Up early thanks to a 4.2-scale earthquake centered in Oakland (shook things up quite a bit), and back to work after my vacation, it's kind of fun to mark my return with a Nelson-style "Ha ha" directed at Bill O'Reilly and his flunky Michelle Malkin, who yesterday celebrated the withdrawal of JetBlue from the ranks of the YearlyKos sponsors.
In short, that dynamic duo triumphantly claimed that O'Reilly -- the most powerful man in the universe in his own mind -- forced airline carrier JetBlue to pull its sponsorship of the YearlyKos conference.
But go to the YearlyKos convention website, and you'll note the JetBlue logo is still there, on the home page. And I've confirmed that yes, indeed, JetBlue isn't going anywhere. They don't plan on caving to pressure from the neanderthals at Fox News.
Remember, this fight is about Fox News' hurt feelings. They wanted Democrats to legitimize their propaganda operation and we squashed those efforts like a bug. This is their way of lashing back, yet no one seems to give a shit. The Dodd and Hillary campaigns used the opportunity to slam Bill O'Reilly and his usual band of misfits. And despite their premature crowing, JetBlue -- the chief target of their ire -- isn't going anywhere.
And it shouldn't. At some point in the future, JetBlue will be able to sponsor GOPAC or some other such wingnut conference, and that'll be fine. We want to encourage such sponsorships of political events, and the way corporations can innoculate themselves from such b.s. partisan attacks is to be bipartisan in their sponsorships, something that JetBlue has promised to do.
Personally, I'm glad JetBlue didn't cave. They are my preferred carrier when flying. If they do a route I'm flying, I take them, to the tune of about 30 times a year. My only regular route they still don't do is Oakland to Chicago (at least direct), and I'll be happy to ditch Southwest for that trip when that changes. They allow me to transfer my frequent flyer awards to others, which I've done quite a bit to help my wife's family visit their grandchildren several times. And their customer support is top-notch, allowing me to still use expired frequent flyer awards and never failing to address my travel concerns (unlike the legacy carriers, which are rigid beyond reason on their policies).
I'm a fan, and I don't even watch their TVs -- which, by the way, include Fox News Channel (as well as MSNBC). That is, except during the World Cup when I was able to watch a semifinal futbol match during a long cross-country flight. So even that comes in handy occasionally though I rarely use it.
Bill O'Reilly has vowed never to fly JetBlue. That's the emptiest of empty threats.
You see, the egalitarian JetBlue doesn't have a First Class section.
Update: The blogger for supposedly "moderate" Maine Sen. Susan Collins has decided to hitch his wagon to Bill O'Reilly. He also doesn't realize that the Pope is, indeed, a "primate".
S: (n) archpriest, hierarch, high priest, prelate, primate (a senior clergyman and dignitary)
Good thing Tom Allen will force her and her merry band of wingnuts into early retirement.