NATION'S TOP WEATHER OFFICIALS RESIGN

[DeepModem Mom]

Nation's Top Weather Officials Resign
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: May 19, 2007

WASHINGTON (AP) -- One day after its hurricane forecasters complained of budget cuts, the head of the National Weather Service and his deputy announced they will retire next month.

David Johnson, the director, and John Jones, the deputy director, plan to bow out at the end of June, according to an internal memo they sent Friday to staff of the nation's weather agency.

On Thursday, the AP reported that the director of the Miami-based National Hurricane Center, which is part of the weather service, believes the government is wasting millions of dollars on advertising while shortchanging his hurricane forecasters' budget.

Bill Proenza, the center's director, said in an interview that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the parent of the weather service, is spending up to $4 million to publicize its 200th anniversary while cutting $700,000 for hurricane research. A NOAA spokesman said the agency plans to spend $1.5 million.

The day after that report, the weather service's top two officials, Johnson and Jones, announced their resignations to staff, but did not mention Proenza's criticisms....

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Weather-Service-Resignations.html?_r=1&oref=login

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Superb priorities...

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the parent of the weather service, is spending up to $4 million to publicize its 200th anniversary while cutting $700,000 for hurricane research.

Wanna bet the PR firm geting the big bucks is run by a Repuke contributor???????

[DeepModem Mom]

2. No doubt about it! nt

[blm]

5. No doubt BushInc will use it to promote PRIVATIZED weather service.

Remember that was Santorum's pet issue?

[Nikki Stone1]

7. That's EXACTLY my fear. I am a big fan of the National Weather Service

Rick Santorum will be out prostituting himself for Accu-Weather.

[Robson]

14. Missed it... I now see you had that covered..... nt

[Lorien]

35. ......

:crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :nuke:

[uppityperson]

3. It's all about appearances.

Good for them to resign in protest.

[Ilsa]

6. Yeah, the Bush FEMA people wanted to know how the Clinton FEMA

people looked so good to the public. "We did the work. We took care of people after a disaster," they replied. "No really, how did you manage to get such good PR?" they kept asking. To Bush people, everything is about image, not getting the real work done.

They are all hoping for another Katrina-type disaster to wipe out anyone too poor or sick to leave the vacinity of the hurricane.

[soothsayer]

4. They're hoping for a big hurricane season after last year's dud.

I think they're already naming subtropical storms out of desperation. Not that I think they want any to make landfal---they'd just like some activity. Maybe the budget is being cute because HAARP and chemtrails are already proving effective in staving off major storms? Or is it just bad governing, which is ALWAYS a possibility...!

[mb7588a]

8. Oh please,

take an actual look at the President's budget, and Congress's rubber stamp.

Massive increse in border patrol,
Massive increase in supplemental and discretionary spending in Iraq/Afghanistan,

Important things like NOAA and NWS that aren't as sexy for constituents, but are vastly important for the public good suffer in times like these.

[RL3AO]

32. There was nothing desperate about naming Andrea. It was clearly a STS.

[rug]

9. The Atomic Clock will jump ship next.

[Ghost Dog]

10. Not the one in Frankfurt, nor the one in Rugby, I don't think.

Nor the one in France, etc...

http://www.atomic-clock.galleon.eu.com/atomic-clock/atomic-clock.htm

[rug]

16. They don't count. American time is the best.

[bananas]

21. They almost screwed it up a few years ago

They didn't like leap seconds, and tried to secretly eliminate them.

[rug]

22. They'e been rendered beyond the International Dateline.

Bastards.

[Turbineguy]

11. And another government agency

broken.

[DeepModem Mom]

12. That's how this hit me. They're not interested in governing, don't believe in it. They've used...

their eight-year opportunity to serve the country to loot and destroy.

[blogslut]

20. Yep

I call him President "Smash & Grab".

[DeepModem Mom]

24. Very well-said! nt

[shanti]

26. that has always been the plan

they haven't hidden that fact.

[Robbien]

33. A GOP person is placed as head of each government department

and their main goals are to

siphon off as much of the funds they can and give it to GOP do-nothing contractors

gut the department of all relevant personnel

pack the department with loads of GOP Regent/Liberty graduates who preach abstinence, and Bush is God memes

make the one and only goal of the department "To elect more GOPers"

[DeepModem Mom]

34. Exactly. Again and again -- how many times have we seen that happen? nt

[lostnfound]

30. And another replication of the totalitarian fallacies we were raised to look down upon.

Didn't the Soviets and Communist China get accused of ignoring bad weather, natural disasters etc.?

[Robson]

13. YES - Let's privatize it

and sell it to the oligarchs for pennies on the dollar as the Russians did. We're already in the process of doing that with highways, etc to help pay down state and local debt and pension obligations. Isn't that what Santorum wanted?

[Junkdrawer]

19. Yep. AccuWeather (Big Oil's favorite weather service) has been complaining...

for years about "unfair competition" by government funded weather forecasting.

On Edit:

Here's the story from RawStory:

http://rawstory.com/exclusives/byrne/santorum_weather_ban_accuweather_421.htm

[librechik]

15. "I won't take the fall for you, Peaches"

or in this case, pretzels

[Peace Patriot]

17. It's as if they're out to destroy the country. Literally.

And I don't know what infuriates me more, the perils of a destroyed government, and the horrors that will consequently be inflicted mostly on the poor, or the smug position of much of our Democratic leadership that they are our only alternative to ruination, and thus we will be forced to be "grateful" for "free trade" (global corporate piracy), consolidation of all the enormous gains of the Corporate Rulers under Bush, including their "counting" all our votes with 'TRADE SECRET,' PROPRIETARY programming code forever more, huge tax breaks (just pulled back a tiny bit, maybe), a bloated military budget for threats that do not exist, credit card usury, outsourcing of jobs to cheap labor markets, gas gouging and all the rest. We are to be "grateful" to the Democrats because they are not quite the thieves and fascists that the Bushites are; because they are "competent"; because they are war mopper uppers rather than the "deciders"; because they will "hold the fort" in the Middle East until the next Oil Cartel warmonger comes along to add more prized oil fields to its cache?

I am infuriated with them BOTH, maybe more so with my own party leaders who speak with forked tongues. And the killing goes on. And the war goes on and is ESCALATED, despite SEVENTY-FIVE PERCENT opposition in the country. And Diebold and ES&S control our election results on into the future.

[Renew Deal]

18. I think this has something to do with Chemtrails

:tinfoilhat:

[Selatius]

23. Yes, let's chase away more competent workers for the next Katrina disaster. n/t

[intheflow]

25. Katrina wasn't a weather disaster.

It was a Democratic disaster--at least in Louisiana.
Everyone knows Mississippi is completely recovered under Republican state leadership. :sarcasm:

[RL3AO]

27. Also, NOAA is trying to rename the NHC and NWS

To the NOAA Hurricane Center and the NOAA Weather Center.

[Tucson is On Fire]

28. Yes, because tracking hurricanes and good weather technology

is for idiots.

Hooray for more Bush Government!

[magellan]

29. They're also cutting the hurricane hunters!!

Just heard this on the news tonight. WTF are they thinking? Research missions will be combined for "efficiency". The story's here: http://www.thestormtrack.com/

Goddamn bastards, they're hobbling the NOAA so they can then point to how "inefficient" it is and ax it so the privateers can have a go. I do NOT want my life in the hands of a corporatist!!!

[RL3AO]

31. NOAA has a 4 billion dollar budget and the NHC only gets 6.5 million

You would think people would learn from Katrina and the evil 4 of '04.