I meant to post on this yesterday and now it's making national news.

A Michigan woman who fell asleep on a United Express flight to Philadelphia says she woke up and was shocked to find she was alone on the plane.

Ginger McGuire said no one had awakened her when the plane landed more than three hours earlier. She said she paced the aisle for about 15 minutes early Tuesday until the locked door opened and police demanded identification.

"Waking up to an empty airplane and not being able to get out - it was very horrifying," McGuire, 36, told reporters Thursday as her lawyer announced a lawsuit.

...McGuire's attorney, Geoffrey Feiger, said his law firm filed a lawsuit against United and Trans States, alleging negligence, false imprisonment and distress. McGuire lives in Ferndale, a Detroit suburb.

"For a crew to leave her there and lock her is beyond a gross abuse," Fieger said.

Feiger btw is the pimple on the butt of humanity that use to represent Jack "Dr. Death" Kervorkian.

It's an outrage that almost a year and half into Obama's term as President adults are still be subjected to the horror of having to take responsibility for waking up. When will America catch up to the rest of the civilized world and institute Comprehensive Alarm Clock Reform legislation?

McGuire was just on FNC with Jane Skinner and Skinner made her look like a fool. She had no answer to why it wasn't her responsibility to get her lazy ass off the plane or even what was in the suit in terms of damages being asked for.

If anyone sees the video of this, let me know, it was cringe inducing but oh such an enjoyable take down of this fool.

If the airline's attorneys were watching they must have been laughing their asses off at the thought of getting this woman on the stand.

On a somewhat more serious note, for security reasons cabin crews really shouldn't let people alone in planes like that.

"1sttofight " found the video.
more...

Posted by: DrewM at 08:56 AM | Comments (99)
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Nothing to see here, move along.

The White House
asked former President Bill Clinton to talk to Rep. Joe Sestak about the possibility of obtaining a senior position in the Obama administration if he would drop out of the Democratic primary race against establishment-backed Sen. Arlen Specter, the Obama administration said in a report released Friday morning.

The report, by the White House Counsel's office, said Sestak was offered jobs in the executive branch that were uncompensated.

A White House official said these were for advisory boards. One of the jobs specifically discussed with Sestak was the president's intelligence advisory board. But a White House official said the plan was for Sestak to always remain in the House and he couldn't have served in the House and on the president's intelligence advisory board.

The report also described the Clinton conversations as informal and unhinged from any precise job offer since, as a former president, Clinton could not guarantee Sestak anything.

How exactly was a spot on an advisory board supposed to get him out of the race?

BTW- They couldn't have made Sestak SecNav if they wanted to. He hasn't been retired from the Navy long enough.

Was the delay in announcing this simply to hide the Clinton connection? Were they embarrassed that they used the dreaded old guy or as Chris Wallace on FNC just speculated it was to protect Clinton's image as an above it all statesman. The problem with that is no one except Democrat fanboys thinks he's a statesman. Bill Clinton was one of the main surrogates for Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail. He's a political animal. Also, it's not like Obama is reluctant to throw folks under the bus. I can't imagine he was enjoying getting beat up daily to protect Bill Clinton. That's not O's style.

They are trying to bury this over Memorial Day weekend and I'm sure the MFM will do their best to play along now that they know this is an Obama/Clinton production but Bubba's involvement only raises the stakes to find out what really happened. Right now this doesn't add up.

The unpaid part is an important part of the story. Based on that the White House and any defense counsel, will argue the position wasn't really a thing of value and therefore not a bribe.

On the other hand, the White House has now publicly communicated to Sestak what the story is. Now the ball is in his court, no reason for him to play coy any more. I presume he'll carry the water here. Obama may have supported Specter (halfheartedly) but Sestak is going to want a few stops with Obama (at least in areas like Philly) leading up to November.

Posted by: DrewM at 08:04 AM | Comments (240)
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WOW.

This is really repulsive.

Sestak is apparently not the only one who might have been offered a job in exchange for ditching a run for office.

WASHINGTON — Not long after news leaked last month that Andrew Romanoff was determined to make a Democratic primary run against Sen. Michael Bennet, Romanoff received an unexpected communication from one of the most powerful men in Washington.

Jim Messina, President Barack Obama's deputy chief of staff and a storied fixer in the White House political shop, suggested a place for Romanoff might be found in the administration and offered specific suggestions, according to several sources who described the communication to The Denver Post.

As in all things though, it's not the crime (well, actually it is), it's the coverup. In this case, it's the press itself doing the covering up of YET ANOTHER POSSIBLE IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE.

Since that story was published, the Denver Post has been in complete lockdown mode regarding it. No followup articles. No mention at all of a job offer made by the White House to Romanoff even referenced in other related stories.

I wonder if we will ever know the extent to which this administration's water is being carried by these simpering lackeys.

Please go to the post at NewsBusters. It's a great find and I don't want to steal all the good stuff out of it.

You might also want to write the Denver Post and politely inquire with them about their curious indiligence in following up this story.

Thanks again to Jazz!

Posted by: LauraW at 07:00 AM | Comments (136)
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Blossom Discovers Dad's Nightstand Drawer

OK, no.

That would have been an awesome episode, though. Sigh. Missed opportunity!

This video here has interesting qualities. It opens with the crisp, fresh aroma of the candid moment at the Doctor's office; a whiff of warm happy baby is carried on a poignant pétillance that brings a little water into the eye.

Thanks to Jazz at H2. He recommends you watch it more than once throughout the day and I couldn't agree more. Enjoy baby's first words:

Have a wonderful Friday, you sniffling goobers.

Posted by: LauraW at 06:19 AM | Comments (87)
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FRIIII-DAAAY!

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 05:55 AM | Comments (93)
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It would be a big upgrade were we so afflicted.

...The jobless rate rose to 5.1 percent from 5 percent, the statistics bureau said today in Tokyo...

...An index of sentiment fell to minus 18 from minus 16 in April, the market researcher said in an e-mailed statement today in London. Economists had forecast that the gauge would be unchanged...

...AAA estimates families will spend an average of $809 on summer travel, compared with $876 in 2009, even though flying is more expensive than it was a year ago. They're knocking down the cost, travel agents say, by staying closer to home, choosing less-expensive modes of transportation or by picking destinations based on the best fares and lodging they can find...

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 04:41 AM | Comments (77)
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Just a few minutes ago, the House passed the compromise worked out to repeal Congress' decades-old policy on openly gay and lesbian military service.

Under the compromise, the statute implementing DADT will remain law until after the Pentagon completes its repeal review on December 1. Then, if the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs certify that the implementation of dropping the policy will not damage the military, they trigger this law and the DADT statute will be repealed.

The vote was largely along party lines, 234 to 194, though five Republicans—the newly minted congressman Charles Djou, as well as Joe Cao, Judy Biggert, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and Ron Paul—voted with the Democrats.

The same compromise made it out of the Senate Armed Services Committee today 16-12, also on an almost party line vote. Senator Collins voted for the repeal compromise. Senator Webb voted against. That means it will be up for a vote on the Senate floor after the Senate comes back from the Memorial Day holiday.

Senator McCain announced that he would vote for a filibuster if it became necessary to kill the bill. McCain attempted to rally opposition to the compromise because the military has not completed its repeal review:

"We are shutting out the men and women of the military by making this into law before the men and women in the military have made their input...This action cuts the men and women in the military completely out of the process. This is an all volunteer force."

This is yet another flip-flop for McCain. In February, when the military announced the planned year-long review, he claimed the military leadership was attempting to "usurp" the authority of Congress to set policy and nastily accused Defense Secretary Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mullen of plotting a biased implementation review.

I guess he changed his mind...again. I mentioned McCain's flip-flopping on gays in the military back in February:

Senator McCain's position has changed over the years. In 1993 he voted against DADT, preferring a flat ban on gays in the military. In 2003 he said "the day the leadership of the military comes to me and says, 'Senator, we ought to change the policy,' he would consider changing it." Now he says that Admiral Mullen is biased.

With JD Hayworth closing in on him from the right, Senator McCain may see this as an opportunity to burnish his conservative credentials. Passage in the Senate is not yet assured. Collins' and Webb's committee switches make it at least possible that McCain can rally the 41 votes needed to sustain a filibuster. However, while Senator Brown voted "no" in committee today, he refused to rule out switching to "yes" later.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 06:38 PM | Comments (185)
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How else can this be explained:

The measure, which passed on a 28-10 vote as an amendment to the budget, would bar the state from doing business with any company found to break federal laws barring illegal immigrant hiring. It would also toughen penalties for creating or using fake identification documents, and explicitly deny in-state college tuition for illegal immigrants.

The amendment would also require the stateÂ’s public health insurance program to verify residency through the Department of Homeland Security, and would require the state to give legal residents priority for subsidized housing.

According to the proposed law's supporters, it "goes farther" than any other immigration law for the past five years. The racism appears to be infectious, as it has even those who dislike the proposal in its grip:

Senator Frederick E. Berry, a Peabody Democrat, complained that one of the Republican sponsors acted like the "Patriots had just won the Super Bowl. ... I am going to vote for it, but I donÂ’t think we ought to rejoice."

Democrats had resisted such a sweeping proposal, but spent last evening negotiating todayÂ’s measure, shortly after a new polled showed 84 percent of the liberal-leaning stateÂ’s voters supported tough immigration rules barring state services to illegal immigrants.

The disease has Senator Berry's principles rotting clear off his body!

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 05:52 PM | Comments (43)
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Happy Pre-Three-Day-Weekend Thursday all. Just 24 hours to go and yes some sedation would be nice.

Japanese Toilets are Complicated!

They commonly come with features like pre-warmed seats, massage options, auto-lid opening, dual water jets with a soap mixture, blow dryer, germ-resistant seats, air conditioning, glow-in-the-dark surface, music, and O-Zone deodorant systems.

But they're not simple - as I learned to my dismay when I was in Japan last year. And to my foreign white devil engineer eyes they have some flaws: the toilet menus are all in kanji instead of icons, the flush button is same size as all the other funky function buttons even though you have to press it every damn time you go, and often there is no backup flush handle - so if the power goes out, you can't flush at all.

On the other hand having warmed seats did end up being a nicer feature than I expected - avoiding that little cold shock every time you sit down just makes life a little bit pleasanter overall. More video here.

Posted by: Maetenloch at 05:33 PM | Comments (1049)
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The negatives jumping by 10 points, mostly coming from the undecided category.

If you just look at homes without a public employee in the household (though I don't know why you would look just at that), his numbers are a little better, 48-36.

These aren't great numbers, but they're... actually they're kind of great for a Republican in a liberal state presiding over an awful economy.

There's some good news, too. Sure, they say they don't like Christie -- too mean! Waah! -- but do they object to what he's doing?

Nope.

Not even close, really:

Three of five voters, 60 percent, continue to say the state should hold the line on spending even if many programs are reduced, while just a quarter, 23 percent, say the state should raise taxes if necessary and continue to support state programs.

I think it's an easy thing for voters to say "Oh, I disapprove, he's too abrasive, he's too mean, those poor teachers." But meanwhile they back what he's doing.

A case of them choosing to hate the playah rather than the game.

Posted by: Ace at 04:13 PM | Comments (177)
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