Bi-Partisan High Speed Rail, It's About Time

It really is about time we get serious about mass transit in this country. We have let our local systems languish and Amtrak...well, the treatment of our national railroad is atrocious. For far too long Congress has bowed down for the highway lobbyists, automakers and developers that prefer concrete and pollution to an effective rail system that most of the industrialized world already has. Well, Senators Kerry and Specter are ready to step up to the plate.

From The LA Times:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) introduced a bill to create new jobs by updating the nation’s crumbling infrastructure. The High-Speed Rail for America Act of 2008 would transform America’s outdated and underfunded passenger rail system into a world class system.

“At a time when our economy desperately needs a jumpstart, we need an effective national investment that puts Americans back to work,” said Sen. Kerry. “A first-rate rail system would protect our environment, save families time and money, reduce our dependency on foreign oil, and help get our economy moving again. The High-Speed Rail for America Act will help fix our crumbling infrastructure system, expand our economy, and match high-tech rail systems across the globe.”[...]

The High-Speed Rail for America Act of 2008 builds upon the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 which reauthorizes Amtrak and authorizes $1.5 billion over a five-year period to finance the construction and equipment for eleven high-speed rail corridors. It provides billions of dollars in both tax-exempt and tax credit bond and provides assistance for rail projects of various speeds. The bill creates the Office of High-Speed passenger rail to oversee the development of high-speed rail and provides a consistent source of funding.

Specifically, the High-Speed Rail for America Act of 2008 provides $8 billion over a six-year period for tax-exempt bonds which finance high-speed rail projects which reach a speed of at least 110 miles per hour It creates a new category of tax-credit bonds – qualified rail bonds. There are two types of qualified rail bonds: super high-speed intercity rail facility bond and rail infrastructure bond. Super high-speed rail intercity facility bonds will encourage the development of true high-speed rail. The legislation provides $10 billion for these bonds over a ten-year period. This would help finance the California proposed corridor and make needed improvements to the Northeast corridor. The legislation provides $5.4 billion over a six-year period for rail infrastructure bonds. The Federal Rail Administration has already designated ten rail corridors that these bonds could help fund, including connecting the cities of the Midwest through Chicago, connecting the cities of the Northwest, connecting the major cities within Texas and Florida, and connecting all the cities up and down the East Coast.

This is definitely a good start and a step in the right direction. Imagine if this is how we'll be shifting money from the war to rebuilding our nation's infrastructure. As bad as the last eight years have been for our country, the potential for the next four and beyond are incredible. President-Elect Obama wants to take us in a bold new direction and going at it on high speed rails will get us there in record time.

A Maverick No More

John McCain isn't the same guy Americans remember from eight years ago, those that know him best (at least on the Dem side) in the Senate have seen the change and are calling him out on his likeness to the current disaster of a President.

Sen. Graham Makes The Case For Bush's 3rd Term

John McCain tried to distance himself from being labeled as "Bush's third term" in his speech last week, but apparently his buddy Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina didn't get the message that real policy goals of the Republican nominee are supposed to be kept hush-hush until after November:

John Kerry Doesn't Get It, They'll Never Apologize

We all remember the sorry affair of John Kerry's not-so-funny, not-so-offensive joke last year before the election about George Bush and the troops. The Republicans got him to acquiesce and apologize for something that was only offensive towards the President. The event knocked his credibility to campaign for Democrats across the country.

Well know John Boehner that Iraq is a "small price" to pay if we do not fight terror or whatever. That is offensive to EVERYONE. The occupation of Iraq has cost us thousands of lives, tens of thousands of injured soldiers and hundreds of billions of dollars. This is simply no laughing matter. So what did Kerry do, he asked for an apology.

Now here is the difference between John Kerry and John Boehner.....and frankly most Democrats and Republicans. We'll fall over ourselves to apologize for nothing, caving into the demands of a small percentage of elected officials (they are in the minority now, hello!) while they will continue to rampage and cause havoc when it comes to Iraq, the economy and our Constitution.

Basically, they play hardball and we need to accept that. Calling for even a rhetorical apology will not get us anywhere. We need to continue to hammer them where it hurts. Maximize every one of their scandals, rip those that testify on their behalf when they are in front of Congress....and most importantly, use the power of the majority to bring an end to Bush's disastrous policies, starting with the war in Iraq. Boehner called it a "small price," well you can counter that by refusing to pay for the war. Congress has the power of the purse and it is far past the time since we should have used that to bring our troops home, they have paid far too much already.

Reservist Business Owners Are $uffering When They Get Back

When one signs up to be in the Army Reserves, the attraction is that time served is minimal. Many Reservists have businesses and lives based on being here, not over in Iraq. Now that many are serving over there for fifteen months at a time, their home lives are wrecked when they get back. You would think that the government would help them out when transitioning back stateside, but they don't.

From Reuters:

Under U.S. law, reservists who work for someone else -- a private firm or local, state, or federal government -- have safeguards to get their jobs back. Yet those who work for themselves have no such guarantees.

With demands for more relief, the SBA recently began a pilot loan targeted to veterans, reservists and their spouses.

Kerry hailed it as a "good first step," but urged that its double-digit interest rates be lowered and said government must do more to publicize this and other such efforts.

William Elmore of the SBA claims it isn't their fault. When Congress wrote the legislation back in 1999, it wasn't set up to help the returning Reservists in a measurable way. That is why Senator Kerry is proposing to fix the system. His proposed legislation would give grants of up to $25,000 and loans of up to $100,000 without any collateral. There are over 60,000 self-employed reservists and they need this assistance desperately. President Bush likes to talk about supporting the troops (often without backing up the statement with good policies) so this would be a good thing to help pass quickly, giving our brave men and women in the Reserves their lives back when they return.