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Alaska lawmaker banned by airline can't reach capital to vote

A state senator in Alaska says she cannot reach the capital of Juneau for senate votes because she was banned by Alaska Airlines for refusing to follow the federal transportation mask mandate.

Lora Reinbold, a Republican state senator representing Eagle River, a suburb of Anchorage, was notified by Alaska Airlines in April that she is indefinitely banned for flouting the federal mask mandate that requires airline passengers to wear a face covering, according to an airline spokesperson.

Reinbold made the procedural request Thursday to be excused from lawmaking business at the state capitol during a future session, the Anchorage Daily News reported from Juneau, because her only air route from Anchorage to the capital — a Delta flight that connected in Seattle — is seasonal and ends Sept. 11.

Reinbold's transit situation is as unique as the capital of the 49th state: Juneau, in a narrow fjord, largely inaccessible by road, is served by only a few airlines, and only Alaska Airlines flies year-round between Juneau and Anchorage, where Reinbold lives.

Reinbold did not immediately respond to a request for comment, shared her thoughts about her request to be excused from legislative session in a Facebook post:

"To be excused does not mean you will not be here, it means the legislative process cannot be inhibited if you are not there. Maybe its time to proceed on moving the legislature to the road system. If the only airline that has access during session, can unconstitutionally impede a legislators ability to get to the Capital in a safe and timely fashion, it could undermine our representative republic."

Alaska Airlines declined to comment on Reinbold's claim.

In April, shortly after she was banned, Reinbold traveled overland through Canada and took a ferry to reach the legislative session in Juneau, writing on Facebook that she "went to new heights to serve you & have a new appreciation for the marine ferry system."

Reinbold's Facebook page on Friday contained many posts with Covid-19 misinformation, including advice to take hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin if infected with the virus. Her page also includes strong expressions of her opposition to mask and vaccine mandates.

In a Facebook post Thursday Reinbold called the mandate "a tyrannical unconstitutional 'directive' on transportation that invaded the rights of private citizens."

Alaska Airlines said in a statement that Reinbold was notified of her ban on April 24 and that "she is not permitted to fly with us for her continued refusal to comply with employee instruction regarding the current mask policy."

The airline said that since her April ban, "a review did happen and the suspension was upheld."

Part of Reinbold's encounter with authorities at the Anchorage airport in April, just before she traveled over land and sea, was recorded and uploaded to Twitter.

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by Anonymousreply 27October 14, 2021 7:10 PM

What kind of an idiot would piss off Alaska Airlines when they live in Alaska? It would make traveling to the lower 48 less convenient.

by Anonymousreply 1September 11, 2021 12:56 PM

Why do the most unattractive people refuse to wear masks? You'd think they'd view them as a blessing.

by Anonymousreply 2September 11, 2021 12:57 PM

"I went to new heights to serve you" who all I needed to do was put a piece of cloth over my mouth and nose.

Jumping through a ton of hoops isn't impressive if the reason you have to do it is your own stupidity.

by Anonymousreply 3September 11, 2021 1:04 PM

If she cared about serving her constituents, she'd put their interests ahead of her own "principles" for however long it takes to make the plane trip with a mask on.

And so many questions:

Why not charter a private plane and charge that cost to her expense account?

Why does a state where travel is so difficult require legislators to be physically present instead of permitting them to vote remotely?

by Anonymousreply 4September 11, 2021 1:14 PM

Actions have consequences, hunty.

[quote] If the only airline that has access during session, can unconstitutionally impede a legislators ability to get to the Capital

I love how these idiots think any time they’re inconvenienced it’s “unconstitutional.” Bitch, a private business has the right to determine with whom they want to do business. And if you’re disruptive and/or don’t follow their rules, nothing says they have to take your money and provide you a service.

If a bar throws your drunk ass out for starting a fight is that unconstitutional?

by Anonymousreply 5September 11, 2021 1:17 PM

Better get a sled and some dogs, bitch. But you had to be a fool and refuse mask wearing because FREEDOM!!!

She'll probably now be on the fast track to be a 2024 GQP Presidential candidate.

by Anonymousreply 6September 11, 2021 1:23 PM

Comparing herself to a Jew in Auschwitz in 3...2...1...

by Anonymousreply 7September 11, 2021 1:23 PM

Is she related to Sarah Palin! Or does Alaska have an abundance of aggressive idiotic women?

by Anonymousreply 8September 11, 2021 1:24 PM

Hahahahaha. Herman Cain her.

by Anonymousreply 9September 11, 2021 1:25 PM

A few fun facts:

1) She was removed from the REPUBLICAN caucus in 2015 for going against the budget vote when she was a sitting House Rep and stripped of her committee assignments.

2) In Nov 2020, she first refused to wear a mask on Alaska Airlines. BUT - she also refused to wear a mask in March 2021 during Senate committee meetings and was thrown out. Alaska Airlines decided to ban her in April 2021.

3) She's a proud graduate of ....Oral Roberts University.

She's a nutjob who somehow managed to get herself elected to state Senate. She should be removed from office - period - if she cannot fulfill her duties due to her own choices.

by Anonymousreply 10September 11, 2021 1:43 PM

Probably was elected by other nut jobs.

by Anonymousreply 11September 11, 2021 1:54 PM

Maybe she can borrow Todd Palin's Snow MA-chine! That is, if he got it in the divorce settlement.

by Anonymousreply 12September 11, 2021 1:57 PM

It’s just a hop, skip, and jump from Juneau to Whittier on a 37 hour ferry ride, then a quick 3 hour train from Whittier to Anchorage. Enjoy the scenery, bitch!

by Anonymousreply 13September 11, 2021 1:57 PM

Or she could rent an apartment in Juneau, but no - she has to be a martyr.

by Anonymousreply 14September 11, 2021 2:16 PM

She can just walk to her destination. Where there's a will, there's a way.

by Anonymousreply 15September 11, 2021 2:19 PM

Everybody and their mother is a pilot in Alaska. Call one. She's a stunt queen.

by Anonymousreply 16September 11, 2021 2:21 PM

Maybe she should call Janine Turner from Northern Exposure. She did play a pilot after all. And she too is batshit crazy now.

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by Anonymousreply 17September 11, 2021 8:50 PM

In a shocking turn of events, the anti-vaxxing state senator now has covid. No worries, though, she's got the horse de-wormer.

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by Anonymousreply 18October 13, 2021 9:08 PM

God, these fucking weirdos and and their wormer

by Anonymousreply 19October 13, 2021 9:41 PM

Too bad she's not a bit older and fatter.

by Anonymousreply 20October 13, 2021 10:08 PM

R20, delta is chewing up everyone of all ages and body types. Especially the shitheads who huff vitamins and heartworm pills and then show up to the hospital with oxygen in the low 70's demanding regeneronon 2 weeks after getting sick

by Anonymousreply 21October 13, 2021 11:47 PM

[quote]her only air route from Anchorage to the capital — a Delta flight that connected in Seattle — is seasonal and ends Sept. 11.

There's another Delta waiting for her, but it's not a flight.

by Anonymousreply 22October 14, 2021 12:15 AM

One of her weapons in her COVID battle is a vibrator.

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by Anonymousreply 23October 14, 2021 3:19 PM

Good for the airline. Fuck this dumb selfish cunt.

by Anonymousreply 24October 14, 2021 4:29 PM

Ha ha!

by Anonymousreply 25October 14, 2021 5:01 PM

Incidentally, Juneau's inaccessibility by road is somewhat self-inflicted.

It's true that there's to cheap or easy way to build a road from Juneau directly to the rest of Alaska's paved road network... but CANADA has a perfectly good road ~45 miles north of Juneau that ultimately connects to another road that connects to Alaska's main road network. If the hypothetical 45 mile connector road were built, Anchorage would be approximately 900 miles and ~18-20 hours away by car... not exactly a quick drive, but not much worse than other comparable drives within Alaska itself. It wouldn't be CHEAP to build, but it wouldn't be outrageously expensive, either. Alaska is rich, and could totally afford it.

The biggest problem would be potential future border closures (a-la-Covid). That said, the problem would almost always be with the US, not Canada. Canada tends to be pragmatic and recognizes that a 2-lane crossing in the middle of nowhere isn't the same as Niagra Falls, while the US absolutely FETISHIZES "one rule for everyone, everywhere". Canadian border guards also have a lot more discretion to both interpret and waive policies than American border guards.

For an illustration of how absurd the US can be, consider what happened to Point Roberts during the Covid border closure. CANADA told Point Roberts residents that they were free to come and go... but the US closed the road border crossing entirely (remember... one rule for everyone, everywhere). So... a Point Roberts resident could drive across the border into Canada unmolested, but to get home, they had to drive all the way around and down to Washington State, spend hours getting across the border (as US citizens, they couldn't legally be denied entry... but that doesn't mean CBP had to make it easy or pleasant), then take the emergency ferry home (since it ran entirely within US waters, it didn't technically count as a border crossing). The road crossing was eventually reopened, but the fact that it was unilaterally closed AT ALL given Point Roberts' special circumstances shows how deliberately oblivious US CBP can BE to the existence of special circumstances.

by Anonymousreply 26October 14, 2021 6:31 PM

R22.

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by Anonymousreply 27October 14, 2021 7:10 PM
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