Mineta Speech to Hi Line supporters

[Empire rider]

6/1/05 Havre Post

Norman Mineta has unveiled some further details of his plan to save Amtrak, mentioned in passing in this WaPo article. Mineta, citing spiralling wage costs as a key factor in Amtrak's chronic financial woes, has proposed replacing all existing Amtrak staff with young volunteer workers, who will gain valuable job skills while lowering the costs of operating the national rail service. An excerpt from Mineta's speech:

"In the last few months, Amtrak human resources offices have been inundated by young men who want to be part of the transportation industry, motivated only by the desire to make a positive difference in our country. Did I mention that I, like many Japanese Americans of the day, was interned during World War II? Well, it's true. And you roundeye bastards are going to pay. So anyway, the picture you can see is one of these volunteers, a young man named Joe. Joe has spent the last six months training to be a --- whatchacallit, a train-driver guy --- anyhow, he graduated from our train-driver guy program, and will spend the next year driving trains in the busy New York area --- working as an unpaid volunteer. How refreshingly unlike lazy, greedy child-interning Caucasians.

 

[saxman]

An engineer? Isn't that what you call em?

 

[AmtrakWPK]

yup. And the folks that work in the coaches are coacheers, the sleeper-car workers are sleepereers, then ya'll got the dinereers, the loungeers, and so forth. And don't forgot the baggageers. And then when you call 'em all together to make announcements to 'em, they're all eers. :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Guest]

"...Did I mention that I, like many Japanese Americans of the day, was interned during World War II? Well, it's true. And you roundeye bastards are going to pay. So anyway, the picture you can see is one of these volunteers, a young man named Joe. Joe has spent the last six months training to be a --- whatchacallit, a train-driver guy --- anyhow, he graduated from our train-driver guy program, and will spend the next year driving trains in the busy New York area --- working as an unpaid volunteer. How refreshingly unlike lazy, greedy child-interning Caucasians."

It is a good thing Mr. Mineta isn’t African-American. You could really lay-on your racial and ethnic slurs then.

After reading trash like this thread, Mineta is starting to look pretty good. Amtrak must be difficult to defend if this nonsense is the best you can do.

 

[Trogdor]

It is a good thing Mr. Mineta isn’t African-American. You could really lay-on your racial and ethnic slurs then.
After reading trash like this thread, Mineta is starting to look pretty good. Amtrak must be difficult to defend if this nonsense is the best you can do.

Actually, it gets quite tiresome listening to Mineta's lies, distortions of facts, fits of total cluelessness, and his complete ignorance of reality when it comes to his running around the country making speeches attacking Amtrak at every turn.

Just the other day, he said that Montana isn't being very well served by the Empire Builder, and that Montana would be better off if it was served by *corridor* services. The guy has lost any sense of respectability.

His/Bush's plan for passenger rail reform must be difficult to defend if this nonsense is the best he can do.

 

[PRR 60]

It is a good thing Mr. Mineta isn’t African-American.  You could really lay-on your racial and ethnic slurs then.  
After reading trash like this thread, Mineta is starting to look pretty good.  Amtrak must be difficult to defend if this nonsense is the best you can do.

Actually, it gets quite tiresome listening to Mineta's lies, distortions of facts, fits of total cluelessness, and his complete ignorance of reality when it comes to his running around the country making speeches attacking Amtrak at every turn.

Just the other day, he said that Montana isn't being very well served by the Empire Builder, and that Montana would be better off if it was served by *corridor* services. The guy has lost any sense of respectability.

His/Bush's plan for passenger rail reform must be difficult to defend if this nonsense is the best he can do.

But, as the "Guest" stated, is that an excuse for ethnic slurs? Argue for Amtrak on facts, not because Mr. Mineta is of Japanese decent. To make light of his having had to endure the humiliation of being placed in an interment (aka, concentration) camp simply because of his nationality and his appearance is reprehensible and disgusting.

 

[haolerider]

Knock off the ethnic slurs..............this kind of post does not belong on this board at all. There are plenty of Asian Amtrak employees who don't find this kind of childish nonsense funny at all.

Mineta may be wrong, but it certainly is not because he is of Japanese origin.