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Saturday, October 07, 2023

The boats must flow

There are priorities here that simply will not be questioned.  The matter of whether or not anybody can live in the city takes a very far back seat to the matter of how much profit can be sucked out of it.  Can you afford the rent/mortgage/insurance? Nobody cares about that compared to how much houses are flipping for in the neighborhood. Do your kids have a good school? Nobody cares about that compared to how much can be grifted away by private charter operators? Are you safe from floods? From poisons in your air and water? Nobody cares about that compared to how much oil and gas can be extracted and refined and sold into global markets. Is there a reliable source of fresh water nearby? Nobody cares about compared to... 

The Army Corps of Engineers has known for decades that its continual efforts to deepen the Mississippi River for bigger ships would eventually trigger the saltwater crisis that has now gripped the New Orleans area for weeks.

“This is certainly something that everybody knew was going to happen,” said Cecil Soileau, a retired Corps engineer who warned in a 1990 report that dredging the lower river would threaten the region’s drinking water.

Gotta have the boats.  Recall, also, the last big channel we dug for the boats also killed the city in 2005.  People are disposable. The boats, the oil, the money; that's what matters.

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