CSPAN WJ Rep. John Mica (R-FL) wants to dismantle Amtrak & has bad toupee.

[CottonBear]

This guy was the ONLY member of the Railroad Subcommittee to speak in favor of firing David Gunn and dismantle Amtrak.

Did anyone watch this hearing? It was rerun early this morning on CSPAN 2.
Corrine Brown, Nadler, Elaeanor Holmes Norton and DeFAzio laid into the lying pack of weasels: Rosen, the counsel; Hughes the acting president and Laney, the head of the Board of Directors. They were under oath and weasled through the entire hearing.

[Skidmore]

1. I watched some of that hearing. Anyone calling in to WJ

who would care to point out to this jerk that you have a friend in the rural midwest who would love to have a rail services to get into nearby population centers--eg to go to work maybe. Save on car and gas. Know other people in this area who would welcome such public transportation and our employer wouldn't have to maintain a fleet of shuttles either.

[CottonBear]

9. I've never gotten through by phone. I've started e-mailing

but I've had no luck that way either. How the hell do you get through?

This Mica asshat just mentioned he's also on the airline subcommittee. Someone asked him why is it OK to fund highways and airlines but not rail?
He said Greyhound has a good private transit system. :(

[Vogon_Glory]

12. Right-wing Ideologues Don't Know Squat About Bus Service

This guy actually claimed that Greyhound had a good private transit system? Who is this guy kidding?

The truth of the matter is that Greyhound and other long-distance bus carriers have been doing the same things that the privately-owned railroads have done to long-distance passenger service for decades--cutting back routes and lowering the frequency of bus service.

I can think of a lot of routes where the railroads conceded their branch line passenger service to the bus lines where even the busses don't serve those towns any more. There are huge sections of the Rocky Mountain states where bus service is limited to one a day--if that--where even three decades ago they ran at least two or three. Some of these were mainline passenger rail routes where Amtrak NEVER ran.

Most recently, private companies are getting ready to cut bus service west of Denver along US 40 and are chopping bus service to Gunnison. Those aren't and have NEVER been Amtrak routes---rail passenger service has been gone since 1969 on the former and since the mid 1950's on the latter.

Greyhound may run busses in densely-populated areas like Florida's eastern coast, but it leaves a lot of the lonesome places high and dry. (I have seen complaints about Greyhound regarding cleanliness, punctuality, and other matters) Here in Texas, Greyhound is getting some well-deserved competition from operators like El Conejo.

Trust 'free-market' ideologues to babble on about private operators without bothering to check out the facts.

:dunce: :dunce: :dunce:

[soothsayer]

2. Are trains cutting into gas profits? The head of amrtrak saved it

with NO funding from the pretzeldent, so they want to can him? Big fat effing aholes.

[CottonBear]

4. The hearing made me so angry. The move to dismantle Amtrak began in 1981

under Reagan. The way that the board is appoionted and operates is supect at best and criminal at worst. Recess appointments, the Chairman of the Board hiding major desicions from Gunn (the former president) and the board's support of the plan to split off of the Northeast Corridor operations but not the maintenance so that some private corporation can buy, run at a loss and write off the tax loss. :grr:

[CottonBear]

3. No train system has ever been successfully privatized except for a portion

of the Japanese rail system AFTER an estiamted 80-100 BILLION dollar investment by the Japanese government. This was stated in yesterday's hearing.

I can't believe this Mica guy. He just called taking an Amtrak rail trip a "Soviet style experience." :grr:

He wants to minimize subsidies. Damn. He's talking about following the failed English system changes.

[woodsprite]

11. He should check that out with Biden, Carper and Castle.

They ride Amtrak frequently to DC and back. I've never heard that they've said it's a "soviet style" experience.

[Skidmore]

5. He just spent a few minutes ragging on Gunn and playing the

blame game until a caller employed by the railroad told him that Gunn was a great leader. Then he switched to saying he didn't want to play the blame game and this was about opportunity to expand and how the private sector could do it better.

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. What exactly has the private sector done better? Is anybody keeping

score?

[Canuckistanian]

17. This is one of the biggest red herrings of the right

Privatization does work - for a short time. Then, as all the competition disappears or are swallowed up by the largest players, Poof! A near monopoly with higher prices and worse service than under public control.

[CottonBear]

19. Good point. The other big problem with private rail is the lack of

vertical integration of services. The current Amtrak board wants to sell off operations but not maintenance. The private company would run at a loss and get a big tax break. It's really sick and twisted plan.

[CottonBear]

7. Did you hear laTourette (R-OH chair of the RR sc) on CSPAN yesterday?

He was great! He's the chair of the RR subcommittee the hearing and he supports Amtrak and thinks the US is shamed by having a worse rail system than a third world country.

Taxloss invenmted a new term yesterday; LaTourette's Syndrome! It's when a Republican suddenly stops spouting lies, evasions, talking points,
duplicity and the rest, and starts making perfect sense!

Our thread from yesterday:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5364095

[KharmaTrain]

8. More Cuts For Tax Cuts

Here's another DeLay goon showcased on C-SPAN. I was surprised they had Stephanie Tubbs-Jones on earlier...one of the few good Democrats they invite on.

The Repugnicans have been trying to destroy this much underfunded subsidy for decades. They want to free up the money to pay for more tax cuts for the rich...something they need desperately (or some Repugicans feel) before the next election...moreso than finding an end to that illegal and immoral war.

Remember, rail travel is almost strictly a blue state "perk". The GOOP wants us all driving SUV and guzzling lots of gas. Public transportation? Hell, show me in the constitution where there's a mention of public transportation...:crazy:

[pop goes the weasel]

14. "rail travel is almost strictly a blue state "perk""

That is the problem exactly. Any federal policy widely perceived as benefitting only one region of the country will have no support in the rest of the country, and may even be met with resentment. If Amtrak is an important part of the transportation infrastructure where you live, urge your representatives to push for expansion of Amtrak commuter service to Southern and Western states. A move toward expansion will have a better chance of repelling reductions than simply resisting further cuts.

[CottonBear]

18. 46 states have Amtrak service. Blue, red and purple states benefit.

Many of the most popular routes like the Crescent and the City of New Orleans travel through the deep south. All of the US benefits from Amtrak.

[pop goes the weasel]

34. it isn't the same

There is a huge difference in the way Amtrak operates in the Northeast and the way it operates in the rest of the country. Unless you happen to be in one of the service hubs, Amtrak is useless to you, even if an Amtrak train goes right through your town every day, like it does in mine. There's no commuter rail, and the service hubs are so far apart that it makes little sense for nearly everyone living more than 30 minutes from one to take Amtrak rather than a plane for long distances, and makes no sense at all to take it for short hops instead of just driving the whole distance. Go to the Amtrak site and take a look at the routes and the distances being covered. Imagine the thoughts going through the heads of people as they wait for the train to pass that they can never take.

[CottonBear]

37. I know. I live in GA. My point was the rail does serve my state

even if it doesn't do it very well. It's all we have. We want to expand passenger rail but the idiot Republicans want to expand highways instead. :(

[Vogon_Glory]

15. Rail Travel Also One Of The Few Benefits For Rural Red Staters

Passenger rail travel is often one of the few benefits available to a lot of rural red-staters. Back when Ronald Wilson What's-his-name proposed dismantling Amtrak, Elizabeth Dole stood up and said that Amtrak was the only provider of long-distance rail service for many rural communities. This was back in the 1980's. There is no reason to believe that rural bus service has gotten better and more frequent in the twenty years since and more than enough reason to believe that service has gotten worse or has vanished entirely.

Interestingly enough, it is often the red-state right-wingers who have chosen to kick themselves in the teeth with Amtrak funding cuts. Thanks to Republican-inspired Amtrak funding cuts, there are no passenger trains running from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City, no passenger trains running directly from Salt Lake City to Portland and Seattle, no through passenger trains running from Kansas City to Dallas--Fort Worth and Houston, and no long-distance passenger rail service through Butte, Montana.

[KharmaTrain]

21. Excellent Observation!

Thank you for your insight.

I lived on Amtrack trains in my college days...taking the infamous "City Of New Orleans". I'm still a big rail fan and am constantly fascinated in the history and impact the railroads had on the growth of this country.

Rail transportation isn't "sexy"...and it's very labor intensive. And methinks Labor is the big thing that sticks in the Repugnican's craw when it comes to Amtrack funding.

So often have I driven through small towns and see the railroad tracks...the old stations (usually a micro-brewery now) and how at one time you could travel from any small town on a train...now you can't. In Chicago, the CTA & RTA have become more and more valuable assets as driving into the city has become such a big expense on one's time, nerves and pocketbook.

Give a hat-tip to the beloved oil lobby that has been one of Amtrack's biggest behind the scenes enemies. They make more money having you drive or to fly...trains are "so 19th century". A real shame...such a great resource that was let to rot.

[Vogon_Glory]

23. Amtrak's Worst Enemy Is Not The Oil Lobby...

Amtrak's worst enemy isn't the oil lobby. The guys who formed the company that tore up hundreds of miles of streetcar and interurban lines have long since gone to their eternal reward and Mr. Drop-wrench and their successors have ceased seeing mass transit as that much of a problem. Amtrak's problem is the ideologue.

The big problem for Amtrak is the so-called 'free-market' ideologue. It's guys like Grover Norquist (Yes, the very same Grover Norquist tied to Jack Abramoff and who also has an office in Buckaroo Bush's White House) who have seen Amtrak as a 'gummint' boondoggle and supposedly as a waste of taxpayers' money. They don't now or ever give a tinker's d*mn whether services like Amtrak perform a public good, they think that it should either be discontinued or handed off to their right-wing corporate buddies in a sweetheart deal that leaves the taxpayers holding the filthy end of the stick.

BTW, to see who else benefits from rail passenger service, see my post about bus service. It's an eye-opener.

[KharmaTrain]

24. So Much To Go With Here

Norquist's game...as we're learning more and more through the Abramoff scandals was to play one side against the other...advocate against big government and raise tons of money from the wingnuts and "supply siders" while offering a "protection racket" for the large corporates and their big government subsidies. I long suspected this was the game, it's finally coming to light. Better late than never.

Mass public transportation has been solvent and could be again. It is in many nations...and, yes some subsidies are needed in infrastructure and R & D, but that money returns in big dividends in a more efficient system and greater ridership. No need to sell me on the upside on a well operated mass transit system.

As has been said, Amtrack was born with 4 strikes against it. They took over aging equipment and deteriorating tracks in a time of cheap oil and travel. Instead of investing in systems that would have addressed the gridlock in many major cities, Amtrack became a political football...and, similar to NEA or CPB, some kind of right wing boogie man that needs to be attacked,demonized and kept weak, yet not destroyed.

Cheers...

[burythehatchet]

10. And he's got a filthy habit

of looking at his fingernails when he's bored

[CottonBear]

20. Ew! I averted my eyed from the TV when he came on CSAPN WJ.

I didn't see the fingernail thing. He seemed very strange at the hearing yesterday. He was raising his voice and waving his arms about and sort of lurching in his chair.

[Judi Lynn]

13. He is a pacemaker. Living proof it's interesting to mix textures

and colors when selecting your "rug."



Why be limited to fake hair which looks real?

[CottonBear]

16. My eyes! Holy crap! He's got multiple bad rugs!

Maybe he should try the James Traficant extra high hair hat style. ;)

That last picture on the right is just awful. He looks like he has a beanie cap on his head.

[Stephanie]

22. oh now you made me really want to see the toupee - pix >>>

http://www.house.gov/mica/gallerymain.htm

[CottonBear]

25. Ha! I made you look!

;) It's both the style and the un-natural dark brown color that are hideous.

[Squatch]

26. Passenger rail needs to be privatized.

IM-not-so-HO

[GreenPartyVoter]

28. No, it just needs to be funded correctly and handled well. Airlines

are privatized AND they are sucking away all our money through subsidies.

I say we take over the airlines as well, since we're already paying for them and all.

[Solon]

31. So it'll fail by default?

NO THANK YOU!!!!

[Sabriel]

27. Wasn't he just featured on the Colbert Report?

Stephen sure is a mover and shaker! I think he commented on his hair-or during the segment, too.

[donsu]

29. and he didn't really answer questions but changed the subject or

deflected.

he wanted young americans to stop whining about jobs because they have wonderful opportunities to get good jobs.

when talking about concrete for N.O. coming from another country and not the US or Mex., he said it was because US environmental regs. were in the way.

he's a punk

[CottonBear]

30. I didn't understand how the conversation veered onto the topic of concrete

Some young Republican from Valdosta, GA called in (last caller) and he rambled on about jobs and the economy and had nothing to say about Amtrak. He made absolutely no sense at all.

[donsu]

32. didn't they talk about buying train cars from another country and a

caller was talking on the need to make the cars here and spend the money here. maybe concrete came into the picture in this call. can't remember.

[CottonBear]

33. I think you're correct. It was at the end of the segment and Mica

seemed to have tired of talking about Amtrak. I feel sorry for the people he represents. What a tool.

[PowerToThePeople]

35. Conunities need to get together and start purchasing

Rail lines. After gas goes bye-bye, the rail systemwill become the only method of mass transit in the country. It is going to be as bigg as all airlines, bus, auto-travel combined because those will no longer exist.

[leesa]

36. Brilliant! When we need mass transport more than ever.