Texas flooding terrible, tragic

[RLLD 4,230]

31 minutes ago, Fnord said:

Sure, tamp down the bureaucracy. Make it more efficient. That is a perfectly reasonable goal.

To do that, one would need to install seasoned professionals in leadership. Ones with extensive experience in emergency response and management, large scale logisitical coordination, and intimate knowledge of related policies/procedures. One would propose and enact new, streamlined policies in a measured, planned manner that does not sacrifice the immediate ability of the agency to properly do its job, which is to help Americans in their most vulnerable times.

One would not hire a hairdo with altered lips whose biggest qualification is subservience and whose mandate is to demolish a vital, if imperfect, organization, with no thought whatsoever as to what the fallout will be. 

You're proposing a cure that's worse than the disease.

I a not opposed to "seasoned professionals" replacing the current FEMA leadership.  

I do not accept that we should not try something new just because it will be hard.   The current way of doing business can only be shed when the impediments (career beaurocrats) are removed. 

It may even cause some up front pain, but nothing good comes easy.  We should not expect the initial foray to not be painful. Thats OK.  Fixing it for the long term means everyone wins

[purdygood 352]

1 minute ago, RLLD said:

I a not opposed to "seasoned professionals" replacing the current FEMA leadership.  

I do not accept that we should not try something new just because it will be hard.   The current way of doing business can only be shed when the impediments (career beaurocrats) are removed. 

It may even cause some up front pain, but nothing good comes easy.  We should not expect the initial foray to not be painful. Thats OK.  Fixing it for the long term means everyone wins

Do you trust this administration to hire qualified replacements?

[Hardcore troubadour 15,424]

This is kind of funny to me. Anyone ever see what passes for a FEMA worker? I don’t think they would be running into the raging waters to help anyone.  Or running period. 

[Fnord 2,264]

38 minutes ago, RLLD said:

I a not opposed to "seasoned professionals" replacing the current FEMA leadership.  

I do not accept that we should not try something new just because it will be hard.   The current way of doing business can only be shed when the impediments (career beaurocrats) are removed. 

It may even cause some up front pain, but nothing good comes easy.  We should not expect the initial foray to not be painful. Thats OK.  Fixing it for the long term means everyone wins

I am not intimating that it should not be done, quite the opposite. My point is simply that it is a vital agency with myriad problems and that simply gutting it is the absolute wrong thing to do. Real leadership would understand that you do your best to maintain flawed services while gradually making improvements.

Trump's strategy in every situation is to hire someone that's easy on the eyes, then blame Biden (or literally anyone other than himself) when the shlt hits the fan. That is the definition of bad leadership.

[RLLD 4,230]

23 minutes ago, Fnord said:

I am not intimating that it should not be done, quite the opposite. My point is simply that it is a vital agency with myriad problems and that simply gutting it is the absolute wrong thing to do. Real leadership would understand that you do your best to maintain flawed services while gradually making improvements.

Trump's strategy in every situation is to hire someone that's easy on the eyes, then blame Biden (or literally anyone other than himself) when the shlt hits the fan. That is the definition of bad leadership.

We need not gut the agency, we need to eliminate the buearocrats and SES's leading it.  Let the people stay, for now, but I assure at least 24% of  the rank and file need to go as well.

You can pretend this is all about Trump if that pacifies you, I am disinclined to accept that premise. 

TBH, you could cut 25% of the entire government today, and there would be no change in delivery of services.  Some people I work with think the number might be 30%, and that might be true. But I think we can comfortably do without 25, pretty easily. 

So....if we want change, the tenured bureaucracy has to be eliminated. 

[Fnord 2,264]

2 minutes ago, RLLD said:

We need not gut the agency, we need to eliminate the buearocrats and SES's leading it.  Let the people stay, for now, but I assure at least 24% of  the rank and file need to go as well.

You can pretend this is all about Trump if that pacifies you, I am disinclined to accept that premise. 

TBH, you could cut 25% of the entire government today, and there would be no change in delivery of services.  Some people I work with think the number might be 30%, and that might be true. But I think we can comfortably do without 25, pretty easily. 

So....if we want change, the tenured bureaucracy has to be eliminated. 

I have little reason to doubt your estimates. The issue, AGAIN, is that in order to eliminate that bloat, thoughtful, specific, intentional actions need to be carefully taken after spending time and resources evaluating shortcomings.

This is all anethema to Trump. It requires too much forethought and detailed planning, which he is obviously incapable of. I AM NOT laying all of the blame at his feet for decades of mismanagement across multiple administrations. But none of those admins set out to neuter FEMA, and none of them are currently in power, either.

[RLLD 4,230]

20 minutes ago, Fnord said:

I have little reason to doubt your estimates. The issue, AGAIN, is that in order to eliminate that bloat, thoughtful, specific, intentional actions need to be carefully taken after spending time and resources evaluating shortcomings.

This is all anethema to Trump. It requires too much forethought and detailed planning, which he is obviously incapable of. I AM NOT laying all of the blame at his feet for decades of mismanagement across multiple administrations. But none of those admins set out to neuter FEMA, and none of them are currently in power, either.

I could tolerate careful.  Start with the very top.  Then work methodically downward through the ranks. 

[Fnord 2,264]

4 minutes ago, RLLD said:

I could tolerate careful.  Start with the very top.  Then work methodically downward through the ranks. 

 

[Hardcore troubadour 15,424]

So yeah, there were five people at the NWS prior to the flooding. There are normally two. Trump! 

[seafoam1 3,020]

3 minutes ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

So yeah, there were five people at the NWS prior to the flooding. There are normally two. Trump! 

If the people are truly skilled at their job and not simply DEI hires, then how many do you need to give a forecast? Crazy. 

[Ron_Artest 1,512]

3 minutes ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

So yeah, there were five people at the NWS prior to the flooding. There are normally two. Trump! 

Ignores that the emergency coordinator role was vacant due to Trump cuts.  Ignores that FEMA took 3 days to arrive due to Trump changes.

Ignore that more cuts are coming and FEMA will be wiped out and this is not the only Trump disaster we will have in the next 3.5 years.

[Strike 5,539]

Even CNN admits the Feds, AND the state, didn't do anything wrong:

https://x.com/NickFondacaro/status/1943318034619175177

[The Real timschochet 6,762]

1 hour ago, RLLD said:

I could tolerate careful.  Start with the very top.  Then work methodically downward through the ranks. 

The main problem with your arguments is that Republicans never use a chisel. They cut with a large sword. They slash percentages. They’re not careful. Essential people always get tossed out with the unessential (usually the essential ones get tossed out first; unessentials are always good at protecting themselves.) 

[seafoam1 3,020]

4 minutes ago, The Real timschochet said:

The main problem with your arguments is that Republicans never use a chisel. They cut with a large sword. They slash percentages. They’re not careful. Essential people always get tossed out with the unessential (usually the essential ones get tossed out first; unessentials are always good at protecting themselves.) 

And yet it's liberals always crying that Trump isn't working fast enough to get all the Tariffs done, to get a wall built, to lower prices of things, etc, etc....

You all just work both sides of dumb arguments. 

[Hardcore troubadour 15,424]

8 minutes ago, Strike said:

Even CNN admits the Feds, AND the state, didn't do anything wrong:

https://x.com/NickFondacaro/status/1943318034619175177

The coast guard, that’s a federal department, right? 

[RLLD 4,230]

10 minutes ago, The Real timschochet said:

The main problem with your arguments is that Republicans never use a chisel. They cut with a large sword. They slash percentages. They’re not careful. Essential people always get tossed out with the unessential (usually the essential ones get tossed out first; unessentials are always good at protecting themselves.) 

Its government.....it will never be anything near "good".

The less government, the better. Period.

ANY...reduction in government is a net positive.

[MDC 7,411]

Eliminating FEMA is shortsighted. States like CA, NC, FL etc. should have robust state emergency response. It makes no sense for a state like NY to maintain an emergency response team indefinitely just to be prepared for a once in a generation event like Sandy.

I get the argument that gov’t is full of bloat. How about making them leaner and more efficient instead is scrapping them entirely?

[Ron_Artest 1,512]

34 minutes ago, Strike said:

Even CNN admits the Feds, AND the state, didn't do anything wrong:

https://x.com/NickFondacaro/status/1943318034619175177

Did you even watch your clip?  The guy didn't say that at all.  He didn't say anything about the fed or the state not doing anything wrong.  He just talked about how the locals were not prepared.

JFC

 

[Fnord 2,264]

30 minutes ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

The coast guard, that’s a federal department, right? 

Not sure. Got a link?

[Strike 5,539]

3 minutes ago, Ron_Artest said:

Did you even watch your clip?  The guy didn't say that at all.  He didn't say anything about the fed or the state not doing anything wrong.  He just talked about how the locals were not prepared.

JFC

 

You got to be joking.  It must suck being so wrong so often.  You should rename yourself as a Tim.

[Hardcore troubadour 15,424]

1 minute ago, Fnord said:

Not sure. Got a link?

There’s a link in this thread about Springsteen paying the funeral expenses. How’s it going? 

[Ron_Artest 1,512]

10 minutes ago, Strike said:

You got to be joking.  It must suck being so wrong so often.  You should rename yourself as a Tim.

You didn't even watch the clip.  Gonna start calling you Strikefoam.  You've gone full troll.

[Strike 5,539]

All you Libs will be happy to know that Chelsea Clinton has informed us that the Clinton Global Initiative is on the ground in Texas and assisting!!!!  Assisting what, who knows.

[The Real timschochet 6,762]

1 hour ago, RLLD said:

Its government.....it will never be anything near "good".

The less government, the better. Period.

ANY...reduction in government is a net positive.

Then we should defund the police? 

Your argument here really doesn’t hold up. 

[RLLD 4,230]

YOU.....already did that, against advice......and of course created mayem

The governments only role should ever be essential services.  Roads, police, fire, EMTs, trash removal.....as little as possible.

Local governments should carry more of the weight, the federal government should be restricted to military, the border, international relations,  etc.....as little as possible.

Government is not "good".....no, we need to restrict it where ever possible.

[Hardcore troubadour 15,424]

If we didn’t have the FBI then who would monitor school board meetings? Latin masses? 

[seafoam1 3,020]

59 minutes ago, Fnord said:

Not sure. Got a link?

Pothead boy doesn't know. 

[Hardcore troubadour 15,424]

12 hours ago, squistion said:

 

Update? When are the checks going out?

[seafoam1 3,020]

8 minutes ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

Update? When are the checks going out?

In liberal terms, I think you are supposed to ask for a link. Not my rules. 

[Hardcore troubadour 15,424]

1 minute ago, seafoam1 said:

In liberal terms, I think you are supposed to ask for a link. Not my rules. 

He gave a link. It was awesome. 

[BrahmaBulls 763]

8 hours ago, Ron_Artest said:

Ignores that the emergency coordinator role was vacant due to Trump cuts.  Ignores that FEMA took 3 days to arrive due to Trump changes.

Ignore that more cuts are coming and FEMA will be wiped out and this is not the only Trump disaster we will have in the next 3.5 years.

I bet you can't wait for the next tragedy so you can try to score more political points.

[Sandy Loam 99]

2 hours ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

Update? When are the checks going out?

Probably sooner than Trump will end the Ukraine war and get all those big, beautiful deals done with other countries.

[Sandy Loam 99]

Good lord with the MAGA conspiracy theories.

https://www.wired.com/story/texas-floods-conspiracy-theories-geoengineering-weather-weapon/

Weather weapon! Cloud seeding!

[Ron_Artest 1,512]

Trump spits in the faces of the families.

Says only an evil.person would ask questions about the response.

What a POS.

[Ron_Artest 1,512]

 

[squistion 2,198]

3 minutes ago, Ron_Artest said:

 

Only an evil person would ask that question?

Jeebus 

[Ron_Artest 1,512]

 

60 foot wave?  Surfers?

Who the fock listens to this clown?

What an insult to the families.

[Hardcore troubadour 15,424]

So it turns out the NWS kept workers on overtime prior to and during the floods. Another liberal false narrative debunked. 

[Hardcore troubadour 15,424]

On 7/10/2025 at 9:26 AM, squistion said:

 

Is a dream a lie if it don’t come true? Or is it something worse? 

[TimHauck 2,868]

I’m trying to find some more information on this Austin Fire Chief Joel Baker story.

Kinda sounds like Bob Nicks, the author of the Facebook post, has an axe to grind.  He also hasn’t been shy about talking to the media in the past.

Chief Baker says he was not made aware of any requests for deployment until 7/4.  And in fact when that happened one was for an assistant chief who apparently chose on his own not to go…

Still, the mayor of Austin said he spoke with the Chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, who characterized Austin’s response as “above and beyond.”

What is being claimed as the “denial” of the deployment is actually an email from way back on June 6th (originally from someone above Baker) where Baker said not to go “anywhere.”  In hindsight after a 100-year flood hits the state, probably not the best wording, but people are trying to make it seem like he said no to this specific request when there’s no evidence that’s what happened.  And in fact even Nicks only claims that “some AFD personnel” had received that request, seemingly directly and thus backing up the Chief’s claim. 

BUT BUT DEI!!! (Coming from the side telling people not to politicize this tragedy…)

https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/austin-fire-chief-defends-response-after-accusations-of-delaying-help-for-kerr-county-flooding/