Palin’s tenure in Alaska filled with pet projects.
Palin’s tenure in Alaska filled with pet projects.
Politico reports on Gov. Sarah Palin’s prolific spending while governor of Alaska. “She supports spending taxpayer cash on initiatives that tickle her fancy,” Ken Vogel notes. “During her tenures as both mayor and governor, operating budgets ballooned by 55 percent in Wasilla and 25 percent in Alaska.” Some examples of Palin’s pet projects:
– $25,000 for the Juneau Christian Center, after Palin started worshipping there.
– $2 million for an academic conference meant to dispel the idea that climate change is threatening polar bears.
– $630,000 for a kitchen in a hockey arena complex the self-described hockey mom built during her second term as Wasilla’s mayor.
– At least $10,000 to help fund the snowmobile race Todd Palin has won several times.
Ultimately, Palin took Wasilla’s long-term debt from $1 million when she entered office to $25 million when she left.” “Anything she proposed is a good earmark,” said Bob Weinstein, mayor of Ketchikan, Alaska.
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Spend, spend, spend, lie, lie, lie…
Palin is a good Republican.
October 10th, 2008 at 11:21 pmhey zooey, up late it seems :}
October 10th, 2008 at 11:32 pm$2 million for an academic conference meant to dispel the idea that climate change is threatening polar bears.
So ummm, she admits that there is climate change, but its no threat to bears?
October 10th, 2008 at 11:35 pmIt’s another example of IOKIYAR…the concept the Republicans base their principles on which is getting old…
October 10th, 2008 at 11:37 pmSarah Palin is McCain’s “turducken”
A chicken inside of a duck inside of a turkey. Several layers, all fowl. Stick a fork in her, she’s done.
PEACE
October 10th, 2008 at 11:38 pmShe is a river to her people–but not those beyond the Pale inn.
October 10th, 2008 at 11:42 pmGood thing Flailin isn’t Jewish; she has eaten more pork than half the people in the BBQ joints in S. Carolina.
Guess when you have served at the feet of Teddy “Bridge to nowhere” Stevens and Don “Never met a bribe I didn’t like” Young, a lot of their actions have to rub off.
October 10th, 2008 at 11:50 pm5th Estate Says:
hey zooey, up late it seems :}
October 10th, 2008 at 11:32 pm
It’s only 9 p.m. Zoo time. ;)
October 11th, 2008 at 12:03 amspencers mom Says:
Sarah Palin is McCain’s “turducken”
A chicken inside of a duck inside of a turkey. Several layers, all fowl. Stick a fork in her, she’s done.
PEACE
October 10th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
OMG, that’s the best laugh I’ve had all day. You rule, Mom!
October 11th, 2008 at 12:04 am“$2 million for an academic conference meant to dispel the idea that climate change is threatening polar bears.”
Associating the word “academic” with Sarah Barracuda is an oxymoron. But I sort of wonder which Exxon-paid “scientists” she got to participate in the said “academic conference.”
October 11th, 2008 at 12:05 amEverything including the kitchen sink, it seems.
October 11th, 2008 at 12:09 amThanks Zooey! Good times today, good times…
PEACE
October 11th, 2008 at 12:11 am$2 million for an academic conference meant to dispel the idea that climate change is threatening polar bears.
I’ve been to over fifty academic conferences, all scientific. I’ve never attended a conference which had a predetermined conclusion like this built into it. I’ve never heard of such a thing. A bona fide conference would be posed as “effects of climate change on polar bears”, or something else neutral like that. This thing sounds more like a circle jerk for Cato and Heritage propagandists.
October 11th, 2008 at 12:16 amShe’s a lunatic. A very dangerous lunatic.
October 11th, 2008 at 12:17 amLoraS… I just looked it up and that $2million was spent not for an “academic conference” conducted in the interests of intellectual discourse, but to oppose the Interior Dept and the USGS (the Federal Government) in its efforts to classify the Polar bear as endangered.
In other words she took $2 million in federal money to fight a proposed federal ‘program’.
October 11th, 2008 at 12:17 amholy cow… the WSJ jerk on maher tonight, steve moore?, needs to be b!tch slapped into some proper sense… hard to watch his act tonight, all things considered… stoopid hack…
just sayin’.
all kinds of ignorant out of his mouth tonight.
carry on… g’nite.
October 11th, 2008 at 12:19 amIt’s only 9 p.m. Zoo time. ;)
OH, that’s where you are! I bet you can see North Korea if you stand on your tippy-toes. :)
October 11th, 2008 at 12:20 amif this were a lie,
Tim Vaculik
would be here
to defend her.
^
but he’s not
so it must be true.
^
October 11th, 2008 at 12:38 am5th Estate Says:
It’s only 9 p.m. Zoo time. ;)
OH, that’s where you are! I bet you can see North Korea if you stand on your tippy-toes. :)
October 11th, 2008 at 12:20 am
Yes, I’m on the lookout for Kim Jong Il to rear his head. I think that qualifies me for an ambassadorship — at the very least. ;)
October 11th, 2008 at 12:49 amMcCain-Palin are LIARS, HYPOCRITES and FRAUDS.
McCain-Palin: UNFIT TO LEAD
McCain-Palin are LIARS, HYPOCRITES and FRAUDS.
McCain-Palin: UNFIT TO LEAD
McCain-Palin are LIARS, HYPOCRITES and FRAUDS.
McCain-Palin: UNFIT TO LEAD
October 11th, 2008 at 12:59 amplain is a porkbelly with lipstick.
todd is a lazy, meddeling, bum.
Troopergate has tucked her away.
October 11th, 2008 at 2:09 amNow I see why she is runnin’ so hard to steal an election for mcinsane/puppet ticket – she would just love to get her greedy mitts on the NEXT trillion-dollar taxpayer handout.
October 11th, 2008 at 3:18 amThanks, 5th Estate, I was planning to look this up later, but you have now saved me the time and effort.
Anyway, we all know by now that Sarah Barracuda is now loath to take federal money for her own pet projects but that she does loathe wildlife.
5th Estate Says:
LoraS… I just looked it up and that $2million was spent not for an “academic conference” conducted in the interests of intellectual discourse, but to oppose the Interior Dept and the USGS (the Federal Government) in its efforts to classify the Polar bear as endangered.
In other words she took $2 million in federal money to fight a proposed federal ‘program’.
October 11th, 2008 at 3:43 amI read that she spent over a mil redecorating one of her offices and it was heinous—it looked to one commentator “like a bordello.”
Oh and she spent a bundle for a tanning bed in the Governor’s quarters.
While charging rape victims in Wasilla for their rape kits.
This is supposed to be breaking the glass ceiling? Sister—that’s not what you’re up to.
October 11th, 2008 at 3:43 amCan she give taxpayers’ money to her church?
October 11th, 2008 at 4:02 amAbused power and violated public trust–the keystone GOP values.
October 11th, 2008 at 6:59 amPalin’s real lasting contribution to conservative, GOP politics will be making pregnant, unwed teenage girls a Republican value.
October 11th, 2008 at 8:09 amOne has to wonder if Palin’s people actually explained to her that SNL and America are laughing AT HER and not with her. She is the American idiot and a laughingstock.
October 11th, 2008 at 9:35 amAbove the Clouds Says:
One has to wonder if Palin’s people actually explained to her that SNL and America are laughing AT HER and not with her. She is the American idiot and a laughingstock.
No honey, I doubt it, they are probably the same ones that think Colbert is a real Republican. :)
October 11th, 2008 at 9:44 amRaisin McCain’s house of cards isn’t falling, it’s burning. Wheee!!
You just knew it was going to be that way, that’s why they had wanted to put it off until after the election. Vetted my tush! Hee hee :)
October 11th, 2008 at 9:50 amClusterTim Says:
flagged for repeated spamming
October 11th, 2008 at 9:57 amMcCain’s campaign is sunk–the whole world will be watching Palin in PA today not to hear her speak about McCain’s plans for America, but to see if they continue their campaign of hate.
October 11th, 2008 at 10:01 amAfter they lose the election, Sarah plans to invite her many followers up to Alaska where she will personally greet them all with a nice glass of Kool Aid.
WilyTrax.com
October 11th, 2008 at 10:10 amDr. Hussein Matt Says:
George herr dubyah Booooosh is to blame for this housing and economic mess. He even accepts responsibility.
http://www.ronpaul.com/ 2008-09-26/ gw-bush-on-the-housing-boom-oct-2002/
[…]
i have been searching, with no luck, for the transcript to the parts of a speech i hear on randi rhodes’ show. she plays it almost daily, but has not linked to it on her site. she says it’s from 02… your’s is close. i made notes – these are the important parts i’ve been using to search:
i know he says that he has “directed” fannie and freddie to increase loans…
even to people with “bad credit history”…
he states that these first time buyers don’t have to settle for a “lousy home”
that it can be “just as nice a house as anybody else”…
the closest i could get, at whitehouse.gov, is this speech, but it doesn’t mention the “directed” statement, and the other parts are a bit different (he doesn’t mention Kirbyjon Caldwell in what i’ve heard, as in the linked one):
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021015-7.html
maybe someone with better search skills can come up with it…
October 11th, 2008 at 10:57 ami’m beginning to wonder if it hasn’t been scrubbed – because, as your comment proves, bush himself did this.
What’s the difference between Sarah Palin and an Islamic terrorist?
Beats me…
October 11th, 2008 at 11:00 am$25,000 for the Juneau Christian Center, after Palin started worshipping there.
What does a church need with a lump sum of $25,000 exactly?
Aren’t churches supposed to be humble and some what impoversished to show that their faith is strong and true in the face of difficulty?
Time to start cutting their tax exempt status. Let them go political. It’s precisely why people in Europe have walked away from religion and are largely secular. Let’s let the same thing happen here. Please. Enough of the damn theocrats already!
October 11th, 2008 at 11:05 amOT: Someone needs to talk me down about this.
OK. Homeowners are defaulting on their homes and going into foreclosure. Most are because they took out one of the “creative” loans lending institutions were pushing for a long time. Most of these loans had a clause that after 3 years or so the rate on the loan went up. McCain’s solution to this is all about refinancing the loan based on the reduced value of the home. I don’t know why that makes a difference.
If I have a $200,000 loan on my home and it’s now worth $150,000 it won’t affect me unless I try to sell my home. I’m paying a mortgage based on a $200,000 loan. So, lets take that $200,000 and see why so many homeowners can’t make their payments. If I got my loan at a teaser rate of 4.5%, my mortgage payment was $1013. Now if my bank raised my rate to 8% my payment will now be $1467, an increase of $454, and if my bank raised my rate to 10% my payment is now $742 higher. As you can see, for many lower income buyers that is an increase that will be impossible for them to make. Now, if my bank renegotiated my rate to the current average rate of 6% my payment would be $1199, less than $200 more a month than the old rate. Most people could probably handle that. So my questions are:
1) Why don’t we pass a law saying that the lending institution can’t raise their rate higher than the current going rate on a mortgage. The lending institution will make less profit off the loan, but at least they won’t be holding bad paper
2) How fair is it to homeowners who have a mortgage of $200,000, and are not defaulting on their payments, that the person who is defaulting gets a loan based on the current reduced value of the home? That would really piss me off.
So, what am I missing here?
October 11th, 2008 at 11:12 amYou are forgetting that Republicans and even some conservative Democrats have an aversion to giving welfare to anyone that can’t afford it.
Some people just don’t make enough money to qualify for welfare, like oil companies and rich CEOs do.
October 11th, 2008 at 11:18 amIt appears Palin’s favorite pet in Alaska was pig, pork that is.
October 11th, 2008 at 11:19 amsatirev @ 43
that is a great link to truthfightsback. Thanks for sharing that.
October 11th, 2008 at 11:25 amYeah, two million for an “academic” conference with a foregone conclusion, that’s much better spent than that $3 million “overhead projector” Obama wants.
Well, the “overhead projector” is actually a planetarium projector for Adler in Chicago that millions of kids would use, but who cares about getting kids excited about learning? We need to propagandize to unprotect those evil polar bears!
October 11th, 2008 at 11:38 amBilbo Hussein Baggins Says: So, what am I missing here?
For months I’ve been saying that they should just put the interest rate back to where they were when people were paying their mortgges and the banks were making a profit.
It costs we the tax payers $225,000 for every foreclosure.
Put everyone’s mortage at 4 or 5% across the board. People will, therefore, keep their houses, it will create a ‘flat and fair tax’ that the cons are crying for, the banks will make a profit, and then the consummers with the extra few bucks will give an actual economic stimulus to the country by spending it.
Win-win-win across the board. And it doesn’t take a Harvard MBA to figure it out…
October 11th, 2008 at 11:38 amHeadlines on the web news stations:
ABC: Palin on troopergate: nothing unethical. The article stresses that the firing was within her rights as governor, doesn’t mention that what she did was “unlawful” other than quoting Palin as saying what she did was NOT “unlawful”
CBS: Palin abused power ethics report concludes. Goes on to say that Palin “unlawfully” abused her powers.
NBC: Ethics investigation finds Palin abused power. First sentence says Palin “unlawfully” abused her powers.
FOX: Probe, Palin abused her power. Starts with the fact that the report found that her firing of Monegan was legal. Mainly stresses what the Republicans are saying.
CNN: Palin denies state report she abused power. Content mainly stresses what Palin and the Republicans say about the report.
I don’t know what the TV stations had to say about it in their news because I don’t watch the news. But the web reporting sure shows who is in the tank for the Republicans!
October 11th, 2008 at 11:38 amBilbo:
2) How fair is it to homeowners who have a mortgage of $200,000, and are not defaulting on their payments, that the person who is defaulting gets a loan based on the current reduced value of the home? That would really piss me off.
You have described me to a “t.”
My wife passed last year, and I’ve been making the payments myself for the past twelve months, by working brain-numbing amounts of overtime. We originally got an adjustable rate, but realized it was a time bomb, and got into a bit higher, fixed rate loan.
If it weren’t for the OT, I’d be in foreclosure, though.
October 11th, 2008 at 11:41 amI’m sure we can count on McCain to mock these goofy earmarks at his next appearance.
October 11th, 2008 at 11:58 amKay
http://www.hud.gov/news/speeches/presremarks.cfm
October 11th, 2008 at 12:15 pmIs this the one?
The other day, Sarah Palin was caught telling the truth.
John McCain and Sarah “my god can beat up your god” Palin represent more of the same mindless Bush bullshit, light on brains, heavy on bombs.
“Democracy means that anyone can grow up to be president, and anyone who doesn’t grow up can be vice president.”
Johnny Carson
http://blogoffanddie.wordpress.com
October 11th, 2008 at 12:16 pmthe mark of ‘the beast’ is just a bad haircut
aw, thanks for trying, lurker… i was hopeful…
that speech is included in this archive:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/homeownership/archive.html
you can see though, that 02 was a big year for pushing “home ownership”…
i swear i heard him say, on randi’s clip, something like “i have directed [fannie and freddie to make it easier)…” … directed, being the key word.
i could very well be mistaken…
October 11th, 2008 at 3:54 pmI could almost give her a pass on the conference (admittedly, I haven’t perused the list of speakers or topics).
BUT MONEY FOR HER CHURCH JUST SMELLS DIRTY.
October 11th, 2008 at 4:45 pmOh, and I should add, Palin seems to claim image of the good fundie, but I seem to remember a lot of emphasis being placed on tithing, with a minimum of 10%.
Her released records showed an income of $ 166,000 and all charitable contributions totalled less than 5%.
October 11th, 2008 at 4:46 pmHey, Bilbo Hussein Baggins—maybe you’re forgetting that you lost your job and have a lot of medical bills.
Haven’t seen this mentioned yet, though. During the Reagan years (if I remember correctly) a lot of people lost their houses because of “balloon” payments. The interest rates were kept low for a few years, and then they ballooned. A lot of people had assumed that their financial situation would get stronger over time.
The myth of economic “progress” as a natural trait of capitalism is dying a hard death.
October 11th, 2008 at 4:49 pmTwo women from Alaska have this to say about Palin…
October 11th, 2008 at 5:04 pm