If we get hit with another terrorist attack against planes, it’s on you Barack. It’s on you:
After the September 11 attacks, commercial airline pilots were allowed to carry guns if they completed a federal-safety program. No longer would unarmed pilots be defenseless as remorseless hijackers seized control of aircraft and rammed them into buildings.
Now President Obama is quietly ending the federal firearms program, risking public safety on airlines in the name of an anti-gun ideology.
The Obama administration this past week diverted some $2 million from the pilot training program to hire more supervisory staff, who will engage in field inspections of pilots.
Asshole.
Obama is a bliss-ninny.
And bliss-ninnies are fools.
Have to get those nasty guns off the street. I mean out of the air. Can’t risk having guns where terrorists could just take them away from teh pilot and use it on them.
Besides, BHO respects the second amendment.
Obama is a bliss-ninny.
I wish. No, he’s a Marxist, a big-government statist through-and-through. He and his ilk can little afford to allow any semblance of power in the hands of the people. Any use of guns by someone who doesn’t wear the vestments of the state gives us the idea that we have some control over ourselves.
Barry O’s people supposedly want to try a new approach in Afghanistan – seek to open negotiations with “moderate” members of the Taliban, in order to turn them against the hardliner elements of the Taliban.
I guess that’s what they’ll soon be suggesting to commercial flight crews now too – rather than bother to train with firearms and learn tactical skills, so as to be prepared to eliminate a deadly terrorist threat at 35,000 feet, just seek to open negotiations with the most “moderate” member of the terrorist cell aboard the aircraft, so as to turn him or her against the hardliners.
tkdkerry …
And Federal Flight Deck Officers are not vestiges of the “state?” I certainly think they are, which might weaken your argument regarding Obama being a statist (which at some level I don’t doubt), and strengthens mine about him being a bliss-ninny (and generally just opposed to people going armed for security of themselves and others).
You know – that story is designed to get all of us gun owners riled up, but there’s a whole lot of BS in it. Take a closer look. There’s plenty to be concerned about with Obama (e.g. “assualt” weapons ban, surplus brass, etc…) but this ain’t one of them.
First off, it’s an EDITORIAL – not a news story. Conservative as it may be, the Washington Times is owned by the Rev Moon, and I don’t trust anyone who thinks he’s the reincarnation of Jesus Christ.
Secondly, he didn’t “end” the program, he’s changed the funding by $2 million. Not sure if you guys have had the misfortune of working with the government on anything, but $2 million is very little. The Washington Times combined this with a report of some pilots being frustrated that they haven’t gotten their permits approved.
So what are the facts? Obama moved $2 million from training to inspection in this program, and some pilots are PO’d that they haven’t gotten approved yet.
Does it suck? Yeah, it does, but he’s not “ending” anything. I really hate the Washington Times — they pull this crap, which ends up distracting from other more important issues. They publish this editorial the same day as the DoD surprlus brass story starts getting legs. Are they trying to bury that issue?
…one more thing: do y’all remember how hard President Bush fought AGAINST pilots having guns? The airlines were against it too.
Bush was an asshole when he opposed it too.
Disappointing, but not too surprising. The armed pilots program was crippled from the beginning. There’s a psychological examination that should be redundant given the existing requirements to have a commercial pilot’s license, which was taken as a discouragement by pilots. There’s one training location in the country, hours away from the nearest airport. There have been capricious delays in certification, as the article mentions. Finally, there’s no inherent reason for armed pilots to be federal officers, even if you want them to have extra training. Pilots carrying guns was legal as late as 1981, and they weren’t federal officers.
Even under Bush, the whole system was designed to accomodate liberal and bureaucratic sensibilities from the beginning. The total number of pilots who have gone to the trouble and expense is not all that large, so there’s no large constituency to speak out. With the Bush administration system as a starting point, it will only take a few incremental steps to effectively shut down new certifications, even without an open ban. SgtGoreki aside, I don’t ascribe good faith and innocent intentions to the house of Obama, Emanuel and Holder, and I think it’s more than fair to ask where this is going.
First he gives $900M to Hamas, then he tries to schmooze the Taliban, then he disarms the pilots… It’s almost as if he WANTS a big terrorist hit on the country. A crisis that certainly wouldn’t be wasted, I’m sure.
What do you suppose he could do with another 9/11 style attack?
my father was a U.S. Air Force officer he served 19 1/2 years and retired under clintions early retirement program. He started flying comerical flights for a major airline when I (his son, and yes I know the c in clinton is sposed to be Capitalisied I just can’t bring my self to do it) anyho Bush passed the law that armed pilots and i asked my dad are you going to go get trained dad told me there aint no way so i asked why he said part of the process required the pilot to get a psyological exam and if you failed not only were you denied the right to carry a gun but you lost your pilots liscence THERE WERE NO APPEALS bais NATIONAL SURCUITY CONCERNS (if you fail a medical check you appeal see more doctors and get a ruling. Dads not going to risk his job and neither are most pilots as Dad put it “I’m not worried about terrorist if anyone comes through that door their getting a chrash axe in the chest”
Thanks for running this story Sebastian, I read it at another blog and started hitting the gunners to see if they had wind of it.
This post has been linked for the HOT5 Daily 3/18/2009, at The Unreligious Right
Before you jump to conclusions have you asked the teleprompter yet? Maybe it was teleprompter’s fault. We might be able to reason with teleprompter and convince him to change his ways. It’s worth a try.
Otherwise Obama must have done this. There is no reasoning with Obama so passengers and crew are forsaken.
No problem personally for Obama though as he flies Air Force One. Freaking pig.
I think it would be appropriate for ALPA pilots to stage a strike against the fools in DC and refuse to fly “naked.”
You know, as a pilot, I’m a little confused. I’ve been hearing this “gun ban†story. Yesterday, I heard “do you hear what Obama is planning†from my copilot. As he asked that question, my Colt was in my bag in the compartment above my head. (I know, I should keep it with me, but it digs into my hip when I sit down.)
This afternoon, I’m in a hotel room with my laptop. (We don’t fly out for another four hours.) I’m reading this story everywhere, but it all seems to track back to the Washington Times. That, and other blogs, are the only sources I’m finding.
In my email, there’s nothing to tell me that my gun can’t go with me. Don’t even have one of those twice-a-week emails telling me that there’s new paperwork I have to fill out.
And then I found this on Fox News.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/03/18/federal-officials-deny-report-pilot-gun-program-end/
I’m thinking that somebody at the Moonie Times got his wires crossed. There doesn’t seem to be anything to this story.
(“bliss-ninny”?)