Salena Zito's no-nonsense report from East Palestine, OH

Salena Zito just visited East Palestine, OH. She notes that Palestine is "pronounced Pal-e-steen." Then she notes that the Biden administration didn't show a serious presence until last week. Pete Buttigieg didn't arrive until today. When he got there, he started from a defensive posture. Considering the fact that he didn't take an interest in the catastrophe until last week, that's understandable.

By the time that Secretary Buttigieg got to East Palestine, he was facing fierce criticism in the form of Sen. Marco Rubio demanding "Biden fire him for a 'gross level of incompetence and apathy' pertaining to the derailment crisis, his handling of the Southwest Airline holiday meltdown, and more." Buttigieg didn't handle first contact with East Palestine, saying "We've been here from the first hours of the incident as an administration, and it's why our interests in East Palestine and in keeping our railroads safe doesn't go away."

True to form, Buttigieg didn't take responsibility for not showing up, instead criticizing Trump. Buttigieg criticized the Trump administration "for relaxing federal regulations for the rail industry, including on braking system maintenance that he suggests contributed to the derailment." Buttigieg's problem with that criticism is that the initial finding of the NTSB is that "an overheated wheel bearing on a train car" might've caused the derailment. That has nothing to do with the Trump administration.

This won't help the Biden administration:

The Biden administration’s refusal to declare East Palestine a disaster area and grant FEMA aid feels eerily similar to Black Monday now, especially as the tragedy comes at a time of worker strife. Last year, two of the country’s largest freight rail labor unions threatened to strike, citing grievances such as staffing shortages and a requirement that workers be on call on short notice as often as seven days a week. Then, in December, Biden stepped in and signed legislation that imposed an agreement between the rail companies, including Norfolk Southern and its workers. A strike was averted, but the workers got little of what they asked for.

"Look, I know this bill doesn’t have paid sick leave that these rail workers and frankly every worker in America deserves," Biden admitted when he ended the dispute. "But that fight isn’t over." He never mentioned it again.

Biden has touted his blue-collar union roots. When it came time to side with the rank-and-file, though, he sided with the railroad companies.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tim Walz's Confederate Flag Fiasco

Image
After Minnesota's Democrats shoved the most controversial progressive legislation down Minnesotans' throats, gossip started popping up about Gov. Walz being interested in running for president . That's died off but Gov. Walz is still making headlines, this time for all the wrong reasons. First, Gov. Walz isn't the brightest bulb in the chandelier. Still, Gov. Walz is fighting against Minnesota's history. This Alpha News article quotes David Hann, the chairman of Minnesota's Republican Party, as saying " The flag the DFL has eliminated was a version of the historic flag our regiments fought under during the Civil War. Minnesota was the first state to offer troops to the Union cause in 1861 , beginning a long tradition of leading the nation in confronting injustice. The DFL quest to erase our history is repugnant and should be rejected." Gov. Walz, though, sees things differently. He's quoted as saying "Minnesota is a diverse state, it continue
Read more

What is Kamala Harris afraid of?

Image
Apparently, Kamala Harris suddenly loves debating. Let me rephrase that. Harris loves debating as long as the moderators are partisan hacks. She wants nothing to do with a debate moderated by Fox's Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. She's afraid of Bret and Martha because a) they'll either fact-check both her and Trump or they won't fact-check either of them and b) Bret and Martha aren't afraid of asking follow-up questions. To a candidate whose answers are scripted and who isn't quick on her feet, the last thing you want is a follow-up question. Kamala fears follow-up questions like vampires hate wooden stakes, sunlight and holy water. Why has Kamala Harris avoided Fox News like the plague? The moderators/propagandists fact-checked Donald Trump aggressively but didn't fact-check Harris . Why didn't David Muir and Linsey Davis fact-check both candidates equally? Is it because Harris doesn't like fair fights? Perhaps she's just afraid of getting exp
Read more

Why is Joe Biden letting Hamas off the hook?

Image
It isn't disputable whether Joe Biden's administration is letting Hamas off the hook. That issue was settled months ago, when a spineless Joe Biden caved to activists interested in saving Hamas and thwarting the Israelis' attempt to defend themselves. Gerard Baker's op-ed highlights what's at stake for the U.S. if the terrorists are permitted to survive. In his op-ed, Baker wrote "If, under the pressure of internal Democratic politics and global public opinion, the Biden administration forces a 'cease-fire' that leaves our closest ally in the region short of victory over an enemy that seeks to destroy it, sooner or later we shall all pay the price." It's time to revisit George W. Bush's speech to a joint session of Congress on Sept. 20, 2001. It's required that we remind ourselves of one of its most important paragraphs. In talking about who committed the atrocities of 9/11, President Bush identified al-Qa'ida as "a collectio
Read more