Eye on Amtrak

When I was a kid in New Jersey there were always abandoned railroad tracks somewhere. You could be playing baseball or soccer and the ball would roll away from the field and toward some tree line or old factory and there would inevitably be tracks that were out of service, usually with bits of garbage strewn around them for good measure. It was the 80’s and 90’s, the era in the US where people just assumed rail had no future and it was more important to widen the highways and sell more cars.

Almost 20 years later more and more people in the US realize this outlook is what has no future, and railroads are needed now more than ever.? The problem is when they look to those old lines, they find they’re unusable or, in many cases, they’ve been removed and replaced with condo’s and parking lots. Occasionally they’ve managed to salvage an old line.

Meanwhile on the existing rail lines still in use, national rail service is a pitiful shell of what it could have been compared to Europe or Japan. Years of under funding and mis-management have left AMTRAK with an outdated fleet of trains that can’t travel more than an average of 80mph/128kph, and that is when they’re not being delayed by freight trains. Recent studies have revealed that indeed freight trains are the leading cause of the national rail carrier’s infamous delays.? Crazily enough, the freight companies actually own much of the track that AMTRAK uses.. again making it expensive and irratic in terms of costs and service as they illegally take priority.

The US congress has now approved a bill that must face the ignorant pen of the president, which provides funds and invesment to keep AMTRAK going and make a few strides towards mordernizing national passenger rail in America.

I suppose to many in the US, this is not interesting, as the belief that “rail isn’t practical” still somehow dominates.? Few have experienced High Speed Rail in other countries and even fewer could ever afford to ride the few ACELA – high speed trains that exist in the US.? Whereas regular people with modest incomes can afford to take a TGV in France or the Alfa Pendular in Portugal, most of the people you find on high speed American trains are executives who’s companies cover the high cost.

Whether the bill will be passed by GW Bush is still not clear.? Whether beyond some symbolic language, these funds will really make rail more accessible and efficient in the US, is also still not clear.? But the absolute need for such investment for both the present and future of the country – that part should be clear by now.

Congressional Pork Crimes

All the critics are up-in-arms at the shocking development last week, that congress voted to give the GWBush his war money. Obviously they’re outraged because the party they were convinced would represent their opposition to the war, did not do what they were elected to do.

Yet the disappointment doesn’t end there. Because this was all part of “making a deal”. According to this deal, if congress votes to give billions to kill more Iraqi’s, in exchange, they will get their minimum wage increase (though I don’t know many adults who can actually live on 7.25 an hour). They also secure alot of money to finally fund the Road Home Program which was supposed to help post Katrina recovery until the program ran out of money. Oh and there’s even a little help for small businesses in the form of tax breaks. All lovely and necessary things I suppose, and I’m sure many good intentioned people will point to that and say; well at least we got that!

But my rhetorical question is: what does one have to do with the other? And what kind of sick government attaches essential money for sufferring citizens in places like New Orleans, to the money needed to fund the occupation and subjugation of another country? Those two projects have nothing to do with each other, and their funding should not be used as some kind of leverage or bargaining chip.

Reading through the texts of these bills, all included in this shameful “deal”, I again return to the conclusion that the US government and the political system in general are broken in the most fundamental way and these two parties are responsible.

Yes, I Give In, It’s Historical

Back in the ‘dam… and barely able to keep my eyes open. Naturally it is good to be back, my boat has NOT sunk, and slightly more importantly, I wanted to share what I find interesting about some recent developments in the land of the United States and my state-of-birth, New Jersey.

First off, the world doesn’t really need another blog to mention the historical swearing in of Nancy P as speaker of the house, but I have to admit it is a positive development.. or at least it sounds positive thus far. For firstclass nonstop, these-people-never-sleep coverage of whenever a senator says boo… read Americablog. Unfortunately in a few hours I was supposed to travel to Paris to meet Chris and John the Americabloggers, but Ive simply spent too much money and energy so I now need to sit here in the Old West and recharge til it is time to run again. No Paris for me right now.

Here’s what is really interesting, and I only FIRST noticed over lunch today when Ellen said.. hey look... and there in the Dutch newspaper, is a thing about how New Jersey’s governor wants to abolish the death penalty..and it looks like he may do it! YOu can read New Jersey’s official Death Penalty Commission report here. Maybe present it at school for show and tell or something, because it is yet more hard evidence of a failed policy and a necessary change.

Hearing this, and the continuing battle to have civil unions, which hopefully becomes law soon, makes me just a bit prouder of my home state. Or is it too soon for any of this?

A Media Pact

First of all, I hereby promise that this will be the last post this week related to US congressional elections and US politics. Not because I’m one of those “lets not talk politics, it makes everyone upset” people… but rather because on this blog, I value the fact that the world is larger than just one country… plus its a personal blog.. so I could surely tell a story or two of interesting cultural learnings for make benefit of great internet.

Most of you probably don’t watch GW Bush press conferences. This because you value your mental health, time, ears, and intelligence. Watching him speak has been proven to put any of these at risk.
But I live in Amsterdam and things here are always in some sort of twilight zone, so I watch the press conferences… I guess because everyone has an unhealthy passtime.

So what I notice tonight, more than ever, is that exactly at a moment where the press should be asking tough questions and making this man explain all his vague promises and preminitions when it comes to the election, national issues, and the ever-so-vague “finish the mission” talk about Iraq…. instead of pressuring him to actually answer what the hell he has planned, they do the exact opposite. Throw the man softballs… and worst of all… and this one almost made me spit up my dinner all over innocent roomate: they joke with him!

Now I know some us like to joke on the job… hell I did.. when I had a job. But the relationship between media and president is not one of colleagues. They are monitors. Their role is to ensure he is doing his job, as leader of the country, properly and not misrepresenting or adopting policies that could prove detrimental. You know.. like sending thousands of people to their deaths.. that kind of thing.

A Media with such a role; acting as the fourth estate of checks and balances, would not be a media that shares inside jokes and winks and nudges with the president. They wouldn’t further allow the president to avoid doing his job or facing criticism by laughing at his jokes and responding with more jokes. That wouldn’t work very well, if they are to be a critical force that the president takes seriously.

But the fact is… they do this. They laugh it up. He calls them by their first names. He probably buys them booze, drugs, and sex like Nixon used to do for his campaign press.

My thought after once again seeing this sick and useless relationship… is an idea. A pact, if you will. The entire white house press core should take this oath.. make this pact.. for the good of the nation and to properly due their job as the fourth estate: promise to never ever laugh at the presidents’ joke during a press conference or an interview. Sure he’ll tell them often.. trying to avoid producing answers or revealing his dark secrets.. but the press should keep to this strict rule… and there should be dead silence anytime he tells one of his one line zingers. Dead silence! And wait for the president to answer the question.. or keep asking the same question if he tries to move on.

In my little imagination I can see it now… the great media stonewall… no more kidding around and laughing it up. Just watchdogs.. reporters… investigators.. who can joke around once the job is done and the president has gone back to his lonely corner.

Thats what I’d like. Just a little wish.

(If you seek post-election analysis not from the mainstream.. don’t look to me.. consult Liberty Cap)