By Debbie Schlussel
If most of us reading this were passengers on US Airways Flight 1594, we’d be thanking G-d that we’re still alive.
But not Joe Hart and several other passengers who landed in the Hudson River two weeks ago, instead of dying in a crash. They are consulting attorneys. And since they can’t sue the birds that caused this, they’ll sue US Airways. It’s the “deepest pockets” pursuit, which motivates America’s ever-growing litigation explosion.
US Airways sent a check of $5,000 each to passengers aboard the failed flight. But for some that just ain’t enough. It’s the American way–sue ’em and screw ’em:

Many US Airways (LCC) passengers who endured a crash landing in the Hudson River . . . say they appreciate the $5,000 that the airline has offered – but some say it’s not enough.

Some Flight 1549 Passengers Want to Take US Airways to the Cleaners

Joe Hart, a salesman from Charlotte who suffered a bloody nose and bruises, says he “would like to be made whole for the incident.”
It’s too soon after the accident to determine what emotional distress he has suffered, he says.
He’s one of 150 passengers who were dramatically rescued Jan. 15, when the Charlotte-bound Airbus A320 jet safely ditched into the frigid river off Midtown Manhattan. A pilot on the plane told air-traffic controllers that birds struck the plane before both engines failed after takeoff from New York’s LaGuardia Airport.
After the crash, US Airways sent passengers a letter of apology, a $5,000 check to assist “with immediate needs” and reimbursement for the ticket.
Exactly how much compensation is appropriate is a question after crashes.
The National Air Disaster Alliance & Foundation, a safety advocacy group, says $5,000 is not enough. . . .
Hart and another passenger, Dave Sanderson, say they each left more than $5,000 worth of items on the plane.

Nothing wrong with insisting on being reimbursed for the entire cost of your items. But that’s not what this is about. Some passengers will be suing for far more than the value of their items.

US Airways Vice President Jim Olson says that an insurance claims specialist is contacting passengers and that they’ll be reimbursed for expenses or losses above $5,000.
The airline wants to ensure no passenger is “losing money for the inconvenience or anything lost during the accident,” he says. . . .
In addition to recovering losses, Hart says he’s concerned about having trouble flying. He’s flown on six planes since the accident, and each flight has gotten “progressively more difficult.”
He says he was tense, sweated and “felt every bit of turbulence” on a Los Angeles-to-Philadelphia flight last week, though it wasn’t that turbulent a flight.
Hart says he has talked to a lawyer in North Carolina but hasn’t decided whether to take any legal action.
“I want to see how things play out with US Airways,” he says. “I’m hopeful US Airways understands the significance of the incident.”
Kreindler & Kreindler, a New York law firm that has represented plaintiffs in crashes, says it has been contacted by several passengers on the US Airways flight.
The firm’s lawyers are determining what injuries and emotional distress passengers may have suffered, and what parties might be liable under New York state law, says Noah Kushlefsky, a partner in the firm.

Um, we know who is “liable”: birds who disabled the plane’s engines. Mr. Hart and his lawyer need to ask the birds whether they “understand the significance of the incident.” I think US Airways understands its significance quite well.
Sadly, Mr. Hart doesn’t understand the significance of being fortunate enough to survive against the odds.
UPDATE: I think I found the perfect lawyer for those who want to sue US Airways for saving their lives:

By Debbie Schlussel
As you know, there are gazillions of dollars in special interest items in the so-called stimulus bill, which could spend us out of existence. But, with most evil things (and every cloud), there are two tiny silver linings. With this bill, these are probaby the closest we come to a silver lining, though it’s probably more of a grey tarnish:
1) Made in America

North Carolina Rep. Larry Kissell won a House amendment that requires the Transportation Security Administration to buy some 100,000 employee uniforms from U.S. textile plants.
Rep. Kissell’s staffers said that while they aren’t sure exactly where TSA uniforms worn by airport-security checkers come from, they aren’t completely U.S.-made.

Currently, the Department of Defense is required to buy American-made uniforms. In arguing for the measure, Rep. Kissell, himself a former textile worker, points to 44 textile plants that have closed in the South, including 14 in his home state. “Last year, over 60,000 textile jobs were lost in the entire nation, 8,000 of those in North Carolina,” he said. “This is the right thing to do.”

I believe in the free market, but there is no reason to spend our tax dollars on foreign-made goods, when we can make them here and employ Americans.
2) Some Government Whistleblower Protections Restored
The Bush Administration severely weakened whistleblower protections for government employees who report wrongdoing. This includes, for example, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and FBI agents, who’ve reported on mammoth waste, outrageously unethical behavior, and pandering to Islamic extremists. I’m glad some of the protections–though, not enough of them–are being restored, since in many cases, these whistleblowers are the only check taxpayers have on dishonest executive branch bureaucrats:

Maryland Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen, whose district includes a large number of government workers, added legislation to give federal workers new whistle-blower protections.

A couple of tiny silver linings in an otherwise beastly waste of money and increase in American debt from which we will have an even more difficult time of climbing out.
Not exactly worth it. But, still, it’s something, since we know this ridiculous bill will go through anyway.

By Debbie Schlussel
Earlier this evening, ABC News unveiled the identity of the CIA Station Chief in Algiers now accused of raping Muslim women to whom he gave the date rape drug and then videotaped. As I noted, the man, Andrew M. Warren, is a Muslim convert and author of the book “People of the Veil.” But read this excerpt of a book review someone posted on Amazon.com. Sounds like this guy wrote publicly far too much about the workings of our U.S. Embassy in Algeria and may have given away security secrets and details:

The story centers on the second in charge of the U.S. Embassy in Algiers. The government in Algeria is on the verge of collapse. The terrorists have devised a plan to take over the Embassy and kill everyone inside, to help further their goal of an Islamic Fundamentalist state in Algeria. The terrorists devise an ingenious plot to bypass the embassy security and gain entrance.

CIA agents must vet their books with the CIA before being allowed to publish them. But given the agency’s total incompetence in detecting this man’s behavior–probably because he’s a Muslim–I’d bet they didn’t vet this book carefully, if at all.
Time to buy this book and see what secrets this Muslim-American rapist gave away. Was this just a fiction book? Or a way to telegraph to the enemy how to take over Mr. Muslim Convert Warren’s workplace?
I vote the latter. More idiocy by the bumbling Clouseauian CIA (with apologies to the good Inspector Clouseau).

By Debbie Schlussel
. . . Cheap chocolate. Time to invest in Hershey, the “Great American Chocolate Bar”:

Hershey Co.’s fourth-quarter profit and sales growth suggests that demand for chocolate remains strong despite the dismal economy.
The sweeter results also suggest a welcome shift for the Pennsylvania chocolate maker as Valentine’s Day nears: a slowdown in sales of pricier “premium” chocolates.
Hershey had lagged competitors in jumping on the premium bandwagon, and just a year ago was struggling to keep pace with rival Mars Inc. . . .
But, as with coffee, eating out, and apparel, the recession has consumers trading down with chocolate. . . .
Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Sprungli AG, maker of premium Lindt chocolates, reported a 5.8% sales increase in 2008, saying that was at the low end of its long-term goal of 6% to 8% annual sales growth.
“Considering the market conditions, this result is encouraging,” the company said last week in a news release.

Hershey’s [CEO David] West said consumers already have been trading down to his company’s lower-priced Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey’s chocolate bars and Kit Kat wafers. Hershey also has noticed an increase in sales at discount retailers and convenience stores as gasoline prices have fallen.
Hershey reported fourth-quarter net income of $82.2 million, or 36 cents a share, up 51% from $54.3 million, or 24 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding restructuring charges and write-downs of 23 cents a share in the latest period, operating income climbed to 59 cents a share from 54 cents a share. Revenue increased 3% to $1.38 billion.
Sales gains from Hershey bars and other core products were partially offset by a decline in sales of Hershey’s Kisses. Mr. West said the brand suffered from an abundance of Kisses varieties, and the company is now paring the number of products and running new ads.
Some analysts remained skeptical of Hershey’s future, though. Stifel Nicolaus analyst Chris Growe said in a note to clients, “Although the quarter showed some signs of modest improvement and the stock very well could trade higher in the short run due to the [earnings] upside, the premium valuation that the company maintains is undeserved in our view and we maintain our sell rating.” . . .
Hershey said it expects sales growth of 2% to 3% in 2009 and repeated its earlier forecast that earnings per share in 2009 will be lower than its long-term goal of 6% to 8%.
Shares of Hershey stock rose 6.8% or $2.38 to $37.48 in 4 p.m. New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

It’s interesting that Hershey is doing so well, since as far as cholocates go, it’s not at the superior end of the market . . . even if people are trading down.
Yes, it’s relatively inexpensive, and that’s part of the appeal. But I never sacrifice when it comes to the occasional purchase of chocolate. The price difference is so small in terms of other areas to cut expenses. Although I like Hershey’s milk chocolate, I acquired a taste for the healthier bittersweet chocolate from my father. Our favorite brand: Lindt (also doing well, as noted above). Since all chocolate is calorie-rich, a little bit of bittersweet chocolate goes a long way–you crave it less.
Still, I’m happy for Hershey. Glad to hear at least one American company is doing well in this economically depressed time. I hope the food police don’t take this too hard.

On the other hand, as I noted a couple of year’s ago, Hershey Es La Grande Mexicano Chocolate Bar, moving chocolate plants to Mexico away from America . . .another reason it’s doing well and not good for us.

By Debbie Schlussel
**** UPDATE, 6:33 p.m. ET: ABC identifies Muslim CIA agent rapist as Andrew M. Warren, author of “People of the Veil.” His website, PeopleofTheVeil.com has been taken down (Gotta love that CIA–you can’t even see the Google cache version OR the pages on the Wayback Machine). Hilarious that the people who write books telling us how great Islam is, are rapists. ****
The big story ABC News is touting is that of the top CIA agent stationed in Algeria, accused of raping multiple Muslim women. But the key fact in the story–which we must credit ABC for mentioning–is that the guy is a Muslim, a convert, er . . . “revert” to the religion. That’s an important detail because it raises a number of questions:
1) How on earth could we trust an American convert to Islam to be loyal to America in his CIA spying, rather than a double agent to his religion? Par for the PC CIA (and other feds) course. This is why we are losing the battle.
Moreover, this man was not just an agent. He was the Algeria station chief!!!! It’s like making a member of the German-American Bund America’s top spy in Nazi-controlled Austria. Dumb, dumb, dumb. The Muslim world is laughing at us.

CIA Spook Rapist: It’s the Islam, Stupid!
2) But, wait, don’t they keep telling us that Islam respects women? Well, we know that Islam treats women worse than dogs. So, it’s no surprise that a Muslim CIA agent moonlights as a rapist. This is a religion that forces women to cover up to their eyeballs because its men can’t control themselves (just like animals). It’s the religion where daughters and sisters are honor-killed for being raped by scum like this Muslim CIA agent.
Sadly, instead of focusing on this fact–that this rapist CIA agent is a Muslim–former CIA agent Robert Baer rushes to attribute this to the man being an American:

This will be seen as the typical ugly American,” said former CIA officer Bob Baer, reacting to the ABC News report.

Um, no, Bob, it’s not that he’s an American. It’s that he’s a Muslim. Looks like George Clooney playing Baer in the awful “Syriana” went to his head.

By Debbie Schlussel
It seems the Los Angeles Times has an unrequited, unilateral obsession with me. Today, for the second time in less than two weeks, the paper attacked me.
Two Fridays ago, the LA Times’ Patrick Goldstein wrote a whole column attacking me for the “crime” of exposing Hollywood director Edward Zwick’s refusal to praise Israel and condemn HAMAS. But it seems that Goldstein’s bigger problem was his jealousy–jealousy that a writer and movie critic from suburban Detroit snagged an interview with the “Defiance” director and not him. And he’s apparently even more upset that I dared ask Zwick a good question rather than the fawning stuff he usually gets from the Goldstein types. Read his online tantrum, if you can put up with print hysterics. He’s also livid that I dared attack the garbage Biggie movie, “Notorious.”

Keep in mind that Goldstein writes about movies for the LA Times’ Calendar section, which means that no-one reads him. Dude, who reads anything in a “calendar section”? It’s like the nosebleed section of a newspaper (and newspapers are already the nosebleed section). Another thing for him to be jealous of me about. My movie reviews are quoted in major newspapers around the world. His, not so much. Well, actually, not at all.
Then, there’s today’s LA Times Editorial gushing over Barack Hussein Obama for his outrageous anti-Israel, anti-American, apologist interview with Terrorist News Network #2 (Al-Arabiya, #1 is Al-Jazeera). The Times calls it “savvy diplomacy,” which it claims magically began even before Obama opened his mouth. In the editorial, the Times doesn’t have the guts to mention me by name, but instead calls me “the wingnut crowd” with a link to this site. The link is to my column, from over years ago, about Obama’s Muslim heritage–the gall of me to expose this. Because, you know, I’m apparently still not allowed to talk about it. Only Obama himself is allowed to brag about it to the Muslim world (while attacking America and Israel, of course).
The L.A. Times claims that I said Obama’s middle name “proves he’s a secret Muslim.” But–read what I wrote–I never said anything of the sort. Looks like the guys (and perhaps lesbians, too) of the L.A. Times editorial board need to learn how to read. I only wrote about how, under the Islamic religion, Obama is Muslim and that the Arab street considers him a Muslim. And they do. Facts are stubborn things.
The thing is, the Los Angeles Times can continue to attack me all it wants. In fact, keep it comin’, guys. I love it. That’s a rookie mistake made by an aging dying newspaper, whose readership is faltering, while mine is growing by leaps and bounds. It kills the L.A. Times’ wannabe movie critic that I have influence and opportunities he now doesn’t have and won’t get, even though he works for a major newspaper in America’s second largest market, just miles from most of Hollywood’s studios. It kills the Times’ editorial pager writers that I have more influence than one of their boring, largely unread editorials praising our new IslamoPanderer-In-Chief.
Sorry, guys. Sucks to be you. Oh, and thanks for spelling my name right–at least, the first time. Glad I’m on your map. But you ain’t on mine.
*** UPDATE: Reader CF notes that the LA Times’ obsession with me might be due to the fact that I exposed LA Times reporter Peter Wallsten’s plagiarism of my work, after he contacted me in writing about the article in question. Could be. Liberals are not only often unethical, but they are sore losers, as well.

By Debbie Schlussel
Check out the video below from a recent pro-HAMAS/Hezbollah Muslim riot in France and skip to 7:00–that’s where the violence and car-torching in front of the Israeli Embassy begins. French police in riot gear do nothing. It’s kinda too late, since they allowed their country to be invaded by Muslim immigrants (the way we’re doing a couple decades behind them).
Muslims on private e-mail lists around America are sending this video to their fellow co-religionists, cheering it on and not-so-tacitly hoping it will happen here, too (and it could), with messages like this one:

Please take a moment and watch this video about the Arab youths in France and what they did for Gaza during this large protest. After the seventh minute, you will see how this form of protest could shake Europe and makes their government shiver. Talk about radical : )
The Zionist entity is going to come down on its knees like no one has ever seen. They are going to pay big-time!!!

GAZA MANIF PARIS
Uploaded by ghettoloveur

Remember, there is absolutely no difference between the Muslims in France and the ones here and absolutely nothing to prevent this from happening here–just a couple of decades’ time.
If you are a Jew–or any non-Muslim in America–and you do not have a gun, get one (or better yet, several) NOW!

By Debbie Schlussel
Yesterday was a movie-screening marathon day for a handful of Detroit-area movie critics. Five movies. But I was in court on a pro bono case defending yet another victim of Islamic attempts to crush free speech of non-Muslims (can’t write about that ’til it’s over). So, I only saw two of the movies, “Taken” and “New in Town.” Below are the trailers. I loved one and hated the other, but I’m prohibited from posting my reviews, until Friday morning. I think, though, you can guess quite easily from these trailers which one I preferred. Hint: CAIR won’t be happy.
“Taken” is about a retired CIA agent (Liam Neeson, whom I loved in “Darkman”–and who is sadly the son-in-law of pan-terrorist hacktress Vanessa Redgrave) whose teen daughter is kidnapped in Paris by a band of Albanian Muslim sex-slavers. “New in Town” is about a big city executive (Renee Man-Weger, er . . . Zellweger) who arrives in small town Minnesota to downsize a company plant. Like I said, the trailers say it all.

By Debbie Schlussel
The trite old adage says that a grand jury will indict a ham sandwich. But not the bright, independent-minded critical thinkers in a Fayette County grand jury in Lexington, Kentucky.
They chose not to indict two college students who hung an effigy of Barack Obama from a tree on the University of Kentucky campus during the Presidential campaign. Memo to Fayette County prosecutors: this is what’s known as free speech, and it’s supposed to be protected by the First Amendment.
Prosecutors in this case were so zealous, they charged the two students with stealing the pants and shirt of the effigy from their own fraternity, despite the fact that frat members testified that this wasn’t the case.

Hunter Bush’s and Joe Fischer’s Free Speech Restored, But Not Lawyer Fees
I guess real crime must be down on and around the U-K campus and the rest of Fayette County because this was a huge waste of taxpayer dollars to silence critics of Barack Obama. However offensive you may find their expression of the criticism, there was nothing unlawful about it. Among the many piled-on charges they faced was disorderly conduct. There is nothing disorderly about expressing your disapproval of Barack Obama.
I’d bet these same politically correct prosecutors would never prosecute Muslims for hanging a President Bush effigy or burning the Israeli or American flags.
Congrats to these Kentucky grand jurors. They staved off the rush to restrict our speech to that which is politically correct and acceptable to the Obamasses. Their bravery is laudable.
Oh, and by the way, no-one prosecuted a man who hung an effigy of Sarah Palin on his front lawn in California.
And that’s how it should be.

By Debbie Schlussel
Last year, I told you about the Fisher Price doll that says, “Islam is the light.” Now, it’s Nintendo. But no-one seems to care that dolls and games are being used to propagandize American kids. Don’t buy Nintendo DS Baby Pals for your kids.

Months ago, Rachel Jones was shocked to discover her 4-year-old’s baby doll seemed to have a hidden message: Islam is the light.
Imagine her surprise when a game for her 8-year-old daughter’s Nintendo DS had the same message.
Rachel said she bought the Nintendo game, Baby Pals, as a gift for her 8-year-old daughter after a good report card.
She had no idea the game also contained the hidden message “Islam is the light.”
“We were sitting in the kitchen, and she was playing it,” said Jones. “All of a sudden she looked at me, and I looked at her and she said, ‘Mom, I think my baby said something.’ And so I played it back, and it says ‘Islam is the light.'”
The message on the doll and in the Nintendo game sound exactly the same. . . .
In a virtual reality setting, the child playing the game can feed the baby or teach it to crawl, among other things. It’s only when the child gives the baby a bath that it repeatedly seems to say “Islam is the light.”
Jones said she’s angry this is the second toy she’s had to take from her children.
“Not just my daughters’ toys, but we have a son too,” said Jones. “Now I feel like I need to listen to all of his little toys to make sure they’re not saying it.”
Nintendo’s representatives said the game is manufactured by a third party, so they’re not responsible for the content, but the game’s packaging clearly states the game is licensed by Nintendo.

Toys, today. Tomorrow, everything else.
Oh, and one other thing: Islam is not the light. It’s very dark darkness. As anyone with a brain knows.
A more accurate toy would say, “Islam is the fright.”