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| Home Front: Politix |
| Mayor Pete tells reporter he needs some "personal time" |
| 2023-02-23 |
| [Hot Air] RYFKM? The response from the federal government to the environmental disaster unfolding in East Palestine, Ohio and the surrounding areas has been pathetically slow, as has been clear for weeks. The EPA finally ordered Norfolk Southern to clean up the toxic mess today, but the mandate arrived weeks late and many dollars short. The derailment and toxic chemical leaks (and burns) have brought new attention to the Department of Transportation and Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who has been notably absent from the action. Yesterday, when Daily Caller investigative reporter Jennie Taer happened to catch sight of Mayor Pete out in public, she took the opportunity to try to ask him about the situation. That didn’t go well, with Buttigieg informing her that he was trying to enjoy some "personal time" and snapping a picture of her. Here’s the video of the encounter that she later posted on Twitter. I asked Secretary Buttigieg about the crisis in East Palestine and I guess he didn’t like that so he took a pic of me. Im just doing my job, sir. @DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/HjKNgF25FJ — Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) February 22, 2023 When Taer asked Buttigieg if he was planning to go to East Palestine in person, he said that he was. But when asked when he might be doing that he declined to say. The Transportation Secretary appears to have free "personal" time to go for a stroll, but not to go address the questions and concerns of the people impacted by the toxic train wreck. And what was the point of asking the reporter if he could take her picture? That sounded rather threatening, didn’t it? It’s as if he wanted to make sure he could identify her in the future in case she caused any more "trouble" by simply doing her job. It would appear that the lovable Mayor isn’t quite so lovable without a script in front of him. Keep in mind that this is the same Transportation Secretary who initially told the public that the derailment and subsequent spill weren’t really a big deal because "it happens all the time." Here’s a short walk down memory lane. Pete Buttigieg on the Ohio train derailment disaster: "While this horrible situation has gotten a particularly high amount of attention, there are roughly 1,000 cases a year of a train derailing." pic.twitter.com/5NFtZnlDmg — RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 16, 2023 Yes, there are frequent train derailments, but the vast majority of them don’t result in a carcinogenic mushroom cloud rising up over the countryside. And if there really are that many derailments every year, doesn’t that sound like a problem? Perhaps a problem that someone in authority should be doing something about? Someone such as, I don’t know... the Secretary of Transportation, maybe? |
| Posted by:Frank G |
| #22 how many train derailments are cars on the tracks? |
| Posted by: ruprecht 2023-02-23 22:11 |
| #21 Impeach the SOB and he will have all the personal time he can stand. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2023-02-23 15:55 |
| #20 ^ Not lookin it up. Nope... |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2023-02-23 15:01 |
| #19 Nipple Thrush. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2023-02-23 15:00 |
| #18 He'll get to the "bottom" of it... |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2023-02-23 13:49 |
| #17 Stuck home. K-Y Jelly crisis? |
| Posted by: Woodrow 2023-02-23 13:23 |
| #16 Yeah, of those 1000 derailments, 800 or so are like the chain slipping off my bicycle sprocket. The other 200, not so much. But how many actually make national news every year? A dozen or so? |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2023-02-23 13:08 |
| #15 there are roughly 1,000 cases a year of a train derailing A classic example of deflection from a classic example of a sociopath. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2023-02-23 13:03 |
| #14 "Thomas had never seen such bullshit." |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2023-02-23 11:53 |
| #13 [Bee] Aides Brief Buttigieg On Ohio Disaster Using Wooden Toy Train Set |
| Posted by: Frank G 2023-02-23 11:24 |
| #12 It would appear that the lovable Mayor isn’t quite so lovable without a script in front of him. Everyone with gamesmanship knew this, but nice to see it said out loud and framed on camera. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2023-02-23 11:05 |
| #11 Could be that start of a new trend. There have been derailments caused by sabotage - Oregon an few years ago, where they caught the chick, and Arizona 20-odd years ago, where no one was caught, IIRC. I found tampering at a derailment 23 years ago, but it was not the cause of that derailment. The operator did call the FBI. The best sabotage is done by folks who know how to bypass the safety systems... |
| Posted by: Bobby 2023-02-23 10:11 |
| #10 RETRO: Multiple dead after Amtrak train derails in Missouri We’ve seen reports of three train derailments this month. Is this normal? |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2023-02-23 08:36 |
| #9 Re #6 - It's also over 200,000 miles of railroad main line, and over 300,000 miles of track. It also depends on the level of reporting required by the Federal Railroad Administration. Back in the day, only derailments with $50,000 of total damage were reported. That reporting damage level has dropped a lot since than. One wheel off the rail, corrected by the train crew in an hour, is technically a derailment, although not reported to the FRA. The railroads continue to be profit-driven, but like other transportation systems, stuff happens. Somewhat related - I guffawed last night, when the local news reported 'the EPA says they're gonna make the railroad pay for all of this' in East Palestine. Morons. The railroad always pays. Full disclosure: From 1972-75 I worked for the Norfolk Southern predecessor, Southern Railway, and since then devoted a good bit of my 45-year engineering career to freight rail and rail transit. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2023-02-23 08:34 |
| #7 Nothing new. The term was "compartmentalization" in the Billy Jeff Bl*wjob era. |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2023-02-23 08:25 |
| #6 1000 derailments a year is about 2.7 per DAY. You'd think we would hear more about them. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2023-02-23 07:25 |
| #4 Is it already his turn to breastfeed the twins? |
| Posted by: Ebbains Threrenter5475 2023-02-23 02:32 |
| #3 Leave of his senses, Rambler, leave of his senses. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2023-02-23 00:58 |
| #2 He's on personal leave, or vacation, or paternity leave, or ... |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2023-02-23 00:33 |
| #1 there are roughly 1,000 cases a year of a train derailing I wonder why he hasn't tried to reduce that count. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2023-02-23 00:09 |