Deadly Day in Moore, Oklahoma

My prayers go out to the families of Oklahoma City after the deadly F-5 tornado passed through the suburb of Moore yesterday. When they announced on MSNBC last night that a "couple dozen" third graders were found dead in Plaza Towers Elementary, I just lost it - broke down and wept. Why did that have to happen? Why those innocent children? Why those families? Didn't they suffer enough by losing their homes, their school, their community? There are no answers.

The death toll continues to rise, and we still don't know exactly how many people are missing or have perhaps sought shelter in a place where there's no phone lines, electricity or cleared roads. It's going to take days to asses the million small tragedies of this storm, and years to understand how more lives might have been saved. Right now we can just use the trite term "Act of God" and pray that the living can continue to cope with the disaster, the stuff of nightmares.

You can support #Moore response & other disasters by txting REDCROSS to 90999 to give $10, or online at redcross.org
— American Red Cross (@RedCross) May 21, 2013

Huffington Post

The Oklahoma state medical examiner's office said 24 bodies had been recovered from the wreckage of Monday's storm, down from the 51 they had reported earlier. The earlier number likely reflected some double-counted deaths, said Amy Elliott, chief administrative officer for the medical examiner.

The 2-mile (3-km) wide tornado tore through Moore outside Oklahoma City on Monday afternoon, trapping victims beneath the rubble. One elementary school took a direct hit and another was destroyed.

Thunderstorms and lightning slowed the rescue effort on Tuesday, but officials lowered the number of bodies recovered.

"We have got good news. The number right now is 24," Elliot said. "There was a lot of chaos."
She said additional bodies could yet be recovered.

Firefighters from more than a dozen fire departments worked all night under bright spotlights trying to find survivors at Plaza Towers Elementary School, which took a direct hit. Rescuers were sent from other states to join the search.

West, Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion

In the midst of the manhunt for the Boston Marathon Bombers, another disaster happened in the tiny town of West, Texas. A fertilizer plant caught on fire and exploded like a nuclear bomb with a literal mushroom cloud, leveling homes, destroying apartments, and devastating a tightly-knit community. Volunteer Firefighters who had rushed to put out the initial fire were among the dead, caught unaware after assurances from the plant owners that the materials inside weren't explosive.

Such an unecessary tragedy! West could be the poster child for why government regulation is a good thing.

The town had grown up around the plant, which was originally just a feed store selling fertilizer. Lax zoning laws allowed homes, schools and even a nursing home to be located just across the street from this ticking time-bomb. People who should have been evacuated due to the fire were caught completely by surprise, and are now among the dead or missing. According to reports (see below) the plant hadn't been inspected correctly since 1985 - how did that happen? Senator Ted Cruz and Governor Perry are asking for funds from the Federal Government, which many see as hypocritical considering how the Governor loves to shout "Secession!" and the fact that Ted Cruz voted against giving money to New Jersey for Hurricane Sandy Relief.

My question - when will the investigation into this criminal act start? Lives have been snuffed out and negligence is the key. Who is responsible? They should pay more than a fine - someone should go to jail.

From Think Progress

A day after the explosion in West, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a new report documenting a widespread lack of workplace inspections by state OSHA programs. After surveying 22 state-run programs, it found that the agencies had problems with hiring and retaining inspectors, in part due to low pay. State budget cuts have had a big impact, leading to funding problems, and the federal agency often hasn’t taken over state plans because its own budget is too tight. This has meant that a workplace only gets a visit from OSHA inspectors every 99 years on average, with some state programs even worse. In Texas, a plant can only expect an inspection every 126 years.

. . . The plant in West was inspected in 2011 by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), which issued a fine of $10,100 for missing placards and “not having a security plan” in violation of Hazardous Materials Regulations. A compromise was reached in 2012 after corrective actions were taken, which included the plant admitting to the violations and paying a lowered penalty of $5,250.

From Raw Story

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) says that he is prepared to make “all available resources” available from the federal government to assist in the recovery after an explosion at a fertilizer plant in Texas — but the senator voted against aid for victims of Hurricane Sandy earlier because he said it was “pork.”

The Dallas Morning News reported on Thursday that Cruz had reacted to the fertilizer plant explosion that killed dozens in West, Texas earlier this week.

“We are in very close touch with officials on the ground and we’re monitoring the tragic accident closely,” Cruz said in Washington. “It’s truly horrific and we are working to ensure that all available resources are marshaled to deal with the horrific loss of life and suffering that we’ve seen.”

Politicus USA

The stunning hypocrisy doesn’t end there. It probably would have been helpful if Senator Cruz were familiar with where his own state fell on the FEMA hand out chart. See, Cruz represents the state with the most FEMA-declared disasters since the start of 2009, according to an iWatch News analysis. “The top two states, Texas and Oklahoma, combined for more than a quarter of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s declared disasters since Jan. 1, 2009.”

Here they are in order:

Texas, 75
Oklahoma, 45
California, 24
New Mexico, 13
Arizona, 12
Tennessee, 12
New York, 11
Kansas, 10
Nebraska, 10

. . . Wait a minute, hoss. If Senator Cruz is really in DC to “save this country”, his prinicples will hold steadfast, and he will hold up relief for his state until offsetting cuts are found. Or at the very least, offer millions in “pork” to blue states in order to avoid a filibuster.

Facebook Page to Honor Lost Responders to West, Texas Blast
Slideshow of pictures from StateImpact.NPR.Org
Slideshow from USA Today

The President Tours NYC Hurricane Damage

The President visited Sandy-stricken Staten Island today in NYC. Obama would have been there sooner, except Mayor Bloomberg told him to stay away so his security wouldn't be a distraction right after the hurricane.

WSJ Transcript of the President's Remarks

And during difficult times like this, we’re reminded that we’re bound together and we have to look out for each other. And a lot of the things that seem important, the petty differences melt away, and we focus on what binds us together and that we as Americans are going to stand with each other in their hour of need.

Now, more specifically, we are now still in the process of recovery. As you can see, as you travel around parts of Staten Island, as we flew over parts of — other parts of the city and the region that had been impacted, there is still a lot of cleanup to do. People still need emergency help. They still need heat. They still need power. They still need food. They still need shelter. Kids are still trying to figure out where they’re going to school. So there’s a lot of short-term, immediate stuff that has to be dealt with. And we are going to make sure that we stay here as long as people need that immediate help. That’s FEMA’s primary task. And we’ll be coordinating closely with state and local governments to make sure folks are getting the short-term help.

But what we’ve also already heard is that there’s going to be some long-term rebuilding that’s required. You look at this block and you know that this is a community that is deeply rooted. Most of the folks that I met here have been here 20, 30, 50 years. They don’t want to see their community uprooted, but there’s got to be a plan for rebuilding, and that plan is going to have to be coordinated, and they’re going to need resources.



So what I’ve committed to doing is to work with the outstanding congressional delegation led by your Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, also working with Governor Christie and the Jersey delegation to try to come up with a game plan for how we’re going to be able to resource the rebuilding process.

And I’m confident, as Governor Cuomo said, that we’re going to be able to do it. But it’s going to require everybody focused on getting the job done. We’re going to have to put some of the turf battles aside. We’re going to have to make sure that everybody is focused on doing the job as opposed to worrying about who is getting the credit or who is getting the contracts or all that stuff that sometimes goes into the rebuilding process.

On the federal level, because this is going to be such a big job, I wanted to assign one particular person who would be in charge from our perspective, who would be our point person — because FEMA basically runs the recovery process, it doesn’t focus on the rebuilding. For that, we’ve got to have all government agencies involved. Janet Napolitano has done a great job with respect to DHS, but we thought it would be good to have a New Yorker who is going to be the point person. And so our outstanding HUD Secretary, Shaun Donovan, who used to be the head of the New York Housing Authority — so he knows a little bit about New York and building — is going to be our point person. And he’s going to be working with the mayor, the governor, the borough presidents, the county officials to make sure that we come up with a strong, effective plan. And then, I’ll be working with the members of Congress to do everything we can to get the resources needed to rebuild. And I have every confidence that Shaun is going to be doing a great job, and so people should feel some confidence about that.

Let me just close by saying this: I had the opportunity to give some hugs and communicate thoughts and prayers to the Moore family. They lost two young sons during the course of this tragedy. And obviously, I expressed to them — as a father, as a parent — my heartbreak over what they went through. And they’re still obviously a little shell-shocked.

Update on New Jersey from Chris Christie

pics via Greenpeace Slideshow
*Bipartisan" ;) Presser of Gov. Chris Christie and Sec. of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano with updates on FEMA, the Red Cross, schools, the gasoline shortage and more:









pics via Greenpeace Slideshow

Slow Progress on New York Islands After Hurricane Sandy

source: Craig Peter Low

More Bodies Found on Devastated Staten Island

On Thursday the bodies of two young boys who were swept away from their mother’s grasp during the storm surge were recovered, NBC News reported. A missing husband and wife were also found dead Thursday, NBCNewYork.com reported.
That brought the toll on the island to 19, NBCNewYork.com reported. On Thursday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Superstorm Sandy is responsible for the deaths of at least 37 New Yorkers.


Staten Island via maketodayadtr on tumblr
. . . Staten Island, which took a direct blow from Sandy, is a scene of immeasurable misery and utter devastation, with homes obliterated, others off their foundations in addition to widespread flooding.
"The city of New York right now is talking about getting water out of the Battery Tunnel and preparing for a marathon," U.S. Rep. Rep. Michael Grimm said. "We're pulling bodies out of the water. You see the disconnect here?"

NYPD officials have denied to NBC News that Staten Island’s working class neighborhoods have come after wealthier areas.
“We are heading into the area where there is major destruction now,” Red Cross spokeswoman Anne Marie Borrego told NBC News late Thursday.

Staten Island via maketodayadtr on tumblr
Chuck Schumer Vows to Restore Long Island Beaches

“We will get our beaches restored,” New York senior said outside a water treatment facility in Long Beach that has been inoperable since Monday, leaving residents without running water.

Schumer toured parts of Long Beach on foot Wednesday afternoon and surveyed Fire Island by helicopter. ”Much of the beach is gone,” he said. “And the beach is what Fire Island is.”

He said the beaches could be restored with the help of the Army Corp of Engineers, which could use sand from dredging projects to rebuild them. In Long Beach, he said FEMA would pay for the rebuilding of the boardwalk that had been twisted and torn up by the storm.

“The far bigger problem is global warming which is causing these storms to threaten our coastline,” Schumer said.

source: Craig Peter Low
Mayor Bloomberg Insists that NYC Marathon Will Happen on Sunday

Mayor Bloomberg today insisted the New York City Marathon should go on as scheduled, even as huge swaths of Gotham remain in ruins and with no electricity.
The famed five -borough race is set for Sunday, starting at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and ending in Central Park.
The mayor is banking on the restoration of electricity on several blocks of Manhattan, below 34th Street, thus relieving some police burden there.

“The marathon is not going to redirect any focus. Keep in mind by Sunday we’ll have electricity back downtown,” Bloomberg said. “That will free up an enormous number of police. Also, a lot of the transportation needs that we have during the week aren’t there on the weekends.”

Former Comptroller Bill Thompson said he appreciates the importance the marathon -- but believes there are too many other issues to address in New York right now.
"The New York City Marathon is one of our country’s quintessential events, but in the wake of the natural disaster that has struck our city and its residents we need to focus on more important priorities," Thompson wrote on his Facebook page tonight.

"New Yorkers are suffering. Lives have been lost, homes destroyed, seniors stranded in public housing with no electricity and entire neighborhoods are suffering with scant access to fresh water, food and electricity. While I understand the importance of this event and the fact that it draws people from all over the world to watch and participate, I believe this year’s race needs to be postponed to a later date."

Disaster on the New Jersey Shore

From the air, the coast of New Jersey looks like a sandbox full of broken toy Monopoly houses in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the ironically named mega-storm. Ferris Wheels and roller coasters are twisted and stranded, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. Boardwalks and docks are in splinters. Boats are tossed this way and that in the middle of towns and highways. It's very much like the scene after the tsunami in Japan, and the scope is just as epic.

Governor Chris Christie is doing a great job of putting his state first and politics second, and has had nothing but praise for President Obama. This is what statesmanship looks like, my friends. A week before the election, politics doesn't seem like the priority anymore. Some people can put partisan feelings aside and work together, and I hope this will continue. I believe the main thing Christie and Obama have in common is they both seem to have a lot of heart for the people of this country, and that's why they are suddenly bonding together. Mitt, not so much. He tried to fake it today while packing canned goods in Ohio, but he came across as oddly cheerful in the wake of other people's misfortune.







Survival is the key, and a big part of that is the Federal Emergency Management Organization, or FEMA. Voters watching this story unfold should remember that both Romney and Ryan have called for the end of FEMA without explaining how states or the private sector would begin paying for the cleanup of such a disaster. There really is no answer because it is the government's job to take care of its own. The National Guard and Coast Guard are helping in the rescue, the Army Corps of Engineers are going to pump out the subways, and Federal Assistance will help pay to get the lights and water back on, and provide disaster loans to get homes and businesses rebuilt.

And while charity organizations and volunteers will be needed in droves for the next few months as winter sets in, the bottom line is that the Federal Government is the only hope of millions right now. Their homes are flooded, their jobs are gone, their schools are in shambles. This is not the time to start lecturing people that they don't need "hand-outs" and they shouldn't be "moochers" or "takers." If Mitt, Ryan and other extreme Republicans don't understand that now, they never will. But they aren't known for the empathy or compassion.


Google's Citizen Tube Playlist of Sandy Videos

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