Inspectors: Thousands of American Bridges in Poor Condition

Francis Scott Key Bridge

Following the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge after a collision involving a cargo ship, safety inspectors are now raising the alarm about the structural dangers of a significant percentage of American bridges.

As Fox News reports, federal data from the year 2023 suggests that at least 7% of bridges in the United States – roughly 42,400 total – are in poor condition. The primary cause is deterioration over time, which requires regular repairs that can regularly cost millions of dollars, as well as cause closures that negatively impact many residents’ commutes.

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Commentary: The Inspiring Front Lines of the Modern Homeschool Revolution

Home School Family

When she was a young girl, Sandra Day O’Connor began her education at home. Her early years of schooling on an Arizona ranch were sitting at the kitchen table with her mother, learning to read, and taking long nature walks.

I read this, and this scene of serenity, this future Supreme Court Justice, beginning her education at home, formed an image in my mind of what might be possible.

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Commentary: Navigating the Vibe Shift of a Cultural Reckoning

Masked woman holding American flag

We have been hearing a lot about a “vibe shift” in American culture recently. The phrase has been around for a while. It gained new currency after the commentator Santiago Pliego wrote an essay about the phenomenon, and Tucker Carlson had him on his show to talk about it.

I recommend both.  For one thing, they offer notes of cheerfulness (I almost said “optimism,” but optimism is Dr. Pangloss’s failing) in the midst of our sea of gloominess and despondency. According to Pliego, Americans are awakening from their “dogmatic slumbers,” where the dogmas in question are the rancid pieties of the so-called “progressive” establishment. Have you checked your privilege today, Comrade? How are your pronouns holding up? What have you done to combat “whiteness,” “toxic masculinity,” and “climate change?”

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Study Grades Natural Gas as Best Source for Reliability, Affordability and Environmental Impact

Natural Gas Pawer Plant

A new study finds that natural gas is the most effective energy source meeting growing energy demands affordably and reliably, while balancing environmental and human impact.

The “Grading the Grid” study by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a pro-free market nonprofit, and Northwood University rates natural gas, coal, petroleum, nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, solar and geothermal generation sources on their reliability, environmental and human impact, cost, innovation and market feasibility.

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