New Freeway to link Palmdale & Victorville

[Hegotsoul831]

Originally Posted by Twinkle Toes

About time! So many people have died needlessly on Hwy. 138, including my own brother.

I am so very sorry for your loss

[tijlover]

If Americans wouldn't be such pigs on the road, we wouldn't need to expand many of our 2-laners into 4-laners.

On a driving trip thru Greece, I quickly learned how to navigate their "2-lane" roads over there. It took me awhile to figure it all out.

On a 2-lane road, you drive with your right wheels on the shoulder, which opens up a passing lane. First one out there, blinks his headlights, warning others he's going to pass. By the time I finished driving all over Greece for 3 weeks, I had their system down pat.

Even to this day, this lesson hasn't been forgotten, when I'm on a 2 lane road, and there's someone behind me in a hurry, I get over to the shoulder, and if the car on the other side did likewise, it would be safe to pass.

Sure would save some money on expanding roads in the country, and yes, in some cases, you might have to extend the shoulder a ways.

[esmith143]

Originally Posted by Twinkle Toes

There would be plenty of money if we closed up our borders, brought all of our military home, and stopped paying to rebuild everybody elses countries and stopped providing welfare and medi-cal to anyone who isn't a US citizen. We spend a lot on foreign aid for other countries while our own country/people are sinking fast. Does anybody else ever give the US any kind of aid? We need to take care of our own problems and our own people before we do anything for anybody else.

We could also cut most of government. How many government employees do we really need? Do they all need to make exhorbitant salaries? How many useless multi-million (or billion) dollar studies do we need? Our priorities are all screwed up. Not just this state, but the whole damn country.

This is not quite right.

Yes, bringing all of our military home will save some money. On the other hand, a lot of defense money (probably most of it!) goes to private contractors who build new F-35's and new aircraft carriers.

Yes, we spend some money on foreign aid. Again, the amount we spend on that is inconsequential. Most people greatly exaggerate the amount of money we spend there.

Government employees: one area that everyone loves to hate (conservatives in particular), but it also happens to be quite small.

The correct way to see the federal government is as a big insurance company that has an army. The insurance company pays for health insurance for the poor and the elderly, and gives some money to the elderly through the Social Security system. The army is more or less on its own, we pay for its existence and we don't ask questions.

The best way to save money is to look at where most of it goes (i.e. Medicare & Medicaid).

Did you know that Medicare is legally prohibited from taking the cost of treatment into consideration when deciding whether to cover some kind of treatment? Just a couple of months ago there was a new story about some drug that extends the life of some cancer patients by 3 months, and happens to cost a few tens of thousands of dollars per patient. Most people with that type of cancer are on Medicare, and Medicare will have no choice but to pay. When Obama tried to get comparative effectiveness rules into the Obamacare bill, there was an outcry about "death panels", and he had to drop it.

The second best way is to decide whether we need to have more aircraft carriers than the rest of the world, combined.

EDIT: in case you think that I'm imagining things, here's a link: http://www.localnews8.com/health/27375830/detail.html (broken link)

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by tijlover

If Americans wouldn't be such pigs on the road, we wouldn't need to expand many of our 2-laners into 4-laners.

On a driving trip thru Greece, I quickly learned how to navigate their "2-lane" roads over there. It took me awhile to figure it all out.

On a 2-lane road, you drive with your right wheels on the shoulder, which opens up a passing lane. First one out there, blinks his headlights, warning others he's going to pass. By the time I finished driving all over Greece for 3 weeks, I had their system down pat.

Even to this day, this lesson hasn't been forgotten, when I'm on a 2 lane road, and there's someone behind me in a hurry, I get over to the shoulder, and if the car on the other side did likewise, it would be safe to pass.

Sure would save some money on expanding roads in the country, and yes, in some cases, you might have to extend the shoulder a ways.

Yeah, that sounds real safe.

[Twinkle Toes]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Yeah, that sounds real safe.

Exactly. Greece has maybe a few hundred cars on the road. We have millions of cars on the road. Let me just hook up my ricksaw to my goat and I'll be good to go.

[Twinkle Toes]

Originally Posted by esmith143

This is not quite right.

Yes, bringing all of our military home will save some money. On the other hand, a lot of defense money (probably most of it!) goes to private contractors who build new F-35's and new aircraft carriers.

Yes, we spend some money on foreign aid. Again, the amount we spend on that is inconsequential. Most people greatly exaggerate the amount of money we spend there.

Government employees: one area that everyone loves to hate (conservatives in particular), but it also happens to be quite small.

The correct way to see the federal government is as a big insurance company that has an army. The insurance company pays for health insurance for the poor and the elderly, and gives some money to the elderly through the Social Security system. The army is more or less on its own, we pay for its existence and we don't ask questions.

The best way to save money is to look at where most of it goes (i.e. Medicare & Medicaid).

Did you know that Medicare is legally prohibited from taking the cost of treatment into consideration when deciding whether to cover some kind of treatment? Just a couple of months ago there was a new story about some drug that extends the life of some cancer patients by 3 months, and happens to cost a few tens of thousands of dollars per patient. Most people with that type of cancer are on Medicare, and Medicare will have no choice but to pay. When Obama tried to get comparative effectiveness rules into the Obamacare bill, there was an outcry about "death panels", and he had to drop it.

The second best way is to decide whether we need to have more aircraft carriers than the rest of the world, combined.

EDIT: in case you think that I'm imagining things, here's a link: Medicare To Pay For $93,000 Prostate Cancer Drug - Health News Story - KIFI Idaho Falls (http://www.localnews8.com/health/27375830/detail.html - broken link)

Looks like we're going to have to "agree to disagree". I stand by what I posted.

[Counselor101]

How wonderful it will be for the residents to have this freeway built, it will assist so many students who will be traveling to and from the new scheduled High Desert University (Cal Poly Hi Desert?) in the coming years at the 14 and 58 freeways— High Desert University Foundation (http://www.hduf.org/index.php?pr=news - broken link).


My understanding is that the plans are out for environmental studies right now and will be built with private funds.

[JustPassinThru]

Originally Posted by Counselor101

How wonderful it will be for the residents to have this freeway built, it will assist so many students who will be traveling to and from the new scheduled High Desert University (Cal Poly Hi Desert?) in the coming years at the 14 and 58 freeways— High Desert University Foundation (http://www.hduf.org/index.php?pr=news - broken link).


My understanding is that the plans are out for environmental studies right now and will be built with private funds.

You're probably thinking of the DesertXpress, which is privately funded and will terminate in Victorville.

Daily News Wire Services
Posted: 04/11/2011 08:42:50 AM PDT
Updated: 04/11/2011 11:01:56 AM PDT


The proposed High Desert Connector Corridor freeway would link the Antelope Valley (14) Freeway at Palmdale with Interstate 15 north of Cajon Pass. It may also be used as a high-speed rail corridor for trains between the Southland and Las Vegas.

The center median of the proposed freeway is a possible roadbed for the proposed "DesertXpress" high speed rail line that Las Vegas interests plan to build between Las Vegas and Southern California. That line presently would terminate in a giant parking lot at Victorville, but could be extended down the new freeway 63 miles west to Palmdale.

The Nevada high-speed line, which would put tracks in the center median of Interstate 15, is in final environmental studies. Its private owners say they have enough funding to build that line.