MaxRedline

Eminent Domain And Bullet Trains

The California "Bullet Train" has become such a colossal waste of time, money, and other resources that an increasing number of residents are calling for the plug to be pulled on the whole thing.

Eight years ago, the California High-Speed Rail Authority estimated it would cost $332 million to acquire properties for the route spanning the Central Valley’s orchards, vineyards, dairies and cities. The process, however, has proven far more legally tedious, politically painful and expensive than initially thought. The 1,900 property takes in the Central Valley are now budgeted at $1.5 billion. Such complications are part of the reason the project is 13 years behind schedule and at $44 billion over budget.

The land acquisition cases alone are moving so slowly that the judge hearing the cases is now referring to it as a lifetime job.

Kings County is the epicenter of the disputes, where the drama plays out in Ross’ courtroom for just two days each month.

The underlying stories are lengthy and convoluted. Even worse when one considers that the trains will carry no cargo (if they're ever built). And each passenger fare is anticipated to run around $1000, leading to the question of who would want to drop that kind of cash when they can fly from LA to SF nonstop for far less?

 

Verboten Language

An Austrian woman's conviction for calling the Prophet Muhammad a pedophile did not violate her freedom of speech, the European Court of Human Rights ruled Thursday. The woman in 2009 held two seminars entitled "Basic Information on Islam," during which she likened Muhammad's marriage to a six-year-old girl, Aisha, to pedophilia.

The marriage according to Islamic tradition was consummated when Aisha was nine and Muhammad was around 50. An Austrian court later convicted the woman of disparaging religion and fined her €480 ($546). Other domestic courts upheld the decision before the case was brought before the ECHR.

Well, it seems incontrovertible that Muhammad, at 56, having sex with a nine year-old qualifies as pedophilia. What else do you call it? But oh! That would offend the peaceful religion. Can't have that!

 

 

Yes, This Looks Like A Great Location

If built, the new light rail route will run down the middle of Barbur Boulevard for miles.

Oh, they'll build it, all right; they always do. Even when one of their proposals is voted down, they come up with a way to cram another multi-billion-dollar set of rail lines down our throats. This one, they claim, will "only" cost $3 billion (until, of course, it costs a lot more).

 

The Public Pension Hole

Democrat-run cities and states have promised public employee unions generous pensions for years, and now the proverbial chickens are coming home to roost. The unfunded liabilities in places from New Jersey and New York to Illinois and the three west coast states, the pension hole is approximately $5 trillion - about the size of the economy of Japan.

This is not a recoverable situation, and it's hard to see how so many people could have failed to see this day coming.

 

California Fire And Fury

(CNN)Officials with the Los Padres National Forest announced this week the largest wildfire in California's modern history is officially out, more than six months after it started.

The Thomas fire started December 4, 2017, and eventually burned 281,893 acres, a Friday news release from the US Forest Service said.

 

The fire, fueled by strong Santa Ana winds and dry conditions, devastated portions of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

 

It also set the stage for the Montecito mudslides that ended up killing 17 people.

 

And Xavier is really mad at Oklahoma, so California's attorney general has added the Okies to his travel ban list: “California taxpayers are taking a stand against bigotry and in support of those who would be harmed by this prejudiced policy."

 

Um, no. California taxpayers aren't; California politicians are. In fact, it's clear that they don't even know what the Oklahoma law, SB1140, actually does: in states like Massachusetts, religious organizations like Catholic Charities have been excluded from the adoption field; Oklahoma wants to ensure that sort of thing doesn't happen in their state.

 

The only bigot I see is Xavier Becerra himself.

 

Oklahoma's pretty sanguine about Xavier's blacklist, noting that they're not going to miss a few Californians.

 

Wiener Exposed

I know he spells it Weiner, but he'll always be a wiener to me.

A district court judge ordered the release of the Weiner laptop. This is the same laptop the James Comey FBI buried under mountains of sealed “protection” to keep secret. The laptop that had the entire Obama intelligence apparatus (and the Clinton Machine) in a panic shortly before the 2016 Election.

Things just got a lot more interesting.

 

No Worries, Eh. Gov. Moonbeam's Out To Catch Up To Vancouver

Want to fill up in Vancouver, British Columbia? It’ll cost you — a lot.

Gas prices surged to $1.609 a liter Sunday morning — almost $8 a gallon in USD.

In the real world, that's $1.61 per liter. 1 L = 0.264172052 gal US. And actually, the cost is closer to $6 USD per gallon, though it'll hit $8 soon enough. Still, if you have a ten-gallon tank in your vehicle, a fill-up will run you about $60 now.

Former Liberal Member of Parliament Dan McTeague, who now heads the petroleum industry watchdog GasBuddy.com, told CBC News that Vancouver has the dubious honor of having the highest gas prices anywhere in North America, from Alaska to Mexico. Vancouver was one of the first cities in Canada to proudly unveil a carbon tax that has continued to escalate year after year. 

But as noted here yesterday, Gov. Moonbeam is doing his best to play catch-up by increasing vehicle registration fees and increasing fuel taxes, and vows to fight any attempts to reject the increases through the initiative process.

Carbon taxes! They have no effect upon the environment, much less the climate - but plenty of impact on your wallet.

 

Stewards Of Natural Resources

The Indian encampments at Lone Pine fishing site, near The Dalles, Oregon.

SALEM, Ore.

The Trump administration is neglecting the U.S. government's obligation to build new homes for Indians whose original abodes were submerged by dams along the Columbia River, members of Congressional delegations from Oregon and Washington state said.

We're supposed to build new homes for them, presumably so that they can trash them as well.

On the one hand, we do have an obligation to keep the promises made by the government when they built the dams. On the other, seeing places like this, I get pretty tired of the portrayal of Indians as stewards of natural resources, living in harmony with Nature, and all that.

 

Totally Out Of Line

The latest Oregon scandal involves the Oregon Health Authority, its implementation of Obamacare, its efforts to influence the state legislature, and its work to undermine a local health Co-Op by planting negative stories about them in the media. State agencies aren't supposed to try to manipulate the legislature; their role is to provide legislators with objective information.

But, this is Oregon, so it comes as no surprise. They tried to refuse a Freedom of Information Act request, too, but lost on appeal.

At least in Illinois they occasionally send someone to jail for stuff like this.

Sweet Taxation

A judge on Friday put Cook County's penny-per-ounce tax on sweetened beverages on hold at least until July 12. It was set to go into effect Saturday.

The ruling by Circuit Judge Daniel Kubasiak to grant a temporary restraining order came days after the Illinois Retail Merchants Association and several grocers filed a lawsuit against the Cook County Department of Revenue seeking to block the tax, which they argue is unconstitutional and too vague.

In recent days, a common sight at stores was consumers loading their grocery carts with soda and other beverages, stockpiling items that would be subject to a tax. Retailers outside Cook County mentioned the tax in their advertising.

County officials have said the tax is needed to pay for services and will improve the public's health over time.

If it's a matter of public health, perhaps they can explain why people on food stamps can buy the stuff - exempt from the Cook County tax - with your money. One might think that food stamps should apply to basics like dairy, meats, fruits, vegetables only.

It appears that one would be wrong; food-stamp recipients were exempted from the soft-drink tax.

Yeah, it's all about public health.

Do dogs and cats drink a lot of softies? In today's America, even the pets are obese.