Short Takes – 4-3-23

The True Dangers of Long Trains. ProPublica.org article. Pull quote: “Today, the rail administration says it lacks enough evidence that long trains pose a particular risk. But ProPublica discovered it is a quandary of the agency’s own making: It doesn’t require companies to provide certain basic information after accidents — notably, the length of the train — that would allow it to assess once and for all the extent of the danger.”

Barr: Trump should not testify in hush money case because ‘he lacks all self control’. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: ““Generally, I think it’s a bad idea to go on the stand and I think it’s a particularly bad idea for Trump because he lacks all self control,” Barr said on “Fox News Sunday.” “It’d be very difficult to prepare him and keep him testifying in a prudent fashion.””

Centrist Democrats hatch secret plan to head off debt ceiling calamity. Politico.com article. Pull quote: “With debt limit talks stuck in a mud puddle, House Republicans have seemingly abandoned plans to introduce a budget this spring, which could springboard the talks. That's because GOP leaders are struggling to coalesce around a viable blueprint thanks to their members’ ever-expanding wish list and the realization that, for some hardline conservatives, there may be no level of austerity that would cut deep enough.”

Trump Indictment Won’t Keep Him from Presidential Race, but Will Make His Reelection Bid Much Harder. GoveExec.com article. Raises interesting question, what happens if a President-Elect is incarcerated? Pull quote: “Perhaps the same reflection is apt here: If the people choose a president hobbled by criminal sanctions, that is a form of self-determination too. And one for which the Constitution has no ready solution.”