That’s fair. Everyone has their opinion. But track record shows Desantis takes care of Florida. This isn’t a political issue, it’s a humanitarian issue was my point.
During Harvey, tankers weren't making deliveries to gas stations. In a few days, things were resolved and gas stations were operating again. I have looked at a map of Florida quite often the past few days and there doesn't seem to much in the way of civilization (larger towns & cities) North of Metro Tampa until at least Gainesville then Jacksonville and Tallahassee.* After Milton passes and those who evacuated want to return, they will want/need to refuel their vehicles. it will be interesting to see if those with Electric vehicles far better with refueling than those with ICE vehicles. ________________ * Places nearer to Tampa such as The Villages and Orlando have been excluded from this because they could be less than optimal locations to evacuate to.
Based on the press conference just now Biden and his administration seems to be communicating and cooperating with DeSantis perfectly fine which is good to hear. He said positive things and said he even gave DeSantis his personal number. I figured I’d share that because it is nice to see the cooperation. Spoiler
Local government provides the frontline response, while FEMA supports and supplements with federal resources and funding when local capabilities are overwhelmed. That's been a good model for years. There's no 'getting in the way' or 'staying out of the way.' The Florida governor has already declared a disaster, and the President has approved it, meaning FEMA is already in position to provide federal resources. As for politics — if only certain politicians would stop lying about the federal response and politicizing natural disasters.
[D&D] Nothing is as insane as Lindsey Graham whining "but what we should be really worried about is Israel running out of bullets" when he was brought on to talk about Helene's destruction in the Carolinas. Wild. Abso****inglutely wild. [/D&D]
Big Government is how you can live the FL experience while being battered by Cat 3-4 hurricanes every year.
One thing you don't have to worry about is Governor DeSantis being hands on with his response to these unprovoked attacks by Hurricane Helene and Milton. Spoiler
My mistake for replying to a political statement. I'll make one more political statement, and then you can have the last comment so we don't derail this thread. Spoiler Funny how every local government asks for FEMA help, sometimes even before the disaster happens.
If FEMA was done right it would absolutely be helpful, but as it is it’s a joke. Big government can never work as well as the people, too many hoops to jump through. If all the money went to actual disasters it would be beneficial, but we know that’s not the case
Either way, hopefully the people in Florida who this is going to affect, come out ok. Hoping Milton loses some steam like they’re thinking
When Harvey hit here in 2017 it was terrible, but 2 years later I saw those flooded and dilapidated homes being torn down and new houses being built on pilings and higher level slabs by the GLO including my sister's. Without the bigly federal government none of it would have been possible. I would expect nothing less from the richest country on the planet. Good luck Floridians and stay safe! @AroundTheWorld @Space Ghost
The money allocated by Congress for disasters does absolutely go to actual disasters. While FEMA is not really a response org under our current system (more coordination and recovery), I will tell you there is no way you can respond to a major disaster without the federal government playing the lead role. Yes, the best response always includes official and unofficial actors, but the feds must lead. You think just anyone could manage the airspace over western NC? You think just anyone could bring in the number of temporary bridges needed? You think just anyone could coordinate a national response that includes everything from Hot Shot crews cutting downed trees to multiple search and rescue teams from all over the country to the staging and distribution of food and water across a huge area? You think just anyone could organize the numerous avenues of recovery support that include financial assistance by FEMA, SBA, USDA, and others? Get serious. If you want to learn about how disasters are managed in the US, here's a site with FEMA training: https://training.fema.gov/is/courseoverview.aspx?code=IS-700.b&lang=en The ones I'd recommend for regular folks are: IS-700: An Introduction to the National Incident Management System IS-800: National Response Framework, An Introduction Those should only take an hour or two to get through. If you want more detail about how we manage disasters on the ground, there's ICS-100: Introduction to the Incident Command System. And yes, the current model was OK in the past, but we are seeing some major failings in recent years, most centered around the increasing size and complexity of disasters brought on by changing conditions--but also some political weaknesses. We desperately need to reform emergency management in this country, but I doubt we get there anytime soon.
