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This Is Rush Hour Traffic In DC On Government Shutdown Day
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Just like Lisbon Portugal when government office workers strike.
Really?
Where does that happen?? Must be a different Portugal than the one I LIVE IN...
Govt workers ARE NOT the source of all evil, dumbass.
Ture. Not ALL of them are evil nor are they the source of ALL of our ills. But far to many are and cause far to much of it.
If you are looking for sympathy here though I might suggest you will find it primarily in the dictionary - shomewhere between shit and syphylus (spelling?).
No offense. It's just hard to feel sorry for anyone in the public sector when you work in the REAL private sector (ie: the part where we don't get a .gov handout of any kind).
Food for thought...
The joke's on us, guys. every empty seat represents back pay for one person.
Fuck you government workers! Get an honest job!
Govt employee unions ARE the source of all evil, dumbass.
Correction: Government (force) is the source of all evil.
The air seems cleaner today for some reason.
Govt work and govt unions protect and grow govt. They are part of the problem.
For every 5 1/2 Americans *officially* employed, 1 is employed by BigGov.Org
#25,000,000GovernmentWorkerStrong
"Govt employee unions ARE the source of all evil, dumbass."
Especially when they get DIRECTLY involved with political action. First cause of all evil - Debt based money and the FED which enables it, deficit spending, government corruption, and corporate welfare (especially in the MIC, but really all over the place.)
The nation will collapse before progs let that happen...so get ready for the collapse!
Metro should hire someone to clean the friggin carpets.
Here is a commute in Houston, versus France. Spot the forward thinking and better life.
We used to have a trolly system in Houston, until big oil and big auto killed it, just like in LA. Happy motoring!
I don't see a single SUV or pickup in the second picture.
Nor in the photo from DC. I admit I am envious of the DC subway and commuter rail system. The Croque Monsieur that is served on the TGV is also pretty good.
Unfortunately D.C. and Maryland/Virgina have been benefitting from the theft/fraud for far too long. Fuck em. HH Those trains run on electricity that has to be generated somewhere. In addition to oil Texas has nuclear fuel and Natural gas. I wonder if those fucking morons in D.C. have any gold to pay for that electricity?
FUCK EM HH, as that which cannot be sustained, won't be. Carefull HH, your cognitive dissonance is showing. Cities should not be allowed to steal/rob/destroy from the countryside to keep the useless eaters fed (that includes CONgress).
I remain long black markets and sharecropping.
I always enjoy reading your posts.
H_H
While I understand your point on mass transit, how about posting on the tax structure to support it.
If government is the provider, we have to pay the taxes to support it. If its viable let private industry build and run it.
DaddyO
You don't think the taxpayer is supporting Happy Motoring?
lol
So that's what really backs the US dollar?
I guess that carrier is pretty exceptional.
Happy motoring...
I guess my heartburn stemmed from the notion that your picture painted this idyllic image of mass transit as a utopian answer to our transportation woes.
Florida has been wrestling with this and the overtaxed taxpayer is always asked to foot the bill for every boondoggle that is dreamt up by the pols in Tally.
Also, adding the carrier was a nice touch, but a bit of a strawman don't you think?
DaddyO
Without the carrier, you don't have cheap oil.
You're right, however the carrier isn't part and parcel to H-H photo depicting a beautiful bullet train zipping through the European contryside or clogged arterial highways.
I understand his point but kinda took him to task for the tax structure needed to support it and its abused nature in our current totalitarian state.
Unfortunately the US has turned a blind eye to mass transit as a continent due to cheap oil.
Now that that notion is about to collapse, H_H's bullet train picture exposes our shortcoming of many generations.
DaddyO
Oh, for cripes sakes...
The US has a population density of 110 people/sq mi in the lower 48. France has one closer to 300, and you can travel by train from Paris to Marseille in less than 4 hours. No train is ever going to get you from NY to LA in 4 hours, Elon Musk's fantasies notwithstanding.
Trains make sense in densely populated, geographically small countries, like Japan, Britain, and so on. In the US, they're just boondoggles that make no sense.
I know exactly where that Houston picture was taken (might be me in the base model Ranger to the left).
As it relates to tax structure support, consider that the local interchange and freeway for miles in each direction have recently finished construction that went on for years. Flying spaghetti monster ramps, multiple more lanes in all directions, and it still stacks/backs up.
Riddle me this: Why never a rail system down the center of the 4,6,8,10 lanes wide 10 inch thick concrete bows and ribbons? HOV lanes with tolls down the center, but no rails. There's a whole set of tax backed commercial/political priorities/preferences on parade here. But no rails.
Oh my God, it sucks. It was faster and cheaper for me to drive than to take the metro and the line I used up to NIH was always empty.
I hear ya. My drive from Shady Grove to building Ten was easier than my wife's as she got on the Red line to downtown. Each was about 30 mins ( many years ago). And when she was 7 months preganant, the young guys would practically knock her down trying to get a seat, leaving her standing up. Ugh.
If you envy the DC subway, I'd wager your experience with it is limited. The stations do look impressive, many of them - but the virtues stop there. The worst part of all, of course, is that these trains are filled with vile DCers.
Exactly! I think one of the big benefits of public transportation is is not aesthetic, but rather getting some of the poor off the roads, so the wealthy can zip along in our German sports cars.
For the most part, I hate using public transportation. However, it can be kinda nice to park away from a downtown area and take the trolley into the city center.
"I admit I am envious of the DC subway and commuter rail system."
How many billion was that per mile of money we don't have? Must be nice to live near the supply of the counterfeit. Not so much for all the rest of us.
kinda like Pamela Anderson - the farther away you get, the better she looks
Have you ever been on trains in Europe? My guess is probably not many.
Also I do not want to risk my life on the train driver falling asleep or possibly it was stuxnet in France recently.
I am a far more responsible car driver than any govt unionized train driver.
I will trust most jet pilots because most of them are ex-military. I am not pro MIC but most of these pilots know what they are doing. Including European airline pilots. I no longer want to fly because of TSA groping or getting my prostate irradiated by TSA.
A Croque Monsieur is a grilled ham and cheese in the US. Does it taste better on a french train?
When there is not a MIC to appease things like the train and public works happen.
You also use your photo-posting privileges carelessly. -1
Careless and priveledged, that is me to a T! Just trying to add a little something to an article consisting of a photo of a guy on a subway. A different perspective, one of envy. No trees or silver was used in the posting of this photo, but thanks for your input.
No trees or silver was used in the posting of this photo, but thanks for your input...
I always appreciate the following note attached to emails I recieve from a business associate:
Sustainable forests can only survive if they make a profit so please feel free to copy to paper any of this email.
Agreed. If taxes must be collected and spent, much better it be spent on a train that might end up being some benefit to people instead of endless wars to kill them and payouts to banksters to continue to steal from them.
Problem is, they're being spent on all those things, and in a way we cannot sustain/afford.
Trains or wars? I've racked my brain and I can't see how a train helps Israel, hence the wars.
The same could be said for Thorium reactors, but hey, I'm still watchng out for those magic unicorns, so there may be hope.
Houston has nearly twice the metro area sprawl as Paris and 1/2 as many people. Investment in train infrastructure requires higher population density. This actually lists the Paris commute as worse than Houston's.
http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/smart-takes/top-10-cities-with-the-worst...
That said, I always dread going to Houston, inbound on I-45...
I live just outside Houston and have a 20 mile daily commute. The trick is timing. I can make it to my office downtown in 25 minutes if I leave the house at 5:30am. If I wait until 6:00am, it takes me 1.5 hours. Houston IS the home of big oil around the world. I wouldn't be holding my breath waiting for mass transit anytime soon. Just remember, Houston is also the home of the Astros. The absolute WORST team in baseball. So we have that going for us. HA!
Same thing leaving the office I guess? So a 6:00 am to 3:00 pm work day gives a commute of 50 minutes, and a 9-5 work day would have 3 hours of commuting? Insanity! Looks like you are easily making the right choice. Not a fan of gridlock, personally.
Houston was also the only American city destroyed by Americans in the movie Independence Day.
I thought Houston was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and the influx of O voters from New Orleans.
Nothing like comparing apples to oranges. Where is the picture of central Paris at rush hour. I have driven there. It looks a tad bit different from the serene landscape that you are portraying. Central Paris is the craziest place I have ever driven, and that includes NY and LA. Yes, the countryside in France is peaceful. You really get to enjoy it as you stop every quarter mile to pay a new toll!!!
Straw man much? I am not saying the traffic in Paris is not bad. As pointed out, it has a much higher population, although it is declining, whereas Houston and Texas are growing.
I am saying that Paris has a subway system and France has commuter trains. Houston and Texas do not, and I am envious.
It is hard to come up with another city as big as Houston with as little investment in public transportation. It is the mother of all suburban sprawl.
"It is hard to come up with another city..."
Been to Phoenix?
By the numbers, looks like almost the same city: http://best-cities.findthebest.com/compare/37-1150/Phoenix-vs-Houston
Hey HH, I just read somehwere the traffic congestion in Austin, Tx is now 3rd ... after LA (tied with NYC) and Houston.
I guess it has grown since I left there in 2002 when it was still a relatively smallish college town.
1,2,or3, Whatever. I've driven al lot of Houston and a not a whole lot of LA. Houston is so far down from LA in this regard that it should get at most a foot note.
HA! Weekend before last was going through Tejon pass at about 7 PM Sunday. A mobile building came off the truck and was sprawled accross the freeway in the other direction (odd, no sign of the truck). I measured 12 miles of 4 lanes (4 trapped lanes, with no alternative exits) of STOPPED traffic when I went by. The ribbon of light down the valley, along the bottom, and up the the other side was .... breath taking
(12 x 4 x 5280) / 25 = estimated 10,000 stopped idling cars right there.
France = broke
Houston = surplus
Wow, somethnig must have really changed in a year!
Houston Councilmember Warns City Will Go Bankrupt
May 16, 2012
"The facts are that the city is running a $2.4 billion deficit, of which over $271 million was added in 2011 alone."
Your quote is from Councilmember Helena Brown, who represents District A. She said Houston would be broke by July 2013.
Maybe, I missed that.
I'd pick a better person to quote next time.
You're kidding, right? Houston is the ultimate boom or bust town due to being so heavily tied into the petroleum industry. Maybe you are too young to remember the late '80's - mid 90's when oil prices came back down and Houston had the most vacant office space of any city in the US. Now that Americans are becoming too broke to afford to fill up their gas guzzlers anymore, it will become a bust town again. That is why I laugh at mentally challenged fools like Rick Perry when he touts the awesomeness of the TX economy - it's all about petroleum demand and nothing more.
Metro has a train that runs through downtown man.
Maybe not as fast as that France thing but....
It's great at shuttling the homless back and forth between stops no normal commuters need to use.
and it's great at getting hit by cars.
Houston managment is so freaking ignorant about how to do rail. Make the rail carriages lighter and elevate them above road. No, they run it down the middle of major commercial streets.
Hah, hey Hedge remember Luke's Burgers right there off of Westheimer? I hate the west loop.
I'm still trying to figure this out. Was it simply a cry out for attention? Was it a passive agressive response to the People not falling for the bullshit Syrian war? Was it for Fox and CNN ratings? Was it for some unknown derivative Congress and Wall Street have that will now pay off big? I wonder why.
It was the same as the Fed and the taper. They are trying to show their true believers "see the paranoid don't have a clue what we are going to do and why, stop listening to them".
Basically, they are trying to do the opposite of what is expected of them, under the impression we will then believe they have free will and a range of choices. Selling the illusion that this healthcare insurance debacle is being debated, and with your interests at heart, to boot. In short, that they are 'fixing' O-Care as we speak! LOL
It is entirely possible for all the evil in the world to be being caused as indirect results of all the incompetence and lack of attention to the disparity between intentions and outcomes that is inherent in the political process. Either way, politicians leave devastation in their wake.
Yeah, they pretty much are. They get paid by the TAXPAYER. GET A FUCKIN JOB YOU FUCKIN LEECH.
Just curious ... are you a Portugese government employee? Tax collector security detail perhaps?
of course he is and they usually end off with insults. Very typical.
The free shit army wants MOOOOOAR free shit.
upvote for 2bit. At least someone who doesn't write government "worker" which is a contradiction in itself.
Oh here we have a typical Portuguese counterpart calling me a "dumbass" - this is VERY typical in this country. Let me guess something, you voted either for the Socialists or Communists? No? Right, let this be known to the WORLD - Government workers in Portugal CANNOT BE FIRED!!! Is this clear to everyone out there? THEY CANNOT LOSE THEIR JOBS! We, the private sector, pay their fucking SALARIES and on top of this they receive access to a special PRIVATE HEALTHCARE INSURANCE. Yes, this is a fact!
And NO, you do NOT pay REAL taxes - WE, the private sector, PAY YOUR taxes. I live in the SAME Portugal as YOU do and next week the fucking subway workers (metro or tube system) are STRIKING again - thus SHAFTING the private sector as we go to a REAL job!
I am sick and TIRED of government workers' rights as we in the private sector are being sacrificed on the altar of taxation (theft).
You are getting bent because someone from Portugal gave you some guff? Ha, I fart in their general direction.
Govt workers ARE NOT the source of all evil, dumbass.
Yeah. Without gov't workers, who would we turn to for constructing strawmen?
"Spot the essential government worker."
Trick question -- none of them are essential. Not one.
IT'S THE ONE WHO MAKES SURE ALL THE "SHUT" SIGNS ON THE BUILDINGS HANG STRAIGHT!!
you know... the one who's tilting his head...
The one who signs my IRS refund check has value, which I admit is quite selfish.
But i acknowledge if his coworker wouldnt have collected in the first place, his value would decrease significantly.
Please locate the nearest service member (one who has served preferentially) and let them know that they are "not essential".
Until then I remain un-impressed.
"What have the Romans ever done for us...."
The service members in Iraq, Syria, South Korea, Afghanistan, Mali and a hundred other countries around the globe are not essential. Those that are here at home or on patrol under the waves ready to defend our nation from attack are essential.
There is a difference.
President Washington understood the need for a standing army. He also understood the need to avoid alliances and foreign entanglements. I tend to agree with his view of things.
I agree, now go let those folks know. Having served myself, there's a big fucking difference between theory and practice. The point being that blurting shit out without actually thinking about what one is saying is less than useless and likely to get one's head shoved up one's own ass. Wake me when you're ready for an adult conversation (like washington the person), the banker's puppets in washington (the place) certainly aren't.
I spent 3 years, 9 months and 26 days in the United States Army, was promoted three times and received two AAMs.
Looking back -- objectively -- I find it difficult if not impossible to identify anything "essential" that was done by me, my unit, or other units.
Of course, if one starts with a colonialist, imperialist, mercantilist or similar outlook, that assessment will certainly be different.
Just sayin'.
I look back and can guarranty that in every SNAFU, somebody was getting rich.
Cognitive dissonance is a bitch.
OUR PRIME MINISTER JUST GAVE THE ANSWER FOR OBAMA'S DEFICIT PROBLEM!!!!!
http://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.aspx?from=nl&to=en&a=http://www.tijd.be/nieuws/politiek_economie_belgie/Landen_met_hoge_belasting_hebben_hogere_welvaart.9409760-3136.art
101 ON HOW TO BECOME THE RICHEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD!!!
Also, don't forget that Belgium did run for months without a government, just enough to break the iraqi record. Can someone beat this record ?
Yes, we can !
This just shows how much of a collossal waste and elimination of money from our private side. THIS side of the National GDP needs to be eliminatd.
NOTICE: There are not as many "trolls" on the pages today? Government workers can't blog propaganda and misinformation.!!
The tragedy....where are all the leeches?WTF? ?
Striking Lisbians? Sounds Hot.
What a beautiful photo.
This feels like a dream.
Am I still alive? This isn't heaven is it?
LOL!!!
This shutdown is like the scene from The Shawshank Redemption when Andy plays the opera music. For a moment, everyone feels free — then the assholes who run the prison stop the music to remind the inmates they're still locked up.
Enjoy the music while it lasts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bjqmg_7J53s
I believe he's the guy that actually hits the red "nukes away" button. Either than, or he's in payroll
The guy who hits the red "short metals" button.
Then we need to have him whacked ASAP.
If you include actual government "workers" it should look this way everyday
One of my nephews is married to a Director with the EEOC in Washington. She only has to go to the office 1 day a week for 4 hours. The rest of the time she can work remotely. This woman knocks down over $200k a year and only works about 10 hours a week. There used to be a time when I would have killed for a position like this. Today, no way as these types of GS jobs will be the first to go in the great reset and they will receive greatly reduced benefits as they are walked out the door.
+1 for critiquing your own family.
Where are all the private sector banksters?
As I said many times here, American folks are lazy.
Time to change this if they want avert the crisis.
"American folks are lazy."
And everyone else, all over the globe, are all just good, hard working folk. Stereotype much. There are lazy, and hard working folks everywhere you go. There are takers and givers, and there are parasitic bankers, and people that suck off the goodness of every society, wherever you go. Yes, Americans have found themselves in a place where we can be rightly, and even roundly criticized, but at least make the critique make sense.
Society has incentivized fraud. Society has rewarded injustice. Its not just a case of some people deciding to fill out a food stamp form, a SS form, a disability form... The example has been set for them, and the government actively encourages people to be dependent on it!
This can't be real. It's a government shutdown, and I was told there would be dead babies, etc.
Yet another lie I'm afraid. The world still turns and no one gives a fiddlers fuck what they do anymore. Irrelevance for a government is a bad place to be.
The funny thing is that all the markets are up. I guess wall street sees the shutdown as a positive event. Who would have thought?
"the markets are up"
The manipulation of the stock, bond and commodity markets will not be paused for ANY reason.
"all the markets are up"
Where are those?
We have not had a market for while.
Will furloughed .guv workers be expected to watch more porn at home? I'm guessing we may experience some bandwidth shortages today.
Why are the trains running? Shut that whole town down!
why so down goverment guy?
He didn't get the memo yet. He thinks he's headed to the cublicle farm for another day of working with retards and wondering where his life went so wrong.
"Spot the essential government worker"
Where? I don't see any essential government workers anywhere. I even tried looking in the White House.
It's like a where's waldo book, the guy is in there somewhere. Just takes a while to find him.
cool
ObamaCare is online
https://www.coveredca.com/shopandcompare/#calculator
Paging Anonymous hackers...
Here's what happens if you sign up in New York State: https://nystateofhealth.ny.gov/individual
SRVE0232E: Internal Server Error.
Exception Message: [null]
Anarchists, rejoice!
I'd like to see all government go away. At every level. Let's see what the "rugged individualists" are able to do when real life meets Fantasy Land.
They fashion themselves as some kind of modern-day John Wayne, but in reality, they're more along the lines of Peter Griffin.
I am surprised there are not more posts similar to yours. According to the FBI, 27percent of victims show evidence of Stockholm Syndrome.
"So what did he do miss, this government?"
"Well officer. He came in through the front door because I let him in. Then he watched everything I did all day. Then lectured me on trivial matters, dictating laws that ran contrary to common sense. THEN!...Then he took half of what I made today, still not sure exactly for what. I asked, and his response was to leave a couple of phone books of fictional line items."
"Anything else Miss?"
"Yes...I...I...I love him."
I smell oscar.
Shows how many people are effectively on government handouts. Because these aren't real jobs.
Tyler, show a chart that details how much we're saving per empty seat. That truly is a beautiful sight.
This is how D.C. should always be.
Empty and efficient.
Is that the WH chef?
No, I think it's the Congressional barber.
Those subway cars look pretty clean without all the .gov trash in them...
The US government has become too large. Expenses could be cut by 50% or more.
EVEN IN A "COMPLETE" SHUTDOWN THEY CAN ONLY CUT 40% OF THE COSTS!!!
WHOEHAHAHAHA
I think that one guy in the train is Michelle's lobster cook.
Moochelle's main request for the WH chefs are deep fried Twinkies and orange drink.
Grape drink.
no orange or grape ... LEAN MADE WITH arizona WATERMELON JUICE AND skittles...
I thought he was the greens keeper for the white house mini golf.
Consistent with the actions of our feckless Senators, we can be sure that the Senate Barber & Hairdressers are on the "essential" government employee list.
And of course the RINOs are working hard to commit treason even when the government is shutdown...
http://www.rightwingnews.com/barack-obama/progressive-paul-ryan-wonders-...
Progressive Paul Ryan wonders: “Where Do We Go From Here?”
While Americans are distracted once again by a government shut down and while they are valiantly fighting off Obama while he tries to force himself on America collectively with Obamacare, Paul Ryan has been quietly working away at passing Amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants.
Downvote for the stupid use of the term RINO like you actually think Rs are a differnet type of beast from the Ds. They are not. There is only one political species, and it is a bloodsucking parasite.
This.
Whelp, this is going to blow a huge hole in the Crime Statistics for DC, making it one of the best cities in the country to walk around, worry-free.
Tourism should get a big boost.
WTF: an (exceptional) '"Super Power".
Finally a nice ride into work without the idiots working in DC on the roads, no really, they're all idiots. Not a big fan of any new legislation for anything but the new MD law making cell phone use a pull over infraction I welcome, finally some of these fed idiots will start paying some of that phat gov salary back to the state.
The only way to slow or stop the beast is to starve it, and I for one of many in the private sector not related in any way to the federal gov, welcome this shutdown and hope it goes on and on and on and on and on.
The air in DC seems cleaner today, odd.
That dude is Barry's new "body man". Reggie is out of town.
I live in the DC area and DON"T work for the government so I thoroughly enjoyed this morning:) More days like this, please!
I concur, I'm wishing for weeks and weeks of keeping the mindless gov serfs at home and off the roads.
And if it keeps up not only will it keep them off the roads, but it will halt the building of ugly ass McMansions and endless strip malls of the same horrible stores. Better yet it will start to keep the other, even more heinous, parasites at home - the military industrial complex warbots and sleazy corporate lobbyists. Maybe make this area a livable place again - the weather isn't bad and close to both ocean and mountains. One can always dream...
There sure are a whole lot of comments being posted today lambasting non-essential public sector workers. Does anyone see the irony in that, happening as it is during business hours of most ZH readers? Not everyone is already enjoying a quiet Tuesday night in Asia.
We only read and post during our breaks, at lunchtime and when the boss isn't looking !!!
Its 8:24 am here, and I'm enjoying my coffee!
My contract is to act as a standby for 1 year, so unless something breaks - I am free to do as I please.
I've taken the opportunity to draft a list of things Fed employees can do in the mean while since it looks like it's going to be nice in the tristate for a couple of days.
The senators have their own private subway that is never crowded. Those pics are harder to get.
talking about those that go cross country at the speed of sound?
Here ya go:
Gold will not stay this low. A buy opportunity.
Try to find any. COMEX is tapped out and it's all gold and silver owing back to their owners. They are 'renting' other people's gold and silver right now. If you've bought from COMEX you aren't getting your cash back or that gold/silver you've ordered.
Only place to get some now is a pawn shop and they don't like selling it now.