Off the Rails

It was on February 3 when a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed and exploded in East Palestine, Ohio, near the state border with Pennsylvania on the eastern end of town, leading the town to declare a state of emergency.  In an effort to control and limit the resulting environmental fiasco that ensued, Ohio governor Mike DeWine demanded the evacuation of East Palestine to allow for "a controlled release" of vinyl chloride aso it could be burned in a nearby trench.

Now, vinyl chloride is perfectly safe in its finished form, known as polyvinyl chloride, as it is used to make wire coatings and packaging materials.  But in its raw, unrefined form . . . eh, not so much.

And when it burns and spews smoke into the air . . . well, it can be even deadlier than COVID.

And what burns on the ground stays on the ground . . .and contaminates soil, groundwater, streams, and anything else once it starts running off like Marjorie Taylor Greene's mouth.

Republicans are blaming the Biden administration for this disaster, with many of them faulting the President for pushing a big, expensive infrastructure bill that is obviously ineffective - except that the money hasn't been doled out yet, and besides, Norfolk Southern owns the track as well as the freight cars and locomotives.  And one one other thing - the derailment was caused by a brake defect in one of the cars.

Florida GOP congressman Byron Donalds even demanded that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg resign for letting this happen, suggesting that he is incompetent and the only got the job because he is gay.  If Buttigieg let it happen, it was only because he was unable to do anything to prevent it.  See, Buttigieg's predecessor, Republican Elaine Chao, inherited a regulation set by the Obama administration in 2015 that would have required upgraded braking systems for freight trains by, ironically, 2023 . . . but she had it repealed in 2018 because she said it was economically unfeasible.

Elaine Chao is living proof that ethnic and gender diversity is not always a plus.  She's also the best argument against nepotism in government, as her husband is Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.

Needless to say, Norfolk Southern is in deep doo-doo over this.  Some East Palestine residents have initiated a class-action lawsuit against the railroad and the Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the company to clean up the mess thoroughly . . . and if Norfolk Southern doesn't do it, the agency will.

Presidents like Obama and Biden have worked tirelessly to make life more fair and just for white working-class people like the resident of East Palestine and so many other blue-collar communities in Ohio.  And yet Ohioans voted for Trump twice and sent James David Vance to the Senate.  It's amazing how much Ohioans beg for - and get - abuse.

"Thank you, sir, may have another?" 😱