The charges that Palin has agreed to reimburse include the cost of her daughter Piper flying on a state plane to the start of the Iron Dog snowmachine race in 2008, and airfare and one meal for daughter Bristol to accompany Palin in October 2007 to New York for a women's leadership conference, according to the settlement.
The settlement was signed by Palin and Anchorage lawyer Tim Petumenos, who was hired by the state Personnel Board to investigate the complaint.
The settlement doesn't specify how much Palin will repay the state, but Petumenos said he was given an estimate from the governor's staff of about $7,000. For some trips, only a portion of the children's expenses will be repaid because parts of the trip were determined to be legitimate.
The vast majority of trips that included the Palin children appeared appropriate, Petumenos said. He said he examined more than 40. But for nine trips, the personal benefit outweighed the public benefit, he found.
It is taking some time, but bit by bit, little by little, Sarah Palin is finally learning what it means to be held accountable. Alaskans will no longer stand by and allow themselves to be taken advantage of by their public officials.
In other words "We are mad as hell, and we are not going to take this anymore"! (I always wanted to say that.)
Showing posts with label per diems. Show all posts
Showing posts with label per diems. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Governor Palin attempts damage control in Per Diem allegations. And fails.
Clearly the constant drumbeat of criticism surrounding Sarah Palin's Per Diem charges for staying in her own home and the food she ate while in her own home have rattled the Governor who has sent her lap dog Bill McAllister out shovel bullshit at us until we stop talking about it. (Here is the video.)
Nice try.
Gov. Sarah Palin, under scrutiny for charging the state for expenses while living in her Wasilla home, is actually living much more inexpensively than her two immediate predecessors, according to an analysis provided Monday by her staff.
Officials compared Palin's expenses for items including travel, lodging, and meals to that of former Govs. Frank Murkowski and Tony Knowles. They said she's spent about $900,000 less in her first two years than Murkowski did his last two years.
Big deal! Murkowski was a crook and that is why his political career came to a screeching halt. Comparing yourself to a criminal to demonstrate you are less guilty and therefore innocent is not a very effective strategy.
Her expenses were also lower than for Knowles his last two years, though the difference was not as dramatic.
This statement is made without explaining that the reasons for Knowles higher expenses seem to stem from the fact that while in Anchorage he rented a hotel room because his RESIDENCE WAS IN JUNEAU! NOT WASILLA! Tony Knowles actually spent a great deal of time in the Capitol doing the states business, imagine that.
Most of the criticism of Palin and her living expenses concerns the $60-a-day for meals and incidentals she collects when she works outside her assigned duty station, which is Juneau. That money will now be taxed as income.
Since taking office in December 2006, she's collected more than $18,000 in meal money during the time she was staying in her Wasilla home. That figure is higher than has been previously reported because it includes charges through Dec. 14.
So to get this straight the Governor charged the state of Alaska for food she bought and prepared IN HER OWN HOME. Now if she had been living in Juneau and, because of the demands of her job, had to eat in Anchorage, then this would have been acceptable. But the only reason that she did this IS BECAUSE SHE CAN. She doesn't need to charge the state, both she and Todd make plenty of money to feed their family, she did it because there is a loophole in the Per Diem rules that allows her to take advantage of the citizens of Alaska. Period!
McAllister said that meal money is minor in the scheme of things, and that she's saving more than enough in other areas to make up for it.
No Mr. McAllister is not "minor in the scheme of things". It is "major in the scheme of things" because it demonstrates a certain sense of entitlement that the Governor seems to possess and which we see demonstrated in her Vice Presidential run, her interactions with the press, and the manner in which she treats her job. This Governor seems to spend the majority of her time explaining why the things she does are not as bad as they seem, and hardly any time doing her damn job! If her job were simply photo ops and mall openings, she would be the best Governor ever. But our state is facing some very serious problems and Sarah Palin cannot stop making sure "she gets hers" long enough to help provide any real solutions.
Update: Here is the PDF that compares the expenses of all three Governors.
Nice try.
Gov. Sarah Palin, under scrutiny for charging the state for expenses while living in her Wasilla home, is actually living much more inexpensively than her two immediate predecessors, according to an analysis provided Monday by her staff.
Officials compared Palin's expenses for items including travel, lodging, and meals to that of former Govs. Frank Murkowski and Tony Knowles. They said she's spent about $900,000 less in her first two years than Murkowski did his last two years.
Big deal! Murkowski was a crook and that is why his political career came to a screeching halt. Comparing yourself to a criminal to demonstrate you are less guilty and therefore innocent is not a very effective strategy.
Her expenses were also lower than for Knowles his last two years, though the difference was not as dramatic.
This statement is made without explaining that the reasons for Knowles higher expenses seem to stem from the fact that while in Anchorage he rented a hotel room because his RESIDENCE WAS IN JUNEAU! NOT WASILLA! Tony Knowles actually spent a great deal of time in the Capitol doing the states business, imagine that.
Most of the criticism of Palin and her living expenses concerns the $60-a-day for meals and incidentals she collects when she works outside her assigned duty station, which is Juneau. That money will now be taxed as income.
Since taking office in December 2006, she's collected more than $18,000 in meal money during the time she was staying in her Wasilla home. That figure is higher than has been previously reported because it includes charges through Dec. 14.
So to get this straight the Governor charged the state of Alaska for food she bought and prepared IN HER OWN HOME. Now if she had been living in Juneau and, because of the demands of her job, had to eat in Anchorage, then this would have been acceptable. But the only reason that she did this IS BECAUSE SHE CAN. She doesn't need to charge the state, both she and Todd make plenty of money to feed their family, she did it because there is a loophole in the Per Diem rules that allows her to take advantage of the citizens of Alaska. Period!
McAllister said that meal money is minor in the scheme of things, and that she's saving more than enough in other areas to make up for it.
No Mr. McAllister is not "minor in the scheme of things". It is "major in the scheme of things" because it demonstrates a certain sense of entitlement that the Governor seems to possess and which we see demonstrated in her Vice Presidential run, her interactions with the press, and the manner in which she treats her job. This Governor seems to spend the majority of her time explaining why the things she does are not as bad as they seem, and hardly any time doing her damn job! If her job were simply photo ops and mall openings, she would be the best Governor ever. But our state is facing some very serious problems and Sarah Palin cannot stop making sure "she gets hers" long enough to help provide any real solutions.
Update: Here is the PDF that compares the expenses of all three Governors.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Governor Palin charged my state for a $60 phone call to FOX News. How did that benefit the state of Alaska again?
The Governor, for instance, charged the state of Alaska a $60 per diem expense for an appearance on Fox News on November 9, 2008. A few weeks later, she billed taxpayers another $60 for a "phone call with Sen. Elizabeth Dole." (Dole had lost her reelection bid weeks earlier). On the 26th of November, Palin again turned in a $60 meal/incidental expense per diem report for "Phone call with Gov. Rendell, interview."
Here is the November report, and here is the December report.
Taken as a whole, these expenses constitute a drop in the bucket compared to the thousands of dollars Palin charged for the work she did while living at her personal home. They also seem to fall within the legal confines of appropriate per diem billing (though Alaska taxpayers may take umbrage with that). On a broader lever, the expenditures offer a fascinating window into how Palin -- thrust into the national spotlight -- balanced her work as governor with growing media attention.
There are, for instance, interviews conducted on the same day in November with "Entertainment Tonight" and the New York Times, and, a week later, The Weekly Standard and "Larry King Live." A few days after speaking with Rendell, she filed a $60 per diem expense for a photo session with "UAA Men's & Women's teams" -- likely University of Alaska Anchorage's basketball squads. In mid-December, meanwhile, she met with Alaska Senator-elect Mark Begich, followed by an interview with Human Events (for which she filed a per diem expense of $60). On the next day came a phone call with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for what was, ostensibly, a federal matter that pertained to Alaska.
$60 dollars for a long distance phone call? How long did Sarah Palin have to talk to come up with that number? And how come it seems that every single call she makes costs the State of Alaska sixty dollars? Could it be because that is the most that she can ask for? You betcha.
Which I guess also explains how she came up with the $60 dollar per diem for a "photo session with UAA Men's & Women's teams". Did she do this telephonically as well? Or is that her going rate to be photographed these days. (Is that how much she charged People magazine?)
This whole thing stinks like a trunk full of dead salmon. (I made that part all Alaskan-y for my out of state visitors.)
Essentially this woman is treating her job like a bottomless credit card that she can use to pay for any little thing that strikes her fancy or furthers her national political aspirations.
I am very interested to see the expense reports for January, just for the opportunity to see how much of the costs this "SarahPAC" of hers is picking up in order to keep this shallow woman living in the lifestyle in which she has recently grown accustomed to living.
Speaking for the Alaskans that I know, we are absolutely over this goddamn woman and cannot wait until she is voted, impeached, or thrown the hell out.
Here is the November report, and here is the December report.
Taken as a whole, these expenses constitute a drop in the bucket compared to the thousands of dollars Palin charged for the work she did while living at her personal home. They also seem to fall within the legal confines of appropriate per diem billing (though Alaska taxpayers may take umbrage with that). On a broader lever, the expenditures offer a fascinating window into how Palin -- thrust into the national spotlight -- balanced her work as governor with growing media attention.
There are, for instance, interviews conducted on the same day in November with "Entertainment Tonight" and the New York Times, and, a week later, The Weekly Standard and "Larry King Live." A few days after speaking with Rendell, she filed a $60 per diem expense for a photo session with "UAA Men's & Women's teams" -- likely University of Alaska Anchorage's basketball squads. In mid-December, meanwhile, she met with Alaska Senator-elect Mark Begich, followed by an interview with Human Events (for which she filed a per diem expense of $60). On the next day came a phone call with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for what was, ostensibly, a federal matter that pertained to Alaska.
$60 dollars for a long distance phone call? How long did Sarah Palin have to talk to come up with that number? And how come it seems that every single call she makes costs the State of Alaska sixty dollars? Could it be because that is the most that she can ask for? You betcha.
Which I guess also explains how she came up with the $60 dollar per diem for a "photo session with UAA Men's & Women's teams". Did she do this telephonically as well? Or is that her going rate to be photographed these days. (Is that how much she charged People magazine?)
This whole thing stinks like a trunk full of dead salmon. (I made that part all Alaskan-y for my out of state visitors.)
Essentially this woman is treating her job like a bottomless credit card that she can use to pay for any little thing that strikes her fancy or furthers her national political aspirations.
I am very interested to see the expense reports for January, just for the opportunity to see how much of the costs this "SarahPAC" of hers is picking up in order to keep this shallow woman living in the lifestyle in which she has recently grown accustomed to living.
Speaking for the Alaskans that I know, we are absolutely over this goddamn woman and cannot wait until she is voted, impeached, or thrown the hell out.
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