Open Thread: High-speed Train to Nowhere
Today's starter topic: While the Obama Administration has refused to approve the permanent job-creating Keystone XL pipeline in its entirety, it seems that officials are much closer to giving the nod to build a high-speed train connecting Las Vegas to a town in the middle of nowhere, 100 miles away from Los Angeles. And not just approve the project, they also are poised to "loan" nearly $5 billion to the project, which happens to be connected to Nevada Democrat and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid:
Privately held DesertXpress is on the verge of landing a $4.9 billion loan from the Obama administration to build the 150 mph train, which could be a lifeline for a region devastated by the housing crash or a crap shoot for taxpayers weary of Washington spending.
The vast park-and-ride project hinges on the untested idea that car-loving Californians will drive about 100 miles from the Los Angeles area, pull off busy Interstate 15 and board a train for the final leg to the famous Strip.
Planners imagine that millions of travelers a year will one day flock to a station outside down-on-its-luck Victorville, a small city where shuttered storefronts pock the historic downtown.
An alliance of business and political rainmakers from The Strip to Capitol Hill is backing the project that could become the first high-speed system to break ground under President Barack Obama's push to modernize the U.S. rail network — and give the Democratic president's re-election prospects a lift in battleground Nevada.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has publicly blessed the train — it means jobs, he says — and it's cleared several regulatory hurdles in Washington.
Yet even as the Federal Railroad Administration considers awarding what would be, by far, the largest loan of its type, its own research warns it's difficult to predict how many people will ride the train, a critical measure of financial survival, an Associated Press review found.
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Comments
Another rail we can support
Submitted by bmacdmac on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 9:33am.
Don't we already have a railway that can't support itself yet tax payer dollars are poured into it so I'm sure we need a second one just to balance the country.
The only thing we need now is
Submitted by celator on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 10:12am.
The only thing we need now is the list of Obama's political contributors, cronies, hangers on and assorted behind the scene lefties are going to financially benefit from this choo choo train boondoggle.
SHAMTRAK®.
Submitted by SickofLibs on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 10:23am.
.
They already have "Vince" lined up to promote
Submitted by c5then on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 11:43am.
"... and if you call now (cause we can't do this all day), we'll send you a little umbrella to wear on your head while you wait for the train in the desert. The tickets only cost $250 per person, a $1000 value.
Call now!"
Madison and Jefferson and Franklin built a Republic - Roberts killed it!
This is minor in the grand scheme of Obamaworld.
Submitted by Newsbubba on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 10:27am.
I think that he and Rootin' Tootin" Putin are just one election away from declaring that the USSR and the USSA are the new Axis powers in the world.
The RBFSOB was caught telling Putin's poodle to pass on the word that this was his (Obama's) last election, and that he will have "more flexibility" after he wins. Putin already knows that this is his own last election. After he gets in this time he will have "more flexibility" to fix that little problem of term limits. I have a feeling that Bambi is cooking up the same plans.
Ahhhhhhh, at last!! The dream from his father, his mother, and his grand parents about a world dominated by "workers of the world" will be closer to a reality. Just get this one last pesky election out of the way, and he's in for life, baby!!
This little railroad thingy is a payoff to Harry to make damned sure that the Republican budget never sees the light of day in the Senate, and that the unions will get off his ass about killing the keystone pipeline construction. He can deal with their dumb asses after his "last election."
Only one man in the country is actually working on exposing this RBFSOB and the "train wreck" he and Putin are cooking up. Little old Sheriff Joe Arpaio. I truly hope he has excellent bodyguards.
"Rootin' Tootin" Putin"
Submitted by celator on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 11:57am.
"Rootin' Tootin" Putin" LOL
"I vant to wrestle a tiger today".
Rootin tootin, maybe
Submitted by jon_torlin on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 12:05pm.
But there's no question about it, Putin is one tough son of a b!tch when you get right down to it.
Put him and Obeyme in the same room and Putin doesn't even have to utter one word, Obeyme would become his b!tch in an instant. And if it wasn't that fast, just one raise of his KGB hand and then DuhOne becomes DuhB!tch.
I don't like Putin, I don't admire him, but I don't think lightly of him either, hell, I might even respect him a little for that toughness.(but that's about as far as I go)
-Jon
Don't get me wrong on RTP, Jon.
Submitted by Newsbubba on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 5:59pm.
He is definitely one ruthless dude, and he makes no apology for it.
You're so right that Bambi would think his name was Ben Dover after five minutes in the room with Putin, if Putin was interested, which I doubt for some reason.
I think the RBFSOB would love to be just like Putin, but he lacks the physical and mental toughness to do it. Putin is a man. Obama is a pussy.
Hey Bubba*
Submitted by cajun2 on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 6:47pm.
Are you saying Obama is a kitten and Putin is a lion? That IS what you meant, right?
Uhhhhhhh, ...
Submitted by Newsbubba on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 8:45pm.
... sure! Okay.
Bubba, that is a total insult
Submitted by killa37 on Tue, 03/27/2012 - 12:00am.
Bubba, that is a total insult to all of the beautiful and wonderful pussies I have known!!!!
You two!!!
Submitted by Blonde on Tue, 03/27/2012 - 12:08am.
It's a good bloody thing that you two are separated by 6,000 miles. Because the two of you in the same town (or even on the same continent) might cause the landmass to explode!
I think there's a name for this phenom.....brothers from a different mother.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
Ahhhhhhhhhh,
Submitted by killa37 on Tue, 03/27/2012 - 2:19am.
Ahhhhhhhhhh, Blonde...........you KNOW - deep in your warm and caring heart - that we speak TROOF!!! We LOVE women, and we are very respectful and adoring of them!!! Of course, there ARE exceptions - such as Ms. Botox, Nurse Ratchett, Big Sis (is she even a woman??), Whassername Drowned Cocker Spaniel, Mooooooooooochelle, and others..........but ALL of the women on this website are worthy of worship, praise, and adulation!!! So I stand by my comments, and I'll go out on a limb and say the same thing for my buddy Bubba!!!
And, what about Rootin' Tootin' High-Falootin' Freedom-Lootin' Jack-Bootin' Putin??????
Jon, yep, he's a tough bird,
Submitted by celator on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 6:23pm.
Jon, yep, he's a tough bird, for sure. My son saw him when he landed at Pease in NH a few years back--he came to visit with Bush 1 and 2 in Kennebunkport. Putin is quite short--my son figured 5-5 or 5-6-- and he is as wide as he is tall. I'd go for a UFC match between Putin and Obama, but it would only last about 15 seconds, so it wouldn't be worth the price of the ticket. But I'd go anyway, I reckon.
15 seconds, celator??? I'd
Submitted by killa37 on Tue, 03/27/2012 - 2:24am.
15 seconds, celator??? I'd say that's a bit ambitious, given what a girly-man queebie tilley Boy Baraka is!!! But, having seen some of the 'tap-out' positions, I'd be willing to bet that Boy Baraka would look forward to being 'tapped'................
Top 5 Freedoms
Submitted by jon_torlin on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 10:26am.
Found this at FoxNews.com, someone named Karen Harned lists the top 5 freedoms that will be lost if ObeymeCare is upheld instead of being tossed out. There are more, but these are the top 5 and I happen to agree with it wholeheartedly.
Top 5
-Jon
wheew
Submitted by Boudin on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 10:31am.
I was afraid they were going to say porn and condoms
Thank you, Shawn
Submitted by Blonde on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 11:30am.
;)
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
Good list.
Submitted by Newsbubba on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 10:39am.
To sum it up, we will lose:
> Life (they decide when and how we may die),
> Liberty (they decide what we can and cannot buy and use, or not), and
> the Pursuit of Happiness (hell, I'm already less happy than before the RBFSOB came on the scene. It ain't going to get any better).
George Will had a great column yesterday about how this law, if allowed to stand, will shred the concept of "contract law" that has existed since the days of English Law, and is the underpinning of our entire free economy. Contracts exist as an agreement between two or more parties, who have reached agreement of their own free will, without coercion or threat.
The Obamacare mandate MAKES you enter into an agreement under threat of penalty to contract for your healthcare services.
I'm waiting to see which of the dumb assed justices can vote that this crap is legal in ANY aspect! It will be telling if even one of them votes to allow this to stand.
Not just that
Submitted by jon_torlin on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 11:52am.
And that's not just the "health care" part of it, there's tons of other things that aren't even related to health care that's in there, including being able to access and take funds from your bank accounts as they see fit just to name one example.
There's the racist "tanning tax" that forces businesses to close because they lost customers just because the prices had to be increased in order to meet the 10% tax.
And on and on.(if someone else wants to compile a summary, go ahead, not really interested in doing that, depressed enough as it is)
-Jon
USELESS DEATH, BUT!!
Submitted by ROSSMAN on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 10:35am.
The youth, not child (BLOW just said he was a child!!) was (as i understand it) 6' 3" and was not the one beaten up. we don't know what was in the mind of either man!! I said it MAN!! Charge manslaughter, and expect acquittal. BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT!! Did POTUS call the families of the 100s of black youths who were killed by other black youths in the last year!! I marched with MLK, and he would have told Rev AL to take a hike and shut up. he does more to damage MLK's goals than any white person!! He and several others are just self serving RACIST BIGOTS!!
The sad part, Rossman, ...
Submitted by Newsbubba on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 10:47am.
... is that NOT ONE of these race hustlers, and that includes Obama, give a good Shiite about the poor kid who was killed, or his family.
They're just seizing on the opportunity to get what they want out of his tragic death.
I have a feeling that this will rank right up there with the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case, the Reverend Al's Tawana Brawley case, or any of the others that the race hustlers have used for their own advantage, and not for the victims or their families.
They are as bad, or worse, than the night riding KKK of 100 years ago.
100% CORRECT!!
Submitted by ROSSMAN on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 10:54am.
Where were they after the Rodney King incident!! i believe he was beaten by very bad cops. but afterwards a white truck driver was nearly beaten to death by a crowd of NEANDERTHALS, who had RACISM as their only motivation!!
I voted for OBAMA
Submitted by ROSSMAN on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 11:02am.
He has done more damage to civility in this country than the KKK did because he wears his race on his shoulder along with an enormous CHIP!! HE HAD THE POSITION TO ADVANCE CIVILITY, AND DID NOTHING!!
You can atone for that vote,
Submitted by killa37 on Tue, 03/27/2012 - 2:28am.
You can atone for that vote, Ross...........and we won't hold it against you.................IF you change about 500 minds from other zombies who voted for Boy Baraka last time.
I have made that trip before.
Submitted by NeoKong on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 10:37am.
It is literally a hundred miles of nothing. A couple of truck stops here and there but mostly nothing but flat desert as far as you can see.
A perfect place for that sort of project.
It will be a disaster and that money will be wasted.
If they manage to pull that off in under ten years without quadrupling the price and screwing all sorts of people out of their property or being held up by environmental groups for some stupid lizard I would be surprised.
Hey, Kong, ...
Submitted by Newsbubba on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 10:48am.
.... what you want to bet that Harry Reid owns a sizable part of the land that will be needed for the right-of-way for this boondoggle, along with a lot of other Friends of RBFSOB?
I'm guessing that most of the $4.9 billion will go to "land purchase" and the train will never get built.
Watch the other hand!
Submitted by Fredy on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 10:45am.
Jerry Brown is now trying to divert high speed rail funds into EXISTING local municipal rail.
Look for these 'federal funds' to also be diverted into some other project.
Lies, lies, and more lies. It is what politicians do these days!
An excellent point
Submitted by Blonde on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 11:32am.
I am quite pleased that my Governor, Rick Scott, turned down several billions of federal high speed rail funds. I'll vote for him again based on that one decision alone.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
This is the "bail out" that we were watching for...
Submitted by c5then on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 11:50am.
If the FEDS don't raise a stink about the diverted funds, then they are free to use for whatever Jerry "da dude" Brown wishes.
That $5 billion in funds could go a long way to plugging California's bedget deficit.
This needs to be watched. We know that the determining factor on which States got stimulus funds was the party of the sitting Governor at the time of dipersal.
Madison and Jefferson and Franklin built a Republic - Roberts killed it!
5 billion dollar boondoggle
Submitted by CobraMan on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 12:19pm.
I see a 5 billion dollar boondoggle in the making. Who's going to drive 150 miles just to board a train? No one, obviously, not when you can drive 10 miles to an airport and get to Vegas even faster, and for the same price!
High speed trains make sense over small distances (tens of miles) in high population density areas , which is where they are used in every country that has adopted the technology, not over long distances in an area that is virtually devoid of life. But, of course, Congress will gladly fund such a stupid waste of money and material, for that's what they do best!
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
Back to Tebow for just one sec
Submitted by Seashell on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 1:04pm.
Did any of you see the Tebow presser? What a poised young man-so impressive. The only negative I came away with is that he needs to buy some chap-stick. I am so happy that he is going to play for coaches that actually believe in him!
I didn't see it....but Rush played a clip of it
Submitted by Blonde on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 3:05pm.
I had to laugh....Tebow is so "new" to so many of the lame streamers.....they haven't a clue that people have been trying to embarrass him and get him to trip up for at least six years, all to no avail.
He has more media poise than any 24 year old could possibly have. The thing these idiots forget is that Timmy is always true to himself, and his own image of himself. I'm sure to him the media idea of him as some sort of faux-construct is as laughable as it is to those of us who have followed him for years. He'll never "bite" on their idiot questions. I loved how he was just "this is who I am, and we're here to discuss the Jets".
Game, set, match......The Tebow!
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
I'm not real sure where to
Submitted by killa37 on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 1:04pm.
I'm not real sure where to put this, but I guess this thread is OK...............I read that Boy Baraka - looking ludicrous in his 'I'm the Commander in Chief' leather jacket, and peering through some high powered binoculars - looked across the DMZ at North Korea and was shocked, I say - SHOCKED!!! - by what he saw!!!
I'm thinkin' it wasn't too much different than the inner cities, where EVERYBODY supports him...................
I saw that picture, Killa.
Submitted by Newsbubba on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 6:07pm.
I'm glad that someone reminded him to take the lens covers off!
Don't you just know that any North Korean soldiers peering back at the RBFSOB were laughing their pants off at the picture he presented.
The newspaper though that he was "looking tough." Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. With those lips and eats peaking out from behind the way-to-large binoculars for his little boy face, he looked like a kid with his daddy's toy.
Breaking news! Well....no, not really.....to us.....
Submitted by jon_torlin on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 2:05pm.
Earth heated up in medieval times without human CO2 emissions
The way this was written, you'd think this was a new thing. Good grief, how many of us have heard about this years ago?
But if nothing else, hopefully it'll be an eye opener to more people. I'll take whatever anti-global warming victories I can get.
-Jon
Global Warmers are a bunch of morons.
Submitted by Newsbubba on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 6:13pm.
I love the one who was pointing out that the Greenland glacier had melted so much that they were able to see the remnants of the 1000 year old tree stumps that were under it!
Not one of them seemed to understand that for the stumps to be there, there must have been some damned trees there 1000 years ago, which means that this ain't the first, or probably the last time, that the glacier will retreat.
I'm not sure if they are stupid, or they just think that we are.
Streep, Moore -step aside. Jane Fonda is playing
Submitted by bkeyser on Mon, 03/26/2012 - 10:33pm.
Nancy Reagan.
H/T Allahpundit