High Speed Rail - USA #2! If Only...

China will open 42 high speed railway lines in 2012. Europe already has a high speed rail system and is building more lines. And the mighty USA....well, we will hopefully open a high speed 84 mile rail line between Orlando and Tampa in 2014. A high speed rail line between Anaheim, CA and San Francisco should break ground shortly.

But guess who is building those rail lines in the US? Guess who will pay for a proposed maglev rail line between Anaheim and Las Vegas?

The USA currently has one high speed railway connecting Boston with NYC. It's average speed is 68 MPH (although it reaches 150 MPH for short stretches). A high speed railway in Germany speeds along at 205 MPH and has reached speeds up to 226 MPH. China has a maglev train that can reach 311 MPH but cruises at 268 MPH.

Yes, high speed rail is expensive to build at 20 million dollars per mile. The Federal interstate highway system was expensive too. But think of the jobs that would be created if the USA built high speed rail using US manufacturers and labor. Think of how much such a system would reduce our need to inport oil and as a side effect, benefit the climate.

Why are we unwilling to make such an investment? Why are we willing to sit around and exclaim how great we are as a nation, yet settle for 2nd place in so many areas? The rest of the world is leaving us in their dust because the average American is unwilling to make sacrifices for their country.

Conservatism and Spelling

John Kenneth Galbraith said "The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness."

Leo C. Rosten said "A conservative is one who admires radicals centuries after they're dead."

Mark Twain said "The radical of one century is the conservative of the next. The radical invents the views. When he has worn them out, the conservative adopts them."

P.J. O'Rouke said "The Democrats are the party of government activism, the party that says government can make you richer, smarter, taller, and get the chickweed out of your lawn. Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work, and then get elected and prove it."

Will Rogers said "The 1928 Republican Convention opened with a prayer. If the Lord can see His way clear to bless the Republican Party the way it's been carrying on, then the rest of us ought to get it without even asking."

Woodrow Wilson said "A conservative is a man who sits and thinks, mostly sits."

John Stuart Mills said Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives.

Let's discuss this last quote by John Stuart Mills. Are most stupid people conservative? I prefer the word "uneducated" rather than stupid. Are most uneducated people conservative? Better yet, are conservatives or liberals more likely to be stupid? What is the definition of "stupid"? "Tending to make poor decisions or careless mistakes" or " marked by or resulting from unreasoned thinking or acting" or "lacking in power to absorb ideas or impressions". By those definitions there are certainly stupid liberals and stupid conservatives.

But here is one thing I have noticed is a trend. Conservative people generally cannot spell. Go to the Adirondack Daily Enterprise website and click on any controversial article, letter or other topic. Then read the comments. That's ok, I'm not the greatest speller in the world either. But at least I make an attempt to insure my thoughts are clearly expressed (and that includes spelling). Also, conservative people who post on the ADE website obviously have a computer and access to the internet. They have a world of information at their fingertips. Why can't they use that information to write informed opinions (with correct spelling)?

These conservatives, who can't spell, are the same people posting comments about how our young people are poorly educated and cannot find good jobs.

The Placebo Effect

Can We Talk About Health Care? NO!

President Obama has proposed to Republicans that a bipartisan, televised discussion of healthcare reform take place on Feb. 25th. Guess who is very cool to that proposal? President Obama presented himself to Republicans in a televised question and answer period a couple weeks ago at a Republican retreat in Baltimore. It seems even the Republicans thought President Obama came out on top at that session.

So why can't we hear the conservative criticisms of healthcare reform and the answers the President has for those criticisms? Why don't Republicans want to do this in a public forum? Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) can ask his question publicly: "Did you lie about moving forward on malpractice reform?" I'd like to hear President Obama answer that question. I'd also like to hear about those death panels we've heard so much about or that evil board that will tell physcians what treatments they can and cannot use.

But there are several other topics that Republicans may not want brought into the public eye. Ezra Klein points out that six Republican ideas are already in the health care reform bill. And, there a many things that are not in the health care reform bill thanks to Republicans. Single payer is off the table. Public option is off the table. Medicare for those 55 and over...off the table.

Republicans do not have the stones to stand up the President on National TV and question him with the lies they've told about health care reform to the teabagger population. The fact of the matter is, Republicans do not want health care reform period.

Someone Needs God's Intervention

Sarah's "notes" for the teabagger convention. How many right-wingers need "notes" to remember tax cuts?

Oh Sarah!

"I think, kind of tougher to, um, put our arms around, but allowing America's spirit to rise again by not being afraid to kind of go back to some of our roots as a God fearing nation where we're not afraid to say, especially in times of potential trouble in the future here, where we're not afraid to say, you know, we don't have all the answers as fallible men and women so it would be wise of us to start seeking some divine intervention again in this country, so that we can be safe and secure and prosperous again.

A one hundred word run-on sentence that says....well, I'm not too sure what it says.