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What should Biden do in East Palestine following the train accident? The Serious You: How Current Events Affect You

Started 2/20/23 by Showtalk; 2675 views.

Msg 1 of 56

Poll Question From Showtalk

2/20/23

What should Biden do in East Palestine following the train accident?

Be honest with the public about what really happened0 votes
0%
Come home from Ukraine and visit Ohio and Pennsylvania0 votes
0%
Work immediately in clean up in all affected areas1 vote
5%
Help families relocate from the evacuation area0 votes
0%
Extend the evacuation area to cover other states that are affected0 votes
0%
All of the above15 votes
75%
Follow Trump's actions1 vote
5%
Nothing, it's not his job0 votes
0%
He won't do anything, as he doesn't care about white residents if the area2 votes
10%
Other1 vote
5%

Change Vote

Be honest with the public about what really happened

Come home from Ukraine and visit Ohio and Pennsylvania

Work immediately in clean up in all affected areas

Help families relocate from the evacuation area

Extend the evacuation area to cover other states that are affected

All of the above

Follow Trump's actions

Nothing, it's not his job

He won't do anything, as he doesn't care about white residents if the area

Other

Vote View Results

Msg 2 of 56

In reply toRe: msg 1

Host

From: Showtalk

2/20/23

MAGA Trashes Biden's Ohio Response as Trump Announces East Palestine Visit

Some conservative Republicans criticized President Joe Biden this week over his administration's response to the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, comparing it to the response by Trump who is visiting the town next week

The 150-car train derailment, which happened on February 3, prompted local authorities to evacuate nearly 5,000 locals as they disposed of vinyl chloride and other toxic chemicals that were onboard through controlled burning, which was achieved by first blowing holes into five railway cars, then burning the potentially explosive gas in a ditch.

"[Former] President Trump is heading to East Palestine next week. Biden has announced no such plans. Says everything," said Representative Lauren Boebert, a Colorado MAGA Republican, on Friday. Make America Great Again (MAGA) is a political slogan that was first popularized by Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign

Rudy Giuliani, Trump's ally and former personal attorney, tweeted: "[Former] President Donald J. Trump to visit East Palestine, Ohio next week and meet with residents impacted by the train derailment. Meanwhile—Mayor Pete is no where to be found and Joe Biden thinks East Palestine is west of Israel!"

Meanwhile, the Ohio congressional delegation on Thursday sent a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), asking why the incident "apparently does not meet the eligibility threshold" for agency support.

The letter was sent after Ohio Governor Mike DeWine asked for assistance, but was turned down. However, FEMA later said it would "supplement federal efforts by deploying a Senior Response Official along with a Regional Incident Management Assistance Team (IMAT)."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/maga-trashes-biden-s-ohio-response-as-trump-announces-east-palestine-visit/ar-AA17ENg1

Msg 3 of 56

In reply toRe: msg 2

Host

From: Showtalk

2/20/23

Is Buttigieg a liability to Biden?

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/buttigieg-faces-questions-about-whether-he-has-become-a-liability-to-biden/ar-AA17yKf1

Msg 4 of 56 to Showtalkshowtalk

In reply toRe: msg 1

Staff

From: WALTER784

2/20/23

It took him two weeks to have FEMA sent to the area.

His reasoning, it's not like a tornado or hurricane!!!

But it's still a disaster and they need relief funds to help clean up the mess.

They also need to find the root cause of the accident and hold those responsible accountable.

I've heard several reasons tossed around.

Lack of personnel

Lack of rail/car maintenance

Continuously making longer and longer trains

Spending over $3.1 million on political organizations and Congress just in 2022 to lobby them to relax restrictions in their favor

Etc.

FWIW

Msg 5 of 56 to Showtalkshowtalk

In reply toRe: msg 3

Staff

From: WALTER784

2/20/23

Showtalk said...
Is Buttigieg a liability to Biden?

Both Buttigieg and Biden are a liability to the safety of our country.

FWIW

Msg 6 of 56 to Showtalkshowtalk

In reply toRe: msg 2

Staff

From: WALTER784

2/20/23

Ohio train derailment: Norfolk Southern hazardous material incidents up since 2012

by: Zoe Lake, Rich McHugh
Posted: Feb 18, 2023 / 02:09 PM CST

(NewsNation) — Rail accidents involving Norfolk Southern train cars carrying hazardous material have skyrocketed over the past decade, data from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) shows.

Last year, 770 of the company’s cars carrying hazardous materials were involved in accidents, up from just 79 cars in 2012.

One Norfolk Southern staffer who spoke with NewsNation suggested that job cuts were to blame for the recent uptick. The rail company has shed roughly 40% of its workforce since 2015, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

East Palestine resident refuses to sign ‘hold harmless’ form

Others argue workforce reductions contributed to the latest incident in East Palestine, Ohio, where surveillance video shows the train may have had issues for over 20 miles before derailing.

“They have made it where you don’t have to have a conductor in the train anymore, you just have to have an engineer,” said Emily Roark, an injury and accident attorney. “What’s important here is that train was on fire, we think for 20 miles. If there was a conductor in that train they would have been turning around and looking. They would have been saying, ‘Hey the train’s on fire, let’s get off the train.’ But they didn’t.”

Some experts have speculated that increased train sizes were also a contributing factor in the crash.

New questions have also arisen about the company’s lobbying efforts to loosen railroad restrictions.

In 2022, Norfolk Southern spent $1.8 million lobbying the Department of Transportation, the Federal Railroad Administration and the White House. The company contributed an additional $1.3 million to members of Congress last year.

Specifically, the rail company has contributed to the campaign of U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, (R-Ohio) — whose district includes East Palestine — four out of the last six times he’s run for office.

“Trains don’t just fall off the tracks accidentally, what happens is that train companies lobby Congress to make standards lower and lower,” said Roark.

NewsNation has repeatedly asked for an interview with Norfolk Southern’s CEO Alan Shaw, though that request has not yet been granted.

Medical experts coming to East Palestine amid health concerns

In the meantime, the effects in East Palestine are impossible to ignore.

Some residents have complained of headaches, possibly due to the burning of hazardous chemicals that were in some of the rail cars. Others have claimed their pets have gotten sick, or noticed dead fish turning up in the nearby creek.

But the environmental impact is just one part of the story. Some residents are also feeling the pain financially.

Xana Doss owns a gas station in East Palestine and says her business is down. Doss has been fighting Norfolk Southern over a retaining wall on her property that she says has been ruined by their trains.

She said she’s been trying to contact the company about the issue for a year, but nobody has responded.

Now, the wall is just one of many worries.

“My girls have had the itchy eyes, sore throat, headaches,” said Doss, who now fears her livelihood, as well as her health and safety, could be at risk after the derailment.

Ohio train derailment: Norfolk Southern hazardous material incidents up since 2012 | WGN-TV (wgntv.com)

FWIW

Msg 7 of 56

In reply toRe: msg 6

Staff

From: WALTER784

2/20/23

WALTER784 said...
Last year, 770 of the company’s cars carrying hazardous materials were involved in accidents, up from just 79 cars in 2012.

That is a 10-fold increase over the past 10 years. If you plot it linearly, it would average a 126% increase each year for 10 years:

In 2022, Norfolk Southern spent $1.8 million lobbying the Department of Transportation, the Federal Railroad Administration and the White House. The company contributed an additional $1.3 million to members of Congress last year.

That $3.1 million was in just 2022, multiply that by the past 10 years and you have $30.1 million spend on government related entities! Monies that could have been better well spent internally to fix many of their internal problems!!!

FWIW

Msg 8 of 56

In reply toRe: msg 7

Staff