"PARIS -- The airline industry is in tatters, but carriers around the world are trying to dress up their image with high-fashion uniforms.
Delta Air Lines hired handbag queen Kate Spade to give its low-fare airline, Song, a glamorous look, with sporty outfits set to make their debut today. Delta also hired Los Angeles couturier Richard Tyler to create a "sophisticated" wardrobe for the parent airline for 2006. Air France, meanwhile, has selected Christian Lacroix to replace a hodgepodge of aging uniforms with a new line next year. And on April 26, British Airways plans to replace its decade-old outfits with pin-striped, tailored uniforms from Julien Macdonald."
Better uniforms are a good way to improve morale and public perception. But how many people really take stewardess uniforms into account when booking their flights? Delta needs to focus on getting their planes out of the Atlanta airport on time. If they can do this while still improving uniforms, then that's great. But all evidence suggests that they can't. If a flight is late in departing more than 50% of the time, then perhaps the departure time should simply be adjusted. At least that would be honest. People are more likely to book a flight that they are reasonably assured will arrive at a certain time, even if that time is a bit later in the day, than a flight that has a nice early theoretical arrival time but is known to be late by varying amounts of time, more times than not. I have some experience with this. I recently paid more money for a non-Delta flight that does not connect in Atlanta than I would've paid for a Delta connecting in Atlanta, simply because I had no faith that that flight would be anywhere near on time and I've seen all the sights in all the concourses, with the exception of the "T", so I'm willing to pay more money to not subject myself to that again. Flight-attendant uniforms did not factor into my decision at all. Now I recognize that I'm just one consumer out of many and that my preferences likely differ from those of a lot of other people. But considering the fact that the airline I most hate using happens to be one that is perpetually in the red and constantly in need of billions in airline welfare money, while the two airlines I least hate are actually profitable, perhaps Delta might do well to consider people like me.
9:13 AM
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Dirty Lyin' Ho
Let's imagine this scenario: I steal a bottle of Patron Anejo (might as well steal something good) from my neighborhood liquor store, drink it in its entirety, experience some sort of alcohol-induced misfortune, then sue the liquor store for "allowing" me to steal it. Further, I would moan and wail about how I really didn't want that bottle of Patron at all even as I was violating the law to procure it and assert that this was somehow the liquor store's problem. If I did such a thing, you would be correct in your assessment of me as a brazen stupid bitch, or a dirty lyin' ho, as the case may be. I'd question the sanity of any judge who didn't throw out my bullshit case. A very similar scenario seems to be playing out somewhat differently, as this little slut hasn't been laughed out of court yet.
This chick used a fake ID to get an abortion, and now she's suing the clinic for performing it. It would appear that she has changed her mind. Or finds herself short of cash. I tend to believe the latter. She believes the clinic should have refused to accept her ID because it wasn't government-issued. But no law requires government-issued IDs for abortions. Still, whines the bitch, they should have hassled her about it more.
But enough of that. This dirty ho, who supposedly regrets the abortion, has married the father of the aborted baby, even though he wanted the abortion, which she now claims she did not want. Why is it that she can forgive and even marry the guy who wanted her to abort their baby, but she can't find it in her heart to 'forgive' the clinic that simply performed the service that she requested of them? Does she genuinely believe the clinic did her some sort of injustice? Highly unlikely. Does she want to sue the clinic so that her father will think more highly of her? Possibly. Does she want to get her filthy paws on some undeserved lawsuit spoils? A resounding 'hell yeah.'
The Massachusetts senator is releasing a "misery index" suggesting that working families have been hammered by stagnant incomes at a time college and health insurance costs have soared.
Let's see. What are two things college tuition and healthcare have in common? These are both things that people rarely pay for for themselves, where costs are rarely weighed against benefits, and where the federal government has a large role. College tuition can skyrocket because almost nobody actually pays the full cost themselves up front. Most students get scholarships, grants, or loans, all of which have the same effect: insulating the consumers from the price of what they're buying. A university full of students writing checks every semester for their tuition isn't going to increase tuition without some serious thought. But if the majority of the students on campus are only paying part of their tuition, or they're going to pay for it in installments after graduation, it's pretty easy for that university to inch prices up a bit every semester. Same thing with healthcare. People think its simply impossible to pay for one's own healthcare needs. Sure, people will pay for insurance, especially since their government all but forces them to and most employers "provide" health insurance through mandatory payroll deductions that employees cannot avoid. But actually pay cash (or check or credit) for healthcare services when they are rendered? No f-ing way! It simply isn't done. If people are only paying a flat copayment, they certainly do not care what the actual price of the service rendered was. If they're paying 20% of the cost, they still aren't going to be terribly sensitive to the price. This is basic stuff.
Kerry's own party has caused both of these things. Kerry now blames Bush for them, quite inexplicably. (Not that I believe Bush to be without guilt. I fault him for not phasing out all federal student assistance and all federal involvement in healthcare purchasing.) Kerry proposes to "fix" these problems with more of the very stuff that caused the problems in the first place. Kerry knows no shame.
2:26 PM
A single paragraph in an otherwise good article contains enough stupidity to warrant being addressed in this forum. Instead of instructing you, the reader, to read the article above and find the offending paragraph yourself, I will reproduce it here:
Accustomed to privacy in the restroom, some patrons don't appreciate the extra help, citing feelings of pity for those working there and discomfort with being watched. "The best comparison is waving off those guys who try to clean your windshield in traffic," says Brooks Hamaker, a telemarketing manager in New Orleans. He says he tries to avoid eye contact whenever possible.
So the telemarketing manager feels pity for the restroom attendant? I don't think there can be any doubt that restroom attendants enjoy greater prestige than telemarketers or their managers. Restroom attendants meet up after work and disparage telemarketers, just like everybody else. Why would a pariah such as a telemarketer feel pity for a respected and useful restroom attendant? Perhaps this telemarketing manager should try directing his pity where it really belongs, which is INward.
And the comparison to "those guys who try to clean your windshield in traffic" is far from the best. It is among the worst.
