A Brilliant Kid One-Upped A Design Adults Have Been Using For Decades

If you live in an area that's prone to flooding, you're familiar with the concept of sandbags: those heavy, awkward things people use to create a protective barrier around their homes. But sixth-grader Peyton here has a new idea ... and it might just be better than the original.

Inholfe: But My Voters Are Different

Far-right US Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) tried to explain today why it’s consistent for him to oppose the federal government paying for Hurricane Sandy disaster relief in New England, but why the government should pay for tornado disaster relief in Oklahoma.

After all, New Englanders don’t vote in Oklahoma.

No, Inhofe didn’t actually say that.  He tried to argue that Hurricane Sandy relief was all pork, which it wasn’t.

Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK)

Inhofe claimed that Sandy relief contained money for the Virgin Islands and to repair the roofs of homes in Washington, DC.

In fact, the Sandy relief bill contained money to repair the roofs of the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC that were damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

As for the Virgin Islands, the bill did permit some of the federal highway funds in the bill to be diverted to the Virgin Islands.  But that’s about it.  The “pork” in the bill was pretty small, by all accounts.  But Inhofe still voted against it.

The Atlantic walks us through more of the supposed “pork” in the bill that conservatives were complaining about:

• $150 million for fisheries in Alaska damaged by the 2011 Japanese tsunami,which littered debris on Alaska’s shoreline
• $41 million to repair military bases damaged by Hurricane Sandy (including ,controversially, Guantanamo Bay)
• $13 billion for future flood preparations (that is, money that will not be spent on victims of Sandy but on preventing future, Sandy-scale disasters from occurring)

So those are all disaster relief, and disaster-related.  One, the Alaskan one, is for a past disaster that wasn’t addressed, and should have been.  So that’s not pork.  The National Review has more of the GOP argument against the bill, but to call any of what they write about “pork” is simply bs.  The closest they get to park is money preparing for the next disaster.  How is that pork in a disaster bill?

What’s going on here is that Inhofe realizes that when you’re the Senator from a state with a disaster, you really don’t have a choice but to get a disaster relief bill passed.  So he’ll do anything to differentiate his cold-heartedness towards Sandy victims with his new warmth towards tornado victims.

Oklahoma’s other stingy Republican Senator, Tom Coburn, is also in a bit of a pickle over tornado relief.  Coburn has already said that any tornado relief bill must include cuts in the rest of the budget to pay for it, or he won’t support it.  In other words, Coburn is taking Oklahoma tornado victims as human shields in the GOP’s endless war on the budget (well, endless war on everything but tax cuts for the rich and defense spending).

The only difference is that the tornado victims vote in Oklahoma.

Pathetic Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn Says Cuts Must Be Made Before He’ll Support Tornado Relief

Before the final body count has even come in (which currently stands at 51, with officials telling the medical examiner’s office to expect at least 40 more) a pathetic excuse for a human being, GOP Senator Tom Coburn, will apparently require offsets to spending before he votes in favor of disaster relief for the areas of Oklahoma devastated by tornadoes on Monday.

Yes, you’ve read that correctly.  Even with 20 children confirmed dead, along with 31 others (as of 12:30 am CDT), and countless others with their lives destroyed, this sorry excuse for a human is already playing politics with the lives of Americans who are in desperate need of help.

When did this country become one that only helps its citizens when the “proper budget cuts” have been made?

ENOUGH!

When lives are lost, ruined and Americans need help because of a natural disaster—we help.  PERIOD.  I don’t give a crap how much it costs.

We don’t leave our citizens stranded, relying on the charity of others (which is always great, and more than anyone could ask for, but more is always needed), just because you want to push some kind of bullshit political agenda.

Read More!

Hypocrites Much?

Federal disaster aid for me, not for thee

By Steve Benen Mon Apr 22, 2013 9:35 AM EDT

Associated Press

Officials are still coming to terms with the scope of the disaster in West, Texas, where a fertilizer plant exploded last week, leaving at least 14 dead. And while investigators still search for clues as to what caused the disaster, Texan lawmakers in Washington are looking for disaster aid to bolster the devastated community.

Had these same officials not opposed post-Sandy relief, their position might not seem so jarring.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz lambasted the Sandy Aid package, voting against the measure in January.... However, in Washington Thursday, Cruz said that he was "working to ensure that all available resources are marshaled to deal with the horrific loss of life and suffering that we've seen" after an explosion at a fertilizer plant in Texas leveled the plant and nearby houses and business. [...]
Rep. Bill Flores, who represents West, also voted against the Sandy relief package but is now requesting federal aid for the disaster in his home district. Flores said Thursday that members of Congress with whom he has been in touch have pledged assistance.
After Flores voted against the Sandy aid package, he justified his vote by saying the package was "too large" and did "more than meet the immediate needs of Sandy victims."

In fairness, Cruz didn't explicitly say he wants federal emergency assistance, but the right-wing senator said he's working to get "all available resources," which would presumably include federal aid.

I will, of course, look forward to Cruz and Flores explaining why federal emergency aid in New Jersey and New York was unwarranted, while federal emergency aid in West, Texas, is fair.