Orange County Register

 38 Comments

• raicha says:

  February 25, 2009 at 6:01 pm

  Jindal’s reply was no masterpiece. His slam on volcano monitoring, while a cute sound bite, would never had been uttered if there were volcanos in Louisianna. Should we eliminate hurricane storm tracking as well?

  All politicians are against pork barrel spending. Except for the bacon that is brought home to their own state.
• dwight bendigo says:

  February 25, 2009 at 6:05 pm

  i don’t understand the logic jindal is trying to impress upon us… while the president is trying to rally the american people to believe in themselves and spearhead the rejuvenation of the economy, this guy is trying so hard to discredit and ridicule him. if jindal has any patriotism in him he should come up with positive constructive ideas rather than mudslinging the president.. piece of advice you wont be the next president of the united states… not with your ‘look at me i’m better than him’ posture while everybody else is wallowing in poverty.
• Warren says:

  February 25, 2009 at 6:26 pm

  How much is Disney and the other surrounding attractions willing to contribute to this train? I think we should work on the high speed rail line from Southern CA to Northern CA before we start shipping people out of state to spend their money.
• MV Mom says:

  February 25, 2009 at 6:28 pm

  I’d take that train to Vegas.
• Robert Bobby G says:

  February 25, 2009 at 6:33 pm

  Yea I am laughing about a Disneyland to Las Vegas train also. When have you seen mass transportation run by the government or funded by the government run as a profitable entity? When huh?
• ttularc says:

  February 25, 2009 at 6:49 pm

  Dwight,

  We can’t all be naive little sheep and think that a motivational speech is going to set America on the right path.
• Chris K says:

  February 25, 2009 at 6:57 pm

  Bobby is right.

  Just another boondoggle. The cost will be three to four times and the only beneficiary will be the contractors who have learned how to swindle gov’t officials who’ll be long gone.

  This is OPM. Other Peoples Money and its Wasteful, Wasteful, Wasteful, soon to be a disaster.

  Give it up. No train required. You can get to Las Vegas in 1 hour for less than $100. Check out this link.

  http://travel.travelocity.com/flights/AirSearch.do?SEQ=12356169315961252009
• Stephanie says:

  February 25, 2009 at 6:59 pm

  Will bipartisanism never end? Jindal’s reply was simpleminded and offered no credible alternatives. Although the stimulus package is indeed stupendous does no one understand the domino effect that would undoubtedly be triggered by widespread job losses such as would occur if there were to be widespread failure in automobile and construction industries? Better to attempt to avert doom than wallow in hopelessness.
• never ending fight for freedom says:

  February 25, 2009 at 7:05 pm

  Every one who wants the stupid train should sign up to pay for it!
  Leave the rest of out.
• noway says:

  February 25, 2009 at 7:09 pm

  complete waste of money. of course anaheim city officials support it… it supports their wallets too! do you recall that california is in a deficit?
• Ready4U says:

  February 25, 2009 at 7:16 pm

  We don’t need a high speed train running from LV to Anaheim. LV lost its appeal when it built all those ugly looking commercial building style hotels on the strip. The strip now looks like your standing in downtown Los Angeles. I got a great idea, use the money to buy all the toll roads in OC and add a few lanes to each freeway. This will benefit everyone living in OC. Anaheim and LV can use their own money to build their tourism train. The tribal casinos are a lot closer than LV.
• Peter J says:

  February 25, 2009 at 7:45 pm

  In the future a high speed train from Anaheim to San Francisco and another from Anaheim to Las Vegas.

  Where shall I go first for a one-in-a lifetime trip?

  If I choose to go to both, I’ll need another hogh speed train from Las Vegas to San Francisco.

  How could Mrs. Pelosi and Mr. Reid have missed this opportunity? Not to worry, it’ll show up in March’s stimulus package!
• haminator says:

  February 25, 2009 at 7:51 pm

  What? I can’t even believe this is a serious idea. That kind of money could be so much better spent - my friend that works for the state is being forced to take two days off a month without pay, and they want to build a train to take you to/from Disneyland/LV?
• gdb says:

  February 25, 2009 at 8:08 pm

  i’m not going to say the train would be the most optimum use of the funds, but i don’t know how the governor of a “leach state” like LA has the moral authority to question a project that benefits CA. one state sends more money to washington then it gets every year the other state takes more than it gives. and the gall to say LA is “clean” now. does that guy have a magic wand? i’ll believe in tinkerbell before i believe LA still isn’t corrupt up to the gills. over the years, enough federal money has become “lost” in that state to build our train and then some. his address was pathetic. limbaugh has staked his rep to that guy and we got to see just how desperate rush is to be backing the kid and the fertility goddess. the way jindal entered the room and approached the mic, i thought he was there to decorate the room, not address it. the gop is brain dead and non-responsive. time to pull the feeding tube already.
• smoothoperator says:

  February 25, 2009 at 8:20 pm

  The money for the train should be used to build a wall so people from the I.E can’t come into Orange County…..People from the I.E use our roads consistently without paying any local taxes…What we need to do is double the cost of toll roads for people who live in the I.E and commute to Orange County, these people are the ones who benefit from the transportation tax dollars that Orange County residents pay for.
• X-DEM says:

  February 25, 2009 at 8:21 pm

  Anaheim to Las Vegas? What a great idea! I suppose the remaining 40 billion to build such a boondoggle would come from…guess who? Taxpayers? The money would be better spent improving Interstate 15 and Interstate 40.
• BS says:

  February 25, 2009 at 8:22 pm

  Obama’s charisma and speech writer is only going to take him so far…….. until this massive spending hits your pocket and your grand childrens that are barely making ends meet!
• Dan Chmielewski says:

  February 25, 2009 at 8:25 pm

  There is no planned train from Anaheim to Vegas; it’s not in the Stimulus Bill but it is a Republican talking point. They are making stuff up at this point. Darryl Issa was busted for this lie on MSNBC yesterday
• Will Work for Food says:

  February 25, 2009 at 8:50 pm

  Bobbi Jindal, the great brown hope of the GOP, came across as more like the great brown joke.
  If this is the best the GOP has then it’s going to be a lonnng 8 years!
• Stan says:

  February 25, 2009 at 8:55 pm

  Those who are criticizing the High Speed Rail should read their history books about the WPA created to build projects all around the US in the 1930’s and put millions of people to work. Hart Park in Orange is one of the projects and I’m sure that there are many more around Orange County as well as around the United State. It was also economic stimulus program and it had its own problems and detractors. Hopefully we can learn from their mistakes while we try to update our own infrastructure. High Speed Rail projects are a must for this country and we are far behind Europe and Japan in mass transportation. This is something that should have been done decades ago and it is not about a train from Anaheim/Disneyland to LA or LV, but starting to invest in a better and more economical way to travel. Our airlines are reaching capacity and if gas goes up again, flying by commercial airliner may not be an option for the average family. This is not about being a Republican or a Democrat, this is about creating a high speed rail system not only in California, but throughout the US. The detractors have used their lobbyists to fight against high speed rail for years and now that will soon actually need such a system, the cost will be far greater than it would have been if we had the foresight to build a system 20 years ago.
• Reverend Steve says:

  February 25, 2009 at 9:04 pm

  This crazy idea pops up with every new political generation.

  It’s a dum idea.

  We should focus only on WATER! it is the only REAL issue that counts.
• Ron says:

  February 25, 2009 at 9:17 pm

  I think the rail should be built to exit Ca to any where. Any where is better then there. I got out 9 yrs ago. Best thing I did in my life. Illegal Alien Haven
• Josh says:

  February 25, 2009 at 9:19 pm

  Another Register article gave San Clemente’s wish list, as well. I can hear some Republican screaming about putting more sand on the beach. Everything that doesn’t help you personally and directly is pork, don’tcha know? As for other posters here, who do you think pays for the roads, the airports and air traffic control system, and to keep the oil flowing from those Middle East dictatorships? It’s the government. That’s right, all your means of transportation are subsidized by the government — not just high speed trains.
• jauxmama says:

  February 25, 2009 at 9:22 pm

  it’s a non-idea brought forth by a Republican mayor. High speed rail is to our long term advantage, but it should be a people/goods mover between commercial centers, not entertainment venues.

  SoCal to NoCal to the Pacific Northwest makes sense as does LA to Denver to Chicago and the Eastern seaboard.
• smoothoperator says:

  February 25, 2009 at 11:04 pm

  Air travel is the quickest most efficient way to travel, an airport at El Toro would have been far more useful than high speed trains that require costly right of way acquisitions and that will still take much longer to reach their destination than an airplane….This is a waste of tax payer dollars we could have built 10 airports for the price of this high speed train line.
• LEXUSRY says:

  February 26, 2009 at 7:34 am

  BOBBY NEED TO GO BACK TO HIGHSCHOOL AND ATTEND ECONOMIC CLASS. BUILDING AN ELECTRIC TRAIN TO TAKE PEOPLE TO ANOTHER DESTINATION WILL REDUCE CARS ON THE ROAD WHICH IS TO MANY IN CALIF. , CREATE MORE JOB, REDUCE TRAVEL TIME FROM POINT A TO POINT B, BRING MORE TOURISTS TO OTHER CITIES SO THEY CAN SPEND MONEY WHICH HELP THE COMMUNITIES, MORE INCOME FOR THE STATES MEAN LESS TAX INCREASE. THESE ARE JUST THE BASIC , BRAIN DAMAGE- BOBBY
• Ken says:

  February 26, 2009 at 8:14 am

  When I first heard about the idea for a Vegas-Anaheim high speed train many, many years ago, I thought it was a cool idea.

  But it doesn’t make financial sense. Read more of my points in detail by clicking my name to follow the link.

  Would the train really bring more (or “enough more”) tourist and convention folks to Anaheim from Vegas? I highly doubt it. Cars and airplanes seem to be doing just fine. The environmental benefit is not there, either.

  It IS mostly a bone to construction contractors and possible rail operator companies’unions.

  Let private funding build and operate it, if it is such a good idea.
• hbrider says:

  February 26, 2009 at 8:36 am

  So a train that goes from the “happiest place on earth” to a city that embraces sin and has a motto such as, “what happens here, stays here”. No one can see the problem with that? Derail that train plan, pronto!
• John S. says:

  February 26, 2009 at 8:58 am

  Considering what happened to all the trains that we paid extra taxes and bonds for in the past, I am glad I keep a bicycle.
• Daikosune says:

  February 26, 2009 at 10:40 am

  Are you all completely ignorant to the fact that I-15 between Southern California and Las Vegas is THE busiest section of Interstate in the United States? That exorbiant amounts of state and federal funds already sink into that road every year? That the reason this station would be in Anaheim is because a regional intermodal transportation center is being built there? That air traffic between So Cal and Las Vegas is a huge waste of airport resources?

  If the United States is ever going to take mass transit seriously, this is probably an ideal project.
• bpsqwerty says:

  February 26, 2009 at 12:08 pm

  “BOBBY NEED TO GO BACK TO HIGHSCHOOL AND ATTEND ECONOMIC CLASS. BUILDING AN ELECTRIC TRAIN TO TAKE PEOPLE TO ANOTHER DESTINATION WILL REDUCE CARS ON THE ROAD WHICH IS TO MANY IN CALIF. , CREATE MORE JOB, REDUCE TRAVEL TIME FROM POINT A TO POINT B, BRING MORE TOURISTS TO OTHER CITIES SO THEY CAN SPEND MONEY WHICH HELP THE COMMUNITIES, MORE INCOME FOR THE STATES MEAN LESS TAX INCREASE. THESE ARE JUST THE BASIC , BRAIN DAMAGE- BOBBY”

  it’s called Southwest Airlines (or JetBlue), and quit typing in ALL-CAPS if you want to be taken seriously.
• bpsqwerty says:

  February 26, 2009 at 12:09 pm

  we need an OC monorail MUCH more than a “Disneyland to Vegas” maglev train. what an overpriced, dumb idea
• mike says:

  February 26, 2009 at 1:46 pm

  I heard CSUF students are working on a monorail feasibility study for Orange County.
• orangegirl20 says:

  February 26, 2009 at 5:36 pm

  # LEXUSRY Says:
  February 26th, 2009 at 7:34 am

  BOBBY NEED TO GO BACK TO HIGHSCHOOL AND ATTEND ECONOMIC CLASS. BUILDING AN ELECTRIC TRAIN TO TAKE PEOPLE TO ANOTHER DESTINATION WILL REDUCE CARS ON THE ROAD WHICH IS TO MANY IN CALIF. , CREATE MORE JOB, REDUCE TRAVEL TIME FROM POINT A TO POINT B, BRING MORE TOURISTS TO OTHER CITIES SO THEY CAN SPEND MONEY WHICH HELP THE COMMUNITIES, MORE INCOME FOR THE STATES MEAN LESS TAX INCREASE. THESE ARE JUST THE BASIC , BRAIN DAMAGE- BOBBY

  This person writes and sounds (grammar and syntax) like one of the trolls from Acorn that frequented the ocregister during election season. What are we working folks going to do when we’ve been so taxed that we’ll be happy just to have food on the table? The train will be irrelevant then.
• smoothoperator says:

  February 26, 2009 at 6:10 pm

  Bsqwerty, you are right on point. Local transit will be far more effective, it can transport people consistently to and from work. Building a train that will serve only tourists is horribly shortsighted. A local transit system that connects the major commercial hubs of Orange County makes a lot more sense and will have higher ridership….The Metrolink trains that run now have very few connections, you cannot get from a train station to work without taking a bus (which will take much longer than driving) or taxi (much more expensive than gas prices)…..

  We need a local fixed/separated guideway system that will transport people to and from work….The major employment centers in the county reside in 5 major locales…. Irvine Business Complex, Irvine Spectrum, Platinum Triangle, Anaheim Canyon, and South Coast Metro….

  If we build local transit that serves these major hubs as well as the two major universities in the county, the transit system will be much more cost effective than this mickey mouse train.

  Politicians just don’t get it. We don’t need more regional transit, we need localized transit…We need connections to get from point A to Point B in the same city. Its simply perplexing why our elected officials just don’t get it.

  I could care less about some family from Minnesota taking a high speed train to get to Disneyland, that really doesn’t effect me. The common person will not take this train, as they do not frequent Las Vegas on a regular basis. Take this rail money and build localized transit with connections. That is where this money should be spent.
• BreakRoomLive says:

  February 27, 2009 at 10:34 am

  A hilarious moment from some hot GOP on GOP action:

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0CMgcCOoG8
• ROFLMAO says:

  February 28, 2009 at 9:46 am

  ROFL . . 99 percent of those for the high speed train systmes are unaware of how EXPENSIVE tickets are on any nation’s high speed rails.

  The AMTRAC trains already function at losses year-after-year at the lower prices due to lack of train rides.

  So let’s get this right: the red voting family values disctrict wants high speed trains to Vegas . . so famed for it’s lack family values?

  Why are we not surprised?

  http://people.hbs.edu/bedelman/papers/redlightstates.pdf

  A study that analyzed credit card users who purchase access to all those nasty boy web sites reveals the fact that those religious red voting regions around the country are the largest purchasers of nasty boy access to nasty boy web providers. (And yes, we know it’s no secret that some of the biggest and loudest GOP talking heads aren’t just members of that club for men, they are the OWNERS and profiteers of those clubs for men, especially cable nasty boy channels)

  The credit card stats revealed:

  States where a majority of residents agreed with the statement “I have old-fashioned values about family and marriage,” bought 3.6 more subscriptions to those nasty boy sites per thousand people than states where a majority disagreed.

  The same stats include those with the mindset t “AIDS might be God’s punishment for immoral sexual behaviour.”
• Tim says:

  March 16, 2009 at 3:30 am

  Here is the Republican hypocrisy: in 2006 when the White House and Congress were controlled by the G.O.P., they approved funding for this very same high speed rail. What’s different? Other than who controls Congress and the White House, nothing.