Odds of Airborne Terror

But if you listened to the party of bedwetters, you'd be convinced there was a mooslim under every bed. Via Taegan-

Nate Silver notes that from October 1999 through September 2009 there has been one terrorist incident per 16,553,385 airplane departures.

Furthermore, "the odds of being on given departure which is the subject of a terrorist incident have been 1 in 10,408,947 over the past decade. By contrast, the odds of being struck by lightning in a given year are about 1 in 500,000. This means that you could board 20 flights per year and still be less likely to be the subject of an attempted terrorist attack than to be struck by lightning."

Video- Rep Pete King on Detroit Bomber Wannabee

Granted, I saw this in the middle of the night, but does it seem to anyone else that Pete King is enjoying this a wee bit too much? He seems a little, um, satisfied and show offy about his contacts. And why are they talking to King? He's the ex chair of the House HSC, the current chair (a D as those things work out) is Rep Bernie Thompson of Mississippi. Or I could just be affected by my utter hatred of Pete King.

Hannity blames Chuck Schumer For US Airways Crash

Yep, it's all Chuck's fault. More painful prattling here.

Hannity first accused Schumer during the “Hannity's America” portion of the show. It's similar to O'Reilly's Talking Points Memo but focused on smearing Democrats.

SH: Back in 2004, the New York Senator saw to it that a $200,000 earmark went to GeesePeace. Now, this is an animal rights group that devotes itself to saving Canada geese through non-lethal methods. Now, this was Schumer's attempt to solve the problem of overpopulation of geese, some of which live on Riker's Island. That's directly in the flight path of La Guardia airport. Now, the perilous result of this plan was seen on Thursday when the same breed of geese, Canada geese, downed US Airways flight 1549. Now, maybe our lawmakers should focus on preventing such tragedies rather than empowering groups that seem to care more about the birds than the safety of Americans.

VIDEOS: Muslim Passengers Kicked Off Plane

By GottaLaff

Paddy linked to this story earlier. Now CNN's Rick Sanchez is reporting that the airline issued an apology and refunded the family's airfare (print story here).

Military airplanes: "Comfort Capsules" vs. Troops' Squalor

By GottaLaff

I posted about the vaunted "comfort capsules". Counterterrorism funds are being used for these:

Now let's take a gander at what the troops get:

A government watchdog has uncovered pictures that suggest US troops on their way to battlefields in Afghanistan travel in squalor while top military and government officials are cocooned in "comfort capsules" with reclining leather seats and flat-screen TVs.

That should be plenty of incentive to get new, eager, fresh-faced recruits, doncha think?

Air Force wants counterterrorism funds for luxurious "comfort capsule"

By GottaLaff

As BushCo always likes to remind us, security first:

The Air Force's top leadership sought for three years to spend counterterrorism funds on "comfort capsules" to be installed on military planes that ferry senior officers and civilian leaders around the world, with at least four top generals involved in design details such as the color of the capsules' carpet and leather chairs, according to internal e-mails and budget documents.

How exciting, production has already started! Whew! Good! We wouldn't want anyone to travel in discomfort. I know that when I'm jammed into a stuffy, cramped seat in coach, I am grateful for the tax dollars that are going toward redecorating, providing a cushy atmosphere so in the future, I, too, can work and rest as if sitting on a cloud. That would be after I was cavity-searched and watch-listed. Yes, that's the kind of faith I have in our government. They care.

Air Force officials say the government needs the new capsules to ensure that leaders can talk, work and rest comfortably in the air. But the top brass's preoccupation with creating new luxury in wartime has alienated lower-ranking Air Force officers familiar with the effort, as well as congressional staff members and a nonprofit group that calls the program a waste of money.

Hey, these are not unreasonable requests. They're both practical and cost effective:

One request was that the color of the leather for the seats and seat belts in the mobile pallets be changed from brown to Air Force blue and that seat pockets be added; another was that the color of the table's wood be darkened.

Changing the seat color and pockets alone was estimated in a March 12 internal document to cost at least $68,240. [...]

[Gen. Robert H. McMahon] said he wanted to "create an environment that whoever was riding in that would be proud of," the government would be proud of and "the people of the United States" would be proud of.

I personally favor Meditation Mauve, but I tend to go for the feminine and inspirational. But tastes differ, and I respect their right to choose and be proud.

Except in a time of war.

Except when the country's economy is tanking.

Except when people are losing their homes, health care, jobs... and minds.