Tag: fema

In Miami-Dade County, Federal Funding For “Affordable Housing” Displaces Working Class Minorities Of New Republican Coalition In Li’l Abner Trailer Park

One problem with trying to raise opposition to federal funding is that it’s hard to trace bureaucratic causes to human effects. That’s not the case this month in the city of Sweetwater, part of the greater Miami metropolitan area in Miami-Dade County. Here, in a neighborhood where glittering Christmas lights overlap with “Trump/Vance” signs in a county which Trump carried with 55% of the vote, and a state he carried with 56%, around 3,000 people are about to be displaced due to the Washington bureaucracy that Trump ran against. Matters are so bad that talk is that Washington might have to solve the homelessness problem that it helped to cause by using FEMA—an unsettling thought now that we know how FEMA treats Republican voters.

The formal displacer is Raul F. Rodriguez of CREI Holdings, the owner of Li’l Abner Mobile Home Park in Sweetwater, founded by his father, a Cuban immigrant who had grown up in a mobile home himself. But bigger forces are also at play. The main one is amped-up federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to Miami-Dade County, justified because of the seemingly endless and mostly better-off new arrivals escaping failing Democrat cities in New York, Illinois and California. New developments have to be built to house them, sometimes by tearing down buildings, and housing also has to be provided for the working and middle class locals that they are displacing. These new arrivals drive up general costs as well as property taxes, which pushes more locals out and raises the demand for cheaper housing s.

Enter “affordable housing,” which, like “diversity” and “ equity,” is a helpful-sounding phrase that benefits bureaucrats, Democrats, and the better-off. Not surprisingly, in Miami-Dade, “affordable housing” is allowing federal money to flow to citizens who need it the least , even as it supports the projects of well-placed contractors and government bureaucrats . The people most hurt by the funding, in the meantime, are like those in Sweetwater: working class people with nowhere to go. The specifics of the crisis this Christmas in Sweetwater give a sense of just what’s being lost, and why, and what it might mean for Miami-Dade.

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Shocking Ring Video Shows Helene Victim Being Denied Disaster Aid Over Trump Sign

Doorbell camera footage released over the internet on Tuesday captured an infuriating moment when a liberal North Carolina resident providing donations to hurricane victims reprimanded a family for having the audacity to place a Trump sign in her yard and threatened to withhold future aid.

The Ring doorbell camera shows an elderly woman walking up to the front porch of a home in North Carolina where she was greeted by the homeowner. The End Wokeness account on X, which obtained the footage, drew viewers to negative remarks made by the woman shortly after she delivered a children’s mattress to the resident.

“This is the last of ’em,” the volunteer explains in the video. When the homeowner asks if they’ll be receiving more help, the volunteer replies, “I’m really conflicted — I have a lot more stuff to give, but I am not a fan of Donald Trump, so these signs are a problem for me.” She pointed at a red and blue Trump yard sign before walking off, leaving the resident standing nonplussed at the doorstep.

A timestamp accompanying the video appears to indicate it was recorded on Tuesday, evidencing that relief work is still in progress across parts of the Tar Heel state since being hit by Hurricane Helene in late September. Much of the effort was undertaken by FEMA but spiraled out of control amid speculation that the federal relief agency was withholding aid to Trump supporters, a claim furthered by then-candidate Donald Trump. Mainstream media outlets declared the accusation a “lie” and “baseless,” but shortly after the election the Biden-Harris administration was forced to fire a FEMA worker who admitted to directing her employees to skip over houses that had pro-Trump yard signs.

Other North Carolina survivors have detailed how FEMA hasn’t lived up to President Joe Biden’s promise of a maximum of $750 in relief payments. Other viral videos have shown military choppers causing mayhem over staging grounds where supplies were stored. The Blaze’s Glenn Beck has reported speaking with personnel on the ground who appear more interested in intercepting amateur helicopter pilots conducting rescue missions than rushing to save residents stranded in washed-away mountain towns. The video from Tuesday is another sign that the politicization of Helene has not abated with the election.

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Florida FEMA scandal exposes unaccountable bureaucracy that Trump targets for reform and cuts

An emergency response official’s decision to withhold vital assistance to hurricane victims that showed visible support for Republicans is a scandal that belies a larger issue, namely, an unaccountable federal bureaucracy left to police itself and which President-elect Donald Trump has eyed for reform and cuts.   

The concerns were raised by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer in a hearing on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s response to the dual crises of Hurricanes Helene and Milton that struck Florida and the wider Southeast earlier this year. 

“While today’s hearing will focus on FEMA, the issue at hand is part of a larger problem: the urgent need to hold the unelected, unaccountable federal workforce accountable to the American people and to the duly elected President of the United States,” Comer said in his opening statement. 

“The current system does not have strong enough mechanisms to ensure accountability. The disciplinary system is run by and for civil servants to protect civil servants,” he continued.

The hearing followed reports that during the hurricane response in Florida, one FEMA official instructed subordinates to bypass houses that displayed pro-Trump signs in Lake Placid, Florida, while they were canvassing to deliver assistance to the hurricane-stricken community. 

At least 20 houses were reportedly skipped under the guidance, and therefore were not given the opportunity to qualify for FEMA assistance, Just the News reported. 

“I was simply following orders”

The FEMA official responsible, Marn’i Washington was terminated shortly after the public reports emerged of her conduct, but Comer says the accountability came too late, only after the conduct was exposed by reporting from the Daily Wire. For her part, Washington told NewsNation‘s Dan Abrams that “Firstly, I’m being framed,” said Washington. “There’s no violation of the Hatch Act. I was simply following orders.”

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FEMA Employee Fired For Bypassing Homes With Trump Signs Says She Was Following Agency Protocol

An employee who was terminated from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for ordering government workers to bypass homes of Trump supporters said she was simply following standard operating procedure.

On Friday, the Daily Wire reported that FEMA supervisor Marn’i Washington had instructed staff to “avoid homes advertising Trump” while “they canvassed Lake Placid, Florida to identify residents who could qualify for federal aid” after Hurricane Milton tore through the region in early October.

“Government employees told The Daily Wire that at least 20 homes with Trump signs or flags were skipped from the end of October and into November due to the guidance, meaning they were not given the opportunity to qualify for FEMA assistance,” the outlet reported. “Images shared with The Daily Wire show that houses were skipped over by the workers, who wrote in the government system messages such as: ‘Trump sign no entry per leadership.’”

Washington was promptly fired from the agency, and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell condemned the conduct as “a clear violation of FEMA’s core values & principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation.”

“This was reprehensible,” Criswell said. “This employee has been terminated and we have referred the matter to the Office of Special Counsel.”

Washington, however, who was also terminated from her private sector job at a property management company, said in an interview with the Black Star Network published late Monday night that she was just following FEMA’s standard operating procedure.

“FEMA always preaches avoidance first and then de-escalation,” Washington said. “This is not isolated. This is a colossal event of avoidance, not just in the state of Florida, but you will find avoidance in the Carolinas. Senior leadership will lie to you and tell you that they do not know.”

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FEMA worker Marni Washington breaks silence on not helping Trump-voting hurricane victims

The FEMA boss who was fired after ordering volunteers not to approach homes displaying Trump signs in Florida after Hurricane Milton has insisted her edict ‘was not isolated’ and also happened in North Carolina.  

Speaking out for the first time since she was fired, Marn’i Washington accused the Federal Emergency Management Agency of ‘lying’ about the scandal, and making her the scapegoat of a wider practice. 

Washington was blasted publicly and lost her job after a text chain was leaked that showed her instructing colleagues to ‘avoid’ houses that had Trump signs in their yards. 

Washington told DailyMail.com she is seeking an attorney and is ‘at risk’ as a result of the backlash she’s received. ‘I have information that proves FEMA is lying,’ she said. 

In a podcast appearance last night, she went further – claiming more FEMA employees are guilty of the same bias, but that she is the only one being hung out to dry. 

‘FEMA preaches avoidance first, and then de-escalation. This is not isolated. This is a colossal event of avoidance,’ Washington said in an interview with YouTube podcaster Roland Martin. 

‘Not just in the state of Florida. You will find avoidance in the Carolinas,’ she revealed. 

She says she was directly following FEMA protocol when she issued the controversial directive. 

FEMA has tried to distance itself from Washington after receiving widespread backlash, revealing she lost her job after her superiors learned of the message.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said ‘this is a clear violation of FEMA’s core values and principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation.

‘This employee has been terminated and we have referred the matter to the Office of Special Counsel.’

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FEMA Official Ordered Relief Workers To Skip Houses With Trump Signs

A federal disaster relief official ordered workers to bypass the homes of Donald Trump’s supporters as they surveyed damage caused by Hurricane Milton in Florida, according to internal correspondence obtained by The Daily Wire and confirmed by multiple federal employees. 

A FEMA supervisor told workers in a message to “avoid homes advertising Trump” as they canvassed Lake Placid, Florida to identify residents who could qualify for federal aid, internal messages viewed by The Daily Wire reveal. The supervisor, Marn’i Washington, relayed this message both verbally and in a group chat used by the relief team, multiple government employees told The Daily Wire. 

The government employees told The Daily Wire that at least 20 homes with Trump signs or flags were skipped from the end of October and into November due to the guidance, meaning they were not given the opportunity to qualify for FEMA assistance. Images shared with The Daily Wire show that houses were skipped over by the workers, who wrote in the government system messages such as: “Trump sign no entry per leadership.”

It is unclear whether the same guidance was issued elsewhere in the country. The employees were part of a Department of Homeland Security surge capacity force team, meaning they volunteered from other DHS agencies to help an understaffed FEMA as it dealt with a second major hurricane in a span of just a few weeks.

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The Panic Over an Imaginary Militia ‘Hunting FEMA’ Did More Damage Than the Actual Threat

It was a bone-chilling report. As North Carolinians reeled from the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) suddenly ordered emergency workers “to stand down and evacuate” Rutherford County due to reports of “trucks of armed militias saying they were out hunting FEMA,” The Washington Post reported on October 13, based on an email obtained from the U.S. Forest Service.

The threat turned out to be something less serious. On October 14, the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of one man, William Jacob Parsons, for making a “comment about possibly harming FEMA employees” while armed with an assault rifle. Law enforcement concluded that “Parsons acted alone and there was no truck loads of militia,” according to a statement quoted in The Washington Post.

Parsons told the BBC that he was not a member of any militia, he had not threatened any federal officials, and he was there to help distribute supplies to hurricane victims.

Every time America suffers a natural disaster, it seems, there’s serious anxiety about social collapse and mass violence. And the media often runs with the most fantastical version, as journalists did with reports of violence at the Superdome refugee center in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

These rumors by themselves can do serious damage. Louisiana National Guard Maj. Ed Bush told Reason in 2005 that “perhaps FEMA would have been quicker in if we hadn’t heard all these urban myths about shootings and rapes and deaths and killing and bodies everywhere.” Last week, relief efforts in Rutherford County and nearby Ashe County were paused due to the alleged militia threat.

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FEMA’s Real Purpose: Suppressing Americans And Preventing Civilian Organization

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was founded on April 1st, 1979 under the Jimmy Carter Administration during the height of a nearly decade long stagflationary crisis and the Iranian oil crisis. Under Executive Order 12127, its stated goal was to centralize all disaster related efforts under a single top-down entity. Specifically, FEMA ended the more localized Civil Defense Agency, which was focused on community based emergency response, and it federalized all disaster coordination under a single top-down system controlled by the Oval Office.

FEMA was eventually placed under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security, creating even more centralization. The reason for FEMA according to the government is to aid Americans during and after a national level disaster event; anything from earthquakes to hurricanes to terrorist attacks.

That said, it should also be noted that FEMA was officially created on April Fool’s Day.

The true purpose of FEMA has long been obscured but some disturbing truths have been exposed in the past. The declassification of a program called Rex 84 (tied to Operation Garden Plot) revealed that FEMA was working directly with the Department of Defense on a hypothetical strategy to round up and detain large numbers of civilians considered a “threat to national security.” In other words, FEMA was to act as a tool for helping suppress civil disturbances, it was not necessarily designed to help Americans in times of need.

This was likely always the intent behind the founding of FEMA, but George H.W. Bush and Oliver North are cited as the men that truly militarized FEMA in the early 1980s. The goal to establish a mechanism for controlling domestic political dissent and suspending constitutional freedoms was exposed not long after FEMA’s founding. Oliver North was visibly enraged when the subject was broached in a congressional hearing during the Iran/Contra scandal.

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FEMA Says It Won’t Help in North Carolina Because It Feels Threatened By Locals.

The Biden-Harris Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) says it has temporarily suspended certain Hurricane Helene relief operations in several North Carolina communities due to perceived threats against federal aid workers. According to FEMA, federal disaster relief operations were halted in Rutherford County after the agency received reports from the National Guard that an “armed militia” was allegedly threatening relief workers.

“For the safety of our dedicated staff and the disaster survivors we are helping, FEMA has made some operational adjustments,” an agency spokesman said in a statement on Monday. They added: “Disaster Recovery Centers will continue to be open as scheduled, survivors continue to register for assistance, and we continue to help the people of North Carolina with their recovery.”

In addition to suspending operations in Rutherford County, several other localities near the North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee border claim they had to halt relief work due to threats from locals. According to Ashe County Sheriff Phil Howell, several relief centers where victims of Hurricane Helene could apply in person for assistance were closed “due to threats occurring in some counties.” No specific details regarding the type or seriousness of the “threats” were provided. Sheriff Howell stressed that residents impacted by the storm should “stay calm and steady during our recovery, help folks, and please don’t stir the pot.”

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Man accused of threatening FEMA workers in western North Carolina speaks out

Recovery efforts in western North Carolina are being disrupted by safety concerns following threats against federal responders, including FEMA workers. While local officials confirm that no threats originated in some counties, FEMA has made operational changes across the region out of caution.

FEMA teams continue to help residents register for disaster assistance, but some personnel have been moved to secure locations rather than conducting door-to-door outreach. This change follows the recent arrest of William Jacob Parsons, 44, of Bostic, who was charged with making threats against FEMA employees in the Lake Lure and Chimney Rock areas. Deputies found Parsons armed with a handgun and a rifle.

The threats came after Parsons posted a message on Facebook calling for people to “overtake” the FEMA site in Lake Lure based on what he says were social media reports that FEMA was withholding supplies from hurricane survivors.

“We the people are sick and tired of the BS. We the people are seeking volunteers to join us and overtake the FEMA site in Lake Lure and send the products up the mountains this Saturday. We the people are done playing games. It’s time to show who we are and what we believe. They want to screw our citizens. Now, we return the favor,” Parsons said.

When asked about his post, Parsons explained that he believed FEMA was failing to help residents in need.

“I viewed it as if our people are sitting here on American soil, and they’re refusing to aid our people,” he said. “So we were going to go up there and forcefully remove that fence.”

Upon arriving at Lake Lure, however, Parsons said he realized the situation was different than he had imagined.

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