Been in state for the long time work of Ted Stevens.  Back in the 1970's Alaska was far behind the Lower 48 states that had years on us for building up and creating the state economy and the necessary infrastructure to support it. At that time those of us who lived in rural Alaska had one radio station for the news and a state tv station called RatNet that one could get on with an antenna tv.  We ordered a lot from the Sears catalogue, even the stores in Anchorage were limited in the goods and services that we happily have today in this state. The pay scale was high in the state and we generally paid a lot more in federal taxes than any other state and we got a lot of it back (pork) that built up the state and brought this state into the future. Ted loved children, seniors and the military. The "pork" you "hate" was often used to help these citizens. Ted did not live an "affluent" lifestyle, he was a good man, and many citizens are very proud of his service to a state that he loved.