More community college bias from the Erie Times-News

True to its one-sided assault in favor of a community college,the Erie Times-News gave a non-entity named Steve Wilson about 30-column inches Sunday to rant against those who don't support or have raised questions about the proposed facility.

Unfortunately Mr. Wilson provides none of the answers. That makes about 300 column inches the biased newspaper has devoted to its campaign to ramrod the community college through, versus about 30 inches in total letters to the editor opposed to it. But who's counting?

All Wilson does is repeat the talking points prescribed by the self-appointed cabal which calls itself Rethink Erie, a step-child of the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership headed by Times-News usta-be Jim Dible, which in turn heads a rag-tag collection of special interests interested mostly in the personal and financial gains they see for themselves in the establishment of a county-run - more likely mis-run - community college, rather than the public interest. Whatchu bucking for Steve, a posh six-figure job at the public trough compared to the lesser taxpayer-paid state job you already have?

Launching ad hominen attacks on those few brave souls who have dared to oppose the college in letters to the editor, and who get three or four column inches to have their say, Wilson amply demonstrates that he is guilty of the same "disinformation, mis-direction, faulty logic, ignorance and inexplicable vitriol" he hurls at opponents of the community college. Plus, add irretrievably naive.Don't bet the Times-News will allow a critic equal space in the paper, because you'd lose.

Each of Wilson's talking points in easily refutable. For example, Wilson says "Letter writer Keith Farnham wants us to believe that because Eriez Magnetics Chief Executive Timothy Shuttleworth didn't specifically mention the need for a community college when writing recently about Pennsylvania's poor business climate, we obviously don't need one."

That's only the first of Wilson's intellectually corrupt arguments, since Farnham's letter cited more than just that as a basis for his position. Wilson goes on to say that "Farnham cites as further 'evidence' that the president of the Manufacturer & Business Association has challenged the need for a community college. So, apparently, the guy running a nonprofit membership organization is more credible than major for-profit employers who support the community college, such as GE Transportation, the region's biggest employer, and Scott Enterprises."

Of course Steve, these for-profit guys would much rather have the taxpayers pay for the special training or re-training they should be providing to their new hires or laid-off employees at company expense.

Wilson says 'Farnham also states without any substantiation that 'the Erie area is considered to have a quality work force.' Really, by whom? Certainly not GE Transportation or Scott Enterprises.

I don't know about Scott Enterprises, as its' contribution to the local economy is negligible, but why would GE want more workers to enter the local workplace when it's already laying off workers by the thousands, and outsourcing their work, not because the local labor force is unqualified, but because GE can get a lot cheaper labor without union representation offshore in places like Mexico, China, Thailand and Afghanistan.

And one should remember that GE's local here-today-gone-tomorrow whiz-kid, barely dry behind the ears,will be gone to greener pastures in another year or two, to be replaced by another equally oblivious to the local labor picture.