Monday, June 05, 2017

A new threat surfaces as hurricane season gets under way. There's nobody in charge.

Courtesy of WTKR: 

Hurricane season began on June 1, and according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the season will be a busy one, with an above-average range of 5-9 hurricanes likely in the Atlantic. 

The United States could be especially vulnerable to hurricane landfalls this year, observers say, but not because of the enhanced activity that is expected. 

The two agencies that protect the country’s coast lines and its residents, NOAA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are still without leaders — positions that must be appointed by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the Senate. 

“That should scare the hell out of everybody,” retired US Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré told CNN. “These positions help save lives.”

For their part FEMA and NOAA say they are ready, however with nobody competent at the helm there is still concern that the lack of leadership will negatively impact reaction time.

Anybody remember Katrina?

Now for his part Trump of course is blaming the Democrats.
But in fact Trump has been exceedingly slow in appointing the necessary personnel in the first place.

 As you can see while the confirmation process IS slower than in previous administrations (For good cause if you ask me.) there are still far fewer appointees to even consider.

And why is that? Take a guess:

“In the vetting process there is a lot of scrutiny of social media accounts, Twitter . . . any hint of something negative about Trump as a candidate can be disqualifying, and a lot of people haven’t made it through that filter,” said Christine Wormuth, who served as the Pentagon’s top policy official from 2014 to 2016, under former President Barack Obama’s administration. 

The investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russian officials is also scaring off people who had been on the fence about joining the administration. Even the opportunity to work under Mattis, who many of the potential picks know and respect, may not be enough. 

“With, frankly, the chaos that is happening, people who might have been open to it are asking themselves ‘Do I want to join this administration? How much of an impact will I have? Will I have to get a lawyer?’” Wormuth said.

So what is Trump doing with his time not spent making appointments to his cabinet, besides tweeting of course?

Funny you should ask.
Yeah, if Trump is looking for somebody to blame for the lack of leadership in key government agencies he need only look in the mirror.

Though I would advise him to only do so while fully dressed.

Because, ick!

36 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:43 AM

    I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.

    Global warming sea level rise, storm surge, doesn't matter!

    Gonna float the true believers in an ark like Noah when the Lawd tells us we are to be ruptured!

    MISSION ACCOMPLISHED BITCHEZ!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous2:01 PM

      Good old Grover Norquist. I've never understood how he came to dominate Republican politicians so much that they eagerly signed an oath to carry out his "never tax" mantra in so many state legislatures and in Congress. Republicans have been more faithful to their pledges to Grover N. than to their oaths to protect and preserve the Constitution!
      Beaglemom

      Delete
  2. Anonymous12:05 PM

    And, he is getting fatter and fatter! Just look at that stomach on him now! He's repulsive inside and out! 300 lbs. + betcha!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous1:22 PM

      Is it any wonder he has to ride a golf cart wherever he goes? He's 70+, massively overweight, a dyed blond and a joke!

      Time for impeachment!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous3:33 AM

      Psych meds make you gain weight fast. Just sayin'.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous7:38 AM

      Psych meds make you gain weight fast. Just sayin'.
      =============
      Give me a break, he isn't on psych meds he eats a lot of fatten food and thinks he can lose weigh by drinking diet coke.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous12:07 PM

    Gee, he's getting fatter by the day.

    How dare any Republican ever accuse a Democratic member of Congress of obstruction. The GOP was the Party of Obstruction from January 2009 through January 19, 2017. And remember how they wanted to disband the NOAA and FEMA and most every federal agency that helps people in dire situations, like earthquakes, forest fires, floods, etc.

    By the way, has anyone reminded Trump that he needs to name people to these positions? They don't name themselves. Maybe he'll give all the leftover positions to Jared. Why not!
    Beaglemom

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You can't obstruct confirmations for nominations that haven't been made.

      Alas, I think that concept is above the paygrade of the average Trump Deplorable. Their brains can't function on that level.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous12:26 PM

    Top-Secret NSA Report Details Russian Hacking Effort Days Before 2016 Election

    According to a report at The Intercept, an internal document at the NSA shows that Russian military intelligence “executed a cyberattack on at least one U.S. voting software supplier and sent spear-phishing emails to more than 100 local election officials just days before last November’s presidential election.”

    The Intercept notes the document is dated May 5, 2017, and states, “Russian General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate actors … executed cyber espionage operations against a named U.S. company in August 2016, evidently to obtain information on elections-related software and hardware solutions. … The actors likely used data obtained from that operation to … launch a voter registration-themed spear-phishing campaign targeting U.S. local government organizations.”

    According to the Intercept, the Russian hackers “focused on parts of the system directly connected to the voter registration process, including a private sector manufacturer of devices that maintain and verify the voter rolls. Some of the company’s devices are advertised as having wireless internet and Bluetooth connectivity, which could have provided an ideal staging point for further malicious actions.”

    The NSA notes that the attacks could have had an impact on voting tallies.

    You can read The Intercept’s entire report here.

    https://theintercept.com/2017/06/05/top-secret-nsa-report-details-russian-hacking-effort-days-before-2016-election/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:38 PM

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Crossroads

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Rove

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_Analytica

      How they did it.^

      Delete
    2. Anonymous3:02 PM

      Bu$'T'ed:
      http://www.rawstory.com/2017/06/federal-contractor-arrested-for-leaking-classified-intelligence-to-online-news-outlet/

      Delete
    3. Anonymous6:50 PM

      @3:02 reason>
      http://www.rawstory.com/2017/06/intercept-leaker-arrest-resulted-from-a-search-warrant-for-podcast-transcripts-not-classified-documents/

      Delete
    4. Anonymous7:39 AM

      Wonder why this isn't getting more coverage?

      Delete
  5. Anonymous12:32 PM

    Why these positions remain unfilled may also be due to the fact that no wants to tarnish a resume with a trump association. Look at how long the FBI director post has gone unfilled. Candidate after candidate isn't interested!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous1:20 PM

      Why 'anyone' would join the Trump teams is beyond me. They will ruin their careers. The few he does have surrounding him (limited in numbers!) are not well known, had little respected reputations.

      Trump is pure evil, full of hate, is a racist, inept, lacking brain power who also carries a very black soul!

      May his death come soon! He is of no good to our country much less the world!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous5:23 PM

      Read this and weep!

      http://www.rawstory.com/2017/06/here-is-how-donald-trump-sees-the-world-and-why-he-must-be-removed-from-office/

      Delete
  6. Anonymous12:34 PM

    A new ABC News/Washington Post poll found that voters oppose Trump’s decision to pull the US out of the Paris Climate Accord by a 2 to 1 margin, but the bigger problem for the White House is that people don’t believe his reasons for leaving the deal.

    Overall, 59% of respondents oppose the decision and just 28% of those polled support Trump.

    The Washington Post reported, “The survey also finds broad skepticism toward Trump’s argument that leaving the Paris agreement will benefit the U.S. economy. While 32 percent of respondents say his action will help the nation’s economy, 42 percent think it will hurt and 20 percent say it will make no difference. On a separate question, slightly more people surveyed say that exiting the climate accord will cost jobs, such as those in renewable energy, than it will create jobs in the coal, oil and gas sectors.”

    Trump’s constant lies are coming back to haunt him, as a sizable number of Americans aren’t buying what he is selling. This president has lost the ear of the American people. When he talks, many tune him out, and many many more don’t believe him. The White House thought that pulling out of the Paris climate deal would be a win for them, hence the Rose Garden ceremony, but the opposite has happened.

    http://www.politicususa.com/2017/06/05/trump-rocked-poll-showing-people-paris-climate-deal.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:42 AM

      I only listen to him because it is important to know who your enemies are.

      However I consider everything he says a lie and this has been proven over and over again.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous12:44 PM

    "Trump FIRED Comey because he could." Good $tuff.

    https://malialitman.com/2017/06/05/kellyanne-conway-prematurely-tweets-alternative-facts-re-comey-testimony/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:36 PM

      http://www.rawstory.com/2017/06/olbermann-apologizes-to-uk-trump-is-not-of-sound-mind-we-are-working-to-correct-the-problem/

      Your Fired!

      Delete
  8. Anonymous12:53 PM

    "Did you see what that dumb muzzie said? It's like he's happy about the terror."

    https://twitter.com/RoguePOTUSStaff/status/871796660246122496

    https://twitter.com/RoguePOTUSStaff/status/871803479492308993

    https://twitter.com/RoguePOTUSStaff

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous12:59 PM

    Bloomberg delivers US pledge to continue Paris climate goals to UN

    http://www.rawstory.com/2017/06/bloomberg-delivers-us-pledge-to-continue-paris-climate-goals-to-un/

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous1:01 PM

    Ex-Bush official unloads on Trump:

    The impulsive, uncontrolled, ill-informed President infects the legal soundness of everything his administration does.

    https://twitter.com/jacklgoldsmith/status/871779981986287616

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous1:38 PM

    CBS has announced that they will be airing
    Trump’s Worst Nightmare Comes True As CBS Will Air James Comey’s Testimony Live

    James Comey's testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee live on broadcast television, which means that the Russia scandal has grown from cable news to full-scale broadcast network television.

    http://www.politicususa.com/2017/06/05/trumps-worst-nightmare-true-cbs-air-james-comeys-testimony-live.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous2:22 PM

      http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/trump-pulls-out-of-climate-deal-western-rift-deepens-a-1150486.html

      Dan the Man Rather
      FB"Where are the self-described serious foreign policy minds in the GOP, the ones who often lecture the nation on the meaning of patriotism and leadership on the cable talk shows and Sunday morning public affairs programs? They have enabled an administration that strikes many people in both parties as unmoored from many of the norms our Constitutional republic. The arc of history may very well judge them all with the broad brush of complicity if they do not stand up now and say that this has gone too far."

      Delete
    2. Oh, goody.

      Now *that* I'd be willing to watch.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous2:14 PM

    Apologies to anyone who resides in Palm Beach, but I really hope that the first big blow that happens has Mar a Lago as ground zero.

    Only then would this selfish fat pig consider the importance of emergency services and proper preparation through NOAA.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous2:58 PM

      Here's a good scenario: the hurricane peters out before a direct hit on PB but spawns a rogue tornado that does a targeted blast on Mar-a Lago seawall to let the water flood in. No coverage for that. Revenge of the insurance company, nature and Karma.

      Delete
    2. Well, Mar-a-Lago is a historical building and despite whatever trash decorating scheme Trump has inflicted on the building, I wouldn't with it to be leveled. Just the occupants evicted permanently and then maybe restored and going to a historical trust.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous3:37 PM

      No one deserves having a natural disaster hit them where it hurts than The Donald! God, would he whine and cry.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous7:45 AM

      The taxpayers would end up footing the bill for all the repairs.

      After Katrina, I figure the best policy is NOT to count on the government to step in. Need to have own disaster plan in place.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous9:34 AM

      Tax payers have already footed the bill for that
      http://fortune.com/2016/10/24/donald-trump-hurricane-payout-mar-a-lago/
      17 million,for a few repairs from a hurricane that Trump doesn't remember

      Delete
  13. We should brand the upcoming hurricanes ourselves. (See George Lakoff's most recent blog post. https://georgelakoff.com/2017/06/03/disaster-branding-the-importance-of-naming/)

    Hurricane Donald, Hurricane Ivanka, Hurricane Jarrod, Hurricane Melania, Hurricane Steve, Hurricane Kellyanne, Hurricane Jeff, Hurricane Heidi, Hurricane Sean, Hurricane Sarah, Hurricane Eric, Hurricane Betsy, Hurricane Junior, Hurricane Scott, Hurricane Rex, Hurricane Neil and on down the line.

    Every fucking disaster should be branded with Trump, whether it's weather or not.

    The great Trump flood.

    The great Trump earthquake.

    The great Trump depression. (Both mental and economic.)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous3:07 PM

    http://www.politicususa.com/2017/06/05/democrats-outsmart-trump-invoking-89-year-rule-request-dc-hotel-docs.html

    7-seven-member Rule!

    http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/05/trump-hotel-records-democrats-239152

    ""The Seven Member Rule is not a regulation or guideline, but a STATUTE that was passed by both houses of Congress and signed by the President," the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings, and his colleagues wrote in a letter to acting GSA chief Tim Horne.

    "Although you may wish to limit oversight from Democratic Members of Congress through a misguided policy that responds only to Republican Chairmen, compliance with federal law is not an optional exercise that may be overridden by a new Trump Administration policy. ""

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous3:34 PM

    He has a terrible swing in that photo! Too much belly to rotate around correctly! He's become a fat slob!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous5:20 PM

    My response to the last picture and tweet: remember, Tiny Hands said he would only 'work' Monday through Thursday, like Congress! He did say that he would take the weekends off...

    ReplyDelete

Don't feed the trolls!
It just goes directly to their thighs.