Minnesota Has Some ‘Splaining To Do

There was much screeching and finger-pointing when the Minneapolis bridge collapsed, much of it aimed at the Federal government and the lack of funding for infrastructure. That collapse is a tragedy and should not have happened, mind you. But it appears that the fingers may have been pointed the wrong way entirely. Photos taken in 2003 of the bridge - for a state-sponsored inspection, no less - show deformation of at least two of the gusset plates thought to be the reason for the collapse. Got that? Photos taken four years before the collapse show serious problems in the supports that held the bridge up.

MINNEAPOLIS - Old photos of the Interstate 35W bridge show two steel connecting plates were visibly bent as early as 2003 — four years before the span collapsed into the Mississippi River, killing 13 people.

Minnesota Department of Transportation officials declined to say when the state first knew about the bending in the pieces of steel, called gusset plates.

Two photos, part of a report issued earlier this month by the National Transportation Safety Board, reveal slight bends in gusset plates that hold beams together at two separate connecting points. The plates are in areas believed to be among the first points of failure when the span collapsed.

State officials responsible for the inspection of bridges are not answering phone calls from reporters asking about this. Lawyers representing victims of the bridge collapse are howling mad about the photos. They should be. Someone needs to answer for this and quickly. Both the firm conducting the inspection and the state office overseeing the inspection have real problems here - and will have some very big demands for explanations to answer. I think there is a reason why the phone calls are not being returned. There could well be criminal liability here.

Pundustry, Or A Day In The Salt Mines Of Information Overload

Gene Weingarten of the Washington Post tried an experiment recently. He spent 24 hours in a room surrounded by televisions, two radios and a laptop set up to cycle through a selection of blogs and news sources. It was all in the interest of science - to see what living in total information overload was like. Welcome to the blogosphere, Gene.

THE CRUDDIEST MOMENT OF THE CRAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE ON EARTH happened as I found myself watching five televisions simultaneously, each containing a different political pundit opining on the same subject. When I looked down toward my computer screen to see what the bloggers were saying about it, I noticed that a button on my shirt had come undone.

There I was, literally contemplating my own navel. But I didn't even crack a smile because, in the relentless drone of insipid opinion, irony no longer held any meaning.

I knew then that this whole thing had been a very poor idea, one from which I would not return undamaged. Because the clock on the wall said I still had 14 hours to go.

Weingarten takes more than a few swipes at the folks who practice surfing in this sea of information that beats mercilessly these days. But there is a certain amount of truth in his dark humor about the overload of news, semi-news, punditry and analysis (both paid and freelance) that inundates us these days. Especially those of us who choose to do this on a daily basis. There is so much out there to read and absorb and talk about. It is, indeed, like drinking from a fire hose. I'll let you read the long piece and figure out where the title of this post comes from.

Just doing my bit, Gene. Even if you didn't mention the Crabitat in all your blog name dropping!

An Individual Right

Every press report that I am seeing on the United States Supreme Court hearing on the Washington, DC gun ban echoes what the Los Angeles Times report is saying: There appears to be solid support on the court for upholding that the Second Amendment grants an individual right to keep and bear arms.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court justices, hearing a historic argument on the meaning of the 2nd Amendment, signaled they are likely to strike down a handgun ban in the District of Columbia and rule that homeowners have a right to keep a gun for self-defense.

But if the oral arguments are any guide, the outcome will not be unanimous. Several justices said they believed the 2nd Amendment was intended to protect the state's right to maintain a "well-regulated militia," not to give gun rights to individuals.

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who is the swing vote in close cases, said he believed the 2nd Amendment did more than bolster the state militia. "In my view, there is a general right to bear arms" that goes beyond serving in the militia, Kennedy said.

Most Americans believe the 2nd Amendment protects the right of law-abiding persons to "keep and bear arms." But the legal meaning of this provision remains in doubt. The high court has never invoked this right to strike down a gun law nor has it ruled that it protects a personal right to own a gun.

The LA Times seems to think the impact of such an outcome will be minor. I rather suspect that it might be more far-reaching than they do. States like Illinois which do not grant carry permits could find themselves in court, as might states like New York which have a virtually impossible to get carry permits. I've been a bit worried about this case for a while. Today's news is encouraging.

Arthur Charles Clarke, 1917-2008, Rest In Peace

Arthur C. Clarke, the writer of so many science fiction and science books, has died . A visionary, Clark foresaw the geosynchronous orbit used by communication satellites - the orbits are still known as 'Clarke Orbits'. 

Born in Minehead, western England, on Dec. 16, 1917, the son of a farmer, Arthur Charles Clark became addicted to science-fiction after buying his first copies of the pulp magazine "Amazing Stories" at Woolworth's. He devoured English writers H.G. Wells and Olaf Stapledon and began writing for his school magazine in his teens.

Clarke went to work as a clerk in Her Majesty's Exchequer and Audit Department in London, where he joined the British Interplanetary Society and wrote his first short stories and scientific articles on space travel.

It was not until after the World War II that Clarke received a bachelor of science degree in physics and mathematics from King's College in London.

In the wartime Royal Air Force, he was put in charge of a new radar blind-landing system.

But it was an RAF memo he wrote in 1945 about the future of communications that led him to fame. It was about the possibility of using satellites to revolutionize communications — an idea whose time had decidedly not come.

Clarke later sent it to a publication called Wireless World, which almost rejected it as too far-fetched.  

Clarke's science education made him one of the premier "hard science" science fiction writers. Rest in peace. 

Las Vegas Ricin Case Update

The weirdness continues in the Las Vegas ricin case. The discovery of a large amount of the deadly toxin a while ago was strange even then. Now the man who had the poison in his room and who had been in a coma has woken up. He appears to have told his brother that he did, indeed, have the ricin. But not why he had it or what he intended to do with something so deadly.

Roger Bergendorff regained consciousness on Wednesday but remains in critical condition at a Las Vegas medical center.

His younger brother, Erich Bergendorff, told The Associated Press that they spoke briefly on the telephone Sunday for the first time since the ricin was found, and said Roger claimed he had never had any intention of endangering anyone with the toxin.

"He did mention that he would have never done anything to anybody," said Erich Bergendorff. "He himself is under the impression he was contaminated by it — he did mention the ricin and seemed to say something like, 'Gee, it sure worked on me.'"

Erich Bergendorff said his brother told him the ricin was easy to make. But he added that his brother, who was on a ventilator until last week, still had a hard time speaking clearly, so it was not clear whether Roger Bergendorff made it himself or watched someone else manufacture the powder.

"He did talk as thought he just had it there, he was almost kind of casual about it," said Erich Bergendorff, who talked to his brother on the phone from his home in Escondido, Calif., north of San Diego. "It's almost as though in his own mind it wasn't that big of a deal."

Officials are still not saying much about this and the media appears less than curious about that. While they are calling the amout of ricin found "large" there still is nothing approaching an explanation of why Bergendorff had it.  

I Don’t Think We’re In Kansas Anymore

Must be downtown Atlanta. What appears to have been a tornado slammed into downtown Atlanta, Georgia last night causing a considerable amount of damage and injuring some 15 people. There are fears that there may be more victims trapped in a collapsed loft building.

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) — At least 20 homes in Atlanta's historic Cabbagetown neighborhood were flattened by a tornado that ripped through downtown Atlanta on Friday night, a spokeswoman for the mayor said.

Firefighters fear there could be people dead inside the ruins of a collapsed loft complex in the same neighborhood, the spokeswoman said.

There have been no deaths confirmed from the tornado, but at least 15 people were treated at two hospitals. Most of the injuries were minor cuts, scrapes and bruises, officials said.

The Fulton Cotton Mill Lofts, just east of downtown Atlanta, collapsed in a "pancake fashion," Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran said early Saturday.

The tornado that ripped through the heart of the city damaged the roof of the Georgia Dome during a college basketball game, shattered windows and ripped roofs from buildings before continuing into several residential neighborhoods.

The building that houses CNN was at the epicenter of the storm — sitting next to the dome and hotels where thousands of basketball fans attending the Southeastern Conference tournament were at least temporarily displaced. 

It's fairly unusual for a tornado to hit a large urban area, although it certainly does happen. I don't believe I have ever heard of one hitting Atlanta before this. The National Weather Service has not yet confirmed that this actually was a tornado yet, according to a number of reports, despite CNN's assured tone in the story.  

…The Professor And Mary Ann Jane….

As I recall it, the original theme song for Gilligan's Island did not mention two characters, the Professor and Mary Ann. They were added later (I just checked and yes, they were originally called "the rest" rather than being named during the first season.) Well, Mary Ann is in a bit of hot water all these years later - she's been busted for possession of pot.

DRIGGS, Idaho - Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann on "Gilligan's Island," is serving six months' unsupervised probation after allegedly being caught with marijuana in her car.

She was sentenced Feb. 29 to five days in jail, fined $410.50 and placed on probation after pleading guilty to one count of reckless driving.

Under a plea agreement, three misdemeanor counts — driving under the influence, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance — were dropped.

On Oct. 18, Teton County sheriff's Deputy Joseph Gutierrez arrested Wells as she was driving home from a surprise birthday party that was held for her. According to the sheriff's office report, Gutierrez pulled Wells over after noticing her swerve and repeatedly speed up and slow down. When Gutierrez asked about a marijuana smell, Wells said she'd just given a ride to three hitchhikers and had dropped them off when they began smoking something. Gutierrez found half-smoked joints and two small cases used to store marijuana.

Dawn Wells is 69 years old now, but I still remember having a young boy's crush on her when I watched that series (in real time, not in reruns). I never did like "the Movie Star".  

Trying To Stop Terrorists With Lawsuits

The Regents of the University of California have filed a lawsuit against "animal activists" who have been harassing university researchers at their private residences. The increasingly violent terrorists - and they are terrorists - have been aggressively attacking the researcher's homes and families. There is a chilling note buried in the story as well.

The University of California regents have responded by suing UCLA Primate Freedom, the Animal Liberation Brigade, the Animal Liberation Front and five people allegedly affiliated with them. It is a tactic that the regents successfully employed nine years ago.

The regents hope to win a permanent injunction similar to one granted against Last Chance for Animals in 1989. But some experts note that the regents now are battling more violent, Internet-savvy foes who thrive in online communities, post faculty "targets" on Web sites and upload how-to guides for their attacks.

"The reality is that, unlike in the past, where movements really relied on interpersonal communication and gatherings to ferment this radicalization, all this is happening online now," according to Oren Segal, co-director of the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism in New York. "The ability for people to learn about the movement and how to carry out attacks on behalf of it are easier than it's ever been because of the Internet."

Indeed, a temporary restraining order — prohibiting harassment and posting of faculty members' personal information on the Internet — was granted Feb. 21 by a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge. But three days later, six masked protesters reportedly disrupted a child's birthday party at the home of a University of California at Santa Cruz researcher and confronted her husband at the door, hitting him on the hand.

It is unclear whether the protesters are connected to those named in UC's lawsuit.

Harassment by violent animal rights activists has climbed at universities across the country, including Oregon Health and Science University, the University of Utah, and Ohio State University, where researchers have been victims of home visits or, in one case, found their windows slathered in glass-eating acid. Scientists, administrators and lawyers are closely watching the effectiveness of the California regents case.

Experts say the shift toward more personal attacks is a response to increasingly fortified laboratories, which universities began securing in the 1980s and 1990s as attacks heightened.

Now, groups have shunned "Fort Knox" in favor of ill-prepared homes, said Jerry Vlasik, the former vivisector turned spokesman for the North American Animal Liberation Press Office. Vlasik has repeatedly advocated for using "whatever force against animal research scientists necessary."

"If killing them is the only way to stop them," he said in a telephone interview, "then I said killing them would certainly be justified."  (Emphasis added)

I have said before that it is only a matter of time until someone is killed by the environmental terrorists. I'm afraid that the above statement indicates that there is little time left. The authorities had better get serious about stopping these people and their illegal acts now, before they escalate even further.

Matching Shoes, Handbag And Handgun

CNN has a video report about the increasing numbers of women who are buying and training with handguns . One (male) instructor interviewed for the story says the women are better students than men are because they have better hand-eye coordination and they listen to instruction.  Part of the segment is devoted to video training that mimics real world scenarios, not just paper target shooting.

I'm not surprised at all that women are very good with guns, by the way. My 15-year old daughter can literally draw a smiley face on the head of a silhouette target with a .22 caliber pistol. That is a little disconcerting to watch, trust me. She also always double-taps when she is shooting and the bullets punch holes that often make one oblong hole. 

I try to stay on her good side.  

Watch Your $#$#@@! Language

The California city of South Pasadena has put the foul of mouth on notice. No more bad language in public.

SOUTH PASADENA, Calif. — What the @$%#? This community on the edge of Los Angeles has become a cuss-free zone.

So if you're headed to South Pasadena this week, be sure to turn down the volume on that Snoop Dogg CD, and, if the little old lady from Pasadena cuts you off in traffic, don't even think about flipping her the bird.

Not that police will slap cuffs on you and haul your sorry, er, butt off to jail in light of the proclamation passed Wednesday by the City Council. But you could be shamed into better behavior by the unsettling glares of residents who take their reputation for civility seriously.

"That's one of the purposes of this," Mayor Michael Cacciotti said of his city's proclamation designating the first week of March as No Cussing Week. "It provides us a reminder to be more civil, to elevate the level of discourse."

The proclamation will be in effect until Friday, and then the first week of every March hereafter.

South Pasadena, a tranquil city of tree-shaded cottages at the base of a mountain range eight miles north of downtown Los Angeles, isn't the first to try to rein in potty mouths. Earlier this year, the St. Louis suburb of St. Charles, Mo., proposed banning swearing in bars. Last year, hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons called for an industrywide ban on racially and sexually charged epithets.

Well, if it applied to  many nutroots blog comment sections, they would disappear altogether. (Remember our comment policy here at the Crabitat if you leave a comment!)

An Irish Variant On The Stairway-Free Zone

Being a guitar player, I have visited many guitar stores through the years. Once I even made a longish side trip on a drive to Florida to stop at Gruhn Guitars in Nashville. I'm still alive, a testament to my wife's patience. In a fair number of those stores, there is (or was) a sign declaring the store to be a Stairway to Heaven free zone. Why? Because after hearing thousands of budding rock stars fumble through the opening to that tune, most guitar store employees had heard it butchered enough. Well, there is an Irish variant of that. One bar in the US is declaring a Danny Boy free zone for St. Patrick's Day. 

"It's overplayed, it's been ranked among the 25 most depressing songs of all time, and it's more appropriate for a funeral than for a St. Patrick's Day celebration," says Shaun Clancy, who owns Foley's Pub and Restaurant, just off Fifth Avenue opposite the Empire State Building.

The 38-year-old, who started bartending when he was 12 at his father's pub in County Cavan, promises a guest free Guinness if he or she sings any other traditional Irish song at the pub's March 11 pre-St. Patrick's Day karaoke party. On other nights, guests will be rewarded with a surprise.Not everyone agrees.
Foley's is going head to head with a pub near Detroit — AJ's Cafe in Ferndale, Mich. — which is staging a "Danny Boy" marathon on St. Patrick's Day weekend, offering 1,000 renditions of the song over 50 hours.

Funniest thing about Danny Boy? It was written by an Englishman who never visited Ireland at all.

The lyrics for the song published in 1913 were written by an English lawyer, Frederick Edward Weatherly, who never even visited Ireland, according to Malachy McCourt, author of the book "Danny Boy: The Legend of the Beloved Irish Ballad." Weatherly's sister-in-law had sent him the music to an old Irish song called "The Derry Air" and the new version became a huge hit when opera singer Ernestine Schumann-Heink recorded it in 1915.

Well, we'd like to propose a substitute song. While it may not be any better or more uplifting than Danny Boy, it has a certain demented charm. Heck, what could be more fitting on St. Patrick's Day than Another Irish Drinking Song?

We’ve Been Here Before

New York City police report that a small bomb or incendiary device has exploded near a military recruiting station in Times Square. WCBS reports that a hole has been blown through the window of the office and that witnesses report a loud bang that shook their hotel at about 4 AM EST. Traffic, including subway trains, have been diverted from the area.

Members of the police department's emergency services unit and fire department blocked cars early Thursday from entering the area surrounding a military recruiting station at 43rd Street and Broadway. A gaping hole was in the front window and shattered glass was on the ground.

Police could not immediately confirm that an explosive device was set off in the area. 

It's feeling even more like 1968 these days, isn't it. I sincerely hope they catch the bomber(s) and throw the book at them. If they don't nip this in the bud, so to speak, it will be deja vu all over again. 

Quick Hits

Some things you might find interesting.

Brattleboro, Vermont, the town that can't keep clothes on its teenagers thinks it has the authority to order the arrest of the President and Vice President of the United States. 

One of the people who invented Dungeons and Dragons has died.  

The Washington Post notes Barack Obama's new problem: a costly two-front war against Hillary Clinton and John McCain. 

Talking Digital

The Washington Post has a story today about a digital change taking place at the Library of Congress in a little known service. Unless you have need of this service, which provides talking books to the blind and disabled free of charge, you have likely never heard of it.

Judith M. Dixon, a clinical psychologist by training and a sophisticated techie by avocation, is helping to lead the Library of Congress into the digital age.

Dixon, 55, who gave up university teaching 27 years ago to join the library's National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, is a key player on a team that has been working for the better part of a decade to create a new generation of audiobooks for the library's more than 700,000 registered blind and disabled users.

The goal is to make the digital format the backbone of the library's "talking book" program by transferring onto special digital flash drives the 60,000 titles that the library has on audiocassettes and giving patrons new machines on which to play them.

"The library system is here because free public library service is a basic tenet of our society," said Dixon, who is blind and navigates with the aid of a guide dog. "This program is providing access to people who would otherwise not have it."

Under the program, blind and disabled users may obtain audiobooks through the mail from any of the service's more than 130 regional libraries throughout the country. There is no charge for the books or the players, but to keep the machines, users must check out at least one book a year. The library plans to roll out the new machines and digital books by the end of the year. 

The service began in 1934 using LP records. The switch to cassettes started in the late 1960s but wasn't completed until well into the 1980s. This time the change will have to happen more quickly since the cassette format is already pretty much dead. The shame of this whole thing is that Congress cut the Library's funding request for this program to only $12.5 million for four years. The Library had asked for $19.1 million annually. As a result, far fewer talking books will be available. Shame on Congress. They manage to pork up every spending bill they pass but can't spare what doesn't even amount to pocket change out of the Federal budget for the blind and disabled.

A side note: Project Gutenberg along with AudioBooksForFree.com, LiteralSystems.org and Librivox are always looking for volunteers to record new, free of charge, audio books. 

Ricin Case Update

The FBI is searching a house and a storage unit in Utah as part of the Las Vegas ricin case. There still is no word on what exactly is going on with all this, but authorities continue to insist that the entire affair is not terrorism related.

The search of the home and units at a self-storage facility outside Salt Lake City was expected to be a long, tedious process as agents operated carefully at sites where they could find the dangerous substance, FBI spokesman Juan Becerra said.

No results of the ongoing searches were announced at a press conference Sunday morning, but FBI Special Agent Timothy Fuhrman said, "There is no indication of any terrorist act or activity."

Roger Von Bergendorff, the focus of the investigation, had lived in the Riverton house for more than a year before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada, about a year ago, said Tammy Ewell, who lives across the street.

"He just barely got by in life. He'd just barely make it," Ewell said Saturday of the 57-year-old Von Bergendorff.

He lived there with his cousin Thomas Tholen and his wife, said Ewell, who described the couple as close friends.

Officials secured Tholen's home, but did not immediately search it because they were awaiting court approval for a warrant, Becerra said later Saturday.

Von Bergendorff is described as a loner. Again, there is no legitimate reason for him to be in possession of the ricin in the first place. This one is getting more murky as details emerge, not less.