Archive for the ‘Hurricanes’ Category
by Doug Powers on Tuesday, November 27th, 2012
Rapid response photo ops
This just in from the “How many nightly newscasts would lead with this story if Bush were president” department:
I was fortunate enough to be in the pool of news photographers who accompanied the president on his tour of the devastation along the Jersey Shore, and among those who got to photograph [Donna] Vanzant’s presidential encounter.
I returned to Brigantine last week to see how she was doing.
[...]
Vanzant has been moved by the many kindnesses she received from friends, family and customers. She heard from countless people after the photograph of her hug with the president was published, including from strangers as far away as Vietnam who wished her well.
She said she was honored to meet Obama, but she is also frustrated that she has yet to receive help from either her insurance companies or the government. “The president told me I would get immediate help,” she said.
“Looking back on it, it wasted a lot of people’s time,” she said of the visit.
It’s getting so you can’t take a politician who shows up at the site of a natural disaster and makes promises shortly before a national election completely at his word anymore. In spite of what Ms. Vanzant might think, the president’s visit certainly wasn’t a “waste of people’s time” from the perspective of Team Obama. No word yet on if Jamie Foxx plans to accuse Vanzant of blasphemy over this bit of criticism.
Take note of who Vanzant says has been there for her so far, and who hasn’t, and then give another read to the New York Times’ post-Sandy editorial “Big storm requires big government.”
The original story and a photograph are still featured on the White House website.
(h/t Weasel Zippers)
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Tags: Blasphemy, devastation, encounter, government, hasn, help, Insurance Companies, Jamie Foxx, Jersey Shore, National Election, Natural Disaster, New York Times, Nightly Newscasts, Obama, perspective, photo, Photo Ops, photograph, politician, president, Sandy, Spite, storm, story, Team, victim, Weasel, Weasel Zippers, White House, word, Zippers
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by Alan Caruba on Tuesday, November 20th, 2012
At his recent press conference, President Obama, in response to a question, said “You know, as you know, Mark, we can’t attribute any particular weather event to climate change. What we do know is the temperature around the globe is increasing faster than was predicted even ten years ago.” That is a flat out lie. The temperature of the Earth has been cooling for at least sixteen years.
The devastation that Hurricane Sandy wrought defies the imagination, particularly for those on the East Coast where so much destruction was inflicted. It mirrored 2005’s Hurricane Katrina and it is only natural for people to believe there has been an increase in hurricanes striking the U.S. homeland, but there hasn’t.
Despite 2009’s “Climategate” that revealed that global warming is a hoax, many still believe it exists. In a letter to Fred Upton, the Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on November 11th, meteorologists and climatologists joined to warn that “Global warming that has not actually occurred can scarcely have contributed much to vast destruction wrought by Sandy.”
Dr. Bill Gray, the nation’s expert on hurricanes, was joined by Dr. Willie Soon, Prof. Fred Singer, and Lord Christopher Monckton, a science advisor to Britain’s former Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, to say that “Hurricane Sandy was a freak storm, not the type of extreme weather event that climate scientists have said will become more frequent and more severe if we fail to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide.”
“After almost 16 years without global warming, there are still a few who implausibly try to blame this non-existent global warming for causing various weather-related disasters in the past two or three years.” The letter advised against holding hearings on the recent hurricane. “With the election behind us, we will have an opportunity to begin again and give this matter the attention it deserves—none at all.”
Writing in Forbes magazine, James Taylor, the Heartland Institute’s editor of Environment and Climate News, spelled out the actual record of hurricane activity in the decades prior to the global warming hoax which began in the late 1980s and since.
“The National Hurricane Center (NHC) provides information on major U.S. hurricanes during the past 100-plus years. According to the NHC, 70 major hurricanes struck the United States in the 100 years between 1911 and 2010. That is an average of seven major hurricane strikes per decade.”
In all the decades back to 1961, the 100-year average remained intact with major hurricanes ranging from as few per decade as four and as many as seven. Not a single decade varied from this.
In the decades since the 1980s when alarmists began warning of a major increase in the overall temperature of the Earth, claiming it would trigger major weather events like hurricanes, nothing changed. In the decades in which carbon dioxide emissions were said to be the cause, the average remained the same.
Taylor examined the preceding 50 years before “the alleged human-induced global warming crisis.” He spelled out the data from 1951 to 1920 that reveals that the 100-year average was unchanged.
Click to continue reading “A Hurricane of Global Warming Lies”
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Tags: activity, average, carbon, change, climate, Climate Change, Climate Scientists, Conference President, decade, destruction, dioxide, Dr Bill, Earth, Extreme Weather, Forbes Magazine, Former Prime Minister, Fred Singer, Fred Upton, Global, Global Warming, hoax, hurricane, Hurricane Katrina, Lies, Margaret Thatcher, Meteorologists, nation, Obama, past, Sandy, Science Advisor, Sixteen Years, temperature, warming, weather, Weather Event
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by Doug Powers on Monday, November 19th, 2012
On Sunday, Joe Biden was in New Jersey touring damage from Hurricane Sandy. Fully aware that the Disaster Response 101 manual calls for 70 year old men to use late 20th century street slang to calm nerves during any emergency, Plugs reminded those still affected by the storm that they can count on their homeboy:
“If you’re not an Easterner it’s hard to understand that the ocean to us is the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone Park and everything else combined. It is a gigantic part of not only our economy but who we are. It’s a gigantic part of the culture as well.
“And every time the rest of the country is in real trouble, New Jersey and Delaware and New York and Connecticut, et cetera, we respond, we respond. And it’s going to be a heavy lift. These are difficult times in terms of budgets but the president has made it clear that we are going to do everything we can to make sure that the Corps is fully funded, that FEMA has their needs and that all the programs that exist under the auspices of the federal government not only continue to exist but are funded so that we can make sure that this area of the country is fully fully fully restored.
“So as the president said when he was up here with the governor, we’re not going anywhere. We’re not going anywhere. And you’ve got a homeboy in the deal who gets it.”
Some think the “homeboy” Biden was referring to was Barack Obama, and others believe he was talking about himself. Either way, as usual, it was a cry for psychological help while the struggle continues for thousands and thousands of people.
Rumor has it that Biden was spotted selling these t-shirts just after his address, so it all makes a little more sense now:
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Tags: 20th Century, Auspices, Barack Obama, Biden, Budgets, Corps, country, Delaware, Disaster Response, everything, Federal Government, FEMA, Grand, Grand Canyon, Hurricane Sandy, Jersey, Joe, Joe Biden, Nerves, New, New Jersey, Old Men, president, Psychological Help, rest, Sandy, storm, Storm Victims, struggle, Sunday, use
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by Selwyn Duke on Thursday, November 15th, 2012
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, there has been much talk about price gouging. New Jersey is prosecuting some who engaged in it, and pundit Bill O’Reilly has threatened to put offending gas stations in his fearsome Factor pillory. But is this prudent?
To be clear, I personally wouldn’t want to raise prices amidst a disaster were I a provider of products or services. And I’m not alone: After devastating floods struck the Margaretville, New York, area last year and destroyed the local supermarket and drug store, the only remaining mass supplier of food, Dollar General, refused to increase its prices (its nobility earns it a plug). Yet is it beneficial to use government to compel all businesses in disaster-stricken areas to follow suit?
Obviously, there is no action without motivation. If someone provides products or services, he does it for some reason, such as profit, a feeling of gratification, the idea that it’s God’s will, or out of some conception of what’s right. And that there are so many more businesses than charities in the world indicates that profit is a far more common motivator than all the other reasons combined. This is why business owners who would, left to their own devices, hold the line on prices during disasters are probably in the minority.
Now, one problem during disasters is that some businesses may be destroyed or temporarily shut down, and deliveries of goods are often impeded. Thus, the remaining businesses would have to go the extra mile to maintain inventories that can satisfy demand. But what will induce them to do so? Sure, there are the Dollar Generals of the world that may be driven by charitableness, but what of that profit-motivated majority? Remember, especially during disasters, we want not just some but all available businesses serving the people; this delivers the most help to the most victims.
Consider the example of gasoline shortages in the Northeast during Sandy. How many realize that this problem was exacerbated by price-control laws that removed the opportunity for extra profit, the only thing that would make many fuel suppliers go that extra mile — or in this case, literally, miles? As Congressman Ron Paul wrote:
If [gas] prices had been allowed to increase to market levels, the profit opportunity would have brought in new supplies from outside the region. As supplies increased, prices gradually would have decreased as supply and demand returned to equilibrium. But with price controls in effect, what company would want to deal with the hassle of shipping gas to a disaster-stricken area with downed power lines and flooded highways when the same profit could be made elsewhere?
Yet higher prices don’t just encourage suppliers to provide more fuel, but also consumers to use less. For instance, let’s say a person finally reaches the pump in a disaster zone after 45 minutes in line. At normal prices, he has no incentive to not fill up; after all, not doing so only increases the chances that he’ll have to wait on a line again sometime soon. Higher prices, however, present a calculation: Sure, he may face a similar wait in a week and pay the same price, but, then again, by that time the high costs and long lines may have disappeared.
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Tags: Bill O Reilly, Business Owners, control, course, demand, disaster, Extra Mile, fuel, Gas Stations, gasoline, Generals, government, increase, Inventories, Jersey, Land, mile, Motivator, New, New Jersey, nobility, opportunity, Pillory, Price, problem, profit, Pundit, Sandy, use, world
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by Stephen Levine on Friday, November 9th, 2012
In a stunning display of ignorance, columnist Eugene Robinson puts forth …
Hurricane Sandy: Was It A Climate Change Wake-Up Call?
We’ve had two once-in-a-century storms within the span of a decade. Hurricane Sandy seems likely to be the second-costliest storm in U.S. history, behind Hurricane Katrina. Lower Manhattan is struggling to recover from an unprecedented flood and the New Jersey coast is smashed beyond recognition.
Will we finally get the message?
How, at this point, can anyone deny the scientific consensus about climate change? The traditional dodge — that no one weather event can definitively be attributed to global warming — doesn’t work anymore. If something looks, walks and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. Especially if the waterfowl in question is floating through your living room.
For decades now, researchers have been telling us that one of the effects of climate change would be to make the weather more volatile and violent. Well, here we are.
What message is he speaking about?
- The message of the far-left socialists and special interests that want to use global climate change to drive ideological public policy?
- That global climate change is a complex, chaotic process that is basically uncontrollable by man’s efforts?
- That the real drivers of violent weather are related to deep ocean currents and events such as El Nino/La Nina which are beyond man’s ability to fully forecast, model and control?
- That it is natural for the planet to warm as it emerges from the Little Ice Age?
- That our Planet has been hotter, cooler, with more atmospheric CO2 and less atmospheric CO2 with little or no industrial input from man.
- That the entire issue of carbon dioxide can be explained simply by Henry’s law and the outgassing of carbon dioxide as the oceans warm?
- That the production of carbon dioxide lags the temperature rise by 600 – 1000 years, so it is unlikely that it is causal?
- That the climate cycles are so long that the results – even if they could be measured – are unlikely to be seen for hundreds of years?
What consensus is he speaking about?
- Science is not performed by consensus, but by a controlled process of hypothesis-experiment-verification-re-verification; where skepticism is the rule rather than the exception.
- Where the most prominent global warming scientists were caught fudging the raw data, the computer models, and the peer-review process in a scandal known as climate-gate.
- Where there is an inherent bias in global warming research because projects agreeing with their sponsor’s views are more likely to be funded than those of a contrarian nature.
- Where most institutional scientists are afraid to speak out for fear of institutional, government or financial reprisals.
Yes, some researchers have told us that one of the effects of climate change would be to make for more violent weather. It is all part of the natural variability of our chaotic weather.
If you wish to read more of Robinson’s clap trap, you can find it at Hurricane Sandy: Was The Hurricane A Climate Change Wake-Up Call? – Investors.com To see who claiming what, their statements and their credentials, you can find it at Reality check: Who believes Hurricane Sandy was/was not caused by global warming?
Bottom line …
The Marxists and communists need to exploit environmental issues – that’s the way they achieve political power and funding.
Click to continue reading “EUGENE ROBINSON ON CLIMATE CHANGE: INTELLECTUALLY DISHONEST OR JUST DRINKING THE KOOL-AID?”
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Tags: Bottom, carbon, Carbon Dioxide, change, climate, Climate Change, columnist, Deep Ocean Currents, dioxide, display, Effects Of Climate Change, Eugene Robinson, Global Climate Change, Hurricane Katrina, ignorance, Kool-aid, Little Ice Age, Lower Manhattan, point, process, Quacks, Robinson, Sandy, Socialists, speaking, Special Interests, Temperature Rise, verification, Wake, Wake Up Call, warming, weather, Weather Event
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by Stephen Levine on Tuesday, November 6th, 2012
Where is the Red Cross? Where is FEMA?
Staten Islanders On Sandy Response: We’ve Been Left FAR Behind
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Staten Island residents are furious. They feel that in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy they’ve been ignored and left to fend for themselves.CBS 2′s Jessica Schneider toured the borough on Thursday night and saw one home on Cedar Grove Avenue that looks like it was torn to shreds by a tornado. However, it was surging ocean waters that tore the house apart, and filled others with more than 10 feet of water. It’s that type of apparent neglect that has left residents saying they haven’t received the attention or help they so desperately need. “Red Cross is here with hot chocolate and cookies. We need blankets, we need pillows, we need clothing. We can get hot chocolate and cookies, we need help!” resident Jodi Hannula said. It was almost too much for Hannula to bear. She said she had 30 years of memories washed away by flood waters. And with no flood insurance, she said she’s been pleading for help, but finding little.
“You hope that the government does the right thing and steps in and helps us out. We have been looking for FEMA, [but] FEMA has not been here,” Hannula said. People on Staten Island argued that they’ve been neglected while other parts of New York City, and the Jersey Shore, have been showered with attention.
“We are far from fine, and the fact that the mayor wants to have a marathon this weekend, when we’ve had people who have lost their lives or house, everything they’ve worked for their whole lives … I mean, its unbelievable to me,” Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis said. <Source: Staten Islanders On Sandy Response: We’ve Been Left Far Behind « CBS New York>
Your government and charities at work. Remember this when you donate and when you vote.
– steve
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Tags: Aftermath, attention, Blankets, CBS, Cbs New, Charities, clothing, FEMA, flood, government, help, hope, insurance, Islanders, Jersey Shore, need, New, New York, ocean, Pillows, Red Cross, resident, Sandy, saying, Shreds, Staten Island, Thursday Night, York
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by Stephen Levine on Tuesday, November 6th, 2012
Normally I am disgusted with the day-to-day activities of public employee unions who support mediocrity over merit, the status-quo over innovation, higher prices without corresponding higher productivity and work rules designed to require more unionized workers. But this is outrageous …
Amid Sandy’s devastation, Long Island union sent written demand to Florida utilities: Pay dues or stay home
In a two-page Oct. 29 contract, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) local 1049 demanded union dues, pay hikes and benefit contributions from Florida electric utilities before its workers would be permitted to help reconnect power to Long Island communities. The demand came as Hurricane Sandy was bearing down on the Northeastern United States, stranding tens of millions without electricity.
The “Letter of Assent,” which The Daily Caller obtained from the Florida Municipal Electric Association, demanded 11 separate financial commitments from municipal power companies and electrical cooperatives in the Sunshine State. The agreement, for any utility that decided to sign it, would have been in force from Oct. 29 to Nov. 29.
IBEW letter to Florida utilities after Hurricane Sandy <—– READ THE DEMAND LETTER FOR YOURSELF
The Florida Municipal Electric Association is a statewide trade group that represents 34 separate utility companies. The letter, Moline said, was sent to Florida’s nonunion power companies.
“We had crews ready to go on Monday when the storm hit,” he told TheDC. ”We had dozens of line workers ready to go. There have been hundreds of line workers who have been told, ‘We don’t want you unless you’re part of the union.’ And as a result, people in New York and New Jersey are having the power turned on slower than everywhere else.”
“The word we were getting all week was that New York was short by hundreds of [electric] linemen,” he told TheDC. “Well, okay. We’ve got them. Florida is two days away, so you need a head start.”
Of those workers who were ready to drive north, he said, “probably about 25 stayed put” because of the Long Island IBEW local’s demands. “Another 35 were delayed by five days.”
Once again Governor Chris Christie steps in to protect his constituents – defying the unions and telling them where to step off.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Friday that he wouldn’t permit discrimination against nonunion crews eager to help reconnect consumers who have gone without power for days. He threatened to invoke his office’s emergency powers if necessary. (RELATED: Christie threatens “Disaster Control Act” order to guarantee nonunion utility workers can help restore NJ power) <Source: Amid Sandy’s devastation, Long Island union sent written demand to Florida utilities: Pay dues or stay home | The Daily Caller>
Bottom line …
The unions, steeped in international socialism, need to be controlled. In normal times, they hold citizens and their children hostage to their demands. They corrupt politicians and force the taxpayer away from the bargaining table. If they don’t get their evil ways, children suffer and we find criminals being released into the public.
But now, in a time of grave emergency, unions are demanding tribute from volunteers and workers who are paid by other utilities. Outrageous.
Time to purge the democrats and their unions – return America to prosperity and eliminate political extortion, blackmail and corruption.
– steve
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Tags: Act, Assent, BENEFITS, Bottom, Brotherhood Of Electrical Workers, Chris Christie, Christie, Control Act, Cooperatives, demand, devastation, Dozens, Electric Utilities, electricity, Florida, help, home, hurricane, International Brotherhood Of Electrical Workers, Island Communities, Long, Long Island, Mediocrity, NJ, Pay, power, Public Employee Unions, RELATED, Sandy, Sunshine State, Trade Group, union, Union Dues, utility
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by Stephen Levine on Tuesday, November 6th, 2012
Where was the Secretary of DHS, Janet Napolitano, who oversees FEMA while Hurricane Sandy was forming in the ocean? Was she helping to exert leadership and pre-position stockpiles of water, food gasoline, and electrical generators? Just what was she doing during the preceding week?
FEMA’s vaunted “lean forward” strategy that called for advanced staging of supplies for emergency distribution failed to live up to its billing in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
In fact, the agency appears to have been completely unprepared to distribute bottled water to Hurricane Sandy victims when the storm hit this Monday. In contrast to its stated policy, FEMA failed to have any meaningful supplies of bottled water — or any other supplies, for that matter — stored in nearby facilities as it had proclaimed it would on its website. This was the case despite several days advance warning of the impending storm.
FEMA only began tosolicit bids for vendors to provide bottled water for distribution to Hurricane Sandy victims on Friday, sending out a solicitation request for 2.3 million gallons of bottled water at the FedBizOpps.gov website. Bidding closed at 4:30 pm eastern.
Breitbart News spoke with contracting officer Annette Wright, who said that the winning vendor would be required to deliver the 2.3 million gallons of bottled water to an East Farmingdale, New York distribution center that was listed in the solicitation request by Monday, November 5th. Ms. Wright was unable to say when or how the water would be delivered from the distribution center to needy Hurricane Sandy victims in New Jersey, Staten Island, Long Island, and other boroughs of New York City. Vendors “are currently being evaluated,” she said, and when the vendors are announced, they will provide information on how local distribution will occur.
FEMA Taps Private Vendors to Meet Sandy Victim’s Needs
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Tags: advance, agency, billing, Bottled Water, Breitbart News, case, Distribution Center, DONE, Electrical Generators, FEMA, Friday, gov, Janet Napolitano, Monday, Napolitano, New, New York, Obama, policy, request, Sandy, Stockpiles, storm, strategy, water, Water Food, website
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by Michael R. Shannon on Sunday, November 4th, 2012
Hurricane Sandy — much like Barack Obama — turned out to be an over–hyped phenomenon that failed to deliver. Our portion of the storm in Northern Virginia was so weak the Multicultural Commissars didn’t even bother to give it a Hispanic name, like last summer’s “derecho” (formerly known as “severe thunderstorm”).
I tried to lend a hand and come up with a culturally–sensitive name, but Spanish for “Sandy” is still “Sandy,” making it tough to appear cutting edge during a TV broadcast.
“Hurricane” translates as “huracán” and the resulting “Huracán Sandy” fails to advance the cause of linguistic arrogance. It doesn’t compare with changing the perfectly good name of “Bombay” to “Mumbai.” All that did was confuse millions of Americans looking for a particular large city in India. (The Indians already knew where it was.)
Besides, where does one draw the line? Does the “pecan sandie” cookie become the “sandie pacana?”
There were houses smashed by downed trees in my neighborhood — certainly a disaster for the affected homeowners — but nothing to compare with the “derecho.”
Even during the height of the hype, my household preparations were limited to bracing for a potential power outage. Since our family has never associated bowel movements with natural disasters, we even missed the ‘Assault on Food Lion.’ Because we don’t feel compelled to buy a pallet–load of toilet paper anytime it’s overcast for three consecutive days.
The local paper wrote of a Dominion Power repairman that just missed being drowned by rising floodwaters. But who noticed the unsung American Disposal Services crews braving wind and rain to pick up household trash during the beginning of the blow? While government employees, enjoying the shutdown, watched from their front window.
Naturally Obama’s media amen chorus and the administration itself, are doing their best to politicize the storm. There was extensive damage in New Jersey and New York. So the WaPost proclaims, “Storm provides Obama with a commander–in–chief moment.” Which only goes to show the mainstream media (MSM) thinks we’ll believe anything.
The attack on the consulate in Libya provided Obama with a genuine “commander–in–chief” moment where he could have affected events on the ground, which is something “commanders” do. But Obama failed miserably.
Hurricane Sandy provides him with a Social–Worker–in–Chief moment, a situation with which community organizers are much more comfortable. Obama took a helicopter tour while the wind was still blowing. Yet FBI investigators had to wait weeks before they could visit the ruined consulate in Libya, only to discover the scene hopelessly compromised by hundreds of journalists and sightseers who didn’t wait for administration approval.
And to show benighted conservatives how fortunate we are to have Obama in the White House, the WaPost adds: “Rarely, if ever, has a president had to deal with such a major disaster so close to Election Day…”
What’s “rare” — in fact unprecedented — is the MSM allowing an administration to take a bye on a disaster like Libya so close to an election. Governors in New York and New Jersey call Obama for help and he’s Johnny–on–the–spot. SEALs in Libya call for backup during an attack that kills four Americans, including the ambassador, and get an administration brush off.
If only Libya had a few more votes in the Electoral College.
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Tags: attack, Barack Obama, Big, blow, chief, Consecutive Days, didn, disaster, Government Employees, Jersey, Libya, moment, Natural Disasters, New, New Jersey, New York, northern Virginia, Obama, power, Power Outage, S Media, Sandy, show, Social, storm, Toilet Paper, Tv Broadcast, wind, Wind And Rain, York
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by Selwyn Duke on Sunday, November 4th, 2012
Living near the coast in the Northeast, I see the devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy firsthand. Many have been without power for days; there are long lines at gas stations; some supermarket shelves are bare; and, more to the point here, some in vulnerable areas lost their homes. And because the storm is such a horrible, high-profile disaster, government aid to rebuild is in the offing. But should it be?
This question may seem heartless. And, don’t worry, you won’t hear a politician asking it anytime soon, as doing so might very well cost him the next election. But political expediency isn’t always synonymous with fairness.
Let’s start like this: On the day Sandy struck and every day since, there surely have been low-profile disasters in other parts of the country. Perhaps someone’s home was struck by lightning and burned down, maybe an anomalous and isolated flood destroyed a lonely hinterland abode, or it could have been something else. This is a big country and many things happen.
And the question is, if you suffer such a disaster and have no insurance, will Uncle Sam ride to the rescue with tax dollars? We know the answer. But why the different treatment?
In reality, Washington won’t even get wind of your woes; your story won’t be national news. And a prerequisite for getting help is getting noticed — in a big way. You have to be part of something deemed a “disaster area,” which simply amounts to labeling some disasters more equal than others. Lose your home during a news and photo-op worthy event, and you get bailed out; but if helping you won’t win votes or TV viewers, you get bupkes. And is this not a type of unjust discrimination? Now for a bit more perspective.
Investigative reporter John Stossel once received $250,000 of our tax money to rebuild a beach house he had lost in a storm many years ago. This isn’t unusual, as shore-front property is not only most vulnerable to hurricane damage, but also very valuable, and thus is often owned by the “one percent.” And disaster relief isn’t means-tested. But be clear on what this means. During that very period there no doubt was someone of limited resources who suffered through a non-photo-op disaster and got nothing, yet some of his tax money went to Stossel and other well-heeled folks caught in a photo-op-worthy disaster. So just as with corporations bailed out because they were “too big to fail,” disasters too big to fail to make headlines inspire, to some extent, wealth redistribution from the middle class to the rich. How just and compassionate does disaster relief seem now?
I made a similar point after 9/11 (which accounts for my popularity). Tax dollars flowed into NYC and some were given to well-to-do relatives of victims, who in many cases had lost their family’s breadwinner. Of course, no amount of money can replace a loved one. But the point is that during the very same September there were other people in America who lost breadwinners through evil acts (e.g., violent robberies) — and some of those people were relatively poor. Yet their no-photo-op tragedies didn’t bring federal compensation, even as their tax money was transferred to rich 9/11 victims.
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Tags: Abode, aid, bailouts, Beach House, charity, devastation, disaster, Disaster Area, government, Government Aid, Hinterland, home, insurance, Investigative Reporter, John Stossel, money, news, photo, point, Political Expediency, question, relief, risk, Sam, Sandy, storm, tax, Tax Dollars, Tax Money, Tv Viewers, Uncle Sam, Unjust Discrimination, Woes
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