More on Porker Palin's lies and failed leadership... Here's a little test for you about Alaska's dairy industry:
How many dairy farms are there in the State of Alaska? 6 How many of those are in Matanuska Valley? 4 How much money did the co-op lose in July? $300,000 How much money did the federal govt supply to start up a new dairy co- op? $643,000 ------------------ On Sep 16, 4:53 am, PoliticalAmazon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > The Wall Street Journal, a solidly rightwing publication, has > published this story about Sarah Palin's ham-fisted, subsidy-loving, > poor decision making in Alaska. You know Sarah Palin is a fraud and > bad for our country's economy when the WSJ publishes an article about > her. > > Once again, Sarah Palin demonstrates herself and the GOP presidential > candidate, John McCain, to be clueless liars. > > She has also demonstrated herself to be firmly in the pockets of her > cronies and special interests, and that she is very much like Bush Jr: > when she (or her cronies) wants something, she does it and does not > consider the consequences. > > Her claims of being a fiscal conservative and against earmarks and > government hand-outs are destroyed by even a cursory look at her > history in Alaska. Yet John McCain chose Sarah Palin, without > obviously no vetting, to be the person to run the country should he be > elected and die in office (statistically, a 30% likelihood). > > This article by the Wall Street Journal documents how Sarah Palin > stopped a failing Alaskan (deeply in debt) creamery from closing its > doors because local ag interests would not get subsidies without the > creamery there. She then got the entire creamery's board fired, > replaced it with her own people (the Chairman being one of her high- > school friends) and then 6 months later, after the company had > suffered another $800,000 of losses and was $800,000 more in debt, > they closed down the creamery. > > (BEGIN QUOTE)http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122152654971140245.html > > SEPTEMBER 16, 2008 > > Creamery Case Has Palin Critics > Taking Aim at Fiscal-Conservative Claim > > By JIM CARLTON > > ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin > promotes herself as a small-government conservative. But when Alaska > government officials wanted to shut down a money-losing creamery, the > governor overturned the decision after dairy farmers near her hometown > complained the loss of subsidies would cripple them. > > On June 8, 2007, a board overseeing the 71-year-old state-run > Matanuska Maid creamery announced the business would close after > amassing $1.5 million in red ink since 2005, the result of a run-up in > milk prices and other essentials. "I feel we are safeguarding the > public interest in the decision that has been made," Mac Carter, > chairman of the Alaska Creamery Board, said in a letter to the Palin > administration. > > Gov. Sarah Palin overturned a decision to close a money-losing > creamery. > > On June 16, 2007, Gov. Palin attended a rally by dairy farmers near > her hometown of Wasilla who pleaded that the creamery stay open to > help them and other members of the local dairy industry. "Things are > kind of a mess right now with what's happening with Mat-Maid, and > we're going to clean it up," the governor said at the event. > > She then sacked the creamery board and replaced it. The new board, > headed by one of her childhood friends, ordered the creamery kept > open. Six months later -- after the business racked up more than > $800,000 in additional losses, according to state officials -- the new > board ordered it closed again. > > The candidate's handling of the matter has been fodder for some > critics challenging her credentials as a self-proclaimed fiscal > conservative. She has also been criticized for securing federal > earmarks as mayor of Wasilla and, as governor, for raising taxes on > oil-industry profits. "I think what happened here was her personal > desire to satisfy a local constituency, versus what is right for the > state," says Lyda Green, president of the Republican-run state senate > and a political rival from Wasilla. > > The McCain-Palin campaign wouldn't make Gov. Palin available for > comment on that. But Brian Jones, a campaign spokesman, said Gov. > Palin is a proven cost cutter who has vetoed more than $500 million in > "wasteful" government spending and ordered state officials to cut back > on earmark requests, among other things. "We will gladly match her > record of reform and fiscal responsibility to either Barack Obama or > Joe Biden," Mr. Jones said. Mr. Jones also defended her action on the > creamery, saying the governor was acting prudently. > > Supporters of Gov. Palin say she was motivated primarily by a desire > to save the creamery's 70 jobs and help the handful of local farmers > reliant on it. They say she helped keep the small dairy industry from > collapsing by giving the farmers time to find new places to sell their > products. "It takes good leadership to say, 'Wait a minute. Let's take > a look at this before we shut this down,' " says Kyle Beus, a former > local dairy farmer. > > Matanuska Maid has had a checkered financial history. Formed by a > farmers' cooperative in 1936, the creamery was taken over by the state > in 1984 after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following > a legal dispute. One of the employees, Joseph Van Treeck, was named > chief executive in 1985 and went on to run a mostly profitable > business for the next two decades. > > But financial conditions at the creamery deteriorated rapidly in 2005. > The creamery, 20 years ago, depended on local dairy farmers for most > of its milk. To meet growing demand for its milk, yogurt and other > dairy products, though, Mr. Beus, who used to sell milk to the > creamery, said the factory had to import most of it from the Pacific > Northwest over the past decade. Until about two years ago, milk and > fuel prices were low enough to support profits. But a 50% run-up in > milk prices between 2005 and 2007 -- combined with soaring energy > prices and increased competition -- sent Matanuska Maid into a > tailspin. > > After the state board ordered the creamery closed, Gov. Palin -- with > an entourage that included her husband, Todd; daughter Piper; and > representatives of the news media -- showed up at Matanuska Maid's two- > story plant and requested a tour. Although the governor's office said > at the time that the visit had been scheduled, plant officials said > they got little advance notice. Workers told her she would have to be > accompanied by Mr. Van Treeck, who was in a Creamery Board meeting at > an Anchorage hotel about two miles away. After he declined to leave > the meeting, board member Rhonda Boyles says she, Ms. Boyles, warned > him, "Joe, this will be on the 10 o'clock news." > > Within days, the governor replaced the entire Board of Agriculture and > Conservation, which oversees the Creamery Board. The new agriculture > board then appointed itself as the Creamery Board and named Kristan > Cole -- a grade-school classmate of Gov. Palin -- as the chairman. The > new board reversed the closure and removed Mr. Van Treeck as CEO. He > filed a suit in Alaska Superior Court charging he didn't get what he > was owed. The case is still pending. > > Ms. Cole declined to comment on the suit. She blamed mismanagement by > the past regime for part of its financial problems. She said the > creamery failed to rein in spending, for example, as milk prices were > rising. Officials of the old creamery board dispute that. > > The decision to keep the creamery open at first looked good. In June > 2007, it posted a small profit. But the next month, Matanuska Maid > posted a $300,000 loss -- its biggest ever in a month. Ms. Cole > attributed that, in part, to the cost of going through a near-closure. > The losses kept mounting until the new board in December decided to > close the business down. > > "The governor got into this position because the farmers were her > constituents in Wasilla," says Ms. Boyles, a retired restaurant owner > in Fairbanks. > > Ms. Cole said the extra time allowed the farmers to find new buyers, > including a private creamery that recently opened near Wasilla with a > federal grant. Meanwhile, the state has raised $2.9 million from the > sale of property, equipment and inventory and is seeking to sell > another parcel appraised at $1.3 million. "At the end of the day, > farmers are still working, and that's a positive thing," Ms. Cole > says. > > (END OF QUOTE) --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
