Come Fly With Me

Nancy Pelosi left her head in San Francisco:

WASHINGTON -- Bipartisan opposition is emerging in the Senate to a plan by House lawmakers to spend $550 million for additional passenger jets for senior government officials.

The resistance to buying eight Gulfstream and Boeing planes comes as members of both chambers of Congress embark on the busiest month of the year for official overseas travel. The plan to upgrade the fleet of government jets, which was included in a broader defense-funding bill, has also sparked criticism from the Pentagon, which has said it doesn't need half of the new jets.

I deplore these un-American critics.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT HOUSE SPEAKERS AND AIRPLANES?  Newt Gingrich leapt out of Air Force One without a parachute, now Queen Nancy needs her own flight squadron - que pasa?

Comments

[clarice]

Que pasa? Perks get in their head.
Strip out the planes--then start seriously reducing their staffs.

[verner]

I sent her an email at speaker.gov. I called her a freaking botoxed stalinist thugette, and dared her to come tell me I'm unamerican in person.

What the hay. I figure I'm on their list by now anyway, and I may as well have a little fun with it.

[Cecil Turner]

Typical non-defense crap in a defense bill. Jacks up the cost and gives them a false claim of supporting defense spending (whilst actually trimming it).

[DebinNC]

Exellent point, Cecil.

[clarice]

Ditto with the earmarks--which is why Murtha is such a particularly disgusting slug. He accuses the marines falsely of cold blooded murder which he fattens his and his friends' wallets by stealing from money properly appropriated for their needs.

[jean]

Verner you are a hoot

[clarice]

*WHILE which he fattens his and his friends' *

[glenda]

Term limits, I say!! It would help with a new crop, the ones already in office are so ingrained, infected with cutting corners, taking the easy graf--they're hopeless. I will help whomever campaigns against Pelosi, Reid, Murtha, Rangel, Conyers, Waxman,--you get the picture--
verner..I have a new grand-neice in Nashville, Ms. Lyla Libby, I will be visiting in the next few months, God willing; maybe we can have lunch in Franklin!

[Rob Crawford]

Term limits, I say!!

Meaningless unless you find a way to remove the staffers as well. For all that Ted Kennedy's life-long Senate seat disgusts us, I suspect there are staffers who have worked on the Hill longer than him.

Even when the elected officials change, the staffers stick around. They may shift from office to office, but they're always there.

[Dave (in MA)]

Separated at birth

[bad]

Dave (in MA), isn't that a little insulting to the gentleman on the right?

[DrJ]

bad, that is actually a puppet (from the original Star Trek) so I don't think he would be offended.

[jwest]

Naturally this is an imperious move by a tone deaf, brain addled woman. However……

In a perfect world the compensation and perk structure of federally elected individuals would be far better if congressmen made a base salary of $500K with an incentive to make an additional $500K in bonus. Along with the increase in pay, each house member should have access to NetJets on a sliding scale depending on the distance away from their districts and their rank in the leadership.

If I were calling the shots, I would also supply condos for congress and houses for Senate members, along with cars and drivers.

As it stands now, who among you would take the hit in income coupled with the increase in expenses that becoming an elected official would entail? It seems that someone would need to be suffering from an ego disorder to run for such a low paying job while enduring the increase in scrutiny on every detail of your life.

By paying a passable wage and providing a minimal level of perks, a competent group of people could be attracted to government service.

[madawaskan]

They were on CNN making the argument that part of the reason they were ordering these jets were for security reasons....

I dunno but if I were a terrorist I might imagine that you're a valuable target with your me fly pretty-jet.

[Stephanie]

jwest, only if you cut out the lobbyists, junkets and other crapola. And limited them to 40 days in session a year and required they spend 90% of the remainder in their districts in their own homes...

the condos in DC should be in a compound, btw. Just in case pitchforks are needed, we can get them rounded up pert quick!

[PeterUK]

"bad, that is actually a puppet (from the original Star Trek) so I don't think he would be offended."

Even puppets have pride.

[PeterUK]

Swine Flew?

[Stephanie]

Interesting...

We have learned that Goldman has retained the exalted law firm of Boies, Schiller & Flexner, to quash the Aleynikov subpoena request. The lead partner on submitted papers is Matthew Friedrich, former assistant attorney general at the DOJ and deputy chief of staff to fomer US Attorney General, Michael Mukasey.

The circles keep shrinking...

LUN

[jwest]

Stephanie,

Instituting the Fair Tax would eliminate 90% of lobbying, while using the better class of individual my compensation plan would attract would nullify the remaining 10%.

Of course, if the country would just declare me King, all problems everywhere would solved.

[jwest]

Had I not been interrupted mid-comment, my last post would have made sense.

[Stephanie]

Love the fair tax... too bad the Ds and Rs are more in love with siphoning off $$ in this current shell game...

[Rob Crawford]

Even puppets have pride.

His puppetmaster? Clint Howard.

[bad]

bad, that is actually a puppet (from the original Star Trek)

My point exactly, he is so superior to SanFranNan....

[Jack is Back!]

Security is the last resort of those who have everything they never earned but need/want/must have more. If you are in need of such security for overseas trips like to Kosovo or Iraq or even Afghanistan, then do like the troops do and fly jump seat in a C-130, C-5 or C-17. In fact, I propose that Congress (the universal term) revert their health plans, food service and transport needs to those used by the American military. I mean if you support the troops why not eat like them, go to their infirmaries, their AP's and Commissary's and fly as they do. Yeah, instead of Lincoln town cars all over the hill, how about some of those older model Humvees without the under armor.

[daddy]

I find it interesting that their stated reasons in wanting these jets capable of nonstop cross country distances, is so that they can get back and forth across the country quicker to their constituents. Yet in every speech and action they have taken in the last few days, their actual goal has been to prevent their constituents from ever actually having access to them. In a logical universe, they would want to continue using their current transportation, because having to make stops to gas up, makes their travel times longer and decreases their opportunities for face time with irate constituents.

Why it's almost as if their stated reasons for the necessity of these new jets is (dare I say it) False.

[daddy]

And just a reminder:

Everybody up here despised Murkowski for purchasing a private Governor's jet with Taxpayer money, then loved it when Sarah immediately sold it after taking office...Until of course she became John McCain's running mate, after which it was anachronistically looked upon by our betters in the media and DC as simply a disingenuous and symbolic vote-getting gesture by a ditzy Republican politician.

So watch carefully how the MSM works this meme:

1) Sarah Palin sells a jet to save taxpayer money---Disingenuous window dressing.

2) Pelosi buys multiple jets with taxpayer money---Necessary, responsible Dem's acting on behalf of improving communications with their constituents.

[Dave (in MA)]

Let them eat Gulfstream exhaust.
--Speaker Balok

[bgates]

Daddy, if Palin were really concerned about waste, she wouldn't have sold the plane, she would have poured sodium silicate in the engine.

[bad]

LOL, bgates

[daddy]

I'm LOL'ing too bgates!

[clarice]

bgates is back! Let the rumpus begin!!!!

[Brooks]

John Waters really should make his next movie about Nancy. It would make Desperate Living look like childs' play.