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Thanks, Mr. Colbert! If only our esteemed governess knew!

hat tip Mr. Clio

Levees: Not just in NOLA

Recent news stories
about flooding in Missouri brings to light that levees are all over the country. And there are a LOT of substandard ones out there.
This shatters the belief by some tiny minded people that places like New Orleans shouldn't be rebuilt due to the geography.

From Levees dot org comes a new PSA with John Goodman.

New Orleans resident and award-winning actor John Goodman added his voice to a series of celebrity Public Service Announcements by non-profit flood-control advocacy group Levees.Org, asking "Don't we all deserve levees that work?"
The campaign aims to explain to communities nationwide that they are protected by levees built by the US Army Corps of Engineers and could experience a catastrophic flood like New Orleans experienced during Hurricane Katrina.
The 30-second version of the advertisement can be viewed at the organization's Web site, www.levees.org. For broadcasters, both a 15 and 30 second version can be downloaded.
Too many people don't understand that what happened here was a case of federal engineering failures and poor decision-making. Too many people don't understand that what happened here could happen anywhere. said Sandy Rosenthal, the organization's executive director.
The group is behind legislation to create an 8/29 Commission, an unbiased investigation of the failure of the federally built levees. Senator Mary Landrieu, D-LA will file the 8/29 Commission as an amendment to the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). The WRDA bill likely will go to the Senate floor this week, said Ms. Rosenthal.
Rosenthal started Levees.Org while in Lafayette, LA after evacuating from New Orleans during the flooding in 2005.

Round Houses

Story about a Gulfport home that made it thru Katrina.

" The Kisers' home suffered no structural damage from 145-miles-per-hour
winds and a 24-foot storm surge. All of the walls and windows remained
intact, having survived the force of Katrina and the tornados spawned by
the hurricane."


Here's one of two that are being built on Lakeshore Drive in Slidell.

Bayou Liberty Pirogue Races

Despite the fact that Katrina forced the razing and rebuilding of St. Genevieve Church in Bayou Liberty, the Pirogue races will take place on June 3rd. It was speculated that they may have been interrupted due to the construction schedule of the new church, but that's not the case

click on picture for full-sized view

The 57th annual Pirogue Races will run from 1 pm till dark. A very low-key event compared to most fests in this area, the Pirogue Races offer a relaxing day of live music, home cooked gumbo, beer and people watching.

Faded Hopes in New Orleans

Here's a link to an editorial written by Geri Denterlein of Boston regarding her experiences and feelings from a recent volunteer visit to NOLA. Thanks to Ashley.

When does the evil end?

A federal judge has dismissed a wrongful death lawsuit filed by families of three people who died in the immediate, desperate days after Hurricane Katrina when the New Orleans region was stranded without proper emergency services. U.S. District Court Judge Jay Zainey recently ...agreed with federal officials who said they cannot be sued for such Katrina deaths because they have immunity, granted by the Stafford Act and the Federal Tort Claims Act. ..."One might contend that the federal decisions made in conjunction with Hurricane Katrina demonstrated nonchalance and/or incompetence on the part of those involved," Zainey wrote in a 23-page decision issued Saturday and filed in court Tuesday. "The government has publicly admitted that it made many mistakes in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. One can only speculate at this point whether these mistakes caused the tragic deaths of the decedents." Zainey continued, "This court is very sympathetic to the plaintiffs for the loss of their loved ones, however, this court is prohibited from changing the laws that Congress has enacted. As such, the court lacks the authority to award money damages for the claims in which the plaintiffs are not legally entitled." The elderly woman's body, which contained a pacemaker and a feeding tube, gave out Sept. 1 as she and tens of thousands of others languished in the New Orleans heat with little or nothing in their hands. The courts combined the following lawsuits against the government with the Freeman claim: -- John J. DeLuca, 77, who rode out Katrina at an eastern New Orleans assisted-living home, died Sept. 3 after a helicopter rescue team took him from his home to Interstate 10 and Causeway Boulevard. DeLuca languished for three days before dying, court records said. -- Clementine Eleby, 79, paralyzed and bedridden in eastern New Orleans when the storm struck, died outside the Convention Center on Sept. 1 while waiting for help.

I'm so angry I am speechless.

The Katrina Treatment

Greg Palast, author of Armed Madhouse: From Baghdad to New Orleans - Sordid Secrets and Strange Tales of a White House Gone Wild released this week by Penguin. writes about what the federal government knew but did not share in "18 Missing Inches in New Orleans"

Not every flood victim in America gets the Katrina treatment. In 1992, storms wiped out 190 houses on the beach at West Hampton Dunes, home to film stars and celebrity speculators. The federal government paid to completely rebuild the houses, which, hauled in four million cubic feet of sand to restore the tony beaches, and guaranteed the home's safety into the coming decades - after which the "victim's" homes rose in value to an average $2 million each.

But in New Orleans, instead of compensation, 73,000 have been sentenced to life in FEMA's trailer-parks in Louisiana. Even more are displaced to other states. I asked van Heeerden about the consequences of the White House's failures, the information about the levee being just one of a list.

"Well, fifteen hundred people drowned. That's the bottom line."

But why did the levees fail at all if the hurricane missed the city? The professor showed me a computer model indicating the levees were a foot and a half too short - the result of a technical error in the Army Corp of Engineer's calculation of sea level when the levees were built beginning in the 1930s.

And the Bush crew knew it. Long before Katrina struck, the White House staff had sought van Heerden's advice on coastal safety. So when the professor learned of the 18-inch error, he informed the White House directly. But this was advice they didn't want to hear. The President had already sent the levee repair crew, the Army Corp of Engineers, to Afghanistan and Iraq.

How NOT to lead

From
Bayou Buzz dot com.
This is beyond disgusting.
This is way past ineptitude
an excerpt

It seems that the wounds from the U.S. Government’s miserable handling of Hurricane Katrina will never go away. This weekend, a shocking report shows that our federal government turned down millions of dollars in aid from foreign countries in the aftermath of Katrina. A staggering $846 million in aid was offered from countries across the globe, yet only $40 million was eventually accepted. Some went to private charities, but other assistance, such as medical supplies from Italy, was unused, exposed to the elements and eventually discarded.

The reasons the aid was rejected often dealt with a strict adherence to government regulations. For example, the Greek government offered two cruise ships to be used to house or care for Katrina victims. The ships were rejected due to concerns about the sprinkler systems on the boats. Other aid was turned down because of concerns about bottlenecks at a U.S. airbase in Little Rock, Arkansas caused by too many relief planes arriving. How infuriating that our government was worried about sprinkler systems and airport congestion when people were dying throughout the Gulf Coast!

More at the American Zombie

20 Months Later

At ground zero - Bay St. Louis and Waveland - there is still so much work to be done.

From "Rising from Ruin see what this area looks like in April 2007

Jazz Fest 07

I hadn't been to Jazz Fest in almost 10 years, so it was a pleasure to go this year.


We headed for the Blues Tent first thing. After looking at the schedule of performers, we decided we'd stay there all day

It was a good day. The tent was cool and there were Jazz Fest Staff there who kept the aisles clear and did their best to keep the rowdies tamed.



We watched

Mem Shannon and the Membership


Burnside Exploration


Richie Havens


The incredible Tab Benoit


and Sonny Landreth

While listening to all this talent we ate!


A very huge and very tasty steak pita


The Crawfish Bisque & Trout Baquet from Lil Dizzy's. mmm-mmm-mmmm
and the meaty ribs with white beans.

Katrina keeps on "giving"

Tim posted a story about a neighbor of his who lost more than his home to the storm.
Read about it at his nameless blog