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Re: National HSR and Other HSR Fantasy Planning?
Author: Anonymous
Date: 02-08-2013 - 11:34
With freeways, it is not a case "Build it and they will come", actually working. It has always been a case of "They were already here a long time ago"; transportation planning in California having always been at least two decades behind reality.
The incompetence goes way beyond CHSRA. It permeates the whole Department of Transportation. Indeed, it permeates the whole State Government, and always has! CHSRA is in fact, merely an un-surprising example.
Quentin Kopp is an indeed an "expert"! Given that he has been involved in state transportation for at least 40 years. But don't be mislead by that; as it's what he's been expert in that really matters. And what he and his ilk have actually been expert in all these years, is in funneling billions of dollars from taxpayer's pockets into big contractor's pockets. And that they have done very well - thankyou!
As to firing the messenger, especially a public employees in actual operations - that is always a noisy and very messy affair, especially if your own skirts ain't clean. But the Quentin Kopps of the world are so expert at what they do, that they rarely resort to that, except maybe once in a while if they need a scapegoat.
Instead they create multiple separate shadow bureaucracies within public agencies to over-rule and bully the ones which are responsible for actual operations. These orgs almost always end up doing the actual contract management instead. Now if you are in one of those outfits, you had damn well better not get caught being the messenger. As such - even though I have often posted on Altamont - I am making sure I remain anonymous here.
But even given all of that; a portion of this seemingly white elephant segment of the CHSRA, might prove useful after all! With a relatively short connector built somewhere to the north, it could become the Santa Fe's long sought after bypass around the Fresno bottleneck. They could call it "The Moonbeam Branch of the BNSF" --- hehehe!
So whenever a politician or bureaucrat looks stupid or incompetent, it is wise to check your own premises first. You must first understand what they are really trying to do. They then may appear very smart - in serving very well their own real agenda. You know, the one they work hard to hide from the public.
The incompetence goes way beyond CHSRA. It permeates the whole Department of Transportation. Indeed, it permeates the whole State Government, and always has! CHSRA is in fact, merely an un-surprising example.
Quentin Kopp is an indeed an "expert"! Given that he has been involved in state transportation for at least 40 years. But don't be mislead by that; as it's what he's been expert in that really matters. And what he and his ilk have actually been expert in all these years, is in funneling billions of dollars from taxpayer's pockets into big contractor's pockets. And that they have done very well - thankyou!
As to firing the messenger, especially a public employees in actual operations - that is always a noisy and very messy affair, especially if your own skirts ain't clean. But the Quentin Kopps of the world are so expert at what they do, that they rarely resort to that, except maybe once in a while if they need a scapegoat.
Instead they create multiple separate shadow bureaucracies within public agencies to over-rule and bully the ones which are responsible for actual operations. These orgs almost always end up doing the actual contract management instead. Now if you are in one of those outfits, you had damn well better not get caught being the messenger. As such - even though I have often posted on Altamont - I am making sure I remain anonymous here.
But even given all of that; a portion of this seemingly white elephant segment of the CHSRA, might prove useful after all! With a relatively short connector built somewhere to the north, it could become the Santa Fe's long sought after bypass around the Fresno bottleneck. They could call it "The Moonbeam Branch of the BNSF" --- hehehe!
So whenever a politician or bureaucrat looks stupid or incompetent, it is wise to check your own premises first. You must first understand what they are really trying to do. They then may appear very smart - in serving very well their own real agenda. You know, the one they work hard to hide from the public.
