Belligerent passenger ejected from La Guardia flight, bah humbug!

From here:

A belligerent American Airlines passenger was ejected from a plane at La Guardia Airport on Tuesday after becoming  belligerent because an American employee wished him a Merry Christmas.

The male passenger was waiting to boar flight AA1140 from LGA to Dallas (DFW) when a merry gate agent began welcoming everyone with the Yuletide greeting while checking boarding passes.

When the gate agent wished the gentleman a merry Christmas he responded with, “You shouldn’t say that because not everyone celebrates Christmas.”  Valid point, but what’s the harm in that?

The gate agent followed by saying, “Well, what should I say then?”

“Don’t say, ‘Merry Christmas!’” the man shouted in frustration before brushing past the agent and to the jet bridge.

As the passenger was boarding the plane, he was warmly greeted by a cheerful flight attendant who yet again wished him a “merry Christmas.”  That was the last straw.

“Don’t say, ‘Merry Christmas!’ ” the man replied in anger before lecturing the attendants and the pilot about their holiday madness.

The passenger did not cool down and had to be escorted off the plane by airport authorities as other fliers cheered because Christmas was saved.

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Bottom line:  December 25 is officially Christmas, whether one chooses to celebrate it or not.  If I choose to wish you a merry one, and you don't celebrate it, appreciate the thought anyway and respond graciously--like a civilized human being!  This is the danger we are approaching in this country, where someone's tendency to be offended is supposed to trump someone else's right to free speech.
  

US Says North Korea Responsible for Sony Hack

The federal government has determined that North Korea is responsible for the hacking of computers at Sony Pictures Entertainment, according to a report on ABC News.

Is this the same federal government that "determined" that the Benghazi embassy attack was the result of a YouTube video?   Yeah, I thought so.

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In further developments:

North Korea seeks joint probe with US on Sony hack (14:51 ET)

North Korea has offered to hold a joint inquiry with the United States into a cyber-attack on Sony Pictures, strongly denying US claims that it is behind it.

U.S. stands by assertion that North Korea behind Sony attack: NSC spokesman (16:23 ET)

The United States stands by its assertion that the North Korean government was behind the massive cyberattack on Sony Pictures, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council said on Saturday.

North Korea Warns U.S. Not to Take Sony Action (17:12 ET)

Warning of “serious consequences” if the United States retaliates against it over the damaging cyberattack on Sony Pictures, North Korea insisted on Saturday that it was not behind it, and it offered to prove its innocence by taking part in a joint investigation with Washington to identify the hackers.

It is going to be interesting to see how this thing plays out.  But whatever eventually proves to be the truth, right now it's a sad day when you have to wonder whether to trust what the North Korean government says over your what your own government says.
 

Black Friday Revealed How Poor Americans Really Are

From here:

Black Friday sales plummeted this year, leaving retailers completely stumped.

After weeks of declining gas prices, many analysts predicted the biggest holiday season ever. Industry groups like the National Retail Federation reasoned that Americans would use their fuel savings on gifts.

Despite encouraging forecasts, Black Friday weekend sales were down 11%. Cyber Monday sales rose 8%, falling short of many predictions.

So where are the customers? They're probably broke, according to some analysts and executives.

Then, after reporting that the only stores that did well on Black Friday were deep discounters, like Kohl's and Family Dollar stores, comes the "take-away" line from this story:

"Health insurance premiums have increased between 39% and 56% since early 2013, meaning additional costs of $230 per month for the average family."  

Yeah, that's certainly been my experience.  When you're paying 39% to 56% more for health insurance than you were in 2013 (before Obamacare kicked in) it makes it hard for Christmas to be like it once was.

So what was that about the "Affordable Care Act"???