Oh! That's right! If you disagree about something, just shout it away with irrelevant name calling, meaningless (but P.C.) "dis-association", marginalizing characterization, etc, etc.. I'm glad you're not "associated", as you put it. Yep - it's all real impressive. But big deal!

As to Bushy's complicity; why yell at me - I didn't vote for him either. We've had really crappy leadership for many years now - at least two decades - from both parties (isn't there someone else out there). They are all complicit in this current downfall (economic cause and effect lasts a very long time).

I suppose in a perfect world, that all our favorite things would exist in a nice neat sterile bubble, unfettered by any unpleasant or inconvenient and chaotic realities. But in the real world, railroads (our favorite thing here) are deeply affected by all sorts of things political as well as economic, and especially by unyielding physical practicalities, all of which are often ignored, until the railroad collapses.

My point was that no human or politician (They may not be the same thing - hehehe!) has any real power over the economy. It is just in our own proud little imaginations, that we are so omnipotent. WE AIN'T! Won't ever be!

If we were really even a tenth that smart and all powerful; much of the lessons-learned regulation enacted after the Great Depression to prevent market such collapses, would not have been repealed by every president clear back to Carter. It started with the 1978 Staggers Act. I repeat, they are all guilty (especially two of the republicans and two of the democrats).

Still, those railroads are at risk, same as anybody else - even though they currently appear not. As short as about a year ago, most all our jobs appeared safe too - they also were not. With 30% unemployment in California's Central Valley, who's is safe! But right now, the fall of those economic dominoes is plainly accelerating.

You are free to believe that our new president will somehow pull it out. I hope he does; but I don't believe anyone can really do that. It's gonna go where it's gonna go - for better or worse. Even if it appeared he did pull it out, it'd be an unrepeatable fluke - or just a fancy spin on the facts (real common lately - such as the balanced budgets of the 90s - pure spin and outright flim-flamery - look closer!).

Instead, I believe we can only temporarily use gov't, to apply 1st aid and life support to the economy, while time and hard work by the average Joe slowly heals the wounds, as has always been the case in past hard times. Those hard working Joes should then get all the credit. But you know who will take the bow instead. . . .

If that makes me a - what was it you called me - then so be it! Big deal!



Now if you really wanted - not even a whisper of politics here - why do all y'all keep peppering the conversation with it? I was only responding (puttin' in my two cents). Or do you suppose that only certain political opinions (yours) are permitted here, but everyone else's had better be strictly on railroads, while still not disagreeing with you in any way.



Lighten up all y'all - friends can dis-agree about politics or anything else, even "facts" about railroad, and still be active goods friends. Or do you purge your friends list according to politics (icky icky). I hope not!