Jon Stewart All Over The News

Rick Sanchez has said his goodbyes with CNN because he claims 

Jon Stewart is a "bigot" and those who run CNN are just like Stewart.

President Obama is supporting Stewart's 10.30.10 Rally To Restore 

Sanity at The Washington Mall.

Arianna Huffington has promised bus transportation to all who need it 

and can meet the buses in front of her NY office to travel to Stewart's

10.30.10 Rally To Restore Sanity.

Bill O'Reilly appears on Stewart's The Daily Show, and Stewart

appears on O'Reilly's The Factor.

Stewart talks about both appearances while stopping to visit David

Letterman on his show.

Glenn Beck discusses the Letterman show and Stewart on his radio

program after Stewart again discusses his desires to appear on the

Beck program.

The list goes on..

I personally am a fan of Jon Stewart's The Daily Show and I watch it

often. I admit I turn to Stewart when I need a lighter, more comedic

take on the miserable news of the day. I never watch the show, 

however, thinking that  I am watching something other than comedy.

 Isn't that the point of his show? Comedic relief using news topics

 as source material?

I was reading the Drudge Report on my droid..(I recently installed the 

Drudge Report app for droids), and I learned of the departure of Rick 

Sanchez from CNN and was shocked at his statements! Seriously this 

man can't take a comedy show and make it something personal, so 

personal that he lashes out and accuses Stewart of being a bigot? 

I then headed off to obtain a copy of the transcript of the Interview between 

Rick Sanchez and Pete Dominick on Sirius XM. The man's words really 

baffle me.

"It’s not just the right that does this. cause I’ve known a lot of elite 

Northeast establishment liberals that may not use this as a business 

model but deep down when they look at a guy like me they look 

at a-- they see a guy automatically who belongs in the second

 tier and not the top tier."

"I think Jon Stewart’s a bigot. I think he looks at the world through 

his mom who was a schoolteacher, and his dad who was a physicist

 or something like that. Great, I’m so happy that he grew up in a 

suburban middle class New Jersey home with everything that 

you could ever imagine."

When Pete Dominick asked him what group Stewart is bigoted 

toward, Sanchez responded: "Everybody else who's not like him. 

Look at his show! What does he surround himself with?"

The interview continues on and then there is this exchange between 

Pete Dominick and Rick Sanchez, where Dominick is apparently

attempting to reach the rational side of Sanchez.

Sanchez: "I think Jon's show is essentially prejudicial. I think that

Jon’s show is…"

Dominick: "Against who?"

Sanchez: "Against anybody who doesn't agree to his point of view,

which is very much a white liberal establishment point of view. He

 cant relate to a guy like me. He can’t relate to a guy who's dad 

worked all his life. He can’t relate to somebody who grew up poor."

Dominick: "He cant relate to … whoah whoah whoah he's a standup

comedian!"

Sanchez: "No, he's not. According to Time magazine, he's the guy

 that most Americans trust for news."

Dominick: "Whatever, he's a standup comedian."

**

Yes it is true that Stewart may be the most trusted name in news,

but it is also true that those who watch him are intelligent people

 who are fully aware that they are viewing a comedic program on

 a channel titled Comedy Central. We are further aware that Jon

 Stewart is a Comedian! We are aware that he pokes fun at the

 news and those who report it. I personally choose to watch this

 comedy because it takes the edge of the sadness, in-fighting,

 and miserableness of the news in general and makes me laugh

 at least once per day. I remember watching SNL News skits

 years ago for the same reasons. I am grateful for comedy outlets

 like this because frankly I think we all are prone to take life just a

 bit too seriously from time to time and need a break.

Did Sanchez deserve to lose his job? At first I wasn't so sure

 and then I read the entire transcript. I am not so keen on anyone

 losing their job, especially in this economy, but I am not his boss.

 Maybe he could have used some counseling or anger management

 therapy, who knows? He seems to be a rather upset and angry

gentleman. You can read the entire transcript of the Pete Dominick

interview here:

http://www.thewrap.com/media/article/transcript-cnns-rick-sanchez-meltdown-sirius-radio-21386

Jon Stewart sure is a popular fellow these days. This comedian seems

to be at the height of his popularity for numerous reasons, but being a

bigot is obviously not one of them.

Mayor Emanuel?

Rahm Emanuel steps down as the White House Chief of Staff in order to return to Chicago and begin a bid for the City's Mayoral Office long held by Richard M Daley.  A native of Chicago myself I spent the morning looking back at the people who have held this office over the last 30+ years wondering if Rahm, or any of the other Mayoral hopefuls, are Chicago Mayoral material.  The list since the death of the father of Mayor Richard M Daley, Mayor Richard J Daley who died in office in December of 1976 after serving as the City's Mayor since 1955 has included:

• 77-79 Michael A Bilandic
• 79-83 Jane M Byrne
• 83-87 Harold Washington (died in office)
• 87 (interim mayor) David Orr
• 87-89 Eugene Sawyer
• 89-Current Mayor Richard M Daley

Mayor Daley has held the office for the last 21 years.  During his press conference to officially announce his retirement from the position he said, "I am deeply grateful to the people of this city, more grateful than I can fully express.  I have given it my all. I have done the best."

"Now, I am ready with my family to begin the new phase of our lives. In the coming days,  I know there will be some reflecting on my time as mayor. Many of you will search to find what's behind my decision. It's simple. I've always believed that every person, especially public officials, must understand when it's time to move on. For me, that time is now," 

 "The truth is that I've been thinking about this for the last several months. And in the last several weeks, I've been increasingly comfortable with my decision. It just feels right."

**

Rahm Emanuel has made no secret about his desire to hold this office, but did make it clear he would not run against Daley.  With Daley stepping down the playing field is now wide open for the entire slew of those would be mayoral hopefuls to throw their hats into the ring, including a slew of City Alderman.  

Will Emanuel make a good mayor for Chicago?  He has a proven track record of being able to push through and get the job at hand done, but for the City of Chicago, if they elect him, only time will tell.

  

ZonePolitical On Allvoices!

The Zone has been syndicated on AllVoices.com over the last year, however the name was not easy to find.  That has been corrected as ZonePolitical links & syncs all of the networking communities we are a part of into one easy to find and named location.

ZonePolitical is the name you will find on Allvoices.com, Twitter.com, Digg, Reddit, Buzz, and in the next few weeks as the clean up of sites continues on Facebook and MySpace as well.

Thanks for hanging in there with us as we clean up and expand the site!

The articles will start up again soon!

ZonePolitical/Sandra Bonadonna

Travelling!

I left Las Vegas about 2-3 weeks ago and headed out to visit my parents in Charleston, S.C.  Then I boarded the Carnival Fantasy for 5 nights and sailed off to the Bahamas.  I returned to sunny Charleston and tomorrow I am visiting Savannah, GA.

Next week I am flying out to Chicago to visit with my brother for a few days before I head back to Vegas and prepare to write my next series of articles.  I will be writing a full review of the Cruise, which overall was pretty fantastic, and catching up on some political news about Senator Reid, Congresswoman Titus and some other local politicians running for office.  I also took plenty of notes on tours so that I could write some opinion pieces on history topics..my favorite subject!

This has been a fabulous vacation.  I look forward to getting back home and helping to finalize the Wounded & Homeless Veterans Charity Event coming up in September as well.  There are all kinds of things coming up to write about and get involved in this fall.

I also am launching a new site just about Las Vegas, called The Vegas Hotline.  That new venture should be off the ground and running early this fall.  Lots to do and lots to see and in the mean time...I am back off to enjoy the rest of my vacation and some quality time with my family.

Sandra

Upcoming Stories on The Zone!

What a last few months it's been! During this brief hiatus there has been quite a bit going on here at Zonepolitical.   Next week there will be a new series on the Zone covering Las Vegas local attractions, hot spots, night-life, & the best of Travel & Tourism on the Las Vegas Strip!

Last week I had the awesome pleasure to meet with U.S. Congresswoman Dina Titus and sit in on a Community meeting.  Watch for an article detailing more information on Dina Titus and her issues and platform as she runs for another term as the 3rd District U.S. Congressperson for the State of Nevada.

Charity work abounds, of course! I can't wait to tell you all about the fabulous Red Carpet Celebrity Event to Benefit Wounded and Homeless Veterans that is taking place at the Las Vegas Hilton on September 11, 2010 hosted by Sports Life Magazine together with Lenny Randle Sports Tours and Ricky Lee Watson's 'That's What I Love About America' Tour.  This event is sure to be special and is beyond honoring for our Country's Veteran's.

Keep your eye on the Zone over the next few weeks for new articles, entertainment news, and as always the political scene!

FOR CURRENT ZONEPOLITICAL UPDATES VISIT OUR ALLVOICES SYNDICATION

For All Current ZONEPOLITICAL UPDATES & STORIES PLEASE VISIT OUR GLOBALLY SYNDICATED COLUMN ON ALLVOICES.COM/USERS/SANDRABON

Thank you for your continued support of ZONEPOLITICAL.  We appreciate you.  To contact the Zone, please email us at Zonepolitical@gmail.com

Nevada 2010 Elections - Campaign By Social Networking & Rankings

READ FULL STORY HERE BY CLICKING HERE


Political Research Study: 
Is it even possible to consider Social Network Campaigning into the overall potential polling figures within each individual's campaign?





More Information by following the link above regarding Senator Harry Reid , and the potential Candidates: Danny Tarkanian, Sue Lowden, and Sharron Angle - Here.

INTERNET SHOPPING SECURITY CHASE & VISA LEADING THE WAY?

Today was another one of "those" days.  Everything seemed complicated, even paying a bill online seemed to be an impossible feat, until it turned into finding out a bank is actually doing more to protect us and keep our Identity Protected and our finances safe, while enhancing the Shopping Experience by offering more security online, through a partnership with Verified By Visa.  

Identity Theft is one of, if not the most quickly growing crime, and it leaves behind literal disaster for the victims that can drag on for years and years.  My husband and I are all to familiar with being victims of Identity Theft, so we have worked very hard over the years to make sure we are beyond protected. We learned you can do things like have your checks mailed to the bank so you can pick them up in person.  This avoids thieves stealing your boxes of checks from the mailbox and ever obtaining your account information.  We also learned about more secure programs our bank offered to help people like us who were afraid to bank again.  Before Chase bought them out, we banked with WAMU because they offered so much in regard to banking security.  Today I learned that our new bank, CHASE, has taken this issue even more seriously and stepped up the Protection Services!

We couldn't pay the bill, something was wrong and we were being directed to call the bank.  Oh, the aggravation when all you want to do is quickly pay a bill and move about your day!  Then as I was directed to: 

CHASE VERIFIED BY VISA

https://www.securesuite.net/chase/registration/welcome.jsp

We needed to complete and update information by first calling our bank directly or any online purchases or bill payments would continue to be declined for our safety.

This is the kind of aggravation I appreciate!  The, "How can we help and protect your finances" kind! I still did not realize what a wonderful service this really was until I started researching the site.  

CHASE & VERIFIED BY VISA have connected with businesses, and all kinds of companies across the Internet to really work this Internet Shopping Security program and make doubly sure that customers are protected from would be Identity Thief Criminals.

Some of the companies participating in this safer Internet Shopping Security Program include:

WALMART http://www.walmart.com/

HOTWIRE.com http://www.hotwire.com/

JET BLUE AIRLINES http://www.jetblue.com/

VERIZON http://www.vzw.com 

DELTA http://www.delta.com/

DELL http://www.dell.com/

SPORTS AUTHORITY http://www.sportsauthority.com/home/index.jsp

TOYS R US & BABIES R US http://www.toysrus.com/

ZALES http://www.zales.com/

TIRE RACK http://www.tirerack.com/

and a whole list of other's you can look up at http://usa.visa.com/personal/security/visa_security_program/vbv/shop.html

It took us close to an hour today to straighten it all out and pay a bill, but it was so worth it to learn that Internet Shopping Security is at the forefront of what is most important to corps like VISA and banks like CHASE that partner into this program.  I would rather jump through hoops to pay one bill and rest confident that we are financially protected on a more stringent level now, than ever be without this kind of Internet security and safety.

I am also so glad to report this list of Companies who respect their customers so much they want them to be safe and join this program.  These are companies I know I want to do business with because they are showing us they see the problems and want to do all they can to help prevent it from ever happening to their customers.  That alone, is all I need to make me want to be a customer.  

That is the definition of Customer Service.  How can we make your life financially safer, more secure, and enhance your Internet Shopping experience all at the same time? 

They figured it out! I am sure more banks are part of this program, or can easily become part of this program, but all I was able to find online today was in reference to CHASE and VERIFIED BY VISA.  If you are aware of other banks who are participating in this wonderful Prevent Identity Theft measure while Internet Shopping and "please keep security tight and thank you for doing all you can to make the Internet a safer and more secure place to shop", like CHASE please comment and let us know which banks are doing more to protect their customers! I know I definitely want to know, so I can help sing their praises also.

Learn more about VERIFIED by VISA and the wealth of information they share about Identity Theft and how to keep yourself safe here:

http://usa.visa.com/personal/security/visa_security_program/

Wishing you a safer, more secure, and pleasant future Internet Shopping Experience!

Sandra Bonadonna

Zonepolitical.com

1985, YouTube & Social Networking

1985 * YouTube & Social Networking

I was listening to Bowling For Soup's hit song, 1985, on my desktop Verizon Rhapsody Account while working one day on my many Social Networking sites, and writing outlets - and really paid attention to the lyrics.  With my 40th birthday, (yeah I put it print now, so it's as official as it gets), this song really started speaking to me.  I was 15 years old in 1985 and I have two teens in high school and two other kids not far behind them.

I wanted to see the video.  I headed off to www.youtube.com which is where I always go to find and watch videos these days, because MTV, as we all knew it way back in the day - the ‘80's day - no longer exists for us.  The awesome news is that YouTube has picked up where MTV left off!

The cool thing about YouTube is it allows people to partner up and make an investment to bring these AMAZING, Songs and Videos back to us.  The people who participate in this hope to earn a return on that investment through views, ad-clicks and stuff, but hopefully by people clicking on that purchase the track now link through Digital Music Downloads on Amazon
or which-ever music source allows you to purchase the track.   The tracks usually cost about .99 each.  This is how I purchase my music, by Digital Internet Downloads
.

I started to really think about that Bowling For Soup song, 1985, and all that it spoke about.  I wondered how many others, like me, truly miss the days of music videos and good old fashioned "musical fun".

I started a Twitter account, mainly to start singing the praises of Vegas because I live here and I love this City.  Then I realized that everyone deserves to be treated as if they matter because they do! Everyone matters if they are breathing! So I created various lists, including one called OthersWhoCount2, for those who I couldn't find a specific place to list, but they still mattered! My next decision was to see if people missed music & music videos from the past as much I did, so I decided to throw "Zone Flashback Vegas Music Party's' using YouTube links, provided by people on www.YouTube.com that I subscribe to.

My purpose for choosing as many regular people links as I can find is to help support the little people in their efforts to eek out a living in today's tough economy while at the same time entertaining my followers and friends, and of course myself!  I miss the music & videos too!

Imagine my surprise when I hold the Zone's first "Flashback  to 1985 Music YouTube Link Vegas Twitter on ZonePolitical Party" and it was a hit! People really miss the Music Videos, just like me! The next one was a Rock Show, and wow that was a blast! Even Dallas Cowboy's Offensive Tackle, Marc Columbo joined in because he too is a Vegas fan, and a Rock Music fan & ENTERTAINER! He is currently the lead singer and plays rhythm guitar in a metal band called Free Reign! (You can also find them on Twitter & other Social Networking Sites, or click on any of the pre-set links throughout this this article.) Music simply speaks to people, all people from all walks of life, and is a uniting force, which truly is a beautiful thing.

So I guess Bowling For Soup really hit on something with that song 1985, because we former kids of the 80's, 70's, 60's, 50's  - we love our music and the videos! We are ever grateful that YouTube exists and has picked up where MTV left off, and allowed the people to take over and entertain us!

The music world has much to be to grateful for when it comes to YouTube and all those "YouTuber's" out there who work so hard to keep those Music Videos we love so much and never want to forget or lose, coming our way.  We thank you.  I thank you! I can assure you, I will definitely continue to support the YouTube people.  VEVO, is another big part of YouTube, and what a cool Music Video service they are too!

When all is said and done, when you need your music fix of the good old days of "your kind of music", look no further than www.YouTube.com my friends.  There is an entire world of Entertainment just waiting to be explored by us - the lost generation who watched it all change.  The kids who played Atari Space Invaders, then moved onto Zork on our Commodore 64's, learned how to type on type-writers with no letters, took computer classes that required binary stuff and punch cards with holes in them (remember that crazy stuff?), went to Arcades at the mall when the cool color versions of video games came out, and WOW when Windows made C prompts a thing of the past?  Then Mac? Now we can walk around and watch www.Youtube.com videos in the palm of our hands on our CELLPHONES! All in the SPAN of OUR lifetimes, we people who totally get every word of that song, Bowling For Soup sings, 1985.

So here's a hurrah to 1985, Bowling For Soup, and one heck of a THANK YOU to the Owners, Operators, and USERS of YouTube who keep us Entertained with the Music & Video's we love!

Sandra Bonadonna

Zonepolitical

Oh and that picture on the cover of this story.. Yes, that would be me way back in the GREAT 1985

Words.. Uniting or Dividing?

Writing is what I do, it is who I am, and it is the very nature of my soul - my inner being.  I use words every day of my life.  I have come to love and appreciate words, but I have also learned quite a bit about words.


Words are simply the tool that a writer will attempt to use to describe feelings and emotions to express to the reader, listener or intended audience, the thoughts and emotions within the soul that the writer wishes to convey.

Words are meaningful in life for more than writers, however.  People use words every single day.  Words can be uplifting, healing, helpful, kind, caring, and sweet, perfect for the moment, and words can also be very damaging.

In my life I have witnessed many instances where people, including myself, don't stop and think before they speak.  The thing about words is that once they are spoken, they have been put out there into the World and they can't be taken back. 


Sometimes we people would like to think that an apology will wipe away the things we wish never came out of our mouths, but the reality is once spoken, words have been given life and any potential damage has already been done.

When I was a child in elementary school I had a teacher that taught us little children a poem that went something like this:....
"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me."

This is probably this biggest untruth told to all of us in life, and most of us already know this.  Words, especially negative, mean and purposely hurtful words are damaging to others.  There is no realistic justification for utilizing hurtful words against another human being simply because we can. 


There has definitely been a time in our live's when we have been on the receiving end of hurtful words, and I would encourage anyone, all of us - self included here -  who has experienced this pain to stop and remember those moments before preparing to use words to hurt or wound another.

In the animated film, Bambi, the character Thumper states that his mother always told him, "If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all."  These are words to live by, and bless the writer who chose to put this statement out into the World for us to hear.

Life is full of pain on so many different levels.  Just turn on the evening news and you will find pain and suffering all around the World.  In our tiny circles of life, the places where we group together to socialize, to congregate, to hang out together, to work together is where we can start!


In all of these smaller circles of social settings we can truly make a difference by allowing our example of how we want the World to be a better place, simply by and through the use of our words.  Negativity breeds negativity, where positivity breeds positivity - or rather kindness breeds more kindness. 


All of this requires the use of words, and it is up to us which words we will choose in order to bring out the desired outcome in our surroundings.

Words will write and sell a novel,

Words will write and sing a song,

Words will unlock hidden mysteries,

Words will help some get along,

Sometimes words can wound and hurt,

Words can cut the heart just like a knife,

Once stated you can't take them back,

Words once spoken now have life!

Words truly are a gift in this World,

Our words are ours to use forever,

Shouldn't it be time to see that our words are uniting?

Isn't it time to use our words to bring us all together?

Let our words that we speak today be the words that we are proud to have our children repeat tomorrow, in our honor. 




Sandra Bonadonna
Zonepolitical
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Kevin Smith Get's The Little People Don't Matter Treatment from SWA

COP OUT. That is the name of Director,Writer, Producer, Kevin Smith's new film and I plan to go see it, but that is not what this story is about. It is about how I am constantly finding myself shouting out for how the little people are being wronged. Who knew, Kevin Smith would wind up being mistaken as a "nobody, little person" and treated like crap, just like an everyday "nobody, little person" is used to!

As this nonsense around him continues to unfold, the truth of the matter isn't even being reported, according to Smith, and I believe him, I have no reason not to, I am friendly with him on Twitter and have been listening to him talk about this mess Southwest Airlines started with him yesterday since it began. I also am very familiar with Airlines screwing people over, if you have been following my stories lately.

Kevin Smith likes to not be broke. He is a common sense man who chooses to fly Southwest when he can because it is affordable. He even went so far yesterday after being insulted by Southwest Airlines, to tell the entire Twitter World to NOT BOYCOTT Southwest, but to keep using them because "they're so damn cheap!" Which even I have to admit, is true.

So Kevin Smith is setting a great monetary example for the rest of us. He said "Look folks: some people seem to think that because I work in the pictures, I should piss away money on private jets or first class flights. Rest assured: I take LOTS of first class flights. But while I've got some comfortable money, it'd disappear quick if I didn't respect a $."

With all this misrepresentation of what happened, and all the media out there spinning it out and making Kevin Smith look like he did something wrong, here is some truth for you. (I can't help but wonder why one little mommy with a big mouth is the only one screaming truths, but heck I guess that is what I do best these days):

1.     Southwest Airlines & media outlets are reporting that Kevin Smith regularly purchases 2 tickets whenever he fly’s SWA. FALSE

The truth: THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME KEVIN SMITH HAS PURCHASED TWO TICKETS FROM SWA, USUALLY HE PURCHASES ONE SEAT.


One Seat for himself.  One seat for his wife or whomever is flying with him.  One seat for privacy so a stranger is not sitting next to them, as is stated by Kevin Smith and his wife in the SModcast, on www.Smodcast.com 

     2. The first thing Zone Political did yesterday, was to tell Kevin Smith via Twitter that we here in Las Vegas are so sorry that yet another Airline went above & beyond to cause pain and hurt, but we know Smith loves Las Vegas and Las Vegas loves Kevin Smith too! ZonePolitical believed him, and spoke the truth. Why not? Does he have any reason to not be telling the truth? Believe an airline? Please! Seriously?

     3.Kevin Smith told GMA (Good Morning America) no, and who to contact, and GMA showed up at his home. His kid answered the door. Even his kid found it as Kevin Smith put's it, "Tacky".

    4.Somehow, in all of this it spinned out into Kevin being too fat to fly. FALSE! He passes all the rules, guidelines, standards, fits in the seats just fine, the seat belt fits just fine, and anyone who calls him fat, well you are just very INCORRECT, (and a name caller!)

So, all you Airlines out there, there is this little thing called CUSTOMER SERVICE! I know some of you are not big on treating your Employees well at all, but if you continue to treat your customers this way, you won't have any customers left. Kevin Smith can afford to find another route, but he is choosing to stay with you. Wise up, and take a lesson. Kevin Smith is admired by many "regular people" who will follow his lead, and many of those people are young. He also loves to come out here to Vegas, and many young people fly your Airline to Vegas! Now with US Airways leaving Las Vegas, the biz is all yours if you want it, so how about admitting the truth! You screwed up, apologize, Kevin Smith did NOTHING WRONG, and he is just another Little Person who was stepped on yet again, even if by an Airline that made a mistake and had a bad day.

It happens. He will understand, we all will. We've all been there before. When you issue apologies, however, you have to tell the WHOLE TRUTH.

Kevin, I hope you have blast next time your in town, and I can't wait to see Cop Out!

Sandra Bonadonna

AllVOICES.com (Sandrabon)

ZonePolitical.com

thepoliticalzone@gmail.com

@zonepolitical on Twitter




*******************

A Comment was posted that I feel deserves to immediately follow this article.  I started to post my comment, but out of a great respect for this man I am editing this post to place his comment here in it's entirety, then I will follow up with my comment.  Mr. Margulies, I invite you to email me personally at the politicalzone@gmail.com and I will directly post your comments as stand alone articles in the future. I would also like to let you know that I will make sure to post this on the AllVoices Syndication site so that the story is complete in both places.

Respectfully,

Sandra Bonadonna
Zone Political
**********************
David Margulies 

Crisis Expert Asks, 'Was Southwest Airlines Too Polite to Overweight Passenger?'
DALLAS, Feb. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Was Southwest Airlines too polite to director Kevin Smith when he posted a profanity-laced Twitter tirade against the airline and its employees on the Internet? Smith was asked to leave a Southwest flight because his weight had him encroaching on the seat next to him. The airline has had a long standing policy that requires passengers who can't lower their armrests between seats purchase a second seat. Smith acknowledged that he was aware of the policy and had in fact purchased two seats but tried to get on an earlier flight as a standby passenger.

"Too many companies back down from reasonable policies because they are afraid of negative publicity," said crisis management expert David Margulies. "We urge our clients to use a devil's advocate approach to avoid problems when possible but to stand up for themselves when their policies are fair and reasonable. 

"Southwest certainly took the high road when it posted a strong defense of its policy on its blog," said Margulies. "Southwest's reasoned approach is in sharp contrast to Smith's attitude, allowing consumers to see the difficulty airlines and other service businesses have with unreasonable customers.

"Most large corporations want to be very careful with how they respond to this type of over-the-top reaction by a customer," said Margulies. "In this case, I think the public would have understood if Southwest pointed out that Smith's profanity and overall negative attitude toward the company and its employees would make it a good idea for him to find another mode of travel.

"Southwest has taken a very reasonable and fair approach to dealing with the issue of overweight customers and should be applauded for their actions," said Margulies. "This is the time that customers and employees should take to the Internet in defense of the company."

David Margulies is a former award-winning journalist who covered the aviation industry. He is currently a leading expert on crisis management and crisis prevention. For the past 23 years, The Margulies Communications Group, a leading public relations firm (prexperts.net) has worked with government agencies, corporations and non-profits providing litigation support, crisis management, media training and crisis prevention programs.


SOURCE The Margulies Communications Group

******************************************************************

ZonePolitical Reply

Dear Mr. Margulies:

I admire your work, and respect your opinions greatly.  However, in this particular situation the facts, in my opinion, are being misrepresented by Southwest Airlines, not Kevin Smith.  I followed every second of that Twitter roll because Kevin Smith is listed on more than one of my many lists, including my private friends list, where I read every word he said.

He continued to update every aspect of his conversations today, and even talked about a call with someone named Linda at Southwest Air.  He was quite detailed on all fronts. The problem was not a fat issue, until, and again this is how I see it, and how I am almost certain Mr. Smith may be seeing it if you actually read his words, Southwest & the Media spinned it out that way.

For example: Fox News having a guest on wearing a bright Red T-Shirt that said "NO CHUBBIES" and made statements like, "You eat too much pie, you don't fly!" 

We should find this type of behavior, including News Organizations, like GMA who were told "No", and then proceed to go Kevin Smith's home anyway, acceptable? 

It is no secret to anyone on this planet, unless the have been living under a rock that Kevin Smith has a potty mouth.  Anyone who has seen or heard of any of his films or knows anything about Jay & Silent Bob, Clerks, Mall Rats, or Dogma for a few examples, knows that he is a film maker and a great one, with a potty mouth. He has his own style and appeals to his audience.  This is no different than anyone else in this field, some have potty mouths, and some don't.  I am certain I don't need to name them for you. 

Kevin Smith supports this Airline, and early on made a clear point of stating that he would not boycott, & he even stated he wouldn't sue if they would just be truthful as to what really happened.  It is all listed right there from beginning of the Twitter conversation to the end, or you could just ask Mr. Smith.  He has been quite honest and vocal about it all, to those who are fair and honest and truthful and choose to listen.

I like Southwest too.  If I were treated that way, I would be livid too! Who wouldn't be? What paying customer, who spends money regularly and is loyal enough to frequent this organization, wouldn't be extremely peeved after being treated this way?  Why aren't more people defending him?

The fact is he fits into the seat, the arm rest easily went down, and the fact is the seat belt as it is fits him.  The fact is he stated all of the above and I have no reason to question him.  I saw him on the television today, and the last time I was on a plane there were at least 5 people heavier than Mr. Smith that I can remember, one of which I sat next to.  The man was very nice, and I had no problem with his weight.  We shared a nice conversation and nice flight.

What I did have an issue with was a Flight Attendant who was wearing an overabundance of perfume. I felt nauseous every time she walked by, along with several other female passengers who felt it necessary to load up on perfume and cologne's or body sprays just before we boarded. I have severe allergies, and in a closed environment like an airplane, it is rude enough for the fellow passengers to do this.  With the no smoking rules on planes, and all of our Clean Air Acts, I would think the Flight Attendants would be required to not wear scented anything out of common courtesy to the passengers.  

In closing there is so more that could be done to accommodate customers who spend money on Airlines.  I do appreciate Southwest Airlines, but I don't appreciate being mistreated by companies I spend my money on loyally year after year, either.  I went through this recently with another company I had a major issue with personally, and wrote about them as well. This is what I do. 

I very much appreciate you taking the time to visit the Zone, Sir.  I have always admired your work and look to some of your studies for research aides and studies of my own, and genuinely respect you.  Over the years I feel I have learned a great deal from studying your work.  However this does seem an area where I will have to sincerely ask that we respectfully agree to disagree.

Respectfully,

Sandra Bonadonna

AllVoices.com/users/Sandrabon