Outraged by a photograph in Newsweek

I don't know if Palin shot it herself, but I haven't heard anything about her being a "for fun" hunter. From what I've heard, she's an eat what you kill hunter. In the case of a bear, that may or may not be the case. However, without knowing the situation in regards to the bear, I can't say. Bears aren't always innocent. They do have a reputation for eating the odd human.

As for killing for fun, no. I think hunters should eat what they kill, or use the kill for some productive purpose. Killing an animal just to kill them is rather stupid. There isn't an animal alive that can outrun a gun. Personally, if you hunt, why not use a bow and arrow? Give the animal fighting chance. However, hunting is ancient among humans. We still do it, everytime a cow enters a slaughterhouse, that's hunting. We've just streamlined it.

As for the picture, she is the governor of Alaska. Alaska is known for its game hunting. For her, it fits. If the governor of New York had a similar picture, it wouldn't be quite right. Alaska is one of the most hostile environments in the United States, its people have tamed a wildnerness that still fights back.

I understand your feelings. Killing for the sake of killing is never good, no matter what species the victim.

Where I live the deer population is larger than it was 100 years ago. More people buy meat from the grocery store and less people are hunting. This increased deer population is a plague. They destroy gardens and landscaping. Several people are injured or killed because of deer on the local roads and highways. So yes, they need to be killed. I don't care if they eat the meat or not. The population of deer in my area need to be reduced.

I could care less the dead bear in a political photo. It is dead and there is nothing I can do about it. I figure if it lost its life it would be worse not to get some use out of it.

Do I think it is right to kill for fun? That would depend on what was being killed.

What do I think about the picture? I think to myself "I wonder what they did with the rest of the bear."

So the lower half of the bear is missing. What if it was found dead and that was the only usable portion of it? What if it were ran over by a large truck and the bottom end was destroyed?

Do you know how the bear was obtained?

It's a cultural thing. My family has hunted for generations but my generation doesn't. There's no longer a need to kill our own meat and while we can all handle a firearm with accuracy and safety, we keep our shooting to tin cans and such--that we pack out and dispose of properly!

Hunting has been done for a long time in Alaska, it was always part of survival. It's no longer necessary, I don't think, but people up there might not be as sensitive towards our beautiful wildlife as you and I are. I didn't see the picture but I'll bet the skin was brought in just for the photo session.

You don't understand how things work in Alaska, do you? A lot of it is very old fashion (i've never been there, but I REALLY want to go). Also, you don't understand the point of it. It's not to say "Look how manly I am!" or "This is fun!" I admit that excessively hunting for sport is a bit stupid, but if someone wants to i'm not gonna stop them. But to have a bearskin or a deer head is a display of honor and pride. It has more of a personal meaning than anything else. There are some people who have those things just to gloat, but they're just ruining it for everyone else (and not, i'm not a hunter, although it does interest me and my grandfather is a hunter). Also, if you see a deer head it's entirely possible that someone ate the deer (i've heard that deer meat it pretty good if prepared properly) and kept the head.

Do not worry.

She does not get any further with her political career.

Obama the Demon gets elected and by 2011 the fight against him becomes public.

His darkness is revealed and the fight against good and evil takes place in 2012.

May the power of Christ go with you.

You must understand that Alaska is an entirely different culture than most, and you also gotta understand that they are just ANIMALS! God made animals for us to use and eat, not to make a big deal about.

Yes, I think it is perfectly appropriate for her to have a picture with a bear skin in it. It's Alaska not New York. The culture is different.

Hunting has been going on since ancient days and will continue. You may not find any legitimate reason for it but others do.

In Alaska, there are lots of wild animals, and sometimes if a bear charges you, you may have to shoot to kill it. Do you really think that whoever it was, whether it was her father, uncle, grandfather, or friend to have just stood there and let the bear eat him? And what if it was in the middle of winter, and it was either kill the bear and use its fur for warmth? I do not know about eating bear meat, I have had deer and moose meat, it is quite good so if one of Sarah's relatives killed the bear, I am sure it was delicious or maybe they made sausages.
I do not think they go into much cattle raising in Alaska, too many mountains, and it is way too cold in winter. Stop trying to get a baby hater like Obama as president. It does not make people think that kindly of you. At least Hillary Clinton and her husband Bill Clinton was not as far to the left and they certainly loved America.

I think you need to remember that thins are differnt in the wilds of Montana than in California, and they're way different in Alaska. Hunting and fishing are a way of life there.

I once worked for a company that sold and shipped merchandise all over the country. Shipping to most states - from New York to Florida to California - had similar shipping and handling rates. Shipping to Hawaii and Alaska was 4 times the cost or more.

When I visited Hawaii, I discovered that the hotel's cheapest meals were of local foods - tropical fruits, coffee, and lots of fish dishes. One could have a steak, of course - but it would cost $25 for a small 4 ounce steak! Getting it there was costly.

I have never been to Alaska, but I'm sure the same thing olds true there. I have friends who have family there and visit every year. And I had a friend in FL whose husband was a city manager and earned $65,000 (it was back in 1988). He got a job offer in Alaska as a city manager making $110,000 and they decided to move. Moving minimal household items cost them over $6,000. Then when they got there, they discovered that had to learn to fish and hunt for some food. When there was a choice between paying $5 a pound for hamburger meat or opening up their freezer and taking out some ground moose meat (that they had killed themselves), there wasn't much of a choice. His $110,00 a year in Alaska was not much better than the $65,000 in Florida.

We need to remember that although we are the United States, each community, each city, county, state and region has different values and different ways of looking at things.

I doubt that Governor Palin hunts for sport. Not from what I've learned about her. I'm just as sure, though, that she encourages hunting for food.

All the hunters I know shoot their animals, and besides having the head or hide mounted, all the meat is used. I don't know any hunter who shoots for fun. I'm not against hunters at all, in fact, they are more cognizant of conservation and the environment than the average person. I don't think there's anything wrong with having it in the picture. I would rather politicians be honest about who they are, and what they stand for instead of just posing for a politically correct photo-op.