It’s a curious thing about this nation’s passenger rail network.
I mean to say, apart from that we have one in the first place. This appears to surprise a lot of people. “Chicago? When do you fly out?” they ask, confident in the familiar ritualized response of airline and time and ticket class. When I say I’m taking the Capitol Limited, they’re at a complete loss. I must clarify: Amtrak. A passenger train.
Yes, Virginia, we still have passenger trains. (more…)
Merry Christmas. And now that’s over, here’s The Not Fake News Update for today, 25 December 2019:
– Articles of impeachment drafted against President Trump. The story is finally newsworthy.
– Following elections, the Parliament of the UK has given their P.M. the green light on a Brexit plan. It’s almost as though the politicians are doing what the majority (more…)
More updates from the road, as your Not Fake News action correspondent continues his travels. For research purposes only, of course.
One of the things I love most about traveling by train is the completely different attitude by passengers. I’ve seen fights break out over who gets which taxi, whether people have the right to lay their seats back on a plane, or who let out that legendarily nasty (more…)
I’ve always loved trains, ever since I was a little boy watching the big freights pass the bottom of the field at my uncle’s house. Something hard to express; it’s partly about the size, the vast power, the freedom to travel, to see every part of the country and say hi on the way by.
(more…)
More things you may have missed during the Glorious Impeachment Show:
– UK holds elections; pro-Brexit Conservatives win. Brexit fatigue is one oft-cited reason. It’s almost as though the majority of the United Kingdom approves of Brexit or something.
– Mass shooting in New Jersey by black supremacists, for a change. (more…)
You know me: I see a meme like this, I have to quibble.
Sure, it seems plain enough. There’s people out there who own more money than a thousand families could use in a lifetime, and at the same time there are kids who can’t buy school lunch, homeless veterans on the streets, and did I mention my underwater mortgage and student loans? The government’s in debt up to its eyeballs, Social Security is going broke, and who’s gonna pay for it? Not the billionaires.
All of which is fair enough, so far as it goes. Thing is, though, (more…)
Every time some idiot Congressman tries to introduce the impossible into law, it makes national news. This time it’s Ohio attempting to mandate the reimplantation of ectopic pregnancies. As always, there’s a lot of uninformed people out there expressing their opinions, often quite loudly.
In this case, there’s also some well-intentioned experts oversimplifying the issue for mass consumption. Which is potentially excusable for politics; most politicians are… well, calling them idiots would (more…)
I probably just should have kept scrolling; it’s not my business. On the other hand, if you had toilet paper stuck to your shoe, I’d want to be the person who told you.
This is like that.
One of my Facebook friends, a gentleman whose opinion I value enormously, just re-posted one of those insane memes — you know the ones. This one’s about Fentanyl on a shopping (more…)
The Not Fake News Update, 02 December 2019:
– Iran protests over a gas price hike are the worst since the rise of the Ayatollah.
– Iraq is likewise beset by civil disorder; their P.M. resigned over the weekend due to corruption allegations and probably won’t be replaced any time soon. Bolivia and Venezuela have calmed down; Hong Kong is simmering. Uruguay, on the other hand, seems to be experiencing a peaceful transition of power following recent elections.
– China, as expected, has moved to halt trade talks (more…)
The Not Fake News 