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Politics : Impeach George W. Bush -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: 10K a day who wrote (57385)	4/6/2006 11:17:40 AM
From: longnshort	Respond to of 93284

If it was a white guy the cop would have done that

To: 10K a day who wrote (57385)	4/6/2006 11:18:10 AM
From: longnshort	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93284

here's another uppity female black liberal Congresswoman.. Sheila Jackson Lee, Limousine Liberal first came to Washington in January 1995, the Texas Democrat railed against the Capitol's silk-stockinged elite "The American people want reform, not phony but real reform," she said in her debut House speech. "They want to know that the days of free meals and free trips and special privileges are over. . . . It's about 200 paces from the awning of Jackson Lee's Capitol Hill apartment to the marbled steps of the Cannon House Office Building, where her office is. But apparently it's not convenient enough. Jackson Lee is routinely chauffeured the one short block to work--in a government car, by a member of her staff, at the taxpayers' expense. And apparently in violation of House rules. As Jackson Lee noted on her first day in Congress, the use of public funds for private ends is a major no-no, and the political graveyard is strewn with officials who forgot that. Jackson Lee declined comment for this story. VANITY and a sense of victimhood are handmaidens to Jackson Lee when traveling. Just ask Continental Airlines, her hometown carrier. For years, Jackson Lee tormented the airline's office in Washington that handles VIP booking. When Congress was in session, her staff would make several reservations early in the week for return flights to Houston. After the House finished its business that week, she would grab whichever flight was most convenient and scrap the others. But this kind of rule-bending put the carrier in a difficult position. Not only was Jackson Lee only paying coach fare (she was routinely bumped up to first class), but Continental was unable to sell the premier seats she didn't use. Meanwhile, airline crew regularly complained about Jackson Lee's rudeness. Continental managers, however, feared reprisal and saw little they could do. But in February 1998, things finally came to a head. On a flight home to Houston, Jackson Lee became enraged when flight attendants failed to produce the seafood special she liked. "Don't you know who I am?" she reportedly thundered. "I'm Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. Where is my seafood meal? I know it was ordered!" That outburst prompted a phone call to Jackson Lee from Rebecca Cox, vice president of Continental's government affairs office in Washington and the wife of California Republican Chris Cox. The message? Straighten up and fly right, or don't fly with us. Cox did not return calls seeking comment, but a member of Jackson Lee's staff who fielded the call remembered Cox saying, "[Jackson Lee] screamed at the top of her lungs at least a minute. She embarrassed the flight attendants and the passengers in first class. And she embarrassed herself." Cox then joked, "We have already given her the Delta Airlines schedule." Jackson Lee got back on board with Continental, but not for long. In May 1999, as Continental flight 1961 prepared to leave Reagan National Airport in Washington, Jackson Lee became flustered when she couldn't find her purse. Thinking she had left it in the boarding area, she went back to search for it. Meanwhile, the plane pulled away from the gate. Moments later, her purse was found onboard. According to aviation lobbyists at the time, Jackson Lee demanded that she be let back on the flight. Airline employees explained that FAA rules prohibit planes from returning to the gate once they've taxied away, but Jackson Lee was unconvinced. She accused the gate staff of racism and demanded to see their supervisor, who was a black woman. Her purse, meanwhile, was unceremoniously dropped out of the cockpit window and ferried back to her. Jackson Lee shows no signs of mending her ways. When her December 6 flight to Houston was unexpectedly diverted to an alternate gate, for example, a fellow passenger says the congresswoman was on the phone in a matter of seconds after deplaning, berating a staffer who was to pick her up for not anticipating the change. Indeed, soon after the FAA issued emergency regulations in the wake of September 11 prohibiting anyone but ticketed passengers in the gate area, aviation sources say Jackson Lee's office placed "multiple phone calls" to the agency demanding a special exemption for her entourage. The request was denied. It seems to have taken a national emergency for someone finally to say no to Queen Sheila. Sam Dealey 02/11/2002 Sam Dealey is a writer in Washington.