Actually, AFP lied. I have the application in my hand, and they claimed they would offer "tethered hot air balloon rides". According to Roy Wilson, he can approve tethered balloons himself, and he did. But an actual launch requires approval from the parks board.

Their statement above isn't entirely honest. It's not the absence of the word "launch", it's the fact that they specifically say "tethered". That really makes it look like deliberate misleading, since they didn't just forget a word.

I'm not naive enough to think that there wasn't a strong political angle to it, but the fact is that AFP wasn't honest on their application. And they should know better. It would be interesting to see their applications at other places.

Finally, a note to the AFP folks - what you're doing is good, and frankly important. But you have to keep it above board and keep your noses clean, or the issue becomes about you rather than the message that you're pushing. Think about it - this is *exactly* what you're doing to Al Gore - "forget the message, look at the messenger". Now people are doing it to you. Let this matter drop and keep your nose clean next time.