Perry Skips Wildfire Press Conference to Hang in Rental Mansion

[sonias]

Burnt Orange Report 9/12/11
Perry Skips Wildfire Press Conference to Hang in Rental Mansion

Over the weekend on Saturday afternoon, Rick Perry was too busy chillaxin' in his $9,000-a-month rental mansion to show up at a press conference about housing vouchers for people who lost their homes. From KUT Austin:

Governor Rick Perry missed a news conference he scheduled with reporters at 4 p.m. in Bastrop . Perry's office distributed an email to media last night saying he "will give remarks and be joined by emergency management officials for a media availability following a tour of wildfire damage in Bastrop County."
A spokesman for the Governor's office says Perry was absent because of logistical reasons. Lucy Nashed told KUT News that the original location chosen for the news conference, 392 McAlister Rd, was in a neighborhood that was not open to the public.

Local officials wanted to hold the press conference instead in front of Roscar Chocolates, which is no longer in a restricted area, but for Governor Perry to get there would have required everyone to wait "a really long time," she said.

Boo fucking hoo. Also, this makes no sense. The McAlister Road location is 6 miles away from Roscar Chocolates. If Perry ever had any intention of showing up to this press conference he should have already been on the way, as Bastrop's a good 45 minute drive from Austin. Look, I made a map:

:kick:

[sonias]

1. Perry stalls on relief funds too

Austin Chronicle 9/10/11
It Took a Few Days: Obama and Perry Release Funds for Wildfire Relief

While Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst was reportedly tapping his fingers until late Friday waiting for President Obama to extend a State of Emergency to include the entire state, it also took Gov. Rick Perry until Friday to release up to $250,000 from the Texas Disaster Relief Fund.

I guess that's what happens when the boss travels. It's most likely that the state GOP, who claims to have been begging for more disaster relief from the President since last April, has been holding the state's purse strings with white knuckles while getting sticky-fingered for federal disaster relief.

What's Perry's excuse for not acting immediately?

:kick:

[sonias]

2. Hosed by the State

Austin Chronicle 9/9/11

Hosed by the State
Perry's slash-and-burn handiwork is visible for miles

What kind of administration cuts funding to firefighters in a time of drought? It is a simple question, but as the bitter taste of smoke from the Central Texas fires envelops the Texas Capitol, it is one that lawmakers and voters should ask themselves.

This is the fire we all knew was coming. If it's dry enough for an extended period, then there will be a conflagration, and the only thing that you can do is prepare. Five years ago, Independent Cat­tle­man's Associa­tion Executive Director Bill Hyman told me: "Drought is not dramatic. It's like cancer. It's a slow death." Back then, it was true, but after five years of desiccation, that slow death has become a speeding inferno.

Even with this knowledge, the state this year cut its contribution to the Volunteer Fire Department Assist­ance Program, a vital resource administered by the Texas Forest Service that provides volunteer firefighters with training and equipment. In 2009, lawmakers put $59.5 million into it. When budget time came again this year, every state agency knew they were facing cuts. However, the Texas Forest Service asked for an exemption "due to the agency's critical role in public safety in the areas of wildfire and emergency response," and asked that lawmakers only shave $2.5 million off the top.

Instead, legislators proposed a 39% cut in the Forest Service's Wildfire and Emer­gency Services budget, and the bulk of that cut came out of the general revenue contribution to volunteer firefighters. That $59.5 million for 2010-2011 falls to $27 million for 2012-2013 – a 55% cut. On top of that, the Lege pulled 5% out of the Rural Volun­teer Fire Department Insurance Fund, cutting its already insignificant $2 million contribution by $100,000.

Remember that Perry is front and central (the buck should stop with him) on this fire hazard crisis. It's not like they weren't warned it was coming. And the threat is not over. So how is Perry responding to this emergency? Why blaming the federal government of course. Why isn't he calling a special session to reinstate some state money to these agencies who are just about to see the real threat coming.

The one thing that will stop Perry in his meteoric rise in the presidential poll tracks is to have Texas burn in the background. While Perry (Nero) fiddles, Texas (Rome) burns. Maybe Nero didn't actually play the lyre while Rome burnt, but history has not been good to him. Perry is going to be in a similar situation over the next couple of years.


Wikipedia Great Fire of Rome

[sonias]

3. Forecast is foreboding for wildfire-weary Texas

Atlanta Constitutional-Journal 9/9/11

Forecast is foreboding for wildfire-weary Texas

BASTROP, Texas — Scorching temperatures, strong winds and dry vegetation are turning Texas wildfires into fast and furious dangers that hop from place to place within hours, even minutes, and give residents little time to flee. Now it's likely to get worse.

Another La Nina weather pattern promises to bring drier, windier cold fronts in the months ahead, setting the stage for even more destructive blazes as the state prepares for autumn — traditionally its busiest wildfire season.

"It's the perfect conditions for a fire storm that just becomes very catastrophic, very intense and very difficult to control," said Doug Piirto, head of the Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences Department at California Polytechnic State University.

The perilous mix has spawned a massive blaze that's destroyed nearly 1,400 homes in the Bastrop area southeast of Austin and nearly 300 others firefighters have battled nonstop since February. Their job has been made more difficult by a historic drought that is dehydrating vegetation — fuel for a fire — and a bubble of high pressure that has brought record-breaking, triple-digit heat to nearly every corner of the state.

"As long as these conditions exist, the fire forces don't get to take a day off," said Roddy Baumann, a fire behavior analyst from Vancouver, Wash., who has been in Texas since August assisting the state's incident management team. He notes even drought-resistant juniper bushes are dying of thirst, a phenomenon he has never before seen.

:kick:

[hobbit709]

4. When the alibi changes every 5 minutes, somebody lying.

Juanita's take on this.

http://juanitajean.com/2011/09/11/rick-perry-is-poopie-del-pollo/

http://juanitajean.com/2011/09/12/fundraising-like-wildfire/

[sonias]

5. "Poopie del Pollo"

That description alone is worth the read. Chickenshit Perry!

It is this simple: Rick Perry did not want to have his picture taken in front of 1,400 homes burned to the ground after he (1) cut funds to fire departments by 75% and, (2) said the solution was to pray for rain.

:kick:

[sonias]

6. Oh we absolutely have to link to this toon on Juanita's site

Out of the Panhandle and into the fire!



:thumbsup:
Excellent!

[onestepforward]

7. Toles nailed it!

Here's one more:

[sonias]

8. Toles is very good

He's a great cartoonist. Simple images and a strong message. Amazing he can get right to the point with so few words.

:applause::applause::applause:

[Avalux]

9. Firefighters here in Texas are using their OWN MONEY to fight the fires.

WASHINGTON -- In Texas, firefighters aren't just battling the wild fires raging around Austin and Houston. The state's first responders have also had to deal with budget cuts affecting everything from fuel purchases to hoses and air tanks.

In some cases, fire officials say, firefighters have had to pay out of pocket for basic necessities like proper protective gear and fuel to get them to the scene. One fire department that battled the blazes in Bastrop County had to pay for a hose, recalled Bastrop City Fire Chief Henry Perry, speaking to The Huffington Post during a break from working the wild fires.

"That fire department has been on this fire every day," he said. "Before this fire, they were having to buy stuff out of their own pocket." Perry said he knows of at least one other department whose firemen had to pay for equipment maintenance and engine fuel.

Earlier this week, HuffPost reported that Gov. Rick Perry, the GOP front-runner for president, had signed off on millions in firefighting cuts as part of the state's most recent budget legislation. The Texas Forest Service's funding has gone from $117.7 million in the 2010-2011 budget years to $83 million in the 2012-2013 budget years.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/09/rick-perry-fire-department-cuts-texas-wild-fires_n_956307.html
_________________________

Meanwhile, Perry's out campaigning and hiding in his taxpayer-funded digs. ASSHOLE.

[sonias]

burn up quickly

We need to keep this horror story at the top. Perry is wrong for Texas fire fighters and Texas communities and he's wrong for the whole country.

Firefighters also have been hit with millions in cuts from a state matching grant program that helps local departments pay for essentials like proper clothing and engine upkeep. The departments already had difficulty matching the state grants. "These are the folks out there having to have fundraisers -- fish fries and pancake suppers and barbecues to raise money," Henry Perry said.

Chris Barron, executive director of the State Firemen's & Fire Marshals' Association of Texas, told HuffPost that one department in Bastrop County has had to beg for proper clothing to use in combating wild fires. Other firefighters have paid out of pocket for that gear. They can't wear their normal gear when battling these fires. "The last thing we want to do is wear something heavy and nonbreathable," he said.

This reminds me of the first responders in NY after 9/11. They are the ones who put their lives on the line, no questions asked, and then we as communities let them down. Those responders suffering from their sickness and disease have yet to see the proper medical care they deserve. Our republican controlled Congress is content to let them die. It is their plan for this country's medical care after all. Like Alan Grayson said. "If you get sick - die quickly"

So here in Texas, Rick Perry and his repuke minions at the Lege have the same mentality. If your city/town/sub-burb is burning - burn up quickly. :(

:kick:

[sonias]

10. dupe