2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumJesus Christ, 36 Republicans voted against Sandy Disaster Relief
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=113&session=1&vote=00004Shouldn't something like Disaster Relief after a devasting storm like Sandy pass 100-0,
aquart
(69,014 posts)neverforget
(9,434 posts)above people.
Cali_Democrat
(30,439 posts)If a red southern state was ravaged by a hurricane, you can be sure those same goons would have voted for aid.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)Most of the Nay votes were from the Middle West and Western conservative states.
No empathy.
Laura PourMeADrink
(42,770 posts)to see Rubio denounce aid to his constituents next time (heaven forbid) something happens in FL. To me, this is political suicide for him. People will be burning pics of him in the streets down there.
truebluegreen
(9,033 posts)Especially now that global warming "isn't" happening.
ETA: droughts, see above.
Laura PourMeADrink
(42,770 posts)truebluegreen
(9,033 posts)but I do remember a study/survey from a few years back that said that Willimantic, CT (where my aunt lives) was the safest place in the country.
'Course, what with the hurricanes, and blizzards, and hurricanes and blizzards, they may have to revise that.
Laura PourMeADrink
(42,770 posts)still lives there. I believe it...nothing bad every happens there...don't think you even lock the doors
truebluegreen
(9,033 posts)Know anybody named Brine?
ETA: found the link(s), from Wiki: For the most part, Mansfield is a safe place. In 2005, Slate named Storrs "America's Best Place to Avoid Death Due to Natural Disaster."
So it wasn't Willimantic, it was Storrs (same dif, verdad?)
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/the_gist/2005/09/where_to_hide_from_mother_nature.html
Laura PourMeADrink
(42,770 posts)Brine doesn't ring a bell.
Manchester was very boring - but we made our own fun. Think the worst crime I can remember in all my years til college was someone getting a ticket for sparking a firecracker on 4th of July.
where are you from?
truebluegreen
(9,033 posts)Dad and aforementioned aunt were from MA. She ended up in CT, he went to grad school in WI where I was born, but I grew up in CO and later lived all over the intermountain west--UT (gah), ID, WY, MT.
<sigh> I really love New England, I don't know why. Maybe it's in my DNA--I love the seasons, the architecture is right, the trees are the right height....
Laura PourMeADrink
(42,770 posts)there, I used to think it was so "old fashioned" and always wanted to go into NYC. But now, I think, how smart they were to keep all the old buildings and quaintness.
Now I am in Texas. I imagine it's similar to where you have lived. Much more of a live and let live type environment. New England has almost gotten stifling....there is a rule and law for everything. We went to the beach and there were cops walking up and down looking in coolers to make sure you had no alcohol. I now call it the Nazi beach. They have tried so hard to protect everyone that it ended up doing the reverse where there is less personal freedom.
truebluegreen
(9,033 posts)Colorado is out of control in a similar fashion--too many people live along the Front Range and there's a law for everything.
But I like the trees and the cozy countryside in NE. And after living in a mountainous desert / semi-arid climate all my life, I like rain. To a point. I'd never live in Seattle!
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)There was an earthquake in Virginia a few years ago. The representative in Congress from that area opposed federal aid (at least at first) for a school that was harmed by the earthquake. Some of the Republican voters in that area threatened that they would not vote for him because of his opposition to the aid. He was elected anyway. Republicans are fools. Push their buttons just right, and they vote against their own interests. They are ideologues, irrational ideologues.
neverforget
(9,434 posts)rest of the country. Help me! Not you! Selfishness is now a virtue. The way Republicans are going, I'm surprised that it's not an official slogan of the GOP platform.
Laura PourMeADrink
(42,770 posts)way...to systematically turn once caring people into selfish people. I am referring to the rank and file. My MIL listens to Fox and Rush exclusively. It is all she talks about is how we are a welfare state and how every is getting something for nothing. I tell her that government spending on charity and unemployment and food stamps, etc. is only 9 % of the federal budget...but it is like talking to a zombie.
The right wing spin machine did this, subtly, over the years. All fitting in to the master plan - cut every govt program that helps people.
That is why we can not compromise on healthcare. To compromise, you need two sides that both believe in healthcare for all. the difference perhaps being to what degree and how much to spend, etc. Now, their side doesn't even want it as an end result. It is truly amazing that no one in the media calls them on this.
ChangeUp106
(549 posts)It appears my Senator is continuing to make some sort of move up in the party.
butterflygirl
(44 posts)He does is it. He is bought and paid for by them, and does their bidding. When I think of the great senator we could have had, Joe Sestack (not sure I spelled his last name right) I just want to cry.
dsc
(52,130 posts)to tell us to drop dead, or at least half of us.
geckosfeet
(9,644 posts)kestrel91316
(51,666 posts)Yes, it's really that simple. Attempted genocide, IMHO.
I keep saying they want us all dead. I'm absolutely correct. They plan to starve us after they ruin us economically.
chuckstevens
(1,201 posts)When its the Gulf States, David Vitters or Haley BaBORE cry that we need a united federal effort to help these poor people. By when it's Americans in another region of the nation, they called socialism.
When there's an earthquake in San Francisco, many Southern ministers say that it is God's wrath against gays. I wish that the next time a tornado hits a trail park in Hattiesburg, someone will ask if it is because God hates bigoted rednecks?
Laura PourMeADrink
(42,770 posts)jerseyjack
(1,361 posts)Botany
(70,291 posts)LiberalFighter
(50,504 posts)One voter the Republicans lost in the 2012 election.
annabanana
(52,791 posts)with neighbors who are wondering who's floor they'll be sleeping on when the housing allowances run out. Looking to see which Mom & Pop businesses will go under for the last time and which will keep on fighting, .. watching the remnants of our boardwalk fall to the cranes & bulldozers
And I wonder
What has happened to my Country?
we can do it
(12,118 posts)annabanana
(52,791 posts)I kinda did...
.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)we can do it
(12,118 posts)lunatica
(53,410 posts)It's also criminal that what's happening to you and around you is't in the news all the time. If it were you'd all be much better off right now.
The American people aren't heartless when they know how hard entire States are suffering. But they have to know about it before they pay attention. The media's silence on this just makes Americans think the Federal and State government are on the job and that most of the devastation has been taken care of.
kimtjj195_tx
(23 posts)After all, the Republican Party is all about profits. They could care less about life, unless it's a fetus, of course. Greedy jerks.
ladym55
(2,577 posts)Apparently my "family values" Senator thinks the people of the Northeast need to freeze and suffer.
Of course, OHIO NEVER needs FEMA help!!!
Absolutely shameful.
we can do it
(12,118 posts)ladym55
(2,577 posts)That's what I read last night, but she WOULD make a good senator. Portman is such a tool.
we can do it
(12,118 posts)ladym55
(2,577 posts)Don't know what he'll decide to do in future. He's a good man who got caught in a bad situation.
obama2terms
(563 posts)One of my state's senator's voted for it.
rurallib
(62,346 posts)punish them for being the wrong color, for being poor, for not being rich, for not being in the right business, for living in the wrong place, for being the wrong sex on and on........................................................
Laura PourMeADrink
(42,770 posts)they are for spending that helps business. Oh, wait, my bad, corporations are people.
glinda
(14,807 posts)blue neen
(12,308 posts)It seems that Pat Toomey only wants to give aid to places like China.
Article from 2010:
"All 19 members of the Pennsylvania delegation -- including seven Republicans -- voted for the bill, an attempt to give the Obama administration another tool to use against China after its repeated rhetorical pressure on currency had little effect. But Mr. Toomey would not have voted for the bill, Ms. Soloveichik said, because it could incite a trade war and "all the businesses and manufacturers and farmers in Pennsylvania that depend on being able to export goods and services to foreign countries would begin to suffer."
"The bill was pitched by its backers -- including co-author Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair -- as a way to keep American manufacturing from further eroding, and Mr. Toomey's opposition to the bill puts him in the political minority."
"It's another example, and it's a very current example, that shows how far to the right he is compared to the mainstream of Pennsylvania," Mr. Dworkin said."
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/politics-state/ad-claims-toomey-favors-china-trade-over-us-jobs-267579/#ixzz2JKatX5uH
Samantha
(9,314 posts)It is the Country's Government entity which holds together the 50 United States and territories. Most if not all states must balance their budgets. The Federal Government does not because it must be in a position in case of a catastrophe to step in and assist under emergency situations states in disaster. In order to do that, it must have flexibility in spending; otherwise it would have to stand down because of financial restraints.
So someone is going to have to ask these 36 people to write on the blackboard one hundred times (yes, you have to treat them like children) that the Federal Government is not a business. One can say as many times as he or she likes the U.S. Government should be run more like a business, but that is absolutely untrue, regardless of how often one hears it.
And it if were not true, the unity of these states and territories would have dissolved a long time ago. There would have bee no glue to hold them together.
Sam
lunatica
(53,410 posts)Businesses are in the business of making money and getting profit for a few. Government are in the business of taking revenue and spending ALL of it on the people's business. They are polar opposites.
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)...but I'm surprised that Jesus Christ voted with them.
TexasTowelie
(111,313 posts)so this vote only served to confirm something I already knew.
Lesmoderesstupides
(156 posts)F em, do this a few times and they will learn.
Being nice to pubs does not work one little bit.
MrSlayer
(22,143 posts)Nor should we. They are the asshole party. They are the party of neo-fascists that seperate and divide people. We can't do it because Americans are Americans to us, be they right wing, left wing or somewhere in between. This is one of the ways we still differentiate from them.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)Fortunately Democratic reps don't do that.
Though we've forgotten it for the time being, helping each other in times of need has always been an American value. It's always been what keeps this country in top physical condition and a rich nation. It's sad to see how far we've fallen as a living breathing society.
Lesmoderesstupides
(156 posts)How's that working out for you?
Dems need to change how they deal with pubs ALL Pubs, no exceptions.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)LOL!
Lesmoderesstupides
(156 posts)lunatica
(53,410 posts)Why don't you become a Republican since you obviously like their methods better? My question is quite sincere.
Lesmoderesstupides
(156 posts)lunatica
(53,410 posts)Independentguy
(5 posts)Historically speaking, this country hasn't changed a bit. The right wingers have behaved badly for years and years. Left wingers not too far behind them. If you've done any reading about our country's political past, we've clearly not made much progress when it comes to civility among the people we send to Washington D.C. The notion of bi-partisanship has been elusive forever. The denial of help in a crisis like "Sandy" is not only callous, but unforgivable. The big question is: do these radical right wing republicans who would deny desperately needed assistance to these people think that voters will forget their insensitive actions? Their names should be posted so the entire country knows exactly who they are. If any of these righties represent your state, I suggest that you immediately start campaigning to make sure they lose their seats in 2014.
NRaleighLiberal
(59,940 posts)Independentguy
(5 posts)lunatica
(53,410 posts)and I'm proud of them. I live in California.
But your point is good.
CBHagman
(16,968 posts)...warning that Congress has often passed so-called emergency legislation but that the money might wind up wasted, it might not be an emergency, etc.
He's no newbie, so right about now I want to dig out his voting record on, say, all the "emergency" supplementals used to support the Iraq war, where billions were indeed wasted.
But that's another topic. How dare he stand there throwing that in the face of fellow Americans whose neighborhoods were burned down, whose towns were flooded. How dare he.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)I believe the State has always been able to take care of the emergencies, but if a really massive earthquake happens I have always thought that we would get instant FEMA help. As it is under the best of circumstances sometimes it takes years to fix some of the damage. It took quite a while to fix the Bay Bridge after the Loma Prieta earthquake but fortunately the Bay Area has alternate routes available.
Now I wonder if the Bay Bridge would still sit there broken to this day if there had to be a vote for aid in today's Congress.
Hawaii Hiker
(3,165 posts)getting a DC Circuit court confirmation(s).. http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/01/28/1501661/how-chuck-grassley-plans-to-maintain-the-gops-stranglehold-on-americas-second-most-powerful-court/?mobile=nc
Democrats BLEW it...Had outstanding chance for meaningful filibuster reform and they caved....I'm sure Democrats will stay real good at asking for money for 2014 elections though...We'll never have to worry about their ability to fundraise, only to govern...
lunatica
(53,410 posts)people. People like women who they've proven themselves to hate, or Blacks, or Latinos?
Laura PourMeADrink
(42,770 posts)bad people.
jcgoldie
(11,584 posts)...I didn't even know Jesus Christ got a vote. I must say I'm disappointed in his politics...
Sunlei
(22,651 posts)Glorfindel
(9,706 posts)I hope citizens of the states affected by Superstorm Sandy will remember in the future that senators from Alabama, Georgia, and Florida voted against helping them, and will influence their senators and congresspersons accordingly.
People b4 profits
(25 posts)the system operates.
It assumes that both sides are honestly working toward a solution.
It is clear that THAT IS NOT WHAT EXISTS NOW.
To continue to operate under faulty premises dooms the effort to failure.
Put it this way - how successful were the teachers in Sandy Hook in asking/pleading that they and their students not be slaughtered?
ASKING for something and getting the same "no" answer for decades should teach even the stupidest person that asking is not the way to achieve your goal.
Appealing to someone's humanity when they have none is just as futile.
Give them a real consequence for their actions and there is a slight chance you can affect behavior.
Allow them to win at every turn, no matter what they do, is certain to prevent progress.
A scorpion will always bite you.
A rethug will as well.
RebelOne
(30,947 posts)I do not know how he voted when all of Atlanta was covered in water during the flood in 2009.
Beacool
(30,244 posts)Half of my town was flooded. The PATH train from Hoboken to the WTC is still out of service. The waiting room at the Hoboken Terminal just reopened yesterday and still needs work. People have lost their businesses and had their homes devastated by the water. Many who lived at the shore don't even have a home to go to.
Disgusting!!!
Rosa Luxemburg
(28,627 posts)scum of the Earth