Comments on: Bridges Under Scrutiny As Minn. Mourns

As Many As 30 People Still Missing In Wake Of I-35W Bridge Collapse; At Least 4 Dead, 79 Injured

[boatdocster]

My heart goes out to those who lost loved ones in this accident.

My heart goes out to the families killed by our misguided war in Iraq, a country that did nothing to us.

New estimates of the Iraq war show a bill of 1 trillion dollars, NOT including the 500-600 billion that we have already spent there (estimated total cost 1.7 TRILLION dollars).

Thats 1.7 trillion our tax dollars (or tax debt if you are a politician) being wasted. How could we have a federal report in 2005 stating the bridge needed serious repair or replacement, and instead of fixing the bridge we spend billions on a misguided foreign war? Is the oil war more important to George Bush that American citizens? It would appear so.

It's time to dissolve the Democrat and GOP strangle hold on our government and start spending the tax dollars on the people, not big business, big defense or big oil.

[pepperp1]

Expect alot more bridges and levees to fail. And forget about nationalized healthcare. As Reagan would say, 'lift yourself up by your bootstraps' (and if you want to get across the Mississippi... row). LOL.

Posted by ubrew12 at 07:48 PM : Aug 02, 2007

well said, well said...

[l8c6]

I believe that the country that built all this stuff, and had no trouble maintaining it, ended with the Reagan administration and has never resurfaced. Since then, the roll call has been tax cuts, massive debt, and massive defense spending. After 30 years, this means we've spent our Federal revenue on Iraq-style engagements abroad, Chinese clothing, and third mansions in the tropics for the rich. If taxes are raised now, it goes into servicing the debt and paying for the Boomers retirement.

Expect alot more bridges and levees to fail. And forget about nationalized healthcare. As Reagan would say, 'lift yourself up by your bootstraps' (and if you want to get across the Mississippi... row). LOL.
Posted by ubrew12

Sadly, I think you're right and only those who made their millions think it's just as easy for everyone else to make theirs. Sadly, the reality of the human condition won't change and either we collectively live for a common good or we continue the path to see only our own individual needs or the needs of those who control the media and successfully market their cause. The latter leads to ruin in the long run but it will take much harder times to really sink in. Those who think they're rich now will suffer with the rest, certainly their children will as the collective common good rots further.

[l8c6]

It was once said that the road structure of a country will give you an idea of the condition of the country itself. Apparently our country is falling apart. Maybe we should bring our boys home and put them to work rebuilding our once great country. If they can build bridges up in the Black Hills for training they can easily do so throughout this nation. We have the manpower. Perhaps we should use it for something truly good instead of throwing it away on the illusion of giving freedom to a country that really does not want our democracy.
Posted by missmead

OMG, isn't that what Roosevelt did to mobilize our devastated nation during the great depression? Put people to work to rebuild and develop our infrastructure? Rush Limbaugh said "Roosevelt is dead, but his polcies live on but we're doing something about them too." How many of us who call ourselves americans bought into this sinister rhetoric and voted repeatedly the ideology of societal neglect in lieu of privatization?

[parakeet57]

I think that any leader, from any country, who decides to attend the ME peace conference, hopes to see some type of lucrative results, as an outcome. There has been much talk of wanting peace over the decades and what is essential, to bring about this peace. And yet, no firm results are yet evident, which may be why some countries hesitate to participate in a regional conference.


There have been so many disasters in the US over the past several years, that I've lost count, from college violence, to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, to the bridge that collapsed in Oroville, CA last week, this disaster in Minnesota. For years, officials were warned about repairing levees in New Orleans--and look what happen. Now, we hear that officials were warned about this bridge, and very little was done about it. Any one of us writing in comments could have been on that bridge. And thank God that a wise group leader made sure that the children were safe, and Kudos, sir.
It's time to focus on domestic matters, so that US citizens can be safe, within their own borders, because it appears to me that the ordinary, everyday items that keep us going are becoming the WMDs.

[l8c6]

Paint your wagon and come along....remember that movie and song boomer generation? Maybe forgot about it. Were you born under a wandering star as the movie's other song went, too disconnected to care about anything other than that which you thought only applied to you? You might have watched the movie Paint Your Wagon in your late teens and early twenties when your parents built this bridge.

People chasing for their pot of gold and ignoring the bigger picture, the greed led to the streets collapsing. The veneer was broken and the underground destruction revealed.

A boomer generation listening to the neo con right wing mantra of me, me, me and screw the poor and all government projects that me no thinks applies to me.

Now the infrastructure is falling apart and only the most successful of exploiters native and foreign will be able to walk way like vampires who sucked the last drop of blood.

[missmead]

It was once said that the road structure of a country will give you an idea of the condition of the country itself. Apparently our country is falling apart. Maybe we should bring our boys home and put them to work rebuilding our once great country. If they can build bridges up in the Black Hills for training they can easily do so throughout this nation. We have the manpower. Perhaps we should use it for something truly good instead of throwing it away on the illusion of giving freedom to a country that really does not want our democracy.

[ubrew12]

Article: "a 2005 report in the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Bridge Inventory which rated the bridge as "structurally deficient" and possibly in need of replacement."

According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, American infrastructure is now graded a D-, and needs a $1.6 trillion infusion immediately just to bring it up to code. This infrastructure includes bridges, roads, sewers, levees, dams, etc.

I believe that the country that built all this stuff, and had no trouble maintaining it, ended with the Reagan administration and has never resurfaced. Since then, the roll call has been tax cuts, massive debt, and massive defense spending. After 30 years, this means we've spent our Federal revenue on Iraq-style engagements abroad, Chinese clothing, and third mansions in the tropics for the rich. If taxes are raised now, it goes into servicing the debt and paying for the Boomers retirement.

Expect alot more bridges and levees to fail. And forget about nationalized healthcare. As Reagan would say, 'lift yourself up by your bootstraps' (and if you want to get across the Mississippi... row). LOL.

[bennyblack1]

cont
Our nation is broken. Our politicians are misguided. Our president is misled. And our state leaders are crooked down to the last one all the way down to the neighborhood level.

If there is any time for the government to listen to the cries of the people, if there is any time for the government to do the right thing, if there is any time for the government to TAKE CARE OF ITS OWN, it is NOW!

[bennyblack1]

cont...
It is high time we dropped the guise of fighting for our nation's freedom abroad, and concentrate on SELF-defense, cracking down on illegal aliens and the companies who hire them, cracking down on drugs, people who illegally carry guns, pimps who dupe women into desecrating themselves by hooking them on drugs and prostituting them, deal with male *** offenders who destroy our nations' girls and young women, deadbeats, and those who extort monies through pork projects. Then, I would suggest a government stipend for companies to share in the nation's unemployed for vocational rehabilition, education, and productivity.

[mh4cbs1]

Note that the investigators "look at everything. They will look at the materials. They will look at all the pieces of debris. And they'll find out the cause, because we need to learn the reason for its failure."

Why Wasn't the same investigation done on the 911 WTC?? Instead they quickly hauled everything out and shipped it to recycling. Had they bothered to do an investigation for the 911 buildings they may have found evidence for the explosives used -- there was eyewitness accounts of a few small pools of molten steel that could not have come from the jet fuel or building collapse.

It is also the ONLY explanation for the collapse of WTC Building 7 (which imploded hours after the towers fell, with no hit other than minor debris, only a few small fires, and it was a traditional steel structure - even stronger and more stable than the towers).

[bennyblack1]

cont...
And that, in the face of the truth, when they were told that bridges needed to be fixed, when sewage and water system needed to be replaced, when they were told that we could power our homes utilizing alternate sources of energy at a lower cost, they continued stubbornly to use oil and burn coal instead of wind, solar, water, and propane, which are all reliable sources of energy. When they were told that we could not win in Iraq, and it stared them in the face as obvious as their noses, they did not use the rules of conservatism by pulling out our soldiers and the money into a now vain effort, but rather, "Let's give it one more shot." One more shot (over and over again) has cost us trillions of dollars, and our country lies at the brink of waste.

I would tell them, do the right, responsible, and self-disciplined thing, pull our troops out of the Middle East and Korea. Bring them all home, and let them stand ready. Let them stand guard. And let them aid the country in getting back on its feet. Then, dedicate our forces to repairing the infrastructure of our United States, gather the blood-sucking illegal aliens and deport them, and protect our borders. Order states to dispatch troops and police to guard each border of the individual states, and to aid those on the coastlines to inspect every single connex full of imported items for things that are explosive, poisoned, and dangerous for our kids.

[healer2b]

I feel for everyone of them. I hope that no one else has passed on. I wish there was something I could do to help, but I can't. I praise the people helping, and helped with the children out of the bus.

[why_not_nar]

My prayers go out to the families of those injured or killed as well.
I did read the prior posts about our President, George Bush.
A question?
How is it that we elected this man?
How did that happen?
And what is preventing it from happening again?
We seem to be very good at looking at a person's mistakes, and criticizing. Party doesn't matter, Nixon, Carter (as President), and Clinton. We have started impeachment hearings on two of the last eight Presidents.
In an era where we (like it or not) see the Candidates nightly, eighteen months before the General Election, how is our collective judgement so poor?
How did our parents find people like Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and Truman? All without the aid of television?
thank you.

[adian1-2009]

It is a very tragic disaster and my heart goes to the victims and their families. We are all hurt by this sad happening. Now the news come out that a couple of years ago this bridge was given a rating of 50 out of a possible 100. Tony Snow and the Federals already advanced that that rating did not mean that the bridge was not safety, and they add that once they make the finding of defects, it is for the State to take the corrective measures. Well, it sounds as if they are covering their behinds. But one thing is true: a bridge like this one is not supposed to collapse unless one of two things, or both, are presente: a) the earth shifted unexpectedly; or b) the bridge was structurally defective, either from its design and construction, or because of old age. This bridge was erected in the late 60's, which means that the bridge is relatively young (the Golden Gate dates back to the 30's; Washington Bridge in New York is much older; The Brooklyn Bridge is also a lot older, and so many others). Earth shifts are predictable, and the design must take such movements into account. No sysmological detection has been mentioned. My conclusion: Structural Defect.

[bennyblack1]

cont...
Then, I would remind them that the Federal Government gets over 100 trillion dollars a year in tax money and that they get half that from government sponsored student loans. That alot of that money is invested for pork science projects, parties, and gifts. I would also remind them that 800 trillion dollars went to Iraq alone in the last 6 years, and a countless amount of money has been spent on wars in Afghanistan the last 10 years. I would remind them that our government sub-contractors were given a sacred trust by our government to handle our money right, and we have found time and time again that they have recklessly extorted it, bought things for themselves from the money without logging it, and have funded terrorist activities through these purchases.

[bennyblack1]

I'm going to add one more comment of pure grief and anguish.

The reason that this bridge and other bridges that may collapse is simply a lack of self-discipline and moral responsibility to the people of the United States.

If I could speak to President Bush right now, and Congress together, I would simply tell them to put aside their selfish interests, their annuls of fame, their rights to status, and their proud remarks of being successful. I would tell them to put aside thoughts of grandeur to think that any man, except the appointed one, can ever bring peace to the Middle East and Israel, which I believe will be accomplished by God alone. I would put away any laurels that speak of us as being a leader of all nations. I would tell them to humble themselves in the face of the many recent disasters that have thrown the balance of America out of kilter.

[grazinggoat]

Sad to say, the middle class Americans, our infrastructure, children without health care, the poor, all of these groups lack the funds to get our career politicians to pay attention. Halliburton, Carlyle Group, Exxon/Mobil, etc. etc. all have the funds to keep their interests answered first (and always).
Posted by USAyesterday at 07:03 PM : Aug 02, 2007

-And they move their assses off to Dubai where NO tax on profit on anything is paid! Those arethe great patriotics we're having now, and who are sucking off our blood.

[usayesterday]

This is what happens when you spend billions a week on a failed, illegal war thousands of miles away. Things back home get put on the back burner and people die needlessly. More American civilians will probably die from this failure to maintain infrastructure than terrorism. Yeah, I can hear the responses now: 9/11, 9/11, 9/11.
Posted by cdfoxtrot at 06:51 PM : Aug 02, 2007
.............

To add to the excellent comment above, clearly, when our career politicians have excessively clear links to various "special interest" groups, it is those groups that get their wishes met first, and always.

Sadly, those special interest groups (oil/energy, defense contractor companies, etc.) usually don't represent the interests of the majority of Americans!

Sad to say, the middle class Americans, our infrastructure, children without health care, the poor, all of these groups lack the funds to get our career politicians to pay attention. Halliburton, Carlyle Group, Exxon/Mobil, etc. etc. all have the funds to keep their interests answered first (and always).

[amandamoore1]

If president Bush would bring home our troops and quit spending Billons of dollars on a war that has made no difference in five years and devide the money among our states we could afford to repair and rebuild out structrues and keep our families safe.