State Troopers Dub Wasilla the “Meth Capital of Alaska”
by SAM PAGE
Maybe you saw Tina Fey’s first impersonation of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live and wondered about this line:
“What an amazing time we live in, to think that just two years ago, I was a small town mayor of Alaska’s crystal meth capital.”
Well that’s no stretch, according to this story filed by the Associated Press in 2004. Alaska state troopers refer to the area the “meth capital of Alaska.” The piece was published by the Juneau Empire, the area’s newspaper of record for more than 75 years.
In 2004, more than 42 underground meth labs were operating in the area, and phone calls about crystal methamphetamine to children’s services in Wasilla then accounted for “40 percent of the agency’s total monthly child protection calls.”
September 16th, 2008 at 7:55 am
Alaska also has one of the highest, if not the highest, percentage of alcohol abuse and alcoholics in the country. It’s no wonder with the extended periods of cold and darkness.
September 16th, 2008 at 10:16 am
Hey Sam,
how are you?? It’s Kenny, I live in AK. Remember me? I’m just writing because I saw your blog on Palin. I’m not a Republican by no means, but I will say Palin has done a great job in AK. I’m really tired of outsiders from the lower 48 splashing stupid rumors around about Palin. I’m not going to vote for her, but I think it’s BS the way she and her family are being treated.
Every community has it’s problem, and she had quite a few when she became mayor of Wasilla. Wasilla is only fourty five minutes out of Anchorage and covers a huge area. You make the quote above sound like she said that. But isn’t that the report from the State Troopers?
All I can say is she is more qualified then Obama. Tell me what he has done, and show me. This week everyone in AK recieved their Permant Fund Divindend check of over $2,000.00, along with a $1,200.00 Energy Assistance check to help with the high cost to help cover engery. She also passed AGIA to get a Natural Gas Pipeline from Pruhdoe Bay to Valdez that is worth over 40 Billion that will bring jobs not only to Alaskans but to people from the rest of the United States. She has been running as the Governer of the largest state in the United States for over two years and has a huge staff. How many people has Obama overseen? Not counting his election staff?? How much money has he given back to the community?? He is a great talker but I think that is all he is good at.
I’m not happy with any of the Candidates for this election. Some are for what I believe in, and then other is not. I guess we just have to pick the lesser of two evils.
All I can say about Palin, is that I think she is what Washington needs. She is not in the back pocket of oil companies, if she was why did she triple their taxes as soon as she became Governor?
The bridge to No-Where is also a funny thing that the press keeps running with. Yes she did support it in the beginning, when it was somewhat reasonable in price to build. After she was elected Governor the price had almost doubled. So of course she changed her mind. If one month you went to buy a car and thought it was expensive but feasible but put it off for awhile, then came back and the price had doubled, would you buy it?
One more thing…..I’m really tired of Enviromentalist throwing a huge fit over drilling in Awar. The foot print that would be left up on the North Slope is so small. I’ve worked up there for over two years and you drive for hours between camps. You have to remember that AK is 1/3 the size of the lower fourty-eight. Yes, it is bigger than TX. The caribou and other wildlife actually use the elevated buildings to escape misquitos and the harsh weather by going underneath them. I have pictures of dozen of caribou laying under the buildings.
Sam, I also think you should be pushing the benifits of eating wild game. Sara is right, Moose Stew is great. It is very very low in fat and a great source of protien. My dad just shot our moose on Thursday that will feed us all winter. I will send you some and you can tell me what you think.
Things need to change in Washington and I actually think she will help. Why is the price of gas the second highest in the United Stats when almost 25% comes from here. Palin launched an investigation to figure it out. Things need to change, my parents are on the verge of loosing our lodge because of energy prices. Our generators cost over $4,000.00 a month to run. That is just for the fuel, not counting maintenance and cost for the rest of the lodge. So I want responsible drilling in the Refuge and off shore. It might not be an immediate solution, but at least it is working towards helping the people.
Ok, enough and I will get off my Soap Box, I’m wiped and need to get to bed. Miss you and we need to catch up soon. I might be moving to FL this fall. I will fill you in later,
Kenny
September 16th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
I would like to address Kenney’s comments about Governor Palin. I truly do not care if Wisilla is the meth capital of Alaska. What I do care about is the recklessness of John McCain’s pick for Vice President. It is very clear that Palin has no knowledge of world affairs and is a puppet for the right wing (just like Bush Jr.). If she was as knowledgeable as the McCain campaign says, how come she won’t answer any questions from the press? Why are all of her speeches scripted and read from a teleprompter? What is she hiding from….oh, I know, her record, or lack of. If she can’t handle the press or critics, how can she handle Putin?
Not in the pockets of oil companies? McCain has 149 lobbyists working on his campaign! You don’t think any of these work in oil industry? Palins earmarks request is higher per capita of any other state in the country. Are you really serious?
Bush too has sent out tax refund checks twice now…look where that got us (Greenspan said this is worst economy he has seen). McCain and Palin keep saying the “fundamentals of the economy are good” are they kidding or do I live in another world.
What does geographical size have to do with managing a state? I would imagine population would be more important?
Regarding the environment…it was Governor Palin who praised Obama’s energy plan when it was released a few months ago. Don’t you think drilling is like drinking a bloody mary when you have a hangover…short term sollution for the problem. If we don’t address the environmental issues and alternative fuels, we are destroying any possible future for our children and grandchildren!
McCain and Palin are the same as Bush and even more out of touch.
Obama has been in front of the country and world for 18 months now discussing issues and rightfully winning the nomination for President of the United States. He has debated the most seasoned politicians and met with foreign leaders. He has co-sponsered bills on ethics reform and nuclear proliferation. He was one of the few that voted against the war in Iraq. Obama and Biden have the knowledge, good judgement and diplomacy to restore this country.
McCain and Palin continue to lie and distort truths and will do anything to get elected. Sound familiar, it is, its the same shit that has been going on for the last 8 years.
WAKE UP AMERICA. Keep Palin in Alaska and send McCain into retirement so he can spen all that money!
September 16th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Kenny,
It’s great that you’re in touch with Sam. He’d wondered what happened to you. Friend of Sam’s or not, however, I have to disagree with your point of view about Sarah Palin being, “more qualified then Obama.”
You requested, “Tell me what he has done, and show me.” Well, I’m about to.
While Sarah Palin was bouncing among five colleges, and preparing for the Miss Alaska Beauty Contest, Barack Obama was finishing his BA in political science with an emphasis on international relations at Columbia, currently the #8 school in the country.
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/college/national-search
At the age of 23, he’d already seen more of the world than Palin has seen at 44. In fact, just last month, he was a guest speaker in more foreign countries (7) than Sarah Palin has even visited (4, including Canada and Mexico).
What has he given to the community? Sweat, talent, and hope for a better life in measurable ways. Barack Obama was the director of the Developing Communities Project in the South Side of Chicago (remember? it’s “the baddest part of town”) where he helped set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants’ rights organization while Sarah Palin was still finishing a U of Idaho (not in the top 100 US Universities, Tier 3) communications degree.
In 1988, while Sarah Palin was entering locker rooms as a TV sports anchor, Barack Obama was entering Harvard Law School (#2 in the country) where, in his first year, became the editor of the Harvard Law Review (overseeing a staff of 80 editors), and in second year, its first black president.
In 1992, Barack Obama began TEACHING constitutional law at the (Tied with Columbia at #8) University of Chicago while Sarah Palin was voted into Wasilla’s City Council by 530 voters, (less than 10% of the city’s population). That same year, Obama directed Illinois’s Project Vote, a voter registration drive with a staff of 10 and 700 volunteers and which achieved its goal of registering 150,000 (30X the population of Wasilla, AK) of 400,000 unregistered African-Americans in the state, and led to Crain’s Chicago Business naming Obama to its 1993 list of “40 under Forty” powers to be.
In 1995 and 1996, when Barack Obama was litigating for civil rights, Sarah Palin was trying to remove “Daddy’s Roommate” from the Wasilla Public Library.
From 1997-2004, while Sarah Palin was restaffing the Mayor’s office with her high school buds, and building a $15M (for a city with a $3.9M annual budget) hockey rink (on a $1.7M for a piece of land worth $125K), Barack Obama was sponsoring a law increasing tax credits for low-income workers, negotiating welfare reform, and promoting increased subsidies for childcare.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/29/1223/87119/35/578632
In 2002, while Sarah Palin was losing her party’s nomination for lieutenant governor of Alaska, Barack Obama was being RE-elected to the Illinois senate.
In 2003 and 2004, Sarah Palin was one of three chairs of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, and the commission’s Ethics Supervisor. She resigned in January 2004, protesting what she called the “lack of ethics” of fellow Republican members. At that same time, Barack Obama was enacting death penalty reforms and helping to eliminate racial profiling.
For more, check out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_palin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama
You have to admit, he’s more than just ‘a talker.’
You may say that you’re not a republican, but you sure sound like one.
Best regards,
Bronson Page
September 16th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
[...] qualified, republican, sarah palin Recently, I had to chime in on a comment made to Sam’s blog, concerning Sarah Palin. The commenter was still harboring some misconceptions about Sarah Palin [...]
September 17th, 2008 at 10:55 am
wow!! Now I know why some people love to blog. This was the first time for me. I respect everyone’s opinion, and to each their own. Bottom line in “MY” opinion is that I think Palin is a good person and has the best interests for the people. I don’t agree with her on abortion, gay rights, and other things. I do think she can put aside those issues and make some changes that will make it better.
Just my opinion, and I’m gay, and my sister had an abortion. I’m not perfect by no means and it’s not worth it. That is why I will never get into politics or blog again.
Night,
Kenny
September 17th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
I agree with Kenny: the issues Alaskans face are different than the issues the lower 48 face, which is exactly why I think Sarah would be more useful to her constituents to remain on the job as Governor in a largely misunderstood state. I think she would do more good for the people of Alaska than she would as vice president.
September 18th, 2008 at 12:48 am
Kenny, the back story on how she’s helped your family retain their rightful property is certainly understandably compelling. No wonder you’re a little torn about her. There’s really little doubt that she is a stalwart advocate for her constituency, and having the high marks as governor, Alaskans must feel represented in a way that Americans, in total, wouldn’t with her at the helm. And don’t let this little exchange get you down on blogging or commenting. It’s a discussion, and look at what everyone learned.
September 30th, 2008 at 12:48 am
The calls about meth to children’s services in Wasilla accounts for as many as 40 percent of the agency’s total monthly child protection calls.
The troopers are aggressively going after meth labs, said Capt. Ed Harrington, the supervisor of the state’s drug and alcohol enforcement unit.
“It’s just not a simple process,” Harrington said. “Just because somebody calls in and says ‘So and so’s cooking meth’ doesn’t mean we’re going to kick the door in the next night.”
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Crystal Meth Addiction
Patrick
September 30th, 2008 at 12:50 am
There’s really little doubt that she is a stalwart advocate for her constituency, and having the high marks as governor, Alaskans must feel represented in a way that Americans, in total, wouldn’t with her at the helm. And don’t let this little exchange get you down on blogging or commenting. It’s a discussion, and look at what everyone learned.