Markey and IAAPA rep spar on morning television

I missed it but but apparantly Markey got shot down big time. Anyone see this?

Didn't see it, but looking at the trascript, the IAAPA rep backed up his argument with hard facts and numbers while Markey made vague references to so-called increases in injuries. Summing up Markey's argument: Federal gov't should have oversight over everything, because it better. Good argument.

What an idiot...

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"A national standard is needed because the public is engaged in interstate commerce when they go to one of these parks. Americans assume that amusement parks are safe when they are not, so we need to make them safe."

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Unless people are taking a part of that park back home with them, I fail to see how that's "interstate commerce." Why are amusement parks not safe again? What's the reason?

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"Ultimately, state regulators would enforce the rules. But federal investigators should be the ones to investigate amusement park accidents and make sure that the information is disseminated to the parks in other states..."

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So you're going to make my state do something they already do, but not allow them to be accountable for it. As for that information sharing, it already happens miraculously without fed intervention. Take the Chance Chaos "issue" at Michigan's Adventure or the brake system on SFNE's Superman, where parks with similar rides got to know all about the problems post-haste. Again, it's their business to know, the parks are not shedding themselves of responsibility.

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"I want experts to determine what that limit should be... Amusement park operators shouldn't be making these decisions."

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That's the stupidest thing I've heard yet! The parks are the experts. They have engineers, people who test ride dynamics, people who do non-destructive testing, inspections, etc.

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"We know that there is a problem, but the amusement park people are in denial. Their only answer is that it is not as dangerous as other activities."

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But why is that a bad answer? If you're going to spend more of my tax dollars, do a cost-benefit analysis for me. In my case, I'm already paying the state of Ohio to do what no fed agency could do efficiently.

I don't need anyone to save me from amusement parks. I need someone to save me from idiots like this.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"We used to hate people, now we just make fun of them. It's more effective that way." - KMFDM, "Dogma"

I missed it, too early for me. His NAPRSA is pointless. The rides are ALREADY SAFE!!!! This would just be a waste of people's valuable time and money. Oh well. At least this is something that we can all agree on, unlike the CP vs. SFMM battles.

How did the debate seem to go? Did the IAAPA side seem on top of things or did Markey get the upper hand? And how did the mediators/news person handle it - did they handle it objectively, did they grant favor to Markey in the debate or did the IAAPA get to speak more? I know we all want Markey to be made to look as ignorant as he truly is, but in what really actually happened on the show, how did it seem to result? Score for us or score for the politician? Also, how do you think the results of the show might affect present and future views of amusement parks? I'd have really really truly loved to have seen this on Fox News. Maybe in the No Spin Zone. *** This post was edited by coderGirl on 6/26/2002. ***

I thought the debate went well, i loved the dumb look on markeys face, when iaapa was talking about how there are more deaths at little league baseball.

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Track Record: 110 and counting.....

Jeff, we should have had you on the show to debate with that moron. /you couldve put him in his place.

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Its not THE Shivering Timbers, its just Shivering Timbers. And its pronounced Michigan's Adventure.

Juat read the transcript and you will see who won. Markey is a moron

It's funny that Markey complained that the amusement park industry wanted to have it both ways, because Markey is the very reason that happened. There is no medical or scientific link to the brain injuries, but in order to try to get these blind watchdogs to back off, they started making limits official.

I found it ironic that Markey kept using to word denial to label the amusement park industry... Markey is stupid denial. Way to go democracy.

I wonder if Markey even cares. He's found a topic that lots of stupid people will believe and he looks like the good guy. Makes me wonder if this isn't all a long-term campaign to ensure his status in politics...

Didn't you guys love the part about coasters having the most fatalities per mile traveled? That was great! Airplanes going thousands of miles vs a rollercoaster that's a few thousand feet long.... This guy is desperate. *** This post was edited by JoNoJ27 on 6/26/2002. ***

Just watch, we'll have to wear helmets in our cars because of him...

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Planned parks: Astroland, Knoebel's, Hersheypark, SFNE, SFGadv,SFGam,CP,PKI,PKD,PCW,HW,Indiana Beach,SFWOA,SFKK,SFDL,SFSTL,Lakemont,DelGrosso's... Need I say more?

I'm sure I'll take the heat for this, but here I go.

I agree with a lot of what Mr. Markey is promoting.

1. I like the idea of nation wide standards. I know that my state has inspections/standards, but I would also like to know that the rides are safe when I travel to other states

2. I'm not so sure that there is enough information sharing. Sure, everyone hears about the major accidents, but do you really think that a minor incident at a smaller park gets reported to every park with a similar ride.

3. Amusement park operators should definitely not be the ones to determine limits. It should be a body with no financial interest.

*** This post was edited by jimster on 6/26/2002. ***

So now he wants there to be an age limit on rides? Height and weight limits are one thing, but age, give me a break. If a person wants to ride, and meets the requirements for the height and weight (mostly height), why should they be turned away because "they aren't old enough, or they are too old?" Its the person's decision to go on a ride. Not some guy in Washington who thinks he is god and knows absolutely nothing about rides and how they work.

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Take a Virtual Ride:
http://badnitrus.coasterbuzz.com
Mike "Viper" Semtak

So much for M's source:

"And keep in mind that he(Markey) got his numbers from Claus Peter Speth, a former New Jersey coroner who was indicted in the mid '90s for witness tampering after breaking a bone in a corpse to support his theory."

Wow!

Judging from reading that transcript, he got his butt SPANKED!

jimster said: "3. Amusement park operators should definitely not be the ones to determine limits. It should be a body with no financial interest. "

But you see, Park Ops don't determine the limits -- Engineers and scientists do so long before coasters and rides hit the midway.

Jeff said: "That's the stupidest thing I've heard yet [Amusement park operators shouldn't be making these decisions.]! The parks are the experts. They have engineers, people who test ride dynamics, people who do non-destructive testing, inspections, etc."

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Tommy Penner - Variable X
"Smells suspiciously of pot and beer." *** This post was edited by MiLLeNNiUMRiDeR on 6/26/2002. ***

Markey showed himself to be a publicity seeking twit with no real clue about how safe coasters and parks really are. What's really irritating is the fact that he wants to waste our tax dollars on something so stupid.

I'm quite confident that if he ever does put anything into writing (as in a legal bill) that it'll get shot down in committee faster than you can spit. But he's sure milking it for all it's worth before that.

But there is a very simple solution to this guy- elections for all house seats are in November. Ditch him and elect someone else to take the seat. Problem solved.

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Sometimes it's up. Sometimes it's down.
But with God, life is one thrill ride that you'll never regret being on.

*** This post was edited by Sir Willow on 6/26/2002. ***

Jimster, I'm glad you have your opinion,and it's great you were brave enough to say it.Now here's my opinion.People in government have not spent one day in their lives looking at rollercoaster statistics.Representatve Edward Markey is not a rollercoaster engineer, he is a Congressman.What he needs to do is go to the parks himself and talk to park general managers,he needs to go to engineers who design the rides and have them explain the rides to him.It isn't fair that he just says things he finds out from people outside the industry.People in government have no clue what the highest g-force to enforce should be.Jimster,no one's opinion is wrong.Thank you for saying what you believe in.Now i've said what I believe in.

I think we should t-shirts over at www.cafepress.com that say: Markey is a Moron and sport them at parks, everywhere!

He simply isn't listening to the great points that Mr. Powers brought up.

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-Eric
Indiana Beach Online | LoCoSuMo Count: 1 *** This post was edited by Glitch01 on 6/26/2002. ***

Looks to me like Markey got toasted...

Now if only the other news networks would have watched this program.