Delta Airlines charges returning home US Troops, $2800 for extra baggage: UPDATED
June 8, 2011 No Comment
I’ve written a lot about Delta Airlines anti-Union shenanigans and Scott Walker like activities and had a nice conversation with Sam Seder about it on his Majority Report . How low has this company sunk since I talked to Sam about them? Huff Post Delta Air Lines is facing intense criticism after charging 34 U.S. soldiers returning from Afghanistan $2,800 in baggage fees. The incident came to light on Tuesday after a couple of the new-media savvy soldiers recorded a video about their ordeal and posted it on YouTube. “We showed up and found out we had too many bags,” said Army Staff Sgt. Robert O’Hair in the video, which was shot on their flight. “We had four bags, and Delta Air Lines only allows three bags. Anything over three bags you have to pay for, even though there’s a contract between the United States government and Delta Air Lines: When returning from Afghanistan on military orders, you’re authorized up to four bags.” O’Hair added that all the soldiers with a fourth bag had to pay $200 out-of-pocket. The total for the 34 soldiers was more than $2,800. O’Hair’s fourth piece of luggage was his weapons case, carrying the tools he used, in his words, to “protect myself and Afghan citizens while I was deployed in the country.” We’ve seen how JP Morgan Chase and mortgage companies have mistreated our troops over their homes and now comes this insult. Matt Cherette writes: Delta has since explained that it allows soldiers returning from active duty to check three bags at no charge if they’re traveling in coach (four for those few in first or business class), but the airline didn’t say whether it plans to reimburse the soldiers—who were returning from Afghanistan!—for the fees. That’s because Delta is horrible and hates freedom, obviously. UPDATED: Delta has now been shamed into changing their policy. Delta has changed its baggage policy for U.S. servicemembers in response to the controversy. Rachel R. put an updated post on the company’s blog on Wednesday, announcing the changes and stressing the airline’s appreciation for armed forces. Delta’s statement, from the site Gadling.com This is just another reason to boycott Delta Airlines: enlarge Credit: http://aroundtheworldblog.blogspot.com
Continue reading …Oh, poor Rep. Sean Duffy. He promised there would be a replacement for the Affordable Care Act after the Republican House repealed it over and over again, but he can’t seem to find one. Duffy, as you might recall, is the Tea Party freshman who was fretting over how he would make ends meet on a $174,000 per year salary. But he promised there would be a replacement (giggle) after they repealed the Affordable Care Act. And Honest Sean meant that, right? Via Think Progress : Freshman Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) promised during his campaign that he would only repeal health reform after finding a solution to replace it . However, he told a town hall meeting in his district this week that GOP leaders had convinced him to vote for repeal first, ensuring him that a replacement would be on its way. GOP leaders, Duffy said, told him that a replacement bill would be ready by the Spring. The fact that nothing has been proposed or debated all year has Duffy “very concerned”: DUFFY: I believe, if we’re going to repeal the president’s health care plan, we should replace it. I still believe that. As I dealt with the leadership, that was a concern of mine. And I got a commitment from leadership that we were going to come up with a replacement. And they told me we were going to do it in the Spring. In the Spring we haven’t come out with our replacement proposal and that has me very concerned. Because that what was we had talked about before we had the vote, “repeal and replace.” Duffy is either naive or playing a fool if he thought there would be any kind of replacement for the Affordable Care Act if it actually got repealed. Republicans want everything put in reverse, including Medicare and Social Security. They do not want Americans to have access to health insurance unless they have oodles of money to keep the profit margins fat. If they’re poor, or middle class, or have to choose between their health or their home, well…too bad. I’m not sure whether I want to laugh or cry when I watch Duffy squirm over this one. My sense is that he knew there would be no replacement, and he’s just playing the dupe to keep constituents from letting him have it.
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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) unveiled its first mockup of a futuristic walkthrough screener that it says could shorten checkpoint lines and provide an even better security apparatus that would reduce the need for the much-hated airport pat down. The Checkpoint of the Future, as the IATA has billed it, will divide the security
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Type: Book Title: My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands See all customer reviews Product Description: In this raucous collection of true-life stories, actress and comedian Chelsea Handler recounts her time spent in the social trenches with that wild, strange, irresistible, and often gratifying beast: the one-night stand. You’ve either done it or know someone who has: the one-night stand, the familiar outcome of a night spent at a bar, sometimes the sole payoff for your friend’s irritating wedding, or the only relief from a disastrous vacation. Often embarrassing and uncomfortable, occasionally outlandish, but most times just a necessary and irresistible evil, the one-night stand is a social rite as old as sex itself and as common as a bar stool. Enter Chelsea Handler. Gorgeous, sharp, and anything but shy, Chelsea loves men and lots of them. My Horizontal Life chronicles her romp through the different bedrooms of a variety of suitors, a no-holds-barred account of what can happen between a man and a sometimes very intoxicated, outgoing woman during one night of passion. From her short fling with a Vegas stripper to her even shorter dalliance with a well-endowed little person, from her uncomfortable tryst with a cruise ship performer to her misguided rebound with a man who likes to play leather dress-up, Chelsea recalls the highs and lows of her one-night stands with hilarious honesty. Encouraged by her motley collection of friends (aka: her partners in crime) but challenged by her family members (who at times find themselves a surprise part of the encounter), Chelsea hits bottom and bounces back, unafraid to share the gritty details. My Horizontal Life is one guilty pleasure you won’t be ashamed to talk about in the morning. Features: ISBN13: 9781582346182 Condition: New Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold! See the details
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Dance—Earth and Sky, Shavuot 2011, Sha’ar Hagolan shavuot 2011 Rabbi Shu- Shavuot (2011) Henk_Valk says: How did the story of Ruth end up in the Torah? former Israeli cabinet minister and MK Yossi Sarid wonders: http://tinyurl.com/6blxzpt
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A long time ago, in a boardroom far, far away… a designer (flanked by marketing execs) pitched an idea for a set of Star Wars: The Old Republic branded peripherals, and the CEO of Razer told his troopers to “make it so.” Or, at least that’s how we imagine it happened. In addition to mixing up his sci-fi references, whoever approved this gaming keyboard, mouse, and headset also abandoned any notion of subtlety. All three are slathered in interchangeable Sith or Jedi insignias, bright LEDs, and a texture not unlike the exterior of a Star Destroyer. The most ostentatious is easily the keyboard, which sports both a multitouch screen and two rows of adaptive buttons over an LCD (
Continue reading …“Go on vacation.” — ANTONIO VILLAGAIROSA, mayor of Los Angeles, warning residents there to avoid driving on Interstate 405 during a phase of construction on a 10-mile stretch of the road next month, which planners anticipate will cause a traffic nightmare on L.A.’s already congested road system (via Los Angeles Times)
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