I have lived in Minneapolis for most of my adult life. I have driven over the 35W bridge many times. I was by it just a few days ago. The collapse of the bridge is a terrible tragedy for the dead and injured and their families and friends. My heart goes out to all of them. The loss of the bridge will be a dreadful nuisance for everyone for a long time.
But...
...we didn't have a hurricane, or earthquake, or tornado. It's a limited disaster. I wasn't on the bridge last night, so today, my life is pretty much the same. Having to take a different route is not the same as having your house flattened by a tornado or under water.
It's all over the news. It seems to have driven non-news like Paris Hilton off the radar. That's good. The collapse of a major bridge is real news.
But we still need to impeach Gonzales, and Cheney, and Bush. Don't let this tragedy obcscure the worse one of the shredding of the Constitution. Don't let it push their crimes out of public notice.
If the bridge was defective, it's because the neo-cons have drained money for infrastructure, along with everything else, so they and their rich friends can benefit. A bridge collapsing is dramatic. Kids without health care, seniors who can't afford their medicines, homes being foreclosed on, these are all less spectacular. This is a "if it bleeds, it leads" situation. But the small tragedies remain, the same as yesterday.
And we still need to get rid of Bush and Cheney and Gonzales and their ilk. And can we impeach Pawlenty (the governor, who has cut and vetoed highway funding)while we're at it?