‘JetGate’ Revelations Dog Speaker Pelosi

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been treating the United States Air Force as her personal airline, blocking out multiple flights, issuing last minute cancellations after planes and crew are prepped and ready, and expressing outrage when the military aircraft weren’t available.

Those revelations are based on Air Force documents obtained by Judicial Watch, the nonprofit organization that exposes government waste and corruption.

"Not only does Speaker Pelosi issue unreasonable requests for military travel,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton, “but her office seems unconcerned about wasting taxpayer money with last minute cancellations and other demands."

In one instance, a House staffer shot off an e-mail to Air Force officials stating: "It is my understanding there are no G5s available for the House during the Memorial Day recess. This is totally unacceptable...The speaker will want to know where the planes are."

On another occasion, when a certain type of aircraft was unavailable, the staffer responded, “This is not good news, and we will have some very disappointed folks, as well as a very upset speaker."

Judicial Watch also reports that a request by Pelosi to have her husband accompany a congressional fact-finding visit to Iraq was denied. “The DOD explained to Pelosi that the agency has a written policy prohibiting spouses from joining [congressional delegations] in combat zones,” Judicial Watch reported.

According to Fox News, Pelosi’s office is disputing the claims. They point to a White House policy enacted after 9/11 that gives the speaker of the house authority to travel by military aircraft for security reasons.

Judicial Watch quotes a Defense Department official complaining about “hidden costs” associated with last minute schedule changes. "We have...folks prepping the jets and crews driving in (not a short drive for some), cooking meals and preflighting the jets, etc.," the official said.

http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/jetgate.../11/190748.html

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Gulfstream Executive G5

[EstebanTrabajos 7]

not good bad speaker BAD speaker!

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Tsk, tsk...Bill. Check your sources.

........

From FactCheck.org:

Did Nancy Pelosi order up a 200-seat jet for her personal use?

The Democratic House speaker normally flies in a 12-seat Air Force jet, just as her Republican predecessor did. This rumor stems from a request by the House sergeant at arms, not Pelosi, for a jet large enough to reach California without refueling.

....

When Pelosi became speaker, House Sergeant at Arms Bill Livingood, according to his own account, worried that the small craft would be unable to travel to her home district of San Francisco without stopping to refuel. Livingood, who was first elected by a Newt Gingrich-led House in 1995, asked the Air Force and the Department of Defense about getting a bigger plane. He also requested clarifications of other rules regarding the aircraft – for instance, whether family members would be allowed to accompany Pelosi on her flights.

...

The Pentagon response stoked rumors that Pelosi had requested access to a posh personal craft for herself and anyone she wanted to bring along. Tapper traces the rumor back to House Minority Whip Roy Blunt, who called the C-32 "a flying Lincoln bedroom." That's not a wholly inaccurate assessment of the plane (there's even a pull-out bed!), but Blunt implied that Pelosi had expressly requested such extravagance. White House spokesman Tony Snow called this a "silly story," breaking with congressional Republicans who objected to Pelosi's supposedly over-the-top request. At a press briefing, Snow reiterated that the conversations about plane travel were perfectly routine:

Snow, Feb. 7, 2007:

After September 11th, the Department of Defense

–

with the consent of the White House

–

agreed that the Speaker of the House should have military transport. And so what is going on is that the Department of Defense is going through its rules and regulations and having conversations with the Speaker about it. So Speaker Hastert had access to military aircraft and Speaker Pelosi will, too.

http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/did_nancy_pelosi_order_up_a_200-seat.html

.......

And about Judicial Watch:

Founded by conservative attorney Larry Klayman in 1994^[3], Judicial Watch came to public attention after filing 18 lawsuits against the administration of Democratic U.S. President Bill Clinton and figures in the Clinton administration. The organization received considerable financial support from prominent Clinton critics, including $7.74 million from conservative billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife.^[4] This led Clinton administration officials to accuse Judicial Watch of "abusing the judicial system for partisan ends."^[5]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judicial_Watch

......

Good to see you part of the Right Wing Propaganda Machine, Bill. Keep it up...I'll be here to snuff it out with the facts.

[Wei&Shu(Joe) 2]

1. The story is more than 2 years old, having been created and disseminated by various right wing noise machines in late 2006, early 2007.

2. The central suppositions of the story are false and were debunked over 2 years ago.

3. In 2002, Judicial Watch received $1.1 million from The Carthage Foundation[26] and a further $400,000 from the Sarah Scaife Foundation. Both foundations are managed by Richard Mellon Scaife. [26] The year before the Scaife Foundation gave $1.35 million and Carthage $500,000.[26]

In all, between 1997 and 2002 Judicial Watch received $7,069,500 (unadjusted for inflation) in 19 grants from a handful of foundations. The bulk of this funding came from just three foundations – the Sarah Scaife Foundation, The Carthage Foundation and the John M. Olin Foundation, Inc.[26] According to MediaTransparency, "Judicial Watch is essentially a tool of Richard Mellon Scaife, who provides almost all its funding."[26]

4. It is a central characteristic of those with emotional arguments with no basis in fact that they try to peddle recycled falsehoods rather than address any real and pertinent issues. Have you heard that JFK was quite a ladies man? That could be your next scoop!

Whatever fault you may find with Speaker Pelosi, I hope you'll also think about the harm that lazy citizens who are willing to peddle lies for people like Mr Scaife, without bothering to check the facts, do to our country.

5. Thanks for sharing.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

1. The story is more than 2 years old, having been created and disseminated by various right wing noise machines in late 2006, early 2007.

2. The central suppositions of the story are false and were debunked over 2 years ago.

3. In 2002, Judicial Watch received $1.1 million from The Carthage Foundation[26] and a further $400,000 from the Sarah Scaife Foundation. Both foundations are managed by Richard Mellon Scaife. [26] The year before the Scaife Foundation gave $1.35 million and Carthage $500,000.[26]

In all, between 1997 and 2002 Judicial Watch received $7,069,500 (unadjusted for inflation) in 19 grants from a handful of foundations. The bulk of this funding came from just three foundations – the Sarah Scaife Foundation, The Carthage Foundation and the John M. Olin Foundation, Inc.[26] According to MediaTransparency, "Judicial Watch is essentially a tool of Richard Mellon Scaife, who provides almost all its funding."[26]

4. It is a central characteristic of those with emotional arguments with no basis in fact that they try to peddle recycled falsehoods rather than address any real and pertinent issues. Have you heard that JFK was quite a ladies man? That could be your next scoop!

Whatever fault you may find with Speaker Pelosi, I hope you'll also think about the harm that lazy citizens who are willing to peddle lies for people like Mr Scaife, without bothering to check the facts, do to our country.

5. Thanks for sharing.

LOL...Bill just got the smackdown from both of us.

Just who are the sheep around here? Bill, you need to stop reading all that Right Wing Propaganda bullsh!t.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Tsk, tsk...Bill. Check your sources.

........

From FactCheck.org:

Did Nancy Pelosi order up a 200-seat jet for her personal use?

The Democratic House speaker normally flies in a 12-seat Air Force jet, just as her Republican predecessor did. This rumor stems from a request by the House sergeant at arms, not Pelosi, for a jet large enough to reach California without refueling.

....

When Pelosi became speaker, House Sergeant at Arms Bill Livingood, according to his own account, worried that the small craft would be unable to travel to her home district of San Francisco without stopping to refuel. Livingood, who was first elected by a Newt Gingrich-led House in 1995, asked the Air Force and the Department of Defense about getting a bigger plane. He also requested clarifications of other rules regarding the aircraft – for instance, whether family members would be allowed to accompany Pelosi on her flights.

...

The Pentagon response stoked rumors that Pelosi had requested access to a posh personal craft for herself and anyone she wanted to bring along. Tapper traces the rumor back to House Minority Whip Roy Blunt, who called the C-32 "a flying Lincoln bedroom." That's not a wholly inaccurate assessment of the plane (there's even a pull-out bed!), but Blunt implied that Pelosi had expressly requested such extravagance. White House spokesman Tony Snow called this a "silly story," breaking with congressional Republicans who objected to Pelosi's supposedly over-the-top request. At a press briefing, Snow reiterated that the conversations about plane travel were perfectly routine:

Snow, Feb. 7, 2007:

After September 11th, the Department of Defense

–

with the consent of the White House

–

agreed that the Speaker of the House should have military transport. And so what is going on is that the Department of Defense is going through its rules and regulations and having conversations with the Speaker about it. So Speaker Hastert had access to military aircraft and Speaker Pelosi will, too.

http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/did_nancy_pelosi_order_up_a_200-seat.html

.......

And about Judicial Watch:

Founded by conservative attorney Larry Klayman in 1994^[3], Judicial Watch came to public attention after filing 18 lawsuits against the administration of Democratic U.S. President Bill Clinton and figures in the Clinton administration. The organization received considerable financial support from prominent Clinton critics, including $7.74 million from conservative billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife.^[4] This led Clinton administration officials to accuse Judicial Watch of "abusing the judicial system for partisan ends."^[5]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judicial_Watch

......

Good to see you part of the Right Wing Propaganda Machine, Bill. Keep it up...I'll be here to snuff it out with the facts.

We all know about Wikipedia, now don't we!

[HAL 9000 96]

Bill, stirring the pot can only get you so far.

I suggest sticking to more bread and butter topics from World Nut Daily.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

The speaker’s office issued the following rebuttal earlier today:

Setting the Record Straight

Speaker’s Travel between Washington and the District

· Following the attacks of 9/11, the Bush White House instituted a policy for the Speaker of the House, for security reasons, to travel on a military plane – whenever available – back and forth to their congressional district only.

Use of Aircraft

· The availability and size of the military aircraft is determined by the Department of Defense. Typically, when Speaker Pelosi uses military aircraft to travel between her Congressional District and Washington, the military assigns the same 12-seat aircraft used by her predecessor, Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois.

· The House Sergeant at Arms asked for an aircraft that can travel between the District and Washington without refueling citing security reasons. See statement below from Sergeant at Arms Bill Livingood dated February 8, 2007:

As the Sergeant at Arms, I have the responsibility to ensure the security of the members of the House of Representatives, to include the Speaker of the House. The Speaker requires additional precautions due to her responsibilities as the leader of the House and her Constitutional position as second in the line of succession to the presidency.

In a post 9/11 threat environment, it is reasonable and prudent to provide military aircraft to the Speaker for official travel between Washington and her district. The practice began with Speaker Hastert and I have recommended that it continue with Speaker Pelosi. The fact that Speaker Pelosi lives in California compelled me to request an aircraft that is capable of making non-stop flights for security purposes, unless such an aircraft is unavailable. This will ensure communications capabilities and also enhance security. I made the recommendation to use military aircraft based upon the need to provide necessary levels of security for ranking national leaders, such as the Speaker. I regret that an issue that is exclusively considered and decided in a security context has evolved into a political issue.

· This myth has been thoroughly debunked and invalidated by researchers at a variety of nonpartisan organizations including

Factcheck.org

, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Foundation at the University of Pennsylvania, which wrote:

· The spread of this rumor – and its first debunking – dates back to February 2007. At that time, the speaker of the House had had access to an Air Force craft for about five and a half years. Hastert had been issued a plane after Sept. 11, 2001, for security reasons (the speaker of the House is next in line after the vice president for presidential succession).

· When Pelosi became speaker, House Sergeant at Arms Bill Livingood, according to

his own account

, worried that the small craft [that Hastert used] would be unable to travel to her home district of San Francisco without stopping to refuel. Livingood, who was first elected by a Newt Gingrich-led House in 1995,

asked

the Air Force and the Department of Defense about getting a bigger plane.

Department of Defense makes ALL decisions about military travel

· The Department of Defense makes all decisions concerning the use of military aircraft by Members of Congress, and the House has complied with all Department of Defense rules in this area.

· It is a function of the Speaker’s office to coordinate Congressional delegation travel and act as a liaison between the Department of Defense and Members of Congress.\

· The Speaker is extraordinarily appreciative of the Department of Defense’s efforts to accommodate requests from Congress.

Mr. TONY SNOW (White House Press Secretary): I think this is much ado about not a whole lot. It is important for the speaker to have this kind of protection in travel. It was certainly appropriate for Speaker Hastert, and so we trust that all sides will get this worked out. (National Public Radio, 2/8/07).

[Ban Hammer 13,333]

why can't she just fly coach?

[Chica Yeyé 41]

why can't she just fly coach?

eeeeeewwwwww

[one...two...tree 2,762]

why can't she just fly coach?

Read the thread, Charles. This is nothing more than a Right Wing propaganda smear on Pelosi.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Pelosi Flies In Style, Major Media Ignores

Nancy Pelosi's callous treatment of the United States Air Force has been uncovered by a Freedom of Information Act request from Judicial Watch – and with the exception of Fox and Friends, the morning shows have given it exactly zero air time.

When Rush Limbaugh called a phony soldier a phony, the media frenzy was nearly instantaneous. But when Nancy Pelosi's staffer writes a belligerent email to the Department of Defense, demanding to know the location of every G5S in Air Force service, there is a virtual media blackout.

Fox and Friends reported the staffer as writing:

KAY KING: It is my understanding there are no G5S available for the House during the Memorial Day recess. This is totally unacceptable. The Speaker will want to know where the planes are [...] This is not good news, and we will have some very disappointed folks, as well as a very upset Speaker.

One wonders if the Speaker's office has noticed that the Air Force might possibly be preoccupied with such trivial matters as a possible North Korean ICBM, launching satellites, and a small armed dispute in Afghanistan. Regardless of what the Speaker's staffers know, it is rather disconcerting that the mainstream media has completely ignored Pelosi's diva-like demand for a $38 million (in 1998 dollars) luxury aircraft in which to fly home. Additionally, Fox and Friends noted that Pelosi once attempted to take her husband on a Congressional delegation (in military terms, a “CODEL”) trip to Iraq. The Department of Defense gently reminded the Speaker that delegation spouses are not allowed to be taken to a war zone.

Most damaging, however, is the revelation that Speaker Pelosi requisitioned three military aircraft and a U.S. Army escort to attend the funeral of Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones with other members of Congress. From the Judicial Watch release:

Documents obtained from the U.S. Army include correspondence from Speaker Pelosi's office requesting an Army escort and three military planes to transport Pelosi and other members of Congress to Cleveland, Ohio, for the funeral services of the late Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones. Pelosi noted in her letter of August 22, 2008, that such a request, labeled "Operation Tribute" was an "exception to standard policy."

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mike-sargent/...r-media-ignores

[Ban Hammer 13,333]

why can't she just fly coach?

Read the thread, Charles. This is nothing more than a Right Wing propaganda smear on Pelosi.

what makes you think i didn't?

now answer the question i posed.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Bill the propagandist...filling in for Kaydee who is currently in a mental asylum.