Al Franken for the WIN.

[sheshe2]

[monkeyman1]

1. he's right ! gravity can bite you hard ! bridges last only so long !

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

11. Gravity is not just a theory, it's the Law.

Jeez, I thought these guys were law-and-order. Maybe they'll understand it if the law is greatly simplified:

[BlueIdaho]

2. Poor Al

A victim of a rush to judgement. His voice is sorely missed.

[Deuxcents]

4. I agree

[StarryNite]

3. Good point Al!

[MustLoveBeagles]

5. K&R

[IronLionZion]

6. Minnesota knows about bridge collapses

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-35W_Mississippi_River_bridge#Collapse

I lived nearby when it happened and had driven on it many times before.

[2naSalit]

8. It happened during...

My time in the Lakes region, I used to go across that bridge in semis. I have always had nightmares about being on a bridge during its collapse while in a semi. This event didn't help that. In fact most of the bridges that collapsed around the country were bridges I had driven across not long before they dropped.




I am glad that Al is speaking out, wish he had a larger platform, like a seat on the US Senate or something.

[IronLionZion]

15. I took local roads that evening because of rush hour traffic

Or I would have been on that bridge if it were a weekend. It's a scary thought considering how many bridges we drive on all over America. It could happen anywhere.

For semis, I think of the ice road truckers who keep their doors unlocked and seatbelt off just in case they have to jump out.

[sarge43]

7. It's not the fall; it's the landing.

The rich get away with breaking society's laws, so they think they can break nature's laws, too.

A mercedes hits the ground just as hard as a hyundai.

[Hortensis]

9. :) Don't see many of the 0.1% in my part of our state, though, and the 0.01%

have private aircraft available the way we have autos, literally personally above the problem. I doubt the state of the roads and bridges in most of my state would inconvenience any of them.

Of course, they have interests in keeping commercial transport and worker commute routes flowing, or at least crawling. But that's not the same as their spending an hour's detour in bumper-to-bumper traffic, each way, each day.

Just saying. I don't worry that the highway from the tall buildings to the airport will be allowed to break down.

[SCantiGOP]

10. Or, climate ravaged seas

Sink all yachts.

[calimary]

16. Yep. The yacht as well as the dingy.

MAYBE you survive on a rubber raft, assuming a big floating chunk of debris doesn't poke a big hole in it and sink the damn thing.

[ffr]

12. That's for your average greedy right-winger. The ultra rich take helicopters and private jets.

But point taken.

[SWBTATTReg]

13. Other states besides MN may ignore the bridge infraS. problem, but they shouldn't, in MO,

we have over 6,000+ bridges, some of which I'm sure need quite a bit of work, restoration, etc. and this takes money, lots of money...regardless of politics, regardless of one's political affiliation, infrastructure needs work.

The bridges (some of them) will need plenty of restoration (and thus money) to bring up to code...heck, there is a bridge between IL and MO (in STLMO), the Eads bridge (built in 1874, first Iron bridge built over the Mississippi), that was pretty scary to drive on (both outer lanes were closed but the inner lanes are still open), but now has been repaired and is in much better shape. Unfortunately, crime in the downtown area has forced the temporary shut down of this bridge in order to limit traffic into the downtown area. A true shame.

Perhaps some other mechanisms can be used in order to facilitate the more robust and permanent opening of the bridge, such as cameras, more onsite enforcement, etc. in order to bring peace and calm to the downtown area...the downtown area, for those of you not in the know, has been taken over by large groups of motorcycles, street racing, lawlessness, etc. (but many areas of the city/outer areas have crime too), a shame since so many older buildings downtown were converted into lofts, thus preserving older city architecture into the next century.

There are steps being taken to address crime and other problems downtown, perhaps closing downtown city streets might be a permanent solution but the downtown area brings in 20% of the tax revenues to the city. Not a viable solution in reality.

[monkeyman1]

19. all the U.S. STATES ! all states have bridges that need to be replaced !

And not including roads that are like driving on a damn cow path ! Ya drive on road's , get back home & wonder if your still has suspension system left ! oh well , that's why people pay thousands of dollar's for a vehicle to beat the hell out of it !

[Dukkha]

14. Without bridges nobody can drive to stores

and buy your wares. Nor can delivery trucks ship out your crap when it's loaded off from a boat from China.

[calimary]

17. You'd expect corporations could/would think that far ahead.

Doesn't matter HOW low your corporate taxes are - if all the bridges are washed out and your employees are screwed and can't get to work, and there are no detours that don't crowd up and take four hours one way, and ...

With all their money and manpower and access to the greatest minds and entire divisions given over to planning and anticipating for the future and all that - you'd expect corporations to have a finger on this pulse point already.

And they don't. Short-term profits are all they care about anymore. Seems like NOBODY thinks longterm... or consequences... or ramifications... and certainly not what works for the greater good beyond the immediate confines of the corporation. Only their own stockholders matter.

[czarjak]

18. But...

One of THOSE PEOPLE might benefit?

[Faux pas]

20. Excellent