Remember last year when it became hip to be outraged with those evil corporate CEOs arrogantly flying around in their corporate jets? Members of Congress self-righteously condemned "corporate greed" and made a public mockery of CEOs who used private jets as examples of Wall Street -- and capitalism as a whole -- gone amok. This was all during the time when Congress was promoting over a trillion dollars of federal money for 'bailouts' and 'stimulus.' And, of course, Washington liberals always need a villain to stoke the fires of class envy, and CEOs accepting government bailout money were the perfect candidates.

But here we are almost a year and God only knows how many trillions of dollars later, and the US House of Representatives has approved nearly $200 million for the Air Force to buy three elite Gulfstream jets for ferrying top government officials and Members of Congress. The House Appropriations Committee, at its own initiative, lopped these funds onto a 2010 Defense appropriations bill, yet refuses to classify it as an 'earmark.' How convenient.

Look, I have no problem with using private jets. But I do have a problem with elected officials meddling with the private sector, publicly demonizing its CEOs, and feigning outrage to amass political clout and stir up public resentment through the use of class envy. Apparently it's immoral for a CEO using company money to travel in a private jet to advance the company's agenda, but perfectly acceptable for a politician to use taxpayer money to do the exact same thing. Why the double standard? Why is it so morally incumbent that CEOs downgrade to first class to travel to and fro? Yet when was the last time that someone in Washington downgraded anything?

I am so tired of these lying, self-righteous hypocrites running our country. I can only pray to God that voters hold them accountable this next election cycle.

UPDATE: This morning's headline is that the number is now $550 million for jet upgrades.