Jeff Danziger for September 04, 2008

When Plinko and her pal Ted Stevens, THE BRIDGE TO NOWHERE DUO, are back in their proper places in 2009, those statistics will hopefully change.

And this is a state that’s swimming in Oil Money

Reflects the mistaken idea of the rugged American individualist doing it w/o the help of society and therefore owing nothing.

“Reflects the mistaken idea of the rugged American individualist doing it w/o the help of society and therefore owing nothing.”

Not without the help of society but without the help of government.

Alaska has a large Eskimo population with a high rate of alcohol addiction. This is the reason for the high unemployment rate. You can find the same thing in any state where the population of Native Americans in high. If you ever needed proof that hand-outs don’t work, look at the Native Americans. Our government made them dependent on the state and look what it did to them.

Go to SNOPES.COM AND LOOK AT WHAT A REAL PLAYER, Palin, CAN DO. Makes you proud to be Republican.

“Our government made them dependent on the state and look what it did to them.”

Great point! Whenever people become dependent on the government this is EXACTLY what happens. Just look to all the welfare cases out there doing the same thing.

I assume that everyone in alaskas who has a job rejects the federal money that its sSenator and Governor got for the state - right? . Palin didn’t build the Brodge to Nowhere - but she built the Approach Road to Nowhere after the bridge was cancelled. . And that “selling the jet on eBay” bit? Never happened - she listed the jet on eBay, got n bids, and then sold it through a regular aircraft broker at a $300,000 loss $2.i million for ajet that cost $2.4 million)… and less, of course, whatever the broker’s commision was. . Oh - and then there was lobbying firm that the town of Wasilla paid millions to lobby for earmarks for it while she was Mayor. . Typical Republcan - knows how to talk the talk but can’t seem to walk the walk.

Hey, bruce, glad to know that someone’s keeping the pig-ignorant GOP stereotype alive here with the racist comments. Alaska overall has an enormous alcohol and chemical dependency rate, the redneck white boys drink and snort at least as hard as the NA’s, fishermen and oilfield workers are a significant source of obnoxious and obligate drunks in the state. A fair number of guys ended up out there in the wilderness because all the other states kept throwing them in jail for DUI’s, etc, and a lot of those big paychecks go right back into the bars and meth dealers. I still have friends up there and my grandparents homesteaded near Anchorage. And FYI, the government stole everything that made it possible for NA’s to be self-sufficient and keeps stealing out of the Trust with no consequences for any of the thefts, don’t tell me you wouldn’t stay drunk or kill yourself up against that, too.

Excellent!!!

Excellent!!!

FWGirl, Yikes. You got me. I’m a racist when it comes to NAs. Please don’t tell my wife because she is a card carrying Cherokee. All my kids and grandkids also have tribal cards. They would kill me if they found out. My point was that government handouts are the cause of this sort of problem, regardless of race. You can’t argue with the data. It is a fact. When any group adopts the “victim status” they will be hurt because the only real way to succeed is through doing it yourself. We see this over and over again. Yes, the government should help the truly needy, but a whole class of people should not be singled out for help. The government has help ruin the lives of every race/ethnic group they have “helped”. Looks at the groups who have succeeded because the dems didn’t name them victims. Cubans and Orientals are good examples. By the way, getting 88% of the original price for a used airplane seems like a good deal to me. And the plane did sell on eBay. They deal fell through and they ended up selling it elsewhere. Be careful about accusing her of taking earmarks and shady deals. Obama is a master at that game. Most of his benefactors are in jail, or should be. One last question for you Obamaites. If Palin is such a loser, why are you so afraid of her? Do you think the American people are too dumb to see it if you don’t point it out? Or is it because she has more experience than Obama? Obama should be in a Holiday Inn Express ad. “I have no experience, but I stayed in an HIE last night”.

gbrucewilson– I’m not afraid of Palin, I’m angry about her. I’m angry that this is McCain’s idea of appealing to HIllary fans: “hey, she’s a gal, right?” Not to mention that after years of abusing Hillary Clinton for no better reason than her gender, when someone brings up the hypocrisy and terrible track record of Palin they’re suddenly saying “oh, hey, leave her alone, you sexists!” Right. Talk about your double standards! Frankly, it’s an insulting choice – to women, to men, to Americans who believe the VP should be something more than this. And much of the media and the Republican noise machine is lining up to support the specious argument that, for example, she has international experience because Alaska is near Russia (what about Canada, eh?) and her plane refueled once in Ireland (no foolin’). Can we get real for just a moment here?

MM, OK, I’ll change the question just for you. If Palin is such a loser, why are you angry? Or, were you planning to vote for McCain until he named her. I doubt it. What about your pick? A white man or woman with his back ground would never have been considered. You need to get real. Hillary supporters complained about sexist treatment and Obama’s supports are trying to set it up where any negative comment about him is racist. I think it is wonderful that a person with a small amount of black blood is a candidate. I just wish it was someone with a tiny bit of experience and judgment. Like Colen Powell ro J. C. Watts. I could support them.

gbrucewilson– I’m angry because for a while (back around 2004) I did like McCain, because I thought he was one of the few Republicans with enough backbone to battle Bush, and as a result I feel betrayed by his behavior the last few years. While I didn’t plan to vote for him then, I considered him far preferable to Bush, and at that time would have been happy had he defeated Bush, because then I did consider him a good choice. I don’t anymore. I don’t like being insulted, regardless of whether I think they will lose or not. I am, in fact, rather gleeful over this clear demonstration of McCain’s poor decision-making skills (regardless of her experience, his approach was ludicrous). And if you look at how Hillary was treated by the press, especially the TV pundits, there was astonishing levels of sexism. It’s very simple: reverse the gender and ask yourself “would they talk about a man that way?” As in how old they look, for example? With the exception of the Daily Show, they hardly even comment on McCain’s age anymore. Furthermore, there are any number of Republican women better qualified than Palin, and had McCain picked one of them (or even Leiberman, who was one of his first choices), I might have at least respected that as a sign of his independence of judgment. Nevertheless, I agree with you on your last point. I would have been very happy to see Colin Powell run. I have a lot of respect for him, and unlike McCain he has senior military experience and solid good sense. I’d definitely vote for Powell, and he might have run had he not been so badly used and burned by the Bush administration.

gbruce, I jumped mostly because you singled out that group when the substance/alcohol issue, at least in Alaska, is across the board. Also the policies, ( Dawes, etc), that made many of the tribes dependent on handouts were strikingly similar to the lies and dishonest snatch-and-grab tactics that we see so regularly in the neo-con right wing arena, i.e. the S&L failure (now echoed by Fannie and Freddie), Enron, the Enron law(supported by McCain) that made the California blackouts and the current oil price spike possible. 88% may be a decent deal, depending on the hours, condition and maintenance. but what she stated was misleading, as were many of the things she said, that show up as at least questionable under scrutiny,(to be fair, HRC’s claim of being ‘under fire’ in Bosnia was at least as egregious). The reason we’re all so vocal at the moment isn’t just anger, it’s shock, and outrage at the insult to our collective intellegence. First the R’s go harping on ‘experience’ for a year or so, and then the total about face, on a dime, is a painfully obvious pander and I think a sign of political panic. Palin has no significant experience, definitely none at the national level, has already shown, in her ‘executive experience’ that she is perfectly willing to abuse power in much the same way that the Bushies have and would be a heartbeat away from PODUS behind an aged cancer survivor who’s showing his senior moments more frequently. It’s not anger, it’s outrage and righteous indignation. I’m absolutely with you on Powell and I would have voted for Ann Richards in a heartbeat, we lost her way too soon. Powell’s family requested he not run and I understand their reasoning; he was effective, honest and knew where an awful lot of bodies were buried. He would have been a major threat to many vested interests and assassination was a significant risk. We should look at any candidate thoroughly, and the R’s keeping Palin under wraps until, ‘proper deference’ is shown is another insultingly obvious tactic to keep her from sticking her foot in anything they can’t spin, much like Quayle was ‘handled’ when he showed his talents for same.