August 4, 2007 (LPAC)--President Bush made a personal visit to the site of the collapsed Mississippi River Bridge at Twin Cities this morning--a trip orchestrated to indicate the concern he did not have for New Orleans during Katrina. However, despite the appropriateness of Presidential presence at the disaster scene, Bush's obliviousness showed through. He is in the grip of the Cheneyac policy subverting the national economy. Meanwhile, the U.S. public is getting a reality lesson in physical economics, by having to confront the dangerous condition of decayed bridges and infrastructure all around them. The horror of the Mississippi River bridge disaster drives home the point.
As of 72 hours since the Aug. 1 rush-hour bridge collapse, there still remain vehicles trapped under water and bridge rubble. Divers can see only six inches in front of them, and must conduct a feel-search. One crushed car was lifted out of the river today. The National Safety Transportation Board announced this afternoon that their survey and mapping procedures are completed, so heavy equipment can now be brought in to remove debris. There are five confirmed dead; 100 injured; and seven persons on the missing list. At least 40 people are waiting at a Red Cross Station for word on their missing family members.
Bush arrived in Minneapolis at 10 a.m. on Air Force One, accompanied by Karl Rove, wearing a Minneapolis Twins ball cap. Bush was immediately taken on Marine One Helicopter, for a ten minute flyover of the fallen bridge. He then took a brief walking tour, and gave a three minute speech. After comments about prayers, thanks to officials and citizens, Bush said, "We want to get this bridge built as soon as possible...I make no promises on the timetable." He said he could only promise that Mary Peters, Secretary of Transportation, would work to cut red tape and "eliminate roadblocks."
In fact, a timetable can be put on reconstructing the Minneapolis Interstate W35 bridge. Engineers say it might be accomplished in 15 months. A program can be initiated to do the work on the all bridges cross-country considered deficient, if a capital improvements budget approach were adopted. This was demonstrated in the FDR years, and at earlier periods, and is now proposed by Lyndon LaRouche. Local media are publicizing in detail, the bridge projects and other decayed infrastructure needing overhauled. Of the 590,000 bridges in the United States, 160,000 are judged either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. A national database of bridge ratings has been made available for public look-up, by CNN TV on CNN.com. The "10 worst bridges" of Atlanta, New York City and dozens of other major metropolitan areas are getting publicity.
Pennsylvania has 5,900 structurally deficient bridges--the most of any state. Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) has asked Washington specifically for a Federal capital budget program. He said in an Aug. 3 CNN interview, "The American infrastructure is crumbling." The Cheney/Bush Administration stands in total opposition to a rebuilding program. Within hours of the Mississippi River bridge collapse, the White House threatened it would veto the House of Representatives bill to rehabilitate water infrastructure (H.R. 1495), passed Aug. 1, by a thumping bipartisan vote of 381 to 40. Bush doesn't give a dam.
Supporting the Cheney anti-infrastructure outlook is the view being promoted that rehab funds can be found, if Congress will cut earmarks and pork from the Federal budget. Steve Ellis, Vice Chairman of Taxpayers for Commons Sense, is getting a lot of play for this view. He said on Aug. 4, that if the I99 Bud Schuster Highway in Central Pennsylvania had never been built, there would be plenty of money for bridges. He neglected to say that the passenger rail grid was removed from this region, leaving no means of transportation. Former Rep. Bud Schuster, for whom the highway was named, denounced Ellis. "He ought to be ashamed."
