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In one of the crazier things that have happened this week, Kevin Smith was kicked off a Southwest flight last weekend because he was determined to be a “person of size.” He stated that he complied with their guidelines, and was still asked to leave the plane.

Here’s his take Smodcast Final Words, and it’s definitely worth watching. You may also want to listen to SMODCast 107, where Mr. Smith talks to Natali, a young woman who was on his return flight that had an incident with Southwest over this policy.

If you look on Southwest’s website, buried under the customer service section is a single link that describes their person of size policy.

According to their Customer of Size FAQ, it’s not “just about weight.” Of course, I’m not sure if this document has been recently updated after everything that went on with Mr. Smith this week, but it seems like it’s a recent update since it goes to great lengths to cover their policy.

The problem, though, is that the policy says that the definitive guide is whether or not the person can fit between the armrests of the seat. Mr. Smith states that he had no trouble putting down the armrests, and that in spite of that, he was asked to deplane.

Neither the policy NOR the FAQ state anything that outside of the “definitive guide” that any Southwest employee can make a judgement call on who is a “customer of size.”

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With the second Presidential debate last night, you would have thought John McCain would have been smart and actually tried to talk about the issues and tell us how he plans to fix the problems facing the country.

Instead…

Obama wants to spend $800 billion

Obama wants to raise taxes

Obama wants bigger government

Obama wants to make health care a mandate

Obama likes those “pork-barrel” projects

Obama is wrong about Iraq

“That one” just doesn’t understand military strategy, foreign policy, etc.

McCain, looking more and more like Elmer Fudd, wants us to be afwaid, verwy afwaid, of Barack Obama.

The only new thing we heard from McCain was this idea of having the government step in and buy up all of the bad mortgages. He doesn’t mention that this goes against his “less government” ideology, nor does he mention what the price tag on such a plan would be.

After berating Obama over “declaring” that he’d go after terrorists inside Pakistan, McCain would do “whatever it takes” to get Bin-Laden, but only after he’d won over the hearts and minds of the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan. So, he would attack inside Pakistan, he’d just be more secretive about it.

McCain wants us to look at their records in the Senate and vote based on their records. Ironically, that’s exactly what’s killing him.

As much as he touts standing up to his own party, he hasn’t done so in the last several years. With Bush’s approval ratings at an all-time low and the economy sinking fast, Obama’s strategy of McCain = Bush is resonating with the people.

Combine that with McCain’s inability to go into specifics about any of his plans, or just the overall eerie feeling that the McCain campaign strategy echoes Bush’s campaigns, and the “Straight-Talk Express” is falling off the tracks.

So, now, like Bush, McCain will focus on the negative. Stop one step shy of calling Obama a terrorist. Sling as much mud as they can, while claiming that it’s Obama running the dirtiest campaign in history.

The problem is that it’s too little, too late. The media, much like with Palin’s “Obama is pallin around with terrorists” remark, is finally stepping up and calling the Republicans out on the mud-slinging.

McCain can sling all the mud he wants now, but it’s only going to reflect poorly on him. It’s a last gasp effort by a man who is desperate to do “whatever it takes” to win the White House, and it will ultimately cost him the election.

Today, John McCain announced that he was suspending his campaign temporarily so he could return to Washington to help deal with the financial crisis. He wanted to postpone Friday’s debate and pull all ads and asked Obama to do the same.

Part of that suspension included putting off a scheduled appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman. Letterman makes fun of the situation, but he really makes some good points.

Letterman Rips McCain for Taking a Time Out

Sure, he could participate in the discussions in Washington, but he could also still continue the campaign as well. Would it be that hard to have his people keep him briefed on what’s going on, and then go to Washington only when it’s time to vote on the program?

Can he not do two things at once? Why isn’t he, as Letterman suggested, sending in his second string quarterback to campaign in his absence?

After all, if Palin is a pit-bull with lipstick and, as the McCain campaign continually assures us, is ready to step into the Presidency at a moment’s notice, surely she can handle campaigning on her own for a couple of days.

Or can she?

McCain also wants to postpone the VP debates as well. And that’s after getting Obama to agree to a very specific set of rules and regulations around the VP debates.

Why quit now? The man whose painting himself as a war hero and a maverick shouldn’t even be flinching at having to run a campaign and do what he can to help out when the country is in need.

They need time out to figure out how to turn this mess to their advantage. Sure this hit at a bad time, but McCain hasn’t helped his situation any better.

First, he said the economy was “fundamentally sound.” Then, McCain reverses himself and makes a speech blaming the Wall Street “fat cats.” The press reminds him that oh, by the way, those “fat cats” are major contributors to your campaign.

He gives another interview defending Rick Davis, his campaign manager, stating that his firm’s ties to Freddie Mac were suspended at the end of 2005, and he boldly states that he’d be glad to have someone look at the records to back up that statement.

The press though, did their own digging and learned that yes, the initial deal did end with Freddie Mac in 2005. But, they also learned that Davis himself went back to Freddie Mac and negotiated a new arrangement that paid his firm until last month when the government bailed Freddie Mac out.

Oops.

The crisis has dumped Bush’s ratings down to 19%, which isn’t helping the Republican cause, regardless of how much they try to distance themselves from him. Obama’s numbers are jumping in key states already.

So, yeah, someone thought it was a brilliant idea for McCain to put everything on hold, go to Washington and use it to show people that he cares about the situation.

The problem, though, is that most people, like Letterman, aren’t buying it. Instead of looking like a great idea, McCain is going to get in the middle of things and turn it in to more of a circus than it already is. He’ll be a distraction instead of a help, and he’ll be more than happy to take credit for doing absolutely nothing.

In addition, he’s showing us that he can’t handle more than one major situation at a time. Well, let’s see: we have a presidential election, an economic crisis, a foreign policy nightmare, and oh yeah, we’re fighting two wars, and terrorism hasn’t gone away.

So, if things get bad as president, is he going to ask Al Qaeda for a time-out too?

And what about Palin? Well, since they’re still keeping her under wraps, the Republicans are showing us they’re petty sure she’s not ready for anything that doesn’t involve a well-rehearsed script.

What next? After this crisis is resolved, is McCain going to want a “do over” and just roll things back to right after the Republican convention?

After Friday’s announcement of John McCain’s choice as his Vice Presidential candidate, one question was on the lips of everyone.

Sarah Who?

While the media has spent the weekend scrambling to dig up everything about Sarah Palin, and the Democrats have been quick to respond, don’t be so sure the election is in the bag.

A lot of people are wondering, Sarah Palin? Really? What are the Republicans thinking? Are they even trying to win?

They’re thinking: they want to win. And, I believe their entire strategy is banking on the idea that the American people are stupid enough to get them there.

Sure, they’re banking on a couple of other groups as well. There’s the group of women voters who are so bitter about Hillary not getting the nomination they’ll vote for anyone who has a woman on their ticket. They don’t even care that Palin is probably against most of the issues they care about.

There are also, sadly, in this day and age, others who won’t vote for Obama simply because of his color.

With Palin, the Republicans give up the experience argument that they’ve had success with against Obama. But, they still have their main weapon. The weapon that helped them win the last election.

Fear.

That’s the GOP strategy. They’re going to make you afraid of change. They’re going to make you afraid of Obmaa. They’re going to try make look McCain/Palin look cute and cuddly next to the evil Obama/Biden ticket, and they’re banking that most of you (well, at least 51% of you) will buy into it.

Ignore that McCain isn’t in touch with the middle class. We’ve got the “hockey mom” raising five kids. She understands your pain. She’s living the American dream, and she has chosen to serve her country through public service. She’s the nice lady who lives next door.

But what about Bush? They won’t talk about Bush. If they do, they’ll say one thing. Bush was right. He was right in going to Afghanistan. He was right in going to Iraq. And he’s right in keeping us there.

But, if Obama is elected, the Republicans will say that he’ll pull us out of Iraq before the mission is complete. This will only embolden the terrorists in Iraq. It will encourage the other terrorist countries, such as Iran. They will come after us again, and we’ll have another 9/11 on our hands. Obama won’t have the experience to deal with it.

But, McCain was a vet. He served in the war, just like your grandpa did. He was a POW. He won’t back down from the terrorists.

And it’s not just the terrorists. Remember the Russians? Those wacky commie bastards are trying to stir things up again.

If Obama is elected, the Republicans will say the Russians will stir things up even more because they won’t be afraid of him.

But they won’t mess with Grandpa John. He knows how to deal with the Russkies.

What about the economy?

Oh, don’t worry about it, the GOP will say. The economy will work itself out. In fact, things are already starting to look up. The economy is like a wave; it has highs and lows. We’ve been riding a low point in the wave, but it’s on the rise again. In fact, the Republicans may even try to convince you that the low wave we’re now “rebounding” from is the result of economic policies passed by the Clinton administration over 8 years ago.

What about health care? Jobs?

Have faith in the market, they’ll say. The market will fix the job situation. The market will fix health care. Sure, those big corporations are out to make a buck, but at the end of the day they’re just normal people trying to support their families. Have faith that they’ll fix health costs and make them more reasonable.

But, if Obama is elected, he’s going to interfere with the market. He’s going to make everyone pay for a health care system. It’s going to raise your taxes. It’s going to be like Communist Russia. It will take forever to see a doctor, and chances are you won’t even get the right treatment.

See? The Democrats want to change things, but nothing is broken.
The Republicans will try to convince you to hold the line. We’ve almost weathered the storm, and if we stay the course, things will magically work out.

But, those bad bad Democrats, with Osama, I mean, Obama, (oh yeah, you really think the GOP won’t try that?) want to change the course, and they’ll steer us into the rocks. Remember the last two charismatic Democratic presidents? What did they do? One is remembered for messing around with his intern, and that other one almost started World War III.

Change is bad. Obama is for change. Therefore, Obama is bad.

Trust us. Have faith in us. We’re the GOP. G-O-P, after all, is one letter away from G-O-D.

Besides, would you really vote against your Grandpa John and the soccer mom next door?

I would.

Here’s a nifty little tidbit to know while driving in Texas. You might want keep your insurance card on you at all times and keep it current.

Back in late 2003, the legislature passed a little known law called the Driver Responsibility Program (see Chapter 708 of the Transportation Code). The idea, as presented to the voters, was that it would set up a points program. Get enough points on your license, and pay additional fees. It was also supposed to fine people who committed certain violations, such as DWI or uninsured motorists. Sounds great, right?

http://tlo2.tlc.state.tx.us/statutes/tn.toc.htm

Well, except on that one day you get pulled over and for whatever reason you left your wallet at home. You have no driver’s license and no proof of insurance. You’ve always had both, and you had never gone a day without insurance. You moved recently too, and you haven’t updated your driver’s license.

The cop, for whatever reason, decides he’s not feeling very generous today and writes you tickets for both no license and no insurance. Okay, you think, you get your stuff, take it down to the courthouse and pay a small fine once you show that you do indeed have a license and proof of insurance. No big deal.

Oh, but wait, here’s the fun part that they probably don’t tell you. Because you were given tickets for no license and no insurance, you qualify under the new law. For the next three years, the state is going to charge you additional fees for each violation: $100 for no license, and $250 for no insurance.

Oh, but I’m not an uninsured driver, you say? You’ll appeal it, right? Nope. There is nothing in the law that allows honest drivers the means to avoid paying the fines if they can provide adequate evidence that they have a valid license and/or insurance during the course of those three years.

But, wait! There’s more! Remember that you moved recently right? Well the state is required by law to provide you with written notice about these fines. You didn’t change your address yet, so you never receive the notice. Excellent! The state, seeing that you haven’t made any effort to pay the fines in 30 days, which is the law, automatically suspends your license. The suspension isn’t removed until you begin to make the payment(s) to the state. I say payments because the state has been kind enough to provide in the law a monthly payment plan.

If you’re lucky, you’ll find out about the suspension by trying to renew the license, and not by getting pulled over again. Why? Well, driving with a suspended license opens up a whole new line of opportunities for the state to nail you.

No, I didn’t get burned by this, but I know someone who has. I can understand the intent of the law, but the fact that it allows no provisions to prevent honest citizens from being nailed by the surcharges is completely asinine. The way the law appears on the book assumes everyone is a criminal.

This ties well in with the new laws being pushed for red-light cameras and speeding cameras. It provides the government more ways to treat all citizens as criminals without any type of “due process.”

Oh, no big deal, you may be thinking. It usually just consists of fines, anyway.

Really? You don’t think a local government won’t “tweak” their traffic signals to shorten the signal length in order to frustrate you to the point that you’ll want to run the red light, cameras or not? And if they get away with speeding cameras, the entire state will be like New Mexico where the speed limit is 35 everywhere.

Still not enough? Okay, how about this? At the end of this legislative session, the Texas government added tougher penalties to these laws. One strike and you’re out. Automatic three-day jail sentence. And, to top it off, the cities create task forces with the sole purpose to haul your criminal lead-footed-red-light-running-left-your-insurance-at-home ass to jail!

How do ya like them apples?