JCC Hurricane Sandy

He's a Mets fan so he can deal with disasters fine.

 

Can we throw tomatoes (or shoes) at this guy already???




http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/ex-fema-director-michael-brown-criticizes-obama-reacting-202803013.html

Ex-FEMA director Michael Brown criticizes Obama for reacting too quickly to storm

Former FEMA director Michael Brown, who was heavily criticized for the agency's failure to prepare for Hurricane Katrina, has criticized President Obama for responding to Hurricane Sandy too early.

In an interview with Denver Westword, Brown said, "One thing [President Obama's] gonna be asked is, why did he jump on [Hurricane Sandy] so quickly and go back to D.C. so quickly when in ... Benghazi, he went to Las Vegas? Why was this so quick? ... At some point, somebody's going to ask that question."

Brown said the president may have had a more positive effect had he waited until Sunday afternoon to address the storm instead of holding a press conference that morning.

Brown's insinuation that Obama responded too early is a gutsy move considering his role in the 2005 disaster. Brown, who was famously called "Brownie" by President George W. Bush, was seen as a symbol of government failure to protect and evacuate people from the path of Katrina.

In emails he wrote that later became public, Brown came off as inexperienced and uncaring. On the morning of the hurricane, Brown wrote, "Can I quit now? Can I come home?" to Cindy Taylor, FEMA's deputy director of public affairs. Later, in a separate email, he wrote, "I'm trapped now, please rescue me."​

 

Wow. Just wow. I really have no words for that.

On the disaster front itself, CNN is reporting that JFK airport will be open to incoming flights at 6am tomorrow morning.

 

50 people at least dead

 

Or the Oceanfront/Sandbridge beaches here in Va.

 

The Telegraph has done a strange article which says blaming the storm on the actions of fossil fuel over-usage is as dumb as blaming it on gay people. Except it's not, actual evidence for Global Warming exists, none exists to support the idea gay people control the weather.

 

Yep. Not to mention that many, thousands of people have lost their homes. Some entire neighborhoods are destroyed.

As someone living through this, it's very weird to see all the jokes and political comments on here. Who cares about Romney or Obama in this context? What can they do for Breezy Point residents whose homes burnt to the ground with the roads blocked from flooding and trees? There are 8 million people without power or running water and it could go on for another week to 10 days. I know it's easy to be insensitive with the comfort of internet anonymity, but at least let the dead be buried and the crisis come to an end before making it a running comedy show.

 

I'm kinda worried about AmazingB. He's been offline since Monday at 12:30. I hope it's just a power outage.

 

Anyone check his Facebook? I don't have him on Facebook but I have Erin on it and she is apparently ok.

 

He's not on FB.

 

I did a facebook thingy asking for info.

 

The political commentary is somewhat to be expected in light of the fact that the election is a week away and the storm is going to have an effect on that, but I agree it's way too soon for jokes, especially in light of how bad this turned out to be.

Edit: Obama signs emergency declaration for Virginia

Sandy buckles NC 12 on Hatteras Island

 

New York City has no plans as to how to evacuate Rikers Island and don't appear to be concerned about it, despite the prison being under threat from both Irene and Sandy.

 

In happier (....) news, a Brazilian model who had her husband stage a photo shoot amongst the wreckage has inspired THIS:

http://nanagouveaemdesastres.tumblr.com/

 

Did you try sending him an email, Kate?

 

I'm going to today.

 

Hopefully it's just a power or comms issue.

 

Hopefully he gets back soon, otherwise someone else is going to have to spearhead AmazingB Awareness month....

 

Oh a lighter note, has anybody idenitifed this guy yet?

 

I haven't been on here in ages, but basically Jersey and surrounding areas are like a war-zone. Traffic lights are out so driving is absolutely terrifying. My dad went to a gas station at 4:30AM this morning so he could run a generator and still waited for 2 hours. Some essential grocery-stores are open but running on generators, so only half of the lights are on. There are trees and dangling wires everywhere. Somehow my school managed to have only two trees come down so we're in a little safety bubble with electricity and heat, but considering I normally can see most of Manhattan from my window and I can currently only see half, with most of the coastline gone and houses burnt down and crushed around us... I could start to see the logic behind the 2012 doomsdayers.