(08-31-2017 07:45 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  J.J. Watt's foundation has raised more than 12 million. Les Alexander (Houston Rockets owner) personally has donated 10 million (he's a huge PETA supporter by the way). Jim McIngvale (Mattress Mac) opened up his stores as shelters. Robert McNair and Bob Kraft (Houston Texans and New England Patriots owners) both donated $1 million. Leonardo DiCaprio's foundation has donated $1 million. A lot of other celebrities who many of you like to bash have donated quite a bit too. I don't know why there is any reason to single out Trump's pledge.

I personally would prefer to see Trump say that he has realized that his proposed 2018 budget which targets budget cuts for FEMA, the National Weather Service and the National Flood Insurance Program in particular will be revised, and those three organizations will not have their budgets cut.

Heck, why worry about the budget when so many folks are kicking in millions upon millions?

(09-01-2017 04:30 PM)umbluegray Wrote:  

(08-31-2017 07:45 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  J.J. Watt's foundation has raised more than 12 million. Les Alexander (Houston Rockets owner) personally has donated 10 million (he's a huge PETA supporter by the way). Jim McIngvale (Mattress Mac) opened up his stores as shelters. Robert McNair and Bob Kraft (Houston Texans and New England Patriots owners) both donated $1 million. Leonardo DiCaprio's foundation has donated $1 million. A lot of other celebrities who many of you like to bash have donated quite a bit too. I don't know why there is any reason to single out Trump's pledge.

I personally would prefer to see Trump say that he has realized that his proposed 2018 budget which targets budget cuts for FEMA, the National Weather Service and the National Flood Insurance Program in particular will be revised, and those three organizations will not have their budgets cut.

Heck, why worry about the budget when so many folks are kicking in millions upon millions?

You really think millions of dollars will fix this situation?

(09-01-2017 04:49 PM)cb4029 Wrote:  

(09-01-2017 04:30 PM)umbluegray Wrote:  

(08-31-2017 07:45 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  J.J. Watt's foundation has raised more than 12 million. Les Alexander (Houston Rockets owner) personally has donated 10 million (he's a huge PETA supporter by the way). Jim McIngvale (Mattress Mac) opened up his stores as shelters. Robert McNair and Bob Kraft (Houston Texans and New England Patriots owners) both donated $1 million. Leonardo DiCaprio's foundation has donated $1 million. A lot of other celebrities who many of you like to bash have donated quite a bit too. I don't know why there is any reason to single out Trump's pledge.
I personally would prefer to see Trump say that he has realized that his proposed 2018 budget which targets budget cuts for FEMA, the National Weather Service and the National Flood Insurance Program in particular will be revised, and those three organizations will not have their budgets cut.

Heck, why worry about the budget when so many folks are kicking in millions upon millions?

You really think millions of dollars will fix this situation?

You really think there's anything in that budget that will fix this situation?

Nothing in the budget will prevent new storms, that's for sure. But I don't want to see less updates from the National Weather Service, less airplane renaissance trips, and FEMA having to deny more people in the future.

(09-01-2017 05:08 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(09-01-2017 04:49 PM)cb4029 Wrote:  

(09-01-2017 04:30 PM)umbluegray Wrote:  

(08-31-2017 07:45 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  J.J. Watt's foundation has raised more than 12 million. Les Alexander (Houston Rockets owner) personally has donated 10 million (he's a huge PETA supporter by the way). Jim McIngvale (Mattress Mac) opened up his stores as shelters. Robert McNair and Bob Kraft (Houston Texans and New England Patriots owners) both donated $1 million. Leonardo DiCaprio's foundation has donated $1 million. A lot of other celebrities who many of you like to bash have donated quite a bit too. I don't know why there is any reason to single out Trump's pledge.
I personally would prefer to see Trump say that he has realized that his proposed 2018 budget which targets budget cuts for FEMA, the National Weather Service and the National Flood Insurance Program in particular will be revised, and those three organizations will not have their budgets cut.

Heck, why worry about the budget when so many folks are kicking in millions upon millions?

You really think millions of dollars will fix this situation?

You really think there's anything in that budget that will fix this situation?

Yeah, no more aid to foreign countries until it's fixed. That might work.

(09-01-2017 08:38 AM)Fo Shizzle Wrote:  Im sure to the Leftists this is either seen as a stunt or it is not enough. Either way nothing he does can make them happy.

It's not enough. $1 million is nothing. Also, a $1 million loan isn't small. The media won't give this any attention until the next disaster when President Trump doesn't appear to be donating anything (or not as much), and his Harvey gift will then be used against him.

"Does President Trump plan to donate $1 million, and if not, were the Harvey victims more important?"

(09-01-2017 05:41 PM)Kronke Wrote:  

(09-01-2017 08:38 AM)Fo Shizzle Wrote:  Im sure to the Leftists this is either seen as a stunt or it is not enough. Either way nothing he does can make them happy.

It's not enough. $1 million is nothing. Also, a $1 million loan isn't small. The media won't give this any attention until the next disaster when President Trump doesn't appear to be donating anything (or not as much), and his Harvey gift will then be used against him.

"Does President Trump plan to donate $1 million, and if not, were the Harvey victims more important?"

5-D chess
Checkmate.

(08-31-2017 07:49 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  

(08-31-2017 07:39 PM)SuperFlyBCat Wrote:  How about Obama?

I'm sure we'll find out about a personal donation from him sometime in the future. That book deal all of you hate has made him a rich man. In the meantime he tweeted out a personal request to give $10 to the American Red Cross 4 days ago that has already been retweeted 245,000 times and has received 805,000 likes. I'm pretty confident that tweet alone has raised well more than $1 million in donations.

so..let me ask you once again...how much has Barack Hussein Obama donated?

(09-01-2017 05:35 PM)cb4029 Wrote:  Yeah, no more aid to foreign countries until it's fixed. That might work.

A++++ would buy this comment again.

(09-01-2017 06:11 PM)Lord Stanley Wrote:  

(09-01-2017 05:35 PM)cb4029 Wrote:  Yeah, no more aid to foreign countries until it's fixed. That might work.

A++++ would buy this comment again.

I would be a great president.

(09-01-2017 05:34 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  Nothing in the budget will prevent new storms, that's for sure. But I don't want to see less updates from the National Weather Service, less airplane renaissance trips, and FEMA having to deny more people in the future.

FEMA will have as many people as they need for the response. That has nothing to do with the budget. What do you want, enough people to respond to a major disaster sitting on the bench all year?

NWS did a terrific job. Not sure what else you want to spend on there.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

(09-01-2017 05:34 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  Nothing in the budget will prevent new storms, that's for sure. But I don't want to see less updates from the National Weather Service, less airplane renaissance trips, and FEMA having to deny more people in the future.

Until you can point to a specific cut in the budget of either agency that has anything to do with natural disaster response you are just complaining to complain. So go ahead and point out which parts of the budget cuts you disagree with. No seriously...point them out. Up until the point you can do that you are just parroting a weak leftist talking point that has been floating around since Harvey made landfall.

They could cut millions from each agency's budget without hurting the parts of either organization that deal with natural disasters just by reducing the amount of administrative overhead in Washington.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capi...1b90daa1bf

The proposal slashes funding at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the parent agency of the National Weather Service, by 16 percent.

The proposal not only reduces investments in weather forecasting technology but also cuts programs that would enhance understanding of phenomena, such as El Nino, hurricanes and tornadoes. NOAA’s weather satellite programs would see reductions in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

http://www.newsweek.com/harvey-approache...oom-654844

Trump earlier this year proposed cutting its budget by 6 percent and that of its parent agency, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), by a mammoth 16 percent.

There is no reason to cut either group's budget. You can not say with certainty that the 6 and 16 percent cuts won't effect their ability to forecast weather disasters.

I haven't harped on the other budget cuts that much. Kaplony - Irma could be coming straight at South Carolina. You'll probably be constantly updating the http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ website like I was all last week. Maybe then you''ll change your tune.

https://www.aip.org/fyi/2017/trump-budge...ven-deeper

Here's another link which explains the budget cuts even more. The decrease would be spread across NOAA’s six line offices, but the Office of Oceanic & Atmospheric Research (OAR), which houses most of the agency’s R&D, would be hit particularly hard, with a 32 percent cut.

This is a Government agency which does its job, and continues to improve. I'd much rather see bureaucratic cuts in other agencies. For instance, I'd much rather see larger budget cuts in the Department of Justice (only 3.8 percent).

NOAA’s annual budget is currently $5.6 billion, a small fraction of the federal government’s $1.2 trillion discretionary budget. according to Climate Central. The weather service costs each American about $3 per year, the agency said on its website.

Compared to current budgets of $12.1 billion for the Department of Labor, $13.2 billion for the Department of Interior, $39.7 billion for the State and International Aid, and even the Department of Homeland Security $41 billion, I'd say the NOAA is a bargain.

(09-01-2017 09:33 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  There is no reason to cut either group's budget.

Yes there is. We are currently running a $20.4 trillion debt.

Quote:You can not say with certainty that the 6 and 16 percent cuts won't effect their ability to forecast weather disasters.

Just like you can't say with certainty it will.

Quote: Kaplony - Irma could be coming straight at South Carolina. You'll probably be constantly updating the http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ website like I was all last week. Maybe then you''ll change your tune.

And if it does I'll do like I always do and listen to the people I know who work as meteorologists that get their data from commercial services because it's been my experience that they being here on the ground have a better forecast than anything the NWS puts out. For that matter there's a firefighter I know that works in Lexington County who does weather as a hobby, posting stuff on Facebook and Twitter and has been far more accurate than the NWS. He's been good enough that he constantly gets votes in The State newspaper's Best of Columbia vote for best weatherman.

Not to mention the fact I have enough education and experience that I don't need the government to tell me what to do. I can take care of myself and wouldn't ever find myself in the situation like all those folks that have been or are awaiting rescue in Houston after the stupidity of Turner.

I've got friends who evacuated to San Antonio and Dallas, and are now stuck there because of the run on gas in those spots. I'm guessing there is more gas available in Houston now than in those cities - perhaps because we have less people now than we could or perhaps because trucks can't get to certain spots of the state or maybe just because people in other cities are panicking and making a run on the supply when it's not needed. Anyway, they're not sure they can get back to Houston now even though some of them live in perfectly safe spots and have free access to get back to their homes.

And I think NWS did a tremendous job with Harvey. In fact I read where the American model was the most accurate model for Harvey, beating the European model which normally does a better job of predicting these things.

(09-01-2017 09:49 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  NOAA’s annual budget is currently $5.6 billion, a small fraction of the federal government’s $1.2 trillion discretionary budget. according to Climate Central. The weather service costs each American about $3 per year, the agency said on its website.

Compared to current budgets of $12.1 billion for the Department of Labor, $13.2 billion for the Department of Interior, $39.7 billion for the State and International Aid, and even the Department of Homeland Security $41 billion, I'd say the NOAA is a bargain.

A billion here and a billion there and you've got real money. Not saying these are good cuts, but your analysis is part of the reason we have this problem. Politicians think like you. Its only 5.6 billion of 1.2 trillion. I liked Bob Lanier, but I was really offended one time when he started talking about a million here, a million there and we could really do something, talking about budget categories being fungible and doing what he wanted in a neighborhood.

(09-01-2017 09:49 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  NOAA’s annual budget is currently $5.6 billion, a small fraction of the federal government’s $1.2 trillion discretionary budget. according to Climate Central. The weather service costs each American about $3 per year, the agency said on its website.
Compared to current budgets of $12.1 billion for the Department of Labor, $13.2 billion for the Department of Interior, $39.7 billion for the State and International Aid, and even the Department of Homeland Security $41 billion, I'd say the NOAA is a bargain.

So let's cut those others. Where would you start?

I don't know enough about Interior/Labor to rank them. But I'm fine with cutting International Aid first followed by Homeland Security second. Maybe keep Homeland Security's budget at the current level instead of increasing it as Trump's plan has it. While I don't want to see certain groups like the National Endowment for the Arts go away, I'm fine with his budget not funding that group (and others like that) - let's see if individual donations can keep those organizations going.

It's kind of a slippery slope but it's tough to justify budget increases to defense and veteran's groups when you're cutting FEMA. Just my opinion.