Sunday, December 06, 2015

Neither Barnum nor Twain said it, but both of them nailed it.

Photo credit: Wikipedia
“The removal of urban interstates is a growing trend in the US ... this trend, if carried to its logical extreme, can yield sites of intervention that hold the promise of remaking the American city.”
-- "Highways Destroyed America's Cities" at The Atlantic

Yesterday the masses gathered atop an unnecessary bridge named for yet another dead white man, one that will forever more exclude them unless they drive cars and pay tolls.

That's because ...

There's a sucker born every minute (Wikipedia)

"There's a sucker born every minute" is a phrase most likely spoken by David Hannum, in criticism of both P. T. Barnum, an American showman of the mid 19th century, and his customers. The phrase is often credited to Barnum himself. It means "Many people are gullible, and we can expect this to continue."

But my friend John Paul said it best:

Many thanks to Governors Pence and Beshear, our federal and state bureaucracy, and Walsh Construction, for our new $1.6 billion bridge, and for allowing the poor little folks who will be picking up the tab the opportunity to 'walk the bridge' alongside the motorcade of dignitaries today.

We've officially dug ourselves further into our irreversible transportation and environmental nightmare.

Mark Twain didn't say it, but the quote can be adjusted to fit yesterday's parade of auto-centrism.

"When the end of the world comes, I want to be in Kentuckiana because it's always 20 years behind the times."

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