Kendall,

I have to agree with part of the author's statement that *per diem *stipends
aren't that unusual--at least they weren't back when states' coffers were
full.  I would agree that $16K is excessive, but I also know that Anchorage
to Juneau is a haul--and there is no road into Juneau from the north.  It's
only air or water, and in the winter, just water.  So why not stay in the
Governor's Mansion instead of the commute?  Maybe that's what she should
have done.  I guess it depends on whether or not it would have cost Alaskan
taxpayers more to keep the gubernatorial manse up and running 24/7/365 than
it would to ship the family back and forth.

*Per diem *stipends are a thing of the past for most civil servants (like
me).  Used to be that you would get your stipend up front and then make good
money by staying at Motel 6 and eating at McDonalds.  That's not the case
anymore--at least not where I work.  Travel has been cut back--wa-a-a-y
back.  If you want to go to a conference, for instance, you have to write up
a justification that's darn near perfect (I should know, because I have to
write travel justifications for everyone in my agency--no kidding.).  If the
travel request passes the manager's and director's red pen then it goes
before a board for approval.  If they approve it then you have to bring
receipts in for reimbursement--meaning that you better have a lot of slack
in your personal credit card account because you personally pay for
everything up front and then your application for reimbursement goes back to
the same board for approval.  It can take up to three months for your
reimbursement to appear, and they don't cover the interest you're racking up
on your card.  That's why I don't use American Express--I could never afford
to pay off a trip in one month.

I used to work for OCLC (Online Computer Library Center), a non-profit
academic library data service in Dublin, Ohio.  I travelled around the globe
installing local library cataloging systems (written in MIIS--look that one
up!).  I almost doubled my salary in *per diem* money while I was
travelling, but that was almost twenty years ago.  I hear they run a tight
ship these days.

Anyway, I think we're going to hear that Palin is an angel and a demon.
Truth is probably somewhere in the middle.  I just heard over the weekend
that some guy accused Obama of doing crack cocaine and having sex with him
in the back of a limo.  Might be true, might not--nobody knows the truth
except two people.  I'm not going to take the word of some Duluth crackhead
any more than I am the word of some pissed-off Palin neighbor.  No one is
unstained in this world.  You just have to pick who you think will serve the
interests that are closest to your own heart and let the chips fall.

Time for chow!

Kyle




On Tue, Sep 9, 2008 at 1:09 PM, Kendall D. Corbett <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Saw this in the WashPost and thought it was interesting....
>
>
>  *Palin Billed State for Nights Spent at Home*
>
> Taxpayers Also Funded Family's Travel
>
>
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/08/AR2008090803088.html?wpisrc=newsletter
> --
>
>
> Kendall
>
> An unreasonable man (but my wife says that's redundant!)
>
> The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
> persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress
> depends on the unreasonable man.
>
> -George Bernard Shaw 1856-1950
>
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