Ohio toxic train derailment

[League Champion 1,911]

1 hour ago, Hawkeye21 said:

Why hasn't this been a priority for the last 6 years?

I'm in the here and now Son. This President, his job to find solutions, not mine. 

You voted for him. Nicely done

[RaiderHaters Revenge 4,356]

5 minutes ago, GutterBoy said:

The railroads are owned and operated by the railways, not the govt.

really?  are they privately owned?  Like does amtrak own amtrak tracks etc?  I am 100% unknowledgable on the train system here

4 minutes ago, TimHauck said:

Did the rails play a role in this crash?

I have no idea.  I was more asking a question.  if there is a problem on the freeway its maintained by the govt, so I assumed the railroads were the same

 

for example here in california, tax payers were paying for the moonbeam train to nowhere that newsolini has continued collecting for

[Hawkeye21 2,400]

Just now, League Champion said:

I'm in the here and now Son. This President, his job to find solutions, not mine. 

You voted for him. Nicely done

Sounds like an easy way to avoid saying Trump sucked at something.

[Hawkeye21 2,400]

Did you know you could be ticketed for walking across the tracks where there isn't an actual crossing?  It's illegal to walk down the tracks.

[RaiderHaters Revenge 4,356]

6 minutes ago, Hawkeye21 said:

Did you know you could be ticketed for walking across the tracks where there isn't an actual crossing?  It's illegal to walk down the tracks.

what if you walk up them?

 

[Hawkeye21 2,400]

3 minutes ago, RaiderHaters Revenge said:

what if you walk up them?

 

 

https://tenor.com/view/jail-right-to-jail-right-away-parks-and-recreation-parks-and-rec-gif-16177531

 

[Engorgeous George 2,331]

13 minutes ago, Hawkeye21 said:

Did you know you could be ticketed for walking across the tracks where there isn't an actual crossing?  It's illegal to walk down the tracks.

Never thought about it, but I can see why the law was lobbied for.

[Hawkeye21 2,400]

I doubt it gets enforced in many places because of the vast amount of tracks throughout the country.  It does get enforced a lot during the winter along the Mississippi River up here though.  When the back waters are frozen and the ice fishermen want to get to spots, they need to cross the tracks at non-crossing areas.  The rail road really tries to cut back on it and tickets a lot of people in the winter.

[Hawkeye21 2,400]

2 minutes ago, Engorgeous George said:

Never thought about it, but I can see why the law was lobbied for.

Ice fishermen hate it.

[RogerDodger 798]

2 hours ago, GutterBoy said:

Now that we have the official report, it looks as though the brakes weren't an issue because by the time they were alerted of the failure, it was already too late

No sh!t Sherlock.  

Since you couldn't figure that out on your own, next time just listen to me instead of making an asss out of yourself.  

[GutterBoy 2,899]

21 minutes ago, RaiderHaters Revenge said:

really?  are they privately owned?  Like does amtrak own amtrak tracks etc?  I am 100% unknowledgable on the train system here

I have no idea.  I was more asking a question.  if there is a problem on the freeway its maintained by the govt, so I assumed the railroads were the same

Quote

 Of the more than 22,000 miles on which it operates, Amtrak owns approximately 620 miles in the Northeast and Michigan. Some of the remaining miles are owned by states or regional transportation authorities, but the vast majority are owned by freight railroads. In fact, 70% of the train miles operated by Amtrak are on tracks owned by these freight railroads.

https://www.aar.org/issue/freight-railroads-amtrak/

Quote

Norfolk Southern owns and operates a network of 19,500 miles of rail lines east of the Mississippi River in 22 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

http://www.nscorp.com/content/nscorp/en/about-ns/frequently-askedquestions.html#:~:text=Norfolk Southern owns and operates,See our system map.

And the corporation that owns and maintains the rails, pays off the government, so the government doesn't pass laws to ensure that they are doing a good job and protecting us from their mistakes.  That's the problem.

BUT, there is a gay guy that has the title of secretary of transportation, so let's just blame him, and hope that no other gays get positions of power.

[GutterBoy 2,899]

1 minute ago, RogerDodger said:

No sh!t Sherlock.  

Since you couldn't figure that out on your own, next time just listen to me instead of making an asss out of yourself.  

You've proven yourself to be one of the dumber people here, no one should listen to you.

[RogerDodger 798]

7 minutes ago, GutterBoy said:

You've proven yourself to be one of the dumber people here, no one should listen to you.

Trump didn't make them get better breaks!   

[TimHauck 2,905]

This guy seems to be one of the most knowledgeable that I've seen on this story, and had been covering concerns of rail workers before this happened.

He does acknowledge that the wheel bearing caused it, and places most of the blame for that on corporate greed and something called PSR which has reduced times for maintenance and repairs among other things.

However at around 9:00 he says with the updated braking systems "this disaster likely would have been much less terrible."

 

 

[Hardcore troubadour 15,487]

One thing this train wreck has done is put to rest the “white privilege” bullshit.  Privilege is privilege. It has no color barrier.  

[kozmiq 70]

3 hours ago, RogerDodger said:

Trump didn't make them get better breaks!   

Trump didn't require them to have proper brakes !  

[kozmiq 70]

11 minutes ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

One thing this train wreck has done is put to rest the “white privilege” bullshit.  Privilege is privilege. It has no color barrier.  

Puts it to rest ?  No, certainly not.  I agree privilege is privilege .. usually the rich employ it, mostly .. but the 'white privilege' is most definitely a thing.  Sorry, you may not see it (looking the other way) or just don't like the way it sounds (because you're white) .. but it is a thing.  Get used to it, my friend.

[GutterBoy 2,899]

17 minutes ago, TimHauck said:

This guy seems to be one of the most knowledgeable that I've seen on this story, and had been covering concerns of rail workers before this happened.

He does acknowledge that the wheel bearing caused it, and places most of the blame for that on corporate greed and something called PSR which has reduced times for maintenance and repairs among other things.

However at around 9:00 he says with the updated braking systems "this disaster likely would have been much less terrible."

 

 

Yeah but horseman already told us earlier this week that brakes have nothing to do with stopping a train.

[Hardcore troubadour 15,487]

6 minutes ago, kozmiq said:

Puts it to rest ?  No, certainly not.  I agree privilege is privilege .. usually the rich employ it, mostly .. but the 'white privilege' is most definitely a thing.  Sorry, you may not see it (looking the other way) or just don't like the way it sounds (because you're white) .. but it is a thing.  Get used to it, my friend.

If privilege can be given to everyone, then it doesn’t belong to one group based on skin color. Thats so racist.  

[kozmiq 70]

1 minute ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

If privilege can be given to everyone, then it doesn’t belong one group based on skin color. It’s so racist.  

I can be if a sector uses it 90 % more of the time .. regardless of skin color.   

[Hardcore troubadour 15,487]

7 minutes ago, kozmiq said:

I can be if a sector uses it 90 % more of the time .. regardless of skin color.   

Wrong. Making assumptions based on someone’s race is racist.  And it’s exactly what you’re doing.  You diminish them and don’t even know them. 

[kozmiq 70]

Just now, Hardcore troubadour said:

Wrong. Making assumptions based on someone’s race is racist.  And it’s exactly what you’re doing.  

  Nice try.  Methinks you may be .. but I'm not.

[Hardcore troubadour 15,487]

5 minutes ago, kozmiq said:

  Nice try.  Methinks you may be .. but I'm not.

So we can use percentages to make decisions about people we don’t know? Can we do that with crime too? 

[kozmiq 70]

3 minutes ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

So we can use percentages to make decisions about people we don’t know? Can we do that with crime too? 

I've said my piece.  I'm moving on.  You can stay and play, though.

[Hawkeye21 2,400]

56 minutes ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

One thing this train wreck has done is put to rest the “white privilege” bullshit.  Privilege is privilege. It has no color barrier.  

I have to disagree with this. As long as there is racial bias there will be some form of white privilege. It may not be as wide spread but it still exists.  

[Engorgeous George 2,331]

1 hour ago, TimHauck said:

This guy seems to be one of the most knowledgeable that I've seen on this story, and had been covering concerns of rail workers before this happened.

He does acknowledge that the wheel bearing caused it, and places most of the blame for that on corporate greed and something called PSR which has reduced times for maintenance and repairs among other things.

However at around 9:00 he says with the updated braking systems "this disaster likely would have been much less terrible."

 

 

Did he, or did he say that an updated braking system IN CONJUNCTION WITH proper classification of the chemicals, both together, might have had a lessening impact, and if so how does one pry apart the relative impact of those two factors down to the braking factor?

 

I get it.  Ascribing blame has both political and legal utility.  We love to play both blame games in this country.  When we do I urge caution in ascribing matters.  Also multiple parties bearing culpability does not releave those who are culpable of their responsibility, though it may apportion culpability over a broader spectrum.  

 

Of course I am telling you nothing you don't know, I just post this here as the subject is generally open for discussion

[League Champion 1,911]

5 hours ago, Hawkeye21 said:

Sounds like an easy way to avoid saying Trump sucked at something.

Trump Sucked!!! Tell me about Joe!!! 

[squistion 2,216]

1 hour ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

One thing this train wreck has done is put to rest the “white privilege” bullshit.  Privilege is privilege. It has no color barrier.  

How has it done that?

[TimHauck 2,905]

4 minutes ago, Engorgeous George said:

Did he, or did he say that an updated braking system IN CONJUNCTION WITH proper classification of the chemicals, both together, might have had a lessening impact, and if so how does one pry apart the relative impact of those two factors down to the braking factor?

 

I get it.  Ascribing blame has both political and legal utility.  We love to play both blame games in this country.  When we do I urge caution in ascribing matters.  Also multiple parties bearing culpability does not releave those who are culpable of their responsibility, though it may apportion culpability over a broader spectrum.  

 

Of course I am telling you nothing you don't know, I just post this here as the subject is generally open for discussion

Well yes, if the regulation required the brakes, then the train would have had to have them.

But I think it's still fair to discuss the potential of the brakes, even if they were not required which they weren't and wouldn't have been even under Obama's rule, which really goes back to the corporate greed angle, because they didn't want to pay the money to upgrade them.

 

[Hardcore troubadour 15,487]

7 minutes ago, squistion said:

How has it done that?

Do those people look privileged to you? Are they being treated with privileges denied to others? 

[Hawkeye21 2,400]

14 minutes ago, League Champion said:

Trump Sucked!!! Tell me about Joe!!! 

He sucks. You can look through all my posts and find almost zero compliments on him. I don’t like him and didn’t vote for him. I want him gone. Now, why can’t people admit that Trump did very little with our infrastructure? One of his biggest failures. 

[squistion 2,216]

25 minutes ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

Do those people look privileged to you? Are they being treated with privileges denied to others? 

I don't see how this has anything to do with the concept of white privilege. 

[Hardcore troubadour 15,487]

3 minutes ago, squistion said:

I don't see how this has anything to do with the concept of white privilege. 

So white people with no privilege and not benefiting from any alleged privilege doesn’t register? Maybe privilege isn’t about skin color, like you say it is? Tell us how they are privileged. This should be good.  

[RogerDodger 798]

3 minutes ago, squistion said:

I don't see how this has anything to do with the concept of white privilege. 

Of course you don't, you have a peanut brain.

[squistion 2,216]

9 minutes ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

So white people with no privilege and not benefiting from any alleged privilege doesn’t register? Maybe privilege isn’t about skin color, like you say it is? Tell us how they are privileged. This should be good.  

No one has suggested that how that the government response to the victims of a man made or natural disaster is related to their skin color (maybe with the exception of Trump's response to Puerto Rico's Hurricane Maria).

[League Champion 1,911]

40 minutes ago, Hawkeye21 said:

Now, why can’t people admit that Trump did very little with our infrastructure? One of his biggest failures

Sorry to disappoint you Cuzzo but I'm not a Trumper but I'll go with it if it triggers you. 

Even so I'll take Trump over this useless diaper wearing tool bag anyday. 

[Hardcore troubadour 15,487]

8 minutes ago, squistion said:

No one has suggested that how that the government response to the victims of a man made or natural disaster is related to their skin color (maybe with the exception of Trump's response to Puerto Rico's Hurricane Maria).

How about before the disaster, where they got treated like shite? Do you think they were living a privileged life? And yeah, a hurricane and a toxic disaster are the same. Mother Nature didn’t hit Puerto Rico because they were Puerto Ricans.  But the railroad picked East Palestine because they were poor. 

[squistion 2,216]

2 hours ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

How about before the disaster, where they got treated like shite? Do you think they were living a privileged life? And yeah, a hurricane and a toxic disaster are the same. Mother Nature didn’t hit Puerto Rico because they were Puerto Ricans.  But the railroad picked East Palestine because they were poor. 

The railroad picked East Palestine because they were poor?

[Hardcore troubadour 15,487]

3 minutes ago, squistion said:

The railroad picked East Palestine because they were poor?

Uh, yeah. See any freight trains full of toxins rolling through rich areas? Where do you think the land was cheapest as well? 

[JustinCharge 2,397]

5 hours ago, Hawkeye21 said:

Now, why can’t people admit that Trump did very little with our infrastructure? One of his biggest failures. 

 

PARTIAL infrastructure work by Trump

 

In June 2019, the FRA announced $326 million in funding for rail infrastructure upgrades for 45 projects in 29 states. These grants come under the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement (CRISI) Program, authorized by Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act, and the Special Transportation Circumstances Program. One third of that amount will go to rural areas.^[98]

 

In January 2017, President Trump signed an executive order reviving the Dakota Access Pipeline, bringing oil from shale reserves in North Dakota to refineries in Illinois along a route 1,172 miles (1,887 km) long.

In March 2017, the Trump administration approved the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, reversing a decision by the Obama administration and fulfilling a campaign promise.^[41]

In late April 2020, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at protecting the U.S. national power grid against foreign cyber attacks. "A successful attack on our bulk-power system would present significant risks to our economy, human health and safety, and would render the United States less capable of acting in defense of itself and its allies," he wrote.^[32] This executive order bans the purchase and installation of equipment manufactured outside the United States.^[33] In addition, it tasks the Secretary of Energy, Dan Brouillette at the time of its issuing, with creating a list of safe vendors, identifying any vulnerable components of the grid and replacing them. In 2018, then Secretary of Energy Rick Perry created the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) to combat cybersecurity threats to the U.S. power supply.^[32] While the U.S. has not witnessed any destructive cyber attacks on its power grid yet, foreign actors have conducted reconnaissance operations on this infrastructure. In January 2020, the FBI notified grid operators about the vulnerabilities in their software supply chain.^[33]

In January 2018, the Interior Department announced plans to allow drilling in nearly all U.S. waters. This would be the largest expansion of offshore oil and gas leasing ever proposed, and includes regions that were long off-limits to development and more than 100 million acres in the Arctic and the Eastern Seaboard, regions that President Obama had placed under a drilling moratorium.^[42]

In June 2019, the Trump administration introduced a new rule on coal power plants' emissions, requiring electric utilities to cut their emissions to 35% below 2005 levels by 2030. 

In November 2017, the Northern Pass transmission line project, proposed by utilities company Eversource to carry hydroelectricity from Quebec to New England, received a presidential permit. 

n May 2020, the Trump administration gave final approval to the Gemini Solar Farm project in Nevada. Worth a billion dollars, it includes 690 MW of power-generating capacity and 380 MW of four-hour lithium-ion batteries. It is enough to power 260,000 households and offset the greenhouse-gas emissions of 86,000 cars. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt said it would also create 2,000 jobs, directly and indirectly, and pump $712.5 million into the economy. Gemini, scheduled to enter service by the end of 2023, is the largest solar farm project ever approved in the United States and one of the largest in the world.

In late March 2020, President Trump signed into law a stimulus package worth around two trillion dollars, the biggest in American history, in order to alleviate the economic downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Besides cash infusion for front-line hospitals, loans for struggling industries, aid for farmers, enhanced unemployment benefits, relief for married couples with young children, and tax cuts for retailers, it included $200 million for telemedicine. This would help doctors examine their patients remotely, using video-conferencing technology. At present, the FCC operates a rural healthcare program that subsidizes the use of telecommunications technology. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai personally requested this aid in early March.^[76] Early that month, the President signed a bipartisan bill that extended Medicare coverage to include telemedicine in outbreak areas. Previously, it was restricted to rural residents who had to take long trips to see a doctor. Telemedicine reduces the need for travel, and therefore chances of vulnerable senior citizens catching COVID-19.^[77]

Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, regularly hosts ships traveling through the recently expanded Panama Canal. South Carolina is also home to many manufacturing plants belonging to various multinational corporations, such as the automaker BMW, the tire maker Michelin, and many others.^[78] Works to deepen it to 52 feet (15.8 m) has been ongoing since 2011 but had never been on a federal budget proposed by the President till 2018, when a new cost-benefit analysis conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers made it suitable for consideration. President Trump allocated $138 million to the project in his budget in 2019. Dredging started in 2018, and the State Ports Authority, which operates Charleston Harbor, said it planned to complete the project by 2021, in time for a new container terminal to open.^[79] Upon completion, it will be the deepest shipping channel in the East Coast of the United States.^[78]

The America's Water Infrastructure Act, signed into law by President Trump in October 2018 authorizes $6 billion in spending. Potential recipients for federal funding include the Houston-Galveston Navigation Channel Extension ($15.6 million), and the Ala Wai Canal project in Hawaii ($306.5 million). This bill includes a five-year "Buy American" provision, which requires the use of American-made construction materials used by projects funded by the Act.^[80]

In June 2019, the FAA announced it was giving out $840 million in grants for improving airport facilities and President Trump proposed $17.1 billion in funding for the FAA. Trump's proposal made it through the House Appropriations Committee with $614 million more than requested. Therefore, the FAA had $17.7 billion to spend. Airport Improvement Programs (AIP) funds will go to over 380 airports in 47 states. One of the biggest grants is worth $29 million, which goes to runway reconstruction at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in Alaska. In addition, the House Appropriations Committee announced $3.3 billion in AIP grants to be handed out in 2020, plus $500 million for discretionary airport infrastructure spending.^[84]

In early 2020, American airports saw their passenger numbers plummet due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. To help them cope with the crisis, the Trump administration provided $10 billion in financial aid with Congressional approval.^[85]

In early April 2020, the Trump administration issued $25 billion in emergency funding for public transportation networks across the United States facing a precipitous drop in ridership due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Approved a week prior by Congress, the money would go primarily to densely populated urban areas, including $5.4 billion for New York City, $1.2 billion for Los Angeles, $1.02 billion for the District of Columbia, $883 million for Boston, $879 million for Philadelphia, $820 million for San Francisco and $520 million for Seattle. Meanwhile, some $2.2 billion would go to rural areas, the FTA announced. National passenger rail company Amtrak received a billion dollars.^[85]

In October 2018, President Trump signed into law the America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018, allocating more than $6 billion on water infrastructure spending of all kinds.^[99] This bipartisan bill authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to manage water resource projects and policies nationwide. It also authorizes federal funding for various water infrastructure projects, including the expansion of water storage capabilities, and upgrades to wastewater, drinking and irrigation systems.^[100] This bill includes some $2.2 billion for a coastal barrier Texas, protecting it from flood in the future. The coastal barrier includes not just flood walls and sea walls but also pumping stations, drainage facilities, and floodgates for highways and railroads. The money may also be used for ecosystem repair, upgrades to port and inland waterways, flood control, dam renovations, and enhancing drinking water facilities. Moreover, the Act reauthorizes the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan program.^[101]