Thursday, November 03, 2016
Still Dreaming
Fortunately "everybody" gets paid in the process. Win win!
30 days brings us to December..then the holidays..I'm sure construction work will pick up any day!
The sale of $1.15 billion in bonds to fund the remaining construction of the American Dream Meadowlands shopping and entertainment complex will not take place as scheduled on Friday, a state official said Wednesday.
But Wayne Hasenbalg, the president of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which owns the land where the $5.2 billion project is being built, added that he does not foresee any impediments to a closing taking place within the next 30 days.
30 days brings us to December..then the holidays..I'm sure construction work will pick up any day!
Wednesday, November 02, 2016
Second Deep Thought
Did you know that there are people who live outside of New York City and Washington, DC and they have thoughts and feelings? I have just discovered this, America, and let me share with you what I learned on my safari.
Deep Thought
What if one day America is so bad that white Americans have it has hard as black Americans?
I Have A List Of One Hundred People In The Justice Department
I'm curious if there's a Dem figure similar to Newt Gingrich? I don't mean as loathsome, even, but just one who was driven out of office in disgrace almost 20 years ago who is still seen as someone (and not just Fox) whose proclamations are worth listening to? That "disgraced former [politician]" label gets attached to Dems with scandals and never goes away, but we can get Newt (and Rudy's) deep thoughts on everything including the sanctity of marriage.
TWENTY THREE MORE CENTS PER GALLON
One thing that drives me nuts about the politics of gas taxes is that they're still small enough that any increases would get buried within perfectly standard gas price fluctuations and no one would notice if the press didn't report them as ZOMG THEY RAISED YOUR TAXES. I'm not faulting the press for reporting it or advocating for ignorance. These things should be reported! And gas taxes are regressive, so while there are good reasons for taxing gas, it still isn't my favorite tax, but this is over the top.
Recent Mustangs get 15mpg+. So that's an extra 46 cents per day if you have a 30 mile round trip commute. Do that 20 days per month/ 240 days per year and that's $9.20/month or $110.40/year. That's not nothing, and any additional expenses for people on living on the margin matter. Again, regressive taxes are regressive! But the cost of gas looms much larger in the consciousness than the cost of most other things.
Ms. Long, a graduate student who has been holding down three jobs trying to cover her expenses, was out to beat a deadline that haunted drivers in and around New Jersey on Halloween: At midnight, the state’s gasoline tax would jump by 23 cents per gallon, to 37.5 cents.
“I’m going to need a new car because of this, maybe a Prius,” said Ms. Long, 24, who lives in Suffern, N.Y., as she handed the attendant three $1 bills — the cost of 1.485 gallons of regular. “I’d like to keep the ’Stang, but I can’t be cool forever.”
Recent Mustangs get 15mpg+. So that's an extra 46 cents per day if you have a 30 mile round trip commute. Do that 20 days per month/ 240 days per year and that's $9.20/month or $110.40/year. That's not nothing, and any additional expenses for people on living on the margin matter. Again, regressive taxes are regressive! But the cost of gas looms much larger in the consciousness than the cost of most other things.
Who You Hear
Traffic is worse, but I really don't think that's the biggest impact of the strike...
No biggy until drivers are inconvenienced.
During Local 234's last strike in 2009, Brady was instrumental in resolving a six-day work stoppage and said he was again prepared to help resolve the financial gap between the union's demands and SEPTA's offers.
"If I can find money, I will try to find money," he said, "whether it's the state, the city, or the feds."
He's been hearing from his constituency, he said, and most of the complaints are about the serious traffic troubles the strike is creating.
No biggy until drivers are inconvenienced.
Tuesday, November 01, 2016
But Don't Do That
The Regional Rail system has a different union. Don't disrupt it. You'll kill what tentative public support you might have...
Idiots.
Idiots.
It's Your Job Not To Hit Me
Yes pedestrians can do stupid things, but it's the responsibility of drivers not to kill them (me). And quite often people are a wee bit confused about when pedestrians have the right of way, and even more confused about whether a lack of right of way is a license to kill them (answer: in theory, no, in practice, quite often.)
I'd probably be a little mush puddle on the road, or figuring out my new life in a wheelchair, if I hadn't been paying more attention the other day. I had the light. Like a careful pedestrian I just happened to notice that the car approaching the crosswalk/intersection was unlikely to be able to stop in time. I also noticed that the driver was on the phone. So I waited. Sure enough the driver blew through the crosswalk before stopping a few feet past the red light.
This type of thing is a regular occurrence in a place where the the streets generally are built to pedestrian scale. If there's a light or top sign every block, you really have to work to speed obliviously, and there really isn't any point to it anyway. I shouldn't have to look before I cross at the light on a crosswalk, but I do because I have to.
I'd probably be a little mush puddle on the road, or figuring out my new life in a wheelchair, if I hadn't been paying more attention the other day. I had the light. Like a careful pedestrian I just happened to notice that the car approaching the crosswalk/intersection was unlikely to be able to stop in time. I also noticed that the driver was on the phone. So I waited. Sure enough the driver blew through the crosswalk before stopping a few feet past the red light.
This type of thing is a regular occurrence in a place where the the streets generally are built to pedestrian scale. If there's a light or top sign every block, you really have to work to speed obliviously, and there really isn't any point to it anyway. I shouldn't have to look before I cross at the light on a crosswalk, but I do because I have to.
They're Hiring
Whenever my local transit authority strikes, various people make a point of pointing out how much money MERE BUS DRIVERS make, especially if you include the management-pushed line about total compensation (you know, salary plus all benefits. It's a lot of money because medical insurance costs a lot of money. And they're just bus drivers! They don't even have college degrees!)
Personally I can't imagine driving a bus through narrow Philly streets dealing with the occasional but regular "interesting" bus riders and of course the various bad drivers and illegal stoppers/parkers that make the job hell without losing my shit. And, ultimately, that's what it takes to be a good bus driver. Someone who can drive a bus full time without losing their shit.
In any case, they're hiring! They're always hiring bus drivers, at least every time I check. If this truly is your dream job, go for it!
Personally I can't imagine driving a bus through narrow Philly streets dealing with the occasional but regular "interesting" bus riders and of course the various bad drivers and illegal stoppers/parkers that make the job hell without losing my shit. And, ultimately, that's what it takes to be a good bus driver. Someone who can drive a bus full time without losing their shit.
In any case, they're hiring! They're always hiring bus drivers, at least every time I check. If this truly is your dream job, go for it!
America Held Hostage Day X
If Democrats refused to confirm, or even hold hearings on, any Supreme Court justice, Ted Koppel would have a nightly news show counting down the days.
All the cool kids in Washington will remind us that this goes back to that moment in Washington when comity was destroyed by Democrats, the Borking of Bork. Until then TipnRonnie had beers, and everyone had a good old time groping their secretaries, and life was grand in DC, also at the nudie bar. Of course contrary to legend, the Democrats treated Bork well. Kennedy "Borked" him by having the nerve to refer to the public record of this brilliant man. His mistreatment involved giving him hearings in the Senate Judiciary committee, and after he lost the vote there, a vote in the full Senate anyway. Which he lost, and not according to the 60 vote rule. Subsequently the Democrats continued their obstructionist ways by promptly confirming Anthony Kennedy.
All the cool kids in Washington will remind us that this goes back to that moment in Washington when comity was destroyed by Democrats, the Borking of Bork. Until then TipnRonnie had beers, and everyone had a good old time groping their secretaries, and life was grand in DC, also at the nudie bar. Of course contrary to legend, the Democrats treated Bork well. Kennedy "Borked" him by having the nerve to refer to the public record of this brilliant man. His mistreatment involved giving him hearings in the Senate Judiciary committee, and after he lost the vote there, a vote in the full Senate anyway. Which he lost, and not according to the 60 vote rule. Subsequently the Democrats continued their obstructionist ways by promptly confirming Anthony Kennedy.
SEPTAPOCALYPSE
Transit strike is on. What a horror for people, including schoolkids, who need it.
Generally assume that in an era of low union power that it's the fault of management. Latter certainly has slicker PR.
Still a horror for those who rely on it daily.
Morning Thread
No trick or treaters, but two of the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups disappeared anyway. Wonder how that happened?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)