Tag Archives: Hurricane Isaac

January 8, 2013 · 3:25 AM

Disaster relief for me, not for thee

Shamefully, political partisanship is at an all time high…

The Maddow Blog – Steve Benen

Though it took far longer than it should have, Congress approved $9.7 billion on Friday for the National Flood Insurance Program, giving a boost to victims of Hurricane Sandy. In all, only 67 lawmakers opposed the relief, and in this case, all 67 were Republicans, who opposed the spending under pressure from far-right lobbying groups like the Club for Growth.

Of the 67 opponents of the bill, failed vice presidential hopeful Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) was easily the highest-profile member of the bunch, but TPM flagged another lawmaker whose vote against the emergency aid was even more striking.

Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-MS), whose Mississippi district is situated on the Gulf Coast, was one of 67 Republicans on Friday to vote against a $9.7 billion relief package to victims of Hurricane Sandy.

Mississippi’s Fourth Congressional District, which Palazzo has represented since 2011, includes the city of Biloxi, one of the most heavily damaged communities in the region by Hurricane Katrina. Congress quickly passed an initial $10.5 billion relief package in the immediate aftermath of Katrina in September of 2005.

Making matters slightly worse, Palazzo, about four months ago, stressed the importance of federal disaster relief for his district in the wake of Hurricane Isaac.

“Some of the counties in the fourth congressional district have been the hardest hit by Isaac,” Palazzo said in late August. “This determination comes as good news to our local communities who are dealing with the effects of the storm. We cannot thank the governor’s office and FEMA enough for their continued support.”

Hmm. It sounds an awful lot like the Mississippi congressman loves federal disaster relief, but only if it directly benefits Mississippi.

Asked for an explanation, the Republican’s office issued a statement.

“Congressman Palazzo fully supports a Sandy relief package that includes spending offsets. On the heels of a fiscal cliff deal that added $4 trillion to our existing $16 trillion national debt, we must ensure that disaster relief is paid for. He also hopes we will be able to have a much-needed national discussion on disaster relief reform in the coming days.”

First, mandating “offsets” in the wake of a natural disaster is a new development, that didn’t apply when it was Palazzo’s district that was slammed. Second, the bipartisan fiscal agreement does not ”add $4 trillion” to the debt.

And third, it’s interesting how “disaster relief reform” is needed when New Jersey is hit, but not when it was Mississippi that needed a hand.

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September 8, 2012 · 12:05 AM

West Wing Week 9/7/2012 or “Engage!”

The White House

This week, the President visited Fort Bliss two years after he marked the end of major combat operations in Iraq and visited with victims of Hurricane Isaac.

Meanwhile, the White House released its top secret beer recipe and the new White House app, and “We the People” got its three millionth signature.

Friday, August 31st:

  • The President returned to Fort Bliss to mark the two year anniversary of the War in Iraq, and discuss his commitment to our men and women in uniform.

Saturday, September 1st:

Monday, September 3rd:

  • The President visited St. John The Baptist Parish in Louisiana to take in the damage from Hurricane Isaac and meet with officials responding to the disaster.

Tuesday, September 4th:

Wednesday, September 5th:

  • The White House hosted a special session of Office Hours on Twitter with White House Curator, Bill Allman.

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September 1, 2012 · 9:46 AM

West Wing Week: 8/31/12 or, “It’s Summer Mailbag Time!”

The White House

Welcome to the West Wing Week, your guide to everything that’s happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. It’s the summer’s special Mailbag Edition of West Wing Week, featuring Elizabeth Olson, Director of Presidential Correspondence.  This week we’re taking a moment to pick out a few of your letters from the thousands that arrive everyday here at the White House and answer some of your questions on immigration, healthcare, and the economy.  That’s August 24th to August 30th or, “It’s Summer Mailbag Time!”

First, we went over to the National Economic Council to see Deputy Director, Brian Deese, who answered some of your letters about the economy.

Then we went over to the Domestic Policy Council to talk with Cecilia Muñoz about some of the letters she’d read about healthcare reform and the new deferred action process.

Tuesday, August 28th:

  • The President made a statement about preparedness for the arrival of Hurricane Isaac.

Thursday, August 30th:

  • We sat down with Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes, who spoke about the upcoming two year anniversary of the end of the war in Iraq for ‘The Rhodes Ahead.’

Thanks for checking out your West Wing Week.

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August 30, 2012 · 12:05 AM

Limbaugh Makes Racist Suggestion About New Orleans

 

The author of the following article thinks Rush Limbaugh’s “shocking and cynical” comments were beyond the pale, even by Rush Limbaugh standards.  I say it’s par for the course.  Limbaugh is simply a racist pig and has always been a racist pig.  End of story.

Crooks & Liars

Talking about showing his true colors!  Does Rush have any advertisers left?  Because I have to wonder if they want their products associated with this racist, disgusting excuse for a human being.  Via Raw Story:

Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh on Tuesday proposed putting “bags of money” around the levees in New Orleans so that “Republicans can get rid of even more Democrats” when poor people drowned because they tried to make off with the cash.

“We are mere hours away from Tropical Storm Isaac, which everybody’s desperately hoping becomes a hurricane,” the conservative icon pointed out during his Tuesday morning broadcast. “It’s the Democrats’ wet dream that this thing hits New Orleans!”

Recalling the way that President George W. Bush’s administration bungled the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina seven years ago, Limbaugh decided to offer the Republicans a few tip on dealing with the current storm.

The first idea seemed reasonable enough: “First thing we do is offer to send 500 bus drivers to New Orleans, paid for by us, to make sure that the buses that were not used by the Democrat mayor during Hurricane Katrina will be used to evacuate people should it become necessary.”

But the next proposal was shocking and cynical, even by Limbaugh standards.

“The second thing that I think the Republicans ought to do is send bags of money instead of sand,” he said. “Bags full of money to shore up the levees in New Orleans.”

“So, we have Romney’s five sons deliver the bags of money to shore up the levees,” he added. “Now this will accomplish much. It will show our compassion.”

“And it will do something else: Once we publicize that we have sent 500 bags of money — well, whatever number of bags — bags filled with money to shore up the levees, what will happen?  The poor of New Orleans will storm the levees and steal the bags, thereby putting themselves at risk for the eventual flooding that will happen once they remove the bags of money. And that way, Republicans can get rid of even more Democrats in Louisiana and shore up the state for themselves.”

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August 28, 2012 · 1:42 PM

This is how elections are bought…Putting the Mega in Mega-Donor

I’m a day late on this one, but it’s seriously worth posting, anyway.

The Progress Report

August 27, 2012

Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson is by far the GOP’s biggest donor. He has already plowed more than $35 MILLION into the presidential race and says he’ll spend a “limitless” amount to defeat President Obama, perhaps more than $100 MILLION.

Adelson also has his eye on the House of Representatives. He is almost single-handedly bankrolling a Super PAC associated with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), having given the group $5 MILLION. And just last week, Adelson is reported to have contributed $500,000 to a Super PAC backing a single House candidate. That’s right, half a million dollars to influence a single House race.

While these numbers are huge — and pose a huge threat to our democracy — they are actually small potatoes for right-wing billionaires like Adelson.

This handy infographic puts it all into perspective.

Evening Brief: Important Stories That You May Have Missed

The GOP’s new women’s outreach strategy: free hair and make-up touch ups.

Pennsylvania GOP senate candidate: getting pregnant from rape is “similar” to having a baby out of wedlock.

Texas GOP senate candidate: Hurricane Isaac is a “blessing” that we should be “thankful” for.

Better know an anti-LGBT senate candidate: Scott Brown (R-MA).

Mitt Romney kicked the overt race-baiting of his campaign up a few notches.

Chris Matthews goes after the RNC Chairman for the GOP’s race-baiting on the campaign trail.

Men defining rape, a history.

GOP platform chair: rape is just a “detail” in the abortion debate.

Republicans held disaster relief funding hostage several times last year.

 

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