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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Open Thread: LEO Snakes on A United Plane

Open Thread: LEO Snakes on A United Plane

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If there’s an opening to defend overzealous enforcement in the service of soulless corporatism, count on Ross Doubthat to rush in. Not that he was alone in his pursuit of the Worst Possible Take…

Reader Interactions

47Comments

  1. 1.

    Iowa Old Lady

    “re-accommodated”?

    Where’s George Orwell when we need him?

    ETA: And shoot, that KS race is now down to 51-48 for the Democrat. I know we weren’t supposed to be looking for a win, just an indication of how much Trump backlash there is, but still.

  2. 2.

    Baud

    Looks like Ross is asking for someone to bloody his head…for the relaxation, of course.

  3. 3.

    Beautifulplummage

    I love that United put out a new app yesterday with a drag and drop feature…which should have been renamed the drop and drag feature.

  4. 4.

    TenguPhule

    Ross Doughboy just admitted to being a serial child molester? I can’t find any other rational explanation for why he had 3 small children with him on a plane.

  5. 5.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    Douthat wouldn’t be holding stock in United without disclosing to readers, would he?

  9. 9.

    Raoul

    What a supreme dick Douthat is. And he is proud of his dickishness! Pretty much encapsulates the insular and decayed mindset of conservatism.

  10. 10.

    Mnemosyne

    The LA Times story today (which included information about Dr. Dao’s prior legal trouble and mental health issues) said that he’s still in the hospital. I’m sure that United’s lawyers are desperately trying to reach him to get him to settle, but the bad things I read about him made him sound like someone who would refuse to settle just to be an asshole. At least, I hope so.

  11. 11.

    Raoul

    So I’m seeing various info that the nat’l Dems basically ignored Thompson and KS04 till literally a few days ago. WTF, Dems? I know it was a long shot. But millions of people hate Trump. Work it, goddamit.

    The lengthy Perez – Ellison shitshow distracted way too many of the expensive suit class of organizational Dems after Trump’s win. Stupid, stupid.

    Still whatever happens tonight, I’m proud as heck of Thompson. He ran a real campaign, to win, and worked his ass off. I know, I’ve been supporting him since mid-Feb. He’s impressive, and the Dem party needs to back him in the regular, if Thompson wants to run (or is the incumbent! still hoping).

  14. 14.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Raoul:

    Reposting from a couple of threads down because it seems relevant to your comment:

    in all candor the Ga Dems need to get their act together. Now less than a week out, and they haven’t yet (a) scheduled poll-watcher training sessions, (b) told us where/when to pick up our poll-watching credentials, or (c) given any assignments for next Tuesday. Frankly, I’m kind of pissed off.

    No worries, I’ll train when I’m told, pick up my credentials where- and whenever they are available, and get to whatever polling location(s) they assign me to. But they’ve been much better in the past, and I’m kind of worried that they’re blowing some of their marginal support here when they need every voter and volunteer they can get.

  16. 16.

    Raoul

    @Raoul: I suppose one could make an argument that too much DCCC money early woulda pushed a ton of GOP money to Estes. I dunno, I just hope the Dems realize that Trump rearranges priorities all over the map in coming months and years!

  17. 17.

    Sab

    @Beautifulplummage: My local NPR station burbled something during their last pledge drive about some new app they had. In my bleary morning commute I always heard their “drop n drag “as “droppin dragon” and I could never figure out why anyone would want to drop a dragon, and even if they wanted to what is the point since dragons can’t fly. As my spouse always points out to me “You know dragons aren’t real”. Yes, but that’s so much less reason to want to drop and drag them

  20. 20.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    Look – Dao did have a past, but has worked his way out of it.

    As it turns out, one of my current officemates was on the team that prosecuted him and still had some of the pleadings that he shared with me – it is pretty sad, pathetic and heartbreaking.

    If Christards have an iota of claimed mercy, this guy deserves it.

  25. 25.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    @SiubhanDuinne: The linked article notes that the FNYT kept using Clay just as long; the excuse an editor offered was that the paper uses a birth name until it’s legally “changed in a court of law.” NYC racist newspaper.

  26. 26.

    Villago Delenda Est

    OK, I saw a different version of this:

    Pepsi: well, that was an epic PR catastrophe that’ll never be matched
    United: hold my beer
    Sean Spicer: LEEEEEEERRRRROOOOY JENKINS!

  28. 28.

    Corner Stone

    @Lyrebird:

    May he gain peace of mind as he watches the massive PR loss United has incurred pallets of cash being trucked to his house for UAL being so beastly…

  29. 29.

    EriktheRed

    As disgusted as i am by this incident, I really don’t wish to see United go under, either. I have a relative who works for them who just had a baby.

  32. 32.

    Barbara

    @Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: I think I knew Dr. Dao in what I can only call a prior life, around the time when Dr. Dao was a young intern. I am not going to say anything, other than, in a setting and at a time when I was pretty much lost, he was exceptionally kind to me. What angers me most about these situations is that airline personnel have no idea what a person is going through — a difficult divorce, a family crisis, depression, or just trying to navigate a complex highwire family schedule involving minor children. So a flight out of Louisville might have had to be cancelled. What about the people trying to get to Louisville?

  34. 34.

    Chet Murthy

    @EriktheRed: They won’t go under. If there were any justice, every stockholder would lose their investment. But that’ll never happen.

    IF that happened regularly, corps would fricken’ behave, directors would exercise oversight (under penalty of penury-producing lawsuits for non-feasance), and we’d all be better-off.

  35. 35.

    Chet Murthy

    @Chet Murthy: I should have added that, via my 401k, I’m sure in the class of such stockholders (of UAL). And I stand by my position, that until corps’s stockholders face complete expropriation (via a corporate death penalty) for these sorts of sins, nothing will change.

  36. 36.

    Mnemosyne

    Since it’s an open thread, I now know for sure that at least some of my migraines are tied into my asthma. I just wish I didn’t have to find that out by getting a frickin’ migraine after having a mild asthma episode (not even an attack) thanks to some highly fragranced ant spray.

  37. 37.

    Cacti

    The blog Very Smart Brothas said that Dr. Dao getting dragged from the plane was the blackest thing that ever happened this week.

    The comment section noted that he got the full black treatment with the oppo dump on his past and the insinuation that we should be thanking United for cracking his skull.

    It’s Trump’s America now. No more “model minority” status for Asian-Americans. If you’re not white, you’re not all right.

  39. 39.

    Mnemosyne

    @Cacti:

    It’s Trump’s America now. No more “model minority” status for Asian-Americans.

    That’s why I don’t get on board when people tell Schrodinger’s Cat and other Asian-American commenters to stop freaking out. They and their friends and families are being newly targeted by the Trumpistas, so OF COURSE they’re freaking out!

  40. 40.

    Sab

    @Mnemosyne: I am in my sixties with bad knees and some vision issues. I need to be much more grateful for my health, because there are young puppies out there with actual health problems much worse than anything I am dealing with.

  41. 41.

    Mnemosyne

    @Sab:

    And even mine aren’t that bad — I have asthma, but I’ve never had an actual asthma attack. But I am cranky because I’ve had this stupid headache since I woke up this morning, but I had to go to work anyway because I had time-sensitive stuff to do. ?

  42. 42.

    Aleta

    andy lassner‏Verified account @andylassner

    Bill O’Reilly told his audience he’s going “on vacation”.
    That’s where parents tell their kids the dog is going before they put him down.

  43. 43.

    seaboogie

    Douthat’s comment was mildly more amusing than the typical attempt at humor from Mike Huckabee…these guys are just such mean-spirited douchebags that every attempt at humor is like a clang on a rusty, out of tune bell. Patton Oswalt does a pretty good job of calling out Huckabee, though.

  47. 47.

    S-Curve

    I’m seeing a lot of pushback about Dao’s “troubled past,” saying that the Courier-Journal got the wrong David Dao, and that the United passenger has no criminal record. Anybody come across anything reliable on this?

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