Storm of Controversy over Sandy

I thought it worth mentioning tonight that there is an ongoing storm of controversy over Sandy and her on and off Hurricane Status as well as the seemingly lack of preparation for a catastrophe that all the powers that be were warned could happen up to a week prior to landfall.

I've discussed this several times and a Letter to the Editor of the New York Times mirrors what I have said in their own words.

Cutting and pasting below and providing the link.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/opinion/the-government-and-the-storm.html?smid=tw-share

The original article was in the New York Times and the link for that one is below the editorial that so eloquently expresses the reality of the problem and the need for a solution. The dichotomy between not wanting a "larger than life government" and the NEED for the government to take control at other times such as before and after Hurricane Sandy.

I was asked this question several times over Shabbos in Temple by friends who are both liberal and conservative politically. Where was the response? Why weren't they more prepared? Could the government have prepared better? Who is going to help people who lost their homes?

Surprisingly a very liberal friend whose heart always bleeds for everyone, was upset that they canceled the Marathon. She pointed out the airports were open and people had already come in for the storm. I asked her if it was right to hang out blankets and water to high paying tourists many from out of the country when people in New York City were still looking for the missing, recovering dead bodies and freezing for lack of blankets and heat? She was quiet. I know she has close friends and relatives who have run before and to her it seemed important. Another person was horrified that they would even think of having a Marathon. He is a very conservative person politically and normally would point out the income such a race would provide...and yet he was horrified that the Mayor would even consider running the Marathon. And, asked why it wasn't cancelled the day before Sandy hit when it was obvious NYC would have a long week of recovery.

A man called me from Miami, the President of a College actually who was trying to help his friend who was heartbroken over the loss of his son's home and everything his son owned. He said his son had no idea what to do...where go to for help and that he was overwhelmed. They turned to several private charities who were just as overwhelmed as the victims applying for help. In a case like this you do need the government to come in and to explain what needs to be done ...  And, again many who needed help had no gas to get to the lines they needed to stand in... their cars had been washed away with their homes, they stayed inland a mile or so yet they were unable to even get down to their homes or the lines where people stood online to fill out forms. And, to be honest..many living in total shock and dismay are not even aware there are lines to stand in.

There was a week to prepare for HURRICANE SANDY. And, they downgrading of Sandy just prior to landfall is still a questionable decision as the storm still had enough tropical characteristics to arguably keep it a Hurricane. Many left at the last minute and were not prepared to take the things most important to them.

Joe Bastardi, one to always argue with the Hurricane Center insists the storm had an eye on landfall.

I'll give you a sample of how Joe thinks... mind you he does get a bit "hyper" however he makes valid points based on his massive knowledge of history and hurricanes.

Joe Bastardi ‏@BigJoeBastardi

@johnstevens21 @BigJoeBastardi It should have had Hurricane warnings in advance of it. This game playing has got to stop

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38mJoe Bastardi ‏@BigJoeBastardi

Can you imagine these people still displaced, listening to people arguing over whether what hit them or not was a hurricane? What a joke

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40mJoe Bastardi ‏@BigJoeBastardi

It came out of the Caribbean and had 2000 miles of southeast flow driving warm air into it to fuel it on its way in. Cold air was well west

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41mJoe Bastardi ‏@BigJoeBastardi

Bottom line: Ne was hit by a late season hurricane southeast. That this is even being argued shows the nonsense we deal with today

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42mJoe Bastardi ‏@BigJoeBastardi

They tried this stuff in 07 with a storm that hit Canada in early November ( Noel) broke record rain, wind and temps ( high) when it hit.

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43mJoe Bastardi ‏@BigJoeBastardi

There was an eye passage in S Jersey, an hour and a half of calm, with the wind roaring harder out of the south than north after the passage

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So, what is the answer?

I have said it over and over. We need to learn from our mistakes. And, why when we spend so much money on Homeland Security to prepare for a possible terrorist attack in this same region, were we so unprepared for the enormity of Hurricane Sandy's destructive effects after it was forecast excellently with regard to track by the NHC almost a week before landfall?

A lot of questions.

A very good "Letter to the Editor"

LETTER

The Government and the Storm

Published: November 10, 2012

To the Editor:

Connect With Us on Twitter

For Op-Ed, follow@nytopinion and to hear from the editorial page editor, Andrew Rosenthal, follow@andyrNYT.

Re “Fractured Recovery Divides a Frustrated Region” (front page, Nov. 4):

.

"We live in an era when government is viewed by many Americans as the problem, not the solution. But catastrophes like Hurricane Sandy remind us why we need government, both to protect us from devastation and to quickly restore civilized society when devastation occurs.

Our government — local, state and federal — has failed us on both counts. Despite warnings of our region’s vulnerability to rising sea levels, officials did not act to protect homes and vital services against predicted storm surges of historic proportions, and they have willfully ignored the underlying cause.

Now, in the storm’s ruinous wake, we are relying on an uncoordinated patchwork of mostly private and volunteer efforts to bring relief to the cold, hungry and homeless.

Over the past four decades we have sown the seeds of privatization and relentlessly eroded our public services. With Katrina, Irene and Sandy — and more names surely to come — we are reaping the whirlwind.

KENNETH M. COUGHLIN
New York, Nov. 4, 2012"

Link to original article. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/04/nyregion/fractured-recovery-a-week-after-hurricane-sandy.html?_r=0

What do you think?

Sweet Tropical Dreams.. 

BobbiStorm

Ps.. a lot to think on ...