If we can waste money as a nation on Acorn, we can rebuild the rail infrastructure…Think of all the loot poured down the drain that has no value to the nation…all those earmarks, all the pork and vote buying…Tarp II, the Omnibus spending bill, 9000 earmarks. At least this serves the national interest…besides, no road pays for itself either. We wasted more money in payback to the Auto unions than Amtrack costs over a decade…maybe two.

Amtrak is not feasible; a Downtown Trolley is not feasible; Universal Healthcare is not feasible; a hostile takeover of ambulance service is not feasible; but the mayor supports resolutions for these items. Bieter inherited his standing from his politician father. He doesn’t know the value of a dollar. He does not represent the wisdom or reason of an independent man. We have in Boise the child of a politician not a mayor.

Mayor Bieter’s parents must have held back on giving Dave a Lionel set when a child; now he seems to be hung up on anything (at any cost) that involves steel rails. Enough, already! I’ll buy you an electric train set if you promise to forget the train or trolley.

Folk squeal that we are the only industrialized nation in the world without a crappy national health care system. We are also the only one without a decent high speed rail, and high speed rail actually works…

I’m in no hurry to have a cheap transportation link between my neighborhood and nampa-caldwell… But it would be way cool to ride the train to the coasts on a long vacation

Hey, Paul. What’s the deal about the bus business? Is it comfortable, safe and goes to places people actually want to go? I never hear about the bus system in this country and sort of thought that only people just released from jail or in other serious life circumstances use that service. I am an old person and don’t want to put myself into an unsafe situation. Do you know people who have taken long bus trips? Bus companies certainly never advertise their services. I would prefer that to driving but would like more information about the actual experience before I would expose myself to a long trip without a way to get out of a possible dangerous situation. Tell me how to research this possibility. Heaven knows I have researched rail travel and it is not convenient. The only connection to Kentucky where I have relatives would place me in some little town at three o’clock in the morning about 50 miles from my relatives. God damn the interstate highway system.

Paul: Alot of this buzz about healthcare is misleading. World Health Org stats about mortality in the U.S. include murder, suicide and accidents. Other countries do not include these categories so the data is skewed. Infant mortality is another misleading stat. 40% of U.S. babies are born to out of wedlock mothers—mostly teens—and the result is LOW birth weight; AND it’s not about “being poor” because Latinos and Blacks actually have a LOWER infant mortality than whites. I don’t know if we have 100% higher medical costs but I do know you can get an MRI or CAT scan in less than 3 days here in Boise–don’t think you find that in “gov’t” run programs. Too little people with ins paying for those that don’t have insurance—that is one problem. Another is over utilization of the ER with runny noses and mild fevers. (solution: Community health clinics staffed with PA’s or Nurse Practioners). Third: address tort reform. Fifth: address personal behavior and responsibility (Health care is not always about health care; alot of it is about personal behavior and choices).
The problem with the current mentality on Capitol Hill is they want a one size fits all program—it won’t work. Agree that we need overhall but SMALL steps make more sense to me. AND just where are we going to get all the needed primary care physicians to take care of all those new patients?????? (We are retiring more docs in primary care than are coming on board).
Just my 4 cents.