Hurricane Sandy Brings an October Surprise

by Nomad

I
n a rather surprising show of solidarity, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who has been bashing President Obama for the last year on his lack of leadership- did an about-face after his state was devastated by Hurricane Sandy. 

According to CBSNews

Christie called the level of cooperation between the local, state and federal governments "excellent" and praised President Obama's involvement. "I was on the phone for the third time yesterday, last night, with the president of the United States. He called me at midnight last night as he was seeing reports," he said before adding that President Obama accelerated the designation of New Jersey as a major disaster area "without the usual red tape."

"The cooperation has been great with FEMA here on the ground and the cooperation from the president of the United States has been outstanding. He deserves great credit," Christie added.

Meanwhile Jay Carney, spokesman for the White House, gave this assessment of the relief efforts:

"When disaster strikes, Americans suffer -- not Democrats, not independents, not Republicans -- Americans suffer. And then we come together and put politics aside to make sure that those Americans get the assistance that they need."

With a week left before the election, Obama  canceled campaign trips planned for Tuesday and Wednesday to stay in Washington and supervise storm recovery. On Wednesday, Obama is scheduled to visit New Jersey, and is expected to return to campaigning on Thursday.

FEMA and the Tea Party: Those Limited Government Blues

(Photo by Laurie Skrivan, lskrivan@post-dispatch.com)

by Nomad

I

n March of this year, when The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) denied requests for disaster relief from two Illinois towns that had been devastated by a February 29 tornado, no doubt many residents were mighty sore at such lack of empathy from Washington.

FEMA had determined that homeowner's insurance, local charities and state funds could cover those requests. It also noted that according to their analysts, the damage to Harrisburg and Ridgeway did not measure up to requirements for federal assistance. (Photos suggested otherwise.)

Until It Happens to You

The tornado that struck southern Illinois was one of the most powerful twisters in recent decades. With 170-mph winds, the twister killed seven people in the small town of Harrisburg, and damaged or leveled hundreds of buildings.

This kind of disaster is impossible to guard adequately against, especially in terms of property. One minute your life is stable, comfortable and happy and, ten minutes later, the pointy finger of God drags his fingernail through your happy town and leaves you sitting amid broken walls and miles of debris. Of course, if it has never happened to you, to your community, then it would be hard to understand how traumatic it is.