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My Piece
 Matt LeBlanc (02-19-02)


A couple weeks ago Amtrak sent a loud message to Congress. Give up on this “Amtrak needs to be private and profitable” rubbish or we will cut service. It is a sad but true fact that in this current time long haul rail service will not be profitable. What Amtrak needs is for Congress to pass $1.2 billion in operating and capital assistance it has proposed for next year. The government wants Amtrak to be fully operative with out government funds by the end of the year. Amtrak has already cut 700 jobs and has made it quite clear it will not meet that mandate. The new buzz in Washington is about bidding off the profitable shorter lines to private business. That of course would only doom them for failure because the private corporations would then have a passenger rail monopoly on the specific line they were running. This would mean higher ticket prices and less ridership. It seems to be quite the contradictory proposal considering the Government already broke up private pa ssenger train monopolies in the late 1800's/early 1900's. This still leaves us with the long haul route issue. Every American should be afforded the opportunity to experience the magic of taking a 24-hour + ride on a passenger train. It allows you to see a part of North American otherwise unavailable. It is the government's responsibility to make sure these long haul routes remain available. They will not be profitable in today’s society, but simply because they are not profitable does not mean the magic and wonder of these trips should cease to exist. There are two ways to help combat this. Write your United States congressman or senator and tell them you want the government to continue to fund long-haul passenger train service, and take your next vacation in the comfort of a moving hotel.

Everyone not receiving the Gordon Humphrey for Governor e-mails should sign up. Even if you are the biggest liberal in North America you should still sign up for the comedic value of the e-mails. The light, comedic tone used by Humphrey's staff not only keeps you informed on important issues, but also keeps you interested in the issues. My favorite is the “I want money” section.
"Umm, we need some money. Please send some. Or maybe you own a TV station you could lend us until November." "Oh, and incidentally, there’s an on-line contribution feature. “Mmmmm, contributions,” as Homer Simpson would say." "Dudes with high-speed Internet access, the kind that Gordon Humphrey will bring to the even most rural home and business, are not excused." "Come on, you can afford to part with ten bucks. It’ll make you feel good to be able to say to your grand-children, 'I helped Gordon Humphrey save New Hampshire from dying the death of Taxachusetts.'" Those are all from one e-mail. Hey, there has to be some reason his favorability rating amongst New Hampshire voters currently stands at 56%.
So George W. Bush has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Either the definition of peace has changed or the judges have greatly lowered their standard. Last time I checked, Bush had begun a war of aggression in Afghanistan using high range, inaccurate bombing killing 2700 - 5500 innocent civilians. I believe, and please correct me if I am wrong, that this is the antithesis of peace. While were talking about W, I was embarrassed that New Hampshire is part of the United States when he came out with that Axis of Evil garbage. First of all, his advisors must have put a map of the world on the podium and put E in big red marker on Iraq, Iran, and North Korea just to make sure W got it right. Secondly, "Axis of Evil" seems like something Bill Cosby should have been talking about on Picture Pages, not something the President of the most powerful Union (we'll see for how long) in the world should be saying. Finally, it gets back to the whole idea of peace. North Korea is too weak and powerless to do anything or be any kind of a threat to the United States. They were even leaning in a more US Friendly direction until W made that stupid statement. Instead of the State of the Union he delivered how to anger an already unstable state in one easy step by George Walker Bush. Iran has a leader who was taking on a pro-western attitude and working for reform in Iran that much needed western support. Bush made it quite clear that the United States was not interested in helping the Iran become a more democratic, humanitarian state. It appears to me that Bush is the schoolyard bully egging on the weaker, smaller kids until they snap. Once they snap and attack back he and Rumsfeld can feel justified blowing up the states and killing their civilians so they can sit in the White House and feel powerful and mighty. It's too bad all those people who had the "Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Bush" bumper stickers on their cars after Clinton won aren't now putting "Blame Me, I Voted for Bush" stickers on their vehicles. Finally, isn’t it a strange coincidence that in June when the Taliban refused to let the United States run a pipeline though Afghanistan Bush threatened them, telling them they better let the US do what the US wanted or they would “pay.” Then 9/11, then no more Taliban, then pro-US Afghani Prime Minister, and now a forthcoming US pipeline. Take that as you will.
I tried Turkey Pepperoni the other day, and I have to be honest with ya, while it has 70% less fat, it also has 70% less taste. I think I’ll stick to the Hormel Tabasco Flavored all pig pepperoni. That's tasty stuff.
A couple weeks ago Jeanne Shaheen made it official; she wants to represent New Hampshire in the United States Senate. Turns out after 3 terms as the leader of the state she is ready to take a step down to senator. It seems the fact that she accomplished close to nothing in three years showed her she needs a job that requires less responsibility. Ah hah, junior senator. I actually am in favor of the decision. First of all, there is no way she could have beaten Humphrey again after he has improved ten fold in getting out his message for New Hampshire while she has continued to hurt the state by her incomprehensible indecisiveness. Secondly, I share US Representative and probable Shaheen opponent John Sununu's sentiment, “I have long said that New Hampshire would be well-served by her return to the private sector, and her entry to this race is an encouraging step in that direction.” I was hoping the junior Sununu would run for governor, but I will certainly enjoy watching h im celebrate victory over Betty Crocker on election night.
Well NBC's Olympic coverage has been 100% better than CBS was four years ago. I first found it very embarrassing when in a qualifying round hockey game NBC put up the Austrian flag instead of the Latvian flag as they battled against Belarus. Besides that moment of embarrassment by American Ignorance I don't really have any other complaints. I give NBC major kudos for their coverage of curling. I have long been a curling fan, and even did extensive research on why it lacks popularity in the United States compared to other countries in the Northern Hemisphere. Thank goodness NBC is willing to take the chance on curling CBS was not because it has succeeded for NBC. The interest in the sport is clearly sweeping the country, and as people watch it more they understand it more, and realize how exciting it actually is. I am very happy for the sport and glad people around the United States are finally beginning to embrace it. Enjoy it for the next couple weeks, and hopefully we will be seeing more of it around this Union.
Will Western Taxachusetts really secede? That is the question of the hour on the popular Jordan Levy show of late. What started as a joke in response to Levy's removal from the Turnpike Authority is turning into a legitimate movement. It makes sense too. People east of 495, including politicians, aren't fully aware there is anything between 495 and New York. They are being over taxed out west to take care of the problems inside the "beltway" if you will. Isn't that why the 13 American Colonies staged war against Great Britain in the first place? I think Western Taxachusetts could do it. West Virginia did and they didn't even have two large cities, a major university, tourism, emerging commerce, and the Basketball Hall of Fame. The best part about it is that if Western Taxachusetts were to become the state of Western Massachusetts, 495 east would not even notice they were gone.
Matt LeBlanc is from Manchester, New Hampshire, and he gladly accepts questions and comments at mleblan1@ic3.ithaca.edu
...the private corporations would then have a passenger rail monopoly...
...'I helped Gordon Humphrey save New Hampshire from dying the death of Taxachusetts'...
...either the definition of peace has changed or the judges have greatly lowered their standard...
...she has continues to hurt the state by her incomprehensible indecisiveness...
...the interest in the sport is clearly sweeping the country...
...on the Jordan Levy Show, should Central and Western Massachusetts secede from the rest of the Commonwealth...