A Quickie: Stuff that (Don't) Sting

From RT, also known as Russia Today:

In response to rapidly dwindling global honey bee populations - vital in pollinating a third of the world’s crops - environmental and food safety groups have sued the EPA for approving bee-ravaging pesticides despite damning evidence of their effects.
The Center for Food Safety filed in mid-December a legal brief in support of a lawsuit backed by many organizations that seeks a reversal of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) May decision to approve sulfoxaflor - a type of insecticide chemical known as a neonicotinoid that is associated with mass death among bee populations worldwide.
In fact, the European Union has banned neonicotinoids for two years based on scientific studies that have linked their use to sudden eradication of entire beehives - a phenomenon dubbed ‘Colony Collapse Disorder’ (CCD).

My response: declare honey bees an endangered species!

END RANT

Dem Factions

From MSNBC, discussing this "civil war" in the GOP.

Just over the last few months, we’ve seen reports from the New York Times, Bloomberg News, and the Washington Post on the simmering tensions between Corporate America and Tea Party Republicans, driving a wedge into the GOP coalition. With party primaries looming, talk of a “Republican civil war” abounds.

"N.Wells" had a great response:

My preference would be for Democrats to run as party members emphasizing unity with respect to a simple and largely positive platform that they promise to work in unison on, but which cannot happen if the voters elect another divided government.  Perhaps, "More jobs and decent pay", with a second emphasis on "Republican cuts and obstruction haven't worked". 

Here's where I slightly disagree: the Democrats do have factions: the conservative wing of the party, which is sadly dead when we need it, but maybe Charlie Crist and Joe Manchin can resurrect it, the more-liberal-than-normal wing led by Elizabeth Warren and a few others I can't think of off the top of my head and the mainstream of the Democrats, which is led by Obama himself. And then there's the far-left, lead by Bernie Sanders (who isn't even technically a Democrat but keeps the party's liberalism in check).

The difference though is that the Democrats always work together and don't have bloody primaries, while the GOP is in a state of disarray.

I'm still coming to the fact that New York is closing in on becoming the fourth largest state (down from third) in the nation. It's true: you do get what you pay for. That's a topic for another day. I can only hope that the nation's population peaks before New York loses anymore congressional seats.

Why the Tea Party Isn't Going Anywhere...and what the Democrats can do about it...

I've always enjoyed what is in the Atlantic, and although I do think that the Tea Party's love affair with the public is dead, the movement itself isn't. Something that helps the Tea Party is their anarchist-like organization style. Unlike the American libertarian movement, led mostly by Ron Paul, or the American-style socialist movement, led by (the awesome) Bernie Sanders, there's no head Tea Partier, unless you count Mama Sarah. If the Democrats are going to beat back the allure of convservatism and the wave of anti-Obamacare sentiment, here's a few good calls.

-The veteran factor. I've mentioned this before, and I think it's a good call for the Dems to go recruiting ex-military to run for specific offices. Voters who might be uncomfortable with voting for a traditional liberal might go for more of a conservative-looking Democrat. And independent voters tend to be more pro-military.

-Grabbing more moderates. The Democrats have been going to much to the left in parts of the country they have no business of getting leftist candidates. If Wendy Davis is going to succeed in Texas, she needs to show that she's not a Washington-type liberal.

-Run candidates open to Obamacare overhauls. Michelle Nunn, the daughter of the popular former Georgia senator, is one of them. Jason Carter's run is more uphill, but then again, his grandfather was in the same boat in January of 1976. That December he was President-elect. A lot can change in ten or eleven months.

Skocpol makes a really great point here:

After the immediate effort flopped and caused most Americans to further sour on Republicans, Cruz remained unbowed. And why not? After all, Cruz gained near-total name recognition and sky-high popularity among Tea Party voters. He now appears regularly on television, and his antics have allowed elite Tea Party forces to lock in draconian reductions in federal spending for coming rounds of budget struggles. Americans may resent the Tea Party, but they are also losing ever more faith in the federal government—a big win for anti-government saboteurs. Popularity and “responsible governance” are not the goals of Tea Party forces, and such standards should not be used to judge the accomplishments of those who aim to undercut, block, and delay—even as Tea Party funders remain hopeful about holding their own or making further gains in another low-turnout midterm election in November 2014.

If the Democrats want to do damage control, they need a HUGE get out the vote campaign. It's a matter that the Democrats not only were unpopular in 2010, but that the Democrats didn't have people get out to the polls as they should of. For the Democrats to minimize damage and make progress next November, there needs to be an enthusiasm surge.

But then again, I tend to vote across party lines at times. I've voted for Janet Duprey at least once, and I'm not afraid to do so again. She's someone who truly crosses party lines. She sees things truly in color, and is the last person you could ever think of being hypocritical. For instance, she was one of only two Republicans to vote for the Women's Equality Act in the state Assembly, and I recall reading somewhere that her reasoning was grounded on common sense. And plus, she's big on autism-related issues. Liberal on many social issues. Big on autism awareness. Doesn't matter what party you're a member of, I'm probably going to pull the lever for you.

Same goes for Bill Owens and why he's escaped political death twice. I hope the third time won't do him in. He's more with the Republicans on many economic issues, and is military-friendly. On social issues, he's also been lukewarm on a few of them.

Although I can't find the statistics, I think those statistics would show that regular voters (those who don't just vote every four years, but annually) tend to be more conservative. Personally, I'm not a moderate, but I also don't like intimidating candidates. Why are moderates polling strongly? They're not as threating, and in some cases, like that of Charlie Crist, a good record, a now former Republican (who went against his party's norm back in 2008 when the polls stayed open real late to accommodate everyone), have records that even win over Democrats. Moderates will win in 2014. The same reason is why federal level politics isn't really appealing for me. I'm only moderate in a few areas.

The most dangerous thing that can happen is more state governments turn dark red and both houses of Congress have veto-proof majorities. If that scary thing occurs, Obama could veto all he could want but the Republicans would have the upper hand. If the economy continues to do well despite the Republican economic decisions in Congress, the Democrats might have better chances in 2014,  but so far, the signs are there for the GOP: the Tea Party might not be going extinct, but what is going extinct is their voter likability.

To sum things up: the Tea Party isn't going anywhere because they tend to speak to the stereotypical American conscious: faith, the Constitution, free markets and most importantly, liberty. At the end of the day, what erks me about the Tea Party is this: their level of arrogance. But do I understand where they are coming from and why they are frustrated? Yes. A buggy government from Obama (in regards to both NSA and the ACA) is only helping to legitimize the Tea Party movement.

I'm going to be scared for the Democrats until next Election Day. The American electorate is not quite forgiving.

My views on EuroMaidan

For the last month now, Ukraine has been through civil strife as a result of the move for Ukraine to join the European Union. Protests have broken out all through the country,

Now we get to Svoboda, also known as the Ukrainian Tea Party. Svoboda is made up of skinheads and about the worst radicals that anyone could imagine. Some of their platform I obviously disagree with: abortion rights, LGBT rights, Ban on adoptions by non-Ukrainians of Ukrainian children (see Wikipedia for the original link), ethnic passports (like totalitarian states do and South Africa did for years), Ukraine being a member of the CIS (which is something I don't have a problem with). The idea of ultra-right Ukrainian nationalism scares me. Fascism never works.

Although I'm not rabid about Ukraine NOT joining the European Union, the EU and Ukraine would be a horrid fit. The value of the Euro would wreck the Ukrainian economy. However, I do believe that Ukraine should have closer relations with the West, even if that means at times alienating Russia.

Furthermore, Western Ukraine needs to embrace the eastern side of the nation. There will always be disagreements, but I think my age group (of Ukrainians) are more united than my parents generation. I think a good compromise is that Ukraine not entirely join the Union, but sign onto a couple of compacts, and for Russia's comfort, not join NATO. Also, Russia nor the EU should be bullying Ukraine on these issues. Ukraine will do things in a way that suits it best. That being said, Ukraine needs to do something fast. It's economy is in shambles, not only are tariffs high but manufacturing isn't competitive there and corruption is widespread. There are signs of process, for instance, travel in Ukraine is more civilized thanks to the UEFA competition.

What made me smile was this line from this article from back in November, spurred on by a comment on the Times article:

Youth is more supportive of the European integration of their country, as 65 percent of 18-29-year-old poll participants supported EU membership. Yet, more than half of the 50-60-year-old polled residents chose to answer yes to eventual EU membership for Ukraine, informs dw.de.

I do wonder how much Euromaidan support comes from eastern Ukrainians in my age group. Are they, like their elders, critical of the movement or supportive?

Overall, I do support the efforts of the Euromaidan to some extent. Ukraine, although having a majority of its ethnic roots in Russia, is not just strictly a Russian offspring state. And I do know of divided nations: I am the citizen of one.

The Insane Idea of Abolishing America's Income Tax

Rep. Jim Bridenstine has just become my least favorite congressmember by recently proposing a bill that would end income tax for Americans. I strongly disagree with this as income taxes pay for some very good things: good roads and infrastructure, schools and institutions of higher learning, public libraries and museums and public services like police, fire and EMT services, things I like to have. I do agree that the tax structure has become too complex and that we should go to a system that is graduated. If you make less than $14,000 a year, your tax bracket would be 9%. If you make $10 million, I would make it nearly 50% of your total income. Americans pay less in taxes now than ever before, and yet we complain about the federal deficit. I've said this before: you can't have your cake AND eat it.

I think there should be a .1% tax on every stock trade made. If you're selling $1500 in stock, expect to pay a penalty of $1.50 to go into a piggy bank that would be used to rescue our nation's economy in the event of an economic collapse due to stupidity in the stock market.

Sasha's commentary for December 12, 2013: Same old same old

This week, Senator Liz Krueger introduced a bill that would legalize marijuana in New York State. Although I support her move, I have different motives. Not only do I believe that marijuana is harmless, but legalization, if done properly and legalization in New York extended to non-residents, could benefit the state's coffers in a form of pot tourism. Folks, get ready for a contentious 2014 in the state legislature.

And while we're on the topic of pot, there's a mom who now lives in California who smokes pot to calm the symptoms of her cerebral palsy.

Between State senators David Carlucci and Diane Savino, I'm really finding myself liking the independent Democratic caucus. The conference (caucus) leader, Jeff Klein, came out with a comment that noted that an insult by the president of a gun lobby here in New York because the president of this group had a different standard than the state's lawmakers. I still argue that the state's gun laws should be revisited to ensure they're not overly restrictive.

Personally, I think gun laws should be a little looser in Upstate New York due to practicality, or even better, the state set absolute minimum standards and each county have laws to suit their needs. Erie County might do better with stricter gun laws than Franklin County due to urbanization. I'd introduce a bill in the state legislature that would require all bills to recognize that upstate and downstate have different needs in regards to laws, and that what works for downstate might not work upstate and vice-versa. In general, New York might be one of the safest states to live in, and I wish the rest of the nation were as sane as New York. Our economy could be better though, but then again, we shouldn't complain: our economy is as large as South Korea's, even though Upstate should be able to share in that. We're not some insignificant state. Instead, we should turn it around and make it work better, which was why I voted for Andrew Cuomo back in 2010.

I feel that all SUNY schools could ban smoking on their own and shouldn't have to wait for the state legislature to act. Inaction at times can lead to action.

Steve Stockman is one of America's most conservative members of Congress, and some of his tweets are beyond heinous. Some of them are just insulting and mock abortion.

Have some money laying around? You could own your very own airport! And it's a shame that this airport was left in a ghost-like, unfinished state. Air-rail links in my book should be near mandatory.

Last Saturday, Biman Bangladesh Airlines retired its last DC-10, and a shame too. But sadly, the DC-10 is an expensive plane to operate, and compared to its successors, vastly uneconomical. But it's like an old Cadillac: a great plane to fly. Me and a penpal are working out a deal to take an MD-11 flight next summer before KLM puts their trijets up to pasture.

I don't get why this woman in Rockland County murdered her newborn.

I worked at Sears for the first part of this year, and I'd dig ditches before work there again. I have my reasons, and that I will keep to myself. But the state of the company is really depressing, and I agree that Eddie Lampert has taken a great company and run it to the ground. And another tragedy of Lampert's deal? Putting store managers against each other!

Another pitfall of Sears? $7.25 an hour. If I'm going to do well, I'd like to earn at least $10. And I agree that no one should have to work just to struggle to stay alive.

Smoking does cause premature aging, and the "horrors" (for lack of a better term) are illustrated here. I'd like to believe my Momon-like lifestyle will in general be better for my health.

A teenager in Texas is literally getting away with murder because of something called "affluenza", where he lost touch with reality because of coming from a lenient home. Something's not right about that. If it were me, I'd be in jail for life.

UPDATE: Amtrak's been canceling several runs of it's premier Empire Builder train. A few years ago, it was a well-oiled train, and now it's an embarrassment for a passenger railroad I so deeply adore. BNSF, the railroad whose tracks Amtrak uses along with Amtrak itself need to work out an agreement to get the train back on the tracks again.

Black Sunday: The Ukrainian Issue

As I've said in past blogs, my views on Ukrainian politics and foreign policy is balanced in no way that would make sense to any Ukrainian. I'm for a middle way for Ukraine, one that is both pro-European Union and pro-CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States), but I do object to Ukraine joining the EU on that the EU has put the union's economically struggling members in a vunerable position. Greece has no right being in the Eurozone. The Greek economic problems are those that no man could fix.

I wouldn't be surprised why Ukrainians are protesting: they live in an OVERWHELMINGLY corrupt society. When you can pay a traffic ticket right on the spot (for instance, speeding), something's not right about that. That's how I woke up in Donetsk while catching an early morning flight. What's even more sickening is how even the good guys are messed up: Yulia Tymoshenko, who looks like a saint these days, isn't really a stellar person herself. What Ukraine needs is a true reformer, a president who is willing to clean up corruption and make doing business in Ukraine more competitive, and safer. As much as Tymoshenko should be freed, it just will not happen in this environment.

According to Nicolai Petro, the EU hasn't done much to help the situation either, turning Ukraine's joining the EU into a "loyalty test". Right there I would have walked away and found some way to sign a lesser deal. And Ukraine does NOT need the Euro, which is so highly pegged (for instance one US dollar is about $1.37 in euros. And the hryvnia? As I've constantly mentioned, as much as the European Union might have a little to do with why there hasn't been massive bloodshed in Europe since World War II (excluding the Yugoslav wars), I'm not a fan either. The euro is an elitist currency in my eyes (although I might be over exaggerating on that one, but the idea of a multinational currency is an oxymoron in my eyes).

Right now, if I were an EU minister, I'd move to table Ukraine's entry into the EU for the time being until the political situation has died down. Or how about this one? A nationwide vote on Ukraine joining the union? Most Ukrainians support the move, to my surprise. And Russia? I don't think that even with Ukraine joining the Union, I don't see Ukraine being one of the more reliable members of the Union on policy matters, probably voting whatever way Russia feels. Groupthink, after all, can be dangerous.

Vladimir Putin, regardless, does not have many friends these days. Although he has kept Russia stable, something that just didn't exist under Boris Yeltsin's term as Russian leader, he isn't really fond of democracy. Until Russians my age come to power, democracy in Russia will be just a dream.

Sasha's commentary for December 5, 2013: Everything I didn't get to yesterday

Yesterday the world received the awful news that Nelson Mandela passed away. I believe the article summed it up best: he is the one politician that we will really, truly miss. And not Ronald Reagan, whose legacy has been mixed. Would I say Mandela is the first? If not the first, pretty darn close. Although a tacky article, it is a funny yet moving tribute to the former South African leader. In his autobiography, Sir Richard Branson (known for the Virgin Group) mentions his fondness for Mandela, and his account of meeting him.

In regards to dating, NO ONE should have sex on the first date. That is just way too soon. I do believe in modesty in dating. Certain romantic gestures? That's sort of overdoing it, I'm just saying. But being clear about going steady? That's a good call.

Also, keep in mind that dating is tricky, regardless. Not all girls like the idea of dating in general, so if you like a girl who doesn't want a boyfriend, or vice versa, your best bet is to simply deal with it and move on or just staying close friends. And if a girl notes that she does have some feelings for you, just stick at it. She might eventually warm to the idea of a relationship.

I don't think it's fare to blame socialism for a power outage.That being said, the Venezuela government should throw some money into improving infrastructure.

This world is twisted when a young man with an intellectual disability is murdered over a pair of headphones. Christian Massey, despite his struggles, was a man who people loved and cared about so much.

Surprisingly, I applaud Martin Bashir's decision to resign from MSNBC. As much as I really agree with him, I will say: saying that Sarah Palin should have someone s**t in her mouth is just wrong. Does this mean we will see Roman Farrow as his replacement?  Regardless, as we saw with Keith Olbermann, when you get suspended from a show, coming back is difficult, and usually your run is over.

Meanwhile, in Maine, I understand governor Paul LePage's twisted logic: I understand why he would support scrapping child labor laws. After all, he was a child worker, having had an EXTREMELY rough childhood. And students having free time to work? Unless you're super bright, I wouldn't bet on it. And the labor market needs less people employed who don't need a second job to get by.

I do like the idea of a reversible USB plug, but it also needs to be a standard everyone but Apple adopts. That being said, I am very happy with the way USB currently is done. Preferably, I'd like this only for new devices and not for computer motherboards themselves.

Although I am struggling financially, I guess I'm not doing too bad at all, quoting a line from the Lynyrd Skynyrd song "Searchin'". I have a roof over my head, clean clothes and food in my stomach.

I would have thought Ukraine, with its recent issues, would be the most corrupt. The dishonorable award goes to none other than a three way tie: Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia. The least? New Zealand? Ukraine? Highly. In fact, Ukraine ranks worse than Russia. I beg Ukraine to fix its problems.

I'm honestly confused on Dick Cheney: I thought he was lukewarm on marriage equality, not actively advocating for it but still in favor of it? Sometimes you need to stick out of your kids politics. I wonder how Justin Trudeau would feel if he found out one of his kids was going to be a card carrying member of the New Democrats in Canada?

Since AT&T isn't subsidizing your phone if you bring your own, how about giving customers a break? I applaud AT&T on this move even though I wish it were a little sweeter. Personally, I'd like to see more consumer protections and more community-wide hot spots. And how about the feds throw some cash

My condolences to this woman who lost her husband in a car crash, and found out via Twitter. But Twitter though, even live tweeting the accident? Traumatizing. I fear losing a family member in an auto accident. I really do.

I have in the past had the privilege of working with Jessica Suchy-Pilalis, a professor of the harp and music theory at SUNY Potsdam. She's started a Pan-Orthodox mission, and I must say, her devotion to the organization is immense. Anyways, it turns out she comes from a family with huge musical talent, and her mother is 90 and still a performing musician.

Sasha's commentary for December 4, 2013: 2013's Sunset is Near

Abortion is something no woman ever wants to go through, but when politicians in conservative states are passing laws that make medically necessary abortions illegal, that bothers me immensely. Knowing these laws are on the books in Nebraska and Oklahoma are enough reason that I could ill afford to live in these states. I respect the pro-life movement, but not those who are turning it neurotic. How about instead of outlawing abortions, let's destigmatize birth control and contraception as a whole.

When I heard about this crash, I thought of a girl I know from Clifton Park along with the accident in the Malone area (not sure if it was North Bangor) which happened nearly two years ago. The crash on the Northway happened last year, the one in my area happened two. In both accidents, a student athlete was killed, and drugs were involved. Regardless, these affects of these accidents are lifelong; the guilt, the sorrow, the physical and mental issues. But for Bailey Wind, losing a boyfriend in the accident made a tragedy even worse. Granted though, the human spirit that can result in someone standing tall and continuing to carry on is sometimes the best psychological treatment one can receive. Props to the diver from Colonie!

This weekend, the GOP tweeted that racism is over. It isn't, far from it in fact. Even prejudice towards certain groups of Caucasian Americans isn't over. Try being a disabled American, regardless of race. The GOP even had to correct the tweet they had made.

Bismark, North Dakota. Almost as irrelevant as Plattsburgh, New York. Awesome, right? WRONG! Perfect for Ron Burgundy, also known as Will Ferrell. Here's one for the girls: I want to take one of you to see Anchorman 2 when it comes out.

For every mother out there who have dealt with BS while trying to breastfeed, Holly McNish is your new hero. And the young mother has a darn good point. We've become boob obsessed in bad ways. A woman shouldn't have to resort to a bloody restroom stall to breastfeed.

Yeah, props to this interior designer for pointing out the fallacy of sitcom apartments. They're not realistic. I was born in a grungy hospital to a couple living in a one-bedroom apartment.

To the woman who wrote this: GET A GRIP! I understand that you are traumatized by having a child with autism. Here's the thing: you use fluoride when you brush your teeth, I probably wouldn't be here if it weren't for acetaminophen. Yes, I came close to death as an infant. A lot of things cause autism, but you're buying into the Autism Speaks baloney train. Heck, if they had oxytocin treatment, I'd sign up for it. Sure, I'd still have my weird interests and whatnot, but at least I could be a proper social animal and not make an ass out of myself! As long as the oxytocin didn't turn me into a nutcase, I'm good.

I'll admit, when I was dating Cayla, strange stuff started happening with me. Sure, I put on weight, but I also started feeling a high (the same one when I started back in Brewster in the fall of 2005), heck, in fact, most of the stuff described in the Huffington Post article happened to me. My question is this: when do the changes take place? Is it an overnight sort of thing?

Guys, if you're engage, don't go fooling around with another woman, because she might crash your wedding. And don't get her pregnant, either. That's just asking for trouble.

I'm proud that the Obama administration spent $600 million on railroad improvements. The railroads pay taxes and own their right-of-way. It's time we help them out a little. Tax private toll roads? AWESOME!

Buzzfeed is right: New York kicks butt when it comes to the holidays. 999 out of a 100 Americans agree with me that New York idyllic during this magical time of year. Now give me some mistletoe, darn it!!! (I'm also aware of the HORRID, as 999 out of a hundred makes no sense, but I felt like putting it down).

The horrible train accident on Sunday was by no means in part due to a push-pull configuration. Absolutely NOT. Inattentive? maybe. Human error has become quite common as the cause of American railroad fatalities. The engineer should be as part of the investigation required to have a physical, including heart tests. He might have passed out, and his foot on the dead man's pedal would have still been applied. The alerter should have ideally thrown the emergency brakes on. I hope that Metro-North, as part of the positive train control, adopts a tracking system for it's trains. NOTE:  98% of the Hudson Line trains operated today, quite a feat of engineering. I applaud the MTA's quick response to this effort, but it's heartbreaking that this had to happen in the first place, not to mention that a trainset is out of service. I believe earlier today there was a forcast of the MTA not being able to restore nearly full service until next week.

Better yet? Full Hudson Line service tomorrow!

I have a funny feeling that once Francis steps down from the pontiffhood, he's going to come out of the closet. He's the most compassionate pope in a while, and the craziest. He's a human being, and the Catholic Church could use some of that. Do I care that he was a bouncer at a nightclub? Yes, in a good way. It means that he's, despite the title, your average Joe, or should i say Jorge.

And finally, my life is indeed going nowhere. The Onion article describes my life to a "T".

Black Sunday: A Bad Year for Metro-North

This morning, tragedy struck Metro-North Railroad, when a morning train from Poughkeepsie derailed in Spyuten Dyuvil, in the Bronx, about 15 minutes from Grand Central Terminal, the trains destination. That could have been me on that train. Regardless, my heart goes out to the friends and family of those on the train, and especially to the families of the four who died. As far as I can recall, this is the first fatal accident in Metro-North's thirty-year history (and the "experts" at Wikipedia can back me up on that), but looking at that, Metrolink, which serves the nation's second largest metropolis, has had two fatal accidents in the last ten years.

Years ago, I considered working for Metro-North, even the idea of being the rail carrier's president crossed my mind. To have Howard Permut's job for me would require me doubling my meds. This has not been a good year for my favorite commuter rail carrier, and this is also the thirtieth anniversary of Metro-North's 1983 launch. The reasons are numerous: (quoting NBC New York)

— On Sept. 25, a feeder cable in suburban Mount Vernon, N.Y., failed, knocking out power for 12 days to Metro-North's New Haven line, which carries 132,000 commuters daily. NOTE: that resulted in me forgoing plans to see my stepaunt and stepuncle.

— On July 18, 10 freight train cars hauling garbage derailed in New York City, and service was suspended.

— On May 28, track foreman Robert Luden was struck and killed by a passenger train in West Haven, Conn. The National Transportation Safety Board says he had requested a track section be taken out of service for maintenance, and the section was placed back in service too soon by a student traffic controller who didn't have the required approval.

— On May 17, an eastbound train derailed in Bridgeport, Conn., and was struck by a westbound train. The accident injured 73 passengers, two engineers and a conductor. NOTE: that was caused by a broken rail, and took two sets of M8 railcars out of service.

Some weird coincidences: In the Hudson Line schedule, the 5:44am weekend train out of Poughkeepsie is numbered 8808. Four people died this morning. Four people also died in a plane crash in Alaska as well. And eight people died in a helicopter crash in Scotland. What am I saying here? The number 8 ain't so lucky anymore. 8 is divisible by four. But that's regardless. As a frequent rider of both Metro-North and Amtrak (MNRR is Amtrak's sixth busiest host railroad!) I am ANXIOUS about finding out the results of this investigation. I am only seven years younger than Metro-North, and I rode on Metro-North intensely during it's adolescent years. 

Whatever it is, it's going to take money to fix: track improvements, positive train control, enhanced crew training. In the end, it's going to mean a safer railroad, and the four who died this morning will have not died in vain, even though it appears this accident could have been clearly avoided. Who knows if the train had gone a safe speed it might have arrived at Grand Central only five minutes late. I'd rather be late and safe than on-time and dead.

And the Spuyten Duyvil location? Home to a wreck in 1882.