The Callousness of COAST

In case you haven't heard, Congressman John Murtha passed away yesterday after complications due to a recent gall bladder surgery he had. While I was certainly not always a fan of Murtha's politics, America has lost not only a statesman respected by both parties, but a combat veteran who proudly served his country in the Vietnam war.

However, the head honchos at COAST don't see that. We've seen COAST stoop low, but never this low. Check out what COAST treasurer Mark Miller, who authors the COAST Twitter account, had to say about this war veterans death:

Is there any behavior above COAST? We already knew that lying, calling people slang words for sexual organs, intentionally deceiving voters, and inflating actual numbers were things that the folks had COAST never had no problem doing, but now Mark Miller thinks its appropriate to make fun of dead combat veterans and politicians?

- The man behind the tweets. COAST treasurer, Mark Miller.

"[John Murtha] Should've died in prison." "Good Riddance bad egg."

This isn't the first time CAAST has been alerted of Miller's nonsense on Twitter. A few months ago we pointed out how he resorted, on two occasions, to calling his opponents "pussies" in the wake of political defeat. You can read about those incidents here and here. On top of that, the Cincinnati Blog showed us how COAST has been editing other peoples tweets to bolster fake support for themselves! Read about that here.

Miller and COAST did not stop with the Murtha tweets though. Yep, you guessed it, there's more. Check out this other tweet from @GOCOAST:

Ironically, in this tweet, we see COAST complaining that the downtown Riverfront Transit Center is "empty." It's ironic because for starters it is not empty. The Center is used multiple times throughout the year to house charter buses for large scale events downtown. System Parking operates it and has a contract with the city, allowing the city to bring in some profit from the event parking. By calling it "empty" COAST is referring to how it has never been used for light rail purposes. Why hasn't it? Because COAST worked to defeat Metro Moves in 2002 which would've put the transit center to good use and made it the center for light rail activity in the heart of downtown. They have no one to blame but themselves for it being "empty."

You may remember recently, I challenged COAST to answer why they continue to intentionally lie about rail transit. My challenge went unanswered, COAST even blocked me from following their Twitter account (guess they can't take criticism backed by factual evidence). As COAST continues to complain about the 3C Rail Corridor throughout Ohio, they offer no alternative. The group is wiling to turn down $400 Million in federal funding that would provide a new transportation option for Ohio residents and be a step towards high speed rail. That $400 Million would just go to another state, it couldn't be used anywhere else here. So what's the alternative? What is COAST's plan for the future?

It's simple, they don't have one. COAST has proven time and time again that immature behavior and name calling is their standard operating procedure. They offer no solutions or alternatives while mocking the dead. Maybe someone should get Mark Miller and his buddies a one way ticket to Colorado Springs.

Why does COAST lie about Rail Transportation?

What really does COAST have against passenger rail transportation? They claim it's often "too damned expensive," yet you never see them opposing other expensive forms of transportation, many of which are often way more expensive than passenger rail transportation. COAST can't even make a good argument for being against passenger rail transportation. This was ever so apparent in the recent election when their passenger rail charter amendment, Issue 9, was defeated by Cincinnati voters %56 - %44.

Recently, COAST blogged about Amtrak rail service in the Northeastern Corridor being delayed due to electrical problems caused by inclement weather. What COAST conveniently failed to mention though, was that AMTRAK service was back up and running after only a three hour delay, while the roads and airports continued to be hampered, delayed and closed due to the snowstorm on the East Coast.

So after only a three hour delay, Amtrak's North Eastern Corridor was back up and running...

While the roads and airports were still affected by snow...

So COAST, why lie? Why continue to try and mislead about passenger rail transportation and not oppose the massive amounts additional taxes and spending that other transportation projects will require? You've come out in clear opposition to the Ohio 3C Passenger Rail project, but have remained completely silent on the local issues of the BILLION DOLLAR Brent Spence Bridge Replacement and $675 Million I-75 Re-Widening. Why remain silent on these instances of additional spending? Kind of goes against your group's title doesn't it?

Makes you think; who's paying and lobbying them to drum up support against passenger rail transportation and remain silent on other transportation projects that waste millions of dollars more?

To anyone reading this that may be paying/lobbying COAST to do just that: You might want to rethink who you're paying to do your dirty work. As COAST/NAACP/WEDEMANDAVOTE proved in the last election, they're not very good at it. See: Issue 9 Election Results

Newsbreak: Governor Concerned Charter Amendment Could "Exclude Cincinnati."

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland

Ben Fischer of the Cincinnati Enquirer did a great job blogging about the Governors recent speech in Loveland, Ohio. Strickland, When asked about the charter amendment ballot initiative being pushed by COAST and the NAACP, Strickland had this to say: “I think Cincinnati and Cincinnatians would have to obviously make the decision if they want to be excluded from a system that will be interconnective, not only with Columbus and Dayton and Cleveland, but Chicago and other major, major cities as well."

Acknowledging the people's right to vote on the issue if and when the petition is verified, Strickland also added that he hopes voters in Cincinnati realize the COAST/NAACP charter amendment could "potentially have a detrimental effect upon the city." Strickland also acknowledged he "would have to look at the legal implications" of the amendment, but let's take a look at the current ballot language: 

The City, and its various Boards and Commissions, may not spend any monies for right-of-way acquisition or construction of improvements for passenger rail transportation (e.g., a trolley or streetcar) within the city limits without first submitting the question of approval of such expenditure to a vote of the electorate of the City and receiving a majority affirmative vote for the same.

With that kind of ballot language, Cincinnati could be delayed from or potentially kept out of consideration for not only the proposed Ohio "3C" High Speed Rail project, but a national high speed rail network connecting it to other major cities. Even if Cincinnati was featured in those networks, an amendment to the city's charter like this could further complicate and delay Cincinnati's involvement in maintaining and improving the project, making other cities and locations nearby better candidates. Apparently this charter amendment isn't just about the streetcar, it affects all passenger rail projects. Maybe we should heed the Governor's warning and take a good hard look at the legal implications?