Queen Nancy: Fly as I Say, Not as I Fly

Democratic Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelosi is the Jennifer Lopez of congressional
travel — fickle, demanding and notoriously insensitive
to the time, costs and energy needed to accommodate her
endless demands. On Tuesday, the indispensable
government watchdog Judicial Watch released a trove of
public records through the Freedom of Information Act on
Pelosi`s travel arrangements with the U.S. military.

As speaker of the House, Pelosi is
entitled to a reasonable level of military protection
and transport. But it`s the size of the planes, the
frequency of requests and last-minute cancellations, and
the political nature of many of her trips that scream
out for accountability.

And, of course, it`s the
double-barreled hypocrisy. There`s the eco-hypocrisy of
the Democratic leader who wags her finger at the rest of
us for our too-big carbon footprints, and crusades for
massive taxes and regulation to reduce global warming.
Then there`s the Bay Area hypocrisy of the woman who
represents one of the most anti-military areas of the
country soaking up military resources to shuttle her
(and her many family members) across the country almost
every weekend.

Remember: Pelosi`s San Francisco is
notorious for banning the Marines` Silent Drill Platoon
from filming a recruitment commercial on its streets;
killing the JROTC program in the public schools;
blocking the retired battleship U.S.S. Iowa from docking
in its waters; and attacking the Navy`s Blue Angels —
which left-wing activists have tried to banish from
northern California skies for the past two years.

Apparently, those anti-war
protesters have no problem with evil military jets
currying Pelosi and her massive entourages to the
funerals of the late Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones and
Charlie Norwood; foreign junkets to Rome; and
politicized stops to Iowa flood sites to bash the Bush
administration. One exasperated Department of Defense
official, besieged with itinerary changes and shuttle
requests back and forth between San Francisco
International Airport and Andrews Air Force Base for
Pelosi, her daughter, son-in-law and grandchild, wrote
in an e-mail:

"They have a
history of canceling many of their past requests. Any
chance of politely querying (Pelosi`s team) if they
really intend to do all of these or are they just
picking every weekend? … (T)here`s no need to block
every weekend `just in case.`"

Another official pointed out the
"hidden costs" associated with the speaker`s last-minute changes and
cancellations.
"We have … folks prepping the jets and crews driving in
(not a short drive for some), cooking meals and
preflighting the jets etc." Upset that a specific
type of aircraft was not available to her boss, a Pelosi
staffer carped to the DoD coordinators:
"This is not good
news, and we will have some very disappointed folks, as
well as a very upset speaker."

Three months ago, turmoil erupted
over Queen Nancy`s demand for the military to reposition
her plane to fly out of Travis Air Force Base in
Fairfield, Calif., closer to where she had
"business,"
instead of San Francisco Airport/SFO (1.5 hours away). A
special air missions official wrote:
"We have never
done this in the past. The deal is … that the Speaker
shuttle is from D.C. to SFO and back. We will not
reposition. We do not reposition for convenience even
for the SECDEF. It is not (too) far of a drive from
Travis to SFO. Did the escort suggest to the speaker
that this is OK? If so, I hope you guys correct them
immediately. If you agree with me that I am correct,
then you need to stay strong and present the facts to
the speaker`s office."

Another official stated bluntly:
"We can`t reposition the airplane such a short distance. It is not a
judicial use of the asset. It is too expensive to
operate the jet when there is truly no need to do so."

A beleaguered colleague responded:
"(Y)ou know I understand and feel with you … but this is a battle we are
bound to lose if we tell the speaker office. In the end,
this is what will happen. … I wish that I could say this
is a one-time request, but we know it will probably
happen again in the future."

In the end, the military won that
battle. But a few days later, Pelosi was back with a new
demand: that her military plane taking her from D.C. to
San Francisco make a stop in New Jersey to bring her and
three Democrats to an "innovation
forum" at Princeton University involving 21
participants and no audience. A Gulfstream jet was
secured for the important
"official business."

No word on whether Pelosi
required vanilla-scented candles, Evian water and fresh
white lilies aboard the flight. But rest assured: Air
Diva traveled in style, courtesy of your tax dollars and
the forbearance of the U.S. military.

COPYRIGHT

CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.

Michelle Malkin [email
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