H.J. Bosworth Jr. lead researcher for Levees.org

What the caller added was bone-chilling.

Bosworth was explaining why the Corps of Engineers’ expensive pumps installed at the mouths of the 17th Street, Orleans and London Avenue Canals might not work if needed. Mr. Bosworth was explaining testimony from a Corps whistleblower featured in Harry Shearer’s new documentary, The Big Uneasy.

The caller added some first hand testimony. Here is a short excerpt from Karre’s interview with ‘Dave.’

DAVE: I was involved with another company trying to sell these pumps to the Army Corps of Engineers. In doing some research, the gentleman is correct (H.J. Bosworth Jr.). The specs were not met. No way, no how, no shape, no form. They (the pumps) were supposed to be witness tested. The pumps themselves are great pumps, they do work. But not under the conditions that they ran in the canals right now. There’s not enough water in the canals to be able to run those pumps properly. They’re hydraulicly driven, which means there’s fluid in these motors, and fluid gets hot and the seals break.

KAARE: Well that’s the key, Dave. How long has the Corps run these? How long can they run?

DAVE: They really haven’t done a lot of testing on them.

Click here for the entire interview. Begin at approximately the mid point.
http://www.webwiseforradio.com/site_files/244/File/KJ_083110_H2.mp3

Also in the theater, that I could see, was Garland Robinette, Garret Graves and Ivor van Heerden, all of whom were featured in the film.

As Mr. Shearer has said before, his goal in creating The Big Uneasy was to present the findings of experts – in a accessible format – on exactly why metro New Orleans flooded five years ago.

Judging by the sold out shows, standing ovations and extended movie-house showings this week, we believe Mr. Shearer has succeeded greatly.

H.J and I were both also pleased when Mr. Shearer gave us a special shout out. If it were not for the yard signs, he said, that Levees.org had placed in the ground all over New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish that said “hold the corps accountable,” he may never have seriously looked into the issues nor made the documentary.

Sandy Rosenthal
Founder, Levees.org
www.levees.org

Click here for movie showings.

H.J. Bosworth Jr, Harry Shearer and Sandy Rosenthal pose on Aug 23, 2010 after unveiling Levees.org's first Historic State Marker. Photo by Pat Garin

A photo gallery by superb photographer Matthew Hinton at the Times Picayune can be seen here: http://bit.ly/atilxA

For a complete list of recent press featuring Levees.org click here:
http://www.delicious.com/leveesorg/press

Click the “read more” link below to see videos this weekend featuring Levees.org. The first two were created by The Wall Street Journal. The last is ABC News out of Houston.

7-minute video includes short clip of Founder Sandy Rosenthal

11-second clip of Sandy Rosenthal on 17th Street Canal breach.

The video story below is by ABC Eyewitness News in Houston.

This event is free and open to the public.

Guests will first enjoy beverages, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres while listening to live music, Some Like it Hot. Booths will offer all kinds of merchandise including bumper stickers, DVDs, t-shirts, commemorative posters and more.

At 7:30p, guests will see a short presentation by Sandy Rosenthal, and CATeam Leader Melissa Smith. We will present our most recent accomplishments and we will make a very exciting announcement!

We will close with a brief outline of our ambitious plans for the future.

Where: Touro Synagogue, 4238 St. Charles Avenue
When: August 26, 2010 from 6:30p – 8:30p
Dress: Business casual

Click here for map

View Touro Synagogue in a larger map

17 year old Doyle Cooper plays the trumpet in closing the Plaque Dedication Ceremony. Photo by Judi Bottoni

The informational plaque is adorned with the beloved state bird, the brown pelican, and to the delight of the audience today, a lone pelican alighted atop the floodwall directly behind the new plaque.

The ceremony began with piper Marta Vincent who played “Amazing Grace.”

Sandy Rosenthal founder of Levees.org spoke a few words before unveiling the plaque. Everyone read the words aloud together. It was an emotional moment.

Many elected officials attended the solemn event including New Orleans City Council President Arnie Fielkow, and Vice President Jackie Brechtel Clarkson and City Councilwoman Susan Guidry. Mayor Mitch Landrieu sent one of his senior advisors, Scott Hutcheson to say a few words on behalf of the Mayor. Also present was Representative Nick Lorusso.

Actor Harry Shearer, director of The Big Uneasy joined the Ceremony and spoke a few words.

The ceremony closed with the trumpet music of 17 year old Doyle Cooper who performed a beautiful rendition of “A closer walk with thee.”

This is the first of many. Levees.org will hold fundraisers to raise the money for plaques at other breach sites in New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish.

Click link for photo gallery:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24669697@N05/sets/72157624630239767/

The beautiful Historic Plaque is now in place ready to be unveiled.

The traditional Louisiana state plaque, complete with an emblazoned and beloved brown pelican, briefly describes the events surrounding the catastrophic breach of the 17th Street Canal during Katrina.

The plaque was recently approved by the Architectural Historian with the Louisiana Division of Historic Preservation, and will be placed on the New Orleans city right-of-way on Bellaire Drive in the Lakeview neighborhood.

Levees.org sees this as the first of many historic plaques to be installed in New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish. The group envisions plaques at the London Avenue Canal, the Industrial Canal and the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet to name just a few.

What: Dedication Ceremony of Historic Plaque
When: Monday, August 23 at 10:30a
Where: 6932 Bellaire Drive New Orleans (T-intersection of Bellaire and Stafford)

New Orleans Councilwoman Susan Guidry, Council President Arnie Fielkow and Harry Shearer (director of The Big Uneasy to be released August 30) have confirmed they will attend.

UPDATE: A spokesperson for Mayor Mitch Landrieu will speak at the Ceremony.

USA Today invited Levees.org to appear in two of the videos released today.

In this footage shot earlier this year, we were invited to comment on the safety of the region’s levee system.

This first video features me (Sandy Rosenthal) and spokespersons of the Army Corps of Engineers commenting on the new flood protection.

This next video features Levees.org advisor Roy Arrigo of Lakeview New Orleans, and long time dedicated supporter Jan Hirschey of Arabi, St. Bernard Parish.

Mr. Arrigo and Ms. Hirschey both did an admirable job!

Dr. Steve Gorelick

My wife Amy, 12 year-old daughter Molly and I have not been able to stop talking about NOLA. I mean, I know NOLA is hip and mysterious and legendary and what-not. But setting aside all those popular, oft-repeated perceptions, I think it’s safe to say that — completely unexpectedly — we hooked into a much deeper narrative, one I don’t think we even fully understand two months later.

Maybe it was the unexpected lack of repression or puritanical nonsense. Maybe the lack of shame. Or maybe it was the disarming, fearless expression of emotion as people described their homes, their parents, their lost photos, their recipes. I just know that it seemed like a level of personal investment by people in their own, special place that I have never seen anywhere in the world.

And I don’t think that many Americans – especially policy makers and politicians — get what looked pretty obvious to me: All the anger people still feel, all the activism like Levees.org fueled by that anger, and all the mournfulness about the shameful way Katrina refugees and other residents were and are still treated, looked to a first-time outsider as so raw, so intimate, that I started to see it as a marriage. Strange, huh? A marriage?

What I mean is that so many people talked about their connection to their place almost as if they were in long-term, committed, passionate, occasionally rageful, yet lovingly turbulent relationships. I just don’t remember ever seeing or hearing that anywhere else. Ever.

At one point, a week after I got back, I actually found myself laughing as I thought: “God help anyone in public life who imagines that the people in NOLA fighting to rebuild and fighting to investigate the history of negligence might actually settle for half a solution or half an investigation! Settle? Please! The people I met seemed as likely to settle for a cold beignet as for a half-baked investigation that reveals anything less than the whole truth of what happened.

It’s funny: I have been to conflict zones and countries where people would, in a split second — kill if they felt their place threatened. Yet I had the feeling New Orleans people have an even stronger tie. And it’s not that they would kill. It was even stronger than that. It was an almost mystical refusal to die.

And I need to feel it again. There. Soon.

Click here for Dr. Gorelick’s bio.
http://levees.org/steve-gorelick-bio-page/

This photo was taken on October 10, 2005 in the Lower Ninth Ward by Francis James using a Sony FDMAVICA.

And he has recently shown himself to be educated and knowledgeable on the true facts of the New Orleans flooding five years ago.

Coach Payton is not confused or misled by inaccurate media reports.

In a recent CNN interview, while talking about the unearthly quiet in the City in the month of January 2006, he mused, “…I knew the failure of the levees was worse than the storm…”

When it comes to the city of New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish, Mr. Payton is exactly right. And has earned himself yet another honor, the Levees.org ‘seal of approval’ for avoiding harmful inaccurate Katrina Shorthand.

Click here for the Larry King Live interview on CNN.
http://larrykinglive.blogs.cnn.com/2010/07/14/sean-peyton-move-where/

Shearer, also an advisor to Levees.org, directed this blockbuster which casts a very critical eye on the Army Corps of Engineers.

The Big Uneasy will show one day only in theaters! Visit the site now for more information about the movie, and to find out where to see it on August 30, 2010.

http://www.thebiguneasy.com/