Dress Code

One of the things that makes this country a Great Country (I guess I am sort of patriotic) is the freedoms that we have. I am greatly disturbed when they are taken from us, and even more disturbed when we willingly give them up. There are many freedoms here, and most people don't use most of them. That's ok. There are many freedoms I don't use, and the freedom to say "yes" is meaningless without the freedom to say "no". But even if I say "no", I value the freedom to say "yes".

That is fundamental.

Imagine -- they've got a current employee,
on staff, who runs a website solely for the
purposes of impugning his employer!

Imagine that.

I have no quarrel with my employer (after all, I'm self employed), so if the freedom to impunge my employer were taken away from me, it wouldn't affect my daily life. But I think it's an important freedom, and part of what makes this country great.

And what a fool. He has neatly and succinctly documented his own
insubordination.

Imagine that. In this country, we are free to be stupid, in the eyes of others.

and publishing it worldwide?

I was taught in grade school history that the Constitution of the United States says we can do exactly that. Thousands of people died in order to preserve this freedom, and it is irrespective of whether or not you agree with what is being published. Imagine that. We can actually =publish= stupid things! And get away with it!

My respect for controllers could not have been more diminished.

Your respect for controllers must have been very thin indeed.

I've never seen an organization with a more
self-destructive workforce in my life

If the FAA operates with a staff as small as that documented on the website, maybe I should be worried. OTOH, if those individuals are the entirety of our national airspace control system, and they can actually make it work all by themselves.... gee, I'd double their pay and let them work naked with a chicken if they wanted to.

I have a suspicion however that what you are seeing is the personal opinion of a handful of people. Hardly something that I'd get my knickers in a twit about.

If any further evidence of the need to
privatize the FAA is necessary, I will be very surprised.

I really don't see the connection at all. A privatized FAA will in short order mean user fees for all small aircraft. In exchange, we might be granted the privilage of being worked by controllers who wear a suit and tie. Frankly, when I'm in an airplane, I don't see any reason to care what the controllers are wearing. I =do= see a reason to care whether or not they are happy working there. If they are not happy working there, I expect I will hear more of "Four two Victor, break off your practice approach at one thousand five hundred"... which of course makes the approach useless for currency or competence.

I never had any reason to disrespect
the individuals who made up the FAA. To
a man, they've always been
smart, kind, and professional.

They are the same people you've always been dealing with. You can either change your opinion of the people, or change your opinion of what constitutes "smart, kind, and professional". I'd actually reccomend you consider the latter.

Jose
--
There are more ways to skin a cat than there are cats.
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