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* UPDATED x1 - National Guard activated * Missouri: Drown IL town to preserve MO farmland

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* I dunno about you, but, to me, this looks pretty darned close to an act of war…

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Tuesday in an attempt to stop it from destroying a southeast Missouri levee protecting valuable farmland from the rising Mississippi River.

Koster said the corps is preparing to intentionally breach the levee at Birds Point in Mississippi County in order to relieve upstream pressure on a different levee protecting the Illinois town of Cairo. A decision on whether to detonate the levee is expected Tuesday afternoon.

So, Missouri fields are more important than an Illinois town, eh? Great. I think we need to dust off our quite detailed invasion plans designed to capture territory from St. Louis to University City. The Cardinals kinda suck this year, but they could be ours within days. Maybe the preznit can divert some of those drones he’s sending to Libya to assist our endeavors. Their first mission would be to blow up that levee.

All we need is a catchy name for the invasion, like the Pentagon always has. Any ideas?

* By the way, they’re evacuating Cairo…

The mayor of the southern Illinois city of Cairo says he’s asking its 2,800 residents to leave voluntarily to protect themselves from the rising Ohio and Mississippi rivers.

Mayor Judson Childs says he made the request after meeting with police, the Army Corps of Engineers and emergency-management agencies.

*** UPDATE *** Perhaps a clever ruse to disguise a massing of troops? From a press release…

Governor Quinn Activates Illinois National Guard Troops for Flood Assistance

Visits State Emergency Operations Center

SPRINGFIELD – April 26, 2011. Governor Pat Quinn today activated the Illinois National Guard to support flood-fighting and life safety missions in southern Illinois. The initial activation includes up to 125 Guardsmen who are deploying to Marion to assist the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) with emergency response planning. Additional troops may be activated if needed.

“The Illinois National Guard is a valuable asset to the state during disasters,” said Governor Quinn. “During the February snow storm, the men and women of the Guard helped save many lives and I am very grateful for their assistance during the flooding.”

“The Illinois National Guard fully supports Governor Quinn’s activation of our Guardsmen for flood relief,” said Maj. Gen. William Enyart, Illinois National Guard Adjutant General. “These Guardsmen are fully trained and motivated to assist in this mission to ensure Illinois citizens are safe from harm’s way. As always, we stand ready to answer the call for additional support if needed.”

* Flood-watch roundup…

* Record flooding possible in nation’s heartland

* Governor Pat Quinn Activates Agencies’ Flood Response

* How Illinois spends FEMA money

* Flash flood watch extended through Wednesday

* IL inmate work crews fill sandbags, remove debris

* Saline County roads closed

* Flooded roadway limits access to Menard prison, ConAgra mill

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:06 pm

Comments

“Operation “I thought it was the other Cairo”"

Comment by phocion Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:10 pm
I’ve lived in MO. Don’t take it over, just salt the earth behind as you leave.

Comment by Crow04 Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:10 pm
Operation “It’s freaking early in the season southside AL baseball fan, and the Cards are at least leading the NL central.”

Comment by Leroy Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:14 pm
- The Cardinals kinda suck this year -

Hey now, they’re in first at the moment. As a fan I’d love to see IL take them over. Then if we can just finish up the high speed rail I can get down for more games and not feel bad about spending money in St. Louis.

Comment by Small Town Liberal Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:15 pm
Operation Show Me the Land of Lincoln

Comment by Highland, IL Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:16 pm
I don’t get the impression they are saying they want to destroy Cairo, they just want to try to save their farmland. I don’t think there are any winners here.

Comment by Seriously??? Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:17 pm
Good thing it’s not Election Day. Cairo could be evacuated and still vote well in excess of its population.

Comment by LincolnLounger Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:21 pm
Operation Ill Show You

Comment by Our Magician Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:22 pm
Cairo, population 2800, and diminishing…how sad that it’s heyday was 150 years ago. Maybe the better idea is let the flood happen, cash the FEMA check and start fresh somewhere else…

Comment by Captain Illini Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:24 pm
Operation Tom Sawyer - and it makes a good rally song too.

A modern day warrior
Mean, mean stride
Today’s Tom Sawyer
Mean, mean pride

Comment by anonymoose Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:26 pm
Operation Enduring Misery.

I don’t think we want to invade because then we’d have to hold onto the new territory, and some of our brave men and women would have to actually live there.

No, this should be a stealth raid. Sneak in, blow the levee, sneak out. They can call the new body of water New Madrid Lake, and develop it into a sort of an eastern MO version of Branson.

On second thought, maybe we should just sacrifice Cairo…

Comment by 47th Ward Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:26 pm
Come on, Man!

Cardinals 12-10 First Place
White Sox 9-14 Last Place

Comment by Old Milwaukee Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:29 pm
Operation Arch Nemesis

Comment by Desert Dweller Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:29 pm
Operation Corn Husks Dont Equal People

Comment by heads up Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:30 pm
Operation Arch-Enemy has a nice ring to it.

Comment by Jake From Elwood Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:30 pm
It will be our “Southern Illinois Redistricting Plan” or SIRP for short!

Comment by Anon Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:31 pm
Desert Dweller, you beat me to it.

Comment by Jake From Elwood Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:31 pm
Operation If You Build in a Flood Plain You’ll Get Wet

Operation Overflow

Operation It’s Bush’s Fault

Comment by Cincinnatus Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:32 pm
Operation: “Yes We Can”

Comment by Anon Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:34 pm
Why stop at U City? I say keep going. Make it operation No Mo’ MO, take over the whole state and at get the one positive Missouri offers - Kansas City BBQ.

Comment by Draznnl (Rhymes with orange) Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:35 pm
Operation Led Zeppelin

Comment by Bluefish Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:41 pm
operation : RED BIRD

Comment by Todd Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:46 pm
- Bluefish - Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:41 pm:

“Operation Led Zeppelin”

Winner. Thread may be now closed.

Comment by Cincinnatus Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:46 pm
I’d like to take a page from Bush’s playbook and declare mission accomplished! On to Iowa!

Comment by thechampaignlife Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:48 pm
Operation Divert the Citizenry From That Tax Hike

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:48 pm
===On to Iowa! ===

Meh. They got nothing I want.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:49 pm
Operation Maybe Next Time Vote for Obama

Comment by TwoFeetThick Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:51 pm
Keep an eye on the water levels here:

http://water.weather.gov/ahps/

Click on the map; it will zoom in on a region. Then, click on a guage, and you can see the current water level and the forecast. Scroll down the page for historic crests and other info.

Crests have, over the years, become higher for the same rainfall because we drain our fields and cities and keep the water off of the flood plains. The most hydrologically appropriate solution is to allow the floodplains to flood.

Continuing on this more serious note, the efforts to stop the reclassification of the flood zones in the East St. Louis area (and elsewhere) are foolish. The current flooding shows that you can choose to ignore the inevitability of higher crests, but they will still occur. Adequate planning might have prevented this no-win choice from having to be made. Expect more of the same.

Comment by Illinois Geologist Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:51 pm
“Operation Divert the Citizenry From That Tax Hike” - Rich, I don’t know what you are talking about. We are at war with Missouri. We have always been at war with Missouri! Libya is our ally! Always has been. Now if you’ll excuse me, the Five Minutes of Hate is about to start.

Comment by Winston Smith Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:56 pm
BTW, the current crest projection for Cairo along the Ohio is 3.5 ft below the Cairo flood wall and 1 ft above the 1937 record.

The crest on the Mississippi (upstream) is below the 1993/1995 record floods.

The crest on the Mississippi (downstream) is projected to equal the 1937 record.

This is a big one, and the flooding on the lower Mississippi requires large flood crests from both the Upper Mississippi and the Ohio to meet at Cairo.

Comment by Illinois Geologist Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:58 pm
And now the 186th is in Indiana! Maybe we can use the A-10 wing at Peoria…

Comment by Commonsense in Illinois Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 2:59 pm
===I don’t get the impression they are saying they want to destroy Cairo, they just want to try to save their farmland. ===

A traitor in our midst!

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 3:00 pm
Let’s see
Cards lead division
Cairo with ZERO pop. better than anything on the west side of the river.
We thought Bush I solved all the Mississippi River probs?

Comment by CircularFiringSquad Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 3:00 pm
I was in St. Louis over the weekend visiting the inlaws and read that the Cubs-Cards rivalry is really taken a back seat to new matchups like the Cincinnati Reds. Maybe this would get Chicago back some respect.

Comment by Team America Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 3:02 pm
Send Blago to the Front Line. It would be Friggn Golden!

Comment by He Makes Ryan Look Like a Saint Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 3:04 pm
Operation Well, We Were Going to Steal Pujols One Way or Another

or

Operation Nighthawk

Comment by Jimmy CrackCorn Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 3:06 pm
Not a traitor. Just sympathetic to their plight.

Comment by Seriously??? Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 3:07 pm
It’s called a flood plain for a reason.

Comment by Leave a light on George Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 3:08 pm
===Not a traitor. Just sympathetic to their plight.===

Same thing. Round him up.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 3:08 pm
Operation Floodplain Freedom!

Comment by Illinois Geologist Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 3:09 pm
Upon victory, I saw we scrap the metal from the Gateway Arch and deposit the spoils in the TRS

Comment by Jimmy CrackCorn Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 3:19 pm
“Operation GimmeMo”. We’ll seize Albert Pujols as a prize of war and parole him to the South Side at 35th Street.

Comment by formerpolitico Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 3:19 pm
Operation Flood Them Not Me

I remember in 1993 there was a Missouri farmer who tried to break the levee on the IL side with his boat for the same purpose. I believe he did serious jail time for that one.

It’s heartbreaking of course, yet I sort of see the MO AG’s point. This is a natural disaster. By blowing up the levee, they are choosing the path of destruction.

Comment by siriusly Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 3:20 pm
Why fight MO? We could join together and flood Iowa instead — win-win-win situation (for us, MO and the world at large). If we could do it while Kevin Costner is standing in the middle of the flood zone, it would be a quadruple win.

Comment by Pat Robertson Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 3:24 pm
here’s a solution to this yearly disaster: green infrastructure…grey infrstructure cannot absorb the ever increasing rainfall we receive each Spring…beleive in climate change yet folks?

Comment by Loop Lady Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 3:27 pm
Crack Corn:I do not want a player on any Chicago team named pooh hole…ick!

Comment by Loop Lady Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 3:30 pm
“Operation “Extend Tax Base”"!

Comment by South of I-80 Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 3:30 pm
===Send Blago to the Front Line. It would be Friggn Golden!===

look! There’s a Carp!

Comment by NoNameNick Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 3:34 pm
St. Louis Cardinals 1st place. Chicago White Soxs last place. Who Sucks?

Comment by (618) Democrat Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 3:36 pm
I don’t think where getting the whole story. I think the Land owners where given compensation for the land back in 1928. They where allowed to farm and use the land knowing that the land could be flooded if needed. But some people built nice houses in the area. I think there has even been a federal lawsuit in the last few years to reclaim the land from the US government. I feel real bad that anything has to flood. But the land owners where compensated for the land and knew it could be flooded.

Comment by Bob Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 3:37 pm
Operation Look A Kitty.

Comment by And I Approved This Message Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 3:39 pm
=they are choosing the path of destruction=

It is what the Corps of Engineers does, and I suspect better then the Courts and stray Attorneys General.

Comment by Bigtwich Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 3:51 pm
Can we throw in some Asian Carp after we bust the levy ?

Comment by Reality is Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 4:01 pm
Where’s that mild-mannered reporter who, as the ‘Man of Steel’, can change the course of mighty rivers?

Operation: Superman!

Comment by Wensicia Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 4:04 pm
When the levee breaks, will the surfing be good?

Comment by zatoichi Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 4:08 pm
Operation Soggy Bottom.

The troops who participate shall be known as the Soggy Bottom Boys.

Comment by Don't Worry, Be Happy Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 4:19 pm
If you read the fine print, you will find that the levee will already be overtopped before it is breached. So, the Corps will be flooding already flooded land.

Comment by OverTheRainbow Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 4:20 pm
Operation “Drove Your Chevy to the Levy”?

Comment by globalguy Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 4:26 pm
==== Send Blago to the Front Line. It would be Friggn Golden ===

Since we have so many politicians in legal trouble, we can do a dirty dozen version where our corrupt politicians can get out of trouble by doing dangerous missions in exchange for their freedom. Of coarse, Blago would be our Jim Brown type character.

Comment by I don't want to know, I already gave up Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 4:29 pm
Interesting Blogpost connecting the Mississippi river floods of 1928 that gave the feds control of this levee and the right to flood this farmland with the coming of the Blues to Chicago.

http://riskman.typepad.com/perilocity/2005/12/flood_control_a.html

Comment by JimF Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 4:33 pm
Theres a awful lot of towns on both sides of the
Mississippi that should go back to being flood plain. We have leveed way to much of this river
made it to fast and to mean.It may help the folks left in Cairo. Go Sox the Cubs And Cardinals both suck.

Comment by mokenavince Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 4:34 pm
“Operation oxyclean”

where Illinois invades and blows the levee in order to destroy all the illegal oxycontin (aka, hillbilly crack) that is easily found in the barns of the missouri boothill.

Comment by I don't want to know, I already gave up Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 4:34 pm
Operation Soggy MOrning

Comment by LakeviewJ Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 4:35 pm
===Operation Enduring Misery.
Excellent

—I don’t think we want to invade because then we’d have to hold onto the new territory, and some of our brave men and women would have to actually live there.

Only in the 170 loop which is perfectly acceptable place to live other than a bit of tornado damage last week. Might take the airport too, but other than that, it’s a long haul to wanting anything.

I’m pretty sure Slay and Dooley will be up for it since it would mean Pat Quinn instead of Nixon. Yeah, even Quinn is a step up in that case.

Comment by ArchPundit Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 4:35 pm
OverTheRainbow, great catch.

One other thought, if you destroy the levee, think of all the new government jobs that will be created to rebuild it. Huzzah!!!!

And we will be able to send those workers to St. Louis on our new high speed rail…

Comment by Cincinnatus Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 4:35 pm
===If you read the fine print, you will find that the levee will already be overtopped before it is breached. So, the Corps will be flooding already flooded land.

Sounds about right for the Corps.

Comment by ArchPundit Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 4:37 pm
Operation Soulard

Comment by Been There Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 4:41 pm
Operation We Had to Destroy the Village In Order to Save It.

Comment by And I Approved This Message Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 4:46 pm
What’s forgotten is that the Army Corps of Engineers purchased flowage rights after they built the dual levees in Missouri following the 1937 flood.

The idea was to blow the outer levee and flood part of the flood plain. An inner levee would still protect most of the region.

Of course you have to remember, during this flood Louisville, Ky., Evansville, Ind., and Paducah, Ky., had already been flooded themselves.

At Shawneetown, Ill., (now Old Shawneetown), they dynamited the backside of the city levee to flood the town relatively gently rather than deal with an expected break on the front side of the levee next to downtown.

In both cases Shawneetown and Cairo were much larger back then. Cairo was just under 14,000. Now it’s about 2,800 which was its population in 1861 before Chicago troops invaded the region (oops, I mean saved the region from those darn secessionists) following Fort Sumter.

The blew the levee back in ‘37 which probably saved the town as the crest was just a six inches below the top of the levee, which then stood at 60 feet.

There was a lawsuit back in 1987 against the city for the dynamiting of the levee 50 years earlier.

Comment by Downstate Illinois Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 4:49 pm
–Theres a awful lot of towns on both sides of the
Mississippi that should go back to being flood plain. We have leveed way to much of this river–

Good luck with that. The Corps is mandated to keep that nine-foot-deep channel for the barges. Twenty nine locks and dams (basically man-made lakes) between St. Paul and Alton.

The locks and dams make for good walleye fishing and eagle spotting. Sure would have loved to see the Upper Mississippi run wild, though.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 4:51 pm
From the front page of the “The Somersett Messenger”, May 30, 1861: “If there ever has been a hard hole in this world, it is Cairo. It has long been the jumping off place of Christian civilization…..a miserable locality, intended only for wood-chucks, frogs, mosquitos, fevers, and agues. It used to be undr water half the time before the levees were raised to the height they are now and since they have been the Mississippi and the Ohio has slopped over the town and washed the inhabitants all out” Etc., etc. Things ain’t changed much since 1861. Flood out Missouri, or flood out Cairo??? Isn’t there some feasible option that would accomplish both worthy objectives??

Comment by Skirmisher Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 5:03 pm
I visited Cairo a few years ago. I think we should save the farmland.

Comment by Fed up Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 5:32 pm
Last week, Gov. Perry issued a resolution asking Texans to pray for rain in the midst of their drought and subsequent forest fires.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon may want an explanation from Perry. Maybe he can look into issuing a joint-resolution with Quinn praying for drought. Could you imagine Quinn rambling through that press conference?

Comment by Jimmy CrackCorn Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 5:41 pm
Operation Big Flush. Please put lid down and flush after using Cairo!

Comment by A Citizen Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 5:48 pm
How many ghost voters already live in Cairo?

Comment by Cal Skinner Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 5:51 pm
Operation Burn and Pillage

Kill Missouri; take their stuff. Time to get back to BC Economics!

Comment by Timmeh Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 5:52 pm
Oh, and wash hands before returning to Springfield.

Comment by A Citizen Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 5:55 pm
Operation Cardinal Sin.

Comment by Dooley Dudright Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 6:44 pm
Wait a minute.

Missouri wants us to absorb the water, and Michigan wants us to bottle up the carp??

Comment by Dooley Dudright Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 6:48 pm
Operation Quinnissippi

If he wanted to, Quinn could quiet the raging river with a stem winder (the Mississippi River is a big river, one of the biggest rivers in North America …) that would drag on and on and on. Eventually the river would give up and go back within its banks.

On the other hand, this is why you put a military man in charge of IEMA. Don’t stop until you’re in line at Arthur Bryant’s on Brooklyn Ave in KC. Beef sandwich, sauce, fries and a creme soda.

Then you eye Overland Park, Lenexa and Olathe and send word ahead that the folks in Lawrence better learn the Illinois fight song. Bill Self can teach ‘em.

All these state’s with their budget cuts are weak, prime for the picking. Quinn’s land grab turns the tide onthe tax increase as its now viewed as supporting the military. He runs unopposed for governor of Illimissansas and remains on the throne until his death at the age of 103.

Comment by will of the people Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 6:54 pm
Take it easy on Cairo. Historic place, worthy of respect. (That’s not snark).

Until the Bolsheviks screwed up the natural order of Capitalism in this country with their taxpayer subsidized railroads, roads, and airports, it was the economic linchpin of the country, East to West, North to South.

This country would be a lot better off if those Whigs would just have left well enough alone.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 6:59 pm
Greg,
After MGT-Push, Quinn’s not lettn’ anybody out for anything.

Comment by will of the people Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 7:03 pm
I would advise the governor of Missouri not to mess with Illinois while Derrick Rose is in the house.

Like the man said, “Too big, too strong, too fast, too good.”

And all on one leg. Splendid behavior from the young man from Englewood.

Goodbye, Indiana. Bring on Vancouver.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 8:47 pm
Cairo is 65% African-American. Let it flood and Kanye will go off again.

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 9:10 pm
===oops, I mean saved the region from those darn secessionists===

Careful. I had an ancestor who was deployed to put down those Copperheads.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 11:07 pm
===Might take the airport too===

It’s pre-destroyed.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 11:11 pm
The National Guard should give Chicago’s new mayor a commission on the grounds that when we annex Southeast Missouri, he ride triumphantly through St. Louis in full Napolean regalia.

Comment by Quizzical Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 11:18 pm
Thanks everyone who are being disrespectful and bashing the military. They are the reason why you have the freedom to say all of this. I bet you wouldn’t have the same outlook if your town was flooded and they risked their lives to save yours. I dislike ignorant people.

Comment by bigguy2 Wednesday, Apr 27, 11 @ 7:11 pm
bigguy2, I saw no military bashing here.

Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Apr 27, 11 @ 8:27 pm
–Thanks everyone who are being disrespectful and bashing the militar–

You’re wrong and you’re way out of line, pal. You’ll never read anything but respect for those who serve here.

You have a lot of nerve even trying to advance that b-s. What’s wrong with you?

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Apr 28, 11 @ 12:58 am