Feds spank spankers with arrest

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Two kids were arguing over a window shade on a plane. Sound familiar? We’ve all lived through it, and we’ve all griped about it. Unlike most parents, who seem to let their kids go on this way until they’ve exhausted themselves, Tamera Jo Freeman took decisive action, according to an article in the LA Times. After their fighting caused a Bloody Mary to spill into her lap, she spanked each kid on the thigh. Three times per perpetrator.

Apparently, this makes her a terror suspect.

A flight attendant responded to the situation, prompting Freeman to hurl obscenities and the remains of her tomato juice. Freeman has since been arrested and convicted under the USA PATRIOT Act. The chain of events that began with trying to keep her kids under control has turned Freeman into a felon.

And, she’s not alone. At least 200 people have been convicted under an amended version of this law, in most cases with no evidence of an attempted hijacking or physical attack on the flight crew. Loud voices, inappropriate language (this would land me in deep shit) and drunken behavior (ditto) have prompted arrest and prosecution, leading many to believe that the law is being misused.

Duh.

It’s time for us to be a bit realistic here. What Freeman did was inexcusable. Her approach to the flight attendant, both in language and in deed, was wholly inappropriate and certainly called for some sort of disciplinary action. Press charges, treat her like she treats her children … do what ever it takes. But to pursue the spanker as a terrorist? That seems like too much. It’s not like she went after the hell-raisers with a box-cutter.

I think the more appropriate punishment would be to make her fly to Cuba with drunken Irish hooligans.

[Via LA Times]

Passenger makes bomb threat on Delta flight to LA

by Scott Carmichael on

I’m not sure whether it is something in the water, or just a general increase of insane people, but another fool has managed to get arrested after making a bomb threat on his Delta Airlines flight to LA airport.

The man got up out of his chair upon approach to LAX, and announced that he was carrying a bomb.

Several passengers on the flight then subdued the guy, and used plastic ties to keep him from creating more trouble. When the plane landed, the guy then attempted to leave the plane through an emergency exit.

The photo you see above was taken by a passenger on the flight, and was sent to the CNN iReporters site using his Blackberry, talk about a live action report!

Of course, the various federal agencies are now involved, and will be investigating the motives of the suspect, as well as checking the plane for any explosives.

It’s one thing to joke about a bomb, it’s a completely different ballgame when you actually stand up and make such a threat, and hopefully the fool behind this will be locked away for enough time to think long and hard about his actions, and how the passengers on his flight must have felt. Pretty soon the greatest threat to aviation won’t be terrorists, it’ll be insane people.