Commentary: Retard wandering into the wilderness
By Retard on Oct 25, 2007 in Politics
CNN is claiming that at $3.2 Billion per year the US is not spending enough to fight forest fires. Seriously? It is about time that people who live near forested areas because they are “pretty” be told that their houses are subject to fire before they buy and that their insurance will have to cover it. It is about time that people who live in a hurricane zone so that they can go to the beach and live in nice weather be told that their houses are subject to wind damage and that their insurance will have to cover it. It is about time that people who live in earthquake zones because they want to make “Tech money” be told that their houses are subject to shaking ground before they buy and that their insurance will have to cover it. The government keeps bailing out these retards because it is every American’s right to live wherever they want to and have the government cover their mistakes. About time that this crap all comes to an end. This means you - Kelsey Grammer, Victoria Principal, and the rest of the Malibu Mob. This means you New Orleans - news flash - your city is sinking. This means you Florida - guess what? probably going to be a Hurricane hitting your state this year. Big surprise.
You live in a disaster prone region. Your house is going to be destroyed at some point. Deal with it.
This stuff has been around since Biblical times - fire, rivers turning to blood, earthquake. IT’S NOT NEW.
I’m still lobbying for the government to come and shovel my driveway and give me free natural gas because there is all of this stuff called snow that falls in feet around my house. That’s always been my disaster. Happens every year in the Midwest for some reason. I wonder why?
I’m turning the channel back to Green Acres again.
Retard
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Barbara O'Brien | Oct 25, 2007 | Reply
Just curious — what part of the U.S. is not at some risk for some kind of natural disaster, so the “retards” can move there? I understand the risks are higher in some places than in others, but I am dubious there is anyplace that is risk free.
windome earle's new shoes | Oct 25, 2007 | Reply
The locations of some of our most economically and militarily important cities, specifically San Diego and Los Angeles, exist in areas that require building houses in fire and earthquake zones. There isn’t anywhere else to build. Why should the federal government assist a recovery after predictable disasters? Because as much as the celebrity-hating inhabitants of red states, podunk states, or other completely disaster-free areas don’t like it, southern california has more economic importance, houses more military assets and personnel, and generates more tax revenue than just about any other similarly sized and populated chunk of real estate in our 3.5 million square miles. Frankly, maintaining a strong southern california makes sense for the US in general, regardless of the earthquakes or fires.
You don’t get many natural disasters in Kentucky or Tennessee, but you don’t see a lot of people from southern california or anywhere else migrating to either of those states. Consider the reasons why.
Retard | Oct 25, 2007 | Reply
While I appreciate the ego-centric view from a West Coaster looking for a handout that this is the “most ideal place to live in the US”, the reality is that the fires are not causing impending doom for military bases or economically important communities. They are taking places on hillsides, in wooded areas where there are no businesses, no economic production, and no strategic national value. These people are purely building homes in areas that are known hazards. Period. See this map. http://www.usatoday.com/weather/wildfires/2007-10-23-california_fires_N.htm
If your local communities and state permit you to build in areas without infrastructure support, without roads, and is a fire hazard . . you have it coming. Like this is the first forest fire in California. This has nothing to do with celebrities - although they are clearly out of touch with reality and will do whatever they please.
As for the true facts, people ARE migrating out of Southern California. Look at the growth of Denver after the 1990 earthquake. The population has EXPLODED.
The real fact is that California only exceeds population growth from the rest of the country by 1% over a six year period. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06000.html
It also only accounts for 3 million out of the 23 million businesses in the US. Kinda small don’t you think? Everyone knows all the REAL money is in the Bay area anyway.
Just because you love California so much doesn’t mean that the rest of the 250 million Americans have to pay for it’s mistakes.
sherrie | Oct 25, 2007 | Reply
There are 15 forest fires burning in Tennessee right now, with a current total of 39.7 acres ablaze. YTD affected acreage over 41,000. Kentucky also has a huge problem with forest fires, the state being almost half forest. 2001 was a record year in which almost 180,000 acres burned. Both states are also part of the New Madrid seismic zone, along with Missouri and Arkansas, which is a major epicenter. The 1812 New Madrid quake was one of the worst quakes in US history, and remains the largest ever in the contiguous US. 100% of the US is subject to disasters of some sort.
Retard | Oct 25, 2007 | Reply
40 acres of forest fires on federally protected land? How many homes affected? There are fires every day throughout this country in some of the most uninhabited areas. The people of Tennessee right now aren’t all huddled in a baseball stadium. The reality is . . .
FEMA (don’t get me started with those retards, but it is what we have to work with) counted 58 fire management response events this year. How many do you think occurred in Kentucky? How many do you occurred in Tennessee? None. California had 17 . . . almost 20% of all events. THIS HAPPENS EVERY YEAR!!!!! Not a once in 200 year event.
Granted, if you live in another non-hurricane, non-forest fire prone state, you still receive disasters, but not of any magnitude. It is the people in these areas who build their homes and expect people to bail them out. How many times have we rebuilt Florida? Some people have gotten two or three new homes from the Federal Government…and you know what kind of corruption comes out of a disaster operation … look at New Orleans.
You and I are paying for this. It’s about time it stopped. We should revoke the license to be stupid.
sherrie | Oct 25, 2007 | Reply
Tennessee is more rural, and the fires tend to occur in less populated areas, but several houses burn down every year. It also averages 16 tornadoes a year, plus floods, mudslides, earthquakes, drought, etc. FEMA recognizes the risks in Tennessee, though: they gave over $2 million to earthquake proof the Sheahan Water Plant a year ago August, in addition to the million plus dollars after the spring tornadoes that year. They got 3.6$ million in 2005 to prevent future flooding of a grand total of 24 properties.
As for the California fires, most fire fighting is funded by state and local money, and most insurance policies cover fire damage, so FEMA spending will be less than you think. Plus, if you pay for insurance, directly or indirectly through rent, you’re already paying for disasters affecting others. That’s the way insurance works, private or public.
If you want to stop, why not agitate for zoning requirements that would minimize damages? The builders deserve the lion’s share of blame, but government abetted their negligence. Including in Tennessee.
windom earle's new shoes | Oct 25, 2007 | Reply
You’re watching this on television. The media is looking for the most spectacular flames they can find, which is why they’re showing you Arrowhead and the wooded vacation home areas. I’m from Poway near Rancho Bernardo in San Diego, where about half the total loss of housing occurred within a few square miles, which is home to a huge number of Iraq-related defense contracting firms - their bigwigs live in the new houses in the fields behind town, but the larger number of their employees live locally. These mostly are not “new houses in the woods”, they are homes that have been unreached by any fire since built 30-40 years ago in most cases. The “Tech jobs” you’re bashing locals for seeking are mostly military or security oriented - lots of military parts and electronics being developed and manufactured here, many ending up at the large and high-security naval missile testing facility behind Poway. I realize the media didn’t include any of this local information on television. Saying that these people and places have no economic or military value “period” is to assume these facilities can operate in some kind of vacuum, free of accessible and/or affordable residential areas. And just to bash people in trouble, whose situation you obviously don’t understand, based on an article you read in ‘USA Today’: pretty much says it all. You’re kidding yourself if you don’t think Camp Pendleton could be damaged severely by a fire of sufficient size in the right area under certain weather conditions.
And yes, 3 million businesses in one state to 20 million spread across the other 49 is a lot. How many of those 20 million businesses in non-coastal states depend on our import/export facilities and distribution centers in order to operate and remain profitable?
Sure the real money’s in the Bay Area - but much of our mercantile marine and the Navy that defends it are based in San Diego. It takes a lot of people and communities, enough to require building in outlying areas, to keep that going. Asking for a hand and asking for a handout are not the same thing.
Retard | Oct 25, 2007 | Reply
Amen. Thanks Sherrie.
Retard | Oct 25, 2007 | Reply
Windom Earle,
Sometimes my medication doses slip a bit and I get a bit testy. Please accept my apology if I get too personal. My therapist tells me that I need to meditate more.
Anyway . . . I know that you need to make a living. I know that you enjoy the “perfect” California lifestyle. However, there are trade offs to every decision in life. Where to work, where to live, etc. etc. California and forest fires are like cream and coffee. I lived for many years in fire prone areas in Northern California and even dealt with some floods. I, however, knew what the risks were. Didn’t collect a big, fat government check at the time because I rented. Stupid me.
It is one thing to talk about providing aid during the crisis. It is another thing to talk about the cleanup and the payout.
I think you nailed it on the head with your last statement and we are in violent agreement. You can lend a hand - we already do 3.2 billion worth. How much more needs to be spent?
Don’t lay into me about Iraq either . . . that’s a waste of money too.
There is a fine line between a hand and a handout sometimes. When do you decide that a place is inhabitable and not worth spending money on anymore? Do you put 5 million people back into a city that’s sinking? It’s like building a sandcastle at the beach. Don’t cry when a wave comes.
It’s just common sense.
You know that everyone is going to rebuild and this is going to happen again.
Retard | Oct 31, 2007 | Reply
From Chicago Tribune today:
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. - Officials blamed a wildfire that consumed more than 38,000 acres and destroyed 21 homes last week on a boy playing with matches, and said they would ask a prosecutor to consider the case.
The boy, whose name and age were not released, admitted to sparking the fire on Oct. 21, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Diane Hecht said Tuesday. Ferocious winds helped it quickly spread.
“He admitted to playing with matches and accidentally starting the fire,” Hecht said in a statement.
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Bet those arsonists are Republican. Better call Rosie.
dierbuger | Apr 11, 2008 | Reply
My only wish is to leave this page and never come back again! Retarded stuff! How could anyone believe it?