Tragic Implications (Thomas Sowell)

Townhall.com ^ | August 14, 2007 | Thomas Sowell

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Some of the money already appropriated for maintaining and repairing infrastructure is being diverted into other pet projects of politicians

The problem in a nutshell. Think, "levees in New Orleans."

Exactly.

[4CJ]

Gee, according to BOR, we FReepers hate blacks. So why does everyone here seem to love Mr. Sowell? Hmmm....could it be his mind?

Clarence Thomas is my favourite justice, followed by Janice Rogers Brown. And let's not forget Walter Williams, Herman Cain, J.C. Watts, Alan Keyes, Jesse Peterson of BOND, Larry Elders, Kevin Martin (aka Freeper TrueBlackMan) and a plethora or others.

Yeah, I'm white.

[jazusamo]

Excellent post, Islander7 and so very true.

[slowhandluke]

the last thing I heard, or read, about the MN bridge collapse was that it may have been caused by a design flaw, not wear and tear; so, if you were going to blame a president it would have to be LBJ, but at least you could still get away with blaming a war, Viet Nam.

No design is perfect, and some flaws in this design must have been known back then, as the standards for bridges changed shortly after it was built. The fact that they don't make them like this anymore should have told the MNDOT that this bridge needed a more vigorous inspection regime than newer bridges. If the know flaws of this design included total collapse due to unpredictable single part failure, then replacement should have been scheduled.

It's not like the bridge got a 100% rating at the last review. Then you could blame somebody in the LBJ era.

[gusopol3]

thanks for revising and extending as well as educating. I think a subtle difference in the press coverage may have come about that time (i.e. the thought that excessive wear and tear was the only factor to be considered, failure to invest in infrastructure under Bush, etc.) because up until that time, it seemed to me that they were going to try to make this into another Katrina, that is blame the faults and foibles of man against nature into an indictment of Bush.

[Caleb1411]

Ping

[Kellis91789]

Karl Rove’s job is open.

[John Leland 1789]

I think Karl’s was a broader application that might tend to scatter Mr. Sowell’s attentions and waste his best efforts. Although he is quite diverse in his studies and writings, I think he would be best served and would best serve, if more focused on economics. I almost said ‘and/or education,’ but I believe that the Feds should stop talking about education altogether and leave that entirely in the purview of the several states. I do believe Mr. Sowell can do VERY well in other areas as well.