It's 51 degrees in Anchorage, 50 in Palmer, 51 in Soldot. No, Homer's checking in at 47. McCarthy is 43. Fairbanks, 49. Up in Prudhoe, it is 21. Well, a lot of stuff has been flying through the legislature and sometimes that's good and sometimes not so much.
Damian Brady is the vice president of research for the National Taxpayers Union Foundation and Damian has very Courteously agreed to come on the show today and and talk about something that's that's happening here in Alaska This is house bill 113 And it just passed the House, and it's going to go to the governor for his signature. We'll talk about this in just a second. Damian, welcome to the program. Glad to have you with us.
I'm glad to be here. Thanks for having me on to talk about this issue. Well, you know, first of all, this Senate Bill 113, it's kind of an internet tax. They're looking at generating between 25 and 65 million dollars. In revenue and essentially what this is going to do is pay for the education bill or pay for part of the education bill that was passed earlier in the session and Which is house bill 57 now what they're looking for is an estimated 22 million
earmarked for reading improvement grants, $10 million for career and technical education programs. Both policy items were sought by the governor, but lawmakers made that contingent upon this bill, Senate Bill 113. Passing. which has some other constitutional questions. The governor has until the 17th of this month, which is coming right up here, to act. Either he can not do anything, it'll become law without his signature,
or he can sign it or he can veto it. Now, I guess when you look at bills like this, we're told that other states are doing it, which doesn't necessarily mean that it's a good idea. It doesn't mean it's a bad idea either. But we're told this is not going to affect Alaskan consumers are affected and I don't know I've been around you know the block here for a few years and Every time somebody has a tax or some sort of payment
The consumer somehow ends up paying for it. That's been my experience just in life. What's your take on this whole thing, Damien? Well, yeah, you summed it up pretty much precisely. That is what happens when you pass regulations or taxes on businesses. They have to eat those costs. I mean, they can't just eat those costs. They get shared with consumers, so consumers end up paying high prices for goods across the board.
Part of this is tied in with putting they want to put a new limit on interchange fees for credit cards. related to sales taxes that are collected by businesses and gratuity taxes, and the argument being, well, businesses are just collecting these costs on behalf of the government or behalf of tipped workers, and it's not fair that they should get assessed interchange fees on this. This is just one of those feel-good regulations that doesn't really work.
because what you're doing is just saying that the credit cards are supposed to eat the cost here, but they're not going to. They have to pay for their business. They have to pay for their employees and their services. So what they're going to do is shut these cloths around and no one's going to be any better off in the long run.
So this really isn't advancing anything. It's probably going to get revenue, but I guess the revenue is going to come out of the pockets of Alaskans as opposed to the pockets of the corporations. What I understand is that at least 36 states have already done some form of this kind of tax What's been your experience in this? I mean have you heard from these other states?
We've seen a lot of other states working on this and trying to push through similar policies. And it's the same issue. We're not seeing lower costs. We're seeing... that they end up in higher fees elsewhere. The same thing happened when the federal government imposed a similar fees back in 2010, I believe it was, and the Federal Reserve did a review of it and found that, you know, in general, merchants had to raise prices because the costs were just being shifted somewhere else.
A way to think about this, especially for folks in Alaska, is it similar to... The net of effect is similar to what happens with the Jones Act, which is a policy that was intended to help shore up the shipping industry by eliminating the types of ships that can sail between U.S. ports. And all that means is that when goods get shipped to Alaska, it's at a higher cost than you would get otherwise.
Yeah, we're familiar with the Jones Act. It's not exactly been something that's been beneficial to Alaska. And during COVID, we had a We've got a waiver and a suspension of it, and our cruise ship industry in particular has a situation where if you've got a four-in-hole ship, The ship's got to stop in Canada on its way up, and during COVID, the Canadians didn't want any of the ships stopping. So that would have just put a dent
Alaska's tourism industry and we were able to find a workaround, but this kind of stuff happens all the time. I guess the other thing that I see Damian, is that will this deter companies from doing business with Alaskans? I mean, we already have problems.
With companies saying just we're just not going to ship to you because of you know one reason or another. It's too far. It's too costly We get a lot of breakage whatever but You know we were already on the end we're at the end of the road and I'm trying to think of do we need anything else to deter People from doing business with us
Well, one argument that I've always made about the Jones Act is that you see after emergencies, like you mentioned regarding COVID or you have these hurricanes that devastate. Puerto Rico, we have a waiver put in place because that helps get... goods shipped more cheaply to those locations. If a waiver is good when there's emergencies, it's good all year round. We should get rid of these restrictions that make it more costly.
for people to do business and ship goods to Alaska and give Alaskan taxpayers a good break. That would be nice. What can we do? This thing now is going to go to the governor's desk. Our governor is not a big fan of taxes. I don't know. I've not spoken with him, so I have no idea.
Where he's coming down on this the administration has been I don't want to say silent But they have given no tips or clues as to where they might end up, but if I were to guess I would think that our governor may not be all that excited about it That could well be the case, and the best thing for Alaskan taxpayers and businesses to do is to contact the legislators, contact the governor, and let them know that this is going to be bad for businesses and bad for consumers.
Well, what about what's happening on a national basis with your organization and maybe you can tell us a little bit about what you folks do Where your emphasis is these days and I know you are You wanted to talk about this specifically and I'm delighted that you had some time today to come on because it's good to get a perspective from somebody outside the state looking in saying this may not be what you think it's going to be. And a lot of times, um, you know, we, um, eschew, um,
what we would call outside perspective. But I think in this particular case, we have no outside perspective on this. We don't know what this is going to do, really. Yeah, and as I noted, there's all these feel-good regulations that are intended on paper to help people, but when you put these things into reality when this wants to get implemented, we ended up with a lot of, um, negative consequences on the economy and on, on consumers. And, you know, other than that, um,
Thank you. Foundation focuses a lot on good government policies in terms of making sure that we have lower taxes at the federal level and lower federal spending. And of course, the biggest issue going on in D.C. this year is making sure that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 doesn't expire. If that happens, Alaskan taxpayers will face an average tax increase of about $2,400 per filer.
Probably enough to cover at least two months worth of groceries, I would imagine, in Alaska. So we want to make sure that these tax cuts stay in place. Yeah, or maybe a week's where, I don't know, things get expensive over here. But, yeah, I mean, I think this is something that we don't really get a grip on. These tax cuts are important. And they help us all. And when we start looking at taxes, we had, you know, the media has been all over this tariffs.
from Trump and you know, when you look at what he's trying to do, he's trying to equalize things and level the playing field and It's a difficult subject to try to explain tariffs to people the first thing they say as well It's going to cost us more money Yeah, maybe initially, but the goal here is to not cost you more money. I think all of this works together keeping the tax cuts.
leveling the playing field and not dipping your toe too deeply in the pool of tax increases. I think we're on the road and I hope we stay that way. We're making good progress. The House is working on its version of the tax reform.
came out today there's some good things in there there's some things that could be improved but it's going to be a a long process as the senate's going to have their version and they're going to have to come together on an agreement you know but you know one thing to remember that
When the 2017 tax cuts were enacted, they really helped spur the economy. People might not remember how much the economy was growing, and what that means is that your take-home pay was growing, your paychecks were growing, there was a lot more job opportunities. businesses were really successful and you know unfortunately that all got wiped away in 2020 with the pandemic and then we suffered inflation terrible inflation for a while so that's easing we've seen
Grocery price is coming down. Fuel prices are coming down. So we don't want to undo all that by letting these tax cuts expire. We've got to keep pressing Congress to move ahead and get it across the finish line. Damien, are you hearing anything regarding Social Security? I know the President wanted to cut that out in terms of taxes on your Social Security benefits, also tips and the kinds of things that...
The workers at the bottom end of the economic ladder, they can really use a little bit of help. They work really hard. getting taxed on tips and all kinds of other things, it's really, it doesn't help. And if you're looking to improve the lot of Americans, this is a good place to start. Right, right. We'll see what eventually comes across the finish line in terms of addressing some of those. But we did see that one big untold story of the tax cuts from 2017 is that they made the tax cut.
more progressive by shifting a greater burden onto higher income earners, which means that a lot of lower income earners were relieved of significant portions of income tax burdens because of the way that the brackets Rates were adjusted, and we can't forget how much the standard deduction, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act doubled that nearly. So that just saves a lot of time.
on paperwork burdens when you're sitting down to work on your taxes, and it also exempted a significant number of filers from income tax. These are people at the lower income earning level. I think that's all really good to do and you know when I when I look at America. We've got a real opportunity, especially here in Alaska. We've got a real opportunity to expand our economy, to get things going. Yeah, taxes are a necessary evil in terms of running government.
and doing the kinds of things we'd like to see government do. I guess that's the really interesting dance here though. It's how do we make them do only what we want them to do. And if you've got a solution to that, I'd like to hear it. Well, you know, we're herding cats of members of Congress from all across the country.
representing very diverse regions, diverse populations, all have different wants and needs. So it's a lot of work trying to get all these people together behind what Trump calls the big, beautiful bill. We have the Republicans have a rather slim majority in the House and the Senate, so it's going to take a... take a lot of Republican cooperation. They might be able to pick up a few Democrats along the way who want to see tax cuts.
across the board for Americans and it's really good for the economy. Another thing to remember too is that there's just so many small businesses that file through the individual income tax partnerships and So S-corps, so those people would be hit, and that would be terrible for the economy, so we've got to keep these tax rates low. Yeah, I would agree. Is there a website for your organization that people can go to and learn more?
The and do you take memberships? I mean how can somebody get involved with what you folks are doing? You can find us at ntu.org, and the foundation is represented there as well. We are the research arm for the National Taxpayers Union, and we do have an email sign-up on our website where... We send out a weekly update of all the things that we've been up to and all the good policy reforms that we're promoting.
I think it's a great opportunity, and I'm really glad that we had an opportunity to chat today. And hopefully in the future, if you folks see something that you think we need to be aware of, By all means, please contact us and let us know, and we'd love to have you back on. Yeah, definitely. We have a great state affairs team, and they'll keep an eye out on what's going on, and we'll get in touch with you.
All right, Damian Brady, thanks so much for taking time with us, and good luck, and hopefully we'll be looking at low taxes and a great economy. Yes, sir. Let Freedom ring. Alright, thank you. Take care. Bye-bye. All right, 424. We'll be right back. Stay with us. Call Mike and crash now!
Be a part of the show on News Radio 650 KENI. Looking at your Alaska total traffic cameras on this Tuesday afternoon. Instead of jumping around the Anchorage Bowl, Midtown Intersections, New Stewart Highway, a little bit busy and congested. If you see traffic problems on the road, down pound 250 in your cell. Say total traffic. From this record, Chevrolet, Anchorage Traffic Studios, I'm Daryl Dean. This report is sponsored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Major League Baseball has lifted the...
Well, they've listed the path so that it can open the way now for Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson to get into the Hall of Fame. Which is a little too little too late in my opinion. Rose placed on the league's permanently ineligible list in August of 1989 over gambling on baseball was reinstated by Commissioner Rob Manfred on Tuesday and was joined by Shoeless Joe Jackson. Obviously a person no longer with us.
represent a threat to the integrity of the game, Manfred wrote in a letter to the attorney Jeffrey Lenkov, who petitioned for Rose's removal of that list on January 8th. Moreover, it is hard to conceive of a penalty that has become more of a detrimental effect than one that lasts a lifetime with no reprieve. Therefore, Manfred said, having a permanent ineligible list upon a passing individual no longer seems to be reasonable. Okay, you know, Pete Rose died here, what was it, in the winter?
And Sheila show Jackson has been gone a long time. He died in 1951 and And of course he was with the famous Black Sox scandal. The thing did go to court. He was acquitted of everything. And he was a heck of a ball player for the time for sure Rose leader in hits There's no question that Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson based upon their performance on the diamond between the foul lines, deserve to be in the Hall of Fame.
Well, for me, one of the big speed bumps here is the reasoning they gave, that he can no longer hurt the integrity of the game, I'm paraphrasing. But think about this. Okay. Back in the day, back when you were growing up watching baseball, you had Mickey Mantle. We didn't have social media. We didn't have any of that stuff. If being... If the Major League Baseball, if their worry was after somebody had left the sport, that,
we're not putting you in the Hall of Fame if while you're alive there's a danger of you doing something stupid making baseball look good or look bad. Half the guys wouldn't even be in the Hall of Fame. It's the stupidest, dumbest, argument of all time. Pete Rose, he screwed up. He did something stupid. If he would have been a little bit more contrite about it, I think he probably would have gotten before he passed away. But the fact that they waited until after he died, the offense that he...
committed, and he did. He gambled on baseball. Yeah, he did gamble on baseball. And there's a rule in every clubhouse that says, that's it, man. That's the cardinal sin in baseball. You're not allowed to gamble on baseball, and he did. Um, But the fence, for lack of a better term, is still there. So the rationale that we can let him in after he's passed away, that doesn't make any sense to me because he still did what he did. I think he should have been in the Hall of Fame a few years ago.
I think that he learned his lesson and your point has been proven. I understand why they didn't put him in right away. I totally get it. He shouldn't have gone in right away. There has to be some semblance of punishment for what he did because he broke one of the major rules in baseball. That being said, it was, what, 35, 36 years ago that he retired or got caught doing this? He was a manager when he got caught, or was he a player? I can't remember.
I think he was a manager. I think he was too. So this was so long after he had been caught doing this. He should have been in a long time ago. And we talked about it often. Shoeless Joe Jackson was actually acquitted in a court of law. they proved on a shadowing Without a doubt.
He did not take any money in the Black Sox scandal. So he should have been in a long time ago. I think you put it perfectly. We were talking off the air. He said baseball trips over itself all the time. Baseball is a slave to its own tradition.
It's so worried about the good name of its game and all that kind of stuff that it suffers and it doesn't change. Now, this past couple of seasons, some of the stuff they tried, I like. Some of the stuff they didn't. But I'm glad they're finally throwing stuff against the wall to see what sticks. I love the pitch timer. I love all that. I'm not a big fan. The bigger base is good. I love being able to
I'm not a huge fan of the way that they play extra innings. I'm not a big fan of that. No, play the game the way it's supposed to be. Right, just like NHL hockey, I'm not a big fan of the shootout. I can't stand the overtime rules in college football. I don't get the fact that you stop playing the game when you go to an extra frame, but that's beside the point I digress. I think both of those guys should have been in the Hall of Fame a long time ago.
and the fact that they put him in after he passed away so they can say, oh, look, we finally put him in. If I'm his family, I'm like, this is way too little, way too late. He should have been in a long time ago. And again, I get the fact why they didn't put him in as soon as he became eligible. He did have to be punished for this because he did do this and he admitted to doing it.
But this to me is just, I don't know, I think at this point, maybe I'm wrong, but I think at this point they should have just left it alone. This is a hey look at me moment that I think is not to put too fine a point on it. It's a swing and a miss. Well, I think the interesting thing to me is here's a guy who essentially was banned for life from betting on baseball. What do we have now in baseball, football, hockey? We've got FanDuel and all of the other... DraftKings and all that stuff.
I mean, they're all basically betting sites on the game and on individual players and all of this stuff. And so now baseball is making a ton of money. with their partnerships with these companies. And that's fine. If you want to go ahead and bet on the thing, that's up to you. But now it's funny because they are still giving this guy a hard time. for something that they are doing regularly in the open and encouraging other people to do. And making money off of it. And making a lot of money.
I'm not a fan of this. I think he should have been in a long time ago. I've got a lot of buddies who are huge baseball purists who would argue until the end of time with me that that's the one thing that should keep you out of the Hall of Fame forever. But I think well before the time that he passed away, I think... I think the sentence had been served. And again, I think if you follow his career, know anything about the guy, he had a sizable ego on him.
He didn't get along with a lot of people. He didn't get along with a lot of people. And if he would have been a little bit more contrite and a little bit more self-deprecating about everything, I think it would have been forgiven a lot earlier. But, again...
If your behavior and the way you act towards certain people was a requirement or prerequisite as to whether or not you get in the Hall of Fame, half the people wouldn't be in the Hall of Fame. I mean, like Ty Cobb was one of the most despicable human beings in the world. I mean, if we knew... what Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle were doing in their off time?
I mean, we didn't have the 24-hour news cycle, but it's what they do on the field. Like Ty Cobb, think about this, Mike. Ty Cobb would have to be resurrected, returned to baseball, and go 0 for 2,530 for his batting average to fall below 300 for a career. That's an on the field. He would have to go 0 for almost 3,000. I know. The guy was a heck of a ball player. But he wasn't a good human being by all. And that.
It's kind of the same thing. And I don't know Pete Rose. I don't know the guy. I have a hard time thinking that he would have thrown a game to make a few hundred bucks. No, he was too competitive. I don't know if you remember one All-Star game. Yeah, he ran that guy over at home plate, Charlie Hustle. All he wanted to do was win. He'd throw his body all over. He wasn't the most physically gifted athlete in the world. I mean, when he ran he looked like a little fire hydrant.
Yeah, that Mary Lou Ratten haircut. I've never seen them in either one of them in the same room at the same time. So I'm led to believe they might have been the same person. But I don't see him doing that. He should have been in the Hall of Fame long before he passed away. And again, I think this is too little too late. Yeah, I would absolutely agree. All right, it is 444. Now my autograph, Pete Rose Baseball, may be worth even more money. There you go.
Because he's going to be in the Hall of Fame. By the way, he will be eligible in the year 2028. Okay, again, they make this decision and now you've got to wait another three years? Come on, that's ridiculous. That's stupid. Put the guy in. Just put him in. Alright, 4.45. We'll be right back. 3, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1.
Looking at your Alaska total traffic cameras on this Tuesday afternoon. Still steady traffic around the Anchorage Bowl, Midtown intersection, New Seward Highway starting to get busy. Stay on the drier side for inland areas. Rain will return for coastal regions. For Alaska's weather source, I'm meteorologist Aaron Morrison. News Radio. to Pablo. Hi Pablo. Hey guys, how's it going? Going well, thank you. Hey, I was just calling about the lifting of the stand on
band players. I actually, I mean, 99% of the time I agree with you guys, but on this one I kind of do agree with what they did. And the reason I say that is because Ever since the 1919 Black Sox, I like to call them. That's been the rule. Even though he bet on his own. And he bet to win. He still was betting. And he knew what the consequence would be. And I'm a huge B-runner.
I mean, I remember growing up watching him. He's the guy I used to head first lighted every time I could because of that guy, you know? But, uh, he, uh, He made that fatal mistake. Now, I do like that they are letting these guys go in now because Joe Jackson, honestly, I've never heard of that guy until Field of Dreams.
And I think it's a detriment to baseball to keep them out of... the hall of fame for that reason for fans that don't know them and don't see the whole history so pablo i got a question for you um so they let him in after he's passed away And what he did, he still did. And I agree with you. That's one of the cardinal rules of baseball. You're not allowed to bet on baseball.
So why put him in after he died and not before? And if he's going to be in, why did they wait until after he died? For me, that's the huge swing and miss. If you're that steadfast about what you did, It's unforgivable. Okay, fine. But then, okay, he passed away, so let's put him in now. That doesn't make any sense to me. Well, my thought on that is it's the punishment. I mean, he'll never see himself in the Hall of Fame.
All right. Neither will any of these other guys. Bonds and all those guys, they'll probably get in now, but they won't see it. And that's their punishment. But after they pass, They put them in and then So you don't think any of the steroid guys will get in while they're alive? No, they're all banned already, aren't they? I don't think so. Has there been an official ban? I don't think there has been. I think they were. Were they? I want to say they were, yeah. All right.
I mean, I'm not 100% on that, but... I'm pretty sure they were, and honestly, no one's going to let him in anyway. Sports writers are... It's an interesting thing to think about, though, because with the steroid thing, you're right, there's no gray area about Pete Rose. He betted on baseball. He admitted it, okay? Shoeless Joe Jackson was actually acquitted in a court of law. The judge and jury or whatever said no, he did not.
throw a game, and they still didn't let him in because of rumor and conjecture. The steroid thing is more like Joe Jackson than it is Pete Rose. Barry Bonds never tested positive for steroids. A lot of these guys never actually tested positive, so obviously he did it. We all know he did it. Your head doesn't grow to that size of your head. That wasn't natural. You know what? At what point do we have to have proof?
You know what? I still think OJ didn't do it because he got acquitted. As they say in Hawaii, touche. I was actually excited to see that Pete was getting in because I'm a big fan of his. I still am. I mean, like you said, you know, that guy, all he did was wanted to win. Yep. I mean, and he got Charlie Hustle. because he's a maniac. Yeah, he was. He was great. And he was just like that old-fashioned...
I agree. No, his uniform was always dirty after a game. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. But, yeah, and, you know, looking back, again, I'd never heard of Joe Jackson before, I feel the dream. For me, it was eight men out. Yeah, the Eight Men Out. That was the movie I saw. The one with John Cusack and some other guys. Yeah, he was in that too.
No, I think I saw the guy play. Yeah, Mike was actually in the stadium when the guy was playing, so he has probably a greater appreciation than we do. Maybe Mike can get that signed ball by Joe Jackson. Yeah, maybe. Yeah. All right, Pablo, thanks for the call. I appreciate it. Yep, take it easy, guys. All right, bye. It is 4.52. Let's go to Adam. Hi, Adam. Hey, Mike.
Yeah, go ahead. I was calling about the internet tax. Do you remember the days when things weren't available up here, and you didn't have the internet, and you had to find phone numbers for the lower 48, and if you needed to park for something, you would Call around, call around, find it. And okay, they have the part. It'll be $15 shipping. And then you give them the address. And they say, we don't ship to Alaska. And you could call 10 places.
And maybe one of them would ship, but that $15 shipping was $120 because it was Alaska. Right. And there's a lot of small businesses that are not probably going to want to deal with this tax. Oh, I would say so. I mean, it's already tough a lot of times, even today, trying to do business with some companies. They find out it's Alaska. They don't want to ship to us.
This happens this happens to me quite often and You know you have to have a friend or you know a crash for telling me about a business outside that will take the Item and then ship it to you You have to get a third party and that's crazy. I mean it's it's it's it's not helping No, it isn't so I think some things are going to be harder to get and prices will go up. Somebody pays it. Guess what, it'll be you.
Anyway, I just wanted to point that out. I appreciate that. Thanks very much, Adam. You too. All right. 454-52206. 5-0 That's the telephone number the Legislature is actually doing something with Senate bill 26 there around it's advancing now to our House of Representatives to consider keeping Alaska on one time all year. How long has this thing taken for them to get to this? It would be nice not to change the clock. There's so many reasons why. I detest this moving the clock twice a year.
You know it's not like it's not like the government you know, is the sufficient visionary body. They have trouble doing the simple things that they're supposed to do. The fact that they're fooling around with the clock is frightening. I don't know, Crash, I'm not a big fan of changing the clock. Well, for instance, you know, where your mom lives in Arizona, they just stay on one time all year.
Yes, and it's strange because my sister lives in Nevada where they switch it. Right. My mom and sister spend a lot of time together. My mom lives in Arizona. My sister lives in Nevada. So sometimes when you're driving back and forth, you lose an hour. Sometimes you don't. And I'm not sharp enough to keep track of all this stuff, so I would go down there and never know what time it is.
Yeah, well, I mean, if you go down to Hoover Dam, you drive on that road that goes across the top of the dam. You're time traveling. And the Hoover Dam is in Arizona. Yeah, you're time traveling. Yeah. It's crazy, but look at where we are. It really doesn't matter. We're so far north. What is an hour? That hour means nothing. It's stupid. It's dumb. There's no reason for it whatsoever. But given our legislature, I'm sure we'll probably screw it up. Alright, boys. back, so stay with us.
I guess I called AA because alcohol didn't work anymore. Drinking used to give me a sense of meaning in life. I called AA not knowing what to expect. Certainly not cheerfulness, but that's what I got. People had humor. They seemed to be at ease. I hung around. Now I feel much more comfortable with myself and the people around me. Alcoholics Anonymous. It works. Look us up. Check your phone book, newspaper, or AA.org. Wanna add your two cents?
The conversation never stops online. This is unbelievable. Follow us on Facebook. you think and see what your neighbors are posting. News Radio 650 KEM. on Facebook. What's the best place to reach new customers for your business? Wherever they are. And that's exactly where you can be. With iHeartMe 50 in Palmer, 51 in Shaldana. 47 in Homer McCarthy is 43 Fairbanks 49 and Trudeau is 21 You know if you want to make the outside of your home better and more secure and tougher.
But also more beautiful and let me tell you what I want you to call 907-646-2228 that's the number of ABC Singles and they can set you up with this beautiful Seamless steel siding that they will fabricate on site at your home and It will fit perfectly and it'll be absolutely gorgeous and of course steel siding resists warping and fading and cracking. It is made from heavy gauge hot dip G90 galvanized steel making it
the toughest thing you're going to be able to put on your house and it's going to give you years and years of beauty and protection for your home. It's just that simple. And while you're doing that you might want to look into the steel gutters. and the gutter helmet which only allows water to pass through those beautiful new steel gutters and of course everything matches because the colors bake right in and they do all this stuff and they're just great people to work with.
But they do so much more crash. Yeah, they do the steel siding as you mentioned. That's probably what they're most are most well known for. And if you're going to do that, look into the gutters and the gutter helmets so all the X-uniform and matches. But Things that you might not be aware of that they do. Maybe you need some work done in your doors and windows. They do energy efficient doors and windows. Maybe you've got a roofing issue. They do roofing projects as well.
It would take me far too long to go down the laundry list of products and services they can provide, so I'll leave it to you as you're screwing around on the internet. We're supposed to be doing something else. Go check out their website, abcseamlessalaska.com. Tons of pictures on the website, too, by the way, so you can see what the finished product looks like.
And you're going to be amazed if you've got a preconceived idea of what you think that steel siding is going to look like once it's hung up on the home. You're thinking, man, if that flimsy, cheap-looking, fake wood, aluminum... No, nothing could be farther from the truth.
Initially, it looks every bit as good, if not better than freshly painted wood. A couple years down the road, that freshly painted wood doesn't look so fresh, does it? And the steel siding looks every bit as good as it did the day they hung it. because of all the things Mike mentioned, the colors picked right in, so you don't have to worry about it, you know, chipping or fading or any of that jazz. It's going to last for a really long time. So if that's your big summer project,
improve the exterior of your spot. They can handle it all for you. Everything you need to know right there online at ABC Seamless, Alaska.com. That's right. Give them a call, 907-646-2228. Well, despite the fact that we're told that Alaska has no money, despite the fact that we're told that your permanent fund has to be cut severely or
reduced severely. Despite all of these facts, the Democratic majority in the House has passed House bill 78 which allows current employees In a defined contribution system to opt into the older defined benefits program This is something that the state phased out because, quite frankly, it was causing great problems in terms of how the state was going to pay for it. And the state still owes a ton of money on the first program that they cut. So you kind of wonder what's going on.
House Bill 78 was pushed by Representative Chuck Kopp. who is a Republican with a small R. He caucuses with the Democrats. And he essentially has a number of clients that are, guess what? Unions. That's right. There's nothing wrong with having a union as a client. I don't have a problem with that. But he's got Alaska AFL-CIO. That's a client. City of Fairbanks Police Department. City of Kodiak Police Department. City of Whittier. USS Ted Stevens Commissioning Committee
That's not a you know a union, but I believe he gets a salary for that. He's got that listed as a client amount of $20,000 to $50,000 a year for that. Plus, he's got his own fishery, apparently, which is fine. He wants to go out and fish. He's pretty tied in with the unions and that's fine if that's what you want to do.
But you need to essentially... let people know this and maybe he has I don't I don't recall Hearing anything like that, but I know he's really tied in And maybe because he has such great union clients, maybe he shouldn't be the guy who's pushing him Because guess who gets to be the beneficiary of all of this? His clients.
Interesting, but they don't nevertheless also I believe mr. Cop is not a big guy in terms of the PFD, yet when I'm looking at his APOC office holder filing here, he did file for it. So my question would be if you don't like it, why'd you file for it? And that question goes to all of the legislators that are saying I'm not a big fan of the PFD. Bye. So, what can you say? Crash, I don't know. You know, to me, it's like if you don't like the PFD, either don't file for it or give it away.
I would agree. Rather than pretending that you're, you know... Get a paper check and sign it over to me. Yeah, I mean, so here we have you know you know what seems to be and again you know if it's a conflict it's a conflict um but It seems to me that
He's you know got a couple a couple of things here that people need to know about and I'm not saying that he did anything illegal or Or wrong or anything like that. I'm just saying this is who this guy is So you should know that And he's one of the people saying that we don't have enough money, but yet he's pushing a pension plan that in many people's opinion... is going to be disastrous for the state, given the fact that we still owe billions of dollars from the first one that we stopped.
We've got 11.4 billion dollars in liabilities from the first one. Where's it coming from? But that's okay. So we've done that, and you've got the education bill, and you've got all this other stuff, but yet we don't have enough money to pay a statutory PFD. Somebody needs to really explain this to me. Just simply with pictures. I'd appreciate it. We'll be right back.
Call Mike and crash now. Be a part of the show on News Radio 650 KENI. Looking at your Alaska total traffic cameras on this Tuesday evening. There is now steady traffic all around the Anchorage Bowl. New Seward Highway has got a pretty good slowdown on it starting right about fire week. We can afford all the things The Democrats, and I'm going to put the Republicans that are caucusing with them in the same category as far as I'm concerned.
that they're trying to push. I mean, we have no money. They keep telling us that. Don't we hear this every single day? But yet, look at all the things they want to spend money on, which we don't have. Right. So I am confused. Are we you know am I missing something? You know, especially this permanent fun thing. You know, I would really like to know how many of our colleagues down there, Democratic colleagues. I'm going to use that with a really tiny C in quotes.
Filed for the permanent fund dividend knowing full well that they hate it. And why didn't they say something like this when they were running for office? You know, people, you know, these folks are going to run for reelection. Ask them some questions. Don't let them get away with this. And show up. And vote. And for goodness sakes, find quality people to run against them. Well, I'll tell you something that kind of makes me feel really good.
That's fish. That's right. Fish. Fishing. 2025 fishing season. And there's only one place that you need to go, and that is the Seward Fishing Club. That's right. The Seward Fishing Club offers full-day multi-species trips. Now what does that mean? Well, it means exactly what it says. Salmon, rockfish, yelloweye, lingcod, and of course, halibut. Charters run from 6 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon.
offered every day but Wednesday which is a non halibut fishing day On Wednesdays there's still plenty of fish. Still plenty of fishing opportunities with salmon. rockfish now you've got all sorts of different kinds of charters they can customize things for you and your group if you wish to do that they've got the rainy song which is the largest charter boat
In Alaska 65 feet long can hold up to 24 anglers got a heated cabin. It's beautiful. It's comfortable But that's not all because they've got a great crew and this crew will do all the work You'll be entertained. And they know where the fish are. And all you have to do is bring your happy face because you're going to catch some fish. and you're going to have fun
And they'll take it from there. Crash, is that about right? Yeah, and if you have a boat or you've got a family member or a friend who's got a boat you've got with them, you know, a lot of work involved. Fishing is just one of the many things you have to do to have a successful day out on the water. The main thing about going on with these guys is all you have to do is fish. The filet or fish will bag everything for you. And it can be a little bit intimidating going out with a bunch of people.
maybe you're on a trip again friends and family and everyone has experienced and you've never really done this before they'll also show you how to do it which is a great thing it's a pressure-free environment so you'll learn something while you're out there
And again, they'll take care of everything for you. The boat's absolutely gorgeous. Go to the website, check it out for yourself. Tons of pictures there. You know, you've got a family reunion, a big party, small party. It doesn't matter if they can accommodate anyone. A couple dozen people in the cabin there. So if you run into some bad weather out there...
You have a nice warm place to, you know, rest up, get warm, head back out, and continue to slay the fish. It's about that time to start thinking about getting out on the water, and there's no better outfit, and I mean it, no better outfit available to you than the folks at Seward Fishing Club. So go check out their website for yourself. Book a trip today.
You'll be better for it. They're the best in the business. That's SewardFishingClub.com. All right. So book online right now. You know, you've got to... smartphone or computer whatever just go to swordfishingclub.com and book your trip It's that simple. And you will be so, so happy. Because these folks really know what they're doing. And as we said, all you have to do is fish. Gee, that's tough. Isn't it? Tough, tough, tough. All right, 524 from the Alaska Beacon.
Alaska center is a vote to end daylight savings time Here in the furthest north state also the furthest West state and also the further sea state to just throw that out there. This is Senate bill 26 It's advancing now to the House of Representatives which has to consider this legislation. And Alaska would be on the same time zone if they do this as Seattle for four months of the year if a bill that passed on Monday by the Senate actually becomes law.
The Senate voted for it 18 to 2 And so we would be eliminating daylight savings time Here in the state of Alaska, and we're asking the federal government to put Alaska on Pacific Standard Time for part of the year essentially what we're doing is we're not going to move the clock and Seattle's going to move the clock Why not?
So part of the year we're on Pacific time part of the year. We're on our own time and who knows This is a bill that I think it came from Kelly Merrick of Eagle River, another small R there. So what she says is the bill would permanently exempt Alaska from daylight savings time keeping us on standard time year-round. So is that going to mean anything? Is it going to be confusing? I don't know. I'm not a big fan of switching the clock. I know you're not either Crash. I think it's dumb.
And so really that the benefit is I will only be three hours behind the East Coast part of the year and four hours the rest of the year so Why haven't we done this in the past? I don't know. Can they do this? I don't know. We still have to get permission from the federal government. Now, I know that President Trump wants to get rid of daylight savings time totally. I think he either wants to do that or make it daylight time all the time.
pick one. I think that's what he wants, and he wants to make daylight savings sign permanent, which would mean that we'd still be an hour behind Seattle. So, what can you say? Just pick a time. We're so far north. Pick a time. And let's stick to it. And then forever just leave the clock alone and don't touch it because it really makes no sense up here to fool with clocks because it's either going to be dark or light. We'll be back.
The Alaska State Senate is voting in favor of eliminating daylight saving time. A bill passing this week 18 to 2 from state senators would keep the state on the same time zone as the state of Washington from November to the beginning of March.
The remainder of the year, Alaska will be one hour behind Washington State, which still observes daylight saving time. Reminds underway for the man being charged with the fentanyl overdose death of a teenage girl found on a power line trail in Mozilla late last year.
45-year-old Sean Mobley is being charged with second-degree murder and misconduct in Mobley's controlled substance, accused of providing the fentanyl that caused the death of a 16-year-old Atlanta tennis in November, then abandoning her on the trail when she overdosed.
And the National Weather Service says they'll be issuing heat advisories for the first time in Alaska history. Southeast Alaska, when it gets into the 80s, the interior above 85. Alaska's new source saying the Weather Service now can send out heat advisories. That's the latest. I'm Jack Cronin.
Looking at your Alaska Total Tropic cameras on this Tuesday evening. Still steady and heavy traffic at the Midtown intersections. New Stewart Highway. Tropic is backing up through there between East 20th all the way back towards East 36th. From the Circuit Chevrolet Anchors Tropic Studios.
I'm Darrell Dean. This report is sponsored by Unbound.org. Right now, there are young people across the world facing a tough choice. Continue their dream of education or drop out to help their family put food on the table. You can help change their future in a single moment. See how far your support can go at Unbound.org. Got some breaking. news the last And Crash, there's a new thing for you to worry about. You ready for this? No. Okay. It's a flesh eating.
worm that hasn't been around for a long time but it's now come back a threat to American livestock. Did it just get elected to the legislature? Well, wait until you hear the name of it. Okay. The New World Screwworm. has been considered eradicated from the country since 1966. It's re-emerged as a potential danger following an outbreak in Mexico.
The news triggered a shutdown of cattle, horse and bison imports along the southern border as U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced on Sunday due to the threat of the New World screw worm. I am announcing the suspension of live cattle, horse, and bison imports through the U.S. Southern ports. of entry effective immediately. The last time this devastating pest invaded America, it took 30 years for our cattle industry to recover. This cannot happen again.
abbreviation for it the NWS is is a fly that is endemic in Cuba Haiti and the Dominican Republic and some South American countries I think it's also in Juneau um... and uh... kind of something that's the screw you worm that's what we have in the legislature So a female fly lays eggs in a wound or orifice of a live, warm-blooded animal. The eggs then hatch into larvae or maggots that burrow into flesh causing potentially deadly damage.
The screw worms are named for their maggots behavior as they burrow into flesh similar to how a screw is driven into wood. They're vile little things, let me tell you. They actually have a thread. It looks like a thread of a screw on the worm. That's really up to name. Yes, the screw worm. Not to be confused with the screw you worm. That's in Juneau. Which takes away your PFD. Right.
And then lies to you on the way in. Well, just... Okay, kids, gather around the radio. Uncle Crash has a piece of advice for you. If you're worried about the Bolivian screw worm or whatever the hell that thing's called. Bolivian screw worm. Whatever. Just make sure no matter what you do, check your orifices. Yes. All day, every day. Self-examine. And if you can't reach, get somebody to help you out.
Okay. I'm going to go home tonight and tell my wife, look, I'm not being creepy or anything, but I need you to check something out. I'm worried about the Honduran screw or... No, it's not from there. It's endemic in Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, and some South American countries. So it could be Bolivia. Which it could be, right? Yeah. I'm not checking you again. Don't ask me to do that. She'll be like, what are you doing? I'm checking you for screw worms.
It's funny until you get it. Sit back, relax, it'll be over before you know it. I gotta check you for screw worms. Come on. Somehow I knew when I saw that story pop up, literally, that you would be fascinated by it. I am. Okay. I'm glad that you are. You know what's going to happen. You know how I am. We're the world's biggest hypochondriac. By the end of the show, I'm going to be convinced I have one. Well, you know, the other thing is... I mean, one time you had me convinced I had lupus.
Well, you know, the fact that you have the, you know, rascal, the... Oh, yeah, the daredevil dragon. I wonder if they can eat screw worms. Well, she eats maggots, right? Yeah, but it's not... Yeah, because it's fly larva. That's what they are called. They're the black soldier fly larva.
So what if you get the screw worm flying and just kind of slip it in there and you don't know? Oh, I think if you slipped me a screw worm, I'd know. Well, no, but... inappropriate you're just gonna let that one go yeah I'm not gonna say anything okay but I know they'd be trying to do that to your dragon oh no Actually, what they turn into is they start out as fly larvae, and then they turn into just common small black soldier flies. It's almost like a tiny house fly.
And then she can eat those too. So I throw one of those in there and watch her destroy the terrarium trying to catch the fly. Super fun. But I don't have any experience with screw worms. I'm just saying, you know, you're getting the stuff in the mail. What is to say some fiend might not throw a screw arm in there? Well, we've got a commercial break. I'm going to see if they're readily available. I know what you're getting for Christmas. Okay. Your shipment of screw worms is on the way.
All right, 538. I was gonna go to a commercial, but maybe we should, as they say, give it a little air between us and the commercial. So why don't I do this? I'm looking at them right now. That's what they are. I'm looking at them right now. They look a lot like the fly alarm I feed to the... Do they? Yes. It's Coach Lee Amaya Homani Viroax. Yeah, it's okay. There's a sign. I've got this stuff in your house. Maybe.
I would stay away from it. Well, at the very least, keep them away from any open orifice. Right. Well, that's something. There you go. I'll make sure next time I feed Rascal that I appropriately close all of my orifices. Close your orifice. And then feed the lizard. Close your pie orifice. There you go. You know. Well, I figured it's probably going to do a transition here, a segue from the screw worm to Joe Biden. So I think we can do that.
A rapidly aging Joe Biden couldn't, and this amazes me. There's a new book, a bunch of books that are out now. I'm talking about this one book that's out. It's called Original Sin by Alex Thompson and Jake Tepper. which chronicles the attempt to cover up Biden's decline. Of course, Jake Tapper was one of those people who was covering up Biden's decline if memory serves correctly.
But Joe Biden couldn't even recognize Joe Clooney. Joe Clooney. George Clooney. Who is Joe Clooney? I don't know. George Clooney at a Democratic fundraiser in L.A. And this shook George Clooney to his core, apparently. The troubling incident, which unfolded at a June 13, 2024 star-studded fundraiser co-hosted by Clooney, was laid bare in a forthcoming book, Original Sin, by Alex Thompson and Jake Taffer.
It was obvious to many standing there that the president did not know who George Clooney was. Clooney was shaken to his core, the president hadn't recognized him, a man he had known for years. The book detailed how severely diminished Biden, then 81 years old, had hobbled into the event with an aide guiding him by the arm with the president repeatedly thanking guests as he walked by.
then President Joe Biden with Clooney and Julia Roberts and former President Barack Obama. He recognized Roberts and he recognized Obama, but he didn't recognize Clooney. Clooney said he felt a knot form in his stomach and it wasn't a screw worm as the president approached him. When Biden reached Clooney, the aide gently reminded the president of the star's name despite the pair having known each other personally for almost two decades.
You know, George, the assisting aide told the president. Yeah, yeah, yeah, the president said to one of the most recognizable men in the world, and the host of the fundraiser, by the way. So, kind of interesting that that's... He was a terrible Batman, wasn't he? He was. Now, I love the New York Post articles and headlines. On their front page, it says, Stardom donor George says Biden too far gone to stay in the race. It says he doesn't have a cluny. Thank you. I'm here all week.
So this is where it started. I think George Clooney kind of got the idea that This is not a good idea. Get him out of there. He said, it's devastating. But the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago, and this is after they had that... that it debate at the fundraiser was not the Joe big effing deal of 2010.
He wasn't even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate. Clooney, a staunch Democrat, then bluntly declared, we are not going to win in November with this president. Wow. So that's where it started because Biden didn't have a cluny in more ways than one. All right. It is 543. We'll be back. The Mike Porcaro Show with Crash on NewsRadio. K-E-N-I. Looking at your Alaska Total Traffic cameras on this Tuesday evening. A federal judge today enemies act.
immigrant members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, but that it has not given adequate prior notice to those subject to the removal before these deportations can take place, which would allow possible due process and habeas legal challenges. 43 page ruling by U.S. District Judge Stephanie Haynes, a Trump appointee, conflicts with other rulings challenging the administration's deportation efforts.
Having done its job, the court now leaves it to the political branches of the government and ultimately to the people who elect these individuals to decide whether the laws and those executing them continue to reflect their will, Haynes wrote. Trump issued an executive order on March 14th invocation of the Alien Enemies Act regarding the invasion of the United States by Trenderagua.
Tuesday's ruling was confined to Venezuelan aliens who are not naturalized or lawful permanent residents 14 years or older and have been specifically designated as part of a foreign terrorist organization, specifically Tren de Aragua. The Train of Aragua. Earlier this month another judge stated that he would not prevent the administration from deporting individuals in the United States illegally, but that the Alien Act could not be used as a basis to expel alleged gang members from the country.
The question that this lawsuit presents is whether the president can utilize a specific statute the AEA to detain and remove Venezuelan aliens who are members of TDA. U.S. District Court Fernando Rodriguez Jr., another Trumpy appointee, state it. As to the question, the historical record renders clear that the President's invocation of the AEA
through the proclamation exceeds the scope of the statute and is contrary to the plain ordinary meaning of the statute's terms, the order states. So in any event, Looks like it's a win for Trump. And I don't know, Crash, why in the world you have Democrats and others who want to keep these people here. I mean they're fighting to keep them in the country.
And then when you say to them, well they're murderers and they're just the worst of the worst. Well, it's about process. Okay, I get that. It's about process. Well then say it's about process.
instead of trying to stop from happening say look we understand and this is what we should be doing to expedite getting these people out of our country out of our country but no that's not the way they're going about it they want to see Trump somehow lose and When you have this group of people here that are the worst of the worst, not only here illegally but these are the murderers and criminals and rapists and who knows what else.
And you have a chance to get them out of your country don't you want to do that I understand the process I get it and so we should be doing this thing according to law but the way the democrats and these progressives are going about it is, you certainly get the impression that they don't want to see these people leave, do you? all right 551 make it 552 and you know crash mccarthy is located in the very center of Wrangell St. Elias National Park. It's our sister sitting.
of Kennecott, just four and a half miles away, and you can't possibly visit the area without spending time in both Kennecott and McCarthy. The towns are rich in history and surrounded by the largest protected wilderness on earth. So, you ask the question, where should you stay? And you should stay at Pete and Ma Johnson's restored boarding house.
Each room is unique and includes period pieces from the town's heyday, But updated for your comfort you don't have to sacrifice a bit of comfort and still get a fun authentic and one-of-a-kind Alaskan experience Now that's not all because there's some great food to be had And there's also some unbelievable scenery. to look at right yeah if you've got people coming up over the next couple of months
And you want to take them out and show them something that's unlike any place else on the planet Earth, the town of McCarthy. Checks all the boxes. I mean, it's Alaska in the true sense of the word. You're going to want to spend at least a few days there, which is a weird thing to think about because the town itself is, you can walk the area of the town.
of the town in a matter of minutes. But the outlying area, as Mike mentioned, is massive. And everything you could possibly imagine. Glacier hikes, flights, seeing rafting, nature walks. wildlife everywhere you're gonna want to visit both of the that saloon slash restaurants there in the town of mccarthy got the salmon and bear restaurant
Kind of fine dining with an Alaskan flair. Then you head over to the Golden Saloon and dance on the table until the sun comes up. Live music, open mic night. It really is, it captures the old style, wild, wild west feel. that Alaska is to have at one point is the most heavily populated area in the entire state. And again, it's a pretty small area, but
If you've been there, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's hard to describe. Go to the website, majohnsonshotel.com, to find out about the who, the why, the what, the where, and where you're going to want to stay.
Obviously, after a night out in the town of McCarthy, you're going to want some place to lay your drunk and weary head. And sure, you can do that thing where, you know, you're going to go sleep in the dirt as a camp or whatever. But does anybody really like camping? Or is that just something you say you like because it seems cool? I don't want to sleep on the ground in a tent.
I want to sleep at Maud Johnson's. Do you? I do. I want to sleep at Maud Johnson's. What does Pa Johnson say about Maud Johnson's? I don't know. He doesn't. You get a good night's sleep, you get up in the morning and start all over again. So everything you need to know, tons of pictures on the website. I'll let you know what's going on, not only in the town of McCarthy, but Kennecott and the hotel as well. All you need to know right there on their website, majohnsonshotel.com.
Give them a call to Buck 907-554. That number again is 907-554-4402 That's Ma Johnson's and they've got all kinds of great stuff. They've got flight seeing. You can take a look at Root Glacier. They've got rafting, backpacking, nature walks.
It's amazing and if you do like to sleep as crashes in the dirt I've got a great general store or you can pick up the provisions that one would need to do all of those things so it's a it's really quite a place and Neil is the host out there and you couldn't find somebody who is a better host Neil is the guy so Great place to go, Ma Johnson's. And they've got great flight scene, too. I mean, it's like a different world. Literally, you're going to Alaska. It's pretty special.
Alright, it is about time for us to go. And tomorrow is yet another exciting day, Crash. We'll see what kind of things the legislature will do to us tomorrow. I have every hope that they won't let us down. because every day you realize these people They give us two hours of content without even trying. and we'll be here to catch and pass it on. Alright, we will see everybody tomorrow. Great evening, everyone. Yeah, Al. Four o'clock.
I want to thank my mommy for loving me so much for taking me out to the park for reading me books for taking me to the doctor when I broke my foot in ballet rehearsal for leaving me alone when I wanted to be alone And now, as a grown up, I'm thankful for being able to take care of you. to take you to the park For reading you those books we enjoy so much. For being able to take you to your therapy. You twisted your ink. Understanding that sometimes Roles change without us noticing.
your new role. We help you help Visit aarp.org slash caregiving to get practice. and wellness tips to provide even better care for your loved one. Remember, visit aarp.org slash caregiving. AARP. We help you help. A public service announcement brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. what's out there in the universe. Do you believe in other dimensions that they might be out there? Yeah, I totally believe in other dimensions It's a reality space-time reality. You know, we've talked in the past
Post to Coast AM. I don't want to say I told you so, but I told you so. Weeknight starting at 9 on News Radio 650 KENI. Your news. News Radio 650 KENI. Hey, how's it going? It's Crash here once again for your personal injury attorney, Frank Schleyhoff. You're involved in a car accident. You don't know what to do. I'll tell you.