What Caught My Eye Today

Air Travel - On Wednesday, hundreds of JetBlue passengers were stuck for as long as 11 hours in parked jets at John F. Kennedy International Airport during the winter storm. There are no government regulations limiting the time an airline can keep passengers on grounded aircraft. In the late 1990s, the nation's 14 largest airlines joined forces to block a drive by Congress to enact legal protections for passengers, changes that were sought after a series of flight cancellations and delays. The airlines' voluntary code of conduct simply says that during such extraordinary delays, they will make "reasonable efforts" to meet passenger needs for food, water, restroom facilities and medical assistance.

So basically, we get screwed and have no recourse. But fear not, there is hope on the horizon...

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif) said Thursday she will introduce a bill to give passengers the right to get off the airplane if it's been on the ground for more than three hours past its scheduled departure time. I wonder where she'll find the time. After all, that non-binding anti-war resolution seems to be occupying a lot of legislators time.

Iran - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that President Bush lacks the authority to invade Iran without specific approval from Congress, a fresh challenge to the commander in chief on the eve of a symbolic vote critical of his troop buildup in Iraq. She went on to say that Bush consistently said he supports a diplomatic resolution to differences with Iran "and I take him at his word." The article didn's say whether she was smirking when she said this or not, so I'll assume she was being serious.

NASCAR - The 2007 season gets underway this Sunday with the Daytona 500. What the vast majority of us consider 'wreckless driving' and 'hit and run' these luck bastards call racing.

However, all is not well in the world of stock car racing.

NASCAR officials warned teams last season that penalties would escalate to grab the attention of owners, drivers and crew chiefs. They seemingly have it now. Six teams have been busted for breaking the rules, including two-time winner Michael Waltrip, who humiliated Toyota by flagrantly violating the code of NASCAR's garage in the Japanese automaker's debut. The latest driver to fail inspection is Jeff Gordon. Gordon, who won the second of Thursday's two 150-mile qualifying races, now will start the Daytona 500 in 42nd place. NASCAR inspectors said his Chevrolet was almost an inch too low but blamed it on a part failure, not cheating. He was not stripped of the victory.

NBA - Tim Hardaway, who spent 13 seasons in the NBA, was removed from league-related appearances, one day after an anti-gay tirade on a local radio program. Hardaway responded to a question on WAXY about former NBA player John Amaechi and the Englishman's admission of homosexuality with a hard-line stance against gay players in the NBA. "I hate gay people," Hardaway said. "I let it be known I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States sports." I think its safe to assume we know where he stands on gay rights.

NBA - The Boston Celtics ended their 18 game losing streak by defeating the Milwaukee Bucks, 117-97 on Wednesday. And in the process, lost its place on my blog. Now they're just another lousy team. In case anyone is wondering who currently has the longest losing streak in the NBA, that would be the LA Lakers sporting a 4 game losing streak.