Almanac: At the Capitol

The federal government's hiring and then firing of fired MnDOT employee Sonia Pitt created quite a reaction in the political world. Lawmakers are stunned. Regular people seem stunned. The blogs are stunned.

Jan Radder writes:

If there were any justice in this world, Sonia Pitt would be flipping burgers at some fast food chain, asking customers, "you want fries with that," while bragging to any and all who would listen that she "used to be somebody."

Book of the Black Dog says:

Crap, crap, crap. Where the hell are we going and why are we in this hand basket?

MinnPost writes:

Where in the world is Sonia Morphew Pitt, the MnDOT disaster coordinator who went AWOL during the 35W bridge collapse? Working for the feds at Homeland Security, the Strib's Paul McEnroe and Tony Kennedy report. She's a "transportation security specialist." Somewhere, FEMA ex-boss Michael Brown is smiling.

The story is a big "get" for the Strib reporters who have been tenacious on the follow up of the bridge collapse. The timing couldn't be worse for the Bush and Pawlenty administrations, the day before the bridge anniversary.  The governor's spokesperson said "As you'll recal, our administration fired Sonia Pitt and we can't explain why or how she was hired by the federal government.  It seems like a strange decision."