oh, this news about Amtrack is so sad!
I mean, it's been looming for years, it's not a shock, but I just can't imagine- no trains?
this country is going to shit.

oh, and here's more proof:
Risque business:
Misguided skating officials are cracking down on pelvis-pumping and lap-dancing - as though people actually want to watch Olympians skate
by Joan Ryan (SF Chronicle)
"The crotch shot is gone.
You ought to know this before you tune into the Olympics next weekend, in case you're a figure-skating purist.
No more splayed legs around a dancing partner's neck. No more holding a partner upside down while she performs splits. No more above-the-head, hand-to- groin holds.
The judges have had enough.
At this Olympics, those crowd-pleasing poses can cost an ice-dancing or pairs team a tenth-of-a-point deduction under new rules that penalize "undignified" moves. The new rules, instituted last year by the International Skating Union, would also cover pelvis pumping, crotch-grabbing, lap-dancing and all simulated acts as well as any move requiring a stripper's pole or an exam table."
Undignified?
are they kidding?
Maybe if they just have the skaters wear big puffy snow-suits...