H3 Ethan Klein CPS Situation is Disgusting, Russia Ukraine 30-Day Ceasefire Agreement & Today's News
PDS Published 03/11/2025
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CPS visited Ethan Klein’s home after hate from snark subreddits.
That is what he claimed in a video he posted yesterday, but the story goes back a bit further than that.
Right, Ethan first said CPS visited his house during an H3 podcast episode on Friday, explaining:
“An anonymous call went into them on the third saying they were someone that works at the house and they wanted to report us because our kids were crawling around in dog shit and getting viruses.” (4:16-4:32)
Right, further saying that a CPS agent had to visit their house, talk to both Ethan and Hila, look around the home, see the kids, and the agent eventually needs to return to interview the kids because of the call.
And he he went into more detail on this incident, the context around it, and what he believes is the root issue in a video he posted yesterday titled “this is so f*cked up.”
“Not only have they called CPS on us, now they are starting to try to call in a 5150 to get me committed. It’s really gone too far and at this point I’m ready to take no prisoners, take the gloves off, and call out everybody who needs to be called out. The thing is, once you target my children, then a line has been crossed that cannot be walked back.” (1:19-1:39)[]
Noting that while he held nothing against the CPS agent who visited their house because he was just doing his job, he still found the ordeal to be invasive and overwhelming:
“He’s called the pediatrician that takes care of the kids, talks to them. Pretty much sifted through every angle of our life that has to do with our kids in an extremely violating, insulting, unbelievable way.” (3:59-4:10)
“You can’t believe that you, as somebody that has done nothing wrong, has taken care of your kids, to be subject to this forcible investigation because of some fucking freaks online.” (4:16-4:26)
And as for who did this, he said his digging brought him to snark subreddits.
The first being one dubbed H3Snark, but it looks like that has now moved over to a new page called H3H3_productions with an underscore.
And if you don’t know, a snark page or subreddit is essentially devoted to criticizing or making fun of that topic, right.
There are general snark pages for calling out influencers, ones about not liking certain celebrities, it goes on.
And so an H3 snark page would be anti-H3, anti-Ethan and Hila, and Ethan does not think Reddit is doing enough about this overall problem.
But he also thinks that major creators are allowing them to thrive:
“The problem is that the subreddit, the community, is being legitimized by creators such as Hasan, such as Denims, Mike from PA, and all these leftist commentators who think they can get one up on me by legitimizing and participating with the most crazed psychopaths on the Internet.” (6:02-6:23)
Right, specifically accusing Hasan and other creators of minimizing what that subreddit has done, at one point suggesting that Hasan’s fans were responsible for the CPS call and other targeted harassment towards him.
This of course as Hasan and Ethan have been at odds for a long time, with a lot of recent tensions tying to their opposing views around the war in Gaza.
Ethan then went into more context as to why the CPS call specifically accused him of letting his kids eat feces off the floor, showing a stream from the beginning of the month where a creator named Demins reacted to a creator named BadEmpanada:
“The house is just covered in dogshit and his kids crawl around in dogshit, and god forbid, I don’t know what they do with it, I don’t know if they eat it.” (7:35-7:42)
“How is that once a week, I look into what Ethan Klein has been up to, and I manage to find more and more terrible shit.” (7:57-8:07)
With the chat there encouraging CPS to be called.
But Ethan said the idea that his kids eat feces has been taken out of context from a story he told around a month ago.
Right, he previously talked about how his dog had an infection that caused it to have diarrhea, and then their baby, who is crawling around the house all the time, also started having diarrhea, so they assumed the baby caught the dog’s infection.
Not from eating the dog's poop, but from constantly touching or licking any surface the dog and its shedding fur came into contact with.
It turned out the baby did not have the same infection as the dog, just some general baby diarrhea, but that is where this whole notion started, with Ethan adding:
“And that’s why they called CPS. Because my 10-month old baby, who is just starting to eat solid foods, had diarrhea.” (13:27-13:36)
With Ethan then posting a story from the creator BadEmpanada where he claimed he was behind the CPS call, then accusing Hasan of supporting him and other streamers who feed into this snark.
Accusing other creators, like Denims, of being insensitive about how serious the CPS call was, pointing to a moment where Denims said it would not impact his kids because they are so young.
“Create a bad memory for them? You’re not forming memories at 3 years old, and it is very rare that you are forming memories at 5 years old.” (18:51-18:57)
“There is wide variation across the mean….the average age of adults’ earliest memories is about 3 ½ years old, you’re not really forming memories at 3…You literally just read out of your mouth that the average adult starts forming memories at 3, what is happening?” (19:30-19:53)
“Her defense for sending CPS to break up our family and interrogate our 3 and 5 year old is, ‘don’t worry, kids don’t remember stuff.’” (20:37-20:47)
With Ethan just then going on to focus on how he thinks snark pages at large have gone too far.
Right, saying they knowingly spread false rumors, accusing the mods of doxxing his office, and adding:
“Has Reddit done anything? Despite us complaining, making noise, reaching out for the past two years about this snark community?” (25:36-25:44)
With him saying that not only have they not helped, but he believed they are protecting these snark groups.
This because he has tried to get these pages taken down, but that has resulted in no long-term success.
But other major creators have been able to get them removed for harassment, so he thinks it is a double standard, with him also explaining:
“This is one of my favorite examples. We made a subreddit called snarksnark to make fun of snark subreddits in general. And the community was actually starting to pick up steam and become pretty active, but it was removed. Why was it removed? For harassment.” (30:21-30:38)
With Ethan then claiming that the community has reopened, but the new moderator was also a moderator for one of the H3 snark pages.
With him arguing that these platforms are protecting people who go after him, specifically:
“Well, here we are, where it is acceptable to call CPS on people as an act of political protest on a website, Reddit, in which they do not care. They protect it. They enable it.” (36:09-36:21)
“At what point has this gone too far? And how much worse can it get before something is done about it? (36:40-36:45)
And in his comments, you have a ton of people agreeing with him that it has gone too far, that targeting children is not okay.
Right, that this is now far beyond just an online drama spat., writing:
“Regardless of people’s opinions on Ethan, you would think everyone could agree that getting CPS involved is unhinged.”
Some online just focusing on the fact that whoever called CPS diverted resources away from someone who may have actually needed them.[]
Now, if you go to the opposite end of the internet, those snark pages, they are questioning the validity of Ethan’s CPS story. [][]
But then, some of the people Ethan called out are also responding.
You have Bad Empanada posting to his IG story seemingly trolling the fact that he may have been the one to call CPS,
But then also calling out Ethan, saying he encourages his fans to go after his opps online and reveals their personal information too.
You also had Hasan reacting on stream to the claim that his fans were behind the CPS call by saying:
“Why in the everloving fuck would I ever do that, or even one of my fans fucking do that? He said that?” (5:23:37-5:23:46)
“Is there a thing that happens on the planet to Ethan that I am not responsible for?” (5:23:51-5:23:56)
“Let me tell you why I would never do that. Because I’m not Ethan fucking Klein. That’s right. I would never in a million years entertain such a thing. Never ever ever.” (5:24:07-5:24:21)
“The fact that people have done that is also insane. I don’t know who did it or what they did but the notion that I would ever entertain that is insane.” (5:24:31-5:24:43)
“It’s pure projection. It’s quite literally projection. I have not done a fraction of what he has done to me.” (5:25:19-5:25:32)
With Hasan adding that he has made it clear that he thinks snark pages are problematic.
And he echoed a lot of that in a statement to us today, writing:
"I think random people calling CPS on a content creator is insane, it's completely unacceptable. I assume he has nannies and maids to take care of the kids when he's working. Wasting government resources and possibly freaking out little kids of a YouTuber you don't like is gross behavior. I hope Ethan and his family are okay.”
And while Ethan has gotten a ton of sympathy, some have wondered how much of this snark he eggs on himself, with one person writing:
“ethan klein: “I can’t believe a website would allow this level of harassment”
says the man who had been stalking, harassing, bullying & attacking hasan piker & other much smaller creators for months on end, threatening to dox and sue users, how u like it?”[]
But that is where we are on this one, and I would love to know your thoughts on any element here, right, be it the CPS call, the criticisms around snark pages in general, anything here.
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Trump may have paused most tariffs on Mexico and Canada again, but that hasn’t stopped a trade war from escalating.
And yesterday, that war hit more than a million American victims when Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced this:
“Until these tariffs are off the table, until the threat of tariffs is gone for good, we will not relent. Pausing some tariffs, making last-minute exemptions, it won’t cut it. We need to end the chaos once and for all.” 00:32 - 00:51
“That's why today we're moving forward with a 25% surcharge on electricity exports for the 1.5 million American homes and businesses that Ontario powers homes and businesses in Minnesota, Michigan, and New York. This surcharge will cost families and businesses in these states up to $400,000 each and every single day. On average, this will add around $100 per month to the bills of hardworking Americans. Let me be clear: I will not hesitate to increase this charge if necessary. If the United States escalates, I will not hesitate to shut the electricity off completely.” 1:12 - 1:57
Right, and this doesn’t necessarily come as a surprise — Ford has been threatening this move for weeks in response to Trump’s on-again-off-again tariffs.
But he says this new tariff on energy exports will remain in place despite the current pause, arguing the back-and-forth just creates more uncertainty.
And going on to make it abundantly clear that he is only doing this because of Trump, and that this whole situation will only get worse from here:
“Believe me when I say I do not want to do this. I feel terrible for the American people who didn’t start this trade war. It’s one person who is responsible, it’s President Trump.” 1:59 - 2:12
“None of this makes sense. Costly tariffs against your closest friends and allies do not make sense. The U.S. markets have lost trillions in value. Companies are second-guessing investments into the American economy. American workers' jobs are at risk as we speak right now. Cost of hard-working American families will only go up. It doesn't have to be this way.” 2:44 - 3:10
Now, notably here, besides the totally preventable costs on Americans and U.S. companies, the total impact of this move will actually be fairly minimal in terms of energy disruption at least.
Right, none of the three states impacted actually imports a ton of electricity from Canada.
The Midcontinent Independent System Operator, which runs the regional electric grid in parts of Minnesota and Michigan, said that it expects very minimal effects, noting that less than 1% of its total energy came from Ontario last year.
And Minnesota Power, the main electrical utility that serves the part of the state bordering Ontario, said it got a “very small” proportion of its power from the province.
Brining in just about $300,000 worth of electricity from Ontario last year — and only for four months.
What’s more, one of the larger Canadian suppliers Minnesota gets energy from is Manitoba Hydro — and the province of Manitoba hasn’t announced a surcharge on electricity… at least yet…
But regardless, we still saw Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz condemning the move, describing Minnesotans as “the first victims of Trump’s Trade war,” and later acknowledging that while the impact may be minimal, it’s about the principle, saying:[]
“So look, even if it were one megawatt, this is totally unnecessary. And the fact of the matter is, it doesn’t impact Donald Trump one bit. It impacts ratepayers in Minnesota. For what? These are our friends.”
Now, as far as Ontario’s other U.S. neighbors, Michigan actually does get a decent amount of electricity from the province, but the chair of the Michigan Public Service Commission said that the state doesn’t actually consume most of it.
Instead, the power flows through Michigan into several other states before returning to Canada as part of an electric grid that connects central Canada and states east of the Rocky Mountains.
But that begs the question: who will pay for Ontario’s new electricity surcharge?
Right, if Michigan is passing most of it off to other states, it seems like consumers in those states would bear that cost, which would indicate that this will reach beyond just these three border states.
And beyond that, other experts have also raised concerns about the impact this will have on the reliability of the electric grid.
With the information of officer for the Michigan Public Service Commission explaining that electricity flows between the U.S. and Canada as part of an interconnected grid, and adding:
“Any action to limit or disrupt these flows would remove a layer of protection and make all of us — Canadians and Americans alike — more vulnerable to grid-scale outages.”
And then finally, for New York, we saw Gov. Kathy Hochul announcing that she has ordered state energy officials to review how much the 25% surcharge will drive up costs in the state.
Accusing Trump’s tariffs of being “poorly conceived from the start” and having “no clear economic rationale.”
Now, notably, The New York Independent System Operator — the nonprofit corporation that manages the state’s electricity — reported back in 2023 that electricity imported from Ontario made up around 3% of total energy use.
But, like officials in Michigan, the operator has also previously raised concerns about the potential these measures have to disrupt the highly interconnected systems between the two countries.
A situation that could ultimately cost New York tens of millions of dollars a year.
Now, as far as how Trump has responded to all this… it’s been a real fucking doozy, even for him.
Right, in a late-night Truth Social post, Trump slammed the 25% surcharge, asserting, without any explanation: “your not even allowed to do that.”[]
And I’m not even going to “debunk” that because we have literally no idea what he’s talking about… like, he has started a trade war I’m not sure what he thinks is illegal or “not allowed” here.
With him going on to say:
“Because our Tariffs are reciprocal, we’ll just get it all back on April 2. Canada is a Tariff abuser, and always has been, but the United States is not going to be subsidizing Canada any longer.”
And also claiming that “Canada is charging the USA from 250% to 390% Tariffs on many of our farm products.”
Now, what he seems to be referring to here specifically is Canadian tariffs on dairy products, which is something he’s been railing against a lot recently.
And while it is true that Canada imposes a tariff of around 250% on U.S. exports of certain dairy products, experts say those high tariffs only kick in AFTER the U.S. has reached a certain quota for tariff-free dairy sales to Canada each year.[][]
A quota that, notably, Trump negotiated under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
BUT the dairy industry acknowledges that the U.S. never hits that quota for any category of dairy product, meaning they don’t export enough dairy goods for the high tariffs Trump is referencing to kick in.
A fact that the U.S. dairy industry has blamed on “various protectionist measures” put in place by Canada.
But, despite all that, Trump repeated the misleading claim again on Truth Social today in an absolutely unhinged post where he also made a massive announcement.[]
Declaring that, in response to Ontario’s electricity surcharge, starting tomorrow he will be doubling the tariff on ALL aluminum and steel coming into the U.S. from Canada, raising it from 25% to 50%.
And adding that he will declare a “national emergency” for the three states Ontario targeted while threatening to “substantially increase” tariffs on cars imported into the U.S. on April 2 if Canada doesn’t drop “other egregious, long time tariffs.”
Claiming that the move will “essentially, permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada.”
With him then going on to assert, yet again, that he wants to make Canada the 51st state — and I want to read a lot of what he wrote here because I think it’s important you see exactly how unhinged this is.
Right, specifically, Trump said making Canada the 51st state is “The only thing that makes sense,” claiming:
“This would make all Tariffs, and everything else, totally disappear. Canadians’ taxes will be very substantially reduced, they will be more secure, militarily and otherwise, than ever before, there would no longer be a Northern Border problem, and the greatest and most powerful nation in the World will be bigger, better and stronger than ever — And Canada will be a big part of that.”
And adding: “The artificial line of separation drawn many years ago will finally disappear, and we will have the safest and most beautiful Nation anywhere in the World — And your brilliant anthem, ‘O Canada,’ will continue to play, but now representing a GREAT and POWERFUL STATE within the greatest Nation that the World has ever seen!”
So yeah… I’ll let you chew on that one yourself.
But this is really just the beginning of the trade war that seems like it will inevitably continue to play out despite the pauses Trump keeps putting in place.
I mean, there’s no way Canada will let the U.S. make it a state, and if Trump won’t back down, this is only going to get worse from here.
I mean, even before all the events of the last 24 hours, we saw reports that Quebec is also considering stopping U.S. energy exports — and that’s just one of the many areas that could be impacted.
Especially if provinces continue to act on their own accord separate from the Canadian federal government, which will also likely continue its own retaliation.
But yeah, this is a rapidly developing situation, and for now, I’d love to know your thoughts on the most recent developments.
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Supporting Ukraine is now an act of treason – at least according to Elon Musk.
Right, the world’s richest man and “senior advisor” to President Trump levied the accusation against Democratic Senator Mark Kelly –
Who recently visited Ukraine and expressed his support of the country in a series of posts on X, writing in one, for example,:
“What I saw proved to me we can’t give up on the Ukrainian people. Everyone wants this war to end, but any agreement has to protect Ukraine’s security and can’t be a giveaway to Putin.” []
And you had Musk responding: “You are a traitor.” []
And then, Kelly – who is a decorated Navy pilot and former NASA astronaut by the way – replying, asking: “Traitor?
And adding: “Elon, if you don’t understand that defending freedom is a basic tenet of what makes America great and keeps us safe, maybe you should leave it to those of us who do.” []
And of course, with that, Musk’s comment has sparked outrage among Democrats and others – including, notably, some but very few Republicans.
And so while it’s just a blip on the radar in terms of shit Musk does that pisses people off, the whole incident and response?
It’s representative of just how much and how quickly the Trump administration has turned away from Ukraine.
Right, Ukrainian and American officials have been meeting in Saudi Arabia for the two countries’ first high-level talks since the Trump-Zelensky oval office showdown.
Although with all that, we’ve seen the two parties coming together quicker than expected, with Ukraine agreeing to accept an offer from the Trump administration for a 30-day interim ceasefire. Notably, with this seeming to go beyond the aerial and maritime truce suggested by Zelensky last week, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying the offer is to simply “stop the shooting.” And with that, the U.S. has also agreed to restart intelligence sharing and security assistance to Ukraine immediately. With a joint statement from the two parties saying: "The United States will communicate to Russia that Russian reciprocity is the key to achieving peace.” And then, Rubio putting it more bluntly, saying “The ball is now in their court” and that if Russia doesn’t agree "we'll unfortunately know what the impediment is to peace here." But with that, of course, there are big questions about how willing Russia is to play ball. In fact, one Russian MP has reportedly already called the idea of temporary ceasefire “absolutely unacceptable” – something a Russian foreign ministry spokesperson also said last week. But this is all happening in real time as I’m recording so we’ll have to wait and see what happens. But notably, even if a temporary truce could be agreed on, there’s still the massive question about what kind of long-term deal might be reached, especially as Russia has yet to really show a willingness to make any concessions.
But obviously both of them, as well as Russia of course, seem to have very different ideas about what peace should look like.
Right, last week, Zelensky proposed an immediate halting of air and sea strikes and an all-for-all exchange of prisoners of war as a first step in the negotiating process –
Also signalling his readiness to sign an agreement to share revenues from his country’s mineral resources with the United States. []
In return, Ukraine, at least for now, is reportedly asking for one thing in return: a resumption of American military aid and intelligence sharing. []
But of course, long-term, it wants security guarantees before its soldiers lay down their arms.
Right, because notably, Russia violated two previous cease-fires, reached in 2014 and 2015, and denied an intention to invade just days before invading in 2022. []
The U.S., however, despite that, is reportedly pushing for an immediate, comprehensive cease-fire and critics fear it will be one that favors Russia.
Right, which isn’t at that talks, but also reportedly wants concessions of its own before halting the war it started. []
And in fact, some unnamed Western security officials are reportedly telling Bloomberg that Putin has knows his terms won’t be met and is prepared to keep fighting if he doesn't get his way –
With them claiming he has no intention to compromise on his demands that Russia keeps the land it has illegally seized;
that Ukraine formally commits to neutrality and abandons its bid for NATO membership,
And that European troops not be allowed to act as peacekeepers;
With that last one raising big questions because we now having more than 30 nations taking part in talks regarding creation of an international security force for Ukraine –
Including, along with the UK and France, who are leading the effort, most but not all NATO and EU countries, as well Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea.
And notably, of course, the US is not included.
With a French military official reportedly telling the Associated Press that the U.S. wasn’t invited because European nations want to demonstrate that they can take responsibility for a large part of the post-ceasefire security framework for Ukraine. []
Adding that the security force would aim to reassure Ukraine and deter another large-scale Russian offensive –
And also noting that the plan might involve setting up additional weapons stockpiles that could be quickly deployed to support Ukraine’s defense in the event that that happened. []
And finally, with that, you had the official claiming that after presenting a rough framework for the plan…
The talks’ second part will include “more precise and concrete” discussions where the participants will be invited to say whether and how their militaries might be able to contribute. []
But with this happening in parallel and not in conjunction with the US-led talks it’s still unclear if and how this could all come together.
And in the meantime, the war wages on.
Right, Russian forces have continued attacks, recently killing 14 and injuring 37, including five children, in an attack in the eastern part of the country –
As well as taking back more and more territory in the Kursk region.
And yesterday, Ukraine reportedly launched its biggest ever drone attack on the Moscow region – killing at least civilian workers and injuring eighteen others – including three children.
With a senior Russian lawmaker suggesting his country should retaliate by striking Ukraine with the hypersonic missile that’s only been used once so far in this war –
And so with all that, there’s a lot of ways this could still go, and we’ll just have to wait and see what way that is.
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Today officially marks the end of an era for air travel.
Because Southwest Airlines just announced that starting on May 28, most passengers will have to pay a fee to check their bags. [Image and headline]
Which, if you’re an avid flyer, you’ll understand how big this change is.
Right, for many years, Southwest was the only major airline to offer free bag checks, and that perk was a huge part of its brand. [Image]
Now as of today, they haven’t revealed the new price yet, but whatever it is, not everyone will have to pay it.
Because the airline said passengers with Business Select fares or the top loyalty program score can still get two free checked bags. [Quote, find “two free”]
With a couple other preferred members getting just one free checked bag. [Same quote]
Also, the airline said it’s introducing a basic economy class, as well as “variable redemption rates” for award tickets, which could result in higher or lower prices depending on demand. [Quote same link]
Now from one point of view, this move is surprising, because as recently as September, Southwest said it would keep the famous checked bag policy. [Quote, find “September”]
Which its own studies had found to be a key differentiator for the airline among customers. [Same quote]
But from another perspective, this just follows a decades-long trend in the industry that Southwest has resisted despite intensifying pressure.
A trend which the air travel nerds like to call “unbundling.”
Right, the way it used to work was that pretty much everything — your bag check, your food, all the amenities — was bundled together, meaning it was included in your ticket fare.
And in short, that was because the airlines legally couldn’t change those fares.
Right, starting in 1938, the U.S. federal government regulated airlines like public utilities, and as part of that it set prices for the industry as a whole. [Image and Quote, find “major law”]
So as a result, airlines couldn’t compete by offering lower fares, so they offered better services instead. [B roll, 01:17 - 01:33]
Producing this race to the top that culminated with the golden age of the postwar era. [Same B roll]
[Clip, 00:14 - 00:20, 00:27 - 00:33; Clip, 01:40 - 01:49] Caption: “Welcome aboard the spacious cabin, attractively decorated, air-conditioned but draft-free. … Roominess extends even to the powder rooms, which look like those in a private home. … Delicious food adds to the enjoyment. It’s prepared in four simultaneously operating galleys, where dishes can be cooked in five-minute ovens.”
Hell, even by the 1970s, as an economic crisis squeezed demand, the airlines didn’t respond by cutting costs, like you’d expect them to nowadays.
No, instead, they upgraded their amenities, putting piano bars and poker machines in their planes. [Quote, find “piano” and B roll, 00:16]
But all that came crashing down in 1978, when Congress deregulated the industry, letting them set their own prices.
Meaning that race to the top suddenly became a race to the bottom.
So over the next few decades, prices were driven down and tickets were gradually unbundled, meaning they got you a seat on the plane and essentially nothing else.
Then, airplane cabins were stratified into different price tiers, and customers could pay extra for stuff that everybody used to get, such as more leg room and decent food.
So if you’re willing to endure the worst that airlines have to offer, then you can fly relatively cheap, but if you’re willing to cough up several hundred extra dollars, then you can still buy a better experience.
Which the airlines argue affords passengers more choice and flexibility, but critics counter that it’s made flying a comfortable experience for the rich and a miserable one for everyone else.
And every time the industry gets squeezed by an economic crisis, they cut costs more and more. [B roll]
But for a long time, Southwest bucked that trend, at least in part, by offering low prices but still keeping many perks like free bag checks.
That was, until last year, when it announced that it would end its open seating policy, let customers buy extra leg room, and begin doing red-eye flights. [Quote, find “red eye”]
With these changes coming after the airline posted a 204-million-dollar profit margin in the first nine months of last year. [Quote, find “204”]
Far behind Delta’s and United’s 2.6 billion and 2.2 billion, respectively. [Same quote]
So last summer, the hedge fund Elliott Management revealed that it had grabbed a 10% ownership stake in Southwest, and it began pushing for reforms. [Quote, find “hedge”]
But as flawed as it is, some argue that Southwest’s business model has proved remarkably durable for nearly half a century.
I mean, it’s the only one of the four largest U.S. airlines to have never filed for bankruptcy protection. [Quote, find “bankruptcy”]
And travelers have ranked its economy class above any other in North America for three years running. [Quote same link, find “three years”]
Which is probably in part why it carries more passengers than any other U.S. airline and operates more flights than any other in the world except for American Airlines. [Same quote]
So in the wake of this latest news, you have many people mourning the loss of the industry’s last major holdout when it comes to checked bags.
With former insider Brett Snyder writing for Cranky Flier:
“When we look back in the distant future, I think we’ll remember today as the day that Southwest died. “No, it is not going out of business, but its entire value proposition — everything that made it different — has disappeared faster than you can say ‘Elliott Investment Management.’” [Quote]
But I wanna hear from y’all about this, especially if you’re a patron of Southwest.
Is this move gonna make you reconsider other airlines? Are you gonna start shooting for business class or loyalty programs? What’s your play here?
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And for your primary pop of positivity today, I’d like you to meet Elena (El-ay-na) Hershey and Shawn Moyer.
Right, back in the late 80s, El-ay-na and Shawn went to high school together in York County, Pennsylvania.
In fact, they even went to prom together in 1988 after Shawn’s original date bailed on him a week before the dance.
Which is a total dick move, by the way.
Anyway, Shawn and El-ay-na went to prom and had a grand old time.
Then they graduated - Shawn grew up to become a doctor and El-ay-na moved to Colorado and became a teacher. []
And they lost touch for decades.
Then El-ay-na heard through a mutual friend that Shawn needed a kidney transplant.
You see, when Shawn was a teenager, he had an infection that led to his body rejecting both his kidneys. []
He had his first transplant at 16 and another in his 30s - but kidney transplants only last between 8 and 20 years.
So now, at 55, he was due for a new one.
With Shawn telling the Washington Post that his renal function just kept getting worse until he ended up on dialysis. []
He was added to the waiting list for a kidney from a cadaver but it was looking like a 7 to 10 year wait.
And that’s when El-ay-na re-entered the scene.
She had been considering a kidney donation for a couple of years and had done her research and gotten approved - telling the Washington Post,
When she heard about Shawn, she said that he felt like the right recipient so she reached out.
Which caught Shawn way off guard - with him telling the Post that he was “flabbergasted.” []
But the chances that El-ay-na would be a match for Shawn were pretty slim considering that Shawn has an O blood type - which can be hard to find a match for in general. []
And it’s true that El-ay-na wasn’t a match for him but that didn’t stop her.
The National Kidney Registry has what’s called a “paired exchange program” - meaning that after donating to a stranger, a donor can get a voucher to give to a recipient on the waiting list and they’ll get prioritized for another living donor.
With a registered nurse and transplant coordinator describing it as, quote,
“Instead of donating directly to your recipient, you donate to someone else, then you list your intended recipient on a voucher.” []
Shawn’s wife did something similar for him 20 years ago for his second kidney transplant when she wasn’t a match for him. []
And, in this case, El-ay-na donating her kidney this way cut Shawn’s wait time from nearly a decade to just a year.
Which was part of the reason she was so enthusiastic - on top of the idea of helping more than one person with just one kidney.
WIth El-ay-na saying,
“It’s kind of like planting two trees with one seed.” []
So last summer, El-ay-na gets the nephrectomy done and her kidney goes off to an anonymous recipient.
And while she was recovering, Shawn and his wife checked in with her regularly and sent her flowers.
With Shawn saying,
“She’s just an amazingly generous person. She was very serious about trying to help somebody else, which you don’t hear about every day.” []
Then, just a couple weeks ago, Shawn gets the call that a kidney from an anonymous donor was available.
With Shawn saying,
“Because of Elena’s generosity and willingness to do that … I ended up with a match that was exceptional.” []
And she was reportedly the first person he called when he got the good news - with El-ay-na telling the Post,
“I got really emotional, because it’s coming full-circle and the system really works. This is such a rewarding feeling, to go through that with him.” []
And adding,
“This was an easy surgery, it was an easy recovery… it costs nothing to donate; the recipient’s insurance covers everything.I would do it again if I had another extra kidney.” []
Now, Shawn is at home, recovering from his third kidney transplant that was made possible by his prom date from 1988.
Who absolutely gets the title of BAMF of the day.
And if this story and the one from yesterday haven’t hammered home this point yet, you should absolutely be an organ donor if you can.
Go to Henson Shaving and enter DEFRANCO at checkout to get a free pack of 100 blades with your purchase. (Note: you must add both the blades and the razor for the discount to apply.)
