And that’s only a small sampling of the sickening hate and vitriol being slung around by the radical right-wing.

Enough is enough. This has to end.

Republicans, these are your creatures. You own them. You created them, you have nurtured them, and you have to control them.

Now.

Before one of them does something the entire country and all of history will regret.

And yeah, comments are off. This isn’t up for discussion.

Here's looking at you, kid!

Are you sure that's the right move?

(In case anyone is wondering, the game vital brain cell exercise being played in the above picture is Scotland Yard, one of Everett Kaser’s thoroughly addictive logic puzzle games for PCs and Macs. Highly recommended!)

I'm a Mac.

It's just all about the music.

I couldn’t have said it better myself. I do wish, however, that I could have said it as well as he did.

Grit from 100g bag of Tesco "washed and ready to eat" salad

rinsed out of a 100g bag of this:

Label from Tesco "ready to eat" salad

"...washed and ready to eat"

Washed?

Maybe. Briefly, from the looks of it. Very briefly. All I did was put the contents of the bag into a bowl of water & swish them around a few times. I was going to pour it all into a strainer until I noticed some grit in the bottom of the bowl, so I took the salad out by hand instead. You can see what stayed behind.

Ready to eat?

Not as far as I’m concerned.

The article quotes a “51-page 2007 F.A.A. directive on cabin safety” which says the following (emphasis mine):

C. Proper stowage of carry-on baggage is a major safety issue. Many FAA inspectors and air carrier crewmembers have asked for a definition of proper stowage of baggage. AC 121-29A asks the airlines to include in their carry-on baggage programs, a definition of properly stowed. Ensuring that baggage does not interfere with emergency equipment is an important part of the information about proper stowage. In addition, nothing can be stowed in the seat pockets except magazines and passenger information cards. It is not a good safety practice to stow meals, either brought onto the airplane by passengers or served by the air carrier, in seat back pockets. The FAA considers meals carried on by passengers to be carry-on baggage. Even though meals may be exempt by the air carrier from the number of bags permitted, they still must be stowed in accordance with the regulations pertaining to carry-on baggage. Nothing may be stowed in the lavatories, unless lavatories meet all the requirements for approved cargo stowage areas.

That document is FAA Order 8900.1, “Flight Information Standards Information System (FSIMS),” Volume 3, Chapter 33, entitled “Cabin Safety and Flight Attendant Management.”

The first thing that comes to mind is that it’s not a Federal Aviation Regulation. So an airline isn’t being totally honest in saying “Federal Regulations” require that no personal items be stowed in the seat pocket.

It also quotes an out-of-date Advisory Circular.  AC 121-29A was superseded in on 24 July, 2000, by AC  121-29B. (And neither of them even mention seat pockets anyway. Neither does FAR 121.589, which is the Federal Aviation Regulation that specifically addresses carry-on baggage.)

The reason FAA Order 8900.1 quotes that out-of-date AC is because it’s not the first FAA document to contain that paragraph. FAA Order 8400.10, the “Flight Standards Handbook Bulletin for Air Transportation (HBAT)” entitled “Air Carrier Carry-On Baggage Programs” said it in 1998:

C. Proper stowage of carry-on baggage is a major safety issue. Many FAA inspectors and air carrier crewmembers have asked for a definition of proper stowage of baggage. AC 121-29A asks the airlines to include in their carry-on baggage programs, a definition of properly stowed. Ensuring that baggage does not interfere with emergency equipment is an important part of the information about proper stowage. In addition, nothing can be stowed in the seat pockets except magazines and passenger information cards. It is not a good safety practice to stow meals, either brought onto the airplane by passengers or served by the air carrier, in seat back pockets. The FAA considers meals carried on by passengers to be carry-on baggage. Even though meals may be exempt by the air carrier from the number of bags permitted, they still must be stowed in accordance with the regulations pertaining to carry-on baggage. Nothing may be stowed in the lavatories, unless lavatories meet all the requirements for approved cargo stowage areas.

So actually, it’s been a so-called “regulation” since 1998 that nothing can be in the seatback pockets except magazines and passenger information cards. Nothing.

Not even barf bags.

Putting aside the fact that it’s not part of the FARs, the airlines have completely ignored it for eleven years. So why is it suddenly so all-fired urgent that they enforce it now?

The NYTimes article mentioned a couple of possibilities:

Some airline executives, who did not want to be named because they were speculating, said that two recent phenomena might be behind any airline’s decision to enforce such a ban, with F.A.A. approval. One is that new fees on checked bags have created more carryon volume, and some passengers may be overloading seatback pockets — though they said they had not considered this to be a problem.

The other is that airplanes are landing and being turned around for the next flight on tighter schedules. Forbidding passengers to use seatback pockets “saves time for the cleaning crew,” one said.

I have a feeling it’s both.

But what I want to know is why they’re not enforcing the entire “regulation.” Specifically, why are they still putting barf bags in those seat pockets? They’re not allowed. Read the “regulation.” Only magazines and passenger information cards. No barf bags.

Sure, it’s a little nit-picky of me to point this out. And where else are the bags going to be stowed so they can be easily accessed when needed, etc.

But my point is that their sudden selective enforcement of only the element from an 11-year-old document that inconveniences their passengers, while blatantly ignoring the bit that would be inconvenient & costly to the airlines themselves, speaks volumes about the way these airlines regard their passengers.

So, airlines, what are you playing at? If you’re going to enforce a “regulation” so ludicrous, how come you’re not enforcing it completely?

Or would that be too inconvenient for you?

Ah, welcome to the world you’ve made for your passengers, then.

There’s been a lot of media coverage about organized mobs intimidating lawmakers, disrupting town halls, and silencing real discussion about the need for real health insurance reform.

The truth is, it’s a sham. These “grassroots protests” are being organized and largely paid for by Washington special interests and insurance companies who are desperate to block reform. They’re trying to use lies and fear to break the President and his agenda for change.

Health insurance reform is about our lives, our jobs, and our families — we can’t let distortions and intimidation get in the way. We need to expose these outrageous tactics, and we’re counting on you to help. Can you read these “5 facts about the anti-reform mobs,” then pass them along to your friends and family?
5 facts about the anti-reform mobs

1. These disruptions are being funded and organized by out-of-district special-interest groups and insurance companies who fear that health insurance reform could help Americans, but hurt their bottom line. A group run by the same folks who made the “Swiftboat” ads against John Kerry is compiling a list of congressional events in August to disrupt. An insurance company coalition has stationed employees in 30 states to track where local lawmakers hold town-hall meetings.

2. People are scared because they are being fed frightening lies. These crowds are being riled up by anti-reform lies being spread by industry front groups that invent smears to tarnish the President’s plan and scare voters. But as the President has repeatedly said, health insurance reform will create more health care choices for the American people, not reduce them. If you like your insurance or your doctor, you can keep them, and there is no “government takeover” in any part of any plan supported by the President or Congress.

3. Their actions are getting more extreme. Texas protesters brought signs displaying a tombstone for Rep. Lloyd Doggett and using the “SS” symbol to compare President Obama’s policies to Nazism. Maryland Rep. Frank Kratovil was hanged in effigy outside his district office. Rep. Tim Bishop of New York had to be escorted to his car by police after an angry few disrupted his town hall meeting — and more examples like this come in every day. And they have gone beyond just trying to derail the President’s health insurance reform plans, they are trying to “break” the President himself and ruin his Presidency.

4. Their goal is to disrupt and shut down legitimate conversation. Protesters have routinely shouted down representatives trying to engage in constructive dialogue with voters, and done everything they can to intimidate and silence regular people who just want more information. One attack group has even published a manual instructing protesters to “stand up and shout” and try to “rattle” lawmakers to prevent them from talking peacefully with their constituents.

5. Republican leadership is irresponsibly cheering on the thuggish crowds. Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner issued a statement applauding and promoting a video of the disruptions and looking forward to “a long, hot August for Democrats in Congress.”

It’s time to expose this charade, before it gets more dangerous. Please send these facts to everyone you know. You can also post them on your website, blog, or Facebook page.

Now, more than ever, we need to stand strong together and defend the truth.

Thanks,

Jen

Jen O’Malley Dillon
Executive Director
Democratic National Committee

Daily Express Cover 22 July 09

My son, who is not a British citizen, but who was granted indefinite leave to remain (and work) in the UK over eight years ago, has been out of work since his call centre job ended in March.

Last week, he saw the adverts for jobs with the NHS National Pandemic Flu Hotline and he promptly called the recruitment agency (we’ll call them Agency A) on Friday evening.

He called two recruitment agencies, actually; his last employer (a well-known staffing agency we’ll call Agency M) had also advertised the job.

He was invited for an interview in Glasgow on Saturday with his old employer. Before he left, he was also invited to an interview in Glasgow on Sunday with Agency A.

He was successful at the interview on Saturday with his old employer, Agency M. They told him they would be in touch on Tuesday to let him know where and when to show up for work.

In the meantime, as a courtesy, he called Agency A on Sunday morning to let them know that he would not be attending their interview that afternoon. They were very interested to hear that he’d been interviewed for the position. They told him that if he wanted to work on this job, he had better come to their interview that afternoon, because they were the only company with the contract, and that Agency M must have been hiring as a contingency in case Agency A couldn’t hire enough people.

So not knowing what to do, and desperate for a job, he went to the interview with Agency A. He was successful again, and was told to start training Tuesday evening.

Excerpt of article on Wednesday, 22 July 09

Please keep in mind that this all took place during Glasgow Fair weekend. I’d be willing to bet that under normal circumstances, those offices would have been pretty much deserted from Friday afternoon until Tuesday morning. This should give an idea of the urgency under which the hiring was being done.

He planned on calling his old employer, Agency M, on Tuesday morning to let them know that he had taken the job with the other agency. However, Agency M beat him to the punch, calling him first thing Tuesday morning to tell him that the contract start date had been pushed back a week, and they would be in touch in a few days. So he didn’t say anything about the other job, as that pretty much confirmed what he’d been told about which agency actually had the contract.

He started training with Agency A on Tuesday evening, 21 July, working from 7.30-22.30 pm. They told him to be back for more training at 3pm the next day, Wednesday, 22 July. He trained that day from 3pm until 8pm. At the end of that shift, they told him to be back the next morning, Thursday, 23 July, at 8am, to start taking live calls when the service went live later that day.

Thursday morning, shortly after he got to work, he was pulled aside by one of the Agency A representatives and told there was a problem with his references, and he would have to leave the job. His temporary pass was taken from him and he was escorted out the door. The rep told him that she had tried to phone him Wednesday night, but she apparently had the wrong number. (She must have really been burning the midnight oil Wednesday night. He was onsite from 3pm until 8pm, so presumably the problem only cropped up after that. Otherwise, why was he told to return the following morning?)

Needless to say, he was gutted.*

We couldn’t figure out why there would be a problem with his references. He called the two people he’d put on the application form, and neither of them had been contacted. So he called Agency A’s Glasgow office to find out what had happened. They had no idea. They didn’t even know he’d been told to leave the site. It was several hours before they called him back to say there were problems with his “employment reference,” and that the NHS was a very strict client, so they had no choice but to tell him to leave.

He thought it was rather puzzling that the employment reference would be a problem, since the job application only asked for a two-year job history, and he only had one employer during that time: Agency M, for whom he had worked for a year and a half, up until his assignment ended in March. And Agency M had already hired him for this very job, so presumably they felt he was suitable for it.  So he called Agency M to ask about the status of the assignment with them. “Oh,” they said, “We still don’t know when it’s going to start. But I understand that Agency A is hiring for it, so you might want to apply to them.”

So, to recap, he’d been told by Agency A that he couldn’t stay in the job because of his employment reference, presumably from Agency M. But Agency M had hired him for the same job AND suggested he also apply to Agency A, since they didn’t know when their assignment would start. So why would they give him a bad employment reference?

Or did someone in the NHS suffer a sudden late-night knee trauma, in reaction to the above Daily Express cover and accompanying article? This front page and article came out on Wednesday, 22 July — the day my son was working until 8pm, only to be told when he returned to work the next morning that there was a problem with his “references.”

Crosby, Stills, & Nash in Manchester, UK

Last night’s Crosby, Stills, & Nash concert in Manchester was the best concert I’ve ever attended in my life. And I’m not the only person who felt that way. I heard several other people say the same thing as we made our way to the parking garage afterward.

We were lucky to have snagged great seats (2nd row center*), which obviously added to our enjoyment, but it was far more than that. The performance simply felt special. Maybe it was because it was Manchester and Graham Nash had family in the audience. Whatever it was, it came across strongly.

*If we’d known the seats were going to be so good, we would have brought a better camera. These are from my iPhone.

Graham Nash & David Crosby. In background: James Raymond, keyboard.

And it extended to the audience. Those who know me best could say with some justification that I’m not the most sociable person on the planet, but it felt as if we made some friends last night. We chatted during the intermission with the two couples seated in front of us, and they were feeling the same way we were feeling about this concert. One couple’s enjoyment of “Southern Cross” had been so apparent that Stephen Stills noticed. He kept grinning at them as he sang, and when the song was over, he threw his guitar pick to them. It landed behind their chairs, but they couldn’t find it. A few minutes later, my husband spotted it on the floor. He grabbed it and gave it to them.

It was that kind of night. The sort of night that makes a guy give Stephen Stills’s guitar pick(!!) to someone he’s never met before because he knows that particular pick means more to them at that moment that it will ever mean to him.

Pure magic.

Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, and David Crosby

It seemed as if the band were enjoying themselves as well. I hope they were. I hope they got as much enjoyment out of the evening as they gave us.

David Crosby & Graham Nash. In background: Joe Vitale on drums and Bob Flower (?) on bass guitar

For the encore, they had the ropes that had been placed a few feet front of the stage moved back, so folks could get right up next to the edge of stage. I guess my son would have called it “the mosh pit.” Anyway, it was neat. It was special. They sang “Wooden Ships,” then they came back once more for a final song. It was “Teach Your Children.” I’ve never really liked that song. There are lines in it that hurt. I guess that’s a big part of what makes it such a great song. Those lines hurt right now more than ever, so it was even harder to listen to than normal … but at the same time, it was the perfect song to end that concert. I can’t really say why. Like so much of the rest of the evening, it just felt that way.

Stephen Stills. In background: Todd Caldwell on organ

So thank you, Messrs Crosby, Stills, and Nash et al. You gave us an unforgettable evening.

(Update: Thank you to winslowboy from the Rockphiles.com forums, who had the presence of mind to write down the names of the very talented gentlemen in the backing band. I was too busy taking shaky pictures of them with my iPhone when they were introduced.)

When it was their turn to answer the call of “First Here Please!” they both walked up to the counter and the woman began placing her order. Then she picked up the kid and sat her on the counter. Sat her down right smack dab in the middle of the counter – the counter where food is served.

Sat the kid right down there on that food counter, complete with shoes fresh from walking around the rail station and God only knows where else, and diaper full of God only knows what. All on the counter where food is served.

I wasn’t all that thrilled about stopping at that particular eatery in the first place, but it was quick and I was in a hurry. But that was just gross.