🇺🇸 Pray for East Palestine

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🐎 Wednesday, February 15: General Election: Trump vs. Biden: Trump 42, Biden 45 (Rasmussen Reports)

🐘 Wednesday, February 15: General Election: Trump vs. Harris: Trump 45, Harris 42 (Rasmussen Reports)

📉 Thursday, February 16: President Biden Job Approval: Approve 45, Disapprove 53 (Rasmussen Reports)

📉 Wednesday, February 15: President Biden Job Approval: Approve 45, Disapprove 52 (Economist/YouGov)

TRENDING

Right: Haley, Trump, and a GOP Race Like No Other Byron York, DC Examiner

Right: The Left Has Given Up on Ordinary Americans Batya Ungar-Sargon, Spiked

Right: China's Threat to US.: Biden Admin Is Ignoring Signposts Rebekah Koffler, Fox News

Left: Trump Is Preparing for More American Carnage Heather Parton, Salon

Left: Iowa Dems Fight for Caucuses, Relevance as Rural Voters David Siders, Politico

Left: Sticker Shock for Californians as Energy Prices Soar Laura Nelson, LA Times

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QUICK CLICKS

Biden UFO Update, Fetterman Checks Himself In, Another Train Derails

US: Biden says objects shot down over North America last week appear to not be part of China's spy balloon operation (CNN)

Hollywood: Bruce Willis' family reveals his health battle has taken turn for the worse, calling it 'cruel disease' (Fox News)

US: Georgia grand jury report on Trump election probe says 'one or more witnesses' may have committed perjury (NBC News)

World: Kim Jong Un’s daughter likely ‘chosen one’ as successor, spelling doom for his sister (NY Post)

US: Sen. John Fetterman checks himself into Walter Reed for clinical depression (CBS News)

World: Marina Yankina, Russian Defense Official, Falls From Window to Her Death (Newsweek)

Entertainment: Ryan Seacrest leaving 'Live With Kelly and Ryan,' Mark Consuelos to replace him (EW)

Sports: World Series champion, TV analyst Tim McCarver dies at 81 (ESPN)

US: Train derails in Van Buren Township, near Detroit (DFP)

ENVIRONMENT

Pray for East Palestine

On February 3, a train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, near the border with Pennsylvania. The train was carrying rail cars filled with vinyl chloride, a colorless but toxic liquid used to make vinyl and PVC piping.

Reporting from the Left: A week after evacuations near the toxic Ohio train wreck ended, anxious residents pack meeting to express doubts about safety (CNN)

Reporting from the Right: 'The gates of hell were opened': Sara Carter speaks to East Palestine residents after toxic chemical release (Fox News)

From the Flag: Norfolk Southern, who owned and operated the train in question, opted to burn off some of the remaining vinyl chloride rather than risk an explosion. A massive smoke cloud resulted and there are reports of dead animals, although officials say the water is safe to drink. Here’s more from both sides.

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Oh, a Flyover State? Let Their Air, Water, and Animals Be Poisoned

• The White House and even the governors of Ohio and Pennsylvania dropped the ball here, largely because of where this happened and who was harmed.

• Progressives, who would otherwise be horrified by this incident, don’t much care about it because they see Ohio residents as yokels.

• A full investigation will likely reveal widespread blame in this incident – for both parties – so why is President Biden being so silent about it?

“East Palestine toxic chemical catastrophe is a failure at all levels” Tucker Carlson, Fox News Opinion: “According to Pete Buttigieg, Biden officials were on the scene, yet somehow they never said a word about the mushroom cloud until pictures of it evoked outrage on social media… They didn't even notice. It had nothing to do with equity or climate change. East Palestine is a poor, White town that voted for Trump. So honestly, who cares? No one in the Biden administration did care and that's an atrocity. The people whose indifference made it possible should lose their jobs, beginning with Pete Buttigieg and extending to governors Josh Shapiro (PA) and Mike DeWine (OH). … So, the people who live there obviously want some answers. … Residents of East Palestine together gathered for a town hall. The mayor (said) he has not heard from anyone in the White House, didn't until yesterday, when it started to become a political liability for them.”

“Why Elites Don't Give a Damn About Ohio” Darvio Morrow, Newsweek Opinion: “The small town may never be the same. But there has been a disturbing lack of urgency from the media and, most importantly, the Biden Administration. It's puzzling that people who claim to care so much about the environment are relatively silent… It's led me to come to only one conclusion: Elites don't give a damn about Ohio. … They don't care about the actual state of Ohio, and they do not care about Ohioans and people like us in culturally similar states. … This is not a new phenomenon. I live in Cleveland, Ohio, one of the most disrespected cities in the country. We're used to the arrogant and dismissive sneering from the coasts. But to see the almost gleeful way some progressives have reveled in the misfortune of the residents of East Palestine shows a moral, cultural, and political rot that is at the core of elite society.”

One more opinion piece from the Right: Why is Biden so Oddly Silent About the Ohio Train Disaster? Nancy Van Deest, American Thinker

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

An Environmental Catastrophe That Was Entirely Avoidable

• It could be years until we learn how this will impact human health, but animals are already dying.

• Norfolk Southern must be held accountable, but this was also a failure of the government and its various agencies.

• The train derailment and chemical spill are the culmination of a long trend of cost-cutting in the rail industry.

“Health, Environmental Fears Remain After Ohio Disaster” Zhong & Einhorn, New York Times: “With chemical spills, the threats to human health can linger long after the emergency has been dealt with, said Erik D. Olson, the senior strategic director for health and food at the Natural Resources Defense Council, a nonprofit focused on public health and environment. … Particles from a chemical plume can settle on the ground and seep into wells and other drinking water sources. Contaminants in groundwater can vaporize and migrate through cracks into the soil and into basements and homes. ‘The long-term effects are what often get overlooked,’ Mr. Olson said. … So far, the derailment’s harm to wildlife has been more immediately apparent… The spill affected about seven and a half miles of stream… and killed an estimated 3,500 fish as of Feb. 8… Residents have reported dead or sickened chickens and other animals.”

“Emergency Response Made Ohio Derailment Worse” Samantha Montano, MSNBC Opinion: “As far as disasters go, this derailment should have been relatively straightforward. It was dramatic, to be sure, but it is exactly the type of emergency that government officials, led by emergency managers, plan for daily. … To be clear, questions about the derailment itself start with the rail operator, Norfolk Southern. Efforts to hold those at fault accountable … are essential and changes to national policy are needed. But what has unfolded over the last 10 days is, unfortunately, also a case study in how government’s inability to communicate risk to the public, reactionary law enforcement agencies and unchecked corporate power can create an unnecessarily chaotic response. In any crisis, whether a pandemic, a hurricane or an economic crash, there are a few hard and fast rules emergency managers live by: communication, coordination, leadership and trust. If you don’t have these, your response won’t be effective.”

One more opinion piece from the Left: The East Palestine, Ohio, train wreck didn’t have to be this bad Umair Irfan, Vox

FLAG THIS

Better Call Buttigieg: How the Transportation Secretary Figures In

Pete Buttigieg, who hails from Indiana – Ohio’s neighbor to the west – has again been thrust into the spotlight since he oversees the nation’s rails as Transportation Secretary.

Some lawmakers have criticized Buttigieg for not focusing enough on East Palestine, and others have demanded he enact more strict regulations in response.

On Twitter, Buttigieg suggested a decision made by the Trump administration in 2018 limited the White House’s ability to help avoid this situation.

Meanwhile, in a poll from last month, Buttigieg (23%) topped President Biden in a list of potential 2024 Democratic candidates for president.

Others receiving votes were Biden at 18%, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren at 18%, and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders at 15% (University of New Hampshire Survey Center).

FLAG FINDS

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WATERCOOLER

First Peaceful Transfer of Power, Modern Pajamas, What Ever Happened to Waterbeds?

On February 17, 1801, Thomas Jefferson is elected the third president of the United States. The election constitutes the first peaceful transfer of power from one political party to another in the US.

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Mental Floss: What Ever Happened To Waterbeds?

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Today I Learned the pajamas that we wear today actually have a story behind them. During World War I, when there were air raids in England, people started wearing modern pajamas rather than nightgowns so they would be ready to sprint outside in broad daylight and still look presentable.