Joe Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald's maudlin Christmas column today (about some woman who hasn't talked to her daughter in years) got me to thinking: Hey, waitaminnit, what about his annual The Jew Who Loves Christmas column? Why, his column about a Jew fighting the War on Christmas is as much a part of Christmas in Boston as the Enchanted Village the tree at the Prudential Center Santas in Speedos. Turns out I was just remiss in my Herald reading: Joe dredged up another Christmas-loving Jew earlier this month. Phew. Eggnog, anyone?

If there were a Bulwer-Lytton competition for columns, Joe Fitzgerald might have a winner with his column today on Turner, which approvingly quotes Louis Farrakhan and ends:

Even if he beats the rap, Turner has blown the chance to be what's so urgently needed today, a leader to emulate, worthy of a kid's admiration.

So even if Turner is found innocent, he's still guilty? And Louis Farrakhan is now a public figure to emulate?

Tim Lavallee took a deep breath then drove home via the Big Dig last night:

left work tonight expecting the longest commute home ever. Instead, the Big Dig was empty like a Sunday morning. Traffic on the southbound side was very, very light. Even the usual slow down areas, such as the tunnel exit to the South Bay mall, was a speed limit breeze. ...

At least some of those missing motorists must have been people commuting from MetroWest to the North Shore, all of whom jammed up the 128/turnpike interchange last night.

John Daley wonders:

Did 2 ton, CONCRETE hanging tiles cost more than a conventional tunnel ceiling? Was it simply a way to present a higher bill to the Turnpike Authority? How else can one explain such a ridiculous design?

I suspected they were cheating us, but I thought, at least, that someone was watching to see that the overpriced construction met basic safety design standards. That 'someone' would have been the Turnpike Authority. ...

Matt Margolis notes a story that says the ceiling slabs (why do they keep calling them "panels"?) weren't even necessary:

... So, if it is true that it is safe without the ventilation passage, then it wasn't neccessary to begin with, and a gratuitous expense to the taxpayers that has now resulted in loss of life.

Perhaps the investigation into the accident should start with the people who profited from the Big Dig. ...

Dan Kennedy digs up and comments on 2003 and 2004 Globe articles on Big Dig malfeasance.

Blue Mass. Group does the media roundup, with a special Assclown of the Day award for the Herald's Joe Fitzgerald, who manages to blame the tunnel collapse on gay-marriage supporters in the Legislature.

"Charles Foster Kane" wonders why Gerry Callahan feels qualified to comment on the problem on WEEI:

... Listening to him try to discuss the engineering of the project is like watching a dog look at someone riding a bike. The dog can snap at the heels of the rider but it is never, ever, going to get up and ride that thing. ...

Melvin Dubnick also reads the papers and worries that the real cause of the accident will be lost in the urge to scapegoat somebody:

... It would make us all feel safer, I suspect, if we could just instantaneously find the specific individual or event or thing that led to this tragic death, and ironically we would feel better if we could zero in on some single individual to blame for committing this "criminal" act. But as much as we wish to revert to such medieval witchhunting, I hope wiser and cooler heads will prevail and a more careful and thorough investigation is conducted. ...

EnuhCorK is no longer a Big Dig fan:

... Like an old friend told me once: "Things have to get a lot worse before they get any better." Well, I think it's a lot worse now.

Charles Laquidara Is this for real?

I must be having a nightmare...)Holy sh_ Someone pinch me- quick.

Train Mon expresses sympathy for the family of Milena DelValle and says the time it took to deal with problems on Acela and Green Line trains shows how long fixing the tunnel could take.

Tory: The State owes this family solutions so this never happens again:

... It's time the MTA care more about our citizens driving on and within its projects than about shielding themselves from responsibility.

Adam Reilly wonders what motoring tips the turnpike Web site might have for drivers affected by the collapse. The answer probably won't surprise you.

They're marveling at our stupidity and corruption out in the Midwest. Up in Canada, as well.

Also out in the Midwest, Diane Moyer was watching a St. Louis newscast that mentioned that Big Dig officials have been advising the state on reconstruction of a St. Louis-area highway:

... I laughed so hard I couldn't fall asleep.

Somebody must have been wondering what an Onion story on the tragedy would look like.

Earlier:
Best Big Dig analogy of the day, plus: More anger
Why did the slabs give way?
Big Dig afternoon edition: Tragedy, awful commute and Matt Amorello.
Big Collapse.