Patterico's Pontifications

8/31/2017

The Other Tragedy Of Hurricane Harvey

Filed under: General — Dana @ 12:53 pm



[guest post by Dana]

The floods in Texas continue to ravage the land and its residents:

Beaumont police say a woman has died after she and her young daughter were swept into a rain-swollen drainage canal while trying to escape their stalled vehicle.

A police statement said the woman pulled her vehicle into a theater parking lot about 3:35 p.m. Tuesday, where it became stalled by high water. The woman then took her daughter, exited the car and was swept about a half-mile away.

Two Beaumont police officers and two fire-rescue divers in a rubber boat spotted the mother floating with the child, who was holding onto her mother. Officers pulled the child and the mother into the boat.

The little girl was suffering from hypothermia, and efforts to revive her mother failed.

This tragedy is just one of many that have occurred since Harvey made landfall. At least 37 deaths related to Hurricane Harvey have been reported.

But in the midst of the tragedies, lives have been saved through some incredible acts of kindness, generosity, goodwill, and heroism from ordinary people compelled by an extraordinary sense of duty to help their neighbors. The people of Texas (and Louisiana), have evidenced a strength and determination that is nothing less than inspiring.

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And yet, members of the mainstream media just don’t seem to get it. They can’t. They are unable to comprehend the selfless, do-for-your neighbor nature of Texas. This willingness to lay down one’s life for a fellow man is unfamiliar and foreign. To them, Texas, and places like it, remain little more than mock-worthy Hicksvilles, populated by the unwashed, the uneducated, the uncouth, Confederates, God-nutters, crazy cowboys and yokels. Politico aptly summed up this narrow-minded bigotry:

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The cartoon was removed by Politico right after it went up. Responding to the backlash, cartoonist Matt Wuerker tweeted:

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Look, here’s what I think: It is a pathetic people that choose to use their media platforms to politicize a natural disaster while people are still fighting for their lives, and fighting to save the lives of their neighbors. It is a self-consumed, small and petty people who exploit a natural disaster just to squawk like imbeciles about the shoes the First Lady wore to visit ravaged Texas. And it is an even more pathetic people that make the decisions to publish articles and cartoons like these during such a harrowing time. And here’s what I say to that collective of emotionally stunted ghouls: There are 37 families reeling from shock as the full weight of Hurricane Harvey falls upon them and they realize that their lives will never, ever be the same again. This particular flood of sorrow will never leave them, even though time will eventually smooth its raw edges. And it is those precious neighbors, those Texans, that will keep them from drowning.

(Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.)

–Dana

ADDED: Commenter Beldar, who lives in Houston, points us to his own heartfelt post about the many heroes coming to the aid of their neighbors – whether they know them or not, whether they even live in the same town or not. Because to this breed of people, matters like inconvenience and uphill climbs aren’t that important. It may, in fact, compel them even more because someone, somewhere is counting on them and those like them. Counting on heroes like Beldar’s niece’s husband, David:

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Beldar writes:

David (white shirt & reversed ball cap) looks like a Navy SEAL, but he’s actually a broker and financial advisor in his day job, a devoted husband & family man, and a leader in his hometown community and his church. He and a friend hitched up their boat and drove down from Palestine to help in the rescue efforts. No one told them to, or asked them to. They aren’t being paid or reimbursed. They don’t have FEMA name tags or a Coast Guard helicopter. But they just couldn’t not do it — like so many of the others who’re volunteering in these relief efforts.

In this photo, they’re using their boat to transport a flooded-out family to safety, but part of that process requires negotiating some shallow standing water by foot — a scene repeated hundreds of times in dozens of places all over the Houston area today. And they’re not just grimly toiling, but rather, they’re deliberately doing their very best to lighten the mood, to find some humor, and to celebrate these kiddos’ “first-ever boat rides! Whee!” so that perhaps these kids can someday remember the Hurricane Harvey rescue they needed as something that was noble and redeeming, instead of something unrelievedly sad and tragic.

I could strip my FB feed for probably twenty other photos like this of Texans I personally know and love, ordinary people, who’re doing exactly this kind of thing, but whom you won’t see on TV. But this one magnificent photo will suffice to make my point, I think.

I agree.

187 Responses to “The Other Tragedy Of Hurricane Harvey”

  1. Goddam ghouls.

    Dana (023079)

  2. “…two fire-rescue divers in a rubber boat spotted the mother floating with the child, who was holding onto her mother.”

    Heart wrenching.

    felipe (023cc9)

  3. i don’t like this plan where we shelter in place and then haphazardly rescue people

    next time you need to do better Houston

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  4. Actually, I don’t see one hell of a lot to object to in that cartoon. Oh, it would be better if the guy bing rescued had answered “That’s what I said”, but in an era a tad less irritable about media bias, it wouldn’t have struck a nerve.

    And that’s the thing. The media have worn out all of their benefit of the doubt. They’ve kept protesting “but we’re neutral!” over obvious bias for so long that the works no longer buys them any slack, even when maybe it should. And they don’t get it. They don’t see that their problem reaches waaaaay back, and that they are in a deep hole. They would be astonished to be told that they are being dinged now (at least in part) for bias they showed way back in the Nixon administration.

    Their only way out would be to admit bias, and that unbiased news is impossible.

    In a sense Fox is as guilty as any of the rest. Their should have picked “You’ve seen their side, now here’s ours.” for a motto.

    C. S. P. Schofield (99bd37)

  5. You can’t be too cynical about people who want to keep the Gubmint out of Social Security.

    Ben burn (426255)

  6. Let me tell you a thing or two about Texas and it’s concern for their naive citizenry…
    http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/texas-republicans-helped-chemical-plant-exploded-lobby-against-safety-rules

    Ben burn (426255)

  7. In fact the person shown in the cartoon is right.

    I thought it was a Jewish story. There are different versions of this.

    I don’t know who first said this story but his has apparently made the rounds. I found a Catholic version on You Tube:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQiZLjP3iRc

    See here also: (From the television show “The West Wing”)

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0745683/quotes

    Father Thomas Cavanaugh: You remind me of the man that lived by the river. He heard a radio report that the river was going to rush up and flood the town, and that the all the residents should evacuate their homes. But the man said, “I’m religious. I pray. God loves me. God will save me.” The waters rose up. A guy in a rowboat came along and he shouted, “Hey, hey you, you in there. The town is flooding. Let me take you to safety.” But the man shouted back, “I’m religious. I pray. God loves me. God will save me.” A helicopter was hovering overhead and a guy with a megaphone shouted, “Hey you, you down there. The town is flooding. Let me drop this ladder and I’ll take you to safety.” But the man shouted back that he was religious, that he prayed, that God loved him and that God will take him to safety. Well… the man drowned. And standing at the gates of St. Peter he demanded an audience with God. “Lord,” he said, “I’m a religious man, I pray, I thought you loved me. Why did this happen?” God said, “I sent you a radio report, a helicopter and a guy in a rowboat. What the hell are you doing here?”

    Here’s a Jewish version of this:

    https://shlomif.livejournal.com/66017.html

    Joke: The Believer Rabbi

    Nov. 6th, 2011 at 8:53 PM

    is a joke my father told us the other day:

    A Rabbi lived in a remote shack, and the weather forecast said there will be a large flood. So two people arrived there in a Jeep and told the Rabbi: “Rabbi, there will be a flood, come with us so you’ll be saved.” and the Rabbi said: “No, that’s OK – God will save me.”.

    And indeed it started to rain, and there was a lot of water, and so a boat arrived at the Rabbi’s house and the people there told the Rabbi: “Rabbi, there’s a flood, come with us and you’ll be saved.” and the Rabbi told them: “No, that’s OK – God will save me.” and he remained there.

    And it continued to rain, and the water level went up and the Rabbi had to climb to the roof of his shack. A helicopter arrived at his shack, and the people inside told the Rabbi: “Rabbi, there’s a big flood. Come with us to safety.”, and the Rabbi said: “No, that’s OK – God will save me.”. And the Helicopter left.

    The water levels rose even more, and the Rabbi drowned, and his soul went to heaven. There he confronted God and asked him: “Dear God, why didn’t you save me?”, and God replied “Well, I tried. I sent you a Jeep, a boat – even a helicopter – but you wouldn’t accept any of them. What more could I have done?”

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  8. Dana, I agree completely with your description of those Texans who are risking and giving so much to help their fellow Americans as well as concur with your expression of hope and faith for those families who have lost so much.

    That Matt Wuerker clown is a typical leftist pig. Matt, either help Make America Great Again or go to Canada. We don’t need more antifa’s. BTW Matt, what have YOU done to help the people of Texas? Nothing, I’m sure. Just like the rest of the millionaire leftists who have plenty of time to take from America and complain about America but very little time or effort to help anyone but themselves.

    Rev.Hoagie® (630eca)

  9. Dana, thank you for this post. Take a look at my latest post at my own shop, Harvey has created untold heroes from ordinary people responding magnificently, and consider whether you might want to add, as an update to your post, the photo there of my nephew-in-law (which my niece posted on FB and authorized me to redistribute). Everyone I know who’s seen this photo has been cheered by it, and it makes me “fit-to-bust” proud, so I’d love to see it get some wider consideration.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  10. This was predicted, but the company said it was unable to prevent it and warned people who lived nearby to evacuate:

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/08/31/harveys-wrath-moves-across-the-louisiana-texas-border-as-water-recedes-in-houston/

    A web site blames Republicans for listening to the company and preventing some kind of regulations:

    http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/texas-republicans-helped-chemical-plant-exploded-lobby-against-safety-rules

    In 2013, a West, Texas, chemical plant explosion killed 15 people, prompting the Obama administration to try to raise chemical plant safety standards (investigators later found the explosion was caused deliberately). In an executive order that year, President Obama proposed an overhaul of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Risk Management Program with the goal of increasing safety and transparency at chemical plants by strengthening existing regulations. The EPA said the enhanced rules would “seek to improve chemical process safety, assist local emergency authorities in planning for and responding to accidents, and improve public awareness of chemical hazards at regulated source.”

    No analysis here of whether any particular regulation that didn’t get imposed would have prevented this.

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  11. Sheriff Clarke has resigned?

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  12. he Milwaukee County Clerk tells CBS 58 they received a resignation for Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke Thursday afternoon at 3:17 p.m. The resignation is effective immediately.

    Sheriff Clarke tweeted Thursday afternoon saying he was in Nashville.

    According to 1130 WISN Radio, Clarke is taking a non-government position.

    Governor Walker will name the new sheriff until the election in 2018.

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  13. *The* Milwaukee County Clerk i mean

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  14. Every time a political cartoonist gets laid off an angel gets it’s wings.

    Pinandpuller (9c445e)

  15. I heard the Houston metro area voted Hillary in about the same ratio as NJ.

    If you look at an election map by county the Houston area is blue surrounded by red.

    So cretins like this toonist not only are snarkily vindictive, they’re also ignorant.

    harkin (a92711)

  16. Beldar! Excellent!

    Keep us honest.

    Ben burn (426255)

  17. Meh.

    Pretty tame cartoon, Dana. Stereotypical, too– and frankly, not particularly creative. Texans are supposed to be made of sterner stuff than be ruffled by a little Politico pen and ink anyway. OTOH, the Charlie Hebdo cover is much more disturbing. And much darker ‘humor’- particularly in light of their recent history. For it’s a revealing window on how another part of the outside world sees this:

    http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/08/31/french-magazine-charlie-hebdo-mocks-harvey-victims-as-neo-nazis.html

    And they’re supposed to be an ‘ally.’ Something to think about.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  18. @16. What? No $40 hats?

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  19. DC: I’ve been dreading the local response to Hebdo as they don’t like pie from a former hero in their face. They take it poorly, as the fickle are prone to.

    Ben burn (426255)

  20. He’s a treasure. Show some respect.

    Ben burn (426255)

  21. @20. And clean, too.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  22. Memo to Wuerker.

    Politico 101: if you’re explaining- you’re losing.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  23. @19. Ben, what’s to say… Ooo-la-la!!! Vive la ‘Prance’ 2,3,4.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  24. Aren’t you using this as a political platform yourself there Dana? It looks like you have taken that bait and joined in the fray, not matter which side you’re on, you’re still making political fodder of it by this very post. Are you carrying a sign in public that says “DOWN WITH PROTESTS!” too?

    Tillman (a95660)

  25. Back when a bunch of Charlie Hebdo cartoonists got gunned down by a couple of Arabs, I thought it was deserved comeuppance and good riddance, and only felt sorry for two cops that got caught in the line of fire. Charlie Hebdo is an enemy of humanity and it is as pointless to attempt to shame it as it would be to attempt to shame malaria mosquitoes. Just bring out the DDT.

    nk (dbc370)

  26. Ahhhh, the perception of ‘leadership.’

    Compare today’s Pence presser in Corpus Christi’s to Trump’s.

    There’s the Veep; the Mike at the mike, standing up straight, feet on the ground, hands on hips, broad-shouldered, rolled up sleeves in his jeans w/a ‘ready-for-action’ delivery in front of Marine ‘Osprey’ on a tarmac. And white hair.

    Trump fidgeted for FEMA then fluttered a flag in his $40 white hat.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  27. It’s a great post, Tillman. But if you think standing up for kindness, charity, and heroism is taking sides, then I’m sure conservatives will be glad to embrace those values of the liberals don’t want them.

    DRJ (15874d)

  28. “… [M]embers of the mainstream media just don’t seem to get it. They can’t. They are unable to comprehend the selfless, do-for-your neighbor nature of Texas. ”

    Ahem.
    http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2017/08/31/monster-truck-rescue-hurricane-cooper-intv-ac.cnn

    Tillman (a95660)

  29. DRJ, getting help from everyone else is great. But I seriously doubt that you want the government to stop helping. Both are needed in catastrophes such as this, you have to admit.

    Tillman (a95660)

  30. The one thing you don’t want is for government to STOP private people from helping, as was the case with Katrina.

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  31. @Tillman:But I seriously doubt that you want the government to stop helping.

    Fallacy of the excluded middle.

    Frederick (64d4e1)

  32. Limited government != no government

    “Socialism, like the ancient ideas from which it springs, confuses the distinction between government and society. As a result of this, every time we object to a thing being done by government, the socialists conclude that we object to its being done at all. We disapprove of state education. Then the socialists say that we are opposed to any education. We object to a state-enforced equality. Then they say that we are against equality. And so on, and so on. It is as if the socialists were to accuse us of not wanting persons to eat because we do not want the state to raise grain.”

    Frederick (64d4e1)

  33. Frederick that makes no sense to me. Either you get help or you don’t.

    Tillman (a95660)

  34. The bailey: Government should people in war, plagues, revolutions.

    The motte: Government should pay for our medical bills, regulate our hairdressers and housepainters, etc etc.

    So tiresome. So transparent.

    If anarchists, secessionists, libertarians, and conservatives all believed the same things, there’d not be four different words.

    Frederick (64d4e1)

  35. @Tillman: You’re running motte-and-bailey. We’re not twelve.

    We’re all arguing about where to draw the line. There are maybe 500 people in this country who actually think that the government should never do anything for anyone.

    The question, as always, is what is the necessary and proper sphere of government help.

    Frederick (64d4e1)

  36. The question, as always, is what is the necessary and proper sphere of government help.

    We have a Constitution that defines that however the legislature and the courts along with the lawyers which inhabit them don’t seem to obey it any longer and just keep making sh!t up.

    Rev.Hoagie® (630eca)

  37. Buck Sexton? ‘…narrow minded bigotry’?? Seriously???

    “Sexton has served as a fill-in host on the three largest nationwide conservative radio talk shows, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck.” ‘Nuff said, Fred.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqEHtZHlsf0

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  38. Hurricane Irma now Category 3 storm, forecast to be ‘extremely dangerous’

    http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/08/31/irma-rapidly-strengthens-to-category-2-hurricane-forecast-to-be-extremely-dangerous.html

    Oh my.

    This is just such bad karma.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  39. Greetings:

    Just finished watching this evening’s Progressive (née Public) Broadcasting System’s PBS NewsHour and I’m resting comfortably in Judge Judy’s recovery room. My sense of the former was that the staff seemed rather downcast that they have not yet come upon a sellable reason for another bout of Trumpian hysteria. Pros that they are, I’m sure that they will continue in their efforts.

    11B40 (6abb5c)

  40. in this case (meaning houston specifically) the government literally told people not to help themselves

    so they sat on their ass then they sat in the soup

    then they had to remediate their complacency and document said remediation on the social media

    they have to better next time

    and all this vapid dewy-eyed poopery doesn’t seem to be doing much to spur any meaningful reflection

    thank God I’m here

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  41. “Making sh*t up” = “Reaching a conclusion that Hoagie disagrees with”

    in case there was any confusion.

    Leviticus (f27e53)

  42. A U.S. liquid gallon of water weighs about 8.34 lbs.

    Texas has had roughly 15 trillion gallons dumped on it.

    That’s a helluva heavy load to carry.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  43. Well certain unique circumstances made this a more significant crisis, mostly the lack of a steering current, which allowed Harvey to dump excess rain. Now this made the original flood mitigation plan inoperative plus mayor turners inapt handling

    narciso (d1f714)

  44. @41. “so they sat on their ass then they sat in the soup”

    Soup? Actually Mr. Feet, was struck by how much all that ‘soup’ in hue looks more like iced tea w/lemonade– aka an Arnold Palmer. If only.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  45. Wuerkers of the world

    Go throw yourself in The Gulf

    Water quencheth ire

    Pinandpuller (9c445e)

  46. preparation is so key but they did not have plans ready

    they were not prepared

    and they have to do better next time

    if they couldn’t plan and prepare for this, how on earth can we trust they know what to ask for in order to mitigate a similar disaster in the future?

    it’s very troubling, especially after Katrina

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  47. i used to get me some Arnold Palmer in the carton but then Toxic Toni Taxwinkle taxed the holy hell out of it

    so i got me a 5 pound bag of xylitol and a 5 pound bag of citric acid

    supposedly you can use that as a base for a lot of tasty beverages what toxic toni can’t tax

    i’m a do spearmints over the holiday

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  48. @48.preparation is so key but they did not have plans ready they were not prepared

    Not prepared, Mr. Feet? Texas is loaded w/evangelicals and Bible scripture covering Great Floods coming and going. So far, they’ve done pretty good. No city could be expected to prepare for a weather event of this size and scale. But Irma is a cat 3 on the move, going for 4 and may make 5, so consider that a sign from ‘YHWH’–and the ‘NWS’— to prepare, just in case.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  49. sodasteam

    mg (31009b)

  50. i thought about that but it feels so ronco

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  51. You had better alert rep. king so he can work up a pork order for you cellar dwellers

    mg (31009b)

  52. No city could be expected to prepare for a weather event of this size and scale.

    how is this helpful

    this is not helpful

    we have to set the bar a little higher than “no city could be expected to prepare”

    they got caught with their knickers down that’s what happened

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  53. it tastes so good.
    no glass
    no plastic no deposit
    save on trash bags

    mg (31009b)

  54. @43

    Not so fun fact: the specific gravity of propane is half of water so LP tanks can have positive buoyancy.

    Pinandpuller (9c445e)

  55. Just like credence Clearwater struck after the bad mom rising of the eckipsr, so do events chronicled here:
    https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Nahum%201

    In modern times, this is where another den of demons has been routed by us forces.

    narciso (d1f714)

  56. ok i will investigate

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  57. Not so fun fact: the specific gravity of propane is half of water so LP tanks can have positive buoyancy.

    you should run for mayor

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  58. That cartoonist apparently thinks that if Texans seceded, they’d be too stupid to have a Coast Guard

    steveg (716a38)

  59. @steveg:That cartoonist apparently thinks that if Texans seceded, they’d be too stupid to have a Coast Guard

    Texas has three times the population of Sweden, and three times its GDP. Sweden can afford a navy, and so could Texas.

    Frederick (d9c384)

  60. Come to think of it, Texas’ GDP is roughly Canada’s but with 80% of the population and only a tiny fraction of its coastline, so yeah, Texas would be all right on its own, at least as well as any nation of its equivalent population and wealth.

    Frederick (d9c384)

  61. @54. we have to set the bar a little higher than “no city could be expected to prepare”
    they got caught with their knickers down that’s what happened

    Harvey ballooned up to scale quite fast, Mr. Feet. They just had to wet their bloomers.

    We all saw ‘Deep Impact’ — be happy Harvey and Irma ain’t named Ele.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  62. Sorry. I meant ‘subsidies’

    Ben burn (426255)

  63. Cities don’t prepare, people prepare.

    nk (dbc370)

  64. Let Darwin bail them out.

    Ben burn (426255)

  65. If all those Texans had has flood insurance, then the government would bailing out the insurance companies to cover the damage. Net savings to taxpayer: $0. The National Flood Insurance Program is already tens of billions from all those other times they paid people to build in floodplains.

    Not really surprised to see the resident spammers in favor of crony capitalism.

    Frederick (d9c384)

  66. How am I doing at glibertarian compassion?

    Are we using the same metrics as other similar catastrophes?

    Ben burn (426255)

  67. @30 Sammy

    Too much government for grandma

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  68. “The National Flood Insurance Program is already tens of billions from all those other times they paid people to build in floodplains.”

    In part because they use the standard health insurance gambit: don’t buy it until you need it. Voodoo econ to the 10th power multiplied by that in stoopid.

    Ben burn (426255)

  69. @37 Rev Hoagie

    It’s a 200 year flood from judicial reign overrunning the banks.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  70. @72. Ben… remember: ‘Challenger Logic.’

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  71. Cities don’t prepare, people prepare.

    yes yes

    but we preach that gospel all the time, and a splendid gospel it is

    and being prepared’s never been easier it’s quite effortless really one simply has to be of a mind to be prepared

    the mayor and others of his ilk nevertheless dropped the ball

    and this is no good

    i hope in the coming days a serious post-mortem will be conducted with a genuine resolve to do much better when next the angry sea slips the confines of the vast mysterious gulf to run amok in the city of Houston

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  72. I’m a prepper
    He’s a prepper
    She’s a prepper.
    We’re all preppers.
    Wouldn’t you like to be a prepper, too?

    nk (dbc370)

  73. there we go you’ve got the spirit of it

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  74. Challenger logic…like Jumbo shrimp?

    Ben burn (426255)

  75. @75. Cities don’t prepare, people prepare.

    yes yes

    no no;

    City: Middle English- from Old French cite, from Latin civitas, from civis ‘citizen.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  76. I see the usual suspects showing their asses in this thread.

    SPQR (a3a747)

  77. You can call government spending anything you like: insurance, investment, relief, welfare, whatever but it’s same money from the same source.

    National Flood Insurance is no more “insurance” than any other government program is. No insurance company can offer flood insurance at any premium people are willing to pay. Because floods are not an insurable risk. They happen over and over again in the same place. We call those places “flood plains” and they are clearly marked on maps.

    Frederick (d9c384)

  78. @78. Ben… at NASA it’s called ‘Challenger Logic.’

    FEYNMAN’S OWN FINDINGS: THEY ‘FOOLED THEMSELVES’

    http://www.nytimes.com/1986/06/11/us/feynman-s-own-findings-they-fooled-themselves.html

    Pass the hot sauce.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  79. Thomas Hobbes didn’t have insurance or subsidies or welfare and his people did just fine.

    Ben burn (426255)

  80. @DCSCA: If you don’t build a Challenger, it can’t blow up. If you don’t build in a flood plain, flood insurance might be an insurable risk. But for people who build in flood plains, it isn’t insurable. Hence the National Flood Insurance Program, which is money from the taxpayer put into the coffers of insurance companies to pay people to keep building in flood plains.

    Frederick (d9c384)

  81. Full baboon, spqr events like this should occasion reflection on how small our place on this planet is, and our presumption to dominate it like the tsunami six years ago.

    narciso (d1f714)

  82. “He was particularly critical of the space agency’s method for calculating the probability of catastrophes. In the commission’s public hearings, Judson A. Lovingood, the deputy manager for shuttle projects at the Marshall Space Flight Center, who has since been reassigned, testified that the probability of catastrophic failure of the solid-fuel booster rockets was one in 100,000.”

    Ach! The perfect metaphor, DC. Odds like Vegas with the probabilities of catastrophe create jobs and build small businesses with tons of cheap cash for every Schuster and conman in the Breadbelt. Huzzahhhh!!

    Texas will be the showcase for our free infrastructure fantasies.

    Ben burn (426255)

  83. @80. Yes. You have:

    “Bloomberg has always been a clown. From his ludicrous “health” regs to his criminal actions in illegal strawman gun buys, he’s a nut. Why New Yorkers are so stupid to perennially elect idiot mayors ….

    SPQR (7f0329) — 11/2/2012 @ 3:49 pm”

    Ahh, sweet memories of ‘Frankenstorm,’ 2012.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  84. @DCSCA:“the solid-fuel booster rockets was one in 100,000.”

    If the Challenger had a 1/10 chance of blowing up, the National Challenger Insurance Program would charge NASA a premium that assumed a 1 in 100,000 chance of blowing up, and stick the taxpayer for the difference, to the benefit of the insurer.

    This is what you are defending. You know better, and don’t care.

    Paying people to build in flood plains does not become sound finance by calling it “insurance” and billing the tax payer.

    Frederick (d9c384)

  85. Stories of heroism, selflessness and people taking care of their brothers and sisters are inspiring. They’ll trump the Hate and Provincialism of coastal liberals and their media operatives every time.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  86. @86/@78. Ben, postscript to #82: see #84… and meet the new ‘Larry Malloy.’

    Mmmm. More hot sauce, please!

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  87. Do you really want to enable derelict, uninsured homeowner/businessmen to get OPM because they won’t take accountability for their failure to secure their own finances?

    (Heard elsewhere in a discussion of Sandy relief)

    Ben burn (426255)

  88. @86. Oh, and see #88, too. Malloy’s crankin’ it out.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  89. Maybe we can do for Texas what we did for Iraq.

    Ben burn (426255)

  90. And sandy was a. mild weather event like what we we t through last fall, what happens in a 38 type storm.

    narciso (d1f714)

  91. Content-free trollery and lies from our resident spammers, boring. If it weren’t $30 billion confiscated from taxpayers to line the pockets of government cronies, it would also be hilarious.

    Frederick (d9c384)

  92. “Not an insurable risk” != “floods are too unlikely to insure against”, and no amount of lies, snark and trolling will make the statements equivalent.

    Our resident spammers remind me of Johnny Cochrane’s Chewbacca defense, with allusions to the Challenger.

    Frederick (d9c384)

  93. I’ve updated the post with a lovely photo and story about it from commenter Beldar.

    Dana (023079)

  94. Aren’t you using this as a political platform yourself there Dana? It looks like you have taken that bait and joined in the fray, not matter which side you’re on, you’re still making political fodder of it by this very post. Are you carrying a sign in public that says “DOWN WITH PROTESTS!” too?

    Tillman (a95660) — 8/31/2017 @ 2:45 pm

    No, Tillman, I’m not. Thanks for playing.

    Dana (023079)

  95. Disco duck and Benn are jackasdes:
    https://m.facebook.com/charliediggs/posts/10210276784340728

    narciso (d1f714)

  96. @93. Ben- We could go w/’Columbia Logic’ but the “how-can-a-light-piece-of-foam-possibly-punch-a-hole-in-piece-of-RCC would be over their heads– by about 100,000 ft.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  97. @49 happyfeet

    A long time ago I worked at A&W. One of my jobs was to go down in the creepy basement and make the root beer.

    My primary tool was a huge steel pot. I would swear that it had a 30 gallon capacity at a minimum.

    I would dump in three 50lb bags of sugar, probably six or eight half-gallons of concentrate (sweet in it’s own right like a root beer Dum Dum) and the balance water.

    My second tool was a canoe paddle. I would stir it for a long time. I would then fill these stainless steel containers. I don’t remember what they are called but if you’ve ever been to a ball game you see them under the concessions counter. I had to haul them back upstairs along with a lot of ice in five gallon buckets.

    One other behind the scenes is we would make the shells for the taco salads by dropping a tortilla in the hot oil and push it down with a coffee can to scallop it nicely.

    And we would microwave the burgers for 30 seconds for some reason. I’m not a fan of that.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  98. That doesn’t seem timmakr sensewhy nit cook the burgers in the samecdelivpberate way

    narciso (d1f714)

  99. that sounds like a lovely flannery oconnor story really

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  100. @93. Ben– we are. FEMA will be occupying Texas for the forseeable future.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  101. there’s so much work to be done

    everybody should try to get a good night’s sleep

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  102. @82 DC

    NASA. Isn’t that the place you worked with an OEM SS Capital N Nazi?

    Why didn’t you find it in your heart to quit on principal? Were they about Nazi outreach in the old days?

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  103. 93.Maybe we can do for Texas what we did for Iraq.
    Ben burn (426255) — 8/31/2017 @ 6:43 pm

    And maybe Hillary, Bill and Chelsea can have their so-called Clinton Foundation do for Texas what they and it did for Haiti. I’m sure the mega-rich Clintons are doing all they can to help. Just like you, Ben.

    Rev.Hoagie® (630eca)

  104. And Nigeria, march ricjs asdiciates strip mined that country, and the partial result was book harm.

    narciso (d1f714)

  105. The gas shortage out here in Austin went from kinda annoying to absolutely ridiculous. I passed ten gas stations today with lines around the corner like we were in the 1970s. Of course, it’s one of those situations where the people afraid of a shortage created it, and now anyone who needs fuel is going to have to grab it as soon as it shows up. All the local radio stations are asking people to chill, but that seems to have escalated the Tragedy of the Commons situation. I hope it smooths out in a week.

    Stories of heroism, selflessness and people taking care of their brothers and sisters are inspiring. They’ll trump the Hate and Provincialism of coastal liberals and their media operatives every time.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 8/31/2017 @ 6:35 pm

    True. A lot of good down there.

    Honestly, the coastal folks who hate us so much clearly don’t have our interests at heart, and I don’t see why secession would be a bad thing. It’s time to make the USA into two distinct nations, peacefully with plenty of treaties for mutual aid and defense, but different governments. They don’t have to be geographically continuous. The coasts, Illinois, Hawaii can be Obamaland, and the rest can be Great America Again Land. One can have its high taxes and regs, the other can have jobs. I bet both would be successful enough, and people could go where they are happier. The USA is simply too huge and too separated from each individual’s interests to represent us without great frustration for many, and that’s pointless.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  106. @DCSCA: but the “how-can-a-light-piece-of-foam-possibly-punch-a-hole-in-piece-of-RCC would be over their heads

    No, it would be irrelevant. Floods are too likely, not too unlikely, you see. That’s why they’re not insurable. That’s why the government has been losing tens of billions on it.

    But you and your Wookie are just going to keep lying and pooping up the thread until it’s just the two of you, regardless. No doubt that’s your intention.

    Frederick (d9c384)

  107. narciso

    The burgers went from the grill to a bun plus whatever else then it went in the microwave for 30 seconds. Sorry I was unclear.

    I, a genuine white boy, also worked for real (probably legal) Mexicans in a real (definitely legit) Mexican restaurant.

    Do you want to know how they make the corn chips?

    Get a real sharp 8″ knife. Get a stack of real 6″ (maybe 8″) corn tortillas (masa harina) and cut the stack in eighths. Dump the resulting chip shaped tortilla bits in hot oil.

    Do I need to explain frying things in oil to (mostly) white people?

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  108. You lrgt out that middle step, independence movements are rarely neat consider the indoor Pakistani partition one q947

    narciso (d1f714)

  109. there will be no secession what there will be is a resolve to do better

    to apply the dark arts of engineering to these problems what stand revealed for the whole whirl to gawk at

    NOT in pursuit of perfection but to improve our good city such that it is more resilient in future

    such that it is in some measure safer and more sheltering in a storm

    this is what we will do

    and we will learn

    and we will plan

    no more of this degenerate complacency

    no more sitting in the soup

    it’s unseemly

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  110. A little joke for Steve57.

    It’s raining so hard in Nashville, every time I come inside I have to ask,”Permission to come aboard?”

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  111. Tornado sirens were sounding in Nashville today. DC said if a tornado wipes out a confederate monument he’s going to get baptized in the Passaic River.

    Pinandpuller (16b0b5)

  112. 115
    The man who set the standard for Fake News.

    kishnevi (d7d2b1)

  113. That Korea link seems to be a bad link.

    kishnevi (d7d2b1)

  114. I’m not getting the metaphor:

    https://mobile.twitter.com/ABC/status/903322270634045445

    narciso (d1f714)

  115. @86. Ben, they go ’round and ’round:

    “Circular Reasoning

    “Safety assessments were based on circular reasoning, according to Dr. Feynman. The fact that the shuttle flew many times without failure was accepted as an argument that it would fly safely again. ”Because of this reasoning,” he said, ”obvious weaknesses were accepted again and again.'”

    Exhibit A: @110. Floods are too likely, not too unlikely, you see.

    6.1 A HISTORY OF FOAM ANOMALIES

    ‘The shedding of External Tank foam – the physical cause of the Columbia accident – had a long history. Damage caused by debris has occurred on every Space Shuttle flight, and most missions have had insulating foam shed during ascent.’ – CAIB Report, 8/2003

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  116. 104, the “M” of the 2005 New Orleans alternate acronym of FEMA is well accounted for in Texas, just dont let it become FESA.

    urbanleftbehind (847a06)

  117. Apollo one was 19 years apart, Columbia was 16 years from challenger, why did we stop?

    narciso (d1f714)

  118. there will be no secession what there will be is a resolve to do better

    to apply the dark arts of engineering to these problems what stand revealed for the whole whirl to gawk at

    NOT in pursuit of perfection but to improve our good city such that it is more resilient in future

    such that it is in some measure safer and more sheltering in a storm

    this is what we will do

    and we will learn

    and we will plan

    no more of this degenerate complacency

    no more sitting in the soup

    it’s unseemly

    happyfeet (28a91b) — 8/31/2017 @ 8:13 pm

    I bet a lot of Americans really don’t want to be part of Trump’s America at all, just as many didn’t want to be part of Obama’s.

    You say we’ll ‘resolve to do better’. Well of course, but we don’t actually do better. We’ll just resolve to talk about it over and over. The federal legislative process doesn’t work. Why should so many people have a government they don’t want, when we could just have two and have some relative democracy about things.

    There’s great fear in the left and the coasts that their nations would fail, but that’s not the case. European nations do fine. The coasts have so much education, arts, pop culture, that they would do great, perhaps better than they are doing now. And the flyovers would thrive. I really do think everyone would win.

    Dustin (ba94b2)

  119. that defies all decency what you said Mr. Dustin

    we did it once this evil business of secession

    and we’ve come through it and yet we still walk in the shadow of that great and hellish cataclysm

    you would do well to remember that

    we all would

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  120. @124. Stop? That would be news to the ISS crews.

    Today it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

    NASA MANAGERS: SLS/ORION ON TRACK FOR FALL 2018 LAUNCH

    https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/nasa-managers-sls-orion-on-track-for-2018-launch/

    Marcia knows her stuff quite rightly.

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  121. You live UN Austin, right, as does a friend of mine, that would be the danzig corridor in that split.

    narciso (d1f714)

  122. We stopped our own manned space program for at least a decade and were going back with 70s technology, were relying with Russian boosters out of baikonur.

    narciso (d1f714)

  123. @129. And we still use the wheel, too.

    Once had a discussion about this very topic w/t late Gene Cernan years ago, narciso. Stop-start and ‘gaps’ are the American way and he was not keen on them– especially the one between shuttle and Orion- and said so for years until his passing. Russians find something that works, and work it. When it came to Soyuz, he kept saying, ‘They are there, we are not.’ It’s a lesser machine yet engineered to compete w/Apollo, but was economical enough to stamp out for decades to today– like a VW Beetle. It may be ugly, but it gets people ‘there.’

    DCSCA (797bc0)

  124. San Diego might be the Pacific access for the inland republic, and Dade/Broward the East Prussia for the coastals.

    urbanleftbehind (847a06)

  125. Conceivable there is a similar dynamic with brexit. With the city vs the mifpdlands, but even within Houston, there are red queen supporters and obviously deplorables

    narciso (d1f714)

  126. after eight years of food stamp the military’s not what it was

    and remember… Houston’s a port city

    there’s countless cargo ships bobbing about these water like mines just waiting to ensnare the unwary military vessel

    it’s God’s grace alone there hasn’t been an incident yet

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  127. oops these *waters* i mean

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  128. The fbi needs to be shut down. D.C. is where criminals go to screw Americans. Wake the —- up America.

    mg (31009b)

  129. 133, some DNC hacks just gizzed their pants with that report. “Sorry Kamala, you never wore camo.”

    urbanleftbehind (847a06)

  130. “. It started as a category one, now it is a two. It is approaching category four. ” – Dan Rather.

    Hmm, reminds me of this

    .

    felipe (b5e0f4)

  131. Felipe, I thought you were setting up for the “whats the frequency, Kenneth? ” beatdown.

    urbanleftbehind (329aa2)

  132. Moloch minions were not amused

    http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/aug/31/david-daleiden-attorneys-fined-planned-parenthood-

    And a scalp for fusion gps

    narciso (d1f714)

  133. 122. “Safety assessments were based on circular reasoning, according to Dr. Feynman. The fact that the shuttle flew many times without failure was accepted as an argument that it would fly safely again. ”Because of this reasoning,” he said, ”obvious weaknesses were accepted again and again.’

    That’s not bad reasoning. It’s classic Bayesian analysis.

    The problem with that is, first, the probability was not 0%, and also that some people probably knew when it was unsafe, but it was not made into a rule, and they retired, or that they gradually dropped extra safety precautions and redundancies , so that actually the probability of a catastrophic failure rose with time.

    Just like with the U.S. Navy now.

    Sammy Finkelman (7cb40e)

  134. 86.

    Judson A. Lovingood, the deputy manager for shuttle projects at the Marshall Space Flight Center, who has since been reassigned, testified that the probability of catastrophic failure of the solid-fuel booster rockets was one in 100,000.”

    Actually, it was about 1 in 25 – 4%.And had probably been rising

    Sammy Finkelman (7cb40e)

  135. @146 Actually, it was about 1 in 25 – 4%.And had probably been rising

    Um hum – let’s take that as accurate. With probabilities rising considerably, as the temperature was falling to and below freezing. I don’t recall if any analysis was done (by Feynman or others) as to what the actual probability was of catastrophic failure of an O ring was, at the launch temps. It wouldn’t surprise me if it were 1 in 3, though it turned out that it was 1 in 1. Garbage in, garbage out.

    Q! (267694)

  136. whoops. correct to: @143, above.

    Q! (267694)

  137. For a palate cleanser, compare Texans with the sort of “people” the SF Bay Area abounds with. Quite enlightening… http://www.weeklystandard.com/a-beating-in-berkeley/article/2009498

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  138. @147 – I don’t expect that my read of the article was wholly congruent with yours, ‘ku, but much obliged for the reference and the read.

    Q! (267694)

  139. That’s wonderful, Colonel. Now they’re beating up Asians too.

    http://moonbattery.com/graphics/confederate-doll.jpg

    Rev.Hoagie® (630eca)

  140. 148… Rabid Rabble of Radical Left’s Masked Mayhem… Violent Vermin Vexes Decrepit Democrats… Putrid Polling Pushes Pandering Pelosi… #SanFranNanNone2bright

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  141. Some argue that prosecution was warranted because not all of the relevant laws require intent (an important potentially applicable one, 18 USC 793(f), requires only “gross negligence”), and because the government needs to send a strong signal to protect the integrity of the classified information system. I do not view this as an unreasonable position, at least based on the information Comey provided yesterday. On the other hand, there are many hurdles to a successful prosecution even assuming the “gross negligence” standard is the right one here.

    The prosecution would be entirely novel, and would turn in part on very tricky questions about how email exchanges fit into language written with physical removal of classified information in mind. Though he did not say so explicitly, Comey might have concluded that a conviction in this context was, for many reasons, unlikely—a clear reason not to prosecute. He probably also considered broader public policy considerations that prosecutors often take into account—considerations that cut in many different directions, to be sure. It’s unclear whether Comey was right to say that “no reasonable prosecutor” would bring a case against Clinton—it is just hard to say, one way or another, based on the information he provided yesterday. But Comey explained the general basis for his decision and took full responsibility for it.

    Wittes/Lawfare

    Ben burn (f7f452)

  142. 149 just took me to google, 150 is a keeper… thanks, Hoagie!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  143. The republican secretary of state says texas doesn’t need donation are help just prayers! joel olsteen says good! praying doesn’t cost me any money ;but I still would like to get my hands on some of those donations.

    christianity in action (808007)

  144. 154… teh Return of perry.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  145. Thank you for the update, Dana.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  146. I was happy to hear that you and your family are well, Beldar, and my fondest wishes that you continue to be well.

    I tried to leave the same comment at your site, but I could not get it to post.

    nk (dbc370)

  147. Time Lapse videos of flooding in Houston: (one followed by some others.)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0mIzJmjrd8

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  148. Let it sink in. Black lives matter. What it means is a wide range of Americans don’t think black lives matter. Like I wouldn’t fish a black kid out of a bayou if I hadn’t started a movement.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  149. They’re saying I’m racist.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  150. 160.They’re saying I’m racist.
    Steve57 (0b1dac) — 9/6/2017 @ 10:39 am

    Don’t look at me Steve57, I get that sh!t every day. I have found that anybody who doesn’t believe in importing unlimited numbers of South Americans, Africans and Middle Easterners is racist by today’s definition. Never mind it has to do with the fact they fail to assimilate to our culture and therefore are changing our culture to theirs. That’s not the point. I’m racist. Asian wife and a black foster son but I’m racist. Wanting to keep the American culture makes me one. I wouldn’t let 800,000 “dreamers” stay here if they were Brits and ANZAC’s. But at least they somewhat speak the language. We don’t need no stinkin’ immigrants right now.

    BTW, you are a racist. You’re white. You privileged bastard.

    Rev.Hoagie® (6bbda7)

  151. BTW, you are a racist. You’re white. You privileged bastard.
    Rev.Hoagie® (6bbda7) — 9/6/2017 @ 11:11 am

    Thanks for reminding me. Did I mention I got a Nazi hierarchy hierarchic haircut? Number 2 on the sides.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  152. Not short enough, dont you need a #1?

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  153. The white supremacist splitting axe

    https://www.gransforsbruk.com/en/

    It’s blonde, blue eyed, and hates black people same as you.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3bjZlmsb4A

    A-WA – Habib Galbi – Official Video

    Give me a goddamned break.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  154. The Swedish axe I get but what’s with the dancing moslems?

    Rev.Hoagie® (6bbda7)

  155. Do you really get the racist splitting axe, you racist butt hurt pig??!!? OMFG!!!! emojis.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  156. I hurt!!! therefore, microaggression.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  157. Where do I sign up to beat up Nazis because I can’t afford tampons?

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  158. “Don’t look at me Steve57”
    Are y’all truly denying the macroaggression against a BLACK! POTUS had NOTHING TO DO WITH RACISM?

    HEH.

    Ben burn (b3d5ab)

  159. Are y’all truly denying the macroaggression against a BLACK! POTUS had NOTHING TO DO WITH RACISM?

    First of all: Yes!

    Second they weren’t “micro aggressions”. We don’t do micro aggressions. They were full blown F-U’s.

    Third. it was only “raaaacist” if by being a damn Red becomes your race. He wasn’t black on the outside, nor was he white, but he was red through to the bone. Like you Benny.

    Rev.Hoagie® (6bbda7)

  160. I crumble in the face of your obvious sincerity.

    Does anyone know where I can meet a nice Irish girl?

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  161. Good Rev., it was the “HEH” I took as the clue.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  162. Tel Aviv is out of the question.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  163. “Does anyone know where I can meet a nice Irish girl?”

    No Irish dreamers? Ach du lieber! Can’t we ROUTE brownskins through proxy nations?

    Ben burn (b3d5ab)

  164. We’re all red below the epidermis col. Klink.

    Ben burn (b3d5ab)

  165. Mother in Haifa: who are you knitting that sweater for.

    Girl in Haifa: Those nice American boys.

    Mother in Haifa: Isn’t it too small for them?

    Girl in Haifa: Yes, and it is too small for me.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  166. Denial is the first stage of grief hoagy.

    Ben burn (b3d5ab)

  167. I would think y’all would embrace the term racist as a badge of honor or a red badge of courage in the face of your emerging minority status.

    Ben burn (b3d5ab)

  168. If I am supposed to take you as you want, I should hate.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT_PClBc8vE

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  169. I prefer P-38 w/counter rotating props..killed em at Leyte.

    Ben burn (b3d5ab)

  170. But you get over former enemies, or so they say.

    Ben burn (b3d5ab)

  171. 176, is that why Amercan basketball players like that stint in the Israeli League?

    urbanleftbehind (3c62b6)

  172. What the h3ll are you talking about?

    Did I get over the fact that Saburo Sakai died a fan of the US presence in Japan? Absolutely.

    Call me scum. What did you ever do?

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  173. Whoa! Sounds as though your hate needs no outside assistance.

    That is all. Carry on.

    Ben burn (b3d5ab)

  174. How long can you hold a grudge?

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  175. Ben, I don’t hate. Hate is an expensive emotion and I can’t afford it.

    Steve57 (0b1dac)

  176. 186.Ben, I don’t hate. Hate is an expensive emotion and I can’t afford it.
    Steve57 (0b1dac) — 9/6/2017 @ 2:25 pm

    That’s what leftists can’t understand, Steve57. Guys like us don’t waste the energy to hate. It’s exhausting. The left, as usual, projects. They’re so vacuous of serious emotion hate is all they got. I don’t hate a soul, even people who have harmed me. Won’t waste my time. I don’t like them, don’t want to be around them and don’t give a rats ass about them but I pity, not hate them.

    Rev.Hoagie® (6bbda7)


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