CBS carried the the story about the GOP governors of Mississippi, Alaska, Louisiana, South Carolina, Idaho and Texas not wanting to soil their state budgets with “hand-outs” because of Federal strings attached. Well, except for Texas, these guys have a lot of experience with Federal hand-outs.

According to the Tax Foundation in 2005, the last year they have available, this is the return those states get for each dollar of Federal taxes collected: Mississippi 2.02, Alaska 1.84. Louisiana 1.78, South Carolina 1.35, Idaho 1.21, and Texas .94.

In the group, only Texas pays more in Federal taxes than it receives in return.

They really don’t like the unemployment insurance money, because that isn’t a grant, that’s a loan. The premium for unemployment insurance to businesses will have to be raised to cover the fund’s going broke. Republicans don’t believe in saving for the future, only in tax cuts.

Update: See Scorpio for more on the unemployment issue.

This BBC graphic shows the results, but as Ynet notes there is No clear winner – Kadima 28, Likud 27.

The CBC noted that a couple of days ago a “national unity” government was not going to happen: Israel headed for ‘extreme right-wing’ regime, Kadima’s Livni says.

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These are the teams that have left Eagle: William Kleedehn (12), Hugh Neff (23), Jon Little (18), Sebastian Schnuelle (20), Brent Sass (13), Michelle Phillips (26), Martin Buser (8), and Warren Palfrey (19). The first three had a separation of three hours, then there was a six-hour break before Schnuelle and Sass left together. The final group left six hours later. It is down to strategy – how long to run and how long to rest.

From this point on any dogs dropped are as likely to be for strategic reasons as injury or illness, because the resting will probably be along the trail, and they have to carry the supplies for that with them.

Update: The last two mushers have left Dawson. There is also a mandatory two four hour wait at Eagle.

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