Flyover Country

The nation’s capital has yet to amass skyscrapers — defining itself instead with such iconic structures as the Washington Monument and blocks of squat-but-serious-looking federal building. But city officials want to change that situation, saying Washington is running out of commercial property and needs Congress’ help to keep their economy humming.

Mayor Vincent C. Gray has asked GOP Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif, and Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton about possible ways to amend the city’s general height restriction of 130 feet.

Gray, a Democrat, and others say the city needs minor height variances and perhaps an allowance on the maximum number of occupants inside apartments, offices and other buildings to keep pace with the robust local economy, including a hot housing market. (emphasis mine)

While the rest of the country struggles to recover from Washington’s idiocy (Frank-Dodd, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, etc), DC’s housing market is booming according to the mayor.  While the rest of the economy shrinks, Washington D.C. and the federal government grows.

What of the news that unemployment fell to 8.2%, which President Obama and his talking heads are sure to tout as a huge success of their policies?  Watch the other hand, because cleverly, a single number doesn’t tell the whole story.  Says Business Week:

The [unemployment] rate has fallen from 9.1 percent in August to 8.2 percent in March. Part of the reason for the rapid decline is that some people have given up looking for work. People who are out of work but not looking for jobs aren’t counted among the unemployed.

Increase the federal payrolls.  Combine an increase the federal welfare, disability, and other benefits programs with hopelessness, and folks give up looking for work.  The unemployment rate goes down.  Writes Chuck Devore over at Big Government in his piece, Number of Americans Paid Not to Work Growing Faster Than Number of Taxpayers:

The number of Americans drawing checks from the federal government via Social Security’s Supplemental Security Income Program swelled from 7.0 million in FY 2007 to an estimated 8.0 million in FY 2012, with the growth rate in the program doubling at the onset of the recession. This program is expected to cost taxpayers about $52 billion in FY 2012.

The argument from Obama and the left will be that things are just starting to turn around, that they just need more time to get the economy fixed.  Say, around 4 years or so.  Hampered by Republicans and their rich friends, Obama and the Democrats have more ideas to get the economy growing and get more Americans back to work they just can’t do because Republicans keep blocking them.

Mark Levin warns us in Liberty and Tyranny that statists never turn from their collectivist, socialist policies, no matter how much the evidence may stack up against them, no matter how miserably their ideology fails.  They always need more time, more power, more of your liberty to “level the playing field” for the poor and the middle class.

This November, the choice is clear.

Even casual readers will know that a hallmark of Flyover Country is our unashamed and open support for the military and their families.  I’ve stepped in and quietly picked up the check at a restaurant for someone in uniform.  I make it a point to stop and say “thank you” instead of walking past the stranger with the “101st Airborne” hat on.

A few months ago, a highly educated elitist professor emailed his university colleagues calling it “shameful” to send care packages to military serving overseas.  He wrote in part “sympathy for American troops in harm’s way is ‘not particularly rational in today’s world.’”  No, the shame lies entirely on this leftist constitutional law professor, who despite his position and title cannot fathom the simple fact that his right to free speech is protected by the very Americans he denigrates.

Today, two stories caught my attention.  Jaci Greggs, wife of an active duty solider, wrote of a talent agency targeting and cold calling military wives and widows, on behalf of CBS, about a reality dating show.

Turns out, not everyone they’ve contacted is a widow. And several of the widows are in relationships, or not seeking one–all facts clearly and openly stated on their blogs. In fact, the person who received that specific email does not run either of the blogs mentioned, and is not a widow. One widow posted in a forum that she replied that she wasn’t interested and asked not to be contacted again. She was then badgered with two subsequent emails. Reports are that neither of these situations is unique.

The overwhelming response from the milspouse blogging community has not been favorable, to put it mildly. We’re at once a diverse group and a uniform one, a worldwide community made up of less than 1% of the American population. And fiercely protective of our own. And when one of our spouses becomes a Gold Star spouse, we all hurt.

So CBS has a talent agency trolling military spouse blogs to exploit their sacrifice and tragedy into a reality show to make a buck.  Whatever fools at CBS thought this was a brilliant idea can’t begin to understand the military family and should be ashamed of themselves.

LA state Representative Ortego, on the floor of the people of Louisiana’s House, recently had the audacity to mockingly question one of his colleagues on attracting military veterans to the state.  The basic premise of the bill author’s intent was that military veterans with two years of active duty service in the United States military would qualify for in-state tuition.

The video is instructive.

Ortego: Why are we trying to attract veterans to Louisiana?
Lorusso: Because I think veterans make good citizens of the state and good members of the community.
Ortego: Okay. Okay. Umm. I’m just wondering also because usually a lot of times veterans come with a lot of issues too and I know the federal government tries to, tries to deal with a lot of those issues. But do you think that we’re gonna be able to deal with them too?
Lorusso (incredulous): I don’t know what you’re referring to by issues Representative Ortego.
Ortego: Homeless rates, and umm,  mental illness rates uh especially when they’re coming back after a war.
Lorusso: Well, if they qualify to enroll in our colleges we hope that’s vetted out through the process.
Ortego (laughing): I would hope so, too.  I’m just, you know, my point is also that we’re at the same time we’re also don’t you think that we need to be investing in our umm hospitals with mental illness?
Lorusso (clearly angry): If you bring a bill we’d be happy to discuss it.
Ortego: For our veterans?
Lorusso: You’re free to file a bill.

I’m not sure that I could have hand-picked a more disrespectful, ungrateful, shameless college kid brainwashed from the aforementioned Professor Avery’s classroom.

Don’t ever, for one second, allow the far left to tell you that they support our heroes.  The American military has been among the few cherished institutions they’ve avoided assaulting directly for the last 30 years.  Since the Vietnam days, they’ve generally stuck to small, crazy lunatic protests and Hollywood films that more often than not lately as Americans have come around to the tactics, are ending in disaster for the studio.  With the election of President Obama and his open support of groups like OWS, the left is growing more bold in their efforts to tear down the country in an effort to remake her in their image.

In my time with Honor Flight, I’ve been very direct with the Vietnam veterans who volunteered with me: “I wasn’t born when you came home, and I’m sorry that I wasn’t there for you.  I’m here with you and these World War II veterans, in part, because what happened to you should never, ever happen again.”

EPA Official’s ‘Philosophy’ On Oil Companies: ‘Crucify Them’ – Just As Romans Crucified Conquered Citizens:

“I was in a meeting once and I gave an analogy to my staff about my philosophy of enforcement, and I think it was probably a little crude and maybe not appropriate for the meeting, but I’ll go ahead and tell you what I said:

“It was kind of like how the Romans used to, you know, conquer villages in the Mediterranean.  They’d go in to a little Turkish town somewhere, they’dfind the first five guys they saw and they’d crucify them.

“Then, you know, that town was really easy to manage for the next few years.”

“It’s a deterrent factor,” Armendariz said, explaining that the EPA is following the Romans’ philosophy for subjugating conquered villages.

Soon after Armendariz touted the EPA’s “philosophy,” the EPA began smear campaigns against natural gas producers…

Is this the kind of government you want?  Set aside for a moment that destroying our energy infrastructure will bring the country to her knees, do we think if the EPA and the Obama administration crush the oil and gas companies they’ll stop there?  The choice in November could not be more clear.

From General Aviation News:

The flight began at Calhoun County Airport (PKV) with pilots Dianna Stanger and Mike Solomon departing into a clear beautiful sky on an IFR flight plan. The mission: To transport a 4-year-old German Shepherd, “Sista,” to Cleburne Regional Airport (south of Fort Worth) and transport a second dog, Buddy, who was rescued from a kill shelter in Arlington on the return flight.

…

Looking at the request board on the Pilots N Paws website will give you an idea of the hundreds of dogs a day that need to get somewhere. The site provides a location where private pilots willing to contribute free transport, and people and organizations who rescue, shelter or foster animals, can connect to save lives. Today the organization, Pilots N Paws, has 2,466 pilot volunteers and 8,281 volunteers.

Read more…