AMEN, BROTHER, AMEN! Minnesotans are going to become the fly in the Republican's stew, you just watch.

Hard to believe the country I grew up in is literally falling apart due to mismanagement. I drove over that bridge many times while living in the Twin Cities area. Video on television does no justice to its size. There's something really Roman-Empire-collapsing-creepy about the whole thing. We're not as great as we think if our biggest bridges are just falling down.

Building codes and inspections are just another way the owners of our once great land keep the balance tilted in their favor. Huge corporate jobs are given the go ahead while small Ma and Pa contractors' jobs are shut down time and again for infractions like excess runoff from washing out concrete trucks or not enough silt fence.

Not to say we don't need building codes, but they should be more meticulously enforced on larger, tax subsidized projects, when in fact the opposite is true.

These codes were introduced to prevent just this sort of tragedy, but by and large, are used to prevent a poor working family from building within their means and forcing us to conform. Not to mention requiring us to build beyond our means thus perpetuating predatory usury laws and further chaining us to our slave wage jobs.

Main Entry: 1swin·dle
Pronunciation: 'swin-d&l
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): swin·dled; swin·dling /'swin(d)-li[ng], 'swin-d&l-i[ng]/
Etymology: back-formation from swindler, from German Schwindler giddy person, from schwindeln to be dizzy, from Old High German swintilOn, frequentative of swintan to diminish, vanish; akin to Old English swindan to vanish
intransitive verb : to obtain money or property by fraud or deceit
transitive verb : to take money or property from by fraud or deceit

Okay--Let's see where is the '08 Republican convention? Oh yeah, St. Paul MN. How terribly convenient!

As for publically financed domes, name one other business that get public subsidy to the extent that professional sports franchises do? I can't think of one either.

But stadiums are so much sexier than bridges! After all, who has ever hit a home run on an ugly old bridge? Ball games make people happy. Bridges, especially at rush hour, are more apt to make people miserable. This is why those who play children's games for money are worth so much more to our society than those who educate our young, care for our sick and elderly, and build our bridges. Athletes contribute so much more to the public good. After all, don't we all want to be happy?

(REMOVING TONGUE FROM CHEEK)

I drove across that bridge every day when I worked in Minneapolis. A perspective like that really brings tragedies like this into sharp focus, but I can't help thinking (and this goes completely off topic) that the number of people that my state has lost in this tragedy is still less than are lost on a quiet day in Baghdad these days. I wonder what would happen if the American populace had half the sympathy for Iraqis that they expressed for those schoolchildren on Wednesday. Could the war even have happened in the first place?

Well, I work just a half mile from the bridge, have driven over it hundreds of times, and had driven the bridge immediately next to it just an hour before the collapse. Good thing I didn't stay late at the office that day...

I'm quite disappointed we like to think of ourselves as the state that produced Paul Wellstone, the ONLY state that never voted for Reagan (thanks to Mondale's candidacy, no doubt). But Minnesota since the 1990's saw over 400,000 new people come to the state (mainly from within the US), we have our share of fundamentalist churches, and Minneapolis/St.Paul has been heavily marketed with Rush Limbaugh clear channel owned bulletin boards. We're probably on the path to redness.

Even our progressive Air America affiliate (AM 950) is calling for a gas tax -- desperately -- to help rebuild the infrastructure. I'm astounded the the so-called progressive station is calling for a regressive/flat tax that disproportionately affects the working middle-class and poor.
It was Steve Forbes, a Republican, who used to champion such notions.

Why aren't the Air America people suggesting, as our esteemed Senator Wellstone used to say, that the rich should "Pay their fair share."

Why not progressive income and corporate taxes, closing loopholes, and discontinuing corporate welfare, nuke subsidy, and insane wars. How the hell did we get to begging for another tax, and a regressive one at that????!!!!

This is the AMERICAN VOTER"S FAULT. You are the ones who elect politicians based on lowering taxes. You are the ones who want everything for nothing. Your country is many tens of trillions of dollars in debt, you produce nothing but bombs and debt, and yet maintain a materialist lifestyle unrivaled in history.

You get what you deserve, from 9/11 to katrina, to this bridge collapse.

expatincebu-
Before somebody roasts you, I want to partially agree. I, too, wonder about an electorate that tells each candidate "You must lie to me or I won't vote for you." Jimmy Carter told us the truth about energy, but Americans fawned over Rotten Ronnie Reagan's boldfaced lies.

Its like some chickens I once had. I tried very hard to always have fresh, clean water in their cages, but they would ALWAYS immediately poop in it. Finally, in desperation, I sat down and asked the head of the flock why they were so quick to poop in the water. Her reply was "Your water tastes funny. We want water that tastes like what we're used to." Apparently, sheeple have about the same reasoning. I see you're an expat. I may have to do that, too, if I want to keep my sanity.

No mention of Al Franken, yet. What does he have to say about this incident? I don't call it a tragedy because that is presupposing that this was not preventable, like a
"natural" disaster. How many more such incidents are just waiting for the "right" circumstances: a combination of weather, traffic and neglect of identifiable weakenesses. As Dave intimates in this and other articles on The Domes, the American love affair with sports and entertainment as a distraction from the other realities of life and living is a deadly potion, of which we are drinking deeply. All of these are symptoms of our spiritual bankruptcy. It is time we started listening to the Dave Zirins and Marianne Williamsons who have the clarity of vision to see into the deeper causes of the cancer on our society. Let us look within our own hearts and souls instead of looking for others to blame. There is a word in our language which we fail to use effectively and frequently enough. Say No to ignorance and yes to inquiry into what causes us to behave against our self interest.

Peace,
St John

This is just the beginning. Our water mains, most of which are 50-75 years old, are leaking. Our sewers, also having reached the end of their lifespan, routinely break, contaminating our waterways and ecosystems. Our water and sewage treatment plants are in need of upgrades and repairs. Our bridges are corroding before our eyes. Our roads desperately need repair and upgrading. Our schools are falling apart. And yet we spew trillions of dollars to the wind and at the same time destroy developing countries and kill hundreds of thousands. Where will it end?

At least we're winning the War on Education.

I blame Prince...he was probably putting too much graffiti on the bridge.

A news story on the bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis stated that "it would take $188 billion to repair and rebuild our bridges and we don't have the money."

One might ask the question, "How is it that we don't have the $188 billion to make our bridges safe, but we do have somewhere between $500 billion and possibly as much as $2 trillion dollars to pay for our unjust, illegal, immoral and completely unnecessary war in Iraq?"

My father used to ask this question: "Why is it we never have enough money for peace, but we always have enough money for war?" There is a reason - for those in power, wars are far more profitable than peace.

There is a direct connection between the Minneapolis bridge collapse, the war in Iraq and Monetary Reform.

Learn about legislation titled "The American Monetary Act" at www.monetary.org

There are three main steps this legislation would take to accomplish true monetary reform. They are:

1. Nationalize the Federal Reserve Banks.

2. Eliminate Fractional Reserve Banking.

3.Rebuild the Public Infrastructure, our roads, bridges, water and sewage plants, schools, airports, etc. at no cost to the U. S. taxpayers.

In the light of the Minneapolis bridge disaster, note especially point number 3. If you would like to learn how all this can be done and how it would, literally, save U. S. taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars each year, and, at the same time, rebuild our badly decayed public infrastructure and also provide Universal Single Payer Healthcare and eliminate unemployment,read the American Monetary Act.

What I have just said is not too good to be true, all this and more would result from true Monetary Reform.

When I lived in the Philadelphia area some years ago, I dated a wonderful, hardworking second grade teacher who taught in the Germantown section of the city. I can't tell you how many times I saw her paying out of her own pocket for materials she felt she needed to teach the children properly, all while making a very meager salary. Her classroom had no math books, so I would let her use the copy machine at my company's office after hours to print materials to teach math properly. Meanwhile, Philadelphia was pushing through legislation for multi-million dollar sports stadiums for the Phillies, Eagles, 76ers and Flyers. My blood just boiled knowing that these politicians were neglecting the schools while giving handouts to professional sports teams in the form of new stadiums. I would often think to myself, "what the hell has happened to this country's sense of priorities?" It made me sick then, and it makes me sick now seeing how Minnesota has apparently been lead down a similar self-destructive path, this time neglecting infrastructure and other essentials in favor of a new stadium. It looks like these types of twisted priorities are a problem all over the nation. And don't even get me started on the money being wasted on the senseless murderous, destructive debacle in Iraq. This country of ours has, to quote Ozzy, gone "off the rails on a crazy train." We progressives need to band together ASAP and redouble our efforts to get this country back on the right path (hell, I'll take any SANE path at this point)! Keep up with the awesome posts everyone, it keeps me hopeful reading progressive posts from like-minded people every day. Peace!

Wow, what a great bunch of posts here, you all make sense to me, even the one who stated, we get what we deseve.__ Had to argue.

It's true, when we have to borrow money from China, to pay for an unjust war, we have a major problem.__ We are a great nation?

It is not only bridges that are falling apart, over 1,700 are rated as half safe. Half safe?__ Oh my god, the one that fell was half safe. There are also several thousand dams located across the entire country that are deemed unsafe. Where do you and your children live?

We will spend at least two trillion dollars on the Cheney/Bush war, much of that money handed out to Halliburton, for nothing in return. We have literaly destroyed a nation, killed over a million innocent people, saying we are going to promote democracy in the Mid-East. If we are an example of a democracy, why would anyone want it promoted upon them?
Could we have used two trillion in our country, how about just one trillion?

There are many serious problems with our infrastructure in every single state. Our government has known about the unsafe bridges and dams for many years, and little or nothing has been done about it. Shame on us. The most serious potential tragedy, is not bridges and dams that may fail however.

The reallygreatest danger is one that could easily sterilize an area the size of California,__ forever, it's the older nuclear power plants that are also falling apart. We don't see the "classified reports", of vital cooling water pipes that are corroded, and or nuclear waste storage sites that are badly in need of repairs, failures which could leak radio-active waste into the water tables and precious ir-replaceable aquifers.

There is not a single good thing to say about this situation. Not one, and will it be corrected? I seriously doubt it, I'm a pessamist anymore. I've seen far too much graft and corruption in our government to be an optomist.

That comment I wrote above(had to argue), was supposed to read HARD to argue. Sorry.

I live in Minneapolis and was shocked and in disbelief upon hearing of the I-35W Bridge collapse, a bridge I've crossed, and then stunned again on seeing the magnitude of the destruction on television. Dave Zirin's article is right on. We have gained a $500 million ballpark and lost a bridge. I'd rather have the bridge.

The citizens had consistently opposed a stadium at taxpayer's expense. It was repeatedly defeated in the legislature, but like a slicked-down vampire out of a B movie, kept reappearing and would not die. I did not know of Carl Pohlad's contributions to politicians, but it does explain a lot. This was not a venture of the Republican's alone. The Democrats were there as well. I find it sad to see what has happened to a state with a progressive tradition.

London Bridge is falling down

London Bridge is falling down,

My fair lady

Quit blaming Bush. We knew, America Knew, there are no surprises. It is the American Voters fault. We even passively allowed election fraud to stand unchallanged, leaving undeniable questions about the legitimacy of the last two presidential elections. It is time to demand for our neighbors, our fellow church members, and our relatives an apology, and an explaination from them for why they voted republican. Then even more important lets vote out the majority of democrates who have failed, and denied their principles allowing this sham government to go ahead the neglect to protect our nation. We are watching our freedom erode, our moral fiber rot, our infra-structure decay, and our nation become the laughing stock of the world knowing the strength of our character is gone, the morality of our conscience decayed, and the obscene use of our military power a terror to reasonable people everywhere. Demand accountability from for family, friends, neighbors, and government!

In order to solve this problem, unapologetic words must be spoken about taxes. We are constantly being told we're overtaxed (especially here in Canada, where the reference point is the USA). Wrong. We're undertaxed. The only solution to these problems is a restoration of the sharply progressive income tax, under which the marginal rate for the highest incomes (e.g. over 200,000/year) was over 90%. As if we were idiots or small children, we are told that taxation impoverishes us. Wrong: progressive taxation enriched us. We have become impoverished since Reagan lowered taxes on the rich, a policy that was automatically followed in Canada without a word of debate. If we paid higher taxes, we'd actually have MORE money in our wallets and in our bank accounts. We'd actually be more affluent. For example: if we had a progressive income tax, university tuition could be free. Young people would graduate from university free of debt. Young lawyers and doctors could serve society, free of the need to get as much money as they can regardless of the cost to society. If we had a progressive income tax, health care (outside of Canada, which already has it - but 90% of my North American compatriots do not live in Canada) could be free. If we had a progressive income tax, there could be universal daycare. Young couples and single mothers would not be impoverished by private daycare fees. If we had progressive income tax, we could have cheap public transportation and subsidized railroads serving all communities. No need to buy cars. If we had progressive income tax, we could have subsidized housing. No more paying 60% of our incomes on rent or mortages. If we had a progressive income tax, that bridge in Minnesota could have been properly maintained or replaced, and those people who died would have more money. Now they have no money, no wealth, nothing, because they're dead. What good does it do them to pay low taxes if they're dead? High taxation makes for a wealthy society. Low taxation makes a Third World society. Leftists must not be afraid to say it: taxes are too low. We're undertaxed.

(it goes without saying, or it should do, that any proposal to raise taxes includes a policy that the revenue will be spent on the people, not on the owners of arms companies. Otherwise there's no point)

I hope some of my brothers and sisters in the USA will start asking Democratic candidates their position on restoring the progressive income tax.

Mark Marshall
Toronto

Does this remind anyone of Atlas Shrugged? Not that I endorse Rand, but we are beginning to look like the America that she envisioned.

Torpedofish, this is the repudiaton of Atlas Shrugged, the "socialist" public infrastructure has been sucked dry and allowed to fail in the interest of privatization. There's no profit in maintenance. The three decade shift toward the Private sector, tax avoidance, et cetera, are showing up in the collapse of the public good. Rand's treatise was that all infrastructure should be privately owned and operated for a profit, we've tried that before (even though property siezure by emminent domain played a huge role), remember the Robber Barons? They ended up with the crash of '29. Their grandsons are back at us again.

cheese curds?
I always thought they came from Wisconsin as even my Iwoan friend had never even heard of them until I our conversation came to foods back home.
But...'that area' of the continent's middle country

Escravo do Poder: thank you for the feedback. If the money that the government takes from us in taxes gets flushed down the toilet, then I agree with you. What the hell, if they're just gonna flush it down the toilet, I'd rather keep it. But if the money the government takes from us in taxes is used to pay for public transportation, education, health care, housing, welfare payments to the destitute, etc., then I completely disagree with you. And that is the point. If we have a democratic government that spends money the way the people want it to be spent, then we will have free university education, universal public health insurance, subsidized public transportation, subsidized housing, and so on. But if the government is not democratic, then the money will be spent on wars in Asia and Africa. The choice is ours.

You tell me that you do not believe that anybody would pay a 90% marginal income tax. History proves you are wrong. From the 1940s to the 1970s people did pay that kind of money if their incomes were high enough. The government got the money, because the law required that they pay, and they had no choice. Of course there were always tax evaders, but the government dealt with them as it would deal with any thief who robs convenience stores or banks: with police, courts and prisons. They only stopped paying it when the law changed. And when the law changed, what did we see? We saw homeless people sleeping on the sidewalk. Is that the kind of society you want?

In solidarity and peace,

Mark Marshall
Toronto

CV,
Agreed. Just thought I'd see what this crowd had to say in that regard.
peace
torpedofish

My neighbor in SE Minnesota is now worried that his taxes will go up because of the bridge collapse. I've often wondered if conservatives in general have a difficult time empathizing with strangers. The bridge was right next door to my old school, U of M, and to see it go down was like a gut punch. Yet I'm sure every day is so much worse in Baghdad, year after year. Most of their children have PTSD. The stress cracks in their minds will haunt their nation for generations and perhaps us likewise.

Odds of dying in a sceduled commercial airplane crash: 1,000,000:1. Odds of dying in the collapse of a bridge 100,000,000:1. Why should any sane person care about shaky bridges? Odds of dying of a heart attack 50:1. Why spend billions on bridges when the odds are in your favor of never being a victim?

Although I agree with the sentiment, I feel compelled to just add to the question...

"As for publically financed domes, name one other business that get public subsidy to the extent that professional sports franchises do? I can't think of one either."

Us taxpayers funded almost all the research and lines for Ma Bell courtesy of Bell Laboratories. The airline industry has received billions in financial aid. Savings and loans are continuosly being bailed out. Big Pharma by way of government assurances that drugs cannot be purchased elsewhere. Farm subsidies. Automobile insurance is a legal requirement. By virtue of tax loopholes, every corporation on the exchange. And last but certainly not least....
Fucking politicians!

But Pundit, the Twins ball park is less than a mile from the bridge. There are going to be horrible traffic jams mow. Another thing, I won't be figuring the odds when I'm crossing a bridge, I'll be thinking about the one that collapsed. Every time I get on an airliner, I know for sure I'm on the one in a million.

All of that bull aside, in all seriousness, it's the poor conditon of atomic power plants that concerns me the most, that should be of concern to everyone.

MARK MARSHALL great points "in memory of" the progressive tax plan.
MARCTILESTON: Thanks for pointing out where our tax-subsidies end up: "Rule by, for and of the corporations."
PUNDIT: Must be a fan of Ebineezer Scrooge school of social economics, huh? (do you really have so little regard for your fellow mankind?)

I dont mind Mr. Pohlad to build a stadium. Heck, he can even name it the Pohlad-Memorial-stadium. He is rich enough to pay for it; so give him everything: the costs and later on the revenue. I