Well! This year, our very own Al Franken will be the esteemed headliner of Senator Tom Harkin’s steak fry. He is expected to speak about health care and maybe make some comedic satirist remarks.
Way back in 2003, Zack and I and a group of wide eyed college students traipsed out to a balloon field in Iowa to hear the Democratic candidates for President. It was muddy, we embarrassed ourselves (don’t ask), we got to meet Howard Dean - but mostly we got to see a great yearly event that draws thousands of progressives and prominent candidates (for example, Barack Obama).
It would be wise for him to drive there rather than flying in a small aircraft. Senators like him seem to fall from the sky occasionally for no apparent reason. This is especially true when their vote may shift the balance of power on important issues facing this great nation of ours.
Agreed.
Totally!
As a pilot I would disagree that ‘elected officials’ = ‘die for no apparent reason’. If you are referring to Senator Paul Welstone’s death at Eveleth, Minnesota I would suggest you first read the NTSB’s report at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/2003/AAR0303.pdf
In summary, the flight crashed in bad weather when the pilot was under extreme stress and made operational mistakes. He certainly was trying hard to meet the Senator’s schedule. We know that the pilot was concerned about the EVH (Eveleth) weather prior to the flight:
“According to Aviation Charter’s director of charter, sales, and marketing, the pilot called her about 0840 and stated that he had done a weather check with the Senator’s campaign staff and that they still wanted to depart as planned. He indicated that he was getting conflicting guidance from another of the Senator’s staffs and that he did not feel comfortable deciding whether or not to make the flight. The … pilot indicated that he had tried to contact the chief pilot but had not been able to reach him. She … suggested to the pilot that he speak to the company’s director of operations, and that the pilot did not seem overly stressed, just concerned about doing a good job.”
Substitute Campaign Bus and Bus Driver for Aircraft and Pilot, factor in icy roads (see the weather at the time of the crash), and ask yourself whether the outcome might well have been the same using land transport.
In summary, whenever someone tries to please someone important and ‘goes the extra mile’ beyond their level of competence there is elevated risk. History books are full of grim examples.
Please do not state facts or rhetoric of the NTSB. We’re looking for conspiracy theories here.
I am THERE!
How did we embarass ourselves?