Atlas Shrugging Watch

Brian Doherty | January 13, 2005

Is it because of whim-worshipping, muscle-mysticism, or just heavy rains and mudslides? At any rate, Union Pacific, the nation's largest railroad, is paralyzed in Southern California, with four of its five main lines out of the L.A. basin closed up, says this Los Angeles Times (reg. req.) report. But they can't blame it all on 23 recent mudslides endangering tracks--Union Pacific was already struggling with major track congestion problems that were slowing up freight before the rains began. Lots of transpacific ocean shipping is being rerouted to Seattle from the L.A. area.