Governor Jindal Angers Alaskans by Calling Volcano Monitoring Wasteful Spending

Posted on February 26, 2009

The Anchorage Daily News reports that Alaskans are angry that Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (GOP) singled out "volcano monitoring" as wasteful spending during his response to President Obama's speech Tuesday night.

Jindal singled out "volcano monitoring" as an unnecessary frill that Democrats stuck in the recently adopted stimulus package.
"Their legislation is larded with wasteful spending," Jindal said. "It includes ... $140 million for something called 'volcano monitoring.' Instead of monitoring volcanoes, what Congress should be monitoring is the eruption of spending in Washington, D.C."
Jindal's comments provoked an eruption of their own. Alaska politicians, liberal bloggers and some scientists began pointing out how useful it is to let people know when a volcano in their neighborhood is about to explode.
"Volcano monitoring is a matter of life and death in Alaska," Democratic Sen. Mark Begich said in an open letter to Jindal.

Jindal should have looked at his speech a lot more carefully. It should be fairly obvious that volcano monitoring is important for some states just like hurricane monitoring is important in Jindal's state. In Alaska, scientists are currently keeping a close eye on Mount Redoubt which could still erupt soon.