Texas flooding

[Gadianton]

As a native Texan, I can tell that the culture is to blame. A culture of ignoring government warnings, and not wanting to be “nannied” by the state.

I have watched people scoff at those heeding tornado warnings. These are the people who vote against public infrastructure, including safety sirens.

It’s unfortunate that children paid the price.

This is exactly what MG voted for and if there is a God, he'll have to answer for these kids. The president in this case is just a tool to do what folks like MG demanded.

[MG 2.0]

On actions by Trump, in particular wanting to shut down FEMA:

See this extract from a Guardian article:

Coen said the Texas floods had proved Fema’s worth: “This flood is a defining moment and brings clarity for the necessity of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Fema is an essential agency for the federal government to support states and support the American people in their greatest time of need.”

But he said grant cuts had rendered it less effective and may have caused “an unnecessary loss of life” in the Guadalupe River area of the Texas Hill Country, the worst-hit flood region.

“One of the grant programs they cut was the Building Resilient Infrastructure Communities, which was a program that would have funded things like the siren system to line a river like the [Guadalupe] in Kerr county,” he said.

“Not that many people needed to lose their lives if more mitigation measures had been put in place. With the president cutting a grant program that provides federal funding to increase mitigation in the country, it only is foreboding for the future on what could happen to other communities if they don’t mitigate and they don’t have access to federal funds.”

The picture of an agency undermined by the Trump administration’s hostility was corroborated by a former mid-level Fema official, who told the Guardian that staff had left because they felt disrespected.

You said:

the folks down in Texas appreciated his actions

Do you think they would 'appreciate' what happened as a result of his action in attacking FEMA?

Actions so far:
Major Disaster Declaration
FEMA activation and support
Presidential visit
Department of Homeland Security Department
Coast Guard Operations
USDA support
Streamlining aid

You can go into more detail on any one of these online

Regards,
MG

[MG 2.0]

As a native Texan, I can tell that the culture is to blame. A culture of ignoring government warnings, and not wanting to be “nannied” by the state.

I have watched people scoff at those heeding tornado warnings. These are the people who vote against public infrastructure, including safety sirens.

It’s unfortunate that children paid the price.

This is exactly what MG voted for and if there is a God, he'll have to answer for these kids. The president in this case is just a tool to do what folks like MG demanded.

I didn't vote for President Trump. Trump doesn't have to answer for these kids and neither will I.

I'm more interested in actions than words.

It's been a tragedy. The upside is there have been many acts of heroism.

Regards,
MG

[Chap]

On actions by Trump, in particular wanting to shut down FEMA:

See this extract from a Guardian article:

Coen said the Texas floods had proved Fema’s worth: “This flood is a defining moment and brings clarity for the necessity of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Fema is an essential agency for the federal government to support states and support the American people in their greatest time of need.”

But he said grant cuts had rendered it less effective and may have caused “an unnecessary loss of life” in the Guadalupe River area of the Texas Hill Country, the worst-hit flood region.

“One of the grant programs they cut was the Building Resilient Infrastructure Communities, which was a program that would have funded things like the siren system to line a river like the [Guadalupe] in Kerr county,” he said.

“Not that many people needed to lose their lives if more mitigation measures had been put in place. With the president cutting a grant program that provides federal funding to increase mitigation in the country, it only is foreboding for the future on what could happen to other communities if they don’t mitigate and they don’t have access to federal funds.”

The picture of an agency undermined by the Trump administration’s hostility was corroborated by a former mid-level Fema official, who told the Guardian that staff had left because they felt disrespected.

You said:

the folks down in Texas appreciated his actions

Do you think they would 'appreciate' what happened as a result of his action in attacking FEMA?

Despite Trump's well-known wish to shutter FEMA, and the evidence of the damage already caused to FEMA by his policies, you still have the brass neck to tell us that amongst the actions by Trump that the flood-struck Texans 'appreciated' was:

FEMA activation and support

I think we know Trump well enough to know that the only action he took in person was to grab the opportunity to get to Texas and appear on TV looking serious.

[Gadianton]

I didn't vote for President Trump. Trump doesn't have to answer for these kids and neither will I.

Then you are correct, you will not answer for it, although, it's a little weird that you're so defensive of pure evil when you had the good sense not to be a part of it. I do apologize though, I should have clarified the point first.

Whether the Lord holds the axe accountable along with those who wield it is up to the Lord; you can proudly say that you weren't part of it. You ought to take it to the next level and cease to be an apologist for the evil. That's up to you I guess.

[MG 2.0]

I didn't vote for President Trump. Trump doesn't have to answer for these kids and neither will I.

Then you are correct, you will not answer for it, although, it's a little weird that you're so defensive of pure evil when you had the good sense not to be a part of it. I do apologize though, I should have clarified the point first.

Whether the Lord holds the axe accountable along with those who wield it is up to the Lord; you can proudly say that you weren't part of it. You ought to take it to the next level and cease to be an apologist for the evil. That's up to you I guess.

I don't think Trump is "pure evil".

Here's the thing. You previously said something about me that was not true. Essentially it was a lie. It makes it difficult to trust you on any level.

You had no evidence.

I'm finding the same thing to be true with a few others. It is very difficult to know who and who not to trust around here.

That's why I put up the TTOC announcement. One of the reasons anyway.

Regards,
MG

[Gadianton]

I don't think Trump is "pure evil".

So much for the light of Christ.

Here's the thing. You previously said something about me that was not true. Essentially it was a lie. It makes it difficult to trust you on any level.

You had no evidence.

I disagree; there was evidence. But it was a simple thing that I could have clarified first by asking. My bad. I'm not interested in whether or not you trust me. I am interested in correcting an error if I make one.

[canpakes]

Oh. So it is evil to ask why an area like that had no early warning system for flash floods?

He said, "under the circumstances'. Folks seem to be prejudging things and placing blame on others. I think the President is simply saying, 'screw you people', get a life! Everyone knows this was a disaster. To go pointing fingers at Trump...because he's Trump...is a bit foolhardy, at least in this instance. There were other factors at play.

MG, it’s absolutely fair (necessary, even) to point to the fact that this was an unusual weather occurrence happening at one of the worst possible hours. It’s not a ‘hundred year storm’ given how often floods have ripped through the area in the past few decades, but these circumstances are not easily prepared for. But that just highlights the need to have in place features and warning systems that could save lives when this happens. The folks within Texas government who could have made those decisions didn’t, because - to put it bluntly - they were cheap.

So, this has nothing to do with Trump, and the reporter asking the question wasn’t blaming Trump. It was, rather, a chance given to Trump to attempt some kind of compassionate response that acknowledged the pain of those families and that could have brought the weight of Presidential opinion to bear against those past decisions motivated solely by budgetary concerns. And, always true to his nature, Trump once again ignored that opportunity to demonstrate leadership and humanity, instead choosing to attack one of his favorite targets, the press.

You probably remember when, just a half-year ago, fires ripped through Southern California. Trump’s reaction, at that time, was not to avoid asking ‘what happened’. Rather, he launched a multi-week assault on California officials, blaming them for not magically making the fire disappear, and then lied repeatedly about water availability, nonexistent dams and salmon, and related BS, culminating with a preposterous and asinine display of having the ACE release some water from agricultural dams in central California that could never reach the fires, while claiming that he alone saved LA by doing so.

The difference here is stark, and it exists for obvious reasons of astonishingly petty partisanship, his general immaturity and nastiness, and his sociopathic absence of compassion.

Maybe you voted for the guy, but there will be times when you might rethink defending him after he does glaringly stupid and partisan things that we’ve never witnessed any other American President do.

[MG 2.0]

He said, "under the circumstances'. Folks seem to be prejudging things and placing blame on others. I think the President is simply saying, 'screw you people', get a life! Everyone knows this was a disaster. To go pointing fingers at Trump...because he's Trump...is a bit foolhardy, at least in this instance. There were other factors at play.

MG, it’s absolutely fair (necessary, even) to point to the fact that this was an unusual weather occurrence happening at one of the worst possible hours. It’s not a ‘hundred year storm’ given how often floods have ripped through the area in the past few decades, but these circumstances are not easily prepared for. But that just highlights the need to have in place features and warning systems that could save lives when this happens. The folks within Texas government who could have made those decisions didn’t, because - to put it bluntly - they were cheap.

So, this has nothing to do with Trump, and the reporter asking the question wasn’t blaming Trump. It was, rather, a chance given to Trump to attempt some kind of compassionate response that acknowledged the pain of those families and that could have brought the weight of Presidential opinion to bear against those past decisions motivated solely by budgetary concerns. And, always true to his nature, Trump once again ignored that opportunity to demonstrate leadership and humanity, instead choosing to attack one of his favorite targets, the press.

You probably remember when, just a half-year ago, fires ripped through Southern California. Trump’s reaction, at that time, was not to avoid asking ‘what happened’. Rather, he launched a multi-week assault on California officials, blaming them for not magically making the fire disappear, and then lied repeatedly about water availability, nonexistent dams and salmon, and related BS, culminating with a preposterous and asinine display of having the ACE release some water from agricultural dams in central California that could never reach the fires, while claiming that he alone saved LA by doing so.

The difference here is stark, and it exists for obvious reasons of astonishingly petty partisanship, his general immaturity and nastiness, and his sociopathic absence of compassion.

Maybe you voted for the guy, but there will be times when you might rethink defending him after he does glaringly stupid and partisan things that we’ve never witnessed any other American President do.

I didn't vote for him. My vote went for Nikki Haley. I even went to her rally when she came to Utah. I voted for Romney back in the day. I'm not a Trump supporter although there are some policies that this administration is taking that I hope work out. I'm an American first but not MAGA.

I'm more of a policy wonk if anything.

I don't excuse ANY of Trump's excesses or rude behavior. I don't excuse January 6th. I was repulsed by his treatment of John McCain. The list could go on.

But we're with this man for three and a half more years and I want more than anything for America to retain many of the conservative values that made our country great. I'm not a liberal leftist by any stretch, but I would consider myself to be a thoughtful Independent even though I'm a registered Republican. There are many Republican principles I agree with, but I also think Rand Paul has had some positions I agree with. There have also been positions taken by some Democrats that I have sympathy for although I don't agree with the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez/Bernie socialist agenda.

As I said earlier, I think the aadministration's response in Texas has been good so far as I can tell.

Terrible tragedy.

Now, the immigration issue... that's a whole other thing and it's a mixed bag in my book.

Thanks for your response!

Regards,
MG

[canpakes]

But we're with this man for three and a half more years and I want more than anything for America to retain many of the conservative values that made our country great.

I understand that desire, but there couldn’t be a worse spokesperson picked to represent those values, whatever they’re supposed to be these days.