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| ILLUSTRATION: Barry Blitt |
| Palin was elected governor just as the corruption scandal broke, and quickly took the opportunity to proclaim herself a reformer. |
The oilman at the center of the corruption scandal, Bill Allen, had agreed to testify against Stevens. The two men had once shared ownership of a racehorse, and had counted themselves good friends. Allen, a former welder and oilfield superintendent who came to Alaska from Texas and built a billion-dollar oilfield-services company, Veco Corporation, liked to be around other powerful men. He liked them to need him, and he had already claimed under oath that he had bribed Stevens’s son, Ben, a former state senator with a reputation for profiteering from government contracts his father had a hand in.
We like Stevens because he knows what we want. What we care about is subsistence.” He replenished his snuff and said, “Stevens has been a great supporter of subsistence life style, economic development. He’s been in there so many years he deserves a chance to go at it one more term. But I don’t think anyone can condone corruption in Washington, D.C.” Olick thought about that awhile, and said, “I’m an old traditional guy that still believes in old traditional ways. But things change.” Back in Bethel, I met a dentist, a man who ran a janitorial-supplies service, and a man who ran a fuel service. I asked them how they thought Bethel and the villages it supported would fare without Ted Stevens in the Senate, in a time without earmarks. The dentist said, “We’re fucked,” and the janitorial-supplies man said, “There will be ghost towns.” The fuel-oil man pointed to a hard black, jagged, wedge-shaped object on his desk, and asked if I knew what kind of tooth it was. “Mastodon,” he said
#1 by jdberger on September 14, 2008 - 9:22 pm
I can’t get this straight – Cliff?
Are earmarks good or bad?
Are big oil company profits good or bad?
Are government oil subsidies good or bad?
Can you answer those questions, Cliff?
#2 by Richard Warnick on September 15, 2008 - 9:04 am
She’s a lumberjack and she’s OK,
She sleeps all night and she works all day!
She doesn’t know foreign policy…
#3 by Oprahs' Orifice on September 15, 2008 - 9:42 am
She knows this, with diesel running anywhere from8-10 dollars a gallon in the bush, and there only means of producing electricity comes from diesel powered generators, the effect of this on Alaska is much more keenly felt than most places in the US.
Without this cheap commodity, most bush life comes to a grinding halt. People use it to run their vehicles, heat their homes, run their boats. There is no substitute.
Meanwhile, the reason crooked Ted and his son are still accepted and popular, is no matter what, Ted brings home the bacon. Much like Rostenkowski did for Chicago before his corruption got him thrown in the slammer.
#4 by jdberger on September 15, 2008 - 12:13 pm
Cliffy? Can you answer the questions above?
How about you, Richard? Can you answer the questions above?
#5 by Richard Warnick on September 15, 2008 - 12:34 pm
jd– here are some answers for you…
Are earmarks good or bad? Some are good and some are bad. All earmarks put together are something like one percent of the federal budget.
Are big oil company profits good or bad? The incentive for oil companies is to gouge consumers, and that’s where they get their profits. For example, this country used to have a lot more gasoline storage capacity that prevented pump prices from spiking, but it got in the way of profiteering.
Are government oil subsidies good or bad? You’re funny. The American oil and gas industry receives anywhere between $15 billion and $35 billion a year in subsidies from taxpayers. It’s all wasted money, keeping our country dependent on oil.
#6 by Bob S. on September 15, 2008 - 12:44 pm
Richard,
Care to address the issue of environmentalism on the storage of dangerous products like gasoline?
How about the difficulties in getting new refineries built?
New drilling areas for petroleum?
–As an aside, please let’s not repeat the liberal trope of ridding America from it’s dependence on petroleum. Does anyone realize how many none fuel products are made from petroleum?
If you trot out the food based substitutes, please include the effects on food prices. Food prices that disproportionally affect the “economically disadvantaged”
Let’s also address the affect of taxes on the price of gasoline. How about pointing out the government is taking more in taxes then the oil companies are making in profit?
Or the fact that while the raw numbers are huge, the percentage of profit is actually lower then many other types of companies?
#7 by Richard Warnick on September 15, 2008 - 12:53 pm
Excuse me for daring to criticize the poor, downtrodden petroleum industry in any way! Why, if things got any tougher for them they might have to cut back on political contributions– what a tragedy that would be, especially for the Republican Party.
Bob, you can shed enough tears for both of us!
#8 by Bob S. on September 15, 2008 - 1:03 pm
Richard,
I’m not shedding any tears for the petroleum companies, far from it.
I’m also not willing to let them be made the scapegoat for all the bad decisions made; business, political and environmental.
I just find it irritating that all the other factors are “conveniently” overlooked by too many folks.
#9 by jdberger on September 15, 2008 - 1:16 pm
They are a convenient whipping boy, aren’t they, Richard?
You punted on the first question, dodged the second and actually answered the third (I’m getting that you think oil Co. subsidies are bad).
I can only respond to your concrete answer.
If oil subsidies are bad are you going to vote for a politician who supports them? Or are you voting for Nader? Obama gave the oil and gas industry 2.6 billion in tax cuts as part of the 2005 Energy Bill. Hey look, McCain voted the same way Boxer (CA-D) and Feinstein did (CA-D). Kerry and Kennedy too!
On the other hand, Gov. Palin did show mettle when she stood up to oil companies regarding the trans-alaskan natural gas pipeline.
#10 by Richard Warnick on September 15, 2008 - 1:22 pm
I’m probably going to vote for either Nader or another hopeless candidate. It doesn’t matter in the presidential, I live in UTAH.
Oh, yeah, Palin’s pipeline. From the Houston Chronicle:
Whether it ever gets built or not, Alaska is on the hook for $500 million in subsidies. To the oil & gas companies.
#11 by Oprahs' Orifice on September 15, 2008 - 2:41 pm
In listening to the CBC, Canadian broadcasting, in an interview I listened to last week, MP had every expectation that the pipeline will be built, as a Canadian firm will be building most of it.
It is a 2 way street, every Alaska has been getting at least 1000 dollars a year, sometimes 2k for evey man, woman and child, for decades. They are getting this from royalties on pumped oil, though they have no oil pumps. That is where the oil companies come in, and their subsidies kick in if the price falls below a certain benchmark.