The New York Flyover Incident

[Gaybutton]

By now most of you are probably aware of of the incident over New York City in which a 747 did a low flyover, right in the area at which 9/11 took place, and caused panic. President Obama is "furious" over the incident and was not informed about it until after it happened. While Caldera, director of the White House Military Office, made the decision to do this for a "photo op" and claims that proper steps were taken to inform authorities, the Mayor of New York, among others, were not informed. Certainly the public knew nothing about it.

 

If you are unaware of the incident and/or haven't seen the video, a good place to check is the CNN web site. ( See: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/28...lane/index.html )

 

In the opinion of many,this incident was grossly idiotic and grossly insensitive. If the military office wanted to do a photo shoot, why did it have to be over New York, in the very same area where 9/11 occurred? Why couldn't they have done a photo shoot elsewhere? Why did they have to do a photo shoot, all at taxpayer expense of course, in the first place?

 

Obviously this is a major embarrassment for the Obama administration. So, what do you think? Should Louis Caldera, the man in charge of the office that makes the decisions as to what to do and where to take the President if an emergency occurs, remain on the job or be removed?

 

I voted for removal, whether he voluntarily steps down or has to be fired. In my opinion, someone who comes up with a decision like that, without realizing the kind of reaction the public and authorities would have, does not belong in charge of anything. Neither does anyone else who was involved in coming up with this idea and approving it. I see no need for my tax dollars paying the salaries of people as brainless and insensitive as that. Can you imagine anyone thinking this was a good idea, no matter who was informed in advance? It's a good thing for Obama that he wasn't informed and knew nothing about it. Can you imagine the reaction if he had indeed known about it and approved it?

 

This goes far beyond a mere embarrassment for the White House and there was no need for it at all, especially during a time when the President is saying that taxes should be spent on trying to bring the USA out of its financial crisis. How does spending taxpayer money to do a photo shoot of a presidential 747 fit into that? Not only was it a waste of money, but resulted in thousands of people frightened and upset. Caldera has apologized. He's sorry about the incident. Well, Mr. Caldera, I'm sorry too, especially about the salary cut you're taking in your new job delivering pizza.

[Guest Astrrro]

Obviously the feds could have done a better job informing the NY Metro Area.

 

Lots of government money is wasted on fluff and propaganda; this is just a drop in the bucket.

 

If Caldera is otherwise doing a good job, I don't think he should be a scapegoat. He's probably better than Brownie.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

If the military office wanted to do a photo shoot, why did it have to be over New York, in the very same area where 9/11 occurred? Why couldn't they have done a photo shoot elsewhere?

I seem to remember hearing/reading that the photo op was to include the Statue of Liberty.

[Guest GaySacGuy]

The photo op was specifically to get an Air Force One plane with the Statue of Liberty in the background, probably because they have new planes and a new color scheme.

 

I think the guys job should rest with overall performance, and not one event. It should be noted that the NY Mayor's office was notified but failed to tell the Mayor..the FAA noted that this could cause a problem, but told everyone to keep it a secret anyway...so there is blame to go around.

 

 

[Gaybutton]

It should be noted that the NY Mayor's office was notified but failed to tell the Mayor..the FAA noted that this could cause a problem, but told everyone to keep it a secret anyway

As far as I'm concerned, whoever is responsible for failing to inform the mayor and whoever it was at FAA who decided this should be kept secret, they all should go.

 

I realize that some people believe nobody should be fired over one incident, tell that to the people who were badly frightened. I would usually agree that one incident shouldn't cost someone his job, but I don't feel that way in this case. This goes well beyond someone putting his foot in his mouth over some politically incorrect statement.

 

I would be very interested to know who came up with this idea in the first place and who else thought it's a good idea.

 

I also want to know how spending the amount it costs to fly a 747 for a photo op, something I think was absolutely needless, is a justification for spending tax dollars, no matter where they wanted to do it. And they even had fighter escort.

[Guest GaySacGuy]

I would be very interested to know who came up with this idea in the first place and who else thought it's a good idea.

 

I also want to know how spending the amount it costs to fly a 747 for a photo op, something I think was absolutely needless, is a justification for spending tax dollars, no matter where they wanted to do it. And they even had fighter escort.

 

I would bet that someone in Public Relations of some federal agency came up with the idea, so they could use these pictures in releases, etc....just a guess.

 

They said that this was combined with a training mission to make it economical, and the fighter escort was actually the point from where the photos were being taken.

 

Their excuse is that they never release information about Air Force One. Only one small problem...it isn't Air Force One until the President steps aboard...it is just another federal aircraft.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

I recall in 1959 the Chicago White Sox won the American League pennant and some idiot city official decided it would be a good idea to set of the air raid signals to celebrate sending the whole city into a panic. I thought my grandmother was going to have a heart attack. All the telephone lines were jammed and it took about 30 minutes before we knew what was going on. No one was fired over that incident. I think today, many people are too eager, for whatever reason, to see "somebody's head roll".

 

The US government spends loads of money for what many of us consider to be nonsense. I recall many years ago a government study, which cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, to find out what causes bathroom accidents in the home. The conclusion was: most home bathroom accidents are caused by people getting in, out or while in the bathtub. I could have saved them all that money.

[Gaybutton]

The conclusion was: most home bathroom accidents are caused by people getting in, out or while in the bathtub. I could have saved them all that money.

That city official wasn't fired? I think he should have been. I wonder whatever happened to the genius at NBC who, way back in 1968, decided to cut off the Super Bowl in the last few vital moments so that they could show the movie "Heidi" on schedule. Remember that? I'll bet whoever came up with that decision didn't keep his job very long after that. Hell, I think whoever wanted to show "Heidi" in prime time at all, ever, should have been fired.

 

I remember a study done to try to discover why students cheat. Conclusion? To get higher scores.

 

I remember Senator William Proxmire complaining about government money being spent to find out why people fall in love. He said that not only does he not care why, he doesn't even want to know why. I agreed with him. I don't think they ever found out. Even if they did, what purpose would have been served?

 

How about spending some more money for some really useful studies? "Why are your turds brown?" "What happens when you put a firecracker up a cat's asshole?" "Why are people offended by the odor of other people's farts, but their own smell ok?" "If a dog is given Viagra, will it be more difficult to get him to stop trying to hump your leg?"

 

I don't agree with you about heads not rolling. I think that's exactly what should happen, especially when the wasteful spending causes people to panic. Maybe if a few people who come up with this kind of needless, bullshit, wasteful spending, find themselves out of a job, maybe government officials who waste our money would think twice before setting ideas like this in motion. I can't speak for others, but the last thing I want to see is one cent of my tax dollars going to pay for things like this. What pressing need is being fulfilled by using a presidential aircraft for a photo op? Who is interested in looking at such photos in the first place? Is it so that some congressman can have a pretty picture framed on his wall?

_____

 

"Hello, New York City Mayor's office? Hi. This is Cigar Manuch calling from the White House Military Office. We want to let you know that we're going to do a low-pass flyover in a presidential 747 to get some photos of the jet with the Statue of Liberty in the background. The course the aircraft will fly to do this will take it on a low flight right over the same area where the 9/11 attacks occurred"

 

"You are? Why?"

 

"Well, it will make a beautiful set of photos, don't you think?"

 

"I'm sure it would. What is this, some kind of a joke? Why not save the taxpayers tens of thousand of dollars and simply use PhotoShop or something to superimpose a photo of your 747 on an already existing aerial photo of the Statue of Liberty?"

 

"Oh noooooo. No no no no no no noooooo. We want genuine photos. So, it costs the taxpayers. Big deal."

 

A few hours later . . .

"Hello, New York City Mayor's office? Hi. This is Horace McSmegma from the FAA. Listen, about that 747 flyover . . . don't tell anybody. We need to keep it a secret."

 

"A secret? Why? What about all the New Yorkers who are going to think it's another terrorist attack? Don't you think they might feel it's a slight imposition?"

 

"Oh, they'll know it wasn't soon enough. And it certainly will keep people on their toes. It surely will spice up their otherwise dull day. Sorry if they're a bunch of scaredy-cats, but we wouldn't want people to know, would we? After all, some terrorist group might be able to shoot down the plane if they know in advance that it's coming."

 

"Huh? But when the President travels to different cities, that's always widely publicized. How do you think crowds of ordinary citizens know to show up at the airport to greet him?"

 

"Well . . . I . . . uhhhhh . . . ok! That may be true, but let's keep this one a secret. Remember, shhhhhhhhhh! Don't tell anybody, not even the Mayor."

_____

 

It's not just the incident itself that enrages me. It's the wasted money that caused it.

 

Personally, I'd rather see every one of the government wasters lose their jobs. I'd also like to see them replaced with people who find ways to save money, not to waste it. I'd be willing to see their salaries doubled.

 

I think a few of the people actually pleased about this incident are Jay Leno and David Letterman. Probably Bill O'Reilly too. They're gonna have a field day with this one! What day will Caldera be appearing on Larry King? Maybe he should appear with "Brownie" seated right next to him.

 

You know who this whole thing reminds me of?

 

[Guest lvdkeyes]

LOL, your ideas about saving money sound logical, however I would not hold my breath until they are implemented.

[Guest laurence]

Anyone so stupid to authorize this photo shoot should be fired. He is beyond stupid. The President should ask for his resignation before he can no any more harm.

[Guest Astrrro]

Caldera has left the white house. Hasta La Vista Caldy!

[Gaybutton]

Here's the infamous photo. Was it worth it?

 

 

White House Aide Resigns over NY Flyover

 

Sat May 9, 2009

 

By Steve Holland

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A White House military aide who authorized an Air Force flyover of New York that caused panic among some people in the city resigned on Friday.

 

Louis Caldera said in a resignation letter to President Barack Obama that the controversy over the mission -- a photo shoot of a jumbo jet used as Air Force One with the Statue of Liberty in the background -- made it impossible for him to lead the White House Military Office.

 

The flight over lower Manhattan for a photo shoot scared some New Yorkers who remembered the September 11 attacks in 2001 involving hijacked airliners that destroyed the World Trade Center. Some people panicked and evacuated office buildings when the planes flew over.

 

Caldera had approved the mission. His resignation came on the same day Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in a letter to Senator John McCain that the photo shoot cost U.S. taxpayers as much as $357,000 (234,000 pounds).

 

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama had accepted the resignation. Obama had been described as furious when the incident occurred on April 27 and demanded a review.

 

McCain, who lost to Obama in last year's presidential election and is the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the incident an "Air Farce 1 photo op."

 

The report of the review, also released on Friday, said ultimately Caldera did not notify relevant White House officials about the flyover in advance.

 

"When asked why he failed to do so, he did not offer a coherent explanation. He stated that it was not a conscious decision -- he did not intend not to notify them," it said. "Instead, he suggested that it may have been an oversight."

 

Also released was a photo of the Air Force jet over the State of Liberty from the mission.

 

Gates, providing details demanded by McCain in the wake of the incident, said the cost of a jumbo jet that is used as the president's plane, Air Force One, was estimated between $300,658 and $328,835.

 

The cost of two accompanying F-16 jets was $28,177 for a total of $357,012, Gates said.

 

REGRETS ANXIETY AND ALARM

 

The Air Force's presidential airlift group planned the April 27 flight in part to get pictures of the planes flying with the Statue of Liberty and the New York skyline as a backdrop.

 

Gates said in his letter the reaction to the low-flying planes was understandable and "we deeply regret the anxiety and alarm that resulted from this mission."

 

Gates said the photo shoot was only part of the planes' mission, which also included practice instrument approaches and landings at Atlantic City International Airport.

 

The entire mission had been coordinated with officials from the Federal Aviation Administration and air traffic control representatives in the New York area, he wrote.

 

"I am concerned that this highly public and visible mission did not include an appropriate public affairs plan nor adequate review and approval by senior Air Force and DOD (Department of Defense) officials," Gates said.

 

He said the incident was being reviewed carefully by defense officials.