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The Republican Utopia


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9 hours ago, Dr. Strangelove said:

People on average are terrible financial decision makers. Privatization of the funds would only be viable if participation was not optional and employees would not be able to access the funds until certain ages, just like Social Security now. 

So like I said in my first post that you have now disagreed with two or three times:thumbs

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58 minutes ago, Archy1221 said:

Sounds like this train wouldn’t have been impacted by this rule change either from what reports say.  Sounds like the party politics thing you hate 

Wouldn't quite say that's known yet.

 

LINK


 

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The crew of the Norfolk Southern train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, received an alert about an overheating wheel bearing and was trying to slow the train before it came off the tracks, according to a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report released Thursday.

 

As the engineer applied the brakes, an automatic braking system kicked in, according to the report. Investigators found that a wheel bearing was heating up over several miles as the train approached the derailment site, according to data from trackside sensors, but did not reach a critical threshold until shortly before the incident, when it registered 253 degrees above normal.

 

 

The Obama era rules required ECP brake systems which stop a train faster than the traditional brakes.

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1 hour ago, Archy1221 said:

On trains carrying certain cargo.  From what read, this train wouldn’t apply. 

Probably.  LINK  This is a pretty good article on the whole issue.

 

As it turns out, the rail industry initially was all excited about the new braking system.

 

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The development of ECP brakes began in the early 1990s, with tests collaboratively conducted by the Association of American Railroads, an industry trade group that represents the largest rail companies, and the Federal Railroad Administration. ECP uses electronic controls to instantaneously apply air-powered brakes uniformly across the length of a train. Studies have shown the brakes can shorten stopping distances by up to 60 percent.

Initially, the rail industry hailed the new development, touting the brakes as a safe way to transport nuclear waste, as DeSmogBlog has documented.

“ECP brakes are to trains what anti-lock brakes are to automobiles — they provide better control,” Joseph Boardman, President George W. Bush’s FRA administrator, exclaimed in 2006. The agency hired consultants to study the braking system, who concluded that they provided “major benefits in freight train handling, car maintenance, fuel savings, and network capacity” that could “significantly enhance rail safety and efficiency.”

 

 

 

But....then a quick about face.

 

 

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But the sudden growth of the American fracking industry, which fueled the demand for freight cars carrying crude oil from fields in North Dakota and other states to ports and refineries around the country, changed the economic equation for the rail industry. The surge in demand meant it would be much more costly for the forced adoption of new safety regulations requiring ECP brakes on rail cars carrying explosive liquids.

By May 2015, when the Obama administration issued its rule following a number of oil train accidents, the industry coalesced in opposition

Squires, speaking at another investor event in May of that year, confirmed that Norfolk Southern would oppose the ECP mandate. “We believe that the new braking systems are unjustified from a cost-benefit perspective,” said Squires. He noted the rail industry and his company would fight back against the brake technology mandate, “in some form or another … but there’s no question challenges are coming.” (Norfolk Southern did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)

 

 

 

And, what's the reasoning Trump gave to doing away with the regulations?  It cost too much.  So.. he did away with them all together.  This train didn't qualify because it didn't have enough hazardous material cars on it.  Imagine what this would have been like if it was a train that was mostly hazardous like the regulations stated....that Trump took away.

 

Here's another interesting tidbit.

 

 

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Other questions remain about safety regulations that could have prevented the East Palestine disaster. The company once employed five senior engineers who specialized in maintaining detectors that prevent derailments. As Freight Waves, an industry outlet, has reported, Norfolk Southern recently eliminated these positions and has lobbied against rules that required railroads to conduct brake tests on rail cars that had not operated for four or more hours.

The Obama-era railroad regulations also included a rule to use freight cars made of special reinforced materials for the transport of oil and hazardous materials, as the New York Times reported. Of the freight cars that derailed earlier this month, three were of the stronger type and were not breached, while one of the freight cars carrying propylene glycol that did not have the enhanced protections was breached.

 

 

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3 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

Probably.  LINK  This is a pretty good article on the whole issue.

 

As it turns out, the rail industry initially was all excited about the new braking system.

 

 

 

But....then a quick about face.

 

 

 

 

And, what's the reasoning Trump gave to doing away with the regulations?  It cost too much.  So.. he did away with them all together.  This train didn't qualify because it didn't have enough hazardous material cars on it.  Imagine what this would have been like if it was a train that was mostly hazardous like the regulations stated....that Trump took away.

 

Here's another interesting tidbit.

 

 

 

So why play the party politics game then when this train wreck wouldn’t have been prevented by the revoked rule?  

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15 minutes ago, ZRod said:

What book in a school library has hard core pornography in it??? I mean outside of Nat Geo.

 

We have an "adult" store here in town called The Book Ranch. Maybe Ronnie Des#!tforbrains is going there and not an actual library :dunno 

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5 minutes ago, Archy1221 said:

So why play the party politics game then when this train wreck wouldn’t have been prevented by the revoked rule?  

It's still under investigation.  The rail industry (NS CEO) lobbied heavily to congress to go against the regulations.  Republicans are the party that did away with all the regulations instead of looking at them and seeing if they need strengthened or if they are actually good regulations.  Also, if you read clear at the bottom, there was a part of the regulations that may have prevented the cars from being breached during the derailment.

 

Right now, the way I understand it, there could be a train with 25 hazardous cars (that would have qualified) going down the track and this exact same thing could very well happen.  What party has prevented that train from being required to have the ECP brakes?

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