Redstate

______________________________
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777

He hasn't had the same reaction once yet, but that could just be confusion.

Amusing to watch, though.

The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC.

Let me burst the meme: Hastert had a plane. Pelosi can have one. Fine.

The same kind of plane. The same rules. We cool?

Except Pelosi wants a bigger plane. A better plane. And if you don't give it to her, brother, YOU are SEXIST!!

First, she didn't ask for a big plane....but a plane that could fly non-stop to California. Hastert only needed to fly to Illinois...so he naturally needed a smaller plane. Interesting though....because this kind of story totally dispels the myth about a liberal media...

Further, the real story of the day concerning Libby and our puppy dog media has gotten very little attention. Tim Russert has been so chummy with this admin it is frightening.

chumminess with an administration. Fear, actual fear?
"If we do 1`/100th as well as you Mr. President,etc {Rather to Clinton}. That must have terrified you.

"very little attention"? It's been on the front page of the NY Times repeatedly. This apart from the fact there is no story there except for Fitzgerald covering his butt. "real strory of the day"? What, that it was Armitage that first spread the Plame name around?

"Chumminess"? Try the media burying the plea bargain agreement with Indonisian billionaire James Riady on the foreign bribes to Clinton, four days before Bush's Inaugural. Compare the news coverage on that to the front page attention paid by the Times to the Libby fiasco.

So how was the trip down from Saturn? When you get over the spaceship lag ask yourself why you and other liberals are so frightened when things don't go exactly as you like.
Know thyself!

"a man's admiration for absolute government is proportinate to the contempt he feels for those around him". Tocqueville

...CIA employee hasn't been in the headlines for two years now. And when Dick Armitage admitted that it was him in the first place, not Libby, that sure received a lot of press.

"Dispells the myth of liberal media"? Haha - only when Sandy Berger, who stole and destroyed classified documents relating to the terrorist threat which faces our nation, gets, I don't know, 10% of the print and TV news time that Libby, who actually didn't do anything, has. That'd at least be progress.

Jeez - if you folks are this shrill with the media you have, imagine if it were objective; you'd have to move to Venezuela!

One of the two plane classes that Hastert used, the C-20/-37 family (Gulfstream III/IV/V) does have comfortable continental range. The facts that it "only" seats 12 plus the crew, and that there is no private stateroom, are what turned Queen Pelosi off to that option.

Can we look at the contradictory nature of Ms. Pelosi's statements?

1. She's willing to fly commercial, but doesn't want to drive to Dulles.
2. So she insists on flying out of Reagan, which does not have any commercial non-stop flights beyond Denver.
3. So she demands an Air Force jet, just like Hastert had to go to Illinois, but wants her flight to be non-stop and carry her entourage and any other California Delegation members.
4. The only aircraft that can handle this is the military version of the 757-200 (VC-32 I believe?), but that can't take off from Reagan with the necessary fuel load. (Side note: that aircraft was designed as a Vice Presidential transport and to serve as Air Force One when the VC-25A/747-200 can't land at a particular airport)
5. So now she'll be taking off from Andrews AFB, which is closer than Dulles, but a real pain the butt to get to and further than Reagan!

The reality is (and this is my opinion) 1) that she is an ego-maniac who's self-image is dependent upon her surroundings and 2) that she wants to be able to hold press conferences on the closest thing she can get to Air Force One!

"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock."

--Thomas Jefferson

take her from the Capitol to Andrews AFB?
====
"Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm." -- James Madison

...why you all hate Bush so much. He has bent over farther backward than a Cirque du Soleil performer to accomodate, and be civil to, Democrats and the left ever since taking office. The man is - AGAIN - refusing to use his bully pulpit to attack a Democrat legislator who has berated and insulted him again and again and again.

Yet somehow, he's hateful, evil, and attacking? Man, sounds like y'all have one heck of an inferiority complex over there on the Left.

of very kind overtures to the Democrat Party during the State of the Union address

...even though he did do a few good things, such as spearhead the creation of freeways (unless that's an urban myth).

So, like Hitler, George Bush is a person who did some things I find commendable, in and amongst many other things I do not find commendable.

And yes, I did just compare George Bush to Hitler, in keeping with whatever that silly rule is about internet discussions.

When in doubt, attack ad-hominem.

Any comparisson of George Bush to Hitler is like comparing Bill Clinton to Stalin. In fact, very loosely considered, it's almost a parallel comparisson.

Unfortunately, the comparissons don't stand up to the test of LOGIC.

Now, can we get back to debating the Wicked Witch of the West and her choice of broomstick?

(and for those of you who just went apoplectic about my ad-hominem attack on Ms. Pelosi, that reaction was precisely why I did it)

"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock."

--Thomas Jefferson

If you mention that the President did anything commendable they break out in Tourettes.

______________________________
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777

...the speaker's statement condemning the thousands of times she has been "unfair" to the President.

While it's always fun to needle Speaker Botox, I think the real story here is Grandpa Murtha's threats of retribution against the Pentagon.

--
"We can all do our part to save the planet by dying." - R.E. Finch

all those redstate, uneducated, Nascar-loving, christianist gun nuts in uniform just scare the bejeezus out of her

___________________
If "pro" is the opposite of "con", what is the opposite of "progress"...
Senior Writer

She doesn't want to have to descend, land, refuel, and take off again. It's because California is so much further away from Washington than Illinois was for Hastert. See, he could fly nonstop to Illinois in the Gulfstream, but California is sooooooo much further away. And every second counts in Speaker Pelosi's 100 Hours busy schedule.

I think she should either introduce a resolution calling for California to be moved closer to Washington, or else insert a Gulfstream G550 into the next appropriations bill for her personal use. By the time this is over, the media will have spent $40 million covering her lavish transportation requests anyway. Rest assured that they're going to have a reporter around after every flight from now into perpetuity to ask how the food was. So she can make the argument that she's actually saving people some money by just buying herself the plane.

Not only do the Gulfstreams the Air Force uses (C-20B/H and C-37AC-32/B757/Air Force Two that Queen Botox wants to appropriate), but they move faster.

Actually, it's a question of fuel to payload. The Gulfstream could go all the way to San Francisco, but not with her full entourage and/or the rest of the CA delegation. In other words, Ms. Pelosi wants to be sheltered from those opportunity-cost decisions you and I make every day in our plebean lives.

"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock."

--Thomas Jefferson

She could probably get her own staff on the C-20/-37, but not the rest of the entourage. It "only" carries 12 plus the 5-person crew.

Of course, the Gulfstreams also don't have the private cabin for the VIP with the bed and entertainment center that she covets.

Just haven't found the right place to squeeze

From a friend of mine who is a debt collector.

______________________________
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777

If this is a whole lot of nothing, why do you keep responding?

She asked for an airplane! A big airplane! She did! We know she did! America don't you see that she wanted a BIG airplane! She marched down to the Air Force and demanded...

She didn't?

That's not what---

Never mind.

______________________________
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777

about the discussion in this thread. And the discussion - which you are continually trying to derail - is about her whiny claim of sexual discrimination.

You keep trying to get the discussion onto whether or not there are security implications to her flying commercial, which as far as I can see there are not; on to whether or not the sergeant at arms is the Air Force - it would probably be better for you to admit you just got this one wrong; and whether or not it is fair for her to have to refuel the plane occasionally.

It seems to me that these are all reasonable areas of debate, on which the Speaker has a slim but real case. They are, however, nothing to do with the OP, which is about her claiming sexual discrimination and about the way the MSM is treating this with typical double standards. Where is the cartoon of her dressed as a baby and throwing a tantrum? Is anyone in the media going to allege that she has decided to oppose the Iraq War because Bush won't give her a plane? It would be ridiculous, but no more so than alleging that was Newt's motivation for opposing Clinton's budget.

Quentin Langley
Editor of http://www.quentinlangley.net

International Editor of

Speaker Pelosi could have handled this soooooo much more graciously, and in a manner that would have made her come out smelling like a rose.

As other people have pointed out, it's not an entirely unreasonable request that the Speaker of the House be able to fly nonstop, in a secure airplane of some size, across the entire territory of the United States.

But instead of bringing it up rationally, and saying: "We should really think about adding one additional plane to the Air Force Gulfstream Fleet...maybe a G550 Gulfstream if I can cut $40 million worth of pork somewhere else in the budget. That way myself and future Speakers of the House will be able to make these trips..."

But that's not what she did, or how she did it.

See above: The Gulfstream can actually carry the necessary fuel, but only if she cuts back on her entourage!

"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock."

--Thomas Jefferson

with the various global warming blogs featured today.

Obviously, the green choice is to take this humongous boat transcon rather than make a 30 minute stop in a more conventionally sized executive jet.

The sacrifices one is asked to make for one's country!

...if someone kept saying that the Moon is made of cheese. Yes, it's an absurd statement, and can therefore be considered nothing of consequence. Yet still, if they keep saying it, you feel compelled to politely disagree. It's like that. That's why we ("libs") keep responding.

... why are all your posts about this of the desperate "Move along! Nothing to see here! Move on!" nature?

...stay here, keep going, after another five or six blogs about planegate and I'm quite sure there will be a pony in your back yard (or whatever it is you're hoping wil come out of this).

Seriously, go back to William Jeffereson... now THERE'S a scandal.

The original reason for Air Force One (and its predecessors, like Sacred Cow) wasn't security but rather SPEED and COMMUNICATION. Prior to Sacred Cow, it was deemed unwise for a President to fly since the plane could crash or be shot down by interceptors. Even after Roosevelt started flying around in the B-24 specially modified to take his wheelchair, his security detail was very uncomfortable with the idea.

In other historical examples, for security reasons Abe Lincoln rode an unmarked train into Washington after he was elected, rather than the one officially scheduled for him. Harry Truman travelled the campaign trail not in the air but by rail. We know it today as his "Whistle Stop Tour."

Unfortunately for Ms. Pelosi, as important as her position might be, it requires neither SPEED nor COMMUNICATION capabilities that cannot be found on a commercial flight. While it might be "fair" for her to recieve the same treatment as Mr. Hastert, I would argue Mr. Hastert is not an example she should emmulate as Speaker!

"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock."

--Thomas Jefferson

Dave-

Relax, you can rest well now, knowing that Congress is in good hands. No need to take those bitter pills and remind yourself every morning that you need be snarky, childish, and hateful.

Why didn't you tell us that you had an addiction to this site? You stayed clean for four months, but then you saw the link and said, one little click won't hurt...

Here, let me stage an intervention for you. Hope you get the monkey off of your back, dude: I'd also hope that you learn to someday not hate people not like you, except that you learning to would stretch the definition of 'miracle'.

The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC.

putting into practice an inspirational phrase from a national icon:

"Ask not what you can do for your country, but what your country can do for you!"-JFK

The CONTEXT is a little different, however.

I'm hoping you intentionally reversed the two phrases from JFK's statement.

"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock."

--Thomas Jefferson

n/t

Just had to make sure...

"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock."

--Thomas Jefferson

"1st of all- what is with all the liberal demo posting on Redstation lately? I do not mind other point of views but it is getting to be a liberal blog comment section lately."
It's not just this blog. It seems to be almost all of the proAmerican blogs.

Let them come, the more we have the more meat we have to butcher. Besides, the poor slobs think they have something to say, so regard it as an act of charity. First they vent, then we put them out of their misery. What could be kinder?

We must remind ourselves that these sad beasts actually believe what they are told by the MSM.

"a man's admiration for absolute government is proportinate to the contempt he feels for those around him". Tocqueville

hook line and sinker?

The MSM focuses on one story that reflects negatively on Pelosi amid the torrent of hagiographies in the months before after the mid-terms and this is proof to you that the New York Times is full of Republicans?

Are you liberals usually so stupid or is it just you?

One of the cardinal rules for liars is never admit you are lying. In this case they will deny media bias until the old media goes away.

I don't fault them for their intelligence. Just their lack of ethics.

______________________________
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777

Pro-American blogs--that is, blogs made and frequented by people want American citizens to live well and morally--have had many liberal visitors forever. Just look at DailyKos, TalkingPointsMemo, Eschaton, etc.

That sure was a good list of blogs that will ban you instantly if you disagree with the site owners....is that a "Pro-American" concept? Also, going to those sites I notice they're hate-filled profanity-laden screeds about their psychotic loathing for anybody who disagrees with them. Again, is that "Pro-American" also?

Ever since protest-warrior died a silent death we've had to find new "pro-American" places for our entertainment.

Why does it have to be a conservative or liberal blog? I mean, no doubt the original posts always will be conservative, but what does it matter how many people visit from different parts of the political spectrum, so long as they have something rational, useful, or compelling to say?

Well, it was created as a Conservative website. Hence the name "RedState." However, I am quite certain the creators, who depend on advertising to survive, are more than happy to have the additional page views of liberal readers.

Huh. Maybe they should face a "Windfall Profits" tax. (oh, damn, I just brought up the other powerful, scary, female liberal Democrat in Congress)

"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock."

--Thomas Jefferson

No blog has to be either conservative or liberal. You often get a better calibre of debate in those that are, though. When there is no corporate line they can often develop into slanging matches along partisan lines. Try reading The Fix on the Washington Post politics pages. The original posts from Chris Cillizza are thoughtful contributions on matters of psephological interest. Most of the associated comments are partisan ad hominems. There is a small but determined group of commenters who simply cannot accept any look at elections which does proceed from the premise that all Republicans are sure to lose because they are evil, and if any is elected this proof of electoral fraud.

Quentin Langley
Editor of http://www.quentinlangley.net

International Editor of

Headwind velocity generally stronger on westbound flights vs eastbound.

Aircraft carries crew of five, 12 passengers, with Maximum Takeoff Weight of 74,600 pounds.

Problems:

- Range problem westbound intensified by recent surge of hot air blowing in from California, especially from Speaker destination. Global warming suspected along with emissions from California rush hour.

- Non-flight crew capacity restricted to one flight attendant. Speaker mission also requires master chef, wine steward and cappucino attendant.

- 12 passenger payload assumes normal complement of luggage. Government papers, such as volumes of Internal Revenue Code plus proposed amendments plus lobbyist proposals during next revision cycle, will cause aircraft to exceed Maximum Takeoff Weight limit by goodly number of tons, imperiling Speaker.

Hope this clarifies situation.

nt