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Wealthy people can have as many houses and jets and home theater systems as they want. All I'm saying is that they (and corporations) should pay a bigger chunk of the costs of running our society, since they control the society. We are, after all, all in this together. There's no such thing as...

Oh, and by the way.... If you had bothered to read that Marxist screed from Forbes, you would have learned that corporate taxes are 35% - not the "average 40%" you apparently pulled out of somewhere down south. I, Marxist/Socialist that I apparently am, would actually agree that 35% might be...

Don't forget about the Zephyrettes! There's a great website about the California Zephyr that has some personal accounts of women who worked as "Zephyrettes": Hostesses on this legendary train. All of their stories are great, but I especially like the story about Nellie O'Grady. (John worked...

Peter, you're so campy! Where DO you get your talking points from, now that Ray Cohn is dead? :-) Was it my citing an article from a magazine owned by that old "Fellow Traveler" Steve Forbes that got you all upset, or was it the assertion that everyone should pay their fair share to keep up...

Well, her husband's first name IS Evelyn..... ;-)

The reason why companies leave is not because of taxes, it's because of lower wages overseas. Interestingly enough however, when they start making shoes in China instead of Portland, the prices for the shoes don't go down, even though the production costs are much lower. In times of our...

Pullman Porters had a tough row to hoe: Up to the 50's or so, they had to sleep in the men's room in their car, and used a different color blanket than the passengers so people would know they weren't getting a blanket that had been used by a black person. They also had to pay for any breakage...

It turns out that the Schlockey Mom who is just like us wore a Valentino jacket the night of her big speech that cost $2500. I'm pretty sure they don't sell couture at Wal-Mart, so maybe Cindy lent it to her? So much for her folksy schtick. Are they so contemptuous of us that they feel they...

McCain's mother has not, to the best of my knowledge, had four bouts of cancer. Nor does she have a history of mental and emotional problems. And she doesn't have a big weird lump on the side of her face that no one wants to talk about. But other than that....

Rob and Laura Petrie

Peter, really. Marxist? How melodramatic can you get? Do you even know what a Marxist is? Which of the nine distinct schools of Marxist thought does Obama subscribe to?

For someone who was raised rather vigorously Catholic (albeit of the Jesuit variety) I was never censored in my TV viewing, or anything else, for that matter. My dad was on the library board, and made sure I had an "adult" card when I got my library card, and I have many fond memories of sitting...

Pete, even if I were wealthy (which I certainly am not) I don't think I'd want to be stuck on a train with a bunch of rich people. To me, part of the fun is the changing cast of characters that you meet in the diner and lounge car, as well as the station stops in little towns - especially the...

I wouldn't blame Hillary for being a sore loser: After campaigning for so long, and finally gracefully admitting defeat, she gets slapped in the face with that schlockey mom from a state with the population of Memphis, who is engineered to appeal to the very lowest common denominator in the...

Well, there's this one from NBC itself, but it doesn't seem to want to load. Maybe others will have better luck. http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/palin-hillary-open/656281/

Hillary and Sarah made an appearance on SNL last night.

Ralph, you should definitely take "The Canadian". Trip of a lifetime: Great food, great scenery, and great service, all in meticulously restored Heritage equipment. Now that American Orient Express has bit the dust, it's pretty much Via or the Rocky Mountaineer if you want the old school...

Ralph, a Superliner coach seats 72. The old overnight coaches sat 48 (or was it 42?). A Superliner Sleeper sleeps 44, an old 10/6 sleeps 32 (with no shower!) Basically, it's a matter of making the attendant do more work. Nothing wrong with that per se, but you can see where the labor savings...

The old stuff was indeed nice. But Congress, being Congress, micro-managed Amtrak and thought they were too labor intensive, and didn't carry enough passengers per car. And the mandate of the retention toilet really sealed their fate. Canada, as usual, was smarter than us. They gave VIA a few...

Ralph, even in the lower 48 there are plenty of places where the long-distance trains come in handy. The Empire Builder goes through an area with no bus service and virtually no air service. It is heavily used by people going from rural North Dakota or Montana to Seattle or Minneapolis for...