Maybe a better question would be, what's the government doing trying to operate a railroad in the first place?
Exactly. Privatize it. But you would never hear that from the people who want government to run everything and then the only solution to any problem is give it more money.
Are you aware that the original purpose of Amtrak was to keep train passenger service running after several corporations were going bankrupt? Are you aware that intercity train service might not exist in this country without Amtrak?
Is there any infrastructure spending that you were in favor of in 2009 that you would still be in favor of today? Or should it all be allowed to crumble in the name of debt reduction?
Or another unnecessary increase in defense spending, as the GOP is calling for, despite our military spending dwarfing the next 10 nations including our biggest bogeymen Russia and China.
I suggest everyone do a whole lot more research into the facts prior to blaming funding alone. Funding alone does not seem to be smoking gun some of you wish it to be. Sure it is a factor in not having implemented the new safety system, but not the sole factor.
100% correct. Unfortunately, whenever something bad happens we have politicians tripping over themselves on the way to the microphone all placing the blame on lack of funding. That's why we'll NEVER get out of the debt mess we're in. Never.
alloak, do you believe our infrastructure, whether it be transportation, power, or electronic, has been properly funded over the last 5, 10, 20 years? Is there any infrastructure spending that you were in favor of in 2009 that you would still be in favor of today? Or should it all be allowed to crumble in the name of debt reduction?
Don't you remember that alloak went for a ride in his car and said he saw nothing wrong with the country's infrastructure?
I suggest everyone do a whole lot more research into the facts prior to blaming funding alone. Funding alone does not seem to be smoking gun some of you wish it to be. Sure it is a factor in not having implemented the new safety system, but not the sole factor.
100% correct. Unfortunately, whenever something bad happens we have politicians tripping over themselves on the way to the microphone all placing the blame on lack of funding. That's why we'll NEVER get out of the debt mess we're in. Never.
alloak, do you believe our infrastructure, whether it be transportation, power, or electronic, has been properly funded over the last 5, 10, 20 years? Is there any infrastructure spending that you were in favor of in 2009 that you would still be in favor of today? Or should it all be allowed to crumble in the name of debt reduction?
Don't you remember that alloak went for a ride in his car and said he saw nothing wrong with the country's infrastructure?
No, I do not. But in that case, never mind.
Don't you remember that alloak went for a ride in his car and said he saw nothing wrong with the country's infrastructure?
No, I do not. But in that case, never mind.
To be fair, that ride was just through Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. Perhaps those States have better built infrastructures.
Listening to Republicans in Congress I'm thinking alloak is just using their playbook - snark but offer no solutions. I don't know why so many people in America support a political party that has no answers offering only rehashed failed policies.
Failed policies like a balanced budget (or surplus) that you're glad to take credit for? Yes, that was all Clinton's doing, right? If that's failed policy, we need to rehash more failure fast.
Failed policies like losing a 2 trillion dollar war in Iraq with costs expected to spiral up to 6 trillion with the cost of taking care of the Veterans who have returned from the war.
We're now deep into year seven of the alloak41 Republican Perfection Era.
Why did you support funding then but not now?
1. Repeating this alloak perfection deal now upwards of 100 times is not getting you any closer to persuading me or anybody else of anything. regardless of the topic.
2. I have never opposed spending on the infrastructure. Show me where. Hell, now it's out there that I want the infrastructure to crumble.
Don't you remember that alloak went for a ride in his car and said he saw nothing wrong with the country's infrastructure?
No, I do not. But in that case, never mind.
To be fair, that ride was just through Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. Perhaps those States have better built infrastructures.
Don't forget Florida...
I most certainly didn't see anything crumbling (and I tried.) One can learn a lot by travelling and observing. Also, I saw a lot of work already being done, particularly in Dallas. I have returned to Dallas once since I made that original post. Didn't see anything crumbling that time, either. Maybe I was just there on the wrong day. I'm sure bridges and tunnels were collapsing right and left the day after I flew home.
[Edited on 5/15/2015 by alloak41]
Don't you remember that alloak went for a ride in his car and said he saw nothing wrong with the country's infrastructure?
No, I do not. But in that case, never mind.
To be fair, that ride was just through Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. Perhaps those States have better built infrastructures.
I most certainly didn't see anything crumbling (and I tried.) One can learn a lot by travelling and observing. Also, I saw a lot of work already being done, particularly in Dallas. I have returned to Dallas once since I made that original post. Didn't see anything crumbling that time, either. Maybe I was just there on the wrong day. I'm sure bridges and tunnels were collapsing right and left the day after I flew home.
Come to New England if you want to see crumbling infrastructure. Due to the weather here the roads, bridges etc. are in bad shape and in major of repairs. Due to the extreme winter we just had the funds to pay for this are not there.
Maybe a better question would be, what's the government doing trying to operate a railroad in the first place?
Exactly. Privatize it. But you would never hear that from the people who want government to run everything and then the only solution to any problem is give it more money.
Are you aware that the original purpose of Amtrak was to keep train passenger service running after several corporations were going bankrupt? Are you aware that intercity train service might not exist in this country without Amtrak?
I was just about to point this fact out in a post. And by the way, it's also a fact that every PASSENGER rail system in the world is subsidized by the government in the country that operates it. Not to be confused with FREIGHT rail systems which are usually privately owned and quite profitable....
One other tidbit of info. revealed today is that the automated safety speed brake system did receive funding a few years ago in a federal appropriation but simply had not yet been installed in this area of the AMTRAK system. Sadly, it was scheduled to be installed within the year I believe...
But a larger point is that our entire infrastructure system from highways, bridges, water treatment systems, airports, broadband, high speed rail, and electrical grid is early 20th century at this point in time. Not only antiquated by literally crumbling.
It's an embarrassment when we spend one and quarter TRILLION dollars per year on a bloated and wasteful military and security apparatus but can't spend even a part of that on the infrastructure it's meant to defend. It's insanity and is another glaring example of the opportunity cost of the nearly 70 year military/industrial/congressional and now security complex that dominates our federal appropriations process....At what point is there no country to actually defend?
Finally, this is not simply a Republican failure. The Dems are just as guilty in the way they kowtow to the security apparatus and are too chicken sh*t to end the madness of blank checks for 70 years in the name of protecting us from the bogey man.
[Edited on 5/15/2015 by Chain]
[Edited on 5/15/2015 by Chain]
We're now deep into year seven of the alloak41 Republican Perfection Era.
Why did you support funding then but not now?
1. Repeating this alloak perfection deal now upwards of 100 times is not getting you any closer to persuading me or anybody else of anything. regardless of the topic.
2. I have never opposed spending on the infrastructure. Show me where. Hell, now it's out there that I want the infrastructure to crumble.
Persuade? Now that's funny. What could anyone even remotely on the left persuade you on?
Earlier you mocked the hell out of spending any money on anything while giving a laundry list of things that are wrong with the left.
Different variations, same theme.
We need infrastructure in this country. This event however was a terrorist act. I listened to the NTSB press conference and they said the train was going 106 miles per hour when it reached that turn, the speed at the turn should be 50 miles per hour, HOWEVER, the speed prior to that turn is eighty miles per hour. So the driver of the train, was doing what people who drive cars do, going a little over the speed limit.
NEXT a "projectile" hit the windshield of the train, it was either a rock or a bullet. It was not accidental.
This happened after a projectile hit the windshield of a SEPTA train, in the same breakage pattern.
"SEPTA trains traveling through the area — including one of the poorest and most violent parts of Philadelphia — have had projectiles thrown at them in the past, whether by vandals or teenagers, she said. It was unusual that the SEPTA train was forced to stop on Tuesday night.
Not long before the derailment, two passengers on a southbound Amtrak told The Philadelphia Inquirer that something shattered a window on their train as it passed through the same area. They said Amtrak police boarded the train at 30th Street station in Philadelphia to document the damage. Amtrak has not commented on the report."
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/new-mystery-in-train-crash-was-it-hit-by-a-flying-object/ar-BBjO7VM
REMARKS: They can call them vandals from a poor neighborhood, but that does not excuse the behavior or shooting at a train window trying to cause the train to crash. It is an act of terror.
I have been saying this for years!!!! We give all kinds of aid to so many different countries both militarily and monetarily and many of these countries that we help out with our money and our military spend all of their own money fixing their own infrastructures while our infrastructure crumbles!!! How many train derailments, bridge collapses and highway deaths do we need to see before we friggin do something??? It is shameful that what is supposed to be the greatest country in the world is ranked so low for our infrastructure. Something like 45,000 bridges in the USA are past their projected life spans which is absolutely nuts!!!! How about we stop all of the foreign aid until we get our own shit under control!!!! Either that or raise taxes across the board for everyone but something has to be done before our infrastructure crumbles back to stone age level. The GOP have been holding up a huge infrastructure bill for years because you know who wants it. Time to stop the bulls_t and pass a massive infrastructure bill!!!
Earlier you mocked the hell out of spending any money on anything while giving a laundry list of things that are wrong with the left.
When voices from the Left come out one by one and blame the GOP for this train accident, while at the same time ignoring the obvious cause what do you expect? Praise?
Different variation, same theme. Anything bad that EVER happens is ALWAYS the Republicans fault. I keep saying it and am proven right month after month incident after incident. Isn't it time to grow past this?
Which is higher on the government's priority list, national defense or running a railroad? The answer should be obvious to a reasonable citizen, but I still wonder. Some would say that's the #1 priority. Strangely though, the only cuts the Left seems open to are military cuts, while cuts to Amtrak amounting to millions are decried.
That's why I'm convinced we will NEVER get a handle on the debt problem. After all, you can blame it all on the GOP in the end just like everything else.
Different variation, same theme.
How many train derailments, bridge collapses and highway deaths do we need to see before we friggin do something??? It is shameful that what is supposed to be the greatest country in the world is ranked so low for our infrastructure. Something like 45,000 bridges in the USA are past their projected life spans which is absolutely nuts!!!!
The government needs to provide a list of the bridges that are about to collapse, as alternate routes may be favorable in that case. They shouldn't knowingly let traffic pass over bridges that are about to crumble any minute.
quote:
Earlier you mocked the hell out of spending any money on anything while giving a laundry list of things that are wrong with the left.When voices from the Left come out one by one and blame the GOP for this train accident, while at the same time ignoring the obvious cause what do you expect? Praise?
Different variation, same theme. Anything bad that EVER happens is ALWAYS the Republicans fault. I keep saying it and am proven right month after month incident after incident. Isn't it time to grow past this?
Which is higher on the government's priority list, national defense or running a railroad? The answer should be obvious to a reasonable citizen, but I still wonder. Some would say that's the #1 priority. Strangely though, the only cuts the Left seems open to are military cuts, while cuts to Amtrak amounting to millions are decried.
That's why I'm convinced we will NEVER get a handle on the debt problem. After all, you can blame it all on the GOP in the end just like everything else.
Different variation, same theme.
It isn't just the railroad and you know it. The defense budget is bloated. It is huge. And we still can't win a war. Our defense budget is not about defending our country. It is about huge contracts going to weapons manufacturers and global corporations that make money both blowing up people and infrastructure and then rebuilding infrastructure. If you could kill a person more than once I'm sure the same corporations would be happy to oblige.
2 Trillion expected to rise to 6 Trillion alloak. For a war that was illegal, amoral, and apparently un-winnable. That's what the Republicans did for our country.
Yeah - I know... Hillary voted for the war. Guess what? I ain't voting for her. The Republicans turn surpluses into debt and then theatrically scream about the debt they caused.
We need to rebuild this country. I'm all for a .25 per gallon increase in the federal gas tax. I want American to be the most advanced country in the world. It takes money. You don't want to tax the rich or corporations. You are always standing up for the 1%. Are you willing to pay an extra 25 cents a gallon to pick up their slack?
We need infrastructure in this country. This event however was a terrorist act. I listened to the NTSB press conference and they said the train was going 106 miles per hour when it reached that turn, the speed at the turn should be 50 miles per hour, HOWEVER, the speed prior to that turn is eighty miles per hour. So the driver of the train, was doing what people who drive cars do, going a little over the speed limit.
NEXT a "projectile" hit the windshield of the train, it was either a rock or a bullet. It was not accidental.
This happened after a projectile hit the windshield of a SEPTA train, in the same breakage pattern.
"SEPTA trains traveling through the area — including one of the poorest and most violent parts of Philadelphia — have had projectiles thrown at them in the past, whether by vandals or teenagers, she said. It was unusual that the SEPTA train was forced to stop on Tuesday night.
Not long before the derailment, two passengers on a southbound Amtrak told The Philadelphia Inquirer that something shattered a window on their train as it passed through the same area. They said Amtrak police boarded the train at 30th Street station in Philadelphia to document the damage. Amtrak has not commented on the report."
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/new-mystery-in-train-crash-was-it-hit-by-a-flying-object/ar-BBjO7VM
REMARKS: They can call them vandals from a poor neighborhood, but that does not excuse the behavior or shooting at a train window trying to cause the train to crash. It is an act of terror.
So funny. You believe every terrorist act is a conspiracy, yet this time it's a terrorist act. LOL
quote:
Earlier you mocked the hell out of spending any money on anything while giving a laundry list of things that are wrong with the left.When voices from the Left come out one by one and blame the GOP for this train accident, while at the same time ignoring the obvious cause what do you expect? Praise?
Different variation, same theme. Anything bad that EVER happens is ALWAYS the Republicans fault. I keep saying it and am proven right month after month incident after incident. Isn't it time to grow past this?
Which is higher on the government's priority list, national defense or running a railroad? The answer should be obvious to a reasonable citizen, but I still wonder. Some would say that's the #1 priority. Strangely though, the only cuts the Left seems open to are military cuts, while cuts to Amtrak amounting to millions are decried.
That's why I'm convinced we will NEVER get a handle on the debt problem. After all, you can blame it all on the GOP in the end just like everything else.
Different variation, same theme.
It isn't just the railroad and you know it. The defense budget is bloated. It is huge. And we still can't win a war. Our defense budget is not about defending our country. It is about huge contracts going to weapons manufacturers and global corporations that make money both blowing up people and infrastructure and then rebuilding infrastructure. If you could kill a person more than once I'm sure the same corporations would be happy to oblige.
2 Trillion expected to rise to 6 Trillion alloak. For a war that was illegal, amoral, and apparently un-winnable. That's what the Republicans did for our country.
Yeah - I know... Hillary voted for the war. Guess what? I ain't voting for her. The Republicans turn surpluses into debt and then theatrically scream about the debt they caused.
We need to rebuild this country. I'm all for a .25 per gallon increase in the federal gas tax. I want American to be the most advanced country in the world. It takes money. You don't want to tax the rich or corporations. You are always standing up for the 1%. Are you willing to pay an extra 25 cents a gallon to pick up their slack?
1. The Defense budget is massive and I agree we should find some cuts, as long as they are smart cuts.
2. I would have voted against the invasion. I never favored that decision. At the time, I didn't think it would be worth the money and turns out it wasn't.
3. Hillary does have some explaining to do regarding her YEA vote on the Iraq War as well as her WMD speeches. I notice they're hounding Jeb Bush about it and he had nothing to do with it.
4. I think we're long past due on creative thinking and making choices rather than just raising taxes when things get tight. Maybe it's time to think a little out of the box for a change? The government wastes incredible amounts of money. I'd also like to see a full accounting of what happened to the gas tax revenue that's already been collected. Where did that money go?
2 Trillion expected to rise to 6 Trillion alloak. For a war that was illegal, amoral, and apparently un-winnable. That's what the Republicans did for our country.
The Republicans turn surpluses into debt and then theatrically scream about the debt they caused.
You don't want to tax the rich or corporations. You are always standing up for the 1%.
1. Different variation. Same theme. EVERYTHING is the Republican's fault. Why wasn't Bush stopped from invading Iraq if it was such a poor decision?
2. It could be argued that the Republicans made the decisions and passed the legislation that led to a balanced budget and Clinton was smart enough to go along with it.
3. That's whose scalp you're always after. If the Left was always screaming about the middle and lower classes paying their fair share, I'd stand up for them too. The government has more than enough money to spend as is, and I will never condone additional legalized thievery.
How many train derailments, bridge collapses and highway deaths do we need to see before we friggin do something??? It is shameful that what is supposed to be the greatest country in the world is ranked so low for our infrastructure. Something like 45,000 bridges in the USA are past their projected life spans which is absolutely nuts!!!!
The government needs to provide a list of the bridges that are about to collapse, as alternate routes may be favorable in that case. They shouldn't knowingly let traffic pass over bridges that are about to crumble any minute.
Very illogical and not a practical solution. Yep - bad bridges in PA - just reroute to bypass PA and take an alternate route through West Va. No impact on passenger service and timing? Sorry PA, we're going to bypass you. Your people can just walk to NY.
There are so many bridges and poorly maintained interstate roads that rerouting would be an impossibility w/out disrupting the transportation system with spillover costs & impacts on other aspects of the economy.
The practical fix is to...just fix the problems, but Congress sees these as lower priorities than spending $$$$$$$ around the world and rebuilding other countries. How about we take care of our people at home and our infrastructure first. What $$$ are left can go towards amassing the military industrial complex as well as propping up and invading other countries.
How many train derailments, bridge collapses and highway deaths do we need to see before we friggin do something??? It is shameful that what is supposed to be the greatest country in the world is ranked so low for our infrastructure. Something like 45,000 bridges in the USA are past their projected life spans which is absolutely nuts!!!!
The government needs to provide a list of the bridges that are about to collapse, as alternate routes may be favorable in that case. They shouldn't knowingly let traffic pass over bridges that are about to crumble any minute.
Very illogical and not a practical solution. Yep - bad bridges in PA - just reroute to bypass PA and take an alternate route through West Va. No impact on passenger service and timing? Sorry PA, we're going to bypass you. Your people can just walk to NY.
There are so many bridges and poorly maintained interstate roads that rerouting would be an impossibility w/out disrupting the transportation system with spillover costs & impacts on other aspects of the economy.
The practical fix is to...just fix the problems, but Congress sees these as lower priorities than spending $$$$$$$ around the world and rebuilding other countries. How about we take care of our people at home and our infrastructure first. What $$$ are left can go towards amassing the military industrial complex as well as propping up and invading other countries.
To make this claim, the government would have to know which bridges are on the verge of
collapse. If they are interested in saving lives these locations should be made known immediately.
Let's see the list.
How many train derailments, bridge collapses and highway deaths do we need to see before we friggin do something??? It is shameful that what is supposed to be the greatest country in the world is ranked so low for our infrastructure. Something like 45,000 bridges in the USA are past their projected life spans which is absolutely nuts!!!!
The government needs to provide a list of the bridges that are about to collapse, as alternate routes may be favorable in that case. They shouldn't knowingly let traffic pass over bridges that are about to crumble any minute.
Very illogical and not a practical solution. Yep - bad bridges in PA - just reroute to bypass PA and take an alternate route through West Va. No impact on passenger service and timing? Sorry PA, we're going to bypass you. Your people can just walk to NY.
There are so many bridges and poorly maintained interstate roads that rerouting would be an impossibility w/out disrupting the transportation system with spillover costs & impacts on other aspects of the economy.
The practical fix is to...just fix the problems, but Congress sees these as lower priorities than spending $$$$$$$ around the world and rebuilding other countries. How about we take care of our people at home and our infrastructure first. What $$$ are left can go towards amassing the military industrial complex as well as propping up and invading other countries.
To make this claim, the government would have to know which bridges are on the verge of
collapse. If they are interested in saving lives these locations should be made known immediately.Let's see the list.
Here is a report from 2013. Grab a cold one and start reading.
http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/a/#p/bridges/overview
When voices from the Left come out one by one and blame the GOP for this train accident, while at the same time ignoring the obvious cause what do you expect? Praise?
Different variation, same theme. Anything bad that EVER happens is ALWAYS the Republicans fault. I keep saying it and am proven right month after month incident after incident. Isn't it time to grow past this?
This from the guy who relentlessly derides and openly shows detest for anything remotely "left." From the same guy who has kept threads going for months on end on Democrats he can't stand.
Grow past? Yup, that's it. It's the left that needs to do the growing, correct? "Anything bad that EVER happens is ALWAYS the Republicans fault." That was the same mantra repeated during the W years. Laugh off the Republicans ever doing anything wrong, accuse the other side of having a derangement syndrome. It's just a rationalization.
Which is higher on the government's priority list, national defense or running a railroad? The answer should be obvious to a reasonable citizen, but I still wonder. Some would say that's the #1 priority. Strangely though, the only cuts the Left seems open to are military cuts, while cuts to Amtrak amounting to millions are decried.
This is semantical BS, you follow DC, and you know it. The Republicans dominate the House and therefore all the committees. National defense is by far and away a higher priority and continues to be. Whether or not "the Left" likes that or not is completely immaterial. Me, I'd like to see everything done to raise the standard of living in our country as a priority, and, yes, as precedent before more war and death. You think differently, well, then that's just opinions.
Oh, man, that's just a horrific drop in defense spending, innit? I mean, gosh, dropping from $671 billion to $619 billion is quite the affront to this great nation!!!! That damn Left!
DEAR GOD, MAN! HOW SHALL THIS COUNTRY SURVIVE?
After all, you can blame it all on the GOP in the end just like everything else.
I don't blame the GOP for everything, just wish they'd show one molecule of humility from time to time, and I will never understand why conservatives even converse with the people that they hate so much, but that's a different topic.
How many train derailments, bridge collapses and highway deaths do we need to see before we friggin do something??? It is shameful that what is supposed to be the greatest country in the world is ranked so low for our infrastructure. Something like 45,000 bridges in the USA are past their projected life spans which is absolutely nuts!!!!
The government needs to provide a list of the bridges that are about to collapse, as alternate routes may be favorable in that case. They shouldn't knowingly let traffic pass over bridges that are about to crumble any minute.
If they did that the whole country would come to a standstill.
By the way, using the annual Pentagon budget is NOT AN ACCURATE SUMMARY OF TOTAL DEFENSE and SECURITY RELATED SPENDING. There are annual defense related appropriations spread across many separate items within the entire Federal budget.
For example the Dept. of Energy which is responsible for our nuclear arsenal is an entirely separate appropriation. As is the bloated mess of a department we call Homeland Security.
Not to mention far less obvious appropriations that are certainly related to protecting us from whatever enemy the usual suspects can create to make a profit. We literally spend nearly 1.25 TRILLION per year on war for profit mostly and actual defense far less.
shouldn't the f**ng engineer not drive a train at 100MPH in a 50MPH zone?
Maybe He is a Republican.
Grow past? Yup, that's it. It's the left that needs to do the growing, correct? "Anything bad that EVER happens is ALWAYS the Republicans fault."
Absolutely they should. Wasn't the finger pointing supposed to stop? It gets worse by the week, almost reaching comedic levels. It's ALWAYS the Republicans fault -- The one constant that never changes, no matter what the problem, no matter what the facts. Now that's humility!
shouldn't the f**ng engineer not drive a train at 100MPH in a 50MPH zone?
Maybe He is a Republican.
Those proposed budget cuts got him so mad, he hit the gas going into that turn and there you have it. Republican cuts kill again!...........No, wait....He felt a little warm and thought he was catching Ebola (of course the Republicans fault) and he was hurrying up to get to a doctor. Yeah, that's it.
shouldn't the f**ng engineer not drive a train at 100MPH in a 50MPH zone?
Maybe He is a Republican.
Those proposed budget cuts got him so mad, he hit the gas going into that turn and there you have it. Republican cuts kill again!...........No, wait....He felt a little warm and thought he was catching Ebola (of course the Republicans fault) and he was hurrying up to get to a doctor. Yeah, that's it.
He read a few of your posts and then tried to kill himself. And, like most of your posts, he failed.
