| On Saturday, AL-05 Congressman Mo Brooks told AL.com's George Talbot that taxpayers "should not have to fork out a nickel" to pay for property damage in areas historically vulnerable to storms." So that raises the question of Brooks' own AL-05 district that is so "historically vulnerable" to tornado damage that a 2007 study of tornado damage found that "the most tornado-prone spot in Alabama is in Madison County." "During the 56-year period of the study, 68 tornadoes have touched down within the 20-mile circle. Five of the tornadoes were rated F5, the most violent of all twisters. Tatum said that North Alabama tends to receive more strong tornadoes, those rated F3, F4, or F5, than other parts of the state."
So let's think about Mo's statement that taxpayers shouldn't "fork out a nickel" for people dumb enough to live where storms hit. Aside from the fact that his statement covers the whole %$$% country (because every place is vulnerable to some sort of natural disaster), does that mean that the next time our district is devastated by tornadoes, floods, drought, or any similar curse from Mother Nature, that our own Congressman from AL-05 will put ideology ahead of recovery? He didn't in 2011, when he held town meetings to assure tornado victims that they were "entitled" to help: "I urge tornado victims to attend these meetings to better understand their federal assistance rights," said Brooks. "Some of it is in the form of loans, SBA long term low interest loans but there are also direct grants that you do not have to repay if you qualify, unemployment compensation, rents as you try to find a new place to live."
Well... that was then. On Saturday, Talbot reported that Brooks is standing by his "screw you, Sandy victims" vote and promising to do the same in the future: Brooks said he would raise similar objections if the damage had been in Alabama. "We're at a point in this nation where hard choices have to be made, or the federal government is going to bankrupt the American people," he said. "We just can't keep spending money this way."
Give him a D for "delusional" if he thinks there are no consequences to this behavior. Just yesterday, he was bragging on his FB page that he'd been appointed as Vice-chair of the House Committee on Science, Space, & Technology: As the home of Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama’s Fifth District has played a central role in leading the United States, and the world, into space. I’m looking forward to working with national and Alabama leaders to continue America’s exceptional space exploration and research legacy.
Now, let's think about this.... even if his fellow Senators & Representatives are caring and partriotic enough to help us out in Alabama the next time we have an "attack of the killer tornadoes," does Brooks seriously think that goodwill might extend to jobs programs in his district? Instead of working to heal the partisan divide - and protect his district that it quite dependent on federal spending - Brooks prefers to toss rhetorical bombs like this one: Brooks also poked fun at the members of the Senate in their 70s and 80s for approving the fiscal cliff bill with a vote shortly before 2 a.m. on New Year's Day.
"At 1:30 in the morning, most folks of that generation really need to be asleep," Brooks said. "But unfortunately, (Senate Majority Leader) Harry Reid, about 1:30, gave our senators a bill. At 1:45, they were expected to vote on it. It was a $4 trillion increase-in-our-debt decision. It was a bill, related to the fiscal cliff, that was going to increase spending rather than decrease spending."
That's right: it was so late at night that the Senators - who voted 89-8 to approve the deal - were, what exactly.... old codgers who didn't know what they were doing? It surely won't be long before we can look up "schmuck" in the online Thesaurus and click on a link to Mo Brooks' Web site. |
