Pelosi’s family misusing Air Force transport?
Doug Ross has even more on Nancy Pelosi’s apparent misuse and abuse of Air Force travel. It seems that government documents recently released by a Judicial Watch FOIA request chronicle Pelosi family members frequently having the Air Force ferry them across the country – often without the Speaker accompanying them.
Now her family is quite wealthy and her children are certainly old enough to travel on their own (Pelosi turns 70 in March), so why then would they be freeloading on taxpayer backs?
In: Politics · Tagged with: corruption, fraud waste and abuse, Nancy Pelosi
Analyzing Pelosi’s travel tab
Recently released government documents show that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s travels cost more than $2.1 million. But why is the bill so high?
Based on my research of the documents, the aircraft most often used by Pelosi was the eight passenger C-37 – the military version of the luxurious Gulfstream V – which costs a whopping $5,594 per hour to operate. While that sounds expensive, it is certainly much more economical than the $20,000 per hour it costs to operate the 54-passenger military version of the Boeing 757 that Pelosi requested shortly after taking office.
The 757 is a vastly larger plane than the small Gulfstream jet that Pelosi’s predecessor Dennis Hastert used: when configured for commercial flight, a civilian 757 can carry almost 300 passengers.
Prior to 9/11, the Speaker actually flew commercial. With today’s heightened airline security risk, however it could be a national security risk for Pelosi to perhaps be seated alongside an al Qaeda suicide bomber. But let’s compare what the Air Force – and ultimately the taxpayer – is paying to fly her versus the costs of flying commercial. According to a search for airfare prices, a first-class ticket from Washington, D.C. to San Francisco only costs about $800. Now compare that to Pelosi’s average bill of $28,210.51 – one could fly 35 times for the price of one of her hops on the Air Force Gulfstream. And that’s without the alcohol, meals, snacks, newspapers, etc. that the Speaker, her family, and other fellow travelers incurred.
Regarding travel expenses, I usually stick to a Dr. Pepper and a maybe a piece of beef jerky if I eat anything at all. But Judicial Watch said Pelosi and her entourage managed to rack up an incredible $101,429.14 bill for in-flight expenses according to the receipts found in the documents. Apparently her Air Force transit seems to have become more of a luxurious party barge rather than the secure mode of transportation it was likely meant to be.
Bearing all that in mind, it seems outrageous for the military to spend that kind of money ferrying a politician and her family from Point A to Point B when there are surely more urgent needs for defense dollars on the battlefield.
[Originally published at The US Report]
In: Politics · Tagged with: fraud waste and abuse, Nancy Pelosi, US Air Force
Pelosi’s ‘Air Force Scandal’
The 54-passenger Boeing 757 requested by Pelosi to carry her to and from California and Washington, D.C. (U.S. Air Force photo)
Democrats living large on the taxpayers’ expense? Surely not.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has racked up an amazing $2.1 million travel tab during the last two years according to government documents obtained by Judicial Watch through a FOIA request. The Air Force Gulfstream V she rides costs almost $6,000 per hour (an average cost per flight of over $28,000). But that’s nothing when you consider the $22,000 per hour price tag of the Boeing 757 that she requested for ferrying her between her district and Washington.
Interestingly enough, over $100,000 of which was for alcohol and food. What is she eating, unicorn steaks?
Now I understand that for national security reasons, Pelosi shouldn’t travel commercial. But a non-stop flight from D.C. to San Fransisco (first class) costs around $800. In fact, it would take Pelosi 35 first-class commercial flights to equal the cost of one trip on the Gulfstream. She may be second-in-line to replace POTUS, but she isn’t Queen.
If the Air Force is willing to take suggestions, I say that they should palletize her and her entourage and put them on Space Available transportation.
Looking forward to the ’60 Minutes’ expose on this. Holding my breath even.
In: Politics · Tagged with: corruption, fraud waste and abuse, Nancy Pelosi, US Air Force
Pelosi: Town Hall Protests are ‘Un-American’
Back in 2006, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she was a “fan of disruptors.”
If that is true (truth has proven to be quite elusive to Speaker Pelosi), she should have much to cheer for: It appears that “disruptors” have forced the hand of Washington to take a step back from Obama’s socialized healthcare program – or at the least come up with a more misleading plan.
But the truth is that Democrats like Pelosi only favor “disruptions” when they are to the benefit of the Democrat Party.
Case in point: Pelosi has called the town hall protests “un-American” and “an ugly campaign… to misrepresent health insurance reform legislation” and to “disrupt civil dialogue.”
Naked Emperor News has a great video here showing the hypocrisy of Nancy Pelosi when it comes to free speech.
In: Society · Tagged with: Democrats, free speech, Nancy Pelosi, town hall protests
The Fairness Doctrine’s Trojan Horse
Monday marked the twenty-second anniversary of the F.C.C.’s abolishment of the Fairness Doctrine, but today the potential for a return to government broadcast censorship is still alive and well. After a recent series of procedures in Congress two weeks ago, Democrats managed to keep the threat alive by killing an amendment seeking to prohibit Congress from funding either the Fairness Doctrine or its Trojan Horse –a series of regulations that have the same chilling effect on free speech.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi twice blocked a vote on an amendment protecting free speech for broadcasters. The Broadcaster Freedom Amendment proposed by congressmen Greg Walden (R-Ore.) and Mike Pence (R-Ind.) sought to prohibit Congress from funding the Fairness Doctrine and part of its Trojan Horse, broadcast localism regulations. When the Reagan administration abolished the Fairness Doctrine in 1987, it did so on the basis that it was unconstitutional and no longer served the public interest. If the FCC were to re-institute the Fairness Doctrine – or more likely its Trojan Horse – the result would be the destruction of Conservative and Christian talk radio.
Speaker Pelosi used special House rules to block the Walden-Pence Broadcaster Freedom Amendment from an up-or-down vote. According to Rep. Pence, “If [this amendment] is brought to the floor of this Congress, it will surely pass; because every time freedom gets an up-or-down vote in the People’s House, freedom always wins.”
But Pelosi knows that if freedom doesn’t make it to a vote, she wins. Pelosi and numerous members of Congress have expressed their support for a revival of the Fairness Doctrine.
Read the rest at The US Report
In: Politics · Tagged with: Fairness Doctrine, free speech, Nancy Pelosi
A ‘New approach’ with Iran?
This is a transcript of the Unto the Breach program. Click here for the audio.
And to think you heard it on CNN… On the show “Cafferty File,” host Jack Cafferty addressed Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s defense of the hundreds of millions of dollars that will be spent on contraception.
“What exactly did she mean? Are the millions of dollars for contraception supposed to stop people from having babies? [That’s] starting to sound a little like Chairman Mao.” Good point, Jack. Try finding any remarkable difference between Pelosi’s Congressional Progressive Caucus’ platform and the Chi-Coms’.
Iraq
Barack Obama is accelerating his promise to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq. U.S. troops are reducing their visibility as Iraqis take over security.
Intelligence officials are saying that the Sunni al Qaeda in Iraq insurgents are being replaced by Shiite Iranian proxies. Representative Gary Ackerman (D-NY), who chairs the House Subcommittee on Middle East and Southern Asia, says that Iraq is being absorbed into a “regional proxy war with Iran.”
In: Geopolitics · Tagged with: al Qaeda, Barack Obama, Iran, IRGC, Nancy Pelosi, nuclear weapons, Quds Force, sanctions
Pelosi’s Excellent Adventure
In an interview on “FOX News Sunday,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told host Chris Wallace that she is receptive to the idea of prosecuting Bush Administration officials.
“I think you look at each item and see what is a violation of the law and do we even have a right to ignore it,” Pelosi said. “And other things that are maybe time that is spent better looking to the future rather than to the past.”
Now if these violations of the law were so important, why wait until now to investigate, Mrs. Pelosi? If crimes against our country were being perpetrated by the evil Bush administration, wouldn’t it have been a better idea to look into them when the crimes were committed? If Pelosi and Co. were looking out for ‘We the People,’ they would have nipped illegal activity in the bud. But instead, they are more interested in securing the perpetual rule of the Democrat by destroying Republicans.
Now this brings to mind Speaker Pelosi’s “alternative foreign policy” trip to cozy up with state sponsors of terror – the President of Syria Bashar Assad, and the PLO’s Mahmoud Abbas (financier of the 1972 Olympic massacre). These guys do their level best to destroy the state of Israel, an ally of the United States. Remember, when the Democrats fouled up Israeli-Syrian relations by misrepresenting Israel’s position? Well, this trip constituted a felony violation of the Logan Act, which forbids unauthorized persons from negotiating with foreign governments.
A member of Pelosi’s delegation — the late Tom Lantos (D-CA) himself admitted: “We have an alternative Democratic foreign policy.” If Speaker Pelosi really wants to start investigating the Bush administration, then perhaps she might look to her own camp as well. Pelosi’s alternative foreign policy should make her a felon with three years behind bars as well as Lantos and the other members of Pelosi’s excellent adventure.
It’s noteworthy that half of the delegation either are or have been members of the socialist-linked Congressional Progressive Caucus: Pelosi, Lantos, Keith Ellison (D-MN), Henry Waxman (D-CA), and Louise Slaughter (D-NY). Pelosi stepped down in 2002 once she became house minority leader, and Lantos is deceased.
Anyhow, Unto the Breach won’t stand for any unconstitutional activity, regardless of party. If members of the Bush Administration broke the law, then they should be prosecuted. But before Speaker Pelosi goes on her witch-hunt, she should be mindful of the plank in her own eye.
In: Geopolitics, Politics · Tagged with: Congressional Progressive Caucus, Nancy Pelosi
Roundtable Discussion on Earmark Spending
This article is from the February 2008 Unto the Breach Newsletter
With low approval ratings in the White House and historically low ratings in Congress, America is fed up with the status quo in Washington. One of the things turning the public against the politicians is the prolific use of earmark spending. Bills are being loaded down with billions of dollars of taxpayer money to fund projects to the benefit our congressmen and women. There is little to no accountability or transparency to this “pork barrel” spending. Although our federal deficit is growing out of control, Congress seems fit to insert tens of billions of dollars of earmarks into legislation each year. Unto the Breach has lined up a panel to discuss earmark spending.
Chris Carter (Crush) is a conservative internet radio host, blogger, and the editor of the Unto the Breach Newsletter.
Barry Davidson is a writer of fiction who expanded his writing styles to include political and satire writing. He has several short stories and poems published, and is currently working on a book of poetry for regular people as well as pursuing a career in politics.
Mike Duminiak is a Conservative Constitutionalist who believes that local and State governments which are closer to the people can better meet their needs and remain under their control as opposed to the distant and insulated national government controlled by lobbyists and special interest groups. (more…)
In: Politics · Tagged with: Congress, corruption, Democrats, earmarks, Nancy Pelosi, Republicans
Did Speaker Pelosi “Drain the Swamp?”
As the Democrats swept back into power following the November elections, Speaker-Elect Nancy Pelosi pledged she would “drain the swamp” making the “most honest and open congress in history.”
In fact, Pelosi sponsored the House Leadership and Open Government Act which is intended to stop Congress from accepting gifts, trips, and jobs from lobbyists and corporations.
Our former Republican Speaker Dennis Hastert’s son Josh was a registered lobbyist for Google. What qualified Josh to hold the position, well besides dad being Speaker and all? Good question. Before becoming a lobbyist, Josh ran a record store and label in Illinois. The pierced-tongue prodigy said, “I realized that doing consulting and government relations on the Hill took up a lot less time and brought in a lot more money.”
Well done, Josh. Sounds like you have a bright future as an economist if this lobbying gig doesn’t pan out. (more…)
In: Politics · Tagged with: corruption, Nancy Pelosi
