US

Plane Spotted Over NYC With Downgrade Message: ‘You Should All Be Fired’

An airplane caused quite a stir this afternoon when it flew over the Lower Manhattan offices of S&P with a message: “THANKS FOR THE DOWNGRADE. YOU SHOULD ALL BE FIRED.” But according to the person behind it, the message may not have been just for the ratings agency.

The New York Observer has a picture of the plane and the trailing banner, although the words are illegible:

Plan Spotted Over New York City With S&P Banner

Still, Twitter is all abuzz with first-hand accounts of the flyover.

So who sanctioned the message? For the most part, the exact name of the culprit is still a mystery (she wants to remain anonymous). But Fortune interviewed her about what prompted the display. Surprisingly, it wasn’t necessarily meant for S&P:

Fortune has learned that the person who paid to fly the banner is a Midwestern investment banker, who woke up last night with the need to vent at those who she believes are leading the nation into an economic morass.

“I originally wanted to fly it over Washington, D.C., but learned that you can’t do that,” says the banker, who asked to remain anonymous for job security reasons. “So I chose Wall Street instead, but didn’t specifically intend it to fly over S&P. I’m just a mother from St. Louis who feels the only reason we got downgraded was people in politics.”

The pilot was Matthew Applegate, of a New Jersey-based company called Aerial Sign North. He did not pick up the phone, but a competitor suggests that such a flight would run between $1,200 and $1,500.

Comments (80)

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  • burned at edges
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 3:18pm

    I am not happy about all the spending, but that being said…
    From the 14th ammendment to the constitution.
    “The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.”
    AAA rating did not question the validity, but a downgrade officially questions it. Is this ammendment meant just for the little people? No, I would say this ammendment was made exactly for large finacial and banking institutions that would try to manipulate the U.S. economy and/or government. Whether or not S&P’s evaluation of the debt is accurate is not the question, their downgrade actions I believe are illegal under the 14th ammendment.

    http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_amendments_11-27.html

    Report Post »  
    • yankeeredneck
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 3:36pm

      In my opinion, this interpretation of the 14th Amendment is weird. This amendment was designed to stop lawsuits by Southern sympathizers who didn’t believe their states should be paying for the costs of the Civil War. It has nothing whatsoever to do with rating the country based on risk. This is advisory in nature to the market. It has no force of law. Also, when some use the 14th Amendment to justify the President spending money without Congressional authorization, then they are not talking about the debt of the United States. They are talking about stolen money. Only Congress can authorize spending, regardless of how much Obama Kool-Aid one may have consumed.

      Report Post »  
    • vrodder
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 3:47pm

      the term validity means: “the state or quality of being valid” That clause of the 14th means that all DEBTS must be paid, and can not be made “invalid” by the vote of congress. A debt is defined as: “something that is owed or that one is bound to pay to or perform for another” The 14th amendment basically states that any money borrowed MUST be payed back! It means a default would be unconstitutional.

      Report Post »  
    • jamesctheman
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 3:50pm

      Well who exactly would be allowed to question it. Maybe the people all around the world whose currency is tied to the dollar as the gold standard. S & P‘s downgrade doesn’t call it into question as much as it proves this mess is caused by the spending issues from our government. They‘re basing it upon the outlook for the future because we didn’t address our own debt. This amendment was meant for the government, not business.

      Report Post » jamesctheman  
    • Copper Catfish
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 9:37pm

      Excellent observation!

      Report Post »  
    • txsrowdy10
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 11:24pm

      You’re an idiot! Your Prof. really screwed your head up. Congrats., you got a 4.0, but you forgot to learn a damn thing about economics.

      Report Post »  
    • Jaycen
      Posted on August 10, 2011 at 1:12pm

      Uh…No, Burned At Edges.

      The Constitution doesn’t bind private citizens or corporations in this way. That’s a very BROAD interpretation of the Constitution.

      Report Post » Jaycen  
  • IntegritySeeker
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 3:11pm

    Tea Party intransigence on taxes is not the reason for Obama’s failure to cut spending. It is his excuse! America’s Nanny Caretaker, Barack H. Obama … CUT, CAP and BALANCE … Ryan’s Budget Plan there would have been no downgrade by S&P … this downgrade should have happened a long time ago.

    Report Post »  
  • olddog
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 3:09pm

    I was against raising the debt limit..There is enough money coming in to pay our debts and what’s important. We would have to make many cuts many, but that’s going to happen anyway…
    If you’ve got $1500. bucks to pay for a plane sign, you’re in a lot better shape than most americans. We’re lucky that we can still afford the internet for our messages….But thanks for the sign anyway, to bad you couldn’t make it over DC…We have lost all our savings in this recession and are on a week by week pay the bills, but we still and never will believe we are owed anything….I would still want a better ,life for our grandchildren but we have to defeat the PSL (Progressive Socialist Liberals) to do that…

    Report Post » olddog  
  • IntegritySeeker
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 3:07pm

    So what about Obama’s bus tour? Could be called “Down Grade One” or “The Redistributionist”??? This downgrade is deeply deserved. For no one really believes the United States is going to pay its creditors back the $14 trillion it owes them, or the $21 trillion it will owe them at decade’s end, with dollars of the same value as those that the United States is borrowing today. Tea Party intransigence on taxes is not the reason for Obama’s failure to cut spending. It is his excuse!!!

    Report Post »  
  • cemerius
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 3:02pm

    for 1200-1500 bucks? I see this happening more often. Ahhh how creative the messages will be ha ha! Flyovers so often they would have to make them their own flight pattern!! Employ those banner pilots people….

    Report Post » cemerius  
    • NJTMATO
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 3:11pm

      Hahaha! YES!!!! There’s still some time for creative banners to fly along the beach at my beloved Jersey beaches…..I look forward to seeing one or more this weekend!!!

      Report Post » NJTMATO  
    • JazzGuy
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 4:28pm

      Here, I’ve got one: “IMPEACH OBAMA!!” It’s short, sweet, simple. Easy to read as it flies over, too!

      Report Post » JazzGuy  
  • Gypsy123
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:43pm

    Love it they should all be impeached and fired

    Report Post » Gypsy123  
  • yurafuknidiot
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:43pm

    Maybe next time they’ll toss all the politicians out the plane that keep taxing our azzes into oblivion!

    Report Post » yurafuknidiot  
  • kickagrandma
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:38pm

    I like the comment about nixon being forced to resign.

    Come on, AMERICA. We cannot last another year under this horrid man and his abominable mis-“leadership”. Time for the noman and ALL his czars and cazrettes to leave. Kenya is looking forward to having you back home; or indonesia; or iran; or russia; or….. just go. NOW!

    Report Post »  
    • cloudsofwar
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 5:11pm

      i wish we could force them out but they are dug in deep like a tick. how much worse is it going to get? don‘t bother calling your rep in washington because they don’t listen. BO blames everyone else for his FAILURES and too many people believe him. Scary

      Report Post »  
    • olefaithfull
      Posted on August 10, 2011 at 12:47pm

      And then we‘d have Smilin’ Joe (SPF 40 toothpaste) Biden, the credit card magnate. Talk about from the pan to the fire!

      A better plan is to quit letting the media play us the buffoons with all this jockeying for the nomination and tighten up the pack running next year…. and (1) get a viable candidate; (2) expose the cash flow already in play to buy another term in the used-to-be White House (now dinged by the corruption) and enforce campaign finance laws; and (3) solidify the republican presence in DC with a more united consensus in response to each manufactured crisis.

      Report Post »  
  • LadyIzShy
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:38pm

    arent they all in the wrong city? they should be over DC…

    Report Post » LadyIzShy  
    • tangerinesus
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:41pm

      You should probably read the entire article before commenting…just saying.

      Report Post »  
    • 1TrueOne55
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:46pm

      Well they have missiles in the WH and you don’t want to push the pilots luck with this President. They did want it in D.C. but FAA rules forbade it.

      Report Post » 1TrueOne55  
  • TopOfTheMuffin2u
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:27pm

    Hey encinom…weren’t you on your way to the GREAT OZ for a BRAIN

    Report Post »  
    • Iamnotanumber
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 3:45pm

      WHOA!! We here in Kansas have our own troubles and would rather not deal with the likes of this lunatic. The brain supply here is rather low as it is, so we’re not giving them away for free anymore!! THE GREAT OZ HAS SPOKEN!!

      Report Post »  
  • Richard Compton
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:26pm

    Let him fly his message over the capitol! we need to tell those serving us in washington that they need to get to work. They work for us we don’t work for them, and that’s the problem with those in Washington these days. they’ve forgotten that they work for us, somehow they feel like the people who elected them are to stupid to know when we’re being screwed. We’re Americans the most capable people on the planet, we don’t take a back seat to anybody! You want your products made the best they can be made, make them here, America is open for business, we built the best products anywhere in the world. our workers are the best we don‘t need a union to tell us that we don’t need others getting rich off of our ideas and our ingenuity, we can do it better here in America! We need real leaders not proped up empty suits like Obama, who’s out of ideas and out of touch, we need business smart people in Washington, not community organizers, lawyers, and slick politians like we have now!

    Report Post »  
  • jedi.kep
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:24pm

    It was Donald Trump. LOL.

    Report Post » jedi.kep  
  • TopOfTheMuffin2u
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:23pm

    Hey Encinom…Weren’t you on the way to see the GREAT OZ for a brain>

    Report Post »  
    • Iamnotanumber
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 3:38pm

      WHOA!!! We here in Kansas have our own troubles, the brains are in short supply. Don’t come lookin for any handouts here!! THE GREAT OZ HAS SPOKEN!!

      Report Post »  
  • gramma b
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:20pm

    The word “fired” suggests that she was aiming at people who have jobs. They are not the problem. The problem is entitlement spending for people who are unproductive but believe they have a right to live off the labor of their fellow citiens.

    Report Post »  
    • Secret Squirrel
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:27pm

      .
      I can only hope it was on it’s way to Washington.

      Report Post » Secret Squirrel  
    • BOUGHT YOUR SILO YET?
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 3:05pm

      Even our members of Congress are considered to have jobs. The message was for them!

      Report Post » BOUGHT YOUR SILO YET?  
    • gramma b
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 3:32pm

      @bought. You are right. The problem includes, not just the unproductive parasites receiving outright handouts, but the horde of dimwitted bureaucrats who produce nothing, plague us with regulation, and who now make more money than the average private citizen who is actually doing something productive.

      Report Post »  
    • Grannie4news
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 3:38pm

      She was aiming at the ones who have jobs at the Whitehouse. I don’t see where you could come up with the idea it was aimed at working people.

      Report Post » Grannie4news  
  • urrybr
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:16pm

    So what would they say if we got a panel-truck, and painted “Obama, you’re destroying our nation. Get out!” We could just keep driving around the White House, or the golf course . . . or wherever he is. What could he say?

    Report Post » urrybr  
    • AlansTigg
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:22pm

      sounds like a good plan to me

      Report Post » AlansTigg  
    • PIGSWILLNEVERFLY
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:29pm

      DO IT! I also suggest a million children march with signs…No taxation without representation!!! Our children are being sold into slavery. Obama must step down NOW….Nixon did…he got so much pressure he had to leave and he was not half as bad as what is going on now…We need more pressure on Obama. They all need to go: Obama, Lyin Biden, The Czars….all of them and especially the card carring commie Valarie Jarret.

      Report Post » PIGSWILLNEVERFLY  
    • sooner12
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:49pm

      What I think is needed is half-million or more people going to Washington being led by only one banner with the word “resign” on it. Just stand there as quietly as possible with that sign.

      Report Post »  
    • BOUGHT YOUR SILO YET?
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 3:08pm

      Road Triiip!

      Report Post » BOUGHT YOUR SILO YET?  
    • gramma b
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 3:34pm

      @Pigs. Nixon cared about this country. He resigned because he was not willing to put it through the agony of impeachment hearings. As demonstrated by Clinton, Democrats generally could care less about this country.

      Report Post »  
  • heavyduty
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:16pm

    Better be careful, Obama have it shot down as a terrorist plot.

    Report Post »  
  • NHwinter
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:13pm

    Brilliant idea, but should have been a little more clear on who they were targeting. If Obama is re-elected, then we have 50%+ that have no working brain at all.

    Report Post » NHwinter  
  • jim
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:13pm

    This is as close as investment bankers come to rioting.

    Report Post » jim  
  • db321
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:13pm

    We don’t need a Fly Over to tell them – we’ll tell them with our feet as we walk into the polls in 2012

    Report Post » db321  
    • encinom
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:15pm

      Yes, need to correct the mstake of 2010, lets fire the tea-baggers, they brought this problem time to send them home.

      Report Post »  
    • banjarmon
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:29pm

      @ encinom

      I can tell from your past comments and post on the BLAZE that your head is filled with things a dog would not eat and a cat would want to cover up. Some where in your past life some Union teacher must of filled your head cavity with buzzard vomit and/or HOG SNOT.

      Report Post » banjarmon  
    • Servant Of YHVH
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:42pm

      @encinom
      Good post, Remember that the Tea Party loves all the Tea Party Members, even the undercover ones. Keep them thinking that you are stupid enough to believe what you are saying and you will get your reward later. Keep up the good undercover work. (wink wink)

      Report Post » Servant Of YHVH  
    • bry
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:55pm

      Why even engage encinom? He brings nothing to the conversation, just insults and ignorance. He is beyond tedious and boring as hell. I skip his posts now.

      Report Post » bry  
    • Tyr
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 3:05pm

      Encinom How many handles do you really have on The Blaze, Politico and Huffpo? Do you really think that people haven’t figured out who you are? You should be careful where you leave personal information on-line. It’s interesting that many times you post contrary views to your own comments. Hmmmm. You are either psychotic or genius. Two diametrically opposed viewpoints. That would allow a person the opportunity to argue with themselves and raise points on certain issues that normally would be lost to the mental constipation of most Blazers. But just as word of advice, you really should seek some psychiatric help. It’s a long way down the rabbit hole and take it from someone who has witnessed it first hand, it is really hard to crawl back out again.

      Report Post » Tyr  
  • GaryInTheMiddle
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:12pm

    He pilot you are off course. Head southwest to DC.

    Report Post » GaryInTheMiddle  
  • Warphead
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:08pm

    The Truth! You can’t handle the truth.

    Report Post » Warphead  
  • EqualJustice
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:08pm

    They are flying that sign over the wrong city.. THE WHITE HOUSE IS IN DC….

    Report Post » EqualJustice  
    • thomasdaddy
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:11pm

      I wish they would have, at least there they stand a better chance at being shot down!

      Report Post » thomasdaddy  
  • eat-more-bacon-USA
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:07pm

    Uh, shouldn’t they be flying over the White House ( or wherever enemy-obama is hiding )?

    Report Post » eat-more-bacon-USA  
    • Better Dead Than Red
      Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:25pm

      Did anybody read the article?
      “I originally wanted to fly it over Washington, D.C., but learned that you can’t do that,” says the banker, who asked to remain anonymous for job security reasons.

      Report Post » Better Dead Than Red  
  • AlansTigg
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:05pm

    seriously, “not necessarily for S&P” how about hey it’s for the idiots in Washington ruining the country!!!!

    Report Post » AlansTigg  
  • RightPolitically
    Posted on August 9, 2011 at 2:04pm

    No free speech allowed in D.C. How convenient is that for the bums in charge!

    Report Post » RightPolitically  
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