The View From ‘Nowhere’

Okay...let me see if I've got this straight. First your Gov. Palin was for this bridge that Ketchikan needs so much...then when it became a political liability for her...she then trumpted about how she stopped the bridge to nowhere. Now you are telling us in the lower 48 (some of us live in those unAmerican parts of the lower 48) that you guys really needed the bridge. Well..I suppose its a good thing then that Sarah and Todd weren't successful products of the AIP....that's the Alaska Independence Party, or else Alaska wouldn't be able to appeal to the lower 48 for help. Now...don't get me wrong...I would love to visit Alaska and I have nothing against its good people...but didn't your state get some 55 million bucks for that project and keep it, even though the bridge was never built? What did Sarah do with that money? I tell you what.....I'll get together with some of my fellow Americans in the lower 48 UnAmerican parts of the country and we'll scrape together some money if you take your Governor back and KEEP her there...for good! You betcha!

I can live without salmon and halibut...and while the high gas prices are extremely inconvenient, they also appeared for awhile to be a possible catalyst which forced the American people to wake up and take clean energy seriously. I sympathize with the residents of Ketchikan and I can relate to the inconveniences and sacrifices one must make to live in a small town (I happen to live in a small town in the desert and water is a big issue for us) this bridge would have cost $398 million dollars...$398 million dollars!!!! for one of the least populated states in the union.

What I am really outraged about is that it was $398 million dollars earmarked for a bridge in Ketchikan, that was never built...but if I understand this story fully, neither was it returned to the government coffers...Palin had felt no compunction in simply keeping that money and diverting it elsewhere.

What can I do? Nothing, not my governor...hopefully not my future VP either.

It is unfortunate you think Obama is a terrorist, like you actually have proof. Of course you believe what anyone tells you, when you find out he isn't a terrorist you should appologize. By the way if you are black or a muslim it doesn't qualify you as a terrorist and if you are using guilt by assocation, then I guess we are all guilty of something. As far as Palin, why would we elect someone who doesn't follow through and lacks commone sense. The story above proves that fact.

I love Ketchikan! It is a beautiful place. I've only passed through by way of Ferry. It is amazing! I see how the bridge is needed since a ferry is needed to get to the airport on the other side. Although it can be a little out of the way at times... having to ride a ferry to get to the airport is pretty unique. Not many cities can say that they have to take the ferry system to get to the other side. However, if you started a project, you should finish a project. End of story. Unless of course, that project is illegal or destroys lives.

And to the clueless New Yorker lamenting that "why doesn't the community & the oil companies build the bridge that is need so badly?" and then in the same paragraph says "vote Obama" don't even get me started. You are about as clueless as clueless can get. Vote for a presidential candidate like Obama that wants to redistribute the wealth (steal from those who earn it) & is as socialist as socialist can get? Sheesh..

Interesting comments but you are missing the point. Ketchikan needs a bridge as many towns need bridges to get to another part of their town that is separated by water. We need common sense people at the helm not socialistic ideas as Mr. Obama is promoting. Living in Hawaii myself for a total of 10 years gave me the exposure and experience being the most socialistic and bureaucratic state as well as prejudice. Is that what we want for America? I would think not, but that is what is the environment Mr. Obama has had. I personally believe we should be concentrating on the issues that affect all Americans and how those plans will result for a better America. We do not want a United Socialistic States of America but The United States of America. Consider the experience not the smooth words and charisma. Thank you for listening. Tutu

If a bridge is necessary, find a funding institution to issue a revenue bond. Give investors an opportunity to fund the bridge, and in exchange let those investors have a stake in the bridge and allow them to profit from it. If a bond is unpalatable, increase airport user fees and passenger facility charges to fund the road...that way the burden for funding the bridge falls solely on those who would utilize the airport. This is often the case when new roads are constructed to other airports around the country, or when airports are upgraded. Assuming his numbers are correct that 250,000 pass through the airport every year, a PFC increase of 2 dollars annually would yield $500K in 1 year, PFC increase of $4 would yield 1 million in a year, and so on. This could be used to repay bond investors or to fund the construction. This could be further increased by adding a 1 dollar increase to the port charges on the 1 million visitors who come on cruise ships. Don't burden every taxpayer in the U.S. for something thatt will not benefit all of us. Give investors a chance, or limit the expense to those who would use the facilities. As an example, I am from Memphis, TN... We were in major need of a new airport terminal. We did not expect every taxpayer to fund that....the port authority issued bonds and is in the process of repaying them with income from higher PFC charges. At the same time, as a bondowner, I am able to profit from it, and the burden for funding the improvements lied squarely on users of the airport, not the Memphis or Tennessee taxpayer or federal taxpayer.

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.

I have lived in Ketchikan for 15 years. So I know first hand the need for that bridge. Our town dies in the winter time because the tourist shops which make up a majority of our downtown all close and get boarded up. If we had that bridge we would be able to locate businesses on Gravina Island and maybe in the future we could put some business(a few) on Pennock Island which is the other island between Gravina and Revilla island which Ketchikan is located on.. All of which would help our community so much. You all can be outraged but until you come and live here you will never understand the importance of that bridge.

The mayor makes a great point about Ketchikan being 'somewhere'. It was unfair to refer to it that way in any conversation. However, it is still ridiculous to think that the United States can afford to just use taxpayer money to develop a place for business. This is what the Republican party seems to always get backwards. They want business to be free of government, but they also want the government to pay for all the infrastructure it needs to grow. Vote for Obama and 'hope' for a change.

The reason why this earmark is so frustrating is because the money is coming from people who will never use that bridge. I understand the need, but that need should be met by those who will use it and be benefitted by it. Our forefathers did not have it in mind that our Federal Government would be used to build bridges so that a small town could have access to an airport. The State of Alaska should be fitting that bill if it is a need. I am certainly not willing to spend my tax dollars to help people who call us the "SCUM IN THE LOWER 48". The McCain ticket is absolutley correct when they say that earmarks are waiste. If you need it so bad, pay for it yourself.

Why is it that people who object to spreading the wealth do not want their's sprerad but are mor than willing to take the spread from somebody else. If Ketchikan had the nmoney they could build the bricdge themselves. If they don't why should the rest of us pay for it? It is too far, the population is too small and the financial return could never eaqual the cost in out lifetime.

I live in Arizona...why should I pay for a bridge in f'ing Alaska to an island that has 14,000 people??? Move somewhere that has a road to an airport!!! We can't afford to do everything everywhere. I'm sure Alaska gets their fair share of highway funds. Of course, the author doesn't mention how much in federal funds Alaska gets or pays or any other piece of significant data that would make for an educated, informative article.

Dave Kiffer gives no specifics on anything other than makes an attempt to build an anti-Palin puff piece attempting to make it sound like the bridge is the BEST way to spend $xxxx of millions. Are there other, more beneficial ways to spend $x amount of dollars? I'd imagine there are. Health care for X of children would top a bridge for 14,000 people. They can take a boat.

This is the lamest piece of "reporting" I've ever seen. Just lead with "I hate Palin, I'm trying anything I can to make Republicans look bad". Repubs do enough on their own to make themselves look bad, they need no help from the author.

If you want to present a point of view, present some facts from both sides and then present arguments that support your case, instead of just one point of view that happens to serve your political interest. I know you just love your Barry Obama, but try to hide it just a little.

what a piece of propaganda!!!

Alaskans just don't get it.

Our small town in Colorado paid for its own water & sewer treatment facilities. Meanwhile, Mayor Palin hired a Washington DC lobbiest to get Wasilla federal $$ for its water & sewer upgrades. Because Palin was so focused on getting porkbarrel $$ from Washington, Wasilla had $$ to build a top notch hockey rink.

Small towns in the Lower 48 don't get the extras that Wasilla got. We make do without the federal earmarks.

Shame on Mayor Palin and then Governor Palin for turning Alaska into a true Welfare State.

AKgrandma and others- I took a look at google Earth and if the people of Ketchikan AK want/need a bridge to their airport who are we to judge? Isn't a majority of the republican beliefs crediting individual states with responsibility to take care of their own people? If Palin prides herself on being an Alaskan, why would she throw part of her state under the bus when it comes down to denying access to a necessary map point, like an airport? Y'all must not be "REAL AMARICANS" in Ketchikan... (sorry bad joke.)

Newsweek is such a BIAS publication. Where is the story of Obama and the Terroist!!!!!!!!!!!! Somthing that is really important to our country. Not a bridge story!!(oh my gosh!).

I am so very happy to see that this has finally made people have a conversation on politics.....ask yourself this???? did the last four years have a majority of democrates? I will answer that one for you the Democrates voted to pass the Bridge to Nowhere..They were the majority and they passed it with the Republican party.I was born and lived in Ketchikan for the first 18 years of my life. I left there in 1986 and visit frequntly. I know that the community needed to have a better way to make it to the airport. Who out in real America has to wait for a ferry to get to their airport???? It is not only the fact that traveling to the airport is difficult it also the fact that Ketchikan has very little area to build..unless of course you want to build on one of the many granite encrusted lots that takes you weeks and weeks to drill and dynamite to get down to a surface that can be built on. The politicians in our government dont work for you and I ....they work to get re-elected the next year....WhenTed Stevens added this Bridge to the package he did it for his state.....this would bring jobs and infrastructure to an Alaskan community....Don't think your Senator or Congressman hasn't done the same for your state as well. Earmarks are a way of life in D.C, and the American people pay for it!! I say to you!!!! Stand up for your rights......quit voting party lines like you do every election year! Vote for the person who will shake up government......Who believes what you believe.....Read between the lines and vote AMERICAN!!!!!!!
I think a new party needs to rise up to the occassion a party that stands for the people of the USA...let us call it the AMERICAN party.....