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FOR THE RECORD International Association of Machinists President Thomas Buffenbarger, introducing Sen. Hillary Clinton to his members in Youngstown, Ohio, took aim at the well-educated, well-compensated Democrats who were a key constituency in Senator Obama's success in early party primaries. "I've got news for all the latte-drinking, Prius-driving, Birkenstock-wearing trust-fund babies crowding in to hear him speak," Mr. Buffenbarger roared. "This guy won't last a round against the Republican attack machine. He's a poet, not a fighter." Our first thought was that Mr. Buffenbarger may have been overdoing the manly guy routine out of chagrin that the best-known leader of the IAM, the late William Winpisinger, was known as "Wimpy." Our second one was that he didn't seem to have grasped that Senator Obama's emergence as the Democratic front-runner has occurred because his appeal spread to what Mr. Buffenbarger seemed to view as "real people," who presumably do not drive hybrids, drink designer coffee or wear upscale shoes. And if Mr. Obama "won't last a round against the Republican attack machine," what does it say about Senator Clinton's candidacy that he seems to be wearing her down in the late stages of their bout? That point was amply driven home when those latte-drinking trust-fund babies at the Teamsters jumped Birkenstocks first onto the Obama bandwagon. *** Feb. 20 was a rough day for four New York City Transit Train Operators. In separate incidents, trains struck people on the tracks as they came into four stations. At least two of those individuals were killed. And as Transport Workers Union Local 100 Train Operator Division Chairman Steve Downs explained, such an incident can be traumatic for a Train Operator. Fortunately, he said, over the years the authority has treated such cases more as on-the-job injuries for Train Operators than a cause to seek discipline against them, though all are tested for drugs and alcohol after such an incident. "Frankly, the authority has improved their handling of these cases in the last couple of years," Mr. Downs said the day after the four incidents. "It happens too much," Mr. Downs said. "All we can do is deal with the after-effects. We're trying to make that as smooth as possible." *** Firefighter John Sarubbi, his wife Cathy and their five children were honored as the Windham Mountain Ski Family of the Year last month for their participation in the Wounded Warrior program at the Adaptive Sports Center in the Catskills. The Sarubbis go upstate every weekend to teach disabled veterans how to ski. The program was first looking for people with disabilities, but then opened itself up to those with disabled children. Mr. Sarubbi's 17-year-old daughter, Caitlin, has Ablepharon Macrostomia Syndrome, leaving her with no eyelids and excessive facial flesh. Caitlin is also a volunteer instructor with Disabled Sports USA, according to the Daily News. "From there I volunteered as an instructor for anyone with disabilities to ski," Mr. Sarubbi said in a phone interview. "I went from skiing to helping out in the building. We run a lunch program." Mr. Sarubbi, of Marine Unit 6, described his work with Windham as a rewarding experience. "When you get a guy back from Iraq without a leg, you get out on that mountain and he's your friend," he said. "These guys really get moved by it." *** Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter David Cay Johnston Feb. 22 spoke to Civil Service Employees Association activists in Albany at the union's Federal Political Action Liaison PAL training session. Mr. Johnston is best known for his work investigating the United States tax system, CSEA noted. The PALs are the union's congressional representatives, lobbying lawmakers on behalf of the union.
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