Monday, November 18, 2013

Vance McAllister, Louisiana and not just the 5th District needs Medicaid.

So he is a moderate and a no nonsense member of the US Congress. About time.

By Bruce Alpert, NOLA.com | Times-Picayune 
November 18, 2013 at 9:47 AM

updated November 18, 2013 at 12:54 PM


WASHINGTON - Rep-elect Vance McAllister, R-Monroe, (click here) says his upset win Saturday in Louisiana's special 5th Congressional District race offers a message for the Republican Party on how to win elections.
"I believe there is a message," McAllister said Monday in an interview. "And it's that we intend to work together for the common purpose and that's to make government work. That's what we should be striving for."
The Monroe businessman handily beat Tea Party and GOP establishment backed State Sen.Neil Riser, R-Columbia in a special election Saturday to replace veteran Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-Quitman. Alexander gave up his House seat to become veterans' affairs secretary for Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration....

He knows as a businessman the trauma Louisiana has been through. It is one of the most impoverished state in the country. Katrina 2005 because the petroleum industry was allowed to ravage the wetlands. It is the truth and no one could talk to the Louisiana government for decades to stop the deterioration OR plan for the Big One. It was Mayor Ray Nagin that finally stated to the people of New Orleans, "Put an ax in the attic." They did. There were people alive because they hacked through their roofs and saved their own lives with a strategy the Mayor gave them.

Additionally, the federal government was responsible for cutting funds to the Army Corp responsible for New Orleans. That is the responsibility of a Congressman. They have to create a safety margin for their people.

But, the economy was devastated and still today New Orleans isn't exactly the same. And who can heal from that horror that existed afterwards. I realize he is not the Congressman for New Orleans, but, he was there and he knows Louisiana needs help.

Then Louisiana is bearly off the mat after Katrina and the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon spewed oil and gas for months. It isn't just the wetlands now, it is the fisheries. And the court cases aren't finished. They have a long way to go to see justice and continue to try to recuperate. What are these people going to do until Louisiana has an economy back, IF, Louisiana ever has an economy again. That oil spill has devastated the shoreline in many cases permanently. It is going to be at least 20 years. That is a fact. That is not an estimate. There have been a long history of oil spills to know how it devastates the land and water. 

There are going to be higher cancer rates in Louisiana due to these problems. The stress alone will cause heart disease. They are going to need medical treatment and medications. This is no joke. I hope the guy does great things for the people of his district, but, I also hope he brings his colleagues on board to understand how the extreme values of rhetoric is hurting people. How are people going to be well enough to even have a work force if this level of abuse continues?

And after decades of ignoring the request of the Army Corp and the people 1833 people die and the federal government finally got the message they should have acted sooner.

Y--SELA 7a - Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project (click here) - Harahan Pump to the River - North Discharge Tubes, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana.

Solicitation Number: W912P8-13-B-0030

Agency: Department of the Army

Office: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Location: USACE District, New Orleans


Louisiana needs leadership. I hope Representative Elect can provide it. I 

hope he doesn't succumb to the corruption now in the US Congress that sells 

their souls to the petroleum industry for election funding.



The Army Corps of Engineers tests all 11 pumps at the 17th Street Canal near the lakefront Monday evening. 'We told you that we'd be here on the 17th Street Canal today pumping this much water, and here we are,' Col. Jeffrey Bedey said.


By Sheila Grissett 
Staff writer
It wasn't necessary (click here) to end the final round of pump testing with a whiz-bang water show on the 17th Street Canal Monday night, but that's just what Army Corps of Engineers' project leaders ordered up.
The choreographed display culminated with the canal's 11 newest and largest pumps running in tandem.
Together, the 11 direct-drive pumps can push a maximum of about 4,000 cubic feet of water per second, cfs, out of the canal and into Lake Pontchartrain.
At that capacity, the pumps can basically lower the water level in the canal, when floodgates are closed by about 1 foot every 12 or so minutes....