Augie Ray

In 2016, Columbiana County, where East Palestine is located, votes for Trump by 42 points.

In 2018, Trump rescinds Obama-era train-braking rule that would have prevented accidents as just happened in East Palestine.

In 2020, Columbiana County voted for Trump by 45 points.

Biden offers help, and Republican governor says, “I will not hesitate to call him if we see a problem but I’m not seeing it.”

Republicans: This is all Biden's and Buttigieg's fault!

Feb 16, 2023 at 9:41pmWeb
Show threadExtinction (our fate)Feb 16, 2023

@augieray There is plenty of blame to go around, but the primary blame is on the industry that pushed for the relaxation of rules around braking devices, that reduced the number of workers to keep trains rolling safely, and that allowed dangerous cars to be attached to their trains without regard to the terrible consequences that could happen in circumstances like these.

And the lobbying culture in Washington is bipartisan. The revolving door between industry and regulation doesn't stop when the WH changes hands.

But yes, the GOP did most of the dirty things that were part of the chain of events that brought phosgene and vinyl chloride into East Palestine's death zone.

Show threadmrjonnoFeb 20, 2023
@aka_quant_noir @augieray
sn't this always the way with 'fat cats' and profit?
UK railways are destroyed and don't get me started on our rivers full of pollution - actually profit is not good yet we base our world system on it - crazy. 🙃 🙄
Show threadLghostFeb 16, 2023
@augieray did they figure out if that would have prevented it? Last I heard was that it was believed that perhaps it might have.
Show threadStoney TakesFeb 16, 2023

@augieray I have been following this story as closely as I can. Is there any official word that connects the rescinded brake rule with the overheated bearings being investigated?

https://www.cleveland19.com/2023/02/14/ntsb-announces-preliminary-malfunction-that-caused-east-palestine-train-derailment/

NTSB announces preliminary malfunction that caused East Palestine train derailment

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released a preliminary report naming the malfunction that cause a train carrying hazardous chemicals to derail in East Palestine on Feb. 3.

Cleveland 19 News
Show threadAugie RayFeb 16, 2023

@Stoneycase I am sure it will be some time before we know for sure, but I think we might focus on the larger issues of Federal Republicans cutting safety regulations and Ohio Republicans refusing and delaying assistance from the Feds.

https://news.yahoo.com/ohios-toxic-train-disaster-follows-192450609.html

Yahooist Teil der Yahoo Markenfamilie

Show threadStoney TakesFeb 16, 2023
@augieray agreed! The direct comparison to the Obama/Trump brake rule is a push back point for the Drumpf’ers. From the article you shared “The Obama-era brake rule would not have applied to the type of train that derailed in Ohio. But Steven Ditmeyer, a former senior official at the Federal Railroad Administration, and other rail experts told the Lever that the derailment would have been less severe if the train had the upgraded brake technology”. I dealt with some blowback
Show threadStoney TakesFeb 16, 2023
@augieray the worst thing I read (but didn’t bookmark) is that inspection times / rail car have been slashed due to cost cutting measures at the point of origin. A proper visual inspection may have caught this problem. Peeled back regulation, shrinking staff, corporate cost cutting, record profits. Real world destruction. It’s all too much sometimes. My Italian family lives within about an 1.5 hr radius from the accident
Show threadAugie RayFeb 16, 2023
@Stoneycase I hope your family is safe.
Show threadStoney TakesFeb 17, 2023
@augieray found it!
“In our view, I don’t think you can separate the drastic reduction in workforce over the past seven or eight years, from the increase in accidents, the rate of safety incidents,” said Greg Regan, president of the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, the union representing rail labor.
Show threadStoney TakesFeb 17, 2023

@augieray “What people see on the ground is a really big amount of pressure on moving as fast as possible, as lean as possible, and generating as much profit as possible.”
Regan noted that because there is no minimum inspection time required for railcars, the time taken for workers to inspect cars has dropped from two minutes to 40 or 45 seconds. “

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2023/02/14/norfolk-southerns-ohio-train-derailment-emblematic-rail-trends/11248956002/

Trains are becoming less safe. Why the Ohio derailment disaster could happen more often

Efforts to keep costs down and make railroads more efficient have made trains less safe, experts told USA TODAY.

USA TODAY
Show threadBoredomFestivalFeb 16, 2023
@augieray this goes beyond the usual Leopards Ate My Face territory
Show threadKanaMaunaFeb 16, 2023
@augieray I get it that people are uninformed and spoon-fed FOXaganda but #FAFO
Show threaddogpileFeb 16, 2023
@augieray Karma, if it's real.
Show threadMichael FenichelFeb 17, 2023

@augieray

🎯

#GQP / #TrumpVirus cult 'think' in action.

#MakeAmericaSane (r)

Show threadAlice MarshallFeb 17, 2023
@augieray Biden could have reinstated the brake regulation that would have prevented this, as requested by the workers. Biden did not have to bust the threatened strike which had safety as one of its demands. Blaming the victim is a bad look and a solidarity fail.
Show threadAugie RayFeb 17, 2023
@AliceMarshall You're not wrong. But with GOP retirees voting for Republicans who want to cut Social Security, black Republicans voting for candidates who prevent teaching racial history, and poor Republicans electing people who cut worker protection and refuse to raise minimum wage, it is not victim blaming to call out that conservative voters get the government they elect.
Show threadNicole RoedFeb 17, 2023
@augieray @AliceMarshall beautifully said!
Show threadHumble Fan of Atty. WooFeb 17, 2023

@augieray

Hate to say this but I am NOT sending any aid to Columbiana County. I sent $25 to Doctors without Borders who are helping in Turkey, but they didn't cast one vote for trump. The end.

Show threadJeffFeb 17, 2023
@augieray GQP are unwoke or liars
Show threadÓscar Morales VivóFeb 17, 2023
@augieray I didn’t think the train would explode near MY community! sobs man who voted for the trains exploding near communities party.
Show threadJeffrey RobinsonFeb 17, 2023
@augieray The truth is a bitch!
Show thread1337 $#!+ I did thatFeb 17, 2023
@augieray It may anger my libs, but why is our politics outraged on behalf of Palestine OH residents when this "accident" is exactly what they voted for? Or as this post, outraged *at* East Palestine? Instead of outrage, the response should be pity and schadenfreude over their willful ignorance, and adopting a spirit of reminder, so that the children of the credulous know what their parents did to them. These are sad people, write their history coldly. Don't let willful marks play the victim.
Show threadmrjonnoFeb 21, 2023
@augieray I can't really talk about specifics. My knowledge of Ohio goes back to 70-80's in economics and economic geography to understand it as a significant coal mining state. Quick look at wiki and seems 'green' and tertiary industries make Ohio a state that is keeping pace with 'mainstreet' which is not the 'American Dream' quality of life and income of the past.
I am passionate about public services as the foundation of civilisation - the UK follows USA to destroy infrastructure for profit.