After Killer Tornadoes Republicans Want To Cut FEMA and NOAA
puremagic
Posts: 1,907
How much more of this bullshit can Middle America take now that its costing people their LIVES.
The hypocrisy of Paul Ryan, Eric Cantor and the Republicans who speak about the sympathy for the victims of the floods and tornadoes, are still pushing Bills to cut the budget of the very agencies established to help people in a time of crisis. As good as the American Red Cross is, it is not a federal government agency, it has to work inconjunction with the support of Federal, State and local governments. Its made up of volunteers, some of which who our victims of the same disater. The Republicans feel that that FEMA and NOAA are non-essential and over-budgeted burdens on the taxpayers – yet, subsidies for oil companies and tax breaks for the ultra-rich that is not a burden on the taxpayer, that's a necessity of life. What will the Republican budget cuts provide for the people during the upcoming hurricane and winter storm seasons – more empty sympathy.
After Killer Tornadoes Republicans Want To Cut FEMA and NOAA
May 25, 2011 http://www.politicususa.com/en/tornadoes-gop
The hypocrisy of Paul Ryan, Eric Cantor and the Republicans who speak about the sympathy for the victims of the floods and tornadoes, are still pushing Bills to cut the budget of the very agencies established to help people in a time of crisis. As good as the American Red Cross is, it is not a federal government agency, it has to work inconjunction with the support of Federal, State and local governments. Its made up of volunteers, some of which who our victims of the same disater. The Republicans feel that that FEMA and NOAA are non-essential and over-budgeted burdens on the taxpayers – yet, subsidies for oil companies and tax breaks for the ultra-rich that is not a burden on the taxpayer, that's a necessity of life. What will the Republican budget cuts provide for the people during the upcoming hurricane and winter storm seasons – more empty sympathy.
After Killer Tornadoes Republicans Want To Cut FEMA and NOAA
May 25, 2011 http://www.politicususa.com/en/tornadoes-gop
SIN EATERS--We take the moral excrement we find in this equation and we bury it down deep inside of us so that the rest of our case can stay pure. That is the job. We are morally indefensible and absolutely necessary.
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"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
these are essential programs.
i saw somewhere in another article that eric cantor would not fund fema unless the cost was offset by cutting funding for green energy. yet oil companies get their subsidies..... :roll:
i wonder when people will wake up and realize that unless you make $500,000 or more a year the republicans holding government offices do not give a shit about you. why anyone other than the rich would consider themselves republicans is beyond me.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
It's because the Republicans have somehow managed to market themselves as the party of Christianity and family values. These people are "Republican" not for financial reasons, but for ethical reasons. Which is a joke, and like you said, they don't give a shit about them, for the most part. And since these people mostly watch Fox News as their primary source of information, they don't hear about things like Republicans holding their tax breaks hostage in order to keep the rich getting richer.
It's funny, all these Republicans talk about making these spending cuts, but when it is their state that needs the money (like Roy Blunt from Missouri who is begging for money, and rightly so) they change their tune. But the rest of the party throws guys like Blunt under the bus, because while his state needs money, the rest need to put on this big show of cutting spending.
In Texas we have a governor who gripes and complains every single day about Washington spending, but every other day asks Washington for money. He wants them to cut spending, just not to Texas. Cut Oklahoma's allowance or something, not his.
it is funny to me that the gop is actually polling badly among old people...if they mess with medicare and things like fema and welfare they are going to be toast for a long time...
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Yeah, it seems to me that politics, and by extension the lives that are affected, are just a big game to the GOP. The whole thing was summed up right after Obama won the election (I don't think he was in office yet) by something Rush Limbaugh said. I forget the exact quote, but the essence of it was that he wanted Obama to fail. And that basically seems to be the gameplan for Republicans. Regardless of the consequences, it is more important for Democrats to fail.
At the time I thought it was a very stupid thing to say, and wondered how his listeners could sit there and take that shit. Two wars, an economy in the shitter, and he wants the President to fail, because he isn't in the Republican club. That's basically saying "I don't care how many people die, if you keep your job, ever find another job, or whatever. The most important thing is my petty sense of victory"
I know Rush doesn't speak for all Republicans, but that seems to be exactly the thinking that the party is sticking to. I guess the rationalization is that they can start to fix things when THEY'RE back in power. But until then Americans can't expect any relief because they're sore losers and can't play nice.
And like you said, Democrats aren't exactly saints, but they seem to be a little less petty and conflict driven.
I don't think so. I can't find any story like that, but a quick Google search turned up 10 trailer parks in Joplin. I seriously doubt they are still there, but prior to the tornado there were 10. And even if there were some law like that, it would be thrown out the window for a situation like this. You really think cops are going around enforcing zoning issues, especially when it has to do with helping the victims?
I'm also still waiting on the jobs they talked about last year.
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
It was Alabama - not Missouri
I wonder why Governor Bentley or Senator Jeff Sessions aren’t voicing their outrage? [Sessions who apologized to BP for having to pay for the Gulf spill.] Here’s the Federal government trying to help the people of their State and they’re rejecting such. People are suffering and these assholes are playing a bad version of Democrats v. Republicans monopoly. Don’t these Republicans realize they are playing with peoples’ lives? Prayer only goes so far before people begin to lose it. These people were elected to represent the people, not to play God with their lives.
Mayor of Tornado-Ravaged Alabama Town Bans FEMA Trailers
By Julie Kent. Published on 05/31/2011 - 7:01am
http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/16912
After a series of massive twisters ripped through the town of Cordova, Alabama, located about 35 miles northwest of Birmingham with a population of 2000, the town lost nearly everything. Relief came when FEMA came rolling in with a caravan of single-wide mobile homes, or so they thought. Mayor Jack Scott has declared that single-wide mobile homes are illegal in Cordova.
The law was enacted three years ago, and bans the trailers as a way to keep the riff-raff out of the town. And while the trailers might be needed in the case of an emergency following a horrific act of God, Scott doesn't care. He told reporters that he has heard all of the complaints and isn't apologizing. Scott simply doesn't want run-down mobile homes parked all over town years from now. He added:
"I don't feel guilty. I can look anyone in the eye."
Of course though, there are some exemptions from the rule that Scott approves of. The Cordova Police Department, City Hall, a bank and a pharmacy have all been allowed to move into FEMA trailers in the aftermath of the tornadoes
the police and city hall get trailers, but fuck the people that those 2 institutions are supposed to serve...
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but our elected officials have no idea how to stop spending.
Dan Sobien, the president of National Weather Service Employees Organization, said in a statement to ThinkProgress that while his agency, a subsidiary of NOAA, has made contingency plans, the GOP cuts would “put considerable stress” on the country’s tsunami monitoring and response systems:
NOAA has put together part of a contingency plan to handle such a massive cut and while it spares tsunami buoys, all other coastal buoys are non funded and there will be furloughs at both Tsunami Warning Centers (TWC). These furloughs will take away the TWC’s ability to upgrade tsunami models and will put considerable stress on watchstanders ability to react. This plan unfortunately only account for about half the cuts that need to be made, about 60 of the 126 million that needs to be cut. While today’s disaster is of particular concern to everyone, we are just now entering tornado season and soon will be hurricane season and our organization firmly believes any effort to defund and dismantle our nations early warning system for all disasters is very unwise.
These furloughs could result in “a very heightened risk for loss of life,” a National Weather Service forecaster told CNBC. Indeed, the GOP’s cuts would have a significant impact on the nation’s disaster preparedness:
– $1.2 billion cut in funding for NOAA, the government agency with “primary responsibility for providing tsunami warnings to the nation, and a leadership role in tsunami observations and research.”
– $1.5 billion cut in grants for first-responders to disasters of “mass destruction.”
– 12 percent cut to Emergency Management Planning Grants, which provide critical funds to help communities conduct “effective catastrophic all-hazards planning.”
– Closure of local National Weather Service offices and a furlough of NOAA employees for more than 27 days at a time. The closures would essentially silence the government’s warning system during disasters.
– Cuts in NOAA’s satellite maintenance budget, putting satellites out of commission more quickly and crippling the government’s ability to track tsunami wave patterns, hurricanes and even routine weather patterns.
– Additional cuts to FEMA and the Coast Guard.
According to a Ocean Conservancy fact sheet obtained by ThinkProgress, at least a third of US GDP is concentrated in weather sensitive industries and the GOP’s cuts could leave large sectors of the economy vulnerable to natural disasters. The cuts would also deny daily weather information to more than 30 million Americans, and reduce the military’s access to weather information before combat missions.
For now, funding remains in place and agencies have been able to respond properly to today’s crisis. Negotiations over the agencies’ budget are now taking place in the Senate, where at least one Tea Party senator, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), has argued that federal relief for tsunami victims is unconstitutional.
Teeing off the Ryan budget, the Republican committee that controls the purse strings for fiscal year 2012 cut funding to science agencies, including NOAA, by 13 percent from the president’s 2012 budget request. If this level of cut is carried through to the NOAA budget, it would decrease by $700 million.
These 2012 funding cuts are likely to include the U.S. Polar Orbiting Satellite, without which the weather predictions for events like the 2010 “Snowmageddon” snowstorms would have been drastically underestimated and would have significantly impacted the preparations and precautions taken by citizens and emergency managers. Last year, NOAA also predicted heavy rainfall in the southern United States, providing flood information days, rather than hours, in advance, decreasing risks to life and property.
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
9/29/04 Boston, 6/28/08 Mansfield, 8/23/09 Chicago, 5/15/10 Hartford
5/17/10 Boston, 10/15/13 Worcester, 10/16/13 Worcester, 10/25/13 Hartford
8/5/16 Fenway, 8/7/16 Fenway
EV Solo: 6/16/11 Boston, 6/18/11 Hartford,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwL5j_iN_28
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
yes, that was fantastic. Made BO'R stammer and stutter in his stance. Love Jon Stewart. And Bill Maher. They
definately make a valid point and back up their beliefs. Hard to disagree with straight facts.
9/29/04 Boston, 6/28/08 Mansfield, 8/23/09 Chicago, 5/15/10 Hartford
5/17/10 Boston, 10/15/13 Worcester, 10/16/13 Worcester, 10/25/13 Hartford
8/5/16 Fenway, 8/7/16 Fenway
EV Solo: 6/16/11 Boston, 6/18/11 Hartford,
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful