Harry Shearer wrote in today's Huffington Post decrying the brevity and usefulness of President Obama's visit to New Orleans on Thursday. Shearer points out that Obama will hold a town hall meeting and visit a charter school. Then he's outta here. From the article: What he won't be doing: a survey, by air or other means, of the daily erosion of the invaluable coastal wetlands under the inexorable pressure of pipeline and canal building, which has allowed the intrusion of salt water from the Gulf; a frank and detailed discussion with the local leaders of the Army Corps of Engineers about their decision to adopt a "technically not superior" solution to the permanent pumps in the outfall canals, and about their installation of non-functioning hydraulic pumps in those canals as a "temporary" solution. In other words, the President will not be addressing either of the crucial issues in assuring that the disaster of 2005 is not repeated.
More here. Be sure to read the comments following the post to see Shearer deftly swat away arguments that imply that New Orleans and Louisiana should stop complaining and accept the wrath of Mother Nature.....or something like that. Those arguments are shown to be ill-informed at best and lazy or malevolent at worst. That's why I love Harry Shearer.
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