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How would you grade the Sandy relief effort from federal, state and local officials?


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    About the same as we in South Texas graded them after Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Ike: F-. One small example of what we experienced from FEMA 2 days after Ike slammed the Galveston - Houston area: Unlike the present weather in the Northeast, it was miserably hot and humid here. NO electricity to speak of. People needed ice desperately -- to try to save at least some perishable food, to use (as it melted) for drinking water, etc. There were some 15 18-wheelers loaded with ice, parked in the Astrodome parking lot, drivers with their trucks, waiting for FEMA's "onsite manager" to give them the order to roll. For reasons totally inexplicable, the FEMA official refused to send the 18-wheelers out to previously designated distribution points around the city of Houston. Finally, our Harris County judge sat at a card table on the parking lot, took a pad of ruled yellow paper and his fountain pen, and wrote an order for those trucks to roll. We took care of our own, not FEMA, not other federal agencies. Thank heavens we had Bill White as Mayor then, because he and our County Judge stood shoulder-to-shoulder and got home-grown relief efforts organized. FEMA was worthless.

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    People are eating out of dumpsters in some areas, shootings in gas lines and roving gangs breaking into vacated homes and apartments.

    FEMA has the forms ready to go so people can apply for help. they have a stockpile of ink pens.

    The Red Cross is doing a great job of raising money!

    Trucks loaded with food and clothes from concerned Americans are waiting for access to distribute those supplies directly to the people in need but the Media is slamming them because they are not donating money to the Red Cross.

    Obama gave a great photo op and speech in NJ, which didn't feed anyone, it just further clogged up the roads and aid trying to get around the State, but he has a campaign to run.

    My opinion, "looking Presidential" means nothing when you are the President, it's what he was elected to do!

    Hey Mr. President, order some Helicopters and Military trucks into the region and distribute some food and clothing! That'll do so much more than a Photo Op and a speech about cutting red tape. Why should cutting Government Red Tape be such a priority?

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    Its absolutely terrible - for days Obama's government warned people of Jersey and New York of the pending landfall and potential damage from this storm - but did the administration do anything to stop the storm - Heck no - they just let it come and attack the United States. Why are we paying Obama to jsut stand by and meekly watch while our nation is attacked.

    Instead, Obama tried to force US citizen to flee their god given homes and property. Only God has the right to make people move - it is not up to government to dictate to people in a free society how to act. They should prevent this suffering now that people have problems as they stayed to defend their homes.

    This is another clear difference between the Obama and Romney approach to problems like this. Obama wants big government to handle crises like this. This was a once in a century storm - if this only occurs once a century - why waste all that money in government equipment and services that only get used once in a hundred years?

    Once Romney gets in office he will finally Fire FEMA and clean up other government waste enabling tax breaks for those capitalists that made this country what it is. Romney will rely on corporations to deliver services and responsible religious groups to provide volunteers to provide aid and succor. Instead of demanding people evacuate their homes and property to mitigate the effects of a pending flood he will appeal to his Mormon God, kindly corporations and the religiously righteous to make things better.

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  • They are running into some of the same problems that we saw in previous disasters, unions putting their own interests ahead of the public interest. We have already read reports that the Electrical workers union turned away a crew from Alabama who planned to help out in Seaside Heights, telling the workers that they were not wanted unless they joined the union.

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  • People depend on the Federal government too much. In reality there is not much that the feds can do in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. People need to have an emergency disaster plan before disaster strikes.

    The government is like a walker, it only props you up and moves after you take the first step.

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  • How interesting it is to see the differences in tolerance levels amongst the NY population majorly affected by this disaster and those of the Louisiana Katrina and the recent floods.....and the attention provided to NY yet little comparatively to those in Louisiana. Whether it is an article today about the minimal tax breaks allowed such victims or the lack of gas/generators....where were those outcry's during the Katrina/recent floods in interesting the shoe is on the other foot and we should have become WELL EXPERIENCED BY NOW what to have in storage...generators....gas brought into certain areas and GIVEN AWAY AS WE DO FOOD AND WATER.....yet here we have people in remote areas....flooded cars and they are left to fend for themselves and get gouged by merchants......this is the time to HELP and not to rob the disaster people....DELIVER THE GAS TO THEM !!!!!.....TAKE THE FOOD/SUPPLIES...even porta-potties TO THEM .......I would not put people thru a Katrina nor desire them to be left like this BUT WE AS A NATION NEED TO BE PREPARED.....we wasted so so much money under Obama yet we are really ARE NOT PREPARED FOR THIS !!!! WE HAVE A MILITARY WHO CAN DELIVER ITEMS..GAS/GENERATORS/FOOD WITH HELICOPTERS OR TAKE OUT MANY....USE THEM !!!! To those who think Obama has helped.....Bush would have done much much more had he been allowed to by the dem governor of Louisiana at the time yet was not allowed to......the USA much be more aggressive with the power of the FEDS to bring the entire Nation's ability to bear not what we see now.... GET THIS DONE FOR THE PEOPLE and get them their needed items FOR FREE......if you are going to borrow money from China as Obama desire then use it in a positive way and not waste it like he is use to !!!!

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    this is antwaun stanfield people only can do the best they can do also its good there staying on top of things before anything get out of hand or get worse.thank you.


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