@afrancis99, I don't think you're really listening then
"I hear xenophobic conversations, mostly on the right/Tea-
party - about the strength of the US and then contradictory
arguments to halt spending and stop Obama from spending us
out of existence. He does not plan on spending us out of
existence, he is trying to spend us into existence.
I think what you are hearing is the narrative that the big-
government types endlessly repeat about the "right/Tea-party".
Don't make that mistake, unless it is your mission as well to
propagate that misrepresentation.
What I am against are not the trains. It's the popular
misrepresentations that the proponents of "trains everywhere"
choose to make, either out of ignorance or their own agendas.
Those misrepresentations include:
a) High-speed trains are economically efficient. They are not
necessarily so.
b) High speed trains are "carbon efficient". They definitely are
not. Low speed trains barely are, and only if fully packed. (like in
Japan)
c) Rail will solve all our jobs/transit/economic problems. They will
not, especially if they are built for political over practical reasons.
d) Europe & China does it, so we must do it too. Just silly. We
are not Europe or China, nor do I think most people want us to
be.
e) Travel by train will not become a federal cluster like they've
made the airports. Insane assumption.
f) It won't become Amtrack.
Those, just off the top of my head.
Just last week, SmartPlanet was commenting on the dismal state
of our highways. If the government can handle something as
simple as paving and maintaining roads, expecting them to run an
efficient high-speed rail network requires serious cognitive
disconnect driven only by fantasy, politics, and other people's
money.
