Levees opened on purpose?

[justiceischeap]

A reporter asked this question at the end of the Bush/Clinton news conference. She asked what Clinton thought about the assertions that the levees were opened on purpose.

Has anyone else heard this?

edited: for more informative title.

[JohnnyBoots]

1. I heard it......would have liked to hear the answer.

[justiceischeap]

2. .

Are there any links to these types of stories? Has anyone heard this (that the levees were intitianally opened)?

[ohio_liberal]

3. I've heard rumors

Just rumors, no links, and I don't know that I believe it or not.

Supposedly they opened up some of the levees in the poorer sections to relieve/prevent flooding in other (better) areas. The older folks believe it is true because they say it happened before during another time of flooding.

[justiceischeap]

4. Geezus

Wow... I can't say more than that.

[Zodiak]

26. Could this be why...

there have been reports of people taking pot shots at levee engineers?

Rumors are all the people in the city have that passes for "news". If you were on top of your house, and saw engineers open up levees on purpose (which, yeah, I heard may be part of the plan to reduce water levels), wouldn;t a person who had heard these rumors think it is deliberate genocide?

Rumors are ugly things that get people killed.

[enlightenment]

10. I'm not familiar with the press conference, but James

Carville did a piece on the Flood of '27 and the intentional breaking of the levee.
Considering the political fall-out from that debacle, I'd be hard-pressed to believe the local government would have considered it an option.
It's not so much a question of decency as one of political expediency -- if someone could show me how it would have benefit the aspirations of the local politicos in New Orleans, I would reconsider their willingness to do such a heinous thing.
Oh -- Here's the Carville article!
http://www.salon.com/april97/columnists/carville970407.html

[Land Shark]

21. this Carville article needs its own thread: history of dynamiting levees

to save more "valuable" areas. Also history of locals shooting on sight anyone who appeared to be lookin' to dynamite levees (sheds some light on the shooting dispute with the army corps of engineers)

[enlightenment]

24. If you're interested in more on the Flood of 1927

try this link.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/flood/

I teach college history, and like the American Experience series -- no history is perfect, but they strive for some level of objectivity, which is the best you can do.
We are a pretty sad species, sometimes. A truly underwhelming effort to live up to our potential.

[WiseButAngrySara]

25. I agree! Sad species indeed, especially with this current sub-human

administration. Some FEW of us are enlightened, enlightenment. Please post these links as a separate thread, as suggested above! Thanks!

[watercolors]

5. also heard it

what the heck was that about, lets hope not.

[justiceischeap]

6. I just can't imagine

I mean, it makes sense from a engineering stand point but not something you would do in actuality.

[shadowlight]

7. terrible that i would wonder this

but chertoff said the storm passed and the levees held
then they fail?

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

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[lunchtime]

9. Why would they do this?

Did the levee breaking help them in some way?

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[lunchtime]

12. Oh, OK.

It doesn't seem to be the most efficient way to kill off the poor, but I suppose they're capable of anything.

[Name removed]

14. Deleted message

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[proud2BlibKansan]

13. Why seems to be the question of the hour

Why did FEMA turn down truckloads of water donated by WalMart?

Why did FEMA cut the emergency communication lines in Jefferson Parish?

Why did FEMA refuse to accept the fuel in a ship on the coast sent to Louisiana?

Why were people rescued from their homes and taken to the convention center where they waited for 5 days with no food or water and died - in the United States of America????

The most important question: Why are brown skinned poor people not important enough to rescue??

[justiceischeap]

15. Couldn't have said it better

Why did Bush taking a working agency that Clinton left him and gut it?
Why did Bush put someone in charge of FEMA who has absolutely no disaster relief experience?

[MadeinOhio]

16. Why did they do it all over an area known to be the richest in petroleum?

:grr:

[justiceischeap]

17. To push the gas prices over $3?

Seems to make sense to me. Make the BushCo., Inc. even richer.

[MadeinOhio]

19. So Cheney can build the refinery there he's always wanted.....

:argh: :argh: :argh:

[proud2BlibKansan]

20. Sounds like a new thread starter

hmmm :)

[MojoXN]

18. I hope that this isn't true.

Incompetence is bad enough, but the willful murder of tens of thousands... Then again, he did it in Iraq, didn't he?

MojoXN

[LoZoccolo]

22. They are trying to get DU members mad at Clinton again.

See, if Clinton says that the levees were not opened on purpose and it wasn't full-on MIHOP, a bunch of people here will freak out about how our leaders lack the spine to make this kind of accusation and thus cause a mutiny in the Democratic Party.

_{NOTE: This post is sarcastic.}

[tx_dem41]

23. So it wasn't the fault of * cutting Army Corps of Engineers funding?

C'mon people...don't get distracted. :eyes: