Last Updated on February 15, 2019 by Terry
Yesterday was Valentines day, and also Mikayla’s and Lillie’s birthdays (The girls from McHenry Creek). Now it’s a whole ‘nother day. So, let’s talk trains.
I love trains. I have sat in parking lots during lunch time and watched trains pass by. I look for HAZMAT placards just to see what is being transported down the rail. So naturally, ten years ago, I became very interested in the super bullet train that California is/was building.
I did and still have reservations as to why President Obama and a Republican congress decided that all Americans should share in its cost. California is getting federal money to build it. That means taxes paid by every American. Maybe we will all get to ride the train for free when it’s finished, you reckon?
10 years ago, The California Bullet Train: Republicans all over the country who didn’t want to foot the bill, (TB-Although many voted for it) warned that the train would be far more cost, time, and labor-intensive than the environmentalists claimed.
The Democratic leadership in Sacramento and the White House (President Obama) ignored them, pressing on with the proposal as a “green beacon of hope” (Some called it) to prevail over the- quote: “stupid concerns of idiot conservatives”. (TB-By the way, the idiot conservative congress elected officials had to vote for it or it could not have passed!) (And I’m not stupid or an idiot simply because I don’t want to pay for a train in California.)
Their plan was: “By building the nation’s largest transportation project, California would alleviate the need to spend $100 billion on 3,000 miles of new roads. That’s the premise. So, construction on the train began. (TB-it appears now that the train will cost $100 Billion.)
Over a decade ago, Californians voted yes on Proposition 1A to authorize the building of a big, beautiful bullet train connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles. Well, on this past Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom seemed to come to his senses on the high-speed train’s multi-billion-dollar cost and may have put the project out of its misery.
CNBC: “The momentum has been halting. Ten years after voters approved it, the project is $44 billion (TB-Did he say $44 Billion extra?) over budget and 13 years behind schedule.”
(March 2018, CNBC) A business plan released Friday by the California High-Speed Rail Authority shows its projected baseline cost is now $77 billion — up 20 percent from two years ago — and it indicated the cost could rise to as high as $98 billion ($98). The opening date for the Los Angeles-to-San Francisco bullet train has also been delayed by at least four years, to 2033. (TB-At least half of funding will be federal, which means tax money from every worker in America.) (TB-Obama and a republican congress approved the federal dollars.) That means taxes coming from people from all 50 states, people who will never ride the train.
So, Newsom did what politicians refused to do for more than a decade ago and he seems to be canceling the project although announced that they may be able to finish the section from San Fran to Fresno. How exciting.
Now, he refuses to give the federal government (TB-Tax Payers) back the first $3.5 billion that they allocated to the project (already spent), but at least he’s less of a hack than the previous Dems who thought that you could replace a $100, one hour-long flight or $40 five hour-long drive with a $100 billion bullet train to, nowhere?
I don’t even want to go from San Fran to LA. (Or Fresno) Why am I helping pay for it?
And just for fun: Morocco, with an economy just 4% the size of California’s, managed to build a high-speed rail linking Casablanca and Tangier. Maybe the government should hire that construction company.
Anyway, I love trains but this is an insulting debacle taking advantage of hard-working Americans.
Speaking of great ideas: Washington Post- In an interview with VegNews.com, (TB-VegNews, where can I get a subscription?) the New Jersey Democrat and 2020 presidential-primary candidate, said that the Earth can’t sustain first-world meat-eating habits as prosperity spreads worldwide.
“You see the planet earth moving towards what is the Standard American Diet. We’ve seen this massive increase in consumption of meat produced by the industrial animal agriculture industry. The tragic reality is this planet simply can’t sustain billions of people consuming industrially produced animal agriculture because of environmental impact,” said the candidate who is a vegan himself. (I, TB, pledge to consume my part.)
“It’s just not possible, as China and Africa move toward consuming meat the same way America does because we just don’t have enough land,” he added, claiming that meat production is also causing deforestation and contributing to climate change. (TB-Meat production contributes to climate change? Please explain.)
“The devastating impact is just not practical. The numbers just don’t add up. We will destroy our planet unless we start figuring out a better way forward when it comes to our climate change and our environment,” he added.
So, I think he is saying that getting rid of cows, pigs, and chickens will help the environment and climate change. (TB-These same people used to call it global warming but they couldn’t prove it so they changed the title.)
Wait a minute, is he talkin’ ‘bout bacon? They’re going to stop bacon? They ain’t going to take away our bacon, are they? If we can’t get our bacon, you’re going to see rioting in the streets like you ain’t never seen! If they take away our bacon, that new congress lady may be right, the world could end in 12 years.
I love trains…trains hauling bacon to my favorite grocery store.
