Well, You Can Always Be a Bad Example

The Lens, Could the Mississippi River benefit from Chesapeake Bay’s strategy to improve water quality?

As environmental groups and policy analysts in the Mississippi River basin seek solutions to shrink a massive “dead zone” that forms off the coast of Louisiana each year, they have looked to a regional clean-up program in the Chesapeake Bay as a model.

A key component of that effort, known as the Chesapeake Bay Program, is regulation.

For nearly 15 years, it’s included a legally enforceable, multi-state pollution quota — one of a select few in the nation. This “total maximum daily load” aims to reduce the amount of nutrients, like phosphorus and nitrogen, that run off into the Bay’s waters.

Too much of chemicals that derive from these elements, commonly used to grow crops and fertilize lawns, can cause algae blooms and die-offs that rob waters of oxygen and suffocate aquatic life.

But the Bay program’s scientific advisors recently noted the strategy is imperfect.

After two missed deadlines to reduce nutrient runoff, and a third looming, Mid-Atlantic state and federal officials are reevaluating their options. . . .

So what would you learn from a program that spent the $25 Billion or so (and likely more associated costs), and achieved about 25% of its goals?  I think you'd chose a different path, almost any other.

On the other hand, the Bay Diet did succeed in the only way that matters in government. It fed a huge bureaucracy of federal, state and local government officials, who also funded a small army of academics and NGOs, who desperately need some successor program to continue the waterfall of money. 

I don't know the answer for the Mississippi, but it's a much larger, complicated system than the Bay, and I know it won't be easy. If you learn one thing from the Bay Program, it should be not to imitate it.

Flotsam and Jetsam - Labor Day Edition

And here I am, laboring away at this post. As with most days recently we'll start with the antics of that doddering crime boss, Joe Biden. James Lynch at Da Caller reports the Author Of Tell-All Book Says Joe Biden Is Insecure About Being ‘Perceived As Stupid’. As Presidents go, he's pretty dull. At Hat Hair, Biden's optics in FL...schmaybe he should have gone to DE for the weekend? Suburban Black Man 🇺🇸@niceblackdude, "Remember when President Trump visited and delivered aid to East Palestine 192 days ago? What the hell is THIS? Biden shows up in Florida, finds the nearest camera, struggles to speak, then flees to the beach. Courtesy of American taxpayers!" Nick Arama at Red State, sees Biden Goes to View Florida Hurricane Damage, Then Laughs, Makes Weird Comment When Asked About DeSantis. From WaEx, Biden says he's been too busy recently to visit East Palestine, Ohio, puh-lease. Fox, Biden says he hasn’t ‘been able to break’ for East Palestine visit, despite Lake Tahoe getaway and DE trips. Breitbart reports Joe Biden Has Spent 40 Percent of Presidency Away on Personal Trips, but as the Babylon Bee the Nation is Torn Between Being Mad Biden Never Shows Up For Work And Being Glad He Never Shows Up For Work.

The divine Ms. Devine at NYPo, Gold Star families force Biden to face his failure in the botched Afghanistan withdrawal: ‘Disgrace to the nation’. NewsAddicts, MUST WATCH: The White House Contains A Creepy Figurine of Trump’s Head Beaten Up — Found In The Press Room. Now imagine the outcry if such a figure of Obama had been found in the Trump White House. 

Sundance at CTH dissects Sunday Talks – Chris Sununu Says Biden Impeachment Would Be “Unhealthy” for Country and Sunday Talks – Stephanopoulos Crew Flummoxed at Strength of National Support for Donald Trump, Easily Leading Biden in Polls. 

Sarah Arnold at Town Hall notes Pete Bootyjuice Wants You to Stop Driving Cars. Can't have the peons going wherever they want whenever they want on their own power. Must restrict them to "public" transportation, to take them where you want them to go, when you want them to. Jazz Shaw at Hat Hair thinks Pete Buttigieg is just a symptom of a vastly larger crisis. The Democrat party is in the grip of an insane cabal. 

From Da Caller, Trump’s March Trial Date May Deprive Him ‘Of His Right To Due Process,’ Legal Experts Say, which is exactly the point. Herr Professor Jacobsen at LI, Florida Federal Court Throws Out 14th Amendment Challenge to Trump Appearing On Ballot. "Judge finds “no standing” to sue. Are the attempts to get judicial decisions keeping Trump off the ballot over? Of course not, but this is another sign that such attempts are likely to be unsuccessful. Hence the urging for state and local election officials to go rogue on their own, which of course then would be the subject of more lawsuits." At Am Think, Dan Brown thinks about Anti-Trump RINOS and the 14th Amendment and Clarice thinks about Law and Order: The Post-Constitutional Episode. From Breitbart, Ramaswamy: Trump’s Indictments Making U.S. a ‘Banana Republic. Atop Da Hill, Ramaswamy calls Trump charges related to Espionage Act ‘un-American.’ Shawn Fleetwood at Da Fed claims an EXCLUSIVE: Fani Willis Possesses Evidence Exonerating Georgia’s Alternate Electors. 

Specifically, Willis claimed Shafer and the other alternate electors “unlawfully falsely held themselves out” as Georgia’s “duly elected and qualified” presidential electors. She further insisted these electors — with Smith’s assistance — intentionally attempted to “mislead” figures such as then-Vice President Mike Pence and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger “into believing that they actually were such officers.”

However, among the documents Willis obtained during her years-long investigation of Republicans was a meeting transcript refuting her allegations.

A transcript of the Georgia Republican electors’ Dec. 14, 2020, meeting, obtained by The Federalist, explicitly shows the intent behind casting alternate electors was not to impersonate public officers, as Willis alleged, but to lawfully preserve Trump’s legal challenge to the state’s election results. At the meeting’s outset, Shafer specifically noted how he and his fellow Republicans were acting as “Republican nominees for Presidential Elector,” not as “duly elected and qualified” presidential electors.

“[President Trump] has filed a contest to the certified returns. That contest — is pending [and has] not been decided or even heard by any judge with the authority to hear it,” Shafer said. “And so in order to preserve his rights, it’s important that the Republican nominees for Presidential Elector meet here today and cast their votes.”

The Vigilant Fox 🦊@VigilantFox, "@JoeRogan and @BillMaher Get into a Heated Debate About Biden and Trump ROGAN: "He [Biden] is mentally compromised ... There's something wrong with Biden. Like, he makes up words. He stumbles through things. It seems like he doesn't know where he is half the time." At the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Salena Zito: Democrats beware: These Black voters are fed up, and looking for a political home. Insty, PELOSI ATTACKS TRUMP SUPPORTERS: They’re ‘Afraid’ Of ‘Diversity, Women, Minorities, LGBTQ.’ "Ben Carson, Kayleigh McEnany, and Richard Grenell could not be reached for comment." Neil Fox at Am Think, No Trump Card When the Deck is Stacked. Mike LaChance at LI reports Univision Host Co-Moderating Second GOP Debate Claimed Trump ‘Empowers White Supremacists’, “Calderón, who co-moderated the last Democrat presidential debate in 2020 between Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and President Joe Biden, has railed against Trump on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, over the years.”

Nick Arama finds DeSantis Torpedoes Liberal Spin About Not Meeting With Biden - With Action. Politico whines DeSantis gets praise — and warnings — for his hurricane response, “I’m sure nobody wishes to have a hurricane so they can polish their credibility, but he did well.” 'Fuzzy Slippers' at LI, thinks the Media is More Concerned With DeSantis Not Meeting Biden Than With Hurricane Idalia Damage, "How can DeSantis “snub” Biden when there were no plans for them to meet in the first place?" Hat Hair's Jazz Shaw reports the Latest WSJ poll has no good news for anyone but Trump.  Never-Anybody-But-Trump sundance overjoyed Murdoch Sad – WSJ Post Debate Poll Shows Support for DeSantis Collapsing, Pre-Debate 24%, Post-Debate 13% and Iowa Republican Party Begins to Make Their Move Against MAGA – Reminder of The Core Battle. At Am Great Thad McCotter asks Are Swampy Political Consultants Mucking Up GOP Populism? "Furthermore, who are they?"

From HE, Vivek Ramaswamy could inherit Trump's MAGA movement. Katya Sedgwick at Am Con is concerned about Vivek's ideas on drug policy, On Drugs, Vivek, War is Love, "As a war on drugs voter, I want to hear how a presidential candidate would use executive power to curb the flow of drugs into this country, because tackling demand alone will never be sufficient." Hat Hair's  KT is amused that Larry Hogan still has visions of the presidency dancing in his head. Give it up, Larry. 

At Da Caller, Here Are The Supreme Court Elections To Watch In Critical Swing States. Judges shouldn't be deciding elections. Also, Elections In One Key State Could Make Or Break GOP Control Of The House In 2024. California. 

PM reports Mississippi Democrat alleges voter fraud by his party’s county chair, calls for her resignation. "We have videotape of Jacquie Amos going into boxes, bringing in thumb drives, bringing in ballots." Monica Showalter at Am Think, Democrat-on-Democrat election cheating in Mississippi? But I've been assured that no reasonable person believes in election fraud. At JTN, Guilty pleas secured in election-related cases in Georgia and Arizona "The pleas, submitted in the Northern District of Georgia and the District of Arizona, marks 14 successful charges from the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force."

Sarah Arnold at Town Hall notes Here's How the Media Handled Fetterman’s Stroke Vs. McConnell's 'Freeze'. Since when do you expect fairness from the media? Ace thinks Woke Editing Is Censorship, And Censorship Is An Attack On Free Speech, Which Is An Attack On ALL Of Our Freedoms. Across da pond at Da Sun, X-CUSE ME? Elon Musk’s dad Errol claps back at claims that Tesla CEO is ‘on drugs and has mental health issues’ in shock report. I want whatever drugs he's taking.

At SLAY, Non-Violent Jan 6 Defendant Nejourde Meacham Found Dead at 22. If it's fair to blame J6 protestors for Capital Cops suicide, it's fair to blame Merrick Garland's DOJ for this.

Roisin Murphy

From mrc-TV, There’s No Privilege Like Queer Privilege: Debunking the Myth of ‘Oppression.’ Fox, Australian gymnastics federation says athletes can choose locker rooms, uniforms based on gender identity. At Da Caller, Middle School Teacher Who Resigned Amid Alleged Sexual Offenses Later Hired At Different School. Da Summit has da Video: Pastor Forcibly Removed From School Board Meeting For Reading Aloud Porn Book From Kids’ Library. Bob Spencer at PJM reports how a Trans Madness Advocate Constructs Fake Bible Passage and a New Jesus in His Own Image. At Da Wire, Tennessee District Attorney Blocked From Enforcing State Law Shielding Kids From Explicit Performances. Larry Sand at Front Page, sees Parents Revolt Against Trans-Missionaries. "The destructive fad is off the rails - and every parent must be ready to act." HE reports Irish singer cancelled by record label after being mocked by drag queen for asking to not be called 'terf', Roisin Murphy.

Althouse criticizes the NYT for "Colleges and universities across the country are scrambling to find legal means of maintaining the levels of diversity they would like to see." "By clouding the question, the NYT burdens non-white applicants, who shouldn't have to feel they might be doing something wrong by discussing their race. But clouding the question is part of critiquing the Court, and that is, apparently, the priority." The SF Chronic chronicles How a kids playdate in Oakland became a flashpoint for racists

"Racists tried to vilify an Oakland elementary school for organizing a playdate specifically for Black, Latino and AAPI families." Segregation, now and forever! Mike LaChance at LI reports Caltech Drops Calculus, Chemistry, and Physics Course from Admissions Requirement “has long been one of the most selective schools in the country.” I'm sure you know why. Auguste Mayret at Da Fed, Democrats And Republicans Have Been Talking About School Reform For Years While Everything Has Gotten Worse. It's fair to blame Republicans for getting nothing done, but it's Democrat policies that have been wrecking education.

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Swimwear, very nice available for your perusal at The Other McCain.

Killer Tornado Outbreak in South

An outbreak of severe weather in Mississippi and Alabama came after dark last night, with multiple tornados, including at least one monster with a track over 100 miles long. At least 25 people are dead, with more expected to be found. The towns of Rolling Fork and Silver City in Mississippi were particularly hard it, with widespread devastation. Quite a lot on the outbreak here.

A storm-chaser video from Rolling Fork is particularly chilling, a huge tornado approaches in the dark, only illuminated by lightning flashes:

Must We Abandon the Marshes to Save New Orleans?

A new study of the marshes around New Orleans suggests that the best way to save New Orleans from the "next Katrina" is to abandon the outer marshes, and focus on saving those closer to the city:

Mississippi River Mouth Must Be Abandoned to Save New Orleans from Next Hurricane Katrina

Extensive studies done after Katrina verified what lifelong residents of southeastern Louisiana already knew: Unless the rapidly disappearing wetlands are made healthy again, restoring the natural defense, New Orleans will soon lay naked against the sea (see satellite image, below).

So, how does one reengineer the entire Mississippi River delta—one of the largest in the world—on which New Orleans lies?

Three international engineering and design teams have reached a startling answer: leave the mouth of the Mississippi River to die. Let the badly failing wetlands there completely wither away, becoming open water, so that the upper parts of the delta closer to the city can be saved. The teams, winners of the Changing Course Design Competition, revealed their detailed plans on August 20. Graphics from each plan are below. . . 

 The river should be cut off (north of the number 5) to better
 save wetlands closer to the city (red “Sustainable” line), and the rest
must be left to wither away, becoming open water (brown “Historic” line).

The modern Mississippi Delta passed its "use by" date many years ago. The river wants to take a shortcut down the Atchafalaya waterway (6 on the map), and bypass the old crows foot delta, thereby robbing the delta of it's sediment source, and dooming New Orleans to becoming a sinking bywater.  The switching of the river has happened many times over in geologic history. The only reason to prevent it is because of New Orlean's importance as a seaport. This may well be another example of the "sunk costs fallacy."