Saturday, December 20, 2008
Like many others, I'm enjoying seeing the tables turned and watching Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich squirm and wriggle. At the same time, strangely, I feel an admittedly very small sense of empathy for him, since his innocence or guilt is being ignored by those who should know better. As usual, the media is making the assumption that if he's been arrested by federal prosecutors, he must be guilty even if he hasn't been charged with anything. It may well be that he is, and it may turn out that he is found guilty of crimes which have yet to be announced in the form of legal complaints or indictments. But he deserves his day in court, and the people of Illinois and the rest of the country deserve to hear the arguments of both the prosecution and defense of whatever charges may be forthcoming.
Furthermore, the timing of this whole episode is suspect. A pre-emptive arrest to stop the alleged "sale" of a vacated Senate seat seems most unusual, and the explanation for it seems a bit lame. If a suspect is arrested for carrying gasoline into the Capitol, that's justifiable. The damage or death caused by an arson attempt there would be irreversible. A tainted Senate seat or its occupant can always be dealt with retroactively, and if the "sale" had been allowed to proceed, would have made a stronger corruption case. It may also have implicated a far wider ring of corrupt greater Chicago politicians.
Besides, the political aspirations of all involved need to be scrutinized. The federal prosecutor, Fitzgerald, may have timed this to protect his own career. His selected boss-to-be, former deputy Attorney General Eric Holder, was instrumental in the wholesale firing of federal prosecutors in the Clinton/Reno administration. Fitzgerald may be able to hold onto his job by claiming exception for an ongoing investigation, since replacing him would appear too much like doing what Alberto Gonzales was accused of by Democrats.
The state attorney general, Lisa Madigan, has aggressively pursued her political ambitions and was mentioned early as a candidate for the vacated Senate seat herself. Her argument to the state supreme court for removing the governor from office was unrelated to any impending charges, and would have set a dangerous precedent for removing public officials for almost any reason, including negating election results that didn't meet with the approval of incumbents or other behind the scenes operatives.
The lieutenant governor wouldn't mind becoming governor without the expense of a campaign.
Other Illinois politicians see Blagojevich's removal as clearing the way for their own naming to the Senate seat, or at least not having to pay his successor as much. And still others would like to see this episode closed quickly before their own questionable practices are further exposed or arise to the level of criminal charges as well.
Republicans are salivating at the prospect of a special election in which they might have an opportunity for a win. Their hopes may be dashed by announcement that a special election will probably be too expensive for the state to afford. What a remarkable excuse for disenfranchising the voters, who, after all, might like to elect a candidate who will represent them instead of preening full-time for a presidential campaign! Replacing democracy with cronyism and patronage is far more in keeping with traditional Chicago "politics."
If I were a Republican and I lived in Illinois (I am neither), I would counsel other Republicans to step aside and let the Democrats slash and gouge each other. Let the Democrats keep themselves, their dirty laundry, and their hypocrisy in the public eye. Let the rest of us enjoy the spectacle and entertainment. And if the occasion arises where the governor's fate rests in the hands of the state legislature, take a cue from the former Senator from Illinois -- vote "present!"
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Isn't it ironic that the biggest swindle in history was done by somebody named Madoff (pronounced made-off), as in, he made off with all the loot!
Monday, December 15, 2008
Earlier this year, the FAA, in cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security, made permanent the Washington, DC, Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). It restricts overflight of the area without pre-approval and federal permission. Furthermore, instead of reducing the footprint of the area, which was the original intent of the review, it expanded the area and the number of airports covered with new requirements and a "gotcha" provision for the unwary.
There is no valid reason for requiring federal permission to fly in to College Park, MD, the nation's oldest public airport, on a fine sunny day in a single engine airplane. There is no reason to require federal permission to see the nation's capitol from the air in a small plane other than compliance with requirements for traffic separation in busy airspace.
The only restriction that was lifted is the one granting access to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, at least for those wealthy enough to pay for even more onerous requirements than placed on the airliners who routinely utilize that airport (and often unintentionally violate the nearby Prohibited Airspaces due to the combination of limited maneuverability in tight corridors and noise restrictions). I suspect Bill Gates, George Soros, Ross Perot, Oprah Winfrey, Warren Buffett and Barbra Streisand can afford to have background checks done on their pilots, crewmembers, and friends, land at outlying airports for search and baggage screening and to pick up a required federal air marshal for continued flight to Reagan National. A private pilot in a four-place Mooney cannot.
I long ago came to the inescapable conclusion that this administration's attitude toward general aviation can only be described at best as cynical and at worst hostile. It appears to fit a pattern of granting access and accommodation only to those who can afford it, and of imposing control and restrictions on those who cannot. For more on the subject, see the $700 billion finance industry bailout and the maneuvers to bypass the will of Congress to give billions more to the "Big Three" automakers.
Ironically, manufacturers of "little" general aviation aircraft, including one that the president personally visited and touted as a fine example of the small business backbone of our economy, have had to declare bankruptcy and were sold off to foreign entities (apparently the REAL backbone of our economy) or shut down altogether -- no federal bailouts for them!
I don't understand it. Seven years after the terrorist attacks of 9-11, general aviation is still being scapegoated and punished by the Bush administration.
Within days of the attacks, restrictions were lifted on the airlines, that segment of aviation that was used against our nation with such destructive results. Restrictions on general aviation -- the personal aircraft of private citizens, small corporate aircraft, flight schools, pipeline patrols, historic aircraft tours, agricultural operations, small package transport, mercy flights, disaster relief, and scores of other uses -- took much longer to be reviewed and eased, even though none of them had been directly involved or used as unwilling participants in the attacks. In some cases, the restrictions are still in place. In other cases, more have been created.
Yet the security hysteria continues. A Temporary ADIZ is established for United Nations activities in New York City. Senator Chuck Shumer wants it expanded and made permanent. Mayor Richard Daley, destroyer of Meigs airport in the middle of the night, wants a Chicago ADIZ. Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR's) blossom all over the country for sporting events, forcing an efficient straight-line flight into costlier dodging and weaving routes. More expansive presidential "traveling" TFR's roam the country every time the president and /or vice-president leave town.
The creation of a Prohibited Area, designated P51, in Bangor, WA, highlights the uneven application of security measures. P51 prohibits overflight of the Naval Base located there, but there are no published navigational restrictions on the boats and ships who ply the waterway on which it's located. The USS Cole was severely damaged and 17 crewmembers killed by terrorists coming alongside in a rubber raft filled with explosives. A light airplane couldn't carry a destructive payload of comparable size.
Despite hysterical and inaccurate reports in the media about the vulnerability of nuclear power plants to small aircraft, the fact is that those plants were designed to withstand the impact of a fully loaded Boeing 707. A test using a fully loaded F-4 fighter/bomber against a construction simulating a reactor dome demonstrated conclusively that the reactor vessel could withstand the impact. An F-4 weighs about the same as the 50-passenger jetliners that routinely take off and land at Reagan National, and about four times more than the FAA's minimum weight for their "large" aircraft classification.
A single engine Cessna crashed on the White House lawn during the Clinton administration. It damaged the lawn. A single engine Cessna was flown into an office building in Tampa during the Bush administration. It broke windows.
Why, then, is this administration continuing to push for more restrictions on the least threatening aspect of aviation?
After 9-11, when the administration rushed to the financial aid of the major airlines, the president explicitly singled out any aid to general aviation businesses hurt by federal government actions as a target for his veto pen.
His Department of Defense rapidly enlarged the size and numbers of Military Operating Areas (to the point where he "generously" suspends them for enhanced airline routing during the holiday travel season), despite the declining numbers of military combat aircraft which utilize them for mock combat and maneuvers.
Instead of affirmatively providing for safety enhancements developed in the private sector, his FAA stopped aircraft modification "field approvals" altogether, leaving the upgrading and repair of many out-of-production aircraft in limbo.
His administration has continually pressed for European-style "users fees" for air traffic control services while imposing a requirement to use them, which will price general aviation out of existence just as it has in Europe (which is why Europeans come the US to learn to fly).
This administration continues to deny or restrict access to the airspace and airports in and around our nation's capitol and great cities to the least threatening segment of aviation. Yet it continues to fawn over the airlines as they continue to cut service and capacity, increase inconvenience, and limp along with their outdated business model and lose their customer base.
Even in the last days of this administration, TSA is attempting to place greater restrictions on all operators of "large" aircraft. They couldn't even come up with their own definition, so they borrowed one that was created before the FAA was created 50 years ago. They're not limited to flights in and out of the ADIZ. They're for ALL flights by these aircraft , whether for mercy missions, historic aircraft tours, disaster relief, corporate flights, or personal and family use.
Those "large" aircraft operators would be required to hire a director of security, submit passenger manifests for approval two days in advance to TSA, require baggage screening at airports not equipped for them, and other burdensome regulations. If Jimmy Buffett wanted to fly his family on his "large" seaplane to the Florida Keys, he would have to comply with all of the above.
TSA wants to expand the scope of their control from 650 operators today to 10,000!!
TSA -- who seven years after 9-11 still hasn't come up with a workable unique identification and pass system for airline crew members! TSA -- whose rate of name mismatch on watch lists approaches 40 per cent!!
TSA wants to impose a one-size-fits-all security structure on all the varied missions and purposes of general aviation. This not only ignores TSA's inability to handle its current mission; it demonstrates a colossal ignorance of the segment of transportation upon which it wishes to further intrude!!
I remember reading that "general aviation is not the stepchild of modern aviation -- it is the grandparent!" The Bush administration never seemed to get it. They consistently demonstrated an appalling ignorance of, and an unwarranted hostility toward, general aviation. I, for one, will not be sorry to see them go.
Thursday, December 04, 2008
The Law of Unintended Consequences was passed once again this week by Congress.
When the remnants of the once-mighty US auto industry trekked to Washington last week to get their share of the federal largesse being handed out, they were loudly criticized by members of Congress for traveling in corporate jets, and those sarcastic comments were broadly echoed by the press, implying that the CEO's were "elitists" and out of touch with their workers and the American public. While the CEO's were there ostensibly to save jobs (theirs and their employees), their critics were having the opposite effect.
Having been chastened thusly, the automakers cancelled their corporate jet leases, turned planes back in to the lessors, sold planes they owned, and shut down their flight departments. So their Congressional critics ended up KILLING JOBS for the corporate pilots and inflight service personnel those companies employed or contracted, as well as the mechanics who maintained the aircraft, the dispatchers who provided them with weather and routing for safe and efficient travel, the schedulers who insured efficient utilization of assets, and all the ancillary positions such as human resources, payroll, trainers, administrative assistants, etc.
Because, in a shrinking economy, the decisions made as a result of those highly-publicized Congressional criticisms also THREATENED THE ECONOMIC VIABILITY of the companies or corporate departments which provided those aviation services, and for the livelihoods for their own employees, and for returns on investments for their stockholders. In other words, those petulant, petty remarks from Congresscritters just added to the numbers of companies going under, and laid-off workers losing their health insurance, and the income to pay their bills and their mortgages.
WAY TO GO, CONGRESS!!
