What are you stitching next?

DH saw one yesterday - I'd seen them around. He's crazy now to get one - but I'm not sure about it - given the traffic situation.

Good for you - congrats, Ellice

That's very true also. We used to have a railway system in America. We still have a semblence of what used to be, but nobody takes the train any more. My BIL took a train from Wisconsin to Florida and back taking two different routes. I'd be very interested in a vacation of that nature. Sleeper cars, of course.

I am slowly losing my hope in America. I know it's a hundred times better than many other nations which have poverty we cannot imagine, but boy it is harder and harder to feel American like I used to.

We have more and more trains here , and they are PACKED ,,,, mirjam

There are places in the US that have poverty right down there with Third World countries.

Soon after we got married, my husband took me out for a Sunday afternoon drive. He pulled up overlooking a village that looks like the one in the Save the Children commercial. I asked "when did we cross the border?" and he pointed 500 yards ahead, "there's the border, this is on OUR side." Cardboard shacks with tin roofs, dirt gutters used for both human waste and garbage. No electricity, no phones, no running water. It's how the farm workers get by on the $2 an hour they're paid, and he told me there were hundreds (if not thousands) of such villages nestled into the hills and backwaters of San Diego county.

But because they're built without building permits, have no utilities, there's no government record of them, so they fly under the radar.

These are not the migrant farm workers, but the ones who have permanent jobs, or at least permanent enough to justify building a house (and I use the term loosely) to put a roof over the head of the wife and kiddies.

I hear there are similar pockets hidden in Appalachia and the Ozarks, as well as every other Southwestern border state. It should be an embarrassment for our government that anyone has to live like that in this country.

But instead of helping our own, they're sending our tax money around the world to help other people.

On 7/25/08 1:48 AM, " snipped-for-privacy@actcom.co.il" wrote:

And here, in the DC area, the trains are well used. But, trying to get them further into the suburbs has become a huge issue, taking on national news. One of the most populous areas, Tyson's Corner, which is about 8 miles west of the Capitol has huge shopping and business complexes. In truth, the area is more dense than downtown of small cities (like Albuquerque). There is no train right there. The train has been planned for some years - and a big fight has gone for the last year about changing the above ground plan to a tunnel (which is prohibitive for numerous reasons involving money, and the enormously high percentage of the world's internet cabling which roosts in this corridor. This train would be the one to finally run out to Dulles International Airport. Yup, how does this airport not have a train - it's like only having a train to Heathrow, but not Gatwick. Huge political fights, the federal govt is supposed to underwrite a big chunk for this. But, in Virginia there is a huge split between the northern section (metro DC) which is very populated (4 counties, plus some incorporated cities) millions of people, compared to rest of the state, and more diverse, citified, etc. and the rest of the state - which is still more rural, smaller towns, and less diverse... More "southern" for lack of a better word. The divisiveness is amazing in the legislature. Regardless of the fact that a huge bulk of state revenue comes from the northern VA area - however the representation works out - things tend to get tied up and lost. So, this transportation bill, and especially the Dulles Rail has been put aside yet again. There were all kinds of craziness with the infighting at the VA legislature, so at some point the federal DOT said they were pulling their funds - which led to the governor trying hard to get some kind of additional private financing, etc to assure the feds - who had another hearing, and then it got punted. It's pretty sad - and that train route is desperately needed. All of the metro area trains are well used, and they're working hard to do something to alleviate the overcrowding, maintenance, safety issues. And, there is actul commuter rail between the far out suburbs, ex-burbs and separate towns back towards DC or Baltimore (using the Amtrak rails - not mixing in the METRO) . People actually use it, move to more economical areas if they can get the VRE (Virginia Rail Express) or MARC (Maryland area regional train service).

Ellice

Do you know how much of our tax money actually goes to foreign aid?

Instead of helping our own, they're sending our tax money around the world to kill other people.

Elizabeth

If he's looking at another Audi, have him talk to DH on the phone; minds might be changed.

I want Gillian Scion but I'm the only one.

Cheryl

I'll post about our visit later - needs composing and I need caffeine still

I've long thought that reducing what we spend in "foreign aid" would make a huge difference in our economy and in the world.

Cheryl

I would think the war in Iraq has cost more than any other war in history.

What fabulous news; stay long and prosper.

I've eyed the Smart Car - doesn't look like DS could fit in it.

Cheryl

But, we look at totally different Audi than do you guys - and what he wants has excellent reviews, etc....

Cute, but too boxy for me.

Ellice

All too often, aid money meant to make life better for the common man ends up buying weapons turned on their own citizens.

Cheryl

The A5 and A6 have some common issues - like CV joints.

The xA isn't as boxy and I'm looking for head room for growing children.

Cheryl

Cheryl Isaak wrote: > I've eyed the Smart Car - doesn't look like DS could fit in it.

And since when does a little thing like size stop a teenage boy from getting into anything resembling a car?

(My own 6'5" brother had a VW beetle back in the 70s)

Sue

Yeah, but you can pack 23 people into a beetle. :) (I think that's the world record.)

VW's had a lot of headroom. DS has a buddy with a newer Toyota (200x) and nearly has to fully recline the seat to ride in it. His head would above the roofline (long legs and long torso).

Where there are "mass transit" trains (subway, light rail, etc.), they tend to be well used, though there has to be a lot of planning and the initial expense is great.

In Baltimore we have a light rail line that is not as fully utilized as it could be. One problem is, there's only one line, and nothing "feeds" into it, in terms of other methods of mass transit. Our bus lines are a joke. So if you live near enough a light rail line to walk to it, or can drive your car to it and park, it's great. But for most of the city/suburbs (not located on the one line), it's not useful.

There's also a subway that I've never been on. It has a point of origin in the northwest suburbs and goes downtown on one line - again, great for people who live in A and work in B, but that's a limited population.

There's *finally* been some discussion about adding to it, but with the economic downturn, I wonder if it will get support.

The most interesting thing about the expensive gas is that people are looking for alternatives, and they just aren't in place. We're starting to realize with 20/20 hindsight that the time to put systems in place was a decade or more ago, so we wouldn't be in this position now! I wonder if people will still be supportive if gas prices see some reduction, or if we'll just return to "status quo" until the next flareup.

Another irony of the present situation is that after years and years of fighting for their piece of the federal transportation pie, AMTRAK is getting some attention and increased ridership. I've heard it's difficult to get seats on holiday weekends now. I'm lucky to live on the Boston to Washington line and have often used the train to travel between Baltimore and the NYC metro area. But it's become so darn expensive, it's no longer an option for a family...driving is way cheaper.

Sue

(snipped some true statements)

Fully agree. However, even the poorest of our poor have more than some nations in Africa. That's not to say the poor of our own country should be happy about that. I am very aware of the pockets in many parts of America and it is very frustrating to me these poor families have to live in squalor. It's part of my hopelessness in America. I don't believe any of the politico machine. I want to believe Obama, but I don't.

...and the football playerrs make hundreds of millions and the beat goes on...