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[Evil Koch] Looks To Kill Sandy Relief
AngelHedgie
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Yeah, that's not hyperbole. The Nation reports that David Koch's pet PAC, Americans For Prosperity, has drawn a line in the sand over the Sandy relief bill in Congress:
This is just fucked up. This is a petulant child looking to hurt people just because he lost. This is what evil looks like.
Earlier this week, AFP, which is chaired by Koch and believed to be financed by several other plutocrats from the New York City region, released a letter warning members of Congress not to vote for the proposed federal aid package for victims of the storm that swept New Jersey, New York City and much of the surrounding area in October. An announcement on the group’s website says that the vote next week for the Sandy aid package will be a “key vote”—meaning senators who support sending money for reconstruction could face an avalanche of attack ads in their next election. Already, opposition to the bill is growing, although it passed one procedural hurdle last night.
There is some legitimate criticism with aspects of the legislation, including the fact that some of the money will go to non-Sandy related reconstruction efforts in disaster areas. For AFP, however, the whole bill must die and victims of the storm deserve no help from the government.
Koch’s top deputy in New Jersey, a surly gentleman named Steve Lonegan, who heads the local AFP state chapter, called the aid package a “disgrace.” “This is not a federal government responsibility,” Lonegan told reporters. “We need to suck it up and be responsible for taking care of ourselves.”
This is just fucked up. This is a petulant child looking to hurt people just because he lost. This is what evil looks like.
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Fuck these guys.
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197970666737/
But they are rich.
Gotta prevent Obama's third term.
In 4 years when it's time to elect a new president they'll be able to point to this failure to provide disaster relief as a failing of the democratic party. They'll conveniently ignore the fact that the bill was killed by a republican PAC backed by big money and count on the fact that the majority of their voters won't bother to look any further then the commercials they'll plaster all over fox.
So....fuck Democrats?
I sorta wish the Democrats weren't above saying the same to the other side. See which states go into budget shortfall spirals first when federal aid disappears.
They are libertarians who want government as small as possible. Ron Paul is against any sort of disaster relief as well. The argument generally is that by providing relief you are A) taxing those of us who are not affected and
Also, the Kochs (Koches?) are pure evil for many, many other reasons. I think they probably view themselves as victims, which is the most sadly hilarious thing I can think of.
The Kochs are too hard line for this to be the case. They were against relief going to Louisiana and Missouri.
I've said a few times that the Democrats should pass a bill that would limit the amount of federal aid a state receives to be equal to the revenues the state provides to Federal coffers.
pleasepaypreacher.net
The bill IS loaded with pork.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/12/14/pet-projects-tacked-on-to-sandy-relief-bill/
I don't see a big problem with the government spending millions on graveyard restoration in Washington DC - I just don't like a non-emergency thing being quietly snuck in with relief for New England.
That said, Sandy does not fit that narrative. NYC/NJ has never in its history had to face an unexpected storm of this magnitude, its really rare, nobody saw it coming, and the government exists to help its citizens in crisis.
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
So when Mississippi gets hit by a tornado they have to pay the federal government?
Look if we can't trust the propoganda arm of the republican party about a bill the republican party objects to because it helps liberals on the east coast, who can we trust?
And yes hurricane relief by definition is "pork" because its a ridiculous fucking bullshit term thats basically anything someone doesn't like in congress and never anything they do like
pleasepaypreacher.net
Please name me one place in America that is impervious to natural disaster. I want to know the safest place to live.
I say propose the bill, just to generate the 'oh, shit' discussion.
Obviously there are times when those excess federal dollars going into shithole states save us all money in the long run, though. I don't care if Alabama generated $0 in federal revenue; I still support an increase in education spending there.
Wherever Syndalis lives, because no matter the disaster I'm sure the spending on it will be kosher. Again everyone always says "Man fuck the spending for *insert place here* when will they do spending for where I LIVE!"
Its ridiculous short sightedness/some kind of retarded NIMBY.
pleasepaypreacher.net
So, feel free to tell me how any of these fucking projects are bad.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20121217/us-superstorm-aid/?utm_hp_ref=sports&ir=sports
Impervious? Impossible - but you bet your ass there are places much, MUCH safer to live.
Once upon a time I used to work for a company that managed corporate relocation efforts, and there are databases of natural disasters that you can affix to a map via a density grid through software like ArcGIS. Everywhere gets the odd tornado, nor'easter or earthquake... but living along the Gulf, or in a non-rooted structure in Tornado Alley, or on the outer banks of NC? Those fuckers light up like Vegas on the map.
You are purposefully choosing to live somewhere that every year has a pretty damn good chance of getting fucked with by nature. I would rather Federal Funds go to assisting in relocating victims of storms in those areas rather than them just setting up shop again so that the whole awful process can repeat again.
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
The only thing questionable is why you're giving McCain and Coburn credibility.
Plus it's not like there's no benefit to the location.
No, it's really not.
There are places smart companies (and people) avoid building on like the fucking plague, because they are unstable or prone to getting hammered on by nature.
You don't build nuclear power plants on fault lines (well, you shouldn't), you don't build trailer parks in flat plains in the midwest (or you REALLY fucking shouldn't), and you shouldn't build homes on sandbars. But people do. And while I am against punishing them for being there, I think funding for relocation instead of rebuilding makes more sense.
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
I love Big Bird, but...
Fuck the poor, save a dollar.
Well let's make sure people aren't homeless right now and we can worry about tax breaks for moving inland or whatever later on.
The second two of those seem eminently sensible.
And this comes back to when idiots were railing against earmarks - the vast majority of earmarks are needed purchases.
pleasepaypreacher.net
It's not that simple.
More "fuck poor people" because these same guys are against any sort of natural disaster relief. They stood against Joplin relief and hurricanes in the south before they stood against Sandy.
The existence of tacked on things to bills does not qualify them as being inherently bad, indeed. They are only bad when they are actually counter-productive. Everything in here is about helping people or our security.
All of these plans make sense to some degree or another. Maybe they're not all 100% storm related, and the military base funding isn't specified, but it ultimately goes to serve the men and women in uniform. I thought this was a Republican thing. Now they hate it I guess.
Just like with TARP it went to all the rich guys first but the second we start talking about helping people with underwater mortgages "FUCK NO LET THOSE JERKS BURN!"
pleasepaypreacher.net
It's the same logic on why my mother and grandmother haven't bought any new kitchenware or furniture for the last two, three decades (and in some cases four) - which is to say, it's not logical at all. It's stubborn, "ITS STILL GOOD" mentality.
I am all for the Sandy relief, mostly because I am for relief from disasters in general.
I also think people should be encouraged to rebuild there because yeah... this is the kind of thing that only really happens once every half century or so in the Northeast. Even longer, honestly.
That said, as much as I love the city, New Orleans Megaflood #73 is kind of a big old sign saying that its okay to have a shipping port there, but maybe a huge population living below sea level is kind of fucking dumb.
Different disasters, different ways of responding to them... but everyone should be helped by the government when stuff like this happens.
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
We should also stop sending cops to bad neighborhoods and firetrucks to wood houses.
I mean, those guys should just move, amirite?