What A Day: 'gieg not lest ye be 'gieged

The toxic train derailment in East Palestine, OH, has taken on a life of its own in the American political discourse. 
 

• Let’s recap: A Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, OH, on February 3, causing a days-long fire in the area. Of the 50 derailed cars, 10 of them contained hazardous chemicals including butyl acrylate and vinyl chloride, two combustible liquids which authorities feared could set off a major explosion. With that fear in mind, officials performed a controlled release of the toxic materials from five train car tankers on February 6, and the contents were then diverted to a trench and burned off. Residents of East Palestine were asked to evacuate as a precautionary measure, and officials lifted the advisory on February 8. 
   

• Those officials have insisted the air is safe to breathe and the water is safe to drink. The Environmental Protection Agency has been monitoring the air quality closely, and reported it has not detected “any levels of concern” as of Sunday. The EPA also added that vinyl chloride and hydrogen chloride have not been detected in any of the 291 homes they have screened, with 181 homes left to be evaluated in the voluntary screening program. The West Virginia subsidiary of American Water, which provides water services in 24 states, said on February 12 that it had not detected any changes in the water at its Ohio River intake site. Still, the company announced that it would enhance its treatment processes and install a second intake site in case an alternate water source is needed. 
   

• According to the Ohio Department of Health, when vinyl chloride is exposed to the environment, it breaks down in sunlight within a few days and changes into other chemicals such as formaldehyde. When it is spilled in soil or surface water, the chemical quickly evaporates into the air. The EPA has been monitoring for several other hazardous chemicals, including phosgene, which can cause eye irritation, throat irritation, and vomiting, and hydrogen chloride, which can irritate the skin, nose, eyes and throat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This preventable accident and resulting chemical release are serious to be sure, but the reaction it has inspired in the right wing bears no resemblance to reality, if you can even believe it.  
 

• It’s natural that such a disaster would generate anger and suspicion, particularly among area residents, and that the Ohio government, along with the U.S. Department of Transportation led by Secretary Pete Buttigieg would be in the crosshairs. Buttigieg released a statement Monday night saying, “USDOT has been supporting the investigation led by The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Our Federal Rail Administration and Pipelines and Hazardous Materials teams were onsite within hours of the initial incident and continue to be actively engaged.” Buttigieg is not without a share of blame. He did not reinstate an Obama-era safety rule aimed at expanding the use of better braking technology, which former President Trump repealed, despite the fact that federal officials recently warned Congress that without improved brakes, “there will be more derailments [and] more releases of hazardous materials.” That this statement came 10 days after the train derailment? Also pretty fucking bad! Flanked by state cabinet officials today, Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) told reporters he learned from the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio that the train was not considered a high-hazardous-material train, and therefore the railroad was not required to notify residents about what the railcars contained. DeWine called the classification “absurd” and called on Congress to investigate. 
   

• Okay, so this is bad. The people of Palestine, OH, and the surrounding areas should be compensated by Norfolk Southern, which should be liable for the extensive cleanup; there should be a thorough investigation, and the environmental and health-related risks of the derailment should be regularly and transparently updated. But that’s not what the far right is after.  The story has been picked up by right-wing disinformation accounts that have all posted nearly-identical tweets without linking to any sources, all posting the same map that has nothing to do with the Ohio train derailment. A narrative began forming. Conservative blogger Matt Walsh just put it right out there: The spurious accusation is that the government doesn’t “give a damn” about Ohioans being “poisoned by the toxic fumes” (no evidence to support that claim) because they are “mostly working class white people,” and “They don’t check any of the identity boxes necessary.” Charlie Kirk—aka Nose Candy Goebbels—called it a “war on white people.” Well okay then! This is, of course, an especially insulting and preposterous claim against the backdrop of the water contamination crises in heavily-populated, majority-black cities like Flint, MI, and Jackson, MS, which are still largely unresolved. And there’s also the fact that all of these jackals fervently support the kind of deregulation that got us here in the first place. 

Former Vice President Mike Pence will fight his subpoena from the special counsel overseeing the investigation of disgraced former president Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election. 

Trump’s U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley officially joined the 2024 GOP primary circus, announcing her presidential campaign to take on her old boss. 

President Biden has named Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard as his top economic advisor. 

In a 10-2 decision, a United States court of appeals ruled that federal workers are generally not entitled to hazard pay for being exposed to COVID-19 on the job. The federal courts are really in their flop era, aren’t they. 

The death toll in Turkey and Syria from last week’s devastating earthquakes has surpassed 40,000 as rescue missions continue. 

Senate Democrats are frustrated with the Biden administration’s decision to withhold materials they need to investigate Jared Kushner’s deals with Saudi Arabia as the White House struggles to strike the correct balance between the oversight demands being laid at their feet by both parties.  

Western diplomats are trying to hash out a new slate of sanctions against Russia as its invasion of Ukraine approaches the one-year mark. A senior United States official said today that Washington could sanction more banks with links to Russia, and plans to increase enforcement of existing rules in an attempt to further pinch the Kremlin and immobilize its banking sector. The West blocked several Russian banks’ access to the international SWIFT payments system last year soon after the invasion, and two of the nation’s largest banks were then forced to shutter operations across much of the country. But not all ties have been severed, and some European banks have large businesses in Russia and have thus far sidestepped sanctions because of the nature of the payments they handle.

The Senate has confirmed President Biden’s one-hundredth judicial nominee, a significant milestone in the effort to offset the 234 young, hyper-conservative federal judges seated during the Trump administration.