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Alex Wong / Getty Images
Rep. Christopher Smith and Rep. Peter King speak to the media after a meeting regarding the Sandy aid bill with Speaker of the House Rep. John Boehner on Jan. 2, 2013 on Capitol Hill.
“Disgusting ... outrageous ... callous indifference to the suffering of the people of my state,” fumed New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in his protest over the House not voting Tuesday night on an emergency bill for states hit by last October’s superstorm Sandy.
Republican House members from New Jersey and New York joined him in an angry chorus – but the rhetoric has obscured a couple of vital facts:
• There are some Federal Emergency Management Agency funds now available even without any congressional action.
• More importantly, relief funds can take months or even years to flow to disaster-hit states. Disaster recovery can be a slow, cumbersome and mind-numbingly complex process. More than seven years after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, officials in Louisiana are still administering FEMA Katrina aid.
A FEMA spokesman said Thursday the Disaster Relief Fund – the main account used to fund disaster recovery – is anticipated to continue without immediate need for funding until the early spring.
Congress votes to expand borrowing authority for Sandy flood claims
And House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ky., told Congressional Quarterly on Tuesday that FEMA “has plenty of money for the immediate needs through at least February. I’m sure by then we would have passed whatever is necessary to keep them going through the fiscal year.”
But there’s much more to disaster recovery than FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie criticizes Congress for delaying relief funds for the victims of Hurricane Sandy.
On Friday the House and Senate voted to provide $9.7 billion in additional borrowing authority for the National Flood Insurance Program which insures property owners in flood-prone areas. The program collects premiums from the insured, but borrows from the Treasury when premiums are insufficient to pay claims. The funds must be repaid with interest – although the program isn’t now in any position to repay.
FEMA notified Congress Wednesday that without congressional approval of additional borrowing authority, funds available to pay, flood insurance claims would be exhausted “sometime around the week of Jan. 7, 2013.”
FEMA said that to date nearly 140,000 NFIP claims have been made and $1.7 billion has been paid to those impacted by the storm.
NYC transit system in jeopardy
On the Senate floor Friday, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., called the $9.7 billion “a small down payment.”
He said the House should simply pass the $60 billion Sandy aid bill which the Senate passed Dec. 28.
He said “we’re worried” that the House will not pass the Senate measure, but will, in its own version of the bill, provide less than $60 billion or put conditions on the funding.
“The draft (of the House bill) that we have seen contains some major changes from the Senate bill that would make it very difficult” for some federal agencies to spend money on Sandy relief efforts, the New York Democrat said.
House Speaker John Boehner was slammed by even fellow Republicans for his decision to cancel Tuesday's vote on $60 billion in emergency relief for victims of superstorm Sandy. No one was more outspoken than Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., shares his reaction to the situation.
Homeowners in the storm-afflicted areas in New York cannot get a building contractor to sign a contract to do rebuilding, or get a bank to OK a loan “until they know the federal government will be there to reimburse, as it always has in the past,” he said.
He added that the Metropolitan Transit Authority in New York “will be in real financial jeopardy unless it’s assured that it will reimbursed for all the damage that Sandy caused to our railroads and our tunnels and our mass transit system.”
The draft of a House bill on Sandy disaster relief includes not only an additional $11.4 billion for FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund but $16 billion for the Community Development Fund under the Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as Sandy-related funds for agencies ranging from the Drug Enforcement Administration to the National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Fund.
Full Sandy coverage from NBCNews.com
The $150 million for fisheries in Alaska, New Hampshire and elsewhere that had been in last month’s Senate Sandy emergency bill were not in the House bill. But the House bill would spend $5 million “for necessary expenses related to fishery disasters resulting from impacts of Hurricane Sandy.”
Katrina delays
Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, will try to get the money for Alaska fisheries added back to the Sandy bill or to another vehicle.
Arguing for fishery disaster money to be included in the Sandy bill last month, Begich said, “The disasters that are declared for fisheries in this bill have been declared disasters. It is not some pie in the sky, some pork, or we sit around and say: Let's get some money for every state. These are actually declared disasters by the states and our federal government that need to be funded.”
Even apart from wrangling over whether some money belongs in a particular disaster bill, history shows that disaster funds can take months or even several years to be appropriated and then to flow to the affected towns, cities and counties.
Wayne Parry / AP
Huge piles of debris still line portions of Route 35, the main highway through the shore in Toms River N.J. Friday, Jan. 4, 2012.
Christie may have created a misimpression when he said Wednesday that within 10 days after Katrina struck, Louisiana and other states “had their money in hand.”
Katrina hit Louisiana on Aug. 29, 2005. President George W. Bush signed two Katrina spending bills totaling $62.3 billion, one signed on Sept. 2, 2005 and the other on Sept. 8, 2005.
But a Congressional Research Service report noted that Congress subsequently passed more Katrina funding in a bill in December of 2005 and then another bill in 2006, two more bills in 2007, two in 2008 and another in 2010 – all as part of other disaster-relief legislation which addressed events from Midwest flooding to California wildfires to the 2010 Gulf oil spill.
FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund includes:
• Individual assistance for displaced people, crisis counseling and other aid.
• Public assistance money to help cities and towns pay for removing debris and for rebuilding hospitals, other public buildings, roads and utilities.
• Hazard mitigation funds to lessen the impact of future catastrophes.
Frustration was still running high in Congress on Friday even though the Sandy relief bill passed easily – many thought it was a little too late, with the bulk of aid not up for a vote for two more weeks. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., discusses.
New York still waiting for Irene aid
Member of Congress complain about the time it takes federal relief to arrive. At a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing in early December, Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., whose district was devastated by Sandy, said that “FEMA reimbursement is slow and cumbersome. In fact, New York still is waiting for payment for Hurricane Irene (from August of 2011). And I’m sure many of my colleagues have had similar experiences in their states.”
Submitting written testimony at that hearing was Kevin Davis, the director of the Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. “As any community recovers from disaster, we are looking for funding for work that is indisputably eligible for federal assistance,” Davis said in his testimony. “The fact that we are looking for it more than seven years later is a powerful testament to the inefficiencies within the bureaucracy of disaster assistance delivery.”
NBC's Anne Thompson visits a couple hit hard by Hurricane Sandy who vent frustration over insurance, the government and FEMA. NBC's Anne Thompson reports.
FEMA’s approach, especially in the grants to states and local government for rebuilding, “is focused on a time-consuming, micro-analysis of damaged facilities, door knob-by-door knob, desk-by-desk, ceiling tile-by-ceiling tile.” Davis added that the delays are “compounded in a long recovery by the constant turnover of staff and the lack of qualified personnel.”
He noted that in one case the state tangled with FEMA over damage to Charity Hospital in New Orleans. The dispute finally went to an arbitration process created under the 2009 Recovery Act and the state was awarded $475 million to replace the hospital. Construction began on a new facility in February of 2012.
Where Gov. Christie will be five years from now is anyone’s guess -- but based on Louisiana’s experience, it seems quite possible that some Sandy funds will still be being administered in his state in 2018.
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I wonder how much more PORK is going to be added to these future items.....
Plenty.
Christie, this is what is defined as the trickle down theory. Just wait your turn to be trickled on like your party wants the rest of the nation to wait for everything to trickle down. Of course there are plenty of people who would really like to hose you.
This is typical Republican hypocrisy: Cut back on government spending everywhere unless it comes my way then you can't spend enough. Where is the capitalistic market corporations that should be taking care of this because we all know socialism doesn't work?
Republicans, Democrats...it doesn't matter. We're a Country as a "whole".
I read peoples posts from all different states that say "Let NJ & NY figure it out. Screw them etc...
It kills me to read that. Why do you think the word "UNITED" is placed in front of "STATES"?
We are ONE. We are a "COUNTRY". We're all together in this.
And as far as the Presidency, The "President" is a puppet. I don't care who you put behind the wheel. They're all puppets getting their strings pulled by the Government etc...
They just need someone to blame when something doesn't turn out the way they wanted it to.
The President sits around all the other guys listening to their idea's and basically picks what he thinks is the best idea. You really think that the President does all this work himself?!
He's simply the fall guy.
So "My Fellow AMERICANS", Have a nice weekend.
CD
-Ronald Reagan
If your point is that Ronald Reagan was a backward thinking Ahole I agree.
Paul Ryan is among a handful of House RepubliCONs who voted against the bill.
What a spiteful loser.
.
Here's the roll call with the ayes and nays:
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2013/roll007.xml
I find it interesting that Bush was WIDELY criticized in the media for his 'slow response' and FEMA's failure to quickly provide help for Hurricane Katrina, even though emergency funding was signed by Bush only 4 days after the Hurricane, but no criticism of Obama when he hasn't provided funding for Hurricane Sandy after more than 60 days, and FEMA is just as inefficient today as it was under Bush.
Bush was also castigated by the media for his 'flyover' of Katrina damage, and called 'callous' for not visiting in person, while the press ignored the fact that disaster officials pleaded with Bush NOT to make a personal visit at that time because it would divert emergency resources from the ongoing relief efforts when they were still rescuing people.
Media BIAS, anyone?
Creek Dog "Republicans, Democrats...it doesn't matter. We're a Country as a "whole"...We are ONE. We are a "COUNTRY". We're all together in this."
After Obama's 'Demonizing' his opponents and turning Americans against each other in his 'Class Warfare' attacks to get reelected, it will take time for those emotions to subside.
Now the victims have to fight the disaster of Bureaucrat Sandy and Bureaucrat Irene ...after the disaster of hurriCanes Sandy ... & Irene
why should the fed have to pick up the tab for people who chose to live in a flood or hurricane path! i can see maybe making loans but not picking up the tab. once again personal choices.and why vote for a pork laden bill!
First, congrats to Creek Dog for his comments. Anyone who does not want to live in the UNITED STATES is free to leave anytime they wish. It is not a prison.
I want to see a law enacted that specifies any relief for a declared natural disaster must be on a stand-alone bill with absolutely NO attached pork. Just a straight up up or down vote on the relief package only. The real kicker is the funds MUST be allocated within 30 days for their intended purpose, not dragged out over the next 10 years in tiny increments.
Maybe we should have an annualized "Pork Package" where every Senator gets to throw in their favs for their state. Just do it once a year and get the pork out of the picture for the real business of governing.
On Friday the House and Senate voted to provide $9.7 billion in additional borrowing authority for the National Flood Insurance Program which insures property owners in flood-prone areas. The program collects premiums from the insured, but borrows from the Treasury when premiums are insufficient to pay claims. The funds must be repaid with interest – although the program isn’t now in any position to repay.
I just wonder, what happens when the storm does a ton of damage, lets say $150 million, but the pres doesn't declare it a federal disaster area. If your roof is no longer attached, and the rain is hitting you on top of your head while you sit in your living room, are you out of luck? Where is that line drawn? Is it how much pressure the public puts on you? Hardly seems ethical.
Isnt congressman King a TeaParty activist ..stop all Gov handouts and spending ..didnt he say last year that FEMA should be defunded and turned over to private insurers .. where was Kings voice when the plains were hit and towns leveled by tornadoes.. Another loud mouth do as i say not as i do..
Republican Congressman Peter King spoke the truth the other day when he said "If you're from NY or NJ and you give one dime to the Republicans, you've got to be out of your mind"! I'm a Sandy victim who DID HAVE gov't mandated NFIP flood insurance and yet I'm still waiting over 2 months to have these incompetents do the right thing so that I can put my life back together.. I'd love to know how all these Republicans who voted "No" can justify it . If they say "pork" I'll have to laugh because I'm pretty sure this is not the first time in history that unrelated things were ever attached to a bill. What did they suddenly get some morality? Also I'm pretty sure there wasn't pork in this segment of the bill anyway so it seems like Republicans just don't like the northeast. OK, the feeling is now mutual. I will never vote R again. Oh and for those cold hearted people that say they should not have to foot the bill for people who chose to live in proximity to the water, most of the earth's population lives by the water, geniuses. I suppose we should abandon Manhattan, right? How about all of California? Any coastal state? Jackasses.
At least Christie, who I don't really much care for, has his constituents at heart. Maybe re-building regulations need to be tweaked after coastal flood disasters, and preventative measures taken, but when citizens have been led to expect FEMA help - after the fact of a storm is not the time to pull the rug out from under them.
After the fact, fix the problems, and then let them decide if they'll rebuild "bare" of insurance. Private insurers aren't going to touch coastal areas in an affordable manner - they don't like "Tier 1" properties, that's what Federal Flood Insurance is all about.
Don't you love the Okies on this thread whose pork barrel states erode the federal kitty every year, want the northeasterners who lost their homes to 4 to 8 feet of water coming in from the Atlantic to go it alone? Oh...I see...we don't what their Ahole offshore drilling so now they are getting even?
Wall Street was under water okee dokes. There is not Wall Street in TX, OK, AZ or the rest of the porky pig states. Did the GOP need to hand billions to TX for hurricane domes?
But, as we northeasterners all know...we must, must, must, help out TN with our tax dollars for FEMA for their floods, Texas wildfires that their Big Oil is the major cause of and let's not forget OK with its drill, Baby, drill dust storms. Guess what okee dokes....you are going to get one whole hell of a lot less of our tax dollars and your GOP will be gone by 2014.
The Confederacy Shall Rise Again! And the way it will rise is to allow the most productive northeastern states to fall into ruin while we continue to pay pork barrel states taxes for them. Think again oh mighty Grand Pubbahs of Upper Butt Crack!
A slow, cumbersome and mind-numbingly complex process.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet your government.
This is what federal government efficiency can be defined as. How long have we heard of these disasters taking years to fix? When we allow a massive bureaucracy where each dollar gets reduced more and more as it trickles down through the leviathan called government, the results are predictable.
We have had plenty of experience with disasters in our great nation. Dozens of hurricanes, hundreds of floods, thousands of tornados, even a massive oil spill, yet this is how we deal with our relief efforts.
Hundreds of pages of convoluted relief for the current disaster and then trying to catch-up on the previous disasters that our government is incompetent to deal with. And of course, the ever present and usually wasteful pork/earmarks that everyone loves to slip in the bill knowing it will be too much work to debate every proposal added.
This is how dysfunctional our government has become. Yet many want it to get even bigger and more dysfunctional.
Our federal governments responsibility should simply be oversight for the States taking care of their individual disaster relief needs according to contractual law as is dictated in the Constitution. When you have two monolithic systems, our federal AND state governments, dealing with funds you know inefficiencies will be massive. Limiting it to one system being primarily responsible will remove much inefficiency.
Unfortunately this still exposes the funds to the typical government created waste, fraud, abuse and corruption. This can only be corrected by electing honest, Constitutionally limited individuals. Hopefully these can be found before our economy completely collapses.
Good luck.
The Democrats coined the phrase of never letting a good crisis go to waste, and other then continually wasting money they aren't. A billion here, 9 billion there, and the madness continues unabated. Washington spends money in crisis mode, and not like a responsible annual budget which plans for future needs might do. Despite the endless rhetoric, nothing ever changes in Washington and never will with the same clowns continually being sent there to fleece the nation. I don't think anyone in the Obama administration let alone Congress could find any waste even if they just stepped in a pile of it. Sad to think that Obama has allowed the country to operate without a budget and so we borrow and spend based solely upon which way the wind it blowing or that which offers a political payoff.
Pigotry Where is your Boy Obama yes that Obama the one that said in his photo OP their will be no red tape. Guess he forgot to tell the fat lazy pigs at FEMA. FEMA has money until March and they have not issued that money. So another failed attempt by you to blame the GOP for not doing enough. When the democrats have not done enough to cut the red tape to get Relief to the people that need it.
Here is from the above story in case you did not read it Pigotry. "FEMA’s approach, especially in the grants to states and local government for rebuilding, “is focused on a time-consuming, micro-analysis of damaged facilities, door knob-by-door knob, desk-by-desk, ceiling tile-by-ceiling tile.”
You want to bitch about Paul Ryan the bill has so much pork in that you don't want to get it next to an open flame. Bottom line before you tell your lies about the GOP tell the truth about how lacking your own party is. This is Obama's and the democrats fault and no one else, they have the power to change the system, so money FEMA has today moves faster.
FEMA is a disaster!
Those responsible bureaucrats that try to administer disaster relief funds are quickly overrun by the politicos that want the money doled out to their families, friends, and constituents .. New Orleans was a fiasco of enormous proportion ... more money was stolen than went to relief ...
I had a friend that was administering a multi billion dollar program, who quit because of the political interference and corruption .... he wouldn't participate ...
The victims of Sandy needed help immediately, not in a year or five years .... the federal government is ill equipped to handle this sort of emergency ... it needs to be handled at the state & local level, with government assurances & support ... this will still be jerking around in five years down the road.
If we as citizens had to depend on FEMA for life support ... We'd all be dead by now!
This is another reason why majority of Americans don't trust their government anymore !
Take the politics out of it. This is the way it is. This is how our government operates. Slow.
“Disgusting ... outrageous ... callous indifference to the suffering of the people of my state,” fumed New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie...
F-ck you Christie. When you have your hat in your hand begging, you get what you get when you get it.
roy, bush sign katrina legislation in a few days because we then had a congress that worked. bush was beat up for hiring a horse trainer to run fema and the initial response. he giot high marks for the rebuiling effort but he had a congress that worked. we now don't. we have the worst congress in the history of our country
Hey where's our favorite Red Head?
I'd love to know her thoughts on all the pork her party pushed on the tax payers...
Truly I think this a imbedded tactic, the Government will wait to let the dust settle and then some,
this will happen again and don't look to us their saying, tornadoes happen all the time and we will continue to look for the government for help,
My government says their broke and taxes that weren't suppose to go up are going up, I'm sure its not for the sandy victims..
We need to come together and come up with other solutions, don't rely on them.
Hey Dishpit... keep running your mouth from north of the MDL. Here's an idea.... How bout you take the shiftless dead weight we've had to support down here for the last 150 years. You gutless Yankee wonders really amaze me.... Maybe if you got a little more Vitamin D(ick) in your life you wouldn't be such a cockholster.... but I doubt it.
Keep on truckin' tool.
And one other thing you might want to keep in mind. YOU need us... WE don't need you. Us po southern bumpkins can feed ourselves and you....... It doesn't work the other way around.
There are so many posts here that are un American and my way or the hghiway. Most are totally gutless freaks that never did anything in their life except hate.
There is a totally perfect solution if we all just had the guts to do it. In the next 6 years vote against the incumbent in every case. That will change the outlook of every poiititcan. But further we need a citizens inititative to get rid of benefits to congressmen after they leave office and when in office as well. They need the same beneifts we all "get". We are all such cowards to see the truth, it is our fault. We can do it, maybe just the threat would be enough if we start the discussion I'm pretty sure they will start trembeling in their flip flops.
Do it people, we have a chance to lead the world but our polititicans don't care, re-election is their only worry. Let's give them something to worry about.
The constitution does provide for citizens to dismantle the congress, maybe that should be the action?
hmmmm 2005 a senate and house majority of republicans THEY GOT THE JOB DONE with out the pork on the katrina relief fund
Chris Christie is a big, fat, blowhard RHINO !!! He should go talk to his new BFF Obama and ask him about the " Red Tape " comment. Better get on a plane to Hawaii since BO is on vacation again while the country goes down the debt tubes.
Short memories, huh
Spense,
You guys hate a functioning government--you love the fact that Republicans obstruct everything. Congress has put sand in the gears for this and everything else, from job creation bills to stimulus. Now you expect government to work?
Such hypocrites.
The Breeze, (I mean the Blaze)
The only Republican that appears to care about his constituents, Americans hurt by the storm, and he's now a RINO? You guys are just D!cks. UnAmerican, Unpatriotic, don't give a fock about any of YOU, selfish bastards.
GW,
Sometimes it takes one part control to "get the job done" but my bet is there was no obstruction for Katrina funding. I'm not going to bother looking up the votes, but my bet is that Democrats weren't against it 200-0.
Speaking of one party control, 2014 is coming. Keep this up and we'll have one party control again.
Enjoy that thought GW.
Typical republicons, they pledged to King Norquist not to raise taxes on the rich and pledged against America to make President Obama appear to fail. Repubs have been blocking disaster aid for 4 years now. They even blocked the investigation on B.P. Oil after the oil disaster. Repubs want America to fail thinking it will aid them to gain power in the White House and Congress........WRONG.........Only low informed people who watch fake Fox news and the Rich are playing these cards. America saw through all the lies of republicons during the elections. All the rigging of elections by changing voting laws to their favor and their committing voter fraud did not help them.
Remember to vote for Democratic party next elections to keep recovery moving forward.
conner-389725 "roy, bush sign katrina legislation in a few days because we then had a congress that worked"
That's true - Both the Presidency and Congress were controlled by Republicans.
Why has it taken Obama 2+ months to propose a bill, when Bush and the Republican Congress acted in just 4 days - and still got roundly criticized by the Liberal press?
And why is the press giving FEMA a 'pass' on their slow response time?
Oh, that's right - They love Obama and hated Bush.
Starsailing,
The particularly dumb part is that wealthy people do better themselves when the WHOLE country does better. They are shooting themselves in the foot (or in the face).
Eventually (hopefully), even the wealthy benefactors of this stupidity will see it and stop promoting it....along with the rest of us.
This is not a zero sum game. Government promoting the welfare of the country helps the country succeed--it's not just wealth redistribution. Everybody does better when the country works together.
Blame Obama for being a divider if you want, but he's a product of us. We feed the divisiveness. Bush was plenty divisive too. OBama didn't invent it.
DON'T support divisiveness it will wither.
Creek Dog you're living in a fantasy world. There is absolutely nothing "united" about the United States anymore. We are strongly divided about seemingly anything and everything. Just read some of the comments in this article. The scathing rhetoric from the left and right shows that not only are we not united, but that there is little to no way we will ever be united again.
All of this game man ship by the freshman Congress and their mentors are being given lessons on how to slow and even stall the relief needed for Sandy. I suspect it will be like the Katrina disaster that NO is still working its way out of. The upside is the midterm elections coming up. With this inaction by Congress it will cause the voters to bring in Democrat Congressmen to replace those Republicans who hold Congressional office in their districts. Maybe the gerrymandering by the Republicans will work against them this time around in the northeast. Let's hope so. We will have a full house and be able to move forward to repair the damage done by the Republicans from the last administration.
Is there a system in this country that is NOT broken?
Roy,
Democrats didn't obstruct Katrina relief. You can't give credit to Republican control of both houses for that.
I want to reinforce what someone on here said...WHERE IS OBAMINATION ALL THIS TIME??? By this time with Katrina, Bush was being crucifide by the media constantly over how he handled FEMA! DO YOU HEAR ANY OF THAT NOW?? Of course not..."thou shalt not publisize anything negative about emperor Obamination!!!" Let's see..Most Transparent president....No red tape relief.....YEP... about the same level of a LIE!! I wonder how many homes and businesses could have been rebuilt with all the TAXPAYER money the emperor has spent in Hawaii?? Think about that one a while folks in NJ and NY....you OVERWHELMINGLY voted to put the emperor back on his throne!!
Dr Man,
We've had two sides since the beginning of time. But we haven't been at each other's throats forever. We've managed to get along more than not. Clearly we had a problem leading up to the Civil War.
I'd say the recent change to strong animosity occurred in the 1990's with WACO, Monica, the Impeachment, then Bush v Gore. Since those times, it has been more important to "get" the other guy than do what's right. I think it's as bad as it has ever been in the last 20 years anyway.
Personally, I put more blame on one side, and I'm sure the other guys view it the other way.
At this point everything we do is "going nuclear."
It's going to take a while to back out of that hole. I'm not saying we shouldn't point out fault and blame where it's deserved, but reality has to prevail.
Hank Paulson, Republican Treasury Secretary under Bush came to the conclusion that Government HAD to bail out Wall Street to save the economy. You'd think only a Democrat could come up with that, but reality prevailed.
How bad does "IT" have to get before WE come together. How many Pearl Harbors or 9/11's can we have?
DLF,
I have a lot of anger too, directed in just about the polar opposite direction.
I struggle to take the high road, but I know this, it's a lot more complicated than "Obamanation" and the media.
It's us too. Until we take some of it on ourselves, "IT" is not going to get any better.
My Town and my School District work. They work because there is no "us" and no "them," we're all "us."
Rep. Wilson ofn SC will you be ready the next time a large hurricane or a tornado hits your area... to tell the residents to buck it up.... afterall we shall see if you are a liar or not???
SmBusOwnerinNY....
You are right the house and senate were controlled by the republicans during Katrina...That is why it only took 4 days for Katrina area to get relief there was no "bipartisan" bickering. How long did it take the democratic Senate and President to even propose a bill for Sandy....please start looking at the facts before you open your mouth. I am not saying the republican's are better than the Democrats, they are all equally worthless, but until people like you stop looking at party lines and only sticking to ones side, and instead, look at the facts and what is best for America, then nothing will be fixed. Dems have good points and Repubs have good points, but they both have enough bad points that one side completely controlling would NEVER be a GOOD thing for this nation.
I add this edit: Your previous post to this one is about coming together as a nation and breaking through party lines and such. That is the right mentality, but why do you keep pushing the partisan rhetoric then?
Paul Ryan also led the charge on defunding security for embassies and other US assets.
Legalize,
I human. I can't help myself, I have an opinion. There's nothing wrong with different opinions among all of us, we just need to argue them and whoever has the winning argument gets the most votes and wins. I can be pissed and blame when things warrant it. Sometimes I can be hyperbolic to make a point. Around here, I hear enough vitriol, that sometimes I want to give it back. Sorry, I'm not going to just sit here and take it. Overall, I think I offer constructive solutions and ideas. I'm not all screaming craziness that I see plenty of on here.
Regarding Katrina,
No Democrats were objecting to Katrina relief. There was no bipartisan bickering because Democrats wanted it too. They rightly supported it.
Sandy is different. There is not Republican support for some reason. That makes it harder. There was a $60B bill that passed the Senate, so they had been working on it since the disaster hit. I don't know the details of the delay, or if you can even call it a delay. I doesn't look like it was an "Obama" delay. Remember also they were also working on a few other things--like the fiscal Cliff, Farm Bill, etc.
You cannot underwrite every hurricane that makes landfall.
If you are along the coast or in a flood plane...you have to make a decisions to live there with the risks, costs, and safety of yourself and your family. We may be a nation as a whole, but if some says to you: it is only a matter of time before you get flooded out, and ignore the warning, why should someone else who heeded the warning pay for it? You are responsible for yourself and your family. If you are not, who else is?
the funding process should not take so long -- damn Tea baggers
money money money ...
just move closer to the sea .
Glen,
There is some truth to what you say, but there is a government-run Flood Insurance program that is mandatory for people who live in flood prone areas--so people do pay a risk premium to live there. Often times this is prime farm area, so there is a reason to live there.
Now, the problem is that the flood insurance fund goes broke because everybody claims at once. The government must subsidize it (it is run by the government, so government has to cover the deficit).
The only argument then is that if the fund goes broke, maybe the premiums were too low. That's a political question. Should flood insurance cost more so that the user of the land pays for it themselves? Maybe, but if we as a nation want the productivity of that land for 99 out of every 100 years, well, maybe we all pay when that 1 in 100 year flood occurs.
It's not as simple as "being responsible" for your family.
Unfortunately, pork is part of our system right now.. has been since the seventh US president, Andrew Jackson, basically introduced this particular form of institutionalized corruption into the American law-making process in the early 18th century.
What we have to do is monitor it and then harass our representatives with letters and votes until they stop doing it.
You can track the bill here, http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr41/text... text should be up by tomorrow if they follow the usual time-table.
When are you all going to realize that the government is only there for rich people now?
Haven't you heard about the "Free-market", and "small government", "Personal Responsibility"?
In real life that's what those phrases mean. And it's embraced by both corporate funded political parties.
When the filthy rich bankers swindled themselves and the economy off of a cliff in 2008 (a REAL cliff, not the phony "Fiscal Cliff") there was no talk of "the deficit" "small government", "Free-market", and especially not, "Personal responsibility".
The bankers got immediate, full on "SOCIALISM" and "BIG GOVERNMENT" help with no strings attached, and no thought about the Deficit.
So now they're doing better than ever.
But when thousands or millions of people who aren't rich need help, and through no fault of their own, it's delay delay...."we're thinking about it" and "Sorry, we're broke, we have deficits we can't afford it!"
When are people going to see through the big scam that's being pushed on them?
It better be soon.
Flood insurance is mandatory only if your lender requires it. If you have no mortgage, you are not required to carry it.
Since congress is the one to do the spending. Congress is in charge of the purse strings, not Obama. He may have given the order of no red tape, but congress has to follow it. The 2012 US Budget enacted mandatory relief spending of $0.005 billion dollars.
Read more: Duties & Powers of the Legislative Branch | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/list_7216719_duties-powers-legislative-branch.html#ixzz2H86H3gyh
So you see, it wasn't Bush's fault and it is not Obama's fault. Congress is at fault; now just the Houses as the Senate passed a bill.
Oh god, my sides hurt from laughing at that absolutely absurd statement, Arch! Literally tens of millions of people on food stamps, SS disability, Medicaid, free school breakfasts, free school lunches, etc, etc........how the hell could you write that with a straight face?
SmBusOwnerinNY
Yeah right, wealthy people don't understand what makes them wealthy. What? You think they assume it's all just luck?
The particularly dumb people are those who actually buy into the drivel that the wealthy are out to get everyone else and that they somehow don't understand such a simple concept.
Ask Pigotry, timewonttell, Intellect-1949393, SmBusOwnerinNY, ewent, et al have THEIR TAXES increased to find the $60 Billion of "Pass the Bill so that we know what's in it".
Tell us exactly what the "Pork" is of the $60 Billion, you seem to have read the Bill unlike Paul Ryan.
Brain fart, the last administration was the First Term for President Obama, and yes, the irrepairable damage he did was, Loss of Critical Resources Worldwide required for the current US High Tech Standard of Living and the Future Alternative Energy, Loss of Key Strategic Locations Worldwide, Loss Vital US Allies Worldwide, Creating the Fiscal Cliff (the Waitress arrived with the Bill of $2.1 Trillion for the meal President Obama ate, and now he is looking for everyone else to pay.) next the Debt Ceiling.
huskergal
Obama didn't "give the order of no red tape" because he CAN'T. That was just more of his BS used to con his sheeple into believing he is all powerful, all caring and so they'll have a convenient excuse to blame everything on the republicans. After all, this President is near the top of the list when it comes to adding more and more red tape to our already burdened lives.
Name the US Laws that were Eliminated that previously made Illegal the Causes of Previous Depressions, that after being eliminated resulted in the current $60 Trillion to $100 Trillion Global Economic Crisis consisting of the Mortgage Crisis, Wall Street Crisis, Financial Crisis, Banking Crisis, etc..
What was stated or done that made the Mortgage Crisis worse, and who stated or did that.
What was done or said by Candidate Obama and later President Obama that only made (makes) the Credit Crisis worse.
That's right you, ArchStanton, don't know; well apparently President Obama doesn't know either.
***************************UNEDUCATED POST*****************************
SOS Clinton, "Funding was not the issue".
You Freedom4Everyone and the rest of the Uneducated that voted for your uneducated post need to research what the "Issue" was (Hint: Who not "what").
Also we are talking about a US Consulate not a US Embassy.
And Facts:
US Embassy Iraq cost $1 Billion to Build, and costs $1 Billion per year to operate; same with US Embassy at Pakistan, Tripoli, Afghanistan, etc.. Most of the Operational Expenses are Payroll of US Department of State Employees, etc..
As far as the Billions spent on the Wars, that was Funds managed by the US Department of State; not the local Governments nor the US Military, as both Iraq and Afghanistan were United Nations Missions, Nation Building.
No Kidding, but he did. He said, "If some calls as says, I'm the mayor of Township, NJ and I need the national Guard, the national guard has to be sent quickly. And they were. Obama is in charge of the executive branch of the government; the department of defense falls under him. So does homeland security. The money, however, is under the control of congress. Obama can't give them an order, you are right about that.
SmBusOwnerinNY
Regarding Katrina,
No Democrats were objecting to Katrina relief. There was no bipartisan bickering because Democrats wanted it too. They rightly supported it.
_______________________
Some democrates did vote against Katrina relief.
As a Senator, President Obama Voted against Aid for Hurricane Katrina Victims,H.R. 2206
actually the real truth is that we are broke and everybody is in denial. Then they start talking about FEMA borrowing more? From where, China?
Thanks Obama for keeping an emergency fund for cases like this. I hope u are having fun in Hawaii, i appreciate you spending 4 million dollars every time u fly 1 way to Hawaii or back to DC.
Oh and dont forget to charge me more taxes , like Obamacare, I know u need one more round of golf to clear your head so u figure the next way u are going to screw us...
And this is the smallest part of the budget. Only 4.1% of the population is on Welfare. The total cost budgeted for this, including Social Security and Medicare is $1, 027.3 billion dollars compared to the total enacted for defense which is $933.9 billion. Then, we have to take in the revenue generated for Social Security and Medicare, and that is supposed to be $841 billion, leaving only $186.3 billion to be spent by taxpayer dollars. This is how I can write this with a straight face. Now compare $933.9 b illion for defense against $186.3 billion for safety nets.
According to a CNN Money article, Feb 7, 2012
more then 1 in 3 americans are receipents of one or more of these federal assistance programs
medicaid 26%
Food stamps 15%
Wic 8%
Housing Assistance 4%
TANF 2%
Really just like you are going to say that Medicare is run by the Government:
President Obama, Face The Nation, September 20, 2009
By the way President Obama's "Uncle Sam" is all US Citizens paying. And nope, President Obama's ACA did NOT address his known Fraud against the US Citizens committed by the Insurance Corporations. Instead he gave the Insurance Corporations $67 Billion as demanded in his February 22, 2010 President's Proposal to US Congress (Demoncraptic Party Controlled), along with $23 Billion to the Medical Device Corporations, and $20 Billion to the Pharmaceuticals Corporations as a Bailout (not a Loan) for potential future losses due to his ACA. But you, SmBusOwnerinNY, knew that because you read the entire ACA, didn't you. Do you know why President Obama did that (Motives, Results,) Hint: President Obama needed lots (Billions) of Corporate money to keep his 2008 Presidential Campaign Offices open Nationwide until 2012. Research Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton's Filing Candidate Obama's Violation of US Law, McCain Feingold Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act.
Happy days...
Let me play devil's advocate: NJ Governor Christie has been thought of as a strong character; is this the same Christie who was practically on his knees begging POTUS Obama for assistance (now let me play devil's advocate to devil's advocate: did Republican Christie feel he had to 'suck up' to Democrat Obama to even have a chance at any assistance)? Was Christie thinking only of his constituents - or also of his donors and backers (and, if ever POTUS, would he continue this "bias")?
Most of us have heard that tough situations bring out one's true character; I'm not judging, I'm just a 'devil's advocate:-!"
Federal Spending:
60% Entitlements
20% Defense
13% Discretionary Spending
7% Interest (on loans like interest on loans from Chinese)
"Defense" includes the US Intelligence Agencies, like previously President Clinton Gutted the Intelligence Agencies that left the US Blind and Deaf to the events leading up to the 9/11 2001 Attacks, Bipartisan US Congressional 9/11 Commission (Committee) Investigations, Findings and Recommendations with former President Clinton saying, "I'm a so sorry".
"Defense" includes the Longterm US Army Corps of Engineer Infrastructure Projects, that were also chopped by President Clinton, resulting in the US Army Corps of Engineers not having the funding for the Modifications, Upgrades, Building New, etc. Levees at New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina, US Congressional Katrina Hearings.
Also the "Berms" (Levees) at New Jersey are also US Army Corps of Engineers Infrastructure Projects as funded as the Defense Budget.
Get the picture.
add to post#1.68.
Sure huskergal, let's chop the US Defense Budget (Repeat the same mistakes of President Clinton and expect different results) by throwing the almost hundred million overpaid too expensive "Fair and Living Wage" US Civilians out of Defense and thrown on Unemployment.
President Obama, 2012, "A 10% Defense Budget Cut will result in a Million (US) Civilians becoming Unemployed". Go right ahead start chopping.
This is why the US Military Budget needs to be separated out of the Defense Budget, so that you will see just who is actually getting most of the Defense Budget.
US Army Corps of Engineers Longterm Infrastructure Projects within the US must not be included within the US Military Budget nor the US Defense Budget and be a separate entity. Bridges, Levees, Dams, Dredging of Streams and Rivers, Beach Erosion, Water Reservoirs, Disaster Response, etc. all must be a separate Budget from the US Military and the US Defense Budget as a US Infrastructure Budget.
The harsh Reality, is that the US Military (not paid a Fair and Living Wage) do not benefit from Wars (US Military is 1% of US Citizens, with 92% of US Citizens NEVER Serving), it is the overpaid too expensive US Civilians that directly benefit (have benefitted since President FDR started the current US Military Industrial Complex to get the US out of the Great Depression 1939 with the Sales of "War Materials" to England, France, Russia, China, etc. in exchange for tons of gold, silver, raw materials, etc. before US Entry into WWII 1941, as he knew US Consumerism would not get the US out of the Great Depression).
Backvcountry,
I did't demonize rich people for being successful, I said if they were smart, they'd realize that the prosperity of the whole country helps them. Undermining nationwide prosperity for all hurts them. It's not a zero-sum-game. All of this cutting for the sake of cutting hurts them, if it hurts economic growth. Everybody says the Sequester is going to hurt the economy, yet seemingly everybody wants to keep cutting. You can't cut your way into prosperity, you have to grow your way into prosperity. The successful should know that more than anybody.
Jane,
There were something like 6 Katrina funding stages/votes. The later ones did lard on other things, for which Obama may have voted against.
"1 in 3 receives assistance"..... SS and Medicare are part of that. You're not saying we should just cut off those programs are you?
I tell you what, 100% of Americans get the benefit of the Government of the United States. Distrubution of any "benefit" is imperfect. The world is not fair, but if you're an American, you are the last person that has a true reason to complain.
Really, how about President Obama as Commander In Chief Ordering the US Military to Attack US Ally Libya in violation of US Law that Restricts and Limits his Presidential War Powers, 1973 War Powers Resolution (Act).
So nope, he did before with Libya "give them an order", so nope you are not right about that.
David, quit being so disingenuous.
We weren't blind and deaf to what was going on. It was Bush who ignored Richard Clark, the PDB, the "chatter." There had to be an ear there to hear chatter in the first place.
Regarding cuts to various infrastructure budgets.
You're complaining that budget cuts are what led to these problems right? 9/11, Katrina, Bengazi, Sandy?
Yet what is the only thing we are discussing right now? Budget cuts.
Are you saying you don't want budget cuts? Keep spending away, but never increase taxes either?
SmBusOwnerinNY,
Typical you don't get it.
What we are talking about is the US Government no longer taking away the prosperity of those that made successful individual choices to give to those that continuely make failed individual choices.
What we are also talking about is US Government living within their means. Like WTF, President Obama by Executive Order December 27, 2012 gave US Congress a pay increase.
And what I stated about President Clinton's chopping the US Defense Budget, Gutting of the US Intelligence Agencies, Cut to the Bone Reduction In Forces of the US Military are Documented Historical Results NOT YOUR EMOTIVE NON FACTUAL OPINIONS.
David,
Typical, totally disingenuous.
"Live within your means," but don't pay your bills.
Taxing us for what we received from our government is taking away your prosperity?
It's one or the other. Pay tax for what we buy as a nation, or don't spend the money. Everything you complained about was money not spent on those key aspects of government.
You can't complain about taxing too much and also complain about not getting enough.
I get it buddy, I think it's you that doesn't get it.
SmBusOwnerinNY,
The only person that is being disingenuous is you.
As you don't even bother to read the Facts of the US Congressional Katrina Hearing, the Bipartisan US Congressional 9/11 Commission (Committee) Investigations, Findings and Recommendations.
WHO DEMANDED THE "ACROSS THE BOARD" BUDGET CUTS (Automatic Sequestration) in his President's Proposal to US Congress to pay for his previously not budgeted for demanded (previous President's Proposal to US Congress) spending of not budgeted for $2.1 Trillion. The "Across the Board" Budget Cuts of the previously Budgeted for Programs (like Medicare, etc.), Projects (like the US Army Corps of Engineers Infrastructure Projects within the US, etc.), Agencies (like FEMA, Department of Education, Veteran's Affairs, etc.), chopping the Benefits and Entitlements of the "47%" (actual 49%). STOP BEING SO UNEDUCATED SmBusOwnerinNY.
Do you even know who got the $2.1 Trillion or what the not previously budgeted for $2.1 Trillion was supposed to pay for.
The United States has plenty of money to pay for emergencies and disaster relief aid such as this, but all of that money goes to different countries or to the wealthy oil companies. I say when something like this happens, the government should say, sorry Egypt, Pakistan, Israel, Afghanistan and you wealthy oil industries, but we need this money to help our own people. We'll get back to you once we've taken care of our own - I'm sure you'll manage without our money.
SmBusOwnerinNY
If they weren't smart enough to figure that out already they never would have gotten to where they are.
A smaller government does NOT hurt economic growth.
OUTSIDE OF GOVERNMENT. Growth of government can ONLY happen by taking money OUT of the economy. Tax dollars don't grow on trees, they come out of the pockets of people who would otherwise spend that money.
The government can not "grow" the economy because the government does not CREATE wealth, it just takes it from those who do.
TheKhanKubla
Oil companies pay the highest tax rates of any corporations in the US. The government is not giving them money, that is utter BS meant to give the sheeple someone to bitch about.
Smbusowner....HR 2206-Katrina Recovery. 2007
Akaka (D-HI), Yea
Alexander (R-TN), Yea
Allard (R-CO), Yea
Baucus (D-MT), Yea
Bayh (D-IN), Yea
Bennett (R-UT), Yea
Biden (D-DE), Yea
Bingaman (D-NM), Yea
Bond (R-MO), Yea
Boxer (D-CA), Nay
Brown (D-OH), Yea
Brownback (R-KS), Not Voting
Bunning (R-KY), Yea
Burr (R-NC), Nay
Byrd (D-WV), Yea
Cantwell (D-WA), Yea
Cardin (D-MD), Yea
Carper (D-DE), Yea
Casey (D-PA), Yea
Chambliss (R-GA), Yea
Clinton (D-NY), Nay
Coburn (R-OK), Nay
Cochran (R-MS), Yea
Coleman (R-MN), Not Voting
Collins (R-ME), Yea
Conrad (D-ND), Yea
Corker (R-TN), Yea
Cornyn (R-TX), Yea
Craig (R-ID), Yea
Crapo (R-ID), Yea
DeMint (R-SC), Yea
Dodd (D-CT), Nay
Dole (R-NC), Yea
Domenici (R-NM), Yea
Dorgan (D-ND), Yea
Durbin (D-IL), Yea
Ensign (R-NV), Yea
Enzi (R-WY), Nay
Feingold (D-WI), Nay
Feinstein (D-CA), Yea
Graham (R-SC), Yea
Grassley (R-IA), Yea
Gregg (R-NH), Yea
Hagel (R-NE), Yea
Harkin (D-IA), Yea
Hatch (R-UT), Not Voting
Hutchison (R-TX), Yea
Inhofe (R-OK), Yea
Inouye (D-HI), Yea
Isakson (R-GA), Yea
Johnson (D-SD), Not Voting
Kennedy (D-MA), Nay
Kerry (D-MA), Nay
Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea
Kohl (D-WI), Yea
Kyl (R-AZ), Yea
Landrieu (D-LA), Yea
Lautenberg (D-NJ), Yea
Leahy (D-VT), Nay
Levin (D-MI), Yea
Lieberman (ID-CT), Yea
Lincoln (D-AR), Yea
Lott (R-MS), Yea
Lugar (R-IN), Yea
Martinez (R-FL), Yea
McCain (R-AZ), Yea
McCaskill (D-MO), Yea
McConnell (R-KY), Yea
Menendez (D-NJ), Yea
Mikulski (D-MD), Yea
Murkowski (R-AK), Yea
Murray (D-WA), Yea
Nelson (D-FL), Yea
Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Obama (D-IL), Nay
Pryor (D-AR), Yea
Reed (D-RI), Yea
Reid (D-NV), Yea
Roberts (R-KS), Yea
Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea
Salazar (D-CO), Yea
Sanders (I-VT), Nay
Schumer (D-NY), Not Voting
Sessions (R-AL), Yea
Shelby (R-AL), Yea
Smith (R-OR), Yea
Snowe (R-ME), Yea
Specter (R-PA), Yea
Stabenow (D-MI), Yea
Stevens (R-AK), Yea
Sununu (R-NH), Yea
Tester (D-MT), Yea
Thomas (R-WY), Not Voting
Thune (R-SD), Yea
Vitter (R-LA), Yea
Voinovich (R-OH), Yea
Warner (R-VA), Yea
Webb (D-VA), Yea
Whitehouse (D-RI), Nay
Wyden (D-OR), Nay
Tom,
Katrina hit in 2005. A bill in 2007 may just have other things in it, that Obama objected to.
I'm not going to research it--what does any of this have to do with Obama anyway?
David,
I'm not being disingenuous, I'm looking at the whole picture. We have a representative democracy and our Representatives created the fiscal situation we are in. We have to pay for it, we can't just opt out. The Sequester was born out of failure of the House to accept Boenher and Obama's Grand bargain, which in retrospect, looks a hell of a lot better than was has transpired since. In ANY case, we as a nation have to pay the bill. You can't complain about not spending enough on the things you like but also not want to pay. (well, you can, but it's a disingenuous argument).
Back,
A smaller government does hurt economic growth. That's what economists are predicting from the sequester--2-3% economic contraction. That's what created the Reagan economic boom, and the WWII economic boom for that matter. Spending is spending. GDP doesn't care who's doing the buying.
Govt spending isn't taking that money out of the economy, it's NOT a zero-sum-game, it's borrowing it from investors, who are perfectly willing to lend it to our government, at historically low rates.
In anticipation of my following response delay.....Gotta go out with the kids to do some spending at the mall. I'm not just disappearing and giving up. Talk later.
P O R K
Make sure you know the facts before you kick a DEMOCRAT.
the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee released a Hurricane Sandy Supplemental Funding bill, which included $150 million forfishery disaster relief and $56 million for marine debris efforts to be shared by several states, including Alaska.
BOTH Alaska U.S. senators, Democratic Mark Begich and Republican Lisa Murkowski, support the incoming aid.
The fisheries disaster was declared so "by the federal government" in September, but that Alaskans are still waiting for relief for the tsunami clean up. Debris still "poses serious navigational hazards and risks to coastal communities" in Alaska.
Sen. Murkowski backed Sen. Begich up with a press release supporting aid to both disasters.Murkowski said:
She added:
The $150 million from the Hurricane Sandy Supplemental Funding bill for fisheries and marine debris will be split between Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico and New England.
Money can fix anything, including damage caused by Sandy. But as everyone knows, when the pocket is empty, feet drag behind. Reality is slowly sinking in that Santa has left town!
Furthermore, when we have spent $1 Billion on electing the unelectable then you know that our priorities are all lopsided.
1.23
Get Real...
Where do you get your info that insists only Democrats have disaster requests....? or as you call it: PORK.
Did you ever READ the bills?
or
see who co-sponsors them?
.
.
I HATE wasteful spending, but I've got enough sense to RESEARCH what the requests are for.
RI Mom, that fishery money was taken out in the house. The Reps added 5million for fisheries impacted by Hurricane Sandy.
"The $150 million for fisheries in Alaska, New Hampshire and elsewhere that had been in last month’s Senate Sandy emergency bill were not in the House bill. But the House bill would spend $5 million “for necessary expenses related to fishery disasters resulting from impacts of Hurricane Sandy.”
SmBusOwnerinNY
As a business owner yourself you should understand how utterly WRONG this is. If you spend your money hiring more employees your business grows, you make more product or provide more service and in turn make even more money. It is the growth of your business that CREATES WEALTH. All the government can do is shuffle it around.
The idea that spending by the government is equal to spending by the private sector is one of the greatest con jobs in history!
@RI Mom
So I assume you are in favor of the republican "let's not rush into this" approach?? Or how else would you be able to RESEARCH what the requests are for if it get's shoved through post-haste in the middle of the night?
What did the Global Warming Scientists say. Seriously, how smart is it to build below the water level (if you don't know what I am talking about DO YOUR OWN Research).
The Symbol of the Demoncraptic Party. Hint: If you jack up someone's arse high enough then their arse switches places with their head.
@happytimes 1.15...Christie is only posturing for his political future.
While everybody here is talking and talking about government money, what about YOUR money that you might have donated? Both government and non-governmental agencies have ignored some of the "Zone A" areas that were underwater during Sandy, and that still do not have repairs or heat. People blamed the Red Cross for its structure, but the "Robin Hood" concert was as big of a joke, giving as much money to some groups for anti-defamation as to people who are trying to rebuild. Can you imagine an entire Zone A neighborhood in Brookyn only receiving $25,000 for the whole neighborhood, where every house needs floors and walls torn out, furnaces and heating systems replaced? Never ever in NYC's history, since the colonial era, has there been such a flood. Look up GerritsenBeach.net to see what has been done and the comments of real victims. Gerritsen Beach consists of small one-story houses mostly, and its people are all working-class.
Years ago, Gerritsen Beach raised money for its own volunteer fire and EMS departments (outside of NYC's), because it took too long for NYC to respond to emergencies. The "Vollies" have organized self-help repairs, food distribution, and neighborhood watches to make sure that people are not freezing to death. A local church has also been a center for distribution. This is only one example of a self-help effort by real victims of Sandy; if Americans gave as much money to these real neighborhood groups as Americans have given to the lady on the bus who was attacked by children, or the man whose dog had arthritis, these neighborhoods would be able to get back on their feet before anybody freezes to death.
New York and New Jersey need to pass a law in their statehouses making it a criminal offence for any state citizen to donate any campaign money to Congressmen or Senators that voted against the Sandy Relief Bill.And if its not possible to pass that law. The Newspaper's in the States should publish the names and addresses of anyone donating money to them. Let your fellow citizens publicly know who supports them. And they can decide whether to keep buying products they sell or investing with them,etc.
Uncle Bob 512
Couldn't you think of anything stupider to say? Are you actually admitting that you have no @!$%#ing clue how much wasteful, unrelated spending would get tacked on to such bills if we just rushed them through. Or do you just not care how much money the government wastes because they don't take any of that money from you?
SmBusOwnerinNY
Jane,
"1 in 3 receives assistance"..... SS and Medicare are part of that. You're not saying we should just cut off those programs are you.
__________________
I don't believe I said anything remotely like that.
more then 1 in 3 americans are receipents of one or more of these federal assistance programs
medicaid 26%
Food stamps 15%
Wic 8%
Housing Assistance 4%
TANF 2%
SS and Medicare are not on that list.
OK OK, How about this. Instead of giving NJ federal aid, we simply give them a tax holiday for 2012. In other words, we tell the great state of NJ "Hey, you guys have a lot to worry about at home so how about we just give you back the federal taxes you paid instead?
Oh FYI - in 2007 the federal tax revenue for NJ was $121,678,423,000.00 gross.
If we do the same for NY they would get $244,672,914,000.00
I think it's only fair that we pay our own way to recovery, therefor simply give NJ and NY back every nickel we paid in federal taxes back to our home states. Then we can let podunk states like Missouri and Kansas and North Dakota and their tax payers off the hook.
Unfortunately, since we have so much cleaning up to do, we won't be able to help the other states out like we have in years past so the rest of y'all bitchin' and moaning best go get yourselves a second job to make up the difference that we normally send ya.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_tax_revenue_by_state
That "government money" IS OUR MONEY.
As far as donations, what about your hypocrite Bankster Wallstreeter Multi Billionaire Bloomers.
And like I stated before about the US Army Corps of Engineers Infrastructure Projects within the US, do you even know why someplaces Flooded while others did not (again, thank President Clinton for previously chopping the US Defense Budget Funding for the Longterm US Army Corps of Engineer Projects within the US, due to US Congressional Oversight, GAO, CBO, Environmental Impact Studies, Lawsuits and long Court Cases, etc. these must be funded Decades before.):
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57542332/superstorm-sandy-slams-east-coast-leaving-floods-millions-without-power/
Who do you think built those "Berms". Go right ahead and demand US Defense Budget Cuts.
How about this have your State jack up your State Taxes to pay for everything, as you want to live there in a high risk area. Same with California. I was NOT kidding about what the Global Warming Scientists stated. Hurricane Sandy gave you a 13 foot rise of water temporarily, what if that was NOT temporary but permanent according to the Global Warming Scientists predictions.
David - And where would you say is a safe place to live?
According to Kiplinger the top ten states most likely to have a disaster are:
1. Louisiana
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. Mississippi
5. Alabama
6. Tennessee
7. Missouri
8. Oklahoma
9. Ohio
10. Illiniois
Note how none of the states in the Northeast are on that list. So where exactly should the people move?
Should everyone pack up and head to New Mexico, Nah too dry, better go somewhere where there's less drought. How about we all move to Idaho, nah too much snow. Hawaii? nope volcanoes. Oh wait I got it, let's all relocate the entire nation to Western PA. as long as we stay away from the rivers we should be ok. I wonder if we'll all fit....
Go ask the Global Warming Scientists.
Do me a favor, everyone. Put SmBusinessOwner on IGNORE. Feckless rabble and totally uninformed sheeple.
Blowhard POS Libtard.....
@piggy
Wonder why he voted against? Think pork might have been the reason?
SmBusOwnerinNY
No you buffoon, I demand a functioning competent government, because that’s what strict adherence to the Constitution mandates.
NOT a “slow, cumbersome and mind-numbingly complex process”.
NOT this process:
Examples from multiple Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports of wasteful duplication include 342 economic development programs; 130 programs serving the disabled; 130 programs serving at-risk youth; 90 early childhood development programs; 75 programs funding international education, cultural, and training exchange activities; and 72 safe water programs. This report identifies more than $100 billion to $200 billion in annual government spending on 1,500 different programs that are wasteful, duplicative, or inefficient.
NOT this process:
The federal government made at least $125 billion in improper payments in 2011.
NOT this process:
A recent study by the Institute of Medicine shows health care fraud is estimated to cost taxpayers more than $750 billion annually.
NOT this process:
Government auditors spent the past five years examining all federal programs and found that 22 percent of them–costing taxpayers a total of $123 billion annually–fail to show any positive impact on the populations they serve. (emphasis mine)
This is YOUR government! THIS is what you limp-wristed Libbies condone. And then, with all the bravado of a 3 year old, you demand that Americans give MORE of their hard earned money to your criminal government. You demand those mean, nasty, rich, fat-cat, bogeymen you Libbies so despise, to just give this laughingly incompetent government more of their hard earned money.
You Liberals/Progressives should be ashamed of yourselves. You allow all the raping of our great nation by the political class and then demand they take more to redistribute, yet your redistributionist efforts don’t help more than 25% of the people.
Yes, and so should you. Your impotent and dysfunctional Liberal/Progressive regime is incapable of creating ANY entitlement or social program that isn’t a strain on our society and economy. Rational opposition is the only thing that prevented Barrack Hussein and his statist cabal from destroying more of our Liberties and Constitution.
Our government is designed on a system of checks-and-balances, a system of separation-of-powers. When these are ignored, or usurped, our Republic begins its inevitable decline into a Democracy form of government. The Founders and Framers warned us about the “excesses of Democracy” and the “Tyranny-by- Majority.
It’s NOT governments purpose to create jobs or stimulate the economy. Its purpose is to enforce its Enumerated Powers and promote the private sector to do what it does best.
Create commerce.
It never ceases to amaze me how you alleged Liberal small business owners continue to support the massive intrusions our government allows itself and subsequently costs us more money that can be used to invest, create jobs and expand the economy.
I doubt many of you truly are business owners, small or large.
Try to keep up Spanky.
David-475776, if what you stated about failures in business, then this would also pertain to Bush II? He failed at every venture in his life so he wised up and ran for president on his daddy's name. Dub-ya was smart enough to realize if he could finish one term without going to prison or impeachment he would have a guaranteed retirement, full time security and a discretionary spending allowance for life. Why did this country not look back at his failures, addictions and lack of intelligence and refuse him the opportunity to draw public welfare?
How about this YOU bet your life on that.
I have been involved with the "Middle East" (Islamic Nations Worldwide) since the US Military Training Teams to US Ally Iraq during the Iran Iraq Wars, rotated to Operation Cyclone.
Prior to President Clinton, the Director of the CIA Bush (President 41) built up the US Intelligence Agencies Worldwide.
So prior to the Liberation of Kuwait we were already at Kuwait as United Nations Observers, with local Kuwaitis Intelligence Assets.
After the Iraqis Military started to come into Kuwait to stop the Kuwaitis Diagonal (Slant) Drilling into the Iraqis Oil Fields (an Act of War), we exfiltrated into US Ally Saudi Arabia with the assistance of the local Kuwaitis intelligence assets.
Then we went into Iraq to conduct LRS-D Operations prior to the start of Operation Desert Storm. We had local Iraqis Intelligence assets to link up with, that also provided us with current on the ground situational intelligence.
It was President Clinton's Belief that the Cold War Era US Defense Budget, US Intelligence Agencies, US Military were no longer needed; so he Ordered the Chops to the US Defense Budget, Gutting of the US Intelligence Agencies, and the Cut to the Bone Reduction In Forces of the US Military.
Immediately after the ink dried on President Clinton's US Law, H.R.4655, "Iraqis Liberation Act of 1998" Justification Section 2 WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION, Section 3 US Policy Overthrow of President Hussein, with US Congressional Appropriations, we went into Iraq to hire hundreds of thousands of Shia Iraqis (most previously from Iran) to Overthrow Sunnis President Hussein. Since President Clinton had already Gutted the US Intelligence Agencies, the local Iraqis Intelligence assets to survive and make a living since they were no longer US Funded, became Iraqis Counter Intelligence Agents (anti US); Resulting in us having to evade them as Iraqis Counter Intelligence Agents, the Iraqis Military, Iraqis Law Enforcement, etc.. This is why we failed, and the hundreds of thousands of Shia Iraqis we hired as assassins and insurgents were easily captured, tried and executed as Traitors. President Clinton then spun this to "Dictator Massacring His Own People".
While still at Iraq our Mission was changed to conduct Target Damage Assessments for President Clinton's Ordered as US Military Commander In Chief 1998 Operation Desert Fox. It was President Clinton's belief that by targeting the Iraqis Government there would be no one left to negotiate Peace, so he Ordered the Targeting of the Crowded Urban Poor Areas of Baghdad, from experience we opposed as you do not mess with the Poor of Islam, President Clinton did not listen and we were threatened with Letters of Reprimand and Relief for Cause. Thousands of the Poor of Islam died in the Airstrikes and Cruise Missile Attacks on the Crowded Urban Poor Areas of Baghdad, resulting in the intense condemnation of the over 1.5 Billion Islamic Believers Worldwide with the US as the Great Satan. We then had to flee Iraq as even the previous Pro US Iraqis turned against us.
In 2001 shortly after the 9/11 2001 Attacks President Bush (43) sent his Executive Intelligence Agency, the CIA, into Afghanistan to Overthrow the Fundamentalist Islamic Taliban Government, Locate and Capture Osama Bin Laden. This Failed (CIA Killed) since there were no local Afghan Intelligence Assets (again due to President Clinton's Gutting of the US Intelligence Agencies) to find one person (OBL) in the entire Nation of Afghanistan, and there was no current situational intelligence from local Afghan intelligence assets.
After the Fundamentalist Islamic Taliban became the Government of Afghanistan they locked down Afghanistan tighter than North Korea. After President Clinton let Osama Bin Laden go after the 1993 First World Trade Center Bombing, he fled into Afghanistan.
In October 2001 we attached to the CIA's SAD/SOG are sent into Afghanistan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arxKhJIjIiY
We Overthrew the Fundamentalist Islamic Taliban Government, Al Quada, destroyed the Islamic Jihadist Training Camps that sponsored the 9/11 Attacks and chased them into Northern Iraq via the Old Silk Road. Some fled into Pakistan.
Once again without local Iraqis Intelligence Assets we went into Northern Iraq with the attached US Army 10th Special Forces Group to eliminate the Taliban, Al Quada, Islamic Jihadists that escaped us from Afghanistan as Operation Viking Hammer. The Taliban, Al Quada, Islamic Jihadists had combined together with the Fundamentalist Islamic Kurdistanis PKK, HPG, KGK and became Ansar Al Islam.
Before we could eliminate Ansar Al Islam, the Fundamentalist Islamic Shia Republic of Iran had given them Islamic Sanctuary. Being a United Nations Mission, NATO appointed Gentleman British General McColl as the Commander ISAF with no knowledge of Asymmetric War Afghanistan so he did nothing to stop the Taliban, Al Quada, Islamic Jihadists from returning to Afghanistan thru Afghanistan or from Pakistan. The common British Conventional Warfare Belief of "Fair Fight" of letting your enemy gather and then meet on the Battlefield at the appointed time and place. EVERYTHING WE DID AND ALL OUR GAINS PAID IN OUR BLOOD AND LIVES WERE LOST.
While still at Northern Iraq our mission is changed to accomplish Operation Hotel California to create a Strategic Operational Feint to make the Iraqis Political Leadership and Iraqis Military Command believe that the main US Military Liberation Forces to accomplish President Clinton's US Law, H.R.4655 as US Policy Overthrow of President Hussein as the start of Operation Iraqis Freedom.
So do NOT even tell me that the US was NOT Blind and Deaf to the Events leading up to the 9/11 2001 Attacks. Of the thousands of us that started as the US Military Training Teams to US Ally Iraq during the Iran Iraq Wars, rotated to Operation Cyclone, there are only Redacted dozen of us left, the majority killed due to a lack of local intelligence assets. After President Clinton's Gutting of the US Intelligence Agencies the US had to rely on "Potential Hostile" Nations Information (Not even Intelligence), like from the Pakistanis, Jordanians, etc.. During those days the majority of the US Allies Intelligence Agencies refused US access to their Intelligence Assets fearing their being compromised (killed).
So YOU bet your life on what President Clinton did, YOU LOSE. It will be Decades before the US can recover, as it took Decades to build up the Intelligence Assets at other Nations. As now those Nations Counter Intelligence Agencies will be waiting for the US to even attempt to do so.
Very shortly all this will be the problem of Generation X and Generation Y, as the few of us that survived will finally get to quit and go back on Retirement again with no more Recalls in the Special Category.
SO AGAIN THE US BLIND AND DEAF TO THE EVENTS LEADING TO THE 9/11 2001 ATTACKS, thanks to President Clinton's Gutting of the US Intelligence Agencies.
You want to talk about the dismantling of the previous US Army Anti Aircraft Missile Batteries to protect the US Cities, also done as Ordered by President Clinton as US Military Commander In Chief, or the USAF Interceptors on "Standby" at the US Civilian Airports to protect US Cities and US Civilian Airports that were also removed.
NON Factual Opinion of a Non Participant.
$1.6 trillion deficit. $1.6 trillion of spending more than the government makes. We can be all for helping people who got unlucky in a storm, but where do we get the money? The increase in taxes that will be made by taxing the top 2% has already been spent. So again, where do we get the money? The money that was going to be saved via the Sequestration was delayed for two month, yet has already been spent. Where do we get the money?
David,
Just where did you get you budget information. I got mine from the US Government site. I put it all into an excel data base and had it graph the numbers. I know that my information is accurate.
So I can slice the budget into pie shapes and the defense budget is the biggest part of the pie, followed by Social Security, including medicare and medicaid. This part of the pie is completely covered by revenue from payroll taxes.
What about the 1973 War Powers Resolution? Here is some interestin g reading for you:
http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/what-exactly-is-the-war-powers-act-and-is-obama-really-violating-it
http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?no=340251&rel_no=1
http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/06/24/hayden.obama.libya/index.html
Good stuff. Hope you enjoy them.
David-475776, I was in DC during Dubya's reign of stupidity working as a research scientist. I know first hand the stupidity of the prior office. So your label of "non-participant" is total BS. Dubya gutted NASA, sent in his non-scientific appointees to work there. The non-believers of Climate Change and science when it was in color via satellite imagery over a 30 year time period of the shrinking ice cap of the Arctic. Dubya was and always will be a loser. Of course he was "born again" long enough to con everyone. You lose.
huskergal
Social Security is excluded from the budget by law so I'm not sure exactly where you're getting your info or what it is saying. When you look at total Federal spending SS alone tops defense and when you add in Medicaid and Medicare they easily double it. Instead of fudging some numbers into exel why not just look for an accurate pie chart on the net? This one breaks Federal spending down completely- http://midknightgraphs.blogspot.com/2012/07/a-comprehensive-pie-chart-of-federal.html#!/2012/07/a-comprehensive-pie-chart-of-federal.html
SO AGAIN THE US BLIND AND DEAF TO THE EVENTS LEADING TO THE 9/11 2001 ATTACKS, thanks to President Clinton's Gutting of the US Intelligence Agencies.
David, you're full of crap. The CIA budget cuts began under the first President Bush and were reversed, under Tenet's leadership, late in the Clinton presidency and before the 9/11 attacks.
As for Clinton, Reagan's Counterterrorism Czar, said he approved of the job Clinton was doing as President, however, the major criticsim he had with Clinton was his obsession with Osama. Does this sound like a President that was deaf to the events leading up to 911, moron.
Speaking of Deaf and Blind, Lets talk about Dumbya, shall we? What did he do before 911?
The direct warnings to Mr. Bush about the possibility of a Qaeda attack began in the spring of 2001. By May 1, the Central Intelligence Agency told the White House of a report that “a group presently in the United States” was planning a terrorist operation. Weeks later, on June 22, the daily brief reported that Qaeda strikes could be “imminent,” although intelligence suggested the time frame was flexible.
But some in the administration considered the warning to be just bluster. An intelligence official and a member of the Bush administration both told me in interviews that the neoconservative leaders who had recently assumed power at the Pentagon were warning the White House that the C.I.A. had been fooled; according to this theory, Bin Laden was merely pretending to be planning an attack to distract the administration from Saddam Hussein, whom the neoconservatives saw as a greater threat. Intelligence officials, these sources said, protested that the idea of Bin Laden, an Islamic fundamentalist, conspiring with Mr. Hussein, an Iraqi secularist, was ridiculous, but the neoconservatives’ suspicions were nevertheless carrying the day.
There were more details, as laid out by one of Tenet’s top analysts, known in the book as “Rich B.” Tenet recounts his aide telling Rice and others, “The attack will be ‘spectacular.’ and designed to inflict mass casualties against U.S. facilities and interests. ‘Attack preparations have been made,’ he said. ‘Multiple and simultaneous attacks are possible, and they will occur with little or no warning. Al-Qaida is waiting us out and looking for vulnerability.”
Rice, Tenet wrote, reacted positively to the briefing and asked her counter terrorism adviser, Richard Clarke, if he agreed with the assessment. Clarke said he did, and Tenet said he and his aides left the meeting feeling that Rice understood the threat. However, he wrote, the White House never followed up on the presidential finding that Tenet had been asking for since March, authorizing broader covert action against al-Qaida. That finding was signed by President Bush on Sept. 17, six days after the attacks.
http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/11/13809524-evidence-piles-up-that-bush-administration-got-many-pre-911-warnings#comments
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/11/opinion/the-bush-white-house-was-deaf-to-9-11-warnings.html?_r=0
You guys with the Chris Christie is a big fat slob, Obummer and his Muslim friends blah blah blah totally crack me up.
You sit there behind a computer and throw Governors and Presidents under the bus as if you have better ideas yet, you're all just ordinary Joe's. Just like myself.
I'd love for one of you "Just One" of you guys to go to the capital and tell them how to make things better. How to change things. How to bring the deficit back under control. They'd laugh at you all the way back to the bus. It's a long road to the top and I can guarantee none of you have the experience it takes to even start.
If you were President/Governor you'd be in a fetal position within a day. You all write as if you know how to change things, make things better, what's wrong with everything but have "ZERO" experience behind the wheel.
I really do crack up when the political BS comes out because it actually "is" BS. Heh heh.
I stand behind my first post. #1.2
Presidents are puppets and all the horses men are the puppeteers. There is no just "one" man/woman running the show.
What do you think it takes to become a President? They didn't just draw straws. Millions upon millions of people had to put someone there. "Hundreds of Millions". Ugh..............
a poster with a name a ten year old would use said:
" I was in DC during Dubya's reign of stupidity working as a research scientist"
haha..."research scientist" , that's another name for "bum"
Sorry backcountry but you are fudging it. Social Security including medicare and medicaid details can be found and put in the budget. This still pays for itself and should not be on the negotiating table.
http://www.usfederalbudget.us/defense_budget_2012_3.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_United_States_federal_budget
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2012/assets/hist.pdf
There is a lot of Historical information in this last one. Good for comparison. Enjoy.
huskergal
??? I'm not the one making up my own pie charts so what is there for me to fudge exactly? Did you not look at the link I provided?
"Starting in 1969 (due to action by the Johnson Administration in 1968) the transactions to the Trust Fund were included in what is known as the "unified budget." This means that every function of the federal government is included in a single budget. This is sometimes described by saying that the Social Security Trust Funds are "on-budget." This budget treatment of the Social Security Trust Fund continued until 1990 when the Trust Funds were again taken "off-budget." This means only that they are shown as a separate account in the federal budget."-http://www.ssa.gov/history/InternetMyths2.html
As for your links- the first one doesn't include SS spending, which backs my claim that it is not included in the budget.
As per your second link- "Total outlays by budget function, National Defense-$716.300 billion; Social Security-$778.574 billion; Medicare-$484.486 billion; Medicaid not included"
So you'll have to explain just exactly what it is that I'm fudging since YOUR own source backs my claim.
As for your third link- well, give me a break. I'm not an economist so I'm not even going to attempt to surf through an intentionally convoluted document. If there is something there point it out specifically so I can debunk that as well.
I'm sorry that you spent so much time trying to piece it all together yourself and then failed. As I said, why not just check the net? There are tons of people who do professionally what you attempted to do and failed. Don't feel bad, it's not an accident that these things are almost impossible to sort through.
Yes, Backcountry, I did. Know what I found? The very first listing on the pie chart was Social Security. Your pie graph is in sink with the one I made. I just combined some of the separate items into liker categories and give a really good view of the pie.
I didn't fail; you did. You fail because your graph proves my work.
John Athondoe, bum you wish. We work hard so our discoveries can be exploited by business leeches and keep blue collar in work. Where do you think Velcro came from? It sure wasn't a business idea nor was carbon fiber, high temp ceramics, UAV's, remote sensing satellites, exotic metals or high speed computing that the world has come to rely on especially Wall Street and other businesses.
By the way UAV's were designed to monitor forest fires. What are they used for now and how many companies are building them for warfare? Don't comment on something you do not understand as it goes with the statement "their are no stupid questions just stupid answers or replies." We love what we do as it does contributes to society, the economy and saves lives in a major way.
Intellect. What would you prefer to happen to technology that we all pay for?? Would you prefer that government just sit on it and keep it from distribution and use by the public? It is obvious that you prefer that government rules and operates every phase of peoples lives. This country has always been based on private and free enterprise and it has worked very well producing the best economy that the world has ever experienced. I am not sure that you produced anything, but get used to the fact that you, and government, cannot claim ownership forever. I think that Russian gov research has produced many discoveries also...and they demanded gov ownership of the results. How well did that work out? Socialism is not the wonderful system that you seem to think.
huskergal
WTF are you talking about??? You said defense was the biggest piece of the pie. Bigger than SS+medicaid+medicare combined.
Clearly you were wrong as you seem to be admitting. Perhaps you misspoke before??
Sorry, backcountry, I misread your earlier post. I thought you said that Social Security is not counted in the federal budget and the first field I saw in your budget link was Social Security.
The defense budget is made up of discretionary and mandatory spending. The exact figure for the Department of Defense including overseas contingency operations is: Discretionary: $683 billion and mandatory is $5.3 billion. The higher number given above includes the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State and other international programs, and the Department of veterans affairs. All together, as the defense budget, discretionary is $854 billion and Mandatory is $79.9 billion
For the figures I have for Entitlements, included is DHHS including Medicare and medicaid, Department of Education, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and disaster costs.
Well, it is. Remember the Social Security, medicare, and medicaid pay for itself through payroll taxes. Discretionary spending for defense does not pay for itself, as a matter of fact it gets taxpayer dollars that are lost to the taxpayers.
I am not wrong. I used government figures to do my database and had the graphs come from that. I may have imbalanced it because I do not consider the Army Core of Engineers to be defense; yet they are. If I add them to the discretionary defense budget, it grows even larger to $863.3 billion and mandatory goes down to $79.8 billion.
"research scientist" and "artist" are synonyms for "bum"
"wheres my grant money?"..."how come you haven't taken my grant money from those damn taxpayers"
sorry there huskergal , but "defense" is one of the FEW things that the federal government is mandated and authorized to do by the lefty hated Constitution, but social security and medicare? NO Constitutional mandate or authorization
@huskergal
SS is technically NOT a part of the budget. My link was total government spending.
Defense is NOT the biggest outlay of our government regardless of how you break it down or what you add to it. SS, medicaid and medicare account for over 40% of Federal outlays, by 2030 it is projected to be 60%. You can add and subtract what ever you want to come up with whatever you want to see. I'll stick with what the government, the CBO, and economists everywhere consider to be "defense" spending.
Also, defense doesn't need to "pay for itself" becaus,e as John Athondoe mentions, it is the duty of our government to provide for our defense. None of the "entitlements" fit into that category.
UNC IV LIFE, you are suspended for a week for violating rule # 1 of the Code of Honor.
Where is all the tax moiney going? To Obama's Muslim Brotherhood? Selling fighter jets to them?
Muslim Brotherhood- Republican Tea Nuts- same kind of radical. No difference.
CasualUSTaxpayer
You forgot the Liberal Progressive Democrat.
Liberal Democrat is just another name for Domestic terrorist.
"If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a
conservative at forty you have no brain." - Winston Churchill
When Obama become a Muslim? I must of missed that news report from FOX
Sandra -
At birth. And in the muslim world, once a muslim, always a muslim -if you denounce the 'faith' you are dead to them, and if they deem it important enough, they will put a fatwa on you.
Why don't you read a bit about that 'faith' and learn something.
Oh brother, when will the "he's a mooslim" crap end? Looks like never.
Larry...If you can't prove in a court of US law...that President Obama is a Muslim, you show your "ignernce" by posting such libelous prattle.
Tetra...I so agree...What infuriates me is their "ignernce" in this day and age. Their stupid ass states use state taxes to fund crony corporations business instead of education. It's why those in the northeast pay such high taxes for education...because WE in the northeast know the value of education more than these okie dokes ever will.
These sit on their double sized asses at computers all day long and spew out hateful BS. Most of them are on the dole one way or another and OUR taxes are paying for their lazy ass lives.
What exactly does any of your lame childish comments have to do with the relief aid from Hurrican Sandy? Do you honestly hear yourselfs you are so pathetic.
Can't wait to read some day that US taxpayers are subsidizing the newly acquired Al Jazeera television network as part of the agreement to hand Al Gore a hundred million. We will find it tucked in the back of some emergency relief bill like all the pet projects Congress feels that Sandy can now fund.
Tammy, you got that religion thing wrong, that is a Mormon thing and if you aren't at birth they go and change your religion after death. Why do you think they are so deep in ancestery?
casual, bet you did'nt know that bush was the one who made the deal to sell the jets to egypt. does'nt fit your agenda so i guess you just ignore that
Hey Rick, I guess you have no problem with a Saudi Prince owning a huge chunk of Fox Noise. Or how about the Koch brothers (Tea Party Financiers) who owe their family fortune to Joseph Stallin when they laid down the infrastructure for Soviet oil. Tea party funded by commie money, where's your outrage.
Why don't we look at the enacted US budget, created by Congress. For disaster relief, they allocated just $0.005 billion for disaster relief. There is nothing in the budget for the Muslim Brotherhood.
To NJ alone the damage is a least $29.9 billion. The discretionary spending for the military could easily cover the damage for all the effected states - the $60 billion, as the enacted discretionary budget for defense is $854 billion.
Does anybody see the problem here?
huskergal
Well except of course for the 1.3 billion dollars we just sent to Egypt which is now controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood. But who's counting?
Sandra - still working - When Obama become a Muslim?
How about you researching his early childhood, the Laws of the Islamic Nation of Indonesia, requirements to receive Public Assistance at the Islamic Nation of Indonesia, Citizenship requirements of the Islamic Nation of Indonesia, the actions of his stepfather Soetoro, the actions of his mother Stanley Dunham, the requirements to become an Islamic Believer completely subjugated to Islam (definition of Muslim), the actions of Barry Soetoro at Indonesia, Foreign Student Identification Card at US, etc..
Spoonfeeding you just one Official Indonesian Document (see line#4):
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_lxHkFGQPc90/S8vHCgnkwsI/AAAAAAAABDc/GSdM4eZb9w0/s1600/barry.jpg
Easy, motivations for still sending Billions USDs of US Citizens money per year to Islamic Nations that by their actions HATE the US; instead of sending the Billions USDs to US States for Disaster Relief, Hurricane Sandy Relief, etc..
david-475776
That's all very interesting but let's not forget that it is republicans who are first to defend this spending using the excuses of "National security" and "protecting our interests abroad". They talk a good game about using the money as leverage but they NEVER threaten to stop making the payments just because those nations hate us.
When, and who started that. Hint: Was NOT a Repugnant.
As far as "National Security" and "protecting our interests aboard", WHO F**KED those up, with the RESULTS:
The Fundamentalist Islamic Shia Republic of Iran increased their Overt and Covert Activities against the US and US Allies Worldwide.
1. The Fundamentalist Islamic Shia Republic of Iran pressures the Islamic Shia Government of Iraq, no more Negotiations with President Obama nor SOS Clinton for the US to remain at Iraq. US Kicked out of Iraq.
a. The Fundamentalist Islamic Shia Republic of Iran's Allies the Chinese and Russian Federation get the Iraqis Oil that could have paid for the US And US Allies Military Liberation of Iraq with Decades to Centuries of Iraqis Oil. The Libyan Oil becomes of Strategic Importance to the US European Allies (Obama is already outsmarted as the Al Quada, Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, etc. were already at Egypt doing across the border attacks of US Ally Libya to seize Benghazi (Libyan Military Munitions Depots (Weapons and Ammuntion).).
b. The Fundamentalist Islamic Shia Republic of Iran is no longer stuck between two US and US Allies Military Forces (Iraq and Afghanistan).
c. The Fundamentalist Islamic Shia Republic of Iran no longer has to worry about US and US Allies Military intervention of the Fundamentalist Islamic Shia Republic of Iran's Special Forces, Quds, training, arming, funding the millions of Holy Warriors of Islam at the Fundamentalist Islamic Autonomous Kurdistanis Region (Northern Iraq, Syria, Southern Turkey, Northwestern Iran). The Graduates trained in Asymmetric Warfare as Insurgency, to fight the US and Overthrow the Established Governments of US Allies Worldwide: Muslim Brotherhood Overthrow US Ally Egypt, strategic Suez Canal, Mediterranean Ports, closer logistics to support HamasWarlords (Palestine) and Army of Islam Gaza, closer locations to attack US Ally Israel, Strategic Location to attack US Ally Libya. Libyan Islamic Fighting Group Overthrow US Ally Libya, strategic Mediterranean Ports closer to attack the US European Allies aka Crusaders, release President Obama's Guantanamo Prisoners transfered to President Gaddaffi's Prisons, seize 20,000 portable shoulder launched anti aircraft missiles to shoot down US Airlines to "cripple the US Economy", another Fundamentalist Islamic Nation (sworn to War Against the Christians, Jews, Unbelievers; as they originally went to Libya to kill US Ally President Gaddaffi the Collaborator to the Christians, Jews, Unbelievers.), the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group previously killing US Military at Iraq became the Libyan Government.
Those that must make up for all the US losses (oil), US Ally Saudi Arabia, "President Obama gave Iraq to Iran as a Gift on a Golden Platter".
2. The Fundamentalist Islamic Shia Republic of Iran pressures the Government of Pakistan, no more Negotiations with President Obama nor SOS Clinton for the US Military Logistics Bases nor MQ/RQ (Drone) Bases to remain at Pakistan. Since the days of the British Empire (Colonies) the British knew that the Pakistanis Sea Ports, Bases, Khyber Pass, etc. were Mandatory at Pakistan for any "British Adventures" at Afghanistan. Without these US Military Logistics Bases at Pakistan the United Nations Mission at Afghanistan can only support 30,000, the US and NATO Forces must withdraw from Afghanistan by 2014.
3. The Fundamentalist Islamic Shia Republic of Iran tells the Afghans that they will negotiate the Mineral Wealth of Afghanistan with the Ally of the Fundamentalist Islamic Shia Republic of Iran the Chinese, China Metallurgical Group. After this happened the Chinese immediately placed restrictions of the exports of Minerals to the US and US Allies.
THERE IS A LOT MORE, AND YOU STILL WANT TO DEFEND PRESIDENT OBAMA GIVING THEM BILLIONS.
ewent
yep youse up there in the nort east is smart tha why peples lib in a flood zone
david-475776
What the @!$%# are you talking about??? Where exactly did I defend Obama OR defend wasting our money in these places?? All I did was point out the FACT that republicans defend this sort of spending all the time. Who wanted to give money and weapons to the fighters in Libya even after it was shown that many of them are anti-American jihadists?? Who wants to do the exact same thing in Syria?? Let me give you a hint, it ain't democrats.
Pretending it is only Obama and the dems who want to waste our money on such efforts is nothing more than conservative partisan puppetry. It is the republican party, first and foremost, that thinks we need to have a military presence and influence in all corners of the globe. For decades it was republicans who defended sending the dictator Mubarak in Egypt billions and billions of dollars. How'd that work out for us in the end??
Hint it was the Demoncraps (RESULTS, NOT OPINIONS). There was also President Obama's Speech, Promising the Libyans US Aid in rebuilding Libya.
US Ally Egypt Fell because of President Obama, first ignoring the warnings of President Mubarak of "increased Al Quada like Activities", removing all US support, etc.. And do not even attempt to lie, do a Causative Timeline.
add to post#2.23.
Since you apparently do not know, the US Military is already at the Borders of Syria as Ordered by President Obama as Commander In Chief.
And it is clearly apparent that you know NOTHING about what happened at Egypt. I had personal concerns about Egypt since I attended College at Egypt to learn Arabic and later on Islam (only taught in Arabic) while living with Egyptian Families. Bottomline President Obama's FAILED Foreign Policies, RESULTS: US Loss of Critical Resources Worldwide, US Loss of Strategic Locations Worldwide, US Loss of Vital US Allies Worldwide. Do a Causative Timeline, do not even attempt to lie.
david-475776
REBUILDING (which btw republicans were not against prior to the attack on our embassy) is not the same thing as putting WEAPONS IN THE HANDS OF OUR ENEMIES . This was what McCain (whom I respect btw) wanted to do in Libya and now wants to do in Syria despite many of the "rebels" openly acting under the Al-Qaeda flag.
There is plenty of blame for the democrats but only blind puppets point their fingers at the other guys while ignoring the BS in their own party. Partisan Fools like you are responsible for the @!$%#ed up state of our nation because, like lemmings, you are all, dem or repub, easily distracted when your puppet masters scream and shout about the other guys drawing your attention away from the fact that they do the exact same @!$%#. Since you are obviously never going to vote for a dem maybe you should use your energy cleaning up your own party. If everyone did that we'd be a hell of a lot better off.
And I'll say it again, I NEVER defended Obama, I am one of his biggest critics and consider him to one of our worst Presidents due in large part to his epic foreign policy failures. You need to get it through your thick skull that placing blame EQUALLY where it belongs is NOT a defense of anyone.
Starts at the top, backA$$country...don't say it doesn't.
BlowbamaDouche
Care to explain what the hell you're talking about?? Unless making a coherent post is too far beyond your means. Seems as if yammering like a dip@!$%# until you are repeatedly banned is all you're capable of. Why waste your time when A- no one takes you seriously and B-your comments will just be deleted anyway. Seems like a waste of time but I suppose if that's what you are it's what you do.
Backcountry164,
You just don't get it do you. Just like I previously told USAFRICOM Learn Arabic and Islam, NOT some obscure African Languages, so that our arses aren't pulled from Afghanistan to Africa again.
Without disclosing Classified (information withheld from US Public):
Life during President Gaddaffi, contract with Libyan Citizens in his "Green Book": Loans to Libyan citizens were given with "NO interest". Students would get paid the average salary for the profession they are studying for. If you’d be unable to get the employment the state would pay the full salary as if you were employed. When you got married the couple got an apartment or house for free. You could go to college anywhere in the world, the state paid 2,500 euros plus for accommodation and a car. The cars were sold at factory cost. Libya does not owe money, (not a cent) to anyone, No credits. Free education and health care. 25% of population with a university degree. No beggars on the streets and no homeless. Bread costs $0.15. Gasoline $0.33 per liter, during the attacks $0.66 per liter. Human Rights and Libyan Citizen's Rights as praised by the UN and UA (African Union). All this disappeared after the Overthrow of President Gaddaffi.
President Gaddaffi and Libya as a US Ally, to get the President Bush US and UN Sanctions and Embargoes lifted so he would ship Libyan Oil to the US European Allies: Collaborated with the CIA. President Gaddaffi had his Libyan Military hunting the Islamic Jihadists at Libya. Stopped his pursuit of Nuclear Power. Turned over his Chemical Weapons to the US. Transfer of US Islamic Jihadists Prisoners from Guantanamo to President Gaddaffi's Prisons (including later President Obama's). Human Rights and Libyan Citizen's Rights as praised by the UN and UA (African Union).
The Fundamentalist Islamic Arab League of Nations is demanding President Gaddaffi's Death for Collaborating with the Christians, Jews, Unbelievers, a Death Penalty Fatawa is issued.
Most of the work that the Libyan Citizens do not want to do are done by Foreigners brought into Libya, and have no Libyan Citizens Rights nor the Libyan Citizens Entitlements listed in President Gaddaffi's Green Book.
The Holy Warriors of Islam (aka Islamic Jihadists) are gathering at Libya, after the Overthrow of US Ally Egypt. Many Intelligence Agencies are stating that these Islamic Jihadists are the Fundamentalist Islamic Al Quada Saudi Arabia (AQ), Al Quada Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Al Quada Syria (AQS), Al Quada Yemen (AQY), Hezbollah, Al Quada Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), etc. as trained by the Quds Special Forces of the Fundamentalist Islamic Shia Republic of Iran at the Fundamentalist Islamic Autonomous Kurdistanis Region of Northern Iraq, Syria, Southern Turkey, and Northwestern Iran to Overthrow the Established Governments of US Allies.
President Gaddaffi warns everyone about the Fundamentalist Islamic Jihadists gathering at Libya, President Gaddaffi's Military starts to fight them, the Islamic Jihadists go back and forth between Libya and Egypt, so President Gaddaffi's Libyan Military cannot eliminate the Islamic Jihadists without violating Egypt's Sovereignty. President Obama ignores this just like he ignored US Ally Iraq, US Ally Egypt, US Ally Saudi Arabia, US Ally Turkey, US Ally Pakistan, President of Syria, etc. until it was too late.
President Gaddaffi f**ks up, declares Libyan Oil Nationalization. Due to President Obama's Policies the US and US Allies have lost the Iraqis Oil, this makes the Libyan Oil of Strategic Importance to the US European Allies. Other Governments that previously declared Oil Nationalization, with them being Overthrown, Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh of Iran (1953), President Hussein of Iraq "Modernization of the Arab World" (Iraqis Oil Nationalization). Failed US Overthrow attempt President Chavez of Venezuela (1999-2000).
Why Benghazi: Thousands of Islamic Jihadists flood into Benghazi with the Asymmetric Warfare intent of killing the Libyan Military Guards, seizing the weapons, ammunition at the the 60 bunker Hight Razma facility on the eastern outskirts of Benghazi and a 35 bunker facility on the eastern outskirts of Ajdabiyah." The term "bunkers" is a misnomer as some of these "bunkers" were the size of warehouses. After the Libyan Military Guards were massacred at these Libyan Munitions Depots, the Facilities were left unguarded. This is how about 20,000 shoulder launched portable SA-7 anti aircraft missiles ended up "missing"; believed to be currently in the hands of Al Quada and the rest of the Islamic Terrorists (Jihadist, Worldwide Islamic Military), possible use shoot down US and US Ally Commercial Airlines (Aircraft) worldwide (after all the other publicly known failed attempts); most US Military and US Ally Military Aircraft have detection and countermeasures (some are still shot down by SA-7s, mistaken for RPGs (similar warhead). ). Then inciting the Foreign Workers brought into Libya to demand Libyan Citizens Rights and Entitlements.
President Gaddaffi sends his Libyan Military to fight the Islamic Jihadists and Foreign Worker Protesters and Demonstrators gone violent (murdered Libyan Military).
President Obama then claims that President Gaddaffi is a "Dictator Killing his own people" (not Gaddaffi's own Libyan Citizens but Islamic Jihadists).
President Gaddaffi orders the Foreign Workers to leave his Country, most do not and actively join the Islamic Jihad to Overthrow President Gaddaffi the Collaborator to the Christians, Jews, Unbelievers; again the Fundamentalist Islamic Arab League of Nations demands the Overthrow of President Gaddaffi.
The Libyan Oil:
During the "G" Meeting at France, that was attended by SOS Clinton, the European Oil Corporations Lobby the European Politicians to Overthrow President Gaddaffi to stop his Libyan Oil Nationalization (majority of Profits remain in Libya); the Fundamentalist Islamic Arab League of Nations (Original Charter the Elimination of the Jews) as a new Member, League of Arab States, aka Fundamentalist Islamic Arab League of Nations, demands the Overthrow of Former US Ally President Gaddaffi and February 22, 2011 remove President Gaddaffi from membership (President Gaddaffi's Military killing Holy Warriors of Islam originally went to Libya to Overthrow President Gaddaffi as previously demanded by the Fundamentalist Islamic League of Arab States.).
These European Oil Corporations demand President Gaddaffi's Overthrow to stop his Libyan Oil Nationalization: BP (Britain), Total, Elf (France), Eni (Italy), OMV (Austria), Statoil (Norway), etc.. So instead of these European Oil Corporations hiring cheap Libyan Labor then keeping all the Profits, with Gaddaffi's Resource Nationalization, they would get almost nothing and the majority of the profits would remain in Libya. So in anticipation of their Governments Military Actions to Overthrow Gaddaffi to stop his Resource Nationalization, "Non essential" personnel were evacuated February 21, 2011.
US Army Special Forces LTC Woods and his Specialized Security Teams are at Libya since February. It is Routine to attach US Military Asymmetric Warfare Forces to the CIA's SAD/SOG to conduct Targeting and Target Damage Assessments to minimize Civilian Casualties during Airstrikes and Cruise Missile Attacks. The US Military Asymmetric Warfare Forces Missions are routinely Special Reconnaissance, Special Surveillance, Foreign Internal Defense, Insurgency (training the locals to Overthrow a Established Government), Counter Insurgency (stop others from Overthrowing a US Ally's Established Government), etc..
President Obama as Commander In Chief Orders the US Military to attack Libya in violation of the US Law that Restricts or Limits the Presidential War Powers, US Law, 1973 War Powers Resolution (Act). President Obama failed to notify both Houses of US Congress 48 hours prior to ANY US Military Actions. US Congress does not have time to write a US Law with US Congressional Appropriations, like they did for President Clinton (42) and President Bush (43). President Obama uses not previously Budgeted for Discretionary Spending including to fund NATO's Bombs, Fuel, Cruise Missiles, etc.. Afterwards on behalf of President Obama SOS Clinton apologizes to US Congress, "I'm sorry".
The Results: President Gaddaffi is murdered. Most of the Libyan Citizens that benefited as President Gaddaffi Supporters flee Libya (See Life During President Gaddaffi above). The Islamic Jihadists get another Islamic Nation. Mediterranean Ports closer to attack the US European Allies aka Crusaders. US European Allies lose the Libyan Oil to the Fundamentalist Islamic Shia Republic of Iran's Ally, the Chinese. 20,000 portable shoulder launched anti aircraft SA-7 missiles end up in the hands of the Islamic Jihadists with their stated goal of shooting down US Civilian Airlines "to cripple the US Economy". Strategic Location for the Islamic Jihadists to get the other African Nations, just like Egypt was key to get Libya.
The Libyan Islamic Fighting Group were those Islamic Jihadist Foreign Fighters that were killing US Military at Iraq, they become the Government of Libya.
The Fundamentalist Islamic Al Quada Saudi Arabia (AQ), Al Quada Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Al Quada Syria (AQS), Al Quada Yemen (AQY), Hezbollah, Al Quada Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), etc. at Libya become Ansar Al Shariah to protect and instate Fundamentalist Islamic Shia (Sharia) Laws as the Rule of Law for Libya.
Ansar Al Shariah starts planning their attacks against the US And US Allies, and eliminations of Pro President Gaddaffi Supporters as Collaborators to the Christians, Jews, Unbelievers.
Update October 2012: As stated before Libya is Strategic to attack other African Nations, Ansar Al Shariah attacks Mali.
PRESIDENT OBAMA AND VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN FOR POLITICAL GAIN INFLAMED THE 1.5 BILLION ISLAMIC BELIEVERS WORLDWIDE TO VIOLENCE AGAINST THE US WORLDWIDE AS RELAYED TO THE ISLAMIC BELIEVERS AT ALL THE MOSQUES WORLDWIDE.
Biden at DNC (as well as months before before the attack on the US Consulate): "Bin Laden is dead, General Motors is alive"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKCwQnIygcw
With the Islamic Believer Demonstators and Islamic Jihadists Worldwide chanting:
"OBAMA OBAMA WE ARE ALL OSAMA" DEMO IN TUNISIA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfaKSX3m7Tk
Cairo protesters- Obama we are all Osama
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pJGX1JzyFc
President Obama then blames this on a video that most did not see because many do not have electricity, cell service, nor internet at Libya; and were told the video existed by the Imams at the Mosques.
Result DEAD US CITIZENS and the Islamic World's Increased Hatred of the US for the "Murder" (their word) of their "Holy Warrior of Islam" Superstar Osama Bin Laden. This is worse than going to Italy and Murdering the Pope and continually bragging Internationally. Most Pro US and Neutral Islamic Believers Worldwide then join the Holy Warriors of Islam against the US and US Allies. This becomes the Unifying Force for the over 1.5 Billion Islamic Believers Worldwide (Majority being Fundamentalist Islamic Believers).
And it was President Bush that kept GM alive with his: 2008 President Bush's GM and Chrysler Indicative Summary of Terms for Secured Term Loan Facility (Final Terms and Appendix).
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2010/sep/22/barack-obama/obama-says-bush-administration-put-no-conditions-a/
US Army Special Forces LTC Wood and his US Army Special Forces Specialized Support Teams writes up a Security Assessment for the US Embassy at Tripoli, and the US Consulate at Benghazi, as well as an "On the Ground" INSUM for Libya. This Security Assessment would have gone thru multiple channels, the President's Own Executive Intelligence Agency, the CIA, cc President Obama; SOS Clinton and the US Department of State, cc President Obama; Secretary of Defense and Pentagon, cc, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff, cc President Obama; Redacted, cc President Obama; Commander US AFRICOM, cc Commander US SETAF, cc Commander US EUCOM, cc President Obama.
US Ambassador Stevens is a Presidential Appointee, with Direct Access to President Obama.
US Ambassador Stevens states his concerns, and requests that US Army Special Forces LTC Wood and his US Army Special Forces Specialized Support Teams remain at Libya, and or addtional US Security Forces (not Libyan). Before any of you start saying what could the few of US Army Special Forces LTC Wood and his US Army Special Forces Specialized Support Teams could have done, go learn about the previous Historically Documented DA (Direct Action) Missions of the US Army Special Forces.
I got to see the entire Video that is more than likely going to be posted in the future as an Islamic Jihadist Training Video, that starts with Ansar Al Sharia driving up with pick up trucks with heavy machineguns, and mortars mounted to the pickup truck beds and ending with the guy in the white shirt being interviewed with looters in the background. There are also the limited video surveillance cameras of the US Consulate Benghazi, the video recovery being one of the primary missions of US AFRICOM as coordinated thru US SETAF. Just because you don't have access, just like the mission cams, video conferences for the SR Mission that turned into a DA Mission (Raid) at Pakistan in accordance with President Bush's 2006 Amending the US No Assassination Policy and previously Presidential Delegated Authority Planned Mission; go right ahead, you can wait about 20 years and obtain the information about 20 years from now thru the FOIA (Freedom Of Information Act).
If you want to see the start to finish Islamic Jihadist videos attack on the US Consulate, learn to use the almost illegal means to circumvent the US Monitoring and Censorship that blocks the videos from the US based on IP Addresses, this training (how to) video is like the Islamic Jihadist's Training Video for their attacks against USMC Leatherneck (British Camp Baston) at Afghanistan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT62cLdygZE&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOD2TbDlgVg&feature=relmfu
Ansar Al Sharia plans the Attacks to coincide with the Greatest defeat.
During the 7 hour attack of the US Consulate instead of sending an MQ (armed Drone) a RQ (unarmed Reconaissance Drone) is sent. President Obama as US Military Commander In Chief Fails to send the US Military Forces of US SETAF (United States Army Africa. USARAF) Italy only 2 hours away by slow aircraft (C-130), faster than a RQ. The Ex USN SEALs had terminal guidance lasers on their M-4s to provide accurrate targeting from a MQ, or the AC-130s located at Italy from Operation Odyssey Dawn.
You get that Backcountry164 or do I have to spoon feed you more.
Did I mention that all of this including the NATO Bombs, Fuel, etc. were all paid for with US Citizens Money.
You can say all you want about what the Repugnants say they wanted to do, it is what the Results of what President Obama DID that matter as RESULTS.
You want us to fix the problems created by President Obama, after we get out (if they accept our Retirement packets to go back on retirement) Dial: 1-800-Dial-A-Prayer.
david-475776
ROTFLMAO! If you think anyone actually took the time to read through all of that blathering you're dumber than you sound! My God I sure as hell hope you cut and pasted that from somewhere because I can't imagine how @!$%#ed up you'd have to be to waste that much time typing it all out.
Here let me help you out- "President Obama sucks". See how much easier that would have been?? LOL!
You guys relax. We're one country..... Front Country, Back Country, it doesn't matter. As long as we're American, We are one.
David,
I would have read it all but I only get a 2 hr lunch. Jeez man. Thanks God for copy and paste, huh?
People from all states are constantly bashing each other. WTF is that man? It took 911 to bring us all together but it seems that didn't last but a few years. Wonder what it's going to take next....
Creek Dog
Leadership. Cross your fingers that we get lucky 4 years from now and get a little of it.
man that Ewent dude sure is lippy , I thought personal attacks were verboten , I guess he is above the law , like most lefties
Seems they have enough money for another 200,000 rounds of hollow point ammo for their guns, but want to take yours away. No money for FEMA ?
Larry...There WAS plenty of money for Texas though wasn't there? $1.6 million a pop for hundreds of hurricane domes. Now? Texas and the rest of the Okie Doke states won't get a single dime from taxpayers in the northeast. We can't afford to continue to support lazy asses who don't get out of bed until noon in DogPatch USA.
Ewent...you may want to look at how taxes are paid....federal taxes are equal in all states...state taxes are higher in the northeast. I said STATE taxes...your "extra" taxes stay in your state. Secondly, I agree alot of southern states have some messed up agendas, but you need to look at what all got put into that bill from the northern states too. The part about Texas being lazy and a drag on the nation goes to show how stupid you really are. Start looking at all the intranational (i know i put intra instead of inter, it means within the nation) trade that occurs, who provides the most of what to the nation and who uses what. Texas provides WAY more to the US then what it uses....maybe it is supporting other southern states, or maybe , just maybe it is supporting states like New York and New Jersey who dont drill their own oil (not a lazy profession by the way, it's actually one of the toughest jobs out there) who can't grow enough crops to support their population, who don't raise their own beef, pork, chicken compared to the amount consumed there. Before you talk crap about a place openly you need to look at facts. This liberal NORTHERN media outlet that you so openly post on had an article in their money section a few days ago about how Texas oil production alone, over the next 10-15 years, can put a stop to the US's dependency on foriegn oil IF the Fedreal government plays it right...Just please stop spurting off the stupidity that is inside you head, take the time to look at the facts, and then make informed and correct comments.
Well, Federal taxes may be equal (not) but people in the Northeast along the shoreline make a heck of a bunch more money than most people (because if they didn't they wouldn't be able to afford to live on the coast in New England) and therefore do actually pay more FEDERAL taxes as well.
From the 1970s when Nixon encouraged banks to "redline" funds from the northeast and send those funds south, it has been very difficult for people to have loans from banks in the northeast, even though their savings are in those banks. That means that loan rates are higher, pushing up the cost of real estate, and look what's happened in many areas? The effect of such games hit the entire nation around 2008. Home equity loans destroyed the city of Detroit, where all the families were encouraged to take out a second loan, but that loan was at rates and hidden variable fees that the families could not afford to pay them back when the payment rates rose.
So now those homeowners that were affected by the redlining will have to find housing in NYC: they live there, their jobs are there; it is very difficult to start over some place else considering that jobs are tight all over. The problem isn't simply hurricane Sandy, but a lack of housing in freezing weather and with no place to go.
The snarky comments, as though Texans do not want to help the hurricane victims, are just beyond belief. I suggest that everybody read the book "Isaac's Storm" by Larson, about the hurricane of Galveston, TX of 1900. You bet the whole country stepped up and tried to help after that one. Luckily for us, meteorology has come a long way in the U.S. since Galveston, because if it was the same as that time, there would be no hurricane predictions at all.
Elizabeth-1372999,
********************************ANOTHER UNEDUCATED POST*********************************
Which US President DEMANDED that Loans (Mortgages) be made to those that had no viable means to repay those Loans (Mortgages), RESULTING in the "Mortgage Bubble".
And only added to the current $60 Trillion to $100 Trillion Global Economic Crisis consisting of the Mortgage Crisis, Wall Street Crisis, Financial Crisis, Banking Crisis, Credit Crisis, etc. after he also Eliminated those US Laws that made Illegal the Causes of the previous Depressions.
more pablum from the Ewent dude , man he never lets up , oh and I belive his reference to "lazy" describes the liberal lefty Chavez's of nation quite aptly , "wheres my free stuff? , I need to get to the strip club with my cash card"
Oh BOO freaking HOO all you Republicans! (Christie, King etc...) No government aid for you!!! Let the money just trickle down from rich people. It may take a while (like never), but PLEASE don't line up for government handouts- Republicans just don't do that.
Make your constituents work and make money for all those repairs, so they'll be self confident and won't rely on government handouts. Eliminate FEMA. Do it now! Now's your chance to set an example.
I say trickle down, baby! Do the trickle!!
You're being sarcastic, but you're right. They should eliminate FEMA and not give any money to hurricane victims.
ctviking,
Why? Because this tragedy didn't happen to you?! Seems that way. It always happens to someone else, "never" you..........................until it happens,..to you.
"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low,"
"And achieving our mark."
What an odd comment from Casual. Last time I checked, NY, NJ, and Conn. were all very heavily democratic states.
Sarcasm
Irony.
Tell you what casual, New jersey gets back a measley 61 cents for every dollar it sends to Washington in federal taxes. Seems to me we're already getting pissed on
Hey Casual,citviking and others: Amazing how many people on this forum say "Screw, 'em. Let 'em fix it themselves." to the victims of Sandy. These victims are all hard working people and have paid a lot to the government,and to their insurance companies,for years. Most people here are too proud to ask for help or government handouts. Never would. But this case was different. The destruction here is too much to bear or pay for on ones own. More than most anyone here can imagine. The insurance companies and FEMA have basically left everyone here to fend for themselves. Giving only pennies,denials and red tape to the victims. The money is finally coming,but seven weeks later. That's seven weeks too late if you ever had a flood knock your house down and destroy everything that you worked for. And since then you have been living like a hermit. But hey,its ok. This didn't happen to you. Yet. Hope it never does. Hope none of you never have to go through something like this. If you do,remember what you all said here.
If your house burns to the ground ..because there is no longer a fire department in your town because of budgeT cuts will FEMA come to your aid --NO-- your on your own ..you either have insurance for the repairs or you find another place to live .. FEMA and the GOV only step in when the Insurance Co wants Tax Payers to pay for claims .. Christie and King dont want this burden to fall on the Insurance Co ..The Insurance Co may lose a dime
Flood is specifically EXCLUDED from coverage under your homeowner's insurance. Whether the Atlantic Ocean barrels in, or the "crick" in your Midwestern backyard, flood is excluded.
CasualUS Taxpayer...Why? So you don't have to pay your taxes like we all do? What's with this right wing BS idea that righties and the GOP shouldn't have to pay their fair share of taxes?
In a democracy, we don't allow people to go homeless when they've contributed more than their fair share of taxes...and people in the northeast and northwest are virtually supporting the pork barrel states McConnell, Ryan, Issa, Cantor and Cornyn all represent. Where do you think most of the federal taxes in the US come from if not the businesses in the northeast where Wall Street and most of the biggest banks and corporations are located?
Shove that Confederacy Me First BS where the sun doesn't shine. We'll see who laughs last when NJ and NY stick it to the Confederate Pork Barrel states.
timewonttell...And when YOUR home is flooded with 4 feet of water, the nearby underground gasoline tanks spew gallons from ruptured tanks and your car is under 4 feet of water? You should be ashamed of yourselves. How dare you tell these people who lost everything they worked years and years for to just chalk it up and fix it themselves. Funny how you didn't say that to the people in LA and TX during Katrina...we were good enough then to contribute billions to those people in those states. More pathetic and selfish than this it just doesn't get.
For your information, people in the northeast pay the highest taxes in the country and most of it is federal tax that goes to the Okie Doke states.
ewent,
Even though I sometimes disagree with you, I have to agree on this one. I live in NJ. The three states that were hit the hardest coincidentally pay the highest taxes in the US.
I bought my home in 1990 and since then,my taxes have tripled. Our Twp. literally drove around and video taped all our homes. They then decided how much they are worth and tax us upon that amount however, I still would not get what they say it's worth in fact, I would likely get 100k "less" than what they say it's worth but still are taxed as if I "could" get 100k more.
Pisses me of man...
As I mentioned above to the people who really don't care...
It always happens to someone else, "never" you...........until it happens,.........to you.
Yes happytimesarehereagain
You have to purchase Flood ins separately,I used to live by a River and was required to have it.
However I did not get it from a inadequate,bloated,possibly corrupt government program like the NFIP,and FEMA like all gov programs is broken and doesn't work properly.Im really tired of putting our tax money into businesses the Gov had no business in.
I belive because these people paid their claims they should get what they paid for,but then this inadequate Gov program needs to be shut down.
As I have said before to Ewent...those are state taxes, not federal taxes....they stay in your state, they don't go to other states, there fore they do not "entitle" you to more federal taxes....and about the gas tanks rupturing and spewing up from the ground....that too is on your states...that didn't happen in Texas and Louisianna because those states realized they were in a flood and hurricane area and passed legislation years ago requiring all gas storage tanks, including at gas stations to be improved to prevent such issues. Most of the things you complain about are on your state government and not on federal and other states. The slow relief response IS on the Federal governement and has nothing to do with other states, it is not Texas or Louisianna's fault that they got relief sooner. We had a different federal government then. The issue at hand is the Federal governement and the state Americans have allowed it to be in. Ewent the fact that you not only split the party lines so harshly but also try to make it about North versus South, goes to show how ignorant and blatently stupid you really are. Stop trying to cause more issues and start looking at the facts for once in your time on these forums...Everyone is to blame, including New York and New Jersey. Just for the love of god stop posting if you can't do it in an intelligent, informed and an, at least mostly, un-biased manner.
BTW,If dredging of the rivers in my town were allowed flooding wouldn't happen,they say its because it will hurt the fish and pollute the river somehow by all the sand and debris,but when it floods the river just moves the debris further down every time and ends up damming in areas and probley killing fish,the Eco regulations make no since sometimes,just another inadequate and too big gov program.
The Governor of NJ is Republican and he is yelling the loudest for money for his state. He forze his state worker's salaries, he's changed their pension plan, he is trying for smaller government, but he is yelling for Federal welfare for his state. What hypocrisy!
@ewent
I seriously doubt anyone in NJ or NY would be laughing as they sit in the dark starving.
People who live in shoreline communities in the northeast are taxed enormously. People in those states not right along the shore are taxed just a bit less. Of course- let's not use those tax dollars to help them when they're in need. I mean, who cares as long as it's not me, right? Creek Dog, you said it.
Actually, timewonttell, if the insurance companies foot the bills we all pay in higher premiums next year. Not like they're willing to take a total loss for us. They'll never lose a dime without stealing it back. So it helps everyone if aid is given.
See what I said above about the Zone A people of Brooklyn: Gerritsen Beach and Sheepshead Bay, both of which were totally flooded, and have to have walls and floors torn out, new furnaces, etc.
The "Vollies" (volunteer Fire Department) of Gerritsen Beach is ALREADY doing self-help, but they need money. The "Robin Hood" concert gave that whole neighborhood only $25,000, less than they gave some organizations for "anti-defamation" grants. I recommend donating directly to neighborhoods that actually do something, not just TV shows of old rockers. Go to GerritsenBeach.net and see what they haven't been able to get.
rmb22
ROTFLMAO! Yeah we're all better off having the government take our money than we are WILLFULLY giving it to an insurance company. Never mind the fact that the private insurance company has an incentive to spend its money wisely while the government will spend it on tons of unrelated things and con us into believing it was all "emergency relief".
btw, if you had a clue you'd realize those people who were insured are going to get every dime they were covered for regardless of whether the government chips in for the recovery or not. So how exactly does it "help everyone"?? AND you'd realize that flood insurance is provided by the government NOT insurance companies. It usually helps to know a little bit about something before you attempt to form an opinion.
Not true. Backcountry. If you've ever dealt with a natural disaster claim, you will find that the insurance companies have all kinds of loopholes to not pay out the losses. And my point is that our government gave tons of money to foreign countries hit by tsunamis and storms, yet the people who pay the taxes get squat. Ridiculous if you ask me. And then the finger pointing and the name calling begins while our government and the insurance companies sit back and giggle. And insurance on your mortgaged home is not willfully given but a requirement of the mortgage.
Oh, and my point was also that, EVERYONE would end up paying higher premiums the next year, not just those who were paid losses. That means I would pay a higher premium, even though I live 25 miles away from the closest home damaged. My premiums went up after Katrina and I live in New England.
@rmb22
It's not a loophole if it's right there in your policy for you to agree to or not.
Squat??? 2 billion dollars has already been spent. You call that squat?? It's FAR above what we spent helping other countries with tsunamis and storms total and there are billions yet to come. Maybe it would seem less ridiculous if you actually had some facts.
Yeah, I got that. My point was that those insurance companies are going to pay out REGARDLESS of whether the government sends additional aid or not. Spending a bunch of government money is not going to "help everyone" by keeping their premiums from going up because it won't keep their premiums from going up.
" My premiums went up after Katrina and I live in New England."
haha...mine didn't , 'cause I don't live in New England , that's what you get for living in a leftist libby run cesspool part of the nation
the United States can help other countries with no problem, but when it comes to their own they quite frankly dont give a rats butt
Close the US can give money for helping other countries only problem is it really does not help the people who need help..... It helps the few that skim the majority of the $$$$$ of the top.....
tlcsacramento...The reality is we need to get rid of the "ignernts" in the GOP from these okie doke states. Their version of fiscal responsibility is limited to getting other states to pay for their states' needs while their state taxes go to the few limited businesses and industries they have in those ignernt states.
For every dollar NJ pays in taxes, we get a lousy 61 cents in return. While Big Rich Texas, That Whole Other Country that wants to secede gets $1.47 for every dollar it pays.
Alaska had an earthquake today...I'd love to see how fast Alaska gets FEMA funding...It better not. Not if these okie dokes on this thread are an example of their generosity. And, Alaska gets back $1.72 for every dollar in taxes they pay AND $1200 in tax subsidies for every man, woman and child. Enough of that BS is enough...those are MY tax dollars going to Alaska. We are not their safety net.
We get .91 for every dollar ewent don't know where you got your information.
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2012/02/is-your-state-a-net-giver-or-taker-of-federal-taxes/
We've got over 500 Texans that are there right now helping y'all out, to date we've helped put up 258 shelters and have had approx 3000 trained volunteers in and out since 2 November. Try googling texas red cross sandy educate yourself.
One wonders how much more could have been done so much more quickly with $9B in the hands of the Red Cross specifically directed at Sandy relief. When big goverment gets involved its always one big bureaucratic cluster f**k after another. See EPA, DOD, FDA, HHS, TSA, FAA and many others for further reference.
Ewent...how about, if you are so concerned for those in New York and New Jersey...you get off your "Fat Lazy Ass" (words you used to describe Texans) stop "sitting in front of your computer all day"(again words you used to describe Texans) and do something productive. The verbal stupidity you spew upon these pages and the incorrect and ignorant "facts" you use to back it up, hurts more than it helps. Use all your money you got from the "published books" (the ones you brag about on your profile, yet no one has ever heard of) to go out there and fund relief efforts yourself...once again...Your higher taxes are only your STATE and LOCAL taxes, which stay in your state....if you don't want to pay more in taxes, move somewhere that there isn't state taxes. Preferably another country. Overall the Northeast pays more in federal income taxes, but thats because they make more overall in salary...isn't that what you Democrats want? The higher earners to pay a larger percentage of taxes? Hypocrits....
Not much. Very little of the $9 billion would have reached the people. Most of it would have gone to administration costs.
ewent: There are two reasons for that $.61 in NJ as opposed to that $1.72 that Alaska gets for every Federal tax dollar it pays, and I know that we're talking Federal, not State taxes.
1. Nixon red-lined money from NY banks to the south to try to build it up; loans were much more expensive for the entire east out to Detroit, with much higher "variable" rates, even though there were far greater savings in the banks of the northeast at the time. Nixon destroyed Detroit, all the steel business of Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania, and most of the business in NY. A New York state Senator in the early 1980s did an investigation against red-lining, and made rules that Wall Street may have followed a little for a short time, at least until those southern Senators took away all banking rules.
2. "Senate" and "Electoral College" rules are the biggest problem: the smallest population states like Alaska and Wyoming get the biggest pork, while the biggest population states like New York and California get the least. Texas is an exception, but those small conservative states include Texas in spending, and the Nixon red-lining applies to them. Since the Senate needs 60 votes for a bill to get to the floor, those 20 Senators from the 10 smallest states have a huge amount of power: many of those states have fewer Representatives in the House than Senators, and that is hardly a state big enough to be an actual state. Put ten of the smallest population conservative states together and their population is still less than one average sized state: that is totally pathetic and non-representational: they get 20 votes in the Senate where they should only have 2 votes between all those states. England at one time changed its rules so that regions that had shrunk in population were given fewer representatives, and parts of their country that had a greater population were given more representation, and then their government worked better. Ours would work better if we had true representational democracy. The Constitution was written at a time when we had only 13 states, only 5 million people in the whole country, and representation was chosen differently. Also, Rhode Island and Delaware were not so different than the other states in their attitudes and needs, but the same cannot be said today.
You know what Ewent, you have managed to offend me more than any other person that has every posted on this board. Know why? I am a democratic, and consider myself a left leaning moderate (yes i said LEFT). I fully support the funding that Congress has proposed to relieve the states of NY and NJ from Hurricaine Sandy.
BUT I AM ALSO A TEXAN. As a matter of fact, up untill two years ago, a proud serving member of the Texas Air National Guard. First Off, Texas supplies more federal revenue than it takes in. Some southern states don't (alot don't) but don't Lump the Lone star state without doing some research!. Second, who do you think responded to Sandy? Those states National Guards did, becuase its their states, but also the National Guard of Texas, LA and Florida. Why? Becuase they have the most expereince DEALING WITH DISASTER RELIEF. Those states were in no way obligated to send their troops, but they did, to help out. So next time you call those of us in the south "okie-dokes", know you ARE DIVIDING AMERICANS MORE THAN OTHERS.
There is one exception I would like to make. The Air National Guard of Delaware. They had the only MASF (Mobile Aeromedical Staging Facility) in the National Guard and have been at every Hurricaine Disaster relief I was every at (which was a lot). It feesl good to pay them back for coming down to the gulf so often, to be there when they needed us (although I wish they didn't need us at all).
I don't mean to offend you, WashVance, because there are many good people in very state, but when the only people who voted "Nay" for funding for Sandy disaster relief were Republicans, and when we hear ad nauseum from people who didn't even want this vote, it has created such an atmosphere. In terms of dividing this country: there is nothing that divides like a disaster where people taunt the victims. You haven't done this, and thank you, but there are people on this board who have.
All of you self righteous republicons are a bunch of Socialist welfare queens.
27 of the 32 states that take more from Uncle Sam than they give are republicon welfare queens.
14 of the 18 states that give more than they take are Democrat states.
It is us hard working tax paying Democrats who are supporting you lazy republicons, and here you are whining about helping some Democrats when they need help.
We remember when Texas burned and you didn't have any firefighters because you fired them all. Boo hoo! The same goes for Colorado and Oklahoma. Boo hoo!
What a bunch of whiny little welfare queens you republicons are.
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miklkit
You still spewing this BS after I've debunked it? Kind prooves you're just full of @!$%# doesn't it?
As I've said before, paychecks to military personel and spending on military bases, Federal infrastucture spending, ag and energy subsidies, trust payments to indian tribes and a WHOLE HOST of other Federal spending is NOT welfare. Only idiots think those things are "welfare".
hahaha..."hard working democrat" , no such thing , there isn't one on the entire planet
Note to Congress: Keep the pork out and, by the way, these are AMERICANS who need the help.
AMERICANS!, you idiots!
Cmg....The PORK was put in there by the GOP Pork Barrel politicians. You can't seriously think that a governor of NY, NJ or CT would want pork in there for Alaska or Texas do you?
event, basically the GOP couldn't stop the bill on it's face so, being politicians, they threw in pork that they knew the house would hate thus in the end killing the bill. It's simple, if you think at a really low level you understand what the h...they are doing.
BTW, as I understand it the bill is not titled as Sandy relief but rather disaster relief which means, I guess, they can throw in relief for anyone they want and not call it pork??
GOP wasn't the only "PORK" in the bill, the Dems put just as much and some of it is more outlandish than what the Reps put. Just stating the facts people. I think both sides suck.
ewent
Right, they are voting against the bill because of the pork they placed there. Are you trying to win an award for the most number of idiotic posts on one topic?
For those of you on the left that enjoy giving money away like it is never going to run out, think about it this way: You neighbor asks to borrow $500.00 because his car broke down and he needs to get to work, but wait, better make it $1500.00 because my flat screen died yesterday also. PORK in the true sense of the word.
I wouldn't even lend the $500.00 but I may give him a ride to work.
I'm sure you wouldn't mind giving the money if it did go to self-help groups in NY and NJ.
Didn't any of the people in New York or New Jersey have Insurance ? If not that's their own fault, not the taxpayers of America.
As for their transit system, oh well you build you transit next to the Ocean and in a underground tunnel,,you have to expect this to happen, and should have prepared for this to happen. After all they have been told this would happen for Decades.
I grew up in Fla. in the 60's, 70's, and 80's and we had hurricanes don't recall the Federal Gov. coming into help us out. It was the State of Fla., Fla. National Guard and ourselves that rebuilt !
I would suggest that NY. and NJ. learn to prepare better to help themselves or change the way the live and where they live.
I think everybody saw those predictions well before the event with New Orleans and NY, NJ - except the governors of those states.
If the Fed pays to rebuild the transit system then they should have a Fed tax on each fee to reimburse the taxpayer. What does someone in Arizona or Montana care if NY and NJ's rapid transit works and they surely don't want to pay for it.
FEMA was started during the Nixon administration, but couldn't do much until Reagan and Bush gave it some power.
Not only is it the most powerful entity in the United States, but it was not
even created under Constitutional law by the Congress. It was a product of a
Presidential Executive Order. No, it is not the U.S. military nor the Central
Intelligence Agency, they are subject to Congress. The organization is called
FEMA, which stands for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Originally
conceived in the Richard Nixon Administration, it was refined by President Jimmy
Carter and given teeth in the Ronald Reagan and George Bush Administrations.
So Ronald Reagan, the biggest hater of government ever to hold office expanded FEMA. You don't say. Well I guess his famous quote - I'm from the government and I'm here to help - Was just a political talking point that fed the conservative and was just a bunch of BS all along.
O what the hell. Let's just back up dumptrucks full of money and start handing it out. OR the government could just get out of the charity business entirely. There can't be anything in the middle.
I guess dump trucks would work, aircraft full of money worked flying to Iraq to buy prisoners for Gitmo and they were used to fly the prisoners back. Dump trucks could be used to cart away the destruction from Sandy.
@markinpecker...try using at least ONE side of your brain before you tweet the thoughts of a mindless twit.
Moderately Stupid - Don't you remember Reagan's famous quote? Conservatives have lived their lives around it for 40 years now but it was BS. Do you understand BS. Reagan expanded govenment just like all other Presidents. He was no different. I assume this fact has caused your life to come crashing down but too bad. Man up.
Reagan was the President that increased the National Debt limit the most.
Kennedy raised the debt ceiling 4 times for a total increase of 5%.
Johnson raised the debt ceiling 7 times for a total increase of 18%.
Nixon raised the debt ceiling 9 times for a total increase of 36%.
Ford raised the debt ceiling 5 times for a total increase of 41%.
Carter raised the debt ceiling 9 times for total increase of 59%.
Reagan raised the debt ceiling 18 times for a total increase of 199%.
George H.W. Bush raised the debt ceiling 9 times for a total increase of 48%.
Clinton raised the debt ceiling 4 times for a total increase of 44%.
George W. Bush raised the debt ceiling 7 times for a total increase of 90%.
Obama has raised the debt ceiling 3 times for a total increase of 26%.
26 percent of a few trillion is a hell of a lot more than 199 percent of a few billion....just saying...
Adding the percentages of the Democratic presidents’ total debt ceiling increases (shown in blue) together reveals that President Ronald Reagan, arguably the most popular Republican president on this list, actually raised the debt ceiling by a higher percentage than all of the Democrats combined.
The Democrats’ total percentage increase is 152%. President Reagan increased the debt ceiling by 199% in his two terms in office.
The Republican presidents, shown in red, when added together, have raised the debt ceiling by a total of 414%.
While everybody is talking about this, you could be giving money to the volunteer organizations in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and New Jersey. Those groups are not the "Robin Hood" donations for geriatric rockers organization, but actual homeowners and businesses. Even since the colonial era, there has never been a flood of NYC like this one; none of those neighborhoods would have predicted it. I know that there are real groups out there doing self-help. Look at GerritsenBeach.net and see one of them.
They should try extra hard to get that area rebuilt so it'll be ready to get wiped out once again. Those sea level areas don't last too long before they need rebuilding. They better hurry.
yeah, I mean they only lasted around 150-200 years.
A huge Nor'Easter can come roaring up the coast like it did for Sandy - but rarely. When it was just Pocahontas' people living there, not a big deal obviously, but now NYC is a huge city and was heavily damaged. The people there need help, expected that FEMA and like agencies would help them should it ever occur in their lifetimes. Fix it. If you want to say "no more", let the East Coast know up front, and they can plan accordingly.
Hey man, you got your facts messed up, it is Florida that gets wiped out every year, so that must be why so many elderly move there every year?? I'm confused.
300 years. NYC never had a flood like that in 300 years, and there are records.
I say give them their 60 billion dollars, no, let's make it a 100 billion. It's all coming from the Chinese anyway so who cares?
Debateur,
You are wrong about where our country is borrowing a vast majority of its money from. Our country borrows a lion's share of money from the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve is a private bank. When our economy collapses because of excessive debt, we will all be slaves to wealthy elite bankers of this country. How nice to know that you can postpone your Chinese lessons.
$60B. Well, there in one fell swoop goes this years entire proceeds from taxing those nasty rich people. Time for a bill to ban natural disasters or maybe make $25K/yr. next years definition of rich.
SMBusinessOwner
"Now, the problem is that the flood insurance fund goes broke because everybody claims at once. The government must subsidize it (it is run by the government, so government has to cover the deficit)."
That my friend, is the problem. The government should not be dabbling in this, and it is no position to run a company that can have a deficit. If insurance companies will not insure it or you do not want to pay, it should not be mandatory. If you have ocean front property or any property on a flood plane, it should be un insurable, and up to you to invest your money and time as you see fit to make it as flood resistant as possible...or not. It's all yours to deal with.
Are you pissed off about this? You should be, I am. However, the only people you should be pissed off at are the politicians who tried to get money from the hurricane Sandy relief bill for things that had absolutely nothing to do with hurricane Sandy.
Things like this always remind me of that old joke:
A guy walks up to a woman and says, "Hey, how about a pizza and a f***."
"Get lost dirtball", she says.
"What? You don't like pizza?" he replies.
When the Republicans start jumping ship to the Democrat side, maybe the GOP will wake up and see that opposing the people that pay them are tired of their BS. The GOP and the AIPAC lobbiests that force our presidents to give $3 billion annually to another 1st world country (Israel) have no problem with that. Israel is our #1 foreign aid recipient and they get our much needed tax dollars and give nothing in return. The same politicians who have issues with FEMA, etc, need to focus on all the money that's been given away. You can't write checks to other countries when there's no money left in the account for our own. Americans deserve affordable health care and disaster relief when needed. It's time to take care of our own and our elected officials paid by "We The People" need to look out for us. The rich are taking care of their own. If their juvenile tactic is to seek revenge on blue states that didn't vote for their party, that would really be stupid but typical.
The U.S. is providing hundreds of millions of dollars of foreign aid to some of the world's richest countries - while at the same time borrowing billions back, according to report seen by Congress.
The Congressional Research Service released the report last month which shows that in 2010 the U.S. handed out a total of $1.4bn to 16 foreign countries that held at least $10bn in Treasury securities.
Four countries in the world's top 10 richest received foreign aid last year with China receiving $27.2m, India $126.6m, Brazil $25m, and Russia $71.5m. Mexico also received $316.7m and Egypt $255.7m.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1393960/US-gives-billions-foreign-aid-worlds-richest-countries-asks-borrow-back.html
@ Think - I'm afraid you're right. But not for the reasons you state. Eventually almost everyone will give up on their principles in order to survive. That's because there is a financial penalty for having principles. For example, I donate to several charities every year and DO NOT write it off on my taxes. That's because I believe it's the right thing for me to do and to force YOU to do it with me (via YOUR taxdollars) is immoral.
Both political parties are corrupt. When a politician leaves one corrupt political party to join another corrupt political party, how exactly does that help us?
But I thought when Obama visited prior to the election he said there would be no red tape or delay. What happened? Further, all you folks wanting to bash Republicans about the delay; it doesn't bother you that this bill includes a lot of money going to things that have absolutely nothing to do with the victims? Why can't a bill be passed that deals specifically with what it is intended to deal with? Further, when it doesn't and some politicians protest against it because of its pork, they are portrayed as mean, heartless, vicious brutes and folks jump on the bandwagon accusing them of being less than human. Can you tax paying folks see how we are being screwed regardless of the letter behind the politicians name? Lastly, can't we put partisanship aside and be fair and objective and when someone does wrong say so instead of naively defending those we know are wrong simply because of their party affiliation? Yep, they have us just where they want us: divided!!!! Remember folks in socialism there are two groups, the people and the elites. And all of us wishing ill will on our fellow Americans will not gain a damn thing because the bottom line is regardless of how we support these fools and bash each other, we will never, ever, ever be a member of the elite. Food for thought.......
Now you see that the hate for President Obama by Republican Members of the House and Senate is much larger than most people realized. This is not about a Democrat getting elected President of the United States, this is about a Black Man getting elected President of the United States. When Texas has wildfires or hurricane damage, the money from Washington flows within weeks, but this "Sandy Business" is driven by nothing more than hatred for the President, and the people of New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut are the real victims.
The election is over now.
He suckered em' in and now he could care less.
Further, why don't you take a long walk off of one of the Jersey Shore's shortened piers?
Here goes the old trusty race card again. You can bash white politicians all you like and its all fair game but if you think Obama is incompetent based on what he is actually doing (or not doing), then you are racist. What a great defense mechanism. No accountability required ever.
"He," that is, President Obama, does not write the budget, that is the House of Representatives. It is "they" who drag their feet when they don't like one part of the country. Do you see pork? That is Republican pork. Do you see the President vetoing aide to hurricane Sandy victims? No, he will pass this bill.
So, what was the "House" doing all this time? Dragging its feet about the "fiscal cliff?" Or how about bashing the State Department (instead of the department of intelligence, the C.I.A.) about Benghazi? You cannot blame President Obama for that. And while we're at it, why didn't the C.I.A. know about the terrorist cells in Libya and do something to prevent an attack on our Consulate? The State Department is not a police department. But of course, that is a derailment of the Sandy discussion, just as the House of Representatives intended it to be: what happened to those Republicans anyway? They seem to have fallen and can't get up.
Nothing new here. If you start throwing money at it a lot of it will go missing. BEST thing to do is let it trickle in so you can see where it is going!
When it trickles it all evaporates, as we all know.
Welcome to "Katrinaville".
Been there, done that, and got the tee shirt.
So much for "cutting of bureaucratic red tape" knowing well it was just election bs and feel good poopoo. Our worthless lackeys on The Hill gave themselves a raise first with more porkulus in the bill than Hormel could ever produce.
Meanwhile nothing has changed in politics.................
Christie could have stopped right there.
The point of the rest of the article escapes me. Did anyone think that Congress would appropriate one day and start writing out checks the next? All the more reason to act quickly. Anyway, that disaster relief money will be available five years from now is a good thing: It will still be needed and, given the attention span of the American people, Sandy will be as distant a memory as the Alamo.
Really. Katrina was 7 years ago and it is still fresh on everybody's mind.
If your house ON STILTS was covered with water and the water high mark was 32' (one foot before touching the ceiling in the house) YES it would be fresh on your mind for the rest of your life.
"If your house ON STILTS was covered with water and the water high mark was 32' (one foot before touching the ceiling in the house) YES it would be fresh on your mind for the rest of your life."
So should being stupid enough to build your house below sea level in a Hurricane prone area !
You knew it wasn't a question of if it would happen, you knew it was a question of when it would certainly happen.
And you live in a desert.
I am a retired Hurricane Hunter.
My job required me to be on the coast so that I could get to my aircraft quickly.
And that makes me stupid?
Viewer_Ready, I think you know I am refuring to people that choose to live in those areas simply because they want too, not because of their job.
And all the Hurricane Hunter guys I've known rarely of every fly out of where the hurricane is hitting or about to hit. Also they don't fly their own aircraft (" I could get to my aircraft quickly.")
And yes I now live in beautiful Arizona, but grew up from 6yrs old to 35 in Fla. been though many hurricanes starting with hurricane Donna. Strangely enough I married a gal name Donna.
Bill, I was a crew chief, (flight mechanic), 65-0967 was my second wife.
She had my name over her crew entrance door and was my "One in a Million Girl".
You don't know any Hurricane Hunters.
Spout when you know what to spout about.
Never in any record of weather around NYC was there a flood like this one. Not in over 300 years. There were some local coastal floods, but never in the areas that had water up to their roofs; it was a miracle that so few people died.
But people could die now in the freezing weather: there is no place to go, and no heat. And are there lots of jobs in the rest of America so these people might be able to move? I know that there aren't any jobs in Arizona, and while we're on the subject of weather, how about those giant dust storms around Phoenix caused by too many humans in that area?
If people don't like gobmint, they could send donations to actual neighborhoods in Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and New Jersey. There are actual volunteer organizations that have been helping to tear out walls and rebuild.
When the news reported all the special interests attached to the 'fiscal cliff' bill I was spitting mad, and now they want all this money for disaster relief. When are we going to take this Country back from these thiefing politicians. It's about time to organize. We are being robbed blind by these folks. Count me in when the revolt begins.
If you really lived in one of those rich towns in southern California, you would be more worried about the radioactive fish off your coasts. I think you must have slept through the last few years.
All Jersey has to do is look at Louisiana and how some of the areas hit by Katrina still haven't recovered.
stop giving money to countries that hate us it never gets to the people who need it anyway bring troops home and reduce bases overseas noone is going to invade us so spare me the "national security BS" we don't have a Department of Defense we have a Department of Offence. The MIC has had their way for 50 yrs, spend the money where it benefits american citizens.
We the people are fools and our system of perpetual lies and fraud sucks.....I'm sick of the effing pork!!!!!!
I have no problem with giving aid to Sandy victims, but what has repairs to a NASA building in Fl. have to do with it?, A project in Alaska, another in Ca., and still others in the midwest?
Both houses and the WH. need to get their act together. With our debt we need to pass each spending Bill separate and not tack it on to a Bill because it is an emergency relief Bill and would probably pass. This busuness as usual " I'll vote money for your state and you vote money for my state " has got to go.
that's because there are 536 idiots running us into the ground.
Better to rename NJ, NY and Conn - Israel, Pakistan, PLO.
Then, they'll get the money.
That might be a good idea: how about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?
Hey ArizonaBill, Two words for you: Hurricane Andrew.
Remember?
Apparently not. Apparently there was no feferal aid for that disaster.
Oh wait, yes there was.
Get your facts in order.
The data at the Library of Congress and the Congressional Budget Office can provide factual records for the money that flowed into South Florida following Hurricane Andrew. Tens of thousands of homes were repaired with funds provided by the Federal Government.
Cmg-1006452,,Please read my post again, Hurricane Andrew was in 1992 not the 60's, 70's or 80's, and yes there was Federal aid. You might also notice that the Air Force was smart enough NOT to rebuild their base there. It is now a race track.
And they knew when they built in the Homestead area that if a hurricane hit it would wipe out the area, as there is nothing higher than some small trees down there to break up the wind. You might recall that Miami didn't receive near the destruction because of all the high buildings in the area.
So get your own FACTS straight.
Bill , most of your comments put a grin on my face .
Do you know if the Homestead race track was in the fiscal cliff package that NASCAR profited from
Bill doesn't know squat.
The racetrack in Homestead is there and so is the Air Force Base AND a Naval Air Station.
http://www.homestead.afrc.af.mil/
SO get your ass in a hole in Arizona and quit trying to mess with normal people's heads.
AND I made five penetrations into Hurricane Andrew right before it made landfall.
I am a retired Hurricane Hunter.
And our planes still go to Homestead.
The NHC is there AND the civilian Hurricane Hunters are still there.
The United States is a country that is still fighting the Civil War and the right to keep and own slaves. Aid to New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina was a Republican Party Disaster. George Bush proclaimed that his Director of FEMA was the best man for the job, while the House of Representatives failed to send aid for New Orleans and the people living in the 9th Ward. Hurricane Sandy destroyed the Shoreline of New Jersey, all the Shore Areas of New York, and the Coastal Area of Connecticut and the Republican Controlled House elected to hold funds, not to punish the American people living in those states, but to punish the President of the United States. Argue all you want but the facts are clear for all to see; a Black Man was elected President of the United States (twice) and the Old White Men of the Republican Party and the TEA Party cannot handle a defeat by a Black Man. The Republicans supported two illegal wars for George Bush but they will not support Americans here at home. If Republicans are looking for a reenactment of the Civil War they may just get their wish. What we really need is a National Recall Election which allows every person living in the United States a vote to send a "DO NOTHING CONGRESS" home. Recall all the Republicans who are hell-bent on destroying the economy of the United States rather than allow a Black President to succeed. All Foreign Aid should be abolished and all funding for Congressional Offices and Staff should be abolished. Why do the Republicans need offices staff, they do not work eight hours a day, and they are more obstructive than constructive as a collective body.
As long as the Blacks are willing to be slaves (and they do enjoy the free housing, medical, food), then somebody has to take care of them. It's like a dog wandering loose in a neighborhood. Without supervision the dog may starve or get in trouble. So you take the dog off the streets and provide for his basic needs. He'll always be a dog and you'll always be the Master.
Terry51025, "and the Old White Men of the Republican Party and the TEA Party cannot handle a defeat by a Black Man."
Obama is not a Black man, he is what is called Biracial ! A Black African father and white mother. Don't you Dem's even know that about your own President.
So AZ, if you saw someone who looked like the President walking down the street, you'd say "oh look, a biracial guy"? Yeah right. You'd think like any casual observer, "hey, a black guy". If he was 1/4 "black" with obvious African features, you'd say "black guy" like most every other person in the US. If you don't think that's the way it is, you are truly an isolated case who is seriously kidding himself.
Your black president is an incompetent moron, who could not care less about the people.
I'd like to understand why New Yorkers and people from NJ would be reimbursed if they did have insurance.
Terry and Bill
Obama is 50% Caucasian 40% Arab & 10% Kenyan multiethnic may be a better term I think he looks more Arab than Black.
Not to be too much of a gloating ass hole, but I seem to remember all of the people who lived in Sandy stricken
areas complaining about the that money was going towards Katrina.
And that we were "FOOLS" for living on the coast.
Well,,,, There's your sign.
Yea, too bad the "compassion" part of America is slipping away.
Compassion is reserved for those truly in need.
There is no compassion for people who refuse (and are able) to help push the wagon.
I don't remember anything of the kind. People in the NY area were still reeling from that little attack on the World Trade Center, that was a greater blow to the police and fire departments and equipment than it was to the homeowners of the area, although it killed many people and made everybody very sad. People from the northeast watched the news day and night about Katrina, and were very quick to call for aide. I remember a concert in NYC given by musicians from New Orleans that raised money for NOLA. They wanted the people of Louisiana, Mississippi, and other states hit by Katrina to be helped, and they were angry that aide wasn't getting to the victims.