FEMA: No ice for you, little people! Now, go die!
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ABC:
Hurricane survivors are being put at risk in Texas and other hot weather states because the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is no longer providing ice in relief situations, say watchdogs, relief workers and local leaders in Hurricane Alley.
But don't worry! Only babies, the sick, and the old will die!
Besides preserving food when electricity is out, ice is essential in maintaining temperature-sensitive medication and feeding formulas and keeping people cool in the aftermath of disaster, relief and support workers say.
Yeah, and so what?
In fact, while the federal government can deliver ice to disaster areas, it's chosen not to, under newly-revised FEMA rules. Instead, individual states and local governments are now tasked with purchasing, delivering and storing ice, even though they face tough logistical challenges in doing so, according to critics of the new policy.
A FEMA spokesperson said the policy change is a result of leftover ice after the 2005 and 2006 hurricane seasons, which the agency paid millions of dollars to store and then melt when it was no longer fit for consumption.
Another spokesperson said the new policy is part of "a smarter business model," in which states must provide ice themselves and then call in FEMA if there's trouble.
Smarter and better? Smarter why and better for who? Let's see:
And [Mike Womack, director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency], who recalls having to tell Hurricane Katrina victims that there wasn't enough ice for them, strongly opposes the new policy, calling it "a lifesaving issue." He said that because neighboring states have to contract out their plans for ice, they are essentially competing against each other in the face of disaster.
"We would get into bidding wars with contractors and we may not be able to purchase as much as the larger states," said Womack. "Our state and probably a lot of other states need the assistance of the federal government in purchasing and distributing ice."
Lovely. They're doing this because it's profitable for the ice manufacturers.
They'd charge us to breathe the air if they could.
NOTE Via Susie.
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Comments
I Have A Very Vague Recollection
about the media mocking all the ice bought for Katrina, asking why they had bought so much and implying it was wasteful (and then later asking the more legitimate question of why FEMA couldn't seem to get it to NOLA). Or am I misremembering?
I looked for links, but just found them about the fiasco of getting the ice there (or not) and then later melting it.
Katrina ice
IIRC, they bought a lot of ice, but then didn't manage to deliver it where it was needed.
So, the solution is: Don't buy ice.
[ ] Very tepidly voting for Obama [ ] ?????. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
That Part Is Right, lambert
I just have a separate vague recollection of dumbasses on television asking why they were buying ice at all. But it's very hazy.
Corporatists are such sucky capitalists
They should have melted the ice down, bottled it, slapped a multi-neon-colored 'Hurricane Ice! Own the Disaster' label on it and sold it as a souvenir.
Use the money to cover the costs of creating the ice and any excess to victim's aid funds, and you get everyone buying -- collectors, disaster freaks, bleeding hearts, patriots(!). Heck, you could probably get some sorry B-school kid to whip up a marketing plan free just for the experience and resume cred.
Sigh. Why oh why aren't people throwing money at me for my brilliant ideas!?!!?
Gag Worthy
Really, I'm getting sick of this "contract out everything" conservatism. If we let this go on much longer, government won't 'do' disasters, anymore. Hell, we already half-ass wars sending in more mercenaries, I mean, contractors, than soldiers.
See folks, because the private sector is inherently better than the public sector at doing everything. Government? We don't needs no stickin' government. Welcome to the United Blackwater States of America.
Yes, I'm a little bitter, this early morning. Just tired of being tired.
Complain all you want about FEMA
the victims will be better off if FEMA doesn't respond.
The Victims Would Be Better Off If...
...FEMA hadn't been turned into a subsidiary of the Department of Homeland Security and for all intents and purposes put into a proverbial basement.
I get your snark, though. ;)
Profit margins in ice were too thin
for Haliburton to include it in their no bid contract. But pinewood coffins bring a huge ROI. It was a simple cost/benefit analysis...the lack of one leading to higher demand for the other. It's decisions like these that make Haliburton the true market leader in government sponsored disaster relief.
Haliburton is finding that domestic disasters are approaching foreign wars in profitability. They consider them to be the next true growth industry, what with global warming and all; and are determined to continue growing their market share.
Well, I still like my idea for financing FEMA and
disaster relief better. Than Halliburton's.
makana44, I'd be laughing
If I weren't crying. It's sad when you have to say that stuff tongue-in-cheek.
Valhalla, you're onto something. I've still got a Y2K t-shirt, and my dad still has gallons upon gallons of bottled water in his garage. lol
Hell, I say we get Trump to market the next hurricane:
"The biggest, most luxurious hurricane evah...ya' f'yed."
"Smarter business model"
If the Democrats were running a candidate this year, a Christian especially, that would be a devastating thing to shame the Repubs with. Letting people die is "a smarter business model."
Is it any coincidence that money and Soylent are the same color?
Exactly, Damon
George Carlin said, "The truth will make you laugh, then cry."
You know, Trump at least has a heart. Haliburton and the friends of Dick and George, if they have a heart, it's the heart of darkness.
I remember during Clinton's administration, FEMA were white knights. It's good to hear that that commitment to service may still remain alive in the hearts of career employees.
Whether it's McCain or Obama, I believe cronyism will end and competence and accountability will reign again. That, at least, is something to look forward to.
FEMA
FEMA's relative death has been one of neglect. It can not be healed until the government gives it the means to actually handle these types of disasters, or provide it with the ability to seriously coordinate with state national guards. Short of that, it will always be a demoralized agency whether or not future administrations are holding them accountable for their reactions or not. FEMA, having been folded into Homeland Security, was made to fail; that's how it's been structured since 2003. The could have the most competent and caring agent head and administration in the government; if they are set up to fail, no one will ever be proud to work for them.
Lambert, I've always believed
That the purpose of Big Corp, Inc. is to spoil everything through commerce, and then sell solutions to fix the spoilage, through commerce. Lather, Rinse, Repeat.
They'll smog the air until we see everyone walking around with their pet cannisters behind them (which they will sell us) and then they will 'go green' and sell the government huge machines that take the smog out of the air, so we'll end up paying for that too. Don't forget, of course, the cost of the studies needed to determine exactly how to take the smog out of the air, as well as no-bid contracts for companies that create the biggest, noisiest, quality-of-life-ruining machines.
You can't win. I'm going to grab some McDonalds and open my wrists with Bic razors in a warm tub of Evian. Well, maybe not.