As I said before Palin is governor of a state that has less people than DuPage County IL where I live.

Yet despite Alaska's massive tax revenues from oil companies and it's tiny population it has been getting way more federal pork than any state in the nation for decades. On top of that Alaska is the only state that does not collect state sales tax or levy an individual income tax. To finance state operations, Alaska gets 89% of it's operating budget from petroleum revenues.   

The following organization is the offshoot of President Reagan's Private Sector Survey on Cost Control started in 1984, also known as the Grace Commission. Definitely not a Dem friendly group.

Citizens Against Government Waste
http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=homePage

Rank    State      Pork   Population  Pork/Capita
<blockquote>2000 1 Alaska $394,514,000   619,500   636.83
2001 1 Alaska $480,297,000   626,932   766.11
2002 1 Alaska $451,334,278   634,892   710.88
2003 1 Alaska $393,346,750   643,786   610.99   
2004 1 Alaska $524,329,000   648,818   808.13
2005 1 Alaska $645,502,000   655,435   984.85
2006 1 Alaska $325,106,000   663,661   489.87
2007          not listed
2008 1 Alaska $379,699,715    683,478  555.54</blockquote>

In her introductory speech Friday as McCain’s running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin picked up on the Ketchikan bridge that was never built as a symbol of bad federal policy.

“I championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress,” Palin said at her first campaign appearance. “In fact, I told Congress — I told Congress, ‘Thanks, but no thanks,’ on that bridge to nowhere. If our state wanted a bridge, I said we’d build it ourselves.”

On Oct. 22, 2006, the Anchorage Daily News asked Palin and the other candidates, “Would you continue state funding for the proposed Knik Arm and Gravina Island bridges?”

Her response: “Yes. I would like to see Alaska’s infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later. The window is now — while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist.”

A year later, she issued a news release as governor saying Ketchikan needed better airport access, but a $398 million bridge was not going to happen.

“Despite the work of our congressional delegation, we are about $329 million short of full funding for the bridge project and it’s clear that Congress has little interest in spending any more money on a bridge between Ketchikan and Gravina Island,” Palin said on Sept. 21, 2007.

The money was not sent back to the federal government, but spent on other projects.

That was hardly “Thanks but no thanks.”

As governor of Alaska for the past 18 months Mrs. Palin has been charged with deploying all 1850 troops in the Alaska Army Nat'l. Guard within the state in case of natural disaster. As far as I know there has been no such emergency that has called her to exercise that power.

She is not responsible for recruiting, equipping, or training them. She cannot deploy any national guard unit outside Alaska and jas no say how they are used in wartime.   

She has no control over the Nat'l. Missile Defense Shield. She can no more order it's use  than the governor of North Dakota can order a first strike on Russia with the offensive missiles deployed in his state.

If you think the Pentagon is in the habit of briefing politicians on this highly classified, faulty, as yet inoperable, though fully deployed boondoggle system you probably believe Diebold is proud of having it's voting equipment fully vetted too.

Sarah Palin made what had been in the past a small town non partisan mayoral election (less than 6700 population) into a spectacle featuring radical wingnut hot button issues like abortion. She won a "landslide victory" by about 200 votes, approximately 600/400.

She immediately fired most of the town's dept. managers claiming she didn't think they'd be loyal to her, even the ones who supported her candidacy. She pressured the town librarian to ban books Palin found "objectionable". She fired her but then rescinded the decision in all liklihood because no one else would take the job.

As mayor she hired one of Jack Abramoff's cronies to lobby Washington for earmarks for tiny Wasilla. Thanks to her, her good buddy Ted Stevens and Don Young the town recieved $27 million in federal largesse for projects such as a $600,000 youth center, another $1.9 million for a transportation hub, $900,000 for sewer repairs, and $15 million for a rail project.

She supported the Bridge to Nowhere long after it was DOA in DC. Far from being a reformer who took on the old boy network in Alaska she was one of three original directors of the "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc.," a 527 group that could raise unlimited funds from corporate donors. Stevens' glowing endorsement of  Palin wasn't scrubbed from  her website until a blogger made note of it this past weekend. 

She's so devoted to ideology - even over family - when she was term limited out of the mayor's office she refused to support her own mother in law because she is pro-choice, favoring instead another anti-abortion wingnut. For mayor of a small town for cryin out loud.

She's repeatedly lied about the innapropriate, illegal pressure she, her husband and her staff  brought against Public Safety Commissioner, Walt Monegan in the firing scandal. She's now claiming executive privilege trying to hide her emails from the special prosecutor. The lawyer she just hired with Alaska state funds is doing his best to delay, obfuscate and derail the investigation. The first goofball she appointed as Public Safety Commissioner to replace Monegan after she fired him lasted two weeks until he left in the face of sexual harassment charges.

She's said recently she doesn't know what McCain's plan is for Iraq. Doesn't even know if we have a plan for Iraq but thinks one would be nice. She also said a few weeks ago she doesn't know what the Vice President does anyway.

This woman isn't qualifed to be Vice President, especially not under a President who has had 4 cancer surgeries, and who still suffers from his war wounds and torture 40 years after being blown out of to sky and captured. His mother may be a hardy 96 years old but both his father and grandfather died of sudden heart attacks, his fahtrer at age 71 and his grandfather at age 60. John McCain with his hothead type A personality just turned 72.

No McCain, no way and Sarah Palin? She should choose life outside of Washington.

As governor of Alaska for the past 18 months Mrs. Palin has been charged with deploying all 1850 troops in the Alaska Army Nat'l. Guard within the state in case of natural disaster. As far as I know there has been no such emergency that has called her to exercise that power.

She is not responsible for recruiting, equipping, or training them. She cannot deploy any national guard unit outside Alaska and jas no say how they are used in wartime.   

She has no control over the Nat'l. Missile Defense Shield. She can no more order it's use  than the governor of North Dakota can order a first strike on Russia with the offensive missiles deployed in his state.

If you think the Pentagon is in the habit of briefing politicians on this highly classified, faulty, as yet inoperable, though fully deployed boondoggle system you probably believe Diebold is proud of having it's voting equipment fully vetted too.

Sarah Palin made what had been in the past a small town non partisan mayoral election (less than 6700 population) into a spectacle featuring radical wingnut hot button issues like abortion. She won a "landslide victory" by about 200 votes, approximately 600/400.

She immediately fired most of the town's dept. managers claiming she didn't think they'd be loyal to her, even the ones who supported her candidacy. She pressured the town librarian to ban books Palin found "objectionable". She fired her but then rescinded the decision in all liklihood because no one else would take the job.

As mayor she hired one of Jack Abramoff's cronies to lobby Washington for earmarks for tiny Wasilla. Thanks to her, her good buddy Ted Stevens and Don Young the town recieved $27 million in federal largesse for projects such as a $600,000 youth center, another $1.9 million for a transportation hub, $900,000 for sewer repairs, and $15 million for a rail project.

She supported the Bridge to Nowhere long after it was DOA in DC. Far from being a reformer who took on the old boy network in Alaska she was one of three original directors of the "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc.," a 527 group that could raise unlimited funds from corporate donors. Stevens' glowing endorsement of  Palin wasn't scrubbed from  her website until a blogger made note of it this past weekend. 

She's so devoted to ideology - even over family - when she was term limited out of the mayor's office she refused to support her own mother in law because she is pro-choice, favoring instead another anti-abortion wingnut. For mayor of a small town for cryin out loud.

She's repeatedly lied about the innapropriate, illegal pressure she, her husband and her staff  brought against Public Safety Commissioner, Walt Monegan in the firing scandal. She's now claiming executive privilege trying to hide her emails from the special prosecutor. The lawyer she just hired with Alaska state funds is doing his best to delay, obfuscate and derail the investigation. The first goofball she appointed as Public Safety Commissioner to replace Monegan after she fired him lasted two weeks until he left in the face of sexual harassment charges.

She's said recently she doesn't know what McCain's plan is for Iraq. Doesn't even know if we have a plan for Iraq but thinks one would be nice. She also said a few weeks ago she doesn't know what the Vice President does anyway.

This woman isn't qualifed to be Vice President, especially not under a President who has had 4 cancer surgeries, and who still suffers from his war wounds and torture 40 years after being blown out of to sky and captured. His mother may be a hardy 96 years old but both his father and grandfather died of sudden heart attacks, his fahtrer at age 71 and his grandfather at age 60. John McCain with his hothead type A personality just turned 72.

No McCain, no way and Sarah Palin? She should choose life outside of Washington. 

As governor of Alaska for the past 18 months Mrs. Palin has been charged with deploying all 1850 troops in the Alaska Army Nat'l. Guard within the state in case of natural disaster. As far as I know there has been no such emergency that has called her to exercise that power.

She is not responsible for recruiting, equipping, or training them. She cannot deploy any national guard unit outside Alaska and jas no say how they are used in wartime.   

She has no control over the Nat'l. Missile Defense Shield. She can no more order it's use  than the governor of North Dakota can order a first strike on Russia with the offensive missiles deployed in his state.

If you think the Pentagon is in the habit of briefing politicians on this highly classified, faulty, as yet inoperable, though fully deployed boondoggle system you probably believe Diebold is proud of having it's voting equipment fully vetted too.

Sarah Palin made what had been in the past a small town non partisan mayoral election (less than 6700 population) into a spectacle featuring radical wingnut hot button issues like abortion. She won a "landslide victory" by about 200 votes, approximately 600/400.

She immediately fired most of the town's dept. managers claiming she didn't think they'd be loyal to her, even the ones who supported her candidacy. She pressured the town librarian to ban books Palin found "objectionable". She fired her but then rescinded the decision in all liklihood because no one else would take the job.

As mayor she hired one of Jack Abramoff's cronies to lobby Washington for earmarks for tiny Wasilla. Thanks to her, her good buddy Ted Stevens and Don Young the town recieved $27 million in federal largesse for projects such as a $600,000 youth center, another $1.9 million for a transportation hub, $900,000 for sewer repairs, and $15 million for a rail project.

She supported the Bridge to Nowhere long after it was DOA in DC. Far from being a reformer who took on the old boy network in Alaska she was one of three original directors of the "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc.," a 527 group that could raise unlimited funds from corporate donors. Stevens' glowing endorsement of  Palin wasn't scrubbed from  her website until a blogger made note of it this past weekend. 

She's so devoted to ideology - even over family - when she was term limited out of the mayor's office she refused to support her own mother in law because she is pro-choice, favoring instead another anti-abortion wingnut. For mayor of a small town for cryin out loud.

She's repeatedly lied about the innapropriate, illegal pressure she, her husband and her staff  brought against Public Safety Commissioner, Walt Monegan in the firing scandal. She's now claiming executive privilege trying to hide her emails from the special prosecutor. The lawyer she just hired with Alaska state funds is doing his best to delay, obfuscate and derail the investigation. The first goofball she appointed as Public Safety Commissioner to replace Monegan after she fired him lasted two weeks until he left in the face of sexual harassment charges.

She's said recently she doesn't know what McCain's plan is for Iraq. Doesn't even know if we have a plan for Iraq but thinks one would be nice. She also said a few weeks ago she doesn't know what the Vice President does anyway.

This woman isn't qualifed to be Vice President, especially not under a President who has had 4 cancer surgeries, and who still suffers from his war wounds and torture 40 years after being blown out of to sky and captured. His mother may be a hardy 96 years old but both his father and grandfather died of sudden heart attacks, his fahtrer at age 71 and his grandfather at age 60. John McCain with his hothead type A personality just turned 72.

No McCain, no way and Sarah Palin? She should choose life outside of Washington. 

As governor of Alaska for the past 18 months Mrs. Palin has been charged with deploying all 1850 troops in the Alaska Army Nat'l. Guard within the state in case of natural disaster. As far as I know there has been no such emergency that has called her to exercise that power.

She is not responsible for recruiting, equipping, or training them. She cannot deploy any national guard unit outside Alaska and jas no say how they are used in wartime.   

She has no control over the Nat'l. Missile Defense Shield. She can no more order it's use  than the governor of North Dakota can order a first strike on Russia with the offensive missiles deployed in his state.

If you think the Pentagon is in the habit of briefing politicians on this highly classified, faulty, as yet inoperable, though fully deployed boondoggle system you probably believe Diebold is proud of having it's voting equipment fully vetted too.

Sarah Palin made what had been in the past a small town non partisan mayoral election (less than 6700 population) into a spectacle featuring radical wingnut hot button issues like abortion. She won a "landslide victory" by about 200 votes, approximately 600/400.

She immediately fired most of the town's dept. managers claiming she didn't think they'd be loyal to her, even the ones who supported her candidacy. She pressured the town librarian to ban books Palin found "objectionable". She fired her but then rescinded the decision in all liklihood because no one else would take the job.

As mayor she hired one of Jack Abramoff's cronies to lobby Washington for earmarks for tiny Wasilla. Thanks to her, her good buddy Ted Stevens and Don Young the town recieved $27 million in federal largesse for projects such as a $600,000 youth center, another $1.9 million for a transportation hub, $900,000 for sewer repairs, and $15 million for a rail project.

She supported the Bridge to Nowhere long after it was DOA in DC. Far from being a reformer who took on the old boy network in Alaska she was one of three original directors of the "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc.," a 527 group that could raise unlimited funds from corporate donors. Stevens' glowing endorsement of  Palin wasn't scrubbed from  her website until a blogger made note of it this past weekend. 

She's so devoted to ideology - even over family - when she was term limited out of the mayor's office she refused to support her own mother in law because she is pro-choice, favoring instead another anti-abortion wingnut. For mayor of a small town for cryin out loud.

She's repeatedly lied about the innapropriate, illegal pressure she, her husband and her staff  brought against Public Safety Commissioner, Walt Monegan in the firing scandal. She's now claiming executive privilege trying to hide her emails from the special prosecutor. The lawyer she just hired with Alaska state funds is doing his best to delay, obfuscate and derail the investigation. The first goofball she appointed as Public Safety Commissioner to replace Monegan after she fired him lasted two weeks until he left in the face of sexual harassment charges.

She's said recently she doesn't know what McCain's plan is for Iraq. Doesn't even know if we have a plan for Iraq but thinks one would be nice. She also said a few weeks ago she doesn't know what the Vice President does anyway.

This woman isn't qualifed to be Vice President, especially not under a President who has had 4 cancer surgeries, and who still suffers from his war wounds and torture 40 years after being blown out of to sky and captured. His mother may be a hardy 96 years old but both his father and grandfather died of sudden heart attacks, his fahtrer at age 71 and his grandfather at age 60. John McCain with his hothead type A personality just turned 72.

No McCain, no way and Sarah Palin? She should choose life outside of Washington.