FEMA Director Still MIA. Noem’s Interference Makes Things Worse

I’m looking at another story that’s in regard to the overwhelming, gut-wrenching Texas floods, where over 100 people have died, including young girls at summer camps. There was no warning system. The alerts didn’t get passed along by the counties and/or cities. And there is an organization that should have been boots on the ground ASAP and, well, wasn’t. Acting Administrator David Richardson is AWOL. No one can find him. From MSNBC:

FEMA is barely even “FEMA Light” these days. Richardson was put in place to destroy FEMA, not to save it. Demolish an organization that has done an incredible amount of good for as long as it’s been in existence. There are employees who want to be in Texas to help with the aftermath, but they are hampered by bureaucratic red tape thanks to Kristi Gnome. Anything over $100,000 has to have her PERSONAL SIGNATURE.

That’s no way to run an organization that’s in place for disaster recovery. They are … well, were, first responders. Now they aren’t. Now they are embarrassingly late and understaffed. What the hell does Agent Orange think he’s doing? It’s obvious this is not something that the state can handle by itself. And insurance sure as hell won’t do enough. FEMA is there to help, but they’re a day late and a dollar short. How mortifying it must be.

There are no reports of Richardson’s having been in Texas. He isn’t known to have led or even participated in any news conferences or to have given quotes to any news organization. As of Wednesday afternoon, there were no statements from Richardson about the Texas disaster to be found on FEMA’s website. FEMA did announce on its website Wednesday that it will open a disaster recovery center in Kerrville — in coordination with the Texas Division of Emergency Management and the Small Business Administration — on Thursday. If you’re counting, that’s eight days after the flooding began.

What the holy f*ck. Yep, he’s hiding out somewhere so he doesn’t have to answer awkward, or possibly non-awkward, angry questions. Kristi Gnome, with her makeup and hair extensions, and her $$$$ watch, is finally there. We all know she’s worse than nothing. I’ll bet she doesn’t give a damn about all the lives that were lost unless it gives her a photo op opportunity. You see, FEMA falls under Homeland Security. Why? I have no idea. Doesn’t make sense. And that personal signature? It creates red tape, and maybe she figures it will make people give up asking for help. I don’t think it’s working.

“FEMA doesn’t sneeze without spending that amount of money,” a former official, who requested anonymity because they are working in a related industry, told NBC News. A current FEMA official said Noem’s new rule means “they’re adding bureaucracy … and they’re adding cost.” NBC News also reported Wednesday that FEMA officials have created a task force to speed up the process of getting Noem’s approval. Though it’s ridiculous that such a task force would be necessary, good for those officials for trying to remind the secretary that the agency’s job is to respond to emergencies — which require quick action, not Noem’s red tape dispenser.

One of the most persistent complaints about FEMA has been that state and local jurisdictions and households applying for help are consistently tied up in red tape. In March, Reps. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., and Byron Donalds, R-Fla., jointly sponsored a bill that would make FEMA its own independent Cabinet agency and, Moskowitz said, “help cut red tape, improve government efficiency, and save lives.” Richardson, on the other hand, is invisible. We should take his absence as a message in and of itself. Having FEMA doing highly visible and beneficial work now would destroy Trump’s case for destroying the agency.

Goddamn. This is what El Presidente Imbécil has brought us to. States can’t handle disasters all on their own. North Carolina is still recovering. But are they getting any further help from FEMA? Or have they been abandoned? Will the same thing happen with FEMA in Texas, because it’s certainly looking that way? This is a great organization *for the country*. Why in the hell is he ripping it apart? That’s one helluva question, and I’m not sure we have any answer beyond “it’s tRump”. I think that’s the worst part.

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