Free Republic

Seattle is installing fentanyl detectors on city buses after operators have gotten sick from fumes emitted by passengers' drugs. The city this week began installing detectors on buses and trams in King County, the Seattle Times reported. Over 50 bus operators filed worker compensation claims for drug and chemical exposure in 2022, according to the Times. Many of the drivers became so sick they needed to stop driving and seek emergency medical treatment. The city is installing the detectors as part of a University of Washington study whose researchers hope to "better understand drugs that are being smoked on the...

The US military has categories of stupidity. The highest is “gross public dumb.” But a higher category is needed for moments like the “bus interview” by Louisiana Governor Blanco. It is spectacularly stupid. You’ve got to see this to believe it. Interview of Governor Blanco by John Hill of Louisiana Gannett News, 19 September, 2005 “GANNETT: In hindsight, what would you have done differently in the first response? “BLANCO: Well, I would have placed less confidence in a structure elsewhere (the Federal Emergency Management Association) and depended more on ourselves. As an example, when buses were not delivered in a...

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said in an obscenity-laced tirade on WWL radio last Thursday that the federal government should have sent “Greyhound buses” to evacuate his city. He said school buses were inadequate because they lack bathrooms. There was an Evacuation Plan, written in 2000 and updated since. It states that New Orleans should be evacuated at the Mayor’s order. He should declare that “48 hours in advance.” It also states he should use “public buses” including transit and school buses. One of the duties of any Mayor of New Orleans is to know his obligations under this Plan,...