Better know a racist: Pauline Klemmer

All over the news (online and broadcast) you are hearing the account of one passenger on US Airways 300, Pauline Klemmer. For responses to her claims, we will be looking at a statement put out by The North American Imams Federation.

Pauline: The facts reported are incomplete and inaccurate.
Me: Of course, that's because you are espousing your racist propaganda as facts; and everyone is reporting about you.

Pauline: he even threatened a huge law suit against US Airways for the discriminating and humiliating treatment of his clients
Me: Since one of those passengers was an attorney, I'd like you to name a single attorney in the entire United States that would let the airline illegally discriminate against them WITHOUT threat of a lawsuit in response.

Pauline: They did a splendid job of handling the situation.
Me: Really? I bet their shareholders would disagree when they find out how much this racial profiling will cost them financially.

Pauline: He is claiming they were removed from the plane for praying in public. And inferring it is wrong to discriminate against them for this.
Me: So, you are saying that if you were removed from a plane because you were praying, you wouldn't see anything wrong with that? Or are you just saying that although it is illegal, it is a moral thing to do? You were listening to the lessons in Church weren't you?

Pauline: They were already claiming discrimination to Fox TV news when I got home from the airport. Something does not smell right here.
Me: Yeah, you. You smell like a racist. Seriously though, when American Airlines refused to let any of the Portland,OR passengers onto the plane, we all blocked American Airlines windows for an entire hour, not letting them do any business whatsoever until they finally agreed to at least pay for the hotel. You're right - we should have called Fox news instead; then it wouldn't have taken as long.

Pauline: This has all of the earmarks of a preplanned "set up" with their attorney all ready to go.
Rev. Dr. Wayne Robinson, Minister (via NAIF): [Omar is] a licensed Islamic Attorney in Jordan
Me: Um, duh. He's an attorney. Of course he had an attorney ready to go. Oh, and BTW...
MSNBC: Airport police handcuffed the men, searched them with dogs and would not provide access to an attorney, the lawsuit says.

Pauline: Do not be fooled by this propaganda.
Me: I couldn't agree more. Oh wait, you aren't done talking.

Pauline: The airline employee taking tickets reported to the crew that [...] she felt uncomfortable with them and she felt they were extreme fundamentalists.
Me: If Pauline knows what the employee said to the crew, the employee should be fired. And if the employee thought they were "extreme fundamentalists" then she is either a social psychologists with a background in theology, or a racist.
NAIF: Neither the pilot nor any of the flight attendants talked to them about leaving the aircraft.

Pauline: I seem to remember hearing something on the news after 911 about the terrorists praying at the airport prior to departing on 911.
Me: Good thing Christians would never pray before the flight takes off, huh?

Pauline: were they intentionally trying to create fear in the passengers
Me: Probably not - that's your job

Pauline: They spoke no English while seated next to me only Arabic, or what ever language they speak.
Me: So. Does that mean that Mexicans speaking Spanish on your flight were terrorists too? Good thing you didn't take an international flight.
NAIF: While on the airplane or inside the terminal, all Imams communicated in English in respect to one of the Imams who does not speak Arabic

Pauline: He was on one phone call the entire time talking very fast while he passed back and forth in front of me.
Me: Ummm. Even ignoring the fact that he is an attorney (which would be grounds for this behavior in and of itself), most business people do that too... Or people running late... Or people with babysitters at home... Or people rushing to the hospital...

Pauline: Their seating arrangement was very unusual and it raised a red flag to the crew[...]
NAIF: [...] all Imams were traveling with returned tickets. They have the itineraries to prove it[...]While on the airplane, all Imams went to their assigned seats. Omar Shaheen, who had been assigned a seat in the first class[...]

Pauline: When they made the call for first class passengers the other 5 boarded as well.
Me: I call bullshit. While everyone tries, they would have been arrested on the spot if they tried to get past the ticket taker.

Pauline: The one in first class, which had been on the telephone, did not stay seated in his first class seat, but walked back to the rear of the plane twice to talk to his friends, during the delay. One of the passengers sitting close to them in the rear of the plane overheard their conversation and became very nervous.
NAIF: Omar Shaheen, who had been assigned a seat in the first class, offered Imam Marwan his seat so that he could sit comfortably. Imam Marwan is blind and needs help while traveling. Imam Marwan respectfully denied the request.

Pauline: A woman passenger, who understood their language, indicated they were making slanderous remarks about the American people, thinking no one would know what they were saying.
Me: Even if true, it is people like you that make that justified.


We'll leave you with a final word...
Rev. Dr. Wayne Robinson, Minister (via NAIF): When I realized that one of them was my friend and colleague, Omar Shahin, I was absolutely outraged. Just this past summer, we both were postgraduate students at Oxford University, sat in class next to each other and broke bread together.