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Rants From Alaska

@AlaskanRants

Jul 28

1/🧵
I’ve just digging into the, hyping Trump’s so-called “game-changing” executive order to stuff Bitcoin, gold, and a laundry list of “alternative assets” like private equity into your sacred 401(k) plans.

2/🧵
They’re waving around flashy numbers

🤔 A portfolio with 10% BTC and 10% gold supposedly crushed it at 601% returns from 2015-2025, versus a measly 135% for the old-school 60/40 stocks-bonds mix.

3/🧵
This isn’t innovation, it’s a grave, reckless mistake that’s gonna torch everyday Americans’ nest eggs while bailing out the very wolves bankrupting our private industries at record speeds! Only reason to say no right here👆

Read 13 tweets

Rants From Alaska

@AlaskanRants

Jul 26

1/🧵
Oh, Alaska, Crown Jewel or Captive State?

Let’s peel back the layers on this farce, because the data doesn’t lie, we’re a resource powerhouse being strangled by policy paralysis and federal overreach, all while the world, and especially China, laughs at our self-inflicted wounds.

2/🧵
We’re sitting on untold billions in gold, antimony, copper, coal, hydro potential, and even nuclear breakthroughs, yet our energy mix tells a tale of deliberate neglect.

3/🧵
As of 2025, natural gas dominates at around 30.7% of our electricity generation, with hydro at 36.1%, but coal’s been shoved to a measly 10.7%, and nuclear? Zilch-0% in key grids like AKGD.

Read 16 tweets

Rants From Alaska

@AlaskanRants

Jul 12

1/
You ever look around and realize you’re being ripped off💥daily💥 by a law that’s been on the books for over a hundred years?

Yeah, I’m talking about the Jones Act.

Most folks have never even heard of it, but here in Alaska, we’ve been choking on its consequences since day one.

Officially, it’s Section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920.

Unofficially?
It’s a hundred-year-old racket designed to make Seattle shipping tycoons rich and leave Alaskans footing the bill.

2/
After World War I, the U.S. had a bunch of leftover ships, and instead of letting competition flourish, Senator Wesley Jones, backed by Seattle’s shipping elites slipped in a clause that forced all sea trade between U.S. ports to happen on American-built, American-owned, American-crewed ships.

Sounds patriotic, right❓
Wrong. It was a hit job on Canadian competition that served Alaska better and cheaper.

A full-on protectionist power grab dressed up like national pride. The thing was written by William L. Clark of the Pacific Steamship Company, yes, the actual competition, and it got rammed through Congress in twenty minutes.

🤷‍♂️Nobody read it.
🤷‍♂️Nobody asked what it meant for the Last Frontier.
💯It was always about the money. 💯And we were always the target.

3/
Now, let’s get this straight, over 85% of the goods that come to Alaska arrive by sea.

That means everything from apples to auto parts has to get shipped in, and the Jones Act makes it illegal to use cheaper foreign shippers, even if they’re sitting right there in Vancouver, just a stone’s throw away.

Instead, we’re locked into overpriced, underperforming U.S. lines.

Alaska’s former governor, Walter Hickel, flat-out said it, “the Act kicked out the Canadians and made it three times more expensive to ship from Seattle to Alaska than from Asia to the West Coast.”

And the kicker?
These U.S. companies weren’t charging based on how much your cargo weighed, they were charging based on what it was worth. It’s like your groceries being taxed for being food.

Read 9 tweets

Rants From Alaska

@AlaskanRants

Apr 9

Thread please read 1/- 4/ 🧵🪡🧶

If you’re not following Kassie you’re missing out.

👩‍🎓Kassie Andrews is an energy expert on Alaskan politics and resource development. A lifelong Alaskan, her career in energy has involved project management, construction, and finance.

By @AndrewsKD49
Renewable Portfolio Standard is back in Alaska—for the third time.

For decades, Alaska’s energy policy has been shaped not by the will of the people but by outside influence. It has been a long, forced march led by climate activists and their NGOs.

Back in 2010, the legislative intent of our energy policy quietly embedded renewable energy targets, laying the groundwork for today’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) push. Most Alaskans don’t realize that much of this policy wasn’t just influenced by NGOs. It was written for and by them.

The same activist networks that roamed the halls of Juneau back then never left. These groups continue to steer Alaska’s energy future toward their own agenda, co-opting our representative republic in the process. None of this is organic. It’s the result of calculated pressure from groups that have little concern for Alaskans, but plenty of appetite for power.

A Renewable Portfolio Standard is back in Alaska—for the third time. Gov. Mike Dunleavy backed the original version in 2022, and now Republicans are out of the majority.

2/ thread 🧵🪡🧶 read 1/, 3/, 4/
BY @AndrewsKD49

Renewable Portfolio Standard is back in Alaska—for the third time.

Background

House Bill 153 was introduced by Rep. Ky Holland (I-Anchorage) on March 24, 2025. Per his presentation, “An RPS is a requirement on retail electric suppliers… to supply a minimum percentage or amount of their retail load… with eligible sources of renewable energy. HB 153 sets the following targets: 40 percent by 2030, 55 percent by 2035.”

The 2023 RPS was proposed at 25 percent by 2027, 55 percent by 2035, and 80 percent by 2040.

Currently, the Railbelt is only at 15 percent renewable, where this bill is explicitly targeted. Hydropower dominates the renewable total. Hydropower supplied ~90 percent of the renewable electricity statewide in 2023. According to the sponsor, 40 percent by 2030 from 15 percent today is “modest,” and 55 percent is a “realistic” cap.

Although the legislation allows for hydropower, activist backers of the bill have simultaneously called for the removal of the Eklutna Dam, which provides about 14 percent of the Railbelt’s total renewable share. With that, it becomes obvious what sources the co-ops will be forced to adopt: intermittent sources like wind and solar. Holland (then as a candidate) was provided with information on just how unreliable wind can be when Alaskans need it most. During the 2024 cold snap, wind at Fire Island fell to zero for a prolonged period, with the average at just 20.3 percent for the week—100 percent unreliable.

The legislation penalizes member-owned co-ops who fail to meet the targets with fines of $45/MWh shortfall, adjusted annually for inflation. The fine, as proposed in 2023, was $20/MWh, and while co-ops couldn’t technically recover it through rates, there was no realistic way for them to pay it otherwise. But this bill is completely different, and they don’t even try to hide it.

When asked by committee member Rep. George Rauscher about who pays the price, Shaina Kilcoyne, Holland’s staffer, admitted that “ultimately the ratepayer would pay.”

In a scenario of a larger scale operation such as a hospital—10,000-15,000 MWh/year, the fines at just a 20% shortfall would be more than $100k annually. For residential homes, it is in the hundreds, and it only escalates for both as the push to electrify everything—heat pumps, EVs, public transit, industrial process heat—accelerates. This does not include the intermittency factor or the higher cost of renewables themselves that the co-ops will undoubtedly need to increase your base rates to account for.

The incentives in this bill include a pseudo carbon tax of Renewable Energy Credits where co-ops can buy credits instead of building renewable projects, a wind energy bonus multiplier of 1.25x for large wind and a fine reinvestment option to force renewable projects. This is a mandated energy transformation with sharp, big sticks aimed directly at ratepayers’ wallets. It locks Alaskans into unreliable and politically favored renewables, whether the market (or the people) like it or not.

3/ thread 🧵🪡🧶 read 1/ ,2/, 4/
BY @AndrewsKD49

Renewable Portfolio Standard is back in Alaska—for the third time.

💥Activists, Operatives, and Dark Money Behind the RPS Push💥

The credit for the RPS legislation this round goes to Kilcoyne, who presented the sectional analysis to the House Energy Committee on April 1, 2024. Kilcoyne co-led the implementation of the Anchorage Climate Action Plan under Mayor Ethan Berkowitz. She is listed as the Energy Transition Program Director for the Alaska Venture Fund. Alaska Venture Fund is a project of the New Venture Fund, the flagship nonprofit of the many organizations managed by Arabella Advisors. The Alaska project received $10 million in 2021 from the Bezos Earth Fund to Advance former President Joe Biden’s unconstitutional Justice40 in Alaska.

No surprise, the same old cheerleaders for past RPS bills were invited by the committee for testimony. This included a blogger who is on the board of REAP and the Chief Energy Officer from Hawaii, plus one new recruit: Alaska Public Interest Research Group, AKPIRG. AKPIRG claims to be Alaska’s only non-governmental, nonpartisan consumer advocacy group- yet they testified in support of the RPS. Hard to imagine a bigger hypocrisy: backing a policy that punishes ratepayers and consumers. The claim of nonpartisanship made during testimony, as well as in the written presentation, is especially interesting.

The presenter, Energy Lead Natalie Kiley-Bergen, is a registered Democrat. Their website dons a land acknowledgment and states that they use the Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing, used exclusively by anti-capitalist radical environmental justice groups that promote fossil fuel bans.

According to their 2024 report, this proudly “nonpartisan” group celebrated a four-month sabbatical for their executive director and locked in a permanent four-day workweek, complete with a paid wellness day every single week. Apparently, dismantling the economy is exhausting work, even for the nonpartisan crowd. Proudly displayed in their 2024 annual report is the list of donors, the typical blend of left-wing policy, climate, and electoral influence networks. The climate and energy transition funders include the 11th Hour Project, Hopewell Fund and Tortuga Foundation. The Hopewell Fund is also part of the Arabella Advisors network.

Read 7 tweets

Rants From Alaska

@AlaskanRants

Mar 24

1/ Thread read below 1 of 8 🧶🧵🪡

😡Alright, let’s dive into Sunday Rant about Governor Dunleavy’s push to ditch Alaska’s single-party consent law for recording conversations and events, specifically targeting Senate Bill 85, which he introduced in February 2025.

This bill📝 wants to drag Alaska into the government controlled speech of dual-party consent, and frankly, it’s a move that reeks of overreach, undermines individual freedom, and throws a wrench into practical accountability. 🚫🇺🇸

Here’s why this shift is a terrible idea, and why we should fight tooth and nail to keep single-party consent alive. Thread keep reading

2/🧶🪡🧵

First off, let’s talk about the sheer absurdity of requiring everyone in a conversation to agree to a recording. Alaska’s current setup, where only one person needs to consent, works because it trusts individuals to protect themselves.

🤔If I’m in a heated exchange with someone shady, I can hit record to cover my own back without begging their permission.

Under Dunleavy’s SB 85, I’d have to pause the argument, politely ask, “Hey, mind if I record this?” and watch them smirk and say no, leaving us defenseless. 💯

Single-party consent empowers people to document truth in real-time, whether it’s a scam, a threat, or just a boss being a jerk. Dual-party consent flips that on its head, shielding the ruling class who’d rather their words vanish into thin air.💨

3/🧶🪡🧵

And don’t get me started on the privacy excuse Dunleavy’s peddling. In his letter to the Senate, he claims this bill protects Alaskans’ privacy, citing the state constitution. 😂😂😂

Sure, privacy’s great until you realize this law doesn’t really protect the little guy. 🎁 It’s a gift to the powerful 💯 for politicians, corporations, and anyone with something to hide.

✅ Right now, a whistleblower in Anchorage can quietly record a corrupt official spilling the beans. With SB 85, that official gets to silence you, and the truth stays buried.

Privacy❓
More like a get-out-of-jail-free card for the guilty. Meanwhile, regular folks lose a tool to prove what’s really happening when the chips are down.

Read 8 tweets

Rants From Alaska

@AlaskanRants

Feb 5

@AndrewsKD49 By KASSIE ANDREWS
🔥Catch her sub-stack drops to get the facts 🔥

🧵follow the thread 🪡- 1 / 8🧵

When Alaska, a state synonymous with rugged independence and self-reliance, began aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it may have been seen as a step toward modernizing and protecting its natural beauty.

However, the unintended consequences of adhering to this globalist construct have left many local communities grappling with the fallout. From an exploding homeless population to rising energy costs and diminished economic opportunities, the promises of the SDGs have often clashed with the realities of life in America’s Last Frontier.

To understand how these things have wreaked havoc on Alaska, brief summaries are provided to illustrate the direct connection between SDGs and state policies.

The UN’s 17 SDGs are nothing more than the latest iteration of a long-standing agenda to impose centralized control under the guise of “sustainability.” Rebranded roughly every 15 years —Agenda 21, the Millennium Development Goals, now Agenda 2030—this construct repackages the same regulations whenever public skepticism grows. Sold as virtuous and noble, the SDGs are, in reality, a vehicle for global governance, economic manipulation, and land control.

Compliance is enforced through corporate complicity, ESG mandates, the Paris Agreement, and digital surveillance, all while masquerading as progress.

🪡-2
Homelessness: A Crisis Out of Control🏠

SDG 1, which claims to “end poverty in all its forms everywhere,” beginning as early as 2005, housing first policies were introduced to address homelessness in Anchorage, Alaska. These seemingly well-meaning initiatives have had the complete opposite effect. Anchorage has seen its homeless population explode in recent years, partially due to lenient plans that prioritize “equity” over accountability. Programs are designed to house the homeless without addressing underlying issues.

The Housing First model, long championed as a solution under UN SDG-aligned policies, guarantees housing without requiring sobriety or participation in recovery programs. Intended to provide stability, this approach has created communities where substance abuse flourishes, straining law enforcement and social services.

The Anchorage Assembly appears to be following the UN plan, down to using the same language—to “solve homelessness“—no matter the cost to taxpayers

🧵-3
A Judicial System Hijacked by Social Justice ⚖️

SDG 16, which promotes “peace, justice, and strong institutions,” has brought about troubling changes to Alaska’s judicial system. What was once a system focused on fairness and enforcing the rule of law has increasingly pivoted toward social justice initiatives. The “pursuit of social justice for all is at the core of the United Nations’ mission to promote development and human dignity.”

In 2016, Alaska’s court system secured a Justice for All grant from the Public Welfare Foundation. Framed as justice reform, the initiative was structured into three key phases, including redefining justice, mapping the justice ecosystem, and analyzing provider relationships, further embedding bureaucratic control. The Alaska Court System’s “Justice for All Project” prominently features the UN SDGs, serving as a stark reminder of who truly drives these decisions.

A glaring example of the social justice takeover was in 2020 when Alaska’s Supreme Court penned letters after the death of George Floyd. The statement acknowledged systemic inequities in the treatment of African-Americans, Alaska Natives, and other people of color, highlighting that these groups often face disparities in dignity and respect as compared to white community members.

The momentum has increased toward crippling the ability of officers to respond to violent suspects and drug addicts within the homeless population. The United Nations wants reform of “police and criminal justice systems in the United States to eradicate systemic racism.” To this end, a bill to ban the use of chokeholds has been introduced multiple times by Alaska State Sen. Elvi Gray-Jackson.

The push for social justice in our legal system is failing victims. Reduced sentencing and rehabilitation-focused programs may sound admirable, but they create a revolving door for repeat offenders. Meanwhile, law enforcement is hamstrung by policies that prioritize offender outcomes over public safety. Justice shouldn’t feel this unjust.

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