What goes through my my mind when I read the news with my morning coffee. …Or for the Simon's Rockers in the group, this is my response journal.
TSA Fails Most Tests in Undercover Operation | National News | US News
Sometimes the best defense is acting like you have a defense when you really have a bunch of underpaid, under-trained mall security cards and a whole bunch of people crowded into the same area in case anyone wanted a good place to detonate a bomb?
Sigh….
Despite broad consensus about coal’s bleak future, a years-long effort to diversify the economy of this hard-hit region away from mining is stumbling, with Obama-era jobs retraining classes undersubscribed and future programs at risk under President Donald Trump’s proposed 2018 budget.
…Hundreds of coal-fired plants have closed in recent years, and cheap natural gas continues to erode domestic demand. The Appalachian region has lost about 33,500 mining jobs since 2011, according to the Appalachian Regional Commission.
Although there have been small gains in coal output and hiring this year, driven by foreign demand, production levels remain near lows hit in 1978.
…“The coal industry has stabilized, but it’s not going to come back,” said Blair Zimmerman, a 40-year veteran of the mines who is now the commissioner for Greene County, one of Pennsylvania’s oldest coal regions.
… Coal miners are resisting retraining without ready jobs from new industries, but new companies are unlikely to move here without a trained workforce. The stalled diversification push leaves some of the nation’s poorest areas with no clear path to prosperity.
…They say mining pays well; other industries are unfamiliar; and there’s no income during training and no guarantee of a job afterward.
…Coal jobs are preferable to those in natural gas, they said, because the mines are close to home, while pipeline work requires travel.
Awaiting Trump’s coal comeback, miners reject retraining
hmmm
In sharp contrast, Whitefish Energy, an unproven Montana-based firm with two full-time employees that was mysteriously awarded a massive contract to rebuild the grid, has been engaging in a bizarre Twitter war with San Juan’s mayor, even threatening to pull its subcontractors out of the island. Congressional lawmakers and the Puerto Rican governor have already called for an investigation into Whitefish and the award of its contract.
Overall, the Trump administration-led response to the disaster has been, well, a disaster. Headlines from just the last couple of days include, “Puerto Ricans at Risk of Waterborne Disease Outbreaks in Wake of Hurricane Maria” (NBC), “The Struggle for Stability in Puerto Rico,” (WNYC), and “‘Like Going Back in Time’: Puerto Ricans Put Survival Skills to Use,” (New York Times).
Tesla succeeds where Trump flails, brings power to Puerto Rico with solar panels – ThinkProgress
hmmmm
While Maine supports the Amtrak Downeaster, New Hampshire supports commuter buses.
Some Mainers Fault N.H. For Not Doing More To Support New England Rail | WBUR News
hmmmm
Nearly 100,000 Granite Staters head to Massachusetts, a number that’s grown from nearly 75,000 in 1990.
Census: 1 in 5 Granite Staters head elsewhere for a paycheck | New Hampshire
hmmm
Musk said he believes Tesla could rebuild the country’s power grid with batteries and solar power.
Elon Musk, Puerto Rico governor speak on Tesla rebuilding power grid | TheHill
hmmmm
Nashua aldermen are considering entering into a memorandum of understanding with Boston Surface Railroad Company.
Boston Surface Railroad Company of Rhode Island is in the early stages of planning to bring privately funded passenger rail service from Bedford to Worcester, Mass., with potential stops in Nashua and Lowell, Mass.
City officials will be presented with a proposal on Tuesday to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the railroad company and the other communities to promote and facilitate the plan.
Privately funded passenger rail pitched for southern NH | New Hampshire
hmmmm
There’s a lot of sewage still to clean up.
….Pollution reports submitted to Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection show that, due to power outages and flooding caused by Irma, human waste has been spilling into streets, residences, and waterways across the entire state. At the time of this article’s publication, at least 113 “Public Notices of Pollution” had been submitted to the DEP. Combined, those discharge reports showed more than 28 million gallons of treated and untreated sewage released in 22 counties. The total amount is surely much more; at least 43 of those reports listed either an “unknown” or “ongoing” amount of waste released, and new reports continue to roll in—sometimes as many as a dozen per hour.
In other words, Irma was a literal shitstorm. But it’s no laughing matter. Sewage spills pose a major threat to public health, and they’re likely to become more common due to two increasingly connected crises facing America: an aging infrastructure and climate change.
Hurricane Irma left a poop problem in its wake.
hmmmmm
A judge calls it a ‘life-and-death safety concern.’ A government document shows there may not be enough room to brace for impact. Inside the potential dangers.
Flying Coach Is So Cramped It Could Be a Death Trap
hmmmm
A raft of airline policy changes prompted by the high-profile case of a man who was injured while being dragged off a plane in Chicago earlier this year have had a dramatic result: airlines reported the lowest level of involuntary passenger bumpings in history.
Fewer Passengers Bumped by U.S. Airlines After Dragging Case – Bloomberg
Funny how the impossible becomes possible when the alternative is losing money.
It looked like a weird parody of a Donald Trump campaign rally. “Obviously, the hat provoked some of the stuff,” a passenger recalled.
…Gredoña thinks the chanting started after the man taunted the crowd: “So I succeeded in making you guys waste three-and-a-half hours.”
People then shouted words unprintable.
And one shouted: “Lock him up!”
Then another, and another. “Lock him up, lock him up” — until a Chinese airport terminal sounded much like a latter-day Trump rally, when he and his crowds threatened his presidential campaign opponent, Hillary Clinton, with prison.
…“I was one of those chanters,” Zimmerman said. “I didn’t start it. But oh my God, it was so funny, I couldn’t help myself.”
Hilarious. How did I miss this story?
So how does one get to a New Hampshire tourist destination? You can rent a car.
…So many of the tourists coming into Boston are from countries that have spent billions on public transportation. Many of these people do not even own a car. How does one attract these tourists?
How will tourists get to New Hampshire? – New Hampshire Business Review – June 9 2017
hmmm
In a Facebook post shared last Friday, Metro Transit Police Chief John Harrington said, “This afternoon, community members and partners alerted me to a situation in which one of my part time officers was witnessed asking an individual whether he was in the state illegally. I immediately called for an Internal Affairs investigation to gather the details about this incident and to report back to me as quickly as possible.”
He added, “It is not the practice of the Metro Transit police to inquire about the immigration status of our riders.”
As The Washington Post points out, when Minneapolis declared itself a sanctuary city in 2003, a city ordinance prohibited city employees (including police) from inquiring about a person’s immigration unless it’s directly relevant to a crime under investigation.
A Transit Officer Questioned A Commuter’s Immigration Status, A Fellow Passenger Intervened
Show me your papers, brown person!
when Trump’s budget proposal was released, Schumer condemned the president’s “180-degree turn away from his repeated promise of a trillion-dollar infrastructure plan,” saying the budget contains deep cuts in spending on roads, transit projects, public housing and more.
“The fuzzy math and sleight of hand can’t hide the fact that the President’s $200 billion plan is more than wiped out by other cuts to key infrastructure programs,” Schumer said in a statement.
Usually when someone says, having a yard sale will fix everything, they don’t know what the fuck they are talking about.
The isolation that came to Big Sur this year when wet weather closed several roads has deepened with a giant mudslide across Highway 1, just south of the small community of Gorda (Monterey County). A quarter-mile-wide wall of mud and rock barreled over an oceanfront stretch of road Saturday night, fortunately on a section of the highway where there was no traffic because the area was already closed due to smaller slides.
Big Sur hit again as huge landslide covers Highway 1 – SFGate
hmmm
The incident is under investigation.
Man subdued after incident on American Airlines flight to Honolulu – ABC News
hmmm
A Missouri mom says she told the flight crew she needed to use the restroom and was given a cup instead.
United Passenger Says Crew Left Her No Choice but to Pee in a Cup – NBC News
Seriously?!
A Hercules man says he was punished for recording a disagreement with a United ticket agent. His trip was cancelled against his will.
United Agent Cancels Man’s Trip For Taping Argument | NBC Bay Area
Jeezus, United. Get your act together.
Perhaps it’s time for the TSA to invest in new equipment. It is definitely time for them to keep their hands away from vaginas.
Dear TSA: Grabbing vaginas isn’t safety (Opinion) – CNN.com
sigh…
The ‘Last Week Tonight’ host dedicated Sunday’s show to net neutrality, which may be repealed under President Trump’s FCC chairman Ajit Pai.
John Oliver pleas for net neutrality again after FCC head moves to reverse
Thank heavens for the Daily Show and its alums.
Staff members began arguing with the Schears because they wanted their 2-year-old son to be allowed to fly in an individual seat while fastened into a car seat, according to the video.
…The employees can be heard telling Schear that both Delta’s guidelines and Federal Aviation Administration rules stipulate that a 2-year-old child must fly while seated on their parent’s laps, but rules posted on each agency’s website appear to contradict that.
…“How did we get through security with two kids, two car seats, go all the way through your gateway, and through the gate and then they come down and say that we have to get off this plane?” he asks.
An employee insists they were simply trying to help the family, prompting another irritated response from Brian Schear.
“Trying to help us would have been not overselling the flight and not trying to get him out of that seat, that I paid for,” he said.
Lesson here? Do not fly airlines based in the US!!!!!
Another day, another anti-consumer corporate giveaway.
Trump’s FCC Votes to Allow Broadband Rate Hikes for Schools and Libraries – Motherboard
Dayum.
On Friday, the former fossil-fuel favoring governor ordered a study to see whether solar and wind development is making the electricity grid less stable.
whaaa the faaaa? Does Perry actually comprehend anything about how the world around works?
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