Our government needs to throw all available resources at the Texas wildfires.

[cherokeeprogressive]

It's not Texans (read VOTERS) that are burning, it's Texas. It's the land. Our land.

I know lots of DUers hate Texas and all... but they hate TEXANS first and foremost.

This is about the land.

9,000 separate fires since December, and the US Government has helped fight or provided monies to fight 27. 27.

This is what I hate about having two political parties.

I'd ask this question: How does allowing these fires to burn because of political considerations affect "global climate change"?

Shameful.

[Canuckistanian]

1. Yes

It's a shame that Texas is populated by Texans. Why don't they go back where they came from?

[MrsBrady]

7. that's a nasty thing to say

much of my family tree has been in texas since the 1870's....where the hell would I go back to?
England or Alabama.
Or how about right the hell where I am, seeing as I also have Comanche on one branch of my tree.


What we need is the national party to actually help fund races here. I am tired of good candidates not getting help.

Or how about you actually come down here and help us when we are protesting teacher lay offs, or gays being arrested erroneously, or in
solidarity with our WI union brothers and sisters.....I could go on.

You wanna help us? or you just wanna be snarky?

[Canuckistanian]

10. No, I'm sorry, you misunderstood

I WAS being facetious and snarky. And I certainly wasn't referring to the first inhabitants of Texas.

I WAS referring to the current crop of RECENT "Texans" who seem to be hell-bent on destroying Texas for profit and fame. Unfortunately, they seem to be in charge now.

My apologies.

[Fumesucker]

2. Wildfires don't hurt the land in the long run..

Indeed, fires renew the land and help keep forests healthy.

[cherokeeprogressive]

16. How many forests are there in Texas?

Give me a fucking break. Have you ever BEEN there?

[Fumesucker]

17. Yes, I've been to Texas..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Thicket

The Big Thicket is the name of a heavily forested area in Southeast Texas. While no exact boundaries exist, the area occupies much of Hardin County, Liberty, Tyler, San Jacinto, and Polk Counties and is roughly bounded by the San Jacinto River, Neches River, and Pine Island Bayou. To the north, it blends into the larger Piney Woods terrestrial ecoregion of which it is a part.

[cherokeeprogressive]

19. Thanks for the comic relief.

I get ya.

[Fumesucker]

28. I was just responding to what you wrote in your OP..

About the wildfires "damaging the land"..

What the fires are actually damaging is people's homes, businesses and so forth, not the land itself, at least not on anything like a permanent basis.

[cherokeeprogressive]

33. My point was that most think that those people whose homes and so forth

are being ignored by their government for political reasons.

[Fumesucker]

34. No it wasn't, you specifically said it wasn't about the people..

Go back and read your own OP..

And you have no proof that politics is involved, you admitted that further down the thread.

[cherokeeprogressive]

37. You are correct. My OP was about the land...

It was my way of getting my message out.

In the end, it's my firm belief that Texas isn't getting the help from the US Government it deserves because of political considerations. I have no evidence to back that up, but that's my belief nevertheless.

Time and again I read posts here at DU that infer that if "they" need help, SCREW them because "they" don't believe the same things WE do.

I fucking hate that.

[Fumesucker]

42. Eh, I live in a red state myself, have all my life..

And I have to say that I understand why some people on DU get an attitude about red states, I don't agree with it and think it's counterproductive but I can certainly understand where they're coming from. The south has caused a great many problems for the rest of the nation for lo, these last fifty years or so, just like LBJ predicted.

Jesus the Christ said to love thine enemy, turn the other cheek and go the extra mile, not very many humans have the self control to act in a Christ-like manner.

[Riftaxe]

25. Fires not only renew the land but give

birth to such fascinating things as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_pine">jack pine however, ecology aside, it is ruinous for the people involved :(

There have been massive fires long before man developed bronze, or the first decent lager :)

[cherokeeprogressive]

29. Tell that to the people of Texas, whose land might have been rendered useless by the fires.

And who might have been Democratic voters all their lives.

[Fumesucker]

30. Your OP specifically was about the land, not the people or the voters..

Which is why I responded the way I did.

[Riftaxe]

21. Aye a prairie fire is oh so much less deadly then

a forest fire...

on edit: since people in a might of a pissy mood tonight :sarcasm:

[MrDiaz]

45. You sir,

Are just as bad as the stereotypical repukes. All stereotypes are bad, but most here on DU seem to like this one.

[MrsBrady]

3. i have a friend that was burned out

their barn burned, land scorched, everything gone...somehow the house was saved....
but can't live there...no running water, no electricity. several weeks ago.
the fire burns....everything....metal, plastic, everything...
they lost a cat, another with burn injuries....

their neighbors lost everything....i've seen the pictures, looks like a bomb went off...or the moon...there is nothing left.

my husband is working out of town and was forced out one evening due to smoke TWO COUNTIES away.
he put everything important in the car and left town for the weekend. one of his colleagues had to go to the hospital the smoke was so bad...and like I said the fire two counties to the south.

Fire was dangerously close to Fort Worth some weeks ago. The possum kingdom lake area is badly burned. Looks just like the pictures my friend sent me out in West Texas.

[BlueJazz]

4. I'm for all the help that they need. They are fellow Americans.

[merh]

5. Why has no one ever figured out how to use one natural

disaster to kill another.

The Mississippi River flooding has destroyed thousands of homes and businesses and it will destroy Cajun country and the marine life in the Gulf (all that fresh water & chemicals & pesticides flowing into the Gulf will do in what survived BP).

If only there were a way to use the waters to stop the Texas fires.

I hope that Obama gets FEMA to do something, he is treating Texas the same way that Bush treated Louisiana after Katrina and it isn't right.

[juajen]

9. I don"t believe this is true, for it would be politically disasterous, and,

while some might disagree with him on some things, he is certainly not dumb. I believe that the Feds are doing all they can in the face of both of these disasters. I'm not sure what else people expect him to do, unless he has a superman costume in his oval office closet that magically transforms him into superman. For God's sake, people, at least point out what you feel he could do better or differently. I just don't see it.

[cherokeeprogressive]

18. It's not about HIM, doll. It's about fighting fires.

He's not dumb. He's not ANYTHING you'd jump on people for calling him.

This isn't about HIM.

It's about fighting fires.

I would add: FUCK HIM for not throwing every resource at His disposal in order to put those fires out.

[merh]

48. according to the people in Texas, who post here, he is not doing

enough about the fires.

That is what I have to go by and that is why I posted what I posted.

Are you in Texas?

[w8liftinglady]

6. To be honest. FEMA HAS thrown a lot our way

Texas government has unfortunately cut funding for all city and county fire departments. Most rural departments are entirely volunteer. There is simply not enough to go around.FEMA would have to send helicopters and staff....and,as others have said, there are people in worse situations than Texans (And my sis lives in Midland and works the entire west region of Texas...I feel for her,Big Time).

the Feds would need to send National Guard this way...ones that are too busy in Afghanistan right now.

[MrsBrady]

8. sadly, this is true

*sigh*

[SpiralHawk]

46. "Texas has cut funding for firefighting..."

I love Texas and Texans, and support helping.

But -- I can understand why many Americans get freaked by the raw hypocrisy. Right-wing Texans cheap out, refuse to pay taxes and support their own fire fighting resources, then -- after having kicked and spit at Uncle Sam -- they come running to him (us) with hands out when fires actually happen.

It is a classic case of Republicon hypocrisy. No wonder lots of Americans get pissy about it.

Still, when a neighbor is in need, I agree, you must turn the other cheek, pull yourself up by your own fire hose, and do what you can to help.

[handmade34]

11. fire report

http://txforestservice.tamu.edu/main/article.aspx?id=12888

[Skink]

12. and yet Perry refuses government stimulus funds.

he snubbs Obama whenever he gets the chance.

[cherokeeprogressive]

22. Apples? Meet Oranges...

Millions of acres of Texas land has burned, along with thousands of structures, simply because of the ballot box.

Same with W and California. He rarely came here, or mentioned the state at ALL, because of the cold day in hell that didn't happen when he was running for election, AND reelection.

It isn't about Rick Perry. It's about Texas.

Too bad True Partisans can't see that. Too bad for Texas that is....

[pecwae]

49. And "snubbing"

the President is worthy of letting a state burn to cinders?

[JDPriestly]

13. Are you talking about the same Texas that wanted to secede from the Union

not that long ago?

Just joking.

We have fires out here in California. A friend who is an environmentalist tells me that the fires are a symptom of global warming.

Texans need to help do something about our environment.

Part of being American is helping fellow Americans, so seriously, I'm for helping Texans.

[cherokeeprogressive]

15. "Texans need to help do something about our environment." What the fuck do you mean by that?

Al Gore flies on private airplanes everywhere he goes.

Nancy Pelosi claims it to be her RIGHT to use military flights to go back and forth from DC to CA.

We have fires burning here in CA? Pray tell where? I don't give a FUCK what your "environmentalist" friend says... but I would ask: Has your friend ever heard of LIGHTNING?

Texas isn't Texans. Some Texans mentioned secession. To punish ALL Texans for the "opinion" of a few goes against all the things that I love my country for.

Some idiots got their views into the national press... for that, you'd forsake their land, their structures, their contribution to what makes this fucking country great?

"Texans need to help do something about our environment". WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT MEAN? What could a Texan do about our environment do that a Vermonter couldn't?

[JDPriestly]

41. We have huge fires nearly every year somewhere in Southern California

Year before last, we lost a great deal of the Los Angeles National Forest. Before the fires, it was our favorite natural outing destination. Now it is charred, and the roads can't be used.

Before that, the fires were down near San Diego, and before that, they were out near Idyllwild.

We have fires, big fires, every two years if not every year.

It's a huge problem.

[DonCoquixote]

44. From Florida

I get a lot of the same crap about my state, so i sympathize.

However, I have to be fair, the feds could throw a lot of resources at the state, but, just like Florida, the state government does not, cannot, and will not put up the government structure need to make that help work.

Simply put, the problem is that this country does not nearly have what it needs for disasters. We need a fucking national disaster fund for starters, and we need to get our national guard out of foreign wars and back HERE where they belong. We also need a federal way to stop Governors from getting in the way of help, because we both know that Rick Perry and our Rick Scott would simply use disasters as means of social engineering (i.e. how can I make money and use this to kill off people that cannot help me make money.) After all, as our sister gulf state Louisiana showed, you have state governments on all sides of the aisle that could take billions in money, and still find a way to somehow do nothing but keep themselves in power (see Landrieu, Mary.)

[Riftaxe]

27. Yes, but the california pre-taped fire news

is still a few months off...lord, guess i really am a cynic :)

[rainbow4321]

14. What the headlines leave out is the grants TX has gotten

http://blog.chron.com/txpotomac/2011/05/fema-texas-already-getting-maximum-help-to-fight-wildfires/

Granting a major disaster declaration allows the federal government to help pay for the costs of reconstruction and direct aid to victims of the fires. Perry only requested ‘Category B’ funding, which provides reimbursement for the same activities as the fire management grants the state currently is receiving.

(snip)

The fires covered by the grants for federal reimbursement constitute the list of major fires the state has been combating for the past couple of months, said Kelly King, a spokesman for the Texas Forest Service.

-----------------------
Perry just politically grandstanding. POTUS could come down here with a wad of federal aid in huge suitcases and gov goodhair would still find something to bitch about.

[Riftaxe]

20. Admittedly, I have not been following the fires down there

but how is politics involved. Surely at least the Governor has appealed to the Fed for emergency resources, and mobilized the national guard?

It seems like those in the south are getting hammered hard this year :(

[cherokeeprogressive]

23. Appealed for, and been refused.

Such is the way the country works under two party rule.

[JVS]

24. Do you have any evidence that the denial of Perry's request is politically motivated?

[cherokeeprogressive]

26. I don't, and I would counter your question with one of my own...

Why would the feds deny Perry's request for any other reason?

Here's my heartfelt belief... EVERY available resource should be thrown at this situation, no matter WHAT the ballot box says.

[JVS]

31. It's my heartfelt belief that people shouldn't go around making accusations without evidence.

[tammywammy]

50. Texas has received ample financial resources even without the FEMA disaster recognition.

Check the Texas forum threads for more information.

[Riftaxe]

32. That is terrible!

It goes beyond words, I can even think off.

Why even bother having a governing agency for emergencies when if told, 1000's of acres are going up in smoke, not to mention the livelihood and homes of people there?

if there truly is a a god/goddess would it be to much for them to divert the disastrous flooding in LA one state to the left?

[cherokeeprogressive]

35. Popular (DU) belief is that Texans in general don't vote for Democratic candidates. n/t

[Riftaxe]

36. Beliefs are fickle things, i rather think

just not enough Texans vote democratic :)

[cherokeeprogressive]

39. Guarantee: If Texas was "blue", the fires would be out.

Sad, but true.

[Riftaxe]

40. Now this is just down right frightening...

Since fire season started on Nov. 15, 2010, Texas Forest Service and area fire departments have responded to 9,954 fires that have charred 2,511,288 acres

and that is just in months past!

=(

[kimi]

43. I know it doesn't make much difference but

I know plenty of Texans who do vote Democratic, and are able to believe in their state as well. I admire them. They often feel conflicted, and like they have to keep quiet in social and employment settings, but they have principles and they feel as you do, I think, cherokeeprogressive -- that there is a tendency out there to believe that all Texans are one. It's just not so.

I've seen the pictures of the fires. They are heartbreaking.

[Riftaxe]

38. update

http://txforestservice.tamu.edu/main/article.aspx?id=12888">by county damage

[SoCalDem]

47. States & state governments have the ultimate responsibilty

to see to it that sufficient TAX money is set aside as a contingency fund for the inevitable disasters that the state may suffer (floods, earthquakes, blizzards/tornadoes, hurricanes, fires).

The states that cling to "states' rights" beliefs and libertarianism verging on secession, have to be held somewhat accountable when disasters befall their states and they are unprepared for them.

This is the sort of thing that always needs to be in the forefront when elections are held.

"Did our governor/legislature behave responsibly and protect us?"
"Did they set aside enough money to mitigate damages from the not-unexpected events that we routinely have happen?"
"Were they fiscally responsible enough to make sure there was enough taxation to prepare for inevitable dangers?"

There will always be disasters that are just too big for a state to handle, and that is when the Feds come to the rescue, but when states/legislators/governors take pride in announcing their disdain for anything federal, while refusing to prepare, it's not hard to understand why sometimes they may just have to handle their own disasters for a long time before massive aid is sent their way.

I feel very sorry for people whose homes were lost to fires, but short of maintaining their own fire suppression, there is not a lot they can do since they live in a state that chooses to NOT protect them.