Thursday, December 26, 2002

Is she? I had the same reaction to Cass Ballenger calling Cynthia McKinney a "bitch" that I did to Bush and Cheney saying (they thought between themselves) that Adam Clymer was an "asshole".  My first response was not to say "What a terrible thing to say", but rather to ask "Is she?"  Unlike Clymer, however, McKinney was well enough known that the answer was already clear. Ballenger could well have been a candidate for Stupid Political Comments, part 5, for his comment that his interactions with her caused him to think of "segregationist feelings".  (Instead, we found a much better candidate in Sen. Murray.)  A natural personal reaction to an obnoxious person should have nothing to do with her race.  Idiots come in all colors. 6:37:18 AM     Another outrage Airline passenger cited for remark about drinking -- An airline passenger was cited for disorderly conduct Tuesday after the plane's crew accused him of insinuating the pilot had been drinking. The remark caused Comair to cancel the 9:30 a.m. flight to Cincinnati, forcing 26 passengers to make other travel plans, said Lt. Michael Krembs of the Dane County Sheriff's Department. Steven M. Wiese, 33, of Cottage Grove, was accused of leaning into the cockpit and remarking to the pilot, "I hope you haven't been drinking," Krembs said. . . "My assumption is it was a flippant remark," Krembs said. "But in this day and age of heightened airport security, you just don't joke about stuff anymore."  [Source: AP story] Nothing caused this flight to be cancelled other than Comair's idiotic reaction.  Passenger safety was not a consideration here. This is getting to be a recurring event, and that of course tends to blunt the natural sense of outrage against this heavy-handed abuse of power.  The airlines, we suppose, must be allowed to immediately toss someone off an airplane and initiate criminal charges against him for making a joking comment about bombs or weapons, in the interest of a zero-tolerance approach to passenger safety.  But this overreaction to an obviously non-threatening jibe is reminiscent of the days we thought we had long left behind, when no one dared to speak impertinently to a person in authority for fear of criminal prosecution. 6:23:48 AM

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