You probably heard about the pipe explosion in NYC that killed someone. Digby, in a terrific post, explains how and why this fits into the “scourge of E. coli conservatism."

I never thought I'd see the day when it would be considered good news that a part of New York City was paralyzed, only one person died and there doesn't seem to be any asbestos floating around in the air as a result. (Or maybe not.) The problem is that it is actually very bad news and not just because of the death but because it is a sign of the rapidly decaying infrastructure that has been ignored during the conservative era in favor of free-market religion and the wonder-working powers of tax cuts.

Wednesday, in New York, a pipe installed in 1924 finally gave way and ended up killing someone. Imagine that. They built things to last in those days, but I doubt anyone ever dreamed that they would have to last for nearly a century.

This is the legacy of the past 25 years of neglect.... Watch your step.

Maybe Chertoff's "gut" could give us some indication of our national infrastructure problems.