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Skidmore

(37,364 posts)
Tue Oct 30, 2012, 09:32 AM Oct 2012

In Twitter world, Alex Wagner pointed out this op-ed on FEMA, which should go viral.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/30/opinion/a-big-storm-requires-big-government.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&ref=opinion&adxnnlx=1351603714-q9aABtAPY/q9KdHVLRvNoA

October 29, 2012
A Big Storm Requires Big Government
Most Americans have never heard of the National Response Coordination Center, but they’re lucky it exists on days of lethal winds and flood tides. The center is the war room of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where officials gather to decide where rescuers should go, where drinking water should be shipped, and how to assist hospitals that have to evacuate.

Disaster coordination is one of the most vital functions of “big government,” which is why Mitt Romney wants to eliminate it. At a Republican primary debate last year, Mr. Romney was asked whether emergency management was a function that should be returned to the states. He not only agreed, he went further.

“Absolutely,” he said. “Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that’s the right direction. And if you can go even further and send it back to the private sector, that’s even better.” Mr. Romney not only believes that states acting independently can handle the response to a vast East Coast storm better than Washington, but that profit-making companies can do an even better job. He said it was “immoral” for the federal government to do all these things if it means increasing the debt.

snip

Over the last two years, Congressional Republicans have forced a 43 percent reduction in the primary FEMA grants that pay for disaster preparedness. Representatives Paul Ryan, Eric Cantor and other House Republicans have repeatedly tried to refuse FEMA’s budget requests when disasters are more expensive than predicted, or have demanded that other valuable programs be cut to pay for them. The Ryan budget, which Mr. Romney praised as “an excellent piece of work,” would result in severe cutbacks to the agency, as would the Republican-instigated sequester, which would cut disaster relief by 8.2 percent on top of earlier reductions. more
49 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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In Twitter world, Alex Wagner pointed out this op-ed on FEMA, which should go viral. (Original Post) Skidmore Oct 2012 OP
Get thee to the greatest page malaise Oct 2012 #1
+1 freshwest Oct 2012 #15
Went to the op ed and tweeted it , k&r peacebird Oct 2012 #2
Great read! Lucy Goosey Oct 2012 #3
I like her a lot. nt onehandle Oct 2012 #4
K & R I wonder what Romney's "private sector" response would look like... FailureToCommunicate Oct 2012 #5
Like every third world nation... Skidmore Oct 2012 #7
Feudalism. n/t Beartracks Oct 2012 #26
Yep, the 1% can thrive anywhere, but what about the rest of us? The Wielding Truth Oct 2012 #33
What a photo! Where was that taken? nt MADem Oct 2012 #14
Paraisópolis Favela, São Paulo, Brazil FailureToCommunicate Oct 2012 #25
I THOUGHT so! MADem Oct 2012 #31
Not bad, if you live on the right side of the wall BlueStreak Oct 2012 #17
how can you live in the sky and look at your fellow humans irisblue Oct 2012 #18
Is that Brazil? nt TrollBuster9090 Oct 2012 #43
Rmoney: "And if you can go even further and send it back to the private sector, that’s even better.” AndyA Oct 2012 #6
Here's where the money is gong to come from: taxpayers. savannah43 Oct 2012 #45
He's a "documented liar" and an evil 1%er. dotymed Oct 2012 #47
Just a thought, if republicans don't like federal aid, clydefrand Oct 2012 #8
It's a win/win for these jackasses Cosmocat Oct 2012 #9
Yup. Get this on its way so it gets read by as many as possible. Skidmore Oct 2012 #11
This is really great! nt LaydeeBug Oct 2012 #10
re:In Twitter world, Alex Wagner pointed out this op-ed on FEMA, which should go viral. allan01 Oct 2012 #12
Good place to start research for this bill: savannah43 Oct 2012 #46
The 'big time media' pangaia Oct 2012 #13
Wrong...google "Romney FEMA", pages full of hits just from today... countryjake Oct 2012 #41
I will NEVER forgive Cantor, that smug little prick. TheAmbivalante Oct 2012 #16
Next We Need To Highlight Romney's Words On Global Warming DallasNE Oct 2012 #19
Absolutely! colorado_ufo Oct 2012 #20
Rmoney can suck my immoral butt! Dustlawyer Oct 2012 #21
I agree with your post, however I want Rmoney NO WHERE near my immoral butt,,,, benld74 Oct 2012 #36
You are right about that, I misspoke! Lol Dustlawyer Oct 2012 #48
We should have made this a major part of the campaign. It is too late to have much of an impact now grantcart Oct 2012 #22
K&R!! Segami Oct 2012 #23
Similar to the cuts for repairs of Nola's Levees before Katrina SaveAmerica Oct 2012 #24
typical republican obstructionism amborin Oct 2012 #27
Read this earlier today. Lone_Star_Dem Oct 2012 #28
K & R !!! WillyT Oct 2012 #29
K&R Dalai_1 Oct 2012 #30
So I linked to this on FB, and the righties cried, "Now is not the time for a political agenda" LaydeeBug Oct 2012 #32
The Ugly GOP elbloggoZY27 Oct 2012 #34
K&R nt treestar Oct 2012 #35
So if Romney-Ryan Privatize FEMA, who pays the private contractors??? bucolic_frolic Oct 2012 #37
Kick and rec... littlemissmartypants Oct 2012 #38
MAKE IT VIRAL! Cha Oct 2012 #39
kickety countryjake Oct 2012 #40
As my wife knows, Aldo Leopold Oct 2012 #42
K & R dchill Oct 2012 #44
A kick back to the top! Big rec! nt riderinthestorm Oct 2012 #49

malaise

(269,022 posts)
1. Get thee to the greatest page
Tue Oct 30, 2012, 09:35 AM
Oct 2012

Fugg Rmoney! Keep that monster away from the White House - he would be a bigger disaster than Superstorm Sandy

Skidmore

(37,364 posts)
7. Like every third world nation...
Tue Oct 30, 2012, 09:57 AM
Oct 2012

where the wealthy all live in gated communities and the ghettoes form outside the walls.

irisblue

(32,978 posts)
18. how can you live in the sky and look at your fellow humans
Tue Oct 30, 2012, 11:06 AM
Oct 2012

and not want to bring them up with you. amazing, money can buy power, a view, it cannot buy a heart or soul..

AndyA

(16,993 posts)
6. Rmoney: "And if you can go even further and send it back to the private sector, that’s even better.”
Tue Oct 30, 2012, 09:56 AM
Oct 2012

Yes, because the private sector did such a bang up job in Iraq. Showers that electrocuted soldiers...no-bid contracts that cost way more than they should have...lost money...

SOMEONE is still going to have to PAY for these services. Where is the money going to come from? The states can't afford it on their own, so it ultimately comes back to the federal government, only they will pay the private sector much more to do the work.

Mitt Romney is always looking out for #1 (percent) and to hell with everyone else. I'm stunned that there are people stupid enough to vote for this man. He's a documented liar, which in my book makes him unqualified for President.

savannah43

(575 posts)
45. Here's where the money is gong to come from: taxpayers.
Wed Oct 31, 2012, 12:20 AM
Oct 2012

The state and federal governments will collect it for the private sector. If there is a dime anywhere, Norquist's bloodsuckers will sniff it out and find a way to make it their own. The pure greed exhibited by these people is extraordinary, and I use the word "people" loosely. I wonder if they have any integrity at all.

dotymed

(5,610 posts)
47. He's a "documented liar" and an evil 1%er.
Wed Oct 31, 2012, 07:48 AM
Oct 2012

Not all of the super wealthy are evil. There are many who understand the need for them to pay higher tax rates, to help the less fortunate. Rmoney is a taker and not a giver. He is a bottom feeder who sees profit in disaster. He doesn't consider that most people need help and cannot afford to pay for it, especially when they have just lost everything they have.
In TN., rmoney is ahead. I know many people who believe that "he is a businessman and can turn this country around." Obama's policies have already taken us from the precipice of ruin and aimed us in a direction that will improve our economy over the next few years. Without the 1% reaping most of the money.
Regular Americans will be insured.
Yep, rmoney can ride the improvements that Obama has already set in motion. Repealing Obamacare will allow a lot of the 1%ers to profit from our personal disasters (once again) and then we will be headed in the same downhill direction that bush left us in.
How can anyone not see this?

clydefrand

(4,325 posts)
8. Just a thought, if republicans don't like federal aid,
Tue Oct 30, 2012, 10:00 AM
Oct 2012

then this time, make sure they check with people to see if they are republican. If so, tough shit,
and go on to the next door/

Cosmocat

(14,564 posts)
9. It's a win/win for these jackasses
Tue Oct 30, 2012, 10:16 AM
Oct 2012

1) The almighty dollar is always the primary goal. The transfer of tax payer dollars to the monied interests above all.

2) If there was an emergency and FEMA was crippled under President Obama, they would get to jump up and down and blame him for its failures.

Skidmore

(37,364 posts)
11. Yup. Get this on its way so it gets read by as many as possible.
Tue Oct 30, 2012, 10:18 AM
Oct 2012

Twitter, FB, MySpace, e-mail, carrier pigeon. Let's get it out there.

allan01

(1,950 posts)
12. re:In Twitter world, Alex Wagner pointed out this op-ed on FEMA, which should go viral.
Tue Oct 30, 2012, 10:22 AM
Oct 2012

this is my first kick the provision in the grahm ,runion hollingsworth budget reconciliation act (under jimmy carter),that allows for prizatization of federal gvt agencies needs to be repealed. ( i dont know what section of us code that has been coddified into us law)

pangaia

(24,324 posts)
13. The 'big time media'
Tue Oct 30, 2012, 10:23 AM
Oct 2012

will never touch any of this .. for obvious reasons that don't need to be repeated.
Not that DU isn't big time. :&gt )

countryjake

(8,554 posts)
41. Wrong...google "Romney FEMA", pages full of hits just from today...
Tue Oct 30, 2012, 06:07 PM
Oct 2012

Rmoney will rue the day he ever said this:

 

TheAmbivalante

(114 posts)
16. I will NEVER forgive Cantor, that smug little prick.
Tue Oct 30, 2012, 10:39 AM
Oct 2012

The day of the Joplin MO tornado, while the President is scrambling and working to provide aid, Cantor busts a move of his own.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said Monday that if Congress passes an emergency spending bill to help Missouri’s tornado victims, the extra money will have to be cut from somewhere else.


I've told everyone, and this offer still stands, if I ever see him on the street, I'd do the jail time just to break his beak.

GO DEMS!

DallasNE

(7,403 posts)
19. Next We Need To Highlight Romney's Words On Global Warming
Tue Oct 30, 2012, 11:07 AM
Oct 2012

This storm should be a real lose-lose for Romney and his past positions on both disaster relief and global warming.

Dustlawyer

(10,495 posts)
21. Rmoney can suck my immoral butt!
Tue Oct 30, 2012, 11:32 AM
Oct 2012

My town was directly hit by hurricanes Rita and Ike. We got creamed! FEMA did a good job on Ike, Rita not so much. The private sector took 6 weeks to restore power with over 100 degree heat the 1st week after Rita. The insurance companies had to be sued to pay in a high percentage of claims. After Ike, the mortgage companies were required to sign the insurance checks to make sure the home was repaired. They held the money and had to be sued to get it released to the contractors waiting to do the repairs. The. The contractors scammed the old and unwary. Privatize my ass Mitt!!!

Lone_Star_Dem

(28,158 posts)
28. Read this earlier today.
Tue Oct 30, 2012, 12:22 PM
Oct 2012

It is an excellent OpEd. We should all read it and share with everyone we know.

 

LaydeeBug

(10,291 posts)
32. So I linked to this on FB, and the righties cried, "Now is not the time for a political agenda"
Tue Oct 30, 2012, 01:37 PM
Oct 2012

to which I replied, "stating a FACT is not a political agenda, and while I appreciate your attempt to marginalize the effects of the GOP budget, people claiming the moral high ground should do it while they're trying to stand on a tidal wave".

FUCK THEM

 

elbloggoZY27

(283 posts)
34. The Ugly GOP
Tue Oct 30, 2012, 04:09 PM
Oct 2012

I support President Obama and will vote for him on November 06, 2012.

The GOP could care less about everything.

Could you just imagine if Sandy hit with a GOP President. Never mind that thought is way to scary.

At present the GOP has done more to hurt this Country then help it.

Just ask every Federal Employee who has had their pay frozen.

The ugly part is that some Federal Employees will vote for the GOP. Oh! how sad that is.

bucolic_frolic

(43,173 posts)
37. So if Romney-Ryan Privatize FEMA, who pays the private contractors???
Tue Oct 30, 2012, 04:47 PM
Oct 2012

The tree trimming crews bill every house for $1237?

Oh! Lucky you, we've rescued you from drowning! Here's
a bill for $24,339 plus crew time???

What a WACKO romney-ryan !!!!!!!!

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