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Super-Storm Sandy and the American Election
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Captain_Fil



Joined: 06 Jan 2011
Posts: 604
Location: California - the land of fruits and nuts

PostPosted: Sun Nov 04, 2012 2:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

johnslat wrote:
Dear Captain_Fil,

Oh yes - they do

Regards,
John


Dear John,

Sadly, they don't.

The chaos continues...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2227307/Hurricane-Sandy-Misery-2-5-million-STILL-power-days-lawlessness-fear-over.html

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/when_are_we_gonna_get_some_ing_help_T35TrXo1FCdu7YRBmQkQ8L

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/hurricane-sandy-leaves-frenzy-gas-article-1.1196282

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/03/nyregion/in-public-housing-after-hurricane-sandy-fear-misery-and-heroism.html?hp

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/nov/3/obama-gets-briefing-storm-recovery/

Regards,
CF

Sad
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johnslat



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

PostPosted: Sun Nov 04, 2012 2:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dear Captain_Fil,

You really need to stop reading those rags Very Happy

FEMA wins praise, responds to anger about gas supply

CNN) -- Seven years after a disastrous response to Hurricane Katrina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is winning praise for how it's dealing with Superstorm Sandy.

"This is the all-new FEMA, and the leadership is very, very good, very focused," said Dr. Irwin Redlener, a pediatrician and director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. "They're doing an excellent job."

Score one for FEMA's attempts to come back from its infamous failure after Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in August 2005.

But the post-Sandy reviews for FEMA aren't all moonlight and roses.
Photos: New York recovers from Sandy Photos: New York recovers from Sandy

As Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano -- whose department oversees FEMA -- is expected to visit the region Friday, many survivors in hard-hit places are angry.

More than three days after the storm, they're mad about the lack of electricity, lack of information and the lack of gasoline to run generators.

What's going on, said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, is part of a priority system.

Search-and-rescue operations take priority over providing assistance, and searches are still going on, Fugate told CNN's Erin Burnett on Thursday night. Assistance for survivors "is being made," he said, "but we haven't reached everybody. Until we do, we're not stopping."

However, FEMA has "been starting to get emergency fuels in for the generators and for the responders," Fugate added.

In 2005, FEMA's slow and disengaged response was a major embarrassment for the George W. Bush administration, particularly when top officials admitted they were unaware of thousands of people stranded at a convention center in New Orleans without food and water, days after the storm hit.

To be fair, the two storms were very different. Katrina hit Louisiana with much more force, and the population of the Northeast U.S. eclipses Katrina's target area.

After Katrina, a Senate investigation found that FEMA was shorthanded, failed to commit enough people to prepare for the oncoming storm, didn't have enough supplies in position and had poor communication with state and local authorities. Its director at the time, Michael Brown, had little emergency management experience before being named to the agency's top job in 2003.

By contrast, Fugate came to Washington after eight years as emergency management director in Florida, where he dealt with several hurricanes.

One of the post-Katrina reforms passed by Congress was to require that FEMA administrator have an experienced chief, said Bruce Lockwood, an officer with the U.S. Council of the International Association of Emergency Managers.

"It couldn't be just a political appointee," Lockwood said. "It had to be somebody who had a practitioner background in emergency management or public safety field. It had to be somebody who knew what they were doing before they got into that position."

Even in the highly charged political environment days before the U.S. elections, FEMA has won plaudits from governors of both parties.

New Jersey's Chris Christie -- a Republican whose state bore the brunt of the storm -- told CBS News on Tuesday that "cooperation has been great with FEMA here on the ground," while Delaware's Jack Markell -- a Democrat -- told CNN that people in his state have been "really, really impressed by the response of FEMA."

'Leaning forward'

The agency is now aimed at "leaning forward," moving supplies like food, water, generators, blankets and cots into an expected disaster zone ahead of time, said Lockwood, the deputy emergency management director in New Hartford, Connecticut.

"Before, they would have to wait for a call from a state before they started moving material," he said. They still need a request from a state to distribute those supplies, but "They have things on the ready in a very immediate location."

In New York, for example, FEMA has publicized assistance, including rental payments for those whose homes are uninhabitable. Individuals can apply for grants for home repairs and to meet disaster-related needs. Money also is available for construction of a home.

FEMA set up online pages for Connecticut, New York and New Jersey storm victims.

But not everyone is happy with the Sandy response by governments.

Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro said Thursday that residents did not receive timely information on how to get food, shelter and tools for putting their lives back together.

"There was no one there to answer these questions," Molinaro said. "I need answers, and the people need answers."

On Friday, Napolitano is expected to visit Staten Island with FEMA Deputy Administrator Richard Serino to meet with state and local officials about response and recovery.

Ten buses stocked with needed goods were transported to the island Thursday, and FEMA has promised to have a team working with Molinaro on the ground Friday, he said.

The 2,200 people FEMA says it has poured into dealing with Sandy are about as many as it had on its entire payroll at the time of Katrina. The agency also has improved ties with its state and local counterparts as well as other arms of the federal government, said Redlener, the Columbia University disaster preparedness center director.

In addition, Fugate "has been able to attract staff back into the agency, and they have a very competent midlevel management layer to help organize efforts," Redlener said. "They're still probably underfunded, but their staffing is much, much better," he said.

FEMA's current budget is about $7 billion.

For Sandy, the agency said nine task forces were supporting local search-and-rescue operations. FEMA mobile units are providing logistics support for response efforts.

"Community relations teams are on the ground in the hardest-hit areas of the mid-Atlantic going door-to-door to inform disaster survivors about available services and resources and to gather situational awareness," FEMA said in a statement issued Wednesday.

Lessons learned

By comparison, at the time of Katrina, FEMA had manpower and planning problems and confusion about the roles of officials in responding to disasters, according to a 2006 report by the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general.

The report said that with the destruction of communications infrastructure, it took FEMA officials about three days after Katrina's landfall to grasp the magnitude of the hurricane's destruction.

The report cited shortcomings with delivering housing and being prepared to conduct a massive search-and-rescue function. The Katrina report, which made 38 recommendations, said FEMA needed to improve the tracking of supplies.

The experts said it appears that lessons have been learned.

Lockwood said Fugate's philosophy has been that FEMA "is not the team -- they are part of the team."

"That's one of the biggest things that has come out post-Katrina," he said. "There is a cooperative relationship now between local, state and federal agencies to meet the need and fill the gaps."

FEMA's recent performance also won high marks from a former chief, James Lee Witt, who led the agency during the Clinton administration.

"I think the most important thing that FEMA has already done is to have people in the emergency operation centers, and the prestaged equipment, and following whatever resources the states are going to need to start the process of recovery," Witt told CNN 's "Starting Point."

Sandy hit the New Jersey coastline Monday night with 80 mph winds at its center, but it spread destruction across a broad swath of the eastern United States.

The storm smashed beach resorts on the Jersey Shore and flooded Manhattan subway tunnels, felled trees as far south as North Carolina, dumped heavy snow on the highlands of West Virginia and sent debris flying through the streets of Toronto."

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/01/us/sandy-fema/index.html
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johnslat



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

PostPosted: Sun Nov 04, 2012 5:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dear Captain_Fil,

But that's CNN - let me try to be more "fair and balanced."

"Ed Gillespie, Romney Adviser, Admits Obama's FEMA Doing A Good Job Responding To Sandy

WASHINGTON -- Ed Gillespie, a senior adviser to Mitt Romney's campaign, admitted on Sunday that the Obama administration is effectively responding to Hurricane Sandy, despite a torrent of criticisms from conservatives over the effort and Romney's own desire to change the way the Federal Emergency Management Agency operates.

In the past week, conservatives have begun piling on President Barack Obama for his response to the superstorm, attempting to argue that he has fallen short and should not be out campaigning in the final days before the election."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/04/ed-gillespie-fema-sandy_n_2072280.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009

Regards,
John
[/quote]
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geaaronson



Joined: 19 Apr 2005
Posts: 948
Location: Mexico City

PostPosted: Mon Nov 05, 2012 2:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

And don`t forget that Governor of New Jersey, Christie, has likewise praised Obama`s FEMA. Don`t forget he almost got picked for Ryan`s job. And he will be the first out of the gate after the election for 2016.
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Captain_Fil



Joined: 06 Jan 2011
Posts: 604
Location: California - the land of fruits and nuts

PostPosted: Mon Nov 05, 2012 11:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

johnslat wrote:
Dear Captain_Fil,

You really need to stop reading those rags Very Happy


Dear John,

You are an eternal optimist, my friend. Very Happy

I am a realist. Neutral

If you're in the midst of a natural disaster, you will be on your own. Government response has always been slow. Even a well-equipped and well-staffed agency will be overwhelmed. (I've been in a couple of disasters myself. Not fun.) Sad

If an armed intruder breaks into your home at night, you have ten seconds (as he approaches your bedroom). The police will arrive in ten minutes. You are on your own. Shocked

Regards,
CF
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johnslat



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

PostPosted: Mon Nov 05, 2012 1:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dear Captain_Fil,

Thank you for your helpful instructions in how to survive in real life. Lord knows I need such assistance from someone of your impressive background.

My life has been so devoid of danger and calamity - I have been a participant in only one war (Vietnam), a mere spectator in another (scudded in Riyadh in 1991), and was just briefly trapped (for only two months) inside Iran during and after the "Islamic Revolution" there in 1979.

In my nearly seventy years, I have experienced only a few hurricanes, two floods, two earthquakes but just one tornado, so naturally (no pun intended)) I lack your background in surviving such events.

Although I have shot and killed people, I have not (unlike you, I'm sure) fought off any bedroom intruders so far.

I won't bother mentioning having survived two cancer operations as I'm quite sure you have had many more brushes with death than I.

So, I'll take your words to heart and try to mend my ways.

Again, I appreciate your sharing your life lessons. I'll try to become more of a realist in the future, but my sheltered life may make that difficult.

Bless you,
John
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Captain_Fil



Joined: 06 Jan 2011
Posts: 604
Location: California - the land of fruits and nuts

PostPosted: Mon Nov 05, 2012 4:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dear John,

When I was toddler, you were a soldier. You have experienced more horrors and terrors than I ever have. You have endured blood, bullets and bombs.

I had forgotten that.

Bless you, too.

Regards,
CF
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Sashadroogie



Joined: 17 Apr 2007
Posts: 11061
Location: Moskva, The Workers' Paradise

PostPosted: Mon Nov 05, 2012 4:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Let's elect Johnslat president!
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johnslat



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

PostPosted: Mon Nov 05, 2012 5:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dear Captain_Fil,

Thank you - one slight correction, if I may. I was not a "soldier;" I was a Marine.

Now that may not seem like a difference to you, but it matters to Marines, who are pretty much all whacko, anyway.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Quit-Calling-Me-A-Soldier-Im-A-Marine/265552253659

Dear Sasha,

Thank you, as well, but let me quote a "soldier," General William Tecumseh Sherman:"If nominated I will not run; if elected I will not serve."

How could I ever leave my students merely to run the world? I mean, such a demotion.

Regards,
John
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Sashadroogie



Joined: 17 Apr 2007
Posts: 11061
Location: Moskva, The Workers' Paradise

PostPosted: Mon Nov 05, 2012 5:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dear Johnslat

It's not the world - it's just the US. Easy to confuse for Americans, perhaps. But the real ruler of the world is the Great Vozhd! Who, incidentally, also finds time to teach his classes... hic!


Sasha
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johnslat



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

PostPosted: Mon Nov 05, 2012 5:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Getting back on track Very Happy

"Sandy Versus Katrina

As Sandy barreled toward New Jersey, there were hopeful mutters on the right to the effect that it might become President Obama�s Katrina, with voters blaming him for the damage, and that this might matter on Tuesday. Sorry, guys: polls show overwhelming approval for Mr. Obama�s handling of the storm, and a significant rise in his overall favorability ratings.

And he deserves the bump. For the response to Sandy, like the success of the auto bailout, is a demonstration that Mr. Obama�s philosophy of government � which holds that the government can and should provide crucial aid in times of crisis � works. And conversely, the contrast between Sandy and Katrina demonstrates that leaders who hold government in contempt cannot provide that aid when it is needed.

So, about that response: Much of the greater New York area (including my house) is still without power; gasoline is scarce; and some outlying areas are feeling neglected. Right-wing news media are portraying these continuing difficulties as a disaster comparable to, nay greater than, the aftermath of Katrina. But there�s really no comparison.

I could do a point-by-point � and it�s definitely worth it, if you�re curious, to revisit the 2005 Katrina timeline to get a sense of just how bad the response really was. But for me the difference is summed up in two images. One is the nightmare at the New Orleans convention center, where thousands were stranded for days amid inconceivable squalor, an outrage that all of America watched live on TV, but to which top officials seemed oblivious. The other is the scene in flooded Hoboken, with the National Guard moving in the day after the storm struck to deliver food and water and rescue stranded residents.

The point is that after Katrina the government seemed to have no idea what it was doing; this time it did. And that�s no accident: the federal government�s ability to respond effectively to disaster always collapses when anti-government Republicans hold the White House, and always recovers when Democrats take it back.

Consider, in particular, the history of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Under President George H. W. Bush, FEMA became a dumping ground for unqualified political hacks. Faced with a major test in the form of Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the agency failed completely.

Then Bill Clinton came in, put FEMA under professional management, and saw the agency�s reputation restored.

Given this experience, you might have expected George W. Bush to preserve Mr. Clinton�s gains. But no: he appointed his campaign manager, Joe Allbaugh, to head the agency, and Mr. Allbaugh immediately signaled his intention both to devolve disaster relief to the state and local level and to downgrade the whole effort, declaring, �Expectations of when the federal government should be involved and the degree of involvement may have ballooned beyond what is an appropriate level.� After Mr. Allbaugh left for the private sector, he was replaced with Michael �heckuva job� Brown, and the rest is history.

Like Mr. Clinton, President Obama restored FEMA�s professionalism, effectiveness, and reputation. But would Mitt Romney destroy the agency again? Yes, he would. As everyone now knows � despite the Romney campaign�s efforts to Etch A Sketch the issue away � during the primary Mr. Romney used language almost identical to Mr. Allbaugh�s, declaring that disaster relief should be turned back to the states and to the private sector.

The best line on this, I have to admit, comes from Stephen Colbert: �Who better to respond to what�s going on inside its own borders than the state whose infrastructure has just been swept out to sea?�

Look, Republicans love to quote Ronald Reagan�s old joke that the most dangerous words you can hear are �I�m from the government and I�m here to help.� Of course they�ll do their best, whenever they�re in power, to destroy an agency whose job is to say exactly that. And yes, it�s hypocritical that the right-wing news media are now attacking Mr. Obama for, they say, not helping enough people.

Back to the politics. Some Republicans have already started using Sandy as an excuse for a possible Romney defeat. It�s a weak argument: state-level polls have been signaling a clear and perhaps widening Obama advantage for weeks. But as I said, to the extent that the storm helps Mr. Obama, it�s well deserved.

The fact is that if Mr. Romney had been president these past four years the federal response to disasters of all kinds would have been far weaker than it was. There would have been no auto bailout, because Mr. Romney opposed the federal financing that was crucial to the rescue. And FEMA would have remained mired in Bush-era incompetence.

So this storm probably won�t swing the election � but if it does, it will do so for very good reasons. "

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/05/opinion/krugman-sandy-versus-katrina.html?_r=0

Regards,
John
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johnslat



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

PostPosted: Mon Nov 05, 2012 6:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ah, already a scapegoat (um, scapestorm) emerges:

Republicans Blame Sandy for Killing Romney's Momentum

he election is still a day away, but the political pundits who might be on the losing side of the vote are already preparing their excuses for what went wrong. The early line coming from some Republicans is that Hurricane Sandy really put the brakes on Mitt Romney's campaign, just at the moment he was staging a powerful comeback. Former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour gave that idea its own forward push on the Sunday morning talk shows, explicitly saying that �The hurricane is what broke Romney's momentum."
He's not the only one who thinks that either. None other than super-strategist Karl Rove admitted that the storm was a distraction from Romney's economic message and it also gave President Obama a chance to play the roll of "comforter-in-chief." Despite the "stutter" in the campaign, as Rove called it, he told The Washington Post that he still thinks Romney wins Ohio and the election, but there's no doubt in his mind that the hurricane and its aftermath made his job a lot harder.
Then there's the private "insiders" behind the Romney curtain who are also complaining about the storm's impact on their fortunes. They claim their internal polls showed Romney picking up support for eight straight days before Sandy arrived, but the break in the campaign robbed him of the Big Mo.
Should Mitt Romney lose a close fight on Tuesday, there's no question that Sandy will become a dominant theme for the Wednesday morning quarterbacks and may even become a fixture of the story as it is retold by future historians. We'll never know whether the Romney Surge was a real thing or if he'd be ahead right now had Sandy never showed up, but for at least one Twitter user this current reading of the situation wasn't the least bit surprising.

Prediction: polls don't change much and Obama wins. Republicans remember this for decades as Mitt having momentum and a hurricane ending it.
� Eric Nelson (@ericatwiley) October 31, 2012

http://news.yahoo.com/republicans-blame-sandy-killing-romneys-momentum-124422264.html

Regards,
John
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geaaronson



Joined: 19 Apr 2005
Posts: 948
Location: Mexico City

PostPosted: Thu Nov 08, 2012 5:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Once again, Rasmussen Polling gets it way off. Please note the last entry is this group`s poll for election day and has Romney up by 1 point, when the man actually lost the election by 2 plus points.

Thursday, November 08
Race/Topic (Click to Sort) Poll Results Spread
President Obama Job Approval Rasmussen Reports Approve 52, Disapprove 47 Approve +5
Wednesday, November 07
Race/Topic (Click to Sort) Poll Results Spread
President Obama Job Approval Gallup Approve 50, Disapprove 44 Approve +6
Tuesday, November 06
Race/Topic (Click to Sort) Poll Results Spread
General Election: Romney vs. Obama Politico/GWU/Battleground Obama 47, Romney 47 Tie
General Election: Romney vs. Obama Rasmussen Reports Obama 48, Romney 49 Romney +1
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