That’s how Gov. Tim Pawlenty described the I-35W bridge’s collapse. Eyewitness descriptions of what happened left me feeling nauseous. One eyewitness said that they heard a rumbling just before the bridge collapsed. Another person said that they were in their apartment a quarter of a mile away but they could clearly hear the rumbling sound just before the collapse.

As is usually the case, Minnesotans helped the victims get off the bridge. Two college age students were interviewed on Fox. They said they helped carry school children off the bridge for almost half an hour. The children, ages 8-14, were in a school bus when the bridge collapsed. The bus was caught on the bridge. Fortunately, that section of the bridge dropped ‘only’ a few feet because it was close to the edge of the bridge.

Miraculously, there were numerous survivors who were on the middle section of the bridge. I say miraculously because the bridge dropped an estimated 64′.

Here’s how Jay Danz described what happened:

“I heard it creaking and making all sorts of noises it shouldn’t make,” Danz said. “And then the bridge just started to fall apart.”

Danz had just driven under the bridge on W. River Parkway.

I briefly listened to MSNBC’s coverage. Frankly, their coverage was appalling. When Joe Scarborough interviewed Craig Crawford, Crawford had the audacity to say that Minnesotans were to blame for the catastrophe because they wanted a baseball stadium more than a structurally sound bridge. What a blithering idiot. The new Twins stadium is being financed by a sales tax in Hennepin County with a down payment from the Pohlad family. The I-35W bridge is part of the interstate highway system. Therefore, the federal government is totally responsible for funding the maintenance of the bridge. They’re also supposed to inspect the bridge.

Another example of ‘experts’ getting something wrong was when David Asmun interviewed a retired FBI agent, who said that DHS shouldn’t have said that it wasn’t the work of terrorists so soon. This came hours after it had been reported that there were “stress fractures” found in the trusses during the last inspection. DHS based their opinion on those verified facts. They made this statement after talking with engineers, too.

The confirmed death toll as of 4:00 am CDT was 9, with authorities saying 60 people have been treated with injuries. These authorities expect the death toll to rise during the day.

Not surprisingly, the Daily Kos is blaming it on Republicans:

Funny thing, tho (4+ / 0-)

that the exact same big, corporate, well-connected engineering and construction firms (such as Bechtel) that failed to build anything workable in Iraq, yet made billions in profits, were behind the screw-ups in the Big Dig.

No way that is a mere coincidence.

Exactly…… (2+ / 0-)

this is why the Reagans and Bushes of the world love DE-regulation. No rules to follow. Slipshod work, cheap materials, and no rules on who can and cannot do the work.

The miners who died in W. Virgina paid the price. And because so many just have to have McMansions and they are the people who do not want to pay their fair share means less taxes, so less hiring people to make sure the infrastructure on bridges, less time spent on checking buildings, and repairs are not made in a timely fashion. Everything is always a battle.
Rules are relaxed and if big companies are fined, what do they care since they are making such huge profits anyway.

I feel bad for the innocent victims. But for those in charge I hope this is a wake up call.

Talk about people with a predisposition for hating. They don’t know the details but they’ve already determined that it’s all Republican’s fault? That’s despicable.

Check back as more updates become available.

Technorati Tags: Bridges, Catastrophe, Interstate Highways, Politicians, Daily Kos, Iraq War, Reagan, President Bush, Tim Pawlenty

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog

1. [...] Cross-posted at California Conservative Categories: Iraq, Moonbats, President Bush, Blogs, Tim Pawlenty | [...]

   Pingback by Let Freedom Ring » Blog Archive » “A Catastrophe of Historic Proportions” — August 2, 2007 @ 6:41 am

2. Cars fall in Mississippi after collapse…

   A freeway bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis collapsed Wednesday, sending many cars in…

   Trackback by Unpartisan.com Political News and Blog Aggregator — August 2, 2007 @ 6:48 am

3. [...] A Catastrophe of Historic Proportions (California Conservative) [...]

   Pingback by Burst Blog » Minnesota Bridge Collapse — August 3, 2007 @ 12:10 pm

4. [...] A Catastrophe of Historic Proportions (California Conservative) [...]

   Pingback by BurstBlog: Publisher Edition » Minnesota Bridge Collapse — August 3, 2007 @ 1:47 pm

1. We should know by now that screamer marxist rags like Kos will blame any thing that isn’t well meaning socialistic, government run, tax funded, and even if it is and its because there wasnt enough government regulation, rules, oversight, supervision, or analysis because the one thing they hate more than Reagan-Bush its free enterprise, and the notion that people are responsible enough to do something without the nosey f***ing governments help.

   Comment by T. A. Gray — August 2, 2007 @ 8:33 am

2. this isn’t the first bridge over a river to collapse. the new york state thruway bridge over the schoarie creek collapsed after the river support gave way.

   Comment by ron k — August 2, 2007 @ 12:34 pm

3. I wasn’t able to find the Joe Scarborough/Craig Crawford exchange of ‘wit and wisdom from one of Washington’s favorite pundits’ on the MSNBC website.

   Not entirely surprising, since some of the people there may be a little less clueless about who pays for what.

   However, a more original source would be nice to have.

   Comment by Norski — August 2, 2007 @ 12:56 pm

4. This is a catastrophe, no doubt.

   However, the bigger issue here may be underfunding and neglect of an infrastructure built during the 20th century.

   Perhaps funding for maintaining an old bridge or highway isn’t as attractively high-profile as funding a brand-new project.

   Comment by Norski — August 2, 2007 @ 12:59 pm

5. First and foremost, my concerns and prayers go out to Minnesotans affected by this catastrophe. Of the few people I know in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, all are fine, thankfully. And I’m glad that Gary Gross is fine and was not on the bridge when it collapsed.

   It is too bad that at times of emergency and the surrounding confusion, people sometimes say things without thinking. This, of course, is not limited to Crawford and MSNBC. But to call all of MSNBC’s coverage of this “appalling” because of one off-handed remark is being a bit too quick to judgment. Bear in mind that it was not MSNBC’s statement, but someone Scarborough was interviewing.

   Conversely, here’s what Michelle Malkin had to say on her own site:

   DHS issued a statement that the collapse “does not appear to be an act of terrorism.” Isn’t it too early to say anything meaningful about what it “appears” to be? Couldn’t they maybe, I dunno, say nothing until they actually know something?

   Well, not knowing what she was talking about certainly hasn’t stopped Michelle from saying anything, so I don’t know why she would suggest that anyone else shouldn’t say something. And this was Michelle writing, not one of her fellow spewers of hate commenters. (They let the real vitriol flow, suggesting that it was suspicious that Minneapolis has a large Muslim community, and they must somehow be involved. Way to win hearts and minds!)

   Likewise, regarding Chief Justice Roberts’ seizure and hospital stay, Michael Weiner actually had the gall to say “his health was in some way tampered with by the Democrats” and this is someone who has an audience of millions! Suffice it to say, there is plenty of hate and stupidity flowing from both sides of the aisle, and to single out commenters on Kos for ridicule is just too much.

   There will be plenty of time to figure out what happened in Minneapolis, and what the cause of the collapse was. We don’t need Michelle wishing it was terrorism, or libs pointing to failed republican policies, at least not today.

   Comment by Rocky — August 2, 2007 @ 2:34 pm

6. I expect Fred Phelps to chime in his opinion on this bridge collapse.

   Comment by Michael Ejercito — August 2, 2007 @ 9:33 pm