mikesoh.com

A couple of weeks ago, I introduced my “private investigation” of the WMATA system here in Washington, DC.  Initial results were that WMATA was spending more than 75% on salaries, which seems awfully high considering that they have one of the worst safety records. Only 3% of their expenditures account for “preventive maintenance.”

As a result of this, I sent WMATA’s legal counsel a Public Access to Records Policy request, which is similar to a Freedom of Information Act request.

Here is the e-mail I received this morning:

continue reading »

Original letter:

The advent of 24-hour-news channels has taken what used to be a noble career and turned it into the yellow journalism of today.  There is no such thing as an unbiased news source.  In a world were the number of viewers is more valuable than the number of facts, journalists has gone the way of the CRT monitor and have been replaced with political commentators.  The sad reality of this is that it is not common knowledge.

Because of this, many individuals such as myself, turn to the specialized blogs that dot the journalistic landscape.  Most of these bloggers are very new, but often offer far more detail and facts that MSM can.

These bloggers have one thing in common: they don’t care about how many viewers they get.  And because of that, they don’t care whose toes they step on to get the facts.  They may still be biased, but at least they are willing to admit it.

Author’s note: This letter was published in an abridged form on March  17, 2010 in the Washington Examiner.

Like most people who live in the National Capital Region (NCR), I use the WMATA Metro system to get to work.  Over the last two years, WMATA has increased fares at least 3 times:

• Jan 6, 2008: Fare are increased for the first time since 2004.  The average increase is about $0.50
• Jun 28, 2009: Bus fares are increased by $0.10 on average
• Feb 28, 2010: Fares are “temporarily increased” by $0.10 on average

There are other fares that were increased but were not included.  Service was also trimmed several times in the last two years.

WMATA, unlike most other subway systems, does not have any dedicated funding from local governments.  Ignoring the fact that they get money from the federal, VA, MD, and DC government every year, the fact is that there is no law saying that these agencies will fund WMATA.  WMATA likes to bring this up every so often to remind people that this is why cuts must be made and fares should increase.

I say bull.

continue reading »

I was reading your article from today (“Obama plays politics the Chicago Way”) and was disturbed to see that the President who has promised change, compromise, and transparency to allow his staff to offer senate contenders jobs so that the democrats stay in power.  Why haven’t you run this investigation as the front-page story?  If this is indeed the second time that someone has been bribed to drop out of a race, newspapers such as The Examiner should be doing the investigating.  To ask another Obama lackey such as Eric Holder to investigate is like the fox asking the wolf to guard the hen house.

Please continue to report these stories, but out of the editorial section and in the Crimes section.  It is where it belongs.

Author’s note: This letter was published in an abridged form on February 26, 2010 in the Washington Examiner.

I watched the 1979 film Norma Rae.  If you’ve never seen it, it’s a pretty good movie.  Here is the plot summary available from Wikipedia:

Norma Rae Webster is a minimum-wage worker in a cotton mill that has taken too much of a toll on the health of her family for her to ignore her Dickensian working conditions. After hearing a speech by New York union organizer Reuben Warshowsky, Norma Rae decides to join the effort to unionize her shop. This causes conflict at home when Norma Rae’s husband Sonny assumes that her activism is a result of a romance between herself and Reuben. Despite the pressure brought to bear by management, Norma Rae successfully orchestrates an election to unionize the factory, resulting in victory for the union and presumably capitulation for the demands. When Reuben first comes to the factory he tries to get all the workers to start a union, but is soon chased out of the small town. Days later, Norma Rae shuts down her machine and stands on top of her work table striking. Soon the whole factory is with her and a union starts.

Back in the day, companies like the one depicted in this movie, abused and mistreated their workers.  In many ways, they were slaves, working for pennies while management lived like kings.  Unions helped correct this wrong by organizing workers against the company.  This was a very good move because it forced companies to do the right thing.  Back then, there was very little justice.

Unions were needed back then to remind owners and managers that the working class deserve better.

But I’m not so sure unions are needed today.

continue reading »