A lot has been written this past week about how the campaign that led to the last weekend’s landslide defeat of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán could be a model for defeating the illiberal MAGA movement led by President Donald Trump.

I was a long-distance operator on Telephone Hill, connecting people to friends and family all over the country and the world. It was kind of wild sitting on top of the city almost in the clouds on that wonderful hill in an old home with my headset and mouthpiece on making sure Juneau could talk to the world.

Alaskans in November will decide for the third time on ranked-choice voting. They approved it in 2020, rejected an initiative in 2024 to repeal it, and now will vote this fall on another repeal initiative.

On March 31, President Trump issued a new executive order on citizenship records and mail‑in ballots entitled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections.” The order has nothing to do with election integrity — the name is like “Newspeak,” Orwell’s fictional language for a totalitarian state. It is an unlawful attempt to seize control of how Alaskans vote and to make an error‑ridden federal database the gatekeeper of our ballots.

There’s a difference between rebuilding and wanton waste

In 2026, voters in Juneau will decide three Assembly seats and two state House seats. That may sound routine, but it shouldn’t be. These races will determine how seriously we confront flood risk, job creation, housing costs and the overall affordability of life in our capital city.

The recent closure of Ben Franklin after 50 years on Front Street is more than just the loss of a store; it feels like the end of an era for downtown Juneau.

According to a recently published pre-election assessment, “the prevalence of allegations of electoral fraud aimed at discrediting the process” is one of the “principal weaknesses undermining the country’s electoral ecosystem.” In particular, the president’s “preemptive attacks” on the “electoral institutions are irresponsible and risk destabilizing the country at a critical juncture.”

Similarly, the destruction of the Forest Service may not be immediately visible during this administration, but the Forest Service has a long term mission and that mission is being destroyed by people who won’t be around to feel the consequences of their actions.

The conflict which may yet become a war begs for a permanent solution. Clearly, the issue is: who has the current excess production of crude oil? And who enjoys an operable revenue stream resulting from sales of crude oil worldwide. For the last few decades Iran has enjoyed that distinction.

Little kids can’t help but play with their food. Gamblers can’t stop playing with a pair of dice or deck of cards. Cats can’t help but play with a ball of yarn. It’s the same with legislators who play around with voter-enticing talk of a fat Permanent Fund dividend.

At the end of last year's legislative session, the House unanimously passed House Bill 101, a bill that would raise the age of consent in Alaska from 16 to 18. The bill has had three hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Anchorage Democrat Matt Claman, and has sat there since. I've heard a variety of reasons for this, one being that Sen. Claman, who happens to be running for governor, would like to attach this to a larger crime bill.