Lack Of Firefighting Aircraft Due To Obama- William Raymond Collier

President Obama’s administration used complicated and what some see as overly strict regulations to ground a fleet of 6 critical firefighting aircraft, including a Boeing 747.

In September of past year the Forestry Service cancelled a contract on ground many see as spurious. This is the original press release…. Forestry Service Cancells Contract

At the same time, the Air Force’s budget was cut resulting in a total availability of 8 Air Force C-130’s, four of which are engaged in Colorado.

The inability of officials to contain these fast-moving fires is directly related to the arbitrary cancellation of this contract back in September. Those 6 aircraft, if availale now, would more than double the airborne firefighting capability of Colorado firefighters. It is probable that these fires would have been contained if those aircraft had been available right now.

In addition to the lost aircraft, the Obama administration has been slow to meet the needs of maintaing the fire fighting aircraft left intact after this arbitrary cut.

Here is the press release itself:

US Forest Service Cancels Airtanker Contract with Aero Union California company did not meet agency’s safety standards

WASHINGTON, July 29, 2011–The U.S. Forest Service announced today that it has terminated its contract with Aero Union of Sacramento, Calif., because the company failed to meet its contractual obligations. The company was providing six airtankers under exclusive-use contracts to the Forest Service.                              “Our main priority is protecting and saving lives, and we can’t in good conscience maintain an aviation contract where we feel lives may be put at risk due to inadequate safety practices” said Tom Harbour, director of the Forest Service’s Fire and Aviation Management program. “This contract termination notwithstanding, we possess the aircraft support needed for this year’s fire season.”                              The Forest Service has access to additional aviation assets to meet operational needs. Two other private companies provide 11 large airtankers under exclusive-use contracts. In addition, there are two very large airtankers available through a “call when needed” contract, as well as eight military firefighting aircraft.

The five-year contract the Forest Service signed with Aero Union in 2008 required participation in a continued airworthiness program, which included a Fatigue and Damage Tolerance Evaluation and structural inspection program. In April 2011, Aero Union informed the Forest Service that the Federal Aviation Administration found the company was not in compliance with its mandated structural inspection program requirements.

Because of the extraordinary stresses placed on aircraft during aerial firefighting and to prevent catastrophic failures and ensure safety, the Forest Service adds requirements to its airtanker contracts that are specific to the agency’s firefighting mission. The Forest Service will not use aircraft that do not meet its requirements.

The mission of the USDA Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. The Agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to State and private landowners, and maintains the largest forestry research organization in the world.

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Here is an excerpt from an article by Michelle Malkin detailing the Obama admin’s mishandling of the firefighting aircraft:

Michelle Malkin » How Obama Bureaucrats Fueled Western Wildfires

This story shows how the fire fighters had to wait for aircraft to arrive, aircraft that could have been there but for Obama’s cutting of the ones that were already there-

Two specially equipped Air Force C-130 cargo planes were helping fight the fire, and a third was expected later in the day.

With the nation’s privately owned fleet of heavy air tankers already in use or unavailable, U.S. Forest Chief Tom Tidwell said his agency had to call on the military to help.

Tidwell told The Associated Press in a phone interview Monday that about half of the nation’s personnel who are usually assigned to large fires are working in Colorado right now.

from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/26/colorado-wildfires-2012-r_n_1626919.html

Obama To Stump In Colorado?-  William Raymond Collier

In a stunning display of hubris and political synicism President Obama is likely to show up in Colarado tomorrow or Friday at the latest.

During his appearance, The Freedomist has learned, Obama plans to talk about how the GOP is “distracting” America from “real problems” like the fires in Colorado with their “endless investigation” into Fast and Furious.

If the Supreme Court rules goes against him, Obama will also denounce Republican efforts to “cut programs” like “the kind of programs that fund emergency services.”

Obama will not name the GOP and will attempt to include these remarks as obliquely as possible so that his media allies can provide cover and accuse those who see the partisan tone of “nitpicking.”

“The whole thing”, according to what we have learned, “is designed to make it look and feel like it is objectively true that the GOP and their Supreme Court appointees are being unreasonable and partisan….to make the GOP look ‘unfair’ to independent voters especially.”

The effort is being rushed and officials are scrambling to get security arrangements in place because of the short notice.

Progressives tried to use “murder by cop” to silence and opponent to their freedom-taking agenda. It’s called “SWATtin” and the objective is to get an opponent killed by the police, that’s really the bottom line. To see how they do it, and why, go here — From Publius Forum- Aaron Worthing Wins Blow for Free Speech, Then Gets SWATed « Publius Forum/

The Progressive Politocracy is out of control and no blogger who opposes them is “off limits”, in fact there are no boundaries they are not willing to crash through to silence their oppponents. This is the nature of a man-made ideology that depends on the State to solve every problem. Christians rely on God to makes things right, therefore they can afford to forego trying to force people to think or act the way they want them to.

Progressives, despite their claim of religious affiliation, are godless freedom-takers who think the state is the source of life and the solver of every problem. For them it is not “immoral” to use the police to kill their opponents by making fake 911 calls- it’s just another example of the Progressive instinct to use the state to solve their problems. Legal actions are not being organized because, 1, we don’t know WHO is behind this other than Progressives and, 2, the authorities (like the Attorney General) are too busy fighting the People to protect their rights. This is what happens when Progressives are in power.