Jim Kunstler: Blind Spot

Exactly how far does America have its head up its ass?

In his blog Clusterfuck Nation, Jim Kunstler looks at the the dying airline industry and wonders just how we plan to get around this huge country.

Kunstler is dumbfounded at the complete lack of discussion by the media and politicians regarding rail transportation, noting that people just assume that we'll always have our personal cars to drive.

But high fuel prices are one reason for the airlines' predicament, so doesn't it stand to reason that automobile transportation could be affected as well?

Kunstler happened upon the post idea while in Minneapolis, hearing the laments of travelers who worried that a Northwest merger with Delta could mean the loss of service to some of the state's smaller cities - cities that could be linked by passenger rail and still be competitive with air travel times and prices.

Airlines could easily cut these routes, trim costs and free up the cluttered runways, leaving trips of a few hundred miles to inter-city rail service.

Then, perhaps, the merger-mania and government bailouts would end.