# Is Ted Stevens toast? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 21, 2008, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ted-stevens-toast/468851 "2008-10-21T03:17:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ted-stevens-toast/468851/81 "2008-10-28T05:29:52Z")
No. They cannot let a convicted felon sit, even hypocrisy demands better than that. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ted-stevens-toast/468851/82 "2008-10-28T07:15:51Z")
> [@askeptic](#): > > How do you figure? Ya think Palin might appoint a Democrat to finish his term? I’ve seen it mentioned that Alaska doesn’t have the Governor appoint a replacement. Instead, there must be a special election. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ted-stevens-toast/468851/83 "2008-10-28T07:23:43Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > Do you really think so? Isn’t it just a matter of 34 Senators not showing up for the vote? And if so, would their constituents remember that come re-election time and vote them out for that issue alone? All it takes is one attack ad to bring up that Senator Myxlplyx was absent for the vote that allowed the seven-felony Senator responsible for the Bridge to Nowhere to stay in the Senate. Find an ill-reputed Myxlplyx donor and a couple of grainy photos of them together, and Myxlplyx is on the defensive for a long, long time. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ted-stevens-toast/468851/84 "2008-10-28T13:07:42Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > They love Stevens for bringing them earmarks; and they love Palin, who has promised to end earmarks? > > You’re right, I don’t understand that. And I’m not sure I want to. Stevens is a realist. Palin is an idiot. Earmarks are how the government does business. Earmarks are not a problem unless it’s purely pork, like studying how much birdshit there is in a cuckoo clock. Neither Palin nor anybody else can end earmarks and to say they will is just empty rhetoric. Ending bullshit funding for projects like that stupid bridge is another matter entirely. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ted-stevens-toast/468851/85 "2008-10-28T15:52:06Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > It well behooves us to take a moment and have some sympathy and compassion for Sen Stevens (R-Moloch) family and friends, who are subjected to a time of stress. Alas poor Alaska Senator Ted Stevens! ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ted-stevens-toast/468851/86 "2008-10-28T16:19:16Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Figures the most Republican state in the country is the one with the closest thing to actual universal welfare… Alaska isn’t the most Republican state in the country. There are plenty of Democrats. It’s not a one-party state. As for the contention that Alaskans are really really different from lower-48ers, well, some are, but most aren’t. Yeah, there are lots of…characters, is the charitable way to put it. People with funny ideas. Unless you grew up in Alaska, there’s some sort of reason you ended up there. The ends of the bell curve are longer. But about half the citizens of Alaska live in Anchorage. Anchorage is a regular city. It’s Seattle’s northernmost suburb. They aren’t eating boat eggs in Anchorage. Prices are a bit higher in Anchorage, but it isn’t any more expensive to ship crap from China to Anchorage than it is to ship crap from China to Seattle. Alaska is a funny place though. There’s a strange combination of bone-practical common sense realism that comes from living in and around the wilderness, and nutty head-in-the-sand pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking that comes from being the kind of person who decides to live in and around the wilderness. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ted-stevens-toast/468851/87 "2008-10-28T18:56:21Z")
Update: [McCain calls on Stevens to resign](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081028/ap_on_el_pr/mccain_stevens_4). ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ted-stevens-toast/468851/88 "2008-10-28T19:07:12Z")
Okay, what are boat eggs? Or is that a question for **Cafe Society**? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ted-stevens-toast/468851/89 "2008-10-28T19:13:57Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Okay, what are boat eggs? > > Or is that a question for **Cafe Society**? I’m just guessin’… eggs shipped in from very far away? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ted-stevens-toast/468851/90 "2008-10-28T19:20:36Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Okay, what are boat eggs? Witches. (They’re made of wood.) ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ted-stevens-toast/468851/91 "2008-10-28T19:21:10Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Okay, what are boat eggs? What, you thought boats gave live berth? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ted-stevens-toast/468851/92 "2008-10-28T19:22:02Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Okay, what are boat eggs? > > Or is that a question for **Cafe Society**? Google suggests that this is a term that holds some meaning for septugenarian Alaskans, who can remember when eggs were not available from local sources. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ted-stevens-toast/468851/93 "2008-10-28T19:29:01Z")
Real old-timers remember when virtually all “fresh” produce and the like came to Alaska by steamship. Eggs shipped in by boat were…interesting gastronomic items. Since WW2, of course, agriculture has mushroomed in places like the MatSu Valley, so there is a lot of fresh produce available in season. With global trade, Chilean oranges get to Anchorage every day. But the cultural echo of boat eggs lingers on. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ted-stevens-toast/468851/94 "2008-10-28T19:44:08Z")
Eggs will keep better if you coat them with Vaseline. or Someone thought it would be hysterical to watch us smear Vaseline on 20 dozen eggs. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ted-stevens-toast/468851/95 "2008-10-28T19:47:36Z")
Wash down those boat eggs with. . .boat drinks! ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ted-stevens-toast/468851/96 "2008-10-28T19:49:41Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > What, you thought boats gave live berth? Indictment pending. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ted-stevens-toast/468851/97 "2008-10-28T20:25:38Z")
Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t Senate rules state that if Stevens is expelled by the Senate, he loses his pension and related benefits? Would he get to keep them if he resigns (or loses the election) and then loses his appeals? Because if he gets to keep all of that, even though he goes to prison, then it’d be pretty shitty of him to stick around and get expelled, thus costing his wife the pension and other benefits she’d get, even after he dies. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ted-stevens-toast/468851/98 "2008-10-28T20:30:12Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Real old-timers remember when virtually all “fresh” produce and the like came to Alaska by steamship. Eggs shipped in by boat were…interesting gastronomic items. Since WW2, of course, agriculture has mushroomed in places like the MatSu Valley, so there is a lot of fresh produce available in season. With global trade, Chilean oranges get to Anchorage every day. But the cultural echo of boat eggs lingers on. Hey! Watch who you’re calling “old-timer”, pal! I grew up hating ‘fresh’ vegetables and fruits. The only thing I would eat was canned beans and corn. Produce was so bruised or so green that only the most diehard person (like my mother) would eat the stuff. Salad consisted of lettuce with dressing. Maybe some celery and radish. Even now, with availability of almost everything, salads and fruits are usually an afterthought for me, while my wife consumes them by the ton. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ted-stevens-toast/468851/99 "2008-10-28T20:35:17Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Update: [McCain calls on Stevens to resign](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081028/ap_on_el_pr/mccain_stevens_4). The ulterior motive here is that Palin wants to be able to suspend the general election for senator and hold a “special election” later, so that the election can be “fair”. In other words, she either wants to make sure there is a Pubbie on the ballot to prevent a sure thing for the Dem, or she is hedging her bets for when she loses the VP slot and will put herself forward for the senate seat. Either way, fuck them both. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ted-stevens-toast/468851/100 "2008-10-28T20:39:32Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I will not countenance any mean-spirited criticism of Sen. Ted Stevens. > > He’s brought untold millions in federal tax dollars back to his home state, so that Alaskans can remain independent and proud. I wonder how much that is per person compared to other states. And maybe I’d wonder how much that is when combined with all the money Alaskan citizens get from the oil companies’ profits. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ted-stevens-toast/468851.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ted-stevens-toast/468851.md?page=6)