
OPINION: Spending bill would let Alaska schools reap what they did not sow
These are bad faith negotiators. At a time when Alaska finds itself starving on many levels, the education system has decided to strike while the iron is hot and take a giant bite out of the apple while the rest of us sit around and watch it being eaten. How


OPINION: Student success hinges on conservative values, parent empowerment
Here is the bottom line: Place a student from a home that values education in a class with an impartial, well-trained and professional teacher who loves and is proficient in his/her subject and enjoys teaching, and learning takes place. Everything else is


BOB BIRD: Alaska’s 3 branches of government converge on Road to Anarchy
Let’s play baseball. Get out the rule book. Like most sports, it is packed not only with rules that are macro and fundamental, but also micro and nuanced. Rules change, and are done so by mutual agreement, because experience dictated the necessity. Thus, an


Alaska U.S. Senators vote to protect girls’ sports, but Dems block effort
Democrats in the U.S. Senate blocked an attempt by Republicans to advance a bill that would have prohibited biological males who claim to be female from competing in girls’ and women’s sports. Republicans needed 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, but only


BOB BIRD: Gold could shape the future, as it has the past (Part 2)
I can’t tell you how prices might shake out if - and when - we return to a specie-based currency, but I can guarantee one thing: Gold rushes would return as part of Alaskan - and human -


Univ. of Alaska faculty & students oppose regents’ order to ditch DEI
Many entrenched professors and campus staff in the University of Alaska system are adamantly opposed to removing DEI programs, which could prove


BOB BIRD: ‘We could use another gold rush’ (Part 1)
We could use another gold rush. Hey, there used to be so many of them. What


USAID and the history of U.S. foreign assistance programs
Historically, the United States has provided foreign aid to other countries since 1812; but on a large scale only during and after World War II. The history of the U.S. foreign assistance is marked by several key events, including Lend-Lease during World War


Ed. choice allies to AK lawmakers: Don’t dump more money into failing schools without reforms
Some of Alaska’s leading voices on educational choice and parental rights have written letters to Alaska lawmakers urging them to oppose House Bill 69, which seeks to direct hundreds of millions of public dollars into the state education budget, but without


OPINION: Incentivized homeschooling can solve Alaska’s school funding dilemma
With increased homeschooling, fewer schools and fewer teachers would be needed. If the state could shift more students out of public schools, it could give the students an education of their choice and save money at the same

