What is up with the weather? Is it finished raining along the Mississippi? Maybe a better question would be is the river finished rising yet? Those earthen levees aren't quite enough to hold back that much water. It was good to see today on TV the people in that area working together. Some of them from miles away, not in the flood zone. They came just to help their fellow Americans. As far as that goes, it was a good day! Here's to hoping FEMA does a better job with this levee breach, but I doubt it.
I was reading today that FEMA agreed to release something like 65 million dollars worth of supplies they were trying to sell as surplus. The problem is there are aid groups in Louisiana who are still waiting for those same supplies! Is possible they didn't know they still had that much stored up? What exactly are the supplies that FEMA still has stockpiled? Did they know they had it? How much space does 65 mil worth of anything take up? Where was it being stored? Better yet, who is getting paid to store that much stuff?
What ever happened to those trailers FEMA bought? They bought 147,000 of them, are there any left? Oh yeah, there are. They have them stored all over the country. It was a bargain too, we only paid 2.7 billion for them in a no bid contract. Sweet! I guess some must have gone to the people in Arkansas that lost their homes, and their town, to tornadoes in February? Surely the President declared the area a disaster so FEMA could step in and work their magic? No, I don't think he did? Never mind, they are probably better off without that kind of help. By the way, FEMA has sold 41,000 of the trailers at 40 cents on the dollar, so we got that going for us, which is nice!
The President has asked for over a billion bucks to lend a helping hand to flood victims, and that's a good thing, right? I mean I know Brownie is gone from FEMA, but I'm sure he has a cute name for the current dude, something like Pauley, or the Paulster. Has he talked to him about the trailers? What about the "extra" supplies from Katrina, wherever they may be? Somebody does know where all this crap is, right? The Dems are in charge of Congress now, right? What are they doing? Tell me they are doing something! No, the Dems have just postured like the Reps did before them and done nothing.
Tell me there is someone in a position of power that has a bead on all this. Where is that guy from the movie "Dave"? You know the one I'm talking about. He was Dave's friend and he was an accountant or something. He stepped in and made decisions that made sense. Never mind, we are talking about the government, there is no room for sense. Who do I write to and ask for a breakdown of who got paid, how much they got paid, where the stuff went, and where is the surplus? There is someone who knows the answers to those questions I hope.
Do any of our decision makers have personal checking accounts? Do they know how to balance them? I sure as hell hope they know there are people that are depending on them. The presidential candidates have spent millions, and will spend millions more to try and get the job. I hope the folks that are there now remember that they work for us take care of those of us that really need it. Good work people of the flooded areas! Keep up the good work and continue to help each other, there may not be anyone else coming to the rescue!
3 comments:
I think this answers your question
THE 545 PEOPLE
RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL
OF AMERICA'S WOES
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits? Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?
You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does. You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does. You and I don't write the tax code. Congress does. You and I don't set fiscal policy. Congress does. You and I don't control monetary policy. The Federal Reserve Bank does.
One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president and nine Supreme Court justices - 545 human beings out of the 235 million - are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered but private central bank.
I excluded all but the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it.
No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislation's responsibility to determine how he votes.
A CONFIDENCE CONSPIRACY
Don't you see how the con game that is played on the people by the politicians? Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of Nancy Pelosi, who stood up and criticized George Bush for creating deficits.
The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it. The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating appropriations and taxes.
Pelosi is the speaker of the House. She was the leader of the majority party. She and her fellow Democrats, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetos it, they can pass it over his veto.
REPLACE SCOUNDRELS
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 235 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts - of incompetence and irresponsibility.
I can't think of a single domestic problem, from an unfair tax code to defense overruns, that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.
When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair. If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red. If the Marines are in Iraq & Afghanistan, it's because they want them there.
There are no insoluble government problems. Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take it.
Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exist disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation" or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 545 people and they alone are responsible. They and they alone have the power. They and they alone should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses - provided they have the gumption to manage their own employees.
Scratch that question off my list! Geez Slammer, I'm printing buttons as we speak to toss all 545 of those scoundrels straight into the hoosegow! You are exactly right about it being our responsibility. I piss and moan about things, but I haven't taken step one to try and actually do something about it. Until we stop saying someone should and we actually do, I really shouldn't complain, but I will!
A couple questions from The National Review:
Where are all of the Hollywood celebrities holding telethons asking for
Help in restoring Iowa and helping the folks affected by the floods?
Where is all the media asking the tough questions about why the federal
Government hasn't solved the problem? Asking where the FEMA trucks (and
Trailers) are?
Why isn't the Federal Government relocating Iowa people to free hotels
In Chicago?
When will Spike Lee say that the Federal Government blew up the levees
That failed in Des Moines?
Where are Sean Penn and the Dixie Chicks?
Where are all the looters stealing high-end tennis shoes and big screen
Television sets?
When will we hear Governor Chet Culver say that he wants to rebuild a
"vanilla" Iowa, because that's the way God wants it?
Where is the hysterical 24/7 media coverage complete with reports of
Cannibalism?
Where are the people declaring that George Bush hates white, rural
People?
How come in 2 weeks, you will never hear about the Iowa flooding ever
Again?
Just in case you haven't figured out the answer:
"IT'S BECAUSE THIS AREA IS MOSTLY ALL WHITE AND THEY KNOW HOW TO HELP THEMSELVES!"
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