Burris A Hero On United Flight? Twitter User Says He's Lying

Earlier today, a United flight to Chicago carrying White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers and a bunch of Chicago Machine Politicians was forced to make an emergency landing in Pittsburgh after the flight experienced a malfunction of "on-air equipment." Sen. Roland Burris was on this flight apparently, and, according to his spokesman, got up to some heroics. Here's what Lynn Sweet was told:

Jim O'Connor, a Burris spokesman, said Burris told him that he heard a loud bang at take-off, sometime near 11:30 a.m. One the plane was in the air, the noises became deafening and the plane began to shake, O'Connor said. There was also a great deal of turbulence.

The pilot announced to the passengers there was a hydrolic system failure and the O'Hare Airport-bound plane would be making an emergency landing in Pittsburgh.

Emergency vehicles met the plane on the tarmac upon landing. Burris helped an elderly woman off the plane.

Sounds impressive! But, before Burris runs off to scrawl "SUPER AEROPLANE HERO" on his "Mausoleum of Accomplishments," he'd better get shot of the accusations of another passenger, who says, via Twitter, that Burris is not telling the truth:

Obviously, we can't corroborate any of this! But here's a taste of your newspaperless future, where everyone on Twitter is either KEEPING THEM HONEST 140 characters at a time, or, you know...sending sexts to each other, like always.

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POSTSCRIPT: Is it just me or have there been many reports on this that have taken great care to point out that while Desiree Rogers and Roland Burris were on the same plane, they were not -- I REPEAT NOT! -- travelling together! Yes, great! A number of people went through a harrowing mid-air experience today, about which we'd like to know more, but first, BY ALL MEANS, TELL US IF BURRIS AND ROGERS ARE ATTEMPTING TO JOIN THE MILE HIGH CLUB!

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Comments

[maddie0001]

Turns out he did help the old lady on the plane. Care to print a retraction?

[Paramendra Bhagat]

Twitter is all the buzz. http://technbiz.blogspot.com/2009/05/eminem-relapse-twitter.html

[Progressive Pete]

Burris bought his seat fair and square. People need to move on.

[johnr49]

WAY over the top headline - even if he did it, why exactly would helping an elderly lady off the plane qualify Burris for the description "hero"?

Also the "United Flight" reference is pretty tacky.

[blkbtrfly1]

LOL! Burris is funny -- but maybe not if you live in Illinois.

[bronncohowie]

OOH, a Senator is lying !!!! It must be the end of the world as we know it !!!

[Rayme]

Senator Burris is unfortunately my senator. Not only did he take that Senate seat despite the outrage of the Illinois voters, which shows a severe lack of moral integrity, he has done nothing but vote pro-business since in office, probably because he has a snowflakes chance in hell of winning a re-election. He has earned our scorn, every bit of it.

[DSOTM]

With Burris' ego, I am not surprised that he claims he landed the plane himself.

[ebanks84]

Touche.

[IslandGyal]

How the hell does that twitter person know definitively IF Burris helped someone or not?

[larry278]

There is something called eye sight.

[Matt7]

Posters here are being very REPUBLICAN in your comments about Roland Burris.

Continuing to nit-pick and try to find something amiss with him is very POLITICAL and very wrong.

What do you really know about Burris? Except that he was APPOINTED by someone whose actions and decisions you don't respect. Someone early on declared him "tainted" (i.e. "ANYONE appointed by Blagojevich will be tained") so therefore he IS?

(It's like continuing to call "O" an "elitist" because of a misconstrued comment, or a "closet t*rrorist" because of his "secret fist bump with Michelle" as they prepared to "take over the world." It's ridiculous.

Among other things, Burris is a gentleman. He assisted an elderly passenger by HELPING WITH THEIR LUGGAGE. Someone caught it on camera. It's the media that's trying to make it seem as if he's trying to be made into someone that he's not.

(And BTW he -- and even YOU -- can make whatever funeral arrangements for himself that he wants. Wanting to be "remembered" doesn't make him corrupt or unfit).

I remember Roland Burris hard-earned victories, breaking barriers in Illinois politics, at a time when such accomplishments were unheard of. Now he's being bandied about as just another political chew toy for "clever" bloggers with a desire to join the stoning for sport.

He's worked very hard over many years. You guys know nothing about him. He doesn't deserve this constant hassle. You really should lay off.

[wdw505]

you are right but coming from chicago as a politician makes him corrupt........

[Matt7]

. . . and "O"?

[Kahawa]

I have no doubt that Burris is a gentleman and all those nice things you said. However, speaking as someone who is not familiar with his political accomplishments in Illinois, I'm afraid his behavior to date -- especially immediately after he was appointed by Blagoyevitch -- revealed that he is not very smart. You're right: a lot of people (no, not just Republicans, but also Democrats and Independents who wish there were a more talented individual in that Senate spot) think it's a shame he was appointed and confirmed, even though his appointment was perfectly legal. He appears to be way out of his depth, and no progressive would choose someone potentially ineffective to represent his interests. Picking on Burris probably will not stop unless he overcompensates for his unremarkable political gifts and does something really valuable for his party or for his state as a senator.

Human nature. Gets us every time.

[Matt7]

What constitutes a "talented" politician in this age of "throw them into the fire and eat 'em alive" feeding frenzy is open to debate. Would we even recognize one if we saw them? (I think Obama is exceptionally talented, but that hasn't stopped the rehashing rather than recantiing the crazy rhetoric).

The Senate seat was aleady declared "tainted." I'd be hard pressed to name a single candidate who could have stepped into that position effectively. Everyone has an opinion about who might have. But it's easy to be a Monday morning quarterback when you're not personally called upon to PRODUCE/RESOLVE the issue.

Look at the "mess" that Obama stepped into as President. Do we say that THAT seat was "tainted" because of its previous occupant, his policies or the circumstances surrounding his presidency?

I just think that the constant trashing of a person's career and life's work (at no personal expense of your own) is cheap and juvenile.

If Illinois desires to choose another candidate at the next election, fine. Let the people speak with their vote. But to continue to perpetuate cr*p with an ALREADY SEATED politician, based upon political agenda and media-manufactured hype just bothers me.

And now we prefer a twittering "eye-witness" report, to the discipline of newspaper journalists (though I'll admit that these days they, too, leave something to be desired), and consider THAT technological progress?

Human nature notwithstanding; integrity and discipline are still the order of the day.

[J-Rome]

Burris' political issues stem from the dishonest testimony he gave before the Illinois House Impeachment Committee concerning his contacts with former Gov. Rod Blagojevich brother over helping Rod to raise money for his reelection campaign. Burris' contacts with Rod's brother came shortly before Rod appointed him to the POTUS' senate seat. Burris' dishonesty was revealed in an affidavit he submitted to the Illinois House Impeachment Committee on or about Feb. 4th of this year. All of this was reported in a Chicago Sun Times article earlier this year.

[ebanks84]

True. If only people would tell the whole truth in the beginning. Now it's too late.

[me again]

Burris has been constantly trapped by his mouth.....wouldn't beleive one thing the man says.....the fact that he is a sitting Senator is one of the biggest political shams in the U.S. Congress.

[ebanks84]

Ain't that the truth. I hope he is unseated for his lying.

[4State]

Newspaper-less future, indeed.

First we have to witness ex-vice president treasonous fearmongering war criminals splattered all over the toothless media....

then we have to see "twitterized" accounts of reality passing for accountability and reporting?

Give me the paperized society with real writers holding our corrupt government up to the light.

[John Horner]

That a living person who erected a fancy mausoleum to themselves, and keeps having new accomplishments engraved in it, made it all the way into the US Senate is really strange. Thanks for nothing Blago.

[wdw505]

he is such a joke

[Rog49Thomas]

I'd offer up Senator Throwback of Kansas as an even larger joke.

But with one distinction, some jokes may only be mildly amusing. Some may be quite dangerous.

[ThinkCreeps]

So, now you're a hero by sitting on a plane on which a collection of professionals are fixing a problem.

Then again, Burriss used up all his luck for several lifetimes making it into the senate, so it's perhaps no wonder unusual and potentially dangerous things are happening near to him.