Is Obama's High-Speed Plan the Best Use of Transportation Funds?

Going along with my last entry, here is an article that talks about the dire need this country is in for transportation options. However, it questions the fiscal responsibility of spending $8 billion on high-speed rail when our own local rail services are either dilapidated, underfunded or completely non-existent.

Amid great fanfare, the Obama administration last week announced plans to spend $13 billion in “seed money” for 13 high-speed rail projects around the country — $8 billion in stimulus funding now with a promise to seek $5 billion more over the next five years.

Among the projects being funded is the St. Louis-to-Chicago route, which will receive $1.1 billion. A relative pittance of $31 million went to Missouri to upgrade service between St. Louis and Kansas City.

With apologies to futurists, people in the construction industry and rail buffs, investing $13 billion (or even $8 billion) in passenger railroads is a little like building a bridge to the 19th century. It’s not enough money to make trains fast enough, attractive enough and affordable enough to attract sufficient passengers to operate without massive government subsidies.

This view puts us in company with the Cato Institute, the Heritage Foundation and others whose views we don’t usually share. And perhaps we’re being short-sighted: It could be that 50 years from now, America will be glad it invested in high-speed rail.

But right now, there are far better, fairer and faster ways to stimulate the economy than spending $8 billion on the relatively affluent 1 percent of Americans who ride trains. Public transit immediately comes to mind. Missouri got $31 million to upgrade St. Louis-to-Kansas City service that served 150,000 passengers last year. The state also subsidizes those twice-daily trains with $5 million a year.

Meanwhile, the Metro transit service in St. Louis — which carried 353 times more passengers than the state’s two Amtrak trains last year — gets zero in state tax subsidies, though the Legislature last year appropriated $12 million in federal stimulus money to temporarily offset crippling transit cuts.

The $1.1 billion that Illinois received for the Chicago-to-St. Louis trains is enough to pay for about a fourth of what it would take to upgrade the service to handle 90-mile-an-hour trains along its entire route. The 110-mile train might cut the scheduled 5-hour, 40-minute travel time between the two cities by less than an hour.

[Click for the full article]

While I am a major supporter of bringing transportation to this country, it does appear that helping out local cities and states is more important than helping the 1% of Americans who currently utilize rail for their travel needs.

For Objectivity.

World leaders react to the Nobel Peace Prize announcement.

US President Barack Obama has won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for his "extraordinary efforts" to build diplomacy and promote nuclear disarmament.

Since coming to office in January, President Obama has pursued an international agenda that includes a push to restart peace talks in the Middle East and negotiations over Iran's controversial nuclear programme.

Here is a round-up of world reaction to the award as reported by news agencies.

UN SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

We are entering an era of renewed multilateralism, a new era where the challenges facing humankind demand global common cause and uncommon global effort. President Obama embodies the new spirit of dialogue and engagement on the world's biggest problems: climate change, nuclear disarmament and a wide range of peace and security challenges.

FRENCH PRESIDENT NICOLAS SARKOZY

It confirms, finally, America's return to the hearts of the people of the world... you can count on my resolute support and that of France.

ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR

In a short time he has established a new tone, creating a willingness for dialogue and I think we all should support him to make peace in this world possible. There is a lot do but a window of opportunity has been opened. His advocacy of a world free of nuclear arms is an aim we all need to make real in the next few years.

YUKIO HATOYAMA, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER

I am really pleased. I want to congratulate him from my heart. I've seen the world changing since President Obama took office. It was outstanding when he made the speech in Prague calling for a nuclear-free world.

NATO SECRETARY GENERAL ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN

President Obama has made extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples.

He has also demonstrated his strong commitment to help build peace and defend fundamental human rights, including through the atlantic alliance. This honour is well deserved.

MOHAMED ELBARADEI, HEAD OF THE INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY AND NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER

There is nobody today in my view who is more deserving of that peace prize than Barack Obama. In less than a year he brought a radical change in the way we look at ourselves, in the way we look at our world. He is restoring the basic core values that every one of us should live by - dialogue, respect, democracy, due process, human rights, a security system that does not depend on nuclear weapons. His dedication to these values rekindles hope that, finally, we could have a world at peace with itself.

IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER MANOUCHEHR MOTTAKI

We have no objection if this prize is an incentive to reverse the warmongering and unilateral policies of the previous US administration and if this encourages a policy based on just peace.

The appropriate time for awarding such a prize is when foreign military forces leave Iraq and Afghanistan and when one stands by the rights of the oppressed Palestinian people.

SIAMAK HIRAI, SPOKESMAN FOR AFGHAN PRESIDENT HAMID KARZAI

We congratulate Obama for winning the Nobel. His hard work and his new vision on global relations, his will and efforts for creating friendly and good relations at global level and global peace make him the appropriate recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

TALIBAN SPOKESMAN ZABIHULLAH MUJAHID

We have seen no change in his strategy for peace. He has done nothing for peace in Afghanistan. He has not taken a single step for peace in Afghanistan or to make this country stable.

We condemn the award of the Nobel Peace Prize for Obama. We condemn the institute's awarding him the peace prize. We condemn this year's peace prize as unjust.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER

You have already inspired so many people around the world, and I know that this award also expresses the hope that your presidency will usher in a new era of peace and reconciliation. Nowhere is such a peace needed more than in the Middle East, a region that has been long marked by terror and bloodshed.

I look forward to working closely with you in the years ahead to advance peace and to give hope to the peoples of our region who deserve to live in peace, security and dignity.

CHIEF PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY NEGOTIATOR SAEB EREKAT

We hope that he will be able to achieve peace in the Middle East and achieve Israeli withdrawal to 1967 borders and establish an independent Palestinian state on 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital.

HAMAS LEADER ISMAIL HANIYEH

We are in need of actions, not sayings. If there is no fundamental and true change in American policies toward the acknowledgment of the rights of the Palestinian people, I think this prize won't move us forward or backward.

MIKHAIL GORBACHEV, FORMER SOVIET LEADER AND NOBEL PRIZE WINNER

I am happy. What Obama did during his presidency is a big signal, he gave hope. In these hard times, people who are capable of taking responsibility, who have a vision, commitment and political will should be supported.

SOUTH AFRICAN ARCHBISHOP AND NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER DESMOND TUTU

He's not even finished a year in his first term of office of a relatively young president. It's an award that anticipates an even greater contribution towards making our world a safer place for all.

FORMER POLISH PRESIDENT AND NOBEL PRIZE WINNER LECH WALESA

So soon? This is too soon. He has not yet made a real input. He is still at an early stage. He is only beginning to act.

This is probably an encouragement for him to act. Let's see if he perseveres.

FORMER US PRESIDENT AND NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER JIMMY CARTER

It is a bold statement of international support for his vision and commitment to peace and harmony in international relations. It shows the hope his administration represents not only to our nation but to people around the world.

FORMER US VICE-PRESIDENT AND NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER AL GORE

I think it's extremely well deserved. I think it will take some time before people put together all the different moves that linked his speech at the UN on the abolishing of nuclear weapons, his shift on the missile defence programme in Eastern Europe and the movement of Russia to joining the international consensus that confronted Iran to abide by the non-proliferation treaty.

JODY WILLIAMS, FORMER NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER FOR CAMPAIGN TO BAN LANDMINES

I think that it is kind of foolish to think that the Nobel Prize isn't politicised - it's not a humanitarian prize, it's a prize in recognition of change in the world to contribute to peace, sometimes its a recognitions of visions for peace. He is facing huge contradictions as well - he is going to be sending 40,000 new American troops into Afghanistan just as he receives the Nobel Peace Prize? I think that is a contradiction that needs to be seriously looked at.

SOUHAYR BELHASSEN, PRESIDENT OF INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Obama is a way of encouraging him to not renege on the universal principles that he has championed.

We would have preferred a human rights defender like Oleg Orlov from Memorial in Russia or Natalia Estemirova [human rights activist murdered in Chechnya].

Call to Action. (From Barack Obama)

Chris --

This morning, Michelle and I awoke to some surprising and humbling news. At 6 a.m., we received word that I'd been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009.

To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize -- men and women who've inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace.

But I also know that throughout history the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes.

That is why I've said that I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations and all peoples to confront the common challenges of the 21st century. These challenges won't all be met during my presidency, or even my lifetime. But I know these challenges can be met so long as it's recognized that they will not be met by one person or one nation alone.

This award -- and the call to action that comes with it -- does not belong simply to me or my administration; it belongs to all people around the world who have fought for justice and for peace. And most of all, it belongs to you, the men and women of America, who have dared to hope and have worked so hard to make our world a little better.

So today we humbly recommit to the important work that we've begun together. I'm grateful that you've stood with me thus far, and I'm honored to continue our vital work in the years to come.

Thank you,

President Barack Obama

A Comment for the Whiners.

If you don't like the Recovery Act that President Obama passed, fine--but read it. I'm sick of listening to people bitch about how terrible of a plan it is yet they haven't even read the front page of the actual document.

Granted, the above PDF is a guide, not the actual act. But at 62 pages it's enough to understand what the plan entails. After reading it, if you don't like it--no problem. Just be informed, which is a rarity among people who like to point fingers.

Update: Stimulus Projects.

I have long been critical of the lack of information regarding the Economic Stimulus Plan. Every time President Obama has thrown out numbers I have been waiting for the cold, hard facts regarding these numbers.

Thanks to Stimulus Watch, I can finally feel satisfied. This website is tracking the spending plans of the stimulus by state or city and by project type:

• Airport (529 projects)
• Amtrak (50 projects)
• CDBG (4028 projects)
• Energy (1378 projects)
• Housing (634 projects)
• Public Safety (1505 projects)
• Schools (1066 projects)
• Streets/Roads (4724 projects)
• Transit (807 projects)
• Water (4029 projects)

The scope of this stimulus package is terrifying. I'm not sure whether I'm afraid of the cost or afraid of the implications--the revelation of just how bad the American infrastructure really is.

Stimulus Plan: What Does it Mean for Transportation?

President Obama's stimulus plan has passed in the Senate, 61-36. With the hurdle of selling the bill to congress still before us, the topic I am most concerned about is transportation. The Senate Bill and the House bill differ on exact allocations of the funds for transportation projects and repairs, so I'm crossing my fingers that these projects don't get slashed from the bill in order to appeal to Congress. Perhaps the optimistic mentality should be to feel fortunate there are at least plans to improve our horribly inefficient transit systems in The United States.

Here is the basic plan (for now):

• $850 million for Amtrak to achieve a state of good repair (Senate Version)
• $2.25 billion for states to build and expand passenger rail (Senate)
• $5.5 billion for a flexible surface transportation program for roads, rail and transit (Senate)
• $12 billion for transit (House); $9 billion for transit (Senate)
  

For now these are just numbers and promises. Fortunately the Obama Administration is setting up Recovery.gov, a website for Americans to watch exactly how this stimulus package is being spent. I am so glad they are doing this. What a shock it is to have a Presidential Administration we can trust and hold accountable for the promises they've made us.

A New Era for Architecture?

The Tribune argues that with the inauguration of President Barack Obama comes ushered in a new age of architecture--the end of the "starchitect" and the introduction of "infrastructure architecture". Interesting piece, indeed.

The age of the architectural icon—that extravagant, exuberant, “wow”-inducing building on a pedestal—is dead, or more precisely, in its death throes. And what will replace it? President Barack Obama, who once dreamed of being an architect, had something to say about that Tuesday in his inaugural address: the age of infrastructure.

Rarely do events so boldly bracket the death of one design era and the dawning of another as they have in recent days. On Jan. 14, the developer of a kilometer-high skyscraper in the Persian Gulf playground of Dubai announced he was shelving the project, the mixed-use Nakheel Tower, which would have been as tall as three John Hancock Centers stacked atop one another.

Then, six days later, Obama issued his blueprint for recovery: The nation “will act—not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth,” he said. “We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together.”

With the Nakheel Tower, the Chicago Spire and other wannabe icons stopped dead in their tracks and with the new president shining a spotlight on anonymous but essential public works, it’s clear that the deepening recession has brought us to something more than just a pause. It’s looking more like a pivot point. Or at least it could be if Obama delivers on his promise to reshape the contours of our metropolitan areas as well as revive the economy.

“In a funny way, the recession has been good for making these mega-projects stop,” said Pauline Saliga, executive director of the Chicago-based Society of Architectural Historians. “It’s giving us a little breathing room, a little time to reassess where we’re going with all of this.”

The icon age was born in 1997 with the smash opening of Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum (above) in Bilbao, Spain. The titanium-clad museum, with its dazzling collage of shapes, spawned a new “build it, and they will come” mentality: Hire a star architect, or “starchitect,” give him or her free aes thetic rein, and watch the tourists or the buyers arrive.

Museums did it. Colleges and universities did it. Condominium developers did it. Indeed, whole countries, such as China and Dubai, did it to change their images or put themselves on the map. A global band of “starchitects”—Gehry, Rem Koolhaas, Zaha Hadid, Daniel Libeskind and Santiago Calatrava among them—seemed to be designing all of the world’s signature buildings.

And, in truth, a lot of what they designed was breathtaking.

It’s hard to imagine Chicago without Millennium Park, which brought new life to a once-moribund corner of Grant Park with Gehry’s festive music pavilion and sculptures such as the Bean. Similarly, Milwaukee would seem incomplete without the Calatrava-designed addition to its art museum, where mechanically operated sunshades spread over the main gathering hall like a bird’s wings. Ditto Beijing and the Bird’s Nest.

And yet, icons divorced from infrastructure are nothing more than empty set pieces, objects divorced from the fabric of everyday life. (Click here to continue...)

I enjoy the idea of a 'starchitect'. I am repeatedly amazed by Cesar Pelli's work, as well as many of the other current big names. However, a new age that focuses on infrastructure seems extremely necessary, considering the impacts our way of life is having on this planet.

To That Man.

Today there are many extreme opinions on this moment in history. Some are rejoicing that Obama is our new President, others scared. Some are somber about our former President George W. Bush leaving his office, while the majority are in grand celebration that he no longer has any real power in this country.

Yet I have had a few friends go as far to thank the former President to The United States, claiming that he had no control over the problems of the past 8 years and that thus he should not be in any way hated or even disliked.

I'll tell you the problem with this. It's the fallacy of blind leadership. Across the board President Bush did almost nothing right. When he took office our international standing could not have been stronger, our budget could not have been more balanced and our economy was the strongest and stablest it had ever been. Today, after Bush declared war on nations, refused to hold peace negotiations, called other nations "evil", took more vacation days than any other President in History and single-handedly destroyed the image of the United States to the population of the world, I have ONE thing to say this despicable evil little man.

FUCK. YOU.

Ok, two things.

There is no suggestion that President Bush had the ability to stop Hurricane Katrina, and no one hates him for it happening under his eye--people hate him because he was vacationing for three days while hundreds of people were facing the possibility of death as he did nothing.

With conspiracy theories aside, people don't hate Bush for the fact that a terrorist attack occurred--they hate him because he and his administration had every warning sign in the book yet they did nothing. Even on the day of the attack he did not act like a President as he sat there reading 'My Pet Goat'.

While President Bush did nothing to cause unwise bankers to make bad loans, his administration certainly did nothing to prevent it either. As a profound supporter of deregulation that eventually led to this mess we are in now, one cannot say that President Bush and his administration had no power over this economic depression we're heading into.

How can someone thank a man who was the icon of The United States and left that icon utterly, and possibly forever, tarnished? How can someone thank a man who no one can look to and say, "See, he at least did that right"? How can someone thank a man with the lowest approval rating in the history of the gallup poll?

His Presidency was a disaster from the day he "won" his first election. His administration was an utter disaster. The past 8 years have been deplorable and most Americans will with ease sweep them under the carpet. His life has been an unquestionable failure. And yet there are people who are going to thank this putrid son of a bitch?

Respect is not simply earned from a title, and the same thing should be warned to Barack Obama. Just because he is my President does not mean he immediately is deserving of reverence. Respect, trust and admiration should be earned, which Obama has already shown progress toward and Bush never even attempted to pursue.

As terrible as Bush was, he is no more. Those days are behind us now. The question is--now what? How will we act different today than we did yesterday? How will we make the 'change' Obama has promised in our everyday lives? Saying "Yes We Can" is far easier than actually going out and proving it.

So it starts at home, with one person. As much as I want to say it starts with this country, this state, with this city, with everyone who watched the inauguration...it really comes down to me. And to you.

You and I need to stop contributing to this nation of whiners. We need to yet again be the greatest innovators in the world. We need to stop looking at one another as enemies and start realizing we are all Americans living in the greatest country in the world. If we want to heal this nation we're all going to have to put down out People Magazine and maybe go out and help real people. Instead of watching local heroes on TV, we need to turn into our own kind of heroes--whether that means cleaning up our neighborhood or just picking up a single piece of trash. We need to start looking out for one another instead of looking out just for ourselves.

All of us, beginning with just you and I, need to stop lamenting about our problems and start working to fix them. Instead of complaining about the place this country is in, how about we start putting together a solution?

That may seem so small, and truly it is. Giving a friend a ride home from work, picking up a few pieces of trash and changing our attitude won't save the world, no. But if it makes just one person smile, just one person a bit happier with their lot in life...is it worth it? And if every American wakes up tomorrow with a smile on their face, would you do it? And if there is one thing I know about smiles, it's that they're contagious.

I'm certainly smiling that George W. Bush is no longer the President of The United States. I'm definitely smiling as I look at President Barack Obama and I hope for a better tomorrow. I hope you're smiling with me as you think about how things from here can only get better.

Question of the Day.

Is it wrong that for the Inauguration Celebration my friends and I feasted on a bucket of fried chicken?

A Day in History.

So who's ready for President Joe Biden?

...

Bahahaha I keep cracking myself up with that one. No one else seems to be laughing when I say it though....hhmm.....

A Message from Barack Obama.

Obama Win Causes Supporters To Realize Just How Empty Their Lives Are.

For anyone who knows Troy Gray, this is for him. ;-)


Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

Inauguration Plans.

Barack Obama's Inauguration Address is going to be one of the largest events to ever hit Washington D.C.. They're expecting at least 4 Million people to arrive. And, since I have a car of my own and place to stay, you know I'm already planning my road trip!

The question arises: Can the city handle it? Can millions of people fit downtown?

Or, could there be another Meltdown of '76?

That year, a million spectators were expected on the Mall to celebrate the Bicentennial. Transit officials urged people to take public transportation and promised special service. But there was nothing special about the Fourth of July traffic jam, which stranded cars and buses for hours.

District and federal officials blamed a flawed and smaller mass transit system for the 1976 embarrassment. They expressed confidence that they can handle this January's events. At the same time, they know that Inauguration Day 2009 will be one of a kind.

Now, as a huge Logistics dork, I'm curious how this is going to pan out. Washington D.C. as it is has horrible traffic congestion. But with 4 million more people in the city? This is like nothing they have ever seen before. For the annual July 4th celebration about 1 Million people come out and it's usually chaos. But 4 million? Expect hell.

Obama Picks Bill Ayers as Secretary of Defense!

Ok, so the headline is funnier than the actual piece, but I still got a chuckle out of it. :-)

Loves It!

Pride and Prejudice.

Years. I've literally been waiting for this day for years. This is the moment I have dreamed of. I've counted down to it. Waited with alacrity for it. I knew that the culmination of the past 19 months would come down to one day, and it's here at last. I've been confident that once this day hits, real change would finally come to America. Real change has finally made me free.

Oh, I'm not talking about Barack Obama winning the election--I'm talking about the day when I finally stop receiving text messages from him! Gosh, on election day alone I received four phone calls and five text messages! You Obamaphiles are crazy! Don't you have jobs? Families? Lives?

As happy as I am that our country has turned in a new and promising direction, I'm so much more elated to know this campaign is over. Now I won't have to read FiveThirtyEight three times a day. I'll no longer have to dig through the babbling at TalkLeft. No more chewing on the pieces at The Daily Kos. I'll be able to forgo the speculation of Prop 8, the Minnesota Senate Race and all of the swing states in the Presidential Election. And, lordy, I thankfully won't have to ever hear about Sarah Palin again! (Or Elizabeth Dole either!)

Luckily I don't live like some other bloggers. I can imagine Pam Spaulding and Joe.My.God with piles of laundry, heaps of trash and a stack of unopened and unpaid bills. I wonder how many unreturned phone calls they'll have to start dialing. "Yes, Mom, it's me. I know it's been 19 months, but I've been busy. Yes, real busy."

I'm sure they'll enjoy this far more than I will.

But, as just an everyday regular citizen and part-time blogger, I'm happy to know it's official. I can kick back my feet and say, "I love the USA!" We won't have weeks of fighting for a recount nor will we have a news media pointing fingers and screaming "Voter Fraud!". Our nation has elected Barack Obama to lead us, and what a fantastic declaration that is, what a monumental proclamation! From everyday henceforth, no person can ever say they have a limit. When a son of a goat herder can become the President of the greatest country in the world, Democracy can pause to take a deep breathe and say, "We are truly free at last".

But are we? For you, probably. For me, not really. On the same great day when Americans sent a message and said 'no' to racial inequality, they also sent another message--Americans are just fine with gays and lesbians not being equal.

The saddest part of Proposition 8 passing is that the voters made the decision to take away an existing right. The wording was specific--it asked voters if they want to take away gays right to marry, and they said yes. Voters also said yes in Florida. They also said yes in Arkansas, and they also said yes in Arizona. Just as they have said it in Ohio, Minnesota, North Carolina, Illinois, Texas, Idaho, Georgia, Kentucky, Virginia, Alabama, Louisiana, Alaska, Tennessee, North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, South Carolina, Washington, Oregon, Iowa, Missouri...and this list isn't complete.

My step-father served in the military, and yet I will never have this opportunity because I am gay. My mother has been happily married for nearly 20 years now and yet I will never have the same chance because I am gay. In times of crisis I can't even sign up to give blood to help my fellow Americans. This is the great country, the one I want to say I love? This is the land of the free, the country of opportunity?

Sure, Barack Obama's election shows how far country has come, but it also says how far it has yet to go. And after being told yet again, "You're not wanted", I'm just not sure if I can continue to say, "But I want you". I hope the best for America and her battle for change. But, after taking the final blow and yet again hearing that I am not wanted in the country, I'm not positive that I want to stay.

To clarify, of course I will still go to University of Minnesota. But once I graduate, if the country's message has not changed...I will say goodbye to The United States of America. Mark my words. I refuse to live in a country that does not believe in its own citizens. I refuse to be in a country where its population will grossly abuse a right and yet proudly remove it from an entire class of people. And I refuse to pledge my allegiance to a flag that won't even acknowledge my existence.

Barack Obama, congratulations. I am so proud of you. I just wish I was proud of my country.

Overheard in Minneapolis.

Minneapolis, Nicollet Ave

Obama campaign volunteer getting out the vote: Sir! Have you voted today?
Drunk incoherent man on the street at 5pm (slurred): I ain’t even had sex in 10 months!

(Via Overheard in Minneapolis)

It's Official.

John McCain Concedes. President Barack Obama elect. This is a great day in American History.

Barack Wins OHIO!!!

CBS and CNN just projected for Barack Obama to win the Buckeye state!!!

One Word: CREEPY.

(Via Friendly Athest)