Before the good news get lost...

Wednesdays bridge collapse is one of those rare events that brings everyone together, where the whole community shares a sense of sadness, and we all do our best to support one another. While I think this helps us benefit each other, once people come together something horrible happens. Politicians try to tear it apart.

Before too long somehow this tradgedy is going to be politicized, and certain (and useless) political figures on the left and right are going to take cheap shots and blame each other for this finger pointing. This is what makes me sad about the political system in this country. Instead of being leaders, politicans think in terms of "how can I use this newfound community to further my carrer." In modern politics, politicans are nothing more than parasites that feed on those that elect them.

But before this happens, and now that the enormity of the tradgedy has set in I think it's important to remember much of the good news that came out of this.

1) Minneapolis Good Samaritans, those on the scene at the time of the crash in conjunction with emergency workers were very brave in trying to rescue as man people as possible. So special thanks to those citizens, in conjunction with the emergency responders, fire persons and even the police (it takes a lot to get me to praise a cop these days, but I must give credit here). Without they're bravery undoubtedly more people would've lost their lives..

2) Missing people, it seems the death toll isn't going to end up nearly as high as first speculated. As it seems most of the people that were deemed missing now are being accounted for. So it seems fewer people were trapped in the river than originally speculated. I know it's tough to consider this good news knowing people did lose their lives this way, but all things considered this could've been way worse than it's going to end up being.

3) MnDOT, while ultimatly this is the organization being set up to take the fall in this, they should get a little credit now for keeping our roadways moving during the past two days of rush out. Their good idea to turn MN-280 into a temporary expressway did a good job to get the usual I-35W commuters to I-94. While the highway is only 4 miles long (running from I-94 in St. Paul to MN-36 is Roseville, near the MN-36/I-35W interchange), and 3 miles were already freeway, turning the signals on the northernmost mile to green really made a difference. This thinking shows that while MnDOT is going to take at least some of the blame for this collapse they still are looking to help Minnesota commuters move forward.

Before too long we're going to face the ugly blame game as to what happened, and we look to find scapegoats, and not neccesairly because the targets are responsible, but because the targets are convienent politically. Before we have to deal with this, take a second to remember these examples of good things that came out of this.

It is the spirit of those brave people that day that give me hope for this society, I draw no such hope from the politicans that govern us.

A heavy heart today in the mini-apple

As many of you are well aware a great tradgedy has befallen the city of Minneapolis. Yesterday evening the I-35W bridge over the Mississippi collapsed into the river. So far only 4 deaths have been confirmed, however I would speculate they will find more once they dive in to search for the cars that are still believed in the river.

Considering the size of the bridge and how many cars possibly fell, I'm amazed at how many people have survived. It is nothing short of miraculous. However, I feel sorry for those who have lost their lives. The fact that there were lane closures on this bridge due to construction probably reduced the number of the cars that would otherwise be on the bridge in a typical rush hour. However some are speculating that the shifting of traffic to the outer edge during the closures may have contributed. We won't have answers to these questions for a very long time.

It's just shocking to me that something we take for granted is suddenly gone. There are several bridges over the river. I had last crossed this particular bridge about two weeks ago, traveling from on of my company's sites in Northeast Minneapolis to one near Uptown.

For the latest...

Minneapolis Star Tribune: http://www.startribune.com/

St. Paul Pioneer Press: http://www.twincities.com

Google News Search: http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=I-35w+Bridge+Collapse+Minneapolis

I've been Simpsonized!

I visited the http://www.simpsonizeme.com/ website and uploaded a facebook photo and I look like this. I'm not sure how much like me this really looks, I'll let you guys be the judge. Anyway it's kind of fun, however I had to break facebook tradition and actually appear awake in this one. Oh well. Enjoy the movie this weekend.

Independence Day thoughts from Ronaldus Magnus.

"Republicans believe every day is the Fourth of July, but the democrats believe every day is April 15."

-Pres. Ronald Reagan

Left, or Right, everyone have a great Independence Day!