In the case of the Norfolk Southern Railway wanting to close the Hollidaysburg, Pa. car shops, we can’t let this concern for the plight of shippers and larger questions of rail policy shift the spotlight away from the ugly truth — NS broke its word and wants over 300 people to lose their jobs.

A promise ought to mean something. And for the concerns of the shippers Boyce so deeply worries about, it is in their interests to have the STB ask NS to keep its word. Letting NS get away with this deception sets a bad precedent, one that would hurt both workers and shippers.

To win support for acquiring Conrail, NS told anyone who would listen, including former House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bud Schuster, whose district is home to the shops, that Hollidaysburg would not only remain open, but would receive an infusion of $4 million. This was more than just a promise to politicians, it was a promise made to the people the politicians represent.

This is not about deregulation or other rail policy issues. It is about the sanctity of an agreement whether it is one made in a public forum or in a private collective bargaining agreement. A deal is a deal.

Sonny Hall, President, Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO-CIO

The Republican Party seems to be trying to rig the results of the 2002 elections by manipulating the re-districting process and expanding nationally the infamous "felon purge" tactic used so successfully in Florida.

We need to stop these outrages, now! Do not let the will of the majority be denied by dirty tricks by Republican operatives in designing the election process.

Make our election process simple, honest and easy for the voters. Nobody should be denied his or her right to vote by electoral trickery like it happened in 2000.

Re-directing out of office six or more Democratic Congressmen in Michigan and Pennsylvania is more than a disgrace. Both states went with President Gore in the 2000 election. Fewer Democrats in Congress? The voters are not saying so with their votes.

Selling out to Big Business interests from Big Oil to HMOs has given the Republican a huge advantage in buying elections. Do they need to rig the system as well? Are Republicans ideas really that hard to sell? Their actions say "yes."

Stephen Crockett and Al Lawrence, Co-hosts of DemocraticTalk Radio

P.S. We would like to invite your members to visit our Web site at http://www.DemocraticTalkRadio.com. We are a pro-union Democratic answer to Rush and Liddy. You can listen to our show from the program archives button on the site. Your members are invited to add their pro-union comments or notices to our message board.

A recent E-mail:

Can you imagine working for a company that has a little more than 500 employees and has the following statistics:

29 have been accused of spousal abuse

7 have been arrested for fraud

19 have been accused of writing bad checks

117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses

3 have done time for assault

71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit

14 have been arrested on drug-related charges

8 have been arrested for shoplifting

21 are currently defendants in lawsuits

84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year

Can you guess which organization this is?

Give up yet?

It’s the 535 members of the United States Congress. The same group that cranks out hundreds of new laws each year designed to keep the rest of us in line.