Maybe it's just me, but Obama launching air strikes on Libya in the middle of two wars, while still recovering from the recession seems just a little bit hypocritical. No, not just me? OK, cool. This post will be very brief then. Here are some quotes that prove my point!
From Obama:
"The President does not have Constitutional authority to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation." - Dec 20, 2007.
But it's ok this time, because the UN and NATO are behind us... huh?
"Everybody is already talking about our deficit, why would we want to add to it?" - Nov 7, 2010
Each Tomahawk cruise missile costs roughly $1 million. We launched over 100 in Libya. You do the math!
And Biden (referring to his statements that if President Bush had attacked Iran, it would have been an impeachable offense):
"The President has no Constitutional authority to take this country to war...and if he does I will move to impeach him."
My feelings and opinions on the current wars we are fighting and whether or not we should have intervened in Libya are irrelevant to this post. The goal was to show you that Obama is a hypocrite. Hopefully my brief post makes that obvious!
First of all, this is not a rant about creepy TSA pat-downs. That's olds news.
But my issue for the day does have to do with air travel. I love to travel and I fly a lot. I never thought that this would be become a political issue, but it has. Air travel has become such a huge hassle lately. Checked baggage fees. Annoying security procedures. Long line. Terrible service. No more free meals. No more free headphones. Hey airlines, we get it, fuel is expensive! I have been so annoyed with Delta Airlines lately, that I am considering "voting with my wallet", so to speak, and trying out other airlines.
I just read an article in Time magazine about how passengers have been getting savvier lately by packing lighter and only taking carry-ons. But this has been causing delays in security, which in turn means an increased demand for TSA security agents because there are more bags to check. They are federal employees, so this comes out of the tax-payer's wallet. Let me just say a very sarcastic awesome! $260 million per year, in fact. Homeland Security already charges a $5 fee each way when you fly, now they want to increase that fee even more to bring in up to $600 million to Homeland Security. Why are the passengers suffering while the big airlines not only reap the financial benefits but do not have to even pay for the problem that THEY caused?
What really irks me about this and the article in Time, is that they act as if the passengers are to blame. The headline? "Cheap fliers cost taxpayers millions." Then the headliner: "Not checking that bag? It's going to cost everyone." Really??? Come on, now. We have no one to blame but blame itself...and the AIRLINES. Any solution that the government comes up with needs to hold the airlines responsible and accountable, not the consumer. What a joke!
So thank you, Delta Airlines and other airlines who are not only causing me a huge annoyance when I travel, now you are costing all of us even more money! But it's ok, you are profitable again.
I found this thanks to one of my old poli sci professors at the U. This little gem comes from New York Magazine - it shows quotes from crazy rants said in February by one of three celebrity/political figures, and you have to guess who said it! I loved it and thought it was pretty hilarious, so here's a link and a screenshot of some of my results. The X means I guessed wrong, and if there's 2 it means I guessed wrong twice!
