The skies might be friendly, but United? Not so much

From the Chicago Tribune:

Videos of a United Airlines passenger being forcibly dragged from his seat to make room for airline crew members on a Sunday overbooked flight at O’Hare International Airport have been viewed more than 1 million times, and the airline’s CEO on Monday called the incident “an upsetting event to all of us here at United.”

“I apologize for having to re-accommodate these customers. Our team is moving with a sense of urgency to work with the authorities and conduct our own detailed review of what happened,” United CEO Oscar Munoz said in a statement Monday. Munoz said the airline is trying to reach the passenger to “further address and resolve this situation.”

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The New New Hampshire, Now Located in Massachusetts

From politicalticker at CNN:

At a time when the former Alaska governor appears to be shrinking from the spotlight, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann is stepping up as yet another favorite daughter of the conservative movement.

In recent television appearances, political activities and speaking engagements, Bachmann has matched Palin’s slams against President Obama and garnered seemingly equal affection from conservative activists.

But it remains to be seen whether embarrassing and highly publicized gaffes will affect her presidential chances.

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Minority Report

From POLITICAL HOTSHEET at CBS NEWS:

In a meeting with Hispanic high school students on Friday, Nevada Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle downplayed her campaign’s use of generic pictures of Latinos to present a negative image of illegal immigrants.

…snip…

Questioned about the ads, which feature somber-looking, dark-skinned men and phrases like “illegal aliens,” Angle told a Hispanic group from Rancho High School that the ads do not necessarily portray Latinos. Furthermore, she told the students confronting her that they themselves do not necessarily look Latino.

In the meeting, first reported on by the Associated Press, a student asked Angle, “Why is it that in all of your commercials you have the image of Latinos? What do you see when you hear, and I quote, ‘illegal aliens?'”

Angle responds: “I think that you’re misinterpreting those commercials. I’m not sure that those are Latinos in that commercial. What it is, is a fence and there are people coming across that fence. What we know is that our northern border is where the terrorists came through. That’s the most porous border that we have. We cannot allow terrorists; we cannot allow anyone to come across our border if we don’t know why they’re coming. So we have to secure all of our borders and that’s what that was about, is border security. Not just our southern border, but our coastal border and our northern border.”

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The End of the Daley Show

From Chris Cillizza at THE FIX at The Washington Post:

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley‘s surprise announcement today that he would not seek a seventh term in 2011 immediately set off speculation that White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel would enter the race.

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What Can Brown Do For You, Capt. Underpants?

From The Boston Globe:

PHOENIX – US Senator Scott Brown, driving past palm trees and American flags, brought his political star power to Arizona today to stump for the 2008 GOP standard-bearer, John McCain.

…snip…

McCain is locked in one of his toughest reelection fights of his career, and was hoping Brown could bolster his conservative credentials. McCain’s chief opponent in the Republican primary, former congressman and talk radio personality J.D. Hayworth, has been criticizing McCain as too liberal for Arizona.

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Rod Blackojevich

From IMBd (The Jerk):

Navin R. Johnson: Huh? I am not a bum. I’m a jerk. I once had wealth, power, and the love of a beautiful woman. Now I only have two things: my friends and… uh… my thermos. Huh? My story? Okay. It was never easy for me. I was born a poor black child. I remember the days, sittin’ on the porch with my family, singin’ and dancin’ down in Mississippi.

Rod Blagojevich:I’m blacker than Barack Obama. I shined shoes. I grew up in a five-room apartment. My father had a little laundromat in a black community not far from where we lived, I saw it all growing up.

I kid you not.

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Sweet Home, Chicago

From ABC7CHICAGO:

September 30, 2009 (COPENHAGEN, Denmark) (WLS) — Michelle Obama begins to lobby members of the International Olympic Committee, who will decide if Chicago will host the 2016 Summer Games.

Michelle Obama arrived in Denmark just before 5 a.m. Chicago time and was greeted by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and his wife, Maggie. About two hours later, Oprah landed.

Only two days remain before the big decision. The Chicago bid team is looking to sway as many voters as possible.

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Like a Whiny Stoned Cowboy

B-Rod, in his own words:

I’m here to explain my position about the proceedings that are beginning on Monday, and explain some of the thinking behind the decision that I made and give you some insight on it.

Let me say that this is not an act of defiance; in fact, just the opposite. But there are huge, big issues at stake with regard to the proceedings starting on Monday, specifically with regard to the rules and the process that those proceedings provide for.

…snip…

Specifically, I’m talking about two rules — Rule 15F, which by all intents and purposes prevents me from calling in witnesses like presidential Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, from top presidential staffer Valerie Jarrett, from Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. and a whole series of other witnesses that I would eagerly call to testify under oath to show that I have done nothing inappropriate with regard to the decision to pick a United States senator.

…snip…

But even if I could call those witnesses, the more onerous rule is Rule 8B. Rule 8B essentially says that the charges that the House bring in a report — that was not cross-examined, not challenged, not confronted — that those very charges cannot be challenged, cannot be contested, cannot be refuted.

…snip…

Now, I like old movies and I like old cowboy movies, and I want to explain how these rules work in a more understandable way. There was an old saying in the Old West. There was a cowboy who was charged with stealing a horse in town. And some of the other cowboys, especially the guy whose horse was stolen, were very unhappy with that guy. And one of the cowboys said, “Let’s hang him.” Then the other cowboys said, “Hold on. Before we hang him, let’s first give him a fair trial. Then we’ll hang him.” Under these rules, I’m not even getting a fair trial. They’re just hanging me. And when they hang me under these rules, that prevent due process, they’re hanging the 12 million people of Illinois who twice have elected a governor.

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