"Your Tax Dollars At Work..."

A $328,835 Faux Pas

The most recognizeable and extensively photographed aircraft in thé world, Air Force One, took to the skies again this past Monday morning over New York City for yet another photo-op, escorted by two F-16 fighter jets and flying as low as 1,000 feet above New York Harbor and the lower Manhattan financial district. Such an otherwise innoccuous mission would have, under normal circumstance, been but a mild curiosity to casual observers on the ground who happened to look up to view this armada of military aircraft. However, mild curiosity was not the prevailing response among the hundreds of pedestrians and office personnel who fled in a panic out of their office buildings, having no forewarning that what they were observing was not a horrfic repeat of the events that transpired on 9/11/2001 when two commercial airliners were deliberately flown by terrorist into the Twin Towers.

As more factual information comes to light regarding the mission it yet again becomes increasingly apparent that in the various halls of government bureaucracies that the left hand has no clue as to the antics of its opposite member. Official memos obtained by various reputable news agencies have revealed that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was aware of "the possibility of pubic concern regarding the Department of Defence (DOD) aircraft flying at low altitudes" in and around New York City. Yet the FAA demanded total secrecy from the New York Police Department, the Secret Service, the FBI and even the mayor's office, threatening federal scantions if the secret mission was revealed.

New York Senator Charles Schumer publically criticized the mission stating, "To say that it should be made public knowning that it might scare people, it's just confounding. It's what gives Washington and government a bad name. It's sheer stupidity." Well Chuck, ole boy, you were spot on with your sheer stupidity evaluation, but a little late to the table by offering that Washington has anything more than a tremendously disfavorable opinion by the majority of American citizens. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the queen of arrogant aggrandizement, insist that the United State military provide transport at her beckon call and whim in order that she, her family and staff may fly non-stop to and from Washington and San Francisco, the cost to the Amercian people for each trip continuing to accumulate in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. So, a little three hour photo-op by air Force One with military escort costing a reported $328,835 should, in the grand scheme of government ineptitude, be of little concern to we tax payers. After all...it's only money and the U.S. Treasury will just print more.

Like the good citizens of New York City that witnessed this fiasco, run for cover. Your government is running loose unsupervised.