Outraged by a photograph in Newsweek

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.

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.

Hi! R U a vegetarian? I like hunters, it spares the life of a poor imprisoned/produced animal for a wee bit..

I don't agree with the bear skin rugs, or heads on a wall. It looks disgusting in my opinion to say the least. Now with hunting, if there wasnt a deer season, my back yard and everywhere I turned, I would see deer. So it's not killing for fun, it's weeding a lot of them out, before we are over crowded with them. Nobody wants to see Bambi killed, but at the same time, we don't want him and his 1,000 cousins eating everything in sight either. This goes with a lot of other animals, when you have to many, you have to lower the population, or have problems worse than global warming.

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.

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.

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.

I never saw this picture before now and it doesn't really offend me. I admit it is a striking photograph as the bear head i so large and unexpected, but it does not offend me. In Alaksa it is known as having great wilderness areas and having much wildlife. I think that is just a very "Alaskan looking photograph". I do not know if it is her rug or not, however that might be the way her office is decorated. I don't like the idea of hunting and do not ever want to participate in that sport. I really don't get the thrill of killing for pleasure. I would kill an animal though if it was threatening me or my family. Also, I don't see anything wrong with using the skin of an animal for a rug or for clothing as long as you are using the meat to eat, etc as in the case of a deer being killed. As long as you use it for food and not just kill for fun then I think it is fine. I am not sure, but I do think that some people eat bear. So, maybe she killed the bear and ate the meat and made a rug. Or maybe it is just something that was put in her office by a decorator to reflect the wilderness that is Alaska. Either way, I think the picture makes her appear to be powerful like a bear and does not bother me in any way. Remember, she is the Governor of Alaska. I think the picture is a reflection of Alaska's reputation for game hunting. I think it is an appropriate picture for Governor Sarah Palin. Have a nice day and happy myLotting!!!

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.