Picture of the Week

President Obama and Gov. Christie in New Jersey today. Meanwhile, the public is giving the President high marks on his handling of the storm disaster so far.

Quote of the Day

"Mr. Romney not only believes that states acting independently can handle the response to a vast East Coast storm better than Washington, but that profit-making companies can do an even better job. He said it was 'immoral' for the federal government to do all these things if it means increasing the debt. It’s an absurd notion, but it’s fully in line with decades of Republican resistance to federal emergency planning. FEMA, created by President Jimmy Carter, was elevated to cabinet rank in the Bill Clinton administration, but was then demoted by President George W. Bush, who neglected it, subsumed it into the Department of Homeland Security, and placed it in the control of political hacks. The disaster of Hurricane Katrina was just waiting to happen." -- today's New York Times editorial, which is worth reading in its entirety.

The problem with the right-wing Rethug "philosophy of government", to the extent that it's coherent, is that it runs into a wall when you consider what would happen if individual states -- or worse yet, for-profit corporations -- were solely responsible for disaster relief in their jurisdictions. Disasters don't follow state and local boundaries, and disaster relief shouldn't be coin-operated. But then again, that's the way right-wing Rethugs think.

Gov. Christie Praises President Obama's Leadership on Hurricane Sandy Relief

Credit Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) for praising President Obama's leadership in responding to the Hurricane Sandy disaster in his state (at around the 2:30 mark in this vid). Maybe this will inoculate the President somewhat from Rethuglican attempts to inflate this into "Obama's Katrina" or a dastardly plot? (Naaah!*)



Later, on MSNBC, Christie said:

"The president has been all over this and he deserves great credit. I've been on the phone with him, like I said, yesterday, personally, three times. He gave me his number at the White House, told me to call him if I needed anything, and he absolutely means it. It's been very good working with the president, and he and his administration have been coordinating with us great. It's been wonderful."

We've often ripped Christie in the past (and likely will in the future), but on this occasion he deserves big props for his honesty.

BONUS: When interviewed on the hyper-partisan "Fux and Fiends", Christie shot down the idea that a phony photo opportunity with Willard "I'll Say Anything" Romney was likely, after being prompted by resident jackass Steve "The Douche" Doocy.

(*h/t Washington, D.C. Bureau Chief Brian)

What We're Facing

This monster storm spans the northeast quadrant of the U.S., from Michigan to North Carolina to Maine and beyond. Winds here in the Middle Atlantic region are steadily increasing, along with a constant rain for many hours now. Later today and tonight should be a major challenge as far as power outages and high wind damage. Keeping our fingers crossed.

(satellite image from NASA)

Hurricane Warning

To our astute and valued readers: Hurricane Sandy is now making its way into our area of the Middle Atlantic seaboard. Widespread power outages are expected as the storm makes landfall and heavy rain and winds bring down trees. If you notice a sudden, unexplained dearth of Hackwhackery, it's probably because we lost our power, not because of a lack of blog-tastic material! Wish us -- and everyone in Sandy's path -- luck!

BONUS: It's worth noting that sketchy Willard "Well Lubricated Weathervane" Romney advocated dismantling FEMA and shipping the pieces to the various States during the Rethug primary debates. No doubt he'll find time for a photo op with FEMA workers during the response to Hurricane Sandy.

BONUS II: Here's Charles P. Pierce on the posturing and play-acting already appearing on the right:
"The problem, of course, is that a good piece of the political opposition doesn't recognize this president as president when the sun's shining. The people who will tell you that disaster relief is best left to the states, or to the private sector, are going be howling at the White House if some cat isn't brought down from a tree in Cape May in less than five minutes. There are a thousand things that can go unavoidably wrong in a situation like this. It is the most fertile environment imaginable for unpredictability. The good news for the president is that he's in charge. The bad news for the president is that he's in charge, and the opposition is still truthless, and demented."

Hurricane Sandy's Message

Over the past decade, with right-wing media and Rethuglican politicians trumpeting the talking points of the fossil fuel industry on climate change, the public has become skeptical about man's addiction to carbon fuels being the root cause of the change. The increasing frequency of extreme weather -- from record widespread droughts and mega storms to extreme heat waves and polar ice cap melting -- should be a wake-up call for all but the most delusional wing nuts. It won't be, of course, and that's the perverse success story of right-wing propaganda, backed by unlimited polluter resources.

So as we hope for the best, but prepare for the worst as Hurricane Sandy approaches, we have yet another (pun intended) "canary in the coal mine" forewarning of what we face if we continue to ignore the overwhelming scientific consensus that climate change is caused by the burning of fossil fuels, and not some cyclical occurrence as the fossil fuel industry and their coin-operated Rethuglican politicians want us to believe.