P.O. didn’t mean post office—US Airways workers staged holiday sick-ins in response to the order of a bankruptcy judge to slash wages 21 percent. But it surely evoked chuckles the day after New Year’s when at least one headline reported: US Airways execs “get hands dirty” wrestling with baggage in Philadelphia.

This came after the weird effort of the airline to get workers to come—without pay!—to the airport to cope with a repeat of the Xmas flight attendants sick-in. But, the company assured that workers on a regular shift would be paid. Probably their best offer so far.

Analyzes bank statements—Dr. Park Dietz, a psychiatrist with decades of victories as a paid witness for prosecutors, finally lost a case. His testimony produced a court of appeals ruling throwing out the conviction of Andrea Yates, the Texas woman who drowned her five children, Dietz had testified she knew right from wrong. He likened what she did to a chapter in the TV series “Law & Order.” However, a check showed there was no such chapter.

Despite the fraud, he pocketed a fee of more than $50,000. In a previous case he had testified to the sanity of a man with several heads in his refrigerator. In his career since the ’80s, Dietz has never seen a patient.

Taken for a ride—On New Year’s Day, the owners of the private transportation system in the United Kingdom declared fare hikes jumping as much as 40 percent. They promised that the added income would improve the battered system. Typically, the highest rates hit London bus riders the hardest. Subway and bus riders will wait five years for some of the promised improvements.

‘You scratch my back…’—“Government scientists [more than 900] have collected millions in royalties for experimental treatments without having to tell patients testing the treatments that the researchers had a financial connection…. Last year, these researchers collected a total of $8.9 million”—AP

Faith-based?—Planned Parenthood, the ACLU and other groups have protested a “glaring omission” by the Justice Department in a set of guidelines it crafted for treating rape victims. The guidelines make no mention of emergency contraception, which can spare women an unwanted pregnancy. The FBI says more than 93,000 rapes were reported last year.

Pass the alkaseltzer—“We won the war on poverty. We’ve basically eliminated widespread material deprivation.”—Robert Rector, Heritage Foundation analyst. And, “The only way to improve your life if you’re poor is to be very prudent…. Most people aren’t that prudent.”—Christopher Jenks, Harvard University authority on poverty. Both cited in Los Angeles Times.  
 
 
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