Anyone remember Thurston Howell III from Gilligan’s Island? Jim Backus was the actor, I believe, and much like our President he spoke with his chin elevated and with that elegant, aristocratic drawl that is so often used to mock the dialect of the inexplicably wealthy. Backus’ character and his wife, were the wealthy couple in the cast of misfits shipwrecked on a deserted island. Constantly put upon by the lack of amenities and comforts, luxuries and pleasures that they had become accustomed to.
If only Backus had lived long enough to become Speaker of the House. He would have found himself having to adjust to the excessive showering of amenities, comforts, luxuries and pleasures bestowed upon him. Our beloved Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has recently had unearthed to the public her penchant for no-holds-barred travel on military aircraft, most notably the gorgeous and opulent Gulfstream IV. Any pilot, myself included, genuflects in awe at the passing of a G-5 either on ground or in air, because they are the Rolls Royce of corporate air travel.
Pelosi, it seems, likes to block one off for her own use nearly every weekend. Indeed, emails from military personnel at Travis AFB where the Gulfstreams are based, contained complaints regarding Pelosi’s heavy use of the aircraft. “She blocks one off for the weekend, and then cancels at the last minute, as one might do with a car service. We have crews drive in, caterers deliver food, pre-flights performed on aircraft…and then she cancels.” Sounds like a dream, doesn’t she?
It doesn’t end there, though. Our mouse-like Speaker has spent over 2 million dollars of our tax money on private air-taxi service in just two years. She has spent over 100 thousand dollars on food and booze. Think about it…$1,000. every week. The list of liquors reads like something from a high-end Manhattan club. Fine cognacs and vodkas and brandy. Only the best. On over a third of the flights she had family members on board. How impressive she is, commanding such service from the underlings. Imagine, having a Gulfstream at your disposal, and yet being so intellectually inept, that you don’t even consider the cost and inconvenience of having one “on hold” every single weekend, “just in case”, I suppose.
I don’t know about you, but the thought of my tax dollars being spent on as much as a single peanut for that abhorrent woman just makes my blood boil. In her usual dismissive style, her response to the release of this information is that her “use of military aircraft is in line with what other Speakers have done.” Fantastic. Let’s just hope and pray that prior behavior of politicians does not become the universal benchmark for the rest of us. Can anyone say “John Edwards”? “Hey, the last guy that ran for President also had a little action on the side while his wife was battling cancer, extorted money from the aptly named Bunny Mellon to keep his girlfriend in clover, and then paid a sycophant-aide to take the fall for him…so…why shouldn’t I do it?”
The reason, Minnie Pelosi, is that Americans have had it up to here (I’m holding my hand just below my nose) with the cavalier spending by government and government officials. While telling the rest of us to continue “tightening our belts”, until our legs are pinched off, apparently, their spending continues to expand and grow like a mutant octopus. Pelosi, ever-watchful of the less fortunate, seems able to forget their plight with ease as soon as the gear goes up on her G-5. Well, let me correct myself there…”our G-5″. Let’s not forget, dear, that those aircraft were bought and paid for by the American people with money borrowed from the Chinese, and we want some respect. We also would like to see a rapid decompression under her seat, but hey…you can’t have everything. Unless your name is Nancy Pelosi.