hazardous waste ChemicaL

<div>=</div><div>3 23 yahoo greg c  also <a href="https://www.opednews.com/articles/East-Palestine-Train-Derai-Democracy_Democracy-History_Real-Democracy_Train-Crash-230309-199.html">https://www.opednews.com/articles/East-Palestine-Train-Derai-Democracy_Democracy-History_Real-Democracy_Train-Crash-230309-199.html</a></div><div>
</div><div> Norfolk Southern Corporation train derailment and subsequent hazardous chemical release in and beyond East Palestine, Ohio are the inevitable result of multiple anti-democratic realities. Many are interconnected and are the same for the <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="blank" href="https://www.movetoamend.org/r?u=BiDEj8yGy-h4To0LUa2PcgPAghVI1wTfqP3Z04abz7XKiDYm8Yn8WgJo3p-A9mUc4RLqsduSyAYnEU1KtkfOtgEzZKv7hDzcaeu7PlEFfkfiJFj1ubeHqPnA8ga3tK2j&e=c4bd75a7df792ae4a17981d702bb76b4&utm_source=movetoamend&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=east_palestine&n=2">roughly 1000 train derailments per year</a>.Private ownership of railroadsNorfolk Southern Corporation’s <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="blank" href="https://www.movetoamend.org/r?u=Qmjvj8IiEV5YVofwVDaTBv_4fTW_spNNN8ha6HTJe78467TxLeHBuJ25cLeHyBc73HRHDNT7Mlpqk4q3x2iFS5kkXB9DDN7-mq9bj8WBCB8Z810furp2ZodhoSB0EeWD584xi6m47UBCWInCtqKUhw&e=c4bd75a7df792ae4a17981d702bb76b4&utm_source=movetoamend&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=east_palestine&n=3">record earnings</a> in 2022 benefited its top managers, speculators and investors. Maximizing profits have been prioritized over necessary investments in technology upgrades and worker safety. The <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="blank" href="https://www.movetoamend.org/r?u=NREEtdEPliNfTTX_t9Tx5vrXRU2EeNgqO4L1qDCJn2mHxbs6EjGBlRYVn2xFnjY-yWRB7DcHGNQgwQL4AR19e7Z0VxY9BLVwADDa9zrmD8EzV-PuVoPjcFsfZoKp5&e=c4bd75a7df792ae4a17981d702bb76b4&utm_source=movetoamend&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=east_palestine&n=4">Railroad Workers United</a> in response is calling for public ownership of railroads, as they once were in WWI.Lack of worker powerStrikes are powerful tactics of workers to exert leverage against management on safety issues and fair treatment. <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="blank" href="https://www.movetoamend.org/r?u=DcVnD4FxH505Tby1SBsmXYKDieH2k_3EyGijSuME9DJCKNt2mVF2q3CZnt2PoB2eFa2Wmi7mfGn8KKBSamaaAbz7esCG7HPkMSRMVs_7D8eKg-EPqYebzlqb6oADnXUxmAIbOYp6K2Fj8UDD06cCPw&e=c4bd75a7df792ae4a17981d702bb76b4&utm_source=movetoamend&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=east_palestine&n=5">Unions representing rail workers have been virtually unable to strike</a> since passage of the Railway Labor Act in 1926, which gives the government, specifically the President and Congress, vast powers to force workers to accept alternative means of resolving disputes.No community rightsCommunities have little authority to control material coming into or even passing through their jurisdictions by trains or trucks if that material can be defined as “commerce,” based on the Constitution’s <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="blank" href="https://www.movetoamend.org/r?u=1U0fTQTZoiVKE8oBL-QLikqZTO6CoLGoZvPLGQkPtHBoueAVcdKqy_uNx5MjrR2A&e=c4bd75a7df792ae4a17981d702bb76b4&utm_source=movetoamend&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=east_palestine&n=6">Commerce Clause</a>. Ohio state and E. Palestine officials weren’t even notified the Norfolk Southern train that derailed was carrying <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="blank" href="https://www.movetoamend.org/r?u=97Pw_8S3NTrx0-mXMs2olTFJKu4tbjVZ8f_ZKYi_1eoy8XHiIm38WQRGgo6oBu5Ph5sKqrdkk0FLy6TZTXjzkw&e=c4bd75a7df792ae4a17981d702bb76b4&utm_source=movetoamend&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=east_palestine&n=7">vinyl chloride</a>, <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="blank" href="https://www.movetoamend.org/r?u=97Pw_8S3NTrx0-mXMs2olTFJKu4tbjVZ8f_ZKYi_1erBSD6rqw5CuqRR4dpGXzYrzZdU2_1Q7sd5ZEYgKRW3cA&e=c4bd75a7df792ae4a17981d702bb76b4&utm_source=movetoamend&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=east_palestine&n=8">ethylhexyl acrylate</a> and other highly toxic chemicals.Corporate campaign contributionsThe Railroad industry has poured <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="blank" href="https://www.movetoamend.org/r?u=YDzITEgJp2pH9y7Nkh1bRMjlxtjb7uTyWB9ZQ7zqtb9r9PoWFG1cATFnS7zl0a1S2Bv5XLcCavVXJOpV0W0xNCMFged1xaVsdIraxtPqjrqx7KsIgwDBkwciliWXnx6ZyZ0EvUOvE2WDqg1lLTW6gJeRHCom7qagg3fafYXUhEM&e=c4bd75a7df792ae4a17981d702bb76b4&utm_source=movetoamend&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=east_palestine&n=9">$85 million</a> into federal candidate campaigns, political parties and outside spending groups since 2002. Norfolk Southern’s political investments have been <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="blank" href="https://www.movetoamend.org/r?u=YDzITEgJp2pH9y7Nkh1bRONbsRYdyyJbHk1pWnsJaXZeXR6n5a_FGrqnWWaVHtVURGkY-f-KS_GAFp4gmx3wNrRHBHHK_NFNGHuZmv2h3j_NiSt8-lDG3_nLQq83h5ru1WIGYqED_zpYoEMxa84reOafGySAv_BuIdjiqnvXszI3abYafNsXLxFHVXnvXy_qzTJ6iDRSox6qBFnFdegLjw&e=c4bd75a7df792ae4a17981d702bb76b4&utm_source=movetoamend&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=east_palestine&n=10">$17 million</a> since 1990. At the state level, the corporation invested <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="blank" href="https://www.movetoamend.org/r?u=NXH_rYdMEIIJzY2gWoU8LkHMqR7nd7E0i-UAq6QoKfQOchhnvb5wTpBmExxgfKNBY_yYPnEZ93vXe2qdQ1B67kzri4MnWh6OBWG0lRZRMrXIlfZDuRINQaN9kNXSQ-exwUSDH-qI5TxShGLy5DVvEw0pmxLj7R9jXRptBoywhY4&e=c4bd75a7df792ae4a17981d702bb76b4&utm_source=movetoamend&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=east_palestine&n=11">$98,000</a> into Ohio political races since 2018, with Gov. Mike DeWine (who at first didn’t call for federal assistance following the E. Palestine disaster since he didn’t see a problem) being the largest recipient. At the very least, political campaign contributions buy access to public officials; at worst, buys favors. Corporate lobbyingThe railroad industry invested <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="blank" href="https://www.movetoamend.org/r?u=YDzITEgJp2pH9y7Nkh1bRLkLYawmR-K1yIXK_jnP_VOfDGzAcP4XC5uQBCQcTICf4jq1vHtLRQsUEvhkxYpHLi7srdWZAtCfuAcgMVwn6lo&e=c4bd75a7df792ae4a17981d702bb76b4&utm_source=movetoamend&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=east_palestine&n=12">$24.6 million to employ 265 reported lobbyists </a>to influence the federal government in 2022 – Norfolk Southern’s portion was <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="blank" href="https://www.movetoamend.org/r?u=YDzITEgJp2pH9y7Nkh1bRHX5Q3ori3UOdFyuqUs5DwdTrqFXe_O-qGQAVn6oJUfZguQN6TgWEw9ZkH2uf8T-yqzxi1_aL9OH5QAhKfdIGImRePkCI9WtxAaWZyGyrvXM&e=c4bd75a7df792ae4a17981d702bb76b4&utm_source=movetoamend&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=east_palestine&n=13">$1.8 million</a>.  Rail lobbyists and $6 million from the rail industry to GOP campaigns in 2017 effectively reversed requirements that rail cars carrying hazardous flammable materials have modern electronic braking systems. Lobbyists have sought for fewer workers on trains, trains to be longer and heavier, and reduced fines for penalties – as well as against installing modern electronic braking systems, paid sick leave for workers and having to define trains carrying hazardous chemicals like the Norfolk Southern that derailed in E. Palestine as “high hazard,” which would increase additional safety requirements, costs and public notification. Supreme Court decisionsThe High Court decided that <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="blank" href="https://www.movetoamend.org/r?u=R4DwK52-IW9d9vz9D1AfaGOKI5-td47SeRdHGLd9vqQKOiLOB1NRH8oiqbHhyPTf&e=c4bd75a7df792ae4a17981d702bb76b4&utm_source=movetoamend&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=east_palestine&n=14">corporate entities have the constitutional right to contribute to political campaigns</a>. This has permitted corporations like Norfolk Southern to corrupt the political process favorable to their interests, such as the previously mentioned laws and regulations profitable to railroads, Supreme Court-granted corporate <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="blank" href="https://www.movetoamend.org/r?u=fk3qs1mHicx9-w03tafB2G8vNGMp4KGcuuJPtVN2YhZE0BswpsiadBH-D4CGM387sNg5gNAmUCPguGQ2dOhWVvr0I0P4l2zZhwsTv2NInUq_YxgzCApHIeTUy9oJUa5ZhhZBu7tc5-rko9tHaH6HpSjnVwDT0d48xYJ-WJga1A5SuLgo_etEXKuFot2W6guh&e=c4bd75a7df792ae4a17981d702bb76b4&utm_source=movetoamend&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=east_palestine&n=15">Fourth Amendment</a> search and seizure rights prevent surprise inspections of corporate property like trains meant to protect workers and communities.Ineffective and/or captured regulatory agenciesPublic safety inspections are not only limited by constitutional rights, but by regulatory agency funding. The Federal Railroad Administration, the major railroad regulatory agency, has only 400 inspectors. This has forced the FHA to increasingly allow <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="blank" href="https://www.movetoamend.org/r?u=iRE2Rcz7-IK2_eIFa32TdHAxZcwPlWxvf6JgKUtxc0ss_Gp3FacrxQh2BHqO-iYF_Vzp6viCggGAztfsRWIJlOqVpLrirhl_HjH9PXhuQb7jquJqC6HUU1ZcZcYeSjHs0A8OLeXAN8rPWE740Erwb0x3ObLLTJFnXrJ7B1F2AU40xuhBoB2aw2iB8KA_UR5y&e=c4bd75a7df792ae4a17981d702bb76b4&utm_source=movetoamend&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=east_palestine&n=16">railroad corporations to inspect their own trains, tracks and signals</a>. The EPA recently announced that its requiring <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="blank" href="https://www.movetoamend.org/r?u=rJ8uVOed9-86nlXcL_AtsFIXZMTFLlgjdl5cjbL8DMVQ6KRXG1wrCIS_liT2DJwOBZnoAiJxnvLzl3IsspbGCXvqQNZfahVAbB86U8iTnqd2Pv6_p2ZNQFUlGTHsmIHO7DG91soG7aAHRu7gLioz4x_EDPhZ55calU5br2qq5mY&e=c4bd75a7df792ae4a17981d702bb76b4&utm_source=movetoamend&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=east_palestine&n=17">Norfolk Southern to directly test for dioxins</a> in East Palestine. Where’s the public accountability when, in effect, an entity guilty of crime gets to be the prosecutor, judge and jury? Criminalization of protest <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="blank" href="https://www.movetoamend.org/r?u=N_46r_dclPVQrMW9dpfss4CVl0vRhA8FUVT8dkqOHbzTfFKVeFxbIUTWcjDNlAKHg_ehSVh1aAz6JRhwURDipLhh28LiHixZk6mLeROOF6cqSfGXXa3m6J1H80s_BoLTPHvH0KqMzBWlP2whioCNFg&e=c4bd75a7df792ae4a17981d702bb76b4&utm_source=movetoamend&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=east_palestine&n=18">Forty-five states have considered 265 “anti-protest” bills, 39 of which have already passed in 20 states</a> since 2017. Penalties of felonies serve as a deterrent to individuals to attend public events and send the message that those who protest must be extremists. This mindset is reflected in the reaction by federal and Ohio “law enforcement” agencies to the recent visit of whistleblower Erin Brockovich to E. Palestine. A <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="blank" href="https://www.movetoamend.org/r?u=EgoLP66qKbjSe1ZxerGwBKhtYYGEbWjMdFQHSfqylteIcmHjzTBeHIAFhxFJe53aL--ZDQiuV3XpEOwv-jlKsn4uC0n-OWCEsPY575OvBCARLhtBqDrm-4ScuGPYVGXFU_1sr-OZ5KGucpyo9bvybtoPXig-K0mhY1JxMXLjDX1eEuOIi0jGOmg1ryyutddO7yEMrQgZzRJ2TESqfctNNg&e=c4bd75a7df792ae4a17981d702bb76b4&utm_source=movetoamend&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=east_palestine&n=19">report</a> by the agencies "assesses that special interest extremist groups will continue to call for changes in governmental policy, which may lead to protests in/around East Palestine and/or at the Statehouse in Columbus.” The East Palestine tragedy is sadly just a symptom of current political realities and calls for fundamental systemic change.Enacting the <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="blank" href="https://www.movetoamend.org/amendment?e=c4bd75a7df792ae4a17981d702bb76b4&utm_source=movetoamend&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=east_palestine&n=20">We the People Amendment, HJR48</a> that would abolish all corporate constitutional rights and political money defined as free speech, is urgent. But fundamental self-governance goes beyond the amendment. Independent people's movements led by individuals who’ve been historically treated unjustly is a prerequisite for how to get real democracy on track – for the very first time. </div><div>=</div>