recent tornado and flooding. dangerous flooding along the mississippi river today led to the opening of a spillway in morgan morganza, louisiana, a move not seen since the early 1970s. army corps of engineers says more gates will be opened and will probably stay open for weeks. it is a desperate action to reduce the river level now threatening the cities of baton rouge and new orleans. i want to bring in retired general russel honore and torp marc davis, director of the tulane institute of water record law and policy. thanks to both of you for joining us. mark, a lot of people are upset about the flooding of the at cha fa l chafalaya but what choice did the corps have? they didn t have a choice. the choice was made shortly after the 1927 flood. in many ways people have to understand this system is