If you read all my posts you then you know I deliberately tried to evoke a response. Didn’t work. Can’t think of any other way of getting people to think beyond their party affiliation.
What “response” were you trying to evoke that required you to accuse Pelosi of being a hypocrite or a liar? And if you don’t actually think that Pelosi is being a hypocrite or a liar, then isn’t it trolling to “deliberately” pretend that you do in order to “evoke a response”?
Interesting line of thinking. Who made the request? The request for private transportation would have originated from Pelosi (as SOTH). We now know that she’s only eligible for a 10 seater with no guarantee of a fuel-through. Which means a fuel stop is not a security issue (as stated by the SAA). If she’s willing to take a commercial flight to avoid a fuel stop in a private plane then where is the security issue?
Put another way, who decided it was a security issue?
The answer seems bleedingly obvious to me, so obvious that I wonder why you’re asking it. WOuld you mind providing your own speculation as to the answer, so we can see where you’re going with this crumb-based argument of yours?
Daniel
This is not necessarily true. Assertions have been put forth that Ms. Pelosi wanted to take civil air and was told that it was not appropriate. (In fact, she did, indeed, make her first trip on a public carrier.)
This still leaves us with a minimum of two possible scenarios: Pelosi asked for the big plane and scurried for cover when the storm broke; Pelosi was “guided” to ask for a bigger plane by the Sergeant-at-Arms who is secretly working for the Republicans to stir up hostility. (For additional possibilities, we might look to the above mentioned claims that an anti-Democrat military official misrepresented the various plane capacities to the Sergeant-at-Arms just to get this mess going or we could look to Rep. Murtha who (purportedly) secretly tried to get Pelosi a bigger plane just to sneer at the Republicans or at any of several other possibilities.)
If you thought you were trying to play Socratic questioner, I will point out that you not only failed, you made yourself look like a troll. Just post your own suspicions (with some sort of support) and quit playing silly games.
You could stop lying about your activities and present your opinion. I have no affiliation with Pelosi and do not care if she is exonerated or condemned for this teacup tempest. On the other hand, I can “think beyond” all the evidence so far presented and come up with at least a dozen possible scenarios, so your coy innuendo and deliberate insults to the board are doing nothing to support your claims about your own actions.
The Sergeant at Arms of the House, as has been explained multiple times.
Welcome to the realm of facts. May your journey of discovery here be a long and fruitful one.
Before I take this journey of a thousand tax dollars I would point out that the SAA does not have the power to approve the use of Air Force equipement.
I’ll ask it again. Who decided the use of a military jet for the transportation of the SOTH was a security issue?
Right, which is why he requested it.
As has been said so very many times, The. Sergeant. At. Arms.
I don’t think your argument works, here.
I’ll assume you’re correct in saying the SAA doesn’t have the power to requisition Air Force gear. But that’s still not saying that the SAA didn’t decide the use of one was a security issue, or that they were the ones that requested it. It is perfectly logical to say that the SAA may have decided that the use of a military jet was a security issue, and thus requested that one be supplied, or initiated such a request (i’m not sure how this kind of thing would work).
After all, your argument (that only those in control of Air Force equipment can decide whether the use of one is a security issue) would mean that the person who decided it would have to be a ranking member of the Air Force themselves.
So in your opinion who in the Air Force has the authority to make policy?
It’s *your * argument. You tell us.
Magiver, stop it.
Do you have a thesis? Do you have evidence for whatever you keep hinting toward? There have been numerous (contradictory) claims by numerous people that something “did” happen or that something “should” happen. If you have evidence (published memo, confirmed statement, etc.) that a particular person made a specific request, provide it. All these coy questions about who “should” do anything or who “should” have the authority to make a decision are just games. Lots of things oiccur through back channel requests or “understood” authority. Unless you have evidence that an event took place, you are just playing games. You are (usually) better than this. If you have no evidence of a decision or a request, then go find somewhere else to play.
[ /Moderating ]
The SAA has no control over military assets.
Gaaaaahhhh! What is wrong with you? He asked for it. He didn’t take it.
I was actually going to say the same thing about you. Not like you to fall into a political stick-poking contest. I admitted my folley and stopped the tactic. If you ignore the early goading then my position should have been obvious. But instead of getting people to think beyond party affiliation I caused just the opposite reaction.
I stated my opinion many times in the thread and I was one of two people who bothered to show their work, in detail. It’s not about Pelosi and it’s not about the SAA. The use of the plane is not of their design. That was my thesis.
I don’t recall making that claim. I am merely pointing out what, according to your argument, your view must be. So to address the question to the correct person; In your opinion who in the Air Force has the authority to make policy?
Then what is it about?
Just out of interest, this reminds me a bit of a something I read in a book (can’t remember which, though). A character with a reputation for grand schemes and designs had apparently set up this odd situation, and the main characters tried ever more convoluted and strange ideas as to how and why the guy had made things as they were. By the end, when the main characters finally came up with an idea twisty enough that it made sense and explained the guy’s actions, they went away happy and convinced of his brilliance in managing the situation as he had.
Except, of course, he hadn’t set up the situation that way. He’d had pretty much no control of it at all. But because he was able to make them think he had a hidden meaning, he got them to do the thinking and come up with an idea that made him look good. And when they did, he could step in and claim it was true and that’s what had happened all along.
That’s just it. Nobody in the Air Force has the authority. The use of military aircraft by the SOTH is a recent event going back to 9/11. It was approved by the White House. Nobody gives it a second thought because the word security was attached to it. There is no safety issue in riding a commercial airliner that is supplanted by a private jet. In fact, I would speculate that an FBO is a far more dangerous connecting point than a regular airport terminal because there is no screening process. It would actually require a larger security detail to secure it. The ruse of a fuel stop as a security issue was also disposed of by the Pentagon when it was announced it would not be part of the criteria for aircraft availability.
People have been arguing about the size of the aircraft. My argument is the use of the airplane. I was trying to get people to inject Hastert into the debate and expose it for what it is, a perk.
I find myself confused. Using military aircraft rather than commercial flights and a private plane is a perk? Do the Air Force provide inflight meals, your choice of alcohol, and films now? Comfy seats? Do I get some nice frequent flier miles from USAF if I take a trip? 5 rides and I get a free helicopter embassy extraction!
You suggest that an FBO in an airport might be more dangerous. I can see your point; someone could just walk in there. Oh, wait, except… how do these people know what plane she’s on, and where she’ll be landing? It’s not like there’s some list of all military aircraft flights online somewhere, so that people could check where the plane stops and at what times it leaves and arrives. And hey, lucky that no-one other than Air Force personnel will be on those planes with her. Good thing it’s so similar for commercial flights, huh?