Nancy Pelosi: Come Fly With Me
By Frank Salvato
February 9, 2007
Page 2 of 2
- Room for 45 passengers with business class accommodations
- A crew of 16
- A communications center
- A fully enclosed stateroom for the primary passenger
- A changing area
- A conference area
- An entertainment system
- And a divan that not only seats three but converts into a fold-out bed
This impressive aircraft -- operated at an approximate cost of $22,000 an hour -- (web site) is typically reserved for the First Lady, the Vice President and cabinet members and members of congress upon and subject to request. The Air Force has never made transportation of this caliber available to members of congress on a regular basis, Speaker of the House or not.
The Pentagon has informed the speaker's office (web site) that Ms. Pelosi would be provided with a plane but that its size would be based on availability and that a non-stop flight could not be guaranteed. While I suppose this is a fair response to an unreasonable request, I believe there is a way for Ms. Pelosi to travel non-stop in safety without bilking the taxpayers out of $22,000 per hour each time she flies from her district to The District.
If Ms. Pelosi were assigned additional Secret Service protection each time she engaged in air travel to or from Washington to California, she would not only be afforded the non-stop flight service she so desperately desires but the flights would be made safer for all the passengers, including the taxpaying cattle in coach. Even flying first-class with her staff, this travel arrangement would be more fiscally responsible than operating a government jet at $22,000 per hour.
Aside from whether or not the utilization of a modified Boeing 757 at such an extravagant cost is in line with Ms Pelosi's campaign trail rhetoric regarding fiscal responsibility -- especially when the express purpose of doing so is only to achieve a non-stop flight -- one has to ask: Madam Speaker, what about global warming?
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Frank Salvato is the managing editor for The New Media Journal. He serves at the Executive Director of the Basics Project, a non-profit, non-partisan, 501(C)(3) research and education initiative. His pieces are regularly featured in over 100 publications both nationally and internationally. He has appeared on The O'Reilly Factor. He hosts The New Media Journal on BlogTalk Radio and is a regular guest on The Right Balance with Greg Allen on the Accent Radio Network, The Bruce Elliott Show on WBAL AM1090 in Baltimore and The Captain's America on WWPR AM1490 in the Tampa Bay area, as well as an occasional guest on numerous radio shows coast to coast. His organization, Basics Project, is partnered in producing the first-ever national symposium series on the threat of radical Islamist terrorism. His pieces have been recognized by the House International Relations Committee and the Japan Center for Conflict. Mr. Salvato is available for public speaking engagements. He can be contacted at oped@newmediajournal.us
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