I have been sharing this from a friend of mine. A friend of his, who is a farmer in NC, Posted this about his experience.
"5h
Things I can personally confirm:
1. Within 12 hours of my FEMA application I was approved for hotels.
2. Within 48 hours I had a $750 emergency expenses payment in my checking account.
3. Last night I did my first interview with a FEMA rep.
4. They've had a ground presence for days.
5. I personally have not seen any looting etc.
There is a lot of bad info going around. And if you don't take the time to fill out the form, you won't get anything. And if you can read Facebook you can take 7 minutes to do the form on your phone."
His family lost everything! Their farm, house, and all the farm equipment and buildings. Yet he took the time to speak some truth about what is really happening on the ground.
They do have a "go fund me" page, but I will not share it here without Jay's permission.
Thanks for posting that. I’ve had the same experience as someone living in Asheville, NC in the middle of the disaster zone. I will post something similar on my own fb feed when I get a chance.
Sending my love to you and all of those in the path of this hurricane. I can’t leave work (as a midwife, my patients depend on me) but my husband went to WNC to volunteer at a charity based out of Boone (we live in Blacksburg, VA). We sent $2000 worth of supplies with him, propane stoves, propane tanks, formula, wipes, feminine hygiene products. Nobody stopped him from coming to the charity organization or seized the supplies. He brought his ATV and the charity has been using that to move donated supplies around their warehouse and to support vehicles. Jim has been working handing out supplies in Marshall and Black Mountain, tearing out wet drywall and flooring from houses (whose owners have already been in contact both with FEMA and their homeowners insurance) and going to Asheville to ferry safe water supplies from the charity to Asheville residents for a few more days before he comes home. My mom (she’s 87 and has already early voted for Kamala!) is watching our dogs while I do my 24 hour shifts in the hospital so Jim can be there. He’s gotten zero hassle from any FEMA or other agency and is blown away by how bad things but grateful to see how many volunteers there are and how so many people want to help. Hang in there! FYI he is a reformed Republican, voted for Biden and plans to vote Dem up and down ballot this year. My family and friends are all pulling for you!
This should go viral & shut all the MAGA BS down! It's disgusting what has happened to disaster victims. It's completely sickening. VOTE Blue all the way! 💙🇺🇸💙🇺🇸
Helene response hampered by misinformation, conspiracy theories; False claims are adding to the chaos and confusion in many storm-battered communities. Social media platforms such as X have allowed the falsehoods to spread.
My comment to you:
Lies are not “misinformation”. Lies are “disinformation”.
Disinformation is form of propaganda.
When, in the future, you write articles about the spread of disinformation by various people, it would be MOST APPROPRIATE for reporters to state clearly who is lying and what they are lying about. Inasmuch as most human beings, especially undereducated human beings, have limited, challenged vocabularies, do not use the word “falsities”. Use the word LIES.
If Trump states something that is a lie, then say, “TRUMP SAID ____. TRUMP’S STATEMENT IS A LIE.”
If Musk states something that is a lie, then say, “MUSK SAID ____. MUSK’S STATEMENT IS A LIE.”
I've been very upset with WaPo over this, too, although they re-upped me at $29/year without me even having complained, so I'm letting it ride for now and trying to battle from the comment section.
I still like WaPo (and NYT to a lesser extent) but I'm annoyed by their takes on things. So last week I called and got both subscriptions lowered to about 1/4 of the regular price. I'm feeling good about that. The rep I talked to said they are getting a lot of cancellation calls. So I'm getting my cake and eating it too... still get access but they aren't making any money off me.
I wish both papers would dump the right wing bent that they seem to love.
The playbook was written long ago. Being followed again. It’s a setup, again. JAY points to the main players ( they have lots of ‘backer friends’) ..and 11/5/24 …💙VOTE BLUE .STOP THE COUP. AGAIN IN ‘26 and ‘32 .ITS UP TO YOU.💙
These lying ass yutzes should all have their mouths washed out with soap.These poor people,God bless them all!,have just lost everything they have,in a tragic calamity that no one realized would be so horrible,and all these stupid morons can do is stand around making shit up about it??
Dolly Parton,who is eligible for sainthood several times over,has donated $1 million to relief efforts,as as other people,and all the billions and billions of $$$$ Musk has,and all he can do is run his mouth??I don't see him doing a damned thing to actually help these poor people get food,water and shelter for their families,or help get roads repaved so help can get to them.He wants to fly rocket ships to Mars but can't get supplies flown in places no one can otherwise get to?
Here's a suggestion,Mr.Big Money Musk,how about putting some of that money to actual use to help people who need it, instead of standing around tweeting useless lies and bullshit about what you think someone ELSE should be doing?Put all that money where your mouth is!
The fact that Musk, this sick asshole, has control over Starlink and government space contracts is a travesty. I just don’t understand why our government does not cut all these contracts because we should not be having any kind of business relationship with this madman. It is a very dangerous situation.
Last time Musk offered free Starlink to the Ukrainians, everyone praised him. Then he cut off service during a battle and blackmailed our government into paying for the Ukrainians system. Don't trust him. He's auditioning for the Villain Emperor in his Sci-fi story. I think he should be charged with littering space without permission by other countries and the people of Earth. Who asked for this?
Please write your representative about this and send a comment via the White House webpage. Musks behavior is unacceptable and he should be now near a government contract or in control of vital communication.
I’ve already sent letters to the White House about this. My representative is the useless and idiotic Lauren Boebert, who is leaving the district in a few months, so I don’t bother writing to her anymore. She’s a useless lame duck.
I've also seen a fair number of residents of the affected area, including many who are no fans of the Democratic Party, say things to the effect of "we know who helped us and who hurt us". Trump made two appearances in Georgia in which he showed not one instant of sympathy, contrasted with Harris' words of comfort and genuine information directed at victims, not voters. The front page of the Winston-Salem paper was dedicated to calling out disinformation, and the Charlotte Observer had an editorial condemning Trump that was well-spread all weekend (and presumably read by a lot of suburban voters in Mecklenburg County).
Most voters aren't on Twitter. It's possible Trump lost more votes with his evil actions here (convincing someone that there's only $750 available and not to apply for any more when more is available is about as evil as it gets) than he could have hoped to win.
Also, Elon Musk is best known on Twitter for spreading ridiculous lies (since well before he bought the platform). It's unlikely anyone "gettable" looks to his account for truth.
Thanks for sharing the responses of the local media there. I'm seeing a bit more coverage of Trump's behavior lately that better reflects reality. Seems like this started with the latest Jack Smith drop, but maybe it was the "Eating Pets" song?
Local papers (Charlotte and WS, as well as Tillis (R) are eating them for lunch. Cooper has been operating on the ground with FEMA, and staff in Asheville. They have been writing $3 million checks as fast as they can to towns in Western NC. What makes the Trmp propaganda even worse is the negative impact on the rescue/recovery effort. Some people are cut off from roads, with little food and maybe no power or cell service. We can still find living who need rescue. There are still hundreds of missing they are looking for. This catastrope is a one of a kind for that area, has never happened b4.
The N&O in Raleigh, NC, has opened up its coverage of Helene for everyone. And the managing editor said that if anyone has problems accessing the information, to please let the paper know and it will be fixed. https://www.newsobserver.com/topics/helene-nc
Checking it now, the front page is a giant picture of a FEMA response team, with a headline about FEMA response, with a fact check of misinformation right underneath it. This crap is not playing in NC at all.
Yep. I have a friend there I was worried about. Didn't hear from him for a week. He finally emerged (via text) saying, "finally got cell service." He's okay, but like many there he had to cut his way down the slope to get provisions.
Thanks. Me too. Still haven’t talked to him beyond a couple text messages. I know he didn’t lose his home, so that’s also good. Said he could hear trees (multiple) falling down, and it was a haunting sound, something he’d never experienced.
The shot of the Bloated Yam doing rescue work is a hoot. This is a man who hobbled down a ramp and had to ride in a golf cart alongside the other leaders of the free world.
Naturally, in a crisis like this, people only believe conspiracy theories about it. That's all people believe nowadays.
Marjorie Taylor-Greene spouted the funniest one: the Democrats used a weather-making machine in Cuba to create both Helene and Milton.
Never has there been so much stupidity and gross incompetence stuffed in one person‘s head ever. MTG’s brain should be dissected and studied by science when she passes on. It may teach us something about what makes certain people act the way they do.
(A technically proficient poster would be inserting the still from Young Frankenstein of Igor in the museum stealing the brain labeled Abnormal right here....)
My feeling is that if some we/they controlled the weather it would be obvious. There would be a thunderbolt shooting black storm cloud following Green around and shooting lightening at her butt every possible minute, there would be a wind and rain storm that would leave her so soaked that she would grow mold. Until that happens, I don't believe anyone is controlling the weather.
You failed to mention that Speaker Johnson was also at the forefront of spreading these lies. I'm seriously wondering if we all wouldn't have been better off with McCarthy.
You bet! Exactly why Marjorie Three Toes and her MAGA buddies swapped out McC for Johnson. They were wanting to put in someone more like Matt Gaetz, but couldn’t get enough of their own party members to go along with it.
This is why they are screeching about “censorship” right now. They want to be able to lie with impunity, even as part of their official conduct.
The first amendment doesn’t provide the right to scream fire in a crowded area, to threaten or defame, and it doesn’t provide the right to spread disinformation that is dangerous to the public.
I've been reporting all of my social media "friends" who post the disinfo about Helene disaster relief to FB as "spreading false information". I hope FB takes down their posts.
Yup....so have I. I reported several who are yammering about the "only $750" bullshit. I got so hot under the collar my partner recommended I do something useful to calm down rather than rant around the house. I had two pounds of mushroom that I was planning to make into soup. "Good idea!" I shouted.
I chopped those mushrooms (and felt MUCH better!) into a mince and made the best mushroom soup ever.
Funny you say that. Usually I don't have much luck but today I reported gross lies about Hurricane Helene funding and how much the govt. spends on "Illegals" and when I went back to the person's FB account it was gone! Including 2 other posts I reported on this person's account. It was some vindication!
Same here, but at least I reported it and informed the page where I discovered it as well and I hope to heck they start to think twice about airing such garbage. At the least they now know someone is watching them.
But they do block Democratic exposes of Republicans as "We removed it because you are trying to get clicks.". Like sharing with friends only is going to make me a Facebook Queen 👑. Sure 🙄
" ...awkwardly leaping cheerleader, Elon Musk." (snorts coffee out of nose)
In normal times, that visual would have netted a negative viral response a hundred times over Howard Dean's scream heard around the world.
Also, is what Leon Musk (as the Trumpanzee calls him) doing with Twitter protected by free speech? If you promote falsehoods in such a way as to cause personal harm to people, which is what has happened in NC, isn't that the same as yelling fire in a crowded theater?
I guess it's a good thing I'm not prez, because I'd shut Twitter down and challenge Leon to take me to court over it, and then I'd challenge Scotus to apply/not apply their ludicrous immunity decision after I defy court orders to re-open Twitter after I lose the case.
And as unrealistic as all that is, I do wish the Biden administration could find *some* way to deal with this misinformation more within the context of a war footing than they have.
But I am thankful that normal people are posting viral videos that speak to what's happening on the ground.
if I was President Biden, I'd nationalize (take over) LIAR TRAITOR MUSK'S STARLINK SATELLITE SYSTEM. LIAR MUSK IS A THREAT TO OUR COUNTRY. BIDEN CAN TAKE THAT ACTION WITH IMMUNITY.
On some things it is good to take their lead. Some people thought calling them weird was a bad thing. It's not. It works. But taking over companies - that isn't going to end well. But I understand the temptation.
You know Brazil cancelled X because Musk wouldn't comply or monitor it and after insulting them he returned later and begged to be reinstated. It's doable. Now that we see the Saudis and Putin are behind him he's a legit Traitor.
Agreed - there needs to somehow be a swift calling out if all this disinformation. Too many people (even some people in NC) are spreading it. Playing with peoples’ lives in such a horrific disaster is beyond evil. I don’t see stopping it no matter who speaks out. People aren’t willing to put the time in to go to the FEMA website and read the facts regards the “rumors” - once they’ve seen a few memes and AI pictures they have all the info they “need”.
The thing is that they hurt their own people. So if you get the disinformation and so therefore don't apply for aid or you decide to be the Bundy family and shoot it out with the government - there are no positive outcomes for you. At best, you get no help when your neighbors are getting help. At worst, you can end up dead. I don't get the appeal of being a jerk for votes. It just makes you look bad. But it's all about tearing down the government so they can put their own government in. I don't get the appeal. If they have their way, they will eventually see a revolution of the French revolution type.
The irony of the matter is that the Republicans were in power, they would be the ones mucking up the emergency response to this catastrophic situation.
Throwing paper towels and congratulating them on now being able to get a new home and boat after Maria. I remember seeing him on the news, tell ing a victim, "Have fun!" Despicable.
Trump diverted the funds for Puerto Rico and now I wonder if he personally stole a lot of it as that's what he is accusing Biden of doing. And he always projects his crimes onto others. That's how you can keep track of his criminal actions. Or maybe Jared did it. Bet it is stashed in overseas banks.
The brain God gave me tells me there's not a snowball's chance in hell that Trump waded through water to help people. I don't understand what the circled areas are showing, though. (Could be my eyes.)
The circles are calling out areas of the photo that indicate it was an AI creation, though they miss a very obvious tell on the right hand of the fake Trump which looks very alien.
Yes, I understood that was the point. Our right, his left hand? I noticed that it did look kind of like a mannequin hand, but I'm on only my second day of new glasses and I haven't adapted yet. Couldn't tell what circle on left was showing us.
Exactly! Cover the head with your finger; that body in the photo is a good 80 pounds lighter and far more fit than the mango idiot! And Musk has aligned himself with the wrong side.
I was canvassing in North Carolina, and you can have no idea how widely this stuff was believed. People were furious about all the money that was being spent on illegal immigrants where the best that hurricane victims could get was loans.
I have a friend who lives on a mountain outside of Asheville who told me the opposite (obviously, that's a very small sample size). Maybe it depends on what part of the state you're in? Asheville is pretty blue, but my friend says that the area he lives in is pretty conservative. He doesn't know anyone who doesn't own a gun, and of course, a chain saw, the latter of which I didn't know until the floods happened. He had to cut his way down the slope to get help, but he doesn't blame FEMA.
Anyway, my friend says people near him are furious with the Trump disinformation campaign because they know what is happening on the ground. They're frustrated, too, but they're realistic.
1,000 agents were on the ground even before the flooding started. At present, here in WNC, we have a veritable army of people working round-the-clock, including FEMA, National Guard, and Army Corps of Engineers. We started having helicopter and survey plane flyovers as soon as it was safe to do so.
That, combined with the grassroots efforts, produced such a response that organizations had to ask to stop sending donations - they are now giving stuff away and sending it to other states. People mobilized within hours, some had a chance to collaborate with the official teams, some didn't, but everyone pitched in.
It is very true that the devastation in this area is unprecedented. It is true many areas still don't have power, because restoring the power requires physically restoring the path to the power lines first and then working through all the falling trees, mud, rocks, and silt. I am one of the people who still don't have power. And I am telling you - WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABANDONED. This was an unprecedented catastrophe, and we are probably going to deal with the fallout for years to come. But we have NOT been abandoned. The level of support is every bit as unprecedented as the disaster we are dealing with. Spread the word!
P. S. For people who like really cool and quirky stories, here are two. 1) A local mule farm mobilized their mules to go through the mountains, bypassing the destroyed part of the road, to get supplies to an isolated area. 2) My husband was helping out a friend, whose house was rendered inaccessible by regular roads (the road access literally no longer exists), so they had to hike through the woods to get to the house and get a few things from there. Another friend showed up on his unicycle. His mountain unicycle. And hooked up a cart to his unicycle. And pulled it through the woods. That's Asheville area for you! It doesn't get more Asheville than a pack of mules and a mountain unicyclist pitching in to help out with the relief effort.
It keeps popping up on my socials - and I read it every time. I think I've seen it 7 or 8 times at this point, and I read it anyway. Because mules are cute and the story is awesome.
It is reaching a point where many of these lies will cause unnecessary suffering and even deaths. This is not “free speech.” This is worse than yelling fire in the crowded room with no exits. This should be treated as a crime. I hope the DOJ has the nerve to do it’s job and protect the American people and the election. Trump probably has already crossed the line and needs to be arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter. It’s time for Merrick Garland to redeem himself and protect America.
My concern is all the millions who are reading the false narrative that is being spread by the MAGA maggots. It’s bad enough that the New York Times waited until the very last minute to begin to call Trump out for his lies and his clear progressive dementia. I don’t know if I believe that the news medias are really making any effort to stop the disinformation. There is going to have to be a complete overhaul of our news media. I don’t mean Censorship, I mean some clear rules about how the media reports information in the future. Not a lot we can do on social media to prevent this disinformation but the major media definitely needs an overhaul!
I have been sharing this from a friend of mine. A friend of his, who is a farmer in NC, Posted this about his experience.
"5h
Things I can personally confirm:
1. Within 12 hours of my FEMA application I was approved for hotels.
2. Within 48 hours I had a $750 emergency expenses payment in my checking account.
3. Last night I did my first interview with a FEMA rep.
4. They've had a ground presence for days.
5. I personally have not seen any looting etc.
There is a lot of bad info going around. And if you don't take the time to fill out the form, you won't get anything. And if you can read Facebook you can take 7 minutes to do the form on your phone."
His family lost everything! Their farm, house, and all the farm equipment and buildings. Yet he took the time to speak some truth about what is really happening on the ground.
They do have a "go fund me" page, but I will not share it here without Jay's permission.
Thanks for posting that. I’ve had the same experience as someone living in Asheville, NC in the middle of the disaster zone. I will post something similar on my own fb feed when I get a chance.
Sending my love to you and all of those in the path of this hurricane. I can’t leave work (as a midwife, my patients depend on me) but my husband went to WNC to volunteer at a charity based out of Boone (we live in Blacksburg, VA). We sent $2000 worth of supplies with him, propane stoves, propane tanks, formula, wipes, feminine hygiene products. Nobody stopped him from coming to the charity organization or seized the supplies. He brought his ATV and the charity has been using that to move donated supplies around their warehouse and to support vehicles. Jim has been working handing out supplies in Marshall and Black Mountain, tearing out wet drywall and flooring from houses (whose owners have already been in contact both with FEMA and their homeowners insurance) and going to Asheville to ferry safe water supplies from the charity to Asheville residents for a few more days before he comes home. My mom (she’s 87 and has already early voted for Kamala!) is watching our dogs while I do my 24 hour shifts in the hospital so Jim can be there. He’s gotten zero hassle from any FEMA or other agency and is blown away by how bad things but grateful to see how many volunteers there are and how so many people want to help. Hang in there! FYI he is a reformed Republican, voted for Biden and plans to vote Dem up and down ballot this year. My family and friends are all pulling for you!
Thank you so much for posting this and thanks to your friend for allowing you to. It gives a clear perspective of what is actually going on.
This should go viral & shut all the MAGA BS down! It's disgusting what has happened to disaster victims. It's completely sickening. VOTE Blue all the way! 💙🇺🇸💙🇺🇸
I'm sorry they lost everything. May they get all of the help they deserve. Thankfully, he had the mindset to set the record straight.
From: JOEL
Subject: Comment on article you co-authored
Date: October 7, 2024 at 8:33:10 AM PDT
To: will.oremus@washpost.com, maxine.joselow@washpost.com, gerrit.devynck@washpost.com, mark.berman@washpost.com
As to this article in the Washington Post:
Helene response hampered by misinformation, conspiracy theories; False claims are adding to the chaos and confusion in many storm-battered communities. Social media platforms such as X have allowed the falsehoods to spread.
My comment to you:
Lies are not “misinformation”. Lies are “disinformation”.
Disinformation is form of propaganda.
When, in the future, you write articles about the spread of disinformation by various people, it would be MOST APPROPRIATE for reporters to state clearly who is lying and what they are lying about. Inasmuch as most human beings, especially undereducated human beings, have limited, challenged vocabularies, do not use the word “falsities”. Use the word LIES.
If Trump states something that is a lie, then say, “TRUMP SAID ____. TRUMP’S STATEMENT IS A LIE.”
If Musk states something that is a lie, then say, “MUSK SAID ____. MUSK’S STATEMENT IS A LIE.”
CALL IT WHAT IT IS!
Thank you,
Long-time subscriber to WaPo
Their obfuscation is why I am now a FORMER reader of the WaPo.
Good on you for trying to call them out.
Same. Cancelled my WaPo subscription a few months ago.
Same
Me too.
Cancelled them and NYT last year. Sorry to see them sink.
I've been very upset with WaPo over this, too, although they re-upped me at $29/year without me even having complained, so I'm letting it ride for now and trying to battle from the comment section.
I still like WaPo (and NYT to a lesser extent) but I'm annoyed by their takes on things. So last week I called and got both subscriptions lowered to about 1/4 of the regular price. I'm feeling good about that. The rep I talked to said they are getting a lot of cancellation calls. So I'm getting my cake and eating it too... still get access but they aren't making any money off me.
I wish both papers would dump the right wing bent that they seem to love.
Same, and they will not improve with Will Lewis who came from Murdoch's UK tabloids at the helm.
Agree. My comment as well.
Perfectly said!
The playbook was written long ago. Being followed again. It’s a setup, again. JAY points to the main players ( they have lots of ‘backer friends’) ..and 11/5/24 …💙VOTE BLUE .STOP THE COUP. AGAIN IN ‘26 and ‘32 .ITS UP TO YOU.💙
THANKS Jay🫶
This all day every day. Thank you for this. That crap makes me crazy, and they all do it, and they seem terrified to call a lie a lie.
These lying ass yutzes should all have their mouths washed out with soap.These poor people,God bless them all!,have just lost everything they have,in a tragic calamity that no one realized would be so horrible,and all these stupid morons can do is stand around making shit up about it??
Dolly Parton,who is eligible for sainthood several times over,has donated $1 million to relief efforts,as as other people,and all the billions and billions of $$$$ Musk has,and all he can do is run his mouth??I don't see him doing a damned thing to actually help these poor people get food,water and shelter for their families,or help get roads repaved so help can get to them.He wants to fly rocket ships to Mars but can't get supplies flown in places no one can otherwise get to?
Here's a suggestion,Mr.Big Money Musk,how about putting some of that money to actual use to help people who need it, instead of standing around tweeting useless lies and bullshit about what you think someone ELSE should be doing?Put all that money where your mouth is!
The fact that Musk, this sick asshole, has control over Starlink and government space contracts is a travesty. I just don’t understand why our government does not cut all these contracts because we should not be having any kind of business relationship with this madman. It is a very dangerous situation.
Last time Musk offered free Starlink to the Ukrainians, everyone praised him. Then he cut off service during a battle and blackmailed our government into paying for the Ukrainians system. Don't trust him. He's auditioning for the Villain Emperor in his Sci-fi story. I think he should be charged with littering space without permission by other countries and the people of Earth. Who asked for this?
Please write your representative about this and send a comment via the White House webpage. Musks behavior is unacceptable and he should be now near a government contract or in control of vital communication.
I’ve already sent letters to the White House about this. My representative is the useless and idiotic Lauren Boebert, who is leaving the district in a few months, so I don’t bother writing to her anymore. She’s a useless lame duck.
A actual lame duck would be more useful than the Bobo.
This is true!!
My “Representative” is Sam Graves and “my” senators are Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt. 🤮
I feel your pain. At least CO has an excellent Democratic governor and two Democratic senators.
I wholeheartedly agree with you; especially your first sentence!
Our reliance on Musk is possibly due to Frayed Relations with the Russian Republic and Putin's War in the Ukraine!
The Space Nazi is a worthless piece of lying, stealing bigot.
Include Musk's lyin' mommy in with your assessment.
AMEN sister!
Very well Said and about time for the AH to be Called Out!
I've also seen a fair number of residents of the affected area, including many who are no fans of the Democratic Party, say things to the effect of "we know who helped us and who hurt us". Trump made two appearances in Georgia in which he showed not one instant of sympathy, contrasted with Harris' words of comfort and genuine information directed at victims, not voters. The front page of the Winston-Salem paper was dedicated to calling out disinformation, and the Charlotte Observer had an editorial condemning Trump that was well-spread all weekend (and presumably read by a lot of suburban voters in Mecklenburg County).
Most voters aren't on Twitter. It's possible Trump lost more votes with his evil actions here (convincing someone that there's only $750 available and not to apply for any more when more is available is about as evil as it gets) than he could have hoped to win.
Also, Elon Musk is best known on Twitter for spreading ridiculous lies (since well before he bought the platform). It's unlikely anyone "gettable" looks to his account for truth.
Thanks for sharing the responses of the local media there. I'm seeing a bit more coverage of Trump's behavior lately that better reflects reality. Seems like this started with the latest Jack Smith drop, but maybe it was the "Eating Pets" song?
Local papers (Charlotte and WS, as well as Tillis (R) are eating them for lunch. Cooper has been operating on the ground with FEMA, and staff in Asheville. They have been writing $3 million checks as fast as they can to towns in Western NC. What makes the Trmp propaganda even worse is the negative impact on the rescue/recovery effort. Some people are cut off from roads, with little food and maybe no power or cell service. We can still find living who need rescue. There are still hundreds of missing they are looking for. This catastrope is a one of a kind for that area, has never happened b4.
The N&O in Raleigh, NC, has opened up its coverage of Helene for everyone. And the managing editor said that if anyone has problems accessing the information, to please let the paper know and it will be fixed. https://www.newsobserver.com/topics/helene-nc
Checking it now, the front page is a giant picture of a FEMA response team, with a headline about FEMA response, with a fact check of misinformation right underneath it. This crap is not playing in NC at all.
Good to know, thanks.
Yep. I have a friend there I was worried about. Didn't hear from him for a week. He finally emerged (via text) saying, "finally got cell service." He's okay, but like many there he had to cut his way down the slope to get provisions.
I'm glad your friend is safe.
Thanks. Me too. Still haven’t talked to him beyond a couple text messages. I know he didn’t lose his home, so that’s also good. Said he could hear trees (multiple) falling down, and it was a haunting sound, something he’d never experienced.
I certainly hope you are right!
The shot of the Bloated Yam doing rescue work is a hoot. This is a man who hobbled down a ramp and had to ride in a golf cart alongside the other leaders of the free world.
Naturally, in a crisis like this, people only believe conspiracy theories about it. That's all people believe nowadays.
Marjorie Taylor-Greene spouted the funniest one: the Democrats used a weather-making machine in Cuba to create both Helene and Milton.
Of course.
Like in "Snowpiercer," I guess....
the bloated yam 😂 i need to start writing these good ones down for future references
My wife invented the term.
I refuse to use his name.
High five to your wife!
I will let her know.
As do I - I refer to him simply as "The Convict".
Never has there been so much stupidity and gross incompetence stuffed in one person‘s head ever. MTG’s brain should be dissected and studied by science when she passes on. It may teach us something about what makes certain people act the way they do.
It is just unfathomable that a country as powerful as the US has these backwoods idiots in position of national power. What a laughing stock.
Regrettably they were elected into their respective Offices by Idiot's within the Electorate in Dumbed Down America!
True, as none of these fools get where they are without a lot of help from their constituents.
Pity "like" is the only option...
You mean MTG has a brain? OMG!Who knew?!
😂😆
(A technically proficient poster would be inserting the still from Young Frankenstein of Igor in the museum stealing the brain labeled Abnormal right here....)
The bloated yam also has a well-known phobia about germs. No way he'd get close to all of that contaminated water.
EMPTY Greene and Trump belong in an Asylum!
I blame Reagan.
My feeling is that if some we/they controlled the weather it would be obvious. There would be a thunderbolt shooting black storm cloud following Green around and shooting lightening at her butt every possible minute, there would be a wind and rain storm that would leave her so soaked that she would grow mold. Until that happens, I don't believe anyone is controlling the weather.
Not to mention we would have had more needed snow last winter in the New York area, and decent weather for Yankees home games.
As if we wouldn't send the weather to knock out Mar-A_Lago!
You failed to mention that Speaker Johnson was also at the forefront of spreading these lies. I'm seriously wondering if we all wouldn't have been better off with McCarthy.
You bet! Exactly why Marjorie Three Toes and her MAGA buddies swapped out McC for Johnson. They were wanting to put in someone more like Matt Gaetz, but couldn’t get enough of their own party members to go along with it.
This is why they are screeching about “censorship” right now. They want to be able to lie with impunity, even as part of their official conduct.
The first amendment doesn’t provide the right to scream fire in a crowded area, to threaten or defame, and it doesn’t provide the right to spread disinformation that is dangerous to the public.
"But the rules said there would be no fact-checking!!" As is that shouldn't have been enough to clue in everyone right then and there. Sigh.....
True. Yet here we are.
Perish that thought, I reside within the former Squeekers California Congressional District and I was Elated when he retired!
I've been reporting all of my social media "friends" who post the disinfo about Helene disaster relief to FB as "spreading false information". I hope FB takes down their posts.
"LIES" is a better word, I believe.
Absolutely!
Yup....so have I. I reported several who are yammering about the "only $750" bullshit. I got so hot under the collar my partner recommended I do something useful to calm down rather than rant around the house. I had two pounds of mushroom that I was planning to make into soup. "Good idea!" I shouted.
I chopped those mushrooms (and felt MUCH better!) into a mince and made the best mushroom soup ever.
Good luck with reporting disinformation to Face Book! I have yet to see them take down anything that I have reported! grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Funny you say that. Usually I don't have much luck but today I reported gross lies about Hurricane Helene funding and how much the govt. spends on "Illegals" and when I went back to the person's FB account it was gone! Including 2 other posts I reported on this person's account. It was some vindication!
Same here, but at least I reported it and informed the page where I discovered it as well and I hope to heck they start to think twice about airing such garbage. At the least they now know someone is watching them.
But they do block Democratic exposes of Republicans as "We removed it because you are trying to get clicks.". Like sharing with friends only is going to make me a Facebook Queen 👑. Sure 🙄
A lot of MAGAS work for FB.
Me too!
" ...awkwardly leaping cheerleader, Elon Musk." (snorts coffee out of nose)
In normal times, that visual would have netted a negative viral response a hundred times over Howard Dean's scream heard around the world.
Also, is what Leon Musk (as the Trumpanzee calls him) doing with Twitter protected by free speech? If you promote falsehoods in such a way as to cause personal harm to people, which is what has happened in NC, isn't that the same as yelling fire in a crowded theater?
I guess it's a good thing I'm not prez, because I'd shut Twitter down and challenge Leon to take me to court over it, and then I'd challenge Scotus to apply/not apply their ludicrous immunity decision after I defy court orders to re-open Twitter after I lose the case.
And as unrealistic as all that is, I do wish the Biden administration could find *some* way to deal with this misinformation more within the context of a war footing than they have.
But I am thankful that normal people are posting viral videos that speak to what's happening on the ground.
Lots of material already for Xeets and Giggles
If only you could post it on a platform other than Xitter( pronounced shitter per TC). I hate to give Elmo Muck the views.
As I asked on another post today, what are the folks from Anonymous doing these days? Somebody needs to take Xitter down.
🎯👆
There so often is. I love Xeets and Giggles, but I wish they weren't a necessary part of my weekly diet.
if I was President Biden, I'd nationalize (take over) LIAR TRAITOR MUSK'S STARLINK SATELLITE SYSTEM. LIAR MUSK IS A THREAT TO OUR COUNTRY. BIDEN CAN TAKE THAT ACTION WITH IMMUNITY.
I would, too.
And you know one of the reasons we love him is HE won't do such blatantly illegal and anti-democratic things.
If we do things their way, then we are not better than they are - and then what?
On some things it is good to take their lead. Some people thought calling them weird was a bad thing. It's not. It works. But taking over companies - that isn't going to end well. But I understand the temptation.
And impunity
You know Brazil cancelled X because Musk wouldn't comply or monitor it and after insulting them he returned later and begged to be reinstated. It's doable. Now that we see the Saudis and Putin are behind him he's a legit Traitor.
A Saudi prince (not Mohammad Bone Saw) helped him buy twatter. He helped by putting up millions toward the purchase.
And treason is one of the few reasons the US will revoke someone's citizenship. Send him packing back to Pretoria.
Agreed - there needs to somehow be a swift calling out if all this disinformation. Too many people (even some people in NC) are spreading it. Playing with peoples’ lives in such a horrific disaster is beyond evil. I don’t see stopping it no matter who speaks out. People aren’t willing to put the time in to go to the FEMA website and read the facts regards the “rumors” - once they’ve seen a few memes and AI pictures they have all the info they “need”.
The thing is that they hurt their own people. So if you get the disinformation and so therefore don't apply for aid or you decide to be the Bundy family and shoot it out with the government - there are no positive outcomes for you. At best, you get no help when your neighbors are getting help. At worst, you can end up dead. I don't get the appeal of being a jerk for votes. It just makes you look bad. But it's all about tearing down the government so they can put their own government in. I don't get the appeal. If they have their way, they will eventually see a revolution of the French revolution type.
Responding to Charles Bastille.
I don't know how the legal minds view it, but I think you may be correct, that what Musk is doing is equivalent to yelling fire.
Even my extremely pro-Trump-wing governor, Bill Lee, has been pushing back hard.
Projection
The irony of the matter is that the Republicans were in power, they would be the ones mucking up the emergency response to this catastrophic situation.
Recent example: Katrina 🤔
Throwing paper towels and congratulating them on now being able to get a new home and boat after Maria. I remember seeing him on the news, tell ing a victim, "Have fun!" Despicable.
And Covid
Trump diverted the funds for Puerto Rico and now I wonder if he personally stole a lot of it as that's what he is accusing Biden of doing. And he always projects his crimes onto others. That's how you can keep track of his criminal actions. Or maybe Jared did it. Bet it is stashed in overseas banks.
And refusing to increase FEMA funding with Milton bearing down on Florida. Thanks bunches Johnson. 🤬
Who knows? Maybe that will be the trigger for flipping Florida. Memo to all MAGAts: the people you are voting for do not care about you.
At.
All.
The brain God gave me tells me there's not a snowball's chance in hell that Trump waded through water to help people. I don't understand what the circled areas are showing, though. (Could be my eyes.)
The circles are calling out areas of the photo that indicate it was an AI creation, though they miss a very obvious tell on the right hand of the fake Trump which looks very alien.
And the kid with the lifejacket is obvious AI. If I had taken up the challenge to "caption this photo," I would have written, "Generated by AI."
To my eye, Sophia, all of trump looks very alien.
He definitely should have been an alien character in Men in Black.
I don't think we'd find even a little dying man inside his head if it was opened.
Awwww, Rosenberg and the little guy were good aliens. Trump is more like the rampaging angry "bug" in the "Egger suit". (a cockroach, in other words)
👆👆👆👆I had the same thought although Vance strikes me as the one wearing a human suit.
Exactly!
LOL
Including Trump’s snake eyes
Yes, I understood that was the point. Our right, his left hand? I noticed that it did look kind of like a mannequin hand, but I'm on only my second day of new glasses and I haven't adapted yet. Couldn't tell what circle on left was showing us.
Ah ok. His right…index and middle fingers unnaturally long with odd looking thumb. Oth
Yep me too! Number of fingers maybe?
Exactly! Cover the head with your finger; that body in the photo is a good 80 pounds lighter and far more fit than the mango idiot! And Musk has aligned himself with the wrong side.
Plus, have you ever seen trump in jeans? No way that is him.
I believe that Trump's small hand got smaller with 3 fingers, unless he is a leftover alien from Paracus Peru. 👽👽👽
I don't believe Dumpty has three fingers on his left hand.
I was canvassing in North Carolina, and you can have no idea how widely this stuff was believed. People were furious about all the money that was being spent on illegal immigrants where the best that hurricane victims could get was loans.
I have a friend who lives on a mountain outside of Asheville who told me the opposite (obviously, that's a very small sample size). Maybe it depends on what part of the state you're in? Asheville is pretty blue, but my friend says that the area he lives in is pretty conservative. He doesn't know anyone who doesn't own a gun, and of course, a chain saw, the latter of which I didn't know until the floods happened. He had to cut his way down the slope to get help, but he doesn't blame FEMA.
Anyway, my friend says people near him are furious with the Trump disinformation campaign because they know what is happening on the ground. They're frustrated, too, but they're realistic.
If you live in the woods, especially in the mountains, you NEED a chainsaw and know how to use, just as a practical matter.
That makes a lot of sense. I just never thought about it until I heard about how everyone out there is coping and how they all seemed to have them.
It’s all about scapegoating. Read Rene Girard, Billionaire Peter Thiel’s mentor
1,000 agents were on the ground even before the flooding started. At present, here in WNC, we have a veritable army of people working round-the-clock, including FEMA, National Guard, and Army Corps of Engineers. We started having helicopter and survey plane flyovers as soon as it was safe to do so.
That, combined with the grassroots efforts, produced such a response that organizations had to ask to stop sending donations - they are now giving stuff away and sending it to other states. People mobilized within hours, some had a chance to collaborate with the official teams, some didn't, but everyone pitched in.
It is very true that the devastation in this area is unprecedented. It is true many areas still don't have power, because restoring the power requires physically restoring the path to the power lines first and then working through all the falling trees, mud, rocks, and silt. I am one of the people who still don't have power. And I am telling you - WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABANDONED. This was an unprecedented catastrophe, and we are probably going to deal with the fallout for years to come. But we have NOT been abandoned. The level of support is every bit as unprecedented as the disaster we are dealing with. Spread the word!
P. S. For people who like really cool and quirky stories, here are two. 1) A local mule farm mobilized their mules to go through the mountains, bypassing the destroyed part of the road, to get supplies to an isolated area. 2) My husband was helping out a friend, whose house was rendered inaccessible by regular roads (the road access literally no longer exists), so they had to hike through the woods to get to the house and get a few things from there. Another friend showed up on his unicycle. His mountain unicycle. And hooked up a cart to his unicycle. And pulled it through the woods. That's Asheville area for you! It doesn't get more Asheville than a pack of mules and a mountain unicyclist pitching in to help out with the relief effort.
I've seen the mobilized mules several times on FB - amazing! Thanks for the report from "on the ground"
It keeps popping up on my socials - and I read it every time. I think I've seen it 7 or 8 times at this point, and I read it anyway. Because mules are cute and the story is awesome.
I'm just amazed by the sheer idea of a mountain unicycle with a cart! How does that even work...
Very amusingly. And god knows - we could all use a laugh around here.
Yes, absolutely! I have been posting this everywhere I can. Thank you!
It is reaching a point where many of these lies will cause unnecessary suffering and even deaths. This is not “free speech.” This is worse than yelling fire in the crowded room with no exits. This should be treated as a crime. I hope the DOJ has the nerve to do it’s job and protect the American people and the election. Trump probably has already crossed the line and needs to be arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter. It’s time for Merrick Garland to redeem himself and protect America.
Incitement
Fact checking MAGA is easy, as everything they say is a lie
My concern is all the millions who are reading the false narrative that is being spread by the MAGA maggots. It’s bad enough that the New York Times waited until the very last minute to begin to call Trump out for his lies and his clear progressive dementia. I don’t know if I believe that the news medias are really making any effort to stop the disinformation. There is going to have to be a complete overhaul of our news media. I don’t mean Censorship, I mean some clear rules about how the media reports information in the future. Not a lot we can do on social media to prevent this disinformation but the major media definitely needs an overhaul!
I'd suggest fines for lies. But I think that people care most about money, especially if you are a corporation/person.
Better late never??