#or roller skating is to big beak entertainment

[got-no-skill]

OK, y'know what, no, I was just going to leave this be and not reblog it, but you had to say, "population density," which does. not. fucking. matter. in regards to the broader point that we should build more.

The biggest reason I am screaming at anyone who will listen to invest in our rail network is climate change. Rail transportation is so much better for the environment than planes or cars, because

It uses several orders of magnitude less fuel than cars or planes to carry the same amount, and

It can be powered by electricity, from wires above or the rails below, and electricity can be derived from renewable (or at least carbon neutral) sources, and even in situations where they are not, it is far easier to regulate a few thousand smokestacks than several million tailpipes.

Speaking of things trains do better than road vehicles, semi-trucks are responsible for the vast majority of wear and tear on the road network (thank you, square-cube law), and if we invested in our rail network, not even necessarily the passenger rail network, just rail at all, we could divert some traffic from roads to rails and dramatically decrease the amount of funding needed to maintain them (and some more toothed regulations regarding the size and weight of vehicles on US highways might help, but that's another rant.)

The other thing population density ignores is the real reason we don't have more rail: we don't control the network.

Here's that map of the US rail network again, this time color-coded for ownership:

Granted this is from 2006 and thus a bit out of date, but it illustrates the problem: the US has nearly 140,000 miles of rail, but Amtrak uses only 21,400 miles of it and controls (owns and/or operates) 755 miles.

The reason for this is multi-layered and all of them are bullshit. First, unlike in other countries where rail service is treated as a public good that doesn't have to make a profit, because it's America and public anything is for evil gay communist socialists, Amtrak is structured like a for-profit company that the government props up because it has never turned a profit because public goods are inherently things that are necessary and good but cannot be done profitably in a private context. This means that Amtrak will just cut lines to small communities because they aren't profitable, which are often the best way in or out of a lot of these places.

Another part of this discussion goes back to how the rail network is owned by freight rail companies: ostensibly these companies are supposed to give Amtrak priority, but there's no enforcement mechanism when they don't comply, so they just don't. Moreover, even if the Class Is were run by altruistic people who gave a wet fart about Amtrak and passenger rail in the US, the way they're operating trains makes this impossible at times. Google Precision Scheduled Railroading and click on any of the hundreds of articles from reputable publications about this issue. For the lazy, I'll give you a run-down of a work day in the life of a railroader in the US: you're called up at some random time, could be noon, could be 3:24 AM, and told to report to work in two hours. You show up to a train already on the tracks, and sit in it for eight hours doing nothing because you're waiting on a different train to pass and both trains are so unfathomably long that they occupy each other's right-of-way and have to somehow navigate around/through each other. Then a company car comes to pick you up and drops off the next group of hopeless workers who might get to do something on their shift. Repeat at least six days a week, probably seven when they call you on your day off. And Amtrak is just sitting there, masturbating unable to do anything because their right-of-way is blocked by both of those trains, too.

If that description gave you the idea that freight railroads in the US are ghoulish corporate entities that put profit above literally everything else, you're correct! This is the secret third reason Amtrak's service is so limited relative to our rail network size: our rail network is "maintained" by companies who are interested in spending the barest possible minimum amount on maintenence of right-of-way or rolling stock (see this video for some sterling examples:

So a lot of our rail network is just straight-up unsafe to use.

Getting back to why we should build more, we aren't asking for Europe- or China-style service, we just want service! We don't need 300 KPH service from Kokomo to Cucamonga, but being able to get between Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit, and St. Louis in a reasonable amount of time shouldn't be unreasonable.

If my half-awake ranting hasn't alienated you and you're interested in the real reasons our rail system is broken, I strongly encourage you to watch Alan Fisher's videos on our rail network; I've linked his channel below:

Passenger trains in US vs Europe (image is making the rounds among U.S. transit advocates today)

[gothgleek]

Dazzler the Movie

I'm a singer not a fighter

Alison Blaire aka ‘Dazzler’ the biggest pop star in the world. She’s also hiding a secret- she’s a mutant. Now that mutants are becoming bigger targets of hate crimes, she must a decision on whether or not to come or as a mutant. However, once she comes out as a mutant she has to deal with mutant fetishization and tokenism making her question which is more important- protecting her fame or her dignity? Her former roommates and now big time YouTubers, Jubilee and Tabitha, as well as her former teammate, Jean Paul aka Northstar, are members of her Squad that give her advice on how to navigate through her crazy Hollywood life and take her to the roller skating rink when things get too much for the starlet to bear. 

I wanted to entertain. I got way more than I bargained for, though. I thought I had to be one or the other. I gave it that power. I made some bad decisions. I lost myself. I let myself be the label. The mutant. The has-been. The joke. But the greatest realization I made in all of this is that it doesn't matter how everyone sees me. I'm not just a mutant. Or a singer. Or any one thing... All of this is me

This will all be an allegory for POC LGBT. Some doors will be shut while others will be opened for Dazzler. Some people will say they don’t want mutants representing them and other people will misinterpret her kindness for flirting and tell her ‘they aren’t into mutants’. She will be asked to represent the first ‘mutant inclusive’ makeup brand which she finds not to be as inclusive as it boasts. It does not have enough shades of blue for example nor does it help individuals with non-human skin such as scales or beaks. She will also be messaged conspiracy theories that she is not ‘actually a mutant’, be told that ‘she doesn’t look like a mutant’, have people tell her they know people who can ‘fix her’, and others tell her that ‘now that she’s a mutant she’s pretty hot’. Of course now that she’s the only mutant celebrity she is going to be placed on a pedestal that will either make or break the public’s view of mutants.

Janelle Monae as Alison Blaire/Dazzler

Ellen Wong as Jubilation Lee/ Jubilee*

Jackie Cruz as Tabitha Smith/ Boom-Boom** 

Martin Sensmeier as Jean Paul Beaubier/ Northstar*** 

* Ellen Wong is more of a race accurate casting and in the age range as the other actors. However, Lana Condor is already the current Jubilee so ig it’s fine. However, it would be more accurate to cast her as Xi'an Coy Manh/Karma and make her a big fan of Dazzler.

** Or any Latina actress really. Jackie Cruz is queer so she actually kinda fits in. Melonie Diaz, Diane Guerro are all good alternatives. I originally cast Becky G but she was too young.

*** Or any Native American/Native Canadian actor really because Sensmeier was the only actor I could find who could fit the bill.

This is also for fun and I don’t know that much about Dazzler so don’t @me.