LOG CABIN CHRONICLES
TIM DOHERTY ~ QUEBEC FALL BEANS CLICK TO ENTER LCC
HEATHER COX RICHARDSON
5 OCT 2024
The federal response to Hurricane Helene has drawn bipartisan praise,
with Republican governor Henry McMaster of South Carolina thanking Biden
by name for what McMaster called a "superb" response.
But on Sunday, September 29, two days after the hurricane hit, the
right-wing organization started by anti-immigrant Trump loyalist Stephen
Miller posted: "Billions for Ukraine. Billions for illegal aliens. And
what for the Americans? Reprogram every single dollar that FEMA has
dedicated to support illegal aliens to go towards Americans who are
facing unprecedented devastation!"
Yesterday, in Saginaw, Michigan, Trump echoed Miller, claiming that the
Biden administration is botching the hurricane response because it has
spent all the money appropriated for the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) on "illegal immigrants." "They spent it all on illegal
migrants.... They stole the FEMA money just like they stole it from a
bank, so they could give it to their illegal immigrants that they want
to have vote for them," he said. Today, he claimed that "a billion
dollars was stolen from FEMA to use it for illegal migrants, many of
whom are criminals, to come into our country."
Early this morning, X owner Elon Musk posted to his more than 200
million followers: "Yes, they are literally using YOUR tax dollars to
import voters and disenfranchise you! It is happening right in front of
your eyes. And FEMA used up its budget ferrying illegals into the
country instead of saving American lives. Treason." On Wednesday, Dana
Mattioli, Joe Palazzolo, and Khadeeja Safdar of the Wall Street Journal
broke the story that Musk has been financing groups with ties to Miller
since 2022.
But of course, it is NOT happening in front of anyone's eyes.
On Wednesday, Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of the Department of
Homeland Security in which FEMA is housed, told reporters that FEMA's
disaster relief fund is adequately funded for current needs. But, he
warned, "extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and
severity," and we are not yet out of hurricane season. If another
emergency hits, FEMA's disaster relief fund will be stretched thin.
Congress also appropriated money for a different fund, the Shelter and
Services Program (SSP), which is part of Customs and Border Protection
but is administered by FEMA. Established under the Trump administration
in 2019, SSP gives grants to states and local governments to provide
shelter, food, and transportation to undocumented immigrants. After
Trump's accusation, the Department of Homeland Security said in a
statement: "These claims are completely false. As Secretary Mayorkas
said, FEMA has the necessary resources to meet the immediate needs
associated with Hurricane Helene and other disasters. The Shelter and
Services Program (SSP) is a completely separate, appropriated grant
program that was authorized and funded by Congress and is not associated
in any way with FEMA's disaster-related authorities or funding streams."
Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post did not leave the story there.
"Trump has a habit of assuming other politicians act in the same way as
he would," Kessler wrote. So he looked into why Trump would have accused
Biden "of raiding the FEMA disaster fund to handle undocumented
migrants. It turns out that's because he did this."
In the middle of hurricane season in 2019, Kessler explains, Trump took
$155 million from the FEMA disaster fund and redirected it to pay for
detention space and temporary hearing locations for immigrants seeking
asylum. "No, Biden didn't take FEMA relief money to use on migrants,"
the article title reads, "but Trump did."
As in Springfield, a bipartisan group of lawmakers are begging MAGAs to
stop the disinformation, which is keeping people from accessing the help
they need and gumming up relief efforts as workers and local and state
governments, as well as FEMA, have to waste time combating lies.
Scammers and political extremists are making things worse by spreading
AI-generated images and claiming that the federal government is ignoring
the people and emergencies the images depict.
MAGA Republicans launched another major disinformation campaign today
when the Bureau of Labor Statistics released another blockbuster jobs
report. It showed that the country added about 254,000 jobs in
September, far higher than the 140,000 jobs economists expected. It also
revised the job numbers for July and August upward. The unemployment
rate dropped from 4.2 percent in August to 4.1 percent, and wages have outpaced
inflation.
Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Analytics, wrote that the jobs
report "cements my view that the economy is about as good as it gets.
The economy is creating lots of jobs across many industries, consistent
with robust labor force growth, and thus low and stable unemployment.
The economy is at full-employment, no more and no less. Wage growth is
strong, and given big productivity gains, it is consistent with low and
stable inflation. One couldn't paint a prettier picture of the job
market and broader economy."
Yet MAGA Republicans deny that the economy is strong. Senator Marco
Rubio (R-FL) openly called the jobs report fake. And when a reporter
asked Trump, "Jobs are up, the stock market hit that all-time high. Do
you acknowledge that the economy is improving?" he answered: "No it's
not."
But, apparently stung, this afternoon Trump posted on his social media
site what appeared to be an announcement. After an emoji of a flashing
red light, a headline read, "New: Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan
Chase, has endorsed Trump for President." A representative for Dimon
instantly denied such an endorsement, saying it is false. According to a
spokesperson for JP Morgan, Dimon has neither contributed money nor
endorsed Trump, or anyone else, in the 2024 presidential race. But Trump
has not taken the post down.
Hugo Lowell of The Guardian notes that Trump has admired Dimon for a
long time and likely craves his support. Trump has been unable to
attract major endorsements, while celebrities throw their influence
behind Harris and Minnesota governor Tim Walz almost daily. Yesterday,
musician Bruce Springsteen endorsed Harris. Today, businessman and
former Los Angeles Lakers basketball player Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr.
endorsed her.
The firehose of lies is designed to make it impossible for voters to
figure out the truth. The technique is designed so that eventually
voters give up trying to engage, conclude everyone is lying, throw up
their hands, and stop voting. Holding on to facts combats the effects of
the storm of lies.
Finally, tonight, the X account of Trump's team and the Republican
National Committee -- now run by the Trump family and loyalists -- showed a
clip of Biden unexpectedly entering the White House briefing room today,
joking with reporters, and saying, "Welcome to the swimming pool."
Referring to "Biden (or whatever's left of him)," the post suggested his
"swimming pool" reference was a sign of mental incapacity.
In fact, the briefing room was indeed originally a swimming pool.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt added the pool to the White House in
1933 after he found swimming helped to keep him in shape after his 1921
bout with polio. Presidents Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy (who had a
mural by Bernard Lamotte installed around it), and Lyndon B. Johnson
used the pool frequently. Richard Nixon did not. In 1970, Nixon had the
pool covered and the space converted into the White House Press Room.
Nixon ordered the change made in such a way that it could be easily
undone in case he got pushback for covering up FDR's pool, but his
successor, Gerald Ford, who was an avid swimmer, largely ended the
conversation when he added a new outdoor pool to the White House complex
in 1975.
Biden's reference to the press room as a swimming pool was a historical
joke rather than a sign of mental incapacity. This lie deserves the same
scrutiny as the other whoppers from today, though, because as Glenn
Kessler accurately observed, Trump's common pattern is projection.
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