Four Dead, A Derailment & Water Resources
- Lucian@going2paris.net
- Feb 14, 2023
- 1 min read
February 14, 2023
The train derailment in Ohio has resulted in calls for Pete Buttigeg's head while the murders in Lansing, Michigan last night have resulted in no calls for government action that I have seen.
Perhaps the derailment was the result of insufficient regulation? But the folks screaming for Buttigieg are the same ones who scream for less regulation.
Carlson last night was blaming the federal government for inadequate action on everything from poisoning of water supplies to shooting up electrical substations. Aren't this state issues?
I think part of the problem with the Secretary of Transportation is his inability to identify what should be priorities. For instance in the first 10 days since the train incident, he commented on Twitter, no public Q/A sessions given the role of the Federal government as Chuck noted. However, he did have time to discuss in public the problem with too many "white" construction workers on infrastructure projects, really?
If a problem is a state or federal issue depends on powers described in the Constitution as well as legislation over the years. Railroads, like airlines and interstate trucking are regulated by the federal government so a train accident falls under the Department of Transportation, of which Mayor Pete is the head. The Constitution gives the federal government authority over interstate commerce and the national rail network is a key backbone of our interstate commerce infrastructure. The federal government is also responsible for domestic terrorism (Department of Homeland Security) so poisoning of water supplies and shooting of power stations typically is pursued by federal and state authorities due to the potential the nation's health and safety would be in pe…