Letters
- Details
- Written by: Robert MacIntyre
I would like to applaud Representative Mike Thompson’s work on HR 1303, the bill known as “The Passenger Bill of Rights Act of 2007.” I know firsthand what it feels like to be sitting on the tarmac for over two hours waiting to take off. Long delays end up causing problems with connecting flights, and they make it challenging to get reunited with your luggage.
The Passenger Bill of Rights Act of 2007 states that if a flight is delayed the airlines will have to keep the cabin at a comfortable temperature, and drinking water must be provided to the passengers. This is all well and good, but unfortunately, that’s about all this bill does.
Here are a couple of things you should know regarding this bill: First, according to the language of the bill, an excessive delay is three hours or more. You should also know that the pilot can extend this time by another hour, bringing the total to four hours. I don’t know of anybody ever being held on an aircraft for four hours or more. Do you?
Second, the language of the bill states that a passenger cannot just get up and leave the aircraft. The bill only requires airlines to “establish procedures to allow passengers to exit the aircraft” whatever that means. I am fearful that the procedures that get established will have more to do with the economics of the airline than passenger comfort.
When I first read the article in the paper regarding this bill I thought: “Wow that’s great! We will no longer be held captive on delayed flights!” Then I read the actual bill and discovered that it wasn’t exactly what I thought.
As an involved citizen I feel an obligation to constantly check on bills that are going through process, and encourage others to do the same. If you know of a bill that you support or oppose, your local representative should know what you think. You can call them or write them – you can even e-mail most of them. To act on behalf of their constituents, your legislators must have input!
For actual text of this bill and other proposed regulation go to: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/legislation.xpd
Robert MacIntyre lives in Hidden Valley Lake.
{mos_sb_discuss:4}
- Details
- Written by: Harold Riley
There are real, important stories out there awaiting some enterprising reporters or an editor who's truly interested in community affairs. What about the "ghetto" that about six blocks from Clearlake City Hall? I'll gladly take some reporter on a tour if he's got the nerve and guts? How about exorbitant prices for water and rental rates that are rendering our senior citizens penniless? How about the building contractors who are constructing expensive units on sandy dunes and near creeks that are flooded in the winter?
Instead, they devoted the front page to a "cross dressing" principal. Is this the only method left for a principal to induce his students to achieve scholastic rewards? I sincerely hope not.
Their propensity for cheap, easy humor at the expense of a minority verges on the National Inquirer mode. The readers deserve better. This was not a matter of principle, it was a matter of embarrassment for the citizens of Lake County. In the future, if they feel so compelled, I hope they'll keep the "drag" at least on the entertainment page.
Harold Riley live in Clearlake.
{mos_sb_discuss:4}
- Details
- Written by: Donna Christopher
What is so wrong with that? Do we really want our troops broken by the stress of 15 month tours of duty, interrupted only by far-too-brief visits back stateside? Does DC even have a clue as to the stress this puts on families and communities? Better yet, do you think they even care? In a democracy 56 to 44 would appear to be a victory – not a political victory but one for our sons and daughters. Not in Bushworld.
There were lots of rumbling about “can't pull them out now, it will disrupt units,” blah blah blah. I would think having members of a unit shot, blown up, etc., would be rather disrupting also, yet it continues.
Throw in a couple of “can't complete the mission if we bring them home now” – what is the mission? I fried my brain watching CSPAN last week and I have no idea what the mission is. No WMDs. No more Saddam. Was it to create a cohesive Iraqi government?
Too bad, so sad, that is crumbling before our eyes. The Kurds walked away from the table. Moqtada Al Sadr is pulling his parliamentarian members on Friday. Al Qaeda in Iraq wasn't on the run, they were only biding their time as we all read last week with the assassination of one of Bush's key allies. Heads up, Iraqis – a photo op with Georgie Boy will get ya killed. Here in American you only have to donate money to get a pic with him, apparently in a war zone you pay with blood and tears. No oil revenues to pay for the mess there, only tremendous debt for all of us and tremendous personal loss for to many families and communities.
So come on, Republicans, tell me, what is wrong with equal time for our troops? What is wrong with treating them with the respect and dignity they have earned and deserve? Tell me why they are so expendable. Tell me how you sleep at night. I sure as hell can't.
Donna Christopher lives in Lucerne.
{mos_sb_discuss:4}
- Details
- Written by: Lorna Sue Sides
Linzey spoke about the community of Barnstead, New Hampshire. A corporation had plans to pull 300,000 gallons of water a day from their local water resources. Barnstead fought back by drafting and ratifying the Barnstead Self-Governance Ordinance prohibiting the corporation from taking any water from their county.
This was just one of Linzey's examples of a community protecting itself from damage by corporations.
Humboldt County has passed an ordinance forbidding all non-local corporations (read "logging concerns") from contributing money to local elections. Mendocino County has passed a moratorium on GMO farming. All of these ordinances have been passed on a local level to protect the local people and the local environment.
This is, of course, very revolutionary since these ordinances challenge the rights given to corporations under the 14th amendment of the US Constitution. Linzey explained how and why the 14th amendment needs to be challenged.
Remember the long and difficult battles in this country to allow African Americans to have equal protection under the law and to allow women the right to vote? Now we find ourselves living in a country where corporations trump local government control. I am ready to participate in the process of reclaiming the rights of self-government.
For more understanding of how corporations have become so powerful in our country and in the world, try googling "Corporate Personages" or "Corporate Constitutional Rights."
If you feel that a river has a right to flow, people have a right to control what happens in their own towns and counties, and wildlife should have protection under the law, I encourage you to check the CELDF.org Web site for information on this movement.
Lorna Sue Sides lives in Nice.
{mos_sb_discuss:4}
How to resolve AdBlock issue?