Newbie cutting his teeth: My father works for FEMA....

[formerlurker]

Dark n Stormy Knight (133 posts)

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My father works for FEMA. He is 75 years old and, like many men of his generation, he doesn't
handle not working very well. Also, my parents lost over half of their retirement investments in the crash, so it's not completely by choice that he works.

Also, like many white Catholic men of his generation, he retains vestiges of the racist culture in which he grew up. He balked at voting for Obama in 2008. He said things about how the races were never intended to mix and some other weird race-related negative things about the candidate. Also, he really wanted Hillary.

But my mom and I called him on that racist crap and worked on him leading up to the election. He is a curmudgeonly, generally difficult man, so it wasn't easy. However, as we suspected he would in the end, he did vote for the black man who would become our president.

He has, over the past 4 years, become an ardent supporter. And, he despises Romney with a vehemence that may, however unlikely, surpass my own.

Yet, he still will not answer back to all the RW emails he gets from the Republicans he and my mom play bridge with. He gets mad when my mom does. He will not tell the Rs who start trashing Obama at the bridge table that he disagrees. He hates it when my mom does. Even though she generally just says, "We all don't agree, so let's not discuss politics here."

So, it is with great surprise and pride that I read these recent posts he made on facebook:

1. I came to FEMA in Sept 2011 to assist in the disasters Tropical Storm Lee and Hurricane Irene. My work is with the municipalities - townships, school districts, waste water treatment plants roads and bridges. Tears came to my eyes when the oath of office -- to defend the constitution etc -- was administered. Helping to restore these entities to pre-disaster or better condition has been a high point in my life's work.

I am very much convinced that this work could never, never be done by anything but a national government entity.

Update -- Yesterday, our FCO in Harrisburg, PA exhorted us to extend the same effort in responding to Sandy. Today too, I was very much heartened to see the Governor of New Jersey praise FEMA and to hear an NY congressperson look directly into a TV camera and say "Thank You FEMA". i am very proud to be able to help!

2. I find it utterly reprehensible that a man who has never held a position in the federal Government would stick his nose in the response to the event, and would do so by using it as a way to pretend that he cares. Care Sir, BY DONATING $30,000,000 of your wealth to the relief effort. send several of the Caddys lying around in your closed mansions. Put people in those homes. Stay out of the way of the Federal Government now and on election day.

3. It is slowly coming to me that anyone who buys Romney's BS can only be doing so out of racial bigotry.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021678634


Psst former-racist dad, Romney was a governor and knows more about relief efforts than you ever will (or pretend to).   mmmkay?

[formerlurker]

Dark n Stormy Knight (133 posts)
12. My therapist agrees that neither of my parents were ever in any danger of being saddled with the

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Parent of the Year award, so, I am ever so grateful that we have this very important thing in common. Otherwise, we may have ended up estranged. But, as my therapist has also convinced me, they did the best they could with what they had, which, as kids themselves, wasn't much.

Of my three sisters, one is a low-info Republican who voted for the shrub because she liked his mother (!!!???!!) The other two are true blue liberals like me. My brother is probably an R, too, but I'm not exactly sure. He sent me a want ad today for "sock puppets" to post in online discussion board, etc. I wrote back, "Romney still looking to buy fake online support?" I didn't hear anything back, so...

Nice touch mole with the therapist.   Score one for you.

[Dori]

I thought we were supposed to get rid of FEMA, and it was to be absorbed by Homeland Security.

The Dems and several others hated FEMA during Katrina -

[Chris_]

The other two are true blue liberals like me

Is that why you have to visit a therapist?

[Vagabond]

FEMA still is a government entity meant to aid in infrastructure recovery and repair.  In a big disaster, it is useful even if it is not completely necessary.  The DUmmies are attributing actions that are not the domain of FEMA and never have been.

[thundley4]

FEMA won't be the ones putting power lines back up. It will be workers from private companies.  FEMA is mostly a bunch of bureaucrats eating up taxpayer dollars that could be used  more efficiently.

[98ZJUSMC]

Dark n Stormy Knight (133 posts)

But, as my therapist has also convinced me

Pretty much says it all.

[jukin]

Guess how many FEMA personnel are being deployed to the disaster area?

No really take a guess.

2,000 +/-.

That should solve it all.

[thundley4]

Guess how many FEMA personnel are being deployed to the disaster area?

No really take a guess.

2,000 +/-.

That should solve it all.

2000 bureaucrats is 1999 too many.

[Dori]

Guess how many FEMA personnel are being deployed to the disaster area?

No really take a guess.

2,000 +/-.

That should solve it all.

Is this Obama's civilian army?

I know they just graduated a FEMA youth group recently, is this what you mean?

I thought FEMA was all about filling out lots of forms that eventually get lost.  They didn't have a good reputation here after some of our earthquakes.  That's why I wasn't surprised about Katrina.