The death toll in the floods in Texas keep rising. There are still people missing so it might well go higher. We’ve seen the death toll go up each day over the holiday weekend and earlier today as it topped 70 Trump clearly wants to ignore it. He’d wanted to spend an extra long holiday golfing. Alas, the GOP Congress barely passed that awful bill in time for him to sign it into law by the 4th. So he was stuck at the WH. Sure, he had an event but like his birthday parade it was lame. Put bluntly he was by god going to get in some rounds of golf come hell or high water. In Texas they had both and the destruction and death are heartbreaking for most of us. Trumpty? Not so much. HE hit the golf course!
I saw an article yesterday he’d told Noem to go to Texas to wave the Trump/MAGA flag. Trump himself has had virtually nothing to say. For damned sure he wasn’t going to blow a day of golf to go to Texas and be a President, the kind we’ve always had before to serve as Mourner In Chief. According to this article from The Associated Press the death toll now stands at 78 with ten people (that we know of) still missing. And Trump didn’t say jack-sh*t, but headed to the golf course! It could be credibly argued Trumpty is hiding out out there. He’s got reason to not want reporters around.
Keep in mind that during his first six months the administration started gutting services that forecast weather, which in turn hampers the ability to inform state and local news stations of the latest information about impending trouble. Flash floods are dangerous and people need warning. Even fifteen or twenty minutes notice (especially in rural areas) can make a difference to people who at least have a little time to move to higher ground. With cuts to the entities that monitor weather and severe weather in particular when a storm is dumping (or will) more rain than was initially forecast local news outlets, both TV and radio are partially blinded.
The ugly results of this are there for all to see. “Thoughts and prayers” won’t bring back the lives that were lost, so many of them needlessly but Trumpty wanted to make a big show of cutting government. Texas is a red state and will be at least somewhat more forgiving than other states but still, it’s a bitter pill to swallow. This is likely to dominate the news all over the state in the coming week. Worse, where FEMA once would already have capable people on the ground organizing relief this administration has gutted THAT agency. In fact, Team Trump wants to kill it. (It was after all created by a Democratic President – Jimmy Carter)
Well, even though it’s Tex-ASS I’m grieving over the losses down there. These are people. Human beings and while some probably would have died due to those flash floods I know enough about natural disasters (did two stints with FEMA myself a couple of decades ago) to know it didn’t have to be anywhere as many as we now know have died. The current line from Noem is this is all Biden’s fault. We’ll see how much traction that gets.
From where I sit this is just another example of the stupid-ass ‘totally for show’ cuts Trump’s DOGE made that have proven costly. Whether it’s air crashes on the Potomac or people not getting enough warning (warning they would have gotten six months ago) about impending disaster the hits have been coming. They will KEEP coming. And Trumpty will keep golfing.
I’m reminded of the old saying about Nero fiddled While Rome Burned. We have a modern day American version. Americans needlessly die while Trump golfs! I’m writing this in a hurry and am angry. Perhaps someone will craft a a better version of my suggested saying. Please feel free to improve on it.
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