Gentilly Girl- a part of the 99%

Sweet zombie jezus! Just when we were slightly thinking that things would get fixed for SE Louisiana, here comes this article from today’s T-P . Here’s the opening lines:

“The Army Corps of Engineers, which was directed by Congress to prepare a report on how to protect Louisiana from a Category 5 hurricane, is poised to issue a vaguely-worded document that will not list the specific projects that would be needed to secure the state’s fragile coastline.

The report was to be issued Friday, but the corps postponed action until July 10 after several heated exchanges with representatives of Gov. Kathleen Blanco who say the Bush administration has inappropriately removed a list of specific projects that corps engineers had included in the document’s initial draft.

Instead of listing the projects, a draft of the report shown to state officials merely outlined a “decision matrix” the administration would use to decide how to pick projects in the future to protect Louisiana.”

If this isn’t depressing enough, look at this statement from page 3:

The draft report says the traditional corps economic justification system would be unlikely to “justify risk reduction measures for storms having the surge characteristics contemplated” by Congress, in part because they “do not consider such non-economic assets as human life.” 

Now… I’m not sure in which context I should take the bolded portion of that paragraph. Restoration of our wetlands will protect Human life, or maybe Human life isn’t cost-effective. I’m confused.

I’m also concerned that they are now talking 5 to 7 years to provide protections, but they aren’t thinking of starting until 2012. This cannot stand. We can start on Coastal restoration today, it’s not rocket science, though the Corps would have us think otherwise.

The Administration is trying to find a way to cut the deficit they have created by their illegal war in Iraq and their funneling of monies to garbage companies like Halliburton. They are putting all of the folks of SE Louisiana in harm’s way for their personal protection. Once again, this cannot stand.

We Louisianians do not just exist for the Nation’s benefit. We are a soveriegn state. We ARE Human beings and citizens of the U.S.. We ARE NOT expendable. For the Administration of the Chimp to do this to us is inexcusable. A change is needed, both in Congress and the White House. (I’ll go for seccession… we have the oil and the reserves.)

Independence Day is coming up… it’s Holy to me. This year will be different: I am now only a citizen of the Isle d’Orleans, and I’m freakin’ ready to fight back.

Any others?