Mercredi

Corps ruling won't lead to greater liability~Joseph Bruno
~Rob Young and Andrew Coburn irresponsibly suggest that Judge Duval's ruling that the Corps of Engineers' gross neglect in the operation and maintenance of the MR-GO caused the flooding in St. Bernard and the Lower Ninth Ward "will open the door to unending liability for federal taxpayers to cover private property losses behind failed corps projects." Messieurs Young and Coburn's inability/failure to analyze the legal implications of the ruling mimics the corps' lack of engineering expertise.
~Editilla CoHo'tellas~ It also mimics local Corps-OPP-TP Public Relations Machinery I would still like to know who put these two Carpet Baggers up to this Faux Editorial.
It is obvious that they, like many, appeared immediately after this historic ruling to begin Spinning this issue as one of Tort Fear ---as opposed to Engineering Failure.
They have come out quickly with a Parallel Story to cloud the Issue, the way the Tobacco Industry "scientists" camouflaged public relations with so-called "studies" regarding the risks of Smoking, and the way anti-global warming industry "scientists" have for the past decade ramped up a Parallel Story for the effects of their industry on our environment.
They don't have to be correct, just published.
Why were they allowed to Spin this Lie here?
Who aimed them at the Times-Picayune?
I'm saying this "Guest Editorial", given the Absolute Bunk at every point, Absolute Bunk Screed (BS), was deliberately placed Advertorial Public Relations --NOT TRUE OPINION.

Soooo, Who put them up to it? Et Tu'ne Picayune?
Right off the bat, I would put my money on Gerald Galloway, Water Titan, Corps Man, and puller of the East-Corps Coastal Civil Engineering Model Train.
Big Man for the Water Industry, this is the guy who went coast to coast spinning the Muskrat Meme, Farmers, local city councils as Cause for the 2008 Mid West Levee Failures.
Not surprisingly he is the one they brought in to head the study of the Corps Flooding in the Great Mid West Flood of 93.
From his perch at the University of Maryland on down to Virginia Tech and all over that area of coastal civil engineering you see a bent towards the Corps Way. Engineering Professor Gerald Galloway is the Anti-Engineering Professor to Robert Bea, just as Coastal Geology Professor Rob Young has been presented here as the Anti-Coastal Geology Professor to Ivor Van Heerden.
The purpose of these Carpet Baggers' Advertorial Placements is to pre-scope this Parallel Narrative to the public in advance of the Corps Appeal of MR-GO.
I'm jus'sayin, we got enough trouble chasing death camp rodeo clowns like Young, Coburn, Galloway, Ruppert, ASCE and Co.
that we really shouldn't have to face their Risk Marketing Ads in our paper of record nola.com --especially on the Editorial Pages on articles addressing the Corps of Engineers.
~Corps should be held accountable for its work

Dear President Obama:
New Orleans Needs a Surge
~Karen Dalton-Beninato

Dear Charity Hospital Babies
and Supporters,
National Trust volunteers posing in front of one of many completed Home Again! projects in New Orleans.

Four years ago, The National Trust for Historic Preservation responded quickly when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita slammed into the Gulf Coast, unleashing massive devastation and placing the future of a great American city at risk. Within weeks the Trust was coordinating efforts on the ground, providing assistance to the first homeowners returning to the city, and opened a field office to advocate for sensible thinking about historic buildings and neighborhoods during a time of crisis and the critical role those places had and continue to have in the city’s recovery.

Over the last four years, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has invested more than $1,000,000 to maintain its field presence in New Orleans. Last month, we announced that while we would continue to support preservation in New Orleans through work from the Southern Regional Office in Charleston, SC, and our headquarters in Washington, DC, we could no longer continue to fund a field office in New Orleans.

Knowing the impact that the Field Office has had on the ground in New Orleans, local preservationists in New Orleans have mounted a fundraising effort to continue a local National Trust presence in the city. Now we need YOUR help to ensure that the field office remains open for another year.

We are overwhelmed by the amount of community support to keep an active on-the-ground presence in New Orleans.
Just recently, local preservationists secured a generous grant from The Ruth U. Fertel Foundation to kick off a grassroots fundraising effort for the work of the field office.
This grant will match - dollar for dollar - any contributions to support the National Trust’s field efforts in New Orleans up to $10,000. This, and related fundraising efforts with foundations and others, will put us well on our way towards securing the necessary funds to keep the office open for another year.

2009 tax sale properties online available for viewing

Lower 9th Ward offers plan for restoration~Amy Wold

~DesCours is a free, public, week-long architecture and art event now in its third year, held the second week of December in New Orleans.
This event invites internationally renowned architects and artists to create 14 architecture installations within 'hidden' locations in the heart of New Orleans, including private courtyards, rooftops, abandoned buildings and walkways, all locations normally unseen, inaccessible or unused by the public.

FEMA plans trailer auction
~Gonzales, La.~The Lamar-Dixon Expo Center will host a public auction of about 400 FEMA trailers and mobile homes beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, parish officials said Tuesday.

The Sun Herald expresses some disappointment at the Commish and his State Farm rate hike ~slabbed

Deal in works to resolve some FEMA trailer claims
~Michael Kunselman

GM eliminates dealership franchise in the heart of NOLA
~Humid Beings

Patriots vs. Saints Has Statospheric Ratings in NOLA

Gage Bonvillain's First Deer

St. Tammany Wants To Bypass Corps For Levee~WDSU

Corps lays out fixes for levee problems~Steve Whitworth
~The main concern is that while some amount of under-seepage of water is considered normal, water moving sand from beneath the levee is not normal.
"This is the only levee we're aware of within the Mississippi Valley Division that under normal operating conditions is moving both water and material," said Chris Wilson of the corps' St. Louis District. "That condition compels urgency. The levee is not at imminent risk of failure today, but it does require immediate attention. It's a problem that won't fix itself."

Why the Trinity River Project Could Be a Windfall for the Lawyer Who Sues the Army Corps of Engineers~Jim Schutze
~I love plaintiff's lawyers. I wish they were way richer. I hate "tort reform." Plaintiff's lawyers are cool, because they sue the socks off bullies. That's what this column is about.
The experts looking at the recent U.S. District Court decision on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Katrina damages in New Orleans are putting the potential total liability of the Corps in the trillions of dollars. That's what I'm talking about.
But here. In Dallas.

Corps PR Ad'news Ad Nauseum

Canal to be poisoned Wednesday in fight against Asian carp
~Dan Egan~We've wasted millions on electric barrier boondoggle

Proctor & Gamble: Trying to make a difference?
~Chelsea Moss

Checking in with Sista Affrodite

Worst Decade Ever~First Draft

Four 'Butterflynauts' Emerge on Space Station
~As of Dec. 1, four Painted Lady butterflies are living aboard the International Space Station.


1000 lb Gator Shot In Houma
This big male was killed crossing the soccer field in Houma, LA. About 30 miles from Morgan City. There was a larger female but it got away

'Steven Seagal: Lawman' full of possibilities~Tim Goodman

Chef John Besh serves up NOLA culture, cuisine in new cookbook
~Kevin R. Convey

Don't Forget the BECA Benefit Art Auction

Interview: Terry Teachout-Part 1
~Mark Meyers
~For the past six years, Terry Teachout has worked steadily on Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong, which was published a week ago to rave reviews. What's remarkable is not that Terry wrote the book on the side while pounding out weekly drama columns and arts essays for leading newspapers and magazines. Or that he wrote an opera libretto (The Letter) that premiered while he was working on the book. The truly astonishing feat is that Pops is easy to read. It's definitive. And it's as beautifully written as any of Armstrong's entertaining solos.

Great Improvised Jazz Tonight at Zeitgeist~Jay Mazza