Steve Thomas

Privately built border wall will fail, engineering report says https://www.rawstory.com/2020/09/privately-built-border-wall-will-fail-engineering-report-says/ “It’s not a matter of if a privately built border fence along the shores of the Rio Grande will fail, it’s a matter of when, according to a new engineering report on the troubled project. The report is one of two new studies set to be filed in federal court this week that found numerous deficiencies in the 3-mile border fence, built this year by North Dakota-based Fisher Sand and Gravel. The reports confirm earlier reporting from ProPublica and The Texas Tribune, which found that segments of the structure were in danger of overturning due to extensive erosion if not fixed and properly maintained. Fisher dismissed the concerns as normal post-construction issues. “It seems like they are cutting corners everywhere,” said Alex Mayer, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Texas at El Paso. “It’s not a Lamborghini, it’s a $500 used car.” Since Fisher’s companies embarked on construction of the Rio Grande fence, the Trump administration has awarded about $2 billion in federal contracts to the firms to build segments of the border wall in other locations. A second report, based on a geotechnical and structural inspection by the Millennium Engineers Group of Pharr, Texas, also hired by the National Butterfly Center, found that the fence was stable for now, but that it faces a host of issues. They include soil erosion on the river side — in some areas gaps up to three feet wide and waist deep, concrete cracking, construction flaws and what the firm concluded was likely substandard construction material below the fence’s foundation. Fisher has said he wants to donate the Rio Grande fence to the federal government as well, although it’s unclear whether the government will take it. The fence likely will come with a hefty tax bill if not donated, after Hidalgo County recently appraised the land’s value at more than $20 million, which Fisher said his company will fight.” Steve Thomas

DOJ ‘preparing’ to indict top Trump fundraiser in scandal over foreign corruption of US government: Washington Post Published 1 min ago on September 1, 2020 By Bob Brigham https://www.rawstory.com/2020/09/doj-preparing-to-indict-top-trump-fundraiser-in-scandal-over-foreign-corruption-of-us-government-washington-post/ “Yet another Trump insider is about to be indicted, according to a new report in The Washington Post. “Federal prosecutors are preparing to charge longtime GOP fundraiser Elliott Broidy in connection with efforts to influence the U.S. government on behalf of foreign interests, according to people familiar with the matter, a result of a sprawling, years-long investigation that involved a figure who helped raise millions for Donald Trump’s election and the Republican Party,” the newspaper reported. “Broidy is under scrutiny for his alleged role in a campaign to persuade high-level Trump administration officials to drop an investigation of Malaysian government corruption, as well as for his attempt to push for the extradition of an outspoken Chinese dissident back to his home country, according to the people, who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe an ongoing investigation.”” Malaysian corruption money – that’s how Ivanka financed her Vancouver, British Columbia Trump Tower. Steve Thomas

The New Uighurs? Mongolians Protest as China Moves to Erase Local Culture Mongolians are risking brutal recriminations by publicly protesting moves to end local language classes in school. By Brendon Hong Updated Sep. 01, 2020 7:05AM ET https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-new-xinjiang-mongolians-protest-as-china-moves-to-erase-local-culture?ref=home “HONG KONG—Students, teachers, parents, and others are staging protests in Inner Mongolia, a semi-autonomous region in northern China, by surrounding police stations and gathering outside schools. Thousands are congregating in rare displays of open defiance of governmental orders. These demonstrations were sparked by the Chinese government’s directive issued in the summer to broaden the footprint of Mandarin Chinese in state-compiled textbooks and classroom instruction within the region, displacing the Mongolian language in academic environments and daily usage. From Sept. 1 onward, the authorities will shift public elementary and middle schools’ language of instruction to Chinese, specifically for three courses—language and literature, history, as well as morality and law (which includes political and ideological indoctrination). The change will be rolled out in phases, eventually keeping just mathematics and art classes in the region’s dominant native tongue.” Shades of Native Americans. Steve Thomas

Head Of USPS Board Of Governors Is Also Director Of Mitch McConnell Super PAC By Mary Papenfuss https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mitch-mcconnell-robert-duncan-usps-super-pac_n_5f4dafa9c5b64f17e141d8a7 “A new corporate filing Monday has revealed that the chairman of the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors is also listed as a director of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s $130 million super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund.” Steve Thomas

Longtime GOP consultant: This election "is the most dangerous period since the Civil War" NeverTrumper Stuart Stevens on how the party he helped build became a crime cartel ruled by a failed casino owner https://www.salon.com/2020/08/31/longtime-gop-consultant-this-election-is-the-most-dangerous-period-since-the-civil-war/ I worked for more than 30 years at the highest levels in the Republican Party and even I cannot tell you what being a conservative means right now. Right now, all the Republican Party cares about is power. The Republican Party exists to elect Republicans. That’s it. In that way, it is like a cartel. There is no higher moral good. The Senate just released a report showing that Trump and his inner circle actively colluded, if not conspired, with Vladimir Putin and his agents to steal the 2020 presidential election. Those efforts are ongoing. Trump and his inner circle are de facto traitors to the United States. How do Republicans reconcile their support of him with their loud claims to be so “patriotic”? Power for power’s sake. That’s exactly what it is. It’s not complicated. It’s not new. It’s not novel. It’s not elegant. It’s just power. Why has it taken so long for the chattering class and the American people as a group to wake up to the fact that Trump is a fascist and an authoritarian, and that he and his movement are a threat to the United States? Donald Trump has always benefited from the inability to imagine Donald Trump. During the primaries there were 16 candidates who spent most of the time attacking each other because all they thought they needed to do to win was be one-on-one with Donald Trump. They believed that the Republican Party was not going to nominate a failed casino owner who talked in public about having sex with his daughter. It was like, are you kidding me? It’s not going to happen. But it did. "If a historian or political scientist asked you to write the epitaph of this version of the Republican Party, what would it be? The Republican Party was killed by a changing America. It became a white party and there were not enough white people." Steve Thomas

Appeals court rejects Michael Flynn’s attempt to have criminal case dismissed https://www.rawstory.com/2020/08/appeals-court-rejects-michael-flynns-attempt-to-have-criminal-case-dismissed/ "It means that the decisions will now be sent back to U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington." Steve Thomas

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Donald Trump responds: https://www.rawstory.com/2020/08/trump-loses-it-after-portland-mayor-blames-him-for-violence-before-issuing-a-threat-he-hasnt-seen-anything-yet/ “Ted Wheeler, the wacky Radical Left Do Nothing Democrat Mayor (sic) of Portland, who has watched great death and destruction of his City (sic) during his tenure, thinks this lawless situation should go on forever,” tweeted the president. “Wrong! Portland will never recover with a fool for a Mayor… He tried mixing with the Agitators and Anarchists and they mocked him. He would like to blame me and the Federal Government for going in, but he hasn’t seen anything yet. We have only been there with a small group to defend our U.S. Courthouse, because he couldn’t do it….The people of Portland, like all other cities & parts of our great Country, want Law & Order. The Radical Left Democrat Mayors, like the dummy running Portland, or the guy right now in his basement unwilling to lead or even speak out against crime, will never be able to do it!” Steve Thomas

Portland Mayor, Ted Wheeler: https://www.rawstory.com/2020/08/its-you-who-have-created-the-hate-and-the-division-portland-mayor-unleashes-on-donald-trump-for-maga-creating-violence/ ““One death is one death too many. Join me by denouncing all violence,” he said. “Yesterday’s event began with hundreds of cars filled with supporters of the president rallying and driving through downtown Portland. They were supported and energized by the president himself. President Trump, for four years, we have had to live with you and your racist attacks on Black people. We learned early about your sexist attitudes towards women. We’ve had to endure clips of you mocking a disabled man. We’ve had to listen to your anti-democratic attacks on journalists. We have read your tweets slamming private citizens to the point of receiving death threats, and we have listened to the attacks on immigrants. We have listened to you label Mexicans rapists. We’ve heard you say that John McCain wasn’t a hero because he was a prisoner of war, and now you’re attacking Democratic mayors and the very institutions of democracy that have served this nation well since its founding.” “It’s you who have created the hate and the division,” he said. “It’s you who have not found a way to say the names of Black people killed by police officers even as people in law enforcement have. It’s you who claimed that white issue supremacists are good people. Your campaign of fear is anti-democratic of anything you have done to create hate and vitriol in our country. You have tried to divide us more than any other figure in modern history. Now you want me to stop the violence ta you helped to create. What America needs is for you to be stopped so we can come back together as one America while recognizing that we must demand that all people, Black, brown, white, every color from every political persuasion pull together and hold all people accountable in stopping racism and violence. We together are peaceful again under new leadership that reflects who we really are. We the people of this great nation.” “President Trump, you bring no peace. You bring no respect to our democracy,” he continued. “You, Mr. President, need to do your job as the leader of this nation. I, Mr. President, will do my job as the mayor of this city. We will both be held accountable as we should. I’m calling out every other elected official in Oregon to join me. Not only in defeating racism but helping me to stop the violence as we are and will continue to be held accountable by all of our residents.”” Steve Thomas

Even though #TrumpRiots is the #1 trending topic on twitter, https://twitter.com/search?q=%23TrumpRiots I’m more worried about the Karens: https://boingboing.net/2020/08/28/heres-a-montage-of-karens-bu.html Steve Thomas

https://www.thedailybeast.com/sell-it-tonight-on-ebay-trump-gives-emergency-officials-his-autograph-claims-its-worth-dollar10k?ref=home?ref=home “President Trump on Saturday took a moment to hand out autographed photos of himself to emergency officials following a roundtable discussion of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Laura, which bashed Louisiana and Texas as a Category 4 storm earlier this week. He advised the officials to put the autographs up for auction online. “Sell this tonight on eBay. You’ll get $10,000,” he told one attendee. Signing a sheet of paper, he said, “If I put your name down, it loses a lot of value. So sell it tonight on eBay.” The event was part of a tour of Louisiana and Texas to survey damage and hear from state and local leaders about what they need for efforts to recover from the hurricane.” So much for disaster relief. Better than paper towels, I guess. Steve Thomas

German leaders condemn far-right attempt to storm Reichstag https://apnews.com/43388137188cb685914c64a4a8589ee3 "BERLIN (AP) — Senior German officials on Sunday condemned attempts by far-right protesters and others to storm the parliament building following a protest against the country’s pandemic restrictions. Hundreds of people, some waving the flag of the German Reich of 1871-1918 and other far-right banners, breached a security barrier outside the Reichstag late Saturday but were intercepted by police and forcibly removed. About 300 people were arrested in front of the Reichstag and following an incident at the Russian embassy, according to police. Robert Habeck, the co-leader of Germany’s Green party, called for a thorough investigation into the incident. “The fact that Nazis with imperial war flags try to storm the Bundestag recalls the darkest period in German history,” he told the Funke media group." Oh boy. Steve Thomas

MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOP DOJ interviewed USPS board member Bill Zollars in federal fraud investigation Steve Mnuchin gave Bill Zollars' former company a $700 million loan to continue Pentagon work despite fraud probe https://www.salon.com/2020/08/28/doj-interviewed-usps-board-member-bill-zollars-in-federal-fraud-investigation/ "A recently-appointed member of the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors has been interviewed by Department of Justice investigators, as part of a federal suit filed against his former freight company for defrauding the Pentagon of millions of dollars, court documents show. About two weeks after Bill Zollars, the former chairman, president and CEO of YRC Worldwide, Inc., was confirmed to the USPS board by the Senate in June, the Treasury Department awarded his former company a $700 million COVID relief loan. That came from funds designated for Pentagon contractors — but Zollars' former company, which he left in 2011, has been accused of defrauding the Pentagon during his tenure." "Zollars also currently sits on the board of directors for Prologis, a logistics multinational that rents industrial real estate to the Postal Service, as well as to competitors such as UPS and FedEx. HuffPost reported Wednesday that Prologis financial documents from this spring show that Zollars has been compensated with stock shares worth more than $1 million, and that he holds options to purchase thousands more shares. Zollars' Prologis bio says that he serves on the compensation committee." Steve Thomas

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/28/politics/donald-trump-kamala-harris-attack/index.html At his campaign rally in New Hampshirem Trump said, “You know, I want to see the first woman president also, but I don't want to see a woman president get into that position the way she'd do it -- and she's not competent. She's not competent. They're all saying, 'We want Ivanka.' I don't blame you," 1) In a tweet, Eric Trump said Kamala Harris was a whorendous choice. He later took that tweet down. Here we go. 2) “Everybody” is asking for Ivanka. Is Trump going to blame his poor poll numbers on Mike Pence and dump him for Ivanka just before the election? Is he going to pick a woman because Biden picked a woman? Will this be his "October surprise"? Are we being groomed for a dynasty? Steve Thomas

White Vigilantes Have Always Had A Friend In Police New data shows that far-right vigilantes, often with support from cops, have threatened protesters nearly 500 times since police killed George Floyd. By Christopher Mathias 08/28/2020 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/white-vigilantes-kenosha_n_5f4822bcc5b6cf66b2b5103e “A man in Iowa City, Iowa, allegedly drove his car into a crowd of protesters and, according to a criminal complaint, later justified the attack by telling police the protesters needed “an attitude adjustment.”” “Disturbing images also emerged of police cozying up to far-right activists: A cop in Georgia was photographed fist-bumping an armed militia member, and cops in Philadelphia posed for a friendly photo with vigilantes who roamed the city’s streets with baseball bats. Still more stories emerged this summer of cops themselves relishing violence against protesters. A police chief in Sioux Rapids, Iowa, was suspended for two weeks after writing a Facebook comment encouraging people to drive their cars through Black Lives Matter demonstrators. “HIT THE GAS AND HANG ON FOR THE SPEED BUMPS,” he wrote.” Since deleted Facebook page: Steve Thomas

"Emily Miller, the Trump-loving spokeswoman for the Food and Drug Administration who was hired just eleven days ago, has already been fired. https://www.rawstory.com/2020/08/trump-loving-fda-spokeswoman-booted-from-her-job-after-just-11-days/ The New York Times reports that FDA commissioner Dr. Stephen M. Hahn gave Miller the ax after she “fumbled communications about a blood plasma treatment for Covid-19.” Miller, a longtime gun rights activist and former journalist for the far-right One America News Network, has now tied the record for shortest tenure at a Trump administration job after former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci was similarly ousted after just eleven days." “Ms. Miller could not be reached for comment.” Steve Thomas

I've been wondering... What will happen to the personal data being vacuumed up by Trump's money machine once this is all over? Steve Thomas

W., Local politics in Kentucky are as bad as they come. Steve Thomas

The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy: A Model of Explanation by Vince Salandria Original Copy published in Computers and Automation, Volume 20, No. 12, December 1971, pp. 32-40. https://ratical.org/ratville/JFK/FalseMystery/ModelOfExplanation.html OUTLINE Not “How?” but “Why?” Government Evidence Cries Conspiracy New Rulers Timed Diffusion of Evidence Lone Assassin Myth Suggests Governmental Guilt A Warning to Opponents Silence of Kennedys Points to Top-Level Coup A. Which Group Was Responsible? 1. J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI? 2. The Left? 3. The Right? 4. President Johnson and Friends? 5. President Kennedy’s Own Estimate of a Possible Military Takeover Evidence for Military Involvement in the Assassination Military-CIA Interests Coincided The Pentagon Papers— a CIA Jab at Military? 6. Did the CIA Kill President Kennedy? CIA Opposed Kennedy Anti-Cold War Policy Kennedy Fired Dulles as CIA Head Dulles Suppressed Evidence of Oswald’s Soviet Intelligence Connections Did Soviet and American Intelligence Agencies Cooperate? Kennedy Adviser McGeorge Bundy’s Ties to the CIA Bundy Also a Vietnam Hawk Bundy Issued the First “No Conspiracy; Lone-Assassin” Statement Was Bundy’s Statement a Warning from the ‘New Rulers’? The Presidential Party Got the Message Important Foreign Policy Changes Immediately Followed the Assassination U.S. Promised Help to New Saigon Government Militarization of the U.S. Bundys Continued to Shape Hawkish Policies Interconnections of the CIA and Foundation-Dominated Scholarship How We’ve Paid For Our New Rulers’ Ineptness The ClA’s Follow-up Tactics The Assassination Model As a Key to Domestic Events Notes “Since November 22, 1963, when President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, there has been a great deal of research into the micro-analytic aspects of the assassination. I have been among the earliest and guiltiest of the researchers in my protracted analyses of the shots, trajectories and wounds of the assassination. The ransacking of the facts of the assassination is not a source of pride for me but rather of guilt. While the researchers have involved themselves in consuming preoccupation with the micro-analytic searching for facts of how the assassination was accomplished, there has been almost no systematic thinking on why President Kennedy was killed. We have neglected this essential work of constructing a model of explanation which fits the data of the assassination and explains the why of it.” “Of course, secret elitist police organizations such as the CIA do not thrive on peace, democracy, and a contented and informed people. The power of intelligence agencies increases in direct proportion to the degree of sickness of a nation. A healthy and united people can localize the cancer of a power-usurping intelligence agency and eventually extirpate its malignant cells from the nation’s political life. Therefore, the intelligence apparatus which killed Kennedy has a need to keep our society in turmoil. It has — in order to maintain its power — to generate a high degree of chaos. Chaos is required to make a people willing to accept such strong medicine as is administered by the secret police in order to restore order and to stabilize a disintegrating society. It takes an acutely sick society to be able to accept as palatable the terrible cure — totalitarianism.” Steve Thomas

David, The bit about parting company was just a general question on my part. Whether Oswald went to Mexico, or stayed in Texas traveling around, I just don't remember him being described as being in the company of two guys who fit the description Sylvia Odio described. Although, in the Sports Drome incidents Floyd Davis and Price talked about another guy at the Sports Drome - a big guy with a beard. They didn't know if he and Oswald were together or not. http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/testimony/davis_f.htm Mr. DAVIS. There was a fellow with a black beard in that booth No. 7, at the same time. I remember him because he was outstanding, you know, and I went to these fellows in booth No. 8, and was giving them heck about shooting at the wrong target. And this other fellow, I remember him because he wouldn't say anything to me. I tried to speak to him two or three different occasions, because he had a lot of guns, and I thought he would be a good customer. Mr. LIEBELER. The fellow with the beard? Mr. DAVIS. Yes. Mr. LIEBELER. He was how tall, approximately? Mr. DAVIS. He was over 6 feet and he weighed a good 250 pounds. A big bruiser. I give a lot of credence to the Alice, Texas sighting, and I don't remember any Cubans being mentioned there. As far as Harlendale, those Cubans were SNFE, and Odio's people were JURE. They didn't mix very much. Among the Miscellaneous CIA Series, there is an unauthored FBI Report of the various anti-Castro groups in Dallas: JURE, 30th of November, Alpha 66-SNFE, etc. REPORT: JUNTA REVOLUCIONARIA CUBANA; SEGUNDO FRENTE DE ESCAMBRAY (OPERATION ALPHA 66); DIRECTORIO REVOLUCIONARIO ESTUDIANTIL; MOVIMIENTO REVOLUCIONARIO 30 DE NOVIEMBRE; FAIR PLAY FOR CUBA COMMITTEE NARA Record Number: 104-10320-10070 Spr https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=28726&relPageId=2 On pages 4 through 6 of that Report, Manuel Rodriguez Orcarberro furnished a list of the present officers of SNFE. I believe that those were the people that Walthers' source saw. Steve Thomas

You too can become a lawmaker in the State of Washington. Questions are being asked, you know? https://www.inlander.com/spokane/blind-links/Content?oid=20165904 "In December, Washington state Rep. Jenny Graham, a Republican in the 6th District, posted a Facebook link to an article at a site called "Vaccine Impact" about the weaknesses of the Pertussis vaccine. But the article not only perpetuates a long-since-disproven link between vaccines and autism, the "Vaccine Impact" site has since become an unabashed QAnon conspiracy site, perpetuating bizarre claims about globalist pedophiles harvesting "children's blood just before they are murdered as a sacrifice to Satan." In another December Facebook post, Graham wrote that the "appetite to have sex with children as young as infants is a growing business" and linked to a blog post claiming that makes the dubious claim that "a significant portion" of 460,000 missing children a year "end up in sex dungeons to be exploited and repeatedly raped by ... demons." Literal demons, the blogger explains in another post — or more specifically Reptilian-human hybrids put into positions of power by evil extra-dimensional beings. Graham says she was unaware of the weirder views on those sites, but didn't express regret about sharing those links. "The trafficking is real, and sadly enough, so is the occult situation," she says, explaining that she knew someone in a cult. She says it's her job to ask tough questions and engage on important issues." I wonder when we are going to return to burning people at the stake. Steve Thomas

Donald Trump Jr. Denies Rumors That He Was On Cocaine During His RNC Speech “I guess there must have been something with the lighting,” Trump Jr. said. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-jr-denies-cocaine-rumors-rnc-speech_n_5f46c4cac5b64f17e137e0e2 Steve Thomas

- Tucker Carlson - “How shocked are we that 17-year-olds with rifles decided they had to maintain order when no one else would?" Maybe the Kenosha Guards and the Proud Boys could set up recruiting booths at junior proms around the country. Steve Thomas

Notice to the Public - Closure for 2020 Acceptance of Presidential Nomination Wednesday, August 26 to Friday, August 28 August 22, 2020 https://www.nps.gov/whho/learn/management/temporary-area-closures.htm The entire Ellipse and its side panels, roadways and sidewalks, E Street and its sidewalks between 15th-17th Streets, and the White House Sidewalk on Thursday, August 27, 2020 and Friday, August 28, 2020. Additionally, a temporary closure of First Division Monument and State Place, Sherman Park and Hamilton Place will be imposed from Wednesday, August 26, 2020 to August 28, 2020 as delineated in the attached map and as further delineated by fencing. Specifically, there will be a temporary closure to the public of the below-listed areas adjacent to the White House Complex from approximately 8:00 a.m. on August 26, 2020, through approximately 2:00 a.m. on August 28, 2020: Sherman Park, to include interior sidewalks (the west sidewalk on 15th Street, NW, will remain open to pedestrian traffic); and First Division Park, to include interior sidewalks (the east sidewalk on 17th Street, NW, will remain open to pedestrian traffic). Additionally, the following areas in the vicinity of the White House Complex also under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service will be subject to a temporary closure to the public from approximately 8:00 a.m. on August 27, 2020, through approximately 2:00 a.m. on August 28, 2020: The Ellipse, including its side panels, roadways, and interior sidewalks; E Street, NW, from 15th to 17th Streets, NW, to include the adjacent sidewalks along the above-mentioned parks, and south fence line of the White House grounds; and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, between 15th Street and 17th Street, NW, to include the White House North fence line. A map illustrating the closed park areas and the closed areas under other jurisdictions is attached. Violation is prohibited. The People's House is closed to the People. Steve Thomas

New Trump Rule Could Create ‘Bomb Trains,’ Environmentalists Say The administration has a ‘wildly unsafe’ plan to transport liquified natural gas on railroads, with tanks carrying enough explosive power to level a city, according to a new lawsuit By Tessa Stuart https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/bomb-trains-1046481/ “A new Trump administration rule relaxing guidelines that govern the transport of liquefied natural gas could create “bomb trains” with enough explosive power to level whole cities, environmental groups say. A coalition of organizations led by the nonprofit Earthjustice has sued the administration, challenging the rule, which is scheduled to go into effect on Monday. Separately, 14 states and the District of Columbia are also suing the Trump administration to review the rule and declare it unlawful. The National Transportation Safety Board and the National Association of State Fire Marshals oppose it as well. Under the new rule, trains would be allowed to transport up to 30,000 gallons of liquified natural gas (LNG) per tank, significantly more than has ever been allowed in the U.S., and there will be no restrictions on the number of LNG tanker cars in a particular train, nor on the routes these trains may travel, so they will be free to pass through dense population centers. According to figures cited in Earthjustice’s challenge, just 22 tank cars could produce the equivalent energy of the Hiroshima bomb. The rule change, fast-tracked by the administration after being introduced by Trump in an executive order in April 2019, comes as part of the president’s reckless agenda to expand America’s fossil fuel exports. But shifting LNG transport to the railways could be a catastrophe, the lawsuits assert. “There’s a very good reason liquefied natural gas has never been shipped by rail in this country, and that’s because it’s wildly unsafe,” said Joseph Otis Minott, executive director of the Clean Air Council, which joined the lawsuit with Earthjustice. “I don’t want these dangerous trains going through my neighborhood, and trust me, you don’t either.” “ Steve Thomas