Volume 1 Issue 46
January 23, 2003
Running Over Progess?
Why rail in America stinks, Bush bumbling around, and bad photos galore!
Progress comes slowly sometimes! In the last stages of ironing out the kinks in the new mail distribution system, then we'll turn to the website! You'll also note that this is still coming in the same format as yesterday, so if this is hard to read, open the HTML attachment and you should be just fine :)
So again today I wrote 2002 for the date at a doctor's appointment! Argh! So you think it's cold out today? Well, as this is the first really cold weather in the DC region in a while (today is supposedly the coldest day since 1996) it is important to note that it is actually "warmer" then it would have been just over a year ago, before they redid the Wind Chill Formula! Check it out: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/windchill/index.shtml
Anyway, today's issue is transportation, and specifically the state of rail service in the United States. While most nations in the world have good train service for short and medium range destinations, the US does not, with the exception of the Northeast corridor service. But with air travel becoming increasingly more complicated and crowded, and with highways jammed and auto emissions at an all time high, common sense would dictate that reinvigorating the rail system in this nation would be the way to go. Of course, then there's Amtrak, who's president, David Gunn, this week asked Congress for $10 billion to fix the national railroad (http://www.cnn.com/2003/TRAVEL/01/23/amtrak.funding.reut/ind ex.html). And don't laugh, because Gunn isn't like your previous Amtrak presidents, who were just big black holes for money. Gunn means what he says, and ever since taking the job in mid-2001, he's made some big waves. Last summer, and again in the current budget negotiations, Gunn set what he claimed was what the railroad needed in government money to survive. In the current case, it's $1.2 billion for FY03. Now usually, those numbers get cut, and people live with it. But Gunn was playing hardball, and threatened to shut down the railroad entirely if he got one penny less. Now, you may not think that would matter much, but you can bet your butt that the Bush administration did not want to be responsible for shutting down the railroad, and dumping millions of cars back onto the road just in time for the midterm elections. So it worked, and now he's doing it again with the current FY03 omnibus budget bill, which is STILL pending in Congress. (Side note: If you had something you were supposed to finish by October, and you hadn't finished it in LATE FUCKING JANUARY do you think you'd get to keep your job?)
The problem is that in reality, no single person can ever fix Amtrak, because it has two separate and contradictory goals: 1) Provide universal rail service across the United States; and 2) Make a profit. Even the folks in the Nixon administration who came up with Amtrak in the 70's said they were laughing when they wrote that Amtrak should make a profit in 5 years. Universal rail service doesn't come cheap, because it has to be universal! And to make matters worse, to get money to fund the railroad over the years, Amtrak has been forced to make trains run through as many congressional districts as possible, meaning that the most efficient and passenger heavy routes from one place to another are often ignored so the train can pass through more areas, making those Member's of Congress stakeholders. If Amtrak just ran the Northeast Corridor (Washington, DC to Boston) then they could make money, in fact the Northeast service breaks about even. But in addition to running the trains, Amtrak also has to maintain the tracks the own (mainly in the Northeast) and rent out track space from the freight railroads where they don't. Obviously, the freight railroads need to make money, or they go out of business, so they're not about to offer Amtrak the best tracks or times on those tracks. In fact, the freight railroads are not only a threat to Amtrak, but also to local rail service. As an example, New Jersey Transit will soon finish a billion dollar boondoggle, a light rail line connecting Trenton to Camden. Now, the line may have some usage in brining revitalization to some of the stops on the way, but the main benefit supposedly is that it will allow more people to visit the renewing cities of Trenton and Camden. Except, since 90% of the route is owned by a freight railroad, the train can't run at night, and no more than once an hour. So if you go to a ball game or concert in Camden (yes, people do go there for these things now), then you can't take the public transit, because you wouldn't be able to take it home! In the end, any redeemable qualities to this new rail line will be destroyed by the freight railroads. Of course, Amtrak and other agencies could always build new tracks but that takes money. We'll continue this tomorrow, don't want to get too long :)
TOMORROW: Why rail can work in America, and more reasons why it sucks now (and why Amtrak could actually work).
Onto the insanity..
Made Where? You may have seen the President give a speech yesterday in St. Louis in front of a backdrop of boxes stamped "Made in USA." Except the boxes were made in China. And the note that said so was taped over, apparently by an aide. More examples of the standing of truth in the administration? -
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/madeinusa_030122 .html
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/23/politics/23BUSH.html
Speaking of Presidents and the economy, the JFK Library in Boston released Oval Office tapes today that show Kennedy was worried about a recession in 1964 hurting his chances for re-election -
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/01/22/kennedy.tapes/index.html
Are these people nuts?!?! There are people still going on about how the poor pay to little in taxes! What the hell is wrong with these people? Tim Noah again rebuts their dumb arguments -
http://slate.msn.com/id/2077403/
Speaking of inequality...looks like the income gap between rich and poor keeps getting bigger -
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/23/business/23WEAL.html
And apparently Bush's economic team needs to brush up a bit on their economics -
http://slate.msn.com/id/2077330/
The Dear Leader's future retirement home? While the North Korean Dictator says he was born on a mountaintop, he was actually born in a Siberian city, where he may return again -
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/23/international/asia/23RUSS. html?8hpib
Bush on economy - We must invade Iraq: So Rummy is pissing off the Germans now. Tip...not a good thing, Don -
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Europe-US.html
Also, a good article in the Post on an interesting tangent of the Iraq crisis? What if they strike first?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30119-2003Jan22.html
Russia joined, France, Germany, China, Canada, and most of the rest of NATO in telling Bush to slow the hell down - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/articles/allies012303.html
But he meant it was a bad thing? A Bush administration appointee to an advisory committee on AIDS and HIV is getting heat because he apparently refers to the epidemic as a "gay plague." -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30410-2003Jan22.html
The new issue? Moderate Democrat Senator John Breaux (Louisiana) will introduce a universal health care plan today -
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20030122_2467.html
Selective Service Update: David Greenberg takes a look at the history of the draft in the United States, as debate rages whether to reinstate it -
http://slate.msn.com/id/2077346/
Look Who's Running for President: National Review looks at a possible Biden candidacy. -
http://nationalreview.com/comment/comment-geraghty012203.asp
Look Who's Running for President 2: Florida Senator Bob Graham is out for now, as he needs heart surgery next month, and says he will reevaluate later next month. While he will be healthy enough to run after the surgery apparently, one must ask if a 2-month delay in fundraising won't put him out -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33475-2003Jan23.html
We'll find out who wins! The networks have a new exit poll agreement. They've privatized it! -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33186-2003Jan23.html
Look Who's Running For President - A Scorecard Update (1/23):
RUNNING
Gov. Howard "Jed Barlett" Dean (Vermont) - http://www.deanforamerica.com/
Senator John Kerry (Massachusetts) - http://www.johnkerry.com
Senator John Edwards (North Carolina) - http://www.johnedwards2004.com/
Congressman Richard Gephardt (Missouri) Is the man ever going to get a website?
Al Sharpton (NY) - http://www.sharptonexplore2004.com/
Senator Joe Liberman (Conn.) - http://www.joe2004.com
CONSIDERING
Former Senator Gary Hart (Colorado) - http://www.garyhartnews.com
LONG SHOTS
Senator Bob Graham (Florida)
Former Senator Carol Moseley Braun (Illinois)
General Wesley Clark (Arkansas)
Senator Joseph Biden (Delaware)
Senator Chris Dodd (Conn.)
Congressman Dennis Kucinich (Ohio)
50 "favorite sons" under the Donna Brazille plan
And half the Democratic Party over the age of 35.
OUT
Former VP and President-Elect Al Gore
Governor Gray Davis (California)
Former Senator Bill Bradley (New Jersey)
Senator Tom Daschle (South Dakota)
Senator Hilary Clinton (New York)
Card Movement Today: Bob Graham moves to long shot, as it looks like medical problems will keep him out. It will be a while before we know if he's out for good though...maybe VP material? This leaves only Gary Hart as seriously considering running...oh, I've also moved Mark Warner off the list. He hasn't denied it, but the rumblings have died away, and I now consider him just part of the "1/2 of the party over 35." In addition, Nader has been removed. Again, he may run, but it sure as hell won't be as a Democrat. Just trying to narrow the field a bit.
Bad John Edwards Photo of the Day: "Elizabeth, why is there a flagpole coming out of my head?" -
http://media.gatewaync.com/wsj/photos/specialreports/edwards /edwards6.jpg
BONUS! Bad Joe Liberman photo of the Day: Joe may be wondering why the hell he's in New Hampshire in January -
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/030122/16 8/33if8.html
Oh, what the hell, one more: OK, and to finish off the photo's...what the hell is up with Bob Dylan?
http://images.usatoday.com/life/gallery/sundance2003/2003-01-23-dylan.jpg
Trouble under the Arches: McDonalds posted its first ever loss for the 4th Quarter of 2002 -
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Earns-McDonalds.html
But a judge did throw out a lawsuit that claimed false advertising from the chain was making people fat -
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/23/nyregion/23MCDO.html
Just when you thought it was safe to hold an election in Florida: Apparently a couple boxes of unopened absentee ballots from September's Democratic Primary were found in a Broward County office. Is ineptitude a requirement to work for the State of Florida? -
Security Alert: A computer cryptologist has discovered a major problem in an old-technology system. Buildings with a "master" key may make themselves easily vulnerable to thieves, as anyone can make a copy of the master. I can only imagine the repercussions of this for schools and college dorms that use these systems -
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/030122/16 8/33if8.html
Reason not to get married: A woman in Texas faces murder charges after running her husband down in a $70,000 Mercedes after discovering he was having an affair -
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Husband-Run-Over.html
Boomtown: NASA is getting ready to go nuclear, as Bush will propose using nuclear rockets for space exploration in the State of the Union Address next week -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2684329.stm
Talking Head Watch: The FOX "News" Channel wanted to hire Princess Diana's ex-lover as war correspondent -
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/arts/AP-TV-Fox-Hewitt.html
And not just because of the commercials: Is super bowl Sunday more dangerous to drive on than New Year's Eve?
http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0103/70815.html
Speaking of sports, as Philadelphia fans will be unable to watch their team play in the Super Bowl, they will have to take solace in the Wing Bowl, an eating championship -
http://www.courierpostonline.com/news/southjersey/m012303j.h tm
As always, send the questions, comments, and suggestions to greg@fromtheswamp.com!
Gregory S. Gadren
