We have seen precious little coverage of the hurricane recovery efforts, and I think we all know why. Appalachia is still digging out from the mudslides, floods, and destruction.
Appalachia is remote and filled with deplorables, and the disaster happened at a very inconvenient time for the administration. Not that this fact matters that much. As the people of Maui and East Palestine, OH, this administration is much better at covering disasters up than helping their victims.
I have no idea how many people died or are still missing; government reports have been few and far between, few corporate media reporters seem interested in digging into the reality, and reports from people on the ground strongly contradict what the authorities have told us.
I don't assume that the on-the-ground reports from individuals are accurate when it comes to things like the number of missing and dead, just as I don't trust the government numbers. Governments and nonprofits have the advantage of having the ability to collate information from around the region but a strong motive to downplay the disaster and the inefficiencies of their recovery efforts.
Locals may have a stronger motive to tell the story of their experience but don't have the advantage of a synoptic view. I do know that private efforts to find the missing show that hundreds or more people remain missing, and the government claims fewer than 100. I suspect that the truth is somewhere in between. I wish I trusted the sources.
What I do know is that even government efforts to show how great a job it is doing actually make the government look bad. For instance:
I can’t imagine a better illustration of government inefficiency than this video https://t.co/7l8mn3t11n
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) October 18, 2024
It is the perfect metaphor for government inefficiency. It shouldn't take 20 people to cut up a tree and move the logs. A tornado hit my neighborhood in 2011, and three of our spruce trees that stood 50-70 feet tall were felled. A friend of mine--a farmer in his 60s--asked if he could have the wood.
Sure! He came with a chainsaw and a truck with a trailer and, by himself, cleared the trees in an afternoon.
If you had a wheelbarrow in that video, you could let all but one or two of those expensive federal employees go help someone else.
Of course, efficiency was not the point: showing effort was--and the more employees, the better.
When the tornado hit our neighborhood--an urban area very dense with houses and trees--it took about two afternoons for private tree services to clean up the majority of the damage. They had an incentive to do as many trees as possible, regulations had been relaxed, and they cleaned up the neighborhood (and cleaned up with money, too) lickety-split.
The disaster area from Helene is exponentially worse, of course, but at government speed, it will be 2100 before people are dug out of the mess.
Given this level of inefficiency--about which they are BRAGGING as an example of providing "help"--why would you trust the government with anything? They cannot remove a tree--a tree!--without 17 people who stand around 90% of the time.
Imagine, should Elon Musk actually take time to run the Department of Government Efficiency--what could be done. If Customs and Border Patrol actually believes people should be impressed with this effort, Elon will have his work cut out for him.
— Liberty Pill Memes (@LibertyPillMeme) October 20, 2024
Accurate meme. pic.twitter.com/vRWuVB09mA
— Wide Awake Media (@wideawake_media) October 20, 2024
I’ll get me coat pic.twitter.com/p6i39LABqm
— 🧝🏻♀️💫Gigglepops ⚡️🔞🇬🇧🏴 (@MLovetube2) October 19, 2024
*slaps rocket*
— 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐠 (@HarmfulOpinion) October 18, 2024
“You can launch so many commies into the sun with this baby.” pic.twitter.com/xyyKMiCofw
— Rothmus 🏴 (@Rothmus) October 16, 2024
— Natalie F Danelishen (@Chesschick01) October 13, 2024
— Based Memes News and Music (@basedmnm) October 13, 2024
BEST OF THE BABYLON BEE:
Polls Show Democrats Have Slight Lead In Early Vote-Rigging https://t.co/0f0UcmZFQv pic.twitter.com/mpzQ4esCve
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) October 20, 2024
British Police Arrest Praying Mantis For Public Prayer https://t.co/ttbxBEwXDx pic.twitter.com/WAEW4I6UqF
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) October 20, 2024
A Bad Sign? Barron Trump Just Tamed A Sandworm https://t.co/BRuft2hpfu pic.twitter.com/6JNjEShSn2
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) October 20, 2024
NASA Baffled At How Elon Managed To Succeed Without As Many Gay Non-Binary Muslim Dwarfs Of Color As They Have https://t.co/eX85ebOmbx pic.twitter.com/XpyILbwvaQ
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) October 20, 2024
Democrats Wondering If It's Too Late To Go Back To Joe Biden https://t.co/4lUQZOBsr3 pic.twitter.com/B32zKmiwge
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) October 19, 2024
Kamala Campaign Forced To Hire Gay Actors For Ad After Being Unable To Find Any Straight Male Kamala Supporters https://t.co/aLBLlZru7D pic.twitter.com/qW6v3qwDlR
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) October 19, 2024
Nation Shudders To Imagine How Horrifying The Incriminating Photos Are That Kamala Has Of Mark Cuban https://t.co/zZA4O72aF2 pic.twitter.com/YJnmfAmtli
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) October 19, 2024
Kamala Harris Begins Melting After Rallygoer Says 'Jesus Is Lord' https://t.co/Yg3veUcDxC pic.twitter.com/Xb9HiW20RP
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) October 19, 2024
Kamala Greets Latino Crowd With 'Donde Esta La Biblioteca?' https://t.co/i5Ma8UbqDJ pic.twitter.com/gTjO2sj6zV
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) October 19, 2024
Man Pretending To Be Straight Pretends To Hunt https://t.co/fOGIEenRWw pic.twitter.com/ipNcW9aWFY
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) October 19, 2024
Support For Climate Change Skyrockets After Computer Models Show It Will Flood California https://t.co/WZb26d1vuJ pic.twitter.com/L3N6O6vykK
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) October 19, 2024
Dems Switch Out Kamala For A Wheel Of Cheese With A Sign Reading 'Not Trump' https://t.co/CAiMw7kR0g pic.twitter.com/yFWMQSAB0J
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) October 18, 2024
TV Ratings Saved As Trump Will Now Host All Late-Night Shows https://t.co/cwy241AKZa pic.twitter.com/Z3WW46YaBo
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) October 18, 2024
Venezuelan Gang Wiped Out After Attempting To Take Over Buc-ee's https://t.co/Q17yk52q1j pic.twitter.com/UlgaE30O1m
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) October 18, 2024
Chuck Schumer Reveals His Decayed Appearance Is Due To Possessing The One Ring For Last 500 Years https://t.co/klSfUl0WAl pic.twitter.com/MJGDIPA1kI
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) October 18, 2024
Hamas Brings Back Casual Fridays To Draw In New Recruits https://t.co/N6McNoNrBA pic.twitter.com/3bv8tWJiY7
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) October 17, 2024
Healthiest Man Alive Just Does The Opposite Of Whatever The Government Recommends https://t.co/K0GeTFumwB pic.twitter.com/xhQVP5iJfK
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) October 17, 2024
Washington Post Gives Entire Staff Day Off To Mourn Loss Of Hamas Leader https://t.co/ARzSjXkjmh pic.twitter.com/NBnlrtFory
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) October 17, 2024
Liberals Replace Star Of David On 'Coexist' Sticker With Hamas Paraglider https://t.co/eJh6TUiCR8 pic.twitter.com/S0MINg1650
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) October 17, 2024
After Fox Interview, Kamala Calls McDonald's To Ask If Her Old Job Still Available https://t.co/4Tr52y40TZ pic.twitter.com/NoTaBtWnCv
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) October 16, 2024
Kamala Appeals To Black Voters By Offering Free Pack of Menthols and Copy of 'Madea's Family Reunion' On DVD https://t.co/8P69lSqRVW pic.twitter.com/hfPOq8hQ1B
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) October 16, 2024
ABC News Argues 9/11 Overblown As It Was 'Only A Handful Of Buildings' https://t.co/c7ji42om4Q pic.twitter.com/u2bmcBfjgh
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) October 16, 2024
BEST OF THE REST...
The True Alpha Pet…🐈 pic.twitter.com/CSFeY20CCw
— Why you should have a cat (@ShouldHaveCat) October 19, 2024
“Gandalf the Golden” pic.twitter.com/K1chrg59Qk
— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) October 19, 2024
Happy #Caturdaypic.twitter.com/ixxnjVYTgG
— Larry the Cat (@Number10cat) October 19, 2024
This device is life changing for people with hearing disorders!! ☺️ pic.twitter.com/zNWiM4CKXB
— AlphaFo𝕏 (@Alphafox78) October 18, 2024
I love this. It made my eyes well up.
same pic.twitter.com/M4LKdajbRh
— Why you should have a cat (@ShouldHaveCat) October 16, 2024
Bro said it with his full body pic.twitter.com/BmTpmF47EI
— Why you should have a cat (@ShouldHaveCat) October 17, 2024
everyone needs to see this pic.twitter.com/eLtR3MI4Xr
— Why you should have a cat (@ShouldHaveCat) June 24, 2024
There's no feeling better than petting a cat you just met 😶 pic.twitter.com/B76qt84soV
— Why you should have a cat (@ShouldHaveCat) October 17, 2024
Love this puppy mood and cuteness 🐕💛 pic.twitter.com/aP7SpIkWMs
— dogs so cute that could save the world (@dogssaveworld) October 17, 2024
Blue-footed booby showing his new shoes.. 😅
— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) October 16, 2024
🎥 IG: azeekeith11 pic.twitter.com/ROtFHi7faB
The cat chooses you..🐈🐾😍 pic.twitter.com/mFvbTamV46
— 𝕐o̴g̴ (@Yoda4ever) September 28, 2024
This is Bo. He requires a kiss on the nose before eating his food. 14/10 pic.twitter.com/F1Y4HHprIG
— WeRateDogs (@dog_rates) September 16, 2024
Stray dog's reaction to being petted.. 🐕🐾🥺❤️
— 𝕐o̴g̴ (@Yoda4ever) October 16, 2024
Adopt, don't shop..🙏 pic.twitter.com/4c4iwdkHur
It's my turn now..🐴🐶😅 pic.twitter.com/EnLnisYznA
— 𝕐o̴g̴ (@Yoda4ever) October 13, 2024
AND FINALLY...
🇺🇸MAX🇺🇸 @JoeHill_Music@oh_laa_laa@Lissa4Trump@Lisahudsonchow7@jessies_now@titibellini@The_FJC@satansradio666@roycan79@Kimsparrow13@LibertyLee33@lornaisswift@jfcarr1007@UltraMagaMomo1@BangZoomAlice@TheClassicPhil@tgaldtiator@SirFlyzalot@Queeny1946@armyrw8767… pic.twitter.com/5hYsUL9VxR
— Maximus (@45mx_7) October 20, 2024
And I don't know about you, but this sounds more like a threat than a promise:
Lizzo campaigns for Kamala Harris saying that a Harris presidency will make America just like Detroit.
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) October 19, 2024
“They say if Kamala wins then the whole country will be like Detroit.”
pic.twitter.com/sjoJJHZBhm
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