In news of the derailment, I5 may open later today. Most of the train has been removed, and now they are inspecting the road for damage caused by the falling cars. Yesterday, an “unnamed NTSB source” said there was a trainee in the cab of the locomotive, whose presence may have distracted the engineer. This is very unusual behavior for the NTSB. They’re generally very tight lipped and not prone to anonymous statements until the official release of their report. It has been confirmed that the train was doing 81 mph in a 30 mph zone, but the why is not known.
The engine is now up on a trailer. Note the number of wheels bearing the weight of that thing. It’s 270,000 pounds.
Dealing with trains requires a lot of large, heavy equipment.
Today’s hike was back in Pima Canyon. I have a love/hate relationship with that trail. Jim does not like it at all. I always think I like it until I’m on the way back and my feet start to hurt from the rocks.
It does have much of the scenic beauty.
The male hummingbird finally left the feeder. One of the females got to eat this morning.
So, the Republicans passed their evil tax “reform” bill today. The Washington Post reports the following.
President Trump was so excited about passing his first major piece of legislation Wednesday that he blurted out that the Republican Party had misrepresented the entire bill, handing Democrats some potentially troublesome talking points for the 2018 midterm elections.I think in the midterms we’re going to see that clip of him saying that a lot.
While the Republicans were busy giving away the farm to the rich, they failed to renew the CHIP program. This program provides medical insurance for 9 million children in the US. The perfidy and malfeasance is just staggering.
I hope there is a special berth in Hell for the republican who didn't think the CHIP program was important. That program covers children with severe medical issues who don't qualify for Medicaid because their parents earn too much money. It is easy to assume that their parents would be able to afford their insurance and medical need. But most people don't know that the medication for hemophilia is more than $1000 a dose and the child needs it every 3-4 days. The co-pay on that alone is enough to bankrupt all but the extremely wealthy. Other disease like cancer and type 1 diabetes are the same. But I guess the corporations need the money more than the children do.
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