Tedd Petruna, Action Zero

Oh my my my.  The Petruna Story rocks on...now TPM has gotten a hold of it, and Petruna's sticking with it besides, you know, not being on the plane.

Reached at the Johnson Space Center's Neutral Buoyancy Lab this morning, Petruna told TPMmuckraker that despite AirTran's assertion, he was on the flight. He wouldn't say much, though, because "I'm in the middle of a lawsuit about this right now." We're not sure whether a lawsuit has actually been filed or what it would be about, though Petruna told Schlussel, the right-wing columnist, that he was mulling a defamation suit.
"The whole e-mail went out accidentally; it was not supposed to go nationwide," Petruna told TPMmuckraker. "It was supposed to go out to family and friends, and the next thing I know it's a firestorm."

Gene Hackemack, one of the friends who has apparently been distributing the email, introduced it with his opinion that "the muslims are all getting very brave now, since they have one of their own in the white house......read Tedd's story below."

There's one other wrinkle to the story: Petruna sent the e-mail out from an account marked "Petruna, Tedd J. (JSC-DX12)[RAYTHEON TECHNICAL SERVICES COMPANY]." Raytheon partners with NASA on the Neutral Buoyancy Lab, where Petruna is a diver. And Petruna told us he works for Raytheon as well as NASA.

But Raytheon spokesman Jon Kasle tells TPMmuckraker, "This individual is not a Raytheon employee." Kasle says he's not sure why Raytheon's name is on Petruna's e-mail account, and declined to comment on whether the company is looking into the matter.

NASA and AirTran did not immediately respond to a requests for comment.

Oh brother.  What a sack of crap this is.  Petruna has no choice, the Teabagger beast must be fed, and he's the newest morsel.

Pity there won't be anything left of him after the Wingers wring his soul out when he has to retract.