Tag: North Carolina

Trying To Reason With The Hurricane Season

Just a few days ago the 2025 hurricane began and the people down here where I live, the Gulf Coast, will be keeping close watch on the tropics waiting for that next show to fall.

I went through Katrina and the destruction was damn near complete….the Coast looked like a war zone and that was 20 years ago this year….and thanks to FEMA, MEMA and others we rebuilt….some say better than before.

But we have another worry to plague our minds…..Dear Donny and his helter skelter mindset towards any disasters….we will be able to weather (no pun intended) any massive storm like Katrina?  (Did you know that the director of Donny’s FEMA did not know it was hurricane season?)

I have my doubts because of what he has done to North Carolina….

President Trump talked a big game on the campaign about what he deemed an ineffective response by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) during hurricane season last year. In fact, during a trip to North Carolina in January, he made a point to criticize the Biden administration’s response to Hurricane Helene, saying, “This is totally unacceptable, and I’ll be taking strong action.”

Turns out that “strong action” would be telling the state, “Nah fam, you on your own.”

According to ABC News, FEMA has rejected a request from the North Carolina governor to continue matching state funds for efforts in cleaning up the damage left by Hurricane Helene. The Biden administration issued a cost-sharing directive last fall to match 100% of the funds the state spends on cleanup operations. Hurricane Helene was a Category 4 storm that killed over 230 people and resulted in record flooding throughout the state.

“After a careful and thorough review of all the information available, including that contained in your initial request for a cost share adjustment and appeal, we have concluded that an extension of the 100 percent federal cost share for debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance for an additional 180 days under major disaster declaration FEMA-4827-DR is not warranted,” acting Administrator David Richardson wrote in the letter.

Richardson is…an interesting fellow, to put it politely. A former Marine, he was named the acting director of FEMA despite having no experience managing natural disasters. In his initial remarks to the agency, he warned he would “run right over” any person who doesn’t agree with the changes being made to how FEMA operates.

His appointment seems to be yet another instance of the Trump administration valuing blind loyalty over an innate ability to do critical jobs. This isn’t even speculation, as Richardson more or less confirmed this when he told FEMA employees, “I will achieve the president’s intent. I am as bent on achieving the president’s intent as I was on making sure that I did my duty when I took my Marines to Iraq.”

North Carolina Denied Hurricane Relief Amid Changes At FEMA

How can this soulless son-of-a-bitch deny Americans the chance to rebuild their lives and communities after a catastrophic storm?

But yet he can find money to throw that the most wasteful and useless appendage of the government….the War Department.

He has no priorities other than making money for himself and his merry band of thieves.

You voted for this asshole….are you happy now?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

That Power Outage

By now most everyone that has a small amount of curiosity has heard about the power disruption in North Carolina….there have been all kinds of theories of who and why this occurred…..

This is what is known as of this writing….

The power was still out Monday afternoon for tens of thousands of people in North Carolina after a rare case of sabotage at two power substations over the weekend. It could be days before electricity is back and even longer before authorities figure out what happened in Moore County. The details:

  • The damage: A person or persons went to two substations in the county on Saturday night, breached the unmanned gates, and opened fire on the equipment. They “knew exactly what they were doing,” says Sheriff Ronnie Fields, per the Pilot. “It wasn’t random.”
  • Investigation: No group has claimed responsibility, and police have not spoken of a motive. The FBI has joined the investigation, reports CNN, and about 40,000 homes and businesses might be without power until Thursday given the extensive damage. “An attack like this on critical infrastructure is a serious, intentional crime and I expect state and federal authorities to thoroughly investigate and bring those responsible to justice,” tweeted Gov. Roy Cooper.
  • The precedent: The Wall Street Journal notes that power facilities in the US have long been vulnerable. In 2013, a coordinated sniper attack knocked out power at an electrical substation in San Jose, California, and threatened to put Silicon Valley in the dark. It was seen as an act of domestic terrorism. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission subsequently required better security at substations, though tens of thousands of smaller facilities were not covered by the rule.
  • The rumors: Police addressed widespread local speculation that the sabotage was connected to a controversial drag show that took place Saturday night, with Sheriff Fields saying no connection has been made. The Raleigh News & Observer reports that one outspoken critic of the show posted online, “The power is out in Moore County and I know why.” Emily Grace Rainey says police later spoke to her, and “I told them that God works in mysterious ways and is responsible for the outage.” The sheriff says this line of investigation “turned out to be nothing.

That is the best we can do right now…..more news as it becomes available.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”