Palin charges Alaska for kids' travel


ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Gov. Sarah Palin charged the state for her children to travel with her, including to events where they were not invited, and later amended expense reports to specify that they were on official business.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has charged the state $21,012 for her three daughters' plane flights.

The charges included costs for hotel and commercial flights for three daughters to join Palin to watch their father in a snowmobile race, and a trip to New York, where the governor attended a five-hour conference and stayed with 17-year-old Bristol for five days and four nights in a luxury hotel.
In all, Palin has charged the state $21,012 for her three daughters' 64 one-way and 12 round-trip commercial flights since she took office in December 2006. She also has charged the state for hotel rooms for the girls.
Alaska law does not specifically address expenses for a governor's children. The law allows for payment of expenses for anyone conducting official state business.

As governor, Palin justified having the state pay for the travel of her daughters -- Bristol, 17; Willow, 14; and Piper, 7 -- by noting on travel forms that the girls had been invited to attend or participate in events on the governor's schedule.
But some organizers of these events said they were surprised when the Palin children showed up uninvited, or said they agreed to a request by the governor to allow the children to attend.
Several other organizers said the children merely accompanied their mother and did not participate.

On August 6, three weeks before Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain chose Palin as his running mate, and after Alaska reporters asked for the records, Palin ordered changes to previously filed expense reports for her daughters' travel.
In the amended reports, Palin added phrases such as "First Family attending" and "First Family invited" to explain the girls' attendance.

Tony Knowles, a Democratic former governor of Alaska who lost to Palin in a 2006 bid to reclaim the job, said he never charged the state for his three children's commercial flights and did not claim their travel as official state business.
Knowles, who was governor from 1994 to 2002, is the only other recent Alaska governor who had school-age children while in office.
"There was no valid reason for the children to be along on state business," said Knowles, a supporter of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. "I cannot recall any instance during my eight years as governor where it would have been appropriate to claim they performed state business."
Knowles said he brought his children to one NGA event while in office but didn't charge the state for their trip.
In February 2007, the three girls flew from Juneau to Anchorage on Alaska Airlines. Palin charged the state for the $519.30 round-trip ticket for each girl, and noted on the expense form that the daughters accompanied her to "open the start of the Iron Dog race."
The children and their mother then watched as Todd Palin and other racers started the competition, which Todd won that year. Palin later had the relevant expense forms changed to describe the girls' business as "First Family official starter for the start of the Iron Dog race."
The Palins began charging the state for commercial flights after the governor kept a 2006 campaign promise to sell a jet bought by her predecessor.

__________________
Proud Supporter Of: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Gun carrying, Pro-choice Blue Dog Democrat and damn proud of it!

link?.........

Palin's kids travel on Alaska's dime

__________________
Proud Supporter Of: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Gun carrying, Pro-choice Blue Dog Democrat and damn proud of it!

Why not post on something your own party is not guilty of...
Things like this can be found all day long on all of them....

And.........

I actually find it commendable that Palin is truly a family person... it's not fake. I don't have a problem with her taking her minor children with her on trips... it's good for the family. This is part of the perks of being governor of a State.

This is just another attempt by the Obama mainstream media to keep attention away from Joe Biden... I can’t believe what this guy is getting away with, and the dems are worried about Palin? Biden is an idiot.

I didn't pick it out to post.
It was one of the articles on CNN this morning which is why i posted it. As a Mod i post lots of news.
Of course they are all guilty of it. You think I'm that big of fool?

__________________
Proud Supporter Of: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Gun carrying, Pro-choice Blue Dog Democrat and damn proud of it!

No... not that big of one... but close lol kidding..

Lets see here 21K for her kids to fly with her commercally compared to 100-200K if they flew on a Private plane by the time you included the FUEL AND MAINTANCE COSTS.

And going back and forging documents to distort the expenses makes everything all better.

The point is, she's a crook.

Biden's a crook.

McCain's a crook.

Obama's a crook.

Instead of voting for the best candidate, we're voting for the least corrupt one. It's a tough one this year, the more I read, the more I just don't even want to vote, move to the Caribbean, and run a jet-ski rental place

You still would have to pay taxes... only to the local cartel though... they probably only will take half..