Comments on: The Shrub of Arrogance

By: Bryan

Bryan — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 20:06:33 +0000

CD, it’s night and day crossing the two borders. My nephew in San Diego has dark hair. brown eyes, and a tan from surfing. He expects to go through secondary inspection when he visits Tijuana.

By: cat daddy and dr squeeky

cat daddy and dr squeeky — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 18:47:59 +0000

… God, I’m Mexican and didn’t think of the southern border thing… I may have to turn in my union card 🙁

By: Bryan

Bryan — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 14:07:48 +0000

Steve, I think that’s the problem, that I’m still on the old system.

Jill, he’s just an arrogant jerk who does what he wants, and the “system” ignores the warnings. The immigration inspector who let him in had a strong statement on the screen telling to put on a Hazmat suit, and he ignored it. You know that if the guy was “brown” or coming across the Mexican border, he would have been arrested.

By: cookiejill

cookiejill — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 06:39:44 +0000

The really sad thing….the first I heard of this story, about his being (literally) allowed to fly out of the country and then back in, I said to myself “this guy is white and well off.”

Just think of the outrage if this person was “brown” or sneaking back and forth between San Diego and Tijuana.

Throw the freaking book at this guy. HE is a homeland security problem.

By: Steve Bates

Steve Bates — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 06:27:18 +0000

Bryan, FWIW, I’ve found that Blogger recognizes me if I log in twice, once when I attempt to post a comment, and again immediately. Blogger doesn’t like people who write longer comments (who’d have thought I was such a person :)), and appears to time out the session after some very short time (1 minute?). Just log in a second time, and it usually works… it is to scream about, but it works. (If you like using the Tab key to navigate a form, fuggedaboutit. Blogger appears to randomize the tab order on secured comments.)

(Note: I have a “new” Blogger account, and my Blogger blog is a “new” Blogger blog.)

By: Bryan

Bryan — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 02:08:52 +0000

Via video-link I would hope, CD. You been doing some nice work, but Blogger doesn’t know me any more so I can’t comment.

By: cat daddy and dr squeeky

cat daddy and dr squeeky — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 01:17:54 +0000

… And the guys new father in law is a TB researcher at the CDC (who studies a different strand and is tested regularly, the guy apparently didn’t get it from new dad)… Ironic…

I’m not one for suits, but… If I had been on the flight and around him, I would sue him on grounds of the distress caused by his indifference. It may go nowhere… but he would have to show up in court…

By: Bryan

Bryan — Thu, 31 May 2007 17:38:53 +0000

It was Prague-to-Montreal because he was on the “No Fly list” [just updated].

It isn’t just you, the service and people are getting nastier according to my Mother, who has flown on a few military cargo flights when my Dad was in the service. It has become an airborne version of the New York subway system, without the charm.

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 31 May 2007 17:17:51 +0000

Hadn’t heard that end of the story. Caught a bulletin about a guy on a transatlantic flight to Paris when I got to Paris earlier this week, and about had a heart attack when they said it was May 13, which was the day I flew to Paris. But the chap in question flew Air France out of Atlanta, whereas I was on United out of Dulles. So I’m in the clear at least, though there are probably 500 people who aren’t so lucky, between the Paris flight and the Prague-to-New York flight that took him back.

Maybe it’s just me, and maybe I’m just flying on the wrong airlines, but people have gotten far less considerate than ever when it comes to flying, if you ask me. Nobody seems to remember that you’re supposed to put your stuff in the bin and get out of the aisle so other people can get to their seats. And people think nothing of flying after dousing themselves in the cheapest, smelliest, most potent scents possible–and they all seem to wind up sitting near me. The longer the flight, the greater the likelihood that one of my seatmates is going to be stinking up the cabin for thousands of miles.

Though I suppose it might have something to do with the absolute nosedive in terms of airline service over the last 15 years. These days, you’re lucky if they give you a beverage and a shitty little bag of peanuts or some other snack. If there’s food at all, most of the time you have to buy it. Blankets and pillows, except on transoceanic flights, are a thing of the past.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Thu, 31 May 2007 17:14:22 +0000

My Mother has to wear a surgical mask when she flies because of all of the things you can catch in the closed space of an aircraft cabin, and this guy is acting like it’s no big deal that he’s a walking biological weapon.

My great grandfather went to the other end of the country [the reason he died in New Orleans] to avoid infecting his daughters, and this guy wanders around infecting the world.