Baltimore Bridges and Diversity

[jonatha]

A couple days worth of Blackwater Security’s Iraq budget would have put bumpers to guard the piers. Look at the bumpers that got installed after the Skyway Bridge got knocked down.

I believe there were bumpers. Didn't matter...

 

[jonatha]

A couple days worth of Blackwater Security’s Iraq budget would have put bumpers to guard the piers. Look at the bumpers that got installed after the Skyway Bridge got knocked down.

That ship is huge. I don't know what size bumper would have deflected it. Of course, if we passed a bill to get bumpers on bridges at every port, then the GOP would be railing about scare tactics and deficit spending.

I am wondering about requiring tugs to accompany any ship until it gets past anything that might fall down.

Dunno if tugs would have made a difference, or what kind of bottlenecks this would impose (from lack of tugs), but...

 

[scombrid]

See the images I grabbed from google earth comparing fortifications against ship strike at Sunshine Skyway versus Key bridges. Key bridge was protected about as well as the skyway was when it got destroyed in 1980. The rebuilt skyway bridge has concrete dolphins surrounding the main piers and large round deflectors running quite a distance down the bridge either side of the channel. I know Patapsco River is a much less dynamic environment than the mouth of Tampa Bay with respect to tidal current and wind fetch but a cantilevered steel bridge is spectacularly vulnerable to complete collapse if you snap a support and it is mind boggling that the there were minimal protective barriers. Look at the structure at the foot of the powerlines just upstream of Key bridge.

 

[ZiprHead]

I admit I will get suspicious if we find out the captain of the ship is a black gay midget on his first mission.

Actually he was the most experienced river pilot on the team.

 

[bilby]

I admit I will get suspicious if we find out the captain of the ship is a black gay midget on his first mission.

Actually he was the most experienced river pilot on the team.

The pilot is not the captain.

 

[hurtinbuckaroo]

The pilots are not members of the crew. They board incoming ships and take control at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. There is also a docking pilot who took over at the Key Bridge. I assume the process is reversed for outgoing.

More info here:

PORT: A Transportation System

The journey includes passing under the Tydings Bridge, a double span over four miles in length. That’s much better protected, but I imagine they’re having second thoughts about that too. Loss of one of those spans could bankrupt the state (MD) and/or the beach towns (MD and DE).

 

[Politesse]

I keep seeing this thread title and thinking that someone has objected to diversity of bridge construction types. Like, they see this tourist shirt:

And lose their shit. "Cantilever bridges have no place in my America goddammit!"

(I mean, it would make just as much sense as their dumbass actual point....)

 

[scombrid]

Irrespective if heavier fortification like Skyway has would have saved the Key bridge from this direct hit. Just think if the huge multinational corporations that profit off of our infrastructure actually paid for safety measures and the inspection process for vessel sea-worthiness wasn't grossly underfunded.

 

[robnisch]

I'm waiting for someone to bring up that there were immigrants working on the bridge.

 

[hurtinbuckaroo]

I'm waiting for someone to bring up that there were immigrants working on the bridge.

Oh, that happened within a day:

Right-Wing Media Blames Bridge Collapse on ‘Open Border’ and COVID Lockdowns

While Fox’s Maria Bartiromo tried linking the disaster to border policies, Matt Schlapp suggested it had something to do with post-COVID labor policy.

www.thedailybeast.com

Maria “Batcrap Crazy” Bartormo leading the charge.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I'm waiting for someone to bring up that there were immigrants working on the bridge.

It is in the OP.

 

[Politesse]

I'm waiting for someone to bring up that there were immigrants working on the bridge.

As is the way of immigrants, risking their lives doing something more tangibly useful for society than what most of these alt-right posers have the skill, inclination, or education to do.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

So, when a massive bridge collapsed in Baltimore, there was a question, where do you post a thread about that? It isn't political... big boat hit a structure and it collapsed. Nothing remotely political about that. Seems like an accident. I suppose we don't need a thread on every event.

And then the GOP said "Hold my beer."

Republicans previously criticized Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as not visiting East Palestine, Ohio, quickly enough after a toxic train derailment there last year. But after the secretary visited Baltimore on the day of the bridge collapse, Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) suggested without evidence that the visit was politically motivated and that Buttigieg was preoccupied with diversity policies.

“Well, this is an election year, so he probably, if it was two years ago might have been a month before he went at all,” Van Drew told Fox Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo on Wednesday. “He’s worried too much about pronouns, worried too much about DEI policies, worried too much about being the cool kid on the block. … I’m disappointed in the job that he does.”

Umm... okaaaaaaaay.

Utah state Rep. Phil Lyman (R) blamed DEI policies for the bridge collapse. The Utah gubernatorial candidate running against Gov. Spencer Cox (R) shared a post online attacking Port of Baltimore Commissioner Karenthia Barber, a Black woman whose biography says she owns a consulting practice that takes on work related to DEI. Responding to the post about Barber’s background, Lyman wrote on X on Tuesday morning that “this is what happens when you have Governors who prioritize diversity over the wellbeing and security of citizens.” In a subsequent post referencing the collision, he said: “DEI = DIE.”

So now we have diversity is bad because it makes bridges collapse after large boats strike a pier.

The GOP has apparently got nothing. They went all-in on CRT, made a little progress, but now they seem to forgot about principles of governing and are exclusively targeting identity politics. Wait... something just came in.

In an interview with Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) on Tuesday morning, Bartiromo, the Fox Business Network host, attempted to connect the incident to broader questions about “the potential for wrongdoing or the potential for foul play given the wide-open border.” And also that morning, Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, discussed his concerns about an unqualified, “drug-addled” workforce hamstrung by covid lockdowns.

Oh... and immigrants! Identity politics, immigrants, and ... Covid? Reaching the point of why even bother.

It's an exploration of probabilities and statistics. Suppose, for example, you have a roomful of Republican monkeys on laptops all flinging poop at the keyboards. If you do this for an infinite amount of time, what's the probability one of them will write a coherent tweet on why the Democrats are responsible for this event? Right now, it's only been just a few days.

 

[robnisch]

I'm waiting for someone to bring up that there were immigrants working on the bridge.

Face Palm!

 

[robnisch]

I'm waiting for someone to bring up that there were immigrants working on the bridge.

As is the way of immigrants, risking their lives doing something more tangibly useful for society than what most of these alt-right posers have the skill, inclination, or education to.

I hope they all get Davis/Bacon pay!

 

[RVonse]

So, when a massive bridge collapsed in Baltimore, there was a question, where do you post a thread about that? It isn't political... big boat hit a structure and it collapsed. Nothing remotely political about that. Seems like an accident. I suppose we don't need a thread on every event.

And then the GOP said "Hold my beer."

Republicans previously criticized Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as not visiting East Palestine, Ohio, quickly enough after a toxic train derailment there last year. But after the secretary visited Baltimore on the day of the bridge collapse, Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) suggested without evidence that the visit was politically motivated and that Buttigieg was preoccupied with diversity policies.

“Well, this is an election year, so he probably, if it was two years ago might have been a month before he went at all,” Van Drew told Fox Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo on Wednesday. “He’s worried too much about pronouns, worried too much about DEI policies, worried too much about being the cool kid on the block. … I’m disappointed in the job that he does.”

Umm... okaaaaaaaay.

Utah state Rep. Phil Lyman (R) blamed DEI policies for the bridge collapse. The Utah gubernatorial candidate running against Gov. Spencer Cox (R) shared a post online attacking Port of Baltimore Commissioner Karenthia Barber, a Black woman whose biography says she owns a consulting practice that takes on work related to DEI. Responding to the post about Barber’s background, Lyman wrote on X on Tuesday morning that “this is what happens when you have Governors who prioritize diversity over the wellbeing and security of citizens.” In a subsequent post referencing the collision, he said: “DEI = DIE.”

So now we have diversity is bad because it makes bridges collapse after large boats strike a pier.

The GOP has apparently got nothing. They went all-in on CRT, made a little progress, but now they seem to forgot about principles of governing and are exclusively targeting identity politics. Wait... something just came in.

In an interview with Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) on Tuesday morning, Bartiromo, the Fox Business Network host, attempted to connect the incident to broader questions about “the potential for wrongdoing or the potential for foul play given the wide-open border.” And also that morning, Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, discussed his concerns about an unqualified, “drug-addled” workforce hamstrung by covid lockdowns.

Oh... and immigrants! Identity politics, immigrants, and ... Covid? Reaching the point of why even bother.

If the republicans want to bitch about something it should be this:

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-says-federal-government-will-fund-baltimore-bridge-rebuild-2024-03-26/

If you want the greedy corporations to take better precautions with their safety then "lets go Brandon" needs to stop bailing them out with federal money! Let the corporations sue each other and let their insurance premiums reflect their accident. But don't make some tax payer in Idaho have to pay for some dumbshit that hit a bridge in Baltimore! Maybe that shipping firm even needs to go under in order to set the proper example moving forward.

And before anyone brings up the Titanic Law: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/insur...ship-owner-limit-liability-in-bridge-collapse
Perhaps it is time to revisit that antique law since we no longer live in the 1800's.

 

[Jarhyn]

So, when a massive bridge collapsed in Baltimore, there was a question, where do you post a thread about that? It isn't political... big boat hit a structure and it collapsed. Nothing remotely political about that. Seems like an accident. I suppose we don't need a thread on every event.

And then the GOP said "Hold my beer."

Republicans previously criticized Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as not visiting East Palestine, Ohio, quickly enough after a toxic train derailment there last year. But after the secretary visited Baltimore on the day of the bridge collapse, Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) suggested without evidence that the visit was politically motivated and that Buttigieg was preoccupied with diversity policies.

“Well, this is an election year, so he probably, if it was two years ago might have been a month before he went at all,” Van Drew told Fox Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo on Wednesday. “He’s worried too much about pronouns, worried too much about DEI policies, worried too much about being the cool kid on the block. … I’m disappointed in the job that he does.”

Umm... okaaaaaaaay.

Utah state Rep. Phil Lyman (R) blamed DEI policies for the bridge collapse. The Utah gubernatorial candidate running against Gov. Spencer Cox (R) shared a post online attacking Port of Baltimore Commissioner Karenthia Barber, a Black woman whose biography says she owns a consulting practice that takes on work related to DEI. Responding to the post about Barber’s background, Lyman wrote on X on Tuesday morning that “this is what happens when you have Governors who prioritize diversity over the wellbeing and security of citizens.” In a subsequent post referencing the collision, he said: “DEI = DIE.”

So now we have diversity is bad because it makes bridges collapse after large boats strike a pier.

The GOP has apparently got nothing. They went all-in on CRT, made a little progress, but now they seem to forgot about principles of governing and are exclusively targeting identity politics. Wait... something just came in.

In an interview with Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) on Tuesday morning, Bartiromo, the Fox Business Network host, attempted to connect the incident to broader questions about “the potential for wrongdoing or the potential for foul play given the wide-open border.” And also that morning, Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, discussed his concerns about an unqualified, “drug-addled” workforce hamstrung by covid lockdowns.

Oh... and immigrants! Identity politics, immigrants, and ... Covid? Reaching the point of why even bother.

If the republicans want to bitch about something it should be this:

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-says-federal-government-will-fund-baltimore-bridge-rebuild-2024-03-26/

If you want the greedy corporations to take better precautions with their safety then "lets go Brandon" needs to stop bailing them out with federal money! Let the corporations sue each other and let their insurance premiums reflect their accident. But don't make some tax payer in Idaho have to pay for some dumbshit that hit a bridge in Baltimore! Maybe that shipping firm even needs to go under in order to set the proper example moving forward.

And before anyone brings up the Titanic Law: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/insur...ship-owner-limit-liability-in-bridge-collapse
Perhaps it is time to revisit that antique law since we no longer live in the 1800's.

Wow, talk about noise machines.

Interesting you mentioned Idaho...

Idaho above average in federal dependency

With such a high sentiment of anti-federalism of late, in March personal-finance website WalletHub released updated rankings for its 2022’s Most & Least Federally Dependent States.

cdapress.com

 

[RVonse]

Wow, talk about noise

You mean like the Maersk employee who got fired for reporting safety violations to the Coast Guard getting swept under the rug?

 

[RVonse]

We are into the late stage of capitalism where the writings of Marx are actually coming true. (Im no fan of Marx but he is right about this)

As huge wealthy interests (Maersk) have become consolidated they have completely overwhelmed our regulatory public protections. Corruption brought down this bridge.

 

[Jarhyn]

Wow, talk about noise

You mean like the Maersk employee who got fired for reporting safety violations to the Coast Guard getting swept under the rug?

The fuck does that mean? That doesn't relate AT ALL to my response, it's just more noise.

You said Idaho shouldn't be on the hook for anything, as if they aren't already on the dole.