About
Captain Ed is a father and grandfather living in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, a native Californian who moved to the North Star State because of the weather. He lives with his wife Marcia, also known as the First Mate, their two dogs, and frequently watch their granddaughter Kayla, whom Captain Ed calls The Little Admiral.
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The Crows Nest
Would Early Primaries Allow More Donations?
Jim Geraghty at The Campaign Spot believes that candidates will benefit if primaries and caucuses get pushed into 2007. A loophole in campaign finance regulation appears to allow an extra $2,300 per donor for candidates if those elections are held this year. Be sure to check out Jim's analysis, and the surprising candidate that may benefit the most.
When Tom Met Jeralyn
One of the interesting aspects of politics is finding out that opponents are people, too. Jeralyn Merritt of TalkLeft met Rep. Tom Tancredo backstage at NBC's studios, and found him more likable than she had anticipated. Perhaps it was their mutual interest in Dog, The Bounty Hunter ...
Joe Lieberman A Right-Wing Nut?
That's what CAIR says, according to Joe Kaufman. He has a link to a CAIR official's blog post that calls Lieberman, along with John Bolton, former CIA director James Woolsey, and the Heritage Foundation's Peter Brookes as "extremists". Affad Shaikh also calls Dick Cheney a "fat bastard of a liar," apparently not meant as a pop-culture reference to the Austin Powers movies. (via Let Freedom Ring)
Broadband Homelessness
The Japanese have made homelessness more efficient, and more Net-friendly, too. Their Internet cafés have become homeless shelters for the struggling manual-labor sector. The problem has grown into such a problem that government intervention will shortly become a political priority.
Found My Law Firm
Power Line links twice to this story regarding an attorney at Faegre & Benson who refused to become a victim and helped capture a very dangerous man. Keith Radtke is a partner in the firm as is Power Line's John Hinderaker. Radtke is listed in satisfactory condition after getting shot in the back, but that didn't keep him from locking up his attacker in a wrestling grip until police could arrive. I don't know about you, but that's the kind of man I'd want as my counsel ....
Don't Click That YouTube E-mail
The latest in spam seems to be redirections from YouTube links in e-mail to IP addresses without domain names. They attempt to entice people by making it seem that they have been inadvertently YouTubed. I'm sure most people can see through this scam, but just in case, you've been warned ....
Rick Moran Escapes The Floods
Rick Moran has kept us up to date on his travails along the Algonquin River. Yesterday, the police showed up to get him evacuated before the river flooded his home -- but today, Rick finds that a minor miracle has taken place, and that his house survives ... at least for now. Keep Rick in your prayers, and keep checking in at Right Wing Nut House for updates.
Rule 1: Drag The Corpse On Over First
If I've learned anything in four years of blogging, don't try to be out in front of the death rumors, especially with the villains of the world. Saddam died a hundred deaths before we caught him alive in his spider hole, and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi almost as many before his demise last year. Osama may or may not be alive, but everyone's avoided speculating on his fate for a while now. Maybe Val at Babalu Blog will get luckier with his "Castro Is Dead" story. We all hope so. I'll wait for the announcement ....
Hobbs Choice
Volunteer Voters is holding its annual "Best of Nashville" on-line polls, and one of the categories is for the best political writer. Our friend Bill Hobbs, now posting at Newsbusters, and he'd like his on-line fans to cast their votes. Drop by and put one in for Bill if you get a chance!
Murtha Getting Backlogged On Apologies
Gary Gross of Let Freedom Ring sees another case collapsing on the Haditha charges. He's called for Murtha to apologize earlier, and adds another reason to the tally.
No Such Thing As 'Moderate' Islam?
Turkish PM Tayyip Erdogan told a television interviewer that he finds the label "moderate Islam" offensive. Shrink Wrapped has a lot more on this, but at least in the same interview Erdogan acknowledged that "radical Islam" exists, and that it's been a catastrophe. Be sure to read the whole post.
MS-NBC Gets Punk'd
Power Line has a great post on a lack of journalistic effort on the part of MS-NBC. In covering the Michael Vick story, they reported on what they thought was Al Sharpton's website proclaiming Vick's innocence. I guess Alex Johnson and two other MS-NBC reporters couldn't bother to read the title bar of the site, which proudly proclaims it as a "parody site".
New Instapundit Podcast On Pharmaceuticals
I just caught this e-mail from Glenn Reynolds about his new podcast with Richard Epstein, the author of Overdose: How Excessive Government Regulation Stifles Pharmaceutical Innovation. Haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, but the topic is important enough to make sure I carve out time for it tomorrow. Get their first and tell me what I'm missing ....
Fed Trying A 'Stealth Easing'?
The Federal Reserve seems to have conducted a quiet campaign to steady markets that started spinning out of control, according to King Banaian at SCSU Scholars. He thinks that the Fed has conducted a "stealth easing". Be sure to read his explanation and follow his lnks.
A Shameless Bit Of Sel-Promotion
Gateway Pundit and Val at Babalu Blog note a crass PR move by Hugo Chavez. Venezuela has responded to Peru's eathquake disaster with food shipments -- and with Hugo's smiling picture on the cans. He also uses the tuna-can label to undermine President Garcia of Peru, who narrowly defeated Chavez' pal Ollanto Humalla, whom the labels extol for his "solidarity" with Chavez.
Tacky beyond belief.
Comments (19)
Posted by vet66 | August 2, 2007 12:11 PM
I believe additional consideration should be given to exposed support structures in areas of extreme cold and temperature variations over a 24 hour period.
I also don't doubt that vibrations from the trains that run under the bridge contributed extra wear and tear beyond that predicted by increased vehicle traffic truck and otherwise.
A tragedy that will not go quietly into the night.
Posted by Geoffrey Alden | August 2, 2007 12:29 PM
I have two thoughts on the bridge. The first is that suspended walkway collapse in Kansas City (I think) several years ago. The problem wasn't materials strnegth but an overly innovative design. Materials inspection wouldn't, or didn't, catch the problem.
The second is that it sounds as if the bridge was built with a quite long span, and there may have been some innovations at that time to handle that requirement.
Posted by Lazarus Long | August 2, 2007 12:35 PM
Let's see....... Bridge maintenance or universal health care...Bridge maintenance or universal health care...Bridge maintenance or universal health care... Hmmm, what do do?
Posted by James I. Hymas | August 2, 2007 1:18 PM
Lazarus Long: Bridge maintenance or universal health care...Bridge maintenance or universal health care...Bridge maintenance or universal health care... Hmmm, what do do?
Cut taxes, of course!
No politician likes spending money on maintenance. Maintenance isn't sexy. You get your picture in the paper at ribbon cutting ceremonies for new public works, not for shutting down a bridge or highway for six months in order to spend a lot of money giving the public what they thought they already had anyway.
I've read some essays on this with respect to Britain. The Victorians were great builders - railroad stations, public buildings, ornamental statuary ... it was all good solid stuff. And to a large extent, Britain's been living off the investment for the past hundred years.
A sidewalk should last 50 years, I am told. That even sounds a bit conservative to me - I mean, it's just a slab of concrete flat on the ground, right? In Toronto, we can't even keep up with maintenance of the sidewalk system. Roads are worse. To save a few dollars they put off resurfacing. Trouble is, this advances the date for re-building ... but hey, as long as the re-building date is after the next election, we won't have to endure raised taxes, right?
I'm no great friend of high taxes, but I'm not a big fan of boneheaded tax cuts and false economies either. Tell me what it costs to keep things in good repair and send me a bill.
Posted by Gary Gross | August 2, 2007 1:21 PM
Minnesota's inspection system, like its highway system, is one of the best in the nation.
Posted by starfleet_dude | August 2, 2007 1:25 PM
Transportation funding in Minnesota isn't an issue that's been confined to the political class though, as in last fall's elections there was a constitutional amendment which easily passed that dedicated sales taxes from motor vehicle sales solely to transportation purposes, rather than being put in to the state's general fund.
Public sentiment in Minnesota has largely been in favor of spending what it takes to maintain transportation infrastructure, and the legislature this past session passed a gas tax increase to pay for it that Governor Pawlenty vetoed. How this tragic event may affect this issue remains to be seen, but it will be at the top of the agenda now.
Posted by Dave | August 2, 2007 1:34 PM
It's been almost 24 hours.
Is it Bush's fault yet?
Posted by AnonymousDrivel | August 2, 2007 2:04 PM
RE: James I. Hymas (August 2, 2007 1:18 PM)
No politician likes spending money on maintenance. Maintenance isn't sexy... shutting down a bridge or highway for six months in order to spend a lot of money giving the public what they thought they already had anyway.
Too true.
I'm no great friend of high taxes, but I'm not a big fan of boneheaded tax cuts and false economies either. Tell me what it costs to keep things in good repair and send me a bill.
Yes. Rather than the continuously expanding development of new projects at the periphery as urban centers grow, I'd rather see a bit more commitment to the infrastructure of what we currently have. Granted, independent developers tend to find it easier/cheaper to build away from the city, but government councils that accommodate that trend at the expense of absolutely necessary renovation and maintenance do the public a disservice even if the public strongly endorses such "mis"appropriations. One cannot necessarily blame cities that bend to the whims of its citizens, so we all bear some blame for monies that are spent on glamor as opposed to the mundane.
Case in point: Look at the tax money that is collected to build a new sports arena under the auspices of an economic ripple effect. Studies have shown that such expenditures do not offer the return as advertised or above and beyond that which would be made by investing that same money among many smaller businesses rather than one big one. Citizens almost always approve of bonds for such projects yet will wince should that same funding be suggested for something as common as road repair... something infinitely more useful and necessary and that benefits the entire city acutely.
The U.S. has been coasting a bit on its infrastructure obligations and the bill is coming due. The question is which government program(s) can we slash as we try to fix that which has been neglected.
Posted by LarryD | August 2, 2007 2:06 PM
James, as you say, politicians don't like spending on maintainance, and this is true no matter how big the budget is. Increase the revenue, and they'll still want to spend it on some other than maintainance, so increasing taxes won't improve things.
The voters are just going to have to demand that maintainance be done, and fire the politicians who won't see to it.
Posted by Lightwave | August 2, 2007 3:08 PM
Dave asks:
It's been almost 24 hours.
Is it Bush's fault yet?
And according those ever-serious experts on our economy, the moonbats, the problem is directly the result of Bush's tax cuts and the Iraq War of course!
BDS at its best, folks. How about we start talking about the real problem: billions of dollars of Democrat pork, huh?
Now if those billions went to the war effort for armor or vehicles for our troops or for infrastructure maintenance instead of lining pockets, I bet we'd have a much better situation both here and abroad.
The tax cuts at least stimulate the economy. The real problem is and always has been several tons of pork over an ounce of prevention.
Posted by Greg | August 2, 2007 3:12 PM
Obviously there will have to be an investigation into why the bridge failed, but there is something Minnesotans can do today that will rush the rebuilding process: Erect a sign at either end of the bridge approaches declaring that the new bridge will be named "The John P. Murtha Memorial Bridge." If nothing else the sign will remind them of why infrastructure isn't a priority at the Federal level.
Posted by Del Dolemonte | August 2, 2007 3:25 PM
Dave said:
"Is it Bush's fault yet?"
Check what "filistro" has to say on one of the other threads here. It most certainly IS Bush's fault, at least on the planet filistro lives on!
Posted by flicka47 | August 2, 2007 6:05 PM
Greg,
Your are naming that bridge after the wrong congresscritter!
Shouldn't it be the "Ted Steven's Bridge to Nowhere Memorial Bridge"??
Seriously though folks,we do have a tax already to pay for highway repair/ maintenance/ upgrades. It just is not being used for that.
Like you have mentioned it is not sexy.
Instead our federal (and state) gas taxes get used for feel-good mass transit projects... Which have done nothing but make the problems worse.
Posted by filistro | August 2, 2007 6:50 PM
Hey, it's not often you wander into a brand new thread and find your name being taken in vain by a pineapple.
(I must hasten to add that pineapple is one of my favorite fruits. Sweet but pulpy...)
And just to set the record straight, Del, I don't blame Dubya for the bridge collapse, the national malaise, the decline of the republic OR the dreadful tragedy of the Iraq war.
I think it's all Cheney's fault ;-)
Posted by poodlemom | August 2, 2007 9:25 PM
Maybe it's just me, but I can't help but think the 500+ million dollars that will be spent on the new dome for the Twins MIGHT be better spent on repairs/replacement of these bridges. From what I could see there is a I35E......wouldn't want to travel that any time soon (assuming all these configurations were built at the same time).
Posted by tim8439 | August 2, 2007 11:12 PM
Remember one thing folks We have a person that is finally doing what the tax payers have asked of our government and has used his veto pen to enforce some commen sense every one is starting to scream about him vetoing the gas tax bill wwell guess what it was not going to go to road work it was going to pay some other Democrat feel good project
mark my words the dems are standing around rubbing their hands right now drooling at the prospect of a special session being called so they can spend more of our money to fix things there way
Posted by Tony | August 3, 2007 1:56 AM
Sure, let's spend tax dollars on bridges to no where (Alaska) instead of fixing what we have (and need!).
Taxes goin' higher now....
Posted by Joe Doakes | August 3, 2007 9:48 AM
Uh, Cap'n? Where'd you get a St. Anthony medal for your dash? Mine shows Saint Christopher carrying the Christ child across a river [strangely appropos in this case].
Did that mendicant relic salesman rip me off? Do you think my plenary indulgence is fake, too?
.
Posted by J. CHIARAVALLOTI | August 4, 2007 9:20 AM
UNSAFE BRIDGES
Our departments of transport act as if dangerous bridge ratings are intended only for future generations, not for us here and now. Bull. If a bridge is classified as "structurally deficient" or "functionally obsolescent", that fact should be prominently indicated in signage and a detour should be indicated for those wish to take a slower, safer route.
No, we can't fix them all tomorrow, but the public should be warned when they are facing unsafe conditions.
Just truth in labeling.