Unhinged rants are par for the course on Fox News Channel. But Judge Jeanine Pirro may have sunk to a new level on Saturday’s edition of “Justice With Judge Jeanine.” When she got word that a US Airways flight attendant refused to hang the dress coat of a decorated Army sergeant in an aircraft closet because he wasn’t a first-class passenger, Pirro used her “Opening Statement” to suggest an appropriate punishment would be to bust her down to janitor–and make her clean all planes flying in from West Africa. If Pirro were to get her way, it would put that flight attendant at an astronomical risk for getting Ebola.
On Thursday, First Sgt. Albert Marle was on a US Airways red eye flight from Portland, Oregon to Charlotte. He wanted to hang his dress uniform jacket, laden with medals, in the plane’s closet so it wouldn’t get wrinkled. However, according to several passengers, a flight attendant told him that the closet was reserved for first-class passengers–and Marle was sitting in coach. A first-class passenger told ABC News that he offered to give up his seat for Marle, only to have that offer vetoed by the flight attendant. The matter was resolved when a first-class passenger hung the jacket behind his chair and gave it back to Marle when the plane touched down in Charlotte. On Saturday, the head of military and veterans’ programs at American Airlines, which is in the process of finishing up its merger with US Airways, offered an unreserved apology to Marle on American’s Facebook page, saying, “To be sure, we simply did not get this one right.”
That wasn’t good enough for Pirro. She said that it was yet another example of how “there is no respect for our military anymore.” But then she went several miles off the deep end. Her view of what she thinks should happen to this flight attendant has to be reproduced in full to be believed.
“So what should happen to “Ms. Not So Friendly Skies”? The one who snubs an Army Ranger who she says is not first class. The one who yells at passengers who offer to give up their first class seat. Ma’am, I don’t know what your name is and I hope I never find out, because not only do you have no class, you have no honor. And you know what? As U.S. Air investigates the role of this flight attendant, I have an idea. I’ll be kind. She shouldn’t lose her job. She should not lose her job. She should stay in the employ of US Air, in maintenance, cleaning toilets on all flights coming in from West Africa. Someone’s gotta do it.”
I’ve watched this video several times, and I’m still trying to figure out what Pirro was trying to do here. The most benign interpretation of this is that Pirro was trying to make a joke. If that’s the case, she has even fewer scruples than Sarah Palin. Now that takes some effort.
It says a lot about Pirro that she’s proudly promoting this rant on her Facebook and Twitter feeds. And it says a lot about Fox News that not only is the full transcript posted on its official blog, but the video of those remarks is still there–unedited. But then again, we’re talking about a “news” organization that doesn’t seem to mind suggestions that a POW who was tortured by the enemy ought to executed as a deserter. And we’re talking about a network whose morning hosts think 911 operators ought to leave non-English speakers to their own devices.
To be clear, what this flight attendant did was wrong, and she’s in serious need of a refresher in customer service. But what Pirro said on Saturday is equally wrong. If she has anything in her, she should apologize.
Let us know your thoughts at the Liberal America Facebook page. Sign up for our free daily newsletter to receive more great stories like this one.
Darrell Lucus, also known as Christian Dem in NC on Daily Kos, is a radical-lefty Jesus-lover who has been blogging for change for a decade. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook.
