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| Above: Prior to today. |
Wow. An unreal day here. This Singapore-flagged container ship lost power at about 1:30 a.m. while leaving port and took out the bridge A 1.6 mile span, most of it gone in mere seconds There is live fixed-camera video footage of the impact and total collapse. Terrible.
We live on the north side of Baltimore city, just below Towson. The bridge that collapsed is just below Dundalk, southeast of downtown (red text). One of the nation's busiest international seaports. Tens of thousands of Baltimore area residents are about to lose their jobs in the wake of the lengthy economic disruptions shortly to ensue. Auto traffic here is about to go glacial. Like it wasn’t already.
Elon's Twitter "X" platform has been blazing with hyper-moronic troll crap all day. It's all Biden's fault; It was an ISIS attack; Putin's revenge; Invading Mexican illegals; Woke Libs are at fault; It’s the upshot of DEI…
"The bridge collapse is a tragedy. But for many on the right, it’s also an opportunity to spread conspiracy theories, encourage chaos, push bigotry and resentment, stoke fears, and do Donald Trump’s bidding by smearing Biden. This ugly response is a burden on those directly affected in Baltimore and elsewhere. It’s also a deliberate effort to undermine collective solidarity and resilience.
Far right populist rage makes it harder to respond to emergencies, and often compounds them in terrifying ways. Facing down disasters requires calm, deliberation, and a willingness to set aside one’s immediate comfort and fear for a broader good. The right’s go-to response of panic and paranoia makes us all less safe by sowing confusion and promoting a reactionary brand of politics.
Worms of the brain
Disasters are by their nature unexpected and chaotic. It can be difficult to figure out causes and responsibilities in the heat of the moment, especially when the first priority has to be to rescue victims, not to assign blame.
There will no doubt be an investigation into what happened on the container ship. All indications at the moment though are that the explanation for the disaster is what it appears to be in footage of the incident — the ship’s power failed, resulting in an unintentional collision with the bridge. President Joe Biden referred to the disaster as an “accident” in remarks on Tuesday.
Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said “there is absolutely no indication that there is any terrorism or that this was done on purpose.”
Have these reassurances stopped salivating MAGA vultures from rabid fear-mongering and irresponsible dipshittery?
No, of course not…" [ Brian Klaas ]
I THINK WE ALL NEED A GOOD LAUGH TODAY
CODA
The Francis Scott Key bridge SE of Baltimore came into service 47 yrs ago. It remains the size it was when completed. But, what is the average upper size differential of cargo ships passing under it (or, now, into it) today?
My son and his wife own a sailboat, which they dock in Fell’s Point. We've been out to the Key Bridge.
Terrible.
OH, AND ONE MORE THING
“When the Dali cargo ship demolished that bridge support on Tuesday, it also obliterated all the ridiculous lies and myths our demagogues have been spreading around immigration. There were no sex traffickers aboard the Key Bridge that night. Nobody was dealing fentanyl. They were not “animals,” but fathers and husbands like Suazo and Luna, whose wife occasionally showed up in her food truck to bring the men tacos and pupusas. They were filling potholes so their children could have an even better life.
These six workers who perished were not “poisoning the blood of our country,” they were replenishing it. This is a moment of clarity when we need to reject the national disease of xenophobia and restore our faith in the United States as a beacon for the best people like Suazo. They may have been born all over the continent, but when these men plunged into our waters on Tuesday, they died as Americans.”
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