from The Gray Area:
2/15/23; updated 2/23/23:
The Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio on February 3rd is a severe environmental emergency. But, you wouldn't know it from the media coverage. Curious don't you think.
I guess the earthquake in Turkey/Syria is taking news cycles? Or, the Super Bowl halftime show and multiple national anthems? Or, the Michigan State shooting? Or, UFOs shot down, 4 of them! All individually and collectively require news time.
Or, is it something else that is keeping the media away in mass? Whatever it is, the people who supposedly care about the environment, don't seem to care about 'an environmental disaster in Ohio'.
It's relatively easy to do some 'forensic media analysis' to determine why a specific media response occurs or doesn't:
1. The media requires someone to blame. Preferably one of their enemies, Republicans, MAGA, capitalism or corporations. None are apparent yet in Ohio.
2. Next, which favorite political narrative (guns, climate change, racism, religion, police brutality, gender dysphoria, LGBTQ, DEI, Abortion, sustainable energy, etc...), is being served or damaged? That must be identified. None yet apparent in Ohio.
3. If either or both of these is available, then the media comes out with 24/7 coverage for 21 days, at least, to support the enemy attack and serve the political narrative(s).
4. If all is quiet by the media on a seemingly important news event, like Ohio, then neither 1 or 2 above can yet be identified. In which case cover the story once a day on page 8.
5. If 4 above is the situation, then let other items take page one (until something can be uncovered in 1 & 2 above. Maybe Trump visited Palestine, Ohio in 2018, ah, that's the target!). Notice the other headlines of the day include (1) enemies and (2) political narratives to be served.
#4 above appears to be the case in East Palestine, Ohio where:
And, then, another derailment in Houston:
They cannot find a Republican to blame. And, they cannot find a political narrative to serve, even in a news story associated with the environment. A chemical spill is not necessarily climate change, even if the burning chemicals negatively affect the people, animals and the air we breathe, who do they blame?
Well, the first target
is local officials who decided to burn the chemicals rather than let them explode. If one of them is associated with Republicans, or, said something bad about a woman, or, made a comment that can be spun as racist when they were 11, that will be a good angle.
Next,
the railroad company, a profiteering, capitalist, monstrosity must be at fault. Buttigieg asks for
higher fines for railroad safety breaches.
Next,
Pete Buttigieg is taking a page out of Biden’s book. Distract the public from a major crisis and, spew out woke nonsense. Instead of providing desperately needed solutions to the major freight train derailment in Ohio that released tons of toxic chemicals into the atmosphere,
the Transportation Secretary filled airtime criticizing the lack of diversity in construction. Quite a stretch with this political narrative.
And, then, how about this, right on cue:
In 2017, regulations requiring braking system upgrades for trains carrying hazardous materials were rolled back. A Trump era change to otherwise important regulations being highlighted. Flimsy attack on the
media's #1 target, Trump, but the best they can do so far after 12 days.
While they look for politics instead of solutions to a real life tragedy, the answer is staring them in the face. Pipelines. Well, apparently, pipelines cannot move these chemicals. The safest alternative transport for such dangerous chemicals is by truck and train across the country, above ground, where such accidents unfortunately do happen.
Under the political narrative of climate change (
toxic chemicals &
plastics), the Marxist objective of attacking corporations and capitalism, along with
the need for more government regulations, the media will ignore a fair review of why this disaster happened.
That is the elephant in the room, what actually caused the disaster and what we learned from it. The media will instead or in addition, insert politics and minimize or ignore the reality of the disaster. The current target of the probe is
an overheating axle. A mechanical breakdown that will occur in trucks, trains and other moving vehicles. Government regulations won't eliminate mechanical failures.
Blaming companies is an easy knee jerk reaction, but, did the company do anything wrong or was it simply a mechanical failure. When the NTSB evaluates air disasters, the do not find pilot error in mechanical problems unless the pilot could have eliminated the emergency through basic training & skills required for such instances.
More to come....
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