Money for Nothing in the Palin Administration.

Wow. We’re learning so much about that crazy Palin checkbook these days.  We’ve learned even more today, thanks to the Washington Post.  But before we get into that, let’s review.

First, one of my personal pet peeves.  Remember Frank Bailey?   He’s the one from the Palin administration who got taped calling Trooper Rodney Dial, and pressuring the department to fire Palin’s ex-brother-in-law, Trooper Mike Wooten.   After Palin admitted that this was really ‘embarrasing’, and could possibly look like she had instigated the call, she decided to give Bailey paid administrative leave.  This made sense because he would need to be readily available to the investigator and have free time to devote to finding the real killers assisting with the investigation.  That was August 13th, and Bailey is to remain on leave “pending an investigation”.  Well the investigation marched on, but Bailey, with all that free time on his hands, still didn’t show up for his deposition.  That means…where’s my calculator…  at a salary of $78,528…(click click click) that’s a total of (click) $5593.64.  For sitting home, and refusing to testify.  Nice work if you can get it.  That’s about 2 cents per resident of Alaska.  Hey, our two cents worth!

Then there’s Chuck Kopp.  He’s the guy who was reprimanded for sexual harassment, and wasn’t vetted, and took over the job as Chair of the Department of Public Safety, afte the beloved Walt Monegan was fired for not axing the aforementioned ex-brother-in-law.  After all of this came to light, Kopp said he had no intention of stepping down.  Then, two days later, he stepped down.  Strange…  But the mystery was solved when it was revealed that Kopp was the recipient of a $10,000 severance package, after two scandal-packed weeks on the job. 

And now, this:

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a “per diem” allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business.

Charging the state to stay at home?  Three hundred twelve times?  Let’s see…That’s approximately (click click click) 570 days total..into 312..round up the 7….  That’s 55% of her time as governor that she’s been getting paid by the state to stay at the ’Home Sweet Home’ hotel, and eat at the ’My Own Kitchen’ bistro. 

The governor also has charged the state for travel expenses to take her children on official out-of-town missions. And her husband, Todd, has billed the state for expenses and a daily allowance for trips he makes on official business for his wife.

Palin, who earns $125,000 a year, claimed and received $16,951 as her allowance, which officials say was permitted because her official “duty station” is Juneau, according to an analysis of her travel documents by The Washington Post.

The governor’s daughters and husband charged the state $43,490 to travel and many of the trips were to and from their house in Wasilla and Juneau, the capital city 600 miles away, the documents show.

Gubernatorial spokeswoman Sharon Leighow said Monday that Palin’s expenses are not unusual and that, under state policy, the first family could have claimed per diem expenses for each child taken on official business but has not done so.

Oh. So this is all normal stuff.  Like all governors do.  Right? 

In the past, per diem claims by Alaska state officials have carried political risks. In 1988, the head of the state Commerce Department was pilloried for collecting a per diem charge of $50 while staying in his Anchorage home, according to local news accounts. The commissioner, the late Tony Smith, resigned amid a series of controversies.

“It was quite the little scandal,” said Tony Knowles, the Democratic governor from 1994 to 2000. “I gave a direction to all my commissioners if they were ever in their house, whether it was Juneau or elsewhere, they were not to get a per diem because, clearly, it is and it looks like a scam – you pay yourself to live at home,” he said.

Knowles, whose children were school-age at the start of his first term, said that his wife sometimes accompanied him to conferences overseas but that he could “count on one hand” the number of times his children accompanied him.

On and on the digging goes… Where it stops, nobody knows.  Now, I’m going to punch my time card, and go to bed.