Biden/Harris: A Presidency for All Americans

[Jeff Lebowski]

No shit, Ron. But letting that old senile geezer putter around the White House and pretend he was a viable candidate for a second term is part of the reason we are in this mess right now

[Northwestcoug]

No shit, Ron. But letting that old senile geezer putter around the White House and pretend he was a viable candidate for a second term is part of the reason we are in this mess right now

Right. Even if Trump wasn't the nominee and we weren't facing Armageddon, the fact that a small group of insiders tried to hide significant health problems from the country should a huge enough scandal. And though we still have to blame the GOP and half the country on voting for Trump (Two. Times.), that they facilitated his election should be hung around their necks forever.

[dabrockster]

Wasn’t sure where to place this. JL, feel free to move it.

Recent article layout JV one violations between 2021-2024 of FEMA gather unnecessary political information on Americans and then skipping their homes and granting any assistance.

https://content.govdelivery.com/atta...0For%20PDF.pdf

https://content.govdelivery.com/atta...0For%20PDF.pdf

[LVAllen]

Wasn’t sure where to place this. JL, feel free to move it.

Recent article layout JV one violations between 2021-2024 of FEMA gather unnecessary political information on Americans and then skipping their homes and granting any assistance.

https://content.govdelivery.com/atta...0For%20PDF.pdf

https://content.govdelivery.com/atta...0For%20PDF.pdf

The report is basically screaming that although they were given a directive to find systemic problems under the Biden administration, they couldn't. And that when the FEMA Administrator said it wasn't systemic, she was right.

"The Hatch Act is outside the scope of the DHS Privacy Office’s investigation; however, we are noting that FEMA’s alleged activities meet the Hatch Act’s definition of political activity."

There have been more Hatch violations in the last week by any given division of the US government than this report describes over a multi-year period by FEMA.

[dabrockster]

The report is basically screaming that although they were given a directive to find systemic problems under the Biden administration, they couldn't. And that when the FEMA Administrator said it wasn't systemic, she was right.

"The Hatch Act is outside the scope of the DHS Privacy Office’s investigation; however, we are noting that FEMA’s alleged activities meet the Hatch Act’s definition of political activity."

There have been more Hatch violations in the last week by any given division of the US government than this report describes over a multi-year period by FEMA.

I expect nothing less than for you to try and minimize and sweep this under the rug as Much Ado About Nothing. However, the complaint of unfairness and political mistreatment from one side rings hallow when the Left is shown to use the same tactics. Gathering political affiliations and withholding aide. Sorry, but kinda a big deal. If you wish to incessantly cry foul of wrong doings. Don’t expect to get any sympathy when you elect to minimize it when it is not your political side being hurt but causing it.

Again, Two-sides of the same coin.

[LVAllen]

I expect nothing less than for you to try and minimize and sweep this under the rug as Much Ado About Nothing. However, the complaint of unfairness and political mistreatment from one side rings hallow when the Left is shown to use the same tactics. Gathering political affiliations and withholding aide. Sorry, but kinda a big deal. If you wish to incessantly cry foul of wrong doings. Don’t expect to get any sympathy when you elect to minimize it when it is not your political side being hurt but causing it.

Again, Two-sides of the same coin.

Not even remotely.

A whopping 107 total instances of "bad information being collected" by canvassers over a 4 year period out of thousands upon thousands upon thousands of interactions. Not "aid was denied (canvassers don't determine aid)," just "we didn't like they referenced gun ownership while documenting whether they felt safe to leave a flyer about resources available." This while FEMA workers endured armed threats in 2024. Meanwhile, the canvasser program was canceled completely by Cosplay Noem. So if you're concerned that aid was being denied by the big bad canvassers not providing information, worry not. No canvassers are leaving any information at all anymore. Oh and what happened with those 107 instances of information collected? In 20, contact was made or information left. 60 of them had "no solicitation" or no traspassing and 21 were damaged and unsafe to approach. Even if you assume that among those 81 non-contacts, FEMA workers were coding some to hide political animus, over 4 million households requested assistance in 2024 alone. This is not a systemic issue.

There was a low-level supervisor who said to avoid hostile homes in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton. The incident was referred to the Office of Professional Responsibility and the Office of Special Counsel. It was investigated, a report was developed and made available, and the person involved fired. Democrats condemned the incident. And the houses that were initially wrongfully skipped? Recanvassed. FEMA then did an inquiry to determine if they had a systemic problem of people being directed to avoid contacting particular houses. The FEMA administrator then answered questions about the incident and the report in front of Congress. None of these processes are in place for the plethora of crap going on under this administration. So forgive me if I think your Both Sidesing this is disingenuous.

[Donuthole]

"Donny dabrockster, you're out of your element."

[falafel]

Not even remotely.

A whopping 107 total instances of "bad information being collected" by canvassers over a 4 year period out of thousands upon thousands upon thousands of interactions. Not "aid was denied (canvassers don't determine aid)," just "we didn't like they referenced gun ownership while documenting whether they felt safe to leave a flyer about resources available." This while FEMA workers endured armed threats in 2024. Meanwhile, the canvasser program was canceled completely by Cosplay Noem. So if you're concerned that aid was being denied by the big bad canvassers not providing information, worry not. No canvassers are leaving any information at all anymore. Oh and what happened with those 107 instances of information collected? In 20, contact was made or information left. 60 of them had "no solicitation" or no traspassing and 21 were damaged and unsafe to approach. Even if you assume that among those 81 non-contacts, FEMA workers were coding some to hide political animus, over 4 million households requested assistance in 2024 alone. This is not a systemic issue.

There was a low-level supervisor who said to avoid hostile homes in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton. The incident was referred to the Office of Professional Responsibility and the Office of Special Counsel. It was investigated, a report was developed and made available, and the person involved fired. Democrats condemned the incident. And the houses that were initially wrongfully skipped? Recanvassed. FEMA then did an inquiry to determine if they had a systemic problem of people being directed to avoid contacting particular houses. The FEMA administrator then answered questions about the incident and the report in front of Congress. None of these processes are in place for the plethora of crap going on under this administration. So forgive me if I think your Both Sidesing this is disingenuous.

Brock LVA

[falafel]

Embedded Tweet

strawman on top of strawman on top of strawman.

[Jeff Lebowski]

strawman on top of strawman on top of strawman.

People ponying up money for pardons? Hmmm...

[PaloAltoCougar]

Funny that's what MAGA wants to focus on, when there are vastly greater sums of money involved with Trump's pardons, e.g., his pardon of Binance founder Changpengg Zhao who help Uday and Qsay Trump set up their crypto business, supported by Binance, the UAE, and other entities in a position to improperly influence the Trumps. The Trump crypto coin has added billions to Trump's net worth. But yes, let's focus on Hunter Biden's lousy paintings or the nonexistent payments by Fauci or Cheney. My level of disgust and contempt for the Trumps plumbs new depths each week. But at least the market's doing well!

[LVAllen]

Follow the money? Like the $2B in criminal restitution that Trump has forgiven through pardons?

[falafel]

Follow the money? Like the $2B in criminal restitution that Trump has forgiven through pardons?

Well, money is the most important thing. No one should every be able to take away your money.

[dabrockster]

Not even remotely.

A whopping 107 total instances of "bad information being collected" by canvassers over a 4 year period out of thousands upon thousands upon thousands of interactions. Not "aid was denied (canvassers don't determine aid)," just "we didn't like they referenced gun ownership while documenting whether they felt safe to leave a flyer about resources available." This while FEMA workers endured armed threats in 2024. Meanwhile, the canvasser program was canceled completely by Cosplay Noem. So if you're concerned that aid was being denied by the big bad canvassers not providing information, worry not. No canvassers are leaving any information at all anymore. Oh and what happened with those 107 instances of information collected? In 20, contact was made or information left. 60 of them had "no solicitation" or no traspassing and 21 were damaged and unsafe to approach. Even if you assume that among those 81 non-contacts, FEMA workers were coding some to hide political animus, over 4 million households requested assistance in 2024 alone. This is not a systemic issue.

There was a low-level supervisor who said to avoid hostile homes in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton. The incident was referred to the Office of Professional Responsibility and the Office of Special Counsel. It was investigated, a report was developed and made available, and the person involved fired. Democrats condemned the incident. And the houses that were initially wrongfully skipped? Recanvassed. FEMA then did an inquiry to determine if they had a systemic problem of people being directed to avoid contacting particular houses. The FEMA administrator then answered questions about the incident and the report in front of Congress. None of these processes are in place for the plethora of crap going on under this administration. So forgive me if I think your Both Sidesing this is disingenuous.

Even if only 107 cases were flagged, the point isn’t the number — it’s the principle. When federal workers collect info that even looks political or invasive (like noting gun ownership), it undermines trust in disaster response. FEMA may not directly decide who gets aid, but the data they collect had no valid reason to be collected in the first place and could easily be used to determine who gets aids or js prioritized. And to think this is a one-time thing under Biden is laughable. The targeting by the IRS to conservative non-profits as well as universities (Grand Canyon and Liberty) only further erodes public trust. Much like what we see under Trump.

FEMA workers are public servants operating under federal authority, and their actions—however well-intentioned—must be above reproach to maintain public confidence, especially in politically divided regions.

It’s good that FEMA investigated and fired the person involved — that actually proves there was a real issue, not a made-up one. Accountability only happens when people question the system.

And concern over data collection on private property isn’t a “both sides” thing — it’s a civil liberties issue. Canceling the program might’ve been too far, but brushing off legitimate worries because they’re “statistically rare” misses why people care in the first place: they want transparency and fairness, not political filtering in disaster relief.