I was on a 4-hour flight, aisle seat, front section paid extra specifically so I could get off quickly and avoid the airport stampede. Boarding finishes, we’re settling in, and this woman taps my shoulder. She’s got a toddler on her hip and a husband hovering behind her like emotional support luggage.
She asks if I can switch seats so their “little family can sit together.” I look at her seat: middle row, back of the plane. Not even a window. Just… economy suffering.
I politely say no, I paid extra for this seat. She immediately shifts tone“It’s just a seat, we’re a family.”
Now here’s where it gets interesting. The flight attendant comes over, and instead of backing me up, she tries the classic “let’s find a solution” approach. Suddenly I’m being asked to compromise like I’m in a corporate meeting and not a passenger who planned ahead.
@PeterJSteinmann@nickimoraa Very nice, if they want to reimburse you the difference between coach and 1st class (which you paid for) AND THEN SOME for the trouble. Empathy becomes suicidal when it cost you $$ and $$ are limited. They had the same opportunity to pay and reserve seats that you did.
@RpsAgainstTrump They stopped laughing because they realized how much damage Trump does, and that the moral as well as political decline of the US may be permanent.
Had Republicans not taken action, there would have been a $4 trillion tax increase on the American people this year.
Instead, thanks to the Working Families @TaxCuts, Americans are seeing their tax refund increase by more than 10 percent compared to last year.
@LindseyGrahamSC The people of Iran deserve all support they can get but Trumps actions until now only hurt them, there is no conceivable way to claim they benefit even a bit.
The Pope is a good man, but his criticism of President Trump’s leadership in confronting the Iranian regime misses the mark.
President Trump is doing the right thing by standing up to the ayatollah and standing for the people of Iran.
@CommishSmith I guess you have no idea about Europe (or the US) or alternatively, you do not understand what these statistics actually mean. All the nonsense on health care access and disposable income really is just that - nonsense.
Five things I've found almost no Europeans know (and lots of Americans don't either) that warps the view of America vs. Europe:
- The distance from NYC to LA is as great as the distance from Moscow to Lisbon;
- If you measure across all of Europe (excluding Russia, which would make the comparison worse for Europe), not just within each country, income inequality is greater than in the US, even though Europe is geographically smaller;
- The overwhelming majority of Americans have much greater access to insured quality healthcare than the median European;
- Disposable household income in the poorest US state, Mississippi, is higher than in any country in Europe that is as large or larger than Rhode Island;
- How federalism works in the U.S.
Ignorance on these 5 simple issues alone explains much of how people (incorrectly) view life in the U.S. vs. life in Europe.
@HonTonyAbbott You are wrong on most points. Defying the EU is no winning strategy for a poor country. It has its weaknesses, but overall it is a force for good. Family policy did not work at all, and the example you mention is actually an example not to do things unless you favor corruption
Viktor Orbán has been a very consequential PM - probably the most consequential Hungary has ever had. The economy has strengthened, the city of Budapest has been transformed, and Hungary’s family policies and determination to keep its culture have been studied around the world. He and I differed on Ukraine but I thought he was dead right to defy the EU, on illegal immigration especially. Why should a sovereign nation be bullied by Brussels into policies that would jeopardise its future as a distinct people? Under Orbán, Budapest became something of a haven for conservative intellectuals. This has been a significant point of soft power for Hungary and I don’t expect the new government will want that to change.
If Trump is able to open the Strait of Hormuz he will be the greatest president in American history
No president before him even attempted to negotiate to open it
You are playing chess while the president is playing 5D chess
MAGA for life
The constant disrespect our First Lady Melania TRUMP receives is disgusting. She hasn’t done anything wrong to deserve any of it. I’m glad she’s finally standing up for herself. She’s an amazing First Lady 🇺🇸
The constant disrespect our First Lady Melania TRUMP receives is disgusting. She hasn’t done anything wrong to deserve any of it. I’m glad she’s finally standing up for herself. She’s an amazing First Lady 🇺🇸
The most predictable script in American politics:
>Trump does something strong
>Democrats and the media freak out
>Everything Trump did works
>Everyone moves on
>No one gives him credit
Every. Single. Time.