Y’all can draw your own conclusions…
United Airlines Flight 227 Passengers Removed, Deja Vu?
UAL Flight 227 DEN-LAX 12-10-09
h/t Rick
I was going to post about the unreality of the political mess in DC, but then I figured I’d just be wasting my time and yours…
So a little humor to brighten you day (I Hope)!
Questions That May Never Be Answered
If a parsley farmer is sued, can they garnish his wages?
Would a fly without wings be called a walk?
Can you be a closet claustrophobic?
If the funeral procession is at night, do folks drive with their lights off?
If a stealth bomber crashes in a forest, will it make a sound?
When it rains, why don’t sheep shrink?
If the cops arrest a mime, do they tell her she has the right to remain silent?
Why is the word abbreviation so long?
If a book about failures doesn’t sell, is it a success?
Do cemetery workers prefer the graveyard shift?
What do you do when you discover an endangered animal that eats only endangered plants?
Do hungry crows have ravenous appetites?
Is it possible to be totally partial?
What’s another word for thesaurus?
When companies ship Styrofoam, what do they pack it in?
If it’s tourist season, why can’t we shoot them?
Why do they sterilize the needles for lethal injections?
Why is there an expiration date on my sour cream?
Why do kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
How do you know when it’s time to tune your bagpipes?
Is it true that cannibals don’t eat clowns because they taste funny?
When you choke a smurf, what color does it turn?
Do they have reserved parking for non-handicap people at the Special Olympics?
Why do they call it a TV set when you only get one?
Do radioactive cats have 18 half-lives?
If you shoot a mime, should you use a silencer?
What was the best thing before sliced bread?
How can they tell that twin lobsters are really twins?
How does a thermos know when to keep something hot, hot…and something cold, cold?
What is the speed of dark?
Why are there Braille signs on drive-up ATM’s?
If women wear a pair of pants, a pair of glasses, and a pair of earrings ,why don’t they wear a pair of bras?
How come you never hear about gruntled employees?
What is a “free” gift? Aren’t all gifts free?
After eating, do amphibians have to wait one hour before getting out of the water?
If white wine goes with fish, do white grapes go with sushi?
What’s another word for synonym?
If someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill himself, is it considered a hostage situation?
When sign makers go on strike, what is written on their picket signs?
Where do forest rangers go to “get away from it all”?
Why isn’t there mouse-flavored cat food?
Why are builders afraid to have a 13th floor but book publishers aren’t afraid to have a Chapter 11?
How can there be self-help groups?
Why do you need a driver’s license to buy liquor when you can’t drink and drive?
Why are cigarettes sold in gas stations when smoking is prohibited there?
If a cow laughed, would milk come out her nose?
Why is it that when you transport something by car, its called a shipment, but when you transport something by ship, its called cargo?
Why do we play in recitals and recite in plays?
Why isn’t phonetic spelled the way it sounds?
Where are Preparations A through G?
Are there seeing eye humans for blind dogs?
If knees were backwards, what would chairs look like?
When your pet bird sees you reading the newspaper, does she wonder why you’re just sitting there, staring at carpeting?
What happened to the first 6 “ups”?
If an orange is orange, why isn’t a lime called a green or a lemon called a yellow?
Why does your nose run, and your feet smell?
If olive oil comes from olives, where does baby oil come from?
Mule Dung has an outstanding post, with citations up on his blog Mule Dung and Ash. It is well worth your time to drop by and take a few minutes…
And in a follow-up, since I got an email asking how the REST of the week went…
Not only was the hotel on the opposite side of Austin from where we needed to be, it was LOUSY… No coffee, no breakfast (it gets pretty bad when I VOLUNTARILY go to McDonalds), and lukewarm water. And we had to get up O.M.G early to beat traffic…
Sooooo… We finally get where we are supposed to be, only to find out the boss is NOT on the visit list (trust me, this ain’t good)…
Once that ‘little’ issue was fixed, we have our meeting, only to find out we have effectively sunk to a new low in levels of success; .00052% success rate for the particular thing we were working on…
As they say, and THEN the fight started; and went on for the rest of the day. So we finally leave lovely Austin in the middle of rush hour, heading back to Dallas…
Four and a half hours later, we make it; after being run in the ditch by a woman texting while trying (obviously not well) to drive…
Better hotel, late Mexican dinner (La Fenix is GOOD!) and back to the airport Friday am.
As usual this time of year, flights are running late, so we are now three hours early, sit, wait, run the computer battery down; finally get on, end up with a window seat and 400lb asshole sitting next to me… sigh…
At least it was only for 2+00 enroute (good tailwinds), so I spent most of the flight in the back with the flight attendants.
We actually landed more or less on time, only problem was, a late departure was in our gate, so off to the A-gates we went…
And pulled in at the same time two RJs did, so they got parked first, then we got parked, but since we’re an E170, now we get to wait on a ladder, and wait… and wait… 30 minutes later a ladder FINALLY shows up.
And it’s off to baggage claim… another 25 minutes (they unloaded the two RJs first).
And off I go, until I get to 495; it takes me an hour and 20 minutes to go a total of 12 miles! I just ‘love’ DC rush hour traffic… NOT!!!
So I finally get home, throw a TV dinner in the microwave, and the @$&* microwave died!
I quit and went to bed…
BUT A GOOD IDEA… And I have to say I agree with it…
The entire Congress of the United States is corrupt. Both Houses and both major parties..
We realize that a few Members of each House are trustworthy, but, as a group they are absolutely the most corrupt bunch to ever disgrace our Nation.
In November of 2010 the entire House of Representatives will stand for reelection; all 435 of them. One third of the Senate, a total of 33 of them, will also stand for reelection.
Vote every incumbent out…
Every one of them, no matter their Party affiliation…
Let’s start all over in the House of Representatives with 435 people who have absolutely no experience in running that body, with no political favors owed to anyone but their own constituents. Let’s make them understand that they work for us. They are answerable to us and they simply have to run that body with some common sense.
Two years later, in 2012, vote the next third of the incumbents in the Senate out…
We can do the same thing in 2014 and, by that time we will have put all new people in that body as well.
We, the People, have got to take this Country back and we HAVE to do it peacefully.
That’s what the Framers of our Constitution envisioned…
We are also suggesting term limits on the new bunch: 8 years for Representatives and 12 years for Senators no exceptions.
The longer they stay in office, the more power they get, and they love it and will do anything to get reelected.
We have term-limited the President, now term-limit the Legislators.
This is turning into ONE of those weeks…
Monday- Entire month’s worth of planning gets blown out of the water, entire January trip schedule gets changed, so back to square one.
Tuesday- In early to cover a meeting because the boss is at another meeting, miss an important meeting because the 1st meeting runs long.
Get to the airport 2 hours early, at the counter to check in, computer system goes down. 20 minute wait, FINALLY get a boarding pass. TSA is head up ass over the ‘new’ procedures at IAD, it takes 45 minutes to get to the WTMD, which promptly breaks… back of the ‘next’ line… another 15 minutes to get back up to the WTMD and through. Cell has a VM that flight is delayed, followed by VM flight is back on time.
Get to the gate, back to a 30 minute delay; can’t raise the boss to advise him we will NOT be picking him up at DFW, as he will now be landing before we do. Finally board and PA announcement of ETE is 3+40 vs. the normal 3+00 due to 150kt headwind.
Supposed to land at DFW at 1930, finally on deck at 2100 after two turns in holding while they changed runways, rental car is cancelled, have to jump through hoops to get another one, finally get to the hotel at 2300.
Wednesday- Up at zero dark 30 for the pre-meeting before the real meeting, go to meeting skip lunch as we are running ‘long’, get out of meeting at 1500. Haul ass to try to get South of Dallas before rush hour, ‘barely’ make it, 3 1/2 hour drive to Austin. Find out we are at the wrong hotel (wrong side of town) for tomorrow’s meeting…
Whatever…
I’m going to County Line and get some good BBQ…
I hope y’all are having a better week than I am!!!
On Dec 7, 1941, Japan performed a sneak attack on the US at Pearl Harbor, the attack sank four U.S. Navy battleships (two of which were raised and returned to service later in the war) and damaged four more; other damages included three destroyers, three cruisers, 188 aircraft with 2,402 killed and 1,282 wounded.
This day does live in infamy…
I was wrong to post the email I did without more in depth checking of the story. It has been an interesting evolution, to say the least…
Discounting the threats and the emails calling me a racist, it has opened my eyes to the fact there are people out there who are hard over in BOTH directions, and are not willing to be reasonable…
For something that I posted for the warning content, as one who flys frequently and AM concerned about not only MY safety; but those others who fly day after day, both as crew and as passengers; it took on a life of it’s own.
Do I think something happened on that aborted flight? Yes… Maybe not what was portrayed in the infamous email, but I do believe ‘something’ happened. Will we ever hear the truth? I don’t know…
Here are various links sent by a number of folks and the two links that started me down this trail:
The KHOU report-
http://www.khou.com/news/Phone-call-delays-Houston-bound-AirTran-flight-70369417.html
The Chaplain’s comments-
http://espositosmusings.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/air-tran-flight-297-incident1.pdf
The other links…
The AJC article-
http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/faa-to-investigate-cell-202143.html
Snopes- Which originally had nothing, then started as a two line entry, and now shows as a mixture rather than false…
http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/flight297.asp
The AirTran recapitulation-
http://www.insideairtran.com/?p=2200
And finally, this from today’s Marietta Daily Journal-
http://www.mdjonline.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Laura+Armstrong-+The+curious++case+of++Air+Tran+flight+297%20&id=5017926-Laura+Armstrong-+The+curious++case+of++Air+Tran+flight+297&instance=lead_story_left_column
Did I learn anything? Oh HELL yes… Will I ever post something like this again? If I can personally confirm it, YES; if I can’t no I won’t…
For those media folks that contacted me, I gave the same information to everyone that I had…
I also learned a large number of my readers were willing to stick by me, and stood up for me, not only in the comments, but in personal emails to me. For that I thank each and every one of you. Some of my readers also spent their own time doing research and back checking for me, thanks too for that!!!
I was counselled more than once to not allow anonymous comments, and yes I did delete a couple of the more foul and abusive ones; but I chose not to block them, believing everybody has a right to be heard. Interestingly enough, many of the anons came from left of center, always calling the post a lie, but without any proof…
One thing I AM thankful for is that we live in a free country where this kind of discussion (both positive AND negative) can occur without interference from the government.
That is all.
You wanted a losing war, and now you have one…
That little speech you gave at West Point guaranteed it!
When you give the enemy your ENTIRE plan, laid out step by step, you have given them all they need to win…
The FIRST rule of warfare is security, but no… The number of troops, when they will deploy, WHEN THEY WILL LEAVE… sigh…
We have boots on the ground NOW that need support- not in six or nine months. These are OUR sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends. YOU put Gen. McChrystal in there as YOUR man in the field, and now you have tied his hands in such a way that I will not be surprised if he retires, rather than try to win in an unwinnable situation. I just cannot believe SecDef Gates, ADM Mullen, or GEN Petraus agreed with putting an end date in that speech…
And the congresscritters saying they are going to ‘fight’ the funding to prevent deployment…
I’ve got an idea- Since we are embedding media, how about this?
Embed congresscritters!
Take 50 a month (10 senators, 40 congresspeople) put them in front line units for 30 days at a time, spread around amongst the troops in theater! In ten months we could cycle through the whole congress and senate! Just think, then EACH congresscritter would have real world experience at down and dirty warfare, would know the privations the troops experience (no fancy jets, no luxury suites, no five star food, no staff of butt imps), and have a MUCH better understanding of what the military does!
After that, we could start on the Administration, then Justice, then State…
Oh yeah, and Chris Matthews- Your little ‘enemy camp’ remark is an insult to EVERY military member living and dead; past, present and future! If I were you, I’d be really careful about attending anything with a military presence, somebody is liable to punch your lights out or worse…
I would boycott your sleazy ass, but I don’t listen to you or PMSNBC anyway…
This has been a subject of discussion amongst a few of us for a couple of weeks. The person’s account below is known to three of our group, and he is NOT a whiner or complainer…
He’s an ex-Navy diver, working for a government organization; he has travelled extensively world-wide. This is his account of what happened on Flight 297 on the taxiway and at the gate in Atlanta…
One week ago, I went to Ohio on business and to see my father. On Tuesday, November the 17th, I returned home. If you read the papers the 18th you may have seen a blurb where a AirTran flight was cancelled from Atlanta to Houston due to a man who refused to get off of his cell phone before takeoff. It was on Fox.
FWIW, we think this was a dry run, and like the incident with the Imams a test to see how far they could push the envelope.
Although this statement- “In the back of the plane at this time, 2 younger Muslims, one in the back, isle, and one in front of him, window, began to show footage of a porno they had taped the night before, and were very loud about it. Now….they are only permitted to do this prior to Jihad. “ Makes me wonder if they were going to try to overpower the crew and create a crash scenario…
There is no question the radicals and terrorists are feeling their oats under the new administration, and I believe it is only a matter of time until something else happens…
Especially after the hands off with Hasan, and the “don’t jump to conclusions” comments from the administration… sigh…
He’s an ex-Navy diver, working for a government organization; he has travelled extensively world-wide. This is his account of what happened on Flight 297 on the taxiway and at the gate in Atlanta…
One week ago, I went to Ohio on business and to see my father. On Tuesday, November the 17th, I returned home. If you read the papers the 18th you may have seen a blurb where a AirTran flight was cancelled from Atlanta to Houston due to a man who refused to get off of his cell phone before takeoff. It was on Fox.
This was NOT what happened.
I was in 1st class coming home. 11 Muslim men got on the plane in full attire. 2 sat in 1st class and the rest peppered themselves throughout the plane all the way to the back. As the plane taxied to the runway the stewardesses gave the safety spiel we are all so familiar with. At that time, one of the men got on his cell and called one of his companions in the back and proceeded to talk on the phone in Arabic very loudly and very aggressively. This took the 1st stewardess out of the picture for she repeatedly told the man that cell phones were not permitted at the time. He ignored her as if she was not there.
The 2nd man who answered the phone did the same and this took out the 2nd stewardess. In the back of the plane at this time, 2 younger Muslims, one in the back, isle, and one in front of him, window, began to show footage of a porno they had taped the night before, and were very loud about it. Now….they are only permitted to do this prior to Jihad. If a Muslim man goes into a strip club, he has to view the woman via mirror with his back to her. (don’t ask me….I don’t make the rules, but I’ve studied). The 3rd stewardess informed them that they were not to have electronic devices on at this time. To which one of the men said “shut up infidel dog!” She went to take the camcorder and he began to scream in her face in Arabic. At that exact moment, all 11 of them got up and started to walk the cabin. This is where I had had enough! I got up and started to the back where I heard a voice behind me from another Texan twice my size say “I got your back.” I grabbed the man who had been on the phone by the arm and said “you WILL go sit down or you Will be thrown from this plane!” As I “led” him around me to take his seat, the fellow Texan grabbed him by the back of his neck and his waist and headed out with him. I then grabbed the 2nd man and said, “You WILL do the same!” He protested but adrenaline was flowing now and he was going to go. As I escorted him forward the plane doors open and 3 TSA agents and 4 police officers entered. Me and my new Texan friend were told to cease and desist for they had this under control. I was happy to oblige actually. There was some commotion in the back, but within moments, all 11 were escorted off the plane. They then unloaded their luggage.
We talked about the occurrence and were in disbelief that it had happen, when suddenly, the door open again and on walked all 11!! Stone faced, eyes front and robotic (the only way I can describe it). The stewardess from the back had been in tears and when she saw this, she was having NONE of it! Being that I was up front, I heard and saw the whole ordeal. She told the TSA agent there was NO WAY she was staying on the plane with these men. The agent told her they had searched them and were going to go through their luggage with a fine tooth comb and that they were allowed to proceed to Houston. The captain and co-captain came out and told the agent “we and our crew will not fly this plane!” After a word or two, the entire crew, luggage in tow, left the plane. 5 minutes later, the cabin door opened again and a whole new crew walked on.
Again…..this is where I had had enough!!! I got up and asked “What the hell is going on!?!?” I was told to take my seat. They were sorry for the delay and I would be home shortly. I said “I’m getting off this plane”. The stewardess sternly told me that she could not allow me to get off. (now I’m mad!) I said “I am a grown man who bought this ticket, who’s time is mine with a family at home and I am going through that door, or I’m going through that door with you under my arm!! But I am going through that door!!” And I heard a voice behind me say “so am I”. Then everyone behind us started to get up and say the same. Within 2 minutes, I was walking off that plane where I was met with more agents who asked me to write a statement. I had 5 hours to kill at this point so why the hell not. Due to the amount of people who got off that flight, it was cancelled. I was supposed to be in Houston at 6pm. I got here at 12:30am.
Look up the date. Flight 297 Atlanta to Houston.
If this wasn’t a dry run, I don’t know what one is. They wanted to see how TSA would handle it, how the crew would handle it, and how the passengers would handle it.
I’m telling this to you because I want you to know….
The threat is real. I saw it with my own eyes….
-Tedd
FWIW, we think this was a dry run, and like the incident with the Imams a test to see how far they could push the envelope.
Although this statement- “In the back of the plane at this time, 2 younger Muslims, one in the back, isle, and one in front of him, window, began to show footage of a porno they had taped the night before, and were very loud about it. Now….they are only permitted to do this prior to Jihad. “ Makes me wonder if they were going to try to overpower the crew and create a crash scenario…
There is no question the radicals and terrorists are feeling their oats under the new administration, and I believe it is only a matter of time until something else happens…
Especially after the hands off with Hasan, and the “don’t jump to conclusions” comments from the administration… sigh…
Yesterday, 28 November 2009 marked the final flight of a P-3 from NAS Brunswick, ME, better known to all of us as Broomstick…
The last two VP-26 P-3s flew out yesterday afternoon with no fanfare, no statements, just going on deployment to do their jobs. The squadron will return to NAS Jacksonville in approximately six months.
Broomstick was the one base I was never stationed on, but I made plenty of trips in and out of there… Good shopping, with LL Bean, Kittery Trading Post and other good places within about 20 minute drive.
The other thing I will always remember was the Lobster house just off base, he took personal checks, always gave us the best possible price, and if we couldn’t get a ride out to pick up the lobsters, he delivered, and wouldn’t take extra for gas…
People either loved the place or hated it, and over the years there were some interesting screwups…
Early in the 1970s, both NAS Brunswick and NAS Glynco (at Brunswick, GA) got new base housing contracts approved…
And yep, you’re right, they crossed them up… The Brunswick, GA houses were insulated to hell and gone, and the Brunswick, ME houses had NO insulation…
Also they ‘tried’ to dig basements in GA, which didn’t work to well with a water table at about three feet…
I also remember the pilot inadvertently dropping a torpedo that landed in the pizza shop off the departure end of the runway…
This is the 13th base I was either stationed on, or worked out of that has closed… Maybe somebody is trying to tell me something…
NAS Glynco, NAS Sangley Point, NAS Keflavik, NAS Rota, NAS Agana, NAS Cubi Pt, Naha AB, NAS Moffett Field, NAS Adak, NAS Barbers Point, NAS Lajes, NAS Bermuda, and now NAS Brunswick.
God forbid that we need to ramp up anytime in the near future…
We won’t have the assets, the runways, or the people to make things work…