Chris Christie Kicked Off Amtrak Quiet Car

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George K

George K

Conductor
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Those of us who live in NJ have been wondering where he was. Now we know to just keep our ears open and we'll be able to find him! :p

His spokesperson just made it worse: "notorious" is a derogatory adjective and certainly doesn't apply to the Quiet Car. :(
 
Eric308 said:
Mystic River Dragon said:
Those of us who live in NJ have been wondering where he was. Now we know to just keep our ears open and we'll be able to find him! :p

His spokesperson just made it worse: "notorious" is a derogatory adjective and certainly doesn't apply to the Quiet Car. :(
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No, not really. Other synonyms are....notable, renowned, celebrated, prominent, conspicuous, famous, widely known.
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There are certain connotations. While literally it means of having a certain notoriety, other synonyms include disreputable and infamous.
 
Okay--I will agree that "notorious" isn't always derogatory, but it often is, and I have come across it more as a negative adjective than as a positive one.
 
OlympianHiawatha said:
Leave it to the Huffington Post to make an issue out of this!
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This story about Gov. Christie is already showing up on many news sites, not just the Huffington Post.

CNN: Witness: Noisy Christie exits Amtrak 'quiet car' after complaints

gawker.com: Chris Christie, Sipping a Smoothie, Was Kicked Off an Amtrak Car For Screaming on His Phone

For the record, Christie was on an Acela train that departed WAS at 9:55 AM. I'm surprised that a 9:55 AM departure on Sunday morning from WAS was close to full, but then again, it might have been full of pundits, pols, staffers who were heading back to NYC after appearances on the Sunday morning talk shows. Also, Christie does not have a secret service detail as one eyewitness stated. As the Governor of NJ, he has NJ state troopers for his security team. Who, apparently he was yelling at. :p

Christie was drinking a MacDonald's strawberry smoothie, which people are already noting its high calorie and sugar numbers. This story is going to get a LOT of press coverage and I bet will be fodder for the late night talk shows. Good publicity for Amtrak because the Conductor told the Governor of NJ to either get off the cell phone or move to another car! :p
 
So, it would seem that Christie popped by the McDonalds at Union Station before heading home...

(Is it sad that some of us can probably trace his movements through WAS right now?)
 
Is there a smoothie machine on the Acela?

If not, then there is your answer.
 
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Kicked "out" of the quiet car would be a better headline for the original article. Sounds like he moved out of the quiet car when asked by the conductor...didn't sound like much "kicking" was needed! I'm not a quiet car user nor Christie fan (I'm not a fan of MOST politicians) but did get a chuckle out of the article.
 
I'm sure I've sat in quiet cars before realizing that they were the quiet cars. Unless you're specifically looking for the quiet car, I don't think you'd notice the signage.
 
Here's the full quote from Christie's spokesperson:

"On a very full train this morning, the Governor accidentally took a seat in Amtrak's notorious quiet car," Smith told HuffPost. "After breaking the cardinal rule of the quiet car, the Governor promptly left once he realized the serious nature of his mistake and enjoyed the rest of his time on the train from the cafe car. Sincere apologies to all the patrons of the quiet car that were offended."

To follow up on the "notorious" issue above, I'm sensing a whole lot of snark in the spokesperson't comments. The bit about "cardinal rule" and "serious nature of his mistake" sound like sarcasm to me. Of course, it's hard to decipher that sort of thing in print, which is probably the spokesperson's point - to sound like an actual apology to those who literally offended, but to make the whole thing look like a joke to everyone else. That way, they have both sides of the issue covered.
 
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True, especially if you scamper in as the train is boarding. The fact that the Acelas go "backwards" a lot (e.g. a Regional is almost always BC-Quiet-Coach-Cafe-Coaches) has room to throw occasional/incidental riders.
 
jis said:
I wouldn't characterize those signs hanging from the ceiling a subtle exactly ;)
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But when boarding I'm not looking at the ceiling, I'm looking for a seat. Later, after finding a seat, I might notice the ceiling signs - especially if I'm looking at the signs at end of the car to know which end the rest rooms are on. :p
 
jis said:
I wouldn't characterize those signs hanging from the ceiling a subtle exactly ;)
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Southern Calif Metrolink posts the signs at the end of the car by the "Put your bag under your seat" sign. They also mention "Quiet Car" on the scrolling LED sign which may be seen from the outside ... if its not displaying the destination at the time you glance at it.
 
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