# Jim Inhofe is a dumbass **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 1, 2010, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-inhofe-is-a-dumbass/562586 "2010-12-01T21:14:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-inhofe-is-a-dumbass/562586/221 "2011-07-07T03:11:04Z")
Inhofe clearly does not consider himself to have been _corrected_ by the 709 ride, merely targeted by the government’s jackbooted thugs for doing “nothing wrong”. :rolleyes: So, the CFI didn’t get that through to him one on one, for whatever reason, any more than the intense negative publicity did. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-inhofe-is-a-dumbass/562586/222 "2011-07-09T19:47:57Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Inhofe clearly does not consider himself to have been _corrected_ by the 709 ride, merely targeted by the government’s jackbooted thugs for doing “nothing wrong”. :rolleyes: So, the CFI didn’t get that through to him one on one, for whatever reason, any more than the intense negative publicity did. I knew Jim Inhofe when he was mayor of Tulsa. You can’t get anything through to him. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-inhofe-is-a-dumbass/562586/223 "2011-07-09T20:00:25Z")
Color me not surprised. [Here’s the FAA’s advisory document](http://aviationknowledge.wikidot.com/sop:hazardous-attitudes) on the Five Hazardous Attitudes that lead to bad aeronautical decisionmaking. I count all but the first in this incident: > [@](#): > > 1: Resignation > ‘Whats the use? Forget it I give up!’ > > 2: Anti-Authority > ‘Why should I listen to you?’ > > 3: Impulsivity > ‘Do it QUICKLY!’ > > 4: Invulnerability > ‘Nah I dont think it’ll happen to me!’ > > 5: Macho > ‘Come on! I can do this!’ ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-inhofe-is-a-dumbass/562586/224 "2011-07-09T21:42:20Z")
> [@Mach Tuck](#): > > As for the bill, I can kinda sorta agree with some of it. I do think the FAA has a tendency to remove anthills with A-bombs. But I also agree with user\_hostile that Inhofe’s motives are more self serving. Speaking as a ground-dweller I like that ultra-cautious stance. I understand that driving is considered a privileged and not a right. I would hope that use of the nation’s airspace would be the same. As for Inhofe’s latest proposal, if somebody is dressed down by the FAA, I don’t want them hiring a lawyer and appealing it to a judge. If a pilot has a bad attitude, I don’t want him flying anywhere near my property or person. Frankly, I don’t think Inhofe should even be behind the wheel of an automobile given the temperament he has displayed: I wouldn’t trust him with a dull butter knife, never mind the levers of power. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-inhofe-is-a-dumbass/562586/225 "2011-07-09T22:36:41Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > Speaking as a ground-dweller I like that ultra-cautious stance. **I understand that driving is considered a privileged and not a right. I would hope that use of the nation’s airspace would be the same.** > As for Inhofe’s latest proposal, if somebody is dressed down by the FAA, I don’t want them hiring a lawyer and appealing it to a judge. **If a pilot has a bad attitude, I don’t want him flying anywhere near my property or person.** Frankly, I don’t think Inhofe should even be behind the wheel of an automobile given the temperament he has displayed: I wouldn’t trust him with a dull butter knife, never mind the levers of power. I bolded two sections which I think are key. Both driving and flying are privileges, although driving comes close to a necessity for many. But the two activities are not administered anywhere near the same way in my view. The equivalent of a fender-bender or making an illegal right turn on a red light in aviation is enough to have your license suspended or even revoked under some circumstances. There is some recourse, but it’s not the same as contesting a traffic ticket. What Inhofe is saying - in a breathtakingly self serving manner, but correctly - is that Joe GA Pilot is pretty much considered guilty until proven innocent by the FAA, and good luck proving your innocence. That’s what I mean by getting rid of anthills with A-bombs. There are some 40,000 road deaths every year, but road enforcement isn’t anywhere near as draconian as in aviation. Not a perfect comparison, but I think it is generally apt. The second bolded section is why the FAA behaves as it does. Ask an FAA safety inspector the purpose of the agency and they’ll tell you it’s not to protect pilots - it’s to protect the general public FROM pilots (both those on the ground, and those who ride as their passengers). It’s true that pilots have a great deal of freedom in the U.S. compared to other countries. I can fly over your backyard as long as I follow certain rules, and there’s not much you can do about it. So in that sense, I understand why the FAA behaves as it does sometimes. I, and I think other serious pilots understand this and are respectful of what we have. What I’d like to see is a movement away from the extremes in enforcement. I do think the FAA should come down hard on an idiot like Inhofe who was probably both ignorant of some rules and flouting others. But I don’t think a person who has a hard landing or makes the wrong move under pressure should fear for their license. I’ve dealt with both of those situations with clients and came away thinking the FAA only knows how to use a hammer because they see every problem as the same kind of nail. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2011, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-inhofe-is-a-dumbass/562586/226 "2011-07-09T23:59:53Z")
That’s true, the bill _taken on its own merits_ does seems pretty good to me. Unfortunately, it being sponsored by someone with as well-deserved a reputation as Inhofe makes it pretty unlikely to pass, and may make it impossible to implement at all any time soon. For\* unintentional or inadvertent\* violations, the kind where protection from overzealous or overbureaucratic FAA enforcement is most needed and appropriate, there actually is a way to prevent enforcement action - [the NASA form](http://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/overview/summary.html). Participate in the NASA safety survey program, which is an attempt to characterize and quantify systemic actions that can be taken to prevent problems from occurring, and all you’ll get is a conversation. It wouldn’t have protected Inhofe, obviously. BTW, it seems reckless endangerment is a felony in Texas. But so is shooting someone in the face. The laws don’t necessarily apply to the powerful. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-inhofe-is-a-dumbass/562586/227 "2011-07-10T02:06:38Z")
> [@Mach Tuck](#): > > That’s what I mean by getting rid of anthills with A-bombs. There are some 40,000 road deaths every year, but road enforcement isn’t anywhere near as draconian as in aviation. Not a perfect comparison, but I think it is generally apt. Given that there are millions of drivers and thousands? of amateur pilots, the comparison is bogus. That said, I honesty don’t know how a proper cost-benefit would work out. And I am extremely dubious about having FAA decisions second-guessed by a judge. I’m not a pilot and I know very little about this area. But it seems to me that, yes, a person who has a hard landing or makes the wrong move under pressure should _fear_ for their license. But the question is whether there are solid grounds for such fear: how often do fundamentally safe amateur pilots lose their license? And frankly, there’s a case that its better to ground 10 borderline pilots, than to risk having a maniac sky hop and kill a dozen or so people.[1] It’s plausible to me that the FAA should adjust the dial one way or the other, but so far I haven’t seen _any_ sort of systematic analysis indicating there’s a problem, least of all from Inhofe. My ranting aside **Mach Tuck** , I read your remarks here with interest. [1] Although honesty I understand from Fallows that Senator Inhofe indeed did receive special treatment, which is reassuring in a way. I find the idea that a guy like that would routinely keep his license to be unacceptable. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-inhofe-is-a-dumbass/562586/228 "2011-07-10T02:36:31Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > And frankly, there’s a case that its better to ground 10 borderline pilots, than to risk having a maniac sky hop and kill a dozen or so people. Again the comparison is imperfect, but my first thought is to ask should things be done that way in road enforcement? Remember, most private pilots are flying nothing larger than a four-seat puddle jumper. We don’t generally suffer from maniacs sky hopping and killing a dozen or so people, at least not in any numbers. It’s true there are many more drivers than pilots, but 40,000 deaths on roads is still 40,000 deaths. One of my clients had a hard landing in a tailwheel airplane a couple of weeks ago. He’s an experienced pilot, never had any problems before and was doing nothing wrong. This sort of thing happens. It will cost him money and he feels terrible. But I ask you: Is he a “borderline” pilot, to use your term? We don’t yet know what the FAA is going to do in this case, \*\*but I just don’t see what would be gained by the FAA coming down on this guy like a ton of bricks. \*\* This is the typical GA “fender bender” I mentioned. I doubt it will come to much in this instance, but if the FAA for some reason chose to view this guy as a borderline pilot and subsequently skewer him alive there isn’t much he could do about it. Again, hard to make equivalence with driving, but in a similar situation I don’t think we as a society would support such an action for a minor road accident that didn’t hurt anyone. You’d have people screaming about government oppression. I’m walking a thin line here. I believe in high standards for pilots, but the bar for entry even at the private pilot level is high enough that I think there’s room for the FAA to not act like an ogre with a club. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-inhofe-is-a-dumbass/562586/229 "2011-07-10T11:35:57Z")
Make sure the guy files a NASA form. There’s no reason not to, but there’s a deadline. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-inhofe-is-a-dumbass/562586/230 "2011-07-10T22:42:48Z")
The guy does have one awesome middle name, though…Mountain. :eek: James Mountain Inhofe. That’s a strong, American name right there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jim-inhofe-is-a-dumbass/562586.md?page=11)