Comments on: Senator James Inhofe

Senator James Inhofe

East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:28:21 -0800

A released FAA investigation describes how in October last year, Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) deliberately landed his plane on a closed runway, and then caused the plane to "hop" over terrified construction workers and their vehicles. More recently, Senator Inhofe has taken to the Senate floor in praise of his friend (and friend of C Street), deposed Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo. [Previously, previously]

By: ricochet biscuit

ricochet biscuit — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:34:03 -0800

Everyone knows safety regulations have a notorious liberal bias and that the FAA is a partisan body.

By: BobbyVan

BobbyVan — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:34:38 -0800

I'm not seeing a connection here... unless the point of the thread is that Senator James Inhofe is an asshole.

By: Danf

Danf — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:35:17 -0800

Has anyone looked in the new budget? Is there still an FAA?

By: orthogonality

orthogonality — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:38:40 -0800

Senile dementia?

By: crunchland

crunchland — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:40:09 -0800

Oh, it happened in Texas. I was gonna say, if it happened at National Airport here in DC, he could have probably claimed that controller in the tower was asleep and couldn't tell him where to land.

By: electroboy

electroboy — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:45:15 -0800

"He also told the Post that an airport official, not identified, "hates me, I don't know why."

By: eriko

eriko — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:45:55 -0800

I'm not seeing a connection here... unless the point of the thread is that Senator James Inhofe is an asshole. Connected Asshole. Anybody else does that -- and there have been cases -- and they lose their ticket for at least a year. If, of course, they don't die. The usual reason a runway is closed is that it is quite simply not safe to land on, and landing on it is a good way to kill people.

By: smackfu

smackfu — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:46:31 -0800

Did he really "hop" over the workers malicously, or did he try to land in front of them before realizing there was stuff on the runway?

By: exogenous

exogenous — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:46:50 -0800

The moron incorrectly claimed that "People who fly a lot just don't [check NOTAMS]," which are the "notices to airmen" that would have informed him of the runway closure. Granted, the NOTAM system is fairly archaic, being filled with cryptic abbreviations in all caps and information about unlighted towers that is not useful to most pilots, but dude, missing a runway closure? At the very least he could have just, you know, looked at the runway before trying to land on it.

By: zarq

zarq — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:47:30 -0800

Danf: "Has anyone looked in the new budget? Is there still an FAA?" They've been repurposed as prenatal care advisors at the newly revamped Planned Parenthood. "The doctor will be with you shortly. Please circle counterclockwise around the waiting room until we let you know that the ultrasound machine is free and you can land on the examining table in room four."

By: clavdivs

clavdivs — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:48:27 -0800

Chip the trainers crack the crates buzz the airfield with our dictates. Ivory Coast is free to build thats what Laurent Gbagbo hates.

By: infinitywaltz

infinitywaltz — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:49:38 -0800

I have a friend who used to run the website I write for; he quit that to focus all of his energy (aside from his day job) to running an anti-Inhofe blog. And that was in...like...2007 or something.

By: entropone

entropone — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:51:07 -0800

Did he really "hop" over the workers malicously, or did he try to land in front of them before realizing there was stuff on the runway? The report states that the closure was clearly marked, and furthermore, that he was aware of it.

By: RobotVoodooPower

RobotVoodooPower — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:51:44 -0800

As we speak no doubt X-Plane and Flight Simulator fans are crafting this exact mission scenario.

By: gottabefunky

gottabefunky — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:58:35 -0800

In a land of assholes, this guy is running for mayor.

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:58:42 -0800

Christ, what an asshole.

By: mccarty.tim

mccarty.tim — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:59:37 -0800

It's agist to make fun of his wacky airplane antics while our nation also celebrates Maverick buzzing the tower despite being clearly denied the privilege.

By: zombieApoc

zombieApoc — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:59:47 -0800

Dipshit should pay a heavy fine and lose his ability to fly for at least a year if not more.

By: mccarty.tim

mccarty.tim — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:01:45 -0800

But yeah, this guy deserves to lose his pilot's license. If he gets away with this, it sends the message that congresspeople are above the law.

By: zachlipton

zachlipton — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:02:41 -0800

"He also told the Post that an airport official, not identified, "hates me, I don't know why." Well that explains it then. I'm sure this was just a personal vendetta by a crazy airport official and the fact that he nearly killed several workers had nothing to do with it. The so-called "remedial training" he received as punishment seems to have consisted of seven hours of flight training and the matter will drop off his record in two years. That seems a lot more like the punishment for a speeding ticket. What do you think would happen if someone gunned his car onto an obviously closed highway, nearly hit several highway construction workers, and was utterly unapologetic and unconcerned when questioned afterwards? That sounds like reckless driving to me, and a DA could well threaten to charge the driver with attempted manslaughter. The consequences for pilots are supposed to be more serious than for drivers, and his job as a senator certainly shouldn't matter.

By: Joey Michaels

Joey Michaels — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:03:09 -0800

it sends the message that congresspeople are above the law. Message received, loud and clear!

By: Benny Andajetz

Benny Andajetz — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:06:23 -0800

Inhofe was an asshole waaaaaay before he got in the plane.

By: humanfont

humanfont — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:06:38 -0800

Extraordinary rendition his ass to Ivory Coast for crimes against humanity. Have the State Department issue a statement demanding the return our our Senator for plausible deniability and explain that the Senator's plane apparently got lost or intercepted by enemy agents. No one noticed because of his history of erratic flight behavior. Then call Canter/Boehner to talk about the budget negotiations.

By: notsnot

notsnot — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:07:18 -0800

"He also told the Post that an airport official, not identified, "hates me, I don't know why." Maybe because you do shit like this, asshole?

By: indubitable

indubitable — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:08:02 -0800

One set of laws for the rich and powerful, and another, harsher set for us regular jackoffs.

By: The Card Cheat

The Card Cheat — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:08:54 -0800

> Boyd also said that Inhofe showed little contrition following the close call. "He come over here and started being like, 'What the hell is this? I was supposed to have unlimited airspace.'" It's a good thing he didn't hit anyone. Those construction workers might have damaged his plane!

By: Max Power

Max Power — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:13:31 -0800

"Le aéroport c'est moi"

By: eriko

eriko — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:16:52 -0800

"'What the hell is this? I was supposed to have unlimited airspace.'" You did, idiot, but these guys were on the GROUND. You know, the big flat thing that's smarter than you are?

By: Copronymus

Copronymus — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:17:19 -0800

I was watching CSPAN during the shutdown drama last week, and Inhofe interrupted Senate debate for ten or fifteen minutes to talk about the Ivory Coast and how horrible it was, and how people were being massacred. I haven't really been following the situation there, so I thought to myself, "Oh, wow, it's like how Sam Brownback used to care about Darfur." When I mentioned it to my roommate, he told me that I had the positions wrong and that I'd just heard an impassioned defense of refusing to transfer power after an election. My mind is still boggling at it.

By: Ironmouth

Ironmouth — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:25:27 -0800

"I've got over 50 years flying, three tours of Vietnam," Reece said, "and I can assure you I have never seen such a reckless disregard for human life in my life." He then added, "Something needs to be done. This guy is famous for these violations." Must be why the guy hates Inhofe.

By: Nothing

Nothing — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:26:12 -0800

Gbagbo may be his friend, but if he had met the Young Patriots who supported Gbagbo, he'd be dead now.

By: mikelieman

mikelieman — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:30:24 -0800

At the very least he could have just, you know, looked at the runway before trying to land on it. That's what the big yellow X is for!

By: kozad

kozad — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:33:32 -0800

"When the president does it, that means that it is not illegal." - Dick Nixon "When a congressman does it, that means he is not an asshole." - James Inhofe

By: Flunkie

Flunkie — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:34:27 -0800

Senile dementia?

I'm going to go with Occam's Razor: Republican.

By: dw

dw — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:44:33 -0800

Tom Coburn is Oklahoma's other senator: A Christian conservative quasi-libertarian who does crappy things like withhold medical funding for 9/11 first responders in the name of "fiscal responsibility." When Tom Coburn is your GOOD senator, then you know you have a problem. All the sadder to me because I went to school with one of the Inhofe kids; another one was a YoungLife leader. Nice people.

By: mikeh

mikeh — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:50:44 -0800

This just reminds me how very, very glad I am that my dad and uncle finally got my grandpa to sell his plane. My grandfather has always been amazing at cognitive dissonance, to the point where he'd complain about how he could barely see out of one eye due to the shingles infection he was fighting and then launch into a story about how he went flying with a friend the preceding weekend. If you think it's bad when old people won't stop driving their car and give up their driver's license, replace those words with "pilot's license" and "plane." * shudder *

By: Mitheral

Mitheral — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:58:17 -0800

'He also told the Post that an airport official, not identified, 'hates me, I don't know why.'" I think I know why.

By: notsnot

notsnot — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 16:01:12 -0800

Flunkie: "I'm going to go with Occam's Razor: Republican." Walks like an elephant, quacks like an elephant... (thx to the wife for that one...)

By: Nelson

Nelson — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 16:11:54 -0800

The Inhofe airport incident is a few months old now; the news here is tapes of the FAA complaints. The FAA decided a month or two ago not to pursue legal action. Inhofe's quote about his remediation is breathtaking

"I elected the remedial training program because that is something that is very easy to do,'' he said, explaining he took the training in Tulsa from a young man he had trained to fly.

Inhofe's a real pilot and has been a good friend to general aviation. Still, all the pilots I know think he's a jackass who got special treatment because he's a senator. You just don't do something like that with an airplane.

By: backseatpilot

backseatpilot — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 16:12:17 -0800

Anybody else does that -- and there have been cases -- and they lose their ticket for at least a year. Well, this just happened. Not sure what's going to happen to him but it was definitely a dick move.

By: benzenedream

benzenedream — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 16:15:47 -0800

Dear Senator Inhofe: I really like the tricks you do with your plane! You are a regular barnstormer. I would like to see more daring maneuvers on your next flights. Can you hop higher next time?

By: dances_with_sneetches

dances_with_sneetches — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 16:19:31 -0800

The construction workers weren't fetuses so they had no rights.

By: Dr. Zira

Dr. Zira — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 16:38:02 -0800

Fun Inhofe Fact: In 2005, he snuck a rider into a transportation bill requiring preventing tribes here in Oklahoma from getting TAS (Tribes as States) status with the EPA without state approval. So you can add Indians to the list of humans for which he seems to maintain a reckless disregard.

By: TheWhiteSkull

TheWhiteSkull — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 16:42:30 -0800

Didn't we sell a whole lot of Stinger missiles off to a bunch of different people back in the '80s? I wonder what happened to those?

By: klangklangston

klangklangston — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 16:44:52 -0800

We forgot to tell them the stingers were for Inhofe's plane.

By: hydrophonic

hydrophonic — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 16:47:51 -0800

"I've got over 50 years flying, three tours of Vietnam," Reece said, "and I can assure you I have never seen such a reckless disregard for human life in my life." I just going to assume Reece immediately followed this up with "Besides the whole war, I mean."

By: clockzero

clockzero — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 16:51:32 -0800

I'm pleased that our elected officials are less and less interested in pretending to not be evil.

By: panaceanot

panaceanot — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 16:57:15 -0800

By: telstar

telstar — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 17:04:36 -0800

I just hope he had his 3-oz. shampoo in a quart-sized ziplock baggie.

By: Thistledown

Thistledown — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 17:16:19 -0800

I don't know a single private pilot (and I know a lot of em) who doesn't check NOTAMS when he's planning on landing at an airport other than the one he takes off from. They often contain information that will keep you from being killed. Asshole or not, the guy is just stupid.

By: Bathtub Bobsled

Bathtub Bobsled — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 17:30:09 -0800

Far as I'm concerned, 57% of Oklahoma's voting population are assholes. After reading these links and glancing at his Wikipedia entry, I see nothing that would designate him as anything less than an asshole. So, it appears, those that voted for him know his douchbaggery, and for them, that's OK.

By: Blazecock Pileon

Blazecock Pileon — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 17:34:38 -0800

One set of laws for the rich and powerful What laws? Seriously, this asshole would be doing hard time if he wasn't connected.

By: Naberius

Naberius — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 17:38:17 -0800

If a muslim pilot had done that, they'd have made him take off again and circle the airfield until the F-16s got there, just so they could blow him out of the sky.

By: Windopaene

Windopaene — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:08:01 -0800

Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) don't care... Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) don't give a shit...

By: dirigibleman

dirigibleman — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:21:22 -0800

James Inhofe (R-Not OK)

By: zippy

zippy — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:21:39 -0800

They need to use honey badgers as ground crew.

By: odinsdream

odinsdream — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:22:56 -0800

If he gets away with this, it sends the message that congresspeople are above the law. Are you new to this country? Don't they cover this in the citizenship test?

By: T.D. Strange

T.D. Strange — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:34:53 -0800

We can only hope the next time he blows off FAA regulations, it kills him.

By: Joey Michaels

Joey Michaels — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:45:03 -0800

I like to imagine that his defense to the FAA went something like this.

By: Medieval Maven

Medieval Maven — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:57:45 -0800

Rachel Maddow is covering this right now, FYI.

By: mephron

mephron — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 19:42:52 -0800

Time to update the ol' 'who they really represent' list with: James M. Inhofe (R-Anal Apertures)

By: Hello Dad, I'm in Jail

Hello Dad, I'm in Jail — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 20:34:03 -0800

Far be it from me to defend this bozo (that means I'm about to defend this bozo), but the FAA's flight briefing system is pretty awful. Here's the crap at the top of every briefing. Most of that has been there since 9/11. The sentence that irritates me the most is "With Aviation Security the primary issue in the United States today. . ." No it isn't.

CSC DUAT System Session number: 00333 Enter DUAT access code -or- last name: Enter your password: Transaction number: 003775 Thu Apr 14 03:27:36 2011 (UTC) Welcome to the CSC DUAT System *********************************************************************** * Effective immediately until further notice..... The following special notice information may be viewed by requesting FDC NOTAMS. * ALL RESTRICTIONS FOR OPERATION IN ENHANCED CLASS B AIRSPACE BY VFR/IFR GENERAL AVIATION. * IFR OPERATIONS IN THE U.S. * VFR OPERATIONS IN THE U.S. Advisories affecting the Air Traffic System are available in National Flow Control messages and National FDC NOTAMS. To request these messages it is recommended you use the Location Weather feature of DUATS: For FDC NOTAMS: National Locations ZZZ and FDC, Weather Type FDC For National Flow Control Messages: Location DCC, Weather Type ATC For TFR, ARTCC ID, Example: ZDC: Weather Type FDC *********************************************************************** **********************NOTICE******NOTICE******NOTICE******************* * The U.S. Government continues to receive credible indications that extremist individuals are planning additional terrorist operations against U.S. and Western interests within the U.S. and overseas. Such operations, possibly involving civil and general aviation (GA) aircraft, could be carried out whenever attack preparations are complete and operatives are in place. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has no credible information concerning specific targets, timing, or methods of attack. However, the GA community should observe good physical security for aircraft and facilities and be continuously on the lookout for suspicious persons, activities, and operations around airports. * Terrorists who are no longer able to hijack commercial airliners because of increased security at commercial airports may turn to GA airports and aircraft to conduct operations. * The TSA asks members of the GA community to report all unusual and suspicious activities. If you observe persons, aircraft, and operations that do not fit the customary pattern at your airport, you should immediately advise law enforcement authorities. * Your immediate action is requested for these items: - Secure unattended aircraft to prevent unauthorized use. - Verify the identification of crew and passengers prior to departure. - Verify that baggage and cargo are known to the persons on board. - Where identification systems are in place, encourage employees to wear proper identification and challenge persons not wearing proper identification. * Increased vigilance should be directed toward the following: - Aircraft with unusual or unauthorized modifications. - Persons loitering in the vicinity of aircraft or air operations areas. - Persons who appear to be under stress or the control of other persons. - Persons whose identification appears altered or inconsistent. **********************NOTICE******NOTICE******NOTICE******************* * With Aviation Security the primary issue in the United States today the FAA has issued the following WARNING which is directed at unauthorized users, abusers, and hackers and is not meant to discourage legitimate users in any way. DUATS is a free FAA sponsored service to pilots, dispatchers and others authorized by the FAA. Legitimate users are encouraged to use DUATS as much as needed and without reservation. *********************WARNING*****WARNING*****WARNING******************* * This is a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) computer system. FAA systems, including all related equipment, networks, and network devices (specifically including Internet access) are provided for the processing of official Government information. Unauthorized access or use of this computer system may subject violators to criminal, civil, and/or administrative action. All information on this computer may be intercepted, recorded, read, copied, and disclosed by and to authorized personnel for official purposes, including criminal investigations. Access or use of this computer system by any person whether authorized or unauthorized, constitutes consent with these terms. OLAB:

By: ormondsacker

ormondsacker — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 20:40:50 -0800

Maybe this will convince Oklahomans to vote for a Democrat, he said, with infinite weariness.

By: Cyrano

Cyrano — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 20:56:55 -0800

I'm not seeing a connection here... unless the point of the thread is that Senator James Inhofe is an asshole. Yes. This. (And it certainly seems like he is.) But this is worse that The Right laughing at Al Gore when it snows. This post is classic, Fox News worthy ad hominem ridiculousness.

By: Hello Dad, I'm in Jail

Hello Dad, I'm in Jail — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 21:14:30 -0800

Oh, and you're supposed to get all available information about your flight and destination, which would certainly include a whole bunch of similarly cryptic weather information, plus NOTAMs ("NOTices to AirMen"), but the online flight briefing system isn't very selective. I'm not going to further crap up this thread with another huge list of stuff, but I got back over a thousand lines of text (2¹⁰ exactly, oddly enough) when I asked for a standard briefing from Palo Alto, CA to Pullman, WA, a 600 mile flight over mostly empty terrain. I note that the FAA incident report suggests giving NOTAMS in plain English, which I think would be a swell idea. This stuff looks like a holdover from Telegram/Cable days. Anyway, here are just the Runway NOTAMS. In particular, notice the date/time "WEF 1104150701-1104151300." I think that means effective ("WEF?") from April 15th, 2011 7:01am to 1pm GMT, which is probably 12:01am to 6am Pacific Time, but I'm not 100% sure.

******** Runway NOTAMs ******** !SJC 04/046 SJC RWY 12L/30R CLSD WEF 1104150701-1104151300 !SJC 03/057 SJC RWY 11/29 CLSD WEF 1103312301-1104222300 !SJC 03/068 SJC RWY 12R/30L SAFETY AREA REDUCED TO 400 FT WIDE WEF 1103312301-1104222300 !SJC 04/045 SJC RWY 30L RAIL OTS !SJC 01/062 SJC RWY 30L PAPI UNUSBL BYD 7 DEGREES OF CENTERLINE !SJC 03/069 SJC RWY 29 REIL OTS TIL 1104222359 !SFO 04/057 SFO RWY 19L ALS OTS WEF 1104141600-1104141700 !SFO 04/056 SFO RWY 1R/19L WEST SIDE HOLD SIGN MISSING AT TWY F !SFO 03/072 SFO RWY 28L RAIL OTS !SFO 04/054 SFO RWY 28L ALS OTS WEF 1104141600-1104142200 !SFO 04/043 SFO RWY 10R/28L CLSD WEF 1104140700-1104141500 !SFO 04/047 SFO RWY 10L/28R CLSD WEF 1104150700-1104151500 !OAK 03/101 OAK RWY 11/29 RUNWAY SAFETY AREA 200 AT TWY V INT !OAK 04/018 OAK RWY 11/29 SAFETY AREA 200 AT TWY V INT WEF 1104040700-1105090600 !SMF 07/032 SMF RWY 16L PAEW 3500 N, 7500 N AER 16R, W RWY 16R ALL EQUIPMENT FLAGGED AND LGTD WEF 1007260001 !RNO 04/027 RNO RWY 16L/34R CLSD WEF 1104141500-1104142100 !RBL 12/004 RBL RWY 15/33 LDA 5429 TODA 5429 !SVE 02/003 SVE RWY 11/29 PCL OTS EXC LOW/MED INTST !RDM 04/004 RDM RWY 28 PAPI OTS WEF 1104041400-1105012359 !RDM 04/003 RDM RWY 28 REIL OTS WEF 1104041400-1105012359 !RDM 04/002 RDM RWY 10 VASI OTS WEF 1104041400-1105012359 !RDM 04/013 RDM RWY 10/28 CLSD EXC TAXI BTN TWY A,F !RDM 04/001 RDM RWY 10 REIL OTS WEF 1104041400-1105012359 !LGD 02/007 LGD RWY 30 REIL OTS !GEG 04/028 GEG RWY 21 PAPI OTS WEF 1104111400-1104212359 !GEG 04/011 GEG RWY 21 ALS OTS WEF 1104111400-1110201400 !GEG 04/030 GEG RWY 21 LAND AND HOLD SHORT OF RWY 7/25 NA WEF 1104111400-1110151400 !GEG 04/025 GEG RWY 3 TDZ LGTS OTS WEF 1104111400-1110151400 !GEG 04/014 GEG RWY 3/21 CENTERLINE LIGHTS OTS WEF 1104111400-1110151400 !GEG 04/013 GEG RWY 3/21 CLSD WEF 1104111400-1104141400 !GEG 04/006 GEG RWY 3 PAPI OTS WEF 1104111400-1104141400 !GEG 04/007 GEG RWY 3 ALS OTS WEF 1104111400-1104141400 !GEG 04/026 GEG RWY 21 TDZ LGTS OTS WEF 1104111400-1110151400

By: Dr. Zira

Dr. Zira — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 21:14:49 -0800

Maybe this will convince Oklahomans to vote for a Democrat, he said, with infinite weariness. Oh ormondsacker, you know what happens when we have Dems in office...things go well and we just can't have nice things.

By: East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94

East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 21:18:02 -0800

This post is classic, Fox News worthy ad hominem ridiculousness. I am sorry if I committed ad hominem. I think Senator Inhofe is a wonderful human being. It is only his deranged crimes and sociopathic abuse of power which I wish to address.

By: Dr. Zira

Dr. Zira — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 21:29:05 -0800

Fun Inhofe Fact: Inhofe's connections to The Family. He's really just hangin' with a deposed African strongman to share the love of the Jeebus to entire African villages who are in awe of his mad senator skillz.

By: dragonplayer

dragonplayer — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 21:29:38 -0800

Whew, thanks for the warning. I will stay off the sidewalks, bridges, and overpasses when the senator flies near Tulsa.

By: homunculus

homunculus — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 21:31:21 -0800

Inhofe on the subject of 9/11: "One of the reason I believe the spiritual door was opened for an attack against the United States of America is that the policy of our government has been to ask the Israelis, and demand it with pressure, not to retaliate in a significant way against the terrorist strikes that have been launched against them."

By: dw

dw — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 23:47:15 -0800

Maybe this will convince Oklahomans to vote for a Democrat, he said, with infinite weariness. Dan Boren could probably beat Inhofe, though he'd instantly become the most conservative Democrat in the Senate by a long shot.

By: odinsdream

odinsdream — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 05:37:54 -0800

Hello Dad, I'm in Jail, do I understand you correctly? Your argument is that flying airplanes involves sometimes having to read and understand lists of information in order to ensure you don't kill anyone or yourself? And that this is somehow a bad thing?

By: odinsdream

odinsdream — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 05:39:41 -0800

Anyway, even if he ignored the posted warnings, there's a giant fucking X on the runway. No excuse.

By: ob

ob — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 05:39:53 -0800

I hereby formally request that we change the MeFi meme: "Christ, what an asshole" to "Christ, what an Inhofe" for the foreseeable future.

By: lathrop

lathrop — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 08:16:50 -0800

Senile dementia? Penile dementia?

By: zachlipton

zachlipton — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 08:29:48 -0800

Hello Dad, I'm in Jail, do I understand you correctly? Your argument is that flying airplanes involves sometimes having to read and understand lists of information in order to ensure you don't kill anyone or yourself? And that this is somehow a bad thing? I think he's just saying that it would be a lot safer for everyone if this information was presented in a much more accessible format such as plain English. The FAA safety inspector agrees, which is why he made that recommendation in his report. Most people are more likely to read and successfully understand complex information if it's not a bunch of all caps gobbledygook. None of that, however, excuses Inhofe's failure to exercise his basic responsibility to look out for obstacles and obstructions in his intended path of travel and to take action to safely avoid them. This is basically the fundamental job of anyone operating virtually every type of vehicle or even walking down the street, certain rocket launches excepted.

By: Nelson

Nelson — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 08:31:33 -0800

Hello Dad.. is right, the flight briefing system is terribly archaic, information design at its worst. But it's what pilots do, we read our 70s teletype briefing and understand it. And if there's an AD CLSD in it you damn sure want to know about it. If that's too difficult for Sen. Inhofe we have a fine LockMart telephone briefing service paid for by tax dollars, too. The more astonishing thing is apparently Inhofe noticed the runway was closed and there were people on it well before landing, but chose to land near / over those people anyway.

By: exogenous

exogenous — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 19:33:42 -0800

I went flying today and got a briefing online. But because of the security theater situation where I fly near DC, I also have to call and talk to a Flight Service briefing person if I don't want to get shot down. I told him I had an online briefing but I didn't want "to pull a Senator Inhofe" so could he please advise me of runway closures or anything like that. He didn't acknowledge the reference, unfortunately.

By: Thistledown

Thistledown — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 20:39:04 -0800

Agreed that the text briefings are crap. Which is why I don't use them. You can call Flight Service and tell them what you're looking for. They always ask me if I want the full list of NOTAMS. I usually get any en-route NOTAMS related to tower light outages in my path and ANYTHING related to my destination airport. The info is there, it takes 5 minutes to make the call and take notes. There are other, easier options for briefings as well. DUAT/DUATS is a mainstay because it's available everywhere and most CFIs use what they were taught with. Personally, I like talking to Flight Service and gathering my own weather data, etc...

By: East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94

East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 13:26:34 -0800

By: homunculus

homunculus — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 12:17:30 -0800

Inhofe Claims Fracking Has 'Never' Contaminated Water Supply One Day After Spill Contaminates Stream