Artur Davis, Don't Ask Don't Tell, and New Orleans Levees

The Birmingham News mistakenly reported that Congressman Artur Davis would hold his town hall meeting at Bessemer's City Council Chambers tonight. The meeting will actually be at the Bessemer Civic Center...from 6 to 8 PM. I spoke to someone in the congressman's office this morning and confirmed that the meeting would indeed be at the civic center. This is a good chance to hear our congressman speak and ask questions and maybe get answers regarding some of his questionable votes. (or maybe you support all of his votes...still a good chance to go and see him).

From The Human Rights Campaign:

Translators fluent in 5 languages. Doctors trained in trauma medicine. Pilots prepared to save lives.

We all know "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is wrong. But do you know just how wrong? In the 14 years since it was introduced, the U.S. military has discharged no fewer than 12,000 American troops under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

This includes hundreds of specialists whose skills are badly needed in our current military conflicts. Their commitment and expertise have gone to waste.

Starting Friday, we're honoring these men and women by placing 12,000 flags on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

See HRC's ad about this event here: One Minute ad

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In New Orleans we would hope that recovery is continuing, and with the opening of the St. Charles street car line and tourism rebounding you would think so. But will they be protected from the next storm? The Army Corp of Engineers would lead us to believe they would, but are they the ones we should be listening to?

Dr. Ray Seed, one of the chairs of the Univeristy of California Berkeley committee that is investigating the failure of the levees in New Orleans following hurricane Katrina, has filed an ethics complaint which documents how the Corp of Engineers systematicaly and intentionally hid their mistakes and intimidated anyone who attempted to intervene.

His complaint alleges that this was done with the help and complicity of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). This is the same group the Army Corp chose to review the Corp-sponsored levee investigation. Interesting.

If the Corp was at fault for the condition and/or the design of the levees which failed, why should we believe what they tell us about the levees now?

Concerned goups are calling for an "8/29 Investigation," a truly independent and truly complete analysis of the flood protection failures in metro New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Visit
Levees.org to find out how you can support this effort.

See you tonight at the Bessemer Civic Center!