"Symbolic of his struggle against reality."

38 years ago this was hilarious.  Because it was ridiculous.

10 years ago it was cautionary.

Now, in certain places in the country, the behavior shown is illegal.

"Hello, how may I not help you today?"

I had no idea I was so pissed off about this until I was typing back and forth with my co-blogger just now.

So, a few weeks ago, United Airlines beats the shit out of a paying customer and throws him off their airplane.  Which I guess they can do.  I don't know.  The backlash was, well, you may have heard about it.

Then a couple of days later some American Airlines flight attendant allegedly gets into it with a passenger over a stroller and almost gets in a fight with a passenger who intervened.

So I read tonight that Delta, apparently keen to get in the mix, this week kicked a family off a flight because of some mix-up with using car seats for 2-year olds and what seems to be overbooking.

Story here.

Now, I actually watched the video for this one because the comments pointed out how calm the guy was, so I didn't feel like I was just watching for the car crash.  And here's the thing:  I don't know anything about airline rules, or FAA rules, and I'm not going to even speculate on who was right or wrong or why on this one because really, I have no clue and I wasn't there.  But what I do know about, see, is customer service.  I know a lot about it.  I've done more of it than I really care to admit, sometimes.  And so I'm watching and I'm pretty "hmm, that's interesting", until the part where the guy essentially says "OK, so this is happening.  What are you going to do to help us now?" and the customer representative, the key individual at the tip of the spear effectively replies "Nothing.  Once you're off the plane, you're on your own."

WRONG!

WRONG!  WRONG!  WRONG!

After the month the airlines have had, and KNOWING you're being recorded on peoples' phones, the ONLY correct answer at the speartip is some version of "We will bend over backwards to help you as best as we can within our rules and regulations."

Nothing short of that is even remotely acceptable.  Accept no blame.  Admit no responsibility.  Focus on the aftermath.  Demonstrate competence and compassion.  Leave the customer thinking "well, the event sucked, but I have to admit, the way they handled it afterward showed they at least cared."

If I were the king of Delta Airlines right now, that speartip person would be fired.  Every member of that crew would be fired. Their supervisors would be fired.  Anyone involved in the decision chain for that incident - fired.  Every department head I didn't fire would be running around my office building the next day yelling "WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!" at the top of their lungs until they collapsed in pools of their own spew.

I'm not exactly in love with Japanese culture, and I don't know who's running (JAL) Japan Airlines these days, but if something like this happened to them I bet a pizza that the CEO would be on national TV the next day in a white kimono, opening his own belly.

There's a Balrog in the Woodpile.

President Tired of Being Better Than All Of Us says the problem is that we Just Don't Get It.

http://hotair.com/archives/2015/12/21/obama-its-the-medias-fault-that-people-are-worried-about-isis-you-know/

It's not that I'm afraid of ISIS, Mister President, I just don't like to see Orcs ascendant.  Especially Orcs that are coming here and killing Americans, and encouraging other people to join the Orc tribe by way of ISISing by proxy.

And it is entirely your fault and responsibility that Orcs are multiplying in the Misty Mountains.

Wanted: Attic, Diary, Pen. Length of Stay: Undetermined

[Emperor Palpatine voice]

Good.  Goooooood.

[/Emperor Palpatine voice]

Lex Bovis, Non Jovis

Driving home yesterday, I was tailgated by a Mass. cop for about a mile on Rt. 4. Even though he had Mass. plates (and I live in NH) I was a good little sheep and drove the speed limit --45 mph. 

But that wasn't enough for him, I guess. He turned on his flashers, and when I pulled over thinking maybe I had a tail light out or something, he just sped up and kept going. 

I'm sure that was a totally legitimate use of police powers.

Face It, America

He's just not that into you.

And before anyone starts carping about France's help during our revolution, fuhgeddaboudit - that France died under the guillotine in 1794.

Hate America?  Nahh, I don't think Obama is bold enough to hate anything; but he sure doesn't like America very much.

What a Dick

"...and we've got me in the house."

To quote Kate Bush, Mister President, "Get out of my house!"

"Hey, Look at Me!"

President BoyChild is at it again.

Via Hot Air:

What. A. Dick.

Dickmove, Mr. President.

JEBUS. EFFING. CHRISTOS.

Offensive linky courtesy of Powerline:

In the video below, Charles Bolden, head of NASA, tells Al Jazeera that the "foremost" task President Obama has given him is "to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with predominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science, math, and engineering." Thus, NASA's primary mission is no longer to enhance American science and engineering or to explore space, but to boost the self-esteem of "predominantly Muslim nations."

I don't have words.

I don't have the FUCKING words.

Maybe He Doesn't Know What the Phrase "Bully Pulpit" Really Means?

How do you know that president Obama is talking about Americans?

Easy - it's when he gets all tough and threatening with a little defensive whinging thrown in:

President Obama on controlling the debt: "Somehow people say, why are you doing that, I'm not sure that's good politics. I'm doing it because I said I was going to do it and I think it's the right thing to do. People should learn that lesson about me because next year when I start presenting some very difficult choices to the country, I hope some of these folks who are hollering about deficits and debt step-up because I'm calling their bluff. We'll see how much of that, how much of the political arguments that they're making right now are real and how much of it was just politics."

Hat tip RealClearPolitics.

The Little Boy President is so over his head he's going to need an air hose soon.

His Congressman-Fu Is ... Weak

Well hello there, Mr. Soon-To-Be-Ex-Congressman! (Hat Tip to Breitbart's Big Government)

Near as I can tell he tried both his Congressman-Fu hand strike and his Congressman-Jedi Mind trick ("who are you?"), but neither one served to do anything but drain hit points from his election chances this November.

As blog-buddy Borepatch has coined - "The Dinosaurs smell change on the air, and roar their defiance."

But this should also serve as another brick in the ziggurat of warning We the People are constructing: Careful out there, pols - we are watching. We're ALL watching now, and we're watching ALL of you.

What. A. Dick.

Straight from Hot Air:

Full POTUS quote: “I was down there a month ago, before most of these talkin’ heads were even paying attention to the gulf. A month ago I was meeting with fishermen down there, standin’ in the rain talking about what a potential crisis this could be. and I don’t sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar, we talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers, so I know whose ass to kick.”

Does he know this fake man stuff from him just makes us laugh?

Our Criticizer In Chief

So once again President Obama stands firm in his eagerness to take sides against...

America.

Or in this case, a fiftieth of it.

President Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon joined hands Wednesday in blasting Arizona's controversial immigration law, with Obama calling the legislation a "misdirected effort" after Calderon slammed it as discriminatory.

Now, it doesn't seem to matter that no one in Obama's administration who is yarking on about the law have actually read the thing, our Dear Leader thinks it's a good idea to take time off from fly swatting to wag his finger at Arizona.