The Conservative Cave

Some local and state officials have said that insufficient forecasts from the National Weather Service caught the region off guard. That claim has been amplified by pundits across social media, who say that cuts to the NWS and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, its parent organization, inevitably led to the failure in Texas.

But meteorologists who spoke to WIRED say that the NWS accurately predicted the risk of flooding in Texas and could not have foreseen the extreme severity of the storm. What’s more, they say that what the NWS did forecast this week underscores the need to sustain funding to the crucial agency.
...
The NWS office in San Antonio on Monday predicted a potential for “downpours”—as well as heavy rain specifically at nighttime—later on in the week as the result of these conditions. By Thursday, it forecast up to 7 inches of rainfall in isolated areas.

cyclonefence


We are old and decrepit, and we thought we couldn't protest

*but* our representative, Brian Fitzpatrick, was one of the two Republicans who voted against the reconciliation bill, and we feel like we helped make that happen.

Fitzpatrick is always described as a "moderate" Republican, but until now he has voted 100% with Trump. His "no" vote was a surprise to all of us, but here's why:

There was massive public outcry against this bill--which has happened before, to no avail--but this time people got serious. My husband and I called his office every day, and when I got to speak to a real person, she got an earful about us, 78 years old with a 40 year old daughter who is totally disabled and reliant on SS, Medicare and Medicaid for her very existence. I told her how our whole family came under tremendous, unbearable stress at the idea that Sara would not be cared for after we die. It costs at least $125,000 every year to keep her alive and well and enjoying some quality of life, a burden none of us can carry without help.

We sent emails to his office every day. We and other Democrats kept the pressure on him, *hard*. A group staged a "Die In" at his local office.

What I'm trying to say, and what I didn't realize until now, is that *no one is without power* in this climate. If all you can do is make a phone call--do it, and do it at least once a day. Flood them with emails. Let them know that they are accountable to us. We do have power, and I didn't know it.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100220461728

I think the poorest seniors who already don't pay SS taxes should get a tax deduction of what they currently pay times a hundred bazillion times.

There are proposed NWS budget cuts for fiscal year 2026. Blaming something in 2025 for something that might happen in 2026 is rather silly.