When we ask a thief to hold a bag containing $44 billion dollars, what do we think will happen? Okay, maybe we would have to hand him a big MAC double-truck to contain it, but seriously, what would happen? Of course, he or she would take it in the biggest heist in American history. But for some reason, we expect Donald Trump the ultimate grifter to hold those billions secure.
Hurricane Marco got tired of people saying “Polo” all the time and just went away. Hurricane Laura was another matter. She was just seven degrees short of a level 5 monster as measured by the Saffir-Simpson Scale, right behind Katrina. Of course, this scale does not consider everything:
‘The Saffir-Simpson scale only takes into account a storm’s maximum sustained windspeed, and disregards other threats, like expected rainfall or storm surge.’
Still, Americans were protected, right? Not necessarily. The National Hurricane Center alerted residents that Laura was bringing an “unsurvivable” surge. That meant waves could reach 20 feet high and cause “catastrophic” damage up to 40 miles inland, according to Weather.com. There would be — “hurricane-force winds, heavy rain and widespread flash flooding.”
America has been severely beaten up by Trump: 181,000 dead from the coronavirus pandemic and counting (equivalent to 470 fully-loaded 747s), the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics claimed 18 million citizens are out of work — unless Trump has his thumb on the numbers, plus immigrant children sit cage, tortured, and sick. Wildfires ravage California, and now the USA has the aftermath of Hurricane Laura.
Fewer than three weeks ago, Trump made off with $44 billion from the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund, according to The Rolling Stone magazine. Then, he authorized FEMA to give $300 per week to people on unemployment insurance. By absconding with the billions and offering a one-time deal, POTUS undermined the House Democrats’ ability to negotiate with and leverage the Senate to provide a stable relief package for everyone.
The $300 a week was not unlike the one people received at the beginning of the pandemic. The House already passed a second comprehensive bill to include a $600 benefit supplement and much more.
True to his name, the Grim Reaper of the Senate, aka Moscow Mitch McConnell (R-KY) refused to let the House’s bill through the Senate doors and sent all his senators on recess rather than do their jobs. Then, again, Trump playing dictator handled it — sort of.
Representative Donald Payne Jr. (D-NJ) heads the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery. He was furious and release a statement that read:
‘I am extremely concerned about the health and safety of Americans when Hurricane Laura comes ashore. The fact that President Trump would take up to $44 billion from FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund right before a possibly record-setting hurricane season shows his inability to protect our country during a crisis. If he had convinced his Senate allies to pass our Heroes Act, we would have extended unemployment benefits and still had plenty of money for FEMA and states to use to help Americans recover from a natural disaster, like Hurricane Laura.’
Scientists warned the nation was headed for a worse than usual hurricane season. They projected a greater number of hurricanes with great intensity:
‘[For] the first time in American history every state had a major disaster declaration simultaneously — House Democrats wrote to FEMA administrator Peter Gaynor to express concerns about the agency’s own preparedness. Their questions went unanswered. ‘
Payne continued:
‘There is a reason the Constitution gave Congress the sole power to authorize government expenditures. It was to prevent reckless Presidents from taking money from one program to fund another one.’
Twitter world went nuts after Americans discovered Trump’s great heist. Take a look at how some of them responded below:
The Mueller Report Adventures: In Bite-Sizes on this Facebook page. These quick, two-minute reads interpret the report in normal English for busy people. Mueller Bite-Sizes uncovers what is essentially a compelling spy mystery. Interestingly enough, Mueller Bite-Sizes can be read in any order.
