We need FEMA

[doubtingmerle]

I haven't seen that very much in evidence and each year it seems to me that the idea that government ought to be accountable to the people is being replaced by the idea that the people ought to be passively subservient to a government that is increasingly less concerned with the welfare of the general populace and more concerned with the welfare of special interests.

Then vote for people who will be accountable to you after elected. I find that the Democratic Party is far more interested in building a government team that is accountable to the people.

"If you've got a business—you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen." Barak Obama on the inability of private individuals to accomplish anything without government assistance through public work projects.

Context, please. In context the "that" means the infrastructure that companies use to make their money, even though they didn't build "that".

We can accomplish things without government. Cavemen accomplished things without government. But we will not accomplish the great things that Americans have accomplished unless we have government.

 

[praying]

My bolds and the only phrases I agree with you on.

and who do you propose would or should help the thousands of people who need it after things like this?

 

[Jeffwhosoever]

and who do you propose would or should help the thousands of people who need it after things like this?

Speaking from personal experience - your neighbors and local governments and churches. We still haven't received the promised funds from FEMA, 18 months after over 100 tornadoes hit Alabama.

 

[doubtingmerle]

Speaking from personal experience - your neighbors and local governments and churches. We still haven't received the promised funds from FEMA, 18 months after over 100 tornadoes hit Alabama.

Neighbors, local governments and churches don't have enough helicopters and the complex skills needed in many situations. Government organizations can provide an extra level of help.

FEMA is limited by funding. Yesterday Fox news was complaining that FEMA is not running multiple trucks with gasoline into the disaster area. Uh, Fox, if you are going to cut budgets, the supplies aren't going to be there when needed.

 

[praying]

Speaking from personal experience - your neighbors and local governments and churches. We still haven't received the promised funds from FEMA, 18 months after over 100 tornadoes hit Alabama.

Neighbors are good but they aren't going to take care of you for 18 months. Who is going to help those who lost everything, literally?


I am all for grass roots help but depending on the scale of the need and certainly in the immediate aftermath you need large government organizations to mobilize and assist. Local governments do not have helicopters or the expertise to handle many of the things required in the immediate aftermath.

 

[Jeffwhosoever]

Neighbors, local governments and churches don't have enough helicopters and the complex skills needed in many situations. Government organizations can provide an extra level of help.

FEMA is limited by funding. Yesterday Fox news was complaining that FEMA is not running multiple trucks with gasoline into the disaster area. Uh, Fox, if you are going to cut budgets, the supplies aren't going to be there when needed.

You didn't refute anything I said. Look at Katrina. Same story.

 

[Thekla]

If Churches and private charity could handle this sort of thing w/out govt., wouldn't they be doing so already, and the needs would already be completely addressed without any FEMA inputs or coordination ?

 

[Jeffwhosoever]

If Churches and private charity could handle this sort of thing w/out govt., wouldn't they be doing so already, and the needs would already be completely addressed without any FEMA inputs or coordination ?

Yes, and they did that in Alabama. My church was out every day helping with the recovery. Tuscaloosa still has not seen the promised FEMA money, 18 months later.

 

[Thekla]

Yes, and they did that in Alabama. My church was out every day helping with the recovery. Tuscaloosa still has not seen the promised FEMA money, 18 months later.

Why not start a national drive among Churches for reimbursement then ?

Local communities always do pitch in and help one another - indeed.

But why aren't all needs in the Sandy-hit region already met by Churches nationwide ?

(We could use gas here - stations have run out, some have jacked prices by .75 and 1.00 a gallon, and there was a 1/4 mile + line - it snaked round an intersection, so I couldn't see - of cars from NJ and NY at one station. Send it on )

 

[Jeffwhosoever]

Why not start a national drive among Churches for reimbursement then ?

Local communities always do pitch in and help one another - indeed.

But why aren't all needs in the Sandy-hit region already met by Churches nationwide ?

(We could use gas here - stations have run out, some have jacked prices by .75 and 1.00 a gallon, and there was a 1/4 mile + line - it snaked round an intersection, so I couldn't see - of cars from NJ and NY at one station. Send it on )

Good ideas. People from Alabama are in your area. I won't forget the people who came from Michigan and all over the South to help us.

 

[Thekla]

Good ideas. People from Alabama are in your area. I won't forget the people who came from Michigan and all over the South to help us.

We have Kentuckians in this region of PA.

But I do think instead of arguing over FEMA no FEMA, everyone does as much as possible. And I tend to think those that can help have been -- so the evidence is that we do need some sort of helping and coordinating mechanism like FEMA.

Instead of getting rid of it politically, we need to demonstrate that it isn't needed first. So far, that hasn't happened.

 

[Jeffwhosoever]

We have Kentuckians in this region of PA.

But I do think instead of arguing over FEMA no FEMA, everyone does as much as possible. And I tend to think those that can help have been -- so the evidence is that we do need some sort of helping and coordinating mechanism like FEMA.

Instead of getting rid of it politically, we need to demonstrate that it isn't needed first. So far, that hasn't happened.

If your second statement is about FEMA, I think given it's past, we need to see FEMA working as efficiently as state and local governments to keep funding it as a centralized government function. So far, I am not impressed.

 

[Thekla]

If your second statement is about FEMA, I think given it's past, we need to see FEMA working as efficiently as state and local governments to keep funding it as a centralized government function. So far, I am not impressed.

There's always room for improvement - and FEMA is no exception. Local and state govts. aren't always in shape to replace everything that FEMA does -- or the mayor will hear it from me on gas shipments

Imo, it takes people, Churches, local and state gov., Red Cross/charities and I am happy to have the national gov/FEMA involved too.

In a crisis, it does take so many, as many, and all of us.

 

[Jeffwhosoever]

There's always room for improvement - and FEMA is no exception. Local and state govts. aren't always in shape to replace everything that FEMA does -- or the mayor will hear it from me on gas shipments

Imo, it takes people, Churches, local and state gov., Red Cross/charities and I am happy to have the national gov/FEMA involved too.

In a crisis, it does take so many, as many, and all of us.

Can you get gas out of the pumps? That was one of our worst problems. Everything runs on electricity, and when the power went out, despite plenty of gas, nothing could be pumped.

FEMA needs some serious work, if it is to continue forward, but I'm skeptical given all the attention since Katrina and so far in Alabama we've seen no improvement.

 

[Thekla]

Can you get gas out of the pumps? That was one of our worst problems. Everything runs on electricity, and when the power went out, despite plenty of gas, nothing could be pumped.

The stations with electricity are open, thankfully.
Our area is almost completely restored, and hopefully will be finished by Tue. (1/4 to 1/3 of polling places in our county have no electricity).

But even the open stations have been running out -- we're a little over an hour from NYC, and much closer to NJ. That's been the main problem - the gas station lines were almost entirely cars from NJ and some from NY.

My husband was able to get gas for our van -- I'll just try to wait it out (especially with prices jumping so high ).

 

[Jeffwhosoever]

The stations with electricity are open, thankfully.
Our area is almost completely restored, and hopefully will be finished by Tue. (1/4 to 1/3 of polling places in our county have no electricity).

But even the open stations have been running out -- we're a little over an hour from NYC, and much closer to NJ. That's been the main problem - the gas station lines were almost entirely cars from NJ and some from NY.

My husband was able to get gas for our van -- I'll just try to wait it out (especially with prices jumping so high ).

I saw this in the news:

NJ faces gas rationing, days more without power - NewsWatch - MarketWatch

 

[doubtingmerle]

You didn't refute anything I said. Look at Katrina. Same story.

Huh? I wasn't addressing Katrina. I quoted the words I was addressing.

 

[Thekla]

I saw this in the news:

NJ faces gas rationing, days more without power - NewsWatch - MarketWatch

Right - they're on even/odd license plate rationing now (and some talk that we'll get it).

The pipeline has been re-opened, and docks in NYC are now able to accept delivery of fuel. There are also military trucks dispensing fuel in NYC iirc. But the demand is huge - emergency vehicles, repair vehicles, etc. get priority, and demand is up (with so many people using generators - many of the out-of-state vehicles here were filling additional containers). Our grocery stores are getting out-of-town customers, too. Still looking a bit wiped out, but they're stocking the floor with skids of water ...

I spoke w/ a friend in the Morristown NJ area - they were told (yesterday) 10 days for restoration; she wasn't sure if that was counting from yesterday or the initial outage.

It's a huge mess there, God with them +

Our home is on a hospital grid, so electricity came back pretty quickly. (Last year it was 4 or 5 days, as our neighborhood lost transformers and lines.)

 

[Jeffwhosoever]

Same happened here. Hospitals were back online within hours. They had local generators until new power lines could be run. Residencies came next, and business came back online last. I continue to pray for those in the disaster areas.

 

[Thekla]

Same happened here. Hospitals were back online within hours. They had local generators until new power lines could be run. Residencies came next, and business came back online last. I continue to pray for those in the disaster areas.

A sensible plan imo.

The hospital here had 3 days generator fuel, so we were restored w/in 2 days.
And the city had fuel stored for generators to keep water supplied - good planning on their part.

Prayers are always good

And the list is always so much larger than we can know (I used to wonder if that's why the news always has so much negative coverage -- it gives us our more for our prayer list )

Thanks !