No Harm No Foul? Right!

White House Military Office Director Louis Caldera apologized for any panic caused by a flight mission and photo op that looked like Air Force One and fighter jets heading toward the New York City skyline Monday morning.

Caldera said he approved the mission last week and that federal authorities took the proper steps to notify state and local authorities in New York and New Jersey.

But for people who work in the New York financial district, the event brought back nightmares of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Numerous buildings in lower Manhattan evacuated in a panic during this morning's false alarm. (Here's a link to NBC New's coverage of it last night.)

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"It's clear that the mission created confusion and disruption. I apologize and take responsibility for any distress that flight caused," Caldera said in a White House issued paper statement.

The plane that flew in New York Monday was a version of the Boeing 747 that's called Air Force One when the president is aboard.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg blasted the photo opportunity for being insensitive and showing "poor judgment."

In a brief statement after the flight, the New York Police Department acknowledged it was aware the flight was happening, but claimed the Federal Aviation Administration told them not to talk about it.

"The flight of a VC-25 aircraft and F-16 fighters this morning was authorized by the FAA for the vicinity of the Statue of Liberty with directives to local authorities not to disclose information about it but to direct any inquiries to the FAA Air Traffic Security Coordinator," the statement said.

The aircraft involved in this morning's mission, a VC-25, is the military's version of a Boeing 747, with state-of-the-art communication and electronic equipment. It is a backup plane that is sometimes used as Air Force One to carry the President of the United States.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs was asked several times about the flight during his daily briefing and promised he would try to get back to reporters with some answers.

So, question. What the heck was the White House staff thinking? Flying very low, toward the New York City skyline with the backup Air Force One? What could be the purpose in doing that? What did they hope to accomplish, having "Air Force One" being tracked by two military jets?

I can't wait to hear what their "explanation" will be. Maybe it will be more convincing than their statement that President Obama didn't bow to the king of Saudi Arabia. The video said differently. Here, the pictures and the near panic say differently.

I Have the Solution

[Photo from Google Search Engine. Not the actual photo of person discussed below]

A 76-year-old woman who gave her address as 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has been arrested for the 73rd time in almost four decades. This time, on charges of stealing a police decoy wallet in a supermarket and stuffing it in her bra.

The woman, who prosecutors say has used 36 aliases, was indicted Tuesday as Katherine Kelly in Manhattan Criminal Court in connection with the wallet. A criminal complaint filed earlier in this case charged Kelly with grand larceny and attempted grand larceny. It said she took a wallet, left by police as bait, from a shopping cart in a supermarket a few blocks north of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on October 15. It said an officer recovered the wallet from Kelly’s “bra area.”

Before Kelly was accused of taking the wallet, the complaint says, undercover police saw her trying to steal from several people inside the supermarket by putting her hand inside their bags.

Kelly’s lawyer, James Neilson, (and don’t you think he loves his job!) said Tuesday his client has not been convicted in this case and expects due process. He acknowledged his client has a rap sheet but wouldn’t comment on it.

And oh what a rap she has! The district attorney’s office says Kelly’s arrest record dates from December 21, 1971. On that date, office spokeswoman Tracy Golden said, Kelly was arrested as Charlotte Martinelli and charged with forgery. Golden did not know how the case was resolved.
Golden also noted that the woman has been arrested under 36 names, including Robin Shapiro, Antoinette Lombardi, Mildred Friedman, Sylvia McGuire, Victoria Velloti, and Charlotte Petrovas.

Golden said prosecutors are investigating the woman’s true identity. She said that although Kelly has given police 26 birth dates, her office is listing her as 76 because the age conforms to the birth date she gave with her latest arrest. Most of the defendant’s 73 arrests have occurred in Brooklyn, Golden said, with some in Manhattan and in Suffolk County, on Long Island.
The arrests have resulted in at least 16 convictions, Golden said. Most of the charges were felonies that were pleaded down to misdemeanors, she said.

I’m not a lawyer and have never played one on TV. However, I do know how to put an end to this woman’s criminal activity—put her in jail and leave her there! I’m serious. Lock her up. Give her an orange jumpsuit. Shut the door behind her. Turn the key. And, tell Katherine or Robin or Antoinette, or even Mildred goodbye, good riddance, adios!

I’m all for due process Mr. Lawyer. But somewhere between the first arrest and the 73rd due process almost seems unnecessary!

What do you think folks? Am I being too hard on her or the court system?