$500,000 for a Flying Fish

There may be no fat left in the federal budget, if you believe the assessment of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, but there's a lot of protein and Omega 3 fatty acids.

A non-profit in Alaska led by a Republican Congressman's son spent $500,000 in federal funds to paint an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-400 like a salmon, according to the Anchorage Daily News.

A team of 30 painters and airbrush artists used more than 140 gallons of paint and took 24 days to render the lifelike chinook -- triple the time normally needed to coat an airliner.
"There's no question, at least in my mind, that this is the finest airline art ever conceived," said Bill MacKay, the company's Anchorage-based senior vice president. "People will just be amazed at the detail."

The fishy expenditure comes from the Alaska Fisheries Marketing Board, whose chairman Ben Stevens was spawned by U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens. The board received $29 million in federal funding to promote Alaskan seafood.

Politics · 2005/10/05 · 11 COMMENTS · Link

Comments

was this i/2 million of the 29 million federal funds ? Inothjer words was this federal funds paid to paint a privately owned aircraft ?(owned by Alaska Airlines)

#1 · CDR Sperry · 2005/10/05

Yep. I looked around for more details on the Fisheries Board, to see if there's any non-federal funding, but it appears to be a pork dispenser.

#2 · Rogers Cadenhead · 2005/10/05

That is only the tip of the iceberg.

Every year this crap gets worse. Currently there is a $50 million pork project to build an indoor rain forest in Iowa.

The Bridges to Nowhere recipients got it right. Too bad their local government stymied the idea.

What can your state return?

#3 · Scotty · 2005/10/05

When are all of the Idiot in the country going to realize that WE ARE CONTROLLED BY DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS.

230 million people divide with other numbers than 2 I assure you.

4/5 americans are media spoon fed idiots. The other 1 doesnt vote.

Wake up america, and see the big picture.

#4 · video junkie · 2005/10/05

The rampant pork barrel fraud and waste is disgusting, but the injury to the common weal pales in comparison to
the fraud and waste in our so-called
"Department of Defense",
which should be denominated by its more honest former name,
the "Department of War".

This pusillanimous administration of chicken hawks
worships the God of War,
old Mars himself.

#5 · Vince Williams · 2005/10/05

It surely doesn't stop there. Check out The Pig Book 2005 for a list of the various pork projects this year. I kind of like the Oinker awards myself.

#6 · Todd Smith · 2005/10/05

Wisconsin tried this gimmick. Problem was, people mistook flying Braunschweiger for a giant turd.

#7 · Sven · 2005/10/05

We must all agree with the spending because we keep electing the same Senators and Representatives year after year after year...it's a great job if you can get it.

#8 · Vicki Kelley · 2005/10/05

Vicki, that's because 'our' Senators and Representatives aren't being pork-barrel spenders, they're 'revitalizing our communities'. Sure, there are some people who realize that pork-barrel spending in their own state is bad in the long run, but not enough people have that kind of enlightened self-interest. Immediate gratification goes down a lot easier than austerity.

Sometimes I think it would be fun if the voters in each state got to vote for the senators in the other 49.

#9 · RoverDaddy · 2005/10/06

what a big fish lol
but how get it ??

#10 · theXman · 2005/10/07

I love the idea of the flying fish, and definately commend any additions to the arts. But in this case it seems like the spending could be put to a more charitable use.

#11 · Jmskye · 2005/10/07