Fox News, your place for all things outrage, has reported that Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican (surprise!!) and a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee (a dangerous combination), is getting overly freaked out about whether any taxpayer dollars were used in the making of the Smithsonian Channel TV show “Alaska Aircrash Investigations.” The show looks at incidents handled by the Alaska office of the National Transportation Safety Board, called “one of the busiest, most unique offices” of the agency in the show’s description.
”As we all know Alaska is the land of reality TV shows of late and while some of them are entertaining, the investigation of aircraft accidents is not an entertainment sport or activity,” Murkowski was quoted by Fox. (I suspect the entertaining ones she was referring to didn’t include the ones with Sarah Palin.) “I don’t believe our federal agencies should be involved in reality TV shows.” (Nor former governors, for that matter.)
But NTSB spokesman Christopher O’Neil shot back that those involved were only paid for duties “within the normal scope of these employees’ responsibilities.” In other words, their regular jobs. That hasn’t stopped the wheels being set in motion for her committee spending lots of taxpayer dollars and possibly looking into this.
Not that Republicans themselves hadn’t spent money on reality shows. In Utah, for example.
First he vetoed it but now it seems Utah Gov. Gary Herbert thinks using $275,000 taxpayer money to produce a TV show that features Utah high school culinary students in competition for title of top chef - is a good idea.
Sen. Jim Dabakis thinks the show is great, but he is not happy that taxpayer dollars, meant for Utah schools, are being used for a TV show where only 12 students participate and only one is declared a winner. This is the show's second season. Taxpayers funded last year's season too.
"Is this where sacred education funding should go? In my mind, no," said Dabakis.