Palin's Earmarks: Crab Mating, Recreational Halibut Fishing

Senator John McCain recently told reporters that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has "learned that earmarks are bad."

But not that bad, apparently. According to a "summary of requests for federal appropriations" posted to her budget office's website earlier this year, Palin requested millions of federal dollars for everything from improving recreational halibut fishing to studying the mating habits of crabs and the DNA of harbor seals.

It's a position at odds with her recasting as an anti-earmarking champion, and with the tone of the biting scorn she's employed toward the budgetary practice this week.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[crabtaxman]

That is correct, Alaska does have the highest per capita federal tax funding in the US. Most lower 48 residents take the infrastructure that surrounds them for granted. The infrastructure such as roads, schools, resource management facilities/staff, phone lines, drinking water, sewer systems, drainage, even distribution of electricity are a necessity for separating the US from third world living conditions. Since Alaska has only been a state for 50 years and most other states at least a century or more, the funding that was funneled into the infrastructure of the lower 48 has been forgotten and taken for granted. If someone figured out how much has been spent per resident per state since each state came into existence, by far Alaska would be in last place.

Don't get me wrong, Alaska has had it good for the last two decades because it is much more expensive to build necessary infrastructure in Alaska and the state is finally catching up the the rest of the US. Alaska's days of leading in spending in many areas are numbered but funding will be necessary in other areas such as energy development, resource development, and fisheries research. America needs every single resource Alaska's can provide which by the way was part of the justification for the purchase from Russia.

[PhilipTaylor]

Alaska is # 1 in earmarks per capita in 2008 and is 83% higher than second place and 2,411% higher than Florida in last place.

[crabtaxman]

Palin's crab earmark for funding researching the most important life stage of the Alaskan crab stocks is absolutely necessary for sustainable management of the fisheries up here. Palin does not allow unsustainable fisheries polices in Alaska.

Just think, if politicians would have invested in understanding the marine stocks off of the east or west coasts, the stocks would be in tact and sustainably producing harvestable surpluses for human consumption. It is an environmental crime that hundreds of time in our country's past politicians vetoed funding marine resources research. Thus if you want your future progeny to have marine derived nutrition, support the efforts to understand how to maximize utilization without threatening sustainability.
The crab on Palin's desk is a symbol of world leading sustainable fisheries practices up here. I know because I work in this field.
PS - if anyone wants a crab mount like Palin's, drop me a line because I provided the crab mounts for the last four governors of Alaska and did so with pride.

[ggefen]

What's the deal with earmarks anyway? Is this what is really dragging this country down to the point where its a central campaign issue?

I'm sure both sides of the aisle can all agree that earmarks and government waste are in need of of "reform" but with two wars, unemployment at an all time high and our financial system on the brink of utter collapse do we really need to spend time debating who is better at controlling pork . . . sounds like if we keep taking our eye off the ball the earmark problem will "reform" itself because our coffers will be too bare to dole anything out. . ..

Does anyone out there have some hard data on how much we are wasting with earmarks vs. the 10bil per month war, corporate tax breaks and the Bush tax cuts? I'm trying to keep an open mind about this. ..

Sounds like another weapon of mass distraction to me. .. .

[bitterinsc]

I'd say that Big Mac really opened a Pandora's Box when he picked this crook as his running mate, but someone might think it is a sexist comment.

[filo]

And moose and seals ad crabs..Oh MY!!!


Pay no attentio to the (wo)man behind the curtain !!!

[maxfax]

There should be a study, why some Americans swallow what McBush is selling.

[Toonadude]

But.. but... it's ALASKA. They're SPECIAL up there. The lower 48 is obligated to support the losers, misfits and blowouts who live up there because they can't cut it down here.

There now ...... understand ??

[filo]

And pigs fly !!!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xbn_AXlaeY&eurl=http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/215577.php

[Skua]

Crabs, halibut and .... wait for it..... SEAL DNA!!!! ****SEAL DNA!!!!!***** Geez, Huffpost, put the Seal DNA above the fold!!!! John has been riding the anti-bear-DNA-research-crusade-horse for years now - now I want to see how he distinguishes between bears and seals!!!

"Seals live in the water. Sarah Palin knows that! They can't do their own DNA research. They don't have paws, they have flappy flippers! And if we breed an intelligent seal, it can guard the Bering Strait from Russia! This is part of her foreigh policy experience!"

[AlphaDoc]

>John has been riding the anti-bear-DNA-research-crusade-horse for years now<

The truly funny thing is, he voted for that bill.

[grata2ude]

Now tomorrow the press will be accusing Obama of sexism cause they saw him order crab cakses in Maryland.

[Vyvjala]

Jurassic John and perma-frost Palin,................they are literally the bridge to nowhere...................

[UpstateNY]

DId McCain know ANYTHING about Sarah Palin before he chose her and his campaign started making up this fake Palin to sell to the rest of the world.

You see McCain doesn't really know anything about the 'internets' and he didn't realize that the truth is more easily found than ever before - lies are more easily disseminated than ever before also.

[bryan0218]

Sarah just now arrived in Alaska, amaziing first time I have seen her speak and say something other than her stump speech. Its on CNN.

[sleek]

McCain/Palin Straight talk? More like TOTAL and ABSOLUTE BULLSH*T!

[labman57]

Palin was for earmarks before she was against them,
she was for "the bridge" before she was against it,
she was impressed by Obama's message before she was against it,
she was ambivalent about McCain's message before she for it,
she was Stevens' best bud in Alaska before she cut him loose when he became a political liability,
she was a typical self-serving GOP slimeball before she was a "reformer".

We need to tell the "candidate to nowhere" Palin, "thanks, but no thanks", in November.

[tililek]

And here I thought, erroneously as it turns out, that Alaskans were independent self-reliant thinkers who could do it all themselves. Now I find out they get more money from the Federal government (that means those of us in the other 49 states are paying) than anyone else. I do believe the word may be GREED.