If it had been widely reported that 14.000 people lived in Ketchikan the "bridge to nowhere" tag would been shown to be the obvious fiction that it is.
MY TURN
The View From ‘Nowhere’
Our town in Alaska sorely needed a bridge to its airport. Instead, we became a national punch line.
Published Oct 24, 2008
From the magazine issue dated Nov 3, 2008
Member Comments
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Posted By: Riverskater @ 01/08/2009 11:02:39 AM
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Posted By: Concerned Canadian @ 11/03/2008 5:08:41 PM
Obama said he denounced and left the radical Trinity United Church but it???s not true!!
Obama has Trinity United pastor Rev Ottis Moss accompanying him on his campaign!!-
Posted By: thechef1955 @ 11/05/2008 1:37:05 AM
So Wat?
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Posted By: Concerned Canadian @ 11/03/2008 4:27:05 PM
More and more disturbing stuff on Obama's past and his real intentions are just starting to surface.
As I predicted over a year ago .... Obama is a big fraud and America is being duped !! -
Posted By: roadee @ 11/03/2008 2:59:44 PM
Evidently ( if it was really agreed the bridge would be built ) our government does not always do what it says. On the other side of the coin earmarks should be outlawed, anything worht it's salt should be able to stand on its own not piggy back on something that actually benefits our country as a whole. Wake up America it is not just what benefits you, your community or your state, but rather should be what is in the best interest of the United States of America.
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Posted By: Krohn @ 11/02/2008 11:15:06 PM
The Wall Street crisis was planned the night of Obama's meeting at Bill Ayres home to put Obama in The White House. Together they put a beautiful plan into place.
This Strategy was first elucidated in the 1966 issue of 'The Nation' Magazine by a pair of radical Socialist Columbia University professors, Richard Andrew Cloward and Frances Fox Piven.
David Horowitz summarizes it as:
"The strategy of forcing political change through an orchestrated crisis. The "Cloward-Piven Strategy" seeks to hasten the fall of Capitalism by overloading the Government bureaucracy with a flood of impossible demands, thus pushing society into crisis and economic collapse.
unquote
Obama begin with ACORN by funneling millions into their organization. He then trained ACORN to stage protests in banks to force them to issue risky loans or they would be threatened to face racial charges. ACORN was trained to intimidate financial institutions into giving ???Ninja??? loans to people with NO assets, NO job and NO income, who couldn???t afford these loans.
That caused the housing bubble two years ago it was by ACORN's actions they were able to destroy our credit system.
As this played out, D-Barney Frank and D-Chris Dodd were able to cover up the millions of improvident loans to these bad risky house buyers. And Barney Frank and his chums successfully were able to block all of President Bush's attempts to put a rein on this problem.
So Fannie & Freddie was forced to purchase all these failed subprime mortgages.
Then both Frank and Dodd denied that there were any problems, and refused the Bush Admin. requests to set up a regulatory agency to watch over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and they were still pushing for these agencies to go even further in promoting sub-prime mortgage loans almost up to the 'minute they failed'.
Democrats then blamed Bush saying it happened on his watch knowing it would hurt the Republican Party in the election setting it up that Barack Obama could use this to his advantage.
Karl Marx once compared a Revolutionary struggle with the work of the mole, who sometimes burrows so far beneath the ground that he leaves no trace of his movement on the surface.
Barack Obama is that Marxist mole ! -
Posted By: Concerned Canadian @ 11/02/2008 10:50:43 PM
BREAKING NEWS ALERT....
Obama taped conversation with San Francisco Chronicle states his policies ???will bankrupt coal mining operations that produce gas emissions in states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia and North Carolina
which it will cause energy prices to skyrocket....." .....more info nobody knew until now about what Obama wants to do!!-
Posted By: ShanaCat @ 11/03/2008 1:53:25 PM
What a loser you are. You think you come up with a clever little statement so you post it all over Newsweek, including this article which has NOTHING to do with anything you just posted. My bet is you didn't even read the above article. You are just so infatuated with your own words you just want to post the same thing over and over again wherever anyone can read it to stroke your own ego. Guess what, you present no new ideas, very few facts, and your argument is poorly written. You're not impressing anyone, you're just clogging up the boards with off topic remarks.
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Posted By: Concerned Canadian @ 11/02/2008 5:52:23 PM
Obama's Links To Radicals Starting To Surface!! www.newsmax.com/timmer
Obama-Farrakhan Ties Are Close, Ex-Farrakhan Aide Says
A former top deputy to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan tells Newsmax that Barack Obama???s ties to the black nationalist movement in Chicago run deep, and that for many years the two men have had ???an open line between them??? to discuss policy and strategy, either directly or through intermediaries.
???Remember that for years, if you were a politician in Chicago, you had to have some type of relationship with Louis Farrakhan. You had to. If you didn???t, you would be ostracized out of black Chicago,??? said Dr. Vibert White Jr., who spent most of his adult life as a member and ultimately top officer of the Nation of Islam.
White broke with the group in 1995 and is now a professor of African-American history at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.
White said Obama was ???part of the Chicago scene??? where Farrakhan, Jesse Jackson, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. and radicals would go to each other???s events and support each other???s causes.
???Even though Chicago is the third-largest city in the country, within the black community, the political and militant nationalist community is very small. So it wouldn???t be uncommon for [Obama and Farrakhan] to show up at events together, or at least be there and communicate with each other,??? White told Newsmax.
The Anti-Defamation League has denounced Farrakhan and his Nation of Islam as a ???hate group.???
Farrakhan has called Jews ???bloodsuckers,??? ???satanic??? and accused them of running the slave trade. He has labeled gays as ???degenerates.??? In a 2006 speech, the ADL again condemned Farrakhan when he said: ???These false Jews promote the filth of Hollywood that is seeding the American people and the people of the world and bringing you down in moral strength. ??? It's the wicked Jews the false Jews that are promoting lesbianism, homosexuality. It's wicked Jews, false Jews that make it a crime for you to preach the word of God, then they call you homophobic!" -
Posted By: Concerned Canadian @ 11/02/2008 5:20:16 AM
Number of unrepentant terrorist friends with anti-American views for Obama = 57
Number of unrepentant terrorist friends with anti-American views for McCain = 0
The choice is obvious...vote for the patriot and war hero...JOHN MCCAIN!!-
Posted By: ShanaCat @ 11/03/2008 1:59:54 PM
What a loser you are. You think you come up with a clever little statement so you post it all over Newsweek, including this article which has NOTHING to do with anything you just posted. My bet is you didn't even read the above article. You are just so infatuated with your own words you just want to post the same thing over and over again wherever anyone can read it to stroke your own ego. Guess what, you present no new ideas, very few facts, and your argument is poorly written. You're not impressing anyone, you're just clogging up the boards with off topic remarks.
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Posted By: Concerned Canadian @ 11/02/2008 5:19:54 AM
Number of unrepentant terrorist friends with anti-American views for Obama = 57
Number of unrepentant terrorist friends with anti-American views for McCain = 0
The choice is obvious...vote for the patriot and war hero...JOHN MCCAIN!! -
Posted By: hardyp3 @ 11/01/2008 11:25:28 PM
Hurrah to Dave Kiffer for defending Ketchikan's (in)famous bridge. When I first heard the news about the 'bridge to nowhere' awhile back (pre-Palin), I smelled a rat. I wondered, as Paul Harvey would say, what was the rest of the story, and got digging. It didn't take long to find out that 'nowhere' was the airport and then I wondered who stood to win (developers) and who stood to lose from this deal (the ferry owners). At any rate it clearly wasn't a 'bridge to nowhere and once again the country was being led down a rosy path by the media with a very misleading story.
Time passes and enters Sarah Palin. If I needed a good reason not to vote for her I wouldn't have to look past her comments on the bridge. If I could find out in a few minutes of research that the story about the 'bridge to nowhere' was so much hot air and that the bridge was easily justified, why was the governor of the state bad-mouthing it? Sounds like a wishy-washy opportunist to me. -
Posted By: michaelstark @ 11/01/2008 9:42:12 PM
Dear Dave:
Enjoyed your article on the so called Bridge to No Where. It kind of brought a tear to my eye. Seems those of us down here in California pay federal highway taxes. For every $1 we pay in we never get back our dollar. In fact the last time I could find a record, we here in California got back only a little over 85 cents. Since we are a heavly populated state, that's a lot of money going to Washington DC and not coming back to us. So we increase our taxes to make up the difference. We are now some $10 billion dollars in the red this year. Now as I understand it, your senator Mr. Stevens has secured a hefty return of my tax dollar taken from my pocket and given to Alaska. While the Bridge to No where was NOT built, the highway funds were not returned to Washington D.C. but kept by your state government. Now this past year your state has had a hefty return on oil tax revenue. Instead of using these funds to build your bridge, the money was given to the citizens of Alaska. That's fine and dandy.... But gee Dave, would it not have been wiser to use this money on your bridge. Alaska reminds me of Iraq's government. The government of Iraq has billions stashed in U.S. banks from their oil revenue. Instead of using these funds to put the people of Iraq to work, they have back filled their deficit with money from Uncle Sugar. It's a great con game that Alaska and Iraq are playing. So, yes I have a tear in my eye over your bridge. My taxes will be raised. You'll get a refund from your oil revenue. And I'm sure Uncle Sugar will build your bridge with money sent to you from my pocket. Mike Stark
Screwed Retiree in California-
Posted By: farside @ 11/09/2008 7:03:03 PM
Mike,
Uncle Sugar spent a lot of my tax dollars rebuilding the Oakland Bay Bridge a couple of years ago and he spent a awful lot of my money sending fire fighters to California over the last several years. Was your house in the way of those fires? I didn't protest when he spent those dollars. Alaska is a soverieign state of the USA. Their government has to decide their priorities like every other state determines their priorities. Apparently California decided that the Oakland Bridge was important enough to rebuild. Alaska decided that the bridge was important to them. It's not up to us in the lower 48 to tell them what their priorities should be. Louisianna decided it was more important to build bridges to their casinos then it was to reinforce their levees. I didn't protest their decision. Did You?
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Posted By: Concerned Canadian @ 11/01/2008 1:56:57 PM
Two central issues in the election Barack Obama is wrong and misleading:
1) No tax increases to those earning $250,000 or less promised by Obama, then he
lowered this figure to $200,000, then the "Gift that keeps on Giving" Joe Biden says
the number is $150,000 and just yesterday Gov. Bill Richardson says the figure is
$120,000 ...and now a videotape is disclosed where it shows Obama recently stated
that in the interest of fairness with taxes is around $80,000.00!!
Sounds like good old fashion Democratic ???reverse auction ???tax policy they implement
after they break their campaign promise to the American people.
2) On national security ...Obama???s own VP running mate Joe Biden ... ???mark my words,
this guy Obama is going to be tested by a generated international crisis within 6
months of his Presidency..I guarantee it??? Obama will meet with USA's enemies with
no pre-conditions!
John McCain???s surge strategy in Iraq is working and its saving the lives of young
American men and women in uniform serving there...Obama won't admit to this day
the surge is working and he voted to cut funding for these military forces !!
John McCain is Commander-In-Chief material ....Obama is just a cardboard "cut-out"
candidate of the DNC. -
Posted By: Chicazule @ 10/31/2008 7:09:20 PM
That's interesting. The website calls me "chicazule" but it really is me.
Dave Kiffer -
Posted By: Chicazule @ 10/31/2008 7:06:09 PM
Wow, leaving comments here is a little tricky, I appologize that I just left a garbled message! I just wanted to thank the hundreds of people who left messages here and the hundreds who have emailed me about the essay. It is gratifying to know that words and ideas can still stir strong emotions. Thank you for taking the time to read something about a place that may seem very far away, but isn't all that different from where you live, big city or small.
Dave Kiffer
Ketchikan, Alaska -
Posted By: Chicazule @ 10/31/2008 7:00:53 PM
I just wanted to take a minute to thank all of you who posted your comments regarding the essay. And also to the hundreds of people who have emailed me. It is humbling to know that words can stir such strong emotions. And I appreciate that whether you are for or against "the bridge" that you
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Posted By: schaff37 @ 10/31/2008 6:21:25 PM
Alaska could have built the bridge years ago by setting aside some of the oil royalty money it refunds to citizens there, but that would have required non-pandering politicians to explain that citizens in the rest of the U.S. should not foot the bill. Sen. Stevens and Gov.Palin could have held back the bridge's $400 million cost out of the $3 billion oil companies paid.
Bob Schaffner
Delaware -
Posted By: farside @ 10/31/2008 12:28:33 PM
Another $3m per year would be stupendious. What couldn't be done to make the ferry crossing a pleasure with that kind of money. The reality is we tried every year to get a realistic subsidy for the ferries from the State legislature. They refused to acknowledge that the ferry was a part of the airport operation or any part of the Alaska Marine Highway System. It has to stand on it's own but it is a cost center on the Ketchikan Airport Operating budget.
As I understand it, the funding to build the bridge would come from federal highway dollars and state gasoliine taxes just as most highways are built in other states. We paid to rebuild the Oakland Bay Bridge when it went down in the earthquake and we paid to rebuild the I35 bridge in Minneapolis when it went down. These were rebuilt to save taxpayers in Oakland and Minneapolis money in the long run, interest or no interest. I don't see it as realistic to say throwing another $3M after the $3M that is already going to waste is good economic sense. -
Posted By: jath123 @ 10/31/2008 8:29:52 AM
I agree that calling this town "nowhere" is as insulting as calling places like New York and California "not the real America." However, that doesn't justify the bridge. Staten Island is connected to Manhattan only by ferry, and has a population 36 times that of Ketchikan (really). Marthas Vineyard in Massachusetts has only ferry service to the mainland and has a population of 14,000 just like Ketchikan. Both of these places do just fine with ferry service.
Alaskan's have one of the lowest tax burdens in the country and get considerable annual payouts from the oil industry. This is the same oil industry whose infrastructure and business is heavily subsidized by the government and the rest of the US. A Ketchikan bridge cannot be justified. If Alaskans want it, they should pay for it themselves. And the rest of us should stop insulting Alaska by calling it "nowhere." You can't blame Alaska for trying. -
Posted By: Concerned Canadian @ 10/30/2008 5:29:26 PM
You can find hundreds of copies of the LA Times videotape that could destroy Obama at Blockbusters.
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Posted By: HistoryGeek @ 10/30/2008 2:52:17 PM
Umm... Mr. Concerned Canadian your "proven beyond doubt" posts are either assumptions or outright lies.
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Posted By: Concerned Canadian @ 10/30/2008 12:35:19 PM
Well..it???s proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Barack Hussein Obama can't be trusted with the economy.
Well..its proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Barack Hussein Obama is naive with foreign policy.
Well..it???s proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Barack Hussein Obama is a Muslim.
Well..it???s proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Barack Hussein Obama doesn't live in "Mr. Rogers"
neighbourhood.
Well..it???s proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Barack Hussein Obama bought the media networks.
Well..it???s proven beyond a reasonable doubt that African Americans are voting for Obama only because he's Black.
Well..it???s proven beyond a reasonable doubt Barack Hussein Obama cannot pay for his 1,000 promises without raising everybody's taxes!
Well..its proven beyond a reasonable doubt Barack Hussein Obama has ACORN trying to steal the election for him!
Well..its proven beyond a reasonable doubt Barack Hussein Obama is no Martin Luther King.
Well..its proven beyond a reasonable doubt Barack Hussein Obama believes in Marxism.
Well..its proven beyond a reasonable doubt Barack Hussein Obama says a lot but says nothing!
Well..its proven beyond a reasonable doubt Barack Hussein Obama is sympathetic with terrorists!
Well..its proven beyond a reasonable doubt Barack Hussein Obama only spoke the truth with "Joe The Plumber???
On Tuesday...Nov 4....I'm getting my popcorn ready and watch how many dumb Americans vote Obama.-
Posted By: HAL--- @ 10/30/2008 11:05:59 PM
Well, it's proven that you're an inbred idiot.
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Posted By: Concerned Canadian @ 11/01/2008 2:09:58 PM
And who are you...a black man voting for Obama just because he's a black man too ?
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Posted By: farside @ 10/29/2008 10:04:01 PM
Kudos for Mayor Kiffer.
All the retoric I have seen so far does not address the other major impact the bridge would have for Ketchikan and all of the US taxpayers. Giving Ketchikan a place to grow is great
and have a hard link to the airport is vital but what is not being address here is the excessive
cost of operating the airport.
The airport is remote from the city and is a city onto itself. It requires all the infrastructure of a city including water, sewer, power, garbage, police and fire protection, road maintenace, snow removal, landscaping, and all the facilities to house the equipment and personnel to operate all of these necessities.
Because of the Alaska Pipeline, state employees in Alaska are still paid very high wages. It was necessary to raise wages to pipeline levels in the 80's and we still have them today. Fire and police persons can easily have a base pay of $65 per hour with very generous bennies.
30 plus days of personal time off each year, full medical,time and a half, double time and triple time for over time and or holiday pay.
All of these positions (20+) would not be required if there were a "Hard Link" to the airport. FAA requlations allow police and firepersons from the city to be cross utilized at the airport with certain call out times and stipulations for flight operations.
When you total the costs of the ferry operation, the extra equipment, personnel, storage buildings (necessary because of 200 inches of rain per year), staffing offices, it amounts to
millions per year.
Some of the cost are recoped to ferry fees for everyone who rides the ferries and high landing fees for the airlines but the deficit is made up by you and me in taxes. We can go on in our bliss paying for the ferry. It doesn't bother me. But, sometimes we have to spend money to save money. This is one of those time. That's why you buy a Prius. It cost more then a Corolla but in the long run which is going to save you money..-
Posted By: questioner @ 10/31/2008 11:44:43 AM
Assuming all you say is correct, and Ketchikan discharged all of those 20+ employees, the cost savings would be less than $3,000,000 per year. The interest cost alone for a $300,000,000 capital project would be at least 3 times that much. It would be more cost effective to spend another $3,000,000 per year to make the ferry more user friendly (better shelter on board and at the shores; longer hours; higher frequency). This would still be a lot less expensive than the bridge, which many local Ketchikan people seem to think is bad for their municipality at any price.
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Posted By: Old Lady @ 10/29/2008 6:01:22 PM
Gov Palin took the funds for the Bridge to Nowhere and built the road that goes to where the bridge is planned. I suggest the State of Alaska use some of their oil funds and build their own bridge. As it is, they receive 200% of the money they send to the federal government. How many other states have that claim to fame? Frankly, I think the State of Alaska is a socialist state...or maybe it's a communist or Marxist state. Anywya, they don't pay sales or income tax, get money from the oil companyies and they complain?????
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Posted By: mrhog123 @ 10/29/2008 3:49:09 PM
I wonder how many bridges "Wolfman" has invested $14,000 in? But I bet he still uses the bridges. There is a name for I believe.
Carl Thompson -
Posted By: mrhog123 @ 10/29/2008 3:42:15 PM
Voyager, lol, obviously on a voyage somewhere other than realitiy. Once again, I wonder how many bridges he uses that have been built with federal dollars? Here comes that "H" word again.
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Posted By: voyager @ 10/29/2008 4:03:29 PM
Mr. Hog, (great name- not!) maybe a great deal of our problems are federal spending projects? Hmm? Sure I use highway bridges, but I have a feeling those tax dollars were raised long ago and far away. The 800 pound gorilla is no one wants to be taxed- but they don't mind their neighbor paying for it. Even worse is the current economic vogue of spending tomorrow's or the next century's dollars on big bail-outs and other spurious "solutions" to our woes. We are spending paper money and eventually it is going to end up in hyperinflation, greater unemployment, an ill-considered demand to ruin the North American ecosytem to gain a few more years of oil while we ruin the atmosphere with coal-burning power plants, and ship more nuclear waste to places that can't handle it (Savannah River site and Yucca Mountain are examples). Yeah, I am living somewhere different from you- the real world.
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Posted By: voyager @ 10/29/2008 3:35:02 PM
Wolfman, you sound so sure of yourself. It must be nice to read minds or look in your crystal ball.
Obama is a socialist? Since when? You have incontrovertible proof? I sincerely doubt it.
Obama will appoint judges: yeah, so do most presidents. We seem to survive because of/in spite of who gets appointed to the federal bench. Get over it.
95% of taxpayers don't pay taxes? What alternative universe are you living in? It's more like 5% of the population (well-to-do and mega-rich that don't pay taxes because they're hiding their money in trust funds, foreign bank accounts, off-shore business, etc). They are post-Americans because they don't believe in the workers of the United States and have given up on them for third world slave labor and peon (below subsistance wage) labor. That's what Bush wants to turn the U.S. into: a big hacienda for him and his friends.
But I digress. The point is that Kiffer is part of the status quo who have already raped the forests for timber and now that they are running out (in Alaska no less!), they need to find "service industries" to replace them. Don't worry Kiffer, there are plenty of illegal immigrants from Asia who will be more than happy to come work for you. Ugh! What ever happened to towns, counties, and states building there own roads and bridges? Hasn't Uncle Ted Stevens given Alaskans enough Federal cash without being taxed for it already? I think the answer is "Yes".-
Posted By: valark @ 10/30/2008 12:14:41 PM
Its funny how you make the same assumptions you condemn.
As for proof of Obama's socialistic approach to taxation: The proof is what he said he would do and the definition of socialism. Both easily accessible by going to Obama's web site to see his tax plan and going to dictionary.com if you don't know the definition of socialism.-
Posted By: doddabunner @ 10/31/2008 8:49:58 PM
Hmmm... Gov. Palin increases the taxes on oil companies and gives the benefits to residents in the form of cash payments. Then the oil companies increase their prices to make up for the taxes, and the rest of American ends up paying the cost. Therefore, Alaskans are living on the "redistributed wealth" that Obama is being criticized for. Go figure.
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Posted By: mrhog123 @ 10/29/2008 3:28:23 PM
I wonder how many bridges "Wolfman" has invested $14,000 in? But I bet he still uses the bridges. There is a name for I believe.
Carl Thompson -
Posted By: Rainycity @ 10/28/2008 7:43:18 PM
questioner, I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I have lived here for over 41 years. The popluation has increased a lot in my experience. Not to mention the absolute boom in visitors. What you're calling the Mainland is Revillagegedo Island. Our original airport was on Annette island, much further than Gravina Island where it is now. When my mother brought me here she had to take a floatplane from Annette to Ketchikan. We had one or two small cruiseships that came to port. Now we have close to a million visitors a year. Development has grown to where we are splitting at the seams. We also services smaller outlying communities. Don't confuse this post as vote for or against the bridge. All I do know is that we need improvement in the access to the Airport, as well as a way to develop the land on Gravina island. Only someone who has lived here can really seem to understand that. And thank you Mayor Kiffer for bringing a local perspective to a very heated issue.
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Posted By: mrbecker @ 10/28/2008 4:24:48 PM
Yes, thank you Mayor Kiffer. As someone who travels to Ketchikan twice a year to visit my granddaughter I know how difficult it is to catch that ferry, lug over 150 pounds down the steep incline and up the other side during low tide. Why 150 pounds? Because there are still some things they just can't buy in Ketchikan and Grandma always tries to bring as much up as she can. This means everyone arrives in waves to check in. Not a pleasant experience when they're paging you to hurry up and board your plane. When people who don't understand how Alaska timber reseeds naturally shut down logging, it was a hardship for the community. They need the development on the airport island. Everyone has an opinion and few know the facts.
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Posted By: RainyAlaska @ 10/28/2008 3:20:42 PM
Thank you Mayor Kiffer. I've been waiting a long time for the someone from Ketchikan to step forward and present the other side of story. It's very sad that Gov. Sarah didn't explain the bridge situation in a similar fashion.
One of the posts below says "Lighten up guys". Well if your hometown was called "Nowhere" and people all over the world were making jokes about your community, you'd be a little disgruntled too. Everyone who lives here or has visited Ketchikan understands why we need a bridge. To take a car with two adults on the ferry to the airport costs $22. The ferry leaves every 30 minutes. Or you walk onto the ferry to the airport by carrying your suitcase, riding over then carrying your luggage up a ramp and walkway into the airport (one or two blocks) for $5. Remember we get 13 feet of rain a year and winds blowing 40 mpg are frequent. It you have a small child or an older family member, it's loads of fun.
The Mayor is correct, Ketchikan will survive and someday flourish again. After all we are Alaskans and Americans which is the best of both worlds!!!-
Posted By: reader16 @ 10/29/2008 4:59:04 PM
I lived in Ketchikan for 5 years and never have understood the need for a bridge. The ferry service is totally adequate to serve the needs of Ketchikan and Gravina Island. But if the people really want a bridge so bad then why don't they save up their PFD checks and pay for it themselves instead of relying on a pork handout from the lower 48?
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Posted By: Wolf Wolfman @ 10/29/2008 2:53:13 PM
You "want" a bridge. Do you have $14,000 to invest in it? You do not "need" the bridge.
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Posted By: pastol @ 10/28/2008 2:05:12 PM
A tad harsh, don't you think lester & Wolf? I thought the article was a nice insight that has previously been ignored. Why didn't Palin explain things like this? It doesn't validate the need for a bridge, nor does the writer pretend to attempt to do so. Lighten up guys. Nowhere did Mr. Kiffer say that he felt it was vitally important. That is putting words into his mouth. And he seems to have a pretty adult attitude about the whole thing. As to why Palin didn't explain it like this, well, does lipstick on a pig ring a bell?
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Posted By: Wolf Wolfman @ 10/29/2008 2:59:11 PM
Could it be that Newsweek and Kiffer are promoting "spread the wealth around" politics? If so, I think it has backfired to some extent.
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Posted By: pastol @ 10/28/2008 2:04:44 PM
A tad harsh, don't you think lester & Wolf? I thought the article was a nice insight that has previously been ignored. Why didn't Palin explain things like this? It doesn't validate the need for a bridge, nor does the writer pretend to attempt to do so. Lighten up guys. Nowhere did Mr. Kiffer say that he felt it was vitally important. That is putting words into his mouth. And he seems to have a pretty adult attitude about the whole thing. As to why Palin didn't explain it like this, well, does lipstick on a pig ring a bell?
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Posted By: questioner @ 10/28/2008 11:56:45 AM
I was a recent Ketchikan tourist and saw the reasons (airport access and growth) for a bridge to Gravina island. However, I don't get the Mayor's comment that the airport was sited across the narrows over the objections of many. If there is no other place for Ketchikan to grow, where else could the airport have been sited?
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Posted By: Rainycity @ 10/28/2008 6:48:39 PM
Because qusetioner, at the time the airport was built years ago there WAS room. Not so much now.
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Posted By: questioner @ 10/28/2008 7:00:50 PM
Sorry to be contrary, but the population has barely increased in the last 40 years. Where could an airport have been sited on the mainland?
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Posted By: Chicazule @ 10/28/2008 8:35:29 PM
I'll get out the census data when I have a minute, but, yes, Ketchikan has grown. More importantly, so has Prince of Wales Island which relies on our airport, as does Metlakatla. Private plane usage has increased tremendously as celebrities and CEO's discover the many fishing lodges in the area. Air freight has expanded tremendously in 40 years as has the number of seasonal workers who make their way to town for the cruise ship/fishing/fish processing season. By all accounts, it is thousands of people who fly here each summer.
season.-
Posted By: questioner @ 10/31/2008 11:31:37 AM
I am not questioning the growth of the need for air service. I am simply questioning the Mayor's comment that the airport was sited across the narrows over the objections of many. Where on the mainland could the airport have been sited?
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Posted By: lester13 @ 10/28/2008 11:27:32 AM
So your community was lead down the garden path by some sweet talking politicians (welcome to life in the US of A) and now you want the federal government to foot the bill, $400 million not counting cost over runs, so that it is easier to 144,000 people have better access to their airport. We here in the Hampton Roads are of Virginia have long been trying to get a third crossing of the James river in this area. We have millions of residents here, we get millions of visitors annually, we move billions of dollars worth of goods through this area, and then there is the millitary. We can't find enough federal dollars to get the project funded even with the state ponying up but you feel that it is vitally important to the needs of your citizens that they have a bridge instead of ferries to take them to their airport.
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Posted By: Sick of Liars @ 10/27/2008 3:56:55 PM
I think Sarah Palin needs to take her FAT LIPSTICK A## down to Donnas restaurant in JUNEAU AK and look at the picture of the Juneau -----Douglas bridge to KNOWhere and I mean KNOWhere they didnt anything overthere maybe take her old fart counter partner with her being how Insain Macain has probably never even been to Alaska this whole V/P thing is totally ridiculous anyway do you really think America really wants someone who speaks in tones like OOOH Golly GEE Ketchikan you dont get your bridge but Wasilla gets theirs you tell me if thats not special intrest I dont really believe a single word those spout off . Its just a bunch of lies anyway. So I wont be voteing for the Arizona snakeweasel and the Alaskanbeaver. PLEASE VOTE RESPONSIBLY AMERICA . GOD BLESS US ALL......
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Posted By: Wolf Wolfman @ 10/29/2008 3:04:57 PM
October 28, 2008
By Wolfman
America is about to be flushed down the toilet
Obama is a socialist. This has finally been confirmed. It was confirmed by Obama himself in his conversation with Joe the plumber.
Obama doesn???t like the constitution. He also said so on tape. When the constitution is flushed down the toilet, America as we have known it is gone. The redistribution of wealth can take place. Abortion will probably be legal and probably not subject to change. Freedom of speech will go away. You, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and John McCain will not be free to say what they want to say. Health care will be subject to government regulation. Guns will be restricted or outlawed. You won???t appreciate the constitution until it???s gone. My hope is that if the constitution goes, the people who voted for Obama will realize that the constitution was a treasure, and that they made a terrible mistake. Also, it would be nice if people would take a good look into what may happen, and decide to hold off on ???CHANGE???.
Obama will appoint judges. When he appoints enough Supreme Court judges, the Supreme Court will be able to legislate from the bench. They will determine what the constitution means in THEIR view, and you will live with their decisions.
I would like to point out some things about ???spreading the wealth???. The part of the 95% of taxpayers that don???t pay taxes will get money. I call that welfare, and I predict you will see welfare like you???ve never seen before. Those on welfare will relax, and attempt to get more money. It???s the duty of the rich to make those on welfare comfortable. Black people will collect, be militant, and antisocial. If this is a racist statement, so be it. Unwed mothers and broken families will not go away. Spreading the wealth is not for the common good.
People are not stupid, but they can be duped, fooled, and manipulated. Hitler duped, fooled, and manipulated the people. The problem we are facing now is that people are being duped, fooled, and manipulated.
What are ???WE??? going to do? ???WE??? aren???t going to do anything. ???YOU??? had better figure out what ???YOU??? are going to do.
In God we trust.
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Posted By: ccairnes @ 10/27/2008 3:03:09 PM
What Dave is not telling you is that the water the bridge is intended to cross is the Tongass Narrows, the most valuable natural resource the economy of Ketchikan has. Building a bridge across it would inhibit cruise ship traffic, prompting the ships to by pass Ketchikan and ground our fleet of seaplanes that are another big economic engine for Ketchikan. The bridge was nothing but a short term "big dig" for the economy which would leave us with nothing in the long run. If anyone wants to really understand this project they have to really read the Gravina Access Project Report. There is no infrastructure on Gravina Island other than the Airport and other entities that have been approached about developing on Gravina, like the Alaska prison system have given a flat "NO" to the idea. We have a perfectly serviceable ferry system that has been used in-spite of being undermined by the local press and politician for 30 years. It is the ferry that needs the investment of additional development funds to enhance the economy of Ketchikan, not building an obstruction across the main economic engine of the town.
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Posted By: ccairnes @ 10/27/2008 3:02:28 PM
What Dave is not telling you is that the water the bridge is intended to cross is the Tongass Narrows, the most valuable natural resource the economy of Ketchikan has. Building a bridge across it would inhibit cruise ship traffic, prompting the ships to by pass Ketchikan and ground our fleet of seaplanes that are another big economic engine for Ketchikan. The bridge was nothing but a short term "big dig" for the economy which would leave us with nothing in the long run. If anyone wants to really understand this project they have to really read the Gravina Access Project Report. There is no infrastructure on Gravina Island other than the Airport and other entities that have been approached about developing on Gravina, like the Alaska prison system have given a flat "NO" to the idea. We have a perfectly serviceable ferry system that has been used in-spite of being undermined by the local press and politician for 30 years. It is the ferry that needs the investment of additional development funds to enhance the economy of Ketchikan, not building an obstruction across the main economic engine of the town.
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Posted By: hoosierbrad @ 10/27/2008 1:11:12 PM
I have an idea! If you need the bridge so badly, why don't you pay for it yourselves. You have all those petrodollars in the State of Alaska that you have taxed away from the oil companies; use some of it to pay for your necessary infrastructure. My state, Indiana, paid for essentially ALL of its basic infrastructure originally without federal assistance; i.e. roads, highways and bridges were built long before federal excise taxes.
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Posted By: hoosierbrad @ 10/27/2008 1:10:58 PM
I have an idea! If you need the bridge so badly, why don't you pay for it yourselves. You have all those petrodollars in the State of Alaska that you have taxed away from the oil companies; use some of it to pay for your necessary infrastructure. My state, Indiana, paid for essentially ALL of its basic infrastructure originally without federal assistance; i.e. roads, highways and bridges were built long before federal excise taxes.
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Posted By: jokerneck1q @ 10/27/2008 2:57:24 AM
The "C" and the "E" by Don Clark in Vegas! The controlled end of the world. The bridge to nowhere is the end of the world in 1401 years. You were to late in legalizing cannabis online. Yes He is that holy, This is now a certainty. But let's go out in style. Please re-legalize cannabis! Contact me at groovyscope@yahoo.com. From what I hear there's 1.894563 billion years of life sustaining environment remaining left for them to bring in a whole new series of intelligent life forms?
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Posted By: fpgonzo @ 10/26/2008 10:16:06 PM
It's about time somebody FINALLY explained that these projects are NOT "bridges to nowhere", a phrase coined by a comedian who'd never been anywhere NEAR Alaska, and who knows NOTHING of our economic realities. I know good people in Alaska disagree about the bridges, their necessity, their cost, etc., however many other coastal communities (Kodiak, Dutch Harbor, Juneau) , and even some of the inland villages (Selawik) exist intact because of their over-water bridges. The only thing that undermined these projects was outside publicity. Too bad Palin saw fit to allow this to influence her actions instead of inspiring her to come to their defense before the rest of the country.
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Posted By: KTN96 @ 10/26/2008 9:53:56 PM
And yet, the actual bridge to nowhere was actually built! About time the real story comes out!
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Posted By: fpgonzo @ 10/26/2008 10:26:35 PM
Please explain...It is my impression that both funding for both the Ketchikan bridge and the Knik Arm bridge were earmarks contained within that huge transportation bill that Bush signed a few years ago, and both bridges were laughed out of existence by lower-48 public opinion, thus neither has been built. I'm not sure I know what you are referring to when you say that both bridges have been built.
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Posted By: KTN96 @ 10/26/2008 9:53:07 PM
It's about time Ketchikan steps up and sets the story straight!
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Posted By: Wolf Wolfman @ 10/26/2008 6:50:22 PM
Dave Kiffer is a Democrat that is running against represenative Don Young He is a freelance writer. I'm sure he must be an Obama supporter.
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Posted By: Alaskan23 @ 10/27/2008 1:28:55 AM
Well, Wolf, that's completely false. What else are you making up?
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Posted By: Wolf Wolfman @ 10/27/2008 8:34:20 AM
Excuse me. I was wrong. He's a Republican that supports Palin.
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Posted By: Chicazule @ 10/27/2008 10:29:26 AM
Actually, it's Mark Begich of Anchorage who is running against Don Young. Since it clearly says at the bottom of the essay "Dave Kiffer is the newly elected Mayor of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough" it's pretty clear that the wolfman can't read. That would explain a lot of his posts! BTW, the mayoral election in Ketchikan is non-partisan so our candidates don't have to declare a party or make it known who they are going to vote for. You could not be more wrong!
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Posted By: Wolf Wolfman @ 10/28/2008 9:55:23 AM
I said I was wrong. OK?
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Posted By: CrystalStaggs @ 10/26/2008 2:25:07 PM
Another good point to make is that the cruise ships that come in to Ketchikan, via the Tongass Narrows, said the would SKIP Ketchikan if we built this bridge, casing a further decline in and already fractured economy. The fact is that town will crumble without the influx of tourists each summer. Instead of arguing about an effing bridge, why not look into LOCAL business opportunities instead of selling the entirety of down town to jewelry store conglomorates that don't put anything back into the community. Why not spend some of that earmarked money on what Ketchikan really needs. COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAMS. After school activities for kids from grade school to high school, some kind of alternative to the standard Ketchikan statistic: Sex, Drugs, Alcohol, Jail Time. Why not spark something other than a suicidal ambition in the younger generations. So people will actally want to stay in the community, raise a family. I lived in Ketchikan for 22 years. Went to school there, gradutated from Kayhi. A bridge to Gravina will NOT fix the problems Ketchikan has. A city and bourough government that has more interest in community then money will.
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Posted By: CrystalStaggs @ 10/26/2008 2:24:45 PM
Another good point to make is that the cruise ships that come in to Ketchikan, via the Tongass Narrows, said the would SKIP Ketchikan if we built this bridge, casing a further decline in and already fractured economy. The fact is that town will crumble without the influx of tourists each summer. Instead of arguing about an effing bridge, why not look into LOCAL business opportunities instead of selling the entirety of down town to jewelry store conglomorates that don't put anything back into the community. Why not spend some of that earmarked money on what Ketchikan really needs. COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAMS. After school activities for kids from grade school to high school, some kind of alternative to the standard Ketchikan statistic: Sex, Drugs, Alcohol, Jail Time. Why not spark something other than a suicidal ambition in the younger generations. So people will actally want to stay in the community, raise a family. I lived in Ketchikan for 22 years. Went to school there, gradutated from Kayhi. A bridge to Gravina will NOT fix the problems Ketchikan has. A city and bourough government that has more interest in community then money will.
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Posted By: Chicazule @ 10/26/2008 4:15:04 PM
Good point if it were true. One reason the "bridge" costs so much is it is actually two bridges...one across Revilla to Pennock and another from Pennock to Gravina so the cruise ships can still have the narrows. A lot of locals think a point to point bridge would be a cheaper alternative, but the cruise industry thinks otherwise. As to outreach programs...try PATCHworks, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Club, Sports, Ballet, Swimming., Debate, Academic Decathalon, Public Radio.......nothing to do???? The kids I know are booked solid.
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Posted By: GoObama! @ 10/27/2008 2:27:12 PM
Well, its good to know that groups like Boys and Girls Club, sports, dance, etc. are alive and well in Alaska; perhaps the Palins could utilize these services for their remaining children so they don't feel the overwhelming need to get pregnant and be married by the time they're 18, like Sarah and Todd did, or like their daughter Bristol is obviously in line to do.
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Posted By: akmother @ 10/27/2008 10:05:33 PM
wow...pretty judgemental conclusion to jump to. Democrat, right?
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Posted By: GoObama! @ 10/28/2008 10:53:04 AM
Enter Your Comment
No - actually, I'm an independent atheist who is disgusted by the theological leanings of way too many people who think its OK to shove their religious beliefs down others throats - i.e., having a child at all costs, treating sex as though it were an actual "gift from God" when the reality is its a biological function, period. Sarah Palin's "abstinence only" educational belief for family planning is a joke, and a failure within her own family, but then again, so is she - a delusional liar of monumental proportions. She had to "elope" because she was pregnant with her first son, and now her daughter is doing the same. I'll say it again - these kids need better things to do with their time, so I'm glad that AK does offer outlets for children that promote healthy individuality, as opposed to thinking they need to be married and pregnant by the time they're 18. Of course, I could go on for hours about the negative affects organized religion, and religious belief in general, have had on human beings and the Earth, since the beginning of time, but this is neither the time nor the place. Peace be with you...
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Posted By: ktnseak @ 10/26/2008 2:23:12 PM
Some of us country bumpkins might consider these to be Bridges to Nowhere, The Brooklyn Bridge, Chesapeake Bay Bridge, the bridges of the Florida Keys, all of the bridges crossing the Mississippi River, The Golden Gate.
Wasilla, Ak was a Nowhere until Sarah was nominated, but there was no mention of the proposed Knik Arm Bridge (the other half of the bridges to No Where earmark) to her hometown, in her acceptance speech. Wasilla is somewhere to Sarah. To her Ketchikan is not. Nowhere is as much perception as reality, it just depends upon which shore you are standing. Personally, I don't favor the bridge, but I really resent Ms. Palin's portrayal of my hometown on the state and national stage. And while I am on the other side of this issue from Dave, I do support his statement, we are somewhere. -
Posted By: Fed-up-In-K-Town @ 10/26/2008 1:27:43 PM
Dave Kiffer does not speak for me or anyone I know that lives here in Ketchikan. The bridge may have been a viable option 30 years ago, but that ship has sailed and the crybabies really need to get over it. There is NO GOOD REASON to build a bridge. I use the airport ferry several times a year and it works just fine. However, we could use a decent shelter for the folks that walk on, and possibly a conveyor belt to help with luggage.
"What also went unstated was our town's need for development." Oh, that's rich. It's also ridiculous considering the multitude of properties for sale on this side of the channel. We also have the property at Ward Cove, site of the former pulp mill. It's also at Ward Cove where a derelict fishing boat lies half submerged at the opening of a spawning creek. This boat slowly sank for weeks and nothing was done to stop it. Our local government does a lousy job. They want hundreds of millions of dollars for a little convenience while folks in the borough still use catchment systems for water... all the while paying too-high property taxes and traveling on broken down, DANGEROUS roads and street bridges.
"The media reports never seemed to mention that Ketchikan has a year-round population of 14,000???making it the fourth-largest community in the state." I'm going to have to call BS on this as well. Ketchikan has been dwindling since the pulp mill closed. I have lived here 15 years and I've never seen as many for-sale signs as I do now. What a joke, too bad I'm not laughing.
And what the hell are you people smoking that think we need Gravina for new business? There are many, many empty spaces and closing businesses in Ketchikan. It's just another lame excuse and you all look like childfren stomping your feet and crying about your long lost promised bridge. Again, you need to get over it, move on, and fix Ketchikan. -
Posted By: Nins @ 10/26/2008 1:27:00 PM
Yes, Americans should invest in IRONY. That stock is though the roof since hockey mom Sarah Palin started strutting her stuff in $5,000 ruby colored shoes.
And the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska's largest paper, has just endorsed Barack Obama for President.
The IRONY stocks go up, up, up! -
Posted By: Nins @ 10/26/2008 1:26:38 PM
There hasn't been a Democrat majority in Washington since 1965, and before that, 1933. It looks like we are about to see another such event take place. By November 5, 2008 both houses of Congress and the Presidency will be in Democratic hands.
For those readers who can think for themselves, think back to 1965. Kennedy and the Civil Rights movement. A pivotal time in our history, one we can all be proud of. And 1933, when FDR gave us the New Deal and turned around the Great Depression. If you think about the past century, the only two times that we have had a liberal Democrat majority, America got STRONGER and BETTER.
Obama '08-
Posted By: Wolf Wolfman @ 10/29/2008 3:25:15 PM
October 28, 2008
By Wolfman
America is about to be flushed down the toilet
Obama is a socialist. This has finally been confirmed. It was confirmed by Obama himself in his conversation with Joe the plumber.
Obama doesn???t like the constitution. He also said so on tape. When the constitution is flushed down the toilet, America as we have known it is gone. The redistribution of wealth can take place. Abortion will probably be legal and probably not subject to change. Freedom of speech will go away. You, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and John McCain will not be free to say what they want to say. Health care will be subject to government regulation. Guns will be restricted or outlawed. You won???t appreciate the constitution until it???s gone. My hope is that if the constitution goes, the people who voted for Obama will realize that the constitution was a treasure, and that they made a terrible mistake. Also, it would be nice if people would take a good look into what may happen, and decide to hold off on ???CHANGE???.
Obama will appoint judges. When he appoints enough Supreme Court judges, the Supreme Court will be able to legislate from the bench. They will determine what the constitution means in THEIR view, and you will live with their decisions.
I would like to point out some things about ???spreading the wealth???. The part of the 95% of taxpayers that don???t pay taxes will get money. I call that welfare, and I predict you will see welfare like you???ve never seen before. Those on welfare will relax, and attempt to get more money. It???s the duty of the rich to make those on welfare comfortable. Black people will collect, be militant, and antisocial. If this is a racist statement, so be it. Unwed mothers and broken families will not go away. Spreading the wealth is not for the common good.
People are not stupid, but they can be duped, fooled, and manipulated. Hitler duped, fooled, and manipulated the people. The problem we are facing now is that people are being duped, fooled, and manipulated.
What are ???WE??? going to do? ???WE??? aren???t going to do anything. ???YOU??? had better figure out what ???YOU??? are going to do.
In God we trust.
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Posted By: VinceP1974 @ 10/26/2008 6:53:08 AM
Hmm.. A fuller picture of the bridge's importance is finally given to the American people, two years after the controversy.
Hmm.. I wonder why Newsweek has either waited two years to give us this information, or not investigated the situation until just recently? Well whatever the motivation I think we can rule out their concern for the people of Alaska. We can also must assuredly rule out any concern for the gov't's "budget" (to abuse a term). Maybe the story is brought up for the reasons it was brought up the first time.. as a weapon against the GOP. I grew up in Chicago where I am once again after living in other places. I have never been to Alaska. So I could only guess at this but if I were an ALaskan , I would be very concerned about the future when considering the madness that is going in the Lower 48. To be so remote and yet controlled by a degraded govt, controlled by the degenerate Democrat party in thrall to the ideas of 1968 and protected by a news media more corrupt than Pravda. We are in dark days in this country brought to us by a lack of vigilence, a cooption of our education system by Cultural Marxists and a sense that ordinary Americans have that there is no possible way to fight against all this.-
Posted By: Wolf Wolfman @ 10/29/2008 3:29:15 PM
October 29, 2008
By Wolfman
Obama ???Spread the wealth around???
Here is Obama saying what ???Joe the plumber??? was told. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOtdbqjDHJI We should not use legal justice only, we should have economic justice. The constitution was and is wrong. If we have citizens who don???t have a house, that is not economic justice; the constitution should provide them with one. If we have citizens who can???t pay for education, the government should provide the money, etc.
It was tried in Russia and other countries, but it failed.
Obama wants to try it one more time; here.
In my opinion this is a masterpiece. I sent Rush an email and said just that.
Socialist Obama Cannot Uphold the Constitution He Has Dismissed
October 28, 2008 http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_102808/content/01125107.guest.html
If you disagree, please post a message here: http://www.msnusers.com/WolfmanFriends/messages.msnw
YOU have very little time to ACT. -
Posted By: Wolf Wolfman @ 10/26/2008 11:14:06 AM
You're right! It's a "spread the wealth" ploy.
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Posted By: doddabunner @ 10/31/2008 8:58:30 PM
Wait, wait, wait. Sarah Palin taxes the oil companies so Alaskans can get a yearly check while not paying state income taxes. Then the rest of us Americans have to pay for those oil company checks because -- ta da!!! -- the oil companies have to raise prices to make up for their tax payments. Result: The rest of America is actually paying for those Alaska checks. But of course, that isn't "spreading the wealth," is it?
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Posted By: Readthewholestatement @ 10/26/2008 6:25:43 AM
Hello,
I did not have time to read everyones comments but have read quite a few. It seems that the majority of what I have read are not happy about the bridge and Palin is taking a beating for this. I have to say in my eyes that Palin is the esccape goat for you as she was not governor when that $ for the bridge did get passed through and nor was she in the Senate. She however happended to get elected into office after it had been passed. I'm not sure if it is true or not as I did not hear it with my own ears that Gov. Palin prior to being elected was for the bridge and then changed her mind and was not for the bridge. What I thought I heard from her was not that she was 'not' for the bridge but that she was 'not' for the money that was ear marked to be paying for it. She never did say 'No' to the brige she said that if the bridge was built we (I took that as Alaskans) would do this on our own (meaning that she was not for the ear marked $$ that was funded). Perhaps she realized the majority of the people she talked to localy were not for the bridge, or that with all the huge crewships and the hundred of float planes that also use the same strip of ocean to take off and land in (not to mention the fishing industry both commercial and sport in addition to personal boats) the bridge is going to have to be how high?? and the trafic on the water will be inhibited by how much?? I see it as a disaster waiting to happen. Which also brings up a question...how much will the maintance cost be for this? As Ketchikan has tons of rain in addition ocean water (salt) so that mean higher amount of corosion, has anyone looked into the maintanance cost $$$$ ? Seem to me you could beef up that ferry ride that takes you across the channel to the airport or to Ketchikan far less than what the bridge and the maintance would cost and be a heck of a lot more affordable. There are other Island in the U.S. that do communte this way and it works....so could you not just incorporate at a much lower cost then it would be to put the bridge in to up your ferry system that is already working? People could still get to and from the airport, their house, their job, a business. I didn't really get a feel that the majority of Ketchikan is for that brige. It just so happened to have some voiceteress people that spoke up about it. I think if you were to dived that $$$ that was designated for the bridge to locals you would probable never hear a complaint about having to use the airporter ferry system that does currently only leave every half hr from each direction (during the winter) or every 15 min (during the summer) to take you on the 3-5min ride across the channel. From what I can recall the bridge has been shot down by the majority of the locals but there seems to be a few that want to keep pressing the issue. In the end about all the Palin stuff (to say it nicely) it really comes down to that she was not part of this whole bridge $$ being appropriated, however-
Posted By: NativeAKer @ 10/27/2008 2:50:35 PM
Gov. Palin did not say no to the money, she took the funds elsewhere in Alaska. Could it be to fund the New Ferry for the Knick Arm, that is being built right now At the Alaska Ship and Drydock in Ketchikan? Or possibly the new proposed 600 million dollar bridge across the Knick Arm? Of course those two forms of transportation would get traffic to Wasilla a little faster.
How many ferries in service are affected by the tides? If the tides are too low an ambulance can not go to Ketchikan Internation Airport on the ferry to catch a Medivac flight. They would have to go by Helicoptor. If there was an emergency and more fire trucks had to respond to it and there was low tides they could not get there. No one can understand these frustration and all the pressure a person goes thru unless they have experienced them.
The monies that Gov. Palin took from us should have at least went into our Alaska Marine Highway System which the whole Southeast Alaska depends on for our road system. They have to charge so much to our users of the system many can not afford to utilize it. We can not drive over water. We find very limited access to the lower 48 especially in the winter months, when they layup half the fleet. Not only to maintenance but to the budget. It hurts our Economy in Southeast Alaska. All of our prices are over the top and going up all the time. Today our Gas price is $4.17 per gal. for unleaded. Over a $1.00 more than else where. We rely on the AMHS to be our Highway for our Vans that are trucked with the necessaties of every day life. Gov. Palin has treated us in the Southeast like evil step-children, everything is slowly moving to Anchorage, it's their way of moving our capital. Before we know it Southeast Alaska will be a ghost Coast up and down. Gov. Palin could have kept some of the monies here to boost the Economy with a thriving AMHS keeping the cost to operate down by volumn sales for travel, more residents in jobs with AMHS fueling each town with more revenue. Oh my'!, maybe even some new business's to put more people to work. By closing and limiting our AMHS is like closing the Glen Allen Highway for 3-4 days a week year around. Or better yet The 405 freeway to San Diego in rush hour everyday. For a family to take the Ferry to Beliingham Wash. Would cost $3000.00 + to do. For us to take the ferry to Ketchikan International Airport with our Vehicle is $22.00 round trip if travel is done on the same day, if not you have parking and an additional $10.00 for the 2 passengers if at a later date. Heaven forbid if the plane doesn't make it in because you get to pay again to get to the plane later. So it cost us alot more than time and money to get off our Island. I am a Native Alaskan I have lived in Ketchikan for 50 years, most of my adult life I have waited for our bridge or a federally funded Ferry system to be our highway off of Revillagedo Island.
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Posted By: NiqueD @ 10/26/2008 5:25:44 AM
What I don't get, and nobody sane would, is how you neocons have managed to make this Obama and the democrats "fault.". You got the damn money for the bridge. YOUR nazi governor chose to bow to public pressure and spent the money on something else. YOUR state has a budget surplus. You get oil money, each and everyone of you. You get tax breaks for your fuel expenses so you're double dipping the rest of taxpayers in the other 49 states, none of us which get those two little pocket filler items.
So here we are, your governor got the money for the bridge, stole it and spent it elsewhere, you have the money to build the bridge out of state money and somehow this has all turned into Obama and the Democrats fault. Do you have the slightest clue how ignorant you are?-
Posted By: Wolf Wolfman @ 10/29/2008 4:57:41 PM
http://www.msnusers.com/WolfmanFriends/general.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=324&LastModified=4675693306630504487
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Posted By: aktn23 @ 10/27/2008 12:54:39 PM
how do you come up with "double dipping" the rest of the country's taxpayers? we pay federal taxes on the dividends we receive from the state. the fuel rebate was given because, after the rest of the country's fuel had finally declined in cost, our fuel remained the hightest in the nation, at around $4.50 per gallon (don't quote me on the exact amount, but it was right in that area). also many who live in the outlying villages use oil for heat and in case you didn't know, Alaska's winters are about 2 to 3 months longer than the rest of the lower 48. I'm not actually defending the dividends, as I personally would rather see the funds go into something like improving our roads or schools - but i take issue with your comment about us double dipping the rest of you.
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Posted By: Wolf Wolfman @ 10/26/2008 8:50:55 AM
Sounds like common sense to me.
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Posted By: NiqueD @ 10/26/2008 5:19:24 AM
You're pretty funny Ron. You completely ignore the truth that Alaska has the surplus to pay for their own damn bridge and choose to do the common garden variety neocon hate then claim others are being "disrespectful'. There is nothing I could say or do for the rest of my life (and I'm 23) that could ever equal the amount of ignornace, hate and stupidity that you neocons spew on a daily basis.
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Posted By: Wolf Wolfman @ 10/26/2008 8:48:16 AM
Grow up!
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Posted By: specttr @ 10/26/2008 4:45:56 AM
An interesting story and I abhor broken promises as much as anyone else, but that does not change the fact that this whole project was a complete waste of money. Apparently the government built the airport in the wrong place. OK, a pity, but why should the taxpayers in oher states have throw good money after bad to the tune of 400 Million to fix it?
And like many other commentators, I still don't understand what is so wrong with that ferry. It is old an poorly maintained? Buy new ones and start maintainng them properly! That would cost a fraction of that 400 million. If you miss one, you might miss your flight? Give me a break. Try planning your trip with some common sense. Everybody runs that risk, whether it is due to missng ferries, delayed trains or raffick jams. That's why sensible people make sure they have plenty of time to check in.
It costs money? Oh Boohoo, so does a train ticket, or gas and that bridge wouldn't be free either. I shudder to think what he tolls would have to be like to make up for the price and incidentally, that bridge has to be maintained too. Any idea how much that would cost in the long run? Not to mention the jobs that would be lost whan that ferry service collapses as wil inevitably do.
Discuss