However, if you are really interested in the New Orleans Levee system you may want to consult to following link"
http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/pao/whoweare/index.asp
Notice how the above web address has a .mil domain name. I wonder how the mayor of New Orleans and his "New Orleans Levee Commission" was able to obtain that address?
I don't know how long you've lived in New Orleans but perhaps the state of Louisiana created this commission without passing it by you first. Nevertheless, it does exist.
You asked me earlier what would I have done if I had been the mayor. I'm no expert on New Orleans or Louisiana but I do know the Superdome is owned by the state. I also know that the mayor and the governor had up to 48 hours advance notice that it was very possible this storm was going to hit New Orleans and hit with a vengence. It seems to me knowing thousands of people would descend on the the Superdome and the Convention Center--and the fact that it is hurricane season--would have triggered the need to stock both of those venues with at least some food and water. Forty eight hours after the storm struck and the levees broke, the mayor and the governor--and others--complained that it was taking too long to get food and water into the city which, btw, had numerous flooded roads and highways that it didn't have 48 hours before the storm came. If that isn't the epitome of 20/20 hindsight I don't know what is. The president declared the region a national emergency before the storm hit. Perhaps the Louisiana National Guard could have brought supplies in beforehand.
Secondly, if I had been the mayor I would have strongly--and for obvious reasons--urged the governor to mobilize the state National Guard sooner than she did. The fact that this would even be necessary points to her apparent ineptness in dealing with the entire situation.
I've already said I would have opened most lanes of traffic outbound. And so third, I would have activated those hundreds of school buses that you say would "only have complicated things".
Fourth, and somewhat unrelated, I would have ceased--and urged the governor to cease--negotiations with the Saints ownership in trying to keep that team in New Orleans. It's been proven time and time again that sport franchises bring little net revenue gain into the communtities they operate in. The taxes on parking, hotel rooms, etc. generated for payments to the Saints football team could have easily been spent on hurricane and levee breach preparedness. You may be thinking, "Why have the Superdome without the Saints?" but the team only plays 8 games a year there (10 if exhibition games are counted). Considering that New Orleans is a very small market, taxpayer money spent on the Saints is not money well-spent. Your previous governor entered into a bad deal with the team and your present governor has been on the verge of doing essentially the same thing. Let them go. Your community should have done so in the first place. Now it looks like you'll have to. Clearly in light of this disaster, your state will be unable to continue the payments due the Saints and Tom Benson will more likely than not pack the team up and leave.
As mayor I would have camped out on the steps of Congress until someone listened. We keep hearing how everyone knew this could happen yet to the rest of us not living in your region we literally had no idea. Your mayor should have been relentless in getting the word out. Perhaps, considering your city and state's reputation for corruptness, he was told in no uncertain terms not to do so. I don't know. But I find it interesting that a city and state at the very mouth of the Mississippi River, a city and state where everything that comes and goes on that river must pass by, would be as poor as your city and state are. Perhaps you could explain that to me.
Apparently there was little difference between the preparing for Ivan and this hurricane. So whatever the mayor did do wasn't enough. Such is the business of being a politician. They want to be in a position of leadership but when they demomstrate an inability to provide that leadership they pay the political price. Your mayor has had no problem pointing fingers. Yet he is your mayor and he should be willing to take some responsibility. From my vantage point I haven't seen that and somehow I don't think I will. He's clearly looking to find political cover. That doesn't demonstrate leadership to me. And your governor is no different.
I don't live in New Orleans or anywhere where hurricanes are commonplace. Here in California we prepare for earthquakes and wildfires. And while I don't claim to have all the answers, I know it's counter-productive to play the "blame game" and lay this all at Bush's doorstep or claim the lack of quick response was based on racism. Handing out DVDs is not really what I would consider exceptional planning particularly since people tend to not believe the worst can happen to them.
You didn't find anything about the "New Orleans Levee Commission" because it's called the "Orleans Levee Board"
http://www.orleanslevee.com/