*flips on HBO*

I thought of you when I read this:
The federal government, by law, must build and maintain the Mississippi levees to withstand known dangers - or pay the price when they fail.

Indeed, that was the rule applied in the storms that hit Westhampton Dunes, New York, in 1992. There, when federal sea barriers failed, the flood waters wiped away 190 homes. The feds rebuilt them from the public treasury. But these were not just any homes. They are worth an average of $3 million apiece the summer homes of movie stars and celebrity speculators.

But GOD forbid we rebuild the communities of the poor or working class. That means they might be getting a hand out while rebuilding mansions is just AmErIcAn...

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I mostly try not to think about it because I go somewhere very dark when I do, but yeeeeah.. there's so much flailing on this end over how nonsensical the fucking government is. I'm moving back home next year--not sure where too yet but Chicago isn't a part of me the way the Coast is--and it's infuriating that the government will rebuild vacation homes for rich folk but not help the people who really need it. We don't even need them to open the treasury to us, just give the states some of the damn money that the federal government pulls in off of the oil rigs on our coastlines and we'll rebuild ourself. Oh, wait.. my bad, that's a little too logical for them.

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So I know that the reason Louisiana doesn't get the money from the rigs is because of the three mile rule ...BUT Louisiana also needs to rebuild the wetlands. What if they built a series of peninsula ...say three to five miles long... and declared the tips of those the new coast line? Solves two issues :)

I think if I was going to live anywhere else in the US New Orleans would be my choice. I have actually looked but weirdly I haven't seen any liquor biz jobs listed. I'm probably looking in the wrong place. I got the impression when I was there that there are a LOT of jobs - literally, when I was there? I walked into a seafood shop and the guy offered me a job on the spot.

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That's a delightful solution and as a conservationist one I fully approve; though I'm not sure how well the ecosystem would react with peninsulas, if it's anything like the barrier islands now then they'd likely wash away with the first decent storm. Rebuilding the wetlands should be the state's top priority (and, imo, the federal govt's too since everyone holds a share of the blame for the civil engineering that led to their decimation), unfortunately there needs to be more money filtered in to such a project and a helluva lot of education for everyone who will inevitably bitch about blowing money on a swamp.

Heh, jobs are soooo not the issue in New Orleans right now. Might not be a job you're interested in, but they are there to be had if you want to work. When I went home back in July, from what I saw I could pretty much walk into any fast food restaurant and pull in money comparable to what I make now, if not more. Housing is the main problem.

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