A few weeks ago I wrote this story for the front page about the the highwayman, name New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Christie took some time review his decision to kill one of the biggest most important infrastructure projects in the nation. Today, he announced he's standing by that decision:
Construction began last year on the tunnel, which has been in the works for 20 years. In September, Christie suspended work on the tunnel and ordered a cost review. He pulled the plug on the project two weeks ago but gave himself time to reconsider at the behest of federal Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
The tunnel is intended to supplement a century-old two-track tunnel that has been at capacity for years, NJ Transit officials have said. It would double the capacity for NJ Transit commuter trains and Amtrak trains between Pennsylvania Station in New York and the city's populous New Jersey suburbs, part of a region that has some of the nation's longest commutes.
More than 625,000 people trek into Manhattan from New Jersey each work day, about 185,000 by rail, and even a minor derailment or delay translates into long stretches of waiting for trains to get to and from work.
On Monday, an eight-car train derailed outside Pennsylvania Station, snarling the evening commute for tens of thousands. No one was injured, but nine of the station's 21 tracks were affected, Amtrak spokesman Clifford Cole said.
Federal Transit Administration chief Peter Rogoff has said that the new tunnel will shorten rail trips in the region and reduce the need to transfer between trains, which he said can save several minutes.
Officials estimated it would provide 6,000 construction jobs immediately and as many as 40,000 jobs after its completion in 2018.
Assembly Transportation committee chairman John Wisniewski, who is also the chairman of the state Democratic Party, called Christie's decision a "monumental failure of leadership."
And so there we have it. Another sign of the times in which we live. We live in an America that cannot build the very same things it built with little hesitation 100 years ago. Did you get that? The tiny Swiss are building things that accomplish new feats of engineering, and we can't build a simple tunnel from New York to New Jersey.
Meanwhile, in China, they are setting new high speed rail records as they build the world's fastest travel network:
China inaugurated a super-fast rail line from Shanghai's western suburb of Hongqiao to the resort city of Hangzhou on Tuesday. The train will cruise at a top speed of 220 mph, making the 125-mile trip in 45 minutes.
Still in the works is a $32.5 billion, 820-mile Beijing-to-Shanghai high-speed railway to be completed in 2012. China already has the world's longest high-speed rail network and aims to more than double its length to 10,000 miles by 2020. Also ahead: more nuclear power plants and a project to pump river water from the fertile south to the arid north.
6000 jobs gone. No, make that 40,000 future jobs gone. All for what? An extra 10 cents so you can drive to the mall, use your credit card to buy shit made in China, in a car made in Japan or Germany while stuck in traffic.
Lets keep in mind that the Republican Party considers Chris Christie a hero. Down with progress, up with failure. They want an America that builds nothing, is proud of nothing, and can accomplish nothing. The only thing they consider our national wealth and energy to be good for is shopping for useless crap made overseas. That's why you need a tax cut. So that you can buy more shit made by a real world power.
If you ever needed any motivation to go vote next week, this is it. This is what crazed teabagger government will bring you: a nation in steady, inexorable decline. A nation that can't build tunnels, can't manufacture things, can't grow food, can't win wars, can't even do the same shit it was perfectly capable of doing 100 years ago.