Why Does Norm Coleman Get Special Treatment From NWA

Friends of mine came back from Las Vegas last Friday...NWA flight 202 at 4:45 PM. They saw that ex Senator Norm Coleman was also traveling back from Vegas on the same flight.... But, Norm didn't have to wait in line or go through the same gate or get checked through security like everyone else. As soon as Norm appear at their gate, a NWA attendent ran over and opened a separate gate that only Norm got to go through...no checking of carry on baggage, no scrutiny of his ticket or id, no waiting in line, no following of any security protocol or procedures..must be nice...wonder why? Oh, did I mention that Coleman did pose with them for a picture?!

I could excuse airline personnel wanting to get a picture or two with him, but not following the same security guidelines as the rest of us? Is that protocol with NWA, TSA, Homeland Security...Is it security for all...but Norm Coleman? Who else gets special treatment? Why? Where does it spell that out in the federal laws?

Designer suits, first class seats and now special airline treatment where he doesn't have to check in and go through security with NWA. Hmm....wonder if GOP recount money paid for his first class tickets? Or perhaps his friends, or maybe NWA since they seem to think the federal laws and rules don't apply to Norm Coleman.

Walrus Redux

"You can help me by helping yourselves"...


In 1969, 14-year-old Beatles fan Jerry Levitan tracked his idol, John Lennon, from a Toronto airport to his room at the King Edward Hotel. Inside, he convinced Lennon to do an impromptu interview. Thirty-eight years later, Levitan teamed with director Josh Raskin to create and edit a five-minute short film entitled I Met the Walrus based on the interview. Amazing, right?


One of my favorites...A Working Class Hero

As soon as your born they make you feel small, By giving you no time instead of it all,
Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all,
A working class hero is something to be,
A working class hero is something to be.
They hurt you at home and they hit you at school, They hate you if you're clever and they despise a fool,
Till you're so fucking crazy you can't follow their rules,
A working class hero is something to be,
A working class hero is something to be.
When they've tortured and scared you for twenty odd years, Then they expect you to pick a career,
When you can't really function you're so full of fear,
A working class hero is something to be,
A working class hero is something to be.
Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV, And you think you're so clever and classless and free,
But you're still fucking peasents as far as I can see,
A working class hero is something to be,
A working class hero is something to be.
There's room at the top they are telling you still, But first you must learn how to smile as you kill,
If you want to be like the folks on the hill,
A working class hero is something to be.
A working class hero is something to be.
If you want to be a hero well just follow me,
If you want to be a hero well just follow me.

This n That Tuesday

The Chicken is Overcooked
Remember that one kid that always screamed for ‘do overs’ when his team lost….remember how his he was always ignored and made fun of for being a baby and spoiled sport sore loser? Well now we know what he did when he grew up.

Coleman is on life support…let’s turn off the ventilator…

Foretelling Failure
I just blogged about Citibank being credit card sharks the week before...and now their stock plummets to an all time low...coincidences? fate? karma? Makes no difference, it may be to late to reform their predatory lending practices but it's never too late to shine a light on them.

They Eat Their Own
One month into Obama and the collective memory loss of the Republican Party is unbelieveable. How can any of them say lines like "mortgaging our children's future" with a straight face? Even after the last eight years. Even on the brink of economic collaspe, even after the GOP legacy ow debt, war and slash and burn social programs...the rethugican attacks keep coming....they rather stew in hell with their own ideology than be conciliatory and suffer the success of Obama. Their intent is clear... sabotage the economy and the well being of this country.

In fact, someone should tell them that eating their own will push away those moderates that once identified themselves as members...But there in lies the problem...it does no good to talk when the other side won't listen.

King Solomon Sides With Minnesota Voters

This is the stupidest rant on the recount I’ve ever read. Note to the idiot Kevin Winge …there was an election and then a recount that determined a winner of that election. Sure it was close, so there was a mandatory recount of the election. But the recount determined Al Franken was the winner of that election by 225+ votes.

Now we have Coleman’s campaign (funded by the GOP in Congress) playing obstructionist by filing one lawsuit after another in an effort to keep a Democrat out of office. Not to win, Coleman knows that isn't happening...but to block a Democrat from taking his old seat for as long as possible. It’s partisanship at it’s very best…screw the voters, screw the law, manipulate the process and obstruct and deny Democrats….all at the expense of Minnesota!

We need a leadership voice more than ever...some of the most important decisions regarding our futures are being made right now. Our leaders are deciding issues like the economy, war, healthcare, transportation, state funding….but thanks to Normie, Minnesotans get one damn vote.

With the last two weeks of numerous court rulings going against Coleman's petty claims, it would take a miracle for Coleman to win…but this is reality and votes aren’t ‘hail mary’ passes. So the only possible outcome is to denied Democrats (and Minnesotans) another seat. There is no hope of a victory. They know that. Instead Republicans are intent on a long drawn-out battle to further their partisan agenda.

“The net effect,” Norm’s attorney Ginsberg said, “is a legal quagmire that makes ascertaining a final, legitimate result to this election even more difficult.”

…and that’s the problem…that they (GOP and Norm Coleman) want no outcome. The GOP rather obstruct while our state and nation need real leadership. Instead of conceding to Minnesota's voters, Norm Coleman continues to play politics as usual, and that pettiness and lack of respect to Minnesotans will mark him forever as a loser. King Solomon being wise and just would see it exactly the same way.

Our Warriors Are Dying

For the first time since records have been kept (1980), the United States has more soldier committing suicide than dying in battle. The army suicide rate is now higher than that among the general American population. Keep in mind there is an average of 10 failed suicide attempts for each actual loss of life. It’s not a record to brag about. Our warriors dying by their own hands. This is another consequences from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The two-front war we have in Iraq and Afghanistan takes bodies. To fill the need for warm bodies, the military has to continue a redeployment of those already at risk with marginal mental health, and other personality disorders. Without giving adequate breaks, without enough/any counseling, the military is redeploying soldiers on edge and at risk. In addition, many feel there is resistance to diagnosis PTSD so adding to the problems is the large amounts of drugs being given to soldiers to mask their symptoms.

“..spending for some pain medication, antidepressants, sleeping pills and even an epilepsy medicine used to treat PTSD and brain injuries has grown by 62 percent to 400 percent since the Iraq war began."

Responses from veterans groups include the following:

• "Until the Department of Defense starts taking aggressive action,the suicide crisis will get worse. We are looking at the tip of an iceberg of a social catastrophe unless the military and VA start fighting stigma and start getting help for the veteran." -- Paul Sullivan, executive director, Veterans for Common Sense.

• The suicide numbers "come as no surprise to veterans who have experienced firsthand the psychological toll of war. Since the Iraq war began, suicide rates and other signs of psychological injury, like marital strain and substance abuse, have been increasing every year," --Paul Rieckhoff, executive director, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
  

It’s time to change the military mission and take care of our warriors. Those in command need to change the policies that have lead us to this failure including ending the war.

Credit Card Sharks

So long corporate gauging credit card scammer Citibank aka Sears credit card....

As long as I can remember I've had a Sears card. Just made sense for when the toilet blew up in '75, or the washer gave up the ghost in '88 or last year when the outdoor freezer needed replacing...we'd go to Sear and use the 'card'. We always paid it off quickly but it was nice to know it was there and available if needed.

Yesterday in the mail came a 'Notice of Change in Terms' from Citibank...aka owners of Sears credit from their credit cards. It was eighteen pages long with very small print but I recognized the gauging... It wasn't so much the unreal interest 17.99% to 29.99% (daily percentage rate!) that will curl your hair, nor the extra fee for any foreign purchases (3%), it was the fees that already penalizes those that are having a hard time paying the bills with a $39 dollars late fee on any bill more than $50 dollars! Yipes! Talk about kicking the dog. Enough!

I know Sears isn't faring well in these tough economic times...who is? But Sears won't improve bringing down community they do business with. After decades of carrying a Sears card, it's now been cut in two... I know where to go if I'm in need of a loan shark!

Tuesday's Twinklings

Norm Talks To G*D ...but fails to listen
When I talked with g*d this morning, she said Norm Coleman was taking out of context what she told him...she never told him any of those things as he states. Typical GOP spingoli to even try to twist the word of g*d! Seriously...his defense is now because g*d said so?! Let's all agree not to accept the bat-shit crazy stuff coming out the Republicans mouths as if it were somehow normal.

Who cares what Minneapolis travel expert Terry Trippler thinks?
Yeah I really do think NWA should honor the deal they made even if it was a mistake.

'NWA is honoring the free tickets for those who already have traveled or are in mid-trip.'

Wow there's a surprise to see Northwest Airline and the word 'honor' in the same sentence?! Too bad for the rest as they will have to pay after an erroneous online offer as NWA really has no honor



Yeah I'm letting go of the past...but one step at a time...

The GOP Stimulus Plan

Say What? Joe the Plumber is now where the GOP is getting their economic advice? Really? OMG!…It’s outrageously funny…and sad…all at the same time.

Political Animal, the blog of The Washington Monthly, observe:

"This is what it's come to for Republican staffers in Congress. In the midst of an economic crisis, and after balking at a stimulus package, the GOP is turning to an unlicensed plumber/campaign prop to discuss legislative strategy on economic policy.

"The line between Republicans' approach to governing and satirical performance art blurs just a little more."

Next time a Republican leaders huffs and puffs about Obama’s stimulus bill, be sure to remind them that they got us into this mess in the first place and now...well enough said...joe the plumber is their financial advisor...sigh

Fifty Ways To Review Ballots

"The problem is all inside your head, she said to me.
The answer is easy if you take it logically.
Id like to help you in your struggle to be free"..

There must be fifty ways to review ballots?

Nate Silver (http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/) has an accurate analysis of the court ruling regarding reviewing the 4,800 ballots from the election….

"Don't be impressed, in other words, by the sheer number of ballots under review. If you ask a girl out, and she turns you down the first three times, you don't really improve your odds of success by asking her out another 30 times. (You may, however, increase your odds of getting a slap in the face or a restraining order).

The Coleman campaign, from what best I can tell, appears to be asking for a review of essentially every absentee ballot that they believe is more likely to contain a Coleman vote than a Franken vote. But these ballots have already been evaluated once, twice, and in some cases three times, and at each stage they have been determined to have been rejected properly. As we learned during the recount phase of the process, when the Coleman campaign challenged more ballots than Franken but had fewer successful challenges, it's not the denominator that counts but the numerator, and I would guess that Franken has about has many successes from his list of 770 as Coleman does from his 4,800."

All the wishing, whining, stalling and wasting of Minnesota’s resources won’t change the outcome. Just the fact that former Senator Coleman is willing to go to these ends when he knows it's a losing battle shows his unsuitability for any office! It's time to put a nail in this recount coffin and allow Senator-elect Al Franken to take his seat in representing us. So to Norm I say...

You just slip out the back, Norm
Make a new plan, Norm
You dont need to be coy, Norm
Just get yourself free
Hop on the bus, Norm
You dont need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Norm
And get yourself free

(In way of apology to Simon and Garfunkel)...here's the real deal...