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Editorial: Building Refueling Tankers

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By John Shryock - bio | email

  • Editorials

  • Friday, May 18 2012 7:20 PM EDT2012-05-18 23:20:53 GMT
    If you text and drive it's a matter of WHEN and not IF you will be involved in an accident. The odds are stacked against you when your eyes and hands are more focused on your cell phone than they are
    If you text and drive it's a matter of WHEN and not IF you will be involved in an accident.  The odds are stacked against you when your eyes and hands are more focused on your cell phone than they are the other motorists on the roadways.

  • Tuesday, May 15 2012 7:20 PM EDT2012-05-15 23:20:31 GMT
    On our editorial suggesting that the governor raise taxes to fund Medicaid, we received these comments: "If the budget is passed at this severely cut rate, the shortage of physicians, hospitals, and clinics
    On our editorial suggesting that the governor raise taxes to fund Medicaid, we received these comments:

  • Tuesday, May 1 2012 7:20 PM EDT2012-05-01 23:20:35 GMT
    If your commute includes I-85 in the mornings I'm sure you've noticed men alongside the roadways picking up trash and road debris and thought to yourself "who would want to do that?"
    If your commute includes I-85 in the mornings I'm sure you've noticed men alongside the roadways picking up trash and road debris and thought to yourself "who would want to do that?"

  • Friday, April 20 2012 7:20 PM EDT2012-04-20 23:20:42 GMT
    For the next sixty seconds I want you to give yourself permission to push pause on whatever you are doing and listen and reflect for a moment. I did this recently after reading an article titled "Top five

  • Wednesday, April 18 2012 7:27 PM EDT2012-04-18 23:27:31 GMT
    Representative Christopher John England (Tuscaloosa) has sponsored a bill in the Alabama legislature that would allow convicted felons of drug crimes to receive food stamps under certain circumstances.

Creating and keeping jobs dominates state house activity. 

One sure fire way to create several thousand jobs is for the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company to get the contract to build refueling tankers for the U.S. Air Force.  They plan to do it in Mobile and the spillover effect in job creation throughout the Gulf Coast would be considerable. 

EADS won the bid three years ago but Boeing challenged it and forced another bid process. 

EADS has already built the tanker.  Boeing hasn't.  Seems like that should weigh heavily in the decision process that has now taken 10 years but could conclude this month.  Especially since it would appear to be better not just for the war fighters, but taxpayers, as the EADS price point is best. 

An EADS bid win would help Alabama continue to outperform the rest of the country in employment numbers. Mobile is already experiencing strong growth as the T-K Steel plant construction is underway and Montgomery will be adding a thousand jobs with Hyundai Power Transformers building here.        

Politics prevented EADS from winning the bid before.  Let's hope pragmatism prevails this time.   

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