Hurricane Harvey

[ATL MU Warrior]

Trump doesn't go to Texas=he's no good.

Trump goes to Texas=he's no good.

When are some of you going to accept the fact that the democrats lost last November? If people ripped Obama, in the same manner as Trump is continually ripped, imagine what names those folks would have been called. If you disagree with the results of the last presidential election, then work to have your preferred candidate elected and maybe next time the results will come out in your favor. Its called democracy.

What rock have you been living under for the last 9 years?  Or maybe you conveniently have forgotten all the vile crap that was posted on the politics board during its brief existence.  It's exactly the same, it is now the other side's turn.  It's called democracy.

[Jockey]

The decent vs the indecent - a variation  on the tolerables vs the intolerables and the redeemables vs the irredeemables.

Thanks for reminding us how decent you are and how positively horrid those of us who don't buy your political orthodoxy are. E Pluribis Unum.

Thank you, Lenny. I am the maven of decency.

I was obviously generalizing, but the facts are the facts. Every texas republican except one voted against aid for NJ and NY after Hurricane Sandy. Every NJ and NY Dem will vote FOR aid for Texas.

Spin it how you like, but it is what it is.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

If Obama acted in the way that Trump acts people would have ripped him the way they are ripping Trump.  And Obama was called those names even without acting that way.

Obama never went to New York & New Jersey after Sandy and said “Thank you everybody. What a crowd! What a turnout!” either.

[#UnleashSean]

This creep is talking about going to games, as people suffer and lose everything, to prove what a man he is.  I'm guessing that he sets aside an hour of two to dance on some graves while he is there.

To even produce one loser like this is a red mark on this proud University.

I mean, people die everyday all over the world in poverty, war, natural disaster. Do you stop talking about your plans each time they happen?

[Pakuni]

Trump doesn't go to Texas=he's no good.

Trump goes to Texas=he's no good.

When are some of you going to accept the fact that the democrats lost last November? If people ripped Obama, in the same manner as Trump is continually ripped, imagine what names those folks would have been called. If you disagree with the results of the last presidential election, then work to have your preferred candidate elected and maybe next time the results will come out in your favor. Its called democracy.

[MerrittsMustache]

Thank you, Lenny. I am the maven of decency.

I was obviously generalizing, but the facts are the facts. Every texas republican except one voted against aid for NJ and NY after Hurricane Sandy. Every NJ and NY Dem will vote FOR aid for Texas.

Spin it how you like, but it is what it is.

Everyone spins things differently. To one side, Republicans simply didn't want to help NJ and NY. On the other side, the Hurricane Sandy bill asked for a lot of money that was unrelated to Hurricane Sandy damage.

[GGGG]

Everyone spins things differently. To one side, Republicans simply didn't want to help NJ and NY. On the other side, the Hurricane Sandy bill asked for a lot of money that was unrelated to Hurricane Sandy damage.

#fakenews

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/08/29/ted-cruzs-claim-that-two-thirds-of-the-hurricane-sandy-bill-had-nothing-to-do-with-sandy/?utm_term=.08fb08f2aacc

"So was the $50 billion bill filled with pork — two-thirds of which was unrelated to Sandy?

No.

The Congressional Research Service issued a comprehensive report on the provisions, and it’s clear that virtually all of it was related to the damage caused by Sandy. There may have been some pork in an earlier Senate version, but many of those items were removed before final passage. There were also some items that appear to have been misunderstood.

Ryan, for instance, referred in a statement to “non-Sandy expenses,” such as “sand dunes at the Kennedy Space Center, highway repairs in the Virgin Islands, and roof repairs in Washington, D.C.” But Sandy was a storm that stretched far beyond New Jersey and New York as it raced up from the Caribbean.

The Smithsonian Institution suffered roof leaks from heavy winds and torrential rain, resulting in a $2 million request. The shoreline near Launch Pads 39A and B at the Kennedy Space Center also suffered major erosion, leaving the ocean less than a quarter-mile away, so $15 million was added to deal with that problem and repair a NASA facility on Wallops Island in Virginia that also was damaged by Sandy. We couldn’t find a line-item for Virgin Islands highway funding, so it appears to have been relatively minor.

The bill did wrap in some other 2012 disaster funding, including disasters that had been declared over Alaska Chinook salmon, New England groundfish, Mississippi fisheries and American Samoa bottomfish. Those are the fisheries that the Cornyn spokesman referenced — but they were disaster declarations. So one would think it would make sense to include relief in a disaster bill.

Some lawmakers complained about $100 million in funding for Head Start, but that was limited to facilities that had been damaged in New Jersey and New York.

This being Congress, one of course can find some eyebrow-raising provisions. In particular, there was $16 billion for the account that funds Community Development Block Grants, which were aimed at Sandy relief but also could be used for eligible disaster events in calendar years 2011, 2012 and 2013. So the main focus was Sandy, but the money could be moved to assist other disaster relief efforts over a three-year period.

Still, it’s all related to disaster relief.

The bill also included tribal and state clean water and pollution mitigation grants ($600 million), funds to improve weather forecasting ($25 million), and upgrades to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration aircraft ($44.5 million). Those provisions were intended to prevent future disasters but arguably were not related to Sandy. But that’s less than 2 percent of the total."

[Pakuni]

Bad Optics (and Timing) 101

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump and Congress (all times local):

12:05 p.m.

President Donald Trump is promising billions to help Texas rebuild from Hurricane Harvey, but his Republican allies in the House are looking at cutting almost $1 billion from disaster accounts to help finance the president’s border wall.
The pending reduction to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief account is part of a spending bill that the House is scheduled to consider next week when Congress returns from its August recess. The $876 million cut, part of the 1,305-page measure’s homeland security section, pays for roughly half the cost of Trump’s down payment on a U.S.-Mexico border wall.

[HouWarrior]

I guess its time for a resident of Houston to lend perspective.

We were not in the path of the Hurricane Harvey eye, like Hurricanes IKE and ALICIA....but we were on the "dirty" side of its tail and it dumped epic amounts of rain on the city.

My subdivision had 58 inches of rain, and average throughout Houston was 35 plus inches. Biggest I have seen in almost 40 years here.

Recall for those of you that have been here...Houston is on hill less coastal plain. Over decades, the US Army corps has done an amazing job with bayous (think very large man made river ditches) and huge reservoirs . The roads and freeways are also sunken, serving as a backup water escape system. (this is why you see so many pics of flooded roads...its intentional).

In this storm every reservoir and bayou broke all records...yes its qualified as a 500 year flood. I am next to the Addicks Reservoir which peaked at a record 108 ft deep before the Corp opened flood gates early Monday...because the whole dam might have broken....flooding all of Houston for months(think Katrina and multiply it)

None of us left our homes, unless ordered to evacuate and  yet all of us felt the very real fear of water beyond human control. My home and the homes of my kids are fine....none of can drive anywhere for quite awhile though and all business and travel is suspended.

The toll will take many weeks to tally. Houston is uniquely well designed to handle tons of rain...its not our first rodeo. Think of what would occur if you had 58 inches of rain over 72 hours. That we have had minimal loss of life and home flooding in only hundreds of thousands of homes is miraculous and a testament to our advanced  systems.

This was worse than any hurricane or tropical storm here before, and the sheer amounts of water have me shopping for an ark. Houston, however,  is an extremely resilient, charitable city....you wont even hear much about this within a month or so...and thats the way we like it.

Let me know if this helped or if still you have questions

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Glad to hear you are doing alright HOU.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

I guess its time for a resident of Houston to lend perspective.

We were not in the path of the Hurricane Harvey eye, like Hurricanes IKE and ALICIA....but we were on the "dirty" side of its tail and it dumped epic amounts of rain on the city.

My subdivision had 58 inches of rain, and average throughout Houston was 35 plus inches. Biggest I have seen in almost 40 years here.

Recall for those of you that have been here...Houston is on hill less coastal plain. Over decades, the US Army corps has done an amazing job with bayous (think very large man made river ditches) and huge reservoirs . The roads and freeways are also sunken, serving as a backup water escape system. (this is why you see so many pics of flooded roads...its intentional).

In this storm every reservoir and bayou broke all records...yes its qualified as a 500 year flood. I am next to the Addicks Reservoir which peaked at a record 108 ft deep before the Corp opened flood gates early Monday...because the whole dam might have broken....flooding all of Houston for months(think Katrina and multiply it)

None of us left our homes, unless ordered to evacuate and  yet all of us felt the very real fear of water beyond human control. My home and the homes of my kids are fine....none of can drive anywhere for quite awhile though and all business and travel is suspended.

The toll will take many weeks to tally. Houston is uniquely well designed to handle tons of rain...its not our first rodeo. Think of what would occur if you had 58 inches of rain over 72 hours. That we have had minimal loss of life and home flooding in only hundreds of thousands of homes is miraculous and a testament to our advanced  systems.

This was worse than any hurricane or tropical storm here before, and the sheer amounts of water have me shopping for an ark. Houston, however,  is an extremely resilient, charitable city....you wont even hear much about this within a month or so...and thats the way we like it.

Let me know if this helped or if still you have questions

TAMU,
The Atlantic just had a story on the flood-by-design you mentioned.

Houston's Flood Is a Design Problem
It’s not because the water comes in. It’s because it is forced to leave again.
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/08/why-cities-flood/538251/

[MerrittsMustache]

#fakenews

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/08/29/ted-cruzs-claim-that-two-thirds-of-the-hurricane-sandy-bill-had-nothing-to-do-with-sandy/?utm_term=.08fb08f2aacc

"So was the $50 billion bill filled with pork — two-thirds of which was unrelated to Sandy?

No.

The Congressional Research Service issued a comprehensive report on the provisions, and it’s clear that virtually all of it was related to the damage caused by Sandy. There may have been some pork in an earlier Senate version, but many of those items were removed before final passage. There were also some items that appear to have been misunderstood.

Ryan, for instance, referred in a statement to “non-Sandy expenses,” such as “sand dunes at the Kennedy Space Center, highway repairs in the Virgin Islands, and roof repairs in Washington, D.C.” But Sandy was a storm that stretched far beyond New Jersey and New York as it raced up from the Caribbean.

The Smithsonian Institution suffered roof leaks from heavy winds and torrential rain, resulting in a $2 million request. The shoreline near Launch Pads 39A and B at the Kennedy Space Center also suffered major erosion, leaving the ocean less than a quarter-mile away, so $15 million was added to deal with that problem and repair a NASA facility on Wallops Island in Virginia that also was damaged by Sandy. We couldn’t find a line-item for Virgin Islands highway funding, so it appears to have been relatively minor.

The bill did wrap in some other 2012 disaster funding, including disasters that had been declared over Alaska Chinook salmon, New England groundfish, Mississippi fisheries and American Samoa bottomfish. Those are the fisheries that the Cornyn spokesman referenced — but they were disaster declarations. So one would think it would make sense to include relief in a disaster bill.

Some lawmakers complained about $100 million in funding for Head Start, but that was limited to facilities that had been damaged in New Jersey and New York.

This being Congress, one of course can find some eyebrow-raising provisions. In particular, there was $16 billion for the account that funds Community Development Block Grants, which were aimed at Sandy relief but also could be used for eligible disaster events in calendar years 2011, 2012 and 2013. So the main focus was Sandy, but the money could be moved to assist other disaster relief efforts over a three-year period.

Still, it’s all related to disaster relief.

The bill also included tribal and state clean water and pollution mitigation grants ($600 million), funds to improve weather forecasting ($25 million), and upgrades to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration aircraft ($44.5 million). Those provisions were intended to prevent future disasters but arguably were not related to Sandy. But that’s less than 2 percent of the total."

I was just attempting to provide both sides of the spin.

Also, Glenn Kessler? The guy who admitted that there's some subject spin in his fact-checking? That's your go-to source?

[Golden Avalanche]

I was just attempting to provide both sides of the spin.

Also, Glenn Kessler? The guy who admitted that there's some subject spin in his fact-checking? That's your go-to source?

He was the go-to source for the potus during his 2016 campaign when he wanted to embarrass Clinton for her "pinocchio rating" statements.

Surely if Kessler is considered a legitimate source of information by the potus then he is a legitimate source for us regular folk.

[Pakuni]

Also, Glenn Kessler? The guy who admitted that there's some subject spin in his fact-checking? That's your go-to source?

Is he wrong?

[mu03eng]

I have a question, does anyone reputable chock the Houston disaster up to Climate Change?

If so, that is why there a some segments of society who don't believe in Climate Change.

[Pakuni]

I have a question, does anyone reputable chock the Houston disaster up to Climate Change?

If so, that is why there a some segments of society who don't believe in Climate Change.

Segments of society who don't believe in climate change do so because they're dumb. Or, being generous, they're dumb on scientific matters.

I'm not sure anyone reputable has ever blamed the existence of a hurricane on climate change. Many reputable scientists believe warmer oceans/climates produce more powerful hurricanes.

[Jay Bee]

The essence of American politics.

The right refuses to vote for aid after a disaster to blue states (cuz remember the Wasilla Meth Queen said they're not real Americans).

The left will vote for aid for ANY American after a disaster simply because they are Americans who are suffering.

Really a quite simple gauge of decency.

The left will give aid

You deserve a vacation.

[tower912]

We all deserve a vacation. 

[Jockey]

I have a question, does anyone reputable chock the Houston disaster up to Climate Change?

Eng, I think your question needs to be divided into two parts..

1. Did Global Warming cause the Houston disaster?
2. Did Global warming increase the intensity of the storm?


I think the first answer is pretty obvious. No, it didn't cause the storm. We have always had hurricanes and tropical storms.

I think the second question is also relatively easy to assess. Some factors that affected Harvey include warm temps and ice melt in the Arctic causing changes in ocean currents and, therefore, wind patterns, more evaporation adding more moisture to the air, higher sea levels, and the warming of the oceans, themselves. Most climate scientists agree on these, but there is still uncertainty as to the degree that they are affecting these storms

Here are a couple good reads on the subject.

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/8/28/16213268/harvey-climate-change

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/climate-change-hurricane-harvey_us_59a6f6a3e4b00795c2a35c15

[GGGG]

I was just attempting to provide both sides of the spin.

Also, Glenn Kessler? The guy who admitted that there's some subject spin in his fact-checking? That's your go-to source?

Explain where he was wrong.

And I didn't even touch base on the ole Republican idea that any Sandy support must be offset by cuts elsewhere.  I will go out on a limb and suggest the House and Senate leadership won't bring up that idea this time around.

[Jockey]

You deserve a vacation.

Thank you for caring. I have actually had 3 wonderful vacations in the last 4 months.

I keep telling my wife I need another.

[jesmu84]

Explain where he was wrong.

And I didn't even touch base on the ole Republican idea that any Sandy support must be offset by cuts elsewhere.  I will go out on a limb and suggest the House and Senate leadership won't bring up that idea this time around.
[/quote

Well... http://time.com/4922472/house-republicans-fema-funding-cut-border-wall/

Next thing you know, they'll be suggesting the (provably false) idea of trickle down economics/tax cuts again!

[MU82]

Trump doesn't go to Texas=he's no good.

Trump goes to Texas=he's no good.

When are some of you going to accept the fact that the democrats lost last November? If people ripped Obama, in the same manner as Trump is continually ripped, imagine what names those folks would have been called. If you disagree with the results of the last presidential election, then work to have your preferred candidate elected and maybe next time the results will come out in your favor. Its called democracy.

Aside from making it about himself, Trump did fine in Texas. The bar is low. As long as he didn't pull down his pants and crap on the podium, he is presidential. No, seriously, he did fine.

But really, Doc, you're gonna do the Obama comparison on this one?

I mean, come on ... for 7 freakin' years, Trump tried to prove Obama wasn't an American citizen!

Even things Republicans liked before Obama got elected ... they suddenly were against them when Obama took office. FOX News and Rush spent at least as much time ripping Obama for everything he did as MSNBC and CNN spend going after Trump now. And none of Obama's relatives said, "I love it!" when offered election help by the Russians.

Can you imagine the reaction if Blackie McBlackerson had been caught on tape talking about grabbing women's private parts?!?!?! Holy Jungle Fever, Batman!!

Hell, Obama hugged Chris Christie at the site of Hurricane Sandy ... and Christie never lived it down. Even more than the bridge fiasco, that killed Christie political career. At the debates, several of his opponents used it against him like a sledgehammer. Accepting comfort from the president of the United States during a natural disaster was not allowed - not from THAT president, anyway.

Please, Doc. Although there are arguments to be made on Trump's behalf, this wasn't your best effort. But hey, congrats for using the English language!

[Lennys Tap]

Thank you for caring. I have actually had 3 wonderful vacations in the last 4 months.

I keep telling my wife I need another.

Three vacations in four months? How dare you? How absolutely selfish, deplorable and irredeemable of you. You sound like one of those intolerable 1 percenters that need to be taken to the woodshed

[Lennys Tap]

I guess its time for a resident of Houston to lend perspective.

We were not in the path of the Hurricane Harvey eye, like Hurricanes IKE and ALICIA....but we were on the "dirty" side of its tail and it dumped epic amounts of rain on the city.

My subdivision had 58 inches of rain, and average throughout Houston was 35 plus inches. Biggest I have seen in almost 40 years here.

Recall for those of you that have been here...Houston is on hill less coastal plain. Over decades, the US Army corps has done an amazing job with bayous (think very large man made river ditches) and huge reservoirs . The roads and freeways are also sunken, serving as a backup water escape system. (this is why you see so many pics of flooded roads...its intentional).

In this storm every reservoir and bayou broke all records...yes its qualified as a 500 year flood. I am next to the Addicks Reservoir which peaked at a record 108 ft deep before the Corp opened flood gates early Monday...because the whole dam might have broken....flooding all of Houston for months(think Katrina and multiply it)

None of us left our homes, unless ordered to evacuate and  yet all of us felt the very real fear of water beyond human control. My home and the homes of my kids are fine....none of can drive anywhere for quite awhile though and all business and travel is suspended.

The toll will take many weeks to tally. Houston is uniquely well designed to handle tons of rain...its not our first rodeo. Think of what would occur if you had 58 inches of rain over 72 hours. That we have had minimal loss of life and home flooding in only hundreds of thousands of homes is miraculous and a testament to our advanced  systems.

This was worse than any hurricane or tropical storm here before, and the sheer amounts of water have me shopping for an ark. Houston, however,  is an extremely resilient, charitable city....you wont even hear much about this within a month or so...and thats the way we like it.

Let me know if this helped or if still you have questions

Thanks for the view from the inside - glad you're safe!