“Naturally the common people don’t want war, but after all, it is the leaders of a country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag people along whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of their leaders. This is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country.”
Hermann Goering, Hitler’s Reich-Marshall, at the Nuremberg Trials after WWII
This makes more sense than $8 Billion to make-over O’Hare:
A $1.5 Billion plan to modernize Chicagoland’s freight rail infrastructure. Improved safety, less traffic congestion, and better air will result from “modernizing and expanding 5 rail corridors and creating more efficient connections on existing rail rights of way”. Jon Hilkevitch in the 1-26-04 Chicago Tribune.
Not to mention improving commuter rail service and making freight trains safer and more efficient. And overpasses or underpasses for vehicles will be built at 25 locations in Chicagoland! Hooray!
Of course the problem is money, as Bush and Congress are fighting about Transportation spending, so the Bill is being held up. And 8 Billion for O’Hare drains off the money before it even gets to the People.
Please let your representatives know your opinion. Thank you
Ethical treatment of Animals?
How big is your house, how many children do you have, how far and how often do you drive, in what?
If more people are taking up more space, demanding more water, using up more clean air, where do animals go?
It’s great that home ownership is encouraged with tax advantages. But unnecessarily large homes? And second homes? And weren’t new laws recently enacted to give tax breaks to buyers of larger vehicles? It’s like putting our money into SPRAWL, which long term just pulls the rug out from under animals.
Stop fur farms? Stop the strutting and preening of those who wear fur or hunt? How about stopping the show-off consumerism, irresponsible procreation, and “where’s mine” laws, that result in the loss of so much animal habitat?
“O’Hare’s Capacity Crunch” (Chicago Tribune 1-24-04)
“O’Hare handled a record 931,422 operations last year”. So more people flew, than in 2002? Or just more trips in smaller planes carrying fewer people? The way vehicles carrying one person create a “capacity crunch” on our roads. ????
Meanwhile
Sacrificial animal predictions rate John Kass’ space? But new info about the $6,600,000,000.00 Teardown of O’Hare doesn’t even get in the “world class” newspaper? Senator Fitzgerald’s warning is buried between police reports in Sec. 2, p.3.
Apparently Senator Durbin has re-introduced the same bill that died before; now its S- 83. It will by-pass the FAA, and the State of IL. Mayor Daley gets Quick-Take power over suburban property. The “6-parallel, E-W runways design, and the removal of the airport’s existing NW-SE runways” will be set in stone, no dissent allowed.
The quotes are from Senator’s Fitzgerald’s recent letter. He also says to read carefully, the National Air Traffic Controllers’ Association’s endorsement of expanding O’Hare. They seem to approve in principle, but do “not vouch for the safety” of that specific design, dictated by Durbin’s bill.
The new E-W runways will be only 1200 feet apart. The length of parallel runways nearest the terminal means lots of intersections. Removing NW-SE parallel runways “will cause pilots to land on icy conditions during strong cross-wind conditions”, is from a letter Mr. Burzych, of O’Hare Tower, wrote, says Fitzgerald.
Is it safe to double the number of planes flying above O’Hare, and double the number of cars going there? Is it wise to concentrate so much economic development money into just that part of IL? The Twin Towers were symbols of NY’s economic power. The constant bragging about O’Hare, Our Economic Engine, doesn’t make anyone else nervous?
The Trib always makes a big deal of delays at O’Hare. But read all about flight caps being lifted, United’s switch to smaller jets, and American Airlines leaving St. Louis, and wonder why the hysteria. 40,000 people a year killed on our roads? Is that right? Where’s the outrage about tollways, and dangerous trucks and/or drivers? Why is there $6 Billion available to fix an airport that isn’t broke, while other transportation problems go begging?
So you hate France?
