> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Excuses, excuses! My main point was
> _what business does the government have in being in the Rail Road
> business anyway? The trains ran perfectly well by themselves, and when
> the government took over they just got worse and worse. PAT]
You say this, but you are replying to an article about a disaster that
was basically caused by, and then made worse by private companies.
The problem is that Amtrak doesn't own the infrastructure ... that
infrastructure has NOT been taken over by the government, but is owned
by private railroads, and it is falling apart.
There aren't enough parallel tracks to be able to maintain schedules,
because the private railroads aren't building them and are shutting
some tracks down. The existing tracks are not being properly
maintained; trains going into Richmond, VA, for example, have to slow
down to a crawl because of the poor condition of the tracks. But it's
CSX that is responsible for those tracks.
If the government can be blamed for _anything_, it's letting the
railway owners fall down on their part of the bargain.
--scott --
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I don't think they should do that
either. Why doesn't Amtrack for example -- it is a government agency
after all -- file _suit_ and force the railroads (who are its
landlord, after all) to maintain its property? Amtrak got in a very
bad deal when they stepped in to rescue the railroads (and aside from
the fact that I do not think the government had any business doing it
at all) they should have set a different tune to start with. Build up
your property decently to start with if you want us to take it over.
Why couldn't government learn from the earlier fiascos they have when
they get into these messes? City of Chicago lost out very badly when
they decided -- in their greed -- to 'municipalize' (tee hee, sly grin)
the property of Chicago Rapid Transit Company, Lake Street Elevated
Line, Jackson Park Elevated Line, the Loop Elevated Rail Road, the
Boulevard Bus Company, and the Commercial Elevated Service (what
is now called the North/Northwest/Ohare el train). No matter what
rationale they give (we are nobler, purer, more honest, more utilit-
arian, whatever than those other crooks) the fact remains that
whatever the government gets its hands on turns to shit.
I got a phone call yesterday from a lady who is a reporter (I assume)
at one of my competitors, The New York Times, who had read my Editor's
Note about the mess with Amtrak in the Georgia woods now going on
three days. She demanded to know 'what railroad to you work for?, in
other words what could you possibly know about anything? I told her I
did not know very much about anything in life, but I damn sure would
know to slowly and safely begin backing up all the trains caught there
in that logjam one at a time until each of them had been able to reach
a safe and convenient place where the passengers could be safely
evacuated, properly medicated or otherwise pursed and sent on to their
homes via aeroplane with my apologies for being such a screwed up
outfit. And I am not a fan of air travel myself these days, given the
gyrations one has to go through in the name of 'terrorism' to even get
on the aeroplane. (Dump your possessions all over the floor where
everyone can look at them, etc). But under the circumstances it would
have worked. And I know there is a Greyhound Bus Station in Orlando.
That's how I would have done it. And I wished her the best in their
latest wrangle with the government which is attempting to find out who
tattled on Mr. Bush so _that_ person can be severely punished, rather
than Mr. Bush who needs the punishment. She terminated our call. PAT]
Path: telecom-digest.org!ptownson
Date: Sat, 31 Dec 2005 11:24:20 -0600
From: Patrick Townson <ptownson@cableone.net>
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Cybergiving Website
Message-ID: <telecom24.590.15@telecom-digest.org>
Organization: TELECOM Digest
Sender: editor@telecom-digest.org
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 24, Issue 590, Message 15 of 15
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Cyber Giving Week, the Last Day
http://brand.yahoo.com/cybergivingweek2005/
May I suggest on this last day of 2005 if you have not yet done so or
wish to do it again, that you go to the above web site and help as
best as you are able to DO GOOD in the world. Habitat for Humanity is
one example, there are many others. This is the final day, and the
final few hours to get it included in your 2005 tax returns.
Thanks! And Happy New Year to everyone!
PAT
Scott Dorsey (kludge@panix.com)