Floridian voting rules changes

Say it isn't so!  Republicans who wanted to overturn the 2020 election were screaming about changes to some states' rules because of the COVID pandemic.  Unconstitutional!

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

This country better get a handle on this shit

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 10/14/2024:

MAGA won't like it

Read the list here.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 12:08 pm:

And they'll use it to file lawsuits post election.

Has he lost Laura Ingraham???

UPDATE 05:02 pm:  And right on cue...

Wise up and don't fall for right wing bullshit

They won't though.

Just days after Donald Trump baselessly accused Democrats in the federal government and North Carolina’s Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, of “going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas” following Hurricane Helene, a report in Politico’s E&E News found that it was Trump who played politics amid California wildfires in 2018 by holding up aid until he learned that the affected areas were Republican-leaning. Mark Harvey, Trump’s Senior Director for Resilience Policy on the National Security Council Staff, told the outlet that Trump ultimately approved that aid—but only after he was shown voting data from residents. “We went as far as looking up how many votes he got in those impacted areas … to show him these are people who voted for you,” said Harvey, whose recollection was confirmed by Olivia Troy, then Homeland Security Adviser. [...] His administration blocked nearly $20 billion in relief after Hurricane Maria ripped through Puerto Rico, and White House officials obstructed the subsequent watchdog investigation into the matter, according to a 2021 report by the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General.

  Daily Beast

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 06:20 pm:

Corporate greed on display in Hurricane Helene; Capitalism at its worst

Survivors blasted a Tennessee plastics company for keeping workers on the job on Friday even as nearby flood waters rose, causing 11 people to be swept away when the plant was finally evacuated. At least two people were killed and seven remain missing, local news station WVLT 8 reported. The others clung to floating plastic pipes and were dumped half a mile away on a pile of debris, a survivor told the Knoxville News Sentinel. Managers at Impact Plastics in Erwin, Tenn., let employees move their cars as Hurricane Helene sent water from the nearby Nolichucky River surging into the company’s parking lot, but nobody was allowed to leave until the water was nearly waist high.

  Daily Beast

Unconscionable. Sue those bastards to Hell.

Relatives of the missing and deceased workers and factory employees who survived have alleged they were made to show up to work despite the hurricane moving through the area. Some have said they were denied the chance to leave before the floodwaters from heavy rainfall inundated the plastics factory's parking lot and cut off their escape routes.

Robbie Jarvis, one of the surviving employees, told NBC News his requests to leave were denied and he was told instead to move his car, which he did twice.

He said despite the weather "we were told to be at work" and about 30 people were working Friday morning when the flooding trapped them. He described a scene of chaos and panic as workers tried to traverse the deadly waters.

"I just wish we never went to work that day. Because it was unnecessary, all these lives we lost because of that. It was wrong," Jarvis said.

  NBC

“I didn’t hear anyone say ‘leave’ or nothing like that. I actually asked one of the higher ups,” [employee Jacob] Ingram said. “They told me ‘no, not yet.’ They have to ask someone before we was able to leave, even though it was already above the doors and the cars and everything else.”

Ingram said he was swept away by floodwaters Friday, having to clamber on top of a semi-truck to get to higher ground. That’s when he was rescued by a helicopter.

[...]

The company released a statement following the tragedy. Its representatives said the company monitored weather conditions, dismissing employees when the facility lost power and water began to cover the parking lot.

Ingram said that isn’t what happened.

“No. The plant lost power, and we were still not to go home or leave,” he told WVLT News. “We were still there 15 to 20 minutes after the plant lost power.”

The company said some employees left immediately, but others stayed behind for unknown reasons.

  

JFC. I hope those employees own that company when all the lawsuits are done.

Ron Kell, the owner of nearby R&R Manufacturing, went to Impact Plastics to help the rescue effort. This, after he sent his own employees home.

“I was yelling at them to come; she was talking to her boss,” Kell said, remembering the day.

Impact Plastics has since said it’s organizing a recovery center for employees. One thing the company hasn’t done, Ingram said, is reach out.

“I haven’t heard a thing,” he said. “They haven’t reached out to make sure we are okay, nothing.”

And maybe the asshole owner/CEO (Gerald O'Connor, founder) should have some time behind bars to think about what they did.

Only a parking lot and two roads – South Industrial Drive and James H. Quillen Parkway – separate Impact Plastics from the river.

[...]

A group of employees from Erwin’s Impact Plastics clung to spools of flexible yellow plastic pipes on the back of a semitruck for hours Sept. 27 waiting for help as the swollen Nolichucky River raged around them.

But the truck tipped over and at least seven people were swept away by the floodwaters.

[...]

As the waters rose outside, managers wouldn’t let employees leave, he said. Instead, managers told people to move their cars away from the rising water. Ingram moved his two separate times because the water wouldn’t stop rising.

[...]

The company, via a statement, confirmed six employees and a contractor are missing but denied allegations that management forced anyone to continue working as waters rose outside. Further, the statement said, while most employees left immediately, some remained on or near the premises. It reiterated management and assistants were the last to exit the building.

[...]

[E]mployees were fighting their way through waist-deep water in the parking lot when a semitruck driver from PolyPipe USA, which operates next door, called them over and helped them get onto the back of his open-bed truck, packed full of the large yellow flexible gas pipes.

[...]

In their panic, the group called 911 and were told rescuers would be there in 15-20 minutes.

But help was a long way away.

“We called the police station God knows how many times,” Ingram said. “For two or three hours we were on the back of the trailer … it was because the hospital was about to collapse, and I understand that, but they shouldn’t have told us someone was on the way (when they weren’t).”

[...]

Suddenly, a piece of debris hit the truck. The jolt knocked a woman into the rapids, Ingram said.

Soon after, a second piece of debris smashed into the truck and another woman fell into the water and was swept away, he said.

The truck was hit again, but this time the piece of debris was much bigger, the impact much harder, and the the truck flipped. Ingram crammed his hands under a plastic band around the yellow pipes.

It saved his life.

“I wedged my hands into it, and it took everything I had to hang on,” he said. “I seen them (the pipes) floating down river, so that’s what gave us the idea. We knew it was floating.”

Roughly half a mile from the factory, Ingram and four other employees came to rest atop a pile of debris.

[...]

After an hour or so passed, a rescue helicopter from the Tennessee National Guard plucked them from danger.

[...]

Ingram told Knox News that [Rosa Maria Andrade] Reynoso was one of the employees who climbed onto the flatbed with him.

Reynoso was in touch with her husband throughout the morning and sent videos showing water rising up to her ankles, Guerro said. In one of her last messages, she told him the water had gotten so high she wasn’t sure if she would be able to get out.

She told him to take care of the kids, he said.

He tried to get to his wife, but by the time he made near the factory, roads were closed. He tried unsuccessfully to get to the factory by several routes. At the time, there were helicopters circulating in Erwin to rescue those trapped atop Unicoi County Hospital. Every time he saw a helicopter, he hoped she would be on it.

“She never came, she never came,” he said.

  Knox News

Cheap bastard constantly soaking the rubes

Despite being worth an estimated $4 billion, Donald Trump launched a GoFundMe page, asking others to donate to help those impacted by Hurricane Helene.

[...]

It’s not clear if the former president himself donated.

  UK Independent

No way did he do that.

The GoFundMe page serves as “an official response for MAGA supporters to offer their financial assistance to their fellow Americans impacted by Hurricane Helene,” the page states.

Do social media posts prove that Donald Trump "donated $25 million" to the victims of Hurricane Helene? No, that's not true: These posts offer no supporting evidence. Lead Stories found no reports that confirmed such a donation, including on Trump's account on Truth Social and his campaign website. He did post a link to a crowdfunding campaign where his supporters could donate but as of this writing it didn't reach the stated amount either.

[...]

But, as of this writing, the campaign had not accumulated $25 million. According to its GoFundMe page, the initiative had raised just under $3.2 million -- roughly eight times less than the amount claimed in posts on social media.

  Lead Stories

And more than likely a ruse to grift more money from the MAGA gullible.

“Why would any of these big donors, donate through gofundme me? If I’m donating $100,000 it’s not going to be through gofundme, it’s going to be through a boots on the ground local organization. Is this more Trump money laundering?”

  MSN

According to the campaign's description, Trump himself is "on the ground in affected communities to witness the aftermath firsthand," and it assures donors that "all donations will be directed to those most affected by the hurricane." The message encourages MAGA supporters to contribute, claiming that their donations "will go a long way to help your fellow Americans who are suffering."

However, there is no mention of a specific charity to which these funds will be directed, nor any detailed plan for how the donations will be distributed. Adding to the scrutiny, the fundraiser is organized by Meredith O'Rourke, Trump's "National Finance Director and Senior Advisor," according to her LinkedIn profile.

[...]

Rather than directing these funds to a reputable organization like Samaritan's Purse, whose efforts he has recently taken credit for, Trump’s campaign has once again courted controversy by failing to meet even the most basic standards of transparency. The result is a fundraising effort that seems to use the suffering of hurricane victims to raise money without clear accountability.

  Meidas Touch

Totally Trump.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Despicable Trump

On the contrary.  He has an enormous bottom.

According to a new movie about Trump's start in business, Roy Cohn tells him he has a big ass.  Not a lie.

José Andres, again - in every disaster the world over

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Trump takes the credit for anything good

Former President Donald Trump said Monday that he’s getting billionaire and newly minted MAGA backer Elon Musk to send Starlink satellite terminals to areas reeling from the devastation left by Hurricane Helene—something the White House and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said was already happening.

Speaking at an event in Valdosta, Georgia, Trump said he “just spoke to Elon” after people in the region asked him if it would be possible to sort out a connection to Starlink, which operates a network of 6,000 satellites that beams mobile broadband internet down to earth.

“We want to get Starlink hooked up because they have no communication whatsoever and Elon will always come through,” he added.

Responding to Trump’s remarks, White House senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said in a post on Musk-owned X: “This is already happening.”

Bates linked to a media release from FEMA, published Sunday, which said that in North Carolina—the state worst hit by Hurricane Helene—“40 Starlink satellite systems are available to help with responder communications and an additional 140 satellites are being shipped to assist with communications infrastructure restoration.”

[...]

Musk, however, confirmed in the early hours of Tuesday morning, in a tweet, that Trump “alerted me to additional people who need Starlink Internet in North Carolina,” suggesting the former president and his team did flag to the company communities in need of assistance. “We are sending them terminals right away,” Musk added.

  Daily Beast

Of course.

Biden was in the Oval Office holding a virtual meeting with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper when he was asked by a reporter about Trump baselessly accusing him of ignoring Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s calls. Becoming visibly frustrated, Biden called Trump out for “lying,” and noted that Kemp himself has refuted his fanciful version of events.

“He is lying. Let me get this straight: He is lying, and the governor told me he was lying,” Biden said.

“I don’t know why he does this."

  Daily Beast

Sure you do. He's a liar.

"I don’t care about what he says about me, but I care what he communicates to the people that are in need,” continued Biden.

[...]

Trump has been making a similar claim related to hurricane relief: that Democrats have been denying aid to Republican-majority parts of North Carolina. Yet when pressed to support his theory by an NBC News reporter on the ground in Georgia, Trump merely said, “Just take a look.”

Trump’s flimsy-at-best accusations were also on display Monday in a social media post in which he declared that a photograph of Harris being briefed via phone by the director of FEMA was “fake” and “staged.” His reason: “You have to plug the cord into the phone for it to work!”

Harris was using a cellphone.

And you can't have solar energy if the sun isn't shining. And electric batteries on boats won't work if they get wet. Etc., etc.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 07:33 am:

Matt Gaetz is still a disgusting prick

Climate change is a hoax

Tennessee and North Carolina are also experiencing immense devastation from Hurricane Helene.  And Project 2025 will devastate FEMA.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.