DC Metro Crash Update

In the beginning there was the very public utterances that the June 22 DC Metro crash was the result of underspending on urban mass transit, failure to fund new rail cars, and the lack of a 'dedicated' funding stream for DC Metro. Less publicly uttered was the revelation that a test showed that no train could be seen to the automatic signal system on the section of track where the first train in the crash was stopped. (See our previous post). Today, the Washington Post brings a further revelation:

Investigators say equipment that is supposed to detect stopped trains failed periodically in the days leading up to a deadly Metro transit train crash in Washington, D.C.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday that signal system problems began occurring after a piece of equipment was replaced June 17, five days before the accident. The NTSB says the signaling system at the crash site also failed intermittently during tests after the crash.

Reading between the lines we learn that DC Metro was working on this section of track. The repairs they were making did not work. They knew it did not work and they still directed trains to run in automatic in this section.

DC Metro does not need more money. It needs for the current leadership, general, operations and maintenance to resign immediately. Why are these folks not under arrest now for manslaughter? Read More. . . .

Obama on Tyrants

Reuters reports today on political events in Honduras where the Armed Forces sent President Zelaya into exile at the direction of the Supreme Court. Zelaya who was limited to a single four year term had planned a referendum on overturning that constitutional provision. As a result of a dispute over the legality of the referendum Zelaya tried to sack the head of the Army.

Anonymous Obama administration officials, in a conference call organized by the State Department, told the press that "We recognize Zelaya as the duly elected and constitutional president of Honduras. We see no other," A similar position was also taken by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. (It is truly difficult to understand how official U.S. policy can be announced by officials are not authorized to speak for the United States and hide behind a false anonymity.)

In the past two weeks the Obama administration has also continued to support recognition of the current tyrannical government in Iran, following the fraudulent reelection of Iranian President Achmadinejab.

The ousted Hondouran president was report to have traveled to Nicaragua where he may be joined by President Chavez and other dictator wannabes.

In the meantime President Chavez, miming North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il, said that if the Venezuelan ambassador was killed, or troops entered the Venezuelan embassy, "that military junta would be entering a de facto state of war, we would have to act militarily." He said, "I have put the armed forces of Venezuela on alert." Read More. . . .

DC Metro Crash: Not old trains but failed signals

In a rush to demand more tax dollars for transit systems, federal officials and lobbyists were quick to blame the supposed aging rail cars for the June 22, 2009 crash that killed 9 and injured over 100. On closer examination though it appears the track sensor system was not working on the particular section of track where the stationary train was standing, failing to send a braking signal to the moving train. The operator DC Metro has taken the trains off the failed automatic system and taken action against the head of signals.

As UPI reported on June 26, 2009:

Deron Lovass, Natural Resources Defense Council federal transportation director, said the collision of two D.C. Metro rail cars is evidence of how little funding has been spent upgrading the country's transit system compared with U.S. highways, Time magazine reported online Friday.

"This does draw attention to the fact that we need to invest a lot more in our transit system," Lovass said. "Our highway system is world class, but we've neglected public transit along the same way."

The Federal Transit Administration tabbed more than a third of the equipment used by the top U.S. rail transit agencies with either marginal or poor ratings this spring, Time reported.

Federal officials said one of the rail cars involved in Monday's deadly collision in Washington did not have modernized equipment that could have prevented the accident.

"The Metro, like most of our larger public-transit systems, has suffered from a lack of public resources," David Goldberg, Transportation for America communications director, told Time.

From the Washington Post June 26, 2009:

A train control system that should have prevented Monday's deadly Metro crash failed in a test conducted by federal investigators, officials said yesterday, suggesting that a crucial breakdown of technology sent one train slamming into another.

Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board performed the simulation Wednesday night. In the test, investigators positioned a train in the same location as the train that was rear-ended Monday. The system failed to detect that the idled test train was there, the NTSB said.

Read More. . . .

Obama flip flops on Guantanomo, Adopts Bush indefinite detention powers

Having promised to close the detention camp at Guantanamo during his campaign, the Washington Post is reporting tonight that the Obama administration is now adopting the Bush view on the power to indefinitely detain enemy combatants. Fantasy meets reality.


From the Washington Post June 26, 2009

The Obama administration, fearing a battle with Congress that could stall plans to close the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, is drafting an executive order that would reassert presidential authority to incarcerate terrorism suspects indefinitely, according to three senior government officials with knowledge of White House deliberations.

Such an order would embrace claims by former president George W. Bush that certain people can be detained without trial for long periods under the laws of war. Obama advisers are concerned that bypassing Congress could place the president on weaker footing before the courts and anger key supporters, the officials said.

From the Boston Globe May 11, 2008:

When detainees first began arriving at Guantanamo Bay in 2002, Obama was teaching constitutional law at the University of Chicago, where he told students that America's freedoms are rooted in habeas corpus - the right to challenge one's detention in court.

"Habeas is essential to the American legal system," said Geoffrey Stone, a law professor at the University of Chicago who taught during Obama's time there. "I'm quite confident that Senator Obama, as a constitutional lawyer, understands the essential importance of habeas corpus in a way that the current administration does not."

In 2005, after Obama was elected to the Senate, he saw first-hand how unpopular a cause Guantanamo Bay can be when fellow Illinois Senator Dick Durbin was widely attacked and forced to apologize for comparing the US-operated military prison in Cuba to a Soviet gulag.

But when Guantanamo Bay defense lawyers came to Obama's office in 2006 asking him to help them stop a bill that would take away detainees' habeas corpus rights, Obama agreed without hesitation.

"He said, 'I don't know which way this shakes out politically, but this is wrong, and you can count on me,' " said Thomas Wilner, one of 80 Guantanamo Bay defense lawyers who has since signed a public letter supporting Obama's candidacy. "A lot of people were afraid that they would look weak on terrorism. He really understood that our greatest strength is our values."

In 2006, Obama opposed the Military Commissions Act, offering an amendment that would sunset its provisions. When the Military Commissions Act passed anyway - without the amendment - Obama delivered a scathing speech, saying that the debate "over the fundamental human rights of the accused should be bigger than politics."
Obama now says that, as president, he would stop the military commissions and try the remaining Guantanamo Bay detainees in military courts-martial or in federal courts, which have successfully tried some terrorist cases.

That has led critics to charge that Obama's plan would lead to the release of dangerous people, since the US military could not gather the same caliber of evidence against the detainees as would be required in a US court

Obama's aides acknowledge that he has not made the difficult decision of what to do with the 200 or so detainees against whom there is little evidence. But they say he has faith in the US legal system and believes that detainees should be brought to the United States where they would have the same rights as American citizens - a plan that would almost certainly bring about the release of some of them.

Read More. . . .

House Votes to Return U.S. to Pre-industrial status, How Virginia's delegation voted

The House of Representatives voted late this afternoon to return per capita energy consumption to the same level as 1875 by 2050. This pre-industrial level of carbon consumption is expected to reduce all industrial output and eliminate the capacity to export agricultural products supporting populations around the world. According to the Congressional Budget Office report the bill will increase taxes on all Americans by $872 billion between Fiscal Years 2010 and 2019 while still increasing the federal deficit by $13.5 billion and increase taxes by $258 billion in just the next four fiscal years. It is also expected to exponentially accelerate the movement of jobs from the United States to countries not participating in de-industrialization. The bill, which contained 300 pages of amendments added overnight by Democrats, and titled the American Clean Energy and Security Act, passed the House (Roll Call 477) 219 to 212. Forty-four Democrats joined 168 Republicans in opposition, while 8 Republicans (Bono Mack (CA45), Castle (DE), Kirk (IL10, Lance (NJ7), LoBiondo (NJ2), McHugh (NY23), Reichert (WA8), Smith (NJ4) provided the remaining 211 Democrats with the prevailing 7 vote margin.

Just before passage Representative Randy Forbes (R-VA4) attempted to amend the bill to make it less punishing to the nation, but this amendment failed 172 to 256.

The Virginia Delegation voted (5 in favor 6 against) as follows with a yes vote for de-industrialization.

Wittman (R) (1st) N
Nye (D) (2nd) N
Scott (D) (3rd) Y
Forbes (R) (4th) N
Perriello (D) (5th) Y
Goodlatte (R) (6th) N
Cantor (R) (7th) N
Moran (D) (8th) Y
Boucher (D) (9th) Y
Wolf (R) (10th) N
Connolly (D) (11th) Y

(Accompanying photo from come2williamsburg.com)
UPDATE


Wall of shame below hat tip twitter/larrymwalkerjr
Read More. . . .

I Stand With Obama

Much as it may surprise my friends and readers, today I can honestly stand with President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. I join them in uninviting all Iranian diplomats from my Independence Day party. In fact I raise the diplomatic stakes one giant step further. I am not inviting any of those murderous thugs that make up the current government of Iran or their theocracy to any future party I may hold. This is the kind of strong sanction that is sure to lead to the downfall of the Iranian government, the overthrow of the theocracy and the restoration of world peace. Thank you Mr. President for this bold, clear, powerful and courageous initiative.

As noted in the Opinion Journal column of the Wall Street Journal:

On Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who had authorized diplomatic posts earlier this month to invite Iranians to their Independence Day parties, sent out a cable rescinding the invitations.

"Unfortunately, circumstances have changed, and participation by Iranian diplomats would not be appropriate in light of the unjust actions that the president and I have condemned," she said. Embassies that had already invited Iranian diplomats were instructed to disinvite them.

It is not clear this will be much of a snub to the Iranians. The State Department spokesman, Ian C. Kelly, said he was not aware of a single diplomat who had R.S.V.P.'d, anywhere in the world.

Read More. . . .

VA Democrat Congressman Invite Terrorists to Virginia

In a test of loyalty to Nancy Pelosi vs their Constituents, The House of Representatives voted (Roll Call Votes 360 and 361) today on two amendments to the Justice Department appropriations bill which would have stripped funding to bring terrorists now held at Guantanamo to the Virginia or other states. Member Roll Call Votes 360 and 361 on the amendments and on the appropriation bill HR 2847 are shown below respectively. A no vote was a vote to defeat the amendment or the bill respectively. The final bill passed the House 259 to 157 on Roll Call Vote 408. RPV Chairman Pat Mullins reported on Rep. Perriello's votes in an email this evening stating:

Freshman Congressman Tom Perriello (D-5th District) today cast the deciding vote on a crucial measure, paving the way for the closure of the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (House Roll Call 360 and 361), thus risking the relocation of dangerous terrorists to United States soil.



“This is a vote of outrageous irresponsibility,” said Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Pat Mullins. “Tom Perriello clearly felt he had to cave under the pressure of the White House and Nancy Pelosi. His actions have opened up the possibility that we will have terrorists moving into a prison in Virginia.”



Rep. Jerry Lewis offered an amendment to prohibit the funding of President Obama’s executive order to close the facility, but it failed by a vote of 212-216. After a subsequent vote, the count was 212-213. Perriello voted with Speaker Nancy Pelosi to allow the funding, thereby clearing a path for detainees to be moved to U.S. territory.

The entire Virginia Republican delegation voted for the amendments to defund transfers and against the final bill except for Rep Wolf who voted for the final bill only.

All Virginia Democrats voted with Rep. Pelosi against the amendment except Rep Nye in support of funding transfer of terrorists from Guantanomo to Virginia, and all voted for passage of the bill.

Roll Call Votes 360, 361, 408

Wittman (R) (1st) Y Y N
Nye (D) (2nd) Y Y Y
Scott (D) (3rd) N N Y
Forbes (R) (4th) Y Y N
Perriello (D) (5th) N N Y
Goodlatte (R) (6th) Y Y N
Cantor (R) (7th) Y Y N
Moran (D) (8th) N N Y
Boucher (D) (9th) N N Y
Wolf (R) (10th) Y Y Y
Connolly (D) (11th) N N Y Read More. . . .

Obama on Deeds, Interpreted

President Obama, unsurprisingly, would like Virginians to support Creigh Deeds in his race for Governor of Virginia. One may, of course, take President Obama's words in this instance the same way we take his words in other circumstances, i.e understanding that: fiscal responsibility=profligate spending, security=weakness, lower taxes=higher taxes, close=keep open, leave=stay, transparency=obfuscation, pragmatism=unprincipled, bipartisan=all democrats, etc. So what does Mr. Obama say about Mr. Deeds in his email from barackobama.com?. (My interpretative comments in bold).

Last Tuesday, Creigh Deeds won the Democratic primary for Governor of Virginia. In a hard-fought race, Creigh ran a terrific campaign and beat two fierce competitors by winning votes in every corner of the Commonwealth. (Mr. Deeds had more votes than any other one candidate, but a majority of voters voted for someone other than Mr. Deeds.)

I know a thing or two about tough primaries (where I used all the tricks I could think of to disqualify my opponents), and I know a thing or two about running tough races in Virginia. Creigh Deeds' victory once again shows the power of people at the grassroots to win elections (Grassroots = the 6.3% of voters who showed up to vote) and bring about lasting change (with -- and he will be a better candidate this fall because of his hard work to win the nomination.

Creigh has been a dedicated public servant his entire life. As a county prosecutor and state legislator, he's been a strong advocate for economic development, high-quality education, and affordable health care -- and he's gone to great lengths to protect the environment and institute smart public transportation.

Creigh has an ability to bring people together, build consensus and deliver results. He will bring the same bipartisan (all democrat), pragmatic (no principles need intervene) approach to politics that former Governor and now Senator Mark Warner and my friend Governor Tim Kaine used to help Virginia move forward (think higher taxes and unsustainable debt with no progress on transportation) over the past eight years.

I know that approach works because I've spent some time in your great Commonwealth. In my experience, Democratic candidates with a pragmatic approach to solving problems can be successful (at raising taxes, expanding government, increasing deficits, wildly misjudging the effect of economic policies, and creating false tax revenue projections). That's the approach my campaign took last November to put Virginia in the Democratic column for the first time since 1964 (That is I lied about everything). And that's how Creigh Deeds will win this fall (He will lie about everything). Read More. . . .

Real Pork

Emporia Virginia- The Virginia Pork Festival. In contrast to the Porkulus and other bloated self indulgent federal expenditure, Emporia has on offer today a true taste of American, the Virginia Pork Festival. Under cloudy skies, a friendly crowd of thousands of Virginians are enjoying a sultry June afternoon, chowing down on unlimited quantities of multitudinous varieties of real honest to goodness pork of the porcine persuasion. There is on a biscuit, grilled, fried, or barbecued pork. There are sandwiches, sausages, and that all time favorite chitterlings. Hush puppies, sweet potatoes, roast corn, and strawberry shortcake. No worry about being thirsty either. There is all the beer, soda, ice tea and water anyone can drink. If you are not here today you are missing a great time. Plan on it next year. Read More. . . .