A Hero Named Coward - And Cowards Who are Not Heroes

Engine failure on a Boeing 777 in London led to a miracle crash landing in which no one died. The pilot, named Coward, has been declared a hero. I think we also have to praise Boeing for a craft that did not burn up, although the loss of power makes one wonder if violating the gameboy rule or a software glitch led to the loss of engine power at the most critical part of the flight – low and slow just before landing.

It needs to be checked out. As a pilot, I congratulate the pilot. As a passenger, I would be thanking God and Boeing's structural engineers -- and hoping this time the luggage missed the flight.

On the local scene, today’s Houston paper has an article by a criminal attorney, now a city councilmember, who describes the unequal treatment in the Houston DA’s office she witnessed in the past 10 years of her practice. If you are Britney Spears, or just a young white girl, you get a slap on the wrist. If you are black or Hispanic (unless you are a Texas Supreme Court judge), you get 35 years.

It confirms we have a rotten apple in the system, or worse yet a rotten system that needs a major clean up. When bigots run our legal system, we have un-American cowards -- and no heroes.