Obama campaigns while Romney comforts.

[Yonivore]

The "Nero-fiddling-while-Rome-burns" meme almost writes itself.

Hurricane Makes Campaigning `Tricky' for Obama (http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-08-29/hurricane-makes-campaigning-tricky-for-president-obama)


The White House hasn’t announced whether Obama will travel to the region.

“At this time, the president’s schedule has not changed,” Carney told reporters this morning.
That was Wednesday and, so far, it hasn't changed.

Meanwhile, the next President went from accepting the nomination to accepting the role of comforter.

Romney to Visit Areas Damaged By Hurricane Isaac (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/08/romney-to-visit-areas-damaged-by-hurricane-isaac/)

[CosmicCowboy]

Geeze.

photo-op says hi!

[CosmicCowboy]

And do you know how disruptive it is to have a presidential visit right in the middle of a disaster recovery?

Obama sucks in a million ways but this is some weak sauce you are slinging.

[ElNono]

cue Yoni's soul sister, boutons, with a reminder of Katrina...

[boutons_deux]

GOP Budget Cuts Would Devastate Hurricane And Weather Forecasting

Republicans seem determined to underfund, undermanage, and understaff the government agencies that respond to hurricanes, putting lives and property at risk, as well as their political careers.

When Republicans retook the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010, they made deep cuts in the President Barack Obama’s 2011 request for the Polar Joint Satellite System, a system of new satellites needed to replace the old ones, which currently provide 85 percent of the data used in hurricane forecasting. House Republicans proposed further deep cuts in the program in fiscal year 2012.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Director Jane Lubchenco called the cuts “insanity.” She said that failure to fund the satellites would create a significant gap between the time the existing satellites failed and the new system became serviceable. Lubchenco said that the gap would be like “going backwards in 20 years’ time” in hurricane forecasting.

Marion Blakey, who served as head of the Federal Aviation Administration under President George W. Bush and is now chief executive officer of the Aerospace Industries Association, explained the problem this way: “In one test last year, NOAA ran models forecasting the 2010 Snowmaggedon blizzard using 1960s-era sea buoys and weather balloons. Without satellite data, models misjudged the storm track by 200 to 300 miles and underestimated snowfall accumulations by 10 inches.”

Guest Blogger on Aug 29, 2012 at 12:31 pm

by Scott Lilly

It’s late August. The Republicans are having their national convention. A huge tropical storm is bearing down on the U.S. Gulf Coast. So what’s new? We have had major hurricanes bearing down on the United States during four of the past six Republican conventions: Andrew in 1992, Frances in 2004, Gustav in 2008, and this year, Isaac.

But the Republican problem with hurricanes seems to go well beyond convention timing. A number of hurricanes have erupted into huge political issues, and it has almost always been at the expense of Republican candidates. This is not a coincidence: Republicans seem determined to underfund, undermanage, and understaff the government agencies that respond to hurricanes, putting lives and property at risk, as well as their political careers.

Hurricane Andrew became a major factor in former President George H.W. Bush’s re-election effort. After leaving numerous vacancies at the Federal Emergency Management Agency unfilled during his term as president, President Bush was slow to react when Andrew, the most expensive hurricane in American history (at that time), crashed ashore a few days after the 1992 Republican convention concluded in Houston. Agencies that had prepared for the storm were not called into action, and within a week angry victims were ranting about the failed government response on every network news program, underscoring the impression that the president was “detached from domestic problems.”

President George W. Bush was a good deal luckier than his father on the question of timing. While Hurricane Frances marred his New York renomination convention, the meteorological event of his presidency would not come until August 2005, 10 months after his re-election in 2004. Hurricane Katrina and the hapless effort of his administration to respond to it redefined his entire presidency and contributed importantly to the Democrats gaining control of the Senate and picking up 31 House seats in off-year elections 14 months later.

The final two years of George W. Bush’s presidency were marked by a major controversy over budget cuts at the National Hurricane Center, a dispute that eventually cost the center’s director his job. But those controversies did not end with the conclusion of the Bush administration. When Republicans retook the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010, they made deep cuts in the President Barack Obama’s 2011 request for the Polar Joint Satellite System, a system of new satellites needed to replace the old ones, which currently provide 85 percent of the data used in hurricane forecasting. House Republicans proposed further deep cuts in the program in fiscal year 2012.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Director Jane Lubchenco called the cuts “insanity.” She said that failure to fund the satellites would create a significant gap between the time the existing satellites failed and the new system became serviceable. Lubchenco said that the gap would be like “going backwards in 20 years’ time” in hurricane forecasting.

Marion Blakey, who served as head of the Federal Aviation Administration under President George W. Bush and is now chief executive officer of the Aerospace Industries Association, explained the problem this way: “In one test last year, NOAA ran models forecasting the 2010 Snowmaggedon blizzard using 1960s-era sea buoys and weather balloons. Without satellite data, models misjudged the storm track by 200 to 300 miles and underestimated snowfall accumulations by 10 inches.”

Blakey also pointed out, “Imagine the damages we will suffer in the future if weather forecasting capabilities are degraded and communities are not given timely and accurate warnings of major storms coming their way.”

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/29/767511/gop-budget-cuts-would-devestate-hurricane-and-weather-forecasting/

Gecko/Ryan comforts! :lol

[FromWayDowntown]

n/m

[boutons_deux]

President's don't do disaster work, FEMA does.

dubya was actually partying when Katrina hit :lol

dubya's FEMA, handed to dubya by Clinton and Clinton's well-respected FEMA director, was in great shape.

dubya, the MBA Exec, rolled FEMA into DHS and fucked it up. Katrina was a demonstration of how Repugs do governance.

We'll see how Obama's FEMA manages Isaac.

[TeyshaBlue]

cue Yoni's soul sister, boutons, with a reminder of Katrina...

as if on cue.:lol

[CosmicCowboy]

Obama going Monday.

http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/08/change-in-plans-obama-will-visit-la-monday-133976.html

[TeyshaBlue]

http://thinkorthwim.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/bush_fishing_new_orleans.jpg


:lol:lol

[Yonivore]

Geeze.

photo-op says hi!
And? Plus, he has a lifetime of similar acts -- it's not like he started caring when he became a candidate.

I just think it's telling the President has been campaigning all this week and, still, can't find the time to check in with the disaster area.

[CosmicCowboy]

Well, no offense to those affected but the disaster doesn't look all that disasterous. All the areas that flooded are in known flood zones...duh.

[CosmicCowboy]

Kind of like that east coast earthquake

http://www.funny-potato.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/quake-east-coast-2011.jpg

[Yonivore]

And do you know how disruptive it is to have a presidential visit right in the middle of a disaster recovery?

Obama sucks in a million ways but this is some weak sauce you are slinging.
I don't know, how disruptive is it?

A compassionate Bush was absent right after Katrina (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-09-08-bush-compassion_x.htm)
And that was because Bush waited four days; (two days after the levees broke and caused the true disaster.)

I've looked at the USA Today website...nothing.

Besides, what disruption does a flyover cause?

[CosmicCowboy]

Yoni, you really are embarrassing to red team at times.

[ElNono]

:lol

[Yonivore]

Yoni, you really are embarrassing to red team at times.
Are you a red team member?

[CosmicCowboy]

Are you a red team member?

I am certainly accused of it frequently.

[ElNono]

I am certainly accused of it frequently.

Let's see your card, tbh... :lol

[CosmicCowboy]

I accidentally washed it.

[ElNono]

I accidentally washed it.

You're going soft, CC... :lol

[CosmicCowboy]

No way

https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQbAVGZmuqpReXdvblkkIQw2EZrNNQ9I Y7hTTwCDqCaQeAWDya2

[ElNono]

They're blue! OMG! :lol

[Pelicans78]

Well, no offense to those affected but the disaster doesn't look all that disasterous. All the areas that flooded are in known flood zones...duh.

You're not really that clueless are you?

[Yonivore]

You're not really that clueless are you?
Apparently.

[boutons_deux]

Well, no offense to those affected but the disaster doesn't look all that disasterous. All the areas that flooded are in known flood zones...duh.

compared to Katrina, no.

At what level of Human-Americans' disaster does CC's badass compassion ("I'm OK, so WTF is there problem anyway?") kick in, if ever?

[CosmicCowboy]

You're not really that clueless are you?

It was a hurricane. There are always power outages and flooding. It goes with the territory of living on the coast and in flood prone areas.

[CosmicCowboy]

These areas of the Louisiana delta that flood during hurricanes have been flooding since long before New Orleans was built. The people that live there know that and choose to live there anyway. Yeah, I'm fresh out of sympathy for those people. Move already.

[Pelicans78]

It was more than the delta areas. Places much north of those areas and in mississippi flooded and had tornadoes due to the width of the storm, plus it moved too slowly and dumped wind and rain for days. Places that weren't in flood areas had massive flooding due to a combination of the lake, the river, and the rain and wind. There were tornadoes up to Jackson, MS which is 3 hours up the coast. Most of the flooding came up how the long rain and storm lasted.

[ElNono]

Kind of like that east coast earthquake

http://www.funny-potato.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/quake-east-coast-2011.jpg

:lol

[Th'Pusher]

It was more than the delta areas. Places much north of those areas and in mississippi flooded and had tornadoes due to the width of the storm, plus it moved too slowly and dumped wind and rain for days. Places that weren't in flood areas had massive flooding due to a combination of the lake, the river, and the rain and wind. There were tornadoes up to Jackson, MS which is 3 hours up the coast. Most of the flooding came up how the long rain and storm lasted.

It's alright. Obama is going to get around to it on Monday when he is done campaigning. :lol You're going to get your presidential visit to the disaster area.

[Pelicans78]

It's alright. Obama is going to get around to it on Monday when he is done campaigning. :lol You're going to get your presidential visit to the disaster area.

I wish he would stay away.

[ElNono]

Next up: Barry personally handing out welfare cards, followed by The Outrage!

[boutons_deux]

as if on cue.:lol

TB :lol

Repugs doing their governance (in which they have NO interest) on full display in Katrina

And you mofos' want Repugs back in the WH and running the govt? :lol

[TeyshaBlue]

Next up: Barry personally handing out welfare cards, followed by The Outrage!

:lmao

[Homeland Security]

Contempt aside, Yoni will be a chipper and loyal mouthpiece when the blood starts flowing.

[Th'Pusher]

Tangential, but I thought the shot that Romney took at Obama for his thoughts on global warming in his speech last night could be damaging. Regardless of the science, polls (http://environment.yale.edu/climate/files/Extreme-Weather-Climate-Preparedness.pdf)show people tie extreme weather events to AGW by a 2-1 margin. It just didn't seem like a smart thing to put out there when you're in the midst of a horrible drought and a hurricane just passed through the gulf. I am pretty sure he has the denier vote locked up.

[Bill_Brasky]

Kind of like that east coast earthquake

http://www.funny-potato.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/quake-east-coast-2011.jpg

the one chair toppled over gets me every time :lmao

[CosmicCowboy]

Can you please quote where Romney took a crack at agw? I can't find it.

[TeyshaBlue]

the one chair toppled over gets me every time :lmao

:lol

[Yonivore]

Looks like he cancelled his campaign stop in Cleveland, Ohio to catch up with Romney in Louisiana.

[SnakeBoy]

Looks like he cancelled his campaign stop in Cleveland, Ohio to catch up with Romney in Louisiana.

Gotta give it to Obama, he's got this leading from behind thing down to an art.

[Latarian Milton]

for romney there's really no point in campaigning for the US presidency which he has no opportunity of winning

[Winehole23]

Obama declared disaster areas, didn't he? What more is a President supposed to do?

(If Obama had staged some useless photo op, I have little doubt Yoni would have raked him over the coals for crassly politicizing human suffering.)

[Winehole23]

President Obama will head to Louisiana on Monday to visit damage from Hurricane Isaac and will meet with local officials to view ongoing response and recovery efforts.
Obama was scheduled to campaign Monday in Toledo and Cleveland, Ohio as part of his "Road to Charlotte," leading up to his arrival at the Democratic National Convention, but the event in Cleveland has been scrapped.


Obama's Republican rival, Mitt Romney, will beat the president to the area with a trip there today. Both are likely to use the appearance to present themselves as presidential and in charge. . .

Read more here: http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/washington/2012/08/president-obama-to-tour-storm-damage-in-louisiana-.html#storylink=cpy

[Koolaid_Man]

The "Nero-fiddling-while-Rome-burns" meme almost writes itself.

Hurricane Makes Campaigning `Tricky' for Obama (http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-08-29/hurricane-makes-campaigning-tricky-for-president-obama)


That was Wednesday and, so far, it hasn't changed.

Meanwhile, the next President went from accepting the nomination to accepting the role of comforter.

Romney to Visit Areas Damaged By Hurricane Isaac (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/08/romney-to-visit-areas-damaged-by-hurricane-isaac/)


not only did he visit but he also showed the callousness which defines his life:


Mitt Romney To Flood Victim: 'Go Home And Call 211'


"He just told me to, um, there's assistance out there," Chiarello said of her conversation with Romney. "He said, go home and call 211." That's a public service number offered in many states.

www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/01/mitt-romney-211_n_1848432.html

[djohn2oo8]

Yoni conviently forgetting Obama visiting the victims and family of the aurora shooting.

[leemajors]

:lol
"He just told me to, um, there's assistance out there," Chiarello said of her conversation with Romney. "He said, go home and call 211." That's a public service number offered in many states.

[Michael Brown]

I found Mitt's presence very comforting.

[boutons_deux]

"Gecko would comfort the nation wonderfully if he would hire me again as FEMA guy"

--Michael Chertoff (gets critical hurricane disaster updates from CNN)