Remember the 1970 movie Airport? I saw it with my friend Vickie. It was so good that even “break no rules” Vickie hid out with me in the theater so we could see the next showing.
Of course it was good. The cast was amazing. Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin, Helen Hayes (who got an Oscar for her performance), Jacquelin Bisset, Maureen Stapleton, George Kennedy and Van Heflin as the desperate man with the bomb and a life insurance policy.
Spoiler alert! The bomb goes off, Van Heflin is sucked out of the airplane through the hole he made. Stuff from all over the airplane flies out the opening too, because as you know that’s what happens when an airplane’s hull is breached. Luckily, Jacquelin Bisset (pregnant with Dean Martin’s baby, natch), just barely manages to hold on and not join the bomber outside the aircraft at 30,000 feet.
Seriously cool movie.
I was 13 when it came out. I still watch the re-runs. It’s still on TV a lot.
Now why do I mention this?
Because no one on the news has as far as I can tell. And I do feel obligated to keep you guys informed of important current events. I’ve been waiting to see this on the news, only nobody’s talking about it. I have a scoop! (Well, unless you read Dailykos, that is.)
Huh?
“What are you talking about, Elyse?” you might ask. Or you might just click that little “X” in the upper right corner.
You see, yesterday I read that Mitt was worried about Ann. Now don’t worry. Ann is alright. I know how you all adore her.
But Ann’s plane was forced to make an unexpected landing on Friday, when there was an electrical fire. Scary! Now remember, Ann is just fine. She will continue to annoy us with her tuna talk all through the election, and then hopefully we will have some peace.
But Mitt was especially worried. Here’s what he said:
When you have a fire in an aircraft, there’s no place to go, exactly, there’s no — and you can’t find any oxygen from outside the aircraft to get in the aircraft, because the windows don’t open. I don’t know why they don’t do that. It’s a real problem. So it’s very dangerous. And she was choking and rubbing her eyes. Fortunately, there was enough oxygen for the pilot and copilot to make a safe landing in Denver. But she’s safe and sound. [Emphasis added. I think. It might just be the way Mitt talks.]
Remember Van Heflin who got sucked out of the window. Remember all the stuff that also went flying out that window. Remember Jacquelin Bisset’s near miss.
And remember that this whole incident has given Mitt a whole new group of supporters:
Suckers for Mitt
* * *
Now in spite of 12,021 posts on Mitt doing and saying stupid things, I actually don’t think Mitt is stupid. I read somewhere that one of his Harvard Business School professors famously said of his two most famous students around 2008 or 2009: “I had two students; one of them was brilliant, the other became President.” Yup, Mitt and Dubya were classmates. And you saw how our last CEO president did.
But no, I don’t think Mitt is stupid. He just does and says stupid things. A lot. In public. On tape.
And you know, I’d really like to be able to write about things other than politics. But there is waaaaay too much fodder.
Courtesy of Dailykos.com
FiftyFourandAHalf 
This post reminds me more of Airplane than Airport:
“Surely you can’t be serious.”
“I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley.”
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Dear lord…even if he was joking, he has the worst delivery on the planet! I know I can’t do 4 years of bad delivery.
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Listening to him would be horrible. And having Ann prance around the White House makes me want to vomit. I can imagine her condescending at the Easter Egg Roll … fortunately, it is just my imagination. It ain’t gonna happen.
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I loved this post, but in fairness, it looks like Romney was joking: http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/09/mitt-romney-joke-joking-airplane-windows.html
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Laura, that is news to me. And that story is the real scoop — Mitt Romney told a funny joke. Who would have thunk it. And then last night I heard that he told another at the U.N. I am astonished.
Thanks for setting the record straight! I think I will update my post with your clip!
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I loathe both Romneys. I’m not sure which one I dislike more, quite frankly. I kind of wish both of them would get sucked out an airplane window.
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Weebles, While it would be nice to never see their smug faces again leering out from my TV, I will be happy enough to have them lose the election badly and slink off in shame.
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For once, Elyse, I learned about this news before tuning in to your blog. That almost never happens. But of course, I learned of this incident this morning via my Facebook news feed. Maybe if I tuned in to your post sooner? Who knows. Anyway, keep keeping on with keeping us informed. This stuff matters.
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Angie, I am sorry to have let you down. No, I posted it at lunchtime in a valiant effort to keep my job AND my blog AND my life.
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The best part of all this is that I have thought of Jacqueline Bisset in some time! Thanks for the reminder! 🙂
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Frank, you’re just a dirty old man. Attaboy! 😀
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John … I could put a clip here, but I fear our host crashing through the door to deliver a severe beating about the head and shoulders.
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“A beating about the head and shoulders”. Or whatever shampoo she has handy. And why is she using sham poo – doesn’t she have any REAL poo? 😀
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As someone with Crohn’s disease, poo is never in short supply around me. So watch your step, John. Watch it.
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Well, I got a mastiff, 7 cats, and a whole town’s sewerage pumping station close to hand. Let’s party! 😀 😀
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You have a mastiff? Cool dogs. But 7 cats? SEVEN? Holy shit!
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Nope, no holes in their poop. In their HEADS yes, but not in their poop! 😉
It’s a weird story. We took one in, thinking it was the neighbor’s indoor cat (they were on vacation), only to find out it WASN’T theirs, and it WAS pregnant. We kept a couple kittens, one got pregnant before we could get it fixed, then that happened a second time with a different female. We have a typical Ohio family tree – it doesn’t fork very often. 😀
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If I were to thrash the two of you senseless verbally, Word Press would put the comment somewhere totally unrelated to what I was commenting on. So I think you’re safe. For now.
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Beautiful woman. She still looks good.
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I told Totsy just this morning as she was swearing off further posts on old Mittens that it wouldn’t be long before he said something else to add fodder. You will never run out of posts if he wins the election.
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May I never be hard up enough for ideas to want that, Renee!
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You know, my dad had a phrase he hammered into my sister’s and my memory. “Before engaging mouth, always be sure brain is in gear.” I think Mittsie just needs a clutch rebuild, to make sure that brain is receiving the full horsepower it should! 😀
By the by, to pressurise the plane, the systems DO pull outside air in. And there are filters for the recycled air. Not good enough to remove a lot of smoke, but they are there. And you CAN dump cabin pressure, which exhausts air out of the cabin – it just isn’t an everyday routine.
In other words, once you examine Mittsie’s statement, it’s full of holes…..
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Wait, John. Am I your long lost sister? My Dad used to say the same thing!
He also would have said that Mitt clearly has a hole in his head. But his brain gets lots of oxygen that way.
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Oh, that would be SO cool if you were! Especially considering how well my sister and I DON’T get along….
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I have two brothers — one I am very close to and the other who is a very difficult man. He doesn’t talk to me. So I guess I have an opening!
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I love the way you season your posts with just enough humor to make them both informative and enjoyable. You’re the female version of Jon Stewart!
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What an incredibly nice compliment — especially coming from one of my favorite crazy women. I mean funny people …
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crazy women is probably more apt… 🙂
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That makes two of us!
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I also love Airport – I think I’ve seen it about 12 times! I still get nervous about whether he will ignite the bomb or not, even though I know he always does. And I always cheer for Burt Lancaster when he gets the girl in the end! Being Canadian, your politics don’t mean as much to me as they do to you – except for the spill over into Canada, but I must say I have some firm views about the politicians trying to take away women’s rights!
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Isn’t it a great movie, Benze? I do love it — especially Helen Hayes. What a performance. And like you, I keep hoping Van Heflin won’t detonate the bomb — why doesn’t he listen to us!
And isn’t it amazing what our own elected leaders are trying to do to women? Lordy, Lordy.
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Well, you know that Mitt and his ilk have a disdain for things like science and facts. So, in many ways this isn’t that surprising.
Rachael Maddow did a bit about this last night — though she used a scene from a James Bond movie, Goldfinger, I think.
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Damn, and I thought I was first. Sigh.
But John, when you have as much money as Mitt has, do you really need science or facts?
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This would be no big deal (everyone says dumb stuff sometimes) except when you contemplate the idea of an easily flustered commander-in-chief, then it’s downright terrifying.
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I agree. The thought of another president (no matter his IQ) saying thoughtless, off-the-cuff remarks in such a volatile world is a recipe for disaster.
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There are way too many dangers out there that can be easily inflamed to have folks who don’t think about what they say “shooting off their mouths” as my Dad would have said. Words matter (so do elections, but I may have mentioned that).
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Yes, isn’t that an awful thought. A president who can’t keep his foot out of his own mouth.
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Maybe not stupid in the book sense. But in the world of everyday folk, he’s not only stupid but a downright idiot. Though, to sugarcoat it a bit, like Palin, this just isn’t the arena for him to fight. If he can create jobs, just go ahead and do it and stop trying to be something he’s unequipped for.
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Trouble is, the jobs he created were in China.
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Well, maybe that’s where he needs to be running for office. I sure wish he’d quit bragging about his job creating record. If only he would put his money where his mouth is…But oh, that would be in the Caymans.
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!
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