HoustonWade.com

We need infrastructure improvements more than we need tax cuts. There are ten thousand bridges and overpasses in America that need replacing and refitting. Think about that. What if in the next twenty years even one percent of those bridges fail like the I-35 bridge in Minnesota? That would mean hundreds, if not thousands dead, billions of dollars in goods and services lost. how about, instead, we put millions back to work replacing and refitting these aging structures and reap the benefits of a more efficient transportation infrastructure?

We need to open domestic air service to foreign-owned carriers. Force them to meet FAA standards and not allow them to use subsidies to operate here. Along with that we need to open up small airports to national carriers. Here, in the Seattle area, Bremerton National and Payne Field in Everett should be picking up some of the slack and offer a cheaper alternative for discount carriers.

We need more colleges and universities that are not in the South and not in the middle. Students want to go to school where there are jobs and people. Washington State alone needs several more universities that offer Masters and PhD programs that aren’t located in the desert where no one wants to live. The University of Washington is bursting at the seams and yet is squashing any attempt to ease their burden by enlarging current satellite campuses and opening new institutions. When the economy is down and people are out of work they return to school to update their training. Let’s put some stimulus money into a new round of landgrant institutions.

Stimulate me

Chrysler and Gm want us to give them more money to straighten out thier finances. OK, it’s theirs, under one condition: They give us all the rail and trolly lines they bought up in the 40s and 50s. in return we give them tons of cash to renovate and reopen these integral rail systems.

Los Angeles had a huge subway system that rivaled New York in the first half of the 20th century, then GM and Firestone bought it up and tore it up. Let’s give them billions to put it back to work. Much of the concrete infratstructure is there and the easements are all owned by these few companies, we need rail desperately, and they need cash desperately. Let’s do this.

While we are at it: We need to create at least seven high-speed rail/maglev train lines in this country. Four North/South and at least two that are East/West.

The first North/South Line from Vancouver, BC to Cabo San Lucas, Baja that connects Seattle, Portland, Sacramento, San Francisco, LA and San Diego together.

The Second that starts in Winnepeg, Manitoba that goes to St. Louis through Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Des Moines. There should be a fork on this line that starts in Milwaukee and travels through Chicago on its way to St. Louis. From there it is on to Memphis and then it skirts Southwest and travels through Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, on its way to Mexico where it connects with Jaurez and terminates in Mexico City.

The third North/South Line Begins in Timmins, Ontario and terminates in Mobile, AL connecting Toronto, Detroit, Toledo, Columbus, Cincinatti/Louisville, Nashville and Birmingham.

The forth, largest, most important, and final North/South line would begin in Montreal, Quebec and terminate in Miami, FL while connecting Boston, New York, Philedelphia, Baltimore, DC, Raliegh, Charlotte, Columbia, and Jacksonville.

The first East/West line would begin San Francisco and terminate in DC Connecting Reno/Tahoe, Salt Lake City, Denver, Witchita, Kansas City, St. Louis, Cincinatti/Louisville, and Lexington along the way.

The second of the East/West lines would begin in LA and terminate in Jacsonville, FL connecting Pheonix, Albuquerque, Dallas, New Orleans and Mobile on its way.

The argument can be made for a third line starting in Vancouver, Seattle or Portland and terminating in either Boston or NY as well.

The construction of these high speed rail lines would put millions to work and imporve the economy in ways never imagined in this nationa and North America as a whole.

Finally, after 10 years away, and after he has finally realized that Cincinatti and Atlanta are holes not worthy of fill, Ken Griffey Jr. has returned to Seattle.

From the looks of it, Griffey had all but signed with the Braves until some loudmouth with the orginaization leaked that Griffey was going to be theirs that “The Kid” withdrew from negotiations and signed with the Mariners. If you can’t trust your front office, who can you trust?

One thing I have never understood about Griffey: He was drafted by the Mariners in 1987, he signed an eight year deal with the Mariners (a very long contract in baseball) and had taken them to two playoffs, and was the reason they built a $500 million stadium catered to his lefthanded swing, his best friend, Jay Buhner, played and lived in Seattle, so Griffey then spends two million dollars on a home in some malaria swamp in Orlando and then demands a trade so that he can be closer to his family. Why the hell, if your job, and friends are in Seattle, would you move your family 2,700 miles away?!?! It’s like someone moving next to the airport and then complaining about the noise.

Well, I’m glad he’s back. I think he realized that Seattle we’re the only ones who really, truly loved him and that Cincinatti couldn’t hold that kind of love for the man. Maybe he’ll realize what a pit Orlando is and finally move his family out of the South.