THE HUMAN ALTERNATIVE:

Just the Ticket (NY Times, 10/16/08)

Recall, for a moment, the latest monster traffic jam or hours wasted in airport purgatory. With each complaint, there should also come a question: Is there any way to take the train instead?

Only six years ago, the answer would have been pretty much an automatic “no.” Amtrak managers were talking about a bankruptcy filing, and for two years the White House presented a federal budget with zero dollars for the struggling passenger system — a ploy that nearly killed the railroad.

Fortunately, attitudes have changed in Congress and the White House — and just in time. Congress passed a bill earlier this month that could nearly double Amtrak’s modest annual subsidy and would authorize more than $13 billion over the next five years for passenger rail. President Bush is expected to sign the bill, a moment of real progress that reflects the increasing popularity of the Amtrak option.

When Joe Biden gets ahold of Dick Cheney's powers we'll tear up all the highways and only have trains....

Posted by Orrin Judd at October 16, 2008 4:12 PM