Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Sandy, Baby, It's Time We Said Goodbye

From 1965, and the sessions for what would become the Summer Days and Summer Nights album, please enjoy The Beach Boys, despite the dickishness of Mike Love, as they rehearse a song expressing my sentiments about the recent atmospheric unpleasantness in my beloved Hackensack, New Jersey (the Paris of the Tri-State Metropolitan Area) and elsewhere on the East Coast.




Here in the actual Paris, it's seasonably lovely at the moment, and our plan is still to return home sometime on the morrow, weather permitting (obviously). Our flight still hasn't been cancelled as of this writing, so we shall see.

But in the meantime, fuck every single Republican in Congress who voted to slash the FEMA budget.

Seriously -- fuck every one of them with a rusty chainsaw.

6 comments:

Dave said...

Safe travels, Steve. There's a good chance JFK will be open tomorrow -- LGA is a no-go for sure.

Elroy said...

Thanks for the track, Steve! 15,000 flights to the eastern US were cancelled today, hope it clears up tomorrow for you.

By the way, notwithstanding Mike Love's dickishness, he apparently was wounded by the articles about the BB tour and responded with a fairly non-dickish article in the LA Times:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-mike-love-beach-boys-on-brian-wilson-20121004,0,6311413.story


steves said...

"To avoid public confusion, and at the request of Brian’s representative, we had a press release sent out detailing the differences between the two Beach Boys tours and its varying lineups. I was surprised that Brian and Al said they were surprised by this announcement."

Sorry. Not buying it. He's still a dick.

Safe travels, Simels and Dame!

GLLinMO said...

Let's see - FEMA has done such a bang up job in the relatively few years they have been in existence. What would be a better option - Fed money (which comes from the tax paying public) 1) going directly to NYC to the people whom really know what is needed and how to get things right or 2) going to FEMA to have national politicians determine what is best for NYC - or any other area that needs help. Simple answer to me. Fed should support local efforts. We do not need more of a federal leviathan.

Was just in NYC a couple of weeks ago with Family. Used to live in the area. Hope to see them back on their feet very soon.

And you cna have my share of Mike Love...

steve simels said...

GLLinMO:

This is not the time or the place to get into it, but the idea that the states or local municipalities are better equipped to deal with something like Sandy can only be believed if you're huffing more potent drugs than I have ever contemplated.

Also: FEMA has, in fact, done a bang up job, except for during Republican administrations, when it has been deliberately defenestrated.

steve simels said...

I should add that the reasons the Republicans want to destroy FEMA is no surprise.

Former Republican Governor Jeb Bush is set to lead a newly formed FOR-PROFIT natural disaster response company. According to the Maritime Executive, Bush’s newly created firm, Old Rhodes Holding LLC, joined forces with O’Brien’s Response Management, a subsidiary of SEACOR Holdings, to form a for-profit disaster response company.

“We are pleased to enter into this partnership with one of the leading response organizations in the United States, backed by SEACOR’s global network,” Bush said. “Together we look forward to helping a broader array of organizations and communities become more resilient through preparation, response, communication and recovery.”

Of course, this response team only helps people for a price. Rather than come to the aid of people affected by a natural disaster out of the kindness of their hearts, like FEMA and other organizations do, the response team led by the former Florida Governor will respond to disasters if the price is right. In other words, they’ll profit off of death and destruction.


I repeat -- fuck every one of the Republicans who voted to slash the FEMA budget with a rusty chainsaw.