Small Planes Over Broadway...And...Hillary The Hero

I've been told that a certain conservative talk show host has been railing against prohibiting small fixedwing aircraft from buzzing Manhattan at their leisure. Seems he feels that since "trucks are allowed into Manhattan, then why not planes?"

First of all, a commercial truck license is a lot harder to get than a pilot's license. Way harder. Scazillionaire Joe Blow doesn't need to get an annual physical, or asked to come in on a random basis for drug screening, but Commericial Driver License holders do. Also, you cannot rent a large truck in Manhattan. If you wanted to drive one into the city with mayhem on your mind, you'd have to rent it outside of NY then pass through a barrage of human and mechanical filters that screen for explosive, chemical and biological no-no's.

Not so for the type of plane that crashed into the apartment complex this week. All Cory Lidle needed was the cash for the plane and enough more to get him the type of license necessary to play Snoopy vs. The Red Baron whenever the urge was upon him. He had an instructor onboard, but the route taken was one even experienced pilots stay away from and that's part of the problem as well. Hot-shot Ace-Wannabe's could, emphasis on could, do just that anytime they felt the desire to buzz the Statue of Liberty, but not anymore.

October 14, 2006 -- "Five years after 9/11, and two days after an apparently out-of-control small plane plowed into an East Side high- rise, the Federal Aviation Administration yesterday banned unfettered fixed-wing flights over the East River.

Two cheers for the FAA."

Then There's this:

Gregory Feith, a former NTSB investigator, said it would be surprising if an instructor allowed a novice flier to make the type of maneuver Lidle's plane apparently attempted - a very tight U-turn over the East River.

"That's not the type of environment you would talk a student through," he said.

Hillary Clinton was so incensed about this Conservative talk show hosts babbling, that she stepped up and pressured the FAA to make the necessary changes. Yeah, THAT Hillary Clinton. Becoming even more of a local hero by picking up the phone after listening to Neal Boortz and demanding the FAA put a stop to joy rides over Manhattan, because, after all, Hillary never saw a "right" she didn't want to take away, and what the hell, minorities aren't flying those planes, so it's win-win.

And please now, so what IF trucks are permitted in? Trucks are part of Interstate Commerce, and saying that there might be one loophole for terrorists to hit us through so why not allow more such avenues, is nonsense. Boortz is a rich guy who likes his aircraft. Boortz is also a rambling old coot who doesn't do his homework very well, or often.

So then. For Unmeriterious Service To The Cause Of Conservatism, and last but never least, making Hillary Rodham a savior, Neal Boortz is awarded the coveted Messenger Asshat Of The Week Award.