Good evening, Kossacks, and welcome to WYFP. It has been a rough fall for those of us on the left of the political spectrum. Between the losses in the midterms, the militarization of our police forces, and the failure to indict cops who use excessive force, I find it increasingly difficult to turn on the evening news or to read the papers. For the past few months I have buried myself in my work.
WYFP is our community's Saturday evening gathering to talk about our problems, empathize with one another, and share advice, pootie pictures, favorite adult beverages, and anything else that we think might help. Everyone and all sorts of troubles are welcome. May we find peace and healing here. Won't you please share the joy of WYFP by recommending?
Please follow me below the colonial cheese doodle.
One of the most depressing aspects of the current Republican-controlled House (and the upcoming Republican-controlled House and Senate) is the failure of our elected officials to address our crumbling infrastructure. Our roads are falling apart; our bridges are falling down; and our rail system was designed for the 1940s. Updating our infrastructure would create good jobs, and improving our rails system would get more cars off the roads and reduce greenhouse gasses. Things will only get worse when climate-change denying Senator Inhofe takes over the Chair of the Senate Environmental Committee in January. In my state, Governor Bully took the federal and state money that had been raised to build a second rail tunnel under the Hudson River and used it to repair the Pulaski Skyway. I ride the train to work every day, and Gov. Christie's short-sighted actions guarantee a longer commute with more delays for the rest of my working life. Thank you, Governor Bully.
My experience yesterday was typical. I was asked to give a lecture in New Haven, and I planned to take the train. (I am a native New Yorker, and I don't like to drive, even though I do own a car.) I took NJ Transit to Penn Station, walked up to Grand Central, and took Metro North to New Haven. MY NJ Transit train was about 10 minutes late (as always), but the trip to New Haven was easy and uneventful. The trip back was another matter. It took me 5 hours and 10 minutes to get from New Haven to suburban NJ by train. My Metro North train was delayed by congestion on the tracks. The NJ Transit train ahead of mine was cancelled, and my train was a "super-local" as a result. I arrived home at 9:25 at night exhausted.
Compare this to my experience in China last year. I was in China for an archaeological conference in April of 2013. I took high speed rail from Beijing to the conference center in Zhengzhou. The train was on time and traveled at 300 km per hour (180 miles per hour). China will have 25,000 km of high speed rail in the next 10 years. We will all be sitting in traffic while the world passes us by. We are turning into a third-world nation.
That's my rant for tonight. What's on your mind?