Biden and Amtrak

[WhoozOn1st]

Another Biden question: DelawarIAN, or DelawarITE? This is an old dilemma, first posed in an episode of the old sitcom "Taxi."

Well, with regard to Biden the answer is arguably "Pennsylvanian"--even the Obama campaign has called him "Pennsylvania's third senator"

I noted numerous references to Scranton, PA, which is apparently Biden's hometown. That brings up another, more current, sitcom, "The Office."

EDIT: As the national economic powerhouse I think California is entitled to a third senator. And if we don't get one we'll secede.

 

[Acela150]

Many travelers that travel on the same train everyday know the crew members and the LSA's! I've seen it about 10 times.

 

[AlanB]

Many travelers that travel on the same train everyday know the crew members and the LSA's! I've seen it about 10 times.

Quite true. In fact I know a few Acela crew members by name myself.

However I'd bet that Joe Biden is the only member of Congress that knows the names of several Amtrak workers.

 

[sky12065]

As the national economic powerhouse I think California is entitled to a third senator. And if we don't get one we'll secede.

Great idea! Then Arnold can be the President of the United State of Calee-four-nya! :lol:

Hey wait a minute.... that would made my son an... Alien! Yikes! :unsure:

 

[D.P. Roberts]

But face the fact that the President is the commander in chief of the Armed Forces and for that both Clintons sucked and McCain would excel.

Of course, McCain can only excel in those areas of the job that might not involve computers, since he doesn't own one and doesn't use them (although his wife does).

I'm still trying to get my mind around the idea of a presidential candidate who has never sent an e-mail or viewed a web page, and wouldn't know how to do so even if he wanted to.

I guess he wouldn't have a lot to say on the issue of getting WiFi on trains. Or identity theft, or Internet loans & the mortgage crisis, or any of the other myriad issues involving computers that Americans are facing today. Then again, I guess most elderly people don't know how to use computers.

And on an unrelated note, I just realized that the promo NBC has been playing (over and over again) during the Olympics for the premiere of the TV show "Chuck" was filmed at LAUS!

 

[sky12065]

Since when is being an attorney a qualification for prez...since when is being an actor a qualification for governor..or in my case a veterinarian? That's a dumb sentiment, Whooz. You're just mad because you worked on the d*mned planes and didn't get the glory of flying them. Leaders come from all walks of life. Since when does being the husband of a ketchup and pickle queen make you a good candidate (kerry)? Let me be really politically incorrect: when does being black or a woman make you a good candidate?
None of the vocations or physical traits makes it special. Being an intelligent leader and a person of good judgment, wisdom and character does. But face the fact that the President is the commander in chief of the Armed Forces and for that both Clintons sucked and McCain would excel. Obama would have no clue. He worked out in a gym on his "photo op trip to Iraq". Any candidate faces a host of problems including our position in the world and our situations at home. One of those situations is making Americans aware that some problems are of their own making (housing and energy) and nothing can save them except making them (us) look in the mirror and accept responsibility for our own actions. There is no sugar daddy for the American people.

WELL PUT! I'd also add to the association of pickle with Kerry... "how does the ability to act like Polly the Parrot and consistantly repeat 'another 8 years of Bush'" make you you a good candidate? And when does "chosing the equilivant of a baby sitter as VP when the Russian invasion of Georgia makes you realize your shortcomings" make you a good candidate?

Also, I know that we all want to see adequate funding for Amtrak, but in line with what you're saying, how does being right on a single issue make you a good candidate? Yea, yea, I know that Obama's right about more than one issue, but is he worth all the danger signs that are out there (your judgement and motives are judged by the company you keep) and the risks of his inexperience - now more evident than ever! I personally don't think so, but each has to decide for themselves.

I can only hope people will think with open eyes before voting come November rather than blindly hoping on the ambiguity of unlikely or at least questionable promises! Remember the adage of fool me once? When it comes to the future of our country, being fooled once may well rule out any chance of being fooled a second time!

 

[sechs]

I was surprised to learn (via CNN) that Joe Biden is the poorest member of the U.S. senate. He apparently had a negative net worth in his last filing.

 

[sky12065]

Of course, McCain can only excel in those areas of the job that might not involve computers, since he doesn't own one and doesn't use them (although his wife does). I'm still trying to get my mind around the idea of a presidential candidate who has never sent an e-mail or viewed a web page, and wouldn't know how to do so even if he wanted to. I guess he wouldn't have a lot to say on the issue of getting WiFi on trains. Or identity theft, or Internet loans & the mortgage crisis, or any of the other myriad issues involving computers that Americans are facing today. Then again, I guess most elderly people don't know how to use computers.
And on an unrelated note, I just realized that the promo NBC has been playing (over and over again) during the Olympics for the premiere of the TV show "Chuck" was filmed at LAUS!

OMG, how did we ever survive the first 200 years of our country with presidents not having computers! Not knowing how to use a computer is irrevelant to the ability to run the country and understand the issues just as much as knowing how doesn't mean one's qualified.

I'd also like to note that being within a year of Social Security means that I am a rookie in the elderly club. And although many elderly people don't know how to use a computer, there are a lot more than you'd realize that do! I am an elderly person that has planned, designed and implemented websites and with one fairly complex site have won numerous national awards for my work.

One thing us elderly people do know is how the advent of the computer and the internet has both helped society while at the same time make the world a more dangerous place... and the same can be said about cell phones too! And yes, I have a cell phone!

Perhaps when my rookie membership in the elderly club advances, I will no longer know how to use the computer! But until then, I do!

 

[sky12065]

I was surprised to learn (via CNN) that Joe Biden is the poorest member of the U.S. senate. He apparently had a negative net worth in his last filing.

If that's true it both does and does not speak well of him! But then again this comes from CNN, so who know for sure if it's true or not - at least at this time!

 

[oldtimer]

Joe Biden knows more than just crew members names on Amtrak. He knows both labor and management representatives for Amtrak by their first names, he knows the dispatchers, he knows the the workers on the shop floor. He does support Amtrak as a nationwide rail system.

Now for the presidential candidates: (trying to be objective and non-provacative as possible)

Obama: My US Senator, very responsive to my many letters and e-mails on behalf of Amtrak and Metra funding and all railroad issues. The responses seemed to be direct and well thought out not just some canned response. I am of the belief that someone reads them and has been authorized to speak for the Senator. Very supportive on all my issues, also supportive of Illinois' 403b funding while serving in Springfield.

McCain: He has made many public statements against Amtrak funding. It is rumoured that Cindy and a son were on the Sunset Limited that was derailed in an American terrorist attack. not muck publicity outside of rail buffs as it only had one fatality and that was an employee.

I personally want Joe on Amtrak's side so I can keep on rollin' down the rails.

 

[WhoozOn1st]

Yea or nay, Democrat or Republican, I think it's pretty damn cool that so many people are interested and engaged in the political process this time around.

 

[Montanan]

Both Biden and Obama have expressed support for Amtrak in particular and more-progressive American transportation policies in general. McCain, on the other hand, has repeatedly called for Amtrak's abolition -- I think it's safe to say that he's among the Senate's most anti-Amtrak members. For those of us who would like to see Amtrak not only survive but prosper, the distinction could not be more clear cut.

 

[MrFSS]

Both Biden and Obama have expressed support for Amtrak in particular and more-progressive American transportation policies in general. McCain, on the other hand, has repeatedly called for Amtrak's abolition -- I think it's safe to say that he's among the Senate's most anti-Amtrak members. For those of us who would like to see Amtrak not only survive but prosper, the distinction could not be more clear cut.

For many, including myself the problem becomes this. I will just pick some numbers as an example.

Suppose candidates A and B each have a definite position on 20 different things that I'm interested in and will influence my vote.

Candidate A has positions I like on 18 of the 20 things, one of which isn't Amtrak, while candidate B has positions I like on only 4 of the 20 things I'm interested in, one of which is Amtrak and Transportation. Do I vote for A as he has many more other than Amtrak things I agree with, or vote for B because he does have the Amtrak position I'm interested in? But I don't like the other 16 positions B has.

I have asked this question to a lot of fiends and family and it is tough to know the answer.

Any situational ethics professors out there???

 

[sky12065]

For many, including myself the problem becomes this. I will just pick some numbers as an example.
Suppose candidates A and B each have a definite position on 20 different things that I'm interested in and will influence my vote.

Candidate A has positions I like on 18 of the 20 things, one of which isn't Amtrak, while candidate B has positions I like on only 4 of the 20 things I'm interested in, one of which is Amtrak and Transportation. Do I vote for A as he has many more other than Amtrak things I agree with, or vote for B because he does have the Amtrak position I'm interested in? But I don't like the other 16 positions B has.

I have asked this question to a lot of fiends and family and it is tough to know the answer. Any situational ethics professors out there???

I think you're right in your thought process. The only thing I would add to that is that the priority of issues needs to be factored in. As an example what's more important, national security vs. transportation or supporting and protecting wage earners vs. forced supporting of unworthy entitlements? Considerations like these examples need to be made and it's very important that we think clearly, freely and with an open mind, then make those decisions. If those decisions are not made in such a manner, then one's vote is uninformed and it could very well lead to undesirable consequences for us as individuals and as a country!

 

[MrFSS]

For many, including myself the problem becomes this. I will just pick some numbers as an example.
Suppose candidates A and B each have a definite position on 20 different things that I'm interested in and will influence my vote.

Candidate A has positions I like on 18 of the 20 things, one of which isn't Amtrak, while candidate B has positions I like on only 4 of the 20 things I'm interested in, one of which is Amtrak and Transportation. Do I vote for A as he has many more other than Amtrak things I agree with, or vote for B because he does have the Amtrak position I'm interested in? But I don't like the other 16 positions B has.

I have asked this question to a lot of fiends and family and it is tough to know the answer. Any situational ethics professors out there???

I think you're right in your thought process. The only thing I would add to that is that the priority of issues needs to be factored in. As an example what's more important, national security vs. transportation or supporting and protecting wage earners vs. forced supporting of unworthy entitlements? Considerations like these examples need to be made and it's very important that we think clearly, freely and with an open mind, then make those decisions. If those decisions are not made in such a manner, then one's vote is uninformed and it could very well lead to undesirable consequences for us as individuals and as a country!

Thanks for that thought and I agree completely with what you say. I discuss Amtrak with folks who don't even know how to spell it moreover know anything about it and they could care less that Obama is pro and McCain con on the subject. They look at me like I'm crazy (that's another topic for another day) when I even bring Amtrak up as something to consider in the mix of considerations.

 

[WhoozOn1st]

it's very important that we think clearly, freely and with an open mind

John McCain will receive a fair trial before we hang him.

 

[Montanan]

Well, of course we need to weigh the candidates' positions on a wide variety of issues before deciding how to cast our votes. It's easy for me this time, though, since the pro-Amtrak folks have the more rational views on virtually all of the other issues, as well.

 

[Dutchrailnut]

No matter how you feel, I rather base a candidates position on his daily commute,and his still favoring Amtrak,than to base my vote on a Candidate who thinks, based on his stock porfolio, even if its laden with foreign and oil stocks.

Can we hang Bush at same time, they don't hang well in singles, they do better in bunches.

 

[Guest_Yerry_*]

I don't think that improving a few train rides a year is going to improve my life anywhere as much as , say, banning my employer from offering me health insurance at a grossly inflated price because I'm not "healthy and wealthy". Which one of the two candidates will make my life better? At this point, I don't know.

I'm somewhat puzzled that it took so long for someone to realize (or post) that Joe Biden is definitely pro-Amtrak and transit. For years, almost all Amtrak-friendly arguments came out attached with Joe's name on them. Everything from funding authorizations, NECIP, and even the 7600-series coaches.

I fond it odd defending someone I'll most likely not be voting for, but where's all this "McCain the War Veteran" stuff coming from that's supposedly coming from Mccain himself? I do an enormous amount of reading and news watching, but I've come across several accounts of his POW experience and the camera footage of him in in jet, fully engulfed in flames-- all done by someone else-- and one short account of his own in Hanoi. I also recall a LOT of McCain standing up to Bush, both of them, which doesn't mesh with a supposed "95% approval vote".

In all fairness, I just heard a really, really weird one (not approved by anyone!) about Obama being friends with the Weathermen Underground that bombed the Capitol. Huh? Gotta love election ads!

Also, the comment about "sitting out the war" just HAS to be a "Chik remark' [a claim that is so far off the mark that nobody believes it's possible to be anyone's a real belief; named after those "Chik" religious tracts]. Of all the wars the US has been involved in where American soldiers have been captured, the country where they had the highest survival rate was **** Germany (military POW camps, not the infamous concentration camps)-- and it goes rapidly downhill from there.

 

[wayman]

I fond it odd defending someone I'll most likely not be voting for, but where's all this "McCain the War Veteran" stuff coming from that's supposedly coming from Mccain himself? I do an enormous amount of reading and news watching, but I've come across several accounts of his POW experience and the camera footage of him in in jet, fully engulfed in flames-- all done by someone else-- and one short account of his own in Hanoi.

It's quotes like this that people are referring to, coming straight from McCain's own advisors and spokesfolks:

Nicolle Wallace, a spokeswoman for Mr. McCain, said on Sunday night that Mr. McCain had not heard the broadcast of the [Rick Warren questions, first asked of Obama] event while in his motorcade and heard none of the questions.
“The insinuation from the Obama campaign that John McCain, a former prisoner of war, cheated is outrageous,” Ms. Wallace said.

What does this have to do with his being "a former prisoner of war"? Nothing; it's just something they try to attach to his name at any opportunity. It was also quite notably and blatantly done by his campaign spokesfolks a month or two ago during the discussion of environmental policy and oil drilling. It's like the Obama campaign saying "The insinuation that Barack Obama, a minority raised in poverty on food stamps, did suchandsuch..."--it's a complete non-sequitur. (In fairness, I worry that we may see a lot of "Joe Biden, whose wife was tragically killed by a drunk driver, ..." epithets straight from the Obama campaign in the coming months.)

(source, NY Times)

I also recall a LOT of McCain standing up to Bush, both of them, which doesn't mesh with a supposed "95% approval vote".

What you recall is largely from five-to-eight years ago, though the McCain campaign would have you believe it was much more recent. His approval votes have agreed 95% in 2007 and 100% in 2008, while Bush's national approval rating has dropped below 30%.

 

[WhoozOn1st]

Which one of the two candidates will make my life better?

Obama/Biden. A no brainer. There was a senator from Mississippi - for the life of me I can't recall his name at the moment - who was heavily pro-Amtrak. But he was so wrong on so many other things that I never woulda voted for the guy, had I been a Mississippi resident.

 

[Montanan]

Which one of the two candidates will make my life better?

Obama/Biden. A no brainer. There was a senator from Mississippi - for the life of me I can't recall his name at the moment - who was heavily pro-Amtrak. But he was so wrong on so many other things that I never woulda voted for the guy, had I been a Mississippi resident.

You're thinking of Trent Lott. **shudder**

 

[sky12065]

it's very important that we think clearly, freely and with an open mind

John McCain will receive a fair trial before we hang him.

If McCain is hung, I think that's Cindy's business and more information we need to know... even if he is running for President! :lol:

 

[sky12065]

Which one of the two candidates will make my life better?

Obama/Biden. A no brainer.

Boy, I'm not touching this one with a 10 foot pole... even if you did leave yourself really wide open!!! Aaaaag... it's so-so tempting!

 

[the_traveler]

but where's all this "McCain the War Veteran" stuff coming from that's supposedly coming from Mccain himself?

From McCain himself!

Example: During the Saddleback talk, I remember McCain answering a question. Then he told a story about a time he "was a Prisoner of War on Christmas day, and the guard ..."