U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, announced today that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has released $20,000 that the Emmonak Tribal Council requested to help residents who are struggling with high home heating fuel and food costs this winter.
Emmonak had requested $20,000 in emergency assistance and the BIA signed off on the funding today.
"I had asked BIA at a Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing in January to find assistance to help Emmonak residents get through the winter, and I am glad to see that the agency has finally responded," Murkowski said. "A poor fishing season this year combined with sky high fuel prices left many families facing the tough decision of whether to put food on the table or heat their homes.
"As ranking member of the Senate Energy Committee and as a member of the Indian Affairs panel, I remain committed to finding ways to provide long-term, affordable energy solutions for rural Alaska."
A BIA official today confirmed that the funds are being transferred to the agency’s Alaska office, which will forward them to the Emmonak Tribal Council for distribution to local families.
"If Emmonak residents discover that they need additional funds to make it through the rest of the winter, I will be glad to support their request and the requests of other villages experiencing similar difficulties," Murkowski said.
It is worth noting that Murkowski did this without having a camera around to record her doing her job, or without having a Christian charitable group like Samaritan's Purse to do the real work for her while she acted like a spokesmodel for rural relief.
Murkowski also did this without acting contemptuous toward the man who first brought this crisis to the public's attention.
Go ahead and compare Sarah Palin's phony attempts to address this terrible problem to Senator Murkowski's very real and effective solutions to the difficulties faced by the citizens of Emmonak.
There have been a lot of rumors surrounding the fact that Governor Palin has her eye on Murkowski's Senate seat in 2010, but if you are a Republican ask yourself who do you really want representing you in the Senate? The vacuous and emotionally remote Sarah Palin, or the less glamorous problem solver Lisa Murkowski?
I will tell you right now that if the Democrats do not come up with a strong contender for 2010 that Senator Murkowski can certainly count on my support against Sarah Palin. It will be my pleasure to help her campaign.
Hooray! Somebody is really listening, and acting. Thank you Senator Murkowski.
ReplyDeletenotice how Gov Palin never mentions she's ever seen Mr. Tucker's original letter? she takes it and says something at the end that she'll take a look at it. are you kidding?!? this letter's been out there for how long now and she hasn't read it YET?!?
ReplyDeleteOh, I don't think you have to worry with Lisa's seat.. I think that's safe. Sarah has her eye on something higher than that. She is going to take the 2 years after her term ends to run for President.. of that I am sure. If she doesn't run for governor..and I really don't think she will, I think she will start on her national run. But I think Lisa is safe. Now she might try to challenge Mark...but I don't think she will take on Lisa.. I think she knows she will never win there.
ReplyDeleteBut, remember.. her hero is Bush.. she has to go from the governor's mansion to the White House just like he did.
She is so clueless. Seriously? The "village" of Dillingham?
ReplyDeleteShe has no respect for Mr. Tucker, and no respect for Native Alaskan culture. These folks have figured out a way to live and thrive in one of the harshest environments in the world for tens of thousands of years. I couldn't live here if it weren't for modern technology, I'll admit it.
The only real solution will come from people like Nicholas Tucker. Unless the government is ready to sit down and really listen to them, whatever solution they come up with will not work, and it will not honor the Native culture.
P.S. Go to the Youtube site and see some of the comments that people have written about this video. The lack of respect and understanding of Native culture is sickening. (So is the Sarah worship!)
ReplyDeleteThis morning I was looking at the Alaska newsletter that GINO puts out on the Alaska website this morning. She had a long article about rural villages and what she planned to do about it. I wished I had posted it on the mudflats blog this morning but didn't. It definately sounded like GINO wrote it. It had a statement like: Now this isn't meant to just sit around and look at. It was a plan called LEGACY. I went back tonight and the whole article was rewritten by someone else. Sounds much more professional and looks as such. She put out a bill that you can link to on the LEGACY. Take a look at it on her monthly newsletters. Plus, you can take a look at her picture albums, All of miss conceited GINO. Theres so many of them I quit looking at them because I got tired of looking at her face. Sure wish I would copied that article this morning. It sounded much like her little shindig, He pledges allegiance to obama. She's so immature, it makes me sick.
ReplyDeleteLisa Murkowski has become a powerful voice for Alaska in the US Senate, and I don't think the people of Alaska could be that stupid to give up her seniority and committee seats to allow Sarah to take that all away.
ReplyDeleteI can't beleive that Sarah would run for anything else with all her "gates" swirling around. I honestly can't imagine that she woud ever make it through any kind of primary, it's just way too easy to tear her down. I know Sarah has her nationwide fundie base, but there are far more people of BOTH parties that would support her opponents .
Anon at 7:56 pm: There is some type of program with google out there that gets the cached articles....
ReplyDelete