(This one riles me so much I had to access a self-imposed cooling off period before composing this post. Hopefully a much more balanced rant will follow below as a result. susan)
The headline reads: "Irene Makes 2011 a Record-breaking Year for Disasters". That record for the number of billion-dollar-costing storms was set in 1980. Irene broke it by bringing this year's total to 10. So far.
I was graduated from high school in 1980 and I'll admit there were some questionable records: "Do That to Me One More Time" by Captain & Tenille comes to mind. But if, like anthropologists with an ancient papyrus we read through some of the other hits of that year, we might get the clue. We'll even cast aside obvious signs like "Too Hot" by Kool and the Gang and "Dim All the Lights" by Donna Summer. Let's just let these 10 relics be our guide:
* "Breakdown Dead Ahead"
* "Refugee"
* "Heartbreaker"
* "Hurt So Bad"
* "Emotional Rescue"
* "Heartache Tonight"
* "An American Dream"
* "Don't Do Me Like That"
* "Misunderstanding"
* "We Don't Talk Anymore"
But those aren't records to which Teahouse Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) is willing to listen. He and Heckuva Horsejudge Mike Brown, former FEMA head, are having a listening party of their own. They wanna hold up FEMA funds until off-setting spending cuts can be made in other areas of the budget. Money has already had to be diverted from the poor folks of Joplin, Mo. who are only trying to rebuild their entire town so that the Irene-ravaged Northeast can get some flood relief.
When did we become a country where we pit the blown down against the washed away? This ain't a boxing match or a scrum, this is human life and livelihood. And I don't know if you've considered it, but bad as this DC fight is, can you imagine if President "I'll Make Washington Inconsequential In Your Lives" Perry was in office right now?
Thank goodness we have the Big O? Not exactly. Earlier this year the Administration asked for $1.8 billion for FEMA's Emergency Assistance Fund. That's only one-fourth of last year's FEMA appropriation. And FEMA says they could be short upwards of $5 billion in funding for next year. Oh, and here's the kicker: They made that estimate before Irene. And Joplin. And Tuscaloosa.
This June, the Teahouse passed a FEMA funding measure to the tune of $1 billion. Okay, that's a start, right? Well, they'll only release those monies if corresponding cuts are made in first-responder grants ('cuz that's not important in a disaster) and cuts to a loan program designed to encourage the production of fuel-efficient vehicles ('cuz the Repubs aren't interested in incentives for businesses--I mean job-creators--and because it isn't like there's such a thing as Climate Change that has anything under the sun to do with these disasters in the first place).
So while President treads lightly around the Teasippers some very interesting voices tune up the pipes to add to our chorus of chaos. I'm speaking of The Heritage Foundation. Now why any network or news outlet ever goes to these buffoons as "experts" is beyond human understanding. Remember, it was their "experts" (read: connected preppy college kids) who mismanaged/bungled/lost practically all of the Iraq rebuilding money with which they were entrusted. Yeah, a little tougher than sending Biff on a beer run when the keg runs dry at the post-Rush mixer.
Last evening, Rory Cooper, a spokesperson for Heritage, was interviewed by the Rev. Al Sharpton on his new MSNBC show, "Politics Nation". Rory said that President Obama was simply declaring too many emergencies. And he came loaded with facts: Former President George H.W. Bush only declared about 43 disasters per year, and sonny--Former President George W. Bush- only declared 130 in his last year in office. President Obama has declared 288 this year alone. Rory says this is a mistake that President has made as many of these occurrences should be handled by the states and the local governments. "Now we're going into States' Rights on hurricanes," Rev. Al quipped. I laughed, but only because he was singing my tune. After all, Cantor didn't attribute his ire on FEMA spending to, say, the earthquake with the epicenter in his district, he spoke this week in response to Hurricane Irene. Now I don't know about you, but I don't really want my local authorities to attempt to handle a massive emergency on their own. Don't get me wrong, our folks are smart, well-trained, and have more common sense in their toenails than anyone in Washington has amassed, but they just aren't set-up (read: funded) to do gigantic horrors. Right now we'd simply like to get out some hammers and nails so we can put away the buckets when the school roofs leak.
Remember the guy Keith O interviewed back when his "Countdown" show was on MSNBC? The guy's house burned to the ground because he hadn't paid a small tax to his local government. His neighbor offered to pay it on the spot as the firefighters watched the place burn down. They wouldn't take the money. The man lost everything. Keith and his viewers managed to raise money to help the family out because after all, don't we all make mistakes? And wasn't that penalty far out of line with the man's error?
Reverend Al also spoke with Joe Madison, a host on Sirius XM Radio. Joe was pitch-perfect with this statement on the knock on the forecasters, governments that issued evacuations, and the news coverage of Irene: "It was not overhyped; it's called 'preparedness'." He added that he'd bet Rory and his cronies wouldn't be in favor of getting that $7-plus billion that Irene will likely cost by bringing the troops home from their Middle East forays and setting them to the task of rebuilding. (Course not: That would save money and create jobs.)
But the refrain I want to leave ringing in your ears, the damned song you shouldn't be able to get out of your head now, should be this melodramatic malady from one Rush (not to be confused with the '70s supergroup) Limbaugh: "I'll promise you this, President Obama was hoping for a disaster. It was made to order..." to excuse his troubled economy.
Fiddle while Vermont floods and let the Titanic band play on but that, folks, is the name of that tune.
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