Backlash had to be expected, but the letter was sent anyway. If you criticize Trump or his cabinet, out loud, so to speak, you might as well give up working in that field ever again. It’s all about the pettiness and ignoring the facts. They are willfully blind to the problems they have created. From CNN:
The Federal Emergency Management Agency on Tuesday placed several employees on administrative leave effective immediately, just one day after they signed an open letter warning Congress that the Trump administration’s sweeping overhaul of the agency could lead to catastrophic failures in disaster response.
There ya go. FEMA folks brought something to Trump and Noem’s attention that needed to be addressed, and they’ve caught hell for it. They’re not going to get their jobs back. Are they going to be able to get any jobs that are even related? Or will they have to try something else? FEMA is important.
The states can’t handle disaster response on their own. They don’t have the funds or the personnel for it. FEMA is supposed to be apolitical. They go where they’re needed, when they’re needed. If one thinks of some disasters just in the past couple of months, one sees they’re needed. They have the skills and experience to do what needs to be done. I can’t see the states getting the money that FEMA had. Trump will take it away just like he’s done for many, many other things (canning medical research? Really?).
Titled “Katrina Declaration,” the letter accuses President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose department oversees FEMA, of undermining the agency’s capabilities, ignoring its congressionally mandated authority, and appointing unqualified leadership. The group calls for FEMA to be shielded from political interference and for its workforce to be protected from politically motivated firings. Of the more than 180 current and former FEMA staffers who signed the letter, most did so anonymously. Only 36 signed publicly, though it’s unclear how many were still employed when the letter was released.
Boom. Retribution was swift. For people to actually sign their names, it *has* to be important. How many people in Congress actually saw it? Did it get to the people who needed to see it? Think of them coming out and saying things in public. That’s a big, courageous step. It won’t be easy to redirect the news. Trump and Noem may try to bluster their way out of it, but it’s too late for that.
Among them was Virginia Case, a supervisory management and program analyst, who told CNN she received notice Tuesday evening that she’d been placed on paid leave. “I’m disappointed but not surprised,” Case said, adding that she was aware of at least six other FEMA workers who received similar emails. “I’m also proud of those of us who stood up, regardless of what it might mean for our jobs. The public deserves to know what’s happening because lives and communities will suffer if this continues.”
Indeed, we do. We need to know we’re not getting any help anymore. We don’t need another reason to detest Trump and Noem, but we have one. This is sad.
Friends, I know everybody begs you for money. I promise you that of all of the outlets bugging you for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest working. We’re a bunch of old, disabled people, except one writer in his mid-50s. But the rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the ability to continue our quest to tell the truth about Trump and ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thanks. Ursula
