"[T]he Obama Administration has fulfilled all of Texas’ requests for fire management assisting grants."
From Reuters, May 19, 2011 (The cuts were passed): Texas plans to cut budget of agency battling fires | By Ben Wermund, Austin Tx – (Reuters) - Texas lawmakers are set to slash funding for the agency responsible for fighting wildfires in the midst of a historic wildfire season in which some 2.5 million acres have burned. The Texas Forest Service faces almost $34 million in budget cuts over the next two years, roughly a third of the agency's total budget. The cuts are in both the House and Senate versions of the proposed state budget. The Forest Service has about 200 firefighters and offers assistance grants to volunteer fire departments. Assistance grants are likely to take the biggest hit.
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By WILL WEISSERT
Associated Press
Read the complete story
APPhotoAUSTIN, Texas – More than 1,000 homes have been destroyed in at least 57 wildfires across rain-starved Texas, most of them in one devastating blaze close to Austin that is still raging out of control, officials said Tuesday. Speaking at a news conference near one of the fire-ravaged areas, Texas Gov. Rick Perry said more than 100,000 acres have burned in the drought-stricken state. The Texas Forest Service says nearly 600 of the torched homes were in Bastrop County, some 25 miles from Austin. The agency said that blaze was still uncontained Tuesday. It was the most destructive fire of the year for a state that has had more than 3 million acres burned, said state emergency management chief Nim Kidd.
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From Hays County – Overnight: The Pedernales One Fire remained in Travis County. Hays County fire fighters and law enforcement remain engaged assisting in fighting the fire from the Hays County side near Hamilton Pool Road. Additional heavy equipment has been requested and is en route this morning to assist. Hays County residents in the area are requested to remain aware of what is going on via news reports and the Hays County website at www.co.hays.tx.us or Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/hayscounty. As of 9 a.m. Tuesday there are no shelters open in Hays County and no evacuations.
9 comments:
OMG!!!! I can not believe some one in this day and time could really post something as lame as that remark.
I am speechless!!!! If Sarah really believes that then she needs more help than this blog can offer. I feel sorry for anyone that believes that line of ...........
Must agree with Patricia-that is just about the most blatantly offensive racist remark I've seen in years. I tried to figure out a way it could be sarcasm gone wrong or some kind of joke, but no way. I don't know who you are, Sarah, but I'm glad I don't have to live in your narrow little world.
OMG-I just got it! It was an attempt at a really bad joke. Not funny.
Actually the joke is quite funny if the joke hadn't been attached to fires burning people's homes.
The real sickness and lameness in this obvious joke is that Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachman, Rick Santorum and Rick Perry really do believe God is punishing America for Obama being in the White House.
If all you self-righteous ones don't get that, the joke is really on you.
Cutting the Texas Forest Service budget, including assistance to local volunteer fire departments, and then relying on the feds to subsidize the state's fire fighting response is just one more example of Perry's fork-tongued hypocrisy. Eventually the gigantic cut to the Forest Service will have to be made up through tax increases by the local emergency service districts. Gee thanks guvner!
THANK YOU local volunteers and VFDs - in spite of Perry's dishonest dance with the voters.
Actually I got the fact that SMSP was attempting to make a joke. I was attempting to make a point that it was a "joke" in very poor taste. Not everyone will get that it was an attempt to be"humorous" and many will be offended.
We need to be careful when we post on a blog. Humor is a visual art and relies on the smirk, wink or any of a million facial and voice ques to get the meaning across. This is hard to do with the written word. A few people have done it, Mark Twain comes to mind, but "Sarah" is not one. Also humor should not reference a disaster that is ongoing. The pain is too fresh and people are not thinking clearly.
As my late Father said, "If it ain't funny, it ain't a joke"
As my favorite comedian used to say:
"Not all humor is a joke."
I want to apologize for my poor taste joke using President Obama's color.
The joke was a poorly worded attempt at making fun of the right wing hate mongers who say that everything is President Obama's fault.
Mostly As a result of that bad joke, and my performance at the debates last night, I am un-officially dropping out of the Republican Presidential race.
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