Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Dr. Strangelove]

Thread. People on the ground are most pissed at Norfolk- Southern, not politicians, especially after they ducked out of showing up at a town hall tonight.

Politicians can deliver the moon but what upsets people the most is that NS isn’t showing the proper contrition. No blame-casting is going to make actual locals feel Norfolk-Southern bears no responsibility.

[iam416]

N-S is to blame, as far as I can tell. It's their train, their employees. Unless there was some sort of defective track, N-S fucked up. The train happened to be carrying deadly chemicals. That was the unhappy coincidence that turned the N-S error from a pure N-S cost to an externality.

Whether and/or how much you think The Chairman and the Feds should be involved is a less clear answer. What I'm relatively sure of is that the The Chairman's view is, in some part, dictated by the fact that EP is white trash conservative to the hilt. And that's what I mean when I say EP sure as fuck fit into "environmental justice."

[Mike]

What a trainwreck.

[iam416]

Well, I mean everyone probably has a line even if they don't admit it out loud. Virtually no one places profit and ROI ahead of literally everything else. China is a real easy example. I'm sure you'd be comfortable if Goldman Sachs were to say "You know, even if it would improve the return to our shareholders, we're not going to invest in companies building Chinese slave camps". Your objection to companies using their clout this way isn't really in principle, per se, it's that the political cause must be something you personally align with. And that's the case for the vast majority of us.

I didn't get to respond to this, but you're wrong. That said, it does necessitate further thought on this issue. When it comes to state pensions, you pretty much have no other option (if you want a pension). That's it. It's a great benefit that is actually yours -- so that's good -- but it's more or less forced. So, you have no choice or say in where and how your money is invested. You don't get to pick fund managers. So, the State should be under the explicit duty to manage the fund in way that keeps it solvent and maximizes return. They should not be using other people's money to make political statements. That's not what pension funds should do. And if they can make money investing in Chinese companies -- and they do -- then more power to them.

Let me repeat -- pension boards shouldn't be using people's compelled contributions to fund political policy-making.

If you're an individual and you get to pick your fund managers and funds, then I don't have a problem with funds investing in certain directions provided that they advertise and explicitly disclose their intentions and are limited to that scope. If you want to say you won't invest in fossil fuel companies, say it and attract investment. Fair enough. If you want to say you won't invest in companies that agree with mutilating children in the name of advancing trans ideology, then say it and attract investment. The issue, insofar as this goes, is that the funds are adequately disclosing their political interests and policies.

That said, while I'm a free market guy on individuals, I don't like it. I very much stand behind the statement that this is Corporatism as executed by cultural elites. I don't think that's good. But I don't think there's a legal remedy. There's only a money remedy. And so that's conflict I have with huge pension funds exerting influence (something I'd disagree with) against a general thinking of investment that I strongly disagree with.

As with guns, you actually have to think about this shit. And, incidentally, today I get to attend the Highway Patrol pension board meeting to make sure they don't run afoul of sunshine laws and such. Last meeting they mentioning ESG and raised the basic pro/con issues.

[Hannibal]

Great to see that Gen X fucktards like you and Talent agree all problems in society were caused by your powerless, moneyless kids, and not, y’know, your contemporaries or elders.

Happy belated Valentine’s Day!

I'll eagerly heap blame for our current economic situation on the Boomers as the #1 culprit. But Millennials share a lot of the blame since they vote overwhelmingly with the same attitudes and patterns, only worse. Millenials have been overwhelmingly in support of violent hate groups like Black Lives Matter, open borders, and wildly unrealistic economic policies. No generation in our country's history has ever had such a naive and skewed view of economics and human nature. If Gen Y had any instincts for fixing our current situation, I'd have some sympathy for them. But they don't.

[Hannibal]

Meanwhile Hannibal keeps insisting that the real reason Norfolk-Southern’s train derailed is because our Transportation Secretary is gay and neither of you “moderates” will push back on him cuz disgusting woke liberals like me are a far more dangerous threat.

That is a good observation. Yes, woke Liberals like you are a far more dangerous threat to society than ist-a-phobes like me. You are adherents to a weirdo cult that was created in the 20th Century that denies all aspects of human nature. You are the living embodiment of "Weak Men Make Hard Times". You voted for the current administration, which includes a Transportation Secretary who is completely ignoring the biggest ecological disaster in 15 years because he is a memberr of the cult's clergy -- investigating and/or mitigating this disaster isn't part of the religion. He clearly cares more about mitigating "racism" than actually doing the job of a Transportation Secretary. People are right to ridicule you.

I hope that you enjoy how things are, now, because there is no place to go from here but down. If you think inflation got bad this past year, wait until we have to print extra money to cover all of the unfunded liabilities in Social Security and Medicare, a problem that has been tabled the past 10 years because social issues have been more at the forefront. Open borders, means more "diversity", which means more racial strife and more unskilled, uneducated workers who need government support. Diversity and Inclusion means more and more unqualified and incompetent people in important positions all over society. Get used to shortages, inefficiency, and accidents as this insane attitude spreads to more and more critical functions in society.

[iam416]

I also don't understand the need to pushback on saying Mayor Pete is gay. I mean, he is. And, more importantly. the entire premise of the D party is identify identity at every turn and to celebrate all idenities except cis-white-male (I think I got that right -- maybe white hetero dude?). I mean, we have a VP picked way more because of identity than competence. And celebrated to Nth degree (at least initially) for her identity. Mayor Pete -- he's white and male, so not quite the fanfare, but still.

Anyway, I find it almost mind-bendingly hilarious when any D/Prog/Wokester gets upset with "the right" identifying identity when, in fact, identity has replaced merit and competence -- certainly for the Woke Left.

And Hannibal didn't say, as far as I can tell, that Mayor Pete did nothing because he's gay--just because he's Woke. Heh. However, when identity replaces merit and competence, then there's certainly an argument that that it's fair, then, to attribute success/failure to identity rather than merit and competence. That's the world of the Woke Left. It's utter fucking nonsense, but I certainly get the desire for turnabout is fair play.

[Hannibal]

Mayor Pete is in his current job because he is a homosexual. Full stop. He is a diversity hire (like Kamala Harris and the judicial nominee who doesn't know what the second article of the Constitution is) and he is woefully incompetent, and there is not a single Democrat who will call him out on it.

[iam416]

Nah. He also earned it with a strong primary showing. That, and being gay.

[iam416]

I don't share Hannibal's never-changing doomsday picture, though the drawing does morph sometimes. I believe, per earlier doomsday predictions, Texas should be blue by 2030. I think earlier, but I can't remember exactly.

[Hannibal]

He had a strong primary showing because he is gay. He otherwise wouldn't have even been in on the conversation.

[Mike]

Speaking of Mayor Pete, why is it that most pictures I see of him are from the Colbert Show? How many Transportation Secretaries can you name? Who are some of your favorites? Who do you think did the best work? I remember fondly all those times Johnny Carson had Claude Brinegar and James H. Burnley IV on the Tonight Show. Those guys were a riot!

And does Pete just have the one blue suit or are there different ones?

[Mike]

He had a strong primary showing because he is gay. He otherwise wouldn't have even been in on the conversation.

You're not suggesting that a young, straight, white male, McKinsey consultant wouldn't get much traction in the democratic party are you?

[Dr. Strangelove]

N-S is to blame, as far as I can tell. It's their train, their employees. Unless there was some sort of defective track, N-S fucked up. The train happened to be carrying deadly chemicals. That was the unhappy coincidence that turned the N-S error from a pure N-S cost to an externality.

Whether and/or how much you think The Chairman and the Feds should be involved is a less clear answer. What I'm relatively sure of is that the The Chairman's view is, in some part, dictated by the fact that EP is white trash conservative to the hilt. And that's what I mean when I say EP sure as fuck fit into "environmental justice."

Everything I've read suggests the track was fine. The derailment was caused by either a faulty brake system or a weak axle snapping on one of the cars. There's security footage of the train passing through New Waterford about 15 minutes before the accident and one of the cars may have been on fire. I'm not sure if the engineer was the only man on the train or not. I don't recall hearing. If there had been a second man there's a better chance someone would've noticed something was wrong though. Usually the engineer to too preoccupied with what's ahead to keep an eye on everything behind him, especially when piloting through a town.

I know what DeWine has said about this and I've heard nothing negative about the Federal response from him. He said he told Biden they have everything they need from the Feds. Any criticism from DeWine's mouth has been for Norfolk-Southern. He also asked Congress to review existing laws and whether they need to be toughened because apparently NS wasn't required to alert anyone that this train was carrying hazardous materials because the percentage of cars didn't meet some threshhold.

So I guess that takes me to Pete. Anyone immediately pouncing on Pete who has not mentioned one word about NS is just being a political hack. That doesn't include you. It includes others here.

The Trump administration eliminated a regulation that required dangerous trains to be crewed by at least two people and install special brakes. If there's something to criticize Biden/Pete about I suppose it's that they didn't change it back. That is, if you agree with the regulation in the first place.

Ohio Train Derailment: Buttieg Says Trump Administration Shares Blame | National Review

[Dr. Strangelove]

Speaking of Mayor Pete, why is it that most pictures I see of him are from the Colbert Show? How many Transportation Secretaries can you name? Who are some of your favorites? Who do you think did the best work? I remember fondly all those times Johnny Carson had Claude Brinegar and James H. Burnley IV on the Tonight Show. Those guys were a riot!

And does Pete just have the one blue suit or are there different ones?

Elaine Chao. Mitch's wife. One of Trump's "she's a terrible person and totally incompetent but I hired her anyways because I know everything and am a great judge of character" hires.

For some reason I also remember Norm Mineta. That's it. So three.