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REQUIEM

Below are the two final essays to be posted on Allegiance and Duty Betrayed. The first one is written by a friend -- screen name 'Euro-American Scum' -- who, over the past four years, has been the most faithful essayist here. He has written about everything from his pilgrimage to Normandy in 2004 to take part in the 60th–year commemoration of the invasion, to his memories of his tour in Vietnam. His dedication to America’s founding principles ... and those who have sacrificed to preserve them over the past 200+ years ... is unequaled. Thank you, E-A-S. It has been a privilege to include your writing here, and it is a privilege to call you my friend.

The second essay is my own farewell. And with it I thank all of the many regular visitors, and those who may have only dropped in occasionally, for coming here. I hope you learned something. I hope a seed or two was planted. But, even if not, I thank you for stopping by ... 25 March, 2010

8/05/2007

Make Good Bridges, Not Bad Art

Good Bridges - Bad Art.jpg

View, photographed yesterday, of the collapsed I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, taken from the observation lounge on the ninth floor of the Guthrie Theater.

Note the huge ‘work of art' rising up in the foreground.

Personal observation: The same liberal minds that cooked up that pork would now be complaining about money not spent on the bridge.

Make good bridges, not bad art.

Submitted by First_Salute
(Contributing Team Member of Allegiance and Duty Betrayed)

(Photo from http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1876359/posts?page=3#3)

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

The same liberal minds that cooked up that pork would now be complaining about money not spent on the bridge.

That is EXACTLY the kind of feel-good liberal who is making political hay out of this tragedy.

Good find!

Anonymous said...

Your opinion is spot on. And that picture is symbolic of everything that is wrong with America today. Our eyes are focused on flashy, phony and superficial "junk," and not on the things and ideas that will keep us safe and free.

Anonymous said...

It's a zero sum game. There's just so much money. The liberals want to spend it on things like entitlements for illegals and universal healthcare, and infrastructure and war preparedness be damned.

Anonymous said...

Few words.

Profound truth.

Anonymous said...

You make a valid point that many (most) people never consider.

Anonymous said...

I've been thinking the same thing for the past few days. The very same people who are blaming Bush for not keeping up our roads and bridges are the people who would rather spend our tax money on crap that has nothing to do with usefulness--only getting more power and pleasing their special interests.

The picture is worth a thousand words.

Anonymous said...

You make an excellent point.

Anonymous said...

Good ideas here. Everbody is trying to score political points after this tragedy and all the victims haven't even been found yet.

Bush was there showing his face for a photo op, and all the Dems are pointing fingers everywhere except at themselves.

Politicians are the new "lowest class" in this country. Any man on the street has more character than the average one.

Anonymous said...

Yes, it’s business as usual in Washington:

Politicians trying to account for one of the worst bridge collapses in U.S. history cast blame ranging from engineering faults to the Iraq war on Friday, while divers tried to reach the bodies of more victims in the Mississippi River's treacherous waters.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070803/ts_nm/bridge_collapse_dc

Anonymous said...

Applause for someone who sees the emperor without his clothes!

Anonymous said...

The Democrats' response to this tragedy proves just how much they care for "the little people." Hasn't that been their rallying cry for the past 60 years? Yet they're changing the whole tragey into a political play against Bush without showing any real concern for the victims and their families.

Anonymous said...

Good post.

Anonymous said...

On the day the bridge collapsed there was to be a ground breaking ceremony for a $1 billion sports arena. But what the heck, we get “art” and the Dems blame Bush.

Anonymous said...

That picture speakes volumes. And all of the comments here are right on the money. Our "leaders" on the other side of the aisle are using this as a political hot potato with no caring about the victims.

Anonymous said...

Short but lots of common sense in few words!

Anonymous said...

You've got their number, First Salute!

Anonymous said...

I copied this comment from the column under this one because I want to make sure everybody reads it. :)

The Democrat party is infested with hypocritical, nescient, duplicitous, reprehensible, half-witted, asinine, obsequious, meretricious, pusillanimous, indolent, imbecilic, pompous, retromingent, ignominious, ungrateful, sycophantic prevaricators.

P.S. Good job on this post, First Salute!

Anonymous said...

Salute,

Help me out here.

I looked at the picture very closely.

WHERE is the "work of art" you mention?

I see nothing resembling "art."

Anonymous said...

Al,

First Salute put "work of art" in quotes and you say you "see nothing resembling art."

Both of you need to take a modern art appreciation course---and throw in a course in sensitivity training too.

< /sarc>

Anonymous said...

Consider cemeteries.

When you buy a plot in a cemetery, you know you're not going to be around to keep the weeds down around your gravesite. So part of the cost of purchase goes into an endowment fund, which pays for maintenance "in perpetuity".

So why not build bridges the same way, with a portion of the upfront cost invested to provide for upkeep in the future, and replacement at the end of it's structural life?

Anonymous said...

Excellent suggestion, Cooper. And that upfront cost could apply to much more than bridges.