Bad Deeds for 2-24-2009

Hero Pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger To Congress: My Pay Has Been Cut 40 Percent In Recent Years, Pension Terminated – Sullenberger, a 58-year-old who joined a US Airways predecessor in 1980, told the House aviation subcommittee that his pay has been cut 40 percent in recent years and his pension has been terminated and replaced with a promise “worth pennies on the dollar.” He said the problems began with the deregulation of the industry in the 1970s. The reduced compensation has placed “pilots and their families in an untenable financial situation,” Sullenberger said. “I do not know a single professional airline pilot who wants his or her children to follow in their footsteps.” Sullenberger’s copilot Jeffrey B. Skiles said unless federal laws are revised to improve labor-management relations “experienced crews in the cockpit will be a thing of the past.” And Sullenberger added that without experienced pilots “we will see negative consequences to the flying public.”

 

Republican Congressman Repeats Lie About Train to Sin City as Part of Stimulus Bill – When California Congressman Darrell Issa brings up the right-wing stimulus lie du jour — the so-called “train to Sin City” — David Shuster delivers a well-deserved smackdown, practically laughing at Issa for spreading that lie on his show.
ISSA: When we see $8 billion into a train to Sin City as part of a stimulus, we reject it. SHUSTER:

But Congressman, there’s no project for a train from California to Las Vegas. You Republicans know better. It’s $8 billion that’s going to the Department of Transportation, and a Republican, Ray LaHood — he was a Republican in your Congress — he’s the Transportation Secretary who gets to decide where the money is spent! It is wrong to say there is a project from L.A. to Las Vegas. It’s not in the bill, Congressman.

 

CNBC “Reporter” Falsely Claims White House Threatened Him – White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the following about CNBC reporter Rick Santelli’s rant against the Obama housing plan:

GIBBS: I’ve watched Mr. Santelli on cable the past 24 hours or so. I’m not entirely sure where Mr. Santelli lives or in what house he lives but the American people are struggling every day to meet their mortgages, stay in their jobs, pay their bills, send their kids to school.

But on (convicted Nixon Watergate burglar) G. Gordon Liddy’s radio program, Santelli tried to make it sound very different:

SANTELLI: He started that press conference saying, “I don’t know where he lives, I don’t know where his house is.” This is the Press Secretary of the White House. Is that the kind of thing we want? Is that —
LIDDY: It’s a veiled threat.
SANTELLI: It really is. […] I don’t really want to be a spokesman, but I really am very proud of a) the response I’m getting, which is overwhelmingly positive, and b) discourse, that is debate. That if the pressure and the heat I’m taking from the White House – the fact my kids are nervous to go to school – I can take that, okay.

 

McCain Says Blame the Republican Party, Not Me – Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is the subject of a federal lawsuit that claims he violated the copyright of Jackson Browne’s 1977 hit song, “Running on Empty,” when it aired in one of his presidential campaign commercials. Does McCain take responsibility for his campaign ads? “I was not involved at all in any way in the writing, creation, production, distribution or dissemination of the video, nor do I have any knowledge whatsoever of how this video was written, created, produced or disseminated or who was involved in any aspect of the writing, creation, production, distribution or dissemination of the video,” McCain said in a statement acquired by Wired’s David Kravets. “I was completely unaware that this video even existed until I was informed of it after this lawsuit was filed.” McCain claims the Republican Party is solely responsible for his campaign ad, not him, and has asked that he be stripped from the case.A federal judge allowed the suit to move forward Friday.

 

McCain Tries to Blame President Obama for Costly Helicopters Ordered by Bush – McCain tried to put the president on the spot for he new presidential helicopters ordered by the Bush administration. “Your helicopter is now going to cost as much as Air Force One,” McCain told Obama. “I don’t think that there’s anymore graphic demonstration of how good ideas have cost taxpayers enormous amount of money.” But President Obama was both straightforward and cool with his answer: “This is going to be one of our highest priorities. By the way, I’ve already talked to [Defense Secretary Robert] Gates about a thorough review of the helicopter situation. The helicopter I have now seems perfectly adequate to me. Of course, I’ve never had a helicopter before. You know? Maybe — maybe I’ve been deprived and I didn’t know it. But I think it is an example of the procurement process gone amuck and we’re going to have to fix it.”

 

The Myth of Republican Fiscal Responsibility – One graph is worth a thousand words:

 

If Today’s Republicans Had Been Around at Key Points in Human Civilization… – By around 46BC, the Romans had sewage systems to drain waste from homes. In the 19th century major city governments undertook projects to create sewage systems for most homes.

Republicans: “Can you believe this? The government is actually going to spend money on connecting each home to a series of pipes just to take away human waste! Let’s just have some tax cuts and keep the government out of people’s homes!”

Also in the 19th century, city governments begin to develop water supply infrastructures, which also hark back to Roman times…

Republicans: “Leave the market to meet supply and demand. Why waste money on a crazy system of pipes when the wells we have are full and aren’t ever going to run out. Let those who can afford such systems pay for them, and the rest can trickle down to everyone else.”

The late 18th century – the idea of the steam locomotive starts to lead to the creation of a railway transport infrastructure and government invests in laying rails across the country.

Republicans: “Are we really going to waste money on some pie-in-the-sky scheme to connect far off places by building miles and miles of railway lines? Let’s just have some tax cuts and stick to horses!”

The notion of an education system for children and older students has existed since around 1500BC, perhaps earlier…

Republicans: “You want to take away my child for hours each day to be indoctrinated and controlled by government forces – and you want my tax dollars to pay for it? Then you’ve got a serious fight on your hands, mister! Tax cuts would allow families to spend more on educating their own children.”

In 1881, the world’s first electricity distribution system was established in Godalming, England when a generator supplied power to street lights. In the ensuing decades electricity grids spread throughout the world.

Republicans: “Am I hearing this right? You want to waste my money on some crazy scheme to connect each and every home with copper wires? Sounds like a communist mind-control plot. Count me out. Tax cuts would be far better.”

In the early 19th century, the invention of the electrical telegraph spurs the eventual invention of the telephone.

Republicans: “You want what?! A system of cables so that the government can listen to me in my home. You’ve got a fight on your hands, mister. Now let’s quit this crazy talk and pour ourselves a nice round of tax cuts instead.”

In 1936 the United States Government agreed to coordinate the Air Traffic Control System which built a series of radar stations and employees operators to keep airlines traveling upwards of 400 mph from colliding with each other.

Republicans: We don’t need to waste government money on some radar towers and people on the government dole, those pilots can just learn to fly better and if they have an accident the insurance company are willing to pay for the damage.

Trails lead to paths and they lead to roads. In 1956, Republican president Dwight D. Eisenhower appropriates $25 billion for the construction of highways in the US. A similar boom takes place across much of the developed world folowing the success of the automobile.

Republicans: “$25 billion!?!?! Are you crazy? My taxpayer money is being spent on concrete? Are we living in communist Russia? Tax cuts would build far more…”

Today: Ideas for new grids to transport green energy; new kinds of green energy; electric cars that could be recharged just by plugging them in to your power socket at home…

Republicans: “No, no, no, no, NO!!!! This is socialism! I want a TAX CUT!!!”

Regards,

Jim