Truth Hurts

There are so many thoughts swirling through this lump of grey matter that I find it difficult to sleep beyond five or six hours every night. I had two issues in mind today, and perhaps I can weave them both in here since they are both significant to the future of the national airspace system and the safety of the flying public. The air traffic controllers who are a majority of the audience here are all too familiar with our situation. To the rest of you, I will try and summarize. In 2000, the American people elected perhaps the biggest pro-corporation anti-worker President we have ever seen. For the four years that followed, he carried out his anti-American agenda from the back pocket of corporate America. With heavy hearts and fear in their minds, the American people reelected this man. By 2005, the air traffic controllers of this country were at the bargaining table with these thieves. By mid-2006, the party was over. Although my union worked tirelessly, the inevitable happened. Thi...

Aside from my family, golf, my union, the labor movement and my job, politics is obviously my passion. I’m not sure what has drawn me to politics, but as you can see from my passages to date, it is something I love to read and write about. I typically do not think about my job or how those in charge are running the US aviation system to the brink of failure, but today happens to be one of those days. There are many people in my union who are writing about the current state of the air traffic control system and those who “manage” it – and I use the term loosely. Check out FAA Follies , Get the Flick and The Main Bang for some witty and insightful information on that topic. I urge everyone to check our Don Brown’s post from a few days ago: Air Traffic: Safety vs. Capacity . It is written from the perspective of someone who knows and cares more about the safety aspect of aviation than perhaps anyone you will ever meet, and he has an incredible knack for putting things into perspective tha...

I wanted to follow up on my first blog from way back in May. Since those who fear Barack Obama have chosen to try and lend credibility to a faux report about his religion and schooling, I thought I would post some facts. The first part comes courtesy of John Kerry's mailing list and the second part from my good union brother from Seattle, Paul Cox. Here's a link to Paul's blog http://www.pcox.net/blog/ . He also writes here: http://www.faafollies.com/ Dear Anthony, I support Barack Obama because he doesn't seek to perfect the politics of Swiftboating -- he seeks to end it. This is personal for me, and for a whole lot of Americans who lived through the 2004 election. As a veteran, it disgusts me that the Swift Boats we loved while we were in uniform on the Mekong Delta have been rendered, in Karl Rove's twisted politics, an ugly verb meaning to lie about someone's character just to win an election. But as someone who cares about winning this election and changin...

I can not help but hear Led Zepplin every time I travel west. "Made up my mind to make a new start, Goin' to California with an achin', in my heart." Since I lived on the West Coast for 10 years which, up until 2004 was the bulk of my adult life, I know exactly what Robert Plant was singing about. As much as Tucson became my home, I miss and love San Diego every bit as much. The ocean truly does call me and everytime I visit, I know I'll be back for good some day. When I moved back to the great state of New York to be near family, of course people thought we had completely lost our minds. Strangers have the same reaction when we tell them we left California for Upstate New York . The reality is, life is about choices. Sure, the weather is awesome, but it isn't all about the weather and it never has been. The west coast lifestyle appeals to me in a way that transcends the weather. I returned home on last Wednesday and, as an added joke to the negative wind chil...

I want to clarify that my words are just that - mine. I am not speaking on behalf of any organization that I am a member of nor am I speaking on behalf of my employer. Our union recently has had discussions as to whether we should be endorsing a candidate for President at all. I will not get into the details of that discussion, but rather try and address the issue generically. As an individual, you decide that you support Vice-President Gore in the 2000 election because his positions and platform most closely align with yours. You also belong to a group of skateboarders. If elected, Vice-President Gore is in favor of lifting the ban on skateboarding. As a matter of fact, as a Senator from Tennessee, VP Gore introduced legislation to allow skateboarding through all public buildings. Unfortunately, he could not conjure up the support to get the legislation passed. However, he was the only individual who stepped out on that limb, even though he was in the minority opinion. Should your ska...

My Union's most recent President, John Carr has written his endorsement of Senator Obama at The Main Bang . John is very well written, widely read and highly respected by many, many people, this writer included. If our Union doesn't get on the Obama train, then we will! Oh, and we'll be bringing hundreds of our friends with us! It's amazing to watch the media, pollsters, et. al. wring their hands during the New Hampshire Primary. I guess if it were my job to predict the outcome of an election and the result was tantamount to " DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN ", I'd be looking for answers too. It showed me how out of touch the media is with the American public and reality, but that's another story. Figures lie and liars figure and the fact remains that any sampling done before the ballots are cast is a wag. Sure, they get it right more often than not. It sure is fun to watch them squirm and spin when they get one wrong. My personal opinion? Senator Clinton has wid...

I have been ready for a change in direction since January 20, 2001. To tell you the truth, as soon as the votes were not counted in November 2000, I was ready. No one, including me could have been prepared for the rollercoaster we've ridden since then. Organized labor has been in the crosshairs of corporate America with this administration happily leading the charge. We were no exception. This President put together the most anti-worker, anti-union, anti-flying public and anti-American group they could find to break our union, to steal out wages and steal the pride we have in our profession. They ushered many of my brothers and sisters to the door, firing many and forcing others into early retirement. Today, the safety of the flying public hinges on the next occupant of the White House. Senator Barack Obama stood up for us like no other politician did. While he certainly wasn't the only politician to step up, he was our champion. During the 109th Congress, Senator Obama introdu...