No creditable news agency found support for the reports of widespread sniping. The Guard killed two snipers, effectively stopping the handful of snipers who tried to take advantage of the situation. Right-wing bigoted bloggers are responsible for most of the garbage reports, and irresponsible repeaters of the garbage (read Geoduck) are not worthy of consideration.

News today: The NO Times-Picayune reports that The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers are going to install temporary gates to close off the canals in NO, and are importing stronger clay from the Gulf to build up the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet Canallevees in St. Bernard Parish before the nest hurricane season.
A 219 page report by the Corps of Engineers interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force outlines investigations into widespread levee failures. The federal government may be taking first steps to correct past failures. The American Society of Civil Engineers is acting as a consultant.

Pumps will still be inadequate by mid-summer, but it is hoped that the flood gates will keep surge and waves out of the Canal. We can only hope that another major hurricane doesn't hit the area next hurricane season.

Congress must approve the plans, however, before work can start by the Corps. The three gates could cost $105 million, peanuts compared to the $2 trillion plus wasted in the stupid efforts in Iraq.

See www.nola.com, articles from the Times-Picayune, Nov. 11, 2006.

The Interagency Performance Evaluation Team is conducting 'dozens' of evaluations of the failures of levees and levee walls. We can only hope that some action results from their efforts.