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What they're saying in Minnesota

about the bridge collapse. Ed Morrisey at Captain's Quarters is one of the best bloggers you'll read on any topic, but since the writer is a Minnesotan, his take on the local politics is instructive:

Yesterday, Senator Amy Klobuchar blamed the collapse of the I-35W bridge on a lack of highway funds -- even though the 2005 highway bill increased federal funding to Minnesota by 46% over its five-year span. Apparently realizing that line of argument wouldn't hold, Rep. James Oberstar accused MnDOT of being too cheap to use advanced technology for bridge inspections. He left out of his accusation that the technology hasn't proven itself for that purpose

Read the rest here.

I also read or heard somewhere that local environmentalists wanted the highway funds to be spent on light rail and other "non-polluting" transportation, not on bridges and highways. These are cousins of the folk in Arizona who won't let them cut down diseased trees for fear more people will find an area desirable for building, then scream global warming when the area dries up and burns. In any case, I don't think the administration of President Bush has a dog in this fight. As in hurricanes, the locals have the responsibility to be prepared after the Congress members bring home the pork.