95 Comments

1. Fat Man:

Yes, and not to worry, because they will handling your health insurance, as well.

The Country Is In The Very Best of Hands

Apr 27, 2009 - 10:34 pm 2. trangbang68:

How long until Alex Jones has a video up about a new government plot to fly a plane into the Statue of Liberty?

Apr 27, 2009 - 10:35 pm 3. Chiral:

There are free digital photo tools that would have produced images superior to anything obtained by actually doing it.

I’ll guess the pilots were hot-dogging as well, knowing that they had legal cover of course.

Apr 27, 2009 - 10:42 pm 4. Ray:

The problem is not, so much, that nobody asked questions about the problem. It’s that everybody who had questions, or qualms, assumed it was *somebody else’s problem* and didn’t push it further.

Apr 27, 2009 - 11:01 pm 5. 49erDweet:

Not to worry. They were from the government and they were there to help. Nothing to see there. Move along.

Apr 27, 2009 - 11:35 pm 6. JMH:

Resurgent pirates threatening the sea lanes. The Taliban threatening to topple a nuclear Pakistan. North Korea going nuclear. Russia making ominous moves towards Georgia. Unemployment climbing steadily higher. The National Debt exploding. The banking industry on the verge of collapse. The car industry probably already over the cliff. A potential flu epidemic spreading. Our neighbor to the south wracked by drug violence reaching the level of a civil war. Social Security lurching into the red eight years sooner than expected. State and local public pensions critically underfunded. Infrastructure crumbling around the nation after decades of insufficient maintenance. A growing shortage of doctors impacing the overall quality of medical care. Potentially massive crimial wrongdoing at the heart of the government’s economic recovery plan.

And the federal government spends time taking new pictures of pretty airplanes.

Yes, Wretchard is right, it’s the question not asked that infuriates. But in this case, the question that should’ve been asked was “Is this really the most important thing for us to be working on right now? IS IT?”

Apr 27, 2009 - 11:45 pm 7. whiskey:

Someone in Obama’s staff probably thought it would be funny to terrorize New Yorkers.

Thats how his people think.

Apr 28, 2009 - 12:31 am 8. ledger:

Barack Obama is not Bernard Madoff – he is worse.

Apr 28, 2009 - 1:27 am 9. PA Cat:

like the statute in New York harbor

Is the statute in New York harbor a memorial to lawyers? Sounds like TOTUS needs a day off.

Meanwhile, where is Al Gore complaining about the carbon footprint of this photo op?

Apr 28, 2009 - 2:12 am 10. I'm Just Plain Dumb:

Of course one cannot blame BHO for the gross incompetance of the govt., that was going on long before he was born.

It does illustrate why govt should not be trusted to ’solve’ our problems, as it always makes more…but, as BHO says, “yes we can”.

“Mark I Brain” – I like that….wish I had an upgraded version.

Apr 28, 2009 - 3:38 am 11. Blaine:

Luckily, having never lived in a big city or been part of a catastophe I saw this and thought no big thing. I can see people getting excited about it but calling for heads to roll is a bit over the top for my tastes. Bureaucracies are staffed by people and people make mistakes, it is part of life.

Apr 28, 2009 - 4:20 am 12. anton:

Yep. BHO (a.k.a. Mr. Greenplanet) burns how many tons of CO2 producing JP4 to let his posse take some pictures from Air Farce Uno? This is another case of the “We won” attitude. He behaves like a petulant child if called out for something but acts like prima donna the rest of the time. Chiral is right, they could have just photoshopped the pictures and nobody would know, or cared.

BTW, what the heck do we need pictures of Air Farce Uno flying past assorted monuments for? Is that what Iran has wanted all along? Maybe Hugo will like us better if he has that picture on his wall!

Apr 28, 2009 - 4:56 am 13. In the Industry:

Wretchard,

It’s much worse than you think in large organizations. To actually be interested in what the citizen or client would actually think rather than the procedure is to “show poor judgment”. The problem is that everything became “too big to fail”, meaning “too big to succeed.” Anything good that happens comes from small groups of people who come together committed to an idea.

Your title reminded me of the Bugs Bunny cartoon where Bugs convinces mafia goons to hide from the police by climbing into an oven.

Apr 28, 2009 - 5:15 am 14. Bill R:

I am very familiar with the Federal bureaucracy, and Wretchard is very correct. This incident does reveal an inability for many bureaucrats to think logically. Not all bureaucrats have this weakness, but enough do so that things can quite often get frustratingly interesting.

Apr 28, 2009 - 5:17 am 15. Lifeofthemind:

This is reality, not a movie. Obama is like Tom Hanks in Big, he is pretending to be a responsible adult but it only an act. He resembles Don Ameche in Things Change, with his handlers desperate to pull off the subterfuge. Remember the tag line from the imbeccably liberal Ivan Reitman’s 1993 film Dave?
In a country where anybody can become President, anybody just did.

Apr 28, 2009 - 5:33 am 16. Joshua:

This incident does reveal an inability for many bureaucrats to think logically.

Not really an inability to think logically – more like a very strong disincentive to do so. Who would even want to think outside the box if you’ll only be punished for doing so?

Apr 28, 2009 - 5:37 am 17. Class Clown:

Give Obama a break, he only has four years to enjoy his cool airplane.

Apr 28, 2009 - 5:45 am 18. RWE:

The FAA can’t be blamed for what happened on 9/11/01 because the hijackers did not violate the regs on boarding their target aircraft. Box cutters were A-Okay in the regulatory sense. The FBI can’t be blamed because there were regs against spying and the Intelligence Firewall.

And the FAA – and the FBI – had made damn sure that the pilots of those aircraft knew they were in Deep Do Do if they did anything but meekly had over their airplanes to the hijackers.

The Air Force can’t be blamed because in the 90’s they were told The Cold War Was Over. “Look out, that is an example of Cold War Thinking,” was a common phrase at USAF planning meetings. And the cutbacks of the 90’s were so severe that the service no longer had fighters cocked and ready to respond, 50’s style, to any wayward airliner.

It’s nobody’s fault. And that always makes the bureaucrats feel much better.

Apr 28, 2009 - 5:53 am 19. markb:

The reaction of the crowd surprises me. Why the panic? The plane is no where near them. I would probably head home if I was out for the day, but why are they running?

They apparently don’t expect the nanny state to prevent this “man made disaster”, just to write checks when it is over.

The anti-terrorism forces were probably over at the garbage to energy plant, measuring it’s carbon footprint.

Apr 28, 2009 - 6:04 am 20. programmer:

anton@12
“We agree, We agree, We agree.”

Apr 28, 2009 - 6:13 am 21. dan:

I wonder how many of those people who reflexively began running voted for Obama and/or spent the last 8 years wailing about Bush foreign policy?

Just curious.

Apr 28, 2009 - 6:30 am 22. Mark:

Passive Voice, Usage Uncertainty Cause NYC Terror!

“‘The FAA notified the New York Police Department of the flyover, telling them photos of the Air Force One jet would be taken about 1,500 feet above the Statue of Liberty around 10 a.m. Monday. It had a classified footnote that said ‘information in this document shall not be released to the public or the media.’”

There’s the rub, or two of them: passive voice [’be released,’ (who—FAA or police— shall not release?), maybe complicated by a ’shall’ vs. “will’ distinction.

There’s an old joke, where the Irishman cries for help: “I will drown and no one shall save me,” and the Englishman mistakes this for a suicide resolution.

I guess we can be thankful that the event coordination was good enough that USAF fighters did not scramble, take down Air Force One, and then engage the escort in a dogfight around the Statue of Liberty.

Apr 28, 2009 - 6:31 am 23. Al Reasin:

Another example of people without experience, apparently, in charge and who won’t think about the “what ifs” and the required follow through. Looks like they let the bureaucracy handle the notifications. One thing to do, since I did initial testing at nuclear power plants and have been there, done that, is to ask others with no stake in your actions to look at your decisions just in case. This is a case where asking for forgiveness is not the best option.

Apr 28, 2009 - 6:36 am 24. Bill McNutt:

THESE are the people the Socialists want to put in charge of our health care? Words fail me. When I first saw the news on this, I literally went “I … er…. eee…. ummmm.”

The utter, colossal jackassery necessary to pull this stunt is just one more example of the tin-eared arrogance of the current administration.

Bill McNutt
http://willstuff.wordpress.com

Apr 28, 2009 - 6:42 am 25. oMan:

Because our minds seek icons, this event –minor, transient, innocent and essentially harmless– has the potential to hurt Obama and his administration far beyond its facts. In its fundamental cluelessness it reminds me somehow of Leona Helmsley’s “only the little people pay taxes.” Both betray an arrogance so deep and ingrained that it isn’t even conscious of itself anymore. And that kind of arrogance sends to the rest of us the most bitter message; that we are invisible. Not: we’ve been noticed but our concerns overridden. But: we don’t exist. The intensity of that emotional tone, and the tight parallel with the last time big jets flew low over Manhattan, is going to stick at the front of a lot of minds for a long time. Every time Obama opens his mouth to talk about something else, this will be circling in the listener’s mind.

Apr 28, 2009 - 6:42 am 26. ElMondo:

“Assuming that the story as told is accurate, it demonstrates the occasional inability of bureaucracies to see the logical conclusion of their own actions. Nobody asked themselves what would happen when a surprised public, kept in the dark by explicit instructions, saw the airplanes buzzing the city. But in bureaucracies it is sometimes the case that if nobody asks the question, then the question doesn’t exist.”

Which is why the conservative principle of limited government is a proper one for society. “Limited” is all too often taken as a philosophy on size, but in reality, it’s one about scope. You see, a government that understands it is not free to simply act whenever it feels like is one that should (in theory) comprehend that the citizens should be in the loop on certain activities. That’s the way it limits its scope: By letting citizens judge its activities and dictate the limits of those activities.

If government was truly limited, and truly understood how it should interact with citizens, then perhaps the notion that alarm arising from low flying planes would have crossed someone’s mind well before it did (which was too far after the fact). Because someone would’ve stopped to consider how citizens would judge this act, and not how to keep the citizenry from knowing about it (which from all news reports was the operating principle of this event).

Too many people are using this event to bash Obama. Yes, the buck stops with the President; it does for all White House decisions, period, so there’s validity in holding him responsible, even if he was unaware of it. It’s still his staff. Yet, I can’t help but feel that, in targeting the President, conservatives are missing the opportunity to address the bigger issue: The degradation of the concept of limited government. Too many other, more important issues involved in that concept (Health Care, for example, or Law Enforcement) have too much legal and societal baggage associated with it, nevermind political. This event, precisely because it’s so relatively unimportant (no one died, the worst injury is that people are mad) and nonpartisan (the real failures occurred in the lower levels of the bureaucracy, and crossed party lines) makes the point of limited government in an especially forceful way, because it demonstrates the erosion of the concept in utterly mundane matters. Levels of government intrusion are expected in health care, and by definition law enforcement is a government activity. But simply informing the public of a photo-op? That’s something that should never have been in question, and only was because the people involved did not choose to act within the spirit of limited government.

Apr 28, 2009 - 7:00 am 27. joe buzz:

I am hoping this is a joke too:

By KEVIN FREKING, Associated Press Writer Kevin Freking, Associated Press Writer – Mon Apr 27, 5:45 pm ET

WASHINGTON – Everyone knows President Barack Obama can deliver a great speech, including the president himself, according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

The paperback version of Reid’s book, “The Good Fight,” is coming out May 5 with an epilogue called “The Obama Era.” Reid said he was impressed when Obama, then a freshman senator from Illinois, delivered a speech about President George W. Bush’s war policy.

Reid, D-Nev., writes: “‘That speech was phenomenal, Barack,’ I told him. And I will never forget his response. Without the barest hint of braggadocio or conceit, and with what I would describe as deep humility, he said quietly: ‘I have a gift, Harry.’”

as grimaced at on: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090427/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_reid_obama

Apr 28, 2009 - 7:11 am 28. Darren:

Stupid waste of thousands of gallons of JP-6 or whatever type of jet fuel they use for what could have been done with a background picture from a Cessna and Photoshop. They lack of release was probably a security measure, but it would be interesting to know if the photographer’s pictures captured the chaos on the ground.

There’s a metaphor here, something about a chief executive who likes to feel above the questions, concerns and fears of the normal people, but who leaves chaos in his wake. I’m sure the people of Rome scattered if they believed Nero’s chariot was coming through town as well. It’s doubly ironic that of all the cities to scare the bejeezus out of, it would be the one where he likely received the largest popular vote total and the one where his first 100 days has created the most fear and loathing.

You get what you pay for, NYC.

Apr 28, 2009 - 7:27 am 29. jmb:

hmmmm…

caterpiller + terrorist = torture

New Yorkers + 747/fighter jets = photo op

Apr 28, 2009 - 7:38 am 30. Lifeofthemind:

Conservatives when given the opportunity manage government with all the attention and professionalism of a snake handler extracting venom for use by the life giving Pharmacists in a laboratory. Liberals being naturally part of the jungle find it impossible to maintain the slightly adversarial posture needed to effectively supervise bureaucrats. It isn’t even that the policy goals are always different in every case, a conservative could have approved the concept of a photo-op. The key is that a conservative would feel less of a sense of mutuality with organization and would have been more willing to challenge procedures at the risk of offending.

Liberal:
Sally Jones wants to do X, Sally has passed her hiring process (by someone else) and is assumed to know her job. Sally is a member of “Protected Classes” because she just happens to be a 1. Female, 2. Minority, 3. Lesbian, and 4. Disabled. Questioning her could cost me my job therefore I will enter a memorandum into the record noting that she has submitted this plan and that all other concerned agencies have been contacted and have not expressed any objection.

Conservative:
I don’t give a rat’s rear end about how you feel about my asking, I’m your boss and before you do this I want to know what the Police Commissioner and the Mayor in NYC think about this operation. Also we have media geniuses working here. I want this cleared through them.

Apr 28, 2009 - 7:52 am 31. 49erDweet:

25. El Mondo makes a great point. A “secret” Statue of Liberty fly-by is a perfect example of the federal government being way, way too big. When they have people sitting around with nothing better to do that ask for or arrange discrete photo-ops, they prove the argument better than 400 bloggers. Guv-mnt is TOO BIG. Admit it and get on. [sigh]

Apr 28, 2009 - 7:52 am 32. Hanoi Paris Hilton:

Hey Whiskey, did you somehow forget to trash vagino-Americans and the SWLP (whatever that/they might be?) in your uncharacteristically brief posting above?

Apr 28, 2009 - 8:21 am 33. Habu:

The flyover..it fits the Alinsky model and the Alinsky model is the model our President uses. It is no longer simply limned, it is the magnum opus of clarity.

Outlining his strategy in organizing Alinksy wrote:

“There’s another reason for working inside the system. Dostoevski said that taking a new step is what people fear most. Any revolutionary change must be preceded by a passive, affirmative, non-challenging attitude toward change among the mass of our people. They must feel so frustrated, so defeated, so lost, so futureless in the prevailing system that they are willing to let go of the past and change the future. This acceptance is the reformation essential to any revolution. To bring on this reformation requires that the organizer work inside the system, among not only the middle class but the 40 per cent of American families – more than seventy million people – whose income range from $5,000 to $10,000 a year [in 1971]. They cannot be dismissed by labeling them blue collar or hard hat. They will not continue to be relatively passive and slightly challenging. If we fail to communicate with them, if we don’t encourage them to form alliances with us, they will move to the right. Maybe they will anyway, but let’s not let it happen by default”

Well obama is “inside the wire” and working diligently to accomplish the above.

The flyover reinforced 9-11 for New Yorkers and thus the feelings of vulnerability,defeatism,frustration, etc.

Do we really want a President that works from that philosophy AND one that trumpets the virtue of never wasting a crisis. I mean what President with his pulpit can’t raise an issue to “crisis” stage with just a speech on the terrifying aspect of the outcome if HIS program isn’t followed?

obama is a clear and present danger to this country.

Apr 28, 2009 - 8:40 am 34. Raoul Ortega:

Yeah, what is this SWLP anyhow? SoftWare Loving Perverts? SouthWest Leaves Passengers? So What Let’s Party? Soros Wants Leftist Politics?

Apr 28, 2009 - 8:44 am 35. Oh, bother:

Mark @ 21 quotes: “‘The FAA notified the New York Police Department of the flyover, telling them photos of the Air Force One jet would be taken about 1,500 feet above the Statue of Liberty around 10 a.m. Monday. It had a classified footnote that said ‘information in this document shall not be released to the public or the media.’”

How long before we are told the classified footnote was inserted into the FAA notification automatically by the wordprocessing program, and it’s some flunky’s fault the footnote was not edited or removed? Said flunky to be thrown under the bus soonest?

Apr 28, 2009 - 8:57 am 36. always right:

It is not as if people don’t have enough to worry about already.

And we were told “Finally, adults are in charge.”

To top it off, next they’ll be lighting up some Chinese fireworks on a train or something….

Apr 28, 2009 - 9:29 am 37. peterike:

Markb @ 18: The reaction of the crowd surprises me. Why the panic? The plane is no where near them. I would probably head home if I was out for the day, but why are they running?

I lost my nephew at Cantor Fitzgerald on 9/11. I was in San Antonio when it happened, and I don’t live in the city but on Long Island, but when I saw some of the youtube clips of the plane flying low over Manhattan, my stomach clutched. I knew the story before I saw the video, yet my reaction was visceral and physical.

I’m sure many in that crowd reacted the same way. Of course, running made no sense. But it was an “oh my god” moment for them, and what else is there to do?

On a different note, I hope this makes at least a few of the political idiots that reside in New York think about the jackasses they’ve put into power.

Apr 28, 2009 - 9:38 am 38. anton:

@20. dan, I would wager between 90 and 95%, maybe higher.

Apr 28, 2009 - 9:41 am 39. Subotai Bahadur:

I admit that the stupidity of the event did not surprise me. It kind of matches what is expected out of the Federal government. What caught my eye was the blatant denial of any responsibility by Obama, even though it was the White House that came up with this aerial abortion. I guess the buck stops in a different zip code.

In any case, one should not expect too much blowback from Obama supporters. In a time of national crises’, when you have turned your fate over to a Diety; it is heresy and downright dangerous to piss him/her/it off by holding him responsible for what happens in his area of operations.

Just to brighten the day of the BC’ers, just before coming here, I saw where Politico is announcing that today Arlen Specter is making what has been plain for decades official. He will announce that he is changing party to Democrat. This gives Obama a veto proof majority in the Senate. That would have come eventually, as soon as they manufactured enough votes for Al Franken to finally win; but this puts a point on it.

Since January, Republicans have been barred from all sessions where legislation is being written, and not allowed to attend Conference Committee meetings at all [In 2007 Pelosi reversed the reforms that began with Gingrich that gave the minority party more say in legislation.]; there is now absolutely no check on Obama’s power or actions.

Soap boxes don’t seem to work so well. Ballot boxes are rigged. Where do we go from here?

Oh, by the way, some days ago Senator Cornyn of Texas who chairs the Republican Senate Campaign Committee announced that even after the Democrats stated that they would support Specter in his Republican primary race; that the RNCC would back Specter against any Republican challenger. How’s that working out Senator? If the Republican party had hakf a lick of sense and any contact with that which we call reality, Cornyn would be out of that job and trying to keep a low profile for the rest of his political life.

But neither condition obtains.

Subotai Bahadur

Apr 28, 2009 - 9:41 am 40. Habu:

37. Subotai Bahadur

Nicely written.

Apr 28, 2009 - 9:50 am 41. Alvin:

re: 36 I will not forget this the next time I receive a mailing from the RNC or their Senate Campaign Committee asking for money. So sorry I ever gave them any money. How many years will it take to get off their mailing lists?

Apr 28, 2009 - 10:02 am 42. always right:

…gives Obama a veto proof majority in the Senate.

Sorry I don’t see this as a good news.

It is inevitable, yes, but still not good (for the country).

How long does it take to reverse all the damage done in less than 100 days, and for the next 3 years, 9 months?

Apr 28, 2009 - 10:15 am 43. exhelodrvr:

How do the conservatives who “sat this one out” because McCain was not conservative enough feel?

Apr 28, 2009 - 10:47 am 44. Triton'sPolarTiger:

Wowser… Specter’s gonna haunt us one way or another, eh?

Watch what this does to activity at gun stores – ammo, etc, has been flying off the shelves before, but now… ?

Hard to avoid the thought that a slippery slope just got slicker… Franken is, no doubt, on his way to pulling off the “win” in Minn…

Obama must be thinking “I won, again.”

Is there any way to opt-out of the coming sh!tstorm?

Booger.

(@ 41 exhelodrvr – I voted McCain. It was a matter of deciding whether I wanted monolithic government (Obama + congress) or somewhat divided government (McCain + congress. It was an easy decision then, and now, watching what’s going on, it was most assuredly the right one. )

Apr 28, 2009 - 10:50 am 45. newtland:

Anybody know what happened to the blog called “Libertas”? It’s the blog for non-socialist movie buffs and is mentioned in today’s NRO Corner re: the travesty that “24″ has become.

The last entry appears to be in July of last year.

Apr 28, 2009 - 10:51 am 46. Professor Guvinoff:

If we were living in a sane world the New York City mayor’s office would have the authority to deny the use of its airspace, and they would have exercised it.

Wasn’t there any room for a negociated agreement with clearance for the flight, with the secrecy clause removed first?

And what if NYC had in fact the right to oppose this folly, but there wasn’t anyone with the guts to exercise it?

This kind of imperial process is not in the spirit of the US constitution. What good is it to have a president who is supposed to be a constitutional scholar? His bullying behavior is going to hobble him eventually. An executive cannot afford to spread resentment unnecessarily if he is ever to enjoy cooperation when he needs it.

Air Force assets are not toys. The city of New York is not a distraction. The presidency is not about remaking the world.

On the other hand, the behavior of a president is setting a standard of conduct.

Apr 28, 2009 - 10:56 am 47. PhilD:

RE: #37
Well said.
Just to nitpick, it would be a filibuster proof majority. Veto proof is 67 votes in the senate.

Apr 28, 2009 - 11:29 am 48. exhelodrvr:

44) Professor,
This was a common sense issue, or a lack of common sense issue. Adding another layer of bureaucracy onto the FAA is just going to make this type of thing more likely in the future.

Apr 28, 2009 - 11:54 am 49. maineman:

Life imitating art.

If you were writing a novel, you could not find any more complete and poetic metaphor than H just did to characterize his presidency and our current status as a populous.

First and foremost, there’s the central element of the photo-op, symbolizing the whole appearance vs. reality nature of this show presidency.

Then there’s accidentally reenacting 9/11 because, in their mind, it never really happened or mattered;

Barack Hussein Godzilla and his enormous government machinery buzz helpless populous;

an administration so adept at creating and using crisis that it unconsciously fabricates one of its own;

the mocking of the Statue of Liberty by those who only understand the will to power;

the lonely, inconsequential buildings of Ellis Island right below, reminding us of America’s transition from melting pot to tossed salad, from global magnet to international clown;

the arrogance of denial and abject ineptitude of a national government that literally has no idea what it’s doing;

and once-proud New York reduced to a Hollywood set, a plaything for an American Idol presidency.

I think the metaphoric opportunities may actually be endless or turn back on themselves like space-time.

Apr 28, 2009 - 11:59 am 50. Triton'sPolarTiger:

@46 maineman

“I think the metaphoric opportunities may actually be endless or turn back on themselves like space-time.”

Maybe if we’re lucky, this cartonish presidency will swallow itself like one of those loony toons vacuum cleaners and simply !blip! out of existence.

Yah – I know – go back to my meds…

Apr 28, 2009 - 12:07 pm 51. jsect:

Hmm. This administration, which takes every opportunity to trumpet its deep fiscal and environmental responsibility, as well as an enduring commitment to the security concerns of the nation, has an opportunity to simultaneously save money, the environment, and the nerves of its edgy populace, by simply using a temp and Photoshop to quickly and easily update the Air Force One publicity file. Instead, they take the opportunity to eschew their ballyhooed discipline and splurge unrepentantly like an irresolute nun who happens upon an orgy.

And then go to great lengths afterward to deflect the blowback. Listen to Chuck Schumer’s didactic explanation of how, since the FAA was headed by a political appointee in the Bush administration, who did a “terrible job” (according to Schumer), and thus necessarily had to be fired when the new administration came in, and whose position they haven’t had time to (i.e. haven’t bothered to) fill yet– well it was because of this, the proper parties apparently weren’t notified. So it’s obviously George Bush’s fault, after all.

JMH (#6) asks “Is this really the most important thing for us to be working on right now?” The answer from their perspective is “Of course!”, because in reality it’s not about the economy, the environment, national security, or anything else except for– THE ONE, and all those who for eight years railed against GWB for his perceived arrogance of power have suddenly learned to ignore the same warning light that is flashing now like a Vegas marquee.

I continue to be amazed by the broad disdain this administration has for its citizens by so blatantly displaying its true proclivities, and frightened as well for that the citizenry, as they continue to accept it with such sheep-like diffidence.

Apr 28, 2009 - 12:21 pm 52. Habu:

43. newtland

Right on the money about “24″ I look at the episodes this season and usually somewhere say WTF has happened to this show.

The only possible explaination I can come up with is Roger Ailes staying ahead of any “fairness doctrine” the obama crowd will try to impose. Fox can point to “24″ and say , “look at this, what use to be correct is now PC, just for you schmucks”

Apr 28, 2009 - 12:25 pm 53. Alexis:

If this incident over the New York City skyline were an isolated event, it would be soon forgotten as a footnote in history. The problem with this event is that it touches a nerve concerning any willingness to trust the Obama administration with our future.

For the sake of argument, let’s take President Obama at his word that he didn’t approve the overflight. In one sense, that makes the situation worse because it portrays government officials as bunch of incompetent rogue elephants. Or donkeys, as the case may be. Do we really want these guys making life or death decisions for the American people?

One aspect with this public relations fiasco that should be remembered is how it falls into an alternate narrative. Barack Obama’s plans for American foreign policy are a breathtaking leap into the unknown. The same could be said about his health care plans, his budget priorities, same sex marriage, et cetera. Air Force One’s flight over New York City is similarly breathtaking, if only for its sheer callous stupidity. It’s right up there with choosing Jeremiah Wright as one’s pastor or letting Mr. Rezko buy one’s lawn.

Apr 28, 2009 - 12:27 pm 54. CPT. Charles:

While I don’t disagree with many of the good points raised so far, I’d like to present a point raised by no one so far.

As twisted as the bureaucracy is, I’ll label the current hubbub as a ‘misdirect’, IMHO. The object of my curiosity is: WHO was on that plane besides the assigned air crew? While I regard Dear Leader as an empty suit, I DON’T regard him as stupid. As opportunistic as he has shown himself to be, I refuse to believe he would send up a nearly-empty 747 to take a spin around NYC for a mere ‘photo-op’.

If I was a clever politician, I would use that flight as an opportunity to reward/stroke key allies and donors with a ride [complete with expensive dainties and military 'servants'] on one of the few aircraft on the planet that you CAN’T just ‘get onto’. I want to see the passenger manifest for the flight.

Do I think the photo-op story is a lie? Not really, but I do wonder if it’s being used a blanket to cover something else.

After all, it’s rather counter-intuitive to be wagging your finger at everyone over carbon/climate insensitivity and ‘executive excesses’ when you’re jetting your political cronies, checkbook patrons and leftist homeys about on the taxpayers dime… As embarrassing as this clueless stunt was, joy-riding your buds around would be the ‘icing on cake’. Especially since the crowd reaction in NYC was NOT one the masses cheering and waving to ‘AF 1′ [image-wise] as it did a ‘victory lap’ around the Statue of Liberty.

I’ll bet the last dollar in my checking account THAT footage would have been omnipresent IF the story had broken that way.

Could I be wrong in my assumptions? Sure. But let’s see if some smart, ballsy journalist puts the request out for ALL the flight details. What say you?

Please don’t regard this event [as well as all the things going on in DC] as being singular in nature, think of it as an onion…composed of many layers.

Apr 28, 2009 - 12:44 pm 55. maineman:

I like your Alinsky reference, Habu @31, but I don’t think it’s quite on target. This flyover most likely reinforces the feelings that would be generated by someone setting off firecrackers at Columbine, rage, not helplessness.

Where Alinsky comes in is in his dedication of his book to Satan. Only the serpent could have engineered something so spectacularly psychotic and threatening at the same time. Put it in the same category as Nixon recording himself.

It’s really like how we work very hard to realize our expectations in life — this is the administration’s unconscious aggression toward and fear of America being acted out in a seemingly impulsive and self-defeating gesture.

Apr 28, 2009 - 12:47 pm 56. CPT. Charles:

BTW, the basis for my conjecture is the notable LACK of specific details on who’s been riding along on Dear Leaders’ [very] numerous trips during the past 100 days…except in vague terms. In the past, we’ve been given the details [ad nauseum] of who’s journeying with the President [who's in the front with the boss, and who's been stuck in the 'back of the bus'...etc.].

Granted, I could be paying less attention to those news stories than usual, but I follow the news closely enough to usually get some sort of hint as to those sorts of things.

Apr 28, 2009 - 1:08 pm 57. 49erDweet:

51. CPT. Charles Egad! That’s it. Who WAS on that flight? Who among his faithful were vaguely known to be “somewhere” in DC that morning? Excellent catch and question, sir.

Apr 28, 2009 - 1:28 pm 58. Foul Harold:

Here’s the most interesting theory I’ve seen regarding this event.

http://tinyurl.com/dkzbfe

Apr 28, 2009 - 1:47 pm 59. buddy larsen:

Joe Buzz/26; Reid misheard him. I was nearby serving canapes and what he said was “I have a grift, Hairy.”

Apr 28, 2009 - 1:47 pm 60. blert:

ElMondo @25…

Any notion that some low level flunky arranged the flight must be dismissed out of hand.

Air Force One plus back-up carry the President everywhere outside the range of Marine One. But there are only two VC-25 planes. (the twins)

To allow even one for a photo op means that the President is ‘grounded.’ The status of this fleet is perpetually updated for the President. HE has to sign off on its deployment.

Charles is right: that flight was not empty! The guest list will be illuminating.

The idea that some flunky can send the Presidential air fleet off on a photo shoot: ridiculous.

Photoshopping the image would frustrate the guests.

Apr 28, 2009 - 1:50 pm 61. hdgreene:

Habu,

I stopped watching 24 this year after hour six. Apparently it headed in the direction I sensed it was going. I was always ambivalent about the show since half, or more, of the competent Americans turn out to be traitors — including Jack’s father and brother. Anytime they needed a plot twist they would drag out a high ranking traitor. After a few seasons I told a friend that soon the President was going to take his turn in the dock. And the next season, he did.

Of course, we are suppose to think they slime minorities and Muslims when actually they slime career civil servants, “rogue” military and people who work in the defense industries. At least the Jihadists are portrayed as believing in something. The guy who portrayed the Jihadi that nuked Valencia gave a scary good performance, by the way. It provided the tension that allowed Jack to torture his own brother (I think he might have tortured the Jihadi’s brother years before — he leads such an active life, who can keep track?).

Then Jack’s tortured brother was murdered by their father so his father could blame it on Jack. I wonder what Jack would have been like if he had not come from an intact family — one dedicated to the defense of this nation?

I was going to say something insightful about President Obama but I forget what it was.

Apr 28, 2009 - 1:52 pm 62. Idle Speculation:

Could this have been another coded message from those famously illiterate military guys?

Halp us Jon Carry! Sumwun hijakked the Presidenshill taxi! Freedum’s cymballs R beeing enSirkled, but weRe on thayer tale!

Apr 28, 2009 - 1:59 pm 63. maineman:

From a comment over at AT, following up on the #55 link above:

“On Sunday, I just so happened to be riding the Staten Island Ferry from Manhattan and passing by the Statue of Liberty. As we got near the Statue, a small red helicopter, with one of those hanging cameras, was circling the ferryboat and taking pictures of the crowd on deck. I walked through to th e opposite side and the helicopter came around to take photos of the people on that side as well.

It is my opinion that this all could have been part and parcel of Obama filming a political television commercial with the Air Force 747 photos added later from their infamous flight the following day. If you want a photo of the most tourists on deck on the ferry, you take it on Sunday, not Monday. . .”

Apr 28, 2009 - 2:11 pm 64. buddy larsen:

Anyhoo, re Alinsky, i think Habu’s right. Market rallies run on three legs: fundamentals, valuations, and sentiment. By yesterday sentiment had been breaking positive for several days after a several day blip down from a several weeks’ run up.

Choppy, IOW, ‘either way next’.

With “100 days” as a cover why not let the dirty-tricks squad remind the Wall Street sentiment-sensitives of who is in charge and what their objective really is?

After all, mankind is on the sidelines now in the market as well as in life, and with trading being almost strictly among the professionals, these sorts of atmospherics loom large indeed. As a small confirmation, yesterday’s mkt did turn on a dime, i think the swing was around a hundred points. The Swine Flu is just serendipity, probably, but a series of left jabs and straight rights DO set up the hook and cross: as in, “Hey, it’s a hundred days, let’s feint a 9/11 and see what happens!”

That it may scare people all the more that the flu came from where the entourage was a couple incubations ago, could have entered too, if these birds have any Donald Segretti’s –which, haha ha –they DO, beaucoup.

Apr 28, 2009 - 2:15 pm 65. buddy larsen:

As in, “hey, if we can make the military do a 9/11 re-enact, maybe we can terrorize Arlen Specter that we did the flu thing too!”

Apr 28, 2009 - 2:19 pm 66. NC Mountain Girl:

Isn’t the Military Office merely a housekeeping type function? It makes sure AF1 is ready but other people say where AF1 is to go. Also, the need for new inages would come from someone on the political side, not from inside the military office itself.

The theory that this was done for a movie shoot would be the Chicago way. The people around Daley who allowed JFK, jr. to have a fireworks display after midnight on Grant Park on a weeknight durung the 1996 Democrat convention when thousands of condo dwellers lived within earshot wouldn’t blink at allowing George Lucas to use AF1 to scare the crap out of tens of thousands of New Yorkers.

This is resonanting not only becuase of the sheer heartlessness of triggering painful memories in tens of thousands of New Yrokers but because the only possible reason for this flight was shameless self promotion.

Apr 28, 2009 - 2:26 pm 67. buddy larsen:

…after all….

Apr 28, 2009 - 2:28 pm 68. maineman:

OTOH, Buddy, H doesn’t have any idea what he’s up against now, does he. Past efforts to control the world have ended badly, by and large.

Apr 28, 2009 - 2:34 pm 69. buddy larsen:

maineman, posit: the megalo mind is after the action. In some ways, if the action is grand enough, goal is met. where the chips fall is less important than that the chips fly.

Apr 28, 2009 - 2:37 pm 70. maineman:

Good point. You could take it further, which gets you to the self-destructive underpinnings. I was hoping that the train wreck might occur at the Democratic convention so that I wouldn’t have to be on board when it happened. Sigh.

These days I just try to remember that birth is never painless or pretty.

Apr 28, 2009 - 2:51 pm 71. Charles:

Tennessee Ernie Ford – Take My Hand, Precious Lord

Apr 28, 2009 - 2:52 pm 72. Habu:

58. hdgreene:
24…I’m on the edge of finding a new way to spend that hour a week. When I read during the series hiatus that Jeanne Garofolo was in the cast I said WTF. Then the Green commercials after the program and the story line degeneration as you so adeptly pointed out. I noticed (at least in the last episode) that Keifer Sutherland was the Exec. producer. His dad was a lefty so still WTF… the product has been degraded to the point where it’s a waste of time.

Apr 28, 2009 - 2:56 pm 73. NahnCee:

The thing that I find fascinating about the whole flyover fiasco is the emphasis that it be kept a secret from the media and public. Can any of you spooky types out there speculate as to whether there was a logical reason for the secrecy … like, did they think some Marine back from Iraq would take his smuggled bazooka out and blow the plane out the sky?

I also find the crowd reaction fascinating and totally understandable. I do *not* think Obama had anything to do with planning this for whatever reason, because what it did was to rip the scar tissue of 9/11 off and reveal the still bleeding psychic wounds of that day. Now, however, the resulting anger is directed at Obama, not at the Arabs. Good.

It’d be interesting to know how many Democrats in New York and New Jersey would vote for Obama again today, if they were given a chance, given his demonstrated heartlessness and stupidity on that one instance. It makes it VERY clear that Americans — or at least New Yorkers — fully anticipate being blown up and terrorized again in the very near future. Which will be Obama’s ultimate failure as President.

Apr 28, 2009 - 3:15 pm 74. Agoraphobic Plumber:

“The reaction of the crowd surprises me. Why the panic? The plane is no where near them.”

Weeellll…remember, on 9/11 there were TWO planes that hit. After the first one hit, the people in the second tower were still okay too, right? If I’m in NY and, having lived through 9/11, I see a plane that looks not right, I’m assuming there are more coming and getting down and away from from any high place I’m in. At a run.

Apr 28, 2009 - 3:19 pm 75. Standing in the Shadows:

Assuming that the story as told is accurate, it demonstrates the occasional inability of bureaucracies to see the logical conclusion of their own actions. Nobody asked themselves what would happen when a surprised public, kept in the dark by explicit instructions, saw the airplanes buzzing the city. But in bureaucracies it is sometimes the case that if nobody asks the question, then the question doesn’t exist.

Or it could mean that they did think it though but were indifferent to those consequences.

“I don’t know about this. This fly over could scare people who remember 9/11.”
“Relax, it’s been eight years and everybody’s forgotten. It’s all good.”

a.k.a.

“Hold my beer and watch this!”

Apr 28, 2009 - 4:27 pm 76. buddy larsen:

In a crowd –even an organized crowd like a military unit –a few runners tend to start a ”better safe than sorry” cascade. Mil hostorian John Keegan writes about this, and cites several academic studies of the subject. Usually there is another place the runner would prefer to be when the catastrophe upon him or her culminates. In NYC yesterday it may’ve been to ”get home”.

Apr 28, 2009 - 4:32 pm 77. exhelodrvr:

“The thing that I find fascinating about the whole flyover fiasco is the emphasis that it be kept a secret from the media and public.”

THere is likely a rule against advertising where Air Force One is going.

Apr 28, 2009 - 4:54 pm 78. Alexis:

It’s interesting to note how the White House Office of Military Affairs knew this would create a panic, but went ahead with the photo shoot anyway.

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/air.force.one.2.996457.html

If one looks at the hidden fingers in computer wallpaper from Obama’s presidential campaign, this entire episode would not be a surprise.

Apr 28, 2009 - 5:14 pm 79. whiskey:

Yes, people knew it would cause panic but did it anyway.

Drudge and Ace has the real reason for the flyover –

A goodie for Obama campaign contributors. Rumor has it that Rahm Emmanuel and/or Obama personally approved it and over-rode concerns about being too scary, in order to pay off campaign contributors.

Clinton did much the same thing with Lincoln Bedroom sleepovers.

Ace thinks most of NYC that had to trudge down 60 plus flights of stairs in fear for their lives will vote Obama again anyway in 2012 because that’s who they are. I’m not so sure.

At any rate, Michael Scheur, yes that Michael Scheuer, has a scathing article linked at NRO on Obama’s “torture memo” stuff, meanwhile Gallup has a new poll out, most barely support (51%) an investigation into Bush/CIA people about the interrogations of KSM and others. Women overwhelmingly favor the investigations, with criminal punishments (predictably) while men just as much oppose them in the crosstabs. Ace has the polls and cross tabs.

As for Libertas, it was run day to day in posting by “Dirty Harry” aka John Nolte, who got a ton of traffic and prolific posting, but was canned last Summer and went to Big Hollywood at Breitbart.com In the interim he had his own Blog Dirty Harry’s Place, which still exists but is not kept up.

WRT 24, ALL Writers in Hollywood are uber-liberal. There is a blacklist explicit of any and all non-Liberal writers, even folks just middle of the road socially conservative, such as John Hughes, much less John Milius. The creator of 24, Surnow, quickly lost control of the show to star Kiefer Sutherland and the writers, who insisted on a triple dose of PC fantasies every episode.

Apr 28, 2009 - 5:38 pm 80. NahnCee:

Whiskey – Roger Simon is going to kick you in the kneecap next time he sees you for posting your blanket condemnation of “all” Hollywood writers.

Apr 28, 2009 - 6:03 pm 81. Hanoi Paris Hilton:

ref. 76: “Women overwhelmingly favor the investigations, with criminal punishments (predictably)…”

Ahhh, there’s the Whiskey whom we know and love! But still, do pray tell us WTF is SWPL?

Apr 28, 2009 - 7:11 pm 82. davod:

Who was on the Jumbo.

Apr 28, 2009 - 8:14 pm 83. Habu:

The reporting now is that the Office of Military Affairs is responsible for the flyover fiasco. obama is denying any knowledge. He thinks we are all fools.

More importantly than this one incident is the number of bright people who fail to see the Alinsky paradigm at work. It’s all obama knows. It has taken him to the WH, and it is a destructive model.

What does Alinsky try to do? Disrupt, destroy , or otherwise radically alter existing institutions. That is the raison d’etre of the Alinsky model. So far obama is using it with mastery and smart people haven’t even caught on to the fact that instead of preserving, protecting, and defending the Constitution obama is trying 24/7 to disrupt and destroy our existing institutions that buttress our Constitution.

How can it be that intelligent people do not see that in every area of our social, business, and military cultures obama and his snivelling band of corrupt comrades are working to create a Marxist state where the government owns the banks, the manufacturers, and soon other private enterprises?

I must say I am surprised others haven’t caught on to his very open endorsement to using destructive methods on this country as he is doing every day.

Today’s flyover fits the model.

Apr 28, 2009 - 8:26 pm 84. Mad Fiddler:

I decided to clench my teeth and shut up, lest I later be denounced in court for saying things against the heroic leader, whom I always liked best.

Apr 28, 2009 - 8:44 pm 85. Robohobo:

Cpt. Charles: “…but I do wonder if it’s being used a blanket to cover something else.”

For every policy or pronouncement I hear out of the current admin, I ask the same question. What is the underlying purpose? Why should The 0bamanation want to do this particular thing? The answers that I come up with do not bode well for the Republic. Habu’s post above at 80 rings true:

“So far 0bama is using it with mastery and smart people haven’t even caught on to the fact that instead of preserving, protecting, and defending the Constitution 0bama is trying 24/7 to disrupt and destroy our existing institutions that buttress our Constitution.”

Apr 28, 2009 - 10:07 pm 86. onetailtest:

markb,

The reaction of the crowd makes no sense. Why are they running?

They are running because when the twin towers came down, a great cloud of smoke and fumes rolled down the streets as metal shards flew everywhere.

Apr 29, 2009 - 1:48 am 87. geoffgo:

Onetailtest@83

I might add:

a) nobody knew it was Air Force One or a mockup thereof, it was just a huge airliner flying at 1K-1.5K feet over the city
b) they didn’t know HOW MANY planes there were going to be
b) the chase planes (F-16s) could have been doing just that, in order to shoot down the airliner

Joyride for contributors was worth it though.

Apr 29, 2009 - 10:19 am 88. LarryD:

#43

try http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/

Apr 29, 2009 - 1:56 pm 89. Habu:

For those of you interested in the man Saul Alinsky who had such a great influence on obama there is a 1972 Playboy interview published in The Progress Report.

It claims to be the most extensive interview ever given by Alinsky and illuminates a number of interesting things about him. Here’s the link.

http://tinyurl.com/qov5t

Apr 29, 2009 - 2:31 pm 90. pharmaguy:

At least the Lincoln bedroom never flew into a NYC skyscraper.

Passenger list on that flight is the key. Is there anyone in the MSM that has the balls to get that story?? I’m guessing it is yet another task for the Pajama clad to dig out…

In the meantime, we can all ask our Senators, Representatives, and Governers where they were…

Apr 29, 2009 - 3:43 pm 91. buddy larsen:

habu/86; thanks for tip –here’s a return tip –if you can’t stomach the “press conference” on tv the military channel is less than an hour from a special on Gettysburg –at the mo is showing the story of Rickover and Nautilus –

Apr 29, 2009 - 5:08 pm 92. Aristide:

Air Force One? No, Air Force Zero!

Apr 29, 2009 - 10:00 pm 93. bogie wheel:

WRT 24, ALL Writers in Hollywood are uber-liberal.

Like the “ALL women are X” claims, this one is not true either.

I personally know 5 television writers (network drama) because I used to work on a show with them. One of them is a libertarian. He is currently working on a highly-rated CBS crime show and enjoys a lucrative career.

Can he be as outspoken about his politics as liberals in Hollywood? No.
And the habit of self-censorship that conservatives and libertarians in Hollywood can develop is a problem.

But conservatives and libertarians do exist in Hollywood.

And sussing each other out, knowing you’re wildly counter-cultural and outnumbered in that town, knowing that uttering something as radical as “yah, I voted for Bush,” can set lefties off like firecrackers, makes the whole experience kinda fun in a secret-handshake sort of way. Like you’re the kids who just dropped the frog into the punch bowl at the party.

Apr 30, 2009 - 3:01 pm 94. buddy larsen:

it should be sub-titled

“How to Use Up Freedom Against Itself”

It’s parricide, politicized, is ALL it is.

May 1, 2009 - 2:20 pm 95. buddy larsen:

oops –wrong tred, mon –was aim dat at dat alinsky creepy book.

May 1, 2009 - 2:30 pm

Sorry, comments for this entry are closed at this time.