"Ron Natalie" wrote in message
m...

"Chip Jones" wrote in message news:bf37b.9672

Funny Ron, that's the way I feel about the current Republican
Administration
and their claim that all of these "little" towers on the block are
"rural".
Maybe you could pick out the distorted "half truths" in the NATCA ad and
debunk them here on the forum.

The commercial implies that the entire ATC system is going to be auctioned
off by HR 2115. This is an outright lie.

How can an implication be an "outright lie"? An outright lie is something
like the DOT IG's claim to Congress that 75% of the FAA's enroute ARTCC's
are "overstaffed."


They don't even resort to your
slippery slope argument.
As far as anybody who really doesn't know what's
going on, this has nothing to do with 69 towers, it's the end of the world
as
we know it when it comes to ATC.

I agree with you there. It is not the end of the world when it comes to
ATC. It is simply the beginning of the end of it for American General
Aviation. ATC will survive, but it will become the servant of a new master-
big business catering to big airlines. Mark my words, by the time 2020
rolls around, you will be paying so much money in ATC user fees, GA will be
an exclusive province of the rich and privileged. Why? Because in 2008,
when they begin to dismantle the rest of the system, piece by piece, this
first defeat will be fait accompli. Too bad I can't make any Hitler
references.


NATCA and any other lobbying group does itself a great disservice by
resorting to hysteria rather than sane persuasion. All that's going to
happen
out of this is that a lot of congressional staffers are going to have to
explain
the truth to the few people who take NATCA's recommendation of voting
down all of 2115 to let them know what the issue really is.

Sane persuasion? Let's review, shall we? NATCA and AOPA won a major
victory in both Houses of Congress at the beginning of summer. They used
sane persuasion against the AAAE, CTA, ATA, PATCO and even against the
Administration and the FAA itself to argue against allowing federal ATC to
become a commercial endeavor. The House and the Senate both passed bills
that prohibited the FAA from contracting out ATC services (other than what
was already contracted out) until a further act of Congress (i.e.-
indefinite
and "permanent" language). AOPA and NATCA declared victory. The White
House threatened veto.

At the end of the summer, both versions of the legislation went to
Conference to be reconciled. During the closed door reconciliation hearing,
the FAA cut a deal with Don Young (R-AK) to protect the federal ATC
facilities in his home state. Young and the staffers of the Republicans in
the conference then inserted (quid pro quo) the contract ATC language that
had been expressly defeated by the full House and the full Senate six weeks
earlier. The Democrats in the conference refused to sign and walked out of
the conference. The Administration, , FAA, ATA, AAAE, CTA and PATCO all
declared victory. AOPA looked at the new law as re-written and decided that
since it had other provisions in it that were good for GA that they could
live with the sunset clause and the contracting out of the 69 towers. Thus,
AOPA abandoned the fight.

Exactly what hope does NATCA have of using sane persuasion to defeat a
steamrolled bill when her major ally defects to the opposing camp? Sane
persuasion worked in June when Congress voted the first time. It was
defeated in the Night of the Long Knives during the conference. The issue
*really is* contract ATC services to be performed by the lowest bidder. If
(or when, LOL) Vision 100 becomes law, the battle is lost. I don't really
think NATCA is doing itself a disservice at all by being hysterical. The
real fight is right bow, and NATCA is losing. What harm done by going full
bore to the public right now and make them aware of the issues. I promise
you that many those who are calling Congressional staffers aren't going to
hear the "real issues" the way AOPA, ATA, PATCO and other organizations
currently describe them. That's about the only play NATCA has left, IMO.


I'll let people listen to this drivel and decide for themselves:
http://www.natca.org/assets/Multimedia/auction_ad.rm

They lose the good message about the problems with privatization with the
wildass opening statement:

A bill is in Washington that put air safety on the auction block.

What is inaccurate about this statement? A Bill *is* in Washington that
will put air safety on the auction block. ATC towers are engaged in the air
safety business. If this legislation passes, 69 of those towers will be
auctioned off to the lowest bidder. What is "drivel" about that statement?

The bill
would sell off the world's safest air traffic control system to the lowest
bidder.

The "SYSTEM" is not 69 control towers.

69 control towers are not all that this bill specifically threatens by
legislation. The entire federal system sunsets in 2007. The 69 towers are
just the beginning. I grant you it is a stretch to claim that the bill
sells off the entire system right now upon passage, but I do not believe
that it is much of a stretch to see that wholesale privatization becomes a
wide open prospect once the bill becomes law. Because it does. NATCA will
likely lose this fight on this bill because NATCA is now standing alone, but
American GA will be the ultimate victim.


The contracting out process is not "auctioning off to the lowest bidder"

It's not? How would you describe the "contracting out process?"

Chip, ZTL