Is FEMA the "F" Troop of the government?

"There are SO MANY areas in our government which need to be fixed. The reasons range from simple inefficiencies to out and out corruption. We can put a person like Harris in to fix them, but she sure has not done much in the past four years. Or we can let Donald Trump finish the job he started in 2016. Me? I will choose Trump."  

Did you hear the latest on FEMA? They are stopping Elon Musk's people from delivering Star Link receivers into the flood area. That is what is being reported from boots on the ground. Those on the left, please settle down. There have been complaints about FEMA for years now, regardless of which administration is in charge. But if FEMA is truly supposed to be the fire department, the "cop on the street" to save people, they need to buff up their act a bit. Like - a whole lot more than a bit.

During a national emergency, we need solid citizens helping out. Not an organization who is out of money already, due to misallocation of funds. Now Biden and Harris want to call Congress back early so they can allocate more funds to this leaky sieve called FEMA. It seems much of FEMA's money has been spent on things other than weather emergencies. But with the impeached Mayorkas running the show, is there a doubt this has turned into a cluster of an organization?

With a hole in the bottom of FEMA's budget, we have what is forecasted to be a Cat 3 storm hitting central Florida this week. Sounds like it will be Governor DeSantis to the rescue, once again. He always steps in when the federal government comes up short. If we did not need DeSantis so badly in Florida, it would be great to see President Trump put Ron in as DHS Secretary. That department needs a good cleaning as well as a fumigation.

By the way, in the midst of our innocent civilians in the flood area needing just about anything (including a bottle of clean drinking water), Biden and Harris just sent another $100M over to Lebanon. Wait - it that not the home of Hezbollah? Yes, it sure is. The message here is simple. Money to the terrorists, and less to the victims of Hurricane Helene. No? It sure looks that way.

There are SO MANY areas in our government which need to be fixed. The reasons range from simple inefficiencies to out and out corruption. We can put a person like Harris in to fix them, but she sure has not done much in the past four years. Or we can let Donald Trump finish the job he started in 2016. Me? I will choose Trump.  

Wrong about Donald Trump?

"The best part of my dream last night was that Trump won the election. If Kamala had won, the dream would have turned into a nightmare, and I would have woken up in a cold sweat. But Trump winning, is one of those dreams which must come true. For the sake of the nation, it must come true."     

I had a dream last night. I dreamt that Donald Trump won the election, and everything was as great as it was the last time he was president. Even better. People had more money, less illegal immigration, abundant gas and electricity, low to no inflation, and the world was at peace. Things were so good, that even the staunchest Trump haters, admitted that they were wrong about Donald Trump. Then I woke up.

Here is the reality, and not a dream. Everything could be as I described it in my dream, and many on the left would still hate Donald Trump with every fiber of their being. Why? Hearts that are cold as ice. Let's face it. People who see nothing wrong with aborting a baby up to the time of birth (yes, Walz did sign that bill), have no problem with hating another person with a passion. There is nothing Trump could do or say which would win over the Trump haters. How can somebody hate this deeply? Most Christians cannot answer that question, as that type of hate is antithetical to our faith.

Today Donald Trump returns to Butler, PA for a rally. On the news this morning, a news crew was already at the rally site. So were a zillion or so people. Because so many think what happened there was a miracle (it very well could have been), this area has become almost a holy site. For Donald Trump to return to the very same site which almost cost him his life, well, the chance to be there was alluring to thousands of Trump supporters. The camera showed the road leading into the venue. Since it was still dark, the headlights seemed to stretch into infinity. Kind of like the Field of Dreams movie.

I am going to slightly jump off of topic for a minute. We are very blessed in this country right now to have two individuals who are indeed a rare breed. Two individuals who are changing the landscape. Donald Trump, for his leadership and acumen on running the country, and Elon Musk for how he is changing industry. It is no accident that these two men have found friendship with each other. What a dynamic pair that is!

The best part of my dream last night was that Trump won the election. If Kamala had won, the dream would have turned into a nightmare, and I would have woken up in a cold sweat. But Trump winning, is one of those dreams which must come true. For the sake of the nation, it must come true.     

How in the world can FEMA run out of money???

"Finally, now a postscript. My BS filter is full of listening after listening to the claptrap which comes from this bureaucratic garbage. After seeing how Biden and Harris have spent trillions on whatever, don't tell me that FEMA is out of money. Don't you dare! Now go help our people and shut your pie hole!"  

I served with a guy when I was overseas. Very nice man, good operator, big problem. His problem was so big, that he had to stand tall in front of the skipper more than once. He could not manage his money. That with a bit of a drinking problem, let him to be broke constantly. Always borrowing money and having a tough time paying it back. The skipper finally had to order him to stay on base, away from the club, so he could have his bills paid by the time he was to rotate off the island. What eventually happened to him? I don't know, but he might be running FEMA right now!

What is happening right now in the south, reminds me of what happened after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. There was a painful lesson learned after the water receded in the Big Easy - help was not on the way. For many folks, they were on their own. Almost 1,000 people died in the city of New Orleans. New Orleans, one of the 50 largest cities in the country, one of the busiest ports in the country, became a place too hard to get to. A place to hard to rescue folks from. That is the story right now in parts of the Carolinas, Tennesse and Georgia. 

In many parts of the damaged areas, there is nothing left. No stores, no banks, no food - nothing. It is like living on a deserted island, waiting for a ship to pass by. What is FEMA's solution to the hardest hit? Give them a check (in the next ten days) for $750. Where are they going to cash it when there are no banks? What are they going to buy with it when there are no stores? FEMA does not care. Oh, and here is the kicker. The man who screws everything up, Secretary Mayorkas, has announced FEMA is just about out of money. Seems they have spent too much on housing illegal immigrants from the Border Control budget. So, if you get a check, find a place to cash it quickly - otherwise it might just bounce.

The thought I had after Katrina hit is a similar thought I have in the aftermath of this storm. What in the would we do (God forbid) should a nuke ever hit one of our cities? We get flummoxed from a hurricane - what in the world would we do with a radiated city, and tens of thousands of dying citizens, needing food, water, and medical attention? Does FEMA have a solution for a disaster such as that, or will be running around like chickens with our heads cut off, like we did with Katrina or are doing with Helene?

It is sad to say that this disaster in our southland will end up being another lesson learned for our government. Or will it? Seems we learned nothing from the Katriana disaster. First off, forget giving people money right after the disaster. Money can come at a later time. What do people need? Check out Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. The first tier, the most important one, is food and water. People can't live very long without fresh drinking water. 

One final thing. Just like when the fires hit Maui, don't insult people. Don't have some government type on site handing out checks for $750 to people who have just lost everything. Our goal as Americans should be to help our fellow citizens become whole once again. Not to add insult to injury. 

Finally, now a postscript. My BS filter is full of listening after listening to the claptrap which comes from this bureaucratic garbage. After seeing how Biden and Harris have spent trillions on whatever, don't tell me that FEMA is out of money. Don't you dare! Now go help our people and shut your pie hole!  

Be careful for what you wish for...

"My only hope is by now, more and more people will take their blinders off and see what could be in our future. A Harris presidency could take us down the road to a type of perdition. It could be really bad for a great many folks."

Whomever gets the nod to be POTUS 47 is going to really inherit a kettle of fish. It will be a mess - a hot mess at that. The "October surprise" of having the cleanup from the mega-storm, the mother of all labor strikes, and the looming war between Israel and Iran - I mean, who would want to deal with these things? For some reason Kamala, who has the resume and abilities of a sloth, would LOVE the job! She thinks it would be like the Veep job, all sugar canes and Lollypops. Well, think again sister - as Truman said, "the buck stops here".

To walk this tightrope, once taking the oath of office, will take finesse and acumen. Actually, real world experience will also help - a lot. Donald Trump has four years in the job as being POTUS, as well as decades being a CEO. He has dealt with labor issues galore (hello, Longshoremen). He knows how to keep us strong, yet out of war. And he has dealt with natural disasters. Why in the world would Trump want to be POTUS 47 after being POTUS 45? Simply because he knows he can do the job. Keep us out of war. Fix our economy. Heal the scars in our land caused by Hurricane Helene. Help solve the insolvable labor issues with the Longshoremen. 

But right now, half the country hates Trump for reasons which are alien to most normal folks. Half the country loves Trump because he is a patriot. Yet, half will still vote for this untrained, lazy, Marxist named Kamala. She will be a disaster for this country. If she thinks she can fall back on Tim Walz when she gets in trouble, please - don't make me laugh. As bad as things are right now, they will only get worse should Kamala prevail in November.

My only hope is by now, more and more people will take their blinders off and see what could be in our future. A Harris presidency could take us down the road to a type of perdition. It could be really bad for a great many folks. I have tried to see a ray of light, a shred of hope should Kamala become our next president. But I can't. All I can see if many longing for the good old days of having Joe Biden as president - and as we know, those days were horrible.

The old saying will probably be true this November. Republicans vote with their heads, and Democrats vote with their heart. Those who vote with their hearts should get ready for something between heartburn and a broken heart should Kamala win. Don't think so? Remember the heartache many had after eight years of Obama? And he was good compared to how Harris would be. Just saying...  

 

Did JD get "Walzed" around last night? Nope!

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is not amateur hour. We tried on Biden, and it did not work out well. We need Trump back. We need JD Vance as our Veep. To give our current Veep a promotion for doing nothing positive would be a huge mistake. The stakes could not be higher right now. Send in the adults, the 'A' Team." 

As promised, I did not waste my time watching the debate last night. Did not have to. Why? Most was replayed on the news this morning. Did Walz look like a polished statesman, or did he look like a country bumpkin from Nebraska? More the later, in my humble opinion. But as we know, Veep debates are inconsequential at best.

Okay - I have thought long and hard about this. Forget the debate. Focus on the world view. For the first time in a long time, we need the "A" Team running the country. We now have the perfect of trifecta of world class problems. These are problems not for a president who is 90% checked out, laying on a Delaware beach. These problems are not for equivocators nor babblers who always side with the wrong team. We need an experienced president, who knows the "art of the deal", to help solve the Longshoreman strike. We need a president who knows how to work with FEMA, as well as other government and non-profit agencies on how to repair and restore quickly and efficiently. And we need a president who is not itching for war. Yet, a president who knows how to leverage American power. 

The world is on fire right now. INYMI, Iran not only launched 180 ballistic missiles at Israel, but some of them were also hypersonic. It is only by the grace of God as well as the newest aspect of the Iron Dome (Arrow Defense) which kept this attack from killing hundreds of innocents. Israel is getting ready to send over the F-35's and get some payback. The betting crowd is thinking that Iran's beloved nuclear program (funded in part by us), might be a goner. Why? The next attack of ballistic missiles could have a nuke embedded. Even if it is used for EMP, it would be a game changer. 

Here is the long and short of where this conflict stands right now. The IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) of Iran cannot be trusted with any kind of weapon - especially a nuke. It is time to take this group either out or down a few pegs. And this is where Biden may need help putting on some big boy pants. Israel, along with the United States, could take out this nuclear program. Like today. Finish it. Send a message to Iran that if their proxies don't stop the daily missile attacks on Israel, the oil terminals on Kharg Island will be taken out next. And we can keep going from there. 

Ladies and gentlemen, this is not amateur hour. We tried on Biden, and it did not work out well. We need Trump back. We need JD Vance as our Veep. To give our current Veep a promotion for doing nothing positive would be a huge mistake. The stakes could not be higher right now. Send in the adults, the "A" Team. 

     

Is this the October surprise - redux?

"Tonight, in the midst of all this mayhem, is the Veep debate. I may or may not watch it. Part of the reason is I don't think I can stomach watching another Walz debate. Don't trust the man. He is at variance with the truth. But tomorrow is another day. Could it get any more squirrely than today? Maybe. Stay tuned. This is not over as yet."    

Okay - I will confess. I did my morning article a bit too early. I thought (as naive as I am) that there were only two Earth shaking stories this morning. I was wrong. We now have a trifecta. The Longshoreman's strike, the mega storm known as Helene, and now the war on Israel in the Middle East. Was the war thing on my bingo card today? No, but it should have been.

Ready for this? The 180 ballistic missiles which came raining down on Israel today, was a game changer. As the saying goes, the Rubicon had been crossed. There is now no going back. Even though the "lead from behind" brigade, was telling Israel to take a chill pill for weeks now, Israel was ready for this escalation. Now the Middle East landscape will never look the same. Israel has vowed, no more missiles from Hamas, no more missiles from Hezbollah, and now more ballistic missiles from Iran. 

Poor old Uncle Joe. All he wants is for his Veep to win the election, and then he can get all tucked in Cozy Cares Care Center. But hold on. Joe's Veep is constantly on the campaign trail; the Longshoremen are on strike; and one of our "storms of the century" has caused all kinds of havoc and mayhem in our southland. All of a sudden, Joe needs to be President again. And he has to act sharp. 

If this is the October surprise, it is a whopper. A three-part pile of goo. A mega-storm, a mega-strike, and now maybe the start to WW III. For a normal president, this would be a handful. But for drifty Joe? This is way beyond a bridge too far. What will this do to the election? Great question! We all know what Covid did to the last election. The ramifications of this trifecta might be a lot worse than Covid. 

Will the US get pulled into this Israel-Iran conflict? We already have. CENTCOM has already used some of our assets in today's attack. As good as Israel's defenses are, help from a few of our SM-3 missiles being fired by our Burke class destroyers, helped stem the tide. But if the attacks get worse, more of our state-of-the-art assets could come into play.

Tonight, in the midst of all this mayhem, is the Veep debate. I may or may not watch it. Part of the reason is I don't think I can stomach watching another Walz debate. Don't trust the man. He is at variance with the truth. But tomorrow is another day. Could it get any more squirrely than today? Maybe. Stay tuned. This is not over as yet.    

Is this the October surprise?

"During the best of times, and far away from any election - this storm and this strike could be major issues. But right now? It is a bad surprise. Maybe even a bad October surprise. Stay tuned on this one. This story is far from over."  

Oh boy. Here we go again. This time it is the Longshoremen's strike, and it is a blow to the nation's solar plexus. And by the way - it is October 1st. Could this be the October surprise that seems to happen in every election? I don't know for sure, but right now, Biden and Harris are in a pickle over it. Oh - and so is the country which depends on open ports for smooth acting supply chains.

Here are some mitigating facts that I have heard on the news concerning this strike:

Item One - Longshoremen are the highest paid union in the country. Wages range from $88K/year to $300K/year (with overtime). Even with those astronomical wages, the union is asking for a 77% increase in pay. That would allow high end crane operators to make about a half million dollars a year (with overtime).

Item Two - Automation. The Longshoremen want none of it. One port has an automatic gate. That one gate has become the hill to die on for the union. They hate it and want no more like it.  The problem is to stay competitive and efficient; ports will need to automate much more than a gate. This could be a stickier issue than the wage issue is.

Item Three - Federal cooling off period. No thanks said the President. "I believe in the power of collective bargaining". So, Biden will not get involved. The problem is, once the ports shut down, soon many other things shut down as well (like, remember Covid?). Biden it seems, does not want to be bothered with this strike. Cuts into beach time up in Delaware.

Item Four - Have we forgotten about the aftermath of Hurrican Helene? Hello? We have fellow citizens who cannot even get a bottle of water right now. Plus, the S+R teams are still finding bodies. Is this the best time to have a nation crippling strike? This is not the time to be selfish.

Item Five - This is a storm issue, not a strike issue. Some of the mail in ballots as well as polling centers in the areas of the greatest storm damage might impact the election. What does all this mean? I have no idea, but it is probably not good, not good at all.

The news cycle for the rest of the month could be void of election politics and focusing on the dual problems of Helene aftermath and cleanup as well as the Longshoremen strike. During the best of times, and far away from any election - this storm and this strike could be major issues. But right now? It is a bad surprise. Maybe even a bad October surprise. Stay tuned on this one. This story is far from over.