Two Clues for the Clueless

October 1, 2007
     The first clue came during a routine NPR news broadcast on Friday, which had presidential candidate Mitt Romney retailing the shopworn idea that our nation "is dependent on foreign oil." We've heard this a million times, of course, and we accept it without thinking. But if you venture forward mentally one baby step, you will quickly come to see that, no, this dependence on foreign oil is not itself the problem. The problem is that we have adopted a living arrangement so hopelessly centered around cars and incessant motoring and one of the consequences is an addiction to oil, which we happen to have a declining supply of in our own land.

     In other words, the problem is not the fact that two-thirds of the oil we use comes from other nations, but is about our own behavior in our own nation. In a reality-based existence, it is more effective to modify one's own behavior than to try to govern the behavior of other sovereign individuals and entities. It ought to be a test of anybody applying for the position of president to realize this, and to communicate it to the public. One might expect a Republican candidate to artfully avoid this reality -- since car-dealers and suburban sprawl developers are among the heartiest Republicans. But it's disgraceful for the Democratic opposition to ignore this reality.

     The gravest problem this nation faces, therefore, is the inability of the American public and its leaders to confront the fact that we can't continue to live the way we do -- and, by the way, when I say "leaders," I don't restrict myself to political leaders. Our failures of leadership are comprehensive, including leadership in my nominal sector, journalism. For two weeks in a row, the price of oil on the futures markets has closed above $80-a-barrel, and for these two weeks The New York Times Sunday Business Section has failed to run one story on the consequences of oil rising into this uncharted territory of high price. Are the Times editors on crack? Surely $80-plus oil will thunder through the American economy.

      The second clue for the clueless came over the weekend when President Bush declared that the chaos reigning in America's airports had reached such an intolerable level that the federal government might have to step in and whip the airlines into shape by regulating routes and apportioning flights. Again, the inability of the public and its leaders to extend a thought one inch beyond the horizon of a given problem is really striking. It's as if the entire nation had suffered a lobotomy -- and perhaps we have, through the agency of excessive TV-watching.

      Has it occurred to anybody that if we could run choo-choo trains between cities a few hundred miles apart -- say from Cleveland to Columbus Ohio -- we could decongest the airports overnight? That, by so doing, Americans could travel much more pleasurably and affordably between the places they travel to most often? It certainly hasn't occurred to anybody running for president, or any of the editors-in-chief in the news media, or even any executive in what remains of the the railroad industry. But I'll try to boil it down to a digestible sound byte for them: the best way to relieve the current agony of air travel is to get the passenger trains running again. Let the airlines do what they do best: really long-range trips. Let trains do the rest. We will consume less foreign oil. The jobs now hemorrhaging out of the US auto industry could move into the passenger rail and rolling stock sectors. Everybody will be much happier.

      The people I know complain endlessly about how stupid President George W. Bush is, and how badly he has lied to the public about this or that. But a casual observer from Mars would have to conclude that President Bush perfectly represents a nation that shows such a thoroughgoing incapacity for thought, and such an aversion to the truth about its own behavior. A people so hopelessly unwilling to get its act together deserves to suffer.

Comments

[Perfectscotty]

I live in a small town that used to be a 24/7 railroad town and I can say that if railroads do make a comeback it will be the best thing for hundreds of small towns like mine. It would not however be the most efficient form of mass transit - widebody jets filled with passengers are the winner there.

Recently my sweety and I took a trip down to Kansas City MO. and toured the old railroad depot building there. What a tragedy that such a magnificent structure is now little more than a tourist trap with a gift shop and restaurant ! It turned my stomach to see how things have changed but in our case they will change back.

I'm fast coming to the realization that simpler is so much better and it's OK to sit at home and hold intriguing conversations with loved ones late into the night.

[Ruggero2007]

My open letter to the presidential candidates:

http://ruggerorant.blogspot.com

[Movenonup]

Greenspan the evil comedic genius

"Someone Taser the Penguin"

http://www.salon.com/comics/tomo/2007/09/24/tomo/

[Lurkerlu]

"Maybe others here can verify this: I recently read that most European passenger rail runs on tracks dedicated to that purpose, as opposed to the USA, where passenger and freight must share the same tracks."

Several years back I had a job that required trips to Seattle from Portland a couple times each month. I refused to drive for many reasons, least of which is the white-knuckle stretch between Olympia and Seattle on I-5. I took the Amtrack express when I could and can confirm that it shared tracks with the freight trains. This causes frequent delays of over an hour as the Amtrack train sits on the tracks waiting for another train to get out of the way. Who knows why a freight train would sit for an hour, but that's the experience. It's a shame because the train is way easier (and cheaper) than driving or taking the Horizon shuttle, but for a business traveler it's unreliable through no fault of its own.

[cleverchimp]

WSJ sez we'll all be fine after $100/barrel, so it must be true: http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB119102487310743331-lMyQjAxMDE3OTIxOTAyMjk0Wj.html

And now for an actual good sign: http://www.streetsblog.org/2007/09/28/portland-sees-explosive-growth-in-bike-commuting/

Recently my grandma and I were in that number: http://clevercycles.com/?p=195

[Nicholas Paredes]

The comment that the bathroom stinks is truly on par with the thesis, that we cannot think as a society. Just as the society with which we are actively involved is seemingly idiotic for its reliance on a dwindling resource, and does nothing, the fact that we cannot clean up after ourselves and treat public property with disdain is equivalent. After ditching my BMW, I got some choice seats on the Chicago El, which I happen to like, and can attest to their foul nature. But, may the lord have mercy on the soul, which is witnessed relieving themselves on a train seat, as was heard in the past. Get some responsibility!

And, I agree that making people pay the true cost of private services should be a requirement outside of basic necessities, such as food, health care, and education. We are one screwed up society of entitlement.

European rail service is likely much different in its servicing of more compact urban areas. There is an awful lot of sprawl here, not that Paris is not sprawl.

[Movenonup]

So, if I'm kind of a gambler (stockbroker) anyway and I'm sort of used to running a bit of an edge anyway, AND everyone, including my competitors, is suffering losses, ya know, common understanding with the public and all AND no one is able to value assets because no one knows who is holding the bag and the act of assesing the assets is a moving target anyway AND the oversight of these things is admittedly not what it needs to be, after all, how did the subprime debacle happen... well, I'm just saying, wouldn't it be tempting to figure out a scheme to, on your own or with others, claim even bigger losses than there really are and pocket the difference? I'm just saying...not like I don't trust no one or nuthin' ya know, just saying...
Don't you think there are some crooks out there right now having a fucking field day, besides the ones that have already cashed out most of their chips and moved their assets to the Cayman Islands? Besides the ones being bailed out by Helicopter Ben? If there are losses and ambigouosly valued assets, one could easily create some funky paper trails. Like what happened with some of the S&L stuff.

[XER]

Jim,

I have traveled extensively on European trains over the last 23 years. TGV et al, is wonderful, but beyond our capability for many years to come.

The US is 60 years behind Europe in passenger rail technology and infrastructure. There is not enough "quick money" in this project, becuase of all the regulation required to build this system. America does not have the will or brain power to make this happen. The leadership required for this project is beyond our ability as a people. If anything, it will only come off in dribs and drabs. The whole thing is a pipe dream. Sorry.

[Laura Louzader]

Regarding the story linked in your Grunt of today, of the vicious mistreatment and subsequent death of a New York woman at the hands of airport gestapo-thug personnel:

The vile treatment of Mrs. Gotbaum and her death that most likely resulted from a panic attack, as the poor, stressed-out woman was thrown into a cell just for throwing a hissy-fit over a missed plane, is a symptom of the deep savagery this country has already descended to.

I did not witness this event, obviously, but having worked in civil service and having witnessed the mistreatment of complaining customers (who usually have damn good reason)at the hands of uncouth, stupid transit and airline personnel, I feel I know what happened here.

Mrs. Gotbaum probably got pretty shrill. I have, myself, when arriving at a airport with no sleep and in a state of extreme stress, to find myself bumped, or miss a plane by 5 minutes.

In the past, airline personnel would have attempted to soothe and mollify the woman with gentle words and a seat on the next available flight.

But these days, the airport and airline personnel are illiterate goons and savages, with lots of authority; and the atmosphere is extremely tense and paranoid with the heightened security and restrictions.

I witnessed a similar episode, which the passenger survived OK, when a CTA passenger, who was slightly drunk and very bellicose verbally, was cussing loudly at a farecard machine. Instead of helping the confused passenger, a slightly wasted businessmen,cope with the machine, the moron CA had him arrested and hauled to jail.

These days you are not treated like a customer, you are treated like a criminal.

So be warned, if you are flying anywhere at all. The airports are choatic and the personnel can't cope, and are venting their frustration on any passenger who complains at all, even mildly.

[DaveL]

testintesting

[DaveL]

fuck

[Movenonup]

Now that's funny!

[DaveL]

so, the deal: if you're hungry, you'll get fed.

wrong, first you must demean yourself, beg. then you must perform tricks, like a circus dog (wich is kind of messed up in it's own right. why is it ok to dress a dog in a skirt and make it balance on a ball, but not ok to make them fight? I think both practices are equally wrong.) if pleasing to the ring master you'll be allowed to do it again tomorrow.

[Johnny Rico]

Oh, thank God. You can still swear.

[DaveL]

why would people want to either ride on a train to perform mindless rediculess tricks for thier circus master, or go to a mall to buy mindless worthless soul killing crap so that people can keep riding trains to to perform mindless rituals to accumulate tokins so that that can go the the mall and buy crap so...

[DaveL]

the fishies were biting this morning. they must be taking advantage of the last of the warm weather. riddle, who's smarter a fish on a hook or a commuter on a train?

[Johnny Rico]

...at the hands of airport gestapo-thug personnel:

The vile treatment of Mrs. Gotbaum and her death that most likely resulted from a panic attack, as the poor, stressed-out woman...

Oh, please. What? It happened this morning, and you already know how she died. The story I read made it sound like she was smoking angel dust.

Airport gestapo-thugs. Yeah. Blackwater, no doubt.

Oh well, one less psychopath to ruin everybody else's pleasant trip.

Now England. Hey, that's a different story. Where the hell do they find the people to staff their zoos?

Chimp gunned down in ape escape.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/10/01/uk.chimp.ap/

LONDON, England (AP) -- A runaway chimp was shot dead after breaking out of his enclosure at an English zoo, his keepers said.

Chimpanzees Jonnie and Coco broke out of their compound Friday at the Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire, about 35 miles north of London. The Zoological Society of London, which runs the zoo, said Coco was recaptured, but Jonnie could not immediately be caught and had to be killed.

Jonnie was still in the zoo at the time he was shot, said Christine Drabwell, a press officer at the Whipsnade Zoo. Officials declined to say how long he'd been free, saying an investigation was pending.

"It's just standard procedure, if the animal cannot be quickly and safely recaptured it will be shot," ZSL spokeswoman Alice Henchley said.

When asked why the chimps weren't shot with a tranquilizer gun or in another non-lethal manner, a zoo spokeswoman said that under their procedures, they have to shoot to kill when they have an animal who might be of danger to the public.

"We can't be sure with a tranquilizer," said the spokeswoman for the zoo who spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with the organization's policy. "It doesn't work quickly enough."

Jonnie, an adult male, was gunned down by the zoo's specially trained firearms squad, Henchley said. She added that Jonnie and Coco's keepers were still trying to figure out how the apes escaped.

[DaveL]

run jonnie, run cocco. shit jonnie, ya needs ta run faster en 'at. stupid monkey.

you too coco.

they've been tryin' ta catch me fer years. shows ahm smarter then them fucking monkeys, gawddamn i'm good.

[DaveL]

Instead of helping the confused passenger, a slightly wasted businessmen,cope with the machine, the moron CA had him arrested and hauled to jail.

shoot, he wasn't acting right, just like coco. all he needs is a night in lock down and script from his local head doctor, and he'll be right as rain in the morning. he'll realize the errors of his ways. he must sit placidly and ride the train. that will save america.

all 'board!

[DaveL]

jonnie and cocco are my heros. now jonnie's dead. just like the heros that died in 911. but they were all in thier proper place, that makes them even more heroic.

[DaveL]

i wish i could be more like coco. but not jonnie, cause he's dead.

[DaveL]

why is my shit spam?

[DaveL]

this is so vital that i'm going back to the woods now.

[DaveL]

don't smile at me JHK. i knows you're fuckin' with me.

[DaveL]

all 'board?