The Unkindest Cuts of All

A couple days ago, a friend who lives in Texas sent me an email about how thrilled he was that he saw the news addressing Trump’s cuts to the staffing and funding of the National Weather Service, NOAA and FEMA.  He added that, since he was writing over the weekend, he was sure that Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O’Donnell will be covering that part of the story even more.

I was sure he was right.  And the thing is, as the coverage went on, and the horrific numbers of deaths (now at 104 as I write this) and devastation grew, it got to the point where I couldn’t even imagine the Trump cuts to NWS, NOAA and FEMA not being discussed as part of this story.  And not discussed by just them, of course, but all news coverage.  It’s borderline impossible to separate the story from those budget cuts.  They’re just too intertwined with the tragedy.

Not surprisingly, most MAGOPs from Congress who have commented on the disaster have said the obligatory, “This is not the time to talk about what should have been done.”

They’re right, of course.  The time for that was before the floods.  In fact, many did so, it’s just that MAGOPs ignored them and happily supported the Trump/“DOGE” cuts to NWS, NOAA and FEMA anyway.

Some, like Speaker Mike Johnson and Senator Ted Cruz (R-Cancun) said they didn’t know what could be done, but did suggest prayer.

Actually, a lot of people knew what could be done and said so when the Trump/“DOGE” cuts to NWS, NOAA and FEMA were made.  And further, if you’re the Speaker and senator from Texas, and you don’t know what to do, you probably shouldn’t be in your jobs, because that's one of the things your job demands.  But here’s one suggestion on what could be done – restore the cuts to staffing and funding for the NWS, NOAA and FEMA.

Another suggestion:  if you’re going to pray, pray that there isn’t another devastating flood.  Or natural disaster.

Rep. Chip Roy (MAGOP-TX) said that we didn’t have to worry yet about what to do next, since there was “a lot of time” to figure out that.

Well, no, there isn’t.  Climate Change is a very real thing, even if you don’t believe it.  Because science is not a belief system.  And these massive natural disasters will keep happening.  There will be more floods, and wildfires, and hurricanes, and tornadoes and storms of all kinds.  In a month.  Or perhaps a week.  We’re in the very start of the hurricane season.  They are still cleaning up from the North Carolina floods.  Massive wildfires are going on in Los Padres National Forest in California…right now.  At last report, it was 80,000 acres, which is bigger than the devasting fires in Pacific Palisades and Altadena that wiped out towns.  And they will all keep happening regularly because Climate Change is real, which is why, no, there isn't "a lot of time" until the next one.

And besides, a lot of people "figured out" before this not to cut staff and funding for the NWS, NOAA and FEMA.

Yes, we will find out later all the things that went wrong.  And no doubt many things went wrong.  But it’s impossible to cut major staffing and funding for NWS, NOAA and FEMA and think honestly they aren’t involved in some way – small or huge.   After all, this is exactly one of the things they do.  Predicting weather patterns, analyzing the intensity of gathering storms, warning the public.  And going door-to-door after a disaster to fine people in distress – but the ability to do that was cut from FEMA.

A guest on one news show said that the NWS office in San Antonio was fully staffed.  What another guest responded was that that didn’t address who was there on staff, because many experts with years of experience dealing with the specific areas of crisis involved and who were needed had been cut.  It also doesn’t address all the funding that was cut, nor all the other offices with staffing and budget cuts.

By the way, as to causes for the disaster, Mr. Cruz had an unexpected thought.  He blamed God.  "Why does God allow bad things to happen to young children?,” he asked, trying no doubt to sound deeply religious and meaningful, failing at both.  To which he added, in his supposed effort to be helpful in at least some way, “And all I know to do is to lean on God, to lean on prayer."  Which is a doubly weird thing to say – first, because he’s a U.S. senator, and he should have a basic idea of what to do.  (Including, as I noted before, returning the staff and funds that were cut to NWS, NOAA and FEMA.)  And second, because if you yourself are blaming the flood on God allowing it to happen and kill young children, why in the world would you count on that same God to help fix things you believe He did intentionally?  Though you don’t know why he did?

A thought for Ted Cruz:  Maybe God didn’t allow this to happen at all, but instead had helped the U.S. government create the National Weather Service, NOAA and FEMA!  And right now, He’s asking you why in the world you, and Trump and all the MAGOPs went along with cutting staffing and funds for them!

(It’s not been a good time for Cruz.  There is a story in The Daily Beast on him staying on vacation in Greece for several days after the initial warning had been issued and then even longer after the flooding and deaths got widely reported.  Is the story a bit of a cheap shot – honestly, maybe so.  In fairness, he was already on vacation and couldn't have known there'd be a tragic flood.  Although, just as honestly, a follow-story this morning showed that, from flight data and how as a U.S. senator he had access to private jets for emergencies, Cruz returned days later than his staff insisted he had supposedly "rushed back".  And so, especially given his history running away to Cancun during a Texas winter freeze emergency, does the story validly point to a pattern of not caring and having no sense of urgency to constituents when disasters hit?  After all, this is the guy who blamed God and said, hey, what can you do?)

On the other hand, there was video of Trump dancing on his White House balcony after the floods hit, and later having a fine time licking his ice cream cone at a holiday party, while the death toll rose.  But in fairness, perhaps that all can be blamed on dementia.

In the end, though, what’s most important is that the story of the flood disaster and tragic deaths (now at 104) are intertwined with Trump cutting staff and funding from the NWS, NOAA and FEMA, all enabled by the MAGOP in Congress.  In some ways, it focuses on problems caused by these cuts that exacerbated the disaster.  In all ways, though, it highlights with a bright, intense light the importance of the NWS, NOAA and FEMA in natural disasters and why cutting staff and funding to them is cruel, thoughtless and its own disaster waiting to happen -- every time.