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This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1484468
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1484468
Very impressive collection of photographs.
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Republican responses:
- Don’t politicize a tragedy by trying to advocate for more infrastructure spending just because a bridge was hit by a ship.
- It’s too soon to discuss infrastructure spending so soon after a tragedy.
- Thoughts and prayers.
- This is Joe Bidens fault.
Amazing how the script for mass murder works for any emergency you want to downplay while doing nothing and blaming the opposition.
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When they rebuild it, rename it the Elijah Cummings Bridge.
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The emerging conspiracy theories swirling around this tragedy are mind-blowingly stupid. So far, I’ve seen fault placed on:
- Pete Buttigieg, because he’s gay and unqualified
- Barack and Michelle Obama, because they produced a sci-fi film that had a tanker crash in the opening scene
- DEI
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A few things:
- I assume a harbor pilot was in command of the vessel at the time of the accident, as it was in a harbor
- I am surprised that a single point of failure was able to take out both engines simultaneously; that’s a
crappy design - no tugs?
- I guess there is too much regulation, the Coast Guard should lighten up /s
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Of course, in the horrific aftermath of this disaster, we look to place blame. I feel this way, too. We need to see the ship’s inspection and maintenance records. Were inspectors bribed?
Were safety corners cut to save money?
In the aftermath, the US needs to know the practices and regulations of foreign shipping companies. They don’t get to cause catastrophic damage and blithely sail away while the American taxpayers do clean up. If you want to do business in this country, you adhere to the same rules and regulations AND inspections that American companies are subjected to.
If this was human error due to corporate greed, then, at the least, manslaughter charges must be brought. Unfettered Capitalism causes unfettered destruction. Regulations protect all of us.
We will learn what caused this tragedy and it is possibile that there really is no one to blame. I doubt it but will wait for investigations to conclude. In the meantime, let’s demand to know what shipping companies use our harbors and who do they answer to?
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This sort of disaster will continue until multiple gops die as a result.
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As a resident of the Baltimore area for over 65 of my 80 years, this is so sad. I have travelled over the Key Bridge many times over the years, and always marvelled at the view of the harbor and the view down the Bay’s ship channel.
This is going to be disastrous to the Baltimore economy as it will block entrance to the Port. No ships in and no ships out (I wonder how many are stranded?).
It appears to have been a perfect storm of events that led to the crash–losing electrical power, dropping the port anchor, and having it just drag not catch, attempting to reverse the prop on a single screw ship, which would have caused it to pull to starboard toward the bridge pylon, and once again losing power. All this time, under ordinary circumstance it would have taken well over a mile to have her lose way.
All this is overshadowed by the unknown number of deaths that have probably occurred. May God have mercy on their souls.
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Asking to see if someone knows. How likely is it that the ship lost power twice in the minutes (seconds?) before collision? Nobody thought of using airplanes as missiles before 9/11. I do know that you can remotely hack into a car and control it. I’m also sure much smarter people than me are thinking about this.
TC in NC
Following the mayday call, first responders and Maryland transportation officials acted quickly to stop traffic from going onto the bridge. While we mourn the lost construction workers on the bridge, an unknown number of people were also saved.
Audio has emerged of a first responder call as officials halted traffic on both sides of the Francis Scott Key Bridge moments before it collapsed.
The cargo ship had issued a mayday call to alert authorities it had lost power before it collided with the Baltimore bridge on Tuesday morning.
Following the call, Maryland Transportation Authority Police Dispatch and Response officials acted swiftly, shutting down the north and south sides of the bridge.
One official instructs: "Hold all traffic on the Key Bridge… There’s a ship approaching that just lost their steering so until we get that under control, we’ve got to stop all traffic.
“Make sure no one’s on the bridge right now. There’s a crew up there… You might want to notify the foreman to see if we can get them off the bridge temporarily.”
Another responds saying he would “grab the workers” but it was too late.
[…]
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Fox News’ Jesse Waters (his mama must be so proud):
“The bridge has never had train tracks so I don’t know what he’s talking about, but there will be more where that came from in the next week; made up stories, misdirection and blame games — but don’t fall for it, we have to get to the bottom of this. A cargo ship hasn’t taken out a bridge in decades and a ship, as far as we can tell, has never sustained a power failure before a bridge knockdown. We need answers, and someone has to pay.”
Video at the link.
Newsmax Blames Bridge Collapse On “Woke” Shipper
March 27, 2024 Fake News, Media
Media Matters has the transcript:
ERIC BOLLING (HOST): So Victor, I don’t mean to say that because Maersk has this new DEI push, people likely died in Baltimore this morning. But I do mean to say there’s a pattern here.
VICTOR DAVIS HANSON (GUEST): We don’t know the exact relation to cause and effect, but we do know this — that the world is much more interconnected. It’s much more fragile than it ever has been. It’s much more sophisticated, and it demands an ever greater level of expertise.
But just at the time that we’re building bigger and bigger and more dangerous ships, or we’re assembling longer and longer trains that derail like we saw at East Palestine with more and more toxic, we’re not upping our game, as far as increasing the level of expertise and especially, Eric, meritocracy.
So, we’re not hiring necessarily the best people. We used to say we’re going to hire the best people, regardless of their color of their skin, their sexual orientation. Now we’re saying, “Well, we may hire the best people, but more importantly is their ideology, or their ethnicity, or their gender, or their sexual orientation.” And unfortunately, it’s exactly the wrong time to do it.
Read the full transcript.
Video at the link.
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Yep, sure. If any of them understood DEI, or diversity hiring. They have to be qualified first, then the diversity is applied. But, hey, who needs facts!
Utah lawmaker blames DEI for Baltimore bridge collapse despite cargo ship collision
Driving the news: Lyman (R-Blanding) drew criticism Tuesday when he shared a post on X from the “Young Conservative Federation,” noting that Baltimore Port Commissioner Karenthia Barber has a background in “diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.”
- “This is what happens when you have governors who prioritize diversity over the wellbeing and security of citizens,” wrote Lyman, who is running for Utah governor.
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I think if it had been something like what you suggest, it would have occurred during a busy travel time instead of the wee hours of a Tuesday morning.
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It’s curious that the very people who have done the most to attack and undermine the idea that expertise is important, are the same ones who lament the decline of expertise and blame DEI. In other words, they are half right and half ridiculously wrong, because, like vampires, they don’t know how to look in a mirror.
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People seem to forget that in most cases there are multiple people who are qualified for any open position. Affirmative action just prioritizes the qualified minorities or women. And usually they are required to be more qualified than some other applicants.
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