omg bridge collapse.

[sajohnson]

A much smaller barge just hit a much smaller bridge in Oklahoma. No apparent injuries.

Some of you might recall the barge that hit a railroad bridge a few years ago, knocking the rails out of alignment and causing a train to derail, with cars ending up in the water. IIRC, the barge pilot/captain got lost in the fog and ended up taking the wrong waterway.

 

[bykfixer]

I blame it on smart phones.
"Oh shoot, just got a text from Prakish, must check it"

"WHAM"......

 

[sajohnson]

Media figures who are demagoguing the Baltimore bridge collapse are irresponsible. It's the ultimate absurdity that in this case, the disaster really is a problem for the entire country, as well as for the Baltimore area. Which is to say that, as offensive as this idea might be to the sensibilities of some people, it really is very much the problem of all of us.

 

[vincent3685]

Media figures who are demagoguing the Baltimore bridge collapse are irresponsible. It's the ultimate absurdity that in this case, the disaster really is a problem for the entire country, as well as for the Baltimore area. Which is to say that, as offensive as this idea might be to the sensibilities of some people, it really is very much the problem of all of us.

Uh, no. That's a communist p.o.v. Once they clear the federal channel of bridge debris, the port can reopen and goods will resume going into and out of the port of Baltimore relatively quickly. While they rebuild, most ship traffic should be able to navigate around the work-site, and the larger container ships can be temporarily rerouted to nearby ports as needed. Rebuilding the bridge is what will take the most time. They may have to work around ship traffic, but the brunt of the effect will be felt by local Md. traffic going around the I-695 Baltimore beltway. That's a problem for Md. not the rest of the country. The cost of rebuilding should NOT be borne by federal taxpayers. That's a problem for the ship's owners, mgmt., the woke state of Md. and your genius demagoguing mayor of Baltimore to resolve.

 

[TPA]

Who would be the cheapest labor?

There's a surprising amount of Filipinos in the US Navy.

I've not been involved with cargo/shipping/merchant marine stuff in at least 15 years, but I'd imagine Chinese are probably the cheapest, but they wouldn't have the language skills to interact with the other crewmembers of other nations. India /Sri Lanka and that region probably would have some cheap labour.

 

[sajohnson]

Uh, no. That's a communist p.o.v. Once they clear the federal channel of bridge debris, the port can reopen and goods will resume going into and out of the port of Baltimore relatively quickly. While they rebuild, most ship traffic should be able to navigate around the work-site, and the larger container ships can be temporarily rerouted to nearby ports as needed. Rebuilding the bridge is what will take the most time. They may have to work around ship traffic, but the brunt of the effect will be felt by local Md. traffic going around the I-695 Baltimore beltway. That's a problem for Md. not the rest of the country. The cost of rebuilding should NOT be borne by federal taxpayers. That's a problem for the ship's owners, mgmt., the woke state of Md. and your genius demagoguing mayor of Baltimore to resolve.

So does that mean FEMA assistance is communist and should be withheld the next time a hurricane hits Texas or Florida?

BTW -- while Maryland is "blue" overall there are large areas of the state that are deep red. Definitely not "woke." In fact, 13 counties are majority republican. Voters state-wide elected a republican governor more than once. Our former congressman, Roscoe Bartlett, was considered to be the most conservative member of congress. Not that any of that should matter.

Hopefully when disasters like this happen, most Americans' first thought is 'how can I (or the gov't) help?' -- without worrying about whether the community or state is red or blue.

I-695 carries a lot of out-of-state traffic. A large portion used to use the Key Bridge:

"The bridge collapse will force around 34,000 vehicles per day, including a high volume of freight trucks, to use different routes for an undetermined amount of time."

https://fredericksburg.com/news/state-regional/how-the-key-bridge-collapse-will-impact-interstate-traffic-in-maryland-i-695-i-95-virginia/article_69e00eba-eb84-11ee-bcc4-3fc62ac6de81.html

This affects a lot more than the people of Maryland.

I agree with you that in this case "the cost of rebuilding should NOT be borne by federal taxpayers. That's a problem for the ship's owners, mgmt.,..." That's true. The money being spent by the federal gov't is essentially a temporary loan. The cost will eventually be covered by multiple insurance companies.

 

[Monocrom]

Hopefully when disasters like this happen, most Americans' first thought is 'how can I (or the gov't) help?' -- without worrying about whether the community or state is red or blue.

Unfortunately, for many, yes that is their first concern. Whether or not those people are worth helping.

 

[TPA]

So does that mean FEMA assistance is communist and should be withheld the next time a hurricane hits Texas or Florida?

What FEMA assistance? I've received $0.00 from FEMA, *and* FEMA has been getting in the way of many people rebuilding their homes here in Florida. In the early months after Hurricane Ian, a few people stuck Ukrainian flags on the beach here and took a photo with "Will the federal government send us help now?" as a caption.

Florida rebuilt the Pine Island Causeway in ONE week, Sanibel Causeway in three weeks. Amazing what you can do when you keep the Feds away.

That said, the Francis Scott Key Bridge is (was) a MUCH different creature. While they could probably just replace the failed section, with it being a 50 year old bridge, it'd make sense to scrap the whole thing and start over. It took 5 years to build the original one in the 1970s... I suspect it'll take double that these days with all of the bovine manure involved.

 

[sajohnson]

What FEMA assistance? I've received $0.00 from FEMA, *and* FEMA has been getting in the way of many people rebuilding their homes here in Florida. In the early months after Hurricane Ian, a few people stuck Ukrainian flags on the beach here and took a photo with "Will the federal government send us help now?" as a caption.

Florida rebuilt the Pine Island Causeway in ONE week, Sanibel Causeway in three weeks. Amazing what you can do when you keep the Feds away.

That said, the Francis Scott Key Bridge is (was) a MUCH different creature. While they could probably just replace the failed section, with it being a 50 year old bridge, it'd make sense to scrap the whole thing and start over. It took 5 years to build the original one in the 1970s... I suspect it'll take double that these days with all of the bovine manure involved.

Very few people would say that FEMA is always reliable. The Ukrainian flag thing is funny (but also serious of course).

My point is not to defend FEMA or the feds in general. All I'm saying is that, for better or worse, the federal gov't is involved in numerous ways in all 50 states and the territories. They throw money at all kinds of things, from disaster relief to road and bridge construction, etc., etc. They subsidize all sorts of projects all across the country.

There is absolutely no reason they should not help with rebuilding the Key Bridge -- especially when the cost will eventually be paid by insurance companies.

 

[vincent3685]

So does that mean FEMA assistance is communist and should be withheld the next time a hurricane hits Texas or Florida?

BTW -- while Maryland is "blue" overall there are large areas of the state that are deep red. Definitely not "woke." In fact, 13 counties are majority republican. Voters state-wide elected a republican governor more than once. Our former congressman, Roscoe Bartlett, was considered to be the most conservative member of congress. Not that any of that should matter.

Hopefully when disasters like this happen, most Americans' first thought is 'how can I (or the gov't) help?' -- without worrying about whether the community or state is red or blue.]https://fredericksburg.com/news/sta...cle_69e00eba-eb84-11ee-bcc4-3fc62ac6de81.html

I-695 carries a lot of out-of-state traffic. A large portion used to use the Key Bridge:

"The bridge collapse will force around 34,000 vehicles per day, including a high volume of freight trucks, to use different]https://fredericksburg.com/news/sta...cle_69e00eba-eb84-11ee-bcc4-3fc62ac6de81.html routes for an undetermined amount of time."

https://fredericksburg.com/news/state-regional/how-the-key-bridge-collapse-will-impact-interstate-traffic-in-maryland-i-695-i-95-virginia/article_69e00eba-eb84-11ee-bcc4-3fc62ac6de81.html

]https://fredericksburg.com/news/sta...cle_69e00eba-eb84-11ee-bcc4-3fc62ac6de81.html
This affects a lot more than the people of Maryland.]https://fredericksburg.com/news/sta...cle_69e00eba-eb84-11ee-bcc4-3fc62ac6de81.html

I agree with you that in this case "the cost of rebuilding should NOT be borne by federal taxpayers. That's a problem for the ship's owners, mgmt.,..." That's true. The money being spent by the federal gov't is essentially a temporary loan. The cost will eventually be covered by multiple insurance companies.

No, I don't think FEMA assistance should be withheld for disasters like hurricanes. But, that's not what happened here. The FEMA was created to assist states with "natural" disasters. This was not natural, it was incompetence. Either operator error, lack of maintenance, or both. The totally incompetent and unqualified Baltimore mayor would like nothing more than to turn this disaster into a big money grab to fund his union voters and special interests. Predictably, they also want to rename the new bridge because, of course, Frances Scott Key was a racist.

Let's be honest; The vast majority of traffic on that portion of I-695 is local commuter traffic, and Hazmat trucks bypassing the tunnels. Hell, they even give a discounted toll rate of more than half off to commuters who use that bridge daily. It mostly serves the harbor. Most interstate traffic can bypass the bridge by going around the western portion of the beltway. In fact, that part of the beltway isn't even recognized as part of the Federal Highway Administration and is maintained by the Md. State Highway Authority.

Now that you mentioned it, of your eight U.S. Congressmen, one is a Republican. The rest, including Hoyer, Mfume and Jamie Raskin are all rabid leftist liberals who espouse big govt. Likewise with your two Senators, Ben Cardin and Van Hollin. And again, let's be honest, your former Governor, never trumper Larry Hogan, is the very definition of a RINO.

I would have no problem with a loan to help rebuild the bridge. However, we all know how these so-called loans end up; forgiven.

 

[vincent3685]

What FEMA assistance? I've received $0.00 from FEMA, *and* FEMA has been getting in the way of many people rebuilding their homes here in Florida. In the early months after Hurricane Ian, a few people stuck Ukrainian flags on the beach here and took a photo with "Will the federal government send us help now?" as a caption.

Florida rebuilt the Pine Island Causeway in ONE week, Sanibel Causeway in three weeks. Amazing what you can do when you keep the Feds away.

That said, the Francis Scott Key Bridge is (was) a MUCH different creature. While they could probably just replace the failed section, with it being a 50 year old bridge, it'd make sense to scrap the whole thing and start over. It took 5 years to build the original one in the 1970s... I suspect it'll take double that these days with all of the bovine manure involved.

Doesn't surprise me. Florida is not from the politically correct party. Now watch the money flow to the great state of Md.

 

[bykfixer]

What part of "It's my intention that the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge. I expect the Congress to support my effort — this is going to take some time." not getting through to folks?

That was a quote from the president on 3/26/24 so it should be no surprise that the feds are paying the bill. FEMA paying for the cleanup and Dept of Transportation for the rebuild.
Afterall.... it's for the children....

 

[orbital]

+

Someone in Congress will whisper in Bidens ear explaining what insurance is for..

edit vid out

 

[KITROBASKIN]

What part of "It's my intention that the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge. I expect the Congress to support my effort — this is going to take some time." not getting through to folks?

That was a quote from the president on 3/26/24 so it should be no surprise that the feds are paying the bill. FEMA paying for the cleanup and Dept of Transportation for the rebuild.
Afterall.... it's for the children....

Really embarrassing ignorance or pathetic disinformation to spread hate. Maybe some of you still believe the president was promoting perversion on this last Easter? Hard to believe the deceit being spread these days.

The continued bullying is driving people away from CPF, all so some of you can rant ugly lies.

Think about the good people who have left us. Look at current viewing CPF member numbers these days.

Insurance claims take time to play out. US government will get money from those responsible.

 

[bykfixer]

Really embarrassing ignorance or pathetic disinformation to spread hate. Maybe some of you still believe the president was promoting perversion on this last Easter? Hard to believe the deceit being spread these days.

The continued bullying is driving people away from CPF, all so some of you can rant ugly lies.

Think about the good people who have left us. Look at current viewing CPF member numbers these days.

Insurance claims take time to play out. US government will get money from those responsible.

If you are implying my post was anti-anything that's on you. My post quoted the president saying the federal government was going to pay for the replacement of the Frances Scott Keye bridge. Nothing more, nothing less.

Folks were discussing whether the bridge would or should be paid for by the US government. My post was intent on squashing the if part.

Should? That's up to others to discuss.

Now the "it's for the children part", both sides use that gimmick, wouldn't you agree?

 

[sajohnson]

How 'bout them super-bright flashlights?!

 

[boo5ted]

How 'bout them super-bright flashlights?!

They had those in the Bible?

 

[sajohnson]

They had those in the Bible?

Yes. In the Book of Lumens. It is thought that extraterrestrials left them.

Legend has it that one survives. It is in the Ark of the Covenant.

 

[dddrees]

Doesn't surprise me. Florida is not from the politically correct party. Now watch the money flow to the great state of Md.

Well then I guess maybe it's high time we began talking about your want to be Dictator. You know, that POS that attempted to overturn the will of the people with that fake elector scheme. I know you idolize him, but that's the main reason The Trump Cult are such morons. Yeah, that same person facing 88 criminal indictments. You know the very person where so many from his last administration are attempting to warn The American People he's unfit for office.

I know this is time where the Orange Kool Aid Kids get together and want to make excuses for their Orange Jesus. Me personally I'm going to enjoy hearing how that whole court thing goes down for the next month and a half or so. Be really too bad if somehow The Supreme Court comes out early enough with their ruling so he can go to Court just one more time before November wouldn't it?

 

[Monocrom]

They had those in the Bible?

"And God said, Let there be light."

Technically the Sun counts. Don't ask me to quote chapter & verse though. According to The Holy Bible, only two types of individuals excel at that. The most devout. And, Satan. (No, seriously. He does that.)