I’m sure the residents of the Carolinas are relieved to hear that FEMA is on the job and our president says “We are absolutely totally prepared” for Hurricane Florence.
After all, FEMA and Trump did such a magnificent job in Puerto Rico last year. Undercounting the dead by two orders of magnitude. More than half a year to restore power.
But I’m sure the Carolinas will get more and better help than Puerto Rico did. After all, both states electoral votes went to Trump. Heaven help Virginia if Florence shifts to the north, though.
It’s worth noting that Trump will not be going to Jackson, Mississippi for a campaign rally Friday as previously planned. With Florence expected to reach land by early Friday morning, millions of people are evacuating the coast. And rallies aren’t the only events affected. High school and college football games are being rescheduled. Concerts have been canceled.
Notably, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has declared a state of emergency, citing fears of flooding, downed trees, and power outages.
Regardless, our government soldiers on. The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to vote on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court on Thursday. That said, it’s widely expected that committee Democrats will delay the vote to next week, presumably after Florence has passed and power has been restored to Washington*. Because it wouldn’t do to allow the court to go into session next month short-handed.
* Though I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it hasn’t been restored elsewhere. Crews from further north and inland have already been tagged to assist in the Carolinas, and you know the comfort and safety of our elected officials is paramount, but as far as I can tell, nobody’s paying a whole of attention to the people in between.
Depressing thoughts on what should be a day of remembrance. What I find myself remembering is the way individuals always seem to step up and do what needs to be done in the immediate aftermath of a disaster.
It’s not the big agencies. They show up later–if they show up. It’s certainly not political parties.
Take a minute today and thank a neighbor for being there. Don’t get ridiculous about it. There’s no need to thank that guy down the street who lets his dog dig up your flower bed, or the ones you’re pretty sure are making meth in their basement. But the folks you don’t usually pay much attention to, good or bad. They’re the ones you’re going to rely on when your neighborhood is hit by a hurricane, earthquake, or zombie apocalypse.
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This is brilliant, Neph. I’m sharing far and wide. Last I heard, the person in the White House (to whom I never have and never will refer to as “the president”) is stepping up to the plate. Costco is delivering a megapackage of Viva Giant Rolls to each household. He didn’t have time to winnow out the Dems or minorities. I think he’s using the last of his campaign funds.
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Except for the folks in Virginia, who won’t be getting those giant rolls (useful for soaking up the 10-20 inches of rain that’s likely to hit much of the state).
To be clear here, T. explicitly refused to issue a declaration of emergency for Virginia until literally ten minutes ago, despite having made the call for the Carolinas yesterday.
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Maybe he just realized that it was part of America. If Georgia had been hit, he’d have been quicker, thinking it was part of Russia. Maybe that’s giving him too much credit for knowing that there is a Georgia outside Russia, or maybe he has no idea that the country left the Soviet Union–never mind. Trying to think like him ties my mind in knots.
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