ASCE plays hardball with levees.org

"A long-simmering dispute about whether a leading engineering organization whitewashed the role of the Army Corps of Engineers in the failure of the levee system during Hurricane Katrina has broken into the open with a bitter YouTube spoof and a demand for an ethics investigation of the organization's staff. "

"The civil engineering group is bristling at a video spoofing its levee investigation recently posted on the Internet site YouTube by the local advocacy group Levees.org. The video implies that ASCE engineers were "in some way bribed or corrupted by the corps," the association contends. They demanded it be taken down. "

So the ASCE may well be correct, but this certainly doesn't put them in the best light. Going after high schoolers generates neither good press nor good will.

In any case. let's hear it for the first amendment.

Comments

[D-BB]

Fuck, first the Patriot Act now the fucking 1st Amendment. Actually, the only Amendments I am really concern with is the 4th, 5th 6th & 8th Amendment. The rest I can pretty much work my way around. Why don't they get rid of that 3rd Amendment? I don't even know wtf it means. Nor to I care.

[R. Eustis]

Sheesh. My fellow Newmanites turn their usual snarky smartassery to something positive, and what do they get?

The wrath of a bunch of halfwit catamites kept on a governmental leash.

Oh, crap. Was that libelous?

[Alan Gutierrez]

Nothing. This is satire and clearly protected speech. Which must be why the Times-Picayune chose to republish the video on their own YouTube account. Because it is an intelligent commentary and sincere request for an 8/29 Commission.

The ASCE won't be able to tell the Times-Picayune to take the video down.

[dangerblond]

D-BB, you'll be missing that 3rd Amendment when President Busharraf starts quartering troops in your house, so we don't have to quarter them over there. Those GI Joes can put away some grits and gravy!