Three stories have popped up in the last two days that highlight how far this country has to go when it comes to understanding racial differences and getting along with each other. In every case, the hateful antagonist is a white male, and in two of the cases, the target is either a child or a woman.

Slapping crying babies on airplanes is a bad idea, whether or not they're related to you

I guess Joe Ricky Hundley of Idaho hasn't been clued in to the fact that small children cry as airplanes descend to clear their ears and stabilize the pressure. When Jessica Bennett's 2-year old son started crying as the plane descended on a flight into Atlanta, this happened:

The boy's mother, Jessica Bennett, 33, of Minnesota told the FBI that she and her son were seated in row 28, seat B, on February 8 on Delta Flight 721 that originated in Minneapolis, according to an FBI agent's affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta this week.

The boy began crying because of the altitude change, and his mother tried to soothe him, court papers said.
Then Hundley, who was seated next to the mother and son, allegedly told her to "shut that ('N word') baby up," according to court documents.

Hundley then turned around and slapped the 2-year-old in the face with an open hand, which caused the child to scream even louder, the affidavit said.

Ya think? That sort of seems to go without saying, right? Hundley's the one crying now, since he faces an assault charge that carries a one-year prison term. Slapping other people's children is bad enough. Doing it while assuming the role of slave owner is far, far worse.

Don't let the black nurse care for the white baby

This one comes from a Flint, Michigan hospital. Again via CNN:

The lawsuit accuses managers at Hurley Medical Center in Flint of reassigning Tonya Battle, who has worked at the facility for 25 years, based on the color of her skin.

The man approached Battle, while she was caring for his child in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit, asking to speak to her supervisor, according to the complaint filed in January by Battle's attorney.

She pointed the charge nurse in his direction.

The man, who is not named in the filing, allegedly showed her a tattoo that may have been "a swastika of some kind" and told her that he didn't want African-Americans involved in his baby's care.

The request, according to the lawsuit, made its way through management ranks, and was granted. Battle's manager called her at home to tell her she would be reassigned -- and why, the suit says.

[...]

The hospital's lawyer then objected to the decision, and the note was removed. The staff then told the father that they could no long honor his request, according to the complaint.

Even so, the lawsuits alleges, for more than a month no African American nurses were assigned to care of the child.

Emory University President defends 3/5ths person compromise

When one is arguing for the value of compromise, it might be a bad idea to cite the 3/5ths of a person provision in the constitution as a fine example of how compromise can work.

One instance of constitutional compromise was the agreement to count three-fifths of the slave population for purposes of state representation in Congress. Southern delegates wanted to count the whole slave population, which would have given the South greater influence over national policy. Northern delegates argued that slaves should not be counted at all, because they had no vote. As the price for achieving the ultimate aim of the Constitution—“to form a more perfect union”—the two sides compromised on this immediate issue of how to count slaves in the new nation. Pragmatic half-victories kept in view the higher aspiration of drawing the country more closely together.

Some might suggest that the constitutional compromise reached for the lowest common denominator—for the barest minimum value on which both sides could agree. I rather think something different happened. Both sides found a way to temper ideology and continue working toward the highest aspiration they both shared—the aspiration to form a more perfect union. They set their sights higher, not lower, in order to identify their common goal and keep moving toward it.

Far be it from me to argue with a university president, but the Federalist Papers have a completely different version of how that compromise came to be, and who argued for full personhood for slaves and who did not. Let's just say it went in the reverse direction. And, as Digby points out, there were some serious consequences, which we seem to still see today:

That "pragmatic compromise" was in service of a system that led to a bloody civil war and centuries of suffering for millions of African Americans. The "higher aspiration" wasn't met in that "compromise" it was forged in blood on battlefields filled with hundreds of thousands of casualties (and nearly two centuries later in the streets of Southern cities.) To use that as an example of how pragmatic compromise leads to the greater good over time is shockingly perverse.

Even more perverse, given the first two stories. Yes, the American Civil War never ended. It just shifted to new theatres.

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:

I've written about Delta Airlines' anti-union positions earlier: Anti-union campaign goes to Washington -- helped by airlines like Delta

From mcjoan of Dkos:

The House will vote on the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization and the provision in it which would essentially codify vote fraud in organizing elections.

A recap: last year the the National Mediation Board that oversees those elections ruled that the railroad and airline industries would have to end their practice of counting non-votes in these elections as no votes. Previously, any eligible worker who chose not to vote was automatically counted as a no. Which would be fraud in any other election in the United State. The industries, and most House Republicans, want the rule back.

Fast forward. The anti-union push is building, in part fueled by one particular airline's zeal to kill fairness in the workplace.

I'm at the point that I will never fly Delta again. I think you should consider it too. Air travel is no day in the park and many people want to book a flight and be done with it, but there comes a time when even if it causes us more inconvenience, we have to do the right thing....read on

Since I wrote this, Delta has only upped the ante and become the Scott Walker in the skies airline:

Around The World Blog:

Delta has been the #1 worst U.S. airline every year in a row since the founding of this blog-- and that's just based on their service. Turns out, though, there's more to Delta's unsuitability as a reliable travel partner than how badly the management runs their operations. As yesterday's Wall Street Journal pointed out, the airline is a bastion of right-wing anti-worker extremism. No wonder their employees always seem so down in the dumps and resentful! The National Mediation Board is now investigating charges by flight attendants that Delta, the only non-Union U.S. airline, illegally interfered in unionization elections by pressuring employees to vote against the unions. As Joe Sudbay observed at AmericaBlog yesterday, "Delta is like the Scott Walker of airlines. It wants to be known as anti-worker."

We can probably expect even more skullduggery from Delta in the coming weeks as they double down in their anti-union jihad. They've been a lead driver in pushing Republican extremists in the House to rescind fair election rules for air/rail workers for elections conducted under the National Mediation Board. For progressives who care about keeping elections fair, giving workers the choice whether or not they want to join a union, and supporting companies who operate under basic standards of decency, there are a number of reasons for progressives to be outraged about Delta Airlines:

Continue reading »

Big money is the root of most all our political problems, that's no secret. Without a fight, the SCOTUS' ruling on corporate campaign spending this week could spell the end of citizen involvement in national politics -- so it comes as somewhat of a surprise that one of the first voices in the fight against big corporate money flooding into Washington D.C. would be a group of CEOs?

WASHINGTON – Dozens of current and former corporate executives have a message for Congress: Quit hitting us up for campaign cash.

Roughly 40 executives from companies including Playboy Enterprises, ice cream maker Ben & Jerry's, the Seagram's liquor company, toymaker Hasbro, Delta Airlines and Men's Wearhouse sent a letter to congressional leaders Friday urging them to approve public financing for House and Senate campaigns. They say they are tired of getting fundraising calls from lawmakers — and fear it will only get worse after Thursday's Supreme Court ruling.

"Members of Congress already spend too much time raising money from large contributors," the business executives' letter says. "And often, many of us individually are on the receiving end of solicitation phone calls from members of Congress. With additional money flowing into the system due to the court's decision, the fundraising pressure on members of Congress will only increase." Read on...

The linked AP article goes on to say that the letter was sent by an organization called Fair Elections Now, which is dedicated to passing the Fair Elections Act. The FEA was sponsored by Illinois Senator Dick Durbin.

Could some of this be a PR move by some of these corporations to lessen potential public backlash? Perhaps. Either way, the push back against the complete corporate takeover of our government must be loud and relentless.

Blogging Flight Attendant Fired!

Ellen Simonetti has been fired from her job at Delta Airlines for posting pictures of herself in uniform! The pictures in question do not show much skin, only "hint" at a little playful sexuality. I guess a hint is all it takes these days.

Today Show segment:

Video

Ellen was unaware that she had done anything wrong and when Delta told her that they weren't happy, she removed the photo's immediately. That wasn't good enough for Delta.

Beware all bloggers!