Brent Rasmussen

Observations and inanities by a second-shift assistant supervisor in the Puppy-Grinding division of the Evil Atheist Conspiracy® (our motto: "Sure it's cruel, but think of the jobs!"), your host, Brent Rasmussen.

Jim Downey

UTI Associate blogger Jim Downey is a former newspaper columnist and also writes at the Daily Kos under the handle Shadan7. "I'm the fat old man of the crowd (well, make that middle-aged and overweight). My life's arc has been colorful in some odd and delightful ways, and though by most conventional standards I'm not 'successful', I've mostly enjoyed the ride. I now keep busy writing, playing with my dog, and as a book & document conservator in private practice."

Paul Fidalgo

UTI associate blogger Paul Fidalgo is an actor, musician, and writer with a background in political media, communications, and research. He holds a master's degree in political management from George Washington University, and blogs on atheism in American culture. He blogs at Examiner.com as the DC Secularism Examiner, and maintains two blogs, Near Earth Object, a blog of several overlapping magisteria including political satire and his own musical work; and Bloc Raisonneur, specifically concerning atheists' precarious place in American politics and culture. Paul's music can be purchased for mere pennies at Amie St.

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Rick Ulrey

UTI Associate blogger Rick Ulrey comes to UTI by way of the Marine Corps: "I'm 31 and I earn my living fixing computers. I served 6 years in the Marine Corps and consider myself a liberal libertarian with conservative leanings. I am a firm believer that the world would be a better place if people took responsibility for themselves and their actions. As you can see from the picture I love food. That's me eating a banana fritter in Australia with a nice cup of coffee. I love to cook and my other hobbies include hiking, camping, reading and on and offline gaming."

Steven Darksyde

UTI co-blogger and friend DarkSyde has this to say about himself: "I'm in my 40s, I work out a lot, I'm a personal trainer as a hobby, I've worked mainly as an investment advisor, stocks and bonds. I've done quite a bit of sky diving. I live a few miles from the Space Center in Florida. I have a strong background in math and physics and I'm an active advocate for Evolution in the Evolution vs. Creationism issue."

Following up.

Submitted by Jim Downey on August 22, 2009 - 10:05am.

Following up to this post, a news item:

Pilot pleaded to evacuate stranded passengers

MINNEAPOLIS – Continental Express Flight 2816 smelled like diapers. It had no food and a full toilet. Its 47 passengers had been stranded on a tarmac in southern Minnesota since after midnight.

"They are getting really upset — you know, with the plane," the captain told her dispatcher just before 3 a.m. on Aug. 8.

Recordings released Friday of conversations among the captain, dispatcher and staff for another airline at the Rochester, Minn., airport expose a breakdown that kept the plane sitting on the tarmac for almost six hours — for no clear reason — and triggered a Department of Transportation investigation.

I hadn't heard that the DoT was involved. Good for them. Anyway, here's some more from the news article:

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood released the recordings along with conclusions from his department's investigation exonerating ExpressJet, the regional carrier that operated the flight for Continental Airlines.

Instead, he criticized Mesaba Airlines — which was in charge because it had the only employees left at the airport — for refusing to let the passengers inside the terminal because all security personnel had left for the night.

"There was a complete lack of common sense here," LaHood added. "It's no wonder the flying public is so angry and frustrated."

Bingo. So, does that mean that we can move to get rid of the stupid security theater schtick? I mean, seriously - did they think that some random terrorist was going to be on that flight with the hopes that it was going to be diverted to some 2nd-rate regional airport in the middle of the night so he could, I dunno, bust windows or something?

Oh, you should know: Mesaba Airlines is a unit of Delta Air Lines. Plan your travel accordingly.

Jim Downey

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