The Politics of Tornadoes

There is talk of the federal government mandating safe rooms within all homes as a result of the latest outbreak of tornadoes.  There is also talk of forcing people to move out of 'danger zones' to save tax dollars and using FEMA money.  Where will teh people go, what will happen to the land and the region?  This is all completely nuts and not constitutional.  That's just the beginning of the insanity. 

The New York Times has an article, "So Far, Few Complaints About Response to Tornadoes".  Of course there are few complaints about the government response, because those affected are not sitting around wringing their hands waiting for the federal government to come wipe their butts as  many did in New Orleans after Katrina.  As soon as the winds calmed and the sun came up, these citizens were out sifting through the debris and calculating what needed to be done to get back to normal.  Neighbors were out offering assistance.  Local law enforcement and emergency services were out with all the equipment they have beginning the clean up.

In Pratt City Alabama, just one tiny example:

Down the road, dozens more volunteers transformed the local elementary school into a community pit stop. One room was devoted to storing bread, another to sorting donated clothing. A doctor set up shop in one part of the building, and volunteers staffed the grill in front while college students formed an assembly line to unload trucks stuffed with fresh supplies.

Across the South, volunteers have been pitching in as the death toll from Wednesday's storms keeps rising. At least 339 people were killed across seven states, including at least 248 in Alabama, as the storm system spawned tornadoes through several states. There were 34 deaths in Mississippi, 34 in Tennessee, 15 in Georgia, five in Virginia, two in Louisiana and one in Kentucky. (Fox)

The states affected, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Kentucky and Tennessee, also Louisiana and Virginia, are red states, Republican majority states, states where Conservatives live and vote.  From the NYT article, "State and local leaders have not complained that the task of recovery, however large, is beyond their management."  Having said that, they certainly need and will use emergency funds, equipment and supplies from the federal government, as all states do.  Hot Air has several maps of what the political climate across the United States looks like, here's one:

The first is the electoral map of voters who rated their own state (the “In State Avg”). If residents of a state know the political climate of their battleground state the best, then Hot Air readers think the Republican will defeat Barack Obama in the electoral college, 286-252. Republicans take New Hampshire, Indiana, Missouri, Wisconsin, Virginia, Nevada, Ohio, Florida, and North Carolina in this scenario, and lose Colorado, Michigan, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Iowa.

 

The crazies quickly came out of the wood work, blaming climate change on one hand while blaming the fact that the states hit were Republican states.  I suppose the tornadoes have minds and will of their own, they got together, had a meeting, and decided, "hey fellas, lets go on a tornado rampage and wipe out a bunch of right-wingers".  Yeah, right.  Via Don Surber:

From the erroneously named “Think Progress” blog, this idiocy: “Storms Kill Over 250 Americans In States Represented By Climate Pollution Deniers.”  [snip]

Grady Dixon, assistant professor of meteorology and climatology at Mississippi State University, pulled those fools over his knees, pulled down their panties, and spanked.

Hard.

Via AFP, Grady Dixon: “If you look at the past 60 years of data, the number of tornadoes is increasing significantly, but it’s agreed upon by the tornado community that it’s not a real increase. It’s having to do with better (weather tracking) technology, more population, the fact that the population is better educated and more aware. So we’re seeing them more often.”

The truth is this has been a terrible year for tornadoes and for deaths as a result of the storms.  So far 339 people are dead this week, with that number probably going up as the searches continue.  Over the years deaths from tornadoes have been going down.  From PowerLine:

I've mentioned Roger (Piekle Jrs' blog post about this issue, "Weather Is Not Climate Unless People Die.")  here on Power Line before for his unique role as an honest scientist; he believes in the global warming hypothesis, thinks we should do something about it, but hates it when scientists and activists make extravagant claims with no science or data to back them up. After this short post there's not much left of Think Panic's alarums. Roger offers data, especially this chart showing the declining number of fatalities from tornadoes over the last several decades:

We concentrate on the number of dead while failing to mention those that were injured, many severely.  Thousands and thousands across the region were injured, 990 in Tuscaloosa Alabama alone.  Affected citizens are doing all they can themselves, hoping for government assistance, but not holding their breath or sitting and waiting.

It's weather stupid.  The real storm is brewing in Washington.

Tornadoes are in the news these days, sadly. Michael Ramirez uses this most destructive of weather events as a metaphor for the disaster that has overwhelmed the Obama administration, as a result of its own misguided policies. Click to enlarge:

It's weather.  It's mother nature.  We've always had to deal with it and we always will.  Politics and conspiracy theories be damned.

 

Comments

[The Watcher]

It's kind of a poke in the eye for the governmental control freaks when people say, 'Um, no thanks' to government offers of help and do it themselves - therefore,the government decides on mandates to make the people do what they WANT them to do, all under the guise of 'helping'.

[Jenny]

Great reporting, Debbie, on this fascinating subject. Left-wing loons seem to get crazier every single day. As if a tornado decides to strike certain kinds of people ... as if ANYTHING we peons of earth can do to affect the weather ... as if our goings out and our comings in, our fate and our destiny, is not in the hands of Almighty God, from Whom we receive both air to breathe and the wherewithal to breathe it.

Please God, help us to turn this thing around in 2012.

[Skunkfeathers]

Communities ravaged by tornadoes have pulled themselves up by their local and state bootstraps for generations. As for some libtard bureaucratic moron mandating that people move out of tornado zones....*BUZZZER* That is the absolute height of blithering libtard ignorance.

[McCloud]

I recall there were a few wack-jobs who said the same thing when 4 hurricanes hit Florida in 2004--it was because Jeb Bush, brother of Bushitler, was governor. God was punishing them.

The very next year Katrina hit NOLA and those people were silent about God's punishment and were blaming Bush for blowing the levees and killing people in the 9th ward.

Same here. Tornadoes? Global warming now, but not in 1974. Flood on the River? Global warming now, but not in 1927, 1938, 1993.. etc. Pure madness.

[David (DW)]

Only one thing you can do with weenies. Toss 'em on the BBQ. The Lord will.

[Trestin]

Ah yes mother Gia is angry. The only way to save ourselves is to live like primitives.