Alaska Senator Supports User Fees For All EXCEPT Alaska Pilots

[Larry Dighera]

How do these arrogant, self-serving, simpleminded politicians manage
to get elected? Doesn't Senator Stevens realize that his token
exemption will be overturned as soon as the bill is enacted? Doesn't
he realize that he has become the first evidence of the user fee
proponents' divide and conquer strategy?


STEVENS TRIES TO EXEMPT ALASKA PILOTS FROM USER FEES

Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, vice chairman of the Senate Commerce,
Science and Transportation Committee, voted against the
Nelson/Sununu amendment that would have stripped the $25 user fee
out of S.1300, the Senate's FAA reauthorization bill, but he
secured an exemption for many Alaskan aviators. The hotly debated
anti-user-fee amendment, supported by general aviation lobbying
groups, was defeated by the committee by Stevens' tie-breaking
vote. "I am concerned that this legislation as originally drafted
places an undue burden on too many small carriers in rural parts
of America, including Alaska," he said in a news release

(http://stevens.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=NewsRoom.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=9a711d5d-802a-23ad-4bdb-ec68e5caf36a&Region_id=&Issue_id=).
Stevens said he voted in favor of the bill even though it
contained an aviation user fee, according to KTUU.com
(http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=6567427&nav=menu510_2),
because killing it would have forced discussion of FAA funding to
start all over again. "I don't like the user-fee concept, but the
way it's been worked out now, it is a fair thing," Stevens said.
Dee Hanson, executive director of the Alaska Airmen's Association,
told AVweb on Tuesday that while she appreciates Sen. Stevens'
work to exempt rural Alaskan aviators, she fears the expansion of
user fees both in Alaska and in the rest of the country. "Our
members also fly in the Lower 48," she said. "An exemption is a
temporary fix. We oppose changing how the FAA is funded over to a
user-fee basis, and the known fact is that user fees for IFR
services have the potential to erode safety. We will continue to
fight this."
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/877-full.html#195309

[NW_Pilot]

If this happens we all will protest by registering our birds in AK and
grabbing a AK address for our pilots certificate's


"Larry Dighera" > wrote in message
...
> How do these arrogant, self-serving, simpleminded politicians manage
> to get elected? Doesn't Senator Stevens realize that his token
> exemption will be overturned as soon as the bill is enacted? Doesn't
> he realize that he has become the first evidence of the user fee
> proponents' divide and conquer strategy?
>
>
> STEVENS TRIES TO EXEMPT ALASKA PILOTS FROM USER FEES
>
> Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, vice chairman of the Senate Commerce,
> Science and Transportation Committee, voted against the
> Nelson/Sununu amendment that would have stripped the $25 user fee
> out of S.1300, the Senate's FAA reauthorization bill, but he
> secured an exemption for many Alaskan aviators. The hotly debated
> anti-user-fee amendment, supported by general aviation lobbying
> groups, was defeated by the committee by Stevens' tie-breaking
> vote. "I am concerned that this legislation as originally drafted
> places an undue burden on too many small carriers in rural parts
> of America, including Alaska," he said in a news release
>
> (http://stevens.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=NewsRoom.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=9a711d5d-802a-23ad-4bdb-ec68e5caf36a&Region_id=&Issue_id=).
> Stevens said he voted in favor of the bill even though it
> contained an aviation user fee, according to KTUU.com
> (http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=6567427&nav=menu510_2),
> because killing it would have forced discussion of FAA funding to
> start all over again. "I don't like the user-fee concept, but the
> way it's been worked out now, it is a fair thing," Stevens said.
> Dee Hanson, executive director of the Alaska Airmen's Association,
> told AVweb on Tuesday that while she appreciates Sen. Stevens'
> work to exempt rural Alaskan aviators, she fears the expansion of
> user fees both in Alaska and in the rest of the country. "Our
> members also fly in the Lower 48," she said. "An exemption is a
> temporary fix. We oppose changing how the FAA is funded over to a
> user-fee basis, and the known fact is that user fees for IFR
> services have the potential to erode safety. We will continue to
> fight this."
> http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/877-full.html#195309

[Jim Logajan]

"NW_Pilot" > wrote:
> If this happens we all will protest by registering our birds in AK and
> grabbing a AK address for our pilots certificate's

But the exemption appears to be only for intrastate flights within Alaska.
What is interesting is that Stevens not only got the user fee exemption,
where the original bill had funding _cuts_ to Alaskan airports, he got the
bill changed so it _increases_ funding to Alaskan airports.

Stevens is a master at pork barrel politics. See for example this classic:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravina_Island_Bridge

[john hawkins]

Come now. He's supporting HIS constituents
I tried to email members of the House Transportation and Infrastruction
Committee
see http://transportation.house.gov/Earmarks/index.shtml then
http://transportation.house.gov/aviation/index.shtml

for the members list of the subcommitte on aviation committe on
transportation and infrastructure only to discover that the members only
respond to their constituents. So you have to write YOUR congressman who may
or may not have any aviation interest and hope he passes your feeling on.

Distressing when addressing a National Issue.But then If each member
received over a million emails he would not have time to do anything but
read them.. This would irratate those put money in his re-election fund.

I claim, along with Mark Twain, that we have the best government money can
buy.


"Larry Dighera" > wrote in message
...
> How do these arrogant, self-serving, simpleminded politicians manage
> to get elected? Doesn't Senator Stevens realize that his token
> exemption will be overturned as soon as the bill is enacted? Doesn't
> he realize that he has become the first evidence of the user fee
> proponents' divide and conquer strategy?
>
>
> STEVENS TRIES TO EXEMPT ALASKA PILOTS FROM USER FEES
>
> Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, vice chairman of the Senate Commerce,
> Science and Transportation Committee, voted against the
> Nelson/Sununu amendment that would have stripped the $25 user fee
> out of S.1300, the Senate's FAA reauthorization bill, but he
> secured an exemption for many Alaskan aviators. The hotly debated
> anti-user-fee amendment, supported by general aviation lobbying
> groups, was defeated by the committee by Stevens' tie-breaking
> vote. "I am concerned that this legislation as originally drafted
> places an undue burden on too many small carriers in rural parts
> of America, including Alaska," he said in a news release
>
> (http://stevens.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=NewsRoom.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=9a711d5d-802a-23ad-4bdb-ec68e5caf36a&Region_id=&Issue_id=).
> Stevens said he voted in favor of the bill even though it
> contained an aviation user fee, according to KTUU.com
> (http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=6567427&nav=menu510_2),
> because killing it would have forced discussion of FAA funding to
> start all over again. "I don't like the user-fee concept, but the
> way it's been worked out now, it is a fair thing," Stevens said.
> Dee Hanson, executive director of the Alaska Airmen's Association,
> told AVweb on Tuesday that while she appreciates Sen. Stevens'
> work to exempt rural Alaskan aviators, she fears the expansion of
> user fees both in Alaska and in the rest of the country. "Our
> members also fly in the Lower 48," she said. "An exemption is a
> temporary fix. We oppose changing how the FAA is funded over to a
> user-fee basis, and the known fact is that user fees for IFR
> services have the potential to erode safety. We will continue to
> fight this."
> http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/877-full.html#195309

[Larry Dighera]

On Sun, 03 Jun 2007 06:09:03 GMT, "john hawkins"
> wrote in
>:

>Come now. He's supporting HIS constituents

Yes. Senator Stevens has demonstrated support of his constituency in
a very arrogant, openly inequitable, and shortsighted way.

Because S. 1300 supports the imposition of direct _user_ _fees,_ it
opens the door for Congress to seek additional revenue via the
imposition of inefficient user fee funding in future legislation. It
is the issue of the administratively inefficient user fee funding that
Senator Steven's constituency (and all aviators) should be concerned
with, as it represents the camel's nose sliding under the tent for all
US ATC users.

Stevens had an opportunity to kill user fees as a source of funding,
and instead of recognizing that the cost administration of such a
revenue stream would likely reduce the amount of funds available after
the costs of administering such a boondoggle to insignificance, he
completely overlooked this larger issue, and was barely able to see
beyond his own self-interests.

This exposes Senator Stevens as an arrogant and inept politician with
the same feeble powers of insight as our nation's president. Clearly
Stevens has no business contributing to any Congressional committee.

http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=6567427&nav=menu510_2
"I don't like the user fee concept, but the way it's been worked
out now it is a fair thing," Stevens said.

Who is going to collect user fees? What will be cost of collecting,
marinating records, and enforcing user fees? Will user fees increase
the size of government?

>I tried to email members of the House Transportation and Infrastruction
>Committee
>see http://transportation.house.gov/Earmarks/index.shtml then
>http://transportation.house.gov/aviation/index.shtml
>

Wouldn't it have been more appropriate to direct your contact to the
Senate committee instead of the House?

>for the members list of the subcommitte on aviation committe on
>transportation and infrastructure only to discover that the members only
>respond to their constituents.

You'll find a list of House Commerce Committee members here:
http://transportation.house.gov/about/

You'll find a list of Senate Commerce Committee members here:
http://www.senate.gov/comm/commerce/general/about/membership.html

Here is a list of the Senate Commerce Committee on Aviation:


http://www.senate.gov/comm/commerce/general/subcommittees/documents/subcommittee.pdf
Senate Commerce Committee Subcommittee Assignments – 109th
Congress Subcommittee on Aviation:
Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT), Chair
Senator John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV) Ranking Member
Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI)
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) Senator Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND)
Senator Trent Lott (R-MS) Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME) Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Senator Gordon H. Smith (R-OR) Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL)
Senator John Ensign (R-NV) Senator E. Benjamin Nelson (D-NE)
Senator George Allen (R-VA) Senator Mark L. Pryor (D-AR)
Senator John E. Sununu (R-NH) 11. Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC)

>So you have to write YOUR congressman who may
>or may not have any aviation interest and hope he passes your feeling on.

It's better than no input at all:

http://www.house.gov/writerep/
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

>Distressing when addressing a National Issue.But then If each member
>received over a million emails he would not have time to do anything but
>read them.. This would irratate those put money in his re-election fund.
>
>I claim, along with Mark Twain, that we have the best government money can
>buy.
>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
>"Larry Dighera" > wrote in message
...
>> How do these arrogant, self-serving, simpleminded politicians manage
>> to get elected? Doesn't Senator Stevens realize that his token
>> exemption will be overturned as soon as the bill is enacted? Doesn't
>> he realize that he has become the first evidence of the user fee
>> proponents' divide and conquer strategy?
>>
>>
>> STEVENS TRIES TO EXEMPT ALASKA PILOTS FROM USER FEES
>>
>> Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, vice chairman of the Senate Commerce,
>> Science and Transportation Committee, voted against the
>> Nelson/Sununu amendment that would have stripped the $25 user fee
>> out of S.1300, the Senate's FAA reauthorization bill, but he
>> secured an exemption for many Alaskan aviators. The hotly debated
>> anti-user-fee amendment, supported by general aviation lobbying
>> groups, was defeated by the committee by Stevens' tie-breaking
>> vote. "I am concerned that this legislation as originally drafted
>> places an undue burden on too many small carriers in rural parts
>> of America, including Alaska," he said in a news release
>>
>> (http://stevens.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=NewsRoom.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=9a711d5d-802a-23ad-4bdb-ec68e5caf36a&Region_id=&Issue_id=).
>> Stevens said he voted in favor of the bill even though it
>> contained an aviation user fee, according to KTUU.com
>> (http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=6567427&nav=menu510_2),
>> because killing it would have forced discussion of FAA funding to
>> start all over again. "I don't like the user-fee concept, but the
>> way it's been worked out now, it is a fair thing," Stevens said.
>> Dee Hanson, executive director of the Alaska Airmen's Association,
>> told AVweb on Tuesday that while she appreciates Sen. Stevens'
>> work to exempt rural Alaskan aviators, she fears the expansion of
>> user fees both in Alaska and in the rest of the country. "Our
>> members also fly in the Lower 48," she said. "An exemption is a
>> temporary fix. We oppose changing how the FAA is funded over to a
>> user-fee basis, and the known fact is that user fees for IFR
>> services have the potential to erode safety. We will continue to
>> fight this."
>> http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/877-full.html#195309
>

[Andrew Gideon]

On Sun, 03 Jun 2007 12:34:41 +0000, Larry Dighera wrote:

> Yes. Senator Stevens has demonstrated support of his constituency in a
> very arrogant, openly inequitable, and shortsighted way.

Which should answer your question about how he and his kin are elected.

- Andrew

[Larry Dighera]

It looks like we won't have to put up with this crook much longer:



http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11989055&ft=1&f=1014
Alaska Senator Scrutinized in Corruption Probe
by Peter Overby

Weekend Edition Sunday, July 15, 2007 · Powerful, often-abrasive
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), 83, is enmeshed in a federal corruption
probe that has implicated his son Ben. The Justice Department is
investigating ties between a fishing co-op that paid Ben Stevens
$500,000 and a federal bailout passed by the senator.


Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), center, leaves the weekly Republican
policy luncheon at the Capitol, July 10, 2007, in Washington, D.C.
The longest-serving Republican senator, Stevens has been caught up
in a Justice Department corruption probe. Getty Images


Related NPR Stories
June 29, 2007
Alaska GOP Shaken by Corruption Inquiry


On Sun, 03 Jun 2007 12:34:41 GMT, Larry Dighera >
wrote in >:

>On Sun, 03 Jun 2007 06:09:03 GMT, "john hawkins"
> wrote in
>:
>
>>Come now. He's supporting HIS constituents
>
>Yes. Senator Stevens has demonstrated support of his constituency in
>a very arrogant, openly inequitable, and shortsighted way.
>
>Because S. 1300 supports the imposition of direct _user_ _fees,_ it
>opens the door for Congress to seek additional revenue via the
>imposition of inefficient user fee funding in future legislation. It
>is the issue of the administratively inefficient user fee funding that
>Senator Steven's constituency (and all aviators) should be concerned
>with, as it represents the camel's nose sliding under the tent for all
>US ATC users.
>
>Stevens had an opportunity to kill user fees as a source of funding,
>and instead of recognizing that the cost administration of such a
>revenue stream would likely reduce the amount of funds available after
>the costs of administering such a boondoggle to insignificance, he
>completely overlooked this larger issue, and was barely able to see
>beyond his own self-interests.
>
>This exposes Senator Stevens as an arrogant and inept politician with
>the same feeble powers of insight as our nation's president. Clearly
>Stevens has no business contributing to any Congressional committee.
>
> http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=6567427&nav=menu510_2
> "I don't like the user fee concept, but the way it's been worked
> out now it is a fair thing," Stevens said.
>
>Who is going to collect user fees? What will be cost of collecting,
>marinating records, and enforcing user fees? Will user fees increase
>the size of government?
>
>>I tried to email members of the House Transportation and Infrastruction
>>Committee
>>see http://transportation.house.gov/Earmarks/index.shtml then
>>http://transportation.house.gov/aviation/index.shtml
>>
>
>Wouldn't it have been more appropriate to direct your contact to the
>Senate committee instead of the House?
>
>>for the members list of the subcommitte on aviation committe on
>>transportation and infrastructure only to discover that the members only
>>respond to their constituents.
>
>You'll find a list of House Commerce Committee members here:
> http://transportation.house.gov/about/
>
>You'll find a list of Senate Commerce Committee members here:
> http://www.senate.gov/comm/commerce/general/about/membership.html
>
>Here is a list of the Senate Commerce Committee on Aviation:
>
>
>http://www.senate.gov/comm/commerce/general/subcommittees/documents/subcommittee.pdf
> Senate Commerce Committee Subcommittee Assignments – 109th
> Congress Subcommittee on Aviation:
> Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT), Chair
> Senator John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV) Ranking Member
> Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI)
> Senator John McCain (R-AZ) Senator Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND)
> Senator Trent Lott (R-MS) Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
> Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
> Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME) Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ)
> Senator Gordon H. Smith (R-OR) Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL)
> Senator John Ensign (R-NV) Senator E. Benjamin Nelson (D-NE)
> Senator George Allen (R-VA) Senator Mark L. Pryor (D-AR)
> Senator John E. Sununu (R-NH) 11. Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC)
>
>>So you have to write YOUR congressman who may
>>or may not have any aviation interest and hope he passes your feeling on.
>
>It's better than no input at all:
>
> http://www.house.gov/writerep/
> http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
>
>>Distressing when addressing a National Issue.But then If each member
>>received over a million emails he would not have time to do anything but
>>read them.. This would irratate those put money in his re-election fund.
>>
>>I claim, along with Mark Twain, that we have the best government money can
>>buy.
>>
>-----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>"Larry Dighera" > wrote in message
...
>>> How do these arrogant, self-serving, simpleminded politicians manage
>>> to get elected? Doesn't Senator Stevens realize that his token
>>> exemption will be overturned as soon as the bill is enacted? Doesn't
>>> he realize that he has become the first evidence of the user fee
>>> proponents' divide and conquer strategy?
>>>
>>>
>>> STEVENS TRIES TO EXEMPT ALASKA PILOTS FROM USER FEES
>>>
>>> Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, vice chairman of the Senate Commerce,
>>> Science and Transportation Committee, voted against the
>>> Nelson/Sununu amendment that would have stripped the $25 user fee
>>> out of S.1300, the Senate's FAA reauthorization bill, but he
>>> secured an exemption for many Alaskan aviators. The hotly debated
>>> anti-user-fee amendment, supported by general aviation lobbying
>>> groups, was defeated by the committee by Stevens' tie-breaking
>>> vote. "I am concerned that this legislation as originally drafted
>>> places an undue burden on too many small carriers in rural parts
>>> of America, including Alaska," he said in a news release
>>>
>>> (http://stevens.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=NewsRoom.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=9a711d5d-802a-23ad-4bdb-ec68e5caf36a&Region_id=&Issue_id=).
>>> Stevens said he voted in favor of the bill even though it
>>> contained an aviation user fee, according to KTUU.com
>>> (http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=6567427&nav=menu510_2),
>>> because killing it would have forced discussion of FAA funding to
>>> start all over again. "I don't like the user-fee concept, but the
>>> way it's been worked out now, it is a fair thing," Stevens said.
>>> Dee Hanson, executive director of the Alaska Airmen's Association,
>>> told AVweb on Tuesday that while she appreciates Sen. Stevens'
>>> work to exempt rural Alaskan aviators, she fears the expansion of
>>> user fees both in Alaska and in the rest of the country. "Our
>>> members also fly in the Lower 48," she said. "An exemption is a
>>> temporary fix. We oppose changing how the FAA is funded over to a
>>> user-fee basis, and the known fact is that user fees for IFR
>>> services have the potential to erode safety. We will continue to
>>> fight this."
>>> http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/877-full.html#195309
>>

[Bob Noel]

In article >,
Larry Dighera > wrote:

> It looks like we won't have to put up with this crook much longer:

It would be pretty lonely in Congress if all the crooks left.

--
Bob Noel
(goodness, please trim replies!!!)

[Larry Dighera]

On Sat, 04 Aug 2007 12:09:05 -0400, Bob Noel
> wrote in
>:

>It would be pretty lonely in Congress if all the crooks left.

We can hope.




http://bob.wjla.com/headlines/0807/444164.html
Corruption Probe Dogs Alaska

Wednesday August 01, 2007 6:04pm from our sister station WJLA-TV

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - One former state representative is guilty of
bribery. Three more await trial on similar charges. The state's lone
congressman is under federal investigation for corruption. A U.S.
senator just had his home searched by the FBI. This is not exactly the
Alaska that Vic Fischer had in mind when he helped draft the state's
constitution more than 50 years ago.

"Greed is rampant," said Fischer. "The character of the politicians
has changed a lot. I'm very disgusted."

The wave of government corruption allegations has brought national
attention to a state that touts its beauty and rugged landscapes, wild
salmon and spectacular Northern Lights.

Fischer, current lawmakers and political analysts say the cases are
evidence that the state is reaping what it sowed from years of lax
oversight and a cozy relationship with the oil industry.

The relationship between lawmakers and the oil industry is a central
issue in an investigation that stretches from Juneau to Washington,
D.C. First, the former state lawmakers were accused of accepting
bribes or extorting favors in exchange for oil tax votes favorable to
the industry.

Soon, the Justice Department began looking into the relationship
between the contractor VECO Corp. and Alaska's congressional
delegation. Earlier this week, federal agents raided the home of U.S.
Sen. Ted Stevens, who is under scrutiny for his close relationship
with a contractor who oversaw his home renovation project and won
millions in federal contracts.

The common denominator in all but one case is former oil field
services executive Bill Allen, who recently pleaded guilty to bribing
lawmakers who were considering an oil tax bill. He remains at the
center of emerging corruption probes.

Allen's company, Anchorage-based VECO Corp., has long been a
heavy-hitting player in North Slope oil and gas operations. But Allen
and former company vice president Rick Smith, who also pleaded guilty
with Allen, became political activists as well.

Allen was once a fixture in the state's Capitol. His presence was so
strong he was credited as the driver behind a legal change in the
definition of a lobbyist - essentially so that he no longer had to
register as one.

But Allen still pushed his agenda with meetings in the Baranof Hotel,
among the city's poshest, and in the Capitol, lawmakers and court
records say. He was even spotted improperly passing notes to lawmakers
over a railing during a House floor session last year.

Eventually, the lines between the industry and politics became
blurred, said former House Minority leader Ethan Berkowitz. The
state's checks and balances system eroded and the system broke, he
said.

"We've been a one-party state and a one-industry state for too long,"
he said. "The economic and political power has consolidated into just
a few hands and that breeds contempt. That kind of concentration of
power gives rise to fascist tendencies."

If things progress, the state's reputation for political corruption
could become akin to that of New Jersey or Louisiana, some political
analysts said.

"I don't think anybody is going to cancel a summer cruise because of
Ted Stevens," said John Pitney, political science professor at
Claremont McKenna College in Southern California. "But it does hurt
the brand.

"It's difficult to quantify but that tarnish probably carries a price.
It makes it more difficult to press the state's rights or needs when
arguing with the federal officials and general public."

In their own quirky way, the developments coincide with the recent
release of "The Simpsons Movie," which prominently features the
cartoon family's journey to Alaska, prompting Homer Simpson to say
it's a place where "you can't be too fat or too drunk."

The movie depicts Alaska almost as a separate country. As Homer
crosses the state lines, he's greeted by a customs agent who says,
"Welcome to Alaska," then hands Homer $1,000 cash, saying every
Alaskan gets a stack of bills so oil companies can exploit the
environment.

The effect the scandal could have is not lost on Republican Gov. Sarah
Palin, who last year ran her campaign on ethics reform and recently
signed a 43-page ethics reform bill into law, a document originally
introduced as an eight-page offering in January.

In 2004, as chairwoman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation
Commission, she exposed Alaska Republican Party Chairman Randy
Ruedrich for ethical violations when he was a fellow commissioner.

Now, Palin is trying to convince federal officials that Alaska can
foster the right development for a multibillion dollar pipeline she
hopes will ship trillions of cubic feet of natural gas from the North
Slope to market.

"We should be a leader in energy policy," she said "The only way we
can lead is if the rest of the nation is confident our leaders are
willing to serve for the right reasons."

"It's a wake up call for Alaska to demand better from its elected and
appointed officials," she said. "It's a wake up call that we cannot
continue to go down the path that we're on."

[John Godwin]

Bob Noel > wrote in
:

> It would be pretty lonely in Congress if all the crooks left.
>

It would certainly be a refreshing improvement.

--