Last week was one disaster after another in America. In other words, it was a typical seven days with Biden sitting at the Resolute Desk. Zero Hedge reported, “After the Pentagon dispatched fighter jets to shoot down unidentified objects on February 10, 11, and 12 utilizing heat-seeking AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles at over $400,000 a pop, President Biden belatedly admitted that they could just be harmless weather balloons.”
Feb 20, 2023·edited Feb 20, 2023Liked by Don Surber
Outstanding. This could have also been titled “Ship of Fools”.
Besides the dummkopfs highlighted here, let’s not forget about the remarkable Rachel Levine, Asst. Secretary of HHS - first trans confirmed by the senate, first trans admiral, first trans four-star any officer and chief groomer of the federal government. Ooooops. I forgot. I can’t criticize Admiral Levine. Xhe earned those stripes. Yeah. Let’s name our next battle axe, I mean battle ship after xym.
Don, I've always enjoyed your ability to use humor to make a point, and this post is outstanding. I also think I'm seeing a sharper, more acerbic wit coming through since you have moved to Substack, and I really appreciate and enjoy it. Keep up the fantastic work.
Equity hires will one day get hundreds of people killed because of recent employment changes at the airlines/ FAA. A unknown many have been or will be maimed or killed because of medical school admissions. Yet the effect of equity appointments at the DoD and SCOTUS may eventually kill us all. As the Gas Station sticker says: Joe Biden did that....however it should say China did that.
Feb 20, 2023·edited Feb 20, 2023Liked by Don Surber
Don, I've been a commenter on your blogs long enough you know I am no defender of the EPA, or any other federal agency. However, you also know my background as a drinking water professional, and I have to point out that some of the current criticism of EPA is underserved. East Palestine gets its DRINKING WATER from deep wells. Potential contamination of the groundwater aquifer would take months, if not years to percolate down to that depth. I am confident EPA's declaration that the city drinking water is safe is valid. Why? Because after a 40 year career of dealing with them, I know what their primary motive in all things is, and that is to avoid class action law suits by enviro-whacko groups and the public at large at all cost.
IMHO the decision to burn the vinyl chloride was the best one that could be made in a no-win situation. Vinyl chloride is EXTREMELY EXPLOSIVE and is shipped as a colorless and odorless gas. There was NO practical way to recover it, and parts of the train were already on fire. Burning the stuff was the quickest way to dispose of it and prevent a catastrophic massive explosion. I will bet dollars to doughnuts (although w inflation what it is maybe it should be $10/doughnut) the state and local emergency management people concurred.
As for Senator Vance's creek pollution, we have seen in past spills that the ecosystems affected recover in a relatively short time. Remember the uproar over the wildlife after the Exon Valdez spill? Less than a year later the local environment had totally recovered. As for pollution of the Ohio River it will be diluted as to be barely detectable, and the drinking water supplies that pull from the river have already done jar testing and proven they will be able to easily remove it in their standard treatment trains.
So, IMHO the the handling of the incident AFTER the train wreck has been making the best of a shitty situation. All the uproar should be directed to what CAUSED the wreck, and that needs to go towards Norfolk Southern. There was almost certainly a "hot box" where one of the massive wheel bearings takes a dump, and the axle in the center of the well heats up so the cherry red glow is easy to see as the train goes by. Every few miles NF has infrared detectors that scan both sides of the train as it goes by. Somebody on that train and/or in their operations center had their head buried 4' up their ass. The investigation will reveal that, and NF will end up paying out millions in fines and law suits. The company will have to clean up the well water in the unlikely event it gets contaminated, or pay for a new well field. If individual wells get contaminated, the same holds true.
So, again, EPA sets its arbitrary and overly strict regulations in a way that ignores cost/benefit, causing billions in unnecessary spending, but they are not the villain in the East Palestine incident. Indeed in all likelihood, EPA will probably pay a critical role in making Norfolk Southern pay for sloppy operations and criminal negligence.
IMHO it does not behoove conservatives to say follow the science in one situation, then ignore the science in others. Senator Vance is a skilled writer, but his grandstanding on this was purely political and ignored the science.
One of your best, Don. Maybe the asylum would be better run by non-inmates. Can the freak-show of America 2023 get worse? I have doubts, but time will tell.
Thanks to President Trump for opening windows, turning on lights, and convincing the Leftist maniacs to show us what they are really about.
Hey, let's not forget the first Black Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin. Instead of focusing on the readiness of our armed forces, the DOD decided to focus on Critical Race Theory and the threat of white supremacy. So far, we've had the catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan, and recruiting figures are down - WAY down. The Navy recently decided to end physical fitness testing to avoid discharging sailors who can't pass the tests.
When Xiden has a staff meeting, he is the smartest person in the room. Of course, if there is a bowl of fruit present, he drops to tenth or so depending on how many grapes are in the bowl.
Outstanding. This could have also been titled “Ship of Fools”.
Besides the dummkopfs highlighted here, let’s not forget about the remarkable Rachel Levine, Asst. Secretary of HHS - first trans confirmed by the senate, first trans admiral, first trans four-star any officer and chief groomer of the federal government. Ooooops. I forgot. I can’t criticize Admiral Levine. Xhe earned those stripes. Yeah. Let’s name our next battle axe, I mean battle ship after xym.
Don, I've always enjoyed your ability to use humor to make a point, and this post is outstanding. I also think I'm seeing a sharper, more acerbic wit coming through since you have moved to Substack, and I really appreciate and enjoy it. Keep up the fantastic work.
Equity hires will one day get hundreds of people killed because of recent employment changes at the airlines/ FAA. A unknown many have been or will be maimed or killed because of medical school admissions. Yet the effect of equity appointments at the DoD and SCOTUS may eventually kill us all. As the Gas Station sticker says: Joe Biden did that....however it should say China did that.
Brilliant! I laugh but then I cry.
"Biden's appointments show..."
It isn't an option, but I would add that rank incompetence is no respecter of persons, gender, ethnicity, or ideology.
Don, I've been a commenter on your blogs long enough you know I am no defender of the EPA, or any other federal agency. However, you also know my background as a drinking water professional, and I have to point out that some of the current criticism of EPA is underserved. East Palestine gets its DRINKING WATER from deep wells. Potential contamination of the groundwater aquifer would take months, if not years to percolate down to that depth. I am confident EPA's declaration that the city drinking water is safe is valid. Why? Because after a 40 year career of dealing with them, I know what their primary motive in all things is, and that is to avoid class action law suits by enviro-whacko groups and the public at large at all cost.
IMHO the decision to burn the vinyl chloride was the best one that could be made in a no-win situation. Vinyl chloride is EXTREMELY EXPLOSIVE and is shipped as a colorless and odorless gas. There was NO practical way to recover it, and parts of the train were already on fire. Burning the stuff was the quickest way to dispose of it and prevent a catastrophic massive explosion. I will bet dollars to doughnuts (although w inflation what it is maybe it should be $10/doughnut) the state and local emergency management people concurred.
As for Senator Vance's creek pollution, we have seen in past spills that the ecosystems affected recover in a relatively short time. Remember the uproar over the wildlife after the Exon Valdez spill? Less than a year later the local environment had totally recovered. As for pollution of the Ohio River it will be diluted as to be barely detectable, and the drinking water supplies that pull from the river have already done jar testing and proven they will be able to easily remove it in their standard treatment trains.
So, IMHO the the handling of the incident AFTER the train wreck has been making the best of a shitty situation. All the uproar should be directed to what CAUSED the wreck, and that needs to go towards Norfolk Southern. There was almost certainly a "hot box" where one of the massive wheel bearings takes a dump, and the axle in the center of the well heats up so the cherry red glow is easy to see as the train goes by. Every few miles NF has infrared detectors that scan both sides of the train as it goes by. Somebody on that train and/or in their operations center had their head buried 4' up their ass. The investigation will reveal that, and NF will end up paying out millions in fines and law suits. The company will have to clean up the well water in the unlikely event it gets contaminated, or pay for a new well field. If individual wells get contaminated, the same holds true.
So, again, EPA sets its arbitrary and overly strict regulations in a way that ignores cost/benefit, causing billions in unnecessary spending, but they are not the villain in the East Palestine incident. Indeed in all likelihood, EPA will probably pay a critical role in making Norfolk Southern pay for sloppy operations and criminal negligence.
IMHO it does not behoove conservatives to say follow the science in one situation, then ignore the science in others. Senator Vance is a skilled writer, but his grandstanding on this was purely political and ignored the science.
Don, you forgot the Panty Raider of the Lost Luggage, Sam Brinton
One of your best, Don. Maybe the asylum would be better run by non-inmates. Can the freak-show of America 2023 get worse? I have doubts, but time will tell.
Thanks to President Trump for opening windows, turning on lights, and convincing the Leftist maniacs to show us what they are really about.
Hey, let's not forget the first Black Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin. Instead of focusing on the readiness of our armed forces, the DOD decided to focus on Critical Race Theory and the threat of white supremacy. So far, we've had the catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan, and recruiting figures are down - WAY down. The Navy recently decided to end physical fitness testing to avoid discharging sailors who can't pass the tests.
"But once again, I cannot criticize this asshole because..." Call it like it is. Like Trump and the majority of Americans.
This is not the time to go into details but we have the same issues here in NZ.
It is a world wide phenomenon. Incompetence promoted is a government thing.
Generally private enterprise cannot afford virtue signalling and tend to reward competence.
We have however joked for years about “get woke, go broke”.
My hope is that in years to come we will see a similar dynamic come into play for governments.
“Appoint incompetents, lose elections “.
When Xiden has a staff meeting, he is the smartest person in the room. Of course, if there is a bowl of fruit present, he drops to tenth or so depending on how many grapes are in the bowl.
I despise the word "diversity", or at least how it is used.
Poor word never had a chance once the Leftists got a hold of it...
“… but Secretary of the Vault Stuffed with IOUs does not sound as cool as Secretary of the Treasury, so we never changed the title.”
Again, GENIUS.
Oy Vay!
That poll was way too easy. Come on, man. Challenge us!