I think this video says it all. I love the way that all of the world leaders don’t even extend their hands to him. Two months to go and we are rid of this failed excuse for leadership.
-Loki, HumidCity Founder
Cassandra Syndrome, I feel like I have had it for years now. From my speculation that Iraq was going to become a sociopolitical morass akin to Viet Nam, to my fears about the direction of the New Orleans rebuild I always seem to be written off as an extremist. Like Cassandra I have been both correct and disbelieved for quite some time now.
So here is the latest confirmation of something I have been screaming from the roofops since the day the Corps admitted culpability. You see, everyone is under the impression that the levee failure is a New Orleans problem, that it does not affect them directly, which is patently false. My refrain has been, “what if it happens to YOU next?” Well here is some groovy news for our neighbors across the US, it IS your problem as well:
Peter Eisler over at USA Today says 146 LEVEES ACROSS THE US MIGHT FAIL.
WASHINGTON — The Army Corps of Engineers has identified 146 levees nationwide that it says pose an unacceptable risk of failing in a major flood.The deficiencies, mostly due to poor maintenance, are forcing communities from Connecticut to California to invest millions of dollars in repairs. If the levees aren’t fixed, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) could determine that they are no longer adequate flood controls.
Maybe some people will pay attention now, but I am begining to doubt it. Those that have an interest and those with compassion have already been at our sides from the begining. The ill informed often perk up and pay attention when told the realities down here, but rarely does it seem to have a lasting effect. In this era soundbites are gospel, and attention spans are shorter that Ross Perot.
So I guess we will have to wait for catastrophic flooding in Connecticut, or a levee failure in sunny California before people start to get it. I’ll bet FEMA will be there with bells on, don’t you?
(hat tip to GentillyGirl)
EDIT: Here is a nice little video on Weather.Com adressing the subject. If you live here you already know the drill, if you don’t you should watch it. It could be your levees next..
Alrighty then boys and girls, now that we have worked that black and gold fever out of our bones it is once again time to turn our attention to the buerocrats who are sabotaging the recovery of our city through inaction, incompetence, and/or corruption.
With this in mind HumidCity endorses the effort known as Operation Scary Clown.
On monday please make a copy of following cover letter or compose your own. Then using the list at the end of this post fax and email copies of letter on Monday (Jan 29, 2007). We need to make them understand that we will not put up with much more of this.
January 29, 2007
Elected Officials Of Louisiana
Dear Sir or Madam We, the citizens of New Orleans, are concerned that our leadership is failing us. We are 17 months into the recovery of this great city, and feel that because of Mayor C. R. Nagin our efforts have been less than acceptable. We wonder if you, as one of our elected officials, have come to the same conclusion. We have marched against crime as a community, and we will march against lack of leadership with the same conviction. Our hope with this letter is that you join us in asking our Mayor to step down.
This is a challenge to our elected officials to stand along side us. We only ask for strong and proper leadership at a time that anything less is unacceptable. If you stand with us you can stand proud that you are giving New Orleans a chance. If you do not stand with us , we can accept that you have failed us as an elected official and it will be duly noted upon election time. Give our city a fair chance, take a stand against irresponsible leadership.
We are faxing and emailing as many elected officials that can help us save our city. We feel that a recall can and will be an option if need be. If you truly want to help, contact other elected officials and let them know that you will not stand by as our chance at recovery slips away. Time is not on our side.
Thank You for your time
Respectfully
Whoever You Are
and the list of targets-
City Council:
House of Representatives:
Louisiana state Senators:
main email address: websen@legis.state.la.us Subject line: “SENATORS NAME”
US SENATORS:
GovernorKathleen Blanco
Phone: 866-366-1121, 225-342-0991 or 225-342-7015 Facsimile: 225-342-7099
Xposted and rewritten from LJ New Orleans
Xposted to HumidCity MySpace (also sent as a bulletin), HumidCity, and Powers & Morrison
IOL: Angry judge takes action in New Orleans
“We’ve reached the point where technological failures are not an excuse for constitutional failures,” - Pamela Metzger, director of the Criminal Law Clinic at Tulane University
Now that we are done with the fireworks I would like to steer you towards a lovely laundry list of incompetence and abuses, the drowing of New Orleans being only one, that make it neccessary to demand new leadership for our beloved country. The Yankee Doodler is to be praised for their cogent presentation of the facts (via Suspect Device)
When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for we the people to reject our representative leaders, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that we declare the causes that impel us to our discontent.
Since a long train of abuses by our public servants has evinced a design to reduce us under a growing despotism, it is our right, it is our duty, to throw off, peacefully and civilly, such representation, and to choose new guards for our future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of the people of the United States these last six years, and such is now the necessity that impels us to demand new leadership.
Tomorrow begins hurricane season, a very uneasy time if you are here fighting for the survival of city and culture. Nine months after the Act Of Man (it was the levee failure not Katrina that did us in) inundated my home I see this in the news:
Levee slumps; repairs to take weeks With hurricane season only three days away, the Army Corps of Engineers on Monday announced that a 400-foot section of earthen hurricane protection levee being rebuilt near Buras High School in Plaquemines Parish slumped by more than 6 feet overnight Saturday, and repairs could take three to six weeks.
Due to immunity set in place after Hurricane Betsy the Corps is not going to be held accountable for one of the worst disasters in American history. Ask yourself honestly, how do you feel about this?
FLOODING COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED SIERRA CLUB PRESENTS “GEOLOGY OF KATRINA”
NEW ORLEANS – Anyone who wants to understand the geologic setting of New Orleans and how the sediments buried below the levees led to their failure and the flooding of the city should attend the next meeting of the New Orleans Sierra Club.
Stephen Nelson, PhD, Chair of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Tulane University will present “Geology of the Katrina Disaster” at 7 p.m. on Sunday, May 21, 2006 at the Carrollton United Methodist Church, corner of Freret and South Carrollton streets. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
The meeting is open to all people and is free of charge.
Dr. Nelson has visited all the levee breaches and he will provide an analysis of the reasons for the engineering failures at the 17th St, London Avenue and Industrial canals. Dr. Nelson says his presentation will show that flooding could have been avoided if simple geologic principals had been followed.
“We’re going to talk about the geological conditions that existed at the time of Katrina and how they led to breaches in the levees,” says Dr. Nelson. “We’re not going to talk much about what happened in the Lower Ninth Ward as the surge waters were simply too high there. But the failure of levees and floodwalls at the 17th Street and London Avenue canals was not due to overtopping but to failures to account for the geological conditions present beneath those levees.”
Dr. Nelson will discuss the geologic landscape of the area going back 5,000 years and will explain changes that occurred up until the day the hurricane struck. He will present a comprehensive slide show that contains numerous images to back up his points.
Since Early November, 2005, Nelson has been conducting field trips to the levee breaches for interested parties from throughout the New Orleans community as well as visitors from out of state and students enrolled in his natural disasters course. For more information about Dr. Nelson, visit his website at: www.tulane.edu/~sanelson.
# # #
The Sierra Club’s 750,000 members work together to protect communities and the planet. The Club is America’s oldest, largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization. The Delta (Louisiana) chapter of the Sierra Club has more than 3,500 members and has been active in local conservation projects for more than 30 years. For more information, contact the organization’s website: www.louisiana.sierraclub.org.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Chris Smith, Media Relations Coordinator
(504) 884-4008
Okay, here’s the current skinny. According to what we have just seen on MSNBC the CBD Marriott has taken 13 ft of water. The roof of the Superdome has been partially ripped off although I do not know the details (I do know that last nights newscast talked of the Dome creaking under the force of the winds.) There has been talk of looting in the city although any sort of photo evidence is in short supply other than one shot of a destroyed money machine.
All in all I am very glad that we ran. I have never fled a hurricane until now, I think I picked the right one to flee.
Please, if you are reading these please post a reply, no matter how brief. Especially friends. This seems to be our only reliable way of staying in touch and finding out the situation, and I promise I will do my best to post anything pertinent to ourselves or New Orleans natives as soon as I can.
We have just gotten up a few minutes ago after way too many hours awake on the road. Once I have caught up on news and gotten some food into my fiancee’s stomach I shall post more thoughts.
In the meantime wish us luck, pray for us, or do whatever your own vews and beliefs dictate but please wish us well. Keep those who were unable to run in mind as they are currently inhabiting a disaster area akin to Waterworld (And we all know how much that movie SUCKED!
Peace and Survival to ALL!
