Actually, I thought the only reason it's not cheaper to take the train is that the entire rail infrastructure had been maliciously toppled by petroleum interests and the automotive industry? No?
I just want to get Sarah Palin's argument straight. She's saying that we shouldn't have access to abortion because she had an iffy pregnancy but it all turned out okay for her so it naturally follows that it will all turn out okay for everyone else as well.
I read this as "Obama's car czar Steven Rattner is under investigation for possibly participating in a kickball scheme with New York state's pension fund," which would be way more awesome. I don't know exactly what a kickball scheme is, but count me in.
If Obama can fix the public transportation system in this country he can be president for life, IMO. It's a travesty that we allowed the train system to deteriate the way it has. We put all our money into highways, which cost more to maintain in the long run, and let Amtrak go off on it's own, ending all of the great regional railroads like the B&O. The air system is overcrowded. If you can find a way to make them cheaper, faster, and safer I say bring on the trains!!
(oh, and Amtrak? It's fucking highway robbery to ask anyone to pay $83 to get from NYC to Philly when the NJ Transit and the Chinatown bus are both $15. Boo on you)
I am someone that takes the high speed train within the NE corridor frequently. Fast, convenient, plus there's drinks. It would thrill me to bits if it were cheaper and the schedule was expanded. The last vestiges of enjoyment have been utterly crushed out of flying; trains hold the final hope for romantic travel.
@SomeAuthorGirl: If you're driving in the right state, there are no open container laws for passengers. You could drive along the open road in the South with a daiquiri, no problem.
After the whole thing with Texas and that congressperson wanting Asian-Americans to shorten their names so they are easier to pronounce, I say let Texas seceed. Wacky people keep getting elected there.
As a Texan, I would be super bummed if we seceded. Thankfully, it's not likely, as the only people yammering about it are the uber-right wing nut jobs like Rick Perry (who I have the misfortune to know). He's such a tool.
@foiledthoughts: Yes, he is a tool. And as a texan, it saddens me as well.
Think of the huge mess about Galveston's taxes being put into a disaster fund... and then when Ike hit and Galveston asked for the money, the state was like, "uhh.... we were kidding. we used that money for a sundae party!"
As a person with teeny, tiny ears that go through excruciating pain whenever they are subjected to high altitude travel, I would be all over light-rail like a weave on Beyonce.
Why are trains so expensive? Especially since airlines have been hiking up prices? They need to get some European train-gineers over there fast to hook up American with some fast and efficient train systems.
I would be sad if Texas seceded from the union, because I've heard the state is lovely and the only time I've spent there has been in the Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth Airports.
@morninggloria: "Texas is the Best"~~Terms of Endearment. That being said, I would move in a New York minute if we seceded. Rick Perry as President is just a spine-shivering thought. I remember election day in 2000. I was in a small town that was really conservative and it snowed, I just walked around saying, "Bush is President...Hell has frozen over."
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I got eaten alive for cracking a joke, so watch out Nate.
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(oh, and Amtrak? It's fucking highway robbery to ask anyone to pay $83 to get from NYC to Philly when the NJ Transit and the Chinatown bus are both $15. Boo on you)
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I don't know
I don't know where I'm a gonna go
When the volcano blow
But I don't want to land in Indiana
Don't want to land in Texas, no
Don't want to land in that Alaska
I don't like Palin or the snow
I don't know
I don't know
I don't know where I'm a gonna go
When the volcano blow
[With apologies to Jimmy Buffet]
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Think of the huge mess about Galveston's taxes being put into a disaster fund... and then when Ike hit and Galveston asked for the money, the state was like, "uhh.... we were kidding. we used that money for a sundae party!"
04/17/09
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That being said, I would move in a New York minute if we seceded. Rick Perry as President is just a spine-shivering thought. I remember election day in 2000. I was in a small town that was really conservative and it snowed, I just walked around saying, "Bush is President...Hell has frozen over."
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