[revised]
naomidagenbloom 2008 September 2
Vuee, Vuee, We need to hear MORE from you now about the way Alaska has come into our consciousness via your governor–the believer in “stakeholders.”
Readers can’t get off that easy, Little Red Hen– what questions do folks have?
The reason I have been rather quiet, blogwise, is because the news from rural Alaska about living there isn’t good. There has been next to nothing improved since earlier posts, this includes the past 18 months of the personable Gov. Sarah Palin. I’ll give examples below, but they sound depressing. So readers, what do enquiring minds want to know? If nothing else, I can at least point you to some good sources of facts or commentary from Alaska perspective.
An older friend of mine (from Tucson) sends this musing upon the early photo of Sarah Palin and her caribou ( http://newsminer.com/photos/galleries/2008/sep/01/sarah-palin-growing-alaskan/1156/. It is the photo of the red-nosed caribou NOT a reindeer.)
>My deep reflections, caribou inspired::
1. Macho women don’t need to wear pantsuits to assert themselves.
2. Most currently popular female names go from my daughter Michelle to my mother Sarah.
3. Sarah definitely shoots better than Dick. How about Joe’s expertise with firearms?
4. Candidates should not be judged only on basis of age, gender, and looks.
5. Candidate’s children are given on-stage prominence. It should be unfair to have the youngest ones debate politics, but what about having a food fight?
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- there’s the older gentleman who is resigning himself to move 400 miles away from home to be near his grandkids because his grown children had to move to Anchorage to find work to meet the utilities payments
- there’s all the older people who need an assisted living arrangement or nursing home (a 400 mile trip, if one can afford to get into Bethel from the village to get on the jet)
- there’s fuel oil at $6-15 a gallon
- there’s the Bush-Cheney stimulus payments which only went to those who have taxable income. They don’t go to those who cashed in IRAs early to pay electricity or who struggle to make sense of their returns.
- there’s electricity at 40 cents or more per kilowatt hour (with a subsidy for residences) in rural Alaska (Wasilla pays considerably less, without subsidy)
- there’s gasoline, needed to go out and “grocery shop” on the tundra or out in the river, at $6 to $18 gallon.
- there’s gaining grandmother status at 34
- there’s raising grandchildren at 70
- there’s having your one-time $1200 “energy check” from the state stolen by your children for smokes and booze
2008-09-04 Look guys, what someone else found
gov-sarah-palin-call-in-kyuk/
2008-09-04 Fact Check of Governor Palin’s Speech http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com/2008/09/saradise-lost-chapter-twenty-five-obama.html
PALIN: “Senator McCain also promises to use the power of veto in defense of the public interest – and as a chief executive, I can assure you it works.”
REALITY: PALIN OPPOSED CRUCIAL EDUCATION, HEALTH CARE AND SENIORS FUNDING [...]
Andrew Halcro does a fine job at http://www.andrewhalcro.com/grading_palins_speech_a
Also: tech support has a listing of reasonable sources at Sarah Palin content
2008-10-27 Palin’s gaffe about her policy on “special needs” while her record shows she has none
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/BlueOasis/~3/431498178/showDiary.do
Site Search Tags: Sarah+Palin, caribou, elderly, Alaska, aging, Little+Red+Hen, diasability, long-term+care
Thank you, Vuee, this is far more useful information than what we get from mainstream media. Of course. Have forwarded a couple of places.
My concern is that Dems get too focused on Palin’s drama. Seems there are some “liberal” bloggers who are crazed by it. Not this feminist; I want to keep our eyes on the prize, Obama-Biden in the White House. Issues. Mobilize to push post-election for HR 676, Medicare for All.
Cluck, cluck! -naomi
Coming to you via Naomi. Yep. More or less what you would expect. The fact is that it’s a way of life based on cheap energy. We’re in the same fix here in Hawaii. Lack of services, high prices for electricity, etc. But the climate is benevolent and people are kind.
Lots of Alaskans move down to Hawaii when they can’t deal with the cold and other difficulities of daily living any more.
Great post. Came via Hattie. (But how do non rich Alaskans *get* to Hawaii and establish themselves?)
Hattie, did you watch the speech tonight and the introduction?
“Mayor of Maui vs Mayor of Wasilla = Veep-in-waiting”
Nyah, nyah!! Alaska won.
It was a good speech, as speeches go. Very well delivered (I couldn’t watch the vision part of tele because our reception out here is bad. Public TV and radio aren’t very funded.) No content and some untrue (those bridges!!).
[Enjoyed my Kaua`i coffee in preparation.]
My elder Argentine friend (Argentine until he could escape the torture) comments–
Grading Palin’s Speech: A
I have this to say about :there’s all the older people who need an assisted living arrangement or nursing home.: Alaska does have a program that will pay some one to come in for personal care assistance. It is in part payed by Medicaid. information on this program can be found here http://www.hss.state.ak.us/dsds/pca/default.htm the program seems to work OK and needs a large improvement. they say even family members can do it, but theres a catch for the family members. you will need to donate as much time as passable sometimes all your time for almost no compensation. Alaska Medicaid is willing to pay a licensed assisted living home from what I can remember, 21$ an hour 24/7 at 183,960 per year. they pay a pca agency 21 an hour for 8 hours but only if thats a non family member providing the care. as a family member providing the same 24/7 care found in assisted living home at home does cost $$ but Alaska has a law prohibiting family members from providing care. the link above has links in pdf for these regulations. I looked into this as I provide care for my 76 yr old mother. I’m paid 15$ an hour at 11.5 hours a week.
thats 286 every 2 weeks after taxes. it just doesn’t pay rent. now if they would pay that same pca services company 30 an hour for 8 hours a day at 87,600 per year pca”s could potentially earn enough money to actually keep some of the elderly out of nursing homes where as their family members could stay home provide the care and still afford to do so. thats a savings of 96,360$ I emailed palin about this and was blown off every time. keeping elderly in their home is important and would free up space in assisted living homes for those that really truly have no-one that can provide that care for them. such changes could employ those that are not currently employed put money in their pockets in which would stimulate our failing economy. such a program could be set in motion in every state with that states current Medicaid funds and well we really wouldn’t have as bad as an economy as we do have at this time.
palin has the power to make changes but she chooses to just not do anything. I made a mistake voting for her and aim to fix that mistake Im voteing for Obama