Originally published at: Ohio sues Norfolk Southern over toxic train crash | Boing Boing
…
5 Likes
The state might as well get ahead of things. It’s not like anyone thought the railroad was going to pay up on its own.
13 Likes
A Republican administration suing a corporation? The spill must be much, much worse than we ever thought…
20 Likes
“This derailment was entirely avoidable and I’m concerned that Norfolk Southern may be putting profits for their own company above the health and safety of the cities and communities that they operate in,” Yost said at a press briefing announcing the lawsuit.
19 Likes
Why, there may have even been actual gambling going on inside that corporate casino.
12 Likes
And I mean this with the same sincerity Chrissy Hynde did when she sang it.
8 Likes
Norfolk Southern may be engaging in capitalism.
17 Likes
11 Likes
This whole situation has been weird. This could have been prevented if Pete Buttigieg (a D who is now US Secretary of Transportation) hadn’t given in to lobbying pressure on enforcing modernizing freight rail braking systems. He had the authority to do that but left it to congress and then Trump threw it out.
Nobody is acting to character but more importantly nobody did their job.
5 Likes
“I’m concerned that Norfolk Southern may be putting profits for their own company above the health and safety of the cities and communities that they operate in”
Let me put your mind at ease then. They’re definitely doing that. No doubt about it.
9 Likes
I think your alternate timeline needs some work @VeronicaConnor. Remind me, who appointed Buttigieg?
1 Like
Here you go, It’s all laid out here:
Let me know if you need any more homework done for you.
2 Likes
Avoidable environmental tragedy rooted in late stage capitalism; lather, rinse, repeat.
9 Likes
If this article is correct, the train braking regulation (which never should have been overturned in the first place, granted) wouldn’t have applied here because it didn’t go far enough in terms of how many cars of flammable materials would be allowed on a train before the braking requirements applied. The rule apparently only applied to “high-hazard flammable trains”, defined as 20 consecutive or 30 interspersed cars of flammable liquids. This train was classified as mixed freight - which shows how easy the braking regulation would have been to circumvent 
1 Like
I mean, since you asked…if you’ve already listened can you give the tl;dr version?
I hate when podcasts don’t include the transcript.
13 Likes
Right… I’m confused by how Buttigieg is responsible for the actions of a President that he didn’t work for? If it’s how he did not work to get Trump era policies repealed, that’s one thing, but Buttigieg was not Trump’s transportation secretary, Elaine Chao was… 
15 Likes
Buttigieg did nothing regarding this train disaster for a very long time. It was like ten days before he even acknowledged it. He has the authority to create the regulations needed to prevent these accidents but has not done so.
When Trump retracted the transportation safety act that may very well have prevented this, Buttigieg could have put it back as soon as he was appointed. He has that authority. He didn’t do anything because of the railroad lobby. He’s decided that regulating transportation safety is the job of congress, not the job of the institution created to regulate transportation safety.
I know he’s well liked, but he absolutely dropped the ball here. I’m not saying the accident was his fault, but he is on the list of people who did not do his job, as I said at the top.
3 Likes
Well, this is a first for me. I post a reply to @VeronicaConnor where I said almost exactly this and mine was hidden yet this one was well received. I’ve reread what I wrote a couple times and honestly fail to see the foul. I mean, I was a little sharper in tone but this crowd isn’t known for thin skin.
Anybody care to tell me where I screwed up?
(edited for clarity)
1 Like
That is not what I said.
Sorry. I didn’t mean to imply that. I’ve edited my post to make my meaning clearer.
2 Likes
