Holy handrails! Does he drive too?

Sen. James Inhofe, R-climate denier-OK, has long been one of the most puzzling members of that once august body. He regularly refuses to accept any ‘facts’ that interfere wtih his cherished opinions. In yesterday’s Senate hearing on the Law of the Sea Treaty (to which I listened, did I mention that?), he was almost a stereotype of himself, sputtering at Rumsfeld’s suggestion that a warming planet means we need new treaty agreements between nations – because, you know, Rush says . . .

Not Inhofe. Inhofe is not cute. This old dear is.

But I didn’t know about this – bet you didn’t either:

On October 21, 2010, at the age of 75, Inhofe landed his Cessna on a closed runway at a south Texas airport, scattering construction workers who ran for their lives. In a recorded telephone call, the men’s supervisor told the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that Inhofe “scared the crap out of” workers, adding that the Cessna “damn near hit” a truck. And the airport manager, also speaking to the FAA in a recorded telephone call, opined, “I’ve got over 50 years flying, three tours of Vietnam, and I can assure you I have never seen such a reckless disregard for human life in my life. Something needs to be done. This guy is famous for these violations.”^[76]

In response to the incident, Inhofe stated that he “did nothing wrong”, and accused the FAA of “agency overreach” and causing a “feeling of desperation” in him. He agreed to take a remedial training program, and the FAA agreed not to pursue legal action against him if he took the program. In July 2011, Inhofe introduced a bill to create a “Pilot’s Bill of Rights”which he said would increase fairness in FAA enforcement actions.