Shawn Ryan did a great program on the difference between the FEMA response and private efforts. The primary emphasis of many of the FEMA folks seemed to be making the area safe for their insider contractors who might be arriving sometime. In the meantime they generally obstructed a vast , private effort using folks with real combat rescue experience and knowledge of the area. More importantly, unlike the FEMA folks the private groups delivered supplies and executed rescues under difficult conditions .
Biden's contribution was a flyover which required that other airborne activities be suspended. Camoola recognized the priorities and commandeered a large jet and Secret Service detachment for a fundraising dinner in Hollywood.
Weeks later we have not reached all the survivors or really made inroads on extracting the dead from the rubble.
It is not a downer. It aligns with my reading and my analysis. The only thing I would add is that my perception is the FEMA types are not willing to leave the cities and are being put up in pretty nice digs.
1) there's always going to be incompetence at any decently sized entity, private or public so this ":incompetency" angel often used is IMHO more of a re-direct, to keep people away from more serious Q's b/c if not incompetency then this means it was intentional
2) This is like Covid. The Feds didn't see it for the protentional crisis it could be used as and so they weren't prepared and once word got out just how unprepared they were it was too late to do anything more than try to shut down exposure of how poorly run FEMA is. There is defiantly some incompetency as the head of FEMA like with Secret Service, is a DEI hire. They have to shut it down because it's an election year and their already facing an uphill battle.
3) No matter how Helene played out the Feds never planned to do anything about it but since kt was more devastating than expected they now have to combat exposure of their own inactions.
BONUS: If you had any doubt as to whether or not FEMA is run by unqualified DEI hires look no further then their deceleration of equity in emergency management. There are bad hires and there are toxic hire's and if Trump can get into the WH I hope these people are not just fired by investigated. If nothing is done but getting rid of them then no lessons will be learned and these same corrupt woke fools will feel empowered to try it all over again.
During the fires in the Texas panhandle, the locals (spanning hundreds of square miles) banded together to save livestock, shore up fencing, helping each other in both large and small ways. They did not wait on FEMA. These are my people, they know they can't count on you, and we want our taxpayer money back, Biden.
How in the world did we get through the hundreds of disasters that took place *before* there was such thing as an unconstitutional "FEMA" or any of these other agencies? Somehow, my own ancestors here in America came together and overcame massive floods, drought, snow storms where you couldn't even hope to leave your house for weeks, tornadoes, hurricanes, famines, plagues, etc. They got through it by collaborating with neighbors, family, etc. They didn't even ask for government help. I am *not* discounting the horrors going on right now for these poor people. We have been conditioned to believe that government can bail us out of every situation. This type of thing is *not* something a giant federal government should be doing and they are poorly equipped to help in these situations anyway. We have to be careful here. Just how big do we want "the government"? Do we realize just how HUGE the government would have to get to bail us out of everything that happens to us? Do we really want that? Many of the rescues and assistance for these poor people were going just fine *before* FEMA showed up. Once FEMA got there, they had to take control of everything and do it "their way". Many of these agents aren't from the area, have no idea about the culture, the terrain, etc. It's like pulling someone from NYC and dropping them in a corn field in Nebraska and saying, Ok, now get to work. The local people and state agencies are the ones that should be (and were) handling this. NOT the bloated federal government that only has a couple of constitutional duties to begin with (and they don't even do those right). This is a tough subject, but as always, central control of everything NEVER works. Never has, never will.
Guaranteed that the situational areas affected by severe weather are all over the map. Meaning it ranges from barely nothing to extreme severity and destruction. That no government or news media knows what the heck is really happening nor will they be forthcoming with any actions or news that does not paint them in a sterling light of perfection.
As like a nuclear WWIII, there will be nothing to see and the masters in government will have it all under control. Anyone claiming that a nuclear bomb has actually been exploded in their area will be deemed to be passing misinformation.
Although it will vary with specific nation looked at, in all all Western nations civil services grew parallel to the administration of the state, since virtually all involved knew instinctively and subconsciously that being an elected politician or a clerk or an administrator, and being an electrician or a crane operator or a steam shovel-operator or an engineer were completely different things.
Sure, you can be both or several, but they're still not the same thing, and who you are at work is not who you are in private, the latter also an attitude so ingrained it wan't consciously though about.
Enter the 1990s (in our chronology over here, I'd imagine it started in the late 1960s in the USA) and politicians exerting direct control over professionals via coercive and idiot-detailed documents, procedures and processes. Where once a Buttigieg or Majorkas would have lifted the phone and called up (or sent a telegram or a dispatch rider if we go back far enough) the one heading the rescue and repair-effort and asked: "What do you need from me?", now instead we get what you and Bray and many others have outlined:
"Follow orders without thinking, obey protocol as Holy Writ"
That indicates a total lack of trust. The kind someone who inwardly knows that he's been promoted way above his "incompetence-threshhold" (that's how we refer to the Peter Principle over here, since the concept and the expression predates Peter's article where he named it) but has such an inflated Ego he cannot admit to himself he needs to ask /and take/ advice.
Instead we get "leaders" hobbling along held up by paid lobbyists for grifters both govern-mental, corporate and anything else from that unholy motile smear called post-Cold War liberal democracy.
It resembles very much an alcoholic on the verge of either a moment of clarity, or a death-binge.
There is no reason why the Biden administration ( were there anyone with a functioning brain) could not have better managed the air situation to coordinate the private and govt air traffic . With transponders in all of the aircraft ( private , military, corporate , govt ) and ADS B in most all there is no reason the Pentagon could not have provided airborne command and control of the "battlespace" if the ground facilities were inoperative.
As a further alternative you simply give blocks of airspace and time slots . The problem is the bureaucratic obsession with control delegated to the least knowledgable and capable.
A simple " OK you civilian guys can operate in these spaces below 2,000 feet (or whatever ) and the rest is reserved for government aircraft or our favorite contractors . You must obtain permission from Big Brother to operate in other airspace.
You must also monitor BIG BROTHER on 123.45 or 246.90 at all times when airborne .
Years ago I was based in Marin County (across the Golden Gate from San Francisco) our CAP group had a couple of Air Force surplus T-34s that we used for search . One of our practice missions was simulated earthquake , low level 500 feet survey of Highway 101 from our base north about 100 miles .
Note any obvious damage ( either visual appearance of damage or vehicles backed up) . Within 3-4 hours of the call we would have responded, preflighted , flown the route up and back taking notes and perhaps photos , be parked and debriefing . If it was something serious it would have been reported by radio.
What comes through so clearly is the FEMA obsession with bureaucratic control even when they are depriving the scene of critical resources.
Bush got a load of unearned crap over Katrina . Only a year or two earlier the feds had paid for an updated Hurricane plan for the city . The opening sentence was " the most critical need is for the Mayor to order an early evacuation. He refused to order the evacuation and the last train left mostly empty . That night as I monitored the internet all of the City employees were to drive the busses filled with folks without cars out of the city; but they simply fled often in their city vehicles, leaving the residents to fend for themselves.
The mayor and the press blamed Bush for the slow response never admitting their responsibility . The horrible deaths of those abandoned in hospitals without power , water or air conditioning was criminal . But the press protected the mayor.
Will be interesting to see the press response on this.
As I posted earlier nobody was more tone deaf than Camoola leaving on a fundraising trip to Hollywood. If she were not so tone deaf or poorly advised she would have asked the guests not to write checks to her campaign but to the relief effort. But she's a career grafter and for Trump it was a gift from heaven..
I should have also added that the National Guard should have been at least alerted well prior to the Hurricane's arrival . It was also great to see the good ole boys with they quads which are really agile and good offroad.
My Aunt passed away in a dump of a nursing home in Houston in Jan '24.
The connection to this tragedy is the US FEDERAL GOVT EXECUTIVE BRANCH.
No staff/help/resources for the elderly, the needy including our veterans because our govt gave grants to NGOs like Catholic Charities (among many legit groups) who spent money on illegal immigrants. Period.
There were exhausted bureaucrats I spoke to who lost volunteers to the WuFlu requirements. The money dried up for Meals on Wheels, Senior Rec Center A/C day trips cancelled (116°s and no way to transport to the overcrowded facilities), and the Politicians pimping the idea of nobility of helping the poor migrants.
I saw the free debit cards. I saw the hard working poor AND the crimes. Just a people flood tsunami.
Overwhelms TX healthcare, charities and neighbors.
My heart hurts for the USA, we are all under water.
Bless those in harm's way getting assistance to the needy.
Prayers for my TN and NC neighbors, and i will continue to help pack the trucks from our area of VA to help.
Thx Sim. Looking forward to ANY smile you post on Monday.
Yep. It's so frustrating to hear shit like "The money FEMA spent on illegals has nothing to do with FEMA's disaster budget". This is exactly why we shouldn't waste our resources blowing shit up halfway across the world OR on hotels for people who shouldn't be here -- when something terrible happens, those resources are needed for Americans.
The purpose for which the funds were made available has nothing to do with how the bureaucrats spend your tax funds.
Camoola , Feinstein and Pelos are all involved in the catastrophic California Bullet Train fiasco. Harris was , as I recall working for Willie Brown at the time or perhaps back in San Francisco, Pelosi's husband was on the board of the most disreputable public contractor in California Tudor Saliba (they changed names a number of times) . Everybody in government knew the "bid" for the Bullet Train was a joke. The agency tech staff rated the contractor not qualified but they were selected because they proposed a number that made it look feasible.
All the big name California democrats were in on the deal Feinstein , Willie Brown , Pelosi , I thing gov Brown .
The moment they introduced the "FEMA Administrator" on TV, I instantly deduced the problem.
Shawn Ryan did a great program on the difference between the FEMA response and private efforts. The primary emphasis of many of the FEMA folks seemed to be making the area safe for their insider contractors who might be arriving sometime. In the meantime they generally obstructed a vast , private effort using folks with real combat rescue experience and knowledge of the area. More importantly, unlike the FEMA folks the private groups delivered supplies and executed rescues under difficult conditions .
Biden's contribution was a flyover which required that other airborne activities be suspended. Camoola recognized the priorities and commandeered a large jet and Secret Service detachment for a fundraising dinner in Hollywood.
Weeks later we have not reached all the survivors or really made inroads on extracting the dead from the rubble.
We're having a similar problem in Oregon with the forest service.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13949949/dei-trainer-oregon-forestry-bosses-hiring-merit-gender-identity-megan-donecker.html
It is not a downer. It aligns with my reading and my analysis. The only thing I would add is that my perception is the FEMA types are not willing to leave the cities and are being put up in pretty nice digs.
1) there's always going to be incompetence at any decently sized entity, private or public so this ":incompetency" angel often used is IMHO more of a re-direct, to keep people away from more serious Q's b/c if not incompetency then this means it was intentional
2) This is like Covid. The Feds didn't see it for the protentional crisis it could be used as and so they weren't prepared and once word got out just how unprepared they were it was too late to do anything more than try to shut down exposure of how poorly run FEMA is. There is defiantly some incompetency as the head of FEMA like with Secret Service, is a DEI hire. They have to shut it down because it's an election year and their already facing an uphill battle.
3) No matter how Helene played out the Feds never planned to do anything about it but since kt was more devastating than expected they now have to combat exposure of their own inactions.
BONUS: If you had any doubt as to whether or not FEMA is run by unqualified DEI hires look no further then their deceleration of equity in emergency management. There are bad hires and there are toxic hire's and if Trump can get into the WH I hope these people are not just fired by investigated. If nothing is done but getting rid of them then no lessons will be learned and these same corrupt woke fools will feel empowered to try it all over again.
#DEIMustDIE
+10 for the Firefly clip.
One of my favorites!
During the fires in the Texas panhandle, the locals (spanning hundreds of square miles) banded together to save livestock, shore up fencing, helping each other in both large and small ways. They did not wait on FEMA. These are my people, they know they can't count on you, and we want our taxpayer money back, Biden.
How in the world did we get through the hundreds of disasters that took place *before* there was such thing as an unconstitutional "FEMA" or any of these other agencies? Somehow, my own ancestors here in America came together and overcame massive floods, drought, snow storms where you couldn't even hope to leave your house for weeks, tornadoes, hurricanes, famines, plagues, etc. They got through it by collaborating with neighbors, family, etc. They didn't even ask for government help. I am *not* discounting the horrors going on right now for these poor people. We have been conditioned to believe that government can bail us out of every situation. This type of thing is *not* something a giant federal government should be doing and they are poorly equipped to help in these situations anyway. We have to be careful here. Just how big do we want "the government"? Do we realize just how HUGE the government would have to get to bail us out of everything that happens to us? Do we really want that? Many of the rescues and assistance for these poor people were going just fine *before* FEMA showed up. Once FEMA got there, they had to take control of everything and do it "their way". Many of these agents aren't from the area, have no idea about the culture, the terrain, etc. It's like pulling someone from NYC and dropping them in a corn field in Nebraska and saying, Ok, now get to work. The local people and state agencies are the ones that should be (and were) handling this. NOT the bloated federal government that only has a couple of constitutional duties to begin with (and they don't even do those right). This is a tough subject, but as always, central control of everything NEVER works. Never has, never will.
Exactly. It seems like in this situation, the only thing that FEMA should do is show up with a ton of supplies and take orders from the locals.
Here's a good roundup of organizations (including the mule teamers) bringing help:
https://popularrationalism.substack.com/p/more-ways-to-help-western-north-carolina?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=475124&post_id=149916677&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=p0wtk&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
Sweet! I'll add a link to today's post.
Brilliant article.
Guaranteed that the situational areas affected by severe weather are all over the map. Meaning it ranges from barely nothing to extreme severity and destruction. That no government or news media knows what the heck is really happening nor will they be forthcoming with any actions or news that does not paint them in a sterling light of perfection.
As like a nuclear WWIII, there will be nothing to see and the masters in government will have it all under control. Anyone claiming that a nuclear bomb has actually been exploded in their area will be deemed to be passing misinformation.
Hillary looks like ass.
Looks? She is!
Anybody seen the video of Buttigieg being dropped off a block or two away from his office and hopping on his bike for the final stretch?
Yep. It's a perfect example of the entire administration -- optics are way more important than competence.
Although it will vary with specific nation looked at, in all all Western nations civil services grew parallel to the administration of the state, since virtually all involved knew instinctively and subconsciously that being an elected politician or a clerk or an administrator, and being an electrician or a crane operator or a steam shovel-operator or an engineer were completely different things.
Sure, you can be both or several, but they're still not the same thing, and who you are at work is not who you are in private, the latter also an attitude so ingrained it wan't consciously though about.
Enter the 1990s (in our chronology over here, I'd imagine it started in the late 1960s in the USA) and politicians exerting direct control over professionals via coercive and idiot-detailed documents, procedures and processes. Where once a Buttigieg or Majorkas would have lifted the phone and called up (or sent a telegram or a dispatch rider if we go back far enough) the one heading the rescue and repair-effort and asked: "What do you need from me?", now instead we get what you and Bray and many others have outlined:
"Follow orders without thinking, obey protocol as Holy Writ"
That indicates a total lack of trust. The kind someone who inwardly knows that he's been promoted way above his "incompetence-threshhold" (that's how we refer to the Peter Principle over here, since the concept and the expression predates Peter's article where he named it) but has such an inflated Ego he cannot admit to himself he needs to ask /and take/ advice.
Instead we get "leaders" hobbling along held up by paid lobbyists for grifters both govern-mental, corporate and anything else from that unholy motile smear called post-Cold War liberal democracy.
It resembles very much an alcoholic on the verge of either a moment of clarity, or a death-binge.
It is the kakistocracy married to the Shirky Principle. The reason why founding system design calls for small and limited government.
There is no reason why the Biden administration ( were there anyone with a functioning brain) could not have better managed the air situation to coordinate the private and govt air traffic . With transponders in all of the aircraft ( private , military, corporate , govt ) and ADS B in most all there is no reason the Pentagon could not have provided airborne command and control of the "battlespace" if the ground facilities were inoperative.
As a further alternative you simply give blocks of airspace and time slots . The problem is the bureaucratic obsession with control delegated to the least knowledgable and capable.
A simple " OK you civilian guys can operate in these spaces below 2,000 feet (or whatever ) and the rest is reserved for government aircraft or our favorite contractors . You must obtain permission from Big Brother to operate in other airspace.
You must also monitor BIG BROTHER on 123.45 or 246.90 at all times when airborne .
Exactly. But that's actual logistics and getting shit done. Much easier to spend a couple days taking inventory and getting the paperwork in order.
I’m more inclined to figure out what’s needed, clear the conflicts and ask for forgiveness if necessary.
I'm afraid you're just not cut out to be a FEMA leader, Steve. :(
I take that as a compliment
Years ago I was based in Marin County (across the Golden Gate from San Francisco) our CAP group had a couple of Air Force surplus T-34s that we used for search . One of our practice missions was simulated earthquake , low level 500 feet survey of Highway 101 from our base north about 100 miles .
Note any obvious damage ( either visual appearance of damage or vehicles backed up) . Within 3-4 hours of the call we would have responded, preflighted , flown the route up and back taking notes and perhaps photos , be parked and debriefing . If it was something serious it would have been reported by radio.
What comes through so clearly is the FEMA obsession with bureaucratic control even when they are depriving the scene of critical resources.
Bush got a load of unearned crap over Katrina . Only a year or two earlier the feds had paid for an updated Hurricane plan for the city . The opening sentence was " the most critical need is for the Mayor to order an early evacuation. He refused to order the evacuation and the last train left mostly empty . That night as I monitored the internet all of the City employees were to drive the busses filled with folks without cars out of the city; but they simply fled often in their city vehicles, leaving the residents to fend for themselves.
The mayor and the press blamed Bush for the slow response never admitting their responsibility . The horrible deaths of those abandoned in hospitals without power , water or air conditioning was criminal . But the press protected the mayor.
Will be interesting to see the press response on this.
As I posted earlier nobody was more tone deaf than Camoola leaving on a fundraising trip to Hollywood. If she were not so tone deaf or poorly advised she would have asked the guests not to write checks to her campaign but to the relief effort. But she's a career grafter and for Trump it was a gift from heaven..
Pinot out
I should have also added that the National Guard should have been at least alerted well prior to the Hurricane's arrival . It was also great to see the good ole boys with they quads which are really agile and good offroad.
Many of them were in the Middle East.
https://www.tn.gov/military/news/2024/9/26/tennessee-national-guard-task-force-deploying-to-middle-east.html
No Tampon Timmy’s among them to drop out . There’s a thing about real southerners protecting their country and their neighborhoods.
My Aunt passed away in a dump of a nursing home in Houston in Jan '24.
The connection to this tragedy is the US FEDERAL GOVT EXECUTIVE BRANCH.
No staff/help/resources for the elderly, the needy including our veterans because our govt gave grants to NGOs like Catholic Charities (among many legit groups) who spent money on illegal immigrants. Period.
There were exhausted bureaucrats I spoke to who lost volunteers to the WuFlu requirements. The money dried up for Meals on Wheels, Senior Rec Center A/C day trips cancelled (116°s and no way to transport to the overcrowded facilities), and the Politicians pimping the idea of nobility of helping the poor migrants.
I saw the free debit cards. I saw the hard working poor AND the crimes. Just a people flood tsunami.
Overwhelms TX healthcare, charities and neighbors.
My heart hurts for the USA, we are all under water.
Bless those in harm's way getting assistance to the needy.
Prayers for my TN and NC neighbors, and i will continue to help pack the trucks from our area of VA to help.
Thx Sim. Looking forward to ANY smile you post on Monday.
They trashed the Constitution
They trashed the trust of the nation
They squandered the wealth of the nation and
When disaster struck Joe went to sleep at his private beach and Camools went to Hollywood to raise funds.
Yep. It's so frustrating to hear shit like "The money FEMA spent on illegals has nothing to do with FEMA's disaster budget". This is exactly why we shouldn't waste our resources blowing shit up halfway across the world OR on hotels for people who shouldn't be here -- when something terrible happens, those resources are needed for Americans.
It was spent by FEMA to spread their plague of unvetted immigrants into red states.
The purpose for which the funds were made available has nothing to do with how the bureaucrats spend your tax funds.
Camoola , Feinstein and Pelos are all involved in the catastrophic California Bullet Train fiasco. Harris was , as I recall working for Willie Brown at the time or perhaps back in San Francisco, Pelosi's husband was on the board of the most disreputable public contractor in California Tudor Saliba (they changed names a number of times) . Everybody in government knew the "bid" for the Bullet Train was a joke. The agency tech staff rated the contractor not qualified but they were selected because they proposed a number that made it look feasible.
All the big name California democrats were in on the deal Feinstein , Willie Brown , Pelosi , I thing gov Brown .
I have always called him Booty Peg. until a more “hip” person told me what that means ( actually he said google it). wow. it still works.