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J. D. Vance did not vote for the infrastructure bill and now is criticizing the Biden administration for not fixing all the infrastructure in a year? His ignorance of the fact that FEMA is not yet working on the accident is no surprise.

Luckily, some of the voting public is beginning to realize who has their back after the State of the Union address.

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Facts just get in the way for Republicans. Lying is quite easy once you drown your conscience in the bathtub.

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Vivid image. Big giggle. Thank you

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Reminds me of santos and anna paulina luna, the newest poster people for the gop.

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Anna Paulina Luna sounds like the name of a child in an old book of whimsical verse and cautionary tales, who gets punished in an over-the-top way for telling fibs to her elders. I'm just saying, it sounds made up. Oh God, what if it is?

Funny how when you start lying so much people can't be sure when it's stopped.

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We have Chernobyl in Ohio and DeWine wonтАЩt even call in FEMA, but Vance is blaming Biden for Republican-led problems? тАЬIntelligent RepublicanтАЭ has become an oxymoron. The good news about the economy will not continue with mushroom clouds. Climate science rules.

Sorry, dear friends, but we have to think globally every day and be grateful that we have a president with a fine backup team who thinks globally every day while trying to herd the local cats!

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Herding cats is part and parcel of democracy, which makes it an easy target for charlatans and fools to criticism and offer the "efficiency" of despotic rule as the cure.

" I got the chance after I lost to John McCain last time, to go over to -- that was the good part of losing -- I got to go to the Olympic Games in China. It's pretty impressive over there how quickly they can build things, how productive they are as a society. You should see their airport compared to our airports, their highways, their train systems. They're moving quickly in part because the regulators see their job as encouraging private people. It's amazing. The head of Coca-Cola said the business environment is friendlier in China than in America. And that's because of the regulators. That's because of government."

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Or toilet ЁЯШИ

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"He [J. D. Vance] said here was no excuse for failing infrastructure after the passage last year of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill....". How many of those slack-jawed Fox viewers gave any thought to the fact that you don't implement a change to the infrastructure overnight?

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JD Vance's contribution to the Ohio train wreck story reminds me of the old saw; "better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt".

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ЁЯдгЁЯдгЁЯдг Thank you Mr Kemalyan!

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Or care. The attacks are reflexive. You may recall the night that Obama was elected IIRC, Republicans whose "deregulation" ushered in the subprime collapse were talking about "the Obama Recession". If Biden cure cancer, you can be sure that Republicans would be finding fault with it. And why are there only deficits that matter when a Democrat in in the White House, even though the Democrats tend to be the ones that are cleaning them up?

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From Twitter (csd), years ago. тАЬThey piss themselves every presidency, while we тАЬtax and spendтАЭ libs have to buy new sheets.тАЭ csd said it bestтАж

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Back when Bush signed a massive tax cut while declaring twin wars, some wag dubbed the policy "Spend but don't tax" ,though let out "and send somebody else the bill". Then they manufacture outrage that the bill is has not been paid for. Fiscal CON-servatives as the saying goes.

HCR has mentioned in the past that old school Republicans launched the first graduated federal income tax in order to (actually) pay for the Civil War.

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Was it the tracks or something related to the brakes that caused the derailment?

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From what IтАЩve read, it looks like it was a result of an axle issue combined with braking problems.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Ohio_train_derailment

Not that Wikipedia is always factual.

Also taken from listening to the most recent podcast from a personal hero of mine, Jon Stewart. He spoke with Julia Rock, one of the journalists from The Lever.

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If we can believe the reporting, it was a bearing in the brakes.

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Who reported it was brake related? Why is that source suspect?

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I donтАЩt recall... it seems much of the reporting about this incident has been questionable... my sympathies are entirely with that community who seem to have been thrown to the wolves by the train representatives and their own state.

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I agree, Carla. When the news first came out, I noticed major network news repeatedly neglected to mention the name of the Ohio town (East Palestine) affected by the derailment and fires. For two days they merely reported it as a town in eastern Ohio. Why?

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Perhaps improved braking would have helped prevent the accident. The immediate cause, at least being claimed at one point, was a seized bearing or something of the kind, and the bearing was said to be glowing red hot. It's what happens when you have a lot of force and a lot of friction, like a stick and bow used to start a fire, but on an industrial scale.

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J.L., The railroaders call it a "hot box", and it used to be fairly common, so it's a plausible explanation for what happened. Would you call this something related to "infrastructure"? The rail people seem to have argued that these chemical transport cars are state-of-the-art. My first thought was human error. But the real issues here are 1) do we know the cause and could it have been prevented though better maintenance or operations and 2) why are these dangerous payloads allowed to pass through so many communities? Instead, Vance jumps on Biden as the culprit on Fox News, a venue not celebrated for its discerning audience. It's the same old blame game, and it's wearing thin.

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There is video of the bottom of car on fire from a camera in Lisbon, Ohio, a town 10 or so miles away from East Palestine.

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bad axle/ brakes that was recognized as an issue by some railworkers when the cars were coming from further west.

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They said on the news tonight they thought it was something mechanical in the cars. You could possibly read that failure of the brakes.

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Yessss! General American problem: it must happen fast if you put a few million into it. But no, it doesnтАЩt. Think of the blueprints (CAD drawings), the engineers, the workmen, the materials that must be gathered. The millions or billions are only what put food on the table of all those people. Another reason we are lucky to have Joe Biden. Unlike the rich guys in politics, he understands that. I have a friend who doesnтАЩt understand the importance of the presidentтАЩs background (тАЬHe owns lots of houses,тАЭ so heтАЩs rich). But he wasnтАЩt born into lots of money, so understands what it takes to build.

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Just corrected my comment. A reader just reminded me that JD Vance did vote for the infrastructure bill.

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Vance wasn't in office when the infrastructure bill was adopted. He just took office in January.

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You're right! I stand corrected.

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It's not ignorance it's arguing in bad faith and being a dishonest grifter and liar. Vance isn't dumb he just knows that he was elected to take every opportunity to make government look bad, and whenever he gets called out he can just claim being a victim and throw out a buzzword to his followers. He's a former never Trumper who became a sellout. He could be using his platform to help Ohio but instead he is a standard rich libertarian who doesn't care about anything until it personally affects him. In the meantime he'll keep lying and stoking fears to distract from the fact he is useless.

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Nailed him, $$$$$$$

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You are correct Philly T, but you do not have recall the details of WWI to know that liquid phosgene quickly turns to a gas that sinks to the ground & moves downhill as it speads & lingers threatening anyone near the spill site ... make that Kill Site.

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A card-carrying member in good standing of the Cult of Malignant Narcissism.

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Vance is much worse than ignorant. HeтАЩs a low-life liar and opportunist who, as if that werenтАЩt disgusting enough, is also obscenely obsequious to his wealthy patrons.

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That's standard operating practice for the whole of modern Republican leadership. Recall Scott Walker panting like a puppy when a prankster managed to fool him into thinking he as talking to one of the Koch Brothers.

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Worse than ignorant, describes every Repub in power these days

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Worse than ignorant because we are all ignorant of many things, though expecting some level of due diligence for a capable person is reasonable. Ignorance can be cured, at least "good (well) enough" by a willingness to learn. Deliberate, weaponized deception is far more a matter of bad character and typically far more dangerous.

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You putmuch too kind a face on him.

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Watch his annual

financial state increase.

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Correction: He didn't vote against the Infrastructure Act. But that is only because he literally just got there. And has no public service experience to speak of.

He's a pudgy ass-kisser and sellout who probably couldn't lift - nah, couldn't properly *hold* - the hammer that each union member building the new infrastructure weilds. Why anyone would consider this weapons-grade doofus for expert testimonial on any government business other than that of the Ministry of Farting-from-Your-Head-Hole is anyone's guess.

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And I donated to his opponent ad nauseam, money down the toilet

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Me too. Ryan actually had lot's of legislative experience and spoke for the working poor. Ohio is a strange place. But hardly the only state loaded with idiots obsessed with culture wars while they ignore their own self interests.

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тАЬThe Working PoorтАЭ

Sorry for the musical diversion, but really isnтАЩt that whatтАЩs at the heart of BidenтАЩs focus?

Drew Nelson brings it home

https://youtu.be/N-upRd62PJI

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Actually, Jeri, unless electing Ryan and only Ryan was your sole goal, your money was not at all down the loo. Ryan having such a sizeable campaign meant the Repubs had to divert money from elsewhere to counter it, so it helped indirectly in the other Senate races. And having such an energetic campaign at the top of the ticket had the very valuable coattail effect of bringing out enough voters that the Dems won ALL THREE House swing seats available to us in Ohio, a terrific boon.

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And money will be needed to elect decent candidates AND we have to do something about the amount someone spends being a major factor in who is elected. It's just corruption by another name, and certainly outside of the mission of democracy.

We can't get all trace of plutocratic interference out of politics, just as we can't stop all highway accidents and still have a functional transportation system, but we can install some guardrails and regulate speed limits.

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As did I.

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Me too! I really hoped it would make a difference.

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OhioтАЩs map was gerrymandered to insure victory for the Rs-their own courts said it was unfair but they ignored the courts. Then after the election they passed more laws to lock out democratic votes.

Mark Elias the lawyer who monitors and challenges these election issues is warning that the Rs are hijacking our election rules and systems. ItтАЩs the only way they can win.

Nikki Haley is reminding them that theyтАЩre not winning the popular vote. We may be heading toward the way elections work in places like Russia-a farce-not the will of the people.

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Will, my internal junior high (current vernacular: middle school) self just laughed at "farting from your head hole". Thank you for both your incredible initial post and this one that tickled my funny bone.

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Earthjustice.org has a detailed update on the OHIO-Tri-state flaming ЁЯФеЁЯФеrailcars attack on justice for Earth & the people, fauna & flora on it. Lead Contact: Zahra Ahmed, Tel: 517-858-0924

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Thank you for that, Sean. They are like the Southern Poverty Law Center is for civil rights but fighting earth's rights in massive ways, which of course, improves human's lives as well! Polluting corporations must hate them as much as white supremacists and fascists hate the SPLC!

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Thank you for this information. I live in NWPA approximately 80 miles north of East Palestine, OH., an area not considered to be impacted by the train derailment. I have family living in Butler County, PA., parts of which are included in the impact area. The Norfolk-Southern train carrying the shipment of vinyl chloride was also carrying other toxic chemicals. As the saying goes, it was an accident waiting to happen.

Shell recently opened a cracker plant in Beaver County, Potter Township, PA. that is 23 miles from East Palestine. Since going on line, it has been cited for numerous EPA violations. Two days ago an equipment malfunction resulted in flaring that purportedly mitigates the release of harmful substances into the environment. So, not only are residents in the area being impacted by the train derailment, they are also living with the fall out from the cracker plant. A source of local information is https://triblive.com.

As someone who grew up three miles downstream from the Bruin Lagoon, at one time the number three site on the Superfund list behind Love Canal, this is personal to me. It should be personal to everyone. Thank you for highlighting Earthjustice.org. and the important work they're doing.

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Here is an update regarding the train derailment. The train manifest, a public document, lists these substances being transported: vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylene gylcol monobutyl ether, isobutylene, benzene, and petroleum. As a point of interest, Michael Stanley Regan, the head of the EPA, is visiting East Palestine today.

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Better way late than never. Seems like the feds from EPA shouldnтАЩt need permission from the evil Governor when a public health crisis takes place?

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Thank you Kamila, valuable data points.

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тАЬ(J. D. Vance) also issued a statement saying that тАШmy office will continue to work with FEMAтАЩ over the issue, although FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has not been mobilized because Ohio governor DeWine has not requested a federal disaster declaration.тАЭ

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But it makes him sound like a responsible guy. Or he might start trashing FEMA in the next breath, which is where doublethink comes in handy.

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Vance is just a (yet another) low intelligence, Yale Party Boy who knows how to crawl on his lips for business interests.

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Ouch

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JD Vance is a schmuck and I hope Ohioans are happy with their choice. He should have to sit downwind for a while, but I'd guess that would put him in Pennsylvania. Mean, these people ...

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This Ohioan isn't happy or mean....

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In the face of this dangerous situation, why would Mike DeWine not ask for a disaster declaration? In the past he would have done so. I lived in Ohio for 17 years and saw DeWine occupy numerous elected offices. He is a political opportunist who goes whatever way the wind blows. He's just being a performative republican of today.

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Not that the pageantry of tyrants is the least bit new, but I think TV provides the golden opportunity to deliberately conflate stagecraft with statecraft, and way too many elected and appointed politicians are not real "public servants", they just play one on TV.

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I am sick that I paid for his book.

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Me too. And I want the hour and 1/2 I wasted watching the film. But whodathunk he would turn into such a putz?

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*raises hand*

Working at a library in '16 & '17, I can attest that the book in question became the unmistakable book club pick du jour during that period, an absolutely necessary text for well-meaning people with masters degrees, who all got in line to be part of the solemn attempt to "reach out understand" the "economic despair" and "cultural alienation" that "drove people to" supporting tfg (as opposed to, you know, their own misused free will), as if each Hail Mary muttered over their hardback copy would form the mystic bond across space that would enable a Bible Belter to realize Hillary was better for them after all. "Have you read it yet?" reverberated in hushed tones near the New Books Lucky Day display every time that totem appeared.

No, I didn't freaking read it, because everything about it - from the too-precious title on down - reeked of opportunism, and your buying this won't make the racists more kumbaya, it just makes this one dude richer and more famous. Two midterms later, why yes I DO feel vindicated, thanks for asking.

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Thank you. I share your sentiments.

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Not a putz Bill, Dewine is a Sacammer. As the US population splits into self-segregating cohorts, those specific folks (believers in putz Dewine) make themselves marketable targets. Purchase of a book, film, song or downloads, "likes" & dislikes. whatever ... are a telling data points. That data can be exploited in some in ways that folks never considered.

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I borrowed from library to read. I remember liking what I learned reading book. There was a fair amount of chatter at the time. Was he sincere when he wrote the book? I can't decide.

I lean to yes.

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Senator Vance made his fortune in writing fiction. I donтАЩt think he can be expected swiftly switch gears just because heтАЩs been elected to the Senate; quite the contrary. Alas.

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And I am certain that when the first new bridge is opened or new highway created in Ohio, JD will be present for a photo op smiling and giving a thumbs up, and claiming credit. What phony (and a dangerous one to boot).

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I now can't recall which prominent Republican showed up at a charity soup kitchen to roll up his sleeves and wash dishes that had already been washed only so long as the photos were shot, and then packed up and split. It's part of their core M.O.

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I wish

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Thank God for direct communication. One would never realize it from the generalized media.

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And when a big infrastrature project is eventually completed in OH, you bet good ole JD will take credit for it.

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