[Peace] What happened at Johnson's Press conference

[Peter Miller]

>Article by: Walter Matherly
>Friday 28 Sep 2001
>
>Summary:The $15 billion Airline Bailout just passed by Congress won\'t 
>give prompt help to the 130,000 airline employees laid off by companies 
>though help may be considered in coming weeks according to Tim Johnson at 
>a press conference held at Champaign\'s Willard Airport Thursday afternoon.
>
>Weblink: http://www.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=67865&group=webcast
>
>Reference at indymedia website: 
>http://urbana.indymedia.org//front.php3?article_id=2308
>
>Article:
>At a press conference held this afternoon at Champaign\'s Willard Airport 
>Fifteenth District Representative Tim Johnson urged the local and regional 
>populace to continue using commercial airlines and to \"fly from point A 
>to point B.\" He insisted flying on commercial carriers was safe and will 
>get much safer with planned expenditures, much of it funded from the 
>bailout package, for enhanced security checking, impregnable pilot cabins, 
>additional \"air marshals\" and small arms to be carried by pilots. No 
>health insurance, retraining or other cushions for the 130,000 employees 
>laid off by the industry is included in the package. This shortcoming was 
>classed a \"collateral problem\" to be taken up by the Transportation in 
>coming weeks.
>
>When asked if he in the Fifteenth District had reiterated President 
>Bush\'s urging to law enforcement officers not to retaliate against 
>Muslims or people of Arabic descent Johnson laughed sarcastically and 
>assured the questioner such an announcement was not necessary, and 
>followed the comment with an invitation to listeners to take his current 
>comment as such a plea if they wish.
>
>The rest of Johnson\'s press interview, supported by short endorsements by 
>six managers of local airline service companies, was devoted to assuring 
>the public that the airlines were quite safe, and that continued sales and 
>profitability were essential to economic recovery from the terrorist 
>attack of September eleventh. He called attention to a group of students, 
>the UI volleyball team, waiting in a check-in line.