Should Being Pregnant Be Considered Disabled

[gramps]

I think most people don't realize how many Americans don't just commute to work and back, but actually move around while working. Just think about all the tradesmen - electricians, plumbers, carpenters, brick masons, etc., who have to carry their tools and parts with them and may cover a hundred miles or more while on the job. Utility workers who maintain your electric service, install your cable, etc., all cover many miles on the job. What about FedEx and UPS and countless other delivery services who drive all day all over town? Lawn care services sometimes have to drive for miles in between jobs. Even the guy who delivers pizza to my house has to drive about 7 miles just to get here!

All that traffic you see out there during the day is not just people joy-riding.

My "commute" today was 50 miles each way, and while on the job I put another 68 miles on the truck. Starting Thursday my "commute" will be 75 miles each way. A lot of times the job is far enough away that I have to stay for the whole week.

Mass transit? Sure thing. Just not outside of metro areas.

Oh, and damn, I think I'm pregnant. (just to stay on-topic)

[Rani]

[quote name='gramps' timestamp='1332199750' post='542886']
I think most people don't realize how many Americans don't just commute to work and back, but actually move around while working. Just think about all the tradesmen - electricians, plumbers, carpenters, brick masons, etc., who have to carry their tools and parts with them and may cover a hundred miles or more while on the job. Utility workers who maintain your electric service, install your cable, etc., all cover many miles on the job. What about FedEx and UPS and countless other delivery services who drive all day all over town? Lawn care services sometimes have to drive for miles in between jobs. Even the guy who delivers pizza to my house has to drive about 7 miles just to get here!

All that traffic you see out there during the day is not just people joy-riding.

My "commute" today was 50 miles each way, and while on the job I put another 68 miles on the truck. Starting Thursday my "commute" will be 75 miles each way. A lot of times the job is far enough away that I have to stay for the whole week.

Mass transit? Sure thing. Just not outside of metro areas.

Oh, and damn, I think I'm pregnant. (just to stay on-topic)
[/quote]

People complain about Los Angeles traffic all the time, but they fail to realize we move 4 million people across our freeways every single day. Twice a day. Some of them are even pregnant.... Enough thread jacking though, lol....

'Rani

[Christopher Mason Taylor]

[quote name='TheScotsman' timestamp='1332190428' post='542875']
[quote name='Christopher Mason Taylor' timestamp='1332057005' post='542793']
[quote name='TheScotsman' timestamp='1332023592' post='542781']
Suburbs/cities, same thing... large collection of people living butt-cheek-to-butt-cheek. If you can't pee off your deck without getting arrested, it's a city.[/quote]

Well, every suburban home I've lived in easily passes this "test." And just, factually, suburbs are a fundamentally different situation to cities. Certainly, suburban population is more dense than rule. But it's still much less dense than urban. And it tends large numbers of people being extremely, detrimentally car-dependent.

[quote]Tell me again, what is the federal debt? This year's deficit? High speed rail, sure. Powered by unicorns, and built by leprechauns I would imagine.
[/quote]

I did not say that we needed to build a transcontinental network overnight. But it is something that would be vastly beneficial to our nation in the long run, for safety, speed, environmental, and yes, economic reasons.
[/quote]

I think you can take that allot farther than just mass transit. Fast rail may be beneficial in moving people on some cases, but even more, the USA needs to rebuild it's heavy rail system. Trains are far better junk-movers than over the road/long distance trucks. One look at history shows us what the USA did with rail transport in years gone past. It is the only efficient, environmentally responsible way of moving products, yet we have a country that has let those same rails fall into uselessness across the nation. Frankly speaking, between fast transit, or cargo rail, I would think we would be far better off moving toward a partially electrically powered heavy rail system, and getting as many tractor-trailers off the roads as is even remotely possible. One would think between using brake energy regeneration, and grid-power through dense population areas, we could make moving goods efficient enough that the beneficial impact to our economy, and environment would be significant.

Apology to the OP for the blatant way we have hijacked her thread.
[/quote]

+1, on both revamping the heavy rail system, and on the apology for the derail, which is more my fault than anyone's.

As badly as we've done in recent years by transport rail, though, we've done worse by passenger rail. The old railroad companies really and truly hoodwinked the government back when Amtrak was formed. But that's another story.