Today - May 29. I have deliberately left out any other specific details as I feel it would be inappropriate to identify a specific crew (thereby eliminating plausible denyability should someone from their management learn of this.

Duck, you can call me a drama queen if you want, but I was taught a long time ago that people's perception of you is affected by how you present yourself. Frankly, I'm tired of direction this profession has been headed for a while now (yes, now I'm a crochety old coot), and how eagerly many help this deterioration out.

I understand doing something to shield the cockpit from the sun - IN CRUISE! Put the crap out of view at top, don't leave it laying out as you taxi in. And for the record, it didn't look like leftover heat shield - it had every appearance of the entire paper (multiple sections) strewn across the glareshield. Guys taxiing in wearing a ballcap - I don't care for it, but that's a COMPLETELY different image than a newspaper all over - at least the guy in the ball cap MIGHT have been paying attention to the flight. Of course, the public knows nothing could go wrong with no one watching the aircraft - I mean you could never bleed off 50+ knots and get into a stall... oh wait, I guess you could.

Think people, think! I have a pretty low view of public opinion, but the fact of the matter is if we are viewed as button pushing chimps, then we will be treated (and compensated) as button pushing chimps.

A wise man long ago had an excellent mantra - KDA:

K - know what you are worth
D - demand what you are worth
A - accept nothing less

Pilots (particularly in many of the regionals) have a LONG way to go on this, and if this job is ever going to be worth anything it's going to require exactly that (including burning a few places down - figuratively). It first has to start with knowing what you are worth, and to be of value you need to be a professional aviator, not a button pushing chimp. Put the newspaper away at top (sure, take off the ball cap as you taxi into the gate too). Better yet, if you feel compelled to read inflight (certainly understandable), why not read something which enhances you capabilities as a professional aviator (and put it away at top). Demonstate to the public that you (we) are highly trained professionals who deserve to be compensated accordingly (feel free to also explain how we've been repeatedly robbed by bankruptcies and whipsawing of one regional against another). Then at section six time, demand what you are worth and accept nothing less.

Like I said, if you don't care about it for yourself either:

A) do if for the rest of us who do

or

B) get out of the cockpit and go to work somewhere else