Ted Stevens is a politician. Did he do the job he was paid to do? Some say yes, some say no, some say he stepped over the line he was hired to do. Whatever you might think, Ted Stevens and his son are both guilty of being part of the good old boys network of the "takers" and "spoilers" of Alaska. Do they deserve more than those who lost everything they had invested in the fishing industry after the oil spill? Do they deserve more after they easily fooled Alaska Natives into signing land agreements for other good old boys to make out like "fat rats" on taxpayer's grants and earmarks to expand their horizons? Do they deserve more because they cater to "special interests" over mom's and pop's businesses for the vast amounts of funding only they are privy to? Special interests are all nonprofit agencies, taxpayer's money after all, so where do these fine folks get off by saying special interests (mostly conducted behind closed doors) are more important than keeping food on taxpayer's tables? Biting the hand that feeds, one might say.

Ted Stevens is truly "Special Interest Alaska," and the female cohort who speaks so loudly for his interests these days, Ms. L' Murkywaters, protects Uncle Ted only to protect herself. Have we forgotten so easily how Lisa pulled her weight to get a $7 million dollar road leading to her (just her) property on the Kenai river? She lost out only after people started questioning the funding (local taxpayers). Earmarked! No, people, you don't know how much money has been siphoned off to special interests and neither do I, but certainly it is in the trillions. The nonprofit agencies we so blindly support have put restrictions on our lives without our awareness or knowledge. We all thought "nonprofit" meant they work for "no money." Right. Follow the grant money.

Taxes belong to everyone, not the politicians nor the nonprofit beggars. The special interests, politicians, government workers, and nonprofit agencies are basically welfare recipients. From the top of the ladder to the bottom, they get paid with citizens' taxes. Since politicians already get a hefty paycheck off taxpayers, why do we think they deserve more than the rest of us? Start thinking about your next flight to nowhere, having paid through the nose for your passport, new shoes, and bottles of shampoo, remember Lisa's Daddy was on his way out of office when he just had to use taxpayer's money for a new jet before he left. Why do you suppose he did that? Just like the Bushes, he made sure all his cronies had plenty of taxpayers' "bailout pork" before he left office. How much longer should we be crapped on by politicians? Does anyone have the time?

Maka Fairman