Blowing the dust off this place after almost a year of inactivity to present to you, complete and unedited, the most recent edition of a publication called The TSO Voice, which I picked up at work (at General Mitchell Int'l Airport) while waiting for the employee shuttle. For reference, the flyer states that this is a weekly publication, although this edition is dated November 22, 2010.
AFGE'S USA TODAY AD REMINDS TRAVELERS TSOs' JOB IS TO PROTECT FLYING PUBLIC
AFGE Local Vice President in Memphis Appears on ABC News to Discuss Enhanced Pat-Downs
The largest and most trusted labor union at the Transportation Security Administration is running an ad in USA Today on Nov. 23 to alert airline passengers of new screening procedures and remind them that Transportation Security Officers are there to do their job and protect the flying public against threats and terrorism.
"The Transportation Security Officers who staff the checkpoints are frontline DHS employees. they are there to do a job that protects us all," says the ad paid for by the American Federation of Government Employees. "They have been charged with implementing the new policies with one goal in mind -- the safety of the flying public. Our nation's TSOs deserve our respect and our thanks."
The USA Today ad is one of AFGE's latest attempts to safeguard TSOs, who have been at the receiving end of passengers' anger and frustration following the implementation of TSA's new screening policies that include full body scans and enhanced pat-downs.
AFGE on ABC World News
AFGE Local 555 Executive Vice President Valyria Lewis appeared on ABC World News last Friday to discuss the pat-down situation. Lewis told ABC News that TSOs understand passengers' concerns, but TSA's top priority is to protect the flying public. Watch Lewis on ABC News
Because a high volume of passengers is expected during the holiday season, AFGE last week called on TSA to provide the travelers with educational pamphlets that spell out what passengers can expect and what their rights are.
"TSA must do a better job explaining these measures to the flying public," said AFGE president John Gage. "This absence of information has resulted in a backlash against the character and professionalism of TSOs."
AFGE strongly believes that TSA should work with local authorities to ensure that adequate numbers of law enforcement personnel are deployed to the airports to deal with anyone looking to disrupt the security process or assault a TSO in the line of duty.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Feingold Isn't Listening
Interesting post from Boots and Sabers today covering Senator Feingold's recent listening sessions up in Washington county.
Most telling, perhaps, is the news coming from Deekaman over at Beer, Bicycles and the VRWC:
...Deekawife 3.0 went to Senator Feingold's (I'm not) Listening Session at MATC today. The crowd was overwhelmingly against his stands on Obamacare and Cap & Tax.
He didn't care.
As mentioned in the comments over at Boots and Sabers, if the GOP can find a viable candidate, things could go very badly for Feingold come November.
In other news, I'm considering a name change for this blog, and (hopefully) will begin posting more regularly.
Most telling, perhaps, is the news coming from Deekaman over at Beer, Bicycles and the VRWC:
...Deekawife 3.0 went to Senator Feingold's (I'm not) Listening Session at MATC today. The crowd was overwhelmingly against his stands on Obamacare and Cap & Tax.
He didn't care.
As mentioned in the comments over at Boots and Sabers, if the GOP can find a viable candidate, things could go very badly for Feingold come November.
In other news, I'm considering a name change for this blog, and (hopefully) will begin posting more regularly.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Bragging on Sen. Mary Lazich
Blowing the dust off this place to share a story with any of you that might actually still read my ramblings about a recent experience with the DMV, and the action taken by my state senator, Mary Lazich, to make things right.
Yesterday (Monday), I went to get my most recently purchased car titled in my name and to have the plates transferred so they would track back to the car. Not trusting the DMV any farther than I can throw them (after having to deal with the aftermath of their ineptitude many times in the past), I decided it would be best to take care of all this in person, in spite of the $5 counter service fee. When my number was called, I went up to the window to conduct my business and get the car titled and registered. Now, here's where things get interesting. I live in the city of Franklin, but because of the way the USPS handles things, the mail goes through Milwaukee, and so when my address is standardized by their computers, it comes up as Milwaukee. As a result, when I went to the DMV's website to put in my change of address after moving, I tried putting in Franklin just to see what would happen, and the site kicked it back out, and would only accept my address when I put in Milwaukee as the city. No big deal, except that the city of Milwaukee charges a $20 wheel tax, which I have no intention of paying, as I don't owe it. All of that to say, on my title application, I put in my city as Milwaukee, but filled in the line on the form specifying that the car is kept in the city of Franklin (and therefore not subject to the wheel tax). The clerk at the counter called this into question, which would have been fine had he not been so rude about it, even after I tried to explain to him that if he put my application into his computer and put in Franklin for the city, it would be kicked back out. He didn't care about that, insisted that it had to be one or the other, and put the city in as Milwaukee without entering in the information about the car being kept in the city of Franklin, and accused me of trying to avoid paying the wheel tax. He was right about that, but he thought I was trying to do something illegal. Needless to say, seeing as he ultimately works for me, I wasn't pleased about the treatment I received. When I got home, I emailed the DMV as well as Mary Lazich's office to tell them about my experience. Fast forward to today (Tuesday). I got a call from the state Department of Transportation. Sen. Lazich (or someone from her office) got in touch with the DOT, told them what happened, and the DOT called to let me know that they had entered into their system that my car is in fact kept in Franklin, and therefore not subject to the wheel tax, which they tell me will not be added to my renewal next year.
Long story short, I'm still not pleased with the way I was treated by the DMV (although the DOT tells me that my complaint was forwarded to the supervisor at the office I went to), but I'm very pleased that Sen. Lazich's office took action on my behalf to make things right. She has definitely won my vote for re-election.
Yesterday (Monday), I went to get my most recently purchased car titled in my name and to have the plates transferred so they would track back to the car. Not trusting the DMV any farther than I can throw them (after having to deal with the aftermath of their ineptitude many times in the past), I decided it would be best to take care of all this in person, in spite of the $5 counter service fee. When my number was called, I went up to the window to conduct my business and get the car titled and registered. Now, here's where things get interesting. I live in the city of Franklin, but because of the way the USPS handles things, the mail goes through Milwaukee, and so when my address is standardized by their computers, it comes up as Milwaukee. As a result, when I went to the DMV's website to put in my change of address after moving, I tried putting in Franklin just to see what would happen, and the site kicked it back out, and would only accept my address when I put in Milwaukee as the city. No big deal, except that the city of Milwaukee charges a $20 wheel tax, which I have no intention of paying, as I don't owe it. All of that to say, on my title application, I put in my city as Milwaukee, but filled in the line on the form specifying that the car is kept in the city of Franklin (and therefore not subject to the wheel tax). The clerk at the counter called this into question, which would have been fine had he not been so rude about it, even after I tried to explain to him that if he put my application into his computer and put in Franklin for the city, it would be kicked back out. He didn't care about that, insisted that it had to be one or the other, and put the city in as Milwaukee without entering in the information about the car being kept in the city of Franklin, and accused me of trying to avoid paying the wheel tax. He was right about that, but he thought I was trying to do something illegal. Needless to say, seeing as he ultimately works for me, I wasn't pleased about the treatment I received. When I got home, I emailed the DMV as well as Mary Lazich's office to tell them about my experience. Fast forward to today (Tuesday). I got a call from the state Department of Transportation. Sen. Lazich (or someone from her office) got in touch with the DOT, told them what happened, and the DOT called to let me know that they had entered into their system that my car is in fact kept in Franklin, and therefore not subject to the wheel tax, which they tell me will not be added to my renewal next year.
Long story short, I'm still not pleased with the way I was treated by the DMV (although the DOT tells me that my complaint was forwarded to the supervisor at the office I went to), but I'm very pleased that Sen. Lazich's office took action on my behalf to make things right. She has definitely won my vote for re-election.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Political Triage
Verum Serum has a great post up on the current political salvos from the Obama administration; Justice Sotomayer, the energy bill, and health care reform. Boiled down, it looks like this:
-Sotomayer: let it go. We're not going to win this one, and it's not going to change the balance on the Supreme Court.
-Cap and Trade: make them wait. If Obama and the Democrats have to wait, we can focus on the most pressing matter (below), and the whole thing will (ideally) get the media attention it deserves, making people realize that it's a disaster.
-Health Care Bill: oppose the "public option." This thing is a huge disaster, not to mention a back door to government-run healthcare. This is the big one, and we need to make sure it doesn't happen.
This is just the bullet points; go read the whole thing. It's worth it.
-Sotomayer: let it go. We're not going to win this one, and it's not going to change the balance on the Supreme Court.
-Cap and Trade: make them wait. If Obama and the Democrats have to wait, we can focus on the most pressing matter (below), and the whole thing will (ideally) get the media attention it deserves, making people realize that it's a disaster.
-Health Care Bill: oppose the "public option." This thing is a huge disaster, not to mention a back door to government-run healthcare. This is the big one, and we need to make sure it doesn't happen.
This is just the bullet points; go read the whole thing. It's worth it.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Federal Judge Rules Wisconsin's Minimum Markup Law Unconstitutional
The story from Fox 6 Now, handed down in a suit filed by Flying J of Utah, which operates travel plazas in Oak Creek and Black River Falls. I don't doubt that this will be appealed, but here's hoping this law finally gets taken off the books.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Feb 3, 1959: The Day The Music Died
I make no claims to the accuracy of the information in this video, but it is interesting to read about some of what Don McLean might have been saying. The song American Pie is thought to be a coded history of American rock music, and the way it changed after Buddy Holly died. It's one of my all time favorites.
If you're interested, you can read the annotated commentary on the song, culled from various newsgroup discussions. Again, I can't guarantee that this is accurate, but it's one of the best interpretations/rundowns of the song that I've seen.
Hat tip to Thoughtful Conservative for the link to the Fox News article.
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