I'm happy to report some insta-progress on the Delta Air Lines breast-feeding scandal, which I've been chronicling hereat the Notion. For those who've been out of the loop: a mother (in crunchy Vermont!) was thrown off a plane for the dire national security breach of nursing her baby. A remarkable number of people -- over 20,000 -- signed a petition by MomsRising, an online mothers' political group (an excerpt from the founders' new book, by the way, recently appeared in the Nation). Countless numbers of people were inspired to call Delta about the incident, and many also participated in protests and "nurse-ins" at Delta terminals across the land. Last week Delta issued an apology, as well as chiding its subsidiary, Freedom Airlines, which operated the plane from which the lady was so rudely escorted. Here's Delta's morsel of holiday crow: "Delta Air Lines supports a mother's right to breastfeed her baby onboard our aircraft. We regret the decision to remove the passenger from Flight 6160 as it was not in keeping with Delta's high service standards, and we are coordinating with Freedom Airlines to ensure that they deliver the level of service we expect for all of our customers."
MomsRising also reports that thanks to all the pressure, Delta is considering officially supporting the Breastfeeding Promotion Act, currently before Congress, to stop discrimination against nursing mothers. To that end, it can't hurt to get more names on MomsRising's petition.
Speaking of small but sweet victories, Wal-Mart's high-priced PR firm is humiliated and mired in scandal over fake blogs and "grass-roots" organizations it created to, um, improve the company's terrible image. Wal-Mart Watch deserves credit for exposing this bit of fraud. Today, Online Media Daily reports that the PR firm, Edelman, may be kicked out of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (sounds like a joke, but there really is such a thing, and even corporate bloggers have standards!).
The Nation
I’m happy to report some insta-progress on the Delta Air Lines breast-feeding scandal, which I’ve been chronicling hereat the Notion. For those who’ve been out of the loop: a mother (in crunchy Vermont!) was thrown off a plane for the dire national security breach of nursing her baby. A remarkable number of people — over 20,000 — signed a petition by MomsRising, an online mothers’ political group (an excerpt from the founders’ new book, by the way, recently appeared in the Nation). Countless numbers of people were inspired to call Delta about the incident, and many also participated in protests and “nurse-ins” at Delta terminals across the land. Last week Delta issued an apology, as well as chiding its subsidiary, Freedom Airlines, which operated the plane from which the lady was so rudely escorted. Here’s Delta’s morsel of holiday crow: “Delta Air Lines supports a mother’s right to breastfeed her baby onboard our aircraft. We regret the decision to remove the passenger from Flight 6160 as it was not in keeping with Delta’s high service standards, and we are coordinating with Freedom Airlines to ensure that they deliver the level of service we expect for all of our customers.”
MomsRising also reports that thanks to all the pressure, Delta is considering officially supporting the Breastfeeding Promotion Act, currently before Congress, to stop discrimination against nursing mothers. To that end, it can’t hurt to get more names on MomsRising’s petition.
Speaking of small but sweet victories, Wal-Mart’s high-priced PR firm is humiliated and mired in scandal over fake blogs and “grass-roots” organizations it created to, um, improve the company’s terrible image. Wal-Mart Watch deserves credit for exposing this bit of fraud. Today, Online Media Daily reports that the PR firm, Edelman, may be kicked out of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (sounds like a joke, but there really is such a thing, and even corporate bloggers have standards!).
The NationTwitterFounded by abolitionists in 1865, The Nation has chronicled the breadth and depth of political and cultural life, from the debut of the telegraph to the rise of Twitter, serving as a critical, independent, and progressive voice in American journalism.