A WHALE AND ALASKAN WASTE

 

The two items in the title are totally unrelated. Both interesting, however. I wanted to give each its just due.

I am on a diet. Generally people in Key West give dieters the same advice. Swim, eat only fish, and drink plenty of water.

I came across a comment yesterday that fit the advice and showed the error of the advice.

A whale swims all day, eats only fish, drinks water, and is FAT!

Walked again yesterday. This time did the hotels. Each day a different place so I do not get bored.

The Casa Marina and the Reach. Plus up and down and around blocks in between.

Both hotels lovely. Especially the Casa Marina. A jewel! Neither crowded. Must be the time of year. A good time to visit. Prices cheaper.

I worked on friday’s TV/Internet show. The Key West Lou Legal Hour. Still have some fine tuning to do. The show is a good one. They all are. We live in a crazy world and I report the craziness I discover.

The Key West Lou Legal Hour airs on two separate TV channels. From Key West to Miami-Dade County. Comcast Channel 87 and U-Versa Channel 19. The show is also available world wide on the internet. www.tvchannel19.com.

The show is one hour and begins at 10 in the morning my time.

I published another Amazon Kindle article yesterday. Abuse of Power. Involves a three year old and the police.

Now to Alaskan waste. You are not going to believe what I am about to share.

Alaskans appear to be smart people. They may decry the federal government. However, they are adept at securing federal funding. Generally for irrational purposes.

The bridge to nowhere became household words when Sarah Palin was running. A bridge as long as the Golden Gate Bridge. Problem was the bridge went nowhere. The projected cost $398 million. Federal stimulus dollars had been allocated for the project.

After the election, Sarah Palin withdrew Alaska’s plans to build the bridge.

The Alaskans did get the federal government, however. They built the Gavina Island Highway. Cost $25 million. Note it is built. The problem is the highway was to connect to the bridge to nowhere. No one uses the highway because there is no bridge to connect to.

It has to make one wonder how much oversight from Washington is involved in the stimulus program. The highway and the monies for the bridge to nowhere were either approved and/or disbursed during Bush 2’s administration.

Now comes the airport in the middle of nowhere. The place is Akutan, Alaska. Alaska got approval to build a $75.5 million airport to service Akutan.

Akutan has 75 full time residents, 5 boats, and 1,000 seasonal workers. They needed the airport like a hole in the head! The money approved, but not disbursed. I doubt it ever will.

The airport was to be built on an island six miles across the Bering Straites from Akutan. Rough and turbulent waters. A means was required to get customers from Akutan to the airport. No problem. About $13 million was approved. Part of the $75.5 million package. To build/acquire some  kind of hoverboats as they were called to transport people back and forth.

We are not done yet.

It was decided a harbor was needed somewhere in Alaska. The harbor was built. Cost $29 million. The problem was there were no roads to connect the harbor to the town. Some one forgot to provide electricity and water to the harbor, also. Because no road and the other problems, the harbor is not used.

These monies are all stimulus dollars. Under both Bush and Obama administrations.

I see two problems.

Oversight with regard to the stimulus dollars does not appear to be effective. Perhaps non existant in some instances. What a waste of money! Taxpayer dollars!

The other problem is that Alaskan officials are pigs. Smart pigs. They knew these projects were not ready for use nor feasible. Nevertheless they went ahead and applied for the monies. Their explanation is that they were planning for the future.

No wonder as a Nation we are in economic trouble. Washington should watch its dollars as we do ours. We know they do not. I am not opposed to stimulus. All I ask is that it be used where it will do the best and immediate good. Immediate being the operative word.

Enjoy your day!

 

The runways were to be

3 comments on “A WHALE AND ALASKAN WASTE

  1. Was the money spent in Alaska a waste ?? Probably.. But that amount of money is nothing compared to the rest of the stimulus waste,, Solyndra [sp] is just one that comes to mind.. After-all obama has only increased our debt by $6 trillion in 3.5 years..

  2. Of course the entire damned Iraq pursuit of non existent weapons of mass delusion didn’t cost a penny did it? A buck or two more than an ill fated solar panel company. oh and by the way Patrick YOU LOST! The black man is still in the white man’s house.

  3. Well, You’re right Al,, I did loose as did the rest of the country.. Every intelligence agency in the world felt there was the existence of the non-existent WMDs at the time, including both Clintons, Colin Powell, etc.. But, I guess I didn’t realize the stimulus package included the war on terror..

Leave a Reply to Patrick Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *