Hat tip SG2
I’ve lived in Minneapolis for 12 years, and there has been no other event in this city that have I witnessed that was so heartbreaking and preventable than the I-35 W Mississippi River Bridge collapse.
The I-35W Mississippi River bridge (officially known as Bridge 9340) was an eight-lane, steel truss arch bridge that carried Interstate 35W across the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. During the evening rush hour on August 1, 2007, it suddenly collapsed, killing 13 people and injuring 145. The bridge was Minnesota’s fifth busiest,[4][5] carrying 140,000 vehicles daily.[3] The NTSB cited a design flaw as the likely cause of the collapse, and asserted that additional weight on the bridge at the time of the collapse contributed to the catastrophic failure.[6]
**On November 13, 2008, the NTSB released the findings of its investigation. The primary cause was the under-sized gusset plates, at 0.5 inches (13 mm) thick. Contributing to that design or construction error was the fact that 2 inches (51 mm) of concrete were added to the road surface over the years, increasing the dead load by 20%. Also contributing was the extraordinary weight of construction equipment and material resting on the bridge just above its weakest point at the time of the collapse. That load was estimated at 578,000 pounds (262,000 kg) consisting of sand, water, and vehicles. The NTSB determined that corrosion was not a significant factor, but that inspectors did not routinely check that safety features were functional.[135]
*Notice the bridge’s safety had not been routinely checked. What do you suppose would happen to citizens in Ohio who don’t have alternative means of transit and the systems they have in place fail?
Take a real good look at the images folks, so that you can get a feel for the depth of our countries failing infrastructure.
Now take a closer look at this mug shot of your newly elected Governor. Remember, this is what you elected him to do for you and your state.
And remember his words… Say goodbye to your jobs and your state’s infrastructure!
The newly elected Republican governor of Ohio, John Kasich, who ousted Ted Strickland, a Democrat, has also reiterated a campaign pledge to kill a $400 million stimulus-funded rail project in his state.
“Passenger rail is not in Ohio’s future,” Mr. Kasich said at his first news conference after the election. “That train is dead.” (And so are 8,000 JOBS!)
Mr. Kasich had previously called the high-speed rail project the “dumbest idea” he had ever heard, saying that there was too little demand to justify its construction and that the state could not afford to operate it. Like his Wisconsin counterpart, he also said the rail money should be spent on roads. Instead, the funds will almost certainly revert to the federal government for reassignment elsewhere.
Take a look at what you’ve just signed on for with the Republicans gaining control of elected offices across the nation. If you think they’re going to govern to improve the lives of you and your loved ones, I’ve got swamp land in Antarctica to sell you.
Please drop in and notify 3 Chics of any big or small benefits that you’ve gained from the leadership of the GOP. We won’t hold our breath.
You’ve gotten what you asksed for, now deal with it.
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No reporters allowed at Kasich’s actual inauguration
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/01/04/kasich-inauguration-closed-to-media.html
COLUMBUS — When Ohio swears in its new governor on Monday, no representative of the public is slated to be there to witness it.
Republican Gov.-elect John Kasich has closed the 12:01 a.m. event to the news media, an act unprecedented in modern state history. He cites security concerns for his family at his personal residence, where he is to be sworn in by Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor. A ceremonial inauguration is scheduled in downtown Columbus later that day.
The decision is escalating criticism of the former congressman and Wall Street banker over positions he’s taken on access to public information, events and documents since his election Nov. 2.
Former Ohio Gov. John Gilligan, a Democrat, said openness between a governor and the press is imperative to the public.
Kasich’s a sorry pompous ass! But when folks don’t get out and vote, this is what you get, Ohio!
Kasich can run, but he CANNOT hide. NO sympathy for the voters who blackened the oval for this numbnut.
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I’m so disgusted with my state that I am moving. I hear Portland is nice.
Well white folks you did it again. Third world status will be an upgrade compared to what’s about to happen here in Ohio.
Dannie22…just wait…things are going to worse before they get better…but once those white working class Ohioans are starving..they are going to be HUNGRY and mad…then things will change. When they NEED all those ‘handouts’ they want cut, when they need shelter and food…they gone wake up.
Hi Dannie, can you come back periodically and give us updates on the mood of the folks in Ohio, before you move to Portland that is1 LOL
Hi Ametie! I’ll update. Although I’m still in mourning. Lol!
Go right ahead and grieve, sista, but don’t let it parazlyze you. Keep moving foward.
In Killing Ohio’s High-Speed Rail Project, Kasich Eliminated Private-Sector Jobs He Promised To Create
Rather than acknowledge the number of jobs created or kept afloat by Democratic policies like the Recovery Act, Republicans insist that Democrats have done nothing to help create private-sector jobs. Future House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has said, “Washington has kept the private sector in bust while manufacturing a boom for the public sector.”
Boehner’s bosom-buddy Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) beat a similar drum on the campaign trail. Touting his plan to help the private-sector “quickly help create jobs,” Kasich insisted he would help “improve the atmosphere in our state for real business development” by meeting “the needs of businesses to overcome” governmental “snafus.” But Kasich undermined his rhetoric by killing Ohio’s high-speed rail project. In doing so, he derailed many businesses’ economic development plans and effectively killed the private-sector jobs he promised to create, leaving one businessman to call his decision “unbelievable,” “mind-boggling,” and “naive”:
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/01/03/ohio-kasich-jobs/
Well, Dannie, we saw this train wreck coming.
Kasich undermined his rhetoric by killing Ohio’s high-speed rail project. In doing so, he derailed many businesses’ economic development plans and effectively killed the private-sector jobs he promised to create, leaving one businessman to call his decision “unbelievable,” “mind-boggling,” and “naive”:
The voters were so busy watching the black man in the oval office & weren’t aware of the wolves outside. When evil gets to rockin,’ KARMA come a knockin!
Mr. Kasich had every opportunity to behave like a winner after Tuesday’s victory. Instead he’s behaving like a loser. The Cleveland Plain Dealer is already pushing his first scandal before he’s even sworn in over the lobbying firm Credo Company. And seeing all the fresh craters on Kasich’s face, it’s only a matter time before his social life of the past blows up in his face. It’s easy to imagine life working on Wall Street for a bankrupt firm.
Do tell, Joe.
What the hell is wrong with Kasich? 8000 jobs gone just like that. He didn’t even get his seat warm. What was the people thinking when they voted that moron in?!
“Passenger rail is not in Ohio’s future,” Mr. Kasich said at his first news conference after the election. “That train is dead.” (And so are 8,000 JOBS!)
You get what you vote for, Ohioans! Kasich just gave you the finger. How are you going to feed yourselves? You made your bed, now wallow in it.
And let’s not forget the rotten infrastructure that killed 13 Minnesotans in 2007. Lives, these are the lives of Americans who had families, and were on their way to their JOBS when at 6:05 am the bridge comes tumbling down in the Mississippi river.
Folks, when are you going to wake up to the fact that this is what your hard earned tax dollars go to for the government to fund your states. This is the money your elected officials are stealing back from you and linning their greedy pocket with it.
And it’s not going to get any better with “I’m not in withdrawal” John Kasich as Governor. He’s going to Lehman Brothers the state. He should have kept partying, not get back into politics.
Greed…
Hi, Joe!
Welcome to 3 Chics!
We’ll be just fine. Cleveland is already firing shots. Kasich will crack if a full court press is applied–the psych profile of a junkie.
Oh, oh, please give us more details, why don’t you. LOL
What are you talking about, Joe? Tell us more?
Joe’s danglin carrots at 3 Chics. C’mon, son; we’ll bite.