De train! De train!

I-a fixin' to go to New York to visit my son. We're going to take in a Yankees game Saturday. I never thought I'd look forward to seeing the Yanks, but so it goes.

I'm taking the train there. I have to drive to Toledo to catch it as there's no Amtrak service from Detroit to New York except through Chicago. That would add about 6 hours each way to my trip and better than a hundred bucks in cost. For a C-note and a half day's time, I'll drive to and from Toledo.

My first thought at discovering that was, gee, no train between Detroit and Toledo? That's when I had to remind myself that the trains don't exist for Marty's convenience. Indeed it set me to wondering whether passenger rail is necessary at all these days, especially when underwritten by the Feds. Yet that is perhaps another issue this moment.

As it is, I like the train. I've taken a couple train rides before. It has been and will no doubt be nice to travel without watching the road, to be able to cat nap or read or, who knows, post a blog as I ride the rails. If Amtrak isn't running late (and it is notoriously tardy) I may even say something nice about it.

But don't presume too much. I am becoming a curmudgeon, you remember.

Go, go, GOP

The Republicans in the House of Representatives have proposed over $2.5 trillion dollars in spending cuts over the next decade. Amtrak, the Legal Services Corporation, and of the tyranny which is the health care bill, would be gone. The Federal workforce would but cut by 15% through attrition, and the National Endowment for the Arts would be gone.

Let's hope they mean it. The GOP must set itself apart from the liberal Democrats and actually do what they say they will. Much of it may not get done this term, what with the bad guys in control of the Senate and current President more than willing to obstruct the will of the people.

The fact is that the federal government has way overstepped its bounds in the last century and requires sharp and severe cuts. Washington has absolutely no place in the arts, and no one rides the train anymore. Further, we must never forget that worthwhile endeavors get private support enough to carry themselves. True art will find its way with the people who care about it.

The time is now. Sharpen that meat cleaver and bar no holds. It is what we need in order to have a full economic recovery.