How dare they take the Delta Queen away from us?
The first paragraph of a news piece on the WSAZ Charleston TV website today ("Saving the Delta Queen") struck my mind: "Save the queen! Save a piece of American history! That is the chant around the country as thousands fight to keep the delta queen riverboat afloat." Right: THOUSANDS fight for the Deta Queen.
How dare Rep. James Oberstar to shamelessly misuse his power in Congress to ignore the people?
By the way: Who else except all-mighty Rep. Oberstar is actively against the Delta Queen exemption anyway? All the other nay-sayers in the House are just followers, not knowing anything about the Delta Queen except that the highly influencial Mr. Chairman of the Transportation Committee tells them to vote "nay".
Back to the question that is really bothering me. Assuming, just assuming, that there is an uncontrollable risk -- why is this Rep. Oberstar's business anyway? Let me ask a few questions to clarify why the answer to this question is "no":
- Does the US Congress issue a permit for the Delta Queen to run? No, the Coast Guard inspectors are doing this, after competently and thoroughly inspecting the boat, several times a year.
- Is the Delta Queen part of a public transportation system and therefore exceptional care by the authorities is needed? No, she's not!
- Does one stumble upon this boat by accident, by mistake assuming she's a modern 2,500-passenger cruise ship? Of course not!
- Do travel agents sell Delta Queen cruises to their customers without mentioning that she's a very special historic, wooden boat and exceptionally small staterooms? No, they don't because this probably would be the last time this customer books with this travel agent. Most of the time travel agents even forget to mention that the Delta Queen in fact has a very robust steel hull.
- And then, of course, every passenger is signing a very clear and informative agreement coming with the travel documents stating that they're well aware of the fact that the Delta Queen doesn't fully comply with the 1966 Safety at Sea Act and that the wooden superstructure by this law is considered an increased fire hazard.
Please, someone, tell me who is supposed to be protected by this law? Who is supposed to be protected by the refusal to renew the exemption for the Delta Queen? What real person is at risk by not knowing about the fact that the boat might be a fire hazard (just assuming that there is an increased risk here at all, following the law)? None! There is no "risk for hundreds of innocent people to dying in a fire on the Delta Queen while they're sleeping" (loosely quoting Rep. James Oberstar).
All these thousands of people mentioned in the WSAZ article want to ride the Delta Queen, no matter what. All these thousands of people are fighting for her, knowing all the facts. What government, what Representative, what Senator in a free and democratic country dares to tell them they can't ride the Delta Queen?
Please, Senators, Representatives: Get active, find out about the real facts and vote for the Delta Queen exemption. Don't be just followers in this important case of mis-use of power. It's about America's history, it's about a unique piece of Americana that will never come back once it is lost. Don't support the dirty political games of Rep. Oberstar. Do the right thing, co-sponsor the bill to save the Delta Queen, vote for the Delta Queen. Your contituents are expecting it from you.
How dare Rep. James Oberstar to shamelessly misuse his power in Congress to ignore the people?
By the way: Who else except all-mighty Rep. Oberstar is actively against the Delta Queen exemption anyway? All the other nay-sayers in the House are just followers, not knowing anything about the Delta Queen except that the highly influencial Mr. Chairman of the Transportation Committee tells them to vote "nay".
Back to the question that is really bothering me. Assuming, just assuming, that there is an uncontrollable risk -- why is this Rep. Oberstar's business anyway? Let me ask a few questions to clarify why the answer to this question is "no":
- Does the US Congress issue a permit for the Delta Queen to run? No, the Coast Guard inspectors are doing this, after competently and thoroughly inspecting the boat, several times a year.
- Is the Delta Queen part of a public transportation system and therefore exceptional care by the authorities is needed? No, she's not!
- Does one stumble upon this boat by accident, by mistake assuming she's a modern 2,500-passenger cruise ship? Of course not!
- Do travel agents sell Delta Queen cruises to their customers without mentioning that she's a very special historic, wooden boat and exceptionally small staterooms? No, they don't because this probably would be the last time this customer books with this travel agent. Most of the time travel agents even forget to mention that the Delta Queen in fact has a very robust steel hull.
- And then, of course, every passenger is signing a very clear and informative agreement coming with the travel documents stating that they're well aware of the fact that the Delta Queen doesn't fully comply with the 1966 Safety at Sea Act and that the wooden superstructure by this law is considered an increased fire hazard.
Please, someone, tell me who is supposed to be protected by this law? Who is supposed to be protected by the refusal to renew the exemption for the Delta Queen? What real person is at risk by not knowing about the fact that the boat might be a fire hazard (just assuming that there is an increased risk here at all, following the law)? None! There is no "risk for hundreds of innocent people to dying in a fire on the Delta Queen while they're sleeping" (loosely quoting Rep. James Oberstar).
All these thousands of people mentioned in the WSAZ article want to ride the Delta Queen, no matter what. All these thousands of people are fighting for her, knowing all the facts. What government, what Representative, what Senator in a free and democratic country dares to tell them they can't ride the Delta Queen?
Please, Senators, Representatives: Get active, find out about the real facts and vote for the Delta Queen exemption. Don't be just followers in this important case of mis-use of power. It's about America's history, it's about a unique piece of Americana that will never come back once it is lost. Don't support the dirty political games of Rep. Oberstar. Do the right thing, co-sponsor the bill to save the Delta Queen, vote for the Delta Queen. Your contituents are expecting it from you.
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Here's something I've been wondering. As Franz stated, Congress is not responsible for ensuring vessel safety in this country - the USCG is. Does Mr. Oberstar presume to tell the Coast Guard, and almost 40 years of Congressmen, that the boat is suddenly unsafe, even though these parties have deemed her safe consistently in the past? Is Mr. Oberstar really saying that he has no confidence in a well-established and respected government agency like the USCG? Is Mr. Oberstar really telling them that they don't know how to do their job anymore?
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Recent Blog Entries by Franz Neumeier
- Delta Queen Hotel: Special Deals for Steamboaters (07-14-2010)
- Delta Queen Culinary History (07-09-2010)
- Race for the Silver Antlers (04-12-2010)
- Captain Larry "Buford" Wilkinson passed away (03-24-2010)
- Showboat Becky Thatcher probably gone forever (02-22-2010)
