Media

HuffPo Uses Quake Aftermath to Attack GOP Budget Cuts

As Americans in Hawaii and all along the Pacific coastline flee for higher ground as earthquake-triggered tsunami waves bare down on their beaches, the Huffington Post is coincidentally warning readers that Republican budget cuts could hinder U.S. emergency responses to natural disasters in the future:

HuffPo Uses Quake Aftermath to Attack GOP Budget Cuts

(Huffington Post)

Tucked into the House Republican continuing resolution are provisions cutting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including the National Weather Service, as well as humanitarian and foreign aid.

Presented as part of a larger deficit reduction package, each cut could be pitched as tough-choice, belt-tightening on behalf of the GOP. But advocates for protecting those funds pointed to the crisis in Japan as evidence that without the money, disaster preparedness and relief would suffer.

“These are very closely related,” National Weather Service Employees Organization President Dan Sobien told The Huffington Post with respect to the budget cuts and the tsunami. “The National Weather Service has the responsibility of warning about tsunami’s also. It is true that there is no plan to not fund the tsunami buoys. Everyone knows you just can’t do that. Still if those [House] cuts go through there will be furloughs at both of the tsunami warning centers that protect the whole country and, in fact, the whole world.”

Translation: if the GOP gets its way, the “whole country and, in fact, the whole world” will be swept away by tsunamis we apparently never saw coming because warning centers were understaffed.

And should people survive this hypothetical global catastrophe, HuffPo further warns that Republicans also want to cut back on spending for global disaster aid, refugee assistance and global food relief.

Oh, the humanity.

Comments (126)

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  • MBA
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:59pm

    These people are so wacked that they don’t make any sense at all. Ok liberals, get a real job so you don’t lose that last string attached to reality. The next thing you know, you will be claiming the space aliens have kidnapped and brainwashed you (we should be so lucky).

    Report Post »  
    • commonsenseguy
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 3:04pm

      . as loony as they are,they had to be ,but they were not brain washed,they had an rectal exam and found out that ,they had their heads in their butts.

      Report Post »  
  • GoingBeck
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:58pm

    Nonsense. Grasping at straws.

    Report Post »  
  • commonsenseguy
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:57pm

    blow hard huffpo,would use her mothers death for a chance to blame the gop,what a bunch of low life scum suckers to use this tragic event to push their agenda,this is want people with no moral values do . please,shut this bunch of nut jobs down,oh yeah,don’t goggle own them now?

    Report Post »  
  • Stoic one
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:53pm

    the united states private citizen poured out money for the S.E. Asia Christmas disaster. The Fed does not need to do this, it needs to BUTT OUT. Do the job the constitution lays out for it and nothing more.

    Report Post » Stoic one  
  • jdawg
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:53pm

    Sorry, wrong link. http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-spokane/chomsky-gop-win-death-knell-for-human-race

    Report Post »  
  • Dustyluv
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:52pm

    I wonder what they will do when no more welfare checks go out because the Government has collapsed?

    Report Post »  
  • banjarmon
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:50pm

    Ms Huffpo and her staff have proved time and time again that their heads are if filled with “PIG SQUIRT”!!! For those that don’t know….That’s the brown stuff.

    Report Post » banjarmon  
  • Scramblin
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:46pm

    We are going to stop spending one way or the other. We can go full tilt into the hill and then help no one- even ourselves; OR we can make harsh radical cutbacks, experience the pain and work through it. The second option means we live to HELP another day. The former means we can help a bit now, and then we’re done. OK Libs- your pick.

    Report Post » Scramblin  
  • cheezwhiz
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:44pm

    Tucked into the House Republican continuing resolution are provisions cutting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including the National Weather Service, as well as humanitarian and foreign aid.
    ——
    Libloons are worried that their propaganda about global warming will take a beating
    with these agencies getting less money . Its not about helping or not helping other countries.
    Lefties just want to feel good and the hysteria on GW makes them feel good. These 2 agencies are where all the GW “ experts” work and invent graphs and charts to impress the unwashed masses

    Report Post » cheezwhiz  
  • fedfreakingup
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:42pm

    Your completely right. When did the American working taxpayer decide they wanted to be the rescuers of the entire planet? There’s people Like George Soros that can more than afford to foot the bill to help these people out. No one comes to America’s Rescue, just ask the residents of NASHVILLE,TN. Our own government left it up to them to rebuild themselves so why can’t all these other countries.

    Report Post »  
  • Cemoto78
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:42pm

    Talk about a stretch. if the progressives have their way she should fund all types of special accounts for just in case….just in case we need to give out more entitlements to some special people we have identified that may vote for our special candidates when the time comes…oh that’s right, that would be unions. You can’t budget for everything and the way these dolts do things they would re-allocate the money to special interests anyway so the funds wouldn’t be there anyway. CUT, CUT AND CUT SOME MORE!!!!!!!!!!

    Report Post » Cemoto78  
  • absolutely
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:41pm

    Contrary to Libs beliefs, if we aren’t over-extended we can better afford natural disasters. If this happens to us, we will be destitute. Absolutely

    Report Post »  
  • heavllyarmed
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:39pm

    if we would only have passed cap and trade this could have been avoided. (sarc off)

    Report Post »  
  • godlovinmom
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:39pm

    more than money..they need our prayers…

    Report Post » godlovinmom  
  • Ken
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:38pm

    How does the Huffpo know that it is not the massivive borrowing the US is doing that is creating these natural disasters. Moving all that borrowed money from China to Washington may have created an imbalance in the world and it took an earthquake to even it out.

    Report Post »  
  • cheezwhiz
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:38pm

    Why doesn’t Soros fund these agencies ?
    Why don’t Hollywood types fund these agencies ?
    Micheal Moore, use your handcuffs !

    Report Post » cheezwhiz  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:36pm

    The left and the progressivhey need to understand one thing that the people of the USA do get; when a disaster hits, such as the earthquake storm going on in Japan and New Zealand then it is a tragedy of human intensity, and humanity will rise up to aid their fellow man…it is not a time for the political nonsense they are constantly spewing, just as Obama did today during his televised message.

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
  • 338lapua
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:36pm

    ~~~~~If I Only Had a Brain~~~~~~~
    The Scarecrow(Wizard of OZ)
    1933

    Report Post »  
  • Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:36pm

    As I remember, this Presidency has been demonizing Toyota and Mazda, but the left now want to help Japan?

    I think Japan will be just fine, I have lived there, they are very self reliant. But if you want to donate to help, feel free.

    I just don’t think taxpayer money should go there.

    Report Post » Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra  
  • eat-more-bacon-USA
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:35pm

    Yawn. Huff-n-Puff is gasping its last, rancid breath and will soon be forgotten.

    Report Post » eat-more-bacon-USA  
  • NSDQ
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:34pm

    NEVER LET A CRISIS GO TO WASTE!!! idiots

    Report Post » NSDQ  
    • Lord_Frostwind
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 6:51pm

      Really? Can’t you people at Huffpo at least wait a day or two before you start saying “Republicans want Japanese to die”? How about we deal with the current crisis and THEN we start saying which side is stupid. Nothing grinds my gears more than a bunch of talking heads whining about politics when people are stranded in the wreckage.

      Report Post » Lord_Frostwind  
  • Showtime
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:33pm

    Ironman (is your name a typo?), all the liberals want to do is spend, spend, spend! And, the money they want to spend was not earned by liberals.

    Report Post » Showtime  
  • missy8s
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:32pm

    Typical Proglodyte fear tactics, who really gives a rat’s ass what any liberal inbred on the Huffing-paint post has to say.

    Report Post » missy8s  
    • Stoic one
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:57pm

      did you mean troglodyte?
      just asking. that would make sense to me.

      Report Post » Stoic one  
    • Stoic one
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 3:01pm

      Hmph…
      a new word,,,,,

      Report Post » Stoic one  
    • The Third Archon
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 3:42pm

      I don’t have to change “Conservative” at all for it to be a slur or imply mental deficiency…Conservative ;)

      Report Post » The Third Archon  
    • Anonymous T. Irrelevant
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 5:02pm

      Only in your rainbow-splattered, Kumbaya-singing, co-existing, unicorn, rose-colored world, where spending more money creates jobs. I am a conservative and I know what it means. It is no where NEAR the vicious, brain-twisted, entitled, backward kind of reality you live in.

      Report Post » Anonymous T. Irrelevant  
    • Tnredneck
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 6:28pm

      And the third arcwhatever liberal said that abortions are a benefit to society.??? Actually he has a point that if he and lobs like him were aborted….. Society in fact would be better off. Especially since90% plus of women that get abortions are liberal.

      Report Post »  
  • LimoDavid
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:32pm

    What about the financial tsunami that will hit our children, their children and their children‘s children if the goobers in Washington do not stop spending other people’s money like drunken sailors at a Nevada whorehouse!

    And I’m sorry, Harry Reid, if I offended any of your relatives that work at the said fine Nevada establishments.

    Report Post »  
    • Showtime
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:39pm

      I got a pre-declined credit card offer in the mail.

      Showtime  
    • The Third Archon
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 3:41pm

      Lawlz to both of you…however, we can run a permanent national deficit at a fixed nominal value and the “real” value of that nominal debt decreases over time due to inflation–because governments are continuous, they can carry over debt, unlike an individual, and their debt (in terms of real value) decreases over time. So long as its proportion of the GDP is fixed, the nominal value of debt may increase without any accompanying increase in the “real” value of the debt. Furthermore, our debt as a proportion of GDP is not even close to the highest of the world, several European countries are much higher, and have been for a long time, and still enjoy first world standards of living. We have also had about a little less than twice as much (proportionally speaking) debt at other historical points (i.e. depression + WWII), so this isn’t even an historic high.

      All this can only lead me to conclude that this whole “reining in spending” b.s. is a stupid non-issue trotted out by the elites who have a vested interest in protecting their power and wealth from potential shocks to the system from change, to throw up a smokescreen in front of the voter making them think debt has something to do with the economy, when it really doesn’t (at least not at status quo levels) and ignoring the real issues facing us–that desperate need for social, political, and economic reforms, all of which will require the thoughtful expenditure of massive amounts of resources. But if we are to survive and thrive as a nation we cannot continue down this path of decay.

      Yes, we should spend our money wisely, but this is hardly an insurmountable or immanently threatening issue–if we are truly ever in threat of bankruptcy, we can always raise taxes, which we should probably do anyway, considering we’ve had historically low tax rates, particularly on corporations and the top two income brackets, for the past 3 decades or so, and the result has been financial collapse and economic contraction, funnily enough coinciding with the last 3 decades or so…

      Report Post » The Third Archon  
    • Blackhawk1
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 3:53pm

      @The Third Archon

      Spoken like a true liberal with no economic sense whatsoever.

      I like this one “Furthermore, our debt as a proportion of GDP is not even close to the highest of the world, several European countries are much higher, and have been for a long time, and still enjoy first world standards of living.”

      Would those be the same European countries that had to cut spending in order to avoid insolvency? I just heard late yesterday that Moody’s Investors Service cut Spain’s credit rating and export growth slowed in China, raising concern that the global economic recovery will falter. Spain’s IBEX 35 index sank 1.2 per cent as the nation’s rating was downgraded to Aa2 by Moody’s, which said that the banks will need as much as €50 billion to meet new capital requirements, more than double the €20 billion estimated by the government.

      Yeah let’s go down that road.

      Report Post » Blackhawk1  
    • Lesterp
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 3:58pm

      Wow! Third Archon please explain to me how holding debt will make it go down, that is some magic I have never heard of. Countries by the way are not continuous, Persia ring a bell, how about South Vietnam. When hyper inflation hits the fan and you don’t have a pot to piss in, please come back and tell us all how we are wrong. You fools always ignore history even when it’s about to beat the crap out of you. Amazing!

      Report Post » Lesterp  
    • Robert-CA
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 4:26pm

      THE THIRD ARCHON for the treasury … oh wait … we already have a Tax Cheat .

      Report Post » Robert-CA  
    • TnTrader
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 10:52pm

      @The Third Archon

      So, lets see if I have this right.
      You believe that the the growth of inflation is beneficial to all since it reduces the inherent value of the currency relative to the debt, thereby reducing the debt? You think that since the purchasing power of all dollars is reduced by inflation, inflation should be encouraged as a means of debt reduction?

      Thats assinine.

      Debt is not an asset. It is a liability. National debt is not an asset, it is an interest bearing liability. Carrying interest bearing debt over effectively compounds the amount of debt. If the debt bears, lets say 3.5% interest and America pays only the coupon on the debt and rolls over the principal….The principal, once again, begins to acrue interest. Only the second ,third and so on iteration of the principal debt rolls over at the new interest rate, increased from the original to reflect the greater risk rolling over represents plus the inflation premium required to protect the lendors capital.

      All the while, that same inflation you feel is reducing the cost of the debt is eating more and more of the purchasing power of the population, eroding the standard of living for everyone. Everyone that is except those on entitlements which are typically inflation protected. At the expense of those that are paying both the increasing debt and the inflation adjusted entitlements.

      Just because inflation reduces the value of the currency and the original debt is owed in “at the time” dollars does not mean the debt becomes less. Unless the debt is paid off. Rolling it over essentially “revalues” the debt at the current value, losing any supposed benefit of inflation and compounding the problem.

      De Opresso Libre

      Report Post »  
  • Showtime
    Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:30pm

    Well, they have really reached this time!

    Report Post » Showtime  
    • leftiesaredangerous
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 2:54pm

      You mean ‘again’ don’t you?

      Report Post »  
    • grandmaof5
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 3:17pm

      You would have to be a real scumbag to use this tragedy for political gain, oh wait, they are.

      Report Post »  
    • The Third Archon
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 3:30pm

      Whether or not its politically motivated doesn’t really change the brutal fact that less money for emergency preparedness means less emergency preparedness–personally, if we were broke (which we aren’t), I would rather we cut things that were stupid and/or harmful (like agricultural subsidies, or wasteful defense contracts by introducing competition for them, perhaps by trust-busting the defense industries oligopolies, i.e. Lockheed Martin and Boeing for most aeronautics, etc.) or raise taxes instead of cutting things that are clearly important to everyone (one would think at the very least the programs which are distributively beneficial would have support of Republicans and Democrats, even if Republicans can’t understand why abortions and welfare are useful and beneficial to society).

      The Third Archon  
    • Blackhawk1
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 3:44pm

      It is not the Governments job to be “distributively beneficial ”. Liberals truly do not understand what the words Individual Responsibility mean do they?

      Report Post » Blackhawk1  
    • sleazyhippo
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 4:09pm

      Whistling in the dark.

      Report Post » MONICNE  
    • bart033
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 4:41pm

      the truth hurts.the gop does want to cut money from the warning system. maybe the beckster can do a show saying it was the liberals or george soros that caused all of this death and destruction. keep that conservative head in the sand.

      Report Post »  
    • Secret Squirrel
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 4:48pm

      ……
      Yeah, but it‘s still Bush’s fault line.

      Report Post » Secret Squirrel  
    • Anonymous T. Irrelevant
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 4:53pm

      Those Puffing Ho’s grasping at straws again.
      Charity begins at home. If we can’t afford to help ourselves, we surely can’t help anyone else.

      Report Post » Anonymous T. Irrelevant  
    • jhaydeng
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 6:58pm

      Who cares about the HuffPo! Ignore them!

      Report Post »  
    • lylee
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 10:34pm

      Obama was the one who said that the world cannot depend on the United States anymore. Why should we borrow money from China to warn the world about tsunamis? Let China warned the world. Or better yet if anyone detects an earthquake at sea call your local TV station and let them know there might be a tsunami.

      Report Post »  
    • restorehope
      Posted on March 11, 2011 at 11:11pm

      Just like Rahmbo said, “Never let a good crisis go to waste”. Every time I think the left has gone as far as it can with idiocy, they surpass themselves. Personally, I think the questionable “global warming” is caused by all of the libs hot air.

      Report Post »  
    • Ruler4You
      Posted on March 12, 2011 at 11:07am

      This must be based in the same “science” that the democrats “understand better than the GOP” that Sen. Markey has been ranting about.

      We just aren’t privy to it because we are too stupid to understand it. Baaaaa – Baaaa.

      Report Post » Ruler4You  
    • oldoldtimer
      Posted on March 13, 2011 at 10:02pm

      BREAKING NEWS: HuffPo to change name. New name to be“ Nut Job Times”. I s there people stupid enough to believe their garbage? Must be since most are Obama voters.

      Report Post »  
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