It's being accomplished in other parts of the country and other countries. Meeting every new idea with pessimistic cynicism is a good way to be a self fulfilling prophecy. At one point in America, people made your comment in regards to having a 2 day weekend.

Yeah, my perspective isn't that the EPA is some nefarious organization, i'm just saying no one paying attention should take anything they say or do wholesale, you know?

Those dying from 9/11's aftermath would like a word with you about that. Source

Because something is not uncommon does not make it a good practice.

From another article:

Further context reveals that the EPA previously claimed they wouldn't test for dioxins because they hadn't tested for baseline levels in East Palestine prior to the crash, making the cause of current levels uncertain; a rationale that at least one scientist refers to as "lame."

"Our toxicologists are taking a look. Unfortunately, we don’t have any baseline information about the levels of dioxins which are produced also by wildfires, by backyard grilling, by a host of other things,” Shore said. Lester says he has no knowledge of backyard grilling producing a dangerous amount of dioxin. “I’ve never heard anybody, any researcher talk about cookouts. Because that’s an infinitesimal concentration, if at all. Because dioxins form not just cause there’s burning, you need a chlorine source,” Lester said.

Lester says even if there is no baseline from prior testing to compare levels, the EPA should still be able to do testing to determine if the level that’s there is a risk."

Source

This whole incident casts a lot doubt on the integrity of the EPA.

From another article:

Further context reveals that the EPA previously claimed they wouldn't test for dioxins because they hadn't tested for baseline levels in East Palestine prior to the crash, making the cause of current levels uncertain; a rationale that at least one scientist refers to as "lame."

"Our toxicologists are taking a look. Unfortunately, we don’t have any baseline information about the levels of dioxins which are produced also by wildfires, by backyard grilling, by a host of other things,” Shore said. Lester says he has no knowledge of backyard grilling producing a dangerous amount of dioxin. “I’ve never heard anybody, any researcher talk about cookouts. Because that’s an infinitesimal concentration, if at all. Because dioxins form not just cause there’s burning, you need a chlorine source,” Lester said.

Lester says even if there is no baseline from prior testing to compare levels, the EPA should still be able to do testing to determine if the level that’s there is a risk."

Source

This whole incident casts a lot doubt on the integrity of the EPA.

Way to take a well-intentioned joke. You're all right man

The whole point of my post was to illustrate that bc something happened in the past doesn't make it something to aspire or even acquiesce to.

If you're just a lonely stranger on the internet trying to have a discussion about the way things were, then yes, I started working at 15, worked with most of my free time, to pay for things like food and gas money, and I lost pace to my classmates who had more study time. Their parents cared more and understood how capitalism works. My high school jobs as janitor and worker in a book shipping factory only prevented me from getting into better colleges. How about we try to do better for kids today than yesterday instead of trying to brag about how hard we had it to justify backsliding into the bad ideas that flourished during the industrial revolution? Also, exploiting child labor reduces pressure to increase wages for adult workers (really just even keep pace with inflation), which is a whole nother basket of things that are fucked up. Corporations can afford to pay workers more. The adults working jobs should be paid enough that families don't need multiple incomes just to get by.

You're apparently a fan of diarrhea and diabetes.

You make some damn fine points! But why stop there? Just keep on going with that kickass logic! Let's bring the 4 year old chimney sweeps! 2 year olds hosing down entrails at the slaughterhouses! They'll think it's fun if they don't know any better! I say let em be *productive, * instead of wastin all that time wit useless schoolin! Yee haw!

It's a private, Christian university, so, kind of.

There's a video of it on fire in Salem, 20miles before the crash. There also seems to be a call made about the hot box, and an investigation is underway. If you're genuinely interested, you should google, there are a handful of media outlets covering this part of the story. I think I saw the hot box footage on a CBS report.

None of that excuses Biden's union-busting

Except other countries are already responding to emergency calls with mental health experts and it's going well. Also your crab fisherman comment is pure fantasy, cops don't even make top 10 for most dangerous profession. You should write the next game of thrones spinoff, you've really got a mind for fantasy.

Successfully lobied against safety regulations and measures that would have avoided this, all so they could add ridiculous amounts of money to their already ridiculous stockpiles of wealth.

No..?

Well said

I chuckled at this. Thank you.

Most people seem to engage with politics the way pro wrestling fans engage with wrestlers. 'I like Sergeant Slaughter bc I love America and he waves a flag around; 'I like George W Bush because he seems like a good dude i'd have a beer with,' or, 'I don't like Elizabeth Warren because she seems like an angry librarian.' Like over 90% of people who vote conceptualize politicians this way, completely ignoring that candidate's platform, their competency, anything. I'd rather have a root canal than try to explain to one more person that their priorities and opinions line up with Bernie Sanders' platform at like 95%, vs 20% for Pete, or 5% with DeSantis, or whatever lousy candidate they're fooled by. George Santos is the penultimate example of this. Anyway, yeah, Pete is a thoroughly useless, centrist, corporate, neoliberal, who branded himself as smart early on, so it's extra infuriating to me that his fanbase don't understand the first thing about how anything political works, yet view themselves as super smart, and therefore like Pete, 'bEcAuSe hE's sMart LiKe mE!' And they're equally smug about their ignorant opinions, on some Dunning Kreuger level. Rant over.

That's innacurate, the bill Obama tried to pass would have allowed this situation, as there were less than 20 cars with hazardous materials, it would not have qualified as a hazardous train requiring the updated brakes in Obama's bill. Just putting out the facts.

Wish I could give you an award for this assessment of Pete, i've been getting sick of the attacks for pointing this out.

And just like that, the railroad execs found an excuse to not set foot in the toxic town they destroyed.

“Unfortunately, after consulting with community leaders, we have become increasingly concerned about the growing physical threat to our employees and members of the community around this event stemming from the increasing likelihood of the participation of outside parties.” 

The company did not elaborate on the purported threats. 

Initially, the town hall would have allowed the public to ask questions of officials and the railroad, but the event was subsequently changed to “an open house with informational tables for residents,” WKBN-TV reported. It is unclear if that change was made because of Norfolk Southern’s decision to back out.