Attorneys for the United States continue to spend taxpayer dollars in their efforts to defend the Army Corps of Engineers from liability for the failure of its levees and flood protection in the New Orleans region during Katrina.

A 30-page report prepared by the American Association of University Professionals (AAUP) reveals that LSU had a 'prevailing position' on the cause of the flooding after Katrina and that Dr. van Heerden's research and public stance ran contrary to that position.

My gratitude this season is directed at three people I've met who have had the extraordinary courage to find out the truth, tell it to the public, and bear the discouraging consequences.

The discovery phase of this lawsuit could reveal and make public that the leading hurricane scientists in the state of Louisiana were intimidated and then fired by LSU at the command of the Corps of Engineers for their findings.

Ivor van Heerden is the professor who warned the levees of New Orleans were ready to blow -- months and years before Katrina did the job. For being right, he was rewarded with ... getting fired.

As if Formosan termites weren't bad enough (they devour everything, not just wood), now New Orleans is coming to grips with its latest visitor: defective drywall.