The View From ‘Nowhere’

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  • Posted By: nickchorey @ 10/25/2008 10:07:33 PM

    I am both amused and embarassed by the letters written by both the Alaskans and the downunders. First of all. from what I've been reading I'd come to the conclusion tha Alaska needs better schools and teachers so that Alaskans can write clearly, logically and without the mis-spelling. I'd like to think that these were just typo errors, but I don't think so. Next one of the biggest crooks in the U.S. Senate comes from your state, having been indicted for $ favors from builders of his home and who knows what else that he may have stashed into the freezer with his salmon and moose meat. If Secretary Seward was alive today he might be regretting the purchase of Alasska from Russia which Sarah can see from Wasila.

    • Posted By: akresident @ 10/26/2008 2:36:45 AM

      WASILLA

    • Posted By: AK-rider @ 10/25/2008 10:17:11 PM

      You sir. Are a moron. Alaska has some of the best schools in America. The highschool I graduated from was one of the first to implement the Highschool Exit Exam, and was a pilot school for NCLB.
      I regret to inform you that this is infact a blog, not a formal paper. Writing does convey a sense of sophistication when done properly, but then again, those of us that don't validate our pathetic existance by pouring over the quickly wirtten comments of others, actually have lives. I suggest you join the living, and move out of your mom's basement.


      -Fairbanks Alaska-

      • Posted By: crowe4me @ 10/26/2008 12:39:58 AM

        GO AK-Rider!!! Well said!!! : )

    • Posted By: Athenasmom @ 10/25/2008 10:39:09 PM

      Last I knew, Alaska has only ONE 'S'. GO BACK TO SCHOOL!

      • Posted By: crowe4me @ 10/26/2008 12:34:35 AM

        Speaking of needing more education....you just made yourself look like an idiot by not being able to spell Alaska right.

    • Posted By: AK-rider @ 10/25/2008 10:24:04 PM

      I am both amused and embarassed by the letters written by both the Alaskans and the downunders. First of all. from what I've been reading I'd come to the conclusion tha Alaska needs better schools and teachers so that Alaskans can write clearly, logically and without the mis-spelling(SHOULD HAVE BEEN PLURAL). I'd like to think that these were just typo errors, but I don't think so. Next(COMMA NEEDED) one of the biggest crooks in the U.S. Senate comes from your state, having been indicted for $(SPELL THE WORD OUT, ARE YOU TOO LAZY TO TYPE "DOLLAR"?) favors from builders of his home and who knows what else that he may have stashed into the freezer with his salmon and moose meat(HOLY "RUN ON SENTENCE"). If Secretary Seward was alive today he might be regretting the purchase of Alasska from Russia (PUNCTUATION?)which Sarah can see from Wasila.

      FInal Grade - F

      • Posted By: xnavyproud @ 10/25/2008 11:13:45 PM

        I think that the schools in Alaska are much better than "Outside". I think that the main reason is that most of the teachers in Alaska are Republican. We used to have summer aids and they were intelligent and motivated and Republican.

      • Posted By: xnavyproud @ 10/25/2008 11:04:40 PM

        Isn't it spelled Wasilla? Was that a typo?

  • Posted By: Big Girl @ 10/26/2008 2:34:19 AM

    It sounds like the bridge is not only something they need, but it has already been promised. The economic boon to the area is something worth fighting for. For all the money wasted on "odd" projects our government gets into, this is an opportunity to bring up the standard of living in all of that area and increase the business opportunities. Business is more taxes and more taxes fund this government. This is not hard to figure out!!

  • Posted By: not this time @ 10/26/2008 1:13:02 AM

    SETTING HERE IN ALASKA I HAVE FELT VERY SAFE FOR THE PAST 35 YEARS, KNOWNING VERY WELL THAT I WOULD NEVER HAVE TO FACE MOST OF THE BIAS LIBERAL IDIOTS. THE FACT IS THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT GIVE FREE TICKETS TO ALASKA LIKE THEY DO FOOD STAMPS. I WAS VERY HAPPY IN 1976 LIVING IN VALDEZ, NO RADIO, NO TV WHEN YOU VOTED THE PEANUT FARMER INTO THE WHITE HOUSE. NEXT CAME 4 DOLLAR GAS, 20% UNIMPLOYMENT AND A BEAUTIFUL RECCESION ...... LOOKS LIKE YOUR WONDERFUL DEMO CONGRESS IS AGAIN ON THE VERGE OF A 1976 SUCESS STORY ........ WE LIVE SEPARATE AND APART FROM YOU LOWER 48 IDIOTS.

    • Posted By: stucopro @ 10/26/2008 1:25:23 AM

      Well, then get the hell out of my country, and create your own. We don't need you, don't know why you are a state anyway

      • Posted By: angelamevans @ 10/26/2008 2:28:19 AM

        Welllll Jethro....seems likin' us lower 48 idiots have our bridges! Be very careful Mr. Clampet before you
        group together millions of people into your insults. Just because you lack social skills, doesn't mean you can't at least try to post an intelligent argument....or does it?

  • Posted By: Tobucks @ 10/26/2008 2:04:46 AM

    Ketcjican, Alaska is a major tourist attraction and amajor fishing desination for thousands of fishermen arriving fron the lower 48 states at the International airport located on the island directly across and West from Ketchican. Ferry service to the island where the airport has been built is extremely crouded and unable to handle all the passenger trafic a dgodd deal of the time. I'm from Oregon and go here often and my opinion. There is no place a runway can be built on the land upon which the city of Ketchican is built, even most of the down town area in built on man made pilings and decking. I must add though, as a construction owner all my life, the price sound highly over the real cost for the project, maybe some expensive games being played here. This also is a major stop over for many of the 1000 foot long cruise ships, I don't know how they will be able to pass under the bridge.

  • Posted By: ketchikankid @ 10/26/2008 1:34:30 AM

    Comment: 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.....

    • Posted By: dmitri @ 10/26/2008 2:04:40 AM

      Since your such a stand-up American guy, how about having Ketchikan and the Alaskan's do it the old-fashinoned American way: with their own money. How about spending a little of that $1200/yr distributed to every Alaskan every year? That should buy a bridge or two. How about a landing fee for the airport, to help defray the cost? These are traditional Reagan approaches that I would think would be very popular in Red State (not to say Red Meat) Alaska. But no!!! Independent Alaskans want us Blue Staters in California and Washington who actually create wealth (rather than just sucking it out of the ground) and who actually pay more taxes to Washington than every returns to our state--they want us to pay for their bridge for them. I actually don't mind government providing public amenities--that's what governments and taxes are for. I just get tired of the endlessy hypocrisy of the Red State Welfare Queens.

  • Posted By: Lifejunkie @ 10/26/2008 1:15:46 AM

    I Love it when we get to hear the whole story. I always wondered why it's such an awful thing for the government to help out on things that are needed by society. In my book that does include bridges and even updated projectors for a city planatarium that creates additional revenue for one of Americas largest cities.
    Obama/Biden 08'
    spread the wealth around ... there are too many homeless and hopeless in our midst!

    • Posted By: Ron406 @ 10/26/2008 2:03:33 AM

      For many years I used to travel to Ketchkan from Tacoma, Wa to repair organs and build sound systems in SE Alaska. I stayed at the home of one of my customers, Jim, and developed a long lasting friendship over the years. Because of this I had to use the airport over and over. One thing not mentioned is the fact that for much of the year fog closes down the area. It is not a fog that is high, in fact, many times from the window of the house I was in I could see the airport clearly but the ground hugging fog had closed down the ferry because it was not able to dock safely. This also occured during stormy times as well because the wind was so strong the ferry could not tie up without twisting so again it was closed down. I have spent up to 4 days extra there because I could not get to the airport. I don't know about you but if a family emergency happened and we had to go "south" we would not be able to do a normal thing like help a family memeber out or get to a hospital that had facilities the Ketchkan hospital did not have. Most of the people "in the lower 48" do not understand how much life is different in AK.... it is in many ways still a frontier. The people up there are the friendliest and nicest people you will ever meet and have for friends.
      To the people of Ketchikan, I wish you the best in your growth and in making life easier. I hope the Roller Bay cafe is still there and that the gym and community center out where the longhouse and totem pole are has been rebuilt since the roof caved in during a very heavy snow.
      Thanks for the memories
      Ron Sauro

  • Posted By: Joesdad @ 10/25/2008 8:42:30 PM

    One thing that is remarkable to me is how many lovely comments there are from people who have visited Ketchikan, how it is a beautiful place that could so benefit from the transportation gains provided by a bridge. Would this be so we would have lovely driving conditions to visit our resort cottages? To me, it is very simple. If the cruise ships, tourists, and wealthy investors want a nice little bridge, build it. If you are an Alaskan, dodging the crime, taxes, and misery of suburban US living, while enjoying the beauty, wildlife, and outdoor existence of your state, get on with it. But if you honestly think that most Americans feel that is good value for money, get in your kayak, head south, and buy a repo.

    • Posted By: xnavyproud @ 10/26/2008 1:54:28 AM

      That is a problem for pioneers. They break ground and build and get things nice and then some lazy folks move in and ruin everything. That was the great thing about Fairbanks. It was just. Just far enough north, just cold enough, just hard enough that the lazy folks would show up for a while and then leave.

  • Posted By: Fnewsweek @ 10/25/2008 11:48:34 PM

    "The whole point of taxes is to redistribute income, for the benefit of society as a whole, "

    WOW you are a PUBLIC teacher? I hope not a HISTORY teacher- if so where did you get a degree??! How could you even utter that about our founding fathers and the principals/ideas they had in setting up our government.. WOW, just WOW. That has to be the most clueless thing I have read in years.

    • Posted By: davidehenriksen @ 10/26/2008 1:51:31 AM

      To Fnewsweek: Yes, I am a history teacher. I am also a retired Army officer. And since time immemorial, the collection of taxes has redistributed income from one group to another. When King David collected taxes to build the temple, the money was transfered to the builders. When the British collected taxes on the tea sold in the colonies, the money was used to subsidize the British East India Company, when a government collects taxes and uses it to construct something for the benefit of society at large, the tax money is distributed to workers and businesses and others. So before you accuse someone of being clueless, why don't you try expanding the scope of what you read and try to get a clue first.

  • Posted By: Citizen 502 @ 10/26/2008 1:46:05 AM

    I live in Louisville Ky and we have been planning to build a bridge for the last 30 years, yet it has not come. Billions have been spent on it already yet no bridge we have the funding but no real direction we know where it will be built just not when. Our city is a modest size compared with L.A. and Chicago but with a big city complex. But don't worry about us because we also have representitaves that also don't care about it's tax paying citizens.

  • Posted By: wtlr001 @ 10/26/2008 1:45:38 AM

    Personally I think that all Earmarks, Pork barrel projects or what ever name our esteemed representatives will next think of to call them should be outlawed. If a project can???t stand by itself it doesn???t need to be considered. There are scores of toll bridges around the world that support and maintain themselves.

  • Posted By: ketchikankid @ 10/26/2008 1:45:26 AM

    wikipedia is the best....you can go in a nad change the data to what ever you would like it to say........For al you that have wiki'd Ketchikan.....the data on population has changed 3 times in the past 15 minutes......come on use facts not wikipedia.

  • Posted By: C4tys @ 10/26/2008 1:40:55 AM

    Im going to assume that you NewsweakEditor think that people should pay you their hard earned money so you can sit on your Fat Lazy Welfare Accepting Ass in your *** Roach Infested Trailer Park. So that you wont have to get up and work for a living like respectable people do to support their family. You would just rather someone do it for you. You Too are a communist my friend take your happy ass to Russia They will take good care of you.

  • Posted By: ketchikankid @ 10/26/2008 1:40:24 AM

    The community of Ketchikan serves over a million people a year... Every Alaska Airlines flight that leaves this community 10 times a day leaves full not a seat left unfilled. Get the facts straight.....

  • Posted By: gio124 @ 10/26/2008 1:38:57 AM

    PALIN WILL NOT FORGET ABOUT ALASKA . OBAMA WILL!

  • Posted By: amaryla @ 10/26/2008 1:34:31 AM

    Perhaps a visit to wikipedia might clear things up a bit people. I don't know if the people of Ketchikan are so crass as to think that a town of 14,000 people need to spend $400,000,000 to build a bridge to an airport that receives 200, 000 people a year. Seems like falsw economics to me.
    And by the way what party is this timely and newsworthy mayor a member of anyway? Probably the one that has put us in this sorry mess to begin with.

  • Posted By: akwench @ 10/26/2008 1:25:15 AM

    Before you say it's the rest of the story....here are a few more facts: the bridge would not connect Ketchikan to Gravina Island where the airport is. Another bridge would have to be funded to do that. It would however connect to an island of 35 residents and land owners (Senator Stevens for one) who would stand to make a great deal of money as the value of their property there would skyrocket. It's a 5 minute ferry ride to the airport from Ketchikan....

    • Posted By: ketchikankid @ 10/26/2008 1:32:01 AM

      akwench,,,,you are ignorant the bride to nowhere leads to the road to nowhere currently being built at the end of the airport.....Get the facts straight the bridge leads to the airport. t does not go anywhere else.
      That is igorance jump on a float plane check it out....I see it everytime I go to Southeast Alaska....the road to knowhere is pretty funny check it out on google earth.

  • Posted By: vgiarc @ 10/26/2008 1:31:31 AM

    obviously the poeple from Ketchikan have been able to get to theairport for the last 30 years. To waste that much money would have been crazy. People from all over the place are also, according to your own words, going to that airport.

  • Posted By: Whatfreshellisthis? @ 10/26/2008 1:30:40 AM

    I have a modest proposal... The federal government could match funds with the residents of Ketchikan. For a mere $14,214.29, each resident can share in the ownership (and maintenance) of the bridge. As is all the rage in transportation departments across the nation, you can privatize the roadways and charge a toll to cross the bridge. Of course it would be unfair to charge the residents TWICE, so they would use it for free. I'm sure the tourists would have no problem paying for a rental car so they could pay to use the bridge. Better yet, simply raise the rental fee and offer a one way pass. They would of course pay for the return trip, of course, otherwise they could opt to use the ferry...

  • Posted By: NewsweakEditor @ 10/26/2008 1:29:45 AM

    Who the hell asked about your retarded opinion C4tys. You can take your racist ass to mississippi and live with all the other rednecks.

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