Amtrak vote in the Senate today

[Lunican]

Since they don't screen baggage I'm not sure how they would know anyway.

[BridgeTroll]

   Just my luck... I would be taking amtrak to South dakota for a pheasant hunting trip and have to risk becoming a felon to do it.

[FayeforCure]

BT,

1. guns to hold up Amtrak funding.
2. Abortion, and illegal immigrants to hold up healthcare reform

All extraneous issues to the larger issues. These pet issues should be resolved separately and not hold up major funding bills. But because they are emotionally tinged to rile up the base, they get rolled out, time and time again, even at inappropriate times as with the Amtrak funding bill.

[CS Foltz]

Faye .......have you noticed this kind of firewall lives whenever something that effects all of us tries to live? Not sure if its the GOB's hard at work because they did not get to skim off the top or if it is just a natural occurrence that take place when change starts to rear its ugly head! Either way we the people are the ones who suffer through some dingbat trying to make a point or score points!

[BridgeTroll]

Faye... you may not have noticed my earlier post where I agree that the funding should not be withheld because of this issue.  If the firearm isssue was a seperate one would you support an airlines style policy to allow firearms transport?

I realize that from your point of view abortion and illegal immigration are extraneous issues.  From my point of view and many others they are not.  This is the problem with these "debates".  Your dismisiveness of others concerns proves you are not interested in my concerns or objections... you simply want to push through what you want.

[FayeforCure]

Faye... you may not have noticed my earlier post where I agree that the funding should not be withheld because of this issue.  If the firearm isssue was a seperate one would you support an airlines style policy to allow firearms transport?

I realize that from your point of view abortion and illegal immigration are extraneous issues.  From my point of view and many others they are not.  This is the problem with these "debates".  Your dismisiveness of others concerns proves you are not interested in my concerns or objections... you simply want to push through what you want.

Yes, I noticed your position that Amtrak funding should not be withheld because of the gun issue. What's preventing a Republican or any other Congressmen from putting that issue in a separate bill?

Same is true with the abortion issue. It is such a contentious issue that it cannot and should not be discussed in the context of healthcare reform,..............as such it is just intended to hold up healthcare reform.

It isn't even mentioned in any of the HCR bills, simply because the HCR bills aren't intended to change anything on the abortion issue. Neither is the HCR bill intended to change anything on illegal immigrants, for which better border control is the main answer.

And, until this country does more about prevention through education, like other western nations do, we will not see the major reductions in abortion rates that we are all seeking. But like I said, that's a whole other issue.

[FayeforCure]

Faye .......have you noticed this kind of firewall lives whenever something that effects all of us tries to live? Not sure if its the GOB's hard at work because they did not get to skim off the top or if it is just a natural occurrence that take place when change starts to rear its ugly head! Either way we the people are the ones who suffer through some dingbat trying to make a point or score points!

Exactly CS Foltz,........ I have seen it over and over again. For example, the so-called "Pro-Life" movement held up the quest for life for the injured and those suffereing from incurable, deadly diseases. Here the abortion issue got injected into the stem cell research debate, when this never happened in response to the private industry in vitro fertilization procedures at fertility clinics, that are the actual suppliers of discarded stem cells, which in turn have the potential to save lives.

Holding up progress and innovation is not what America used to be about.

[jbroadglide]

UPDATE FROM NARP

Dear NARP Members,

Good news. Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) will not offer his amendment to strip Amtrak of all unspent funds appropriated under current law. No further amendments affecting Amtrak are expected to be offered on the Senate floor before passage of the fiscal 2010 transportation spending bill.

[BridgeTroll]

The above post is good news... and is the proper way to proceed.  Now that that is out of the way... Faye... would you support the hoped for separate bill providing firearms transport using similar methods as the airlines?

[Captain Zissou]

BT- due to Faye's sponsorship by (insert liberal activist group here), she is obligated to attempt to steer every thread back to health care reform.  Take no offense at her apparent lack of interest to your legitimate point, your statement was just an opportunity for her to fulfill her contractual obligation.

[FayeforCure]

The above post is good news... and is the proper way to proceed.  Now that that is out of the way... Faye... would you support the hoped for separate bill providing firearms transport using similar methods as the airlines?

If they are checked in like with the airlines, it seems ok to me.

[FayeforCure]

BT- due to Faye's sponsorship by (insert liberal activist group here), she is obligated to attempt to steer every thread back to health care reform.  Take no offense at her apparent lack of interest to your legitimate point, your statement was just an opportunity for her to fulfill her contractual obligation.

Very cute 

The fact is that for decades, that has been the tactic of conservative groups, tacking on the gun, abortion and immigration issue at every opportunity,.......hence the Amtrak amendment.

Bills get hyjacked just to make a point as CS Foltz explained,.....or to indefinitely try to delay or kill a bill as in the case of Healthcare System Reform.

[buckethead]

Whatever happened to "By any means necessary"?

[CS Foltz]

Big guy........you do realize that could be taken from both sides of the discussion right? Too extreme for my taste buds but different strokes for different folks!

[buckethead]

I should have used a winky to demonstrate the tongue in cheekiness.