Blame Game cont.. "Justice Dept. Looks at Lawsuits, Levees"

[jasmeel]

http://news.yahoo.com/fc/world/hurricanes_and_tropical_storms

<I guess we knew this was coming.>

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department is seeking information about whether lawsuits by environmental groups hindered efforts to improve New Orleans levees, an effort the Sierra Club and Democratic lawmakers say is aimed at shifting blame for the massive flooding. The request to federal prosecutors, sent in an e-mail earlier this week, followed harsh criticism of the Bush administration for its initial response to Hurricane Katrina and the breach in New Orleans' levees that sent floodwaters from Lake Pontchartrain pouring into the city.


The request to federal prosecutors, sent in an e-mail earlier this week, followed harsh criticism of the Bush administration for its initial response to Hurricane Katrina and the breach in New Orleans' levees that sent floodwaters from Lake Pontchartrain pouring into the city.

"Has your district defended any cases on behalf of the Army Corps of Engineers against claims brought by environmental groups seeking to block or otherwise impede the Corps work on the levees protecting New Orleans? If so, please describe the case and the outcome of the litigation," said the communication, which was read to The Associated Press on Friday by Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse.

David Bookbinder, Sierra Club senior attorney, said the administration "is more interested in building a case to deflect blame than actually underscore what went wrong before, during and after the crisis."

[ET Awful]

1. Translation: "HELP, we need somebody to blame, none of our other

scapegoats are panning out."

[cantstandbush]

2. Has anyone heard a story about Jefferson Parrish pumping water into

the lake causing the flood walls to breech? I am just asking about this because my niece who lived in NO and who fled to Baton Rouge called last night to tell us she was fine. During that conversation she alluded to the fact that one of the reasons for the rise of water in NO after the hurricane had passed was that Jefferson Parrish had pumped their surge waters into the lake causing it to rise more than the surge. It didn't sound right to me but I am not living in NO so I can't say. She also said that she does not believe there will be an honest investigation into what actually happened. Any experts out there with some insight into this?

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. I just heard this on Countdown

How much more despicable can this administration be?

[Lindsay]

4. How much more despicable?

Don't even ask, because you don't want to know!