Brent Anderson

why are taters the only thing we’ve totted

The same people claiming we can’t afford health care, food assistance, or investments that help families get by somehow found $2 BILLION A DAY for a war of choice.

Don’t let anyone pretend this was about fiscal responsibility.

About to tomorrow and am now dreading.

But now I'm looking for a replacement. Southwest instantly lost me and I'm sure many others because they willfully scrapped what made them special. They're just another airline now. This whole crappy rollout is just another example of the rapid enshittification of everything. Greed kills. /fin

We're only a couple months into this new reality, but I can't help but feel they're going to struggle hard and deservedly so. I've lived for 21 years in Kansas CIty, which is a SWA hub. It services a lot of destinations others don't. I flew them almost exclusively. 9/

There is one way to game the system a bit: get a Southwest Visa card! Which would enable you to choose seats on any fare, gain loyalty points and more expected small benefits. But that too just smacks of an additional attempt at a cash grab rather than boosting brand affinity. 8/

All this a pretty clear indication that Southwest is chasing more upscale customers who will pay for the added legroom and more expensive seats with related potential perks (while alienating everyone else). But the company and its planes aren't set up for it. 7/

Southwest's new boarding process didn't take this into consideration Southwest Airlines said tweaks to its boarding process and new overhead bins should make trips smoother for passengers.

Meanwhile, no free checked bags means everyone brings carry-ons, which not only makes the boarding process a mess, but higher-priced tickets guarantee bin space. See more here: www.usatoday.com/story/travel... 6/

Prices have surged accordingly There are four ticketing tiers now, from basic to premium. Nonstop flights are far more expensive than connections. None of this used to be the case. My basic nonstop was still not cheap. And it meant I couldn't select a seat until boarding time. Like, what?! 5/

On top of that, the UX of their app and website have followed suit. Both used to be easy, directing you to what you needed/wanted (check in, book, etc.). Now those functions are sublimated to ever-present prompts to "upgrade" your seat, flight, status, etc. 4/

In case you haven't flown them yet this year, Southwest overnight went polar opposite of everything they'd been known for. Free checked bags? Not any more. Lower fares? Nope. An oddly endearing and egalitarian boarding process? Now it's tiers and assigned seats. Sound familiar? 3/

Southwest apparently doesn't have a Bluesky account, but plenty of people here know them. And as a previously loyal customer, it's astonishing how quickly they fell prey to VC $ and a bad business model, in the process trashing years of earned brand equity and devotion. 2/

Some of the simplest rules of successful branding are often the ones most quickly ignored. Like don't fear being different than your competition. Make emotional, not just rational, connections to your audience. Here's how I just experienced Southwest Airlines forgetting everything they'd learned. 🧵

Having nearly been hit more than once while on a bicycle, Big Dumb Trucks should not be street legal and are ultimately just a glaring example of wasted resources and tiny egos.

He's putting up record job losses, driving the country into a war he can't even explain, and was credibly accused of raping a teenager in the Epstein files released yesterday - so of course it's time to try and ruin more trans people's lives

Way to meet the moment dude, sheesh.

Insulated and indulged by lackeys, a steady stream of Fox News melting his mind, the latter stages of malignant narcissism making him flail about in anger as a control mechanism, Trump is no longer in any way, shape or form tethered to even a shred of reality.

In every Republican presidency of my lifetime there's been a recession and a new war in the Middle East.

Thanks, I hate it.

Ok, make my day. More reasons to reconnect.

Fetterman is basically a reactionary now: there is no real effort to explain why Mullin - a buffoon who spent the week insisting we are not at war with Iran - is qualified. Trump nominated Mullin, and that’s good enough for him.

It's never too late Michael.

Watching this Spurs team is what I like to call shotenfreude.

Delighting in it. Now can the next be Miller? Please let it be Miller.

The Democrats could do a really cool thing by holding up Mullin confirmation hearings until ICE is dismantled.

Every nomination just feels like a dare.

He also referred to Iran as Iraq.

"The Shield of the Americas." This doesn't bode well.