Never forget: Ending a dark period and into a new year
I shudder as astounding phrases and concepts have been strategically placed before us for our consumption. From the moment we heard the phrases “alternative facts” and “fake news” it was clear that we were in trouble. Soon after, the President stated, “Don’t believe what you are seeing and hearing.” It has been suggested that we shouldn’t trust our own eyes and ears, and that there is such a thing as “alternative facts.” The alternative to facts are falsehoods and fantasy.
The clear attempt at overthrowing our election is being televised and is happening as we watch it. Surely, we can see and hear with our own eyes and hopefully we will trust what we are seeing and hearing. When in doubt we do have hundreds of amazingly dedicated and ethical journalists who have been helping us interpret, make sense of, and connect the seemingly many disconnected actions.
We watched the President attack reality, the media and the electoral system that records the will of the people. He tried to instill doubt in the accuracy of the electoral system. Then he proceeded to engage in the process of insisting on various vote recounts and he launched approximately 60 lawsuits and then lost approximately all the lawsuits. The judges — many of whom were routinely intimidated — ultimately scolded and ridiculed the attorneys who worked on behalf of the President for the lack of evidence and facts presented.
After the President attempted to influence the judicial branch of government, he turned to the attorney generals and electorates and began to intimidate them. He failed and then the office of Cyber Security in the Department of Homeland Security and the Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice affirmed that the election was fair and without significant fraud or inaccuracies.
Rob Rosenfeld
Homer Rope Tow thanks community
The Kachemak Ski Club Homer Rope Tow would like to give special thanks the City of Homer and Homer City Council for awarding Supplemental Cares Act Grant funds to our organization. Because of these grants we have been able to open safely and continue offering one of Homer’s best winter recreational activities. With the early snowpack we have had an excellent start to the season with record attendance to date. We have had several Sunday openings with over 100 people skiing, many of whom are skiing/ snowboarding for the first time.
KSC would like to extend special thanks to Arno Construction and Smokey Bay Beamery for their generous donations of time and materials. We would also like to thank the following businesses for working with us to achieve a COVID-19 safe place of recreation: AC General Inc., Homer Saw and Cycle, Skiff Chicks Custom Designs, K-Martin Construction, SBS, Homer Steel Fabricators, Mooserun Metals, Small Potatoes Lumber Co., Save-U-More, Safeway, Ulmer’s, Printworks, Laser Print, Bobcat Services, Techno Metal Post Alaska, Kachemak Gear Shed, and Geneva Woods.
We were able to use over 10 businesses within the city limits to achieve our goals with this funding. This is a great example of how this community can work together and support each other. There are so many hardworking individuals and businesses in this community that make it a great place to live and thrive.
Thank you, community ofHomer.
Sarah Banks, Secretary, Kachemak Ski Club
Dear Editor,
The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority wants to spend $40 million Alaska dollars bidding on oil leases. Now putting AIDEA’s past boondoggles aside, I recall not too many years ago watching Gavel to Gavel on the state’s legislative channel wherein Les Gara asked the Republican caucus to reconsider taking millions of Alaskans’ dollars out of the Constitutional Budget Reserve as it was already a matter of legislative action that funding may not be removed from the C.B.R. unless it was clear that the state’s budget was faced with a deficit. Gara established that the state was in no way facing a deficit for the present.
Outnumbered by the Republicans, millions of dollars were taken from out of the Constitutional Budget Reserve by the Republican majority. The result of these continued actions by the Republican majority shows that AIDEA and the Alaska Household Finance Corporation now hold several hundred million dollars of Alaskans’ money in their bank accounts to do with as they wish.
The Republican idea was, if we can get the money out of the C.B.R., we can slip it to our corporate friends without any roadblocks at all. Clearly if these hundreds of millions were returned to the C.B.R., the State of Alaska would be as close to a balanced budget as it has been in the past 20 years.
The State of Alaska has already been in the oil business for over 50 years. Why would we want to get into it again when all we can see is green energy on the horizon?
John A. Anderson, Kenai
Dear Editor,
The year 2020 began with a punch to the face in the form of a disease that challenges every facet of our lives. As the year progressed, another punch to the face arrived as the chaos of nature raged across the world, leaving more death and destruction. We began to lose our balance a bit, but managed to steady ourselves before the next punch arrived.
The door of white supremacy was opened wide, allowing the poison of hatred to walk in and claim more Black lives at the end of a policeman’s gun or knee. Throughout the year we took many more punches.
Our struggle to cope with this beating has led many down the road to depression, anxiety, loss of hope and, sadly, suicide. These are thoughts and feelings that began to creep into my otherwise peaceful world, and I began to realize that each punch to the face was also a “punch to my faith.” Once I acknowledged this, I was reminded of a dream I had a number of years ago, a dream that comes to me whenever I need help. This is one of those times and this is the dream:
The messenger appeared against a bright, white light, a silhouette with a message to deliver and then gone. This messenger had only a few words to say, but these words would have a profound effect on my life: “Don’t worry. Everything will be OK. No matter what, everything will be OK.” As I awoke, I had the overwhelming feeling of warmth flooding over my body, as if someone had just poured warm butter on me and it flowed from my head to my toes. I knew I had just experienced something special.
I’ve had a number of challenges and situations occur in my life since this experience, and somehow the words spoken to me in that dream are there to restore my faith. The words “no matter what” seem to stand out. Somehow those three words erased the need to question the message. There are not qualifiers.
If you are feeling anxious, depressed or hopeless, find your faith and hang on tight. The word “Biblical” has been used frequently in the recent past to characterize a number of things that have occurred on this planet as well in the universe. It seems to me that life itself is Biblical. Don’t let hatred grab you.
Be vigilant. Be thankful. Pray.
Fran Zwonitzer
