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Last night, Biden had a snide "bridge" comment.....somebody needs to bring this up! Biden, Obama helped keep ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ alive Joe Biden, Barack Obama voted to kill a Senate amendment diverting bridge funding Both voted for final transportation bill that included the $223 million bridge earmark http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/23/biden.earmarks/index.html

Valerie Biden Owens isn't a candidate in this year's presidential election, but those who came to hear her speak in Altoona Thursday didn't mind. Owens stopped by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's local office to campaign for Obama and his running mate, Joe Biden, her older brother. "I'm OK with either," Tyler Mentzer of Duncansville said, of seeing the candidates or surrogates. "I'd love to see Obama and Biden." Mentzer said he already knew the ticket's issues; he liked Owens' personality and lightheartedness. "I think we need more of that," he said. It was standing room only as more than...

DEWEY BEACH, Delaware (CNN) -- Although Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden routinely mocks his Republican counterpart, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, for her onetime support of the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere," Biden and his running mate voted to keep the project alive twice. Both Biden and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama voted to kill a Senate amendment that would have diverted federal funding for the bridge to repair a Louisiana span badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina, Senate records show. And both voted for the final transportation bill that included the $223 million earmark for the Alaska project. An amendment offered...

Although Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden routinely mocks his Republican counterpart, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, for her onetime support of the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere," Biden and his running mate voted to keep the project alive twice.

DEWEY BEACH, Delaware (CNN) -- Although Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden routinely mocks his Republican counterpart, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, for her onetime support of the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere," Biden and his running mate voted to keep the project alive twice. Both Biden and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama voted to kill a Senate amendment that would have diverted federal funding for the bridge to repair a Louisiana span badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina, Senate records show. And both voted for the final transportation bill that included the $223 million earmark for the Alaska project. An amendment offered...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., says Republican U.S. vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin deserves credit for sinking Alaska's infamous "bridge to nowhere." Coburn, who first publicized the earmark from Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, as an example of pork-barrel congressional spending, said Palin was instrumental in scuttling the project as Alaska's governor, The Washington Times reported Saturday. "The bridge didn't get built because Sarah Palin had the guts to say it wasn't going to get built," Coburn told the newspaper. Palin has been under attack by Democratic critics for initially supporting Stevens' earmark for the bridge in...

For those that missed it, Sarah is vindicated once again by the non-partisan group Citizens Against Goverment Waste which states she killed the Bridge to Nowhere not Congress.

Obama voted AGAINST Katrina Aid http://paganpower.wordpress.com/2008/09/13/obama-voted-against-katrina-aid/

Charlie Gibson attempts to trip Sarah Palin up on a question about the “Bridge To Nowhere.” It didn’t work. She handled Gibson well.

Before Team Obama continues its attacks on Sarah Palin for at one point voicing some general support for the Bridge to Nowhere, the presidential hopeful has some explaining to do. Let the record show that Barack Obama himself voted for the bridge at least twice, as did his running mate Joe Biden. If Team Obama is to continue to point out that Palin was for the bridge before she was against it, they either must explain why Obama and Biden never denounced the project or, on the other hand, describe why they were in error for supporting it. At the...

Senator Jim DeMint has provided a clear voice against the corruption of pork-barrel spending, often castigating his own party while doing so. Along with John McCain, Tom Coburn, and Russ Feingold (D-WI), he has demanded that Congress act to stop the waste and influence peddling that earmarks subsidize. As such, he has a clear understanding of those who represent change, and those who offer business as usual, and he makes the distinction clear in his essay in the Wall Street Journal, emphases mine: --------------------- Mrs. Palin used her veto pen to slash more local projects than any other governor in...

"But, you know, when you've been taking all these earmarks when it's convenient, and then suddenly you're the champion anti-earmark person, that's not change. Come on! I mean, words mean something, you can't just make stuff up." -- Barack Obama, Sept. 6, 2008In politics, words are cheap. What really counts are actions. Democrats and Republicans have talked about fiscal responsibility for years. In reality, both parties have a shameful record of wasting hundreds of billions of tax dollars on pork-barrel projects. My Senate colleague Barack Obama is now attacking Gov. Sarah Palin over earmarks. Having worked with both John McCain...

A web site paid for by the Alaska Democratic Party says unequivocally that the state of Alaska officially abandoned the Bridge to Nowhere project, and credits Governor Sarah Palin. the page mysteriously vanished, but it has since been revived at another URL ".....Gov. Sarah Palin said the $398 million bridge was $329 million short of full funding, and only $36 million in federal funds were set aside for it. She said it was clear Congress had little interest in spending any more money for it and that the state had higher priorities." We can quibble about specifics. But the fact...

Now that the Democrats are rabidly attacking Sarah Palin over the Alaskan Ketchikan bridge, claiming she lied about shutting down the project, it might be a good moment to point out that both Barack Obama and Joe Biden voted for the Bridge to Nowhere. Though Gov. Palin originally supported the earmark spending on the Bridge, she eventually killed the project choosing to spend the Federal money on other infrastructure programs. However, Sen. Biden and Sen. Obama voted for funding the Bridge, even when given a SECOND chance by Sen. Tom Coburn, who proposed shifting earmark funds to Katrina relief.

Focus in the media seems to be trying to find something to pin on Sarah Palin in hopes that it sticks there. I thought that some of this needs to be pushed back against their efforts to bring down Governor Palin, particularly the charge that Sarah Palin was for the Bridge To Nowhere. Back in 2005, Congress voted on and passed H.R. 3058 [109th Congress]: "Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia,…". This purpose of this bill was for "Making appropriations for the Departments of Transportation, Treasury, and Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, District...

Gov. Sarah Palin ordered state transportation officials to abandon the ''bridge to nowhere'' project that became a nationwide symbol of federal pork-barrel spending. The $398 million bridge would have connected Ketchikan, on one island in southeastern Alaska, to its airport on another nearby island. ''Ketchikan desires a better way to reach the airport,'' Ms. Palin, a Republican, said in a news release, ''but the $398 million bridge is not the answer.'' She directed the State Transportation Department to find the most ''fiscally responsible'' alternative for access to the airport. Ketchikan is Alaska's entry port for northbound cruise ships that bring...

There've been lots of thing written the past couple days about Palin's alleged flip-flop on the Gravina Island and Knik Arm Bridges (aka, Bridges to Nowhere). The Wikipedia articles, like most, need to be read with a grain of salt, but there are a number of sources listed and a good place to start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravina_Island_Bridge http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knik_Arm_Bridge Let's summarize the salient points about the Bs2N and how it affects Palin's candidacy: 1) Palin did support the bridge projects when running for governor. No controversy there; it's well known and was a point, albeit a minor one, in the gubernatorial campaign. The...

Though Gov. Palin originally supported the earmark spending on the Ketchikan bridge (“to nowhere), SHE eventually KILLED THE PROJECT, choosing to spend Federal money on other infrasturcture programs. However, Sen. Biden and Sen. Obama voted FOR funding the Bridge, EVEN when given a second chance by Sen. Tom Coburn, who proposed shifting earmark funds to Katrina relief. Sen. McCain did not vote on the Coburn Amendment, though he is ON RECORD AS OPPSOING the Ketchikan bridge earmark.

I guess Barack Obama doesn’t read Hot Air, nor listens to wisdom from our own Allahpundit. Team O got so flustered by today’s “Original Mavericks” ad that they rushed this new spot out today, apparently before doing some rudimentary fact-checking. Obama argues that the Bridge to Nowhere shows him to be the real Maverick: It’s true that Palin didn’t start off opposing the bridge, but as Governor she made the decision to kill it. At least she moved in the right direction. Who voted for it in the first place? Not John McCain; he derided it on the Senate floor,...

Despite significant evidence to the contrary, the McCain campaign continues to assert that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin told the federal government "thanks but no thanks" to the now-famous bridge to an island in her home state. The McCain campaign released a television advertisement1 Monday morning titled "Original Mavericks." The narrator of the 30-second spot boasts about the pair: "He fights pork-barrel spending. She stopped the Bridge to Nowhere." Gov. Palin, who John McCain named as his running mate less than two weeks ago, quickly adopted a stump line bragging about her opposition to the pork-barrel project Sen. McCain routinely decries....

Ted Earmarked Funds for Bridge that Goes Nowhere Stevens championed proposed bridge near Ketchikan that became national symbol of wasteful spending Sen. Murkowski’s family would benefit personally from the bridge State of Alaska killed bridge The proposed Gravina Island Bridge, also known as the “Bridge to Nowhere,” became a national symbol of wasteful congressional spending and driver of earmark reform. On Sept. 21, 2007, the State of Alaska officially abandoned the controversial project. The Gravina Island Bridge initially received $223 million in 2005 via earmarks by Alaska Senators Ted Stevens and Lisa Murkowski. The bridge would have connected Ketchikan, Alaska...

Fighting a Different Alaska Republican, Alaska Dems Credit Palin with Killing Bridge to Nowhere September 08, 2008 4:38 PM Conservative bloggers point out that in their campaign against Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, Alaska Democrats gave credit to Gov. Palin for helping to kill the Bridge to Nowhere. “Gov. Sarah Palin said the $398 million bridge was $329 million short of full funding, and only $36 million in federal funds were set aside for it," the Democrats say. "She said it was clear Congress had little interest in spending any more money for it and that the state had higher priorities."...

The Alaska Democratic Party pulled this page from their site, but luckily Google has it cached - it states "the State of Alaska officially abandoned" the "Bridge to Nowhere, basically crediting Sarah Palin with killing it! Funny how the page just happened to disappear! http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:szpJxaSZwiMJ:www.retireted.com/real-estate/gravina-bridge/ted-earmarked-funds-for-bridge-that-goes-nowhere/+http://www.retireted.com/real-estate/gravina-bridge/ted-earmarked-funds-for-bridge-that-goes-nowhere/&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us the actual news was originally reported here, http://senateconservatives.com/2008/09/04/alaska-democrats-credit-palin-with-killing-bridge-to-nowhere/

Now that Alaska is front and center in the news again, it is a good time to catch up on a favorite story, The Bridge to Nowhere, using the Washington Post US Congress Votes Database. Though Gov. Palin originally supported the earmark spending on the Ketchikan bridge (“to nowhere), she eventually killed the project, chosing to spend Federal money on other infrasturcture programs. However, Sen. Biden and Sen. Obama voted for funding the Bridge, even when given a second chance by Sen. Tom Coburn, who proposed shifting earmark funds to Katrina relief. Sen. McCain did not vote on the Coburn...

With another hurricane bearing down on the Gulf Coast, the so-called “bridge to nowhere,” championed by Alaska’s Congressional delegation on behalf of the people of Ketchikan, just won’t go away. Three years ago, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the plan to spend hundreds of millions to connect Ketchikan with its airport on Gravina Island became a national symbol of Congressional excess, much to the dismay of Sen. Ted Stevens and Rep. Don Young. Sen. John McCain has made it a habit to ridicule the bridge project during his presidential campaign. McCain has promised to veto any bill sent to...

<p>Foxnews alert.. on 7 counts related to holding a public office...</p>

On Friday Alaska's Gov. Sarah Palin ordered the state to prepare a "fiscally responsible" alternative to the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere," which made the state a national laughingstock and shone an unwelcome spotlight on the pork-barrel greed of its all-Republican congressional delegation. The $398 million bridge would have connected Ketchikan (population 7,400) to its airport on a nearby island inhabited by 50 people. The same day, the Associated Press reported that the FBI has recorded two phone calls between Sen. Ted Stevens, who sponsored the bridge, and Bill Allen, a Stevens patron who dominated state politics as the head of...

Some called it a bridge to the future. Others called it the bridge to nowhere. The bridge is going nowhere. On Friday, the state abandoned the controversial project in Ketchikan that became a national symbol of federal pork-barrel spending. It closes a chapter that has brought the state reams of ridicule, but it also leaves open wounds in a community that fought for decades to get federal help. "We went through political hot water -- tons of it -- and not just nationally but internationally," said Ketchikan-Gateway Borough Mayor Joe Williams. "We have nothing to show for it." The $398...

The state of Alaska on Friday officially abandoned the controversial "bridge to nowhere" project in Ketchikan that became symbol of federal pork-barrel spending. The $398 million bridge would have connected Ketchikan to its airport on a nearby island. "Ketchikan desires a better way to reach the airport, but the $398 million bridge is not the answer," Gov. Sarah Palin said in a prepared statement. She directed the state transportation department to find the most "fiscally responsible" alternative for access to the airport. Republicans U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens and U.S. Rep. Don Young championed the project through Congress two years ago,...

Here's the newest from Sen. Ted Stevens, the man who described the Internet as a series of tubes: It's time for the federal government to ban access to Wikipedia, MySpace, and social networking sites from schools and libraries. Early in January, Stevens introduced Senate bill 49, which among other things, would require that any school or library that gets federal Internet subsidies would have to block access to interactive Web sites, including social networking sites, and possibly blogs as well. It appears that the definition of those sites is so vague that it could include sites such as Wikipedia, according...

Republicans were elected to the House in 1994 on a grand promise to cut taxes, government, and spending. They were elected to rein in the government largess after 40 years of one-party rule. It was a revolution for the Republican Party. The movement started by Barry Goldwater had finally reached the pinnacle of politics—a majority believed in the conscience of Conservatives. The intentions were good, and the 12-year era of Republican rule accomplished some enormous tasks. Welfare reform under a Democratic president has cut the welfare rolls by nearly half since 1996. The economy is strong, thanks to much needed...

Seems like just yesterday Republicans were warning Democrats not to count their hicks before they were catched. Democrats said they had a plan to get the guys with the Confederate flags, but Republicans said you can’t con those folks into loving federal overreach. Democrats said they could draw pro-life votes, but Republicans scoffed: “We’re the pros. Get a life!” Democrats said they could attract budget-balancers and Republicans countered: “That is our constituency and you can’t budge it.” Well, bite your tongues, all you RNC guys and gals with the starched collars. Them there rubes done drug you out the door....

<p>FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON ON NOT CAPTURING BIN LADEN: 'At least I tried. That's the difference between me and some, including all the right wingers. They ridicule me for trying. They had eight months to try, they did not try. I tried. So I tried and failed'...</p>

WASHINGTON -- The most powerful U.S. senators run on a high-octane mix of fear and IOUs -- they cause the former and collect the latter. For 38 years, few have been as fearsome or held as many chits as Ted Stevens, the irascible Republican from Alaska. But four days before Christmas, when he tried to cash in those IOUs to approve oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Stevens found himself stymied by a freshman senator from a Democratic state: Maria Cantwell. The result was a spectacular 12-minute meltdown on the Senate floor. Waving his hands, his voice rising...

NOW WITH ACTIVE LINKS!   (just when you thought the clintons couldn't get any more shameless... or tacky....)SELF-AGGRANDIZING CHACHKAS FOR SALE AT CLINTON "MUSEUM" STORE by Mia T, 5.02.06 thanx to RichInOC for the scoop   READ MORE

(just when you thought the clintons couldn't get any more shameless... or tacky....)SELF-AGGRANDIZING CHACHKAS FOR SALE AT CLINTON "MUSEUM" STORE by Mia T, 5.01.06   thanx to RichInOC for the scoop WHO REALLY MISSES BILL, ANYWAY? bill misses bill bin Laden misses bill Saddam misses bill Red China misses bill Korea misses bill Barbra misses bill bill misses the terrorists RichInOC SCOOP: Speaking of the devil... I saw about the tackiest thing I've ever seen yesterday. I was driving around town and I saw a Saturn Vue with a "I Miss Bill" bumpersticker on it. That's not the tacky...

Ketchikan precipitation inches toward record year SOGGY: Most residents agree on 202.55-inch mark apparently set in 1949. By JOANNA MARKELL Ketchikan Daily News Published: December 29, 2005 Last Modified: December 29, 2005 at 02:39 AM KETCHIKAN -- Ketchikan is famous for liquid sunshine and rubber boots, but this year's rainfall is inching toward the record books. As of early Tuesday, the Flight Service Station at Ketchikan International Airport had measured 192.95 inches of precipitation for the year. The record -- at least as far as most residents are concerned -- is 202.55 inches, set in 1949. Rain is in the...

S14240 December 21, 2005 Did you see that? Did you see how it devastated the land, and all the plant life is now dying because it was inundated in saltwater? The earthquake in my State did that. I saw one town disappear. I saw a third of my city, Anchorage, disappear. You have to have had that experience to understand how I felt when I went to New Orleans. You people didn’t believe it. Many of you said I did this for political reasons, just a crass thing, pick up some money and give it away for votes. I never...

Alaska's governor outlined a plan Thursday to spend almost $200 million on two bridge projects, including one dubbed the "Bridge to Nowhere" that triggered sharp criticism across the nation. Congress recently dropped its funding provisos for the bridges in Ketchikan and Anchorage, but let the state keep the money and left it up to state officials to figure out how to spend it. Gov. Frank Murkowski in a budget proposal Thursday said he wants to use $91 million for the Ketchikan project in the fiscal year beginning in July. The two-bridge project would connect the town's airport to Revillagigedo Island,...

(AXcess News) Washington - Drivers who are sick of rush-hour gridlock may one day soon be able to buy their way out by paying to get into toll road lanes. That's the goal of some environmental and transportation groups, one of which made a sweeping call Tuesday for highway planners to consider tolls as an option for every new U.S. road. Led by the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, lobbyists said toll roads would help improve under-funded transportation projects by connecting them to private investors' capital. "There's a transportation funding crisis in this country," said Patrick D. Jones, the...

Statement by Sierra Club Executive Director, Carl Pope The Senate Appropriations Committee removed earmarks for two controversial "bridges to nowhere" in Alaska: the Gravina bridge, which would connect Ketchikan to an island of 50 people, and the Knik Arm bridge, which would link Anchorage to a sparsely populated area. The projects have been the subject of strong criticism because of the general backlog of existing roads and bridges in desperate need of repair, especially those affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. According to the National Association of Civil Engineers, one in four bridges nationwide is structurally deficient or functionally obsolete,...

You heard what the Senate did to Tom Coburn's attempt to impose some sanity on spending. How do they live with themselves? Years ago, interviewing economist Walter Williams for a show ABC News called "Greed," I was perplexed when Williams said, "a thief is more moral than a congressman; when a thief steals your money, he doesn't demand you thank him." That was silly hyperbole, I thought, but watching Congress spend, I see that I was naive and Williams was right. When the Democrats held power, I confronted Sen. Robert Byrd about wasting our money on "Robert Byrd Highway"-type projects...

Senator Tom Coburn Talks Porkbusting Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) joined bloggers Glenn Reynolds, Mark Tapscott, NZ Bear, Erick Erickson, Tim Chapman, and myself to to discuss spending, appropriations, and earmarks this afternoon in the wake of last weeks "Bridge To Nowhere" drama. One of the key points discussed is how 'sunshine' is the enemy of pork barrel earmark spending. The process has been deliberately gamed by Congress to provide as little light on last minute changes, congressional earmarks, and other sundry spending tricks. As the "Bridge To Nowhere" episode showed, when pork filled projects attached onto large appropriation bills is...

Wednesday, October 26, 2005 Allen took a Conservative Stand on October 20th A telling vote was taken on Capitol Hill last Thursday. At issue - a massive spending bill before the Senate. Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn (R) placed an amendment before the Senate wanting to kill a few earmarked items (aka pork-barrel projects) in an effort to help fund the rebuilding in the Katrina aftermath. Sounds fiscally responsible to me - it's what my wife and I do with our own checkbook, we make tough decisions between what we NEED and what we want. You too, eh? If only Congress...

We're a little behind Glenn and Michelle - but conservatives have a Hill to Die On - the Coburn Amendment to the Transportation, Housing, & Urban Development appropriations bill (HR 3058) Make NO mistake - the establishment Republicans are terrified of this bill. The chutzpah of the little people demanding an end to one of the most immoral acts of Congress - earmarked pork spending - has got some in quite the tizzy. Word is that some are trying to stop the Coburn Amendment from even reaching the floor for a vote. "This amendment will transfer funding from the wasteful...

For many years now national economic events have had little effect on the Alaska economy. Things have just kept clipping along at an even pace. But current events may change that. The combined effects of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, coupled with the continued drain on the federal budget from the Iraq war, may produce considerable weeping and gnashing of teeth in the 49th state on a scale not seen since the oil price crash of 1986. Just for starters, federal funding for the Knik Arm bridge in Anchorage and for the Gravina Island bridge in Ketchikan, a total of some...

Let others sneer at Southeast Alaska's so-called "bridge to nowhere." Leaders in Ketchikan, the small port town on the receiving end of the project, call it a bridge to the future. The $223 million two-bridge project would connect the town's airport to Revillagigedo Island, where most of the 13,000 residents of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough live. The airport is separated from its users by a quarter-mile-wide channel of water, forcing travelers to catch either a ferry or a water taxi. Some Ketchikan leaders want to rename the airport after Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, for the all the federal money he's...

Alaska can help finance the recovery from recent hurricanes. It also can secure an energy supply and generate future revenue, thus avoiding tax increases. But first, Americans have to get the facts straight about Alaska. The misinformation is atrocious. For example, Steve Doocy of Fox and Friends reported Tuesday that the 2005 highway legislation appropriated $223 million for a bridge (at Ketchikan) to serve 50 people, or about $4.5 million per person. That is ridiculous and exhibits the sloppy reporting costing major media their viewers and readers. The bridge would replace an expensive and inadequate shuttle ferry to a regional...

Alaska can help finance the recovery from recent hurricanes. It also can secure an energy supply and generate future revenue, thus avoiding tax increases. But first, Americans have to get the facts straight about Alaska. The misinformation is atrocious. For example, Steve Doocy of Fox and Friends reported Tuesday that the 2005 highway legislation appropriated $223 million for a bridge (at Ketchikan) to serve 50 people, or about $4.5 million per person. That is ridiculous and exhibits the sloppy reporting costing major media their viewers and readers. The bridge would replace an expensive and inadequate shuttle ferry to a regional...

PENNSAUKEN, N.J. (AP) - The oil company that owns Petty's Island wanted to donate it to the state as a nature preserve while local officials and a land developer were planning on building homes and a golf course on it. When the state rejected the donation offer, it was partly at the behest of southern New Jersey Democratic powerbroker George E. Norcross III, according to a report in Sunday's editions of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The newspaper obtained a copy of a Sept. 29 fax in which Norcross asked state Environmental Protection Commissioner Bradley Campbell to ``please review'' a memo describing...