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On 4/13/2003 7:33:02 AM exagony wrote:
1. At the front of that lobbyist line was Linda Daschle, wife of Tom Daschle who is a Dem and supposedly "labor''s friend".
3. Is this the line that Terry McAullife faxed you this morning from the DNC headquaters?
4. So over 2 million lost their jobs, I would argue a higher # than that, of that 200,000 or so were in the airlines. Yet airline employees keep crying that they DESERVE another extension. What about the other 180,000? Are we suppoosed to just say "screw you" to them because they don''t work in the airlines?
5. Is this another DNC talking point that good old Terry faxed you?
6. The so called recession the US was in only lasted a few months. I think its time to stop listening to the DNC and Peter Jennings and do some research on your own about the economy. The economy has been growin at a rate of between 1-3%, although not a astagering rate, it is not a recession when the economy grows even at an anemic rate. I would agree that if one group, ie the airline employees, get a benefit extension than ALL unemployed people should get the same.
6. While I agre with you for the most part, pensions ARE a benefit, not a right. You are correct to say that some CEO''s are dispicable with their actions dealing with the pensions.
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Exagony,
As for your points 1, 3, 5 and your first point 6... Ever since I voted for Nader in 1996 and 2000, Terry and Tom stopped sending me any faxes with marching orders. Sniff, they don''t love me any more..... Well that''s okay, cuz I don''t love''em either.
Exagony, you''ve jumped to quite a few conclusions here. I consider the Democrats and the Republicans, on the balance, to represent corporate interests and not much else. They disagree on some things because corporations disagree on some things. Someday, the charade will end and we''ll just vote between the candidate from ExxonMobil and the candidate from Nike. Or we''ll get our lazy butts organized and hold some people accountable.
You''re right to mention Linda Daschle, because the congressional/corporate assault on working people has certainly been a bipartisan affair. For those of you who don''t know, Linda Hall-Daschle is one of the chief lobbyists for the airline industry. She led the charge when the airlines got the first big bailout with nothing in it to protect airline workers. Yep, if you''re a worker, you''ve got enemies on both sides of the aisle in Congress.
(check out these links for interesting info on Linda Daschle and the 2001 airline bailout:
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12217 and http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID...1754)
As for point 4, you might want to go back and read what I''ve already said on the subject. I called my representative and told him unemployment should be extended for ALL UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE, not just laid off airline workers. And that is what I''ve consistently said all along when I''ve commented here.
On your first point 6, see what I already said about the Democratic Party. I could make some snide comment about you listening to Rush too much, but I won''t make such assumptions because, hey, I don''t know where you get your information. I certainly don''t rely upon the corporate media, which is only as liberal as the multinational corporations which own it.
As for whether it is a recession, maybe it is, maybe it ain''t. The economists won''t declare a recession until it is over. Whether the economy is growing or not, the people doing the work in it (airline or otherwise) are getting their asses handed to them. Unemployment, as you already point out, is growing, and official figures structurally underestimate real unemployment because you are considered unemployed anymore if you are still looking for work after your benefits run out.
Anyway, yes, I''ll say it again, unemployment benefits should be extended for all unemployed people, not just laid off airline workers.
On your last point, I would add that pensions are something that people fought for. Whether you regard them as a right or a privilege (and I regard retirement benefits as a right) those benefits were earned. They were deferred wages and they were stolen. If I steal, I can go to jail. How about the Labor Relations department?
Don''t whine, organize.
-Airlineorphan