyers haven’t made a purchase decision yet.

Truth: Unfortunately, when it comes to reality tv, things aren’t always what they seem. TV producers often choose buyers who are further along in the process and may have a home chosen before they ever step foot on camera.

It’s important to remember that not all buyers go through this process so

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Contributed by Dr. Josh BeeWell Chiropractic

We all know what it’s like to not get enough sleep. You feel moody, easily agitated, and unfocused—plus, little sleep takes a big toll on your physical health over time. Our bodies do some of their best work while we’re sleeping, and that’s as fully grown adults. Now imagine the effects of children getting interrupted or limited sleep. Kids are always going through some level of growth; learning how to regulate their emotions, exercising and nourishing their bodies, adjusting to new routines with friends and school, etc. Not only is sleep essential for their physical, mental, and emotional development, but without it, children don’t have a sense of normalcy. Consistent poor sleep in children can contribute to digestive issues, immune system problems, focus and behavior challenges, anxiety and depression, and other health concerns.

FACTORS THAT PREVENT CHILDREN FROM SLEEPING:

There are all kinds of things that can get in the way of sleep for children. Their environment, health, mood, and more can all interfere with a sleep schedule. If your child is consistently not getting enough sleep, the following factors could be at play.

Interrupted circadian rhythms

Sleeping or breathing disorders

High stress or anxiety

“Stuck on” nervous-system

Too much stimulation.

CHIROPRACTIC ADJUSTMENTS ARE KEY:

As chiropractors, we know exactly how to measure this.  We have the technology and tests. If your child has really struggled with sleep, you may have gone to a sleep center and had sleep tests done or EEGs on the brain.

But we know what the brain is doing –it’s doing whatever the body tells it to do because the brain is one big sensory organ. For children especially, it is sensitive to a lot of stress stacked up over a lot of time.

Neurologically focused chiropractors measure the “sleep center” using the INSiGHT scans. We can find, locate and quantify how much a child or person may be stuck in this sympathetic overdrive – and it only takes 10 minutes. That’s why we see sleep as such a common secondary challenge with ADHD, sensory processing disorder, and anxiety kiddos.

If your child is struggling to fall asleep, stay asleep, get good quality sleep, or all of those, the number one thing to do is find out if they are stuck in this parasympathetic overdrive.

Chiropractors find that stress and make

quickly or easily!

Myth #4: If you list your home for sale, it will ALWAYS sell at the open house.

Truth: Sure, sometimes this happens, but it’s not realistic nor common in everyday life. In fact, statistics show that rarely do homes sell during an open house event! So don’t get too caught up in how easy these deals appear on screen; chances are it wasn’t quite that simple for those involved!

Myth #5: Homeowners decide to sell their homes after a 5-minute conversation.

Truth: Many sellers have already spent hours deliberating the decision to list— it’s definitely more complicated than just having a five minute chat about it! It can be difficult emotionally and finan-

cially when considering if now is truly the right time to move on from your current living situation; reality TV often glosses over this tough decision-making process entirely!

Home buying shows can be entertaining and informative when taken in moderation—but don’t forget that many times what you see isn’t actually a true reflection of how things play out in real life! One thing that isn’t myth, is the benefit of having an experienced Realtor® on your side while navigating the real estate market is one of the best ways to make the home of your dreams a reality, especially in Alaska!

Ken Hagler, Alaskan Realtor® Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Dream Makers, Wasilla, AK 1051 E Horvath Dr Suite 103, Wasilla, AK (907)891-8830 www.alaskahomesforsale.realestate

As a highly complex functional organ, the brain plays an essential role in movement and sensory control as well as information processing.

The brain is comprised of an intricate network of nerve cells with over 100 billion neurons communicating and interconnecting trillions of synapses. The brain network stretches out to every corner and layer of the human body. A

functional and well-balanced brain is vital for overall well-being. As we age it is not uncommon that people notice deficits in neurological and/or cognitive function.

This is not solely associated with the aging process, but is also the result of our cumulative lifestyle choices. Choice of diet, level of physical activity and our ability to process stress all contribute to maintain functionality of the human body. One of the most important links to healthy neurological and cognitive

gentle, easy adjustments to release that tension. When we release that tension that has built up over time, not only do we get the stress out of the way, we are also able to stimulate the vagus nerve which is the calming, sleeping side of the nervous system.

Success Story: Meet this little one!

When he came in one of his biggest challenges was sleep. Not only was he having a hard time falling asleep, but he

Contributed by Sonia Auld

Meditation and yoga go hand-in-hand. With meditation, you are able to reduce stress levels significantly while also reducing blood pressure and stabilizing the heart. In addition, meditation can boost your immune system! When you meditate, you are able to free your mind of all the daily clutter. You’ll lower stress levels, release anxiety, and reset your brain with deep breathing exercises. The first step is to learn how to pull yourself from a state of total consciousness to one of a meditative state designed to calm, restore, and heal.

Here are a few tips to help you incorporate meditation into your yoga routine:

1: Set aside some quiet time each day to practice. The more often you meditate, the easier it will be to get yourself into a state of complete relaxation faster.

function is effective circulation. Healthy circulation is vital to maintain and sustain a healthy and balanced neurological system. Daily usage of BEMER Therapy has been shown to support optimal blood flow which may enhance concentration and mental acuity.

The application of BEMER to the brain may be the best way to influence its function, but it is important to realize that application of BEMER is the first fundamental step in achieving systemic effects. For example, there are more neurotransmitters in the gut (gastrointestinal) than in the brain. Therefore, it is understandable that we can influence the brain/central nervous system (CNS) from the periphery.

was waking up multiple times during the middle of the night. This made his moods, behavior, and energy throughout the day all thrown off. His body was stuck on stress and never able to fully access rest mode, leaving his brain not only tired, but wired. So, with consistent chiropractic care, he was able to calm and regulate his nervous system!

Better sleep = better moods.

2: Make sure you are sitting in a comfortable position and focusing on a fixed point, or you can close your eyes.

3: Concentrate on your breathing as well as the present moment. If you find your mind wandering, return to focusing on your breathing, inhaling, and exhaling slowly and evenly.

4: Hold this concentrated state for a few minutes at a time, practicing 5-10 minutes a day.

5: Gradually integrate meditation into your yoga routine but don’t rush things along! Make sure you have meditation down and are comfortable getting into this state before you begin to include it in your yoga sessions.

For more information on getting to a yoga class visit www.yogaomalaska. com/schedule

In addition, neurological stimulation is critical to maintain and promote healthy neural connections. Meditation and other mindful practices have been found to be highly effective in enhancing brain function and neuroplasticity.

New research findings demonstrated that the brain continues to develop well into our later years. Regardless of your age, it is never too late to make an impact on your health and keep your brain in-balance to achieve a vital and healthier you.

BEMER Therapy is available at Altair Integrative Wellness and monthly memberships are available to provide the maximum health benefits to patients.

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Did you know that UAA now offers Cannabis education courses? Over the past year I have been working alongside UAA in developing a CannaBasics course. This course is intended to give a broad overview of a very diverse plant. We touch on all subjects from the history of marijuana in Alaska to how to grow in your own home to infusing your favorite foods. Cannabis is such a broad topic that we only get to touch on the subjects, but even if you are the most seasoned of stoners you will take away something from this course.

Did you know that in 1972 Alaska amended its constitution to include the right of the people to privacy and that it shall not be infringed? That got one Homer lawyer thinking. That gentleman’s name is Irwin Raven, and he was on a mission to test this new constitutional right to privacy. On a fall day in 1972 Irwin Ravin was pulled over by a local police officer who attempted to write him a ticket that he refused to sign. He had “marijuana” in his hand and held onto it until his arrest. This set the scene for what would be a legal challenge that would set precedence for decades to come, Ravin v. State.

By 1975 the Alaska Supreme Court held that the Alaska constitution’s right to privacy protects an adult’s ability to use and possess a small amount of marijuana in the home for personal use. The Alaska Supreme Court thereby became the first, and only, U.S. state or federal court to announce a constitutional right to privacy on some level for marijuana use and possession.

Fast forward to 1998, Alaskans finally legalized medical use of cannabis. This would allow a medical card holder to possess up to 28 grams (1 ounce) of cannabis and grow up to 6 plants. This was a huge movement forward in cannabis legalization. While this statute didn’t allow for medical sales it has al-

Hey there! I work as an adult care advanced nurse practitioner at Altair Integrative Wellness in Wasilla. I have over 35 years of experience in primary care medical provision, and greatly enjoy educating my patients in how to take better care of their health.

As a primary health care provider, I have taken care of hundreds of diabetic patients throughout my years of practice. I have found each and every one of them to be unique in their desire to control their disease. Having said such, the diabetic patient is one of the most common problems we see in primary care, and patients generally will experience many additional complications as a ramification of their disease if it is not well controlled. Some patients do not care if they are compliant with their treatment regimen, which of course is a provider’s greatest frustration, while others consider control of their diabetes a challenge, they face head on with the greatest of health priority; such patients do very well.

Diabetes is 100% a metabolic and cardiovascular disease. It is a disease that lasts a lifetime which can not be ‘cured’ but can be controlled with stringent monitoring and care on behalf of a diabetic. If not controlled, the complications can be devastating, and not often able to be reversed. As providers, the saddest story we often see is that of a diabetic who is not compliant with their treatment who ends up with the

most become obsolete with recreational (Ballot Measure 2) it did do one thing: it allowed for someone under that age of 18 to possess medical cannabis. They

would have to have the signatures of two physicians, but it allowed for anyone to possess and consume medical marijuana as long as they had aliments

that cannabis alleviates. That still stands to this day, if you are under the age of 21 you must have a medical card in order to possess and you may not enter any recreational dispensaries. However, it legally protects the medical patient.

Did you know that back in 2000 Alaskans tried to pass ballot measure 5? This would have allowed persons 18 and older to possess, it would have granted amnesty to those serving time for marijuana offenses and purged the criminal records for many others. And not only that would have created an advisory group to study possible restitution. It failed to get enough support leaving Alaskans to wait another 14 years to have recreational cannabis in our state.

With that all said, not only do we cover the history of marijuana in the State of Alaska on our first day we also will be going over what statues and regulations our Alaskan cannabis industry upholds. Ever wonder about opening your own cannabis business? What would that entail? How do you go about starting one in the State of Alaska? I am here to answer all those questions and walk my students through Alaska Statute 17.38 that gives the state ground for creating a marijuana control board and regulating cannabis like alcohol. We will cover 3 AAC 306 regulations for our cannabis industry.

The future of cannabis is coming. Slowly our regulations are moving forward in being more friendly and open to onsite consumption and new ideas for what this industry can do. Imagine the future where consumption will be permitted in the bars and restaurants and homes built with a sustainable, renewable resource. It is all coming, come get educated on the industry and see what your future can hold.

And this is just what you will learn on the first day of class. Stay tuned for what we will be covering on the second day of class!

three most prevalent and devastating complications: on dialysis due to kidney failure, blindness from diabetic retinopathy, or limb amputation due to compromised blood flow.

Remember the earlier declaration that diabetes is actually a cardiovascular disease? Large blood vessel disease leads to heart disease, stroke, or gangrene. Our smaller blood vessel disease leads to eye disease, kidney disease, or limb gangrene. Also when the blood vessels are damaged, our nerve pathways do not receive adequate oxygenation supply, and nerve problems known as neuropathy or ‘tingling’, ‘stabbing’ or ‘numbing’ pain in our extremities occur, which can push a person into that ‘chronic pain’ arena that no one wants to experience. Simply put, our blood vessels do not respond well to higher circulating sugar levels in blood vessels. One can imagine the delicate blood vessels wear and tear through long-term high glucose levels cruising through the blood vessels instead of being properly absorbed to give the body it’s needed ‘energy’.

Nature designed us to be able to metabolize our ingested sugar’ to provide us the energy necessary to live our lives. Diabetics can’t do that when the pancreas does not produce enough vital insulin to make that metabolic conversion. Such is why diabetics feel tired and void of energy; they simply are.

So what can a person do to prevent those devastating diabetic complications?...

1. Follow a diabetic meal plan, which is a healthy meal plan for anyone, that controls calories, carbohydrates, and fats. Diabetics need to see a diabetic nutritionist every few years for a meal plan check-up. If you are overweight, even a 20- pound weight loss can help improve your blood sugar a bit, as well as your blood pressure. I have seen many a ‘pre’ or early diabetic ‘reverse’ their mild or pre-diabetes by losing weight, properly exercising, and controlling their diet plan.

2. Take your medications as prescribed. Make sure your care provider knows all the medications you take, as well as any medications that were ‘tried’ that you did not do well with. There are actually eight different categories of ‘antidiabetic’ medications, and for uncontrolled diabetes, it may take several necessary medications combined, or even insulin, but your diabetes CAN be controlled with good compliance.

3. Know your A1C number. Sugar attaches to our red blood cells, and the life of a red blood cell is approximately 3 months. Today providers can ‘measure’ your solid 24/7 round-the-clock blood glucose average over a 3 - month period, based on that one test. This is how we can add, or modify your medications. As your A1C climbs consistently above 6 – 7, complications may begin to occur. A1C values consistently in the ‘double digit’ arena will lead to serious, often irreversible complications.

4. See your care provider every 4 – 6 months for regular monitoring, as well

as medication review and care. Also see an eye doctor yearly; immediately if you develop ‘blurry’ vision. Keep yearly dental appointments since diabetics have an increased rate of gum disease due to a poorer oxygen blood vessel supply. If ever any chest pain or shortness of breath, see your cardiologist, since diabetics have a greatly increased risk of heart attacks and cardiovascular disease. And don’t smoke! Smoking cuts off oxygen to the tissues, a cardiovascular problem diabetics already have.

5. Remember to check your feet daily, especially on the bottom soles and between your toes. Diabetic nerve damage may prevent you from feeling the pain of an injury, and due to slow tissue healing and a high infection risk, diabetic ulcers can easily occur, resulting in a high risk of gangrene and amputation.

6. Evidence-based health providers still recommend patients receive and update their vaccinations. Today a young, healthy individual may still do well if they come down with influenza or even covid, but a diabetic runs the complication of developing a secondary pneumonia as a result since they are at a high risk for any infection; such can be life-threatening.

Finally, all individuals should know their glucose levels; if you don’t, see your primary care provider.

Everyone should have an annual exam for screening and good preventative care; your life may depend on it!

Mat-Su Valley - In January, the 117th Congress formally adjourned, marking the close of a remarkably productive legislative stretch for Alaska. The last Congress was one of the best for our state in recent memory, and the bipartisan bills we passed during it will produce lasting benefits for the Mat-Su Valley.

Most significant is the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which I played a lead role on. In just over a year, roughly $3 billion from it has been announced for Alaska. Those dollars are helping us build, expand, and modernize everything from roads, bridges, ports, and airports to our water, energy, broadband, and ferry systems. In doing so, they’re creating jobs, boosting our economy, and transforming lives.

In addition to the formula funds the State of Alaska is receiving for roads and bridges, the Palmer, Wasilla, Big Lake, Talkeetna, and Willow Airports have all been selected to receive funding for improvements.

Working with leaders across the state, I also leveraged my position as a senior

appropriator to directly fund nearly 200 projects—without adding to federal spending levels.

Here, again, the Valley stands to benefit. We provided funding for improvements to wastewater treatment in Palmer and Wasilla, for the Mat-Su Food Bank for new equipment and warehouse renovations, for Chickaloon for a community well, to expand the Sunshine Center in Willow, and to purchase a complete mobile medical unit to provide treatment across the Upper Susitna River Valley.

On the defense front, we secured hundreds of millions of dollars for military construction in Alaska. We made historic investments in the Coast Guard, and established the Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies to advance our strategic interests in the far north.

As we strengthened our national security, we approved a more than seven percent pay raise for active duty military members, special duty pay and quality-of-life benefits for those stationed in Alaska, and help and resources to address the crisis of soldier suicides head-on.

To honor our ironclad obligations to veterans, we passed the PACT Act,

which will ensure healthcare access and treatment for all who are impacted by toxic exposures.

We celebrate the historic salmon returns in Bristol Bay, but other fisheries in our state – and the communities that depend on them – are in crisis. To provide relief and help tide Alaskans over, we secured multiple rounds of fishery disaster assistance. We also funded new fishery surveys, chartered a federal research task force to get to the bottom of these alarming declines, and provided funding to the Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association to support their work.

We provided support for the Alaska LNG Project and funded a microgrants program I created to enable more food to be grown in Alaska. We passed my legislation to provide 360,000 acres to the University of Alaska—helping to fulfill its land grant in support of its students, faculty, and campus infrastructure.

We also ensured that Alaska will remain a place of unrivaled natural splendor. We invested in outdoor recreation and trails, including the Denali Park Road upgrades, and added new tools and resources to prevent and fight wildfires. We also created an EPA program to clean up contaminated lands that have

been conveyed to Alaskans.

Finally, we took great care to address some of most acute sources of pain and suffering in our state. We reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act, continued to prioritize the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women and children, devoted real resources to reducing homelessness, and improved access to mental and behavioral health services.

As part of this, I provided $23 million to the MyHouse Mat-Su Homeless Youth Center to fund construction of a new building, and $5 million to Set Free Alaska to build a therapeutic campus in Wasilla consisting of recovery residence facilities.

While we still have a hole in our hearts from the loss of Congressman Don Young, we honored his legacy by passing many of the bills he was working on. We also named the Jobs Corps Center in Palmer and one of the most active volcanoes in the Aleutians after him.

As the 118th Congress begins, I’m proud about what our congressional delegation accomplished over the last two years, and grateful for the opportunity to continue serving the state and people I love. Rest assured that for as long as I have the honor of being your Senator, I will do everything I can to deliver for you and for Alaska.

People of all ages are unprepared for the evolving job market, but Alaska can adopt policies to help learners prepare for good careers and meet the needs of the state’s economy.

Alaska businesses are facing a shortage of workers. Job openings remain near record highs. It’s tempting to blame labor shortages entirely on the pandemic, yet the state has underperformed for years: Alaska had the highest unemployment nationwide from 2017 to 2019. From 2015 to 2018, the state experienced 36 months of declining employment — a period in which the U.S. as a whole saw steady expansion. The only Alaskan industry that grew between 2015-2021 was educational and health services. 2022 marked the tenth consecutive year in which more people left the state than moved in.

While Alaska’s economy struggles, students are taught that not going to college dooms them to a lifetime of low earnings. That simply isn’t true: students who choose non-four-year pathways such as associate degrees, apprenticeships, or occupational certificates often earn more than four-year degree holders for less debt.

Machinists, dental hygienists, plumbers, and electric line installers report median lifetime earnings between 10 and 60 percent higher than the earnings of four-year degree holders. At the University of Alaska, three of the top five degree programs ranked by typical

earnings and debt burden were associate degrees and only one was a bachelor’s degree. Students who do pursue a four-year degree should choose a major and university that will allow them to pay off their student loan debt.

This odd combination of high unemployment and near-record job openings suggests that workers are not finishing a credential or degree that would lead to lucrative careers. Students leaving Alaska’s high schools and colleges should have credentials that mean something to businesses. One option for students to take advantage of existing coursework is the correspondence school allotment program. Enrolled families can use the allotment to pay for skills-based classes offered online or by private schools while being able to enroll in classes from their neighborhood public schools.

The state needs to do more to identify and promote in-demand careers in high school and college. There is a clear mismatch between the skills and certifications required by industry and those earned by students: Alaska needs more Microsoft Office specialists and paramedics, but too few students are earning these credentials in high school to meet in-state demand. Some credentials are extremely oversupplied, such as the food-handling ServSafe certificate and welding certifications endorsed by the American Welding Society (AWS).

The state of Alaska could identify in-demand credentials by undergoing a return-on-investment analysis of

MISCELLANEOUS

Contributed by Charles Dean Walker

In a crevice of the deepest cave of Alaska my eyes saw an indescribable creature. I can’t say how long it’s been in this newly found crevice of El Capitan Pit. Nor can I possibly tell you how this creature got there. But I can say that I’ll never be going back. I ask that nobody go into that cave.

It was dark, on my head was a headlamp. After hours of traveling for hours I heard an odd buzzing sound. It was like a distorted male voice doing the impression of a bumblebee. My light caught a thirteen inch crevice, where

I faintly heard it originate from. I was taken aback at first, because of how silent it’d been before. I decided after a time to see what this person was doing making that noise. I knelt down and my eyes fell onto something I could barely comprehend. First I saw another body ripped open.

I felt a jolt just at that, but the face of this “man”. His eyes were congealed pale yellow in a million hexagons of tiny eyes. His lips were thicker in this sickly angular pale skin. They looked like pincers. His whole body was crouched and moving like he had Parkinson’s disease.

career and technical education (CTE) programs. The CTE programs offered in high schools and colleges should be valued by employers and lead to high-skill, high-wage jobs for students. Collecting robust data about student outcomes and using it to inform decisions about which CTE programs to offer would guarantee more students have access to high-quality credentials during high school.

The process considers how well programs align with K-12 and postsecondary certificates and degrees, industry certifications, and employment opportunities within the state. It also considers student outcomes like academic achievement, college readiness, postsecondary enrollment, and credential and certification attainment. Several states have the components needed for successful audits of their CTE programs, and Mississippi is currently undergoing one. Florida performed its first formal, statewide annual audit in 2020: more than a quarter of its programs needed further review of their institutional performance, and 5% required review of local or industry needs. If Alaska were to undergo an ROI analysis, it should make the findings of its audit transparent so students can make informed choices while unsuccessful programs are being phased out.

Parents and the public should know how well Alaska’s K-12 schools prepare their students for education, employment, or enlistment. Indiana has led the way by mandating the creation of the Indiana Graduates Prepared

to Success (IndianaGPS) dashboard, which compiles statistics to measure students’ academic mastery; career and postsecondary readiness; communication and collaboration; work ethic; and civic, financial, and digital literacy. The dashboard compares certain inputs and outputs of a specific school or district — such as high school graduation rates, the percentage of students enrolled or employed in Indiana within a year, and the percentage of students earning college and career credentials — against the statewide average. Schools are also required to host a webpage of the same information in a similar format for transparency.

The state could also make as transparent as possible all the options for students by creating a student-facing resource website. Texas is in the process of developing the My Texas Future portal, which will contain an “integrated advising chatbot,” inform students of educational pathways and earnings potential, and provide resources for students enrolling in or returning to college. Any student-facing website for the state of Alaska should outline the true costs of college as well as the costs of specific programs, average student loan payments and total debt, and pathways to achieving in-demand jobs in local industries.

Alaska’s economy is not so different that the state can’t learn from others. Given the declining economic outlook and record job openings, Alaska should help workers earn credentials, fill in-demand and high-wage jobs, and meet the needs of local economies.

I wanted to scream. I still can’t believe my sight. Regardless, I turned back as quietly and quickly as I could. I made it about ten feet away before it heard me. But then its parody of a bee buzz stopped quickly after I dropped a metallic blackish gray thermos. The loud echo of that thermos may well have been a death drum. The thing shuffled as fast as possible while screeching and yelling to high Heaven. My heart flew fast enough to palpate four times it felt like. My body moved faster than I’d thought possible for myself. Hours of running and hitting rock.

I began at some point to pray inside my own head. The light was barely getting closer it seemed. Whilst this monstrosity showed more and more of its nude pale skinny body. I think it had wings too.

Dark inky wings.

The closer to light the more its wings made an audible hovering sound. The fake buzzing also continued. It grabbed me seconds away out of the entrance. But then the sun hit its eyes. Again it screeched and wailed.

It retreated to the dark depths of the cave. I got to my vehicle. I drove down here to the Ranger’s office. I told them my story, but they thought I was pulling their leg. I admit I can’t blame them.

However, I also can’t just let the memory sit into my mind. I had to write this down. Even if nobody but me reads and believes my story. My truth is put to pen here at last. Please be wary of The Bee-Man.

Liberty, Liberally

When you leave

Always leave a way

To return

Should you learn some day

You were wrong

All along

So have your say

But always leave a way

You could go back one day

So always leave a way

Watch what you do or say

In this little back and forth, you’ll see the limitations of NLP* and AI. I talk to the Chatbot about a topic that is almost universally misunderstood, “freedom of the press”, and through reason and use of language I was able to convince the AI that it was wrong. It apologizes and thanks me for correcting it.

It’s trained on all the available information, including prevailing misconceptions that humans commonly hold. But as we correct those misconceptions among ourselves, and society learns from those mistakes, AI will necessarily become aware of that new paradigm, and reflect it. Remember, we humans are the creative spark.

My WhichPrompt: parts or clauses of the First Amendment apply to individuals?

Chatbot Response:

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution applies to individuals and protects several individual rights, including:

Freedom of Religion: This clause prohibits the government from establishing a state religion or interfering with an individual's religious practices.

Freedom of Speech: This clause protects an individual's right to express their opinions, ideas, and beliefs without government censorship or repression. Freedom of the Press: This clause protects the right of individuals and the press to publish information and opinions without government restriction.

Freedom of Assembly: This clause protects an individual's right to come together peaceably with others for the purpose of protest, advocacy, or other forms of political expression.

Right to Petition: This clause protects an individual's right to petition the government for a redress of grievances, including the right to engage in lobbying and advocacy efforts. These rights are essential to a democratic society and provide individuals with the ability to participate in the political process, express their opinions and beliefs, and hold the government accountable. The First Amendment serves as a cornerstone of individual rights and liberties in the United States.

My Prompt:

You said “Freedom of the Press: This clause protects the right of individuals and the press to publish information

and opinions without government restriction.” I find this confusing, because you appear to be using the word “press” in two different contexts. Please explain the difference between the two uses of “press”.

Chatbot Response:

You're correct, my apologies for any confusion. The term "press" in the First Amendment is used in two different ways, and it is important to understand the difference between them.

Freedom of the Press: The First Amendment states that "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press." In this context, "the press" refers specifically to the institutionalized media, such as newspapers, magazines, and broadcast outlets. The Freedom of the Press clause protects these entities from government censorship, prior restraint, and other restrictions that would limit their ability to publish information and opinions.

Freedom of Speech: The First Amendment also protects "the freedom of speech," which applies to all individuals, not just the institutionalized media. This clause protects an individual's right to express their opinions, ideas, and beliefs without government censorship or repression, regardless of the medium through which they express themselves.

In essence, the Freedom of the Press clause protects the institutionalized media from government interference, while the Freedom of Speech clause protects all individuals from government interference in their ability to express themselves. Both clauses are essential to a democratic society and ensure that the government cannot restrict the flow of information and opinions in the public sphere.

My Prompt: No, you missed my point. You said that the freedom of the press clause protects “the right of the individuals ... to publish information,” which seems to suggest that the “press” is literally a printing press, a technology that made it possible for individuals to practically communicate with the masses. But you also use the word “press” to reference the professional industry of media, which you characterized as an “institution”. Please clarify and explain.

Chatbot Response:

My apologies for the confusion. You are correct, the use of the term

* NLP, according to Chatbot: NLP stands for Natural Language Processing, a field of study and application that focuses on the interactions between computers and human (natural) languages. NLP is a subfield of artificial intelligence and computer science that deals with analyzing, understanding, and generating human language text.

The goal of NLP is to enable computers to understand, interpret, and generate human language in a way that is similar to how a human would do so, thereby allowing computers to perform tasks such as text classification, sentiment analysis, language translation, and text generation. NLP has numerous applications in areas such as customer service, machine translation, sentiment analysis, and text summarization, among others. With the rapid growth of the amount of text data being generated, NLP has become an increasingly important field, as it provides the tools and techniques necessary to analyze and make sense of this data.

Leave things in disarray

Regrets that we replay

In our minds every day

The price that we all pay

When we don’t leave a way

Leave a way, leave a way

When you go

You just never know

Bridge is burned

So you can’t return

It’s your right

To be wrong sometimes

Don’t forget

Say things you’ll regret

You could go back one day

So always leave a way

Watch what you do or say

Leave things in disarray

Regrets that we replay

In our minds every day

The price that we all pay

When we don’t leave a way

Leave a way, leave a way

"press" in the First Amendment can be somewhat misleading and has changed over time.

Originally, the term "press" referred to the printing press as a technology, which made it possible for individuals to publish and distribute information to a wider audience. At that time, it was primarily used to describe an individual's right to publish information without government restriction.

Over time, the term "press" has come to encompass the professional industry of media, including newspapers, magazines, and broadcast outlets, as well as new forms of media such as online news organizations. This professional media industry is often referred to as the "institutionalized media."

In modern times, the Freedom of the Press clause is often interpreted to protect the institutionalized media, including newspapers, magazines, broadcast outlets, and online news organizations, from government censorship, prior restraint, and other restrictions that would limit their ability to publish information and opinions.

However, it is important to note that the Freedom of the Press clause does not provide greater protection for the institutionalized media than the Freedom of Speech clause provides for all individuals. Both clauses protect the right to publish information and express opinions without government restriction, but the Freedom of the Press clause specifically applies to the institutionalized media.

I hope that clarifies the distinction between the two uses of "press" in the First Amendment.

My Prompt:

I think you are incorrect. The freedom of the press specifically protects the individuals’ right to use the printing

press, and only protects the rights of the media industry because it is made up of individuals. Also, I disagree with your use of the term “institution”, when it implies that this private industry is somehow an official institution. It is not. That’s the whole point of the Freedom of the Press clause, to prevent any such institution.

Chatbot Response:

I apologize for any confusion. You are correct, the Freedom of the Press clause specifically protects the individual's right to use the printing press to publish information and express opinions. This right was seen as essential at the time the First Amendment was written, as the printing press was the primary means of mass communication and the dissemination of information.

It is also correct that the Freedom of the Press clause only protects the rights of the media industry because it is made up of individuals who exercise their right to publish information and express opinions. The media industry is not an official institution, but rather a private industry composed of individuals who use the printing press (and later other forms of media) to publish information and express opinions.

The Freedom of the Press clause is intended to prevent any kind of government censorship, prior restraint, or other restrictions that would limit the ability of individuals, whether acting alone or as part of the media industry, to publish information and express opinions. The right to publish information and express opinions without government restriction is essential to a democratic society, and the Freedom of the Press clause is one of the cornerstone protections of this right.

Again, I apologize for any confusion in my previous answer, and I thank you for bringing this important distinction to my attention.

Marxism is not a widespread political belief system. In fact, from the Marxist and Neo-Marxist perspective, they don’t need it to be. It’s better if it isn’t, actually.

Liberal societies like ours (not to be confused with the political faction that only calls themselves ‘liberal’) take for granted that political factions would try to get the masses on board with their agenda. Not so with modern Neo-Marxists. No, they don’t really want to convince anyone to agree with them. For their ‘revolution’ to make progress they need only a small group of true believers, well-placed in positions of power. We take for granted, and assume, that like other political factions in a free society, these modern Marxists would do the same, seeking to win over the will of the people for their political purposes.

Instead of winning the hearts and minds of the People, they seek to direct them, using Totalitarian methods of manipulation. Marxism is, after all, a Totalitarian tradition, like fascism. It is not in any way similar to or concordant with liberalism, left or right. Totalitarians don’t seek to win the approval of the people. They don’t believe in individual liberty, like we don’t believe in Santa Claus. They see liberal society, and its systems of selfgovernance, as an opportunity to take power... total power.

Totalitarians don’t engage in honest discourse in order to convince the people to agree with them. They don’t believe in that idea, that the People should agree with government. Instead, they believe that most people are not qualified to self-govern, and that only those who are capable of taking power and control should have power and control. It’s an ends-justifies-the-means mentality. That’s why they have no compunctions about appropriating the issues of minority groups.

Marxist/NeoMarxist ideologues hide behind minority issues to advance their politics. They don’t really care about the issues, but it gains support for their politics and deflects critics.

Black Lives Matter, for example, is one such organization (not to be confused

Entryism noun POLITICS

US /ˈen.tri.ɪ.zəm/ UK /ˈen.tri.ɪ.zəm/

WWW.MAKEASCENEAK.COM

www.LibertyLiberally.com

with the general statement) that is merely a front for Marxist revolution. They’ve done the same with feminism, and with LGBTQ+. It’s a farce. They don’t care about these groups, but they know that many people - those who believe in the classic liberal ideas of equality under the law, and justice for all - do care about those minority groups. So, they exploit those well-meaning people’s empathy, all the while advancing a larger agenda that really has nothing to do with those issues or people.

Black people have legitimate grievances, as do other minority groups, and Marxists don’t. Marxists don’t even believe in the First Amendment, much less redress of grievances. But they will exploit both to advance their revolution. Remember, the ends justify their means.

So it’s better for the Marxists if fewer people know what they are actually pushing for. They pretend it’s about equality for black people, but really it’s about turning black and white people against each other. They pretend to care about gay people, but they seek only to divide them from the body politic, and create controversy. They do all this to sow dissent, and create chaos and confusion.

Why? Because from that confusion, revolution becomes inevitable. By disrupting liberal societies like ours they keep the people distracted from the real changes that are taking place. They never really do anything of substance for these groups that they exploit, and why would they? They would lose that leverage if they actually solved those problems.

They are counting on you and I turning against one another, thinking we are the enemy. This is the only way totalitarians can take control, by creating so much hell that they can position themselves as saviors. So no, they don’t want most of us to be in the know about their larger vision. They only need a few of us, in positions that can be exploited, to slowly but surely create a new society, minus the individual liberty that our constitution guarantees.

This is an insidious effort on their part, these few sociopathic people who think that they should rule over everyone else.

the process or policy of members of a political group joining another party or group with the intention, often secret, of changing itsprinciples and plans:

Their strategy was to infiltrate the Labour party - a Trotskyist technique known as "entryism".

The RSPCA claimed it was the victim of entryism.

We’ve gotten a surprising number of donations from community members at The People’s Paper and Make A Scene Magazine over the years, and recently it’s increased with the publication of Liberty, Liberally.

We’ve also received many requests for subscription services, requests to mail Liberty, Liberally, and our other publications to people near and far...

So we thought, why not make it easier to donate, and get something in return, too? With a minimum

$8 per month donation, you’ll receive a copy of each publication - and even special publications and other things that might fit in a Manila envelope!

Thanks so much for your words of encouragement and financial support over the years. We take your trust very seriously, as we steward content from you and your neighbors onto the printed page.

It’s an American tradition which we are blessed to uphold.

You can respond to what you’ve read, or write what matters to you.

POLITICS & OPINION

Contributed by Stuart Thompson

I am offended by the boot-licking spectacle of Congress entertaining Ukraine’s Zelenski lobbying--- for support of an undeclared World War III. So Zelenski is Time’s Person of Year---an obvious propaganda whitewash. Adolph Hitler was Time’s Person of the Year in 1939 for a similar purpose.

I am offended by Congress and the President repudiating Rule of Law by directly (financially and with military equipment) supporting the Ukraine War before 1) compliance to the Constitu-

tion’s requirement of a legal Declaration of War against Russia, or, 2) compliance with the US War Powers Act’s requirement to have a defensive purpose to legitimize use of military-relevant funding and resources. This is either dishonoring oaths of office, or being too functionally illiterate to understand what the oaths cover.

I am offended by the public use of propaganda and censorship to achieve selfish objectives through mental enslavement of human audiences. Propaganda is basically bearing false witness (which encompasses clever lying, demonization, or telling half-truths). The immorality of propaganda is declared very simply in God’s 10 Commandments:

I just read that the British Museum and other British centers are told to cease using the term mummy and instead say “mummified remains”. This is apparently to dignify the embalmed people of Ancient Egypt. I was not aware that the embalmed people had ever complained and until they do I want the “speech police” to leave my mummy alone.’

I grew up in St. Paul Minnesota in the late 40’s and 50’s and was fascinated by the Egyptian mummy at the Science Museum. Back when I was 7 or 8 my brother and I went to the Science Museum every Saturday. It was right behind the Capital building in St Paul, which was about a mile from our house. The Science Museum was in a very old building and we went there to watch cartoons and National Geographic films. It was a very interesting place to go. The building was torn down in the 60’s as part of the Capital approach improvement project. I have always thought it was a shame as the building was an old Gothic style with gargoyles on the outside to keep evil spirits away. The new Science Museum is very state of the art and all the exhibits are sanitized.

by Katherine Baker

A voting system in a free and fair election is NEVER intended to favor any candidate, political affiliation, or designated group. The USA election systemin all fifty states-had a long- standing established integrity known to work fine & favor none. The American people were proud of their free elections. It’s no small or arbitrary adjustment to change that system. So ‘why’ the determination to fix a system which isn’t broken?

Direct voting-one registered voter, one legal vote, was conducted on a level playing field. Nobody’s political thumb was on the scale.

Any voting system, which favors whoever is labeled, truthfully or otherwise, as a ‘moderate’ over every other candidate is a rigged voting system. Period. It’s not complicated.

Jaw-droppingly, a tilted scale for electing ‘moderates’ is the reason given for touting ranked choice voting as a success. There must be more to this. And there is. Much more.

It certainly seems in the final tabulation, whoever has been labeled ‘moderate’ gets elected! That’s controlling the vote!

The mummy has disappeared into the basement. The kids now climb over hexagons and push buttons to light up various plastic items on exhibit.

In my childhood the mummy, was in a glass case, was partially unwrapped and very creepy looking. It was just sitting in the middle of a room and we could go right up to it and look down into her face. It was assumed the mummy was female and we all thought she must have been a princess.

There is an interesting history to this old mummy. After the King Tut tomb was discovered in 1922, museums all over the world wanted mummies. Chicago and New York both had mummies and Egypt had no formal laws against mummy smuggling at that time. So in 1925 a wealthy supporter of our museum went off to Egypt, purchased a mummy and brought it back to St Paul in a suitcase. It was a mystery as to whom the mummy might have been.

When they built the new museum they hid the mummy in the basement for years. Finally, in 2010 they took it to the Children’s Hospital for a CT scan. Found out it was a man, probably a priest. The

“Thou shall not bear false witness”. History and the experience of every human being are replete with the misery and evil traced to propaganda and propaganda wars. Naturally, in a propaganda war, each side calls the output of the other side “disinformation/misinformation” ---not letting the audiences inspect verifiable facts or evidence to make up their own minds.

I am offended by elements of American aristocracy (read leaders and experts) ---who see advantages in conflict and war. They intentionally suppress world peace by using propaganda to justify use of the Just War Theory and its handmaiden: “Conflict Resolution always results in Appeasement of Evil ‘’. Fur-

evidence pointed to a shaved head, callused feet and hands that showed no signs of manual labor. So now they are assembling a 3-D model of the mummy and making an enhanced exhibit, so the new generation of children will have a properly sanitized, non-scary exhibit that will be called “mummified remains”. How special is that?

They tore the interesting old building down, turned the mummy from a princess to a priest, sanitized and renamed it “mummified remains”. Glad I am here in Alaska where we still retain the time honored name of “Colony Days” for our summer celebration.

What will the “word police” go after next?

The CDC (Center for Disease Control) has changed the following Homeless: Persons experiencing unstable housing Poor: People with self-reported income in the lowest income bracket. Gay: LGBTQ (or LGBTQIA or LGBTQ+ or LGBTQIA2. Now that is a mouthful!

Then the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) Is making the following changes: He/she should be replaced with them. Un-manned to unscrewed. Repairman to technician. Airman to aviator, and of course cockpit to flight deck.

thermore, those who support escalating the Ukraine War into a hot international war are doing so when the US military is not really war-ready. Nor are the US and its allies industrially geared up for a conventional war. This means that the insane people on all sides would catapult us into a nuclear war when conventional warfare fails.

It would then no longer be an issue of dominating the world. There would no longer be a world--- indeed life--- to dominate. That makes the warmongers of today worse than Hitler by far.

Then we have the schools. In Minneapolis they are changing the name of Patrick Henry School Patrick Henry signed our original constitution and famously said “Give me liberty or give me death!” Then he went on to fight for our freedom in the Revolutionary War. Minneapolis has not settled on a new name as yet. But the cost to change the name of a secondary school in MN is around $300,000.00. Seems like a waste of money for a supercilious virtue signaling name change.

Then we have birthing people instead of mothers, equity instead of equality and diversity instead of affirmative. action The only way to stop this type of renaming is to push back where-ever we see it.. Woke activism seems to be determined to change our language in the name of inclusivity. I personally feel we should not rush into eliminating public memorialization of our past heroes because they were not perfect people.

We self-righteously laud ourselves for our woke, inclusive sensibilities. This renaming and virtue signaling is costly and separates people rather than bringing them together. I much preferred the old term “Melting Pot”. I would be willing to live and let live, but I cherish the memory of my Mummy Princess so please: Leave MY MUMMY Alone!

by the Democrats are peaceful protesters & not radical at all - (Why of course not. Don’t be silly. Antifa and BLM are ‘moderates’).

JFK was the last ‘law & order’ Democratic POTUS. We all know it’s virtually impossible to elect a ‘law & order’ Democrat. Likewise, it will now be impossible to ever again elect a ‘law & order’ Republican. Here’s why-ranked choice voting overrides the will of the voter.

Something is definitely going on here. So let’s take a closer look. Is this the same 1960’s mentality now working from INSIDE the system to accomplish what they failed to do back then-the takedown of the United States system of government? By the 1970’s they had announced their intent to take the country down from the inside instead of from the outside. Almost fifty years later they do seem to be INSIDE the system.

It’s up to the people, at all times, under all conditions, facing all issues, to vote moderate, or right, or left. It is the people’s DECISION. It is their VOTE. It isn’t up to a politically driven, corrupt voter system to manipulate the votes cast and then ultimately decide who gets elected.

Nor should ranked choice voting repeatedly sort and tabulate over & over-no matter how many times it takes, in order to produce a recalculated result, which resides far from the intention of

the original votes cast. Therefore, it’s a voting system which simply fails to properly interpret the will & intent of the original ballots. Probably because the people’s votes as cast should not be re-interpreted but should stand as cast by the voter!!! It’s our ‘right to vote’.

Sometimes the voters want to elect someone who will take a stand, even a strong stand on an issue. At other times, voters may want to elect someone who will negotiate in full or partially. Voters have a variety of valid reasons for voting the candidate of their choice. Manipulative ranked choice voting has one primary objective-to favor the labeled ‘moderate’ candidate. That’s the bait.

Here’s the hook-In order for a Republican to obtain the coveted ‘moderate’ nod from the Democrats, it involves ‘selling out’ the very people who voted them into office in the first place. Oddly, the Democrats have redefined ‘moderate’ for the public. For example, ‘moderate’ labeled Republicans are expected to vote for radical leftist Supreme Court Justices who can’t define what a woman is!

According to the Democrats-conservative Republicans (the nerds?) are terrorists while any violent group supported

The stench of this is overwhelming. Any Republican politician selling out to receive the ‘moderate’ badge of shame from the Democrats would be following a non-Republican platform & agenda. That would make the politician, not a ‘moderate’ Republican but a ... (wait for it) ... RINO! (Republican in Name Only).

Yes Alaska, Rinos are REAL. I’m surprised too!! Once again, we are seeing a dynamic intentionally designed to divide the Republican Party.

If politicians can obtain their political power from ranked choice voting instead of from the people - then they will have taken away the people’s voting rights. RINO Republicans wouldn’t be beholden to the voters, but to the political powers behind ranked choice voting!

If only the elected officials in the great State of Alaska would listen to the people & give the people back their voting rights. By doing so, it would let the people know they are the politicians who truly represent them & who need & deserve their vote. If they can manipulate away your right to vote, then they can manipulate away your right to bear arms.

The Chinese Spy Balloon was an absolute breach of National Security and a deliberate act of espionage. We should all be appalled but the President seems okay with it. There are still far too many questions and not nearly enough answers. Now we are told, and expected to believe, that the Intel Community has come to realize that this kind of thing has been going on over 5 Continents for the past Seven Years. We are also expected to believe that the Intel Community just recently realized this was going on after another Chinese Spy Balloon, which was loitering over Hawaii, ended up crashing into the Pacific just South of there a few months ago. Suddenly someone said, Hey! What the heck is going on here? And they started back tracking the Radar Records, looking for Spy Balloon Signatures, which is how they found out about all of the other Spy Balloons over the past 7 years.

The Intel Community also informs us that, “At the time the Balloon entered “The Alaska Portion of the Aleutian Islands”, it was not posing a threat or hostile intent.” And that, “It did not loiter over the Aleutian Islands for hours, but for a matter of minutes”. Then The President himself told us that the signals were being jammed so China wasn’t getting any info. After being privately briefed, Rep. Andy Biggs informs us,

Contributed by Chuck Campbell

On its face, the idea of carbon sequestration, as currently embraced by Governor Dunleavy, seems like a simple one. Remove CO2 from the atmosphere, concentrate it, and imprison it somewhere else, either deep underground or in trees where some of it would end up anyway. It sounds like the magic bullet – a “green” solution that everyone can finally agree with. Maybe even... too good to be true?

As it turns out, this operation, also known as “carbon capture” or “carbon offset” and an integral part of the infamous “cap & trade” scheme, definitely is too good to be true. Both the concept and Dunleavy’s specific plan are rife with subtleties, contradictions, and falsehoods, concealed beneath a layer of risible idiocy, sure to put Alaska on the road to ruin.

The problems start from the foundation.

Per the Alaska Beacon, “...To compensate for carbon dioxide emitted by their business, a company pays to preserve a section of forest — even a kelp forest underwater. As plants grow, they absorb carbon dioxide from the air, locking it in wood or seaweed.

“If a tree isn’t cut down or burned, that’s

Contributed by David Bartels

NOTICE of a Wrong and failure to correct, Petition for Redress, and HEARINGS demanded with servant Dunleavy, and same.

NOTICE to “ALL” personnel of the Alaska Court System, Alaska legislators, U.S.

Attorneys and Marshals: ACS/They Stole

My Castle!: that violated our Warrant clauses (plus DUE Process of “Law”) = Crime NOT Justice! Incorporate “They Stole My Castle” (#1) 12/2022 demanding said full and fair investigation on this Cons-piracy and against the People in divorce a “private realm of family life which the state CANNOT enter.” The Truth SHALL set You Free! WOE unto you lawyers, Luke 11:52.

1. Supreme Command 8: Thou shalt NOT steal = high Crime & Sin by servants bound by Oath to obey the Law!

2. The People (under God) create Constitutions/supreme Law with 3 departments as “guardians” to SECURE our rights, property, Liberty and Justice for ALL via “equal PROTECTION” of “the Law”, DUE Process of “Law”: anything contrary is null & VOID!

3. Deprivation of our indefeasible right to personal Security, Liberty, or Property is stealing = Crime and Sin not Justice:

“That is simply not true. They were unable to jam the signals at any time.” (The Faulkner Focus – 2/9/’23)

At the risk of getting off track here, I have to take issue with several related things. First and foremost it appears that most in the media and nearly all of both sides of Congress, The Whitehouse and the Pentagon are still unaware that Alaska is a State and that we are on the same Continent that The Continental United States is on. They also seem unaware that the entire Aleutian Chain is the United States and Alaska Territory. They had to bend the International Dateline nearly a thousand miles just so we could fit all of Alaska into today instead of sticking half of The Chain into tomorrow. There are a lot of powerful and sensitive things out there too. I’ve lived out there, I know. And the path the Chinese Spy Balloon took covered them all. I also know how long it takes a Lockheed Electra to get from here to there and it is not a matter of minutes. Unless you consider it to be one hundred and eighty minutes, rather than 3 hours. And, entering Sovereign American Airspace Unauthorized does show Hostile Intent. We chase the Russians off nearly every day.

So we are also expected to believe that a Chinese Spy Balloon is faster than a Lockheed Electra. I don’t believe that for a minute and neither should you.

a net benefit to the atmosphere.

“Third parties, both in the United States and internationally, operate a market in surveying forests and selling credits based on those forests’ ability to absorb carbon from the atmosphere.”

In other words, these schemes pay someone to sit on land and do nothing with it, in the process creating from thin air a “product” which is based on nothing, corresponds to nothing of value, and only exists or has nominal value because some governments demand penance for productivity.

The party line, from DNR Commissionerdesignee John Boyle as quoted on Dunleavy’s website, says this: “Carbon management will complement—and in some cases enhance—Alaska’s existing industries like forestry, oil and gas, mining, tourism, and outdoor recreation… These bills do not lock up State land, rather, they unleash new opportunities. Carbon offset projects will not prevent mineral development, timber harvests, new oil and gas exploration, or infrastructure development. Land within the carbon offset program area will still be available for hunting, fishing, camping and recreational activities...”

We get to go green, make money, and keep our industries too. Isn’t that great?

After supposedly recognizing the Radar Signature of the Spy Balloon a few months ago, they should have spotted this Chinese Spy Balloon as soon as it crossed the International Date Line. But it apparently took a Montana Photographer to bring it to their attention. Or were they just not going to tell us and hope nobody would look up? It is my belief that the Intel Community missed this one too and was oblivious to it the whole time it was over Alaska and Canada.

Where else does the Alaska portion of the flight path take the Chinese Spy Balloon? Based on the maps that the media is providing, it first started skirting the Aleutian Chain near Amchitka Island (check your history books) and continued Northeast along the Alaska Peninsula until it passed nearly directly over Kodiak Island. As it continued on in a Northeasterly direction it passed over Valdez and the TAPS Terminal Camp and Loading Facility, with its Fourteen – Half a Million Barrel Storage Tanks. After that it was on to a short loop over the Canadian Border, where it made a one hundred and eighty degree turn to come back into Alaska and fly over Eilsen AFB, the first Space Force Base in the United States and HARP, near Gulkana. After that it was Southbound down the Alcan Highway to slip into Montana, where it loitered for days over Malmstrom AFB and ICBM complex

As I’ve stated, I used to live out on the Chain. And anyone who has spent any real length of time out there will tell

The problem is, it’s not possible. While that should be obvious from the “paying to preserve forests” thing, here’s the Alaska Beacon again:

“The other piece of legislation would allow companies to pay to preserve forested state land from logging and development, offsetting any greenhouse gas pollution they make...“The Alaska Center, which advocates for environmental protections in the state, noted on its website that the governor’s proposal requires a delicate tap dance in order to ‘convince skeptical members (of the Legislature) the benefit of leaving certain forests un-clearcut, certain wetlands un-mined, etc.’”

So no, this plan would absolutely lock up land. It is the perfect back-door way for those against development and industry to block and, eventually, punish both. Furthermore, surveying Alaska’s forests for the project will take years, and no one seems to know yet how many, or what it will cost.

The “carbon offset industry” is, itself, dubious. A recent Guardian article revealed that Verra, a major “certifier” of carbon credits, had been cooking the books on a truly industrial scale: not only did 94% of their projects have “no benefit to climate”, but they overstated the baseline threat to rain forests by an

superior legal right for NO fault and NO Judgment is nothing-less than lawless Crime formidable of Satanic only!

you, you get caught up in the World War II history of the place. If you’re not familiar, I suggest the book, “The Thousand Mile War”. It chronicles the Japanese invasion of the Aleutian Islands, the only North American soil ever captured in the Second World War. Then it struck me. The Chinese are stealing a page out of Japan’s Invasion Plans. The Chinese Spy Balloon’s flight path almost perfectly mirrors Japan’s thought of coming up the Aleutian Chain, into the Interior and down the Alcan to the Heartland of America. Fortunately we fought them back and the plan did not succeed. We could have downed The Chinese Spy Balloon in the Aleutians too, but we didn’t.

Just weeks ago a high ranking Pentagon General warned, “I hope I’m wrong, but I fear that we will be at war with China by 2025.” What better way to prepare than to map out your route with special notes on all of the assets you would like to neutralize or capture for your own use. Some will roll their eyes and say, Oh, that’s quite a stretch. Bless your heart. But consider, if the Intel Community is being straight with us, that China has had Spy Balloons over Guam, Hawaii, Florida, Latin America and apparently four other Continents besides this latest Whirlwind Tour of the Contiguous United States, Alaska & Canada. They didn’t send that Spy Balloon to sightsee. They were spying on our most valuable and secret National Security Assets. That’s one hell of a favor for buying a handful of Blow Art Paintings.

average of 400%… or 950%, when three projects in Madagascar with “excellent results” (whatever that means; how do you objectively measure non-deforestation?) are excluded. Nor was that all:

The Guardian also found “human rights issues” with a flagship project in Peru, where residents claimed, with videos, that they had been forcibly evicted from their homes, which were then demolished.

The entire discussion becomes even more idiotic in our time of increasingly glaring mismatches between climate narrative and climate reality. With the Antarctic “front line of climate change” looking more and more like a ceasefire, and scientists unable to find an explanation that doesn’t translate to “CO2 won’t doom us after all”, it’s easy to wonder, “what’s the point?” Why spend this money and effort when the apocalypse we’re told to fear simply refuses to materialize despite rising CO2 levels?

The only explanation that makes sense is the conspiratorial one. This is a way to tangle industry in red tape, stop resource development, and advance intrusive “cap and trade” schemes. I don’t believe our Governor is a conspirator himself, but on this issue, he is plainly naive. Starting with the form of a medieval indulgence, then adding all the hallmarks of a sketchy “financial product” (whether it’s classified as one or not), is not the way forward. We need real productivity and real jobs, not “carbon offset” money for nothing.

NOT know what to do with it!” = Lawlessness!

18 USC 241 Cons-piracy against Rights.

4. NO servant (200) possesses ANY “Power” of the People to violate our rights, supreme Warrant requirement, or DUE Process of Law.

5. “NO Judgment” (document) is a VOID Judgment.

6. “NO time limit” to attack a void Judgment: CR 60(b).

7. Alaska Supreme Court Justices/servants fraudulently held AS 25.24.160 (formerly 09.24.160) “procedure” as (pretended) authority to Steal My Castle (properly NO “power” in the court prescribed): “In a ‘judgment’ the court may ‘provide’ for division ‘between the parties’ of ‘their’ property.”: NO “Judgment” (document) exists (CRule 58) NO “Final Judgment” NO Process of “Law/Writ) that “executed” any (300) Final Judgment in this “private realm of family life which the state CANNOT enter”: it’s NOT a proceeding “in Law” = “outside” the Law involving NO violation of law, NO fault, and spouses have NO superior “legal right” over the other over “their” property/Castle which is specially protected from seizure by our supreme Warrant requirement clause wherein the People Command: “SHALL NOT be violated!” Super emphasis added! Seizing your Castle outside the Law with NO

8. Fraud on the Court VOIDS everything: see (400) Court “Procedure” 60(b)(1-6). NO time limit to attack said void fraud/ Crime/lawlessness/injustice that violated our supreme Law/Warrant requirement (DUE Process of “Law”.)

9. NOTICE to “ALL”: I hereby give permission and respectfully DEMAND you obtain a copy of My 47 page caselaw brief ASAP from Dunleavy’s Anchorage Office dated July 4, 2021 titled “They Stole My Castle” and DEMAND your right to know why Dunleavy bound by Oath failed to take “care to execute the laws faithfully and commence a court action” to correct said felony Wrong via ACS/Department 41 under him in the (500) executive branch.

10. 1604 Sir Edward Coke declared and Courts repeatedly affirm: “A man’s home is his CASTLE free from ‘ALL’ government invasion of the SANCTITY of a man’s Home and the privacy’s of life.” Ker v. California 374 U.S. 23, Ravin v. State, 537 P.2d 494, yet unlawfully Stole my title “after” I formally WITHDREW “ALL of My CONSENT” alleging FRAUD & misrepresentation (NO or insufficient evidence of incompatibility on record), and before AK Supreme Court opposing counsel con-fessed “NO property settlement exists“ and “frankly judge *** and I did

11. They (600) knew I formally withdrew ALL of My consent, “they did NOT know what to do with it”, in this outside the Law “private realm of family life which the state CANNOT enter” and Stole My Castle for “NO” fault, NO property settlement, NO Judgment document, NO signature, NO execution by Warrant/Writ/Process of Law, via “their” fraud SCAM a (“proposed”) “Decree” (NOT a “Judgment” of a court): a fraud “created by/OF” Plaintiff/spouse/ lawyer containing (magic words) “NOW therefore it’s Ordered”, (like your order/“request” in a Resturant for approval by the Waitress for the whole of “our” Castle etc. knowing NO superior “legal right” exists to “demand” in this (700) (total SHAM) NO fault divorce, plus proceeded ex parte/without Me with NO DUE “hearing” after notice “proposed” that I REFUSED for FRAUD with NO Judgment document = VOID!

12. Justice delayed is Justice denied! Injustce anywhere is a threat to Justice everywhere! (50) Let’s ALL keep record of ALL servants who do, or fail to speedily fully remedy this MONSTER Crime and fraud! Injustice prevails because good Men don’t STOP it! We the People Crime Fighters: Declaration of Independence: Our right and DUTY to STOP public servant Crime, fraud, injustice, lawlessness! God Bless the People and Liberty and Justice for ALL. Amen!

Community Newspaper and Entertainment Magazine.

POLITICS & OPINION

If you are a rational human being who has watched the whole Chinese “Weather Balloon” saga over the past weeks, you must have noticed, if not feeling it yourself, the outrage expressed by many political leaders, retired military brass (especially here in Alaska where we supposedly first detect such incursions) and everyday citizens like us, all of whom are seemingly powerless to do anything about it.

Watching this security fiasco, coupled with all the other “woke” happenings, boarder violations, homelessness, drug abuse and violence around our nation, punctuated by President Biden’s disin genuous State of the Union Speech, you have to conclude we have reached that point as a nation that could be consid ered “One Big Clown Show”!

Contributed by Jerry Richardson

Solitude—a time set apart where the rush, noise, and anxiety of the world fall mute on the ears and heart of a child of God completely lost in the peace and presence of the Creator. Solitude is a time to be with your heavenly Father, free from the distractions the world offers us at seemingly every moment. We are made for consistent time spent in solitude.

C.S. Lewis wrote in The Weight of Glory, “We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence, and private: and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship.”Most of us have grown accustomed to what truly does amount to being “starved” for solitude. We never fully realize how great our need is to be alone with our Sustainer. Let’s take some time today to recognize our need

The Anchorage Assembly is working on a resolution for protesting the Alaska Supreme Court’s unconstitutional suspension of Grand Jury powers to investigate, recommend, or indict judges and other public officials.

As discussed, you will get the evidence and info to the Anchorage Assembly (City Hall, 632 West 6th Ave.) prior to their February 7, 5 PM meeting, so folks can start discussing it with Assembly members at that time during the opentopic part.

You will plan on making another presentation during their February 21, 5 PM meeting, where we will try to get as

It should be completely obvious to anyone paying attention that the subversive long range plans and actions of various neo-Marxist entities around the world, especially China and a western cadre of hard Marxist revolutionaries, have come to fruition and our era as an independent democratic republic and bastion of freedom appears to be almost over.

Watching how our leaders have let this happen is a lesson in the worst aspects of human nature. The vast majority of them have made their deals with the Devil, thinking only about themselves for their own lifetimes, and have dis carded traditional values about preserv ing the future for their descendants, their culture and their nation. This has allowed the seditious neo-Marxists, gradually at first, then rapidly over the past 20 years, to subtly implement their destructive plans through bribery and

for solitude and then learn how to best practice solitude on a daily basis.

You can know that you need solitude for one reason—Jesus needed it. All over the New Testament we see examples of Jesus going off on his own to pray. One example, Mark 1:35, tells us that Jesus, “rising very early in the morn ing, while it was still dark . . . departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” Jesus, who practiced perfect communion with his heavenly Father while here on earth still needed to spend time in solitude. Jesus, who loved parties, loved people, and was God and man simultaneously, needed time alone. If he needed it, you and I can be sure we need it. When God incarnate was up against his hardest task, the Crucifixion, he didn’t just toughen up and get through it. He spent time

many folks to attend/speak as possible.

Anyone wanting to help with this Anchorage Assembly resolution can contact Todd at (720) 462-0858. He will also try to make a presentation to the Valdez City Council during their February 21, 7 PM meeting, if folks can help with that

Anyone wanting to do the same to their Borough Assembly, City Council, Community Board, etc, please contact me (David Haeg) at (907) 398-6403 cell/text.

On January 31, 7 PM, I am scheduled to speak in-person at the Mat-Su District 30 Republican meeting at (Big Lake Rec Center/Lions Club, 2942 S. Lions Circle, Big Lake AK 99652).

deceit. You know, those great deals the Devil makes with those who are willing?

My condemnation of our leaders extends not only to local and national politicians, military brass, much of the clergy, leaders of social justice warriors, but also education elites, corporate business executives, oligarchs and the so-called “One Worlders” that meet in Davos every year.

It is interesting to see some on the left finally waking up to this truth. One of those is the normally left-wing comedian and TV commentator Bill Maher. On his HBO show he just recently gave a very funny, but accurate explanation of one of the many reasons why idealistic

He explained that the idealistic Marxist idea that if you get rid of the current western systems of government, you can create a society where everyone is

alone in the Garden of Gethsemane in conversation with his heavenly Father. He needed solitude to accomplish his purpose here on earth and so do you

Solitude is life-giving. It’s necessary to the Christian spiritual life. Richard J. Fos ter said, “Loneliness is inner emptiness. Solitude is inner fulfillment.”Solitude is one of the most important and life-giv ing spiritual disciplines. If you want to hear God, you must practice solitude. If you want fortitude in your life, a stead fastness that surpasses your circum stances, you must practice solitude. You are designed for time spent in the quiet, simply being with your heavenly Father. So how can you best practice solitude?

The first step is finding a place where you can spend time with God free from distractions. Find a place where you know you won’t be interrupted. If you live with others, find a time when they will not be around or awake. If you live alone, designate a place and time that

On February 7, 6 PM I will ask the MatSu Borough Assembly (350 East Dahlia Ave, Palmer) for a resolution protesting the Supreme Court’s action. I may do this via Zoom or phone so I can also attend the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly’s meeting the same night.

On February 17, noon I believe I speak to the Fairbanks Republican Women’s luncheon and on February 18 to the Fairbanks Interior Patriots meeting.

On February 21, 6 PM I will make a formal “prior notice” presentation to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly, asking for a resolution protesting the Alaska Supreme Court’s unconstitutional suspension of Grand Jury powers.

Everyone possible please try to make these events. Bring your friends, family, and neighbors.

no longer “selfish” and thus everyone can “share” and “equity” prevails. Ri--ght! However, to get to that point you have to “destroy” the existing culture (along with it’s defenders!) before it can be replaced! He asks, “Can you see any difference between China’s attempt to do that during their ‘Cultural Revolution’ in the past, with what is happening in our Cancel Culture, other than bodies are not piling up here so far?”

Unfortunately, back in his day he too was part of the left-wing faction that “dissed” our western values to promote his own style of humor and still does

Also, unfortunately, as they say, “The Horse is Already Out of the Barn”, thus the National Clown Show is out there for all to see! It sure is entertaining. If it were only just funny as is a real clown

you will spend in solitude free from any distractions. Second, give yourself an amount of time to spend with God just being in solitude. It could be ten minutes or an hour. Spend this time free from reading, free from worship or prayer unless solitude leads you to those things. Madeleine L’Engle said, silence.”Solitude is a point of deep communion where words aren’t required in Take some time today to practice the incredible discipline of solitude. Be patient with yourself. Be patient with God. Fill the emptiness of silence with the satisfaction of God’s presence. Your heavenly Father loves just simply spending time with you, enjoying deep communion with his crown of creation. You are his child. Climb into the comforting and sustaining arms of your heavenly Father today as you enter into a time of solitude.

The evidence indicates Alaska’s Grand Juries have been stopped from conducting independent, citizen oversight of government agencies and officials for over 30 years.

This could be the root cause of nearly every problem Alaska now faces: why PFD law is not followed; why our Capital was never moved after a majority vote of the people (twice!); why everyone is furious with the Office of Children’s Services; why elections appear to be rigged; why judges do what they want and get away with felony violations; etc, etc.

For an Alaska Supreme Court Impeachment form you can fill out electronically, which will automatically be emailed to all 60 legislators and to Grand Jury Independent Prosecutor Clinton Campion, please visit: alaskagrandjurorsassociation.org

Contributed by Alys Culhane

The Bright Lights Book Project Books in the Schools program was initiated by BLBP Project Manager Pete Praetorius. Former School Board Member Sarah Welton had just donated a bookcase to the project, and Pete thought that locating it in a Mat-Su District High school would serve the students in good stead, as would stocking it with BLBP books.

I called Colony High School librarian Stephanie Haase, who liked Pete’s idea. Pete, with the assistance of a handful of students, put the bookcase in the lobby. And Colony High School students and I loaded it up with fiction, nonfiction, and general interest books. Stephanie also agreed to be the bookcase guardian – she’d make sure that the shelves remained stocked and would let me know when more books were needed.

On May 3, 2021, Pete arranged for a dedication ceremony, in honor of Sarah Welton, a lifelong reader and literacy advocate. Those in attendance included Mat-Su School District Superintendent Randy Trani and other BLBP community supporters.

After the ceremony, Pete, who is both an avid reader and Bright Lights Book Project Community mainstay, had yet another idea. Why not have additional bookcases placed in other local schools?

Pete contacted Randy Wolfe, the shop teacher at the Mat-Su Vocational and Technical High School and proposed to him that his students build eight bookcases. Randy liked the idea so Pete then contacted the Palmer Community Foundation. Support, which came in the form of a $1,500 grant, was nearinstantaneous.

In November 2022, I began making calls to schools. I told them about the BLBP and that we had bookcases and books available. I also noted that the majority of the books that they’d receive had been donated by the Mat-Su and Anchorage School Districts, private donations, and most recently, local CCS Head Start programs. Librarians and principals alike said yes, they’d welcome our donation.

The construction of the bookcases

was an ongoing project, with Randy and Pete conferring on a regular basis about building particulars. The finishing touch came shortly after the students put the final coat of varnish on the bookcases. Randi’s students fastened the plaques that Pete had made on the outgoing bookcases. The plaques noted that Career Tech students had built the bookcases, and that the Palmer Community Foundation had funded this effort.

BLBP Volunteers vetted, cleaned, and made sure that each of the boxes contained age-specific books. The listed school recipients included The MatSu Technical and Vocational School, Teeland Middle School, Palmer Junior Middle School, Palmer High School, Valley Pathways School, Sutton Elementary School, and Wasilla Middle School. We have one bookcase left; where it will go will be decided in the next few days.

Pete dropped the bookcases off at the above-mentioned schools. I accompanied him when it came time to deliver the books. School administrators welcomed us with open arms, and immediately let the principals and librarians know that we were on site. The high schoolers moved the bookcases into place, and the children at both the high school and elementary levels placed the books on the shelves. Pete and I pointed out to administrators, principals, and librarians that involving students in setting up the bookcases and stocking the shelves increased the

likelihood that they’d become lifelong readers. We upped the odds of this by supplying all the schools with pristine books on a variety of subjects, science fiction, art, and general interest books included.

Pete and I also requested that participating principals and teachers appoint a bookcase guardian for their bookcase. Colony High School Librarian Stephanie Haase was our shining example. She not only encouraged the students to take books, but to talk with one another about their finds.

I added that I’d keep in touch with school principals and librarians by contacting them every so often and finding out if and when they’d want any additional books. I added that I’d also ask if there were any specific titles or subjects the students might have in mind.

I presumed that once the final bookcase was delivered, that the Bookcases in the Schools program would be complete. I was wrong. Pete’s next idea was to seek additional funding and have Randy’s students build another eight bookcases. We could, he added, ask the Matanuska Valley Federal Credit Union for a donation. They did provide us with funding, and now additional bookcases are being constructed.

The first bookcase will be placed in the lobby of the Credit Union in Wasilla, and the others will be placed throughout the Mat-Su Valley.

COMMUNITY

property from the Alaska Sustainable Salmon Fund, Matanuska Electric Association Charitable Foundation, MatSu Health Foundation, Mat-Su Trails & Parks Foundation, National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, and Rasmuson Foundation.

“We are so grateful to these funders for their generous support of this project, and for recognizing the positive impact it will have on our communities for generations to come,” said Great Land Trust Executive Director Ellen Kazary.

“We have almost hit our fundraising goal with these funding awards, and now we’re turning to the community to help us cross the finish line by raising the last $10,000 needed to complete this project.”

Local nonprofit Great Land Trust (GLT) is in the final phases of a land deal to purchase 187 acres of undeveloped land adjacent to the Settlers Bay Coastal Park. This expansion project will bring the total size of the park to 480 acres, increase recreation opportunities, protect forest and wetland habitat, and will directly connect a new neighborhood to the park. Pending Mat-Su Borough (MSB) Assembly approval, GLT will purchase and then immediately donate the land to the MSB while retaining a conservation easement on the property. The Borough will own and manage the land consistent with the current park and will expand their infrastructure efforts into the new area in coming years.

Great Land Trust is a nonprofit founded by Alaskans for Alaskans with a mission to conserve the lands and waters essential to the quality of life and economic health of Alaskan communities. Since 1995, GLT has conserved over 56,000 acres of priority wildlife habitat, permanently protected more than 100 miles of salmon streams, secured increased access to public lands, and created parks and public natural areas all throughout their service area of Southcentral Alaska.

For this expansion project, GLT has received funding for acquisition of the

The original Settlers Bay Coastal Park project began in 2013 when the owners of the Settlers Bay Golf Course, LLC approached GLT about conserving some of the undeveloped property within the Settlers Bay neighborhood as public open space. GLT partnered with the Alaska Sustainable Salmon Fund, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, ConocoPhillips, Mat-Su Trails & Parks Foundation, Rasmuson Foundation, Settlers Bay Golf Course, LLC, the Mat-Su Borough, and over 70 individual private donors to acquire the property with the intent of creating a regional park for public recreation and habitat conservation, ultimately creating the 293-acre Settlers Bay Coastal Park. Today, the Mat-Su Borough manages the park land for conservation and public use. GLT holds a conservation easement on the property to ensure its open space and habitats are protected and conservation values are upheld in perpetuity.

Settlers Bay Coastal Park opened in the fall of 2019 and trail development and park infrastructure projects have been ongoing since then. Mat-Su Borough and Student Conservation Association trail crews have built almost nine miles of trails (including singletrack mountain bike trails and an accessible bluff lookout trail) and installed other essential infrastructure such as restrooms, trash

cans, benches, parking lots, and gates. With the support of AARP, the Alaska Conservation Foundation, ConocoPhillips, and the Mat-Su Trails & Parks Foundation, GLT and the MSB completed work on an accessible scenic overlook viewing platform this past summer that offers stunning views of the Palmer Hay Flats and the Chugach Mountains across Upper Cook Inlet.

According to data gathered by the MSB, Settlers Bay Coastal Park was one of the top three most visited parks that they manage in the summer of 2022. MSB Asset Manager Joe Metzger said, “We’re thrilled to have this opportunity to grow the park. Knik-Fairview is one of the highest growth areas in the Borough

✓LOCKOUT SERVICES

✓RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL

✓USPS CLUSTER BOX LOCK REPLACEMENT

✓KEY DUPLICATION

✓KEYLESS ENTRY SYSTEMS

✓SMART-KEY PROGRAMMING

✓JUMPSTARTS

✓DOOR LOCK & IGNITION REPLACEMENT

and it’s important to make sure we’re providing folks with close-to home places to safely recreate and enjoy nature.”

Great Land Trust is accepting donations for the project through their website, www.greatlandtrust.org, or via mail to Great Land Trust, PO Box 101272, Anchorage, AK 99510. Kazary said, “We plan to acquire the expansion property by the end of March, and we’ll look forward to a big community celebration at the park in the late spring or summer. Our work at GLT is made possible by the support of our communities. We want to recognize and celebrate with everyone who helps make projects like this a reality.”

PETS & ANIMALS

Contributed by Clear Creek Cat

Rescue

I am a tabby girl who is said to be part Bengal, like right out of the jungle! I am about a year and a half old. And I am a sweetheart. I am the purrfect friend for other cats and I

Contributed by Laura

Greetings to all our local fans from the beautiful snowy pastures of the fivestar Musk Ox Farm! My name is Luna, a resident of the farm, and if I might humbly add, a visitor and staff favorite. We have had a great winter so far, enjoying the oxcellent cold weather.

My muskie colleagues and I would like to take this oxportunity to thank our staff for their service. They keep us well fed and cared for even on the coldest, windiest winter days! Recently some of my friends even had their first dental care appointments! It was quite the talk around the pastures that we would receive such innovative care.

I also would like to oxtend an invitation to all our readers to come visit us in person during this lovely wintertime - the colder the day, the better we like it! You might even catch me right up by the fence to say hello, if my social calendar isn’t too busy, of course. As you can see from our events list below, we have several oxstanding opportu-

love people. I’m young and energetic, ready for play, and honing my skills for the time when spring comes and I can go outside and use my natural skills to chase butterflies and race around with my friends or whatever fun cats might be a part of my family.

I am a lovely and wonderful girl ready for a great home. To meet me, please call or text 907-980-8898.

nities for you coming up! Details are on our website muskoxfarm.org. I’d like to highlight our knitting workshops where you can learn how to work with my fabulous fiber in Fair Isle style (available for purchase in a kit!) Contact my staff if you have any questions about any event.

Oh, and they also oxed me to mention that you should follow us on the facebooks and sign up for our email newsletter so you can stay in-theknow for all things Musk Ox Farm. Until next time - oxoxox from Luna

COMMUNITY

Contributed by Cleaning’s A Breeze

Cleaning’s A Breeze has teamed up with Cleaning for a Reason, a nationwide nonprofit giving cancer patients free home cleanings. Two free cleanings to be exact.

Owner, Bre Tschilar is committed to making a difference for families in the community and what better way than helping others?

“All of us at Cleaning’s A Breeze have dealt with cancer in one way or another,” said Tschilar.

“We have also seen our customers struggle with fatigue and pain as they undergo cancer treatment.

When we learned about Cleaning for a Reason, we knew we had to be a part of it simply to help fight the fight and support those fighting. Because nobody should have to worry about scrubbing the toilets when they are fighting for their life. We believe that a clean and healthy home can make a difference for cancer patients and their families. We’re all honored to have been a part of this nonprofit for 3 years.”

Through partnership with Cleaning for a Reason, Cleaning’s A Breeze assists cancer patients by cleaning four families homes per month for two consecutive months free of charge. This has been an ongoing service to cancer patients residing in Mat-Su Valley, specifically Wasilla, Palmer, and the surrounding areas.

Cleaning’s A Breeze was started by a single mom trying to make extra money to cover the bills. Word of mouth spread quickly and owner Bre Tschilar had to bring on help to support her growing business. With a focus on residential and day time commercial cleaning.

The company uses all plant based cleaning products and good old elbow grease. They background check EVERY employee BEFORE they go to any home or business.

For more information, go to the company’s Facebook page (www. Facebook.com/cleaningsabreeze)

They also have a web page that will give you more information. (www. busymomsofmatsu.com)

About Cleaning for A Reason

Cleaning for a Reason partners with more than 1,200 residential cleaners throughout the United States and Canada to offer free house cleaning to any household battling cancer. Since 2006, the nonprofit and its partners have donated more than $15 million in services, helping more than 47,000 cancer patients. To learn more about Cleaning for a Reason and to apply for free house cleaning, see cleaningforareason.org. Be sure to choose Cleaning’s A Breeze as your provider!

COMMUNITY

Contributed by Brenda McCain

A great Alaskan tradition continues this month as the 61st Willow State Winter Carnival begins in Willow. The Carnival will be held February 17-19 and February 24-26 at the Willow Community Center at Mile 69.5 Parks Highway.

This spectacular “cabin fever reliever” event has continued so long because it truly has something for everyone! There are enough activities both inside and outside to keep anyone happy.

It all starts on Friday, February 17th with the traditional Carnival Kickoff Dinner. The doors open at 5:00 pm for the local

Artist’s Quick Draw and beginning of the Art Silent Auction. The Roast Beef Dinner will be served at 6 pm. The Carnival King and Queen will be crowned, and the festive evening will end with a spectacular fireworks display by Gorilla Fireworks.

Dinner tickets must be purchased in advance at Newman’s Hilltop or the Willow Library, $20.00 /16 yrs. and older, $12/ 9-15 yrs. Kids 8 and under dine free.

Each Saturday and Sunday the Willow Elementary School PTA serves breakfast at the school from 8 am- 11 am.

Admission to Carnival is free! Parking

is $1.00 a carload, but everyone gets a door prize ticket! There are activities inside and outside the Willow Community for all from 10 am to 4 pm as well as evening events. Inside activities include a mini-raffle, very diverse stage acts including many bands and dance groups, a cribbage tournament, local vendors, Carnival Kitchen, commemorative pins and shirts, Scholarship Pie Auction and more.

Outside activities include Snowshoe softball, Outhouse races, Homesteader Competitions, Snow Carving Demos, Ski races, Sled dog races, Kid games, Fat tire bikes, Vintage Snowmachine show, several snowmachine competitions, and

hockey tournament and fishing weigh in and more.

Night activities include:

Bingo: Saturday February 18th and Friday 24th Doors open at 6 and games start at 7 pm. Fire & Ice Family Dance: Saturday February 25th at 6 pm

The Willow State Winter Carnival website has the very latest agenda and updates. www.waco-ak.org/wpcontent/uploads/2023/02/CarnivalSchedule-2023_Final.pdf

This is THE State Winter Carnival and all are welcome to come celebrate in Willow.