I keep my promises, Irene

So yesterday(or just very early this morning) I claimed I was going to say why Hurricane Irene was funny to me. In fact, there is a bit of comedy to be found in it for everyone, even if that comedy highlights one of the biggest problems and proof that our society has a short memory and are ineffectual at solving long term problems.  Before you immediately assume I'm a horrible person, at least here out why I think this way.

The big hurricane that's coming through is just the latest in a long list of disasters we've faced in recent years. Hell, this year Missouri was ravaged by tornadoes and places like Joplin, MO have yet to recover. While they were getting minimal funding from FEMA to help rebuild, that funding has recently been cut off. Why? Because FEMA is now operating on an "Immediate Needs" basis. Because the tornadoes occurred a few months ago, FEMA is going to stop supporting towns struck by them, simply because it was an old incident. Instead, they are going to focus on the impending doom that is Hurricane Irene.

 This is Craig Fugate, one of the guys in FEMA that decided that they could only operate by "Immediate Needs" 
To the left of Fugate is some black guy

Some of the more altruistic readers might be asking, "Why can't they just help everyone?" The answer to that is simple and the source of my humor in this incident. The government cut funding from FEMA for this fiscal year, well knowing that there were disasters headed our way.  That's right, they cut the FEMA budget, the one that helps people in disastrous situations that the USA seems to be prone to. Sure, right now there are some republicans rallying for more funding, but with a democrat controlled senate, no telling if that will go through (party lines seem to be thicker than the blood of the innocent - only dramatic line I intend to say all day).

What's funny about all of this is how easily our government forgot about their biggest faux pas in recent memory(that isn't the economy): Hurricane Katrina. The biggest issue with Katrina is that FEMA was underfunded and unprepared to deal with such a large disaster. Hell, they are still trying to put all the pieces of Louisiana back together (well, no they aren't. That need isn't immediate.). So what do we do? Instead of giving increased funding to FEMA to prepare for such a disaster to occur again, we just say, "Nah, that shit only happens like once every hundred years. So we're good to use some of that money on the White House dance party." It boggles the mind and summons one hell of a dark laugh out of me to think that this is how we choose to prepare for disasters like Katrina.


Disclaimer: I am not a republican, nor a democrat. I don't really fit into a party and I tend to vote based on personal research into each candidate. Because that is clearly the only thing that matters why you talk about your party affiliation.


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