HumidCity

A reader in Cincinnatti, OH who used to live in New Orleans Pre-Katrina graced my in-box with the following email message. I will write about this later once I have more time. In the meantime the RadiantAchangelus pretty much sums it all up:

Wait, Washington D.C. is below sea level? And filled with historic monuments? And barely protected by crappy old levees? Gee, sounds like a city I know. But quick - don’t fix the levees - they should just move too!!

Gaps in aging levees leave D.C. landmarks exposed - Yahoo! News

Of course if that is not enough here is a teaser from the article itself:

The small berm is part of an inconspicuous levee system designed to protect world-famous museums, the National Archives and federal office buildings from flooding.

But the nearly 70-year-old levee is at risk of failing during a major storm — a catastrophe that could swamp portions of downtown in up to 10 feet of water and cause $200 million in damages, according to federal officials.

Dozens of communities coast to coast are facing similar warnings as authorities re-examine the nation’s outdated flood-control infrastructure.

And one final ominous bit of foreshadowing I was heretofore unaware of (emphasis mine):

During six previous floods, officials placed sandbags on 17th Street, which cuts across the National Mall near the Washington Monument. Had there been more serious flooding, plans called for erecting an 8-foot earthen embankment with dirt taken from the grounds of the Washington Monument, said Steve Garbarino, the Corps’ project manager for flood protection in the Washington region.

This is Your Nation. This is Your Nation surrounded by failing levees. Any Questions?

Thanks R! We miss you down here!

… That police have apprehended one of the suspected killers of Robin Malta. Extradition proceedings are now taking place to return him to the city.

Update, 10:30 PM: Can this be the story? Not sure. I’ll keep a lookout.

- Bigezbear

i.

a man in lakeview was shot and killed by nopd after he first threatened fema workers who were “evicting” him from his fema trailer and then brandished a gun at police officers. the police claim he was a mentally ill man who was “off his meds,” but I wonder if that’s any reason to play judge, jury and executioner. mentally ill? who isn’t nowadays? shouldn’t law enforcement be handling (and shooting) the real crooks, you know, the ones in the suits who put the city in formaldehyde–infested fema trailers to begin with?

ii.

meanwhile my trailer eviction notice from the city of new orleans sits unanswered and ignored on my countertop as do my prescriptions. hmmm… go ahead punk…do you feel lucky?

iii.

my pothole is now the home for ducks PIC HERE… well, at least it was for a few hours. does that mean it’s no longer a pothole, but rather a topographical body of water to be registered with rand and mcnally? unfortunately or fortunately, the baby ducks were rescued ala’ evicted by a concerned neighbor who thought a) they might get hit by a car, b) they might be eaten by pigeons, c) they might get shot by the nopd. unfortunately, the mother was thrown into a quacking seizure for the next three hours (situationally induced mental illness) … and the ducklings probably won’t survive the night in unneeded and unrequested human care.

I wonder what we can learn from these random accidents of unkindness?

sic itur ad astra?

BLOG THIS!

phfred@notthat.com