On April 28th Sen. Lisa Murkowski attended a “Fed Up with the Fed” rally in Fairbanks. For those of you outside the Fairbanks area, these sort of anti-Washington, keep the government out of my Medicare, events aren’t really all that unique. What set this rally apart was that it advertised itself as equating employees of the Federal Government with members of the Nazi Gestapo, the distribution of Swastika bumper stickers and the fact that the senator saw fit to sign a T-shirt proclaiming that we live in a “Nazi Police State”.

Before you dismiss this episode as “Fairbanks just being Fairbanks” please be aware that we currently have five people awaiting trial in the Interior for conspiring to kill a federal judge and kidnap Alaska State Troopers. The so-called 241 defendants also don’t recognize either state or federal authority.

I supported the senator in the last election and up until last Wednesday I felt she has been a voice of moderation. I am at a loss to understand why she would attend a function laced with Nazi symbology. She needs to either explain why the United States of America or the State of Alaska are a “Nazi Police State,” or, she needs to apologize. I called her office seeking an explanation. I hope you will, too.

Mark Douglas

Fairbanks