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[beltway-insider-komeradlurkr]

View of 4 US Rail Locomotives from the side in the yard and then at a turntable. Light blue unit (Bottom of pic one and Left of pic 2) is in standard USR Conrail Inspired Livery, The black unit is NS Style livery, Blue and Gold is CSX, and Orange and Black is BNSF.

CSX, NS, and BNSF are all what id call 'Merger Roads' products of the consolidation that occurred in American Railroading of the late 20th century. The new liveries are meant to be transitional between those companies and a Nationalized Carrier of US Rail. Hence the similar logo placements and designs on the locomotives swapping the old logos for symbols of the new carrier. The locomotives will show the new management of the rails but also acknowledge what came before nationalization. (Eg the USR marks on the NS and CSX units having similar appearance to NS' wordmark and CSX's boxcar logo)

i will admit im kind of just rambling now.

[beltway-insider-komeradlurkr]

this blog is 100% pro rail nationalization if you couldn't tell

[beltway-insider-komeradlurkr]

Lessons for Nationalization:

Mergers

A thing I've learned reading about the railroads is there's a good and bad way to go about merging a company. The good way is planned, gradual, and thought out to the circumstances of the companies. The foremost example would be the "affiliation" and merger of the B&O and C&O RRs into the Chessie System over 10 years from 1963-73. Another good example is the slow merger of Chessie and the Seaboard System into CSX that took place from 1980 to 1987.

Conversely what not to do is illustrated by the Infamous merger of the Penn Central. Before merging the Pennsylvania and New York Central Railroads were well established but struggling. However after the companies joined together there would be an exodus of former NYC managers and personnel, with PRR employees clamoring to fill the empty positions. The new management that was unacquainted with the operations and circumstances of the NYC subdivisions would be one of the factors that set PC down the path of financial ruin. The decay of Penn Central would require the creation of Conrail in 1976 to prevent the destruction of rail completely in the Northeast.

What the Sucess of Chessie/CSX and the abject failure of PC can tell us is merging railroads is not something to be done without careful planning and knowledge of the complex functions and dynamics of both organizations. Nationalization of the class I Companies would require the input of Railworkers, Shippers, and Insiders with intimate knowledge of company affairs to keep a continuity of service and ensure a smooth, well organized transition from private to public ownership. Only with such knowhow, forethought, and measured action would a national carrier be able to avoid the mistakes that destroyed Penn Central and preserve the networks of the pre merger companies.

[beltway-insider-komeradlurkr]

[beltway-insider-komeradlurkr]

If I somehow didn't like Dead Money as a dlc I'd still go to the Sierra Madre just to get the Automatic Rifle (it's the fallout version of the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle)

Full disclosure, I do like the B.A.R, it's an interesting transitional design between the heavy wood furnished high caliber rifles of the late 19th century to WW1 and the man portable automatic weapons of that emerged from the war and continued beyond. Also the weapon is intersting with its role as both a Walking Fire machine gun but also technically the first Assault Rifle. After it was used by the AEF in the last year of the Great War the rifles were also sold to other governments and the FBI during the interwar period. Before the passage of the national firearms act in 1934 Civilians could buy B.A.Rs easily leading to their use by gangsters and criminals like Bonnie and Clyde as well as private security services (explaining the procurement of the weapons for Sierra Madre security staff). In WW2 it was used more as a light machine gun hence the Bipod on the A1 and A2 variants seen in game and in ww2 media.

[beltway-insider-komeradlurkr]

Sorry, but calling Trump a 'proto-fascist' or an 'ethno-nationalist' and using objectively accurate political science terms to describe the phenomenon of his political rise to power simply gives him too much... power.

Hence, the accusatory 'weird' angle has worked so well the past few days. You gotta just say that he's a little creepy weirdo freaky freak, and then the Trumpers get embarrassed because they aren't very smart and have issues with their fragile perception of self, lol.

[beltway-insider-komeradlurkr]

in addition it would have been nice to see the little broom closet Elijah was trapped in and running the whole operation from as he mentions he was stuck in the casino for some time before the courier shows up. would have been a good place for some after dlc loot and maybe some additional lore, though NV as a whole was rushed so they probably didn't have time to put that in.

one of the small plot issues in Dead Money is why Dean was out in the villa when the gala event/great war happened instead of in the casino where his dressing room was. my headcanon for why probably would be he was out in the villa to trade for some liquor or cigarettes from the construction crews and when the nuclear exchange began he got caught out there and had to duck into a basement of one of the buildings. Also considering how Elijah says you cant sleep outside with the cloud I'd imagine Dean's little hideout probably should've been in a basement but the initial conversation in view of the casino is more cinematic tbf.

[beltway-insider-komeradlurkr]

one of the small plot issues in Dead Money is why Dean was out in the villa when the gala event/great war happened instead of in the casino where his dressing room was. my headcanon for why probably would be he was out in the villa to trade for some liquor or cigarettes from the construction crews and when the nuclear exchange began he got caught out there and had to duck into a basement of one of the buildings. Also considering how Elijah says you cant sleep outside with the cloud I'd imagine Dean's little hideout probably should've been in a basement but the initial conversation in view of the casino is more cinematic tbf.

[beltway-insider-komeradlurkr]

Trying to mostly stay away from politics on this blog, but today there’s something I just need to say.

Kamala Harris just defied DECADES of inside-the-Beltway “wisdom” by picking Walz as her running mate instead of Shapiro. The gray-hairs were probably all telling her she had to go with Shapiro to court the independents. Instead of picking the moderate, staunchly pro-Israel guy, she went with a full-on progressive with a strong LGBTQ+, pro-choice, pro-union record.

She’s making a leap of faith here. She’s betting that progressives, young people, and marginalized people will show up for her if she shows that she’s listening. As someone who lived through several decades when progressives didn’t have a voice even in the Democratic party, I can’t begin to tell you how huge this is.

In the coming months, you will no doubt read/hear things about Harris or Walz that you won’t like. Some of it may even be true. There may well already be things you don’t like about her.

Unfortunately, the choice isn’t between a perfect candidate and an imperfect candidate. The choice is between an imperfect candidate and possibly the most disgusting man on the planet, a guy who isn’t even trying to hide his plans to destroy the US. If Palestine is your #1 issue, know that he will do everything he can to pour gas on the flames until there’s nothing left.

Harris made the choice to listen to progressive voices. If she loses because we didn’t show up for her in huge numbers, we’ll likely be wandering in the wilderness for decades more while the planet burns around us.

(Oh, and we’ll need to show up again in ‘26. Let’s not make the same mistake we made in 2010, when the left stayed home after electing Obama and Republicans won big everywhere, which led to the extreme gerrymandering we’re still dealing with in many states.)

[beltway-insider-komeradlurkr]

"But Harris --"

I know.

"When Harris --"

Yeah, I know.

"DID YOU KNOW THAT, ONE TIME, HARRIS VOTED --"

YEAH.

I KNOW.

WE ALL KNOW.

We knew her history when she got put on the ticket in 2020 (and even before).

And, yes, you bet your sweet bippy we're gonna still organize and lean into community care and hold her tf accountable the moment she takes office.

But we have to vote her in.

She's picking Supreme Court Judges.

She's organizing a cabinet that will certainly have consequences on *my* field of work.

She's not going to decimate the lives of queer people and people of color and not establish a fucking Christian nationalist government.

Hold your nose, get her into office, and we move forward.

[beltway-insider-komeradlurkr]

[beltway-insider-komeradlurkr]

y’all are gonna vote Kamala now that she’s called for a ceasefire and has condemned Israel’s actions, right? you’re going to vote for her because she’s said she hears the calls for a ceasefire, right? or will you find another excuse to now do your civic duty for this country that directly affects you and everyone around you. i am begging you to please vote in this election because we are literally between a man who has been charged with 34 felony counts, had more on the table, and wants to become a dictator if hes elected on day one and a woman who is sane, rational, and competent at her job and supports everything this man is against. if you want Palestine to be free, you’re going to get off your ass and vote.

[beltway-insider-komeradlurkr]

Or earlier! Any red state can turn blue if enough voters turn out.

[beltway-insider-komeradlurkr]

“I guess everyone’s forgetting how Kamala—“

nobody forgot shit! we have bigger problems! the only alternative to Kamala is a man who wants to wage war on every minority in America. A man who wants to push us further into full on fascism. any “but that one time Kamala” talk benefits only one person right now and that’s Donald Trump. do your part by keeping that shit to yourself! nobody fucking asked and whatever you’re bringing up isn’t more important than queer people’s lives — which ARE at stake. just shut the fuck up and vote, republicans are counting on infighting among the left, so just put it aside. It can wait, I promise.

[beltway-insider-komeradlurkr]

VILE: Former Trump aide Sebastian Gorka-speaking to Britain’s right-wing GB News--described Kamala Harris as “this disaster whose only qualification is having a vagina and the right skin color.” This is 100% approved by Trump. This is the cancer of MAGA