Read the Beforeitsnews.com story here. Advertise at Before It's News here.
Profile image
By RedState (Reporter)
Contributor profile | More stories
Story Views
Now:
Last hour:
Last 24 hours:
Total:

The Amtrak Crash: When Government is Ideological Instead of Lawful and Logical

% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.


Last week’s deadly Amtrak crash was absolutely horrendous.

For Democrats and their fellow Big Government advocates – it was a serious crisis they are trying desperately to not let go to waste.

They first tried to say the cause of the crash was a lack of government money. Except Amtrak has received over $30 billion since its 1970 inception. The last spending bill signed by President Barack Obama included $1.4 billion for Amtrak.

It gets even bigger:

Never mind that Amtrak has pumped $2.6 billion into the 456-mile track called the northeast corridor over the last decade. The eight states along this route that connects Boston to Washington through New York and Philadelphia supplied another $2.4 billion….

Those are huge budgetary coin infusions. And lest we forget the 2009 $878+ billion alleged “Stimulus.”

According to Recovery.gov, Amtrak received $1,295,804,688 from President Barack Obama’s stimulus law through a grant from the Department of Transportation (DOT) filed under “Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction.

The grant noted that roughly 50 percent of the money went to infrastructure improvements” in the Northeast Corridor.

Steadfastly impervious to facts, Democrats pressed on – and tried to get specific.

Charles Schumer (D-NY) 0% (D-N.Y.) on Thursday slammed Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) N/A% (R-Ohio) for saying there is no link between Amtrak’s funding and this week’s derailment of a train that left eight people dead.

“Speaker Boehner’s comments are patently false,” Schumer said in a statement. “Experts have made clear that Positive Train Control [PTC] could have prevented the tragedy in Philadelphia.

The PTC system would automatically recognize whether a train is speeding and stop it. Congress has mandated that the system be put in place by the end of the year, and it was not in place on the section of railroad north of Philadelphia where Tuesday night’s crash took place.

Except yet again – Reality ruins the Big Government advocates’ best laid plans.

In 2008, Congress ordered the installation of what are known as positive train control systems, which can detect an out-of-control, speeding train and automatically slow it down.

A little more Reality.

According to a top congressional aide, Amtrak told the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday that the PTC system was installed along the section of track outside Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station, where the crash occurred, but it was not operating.

The aide said Amtrak informed the committee it has encountered delays turning the PTC on throughout its system because of the need to get the bandwidths required to upgrade the radios to a higher MHz, which improves reliability.

The system was mandated by law in 2008. It’s 2015. What the heck has the government been doing?

Railroad officials said Thursday that installation of the safety system on tracks across the country was also hampered for more than a year by longstanding (Federal Communications Commission) F.C.C. rules that required environmental and preservation reviews before the safety system’s antennas could be installed in historic areas or near tribal lands.

Government being ideological – rather than logical.

But officials at the F.C.C. said those reviews, which were relaxed at the behest of members of Congress in 2014, were not specifically responsible for Amtrak delays along the largely urban Northeast Corridor because new antennas were not required in that region.

I would bet lots of money the FCC’s ridiculous regulations were in fact a problem. Given regulations cost the private sector nearly $2 trillion last year. But they’re magically not a problem for Amtrak? If not – why would Congress have demanded the FCC relax them?

Where else did the FCC screw up?

The commission also defended its handling of Amtrak’s petition to acquire wireless frequencies, asserting that it had taken Amtrak three years to negotiate the purchase and that the commission had approved the deal within days.

What an absurd sentence – written by the New York Times. Amtrak can’t negotiate by themselves. The FCC was sitting across the table – for three years. They had a hand in the prolonged, pronounced delay.

All the while, on what has the Obama FCC instead been almost myopically focused?

FCC Approves Controversial ‘Net Neutrality’ Rules

December 22, 2010

FCC Approves New Net Neutrality Rules

February 26, 2015

Government being ideological – rather than lawful.

Court (Unanimously) Strikes Down (2010) Net Neutrality Rules

Obama’s FCC should have known Net Neutrality is illegal – because George W. Bush’s FCC tried to impose it.

Appeals Court (Unanimously) Overturns (2008) FCC Rule on Net Neutrality

April 07, 2010

Years and years wasted tilting at illegal, ideological windmills.

Time that would have been much better spent on things the FCC is actually supposed to do.

Like doing its part to get Amtrak’s PTC safety system up and running.

The post The Amtrak Crash: When Government is Ideological Instead of Lawful and Logical appeared first on RedState.


Source: http://www.redstate.com/diary/setonmotley/2015/05/18/amtrak-crash-government-ideological-instead-lawful-logical/


Before It’s News® is a community of individuals who report on what’s going on around them, from all around the world.

Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.

"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.

Before It’s News® is a community of individuals who report on what’s going on around them, from all around the world. Anyone can join. Anyone can contribute. Anyone can become informed about their world. "United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.


LION'S MANE PRODUCT


Try Our Lion’s Mane WHOLE MIND Nootropic Blend 60 Capsules


Mushrooms are having a moment. One fabulous fungus in particular, lion’s mane, may help improve memory, depression and anxiety symptoms. They are also an excellent source of nutrients that show promise as a therapy for dementia, and other neurodegenerative diseases. If you’re living with anxiety or depression, you may be curious about all the therapy options out there — including the natural ones.Our Lion’s Mane WHOLE MIND Nootropic Blend has been formulated to utilize the potency of Lion’s mane but also include the benefits of four other Highly Beneficial Mushrooms. Synergistically, they work together to Build your health through improving cognitive function and immunity regardless of your age. Our Nootropic not only improves your Cognitive Function and Activates your Immune System, but it benefits growth of Essential Gut Flora, further enhancing your Vitality.



Our Formula includes: Lion’s Mane Mushrooms which Increase Brain Power through nerve growth, lessen anxiety, reduce depression, and improve concentration. Its an excellent adaptogen, promotes sleep and improves immunity. Shiitake Mushrooms which Fight cancer cells and infectious disease, boost the immune system, promotes brain function, and serves as a source of B vitamins. Maitake Mushrooms which regulate blood sugar levels of diabetics, reduce hypertension and boosts the immune system. Reishi Mushrooms which Fight inflammation, liver disease, fatigue, tumor growth and cancer. They Improve skin disorders and soothes digestive problems, stomach ulcers and leaky gut syndrome. Chaga Mushrooms which have anti-aging effects, boost immune function, improve stamina and athletic performance, even act as a natural aphrodisiac, fighting diabetes and improving liver function. Try Our Lion’s Mane WHOLE MIND Nootropic Blend 60 Capsules Today. Be 100% Satisfied or Receive a Full Money Back Guarantee. Order Yours Today by Following This Link.


Report abuse

    Comments

    Your Comments
    Question   Razz  Sad   Evil  Exclaim  Smile  Redface  Biggrin  Surprised  Eek   Confused   Cool  LOL   Mad   Twisted  Rolleyes   Wink  Idea  Arrow  Neutral  Cry   Mr. Green

    MOST RECENT
    Load more ...

    SignUp

    Login

    Newsletter

    Email this story
    Email this story

    If you really want to ban this commenter, please write down the reason:

    If you really want to disable all recommended stories, click on OK button. After that, you will be redirect to your options page.