Author: Trish

Homeland Security Won’t Let Inspectors Say Which Bridges are Dangerous

Trish

Downtown Jacksonville’s Main St. Bridge

There’s a bunch of long, high bridges in Jacksonville. One local restaurant even takes its name from this fact, calling itself Seven Bridges after the biggest and most iconic structures.

But people in all the counties that line the banks of the St. Johns River, a broad, northern-flowing body of water, take bridge travel as a part of daily life. So it’s a little unsettling to know that some of our hundreds of bridges don’t pass muster. It’s even worse not to know which ones.

It’s for our own good, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.

…inspections have put a handful of state bridges in Northeast Florida in the same broad engineering category as that Minnesota bridge — “structurally deficient” — which means, under the state’s policy, it’s time for immediate action.

…[FDOT bridge inspection chief Keith] Campbell says the Florida Department of Transportation isn’t allowed to tell you how the bridges you drive across every day did on their most recent inspections. And he’s not allowed to say which ones flunked their tests.

Ironically, the state workers says their lips and records are sealed — for your safety.

“After the 9/11 events and with homeland security, all bridge records have become exempt as public documents,” Campbell said.

All bridge records? Including whether or not it’s safe to cross one?

The DOT cites a law, passed in 2002, which states “building plans, blueprints, schematic drawings, and diagrams” are off-limits to be released to the public.

But a local lawyer, Tad Delegate, said that the law isn’t specific enough.

“They’re certainly trying to protect the public,” he said. “I have no doubt about that, but I think they’re reading this too broadly and they’re not limiting themselves to the specific terms of the statute.”

He said there is no wording in the law that says inspection reports cannot be made public.

A local T.V. station has put in a formal request for the information, but so far the FDOT’s only reaction is to lawyer up.

Tancredo Advocates Bombing Muslim Holy Sites as a Deterrent

Trish

Will every single person in Colorado who ever voted for Rep. Tom Tancredo (R) please go to your rooms and stay there? Like, forever?

Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo’s campaign stood by his assertion that bombing holy Muslim sites would serve as a good “deterrent” to prevent Islamic fundamentalists from attacking the United States, his spokeswoman said Friday.

“This shows that we mean business,” said Bay Buchanan, a senior Tancredo adviser. “There’s no more effective deterrent than that. But he is open-minded and willing to embrace other options. This is just a means to deter them from attacking us.”

Tancredo and Pat Buchanan’s sis must have missed it last year when so-called “insurgents” bombed the Golden Dome mosque of Samarra. That wasn’t exactly a success, deterrent-wise, for the bombers, since violence in Iraq skyrocketed and has never abated to this day.

All this time, I thought Bush/Cheney was as bad as it could get for harebrained diplomacy.

Tom Casey, a deputy spokesman for the State Department, told CNN’s Elise Labott that the congressman’s comments were “reprehensible” and “absolutely crazy.”

Repost: Bush Tax Cuts at Work — Roads, Waterways, and Skies are a Mess

Trish

This is a repost from March, 2006. Thanks for the reminder, BlogCritics!

Chalk up another failure for the Bush tax cuts. The head of UPS today is warning that America’s neglected infrastructure is hobbling us in the global marketplace.

Describing the nation’s roads, ports, railroads and airports as the backbone of global trade, UPS’s chief executive officer today warned that America was taking a chance with its future by neglecting its infrastructure.

“What’s shocking, quite frankly, is the inability of our transportation infrastructure to keep up with the normal day-to-day stresses imposed upon it,” said UPS CEO Mike Eskew. “Our highways, waterways, railroads and aviation networks are simply not keeping up with ordinary demands.

“What’s shocking, quite frankly, is the inability of our transportation infrastructure to keep up with the normal day-to-day stresses imposed upon it,” said UPS CEO Mike Eskew

After Hurricane Katrina even emergency supplies languished in ports and parking lots. Eskew said you don’t have to wait for a storm or earthquake or terrorist attack to see the problems. You also don’t have to be a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, but they have issued a scathing analysis of our transport system.

“In 2005, here’s what our infrastructure report card looked like: our aviation system got a D+; navigable waterways a D-; roads a D, and rails a C-.”

“What does the overall report card on our national transportation infrastructure look like? Well, let’s put it this way: if your kids brought home report cards like this, someone would be grounded.”

Eskew was especially critical of railroads. As those of us who live near its Jacksonville headquarters are well aware, Bush Treasury Secretary John Snow was head of CSX before his crony status qualified him for a seat at the Bush cabinet table. CSX is a leader in the rail industry at avoiding liability and sticking it to the taxpayers every time its worn-out tracks cause an Amtrak derailment.

Eskew [added] one private business sector that particularly needs to step up is the rail sector. The nation’s railroads are “under-investing” in advanced technologies available today that could improve the capacity and safety of their networks, he asserted.

The problem is not insurmountable, he added, but it’s time “to sound the alarm.”

Americans Really Are Moving to Canada

Trish

You know how both times Bush stole an election, people said they would move to Canada? Apparently it wasn’t an idle threat.

The number of U.S. citizens who moved to Canada last year hit a 30-year high, with a 20 percent increase over the previous year and almost double the number who moved in 2000.

In 2006, 10,942 Americans went to Canada, compared with 9,262 in 2005 and 5,828 in 2000…

Not only that, fewer Canadians want to be in America.

Last year, 23,913 Canadians moved to the United States, a significant decrease from 29,930 in 2005.

No doubt many of those making good on the threat we have all uttered are from places already Canada-ish, like Seattle and Fargo and Portland(s). Those of us further south have a little harder time with the whole concept of frozen things. Still, our country is losing some of its best and brightest.

“Those who are coming have the highest level of education — these aren’t people who can’t get a job in the states,” [Jack Jedwab, executive director of the Association for Canadian Studies] says. “They’re coming because many of them don’t like the politics, the Iraq War and the security situation in the U.S. By comparison, Canada is a tension-free place. People feel safer.”

Would you have ever thought you’d understand — and agree — with that statement?

Republican Scandal #83,196: Ted Stevens’ Mysterious Home Renovations

Trish

The man whose name is synonymous with both “bridge to nowhere” and — in reference to the Internet — “series of tubes” is in big trouble. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) has been raided.

Stevens, 83, has been under a federal investigation for a 2000 renovation project more than doubling the size of his home in Girdwood that was overseen by Bill Allen, a contractor who has pleaded guilty to bribing Alaska state legislators.

Allen is founder of VECO Corp., an Alaska-based oil field services and engineering company that has reaped tens of millions of dollars in federal contracts.

Agents from the FBI and Internal Revenue Service arrived at the senator’s home Monday afternoon, said Dave Heller, FBI assistant special agent.

Not really a whole lot of doubt what that’s all about.

Stevens, who has been in office since 1968 and is the longest-serving Republican in Senate history, said the interests of justice would be best served if he commented after the investigation.

“I continue to believe this investigation should proceed to its conclusion without any appearance that I have attempted to influence its outcome,” Stevens said.

Well, there’s a first time for everything I suppose.

Floridians for Franken? It Could Happen

Trish

When I found the fundraising letter from Al Franken in my Florida mailbox, I almost dumped it in the “throw away unopened” stack. Instead something made me put it in the “look at it later and then throw it away” pile.

I looked at it today and now I — a Floridian with absolutely no way to vote for Franken in his run for senator in Minnesota — am writing his campaign a check.

That the man has a way with words (although having read his books, I’d say he got help with this letter) is obvious. Still, somewhere in the midst of a professional assessment that he was using too many metaphors and spending too much time on the late Sen. Paul Wellstone, he won me over.

I knew nothing about his opponent, incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman. But when Franken compared him to, “your obnoxious uncle who loves to listen to Rush Limbaugh and ruins Thanksgiving every year,” I understood immediately.

It’s important to get idiots like Coleman out of the Senate and get smart people like Franken in, whether they are running in Minnesota or Florida or California. If you got the letter, don’t toss it. If you weren’t on the mailing list, go to Franken’s web site and look around. You can donate on the spot, and right after you do, Franken will thank you via video. Nice touch.

Republicans Terrified of YouTube Debate

Trish

It’s not their checkered pasts, their questionable financial dealings, or even their bizarre religious tenets. You know what really scares the Republican candidates for the presidency? We do.

Mitt Romney — who recently faced questions about his common sense for strapping his dog in its carrier to the top of his car during a 12-hour drive, causing the animal to defecate over his windshield — said the format is beneath his dignity

After pulling a party-line no-show at the recent National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) convention, aka, THE event for Latino movers and shakers, they are now discovering a rash of scheduling conflicts at the prospect of facing the chilling YouTube questioners in debate.

Just like with the Latino forum, all the Democratic candidates participated in the recent YouTube debate led by CNN’s Anderson Cooper. But Republicans, including Rudy Giulliani, are balking.

Republican presidential front-runner Rudy Giuliani may have better things to do than answer YouTube users’ questions at the GOP debate in St. Petersburg.

The news broke late Thursday that the former New York City mayor has scheduling issues with the Sept. 17 date, jeopardizing the showdown at the Mahaffey Theater…

Giuliani campaign officials could not be reached late Thursday to elaborate on the specific scheduling conflicts.

Mitt Romney — who recently faced derision and questions about his common sense for strapping his dog in its carrier to the top of his car during a 12-hour drive, causing the animal to defecate over his windshield — came right out and said the format is beneath his dignity.

“I think the presidency ought to be held at a higher level than having to answer questions from a snowman,” Romney told the Manchester (N.H.) Union Leader this week.

Only John McCain and Ron Paul have accepted; all the other Republicans are still checking their calendars.

The Republican candidates, or should we say middle-aged white guys in black suits, are obviously more comfortable with the old snore-fest format of moderator asking question and candidates answering question.

If the chickenhawks chicken out, it will be a blow to Florida’s Republican governor, Charlie Crist, whose Serve to Preserve Climate Summit to address global warming already made party hardliners in Tallahassee uncomfortable. The debate is the highest profile event since Crist and others had the Florida primary moved up in the 2008 cycle.

Flag Creator Fails to Blackmail City with Rovian Logic

Trish

Barnett and his patriotic display

It was only a matter of time, I suppose, until someone co-opted Rovian phrasing to try to make a buck [see update]. A Florida business owner named Barry Barnett designed a yellow flag meant to show support for the troops. Then he tried to emotionally blackmail St. Augustine city officials into purchasing it.

“We’ve got people right now dying (in Iraq),” he said. “How do you think they feel about a community that won’t have the courage to fly a flag to support them?” Barnett said.

Ah yes. If you don’t spend $125 apiece on this junky looking thing I created — and buy one for every city flagpole — you don’t love our troops. Rove himself couldn’t have said it better.

Barnett had more success pedaling his product in nearby Palm Coast, where he lives, along with other cities in Flagler County. St. Augustine commissioners, who developed a strict flag flying policy a couple of years ago after gay pride supporters had the city purchase and display rainbow flags downtown, stood firm.

“We’ve got the red, white and blue up every day,” [Commissioner Errol Jones] said. “And for (Barnett) to suggest that if you don’t fly his flag, you don’t support our troops is ridiculous. He’s taking it to another level.”

Update: When this post was written, I was referencing local newspaper coverage which said Barnett was selling his flags.

The city would have to buy it from Barnett at a cost of $125. He says other cities, including Palm Coast where he lives, and De Land agreed to fly the flag.

Barnett has suggested that St. Augustine would be unpatriotic not to fly the flag.

I apparently missed the later correction, which Barnett has called to my attention.

Barnett took issue with a reference in our editorial Sunday — City should say no to yellow flag — that said he was selling the flags at $125 each. He said he is not selling the flags or making any money from this project. A flag company in Daytona Beach — Bob McGarity Advertising & Flag Co. — will produce and sell the flags after Barnett completes the final design, Rob McGarity, owner, said Monday. We stand corrected.

I have invited Barnett to post further corrections of this record, and look forward to finding out more. In the meantime, we can slam him for his definition of patriotism, but not for any profit motive.

How Harry Reid Blew It

Trish

I consider Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) the Democrats’ own dirty little Mormon secret. I am embarrassed every time I hear the man speak. I cringe when he claims to represent people like me.

And I guess I’m not alone. The Houston Chronicle’s Cragg Hines seems to agree, showing how Reid keeps getting it wrong.

What did President Bush want? At least 60 more days to prosecute the ill-omened battles in Iraq. What did Reid’s move give Bush? At least 60 more days to prosecute the ill-omened battles in Iraq.

There should be an especially fiery place in the political hereafter for Harry Reid if the Democratic leader continues to mismanage the Senate debate on the Iraq war.

To the ga-ga applause of at least some of the most vocal antiwar forces, Reid yanked from further immediate consideration the legislative vehicle that provided a platform for the debate.

The ultimate goal of Reid, some of his senior colleagues and the antiwar movement is wholly admirable. But they have the strategy bass-ackwards.

Reid, once a Golden Gloves middleweight, got sucker punched.

What did President Bush want? At least 60 more days to prosecute the ill-omened battles in Iraq.

What did Reid’s move give Bush? At least 60 more days to prosecute the ill-omened battles in Iraq.

Given the long congressional recess in August, there is now little, if any, prospect for significant Senate debate on a real change of course in Iraq until after Labor Day.