Hurricane Harvey Hits Hard: Today's News for August 28th

Fox News:

Harvey flooding ravages Texas as Abbott orders another 1,000 National Guard members

Harvey sent devastating floods pouring into the nation’s fourth-largest city Sunday as rising water chased thousands of people to rooftops or higher ground and overwhelmed rescuers who could not keep up with the constant calls for help.

The dire situation prompted Gov. Greg Abbott to order another 1,000 National Guard members to Houston. Abbott said the state activated 3,000 National Guard and State Guard members as a result of the storm damage. He also said 500 vehicles and 14 aircraft had been put into service.

The death toll from the storm is at five. 

Soon to be six, and beyond. It is hard to judge the full extent of storm damage while the storm is still happening.

But as with any other decision that involves politicians, let the second-guessing begin:

CNN:

Houston knew it was at risk of flooding. Why didn't the city evacuate?

Sunday morning, as Houston residents found themselves trapped on rooftops and wading through flooded streets with children riding on their shoulders, Mayor Sylvester Turner defended his decision not to order evacuations before the city was hit by torrential rain from Hurricane Harvey.

Houston, which is known for its susceptibility for flooding because of its flatness, was never put under an evacuation order, voluntary or mandatory, even as then-Hurricane Harvey was threatening southeast Texas.

"You literally cannot put 6.5 million people on the road," Turner said in a press conference. "If you think the situation right now is bad, you give an order to evacuate, you are creating a nightmare."

But many in Houston were already living in a nightmare. They woke up to find they were trapped inside their flooded homes and unable to receive aid from first responders, who were inundated with more than 2,000 calls for help, according to Turner.

This is why evacuations are ordered IN ADVANCE. Turner knew the hurricane was coming, and he ignored the risks. Now he has to pay the price.

Admittedly, this is one of those political decisions that has downside regardless of how a mayor decides. If the mayor chooses to evacuate, and the storm isn't bad, he/she gets dinged for creating havoc. However, people should be a bit more sympathetic towards an overly cautious choice rather than one which puts peoples lives at risk.

In the case of Hurricane Matthew last year, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal ordered the evacuation of all parts of Georgia east of I-95 after the mayor of Savannah delayed ordering an evacuation (he was out of town at the time).

As for Texas, why didn't the governor evacuate Houston?

But there seemed to be confusion around what Houston residents should do, with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott appearing to call for an evacuation at a Friday press conference.

"If you wait until you realize how serious this condition is, you likely will find that it's too late for you to be able to evacuate," Abbott said.

When presented with the governor's comments in a separate press conference, Emmett said, "The other thing he said was, 'Listen to your local officials.'"

"Perhaps it was a bit of a mixed message, but he has assured me, that that is his message. Listen to the local officials."

If the residents of Houston weren't waiting for evacuation orders, do you think they would have evacuated on their own? The smarter ones would have, and the rest would have gotten one of these:

Overall, consider this a lesson in "don't rely on government" for your decisions.

In other news...

Politico:

Trump’s team and lawmakers making strides on tax reform plan

President Donald Trump’s top aides and congressional leaders have made significant strides in shaping a tax overhaul, moving far beyond the six-paragraph framework pushed out in July that stoked fears about their ability to deliver on one of the GOP’s top priorities.

There is broad consensus, according to five sources familiar with the behind-the-scenes talks, on some of the best ways to pay for cutting both the individual and corporate tax rates. 

Before we go any further, explain how we cut taxes without cutting spending? The answer:

The options include capping the mortgage interest deduction for homeowners; scrapping people's ability to deduct state and local taxes; and eliminating businesses' ability to deduct interest, while also phasing in so-called full expensing for small businesses that allows them to immediately deduct investments like new equipment or facilities.

This isn't "cutting taxes". This is shifting them.

I know most people will look at lower tax rates as "cutting taxes", but that is just dog dumb. Here is a better idea: Get rid of ALL deductions, and then cut the tax rates. Too often, people, especially wealthy people, use deductions which only apply to a limited population (mainly wealthy people). Whatever happened to government "of the people, by the people, for the people"?

In still other news....

The Hill:

Russia’s propaganda machine amplifies alt-right

Russia’s army of media influencers, social media bots and trolls has increasingly amplified alt-right and far-right narratives in the United States since the 2016 presidential election.

Russia’s efforts to push propaganda and disinformation, experts say, are nothing new and extend beyond the U.S. to nations in Europe. But they have seemed to evolve in recent months, increasingly infiltrating and engaging with alt-right and far-right Americans online.

Moscow’s aim is widely viewed as exploiting divides and sowing distrust of democratic institutions, the latter a conclusion reached by the U.S. intelligence community in its initial investigation of Russia’s interference in the presidential election, including overt efforts to push propaganda.

So this is like what America's Leftist MSM does with the Alt Left? For example:

SFGate:

Masked anarchists violently rout right-wing demonstrators in Berkeley

An army of anarchists in black clothing and masks routed a small group of right-wing demonstrators who had gathered in a Berkeley park Sunday to rail against the city’s famed progressive politics, driving them out — sometimes violently — while overwhelming a huge contingent of police officers.

Hundreds of officers tried to maintain calm in and around Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park before the 1 p.m. “No to Marxism in Berkeley” rally, putting up barricades, searching bags and confiscating sticks, masks, pepper spray and even water bottles. The goal was to head off the type of clashes that sprang from similar rallies in the city earlier this year.

But once again, counterdemonstrators frustrated efforts by police, who numbered about 400. As the crowd swelled to several times that size, officers stepped aside and allowed hundreds of people angered by the presence of the right-wing rally to climb over the barriers into the park, said Officer Jennifer Coats, a spokeswoman for Berkeley police.

The masked counterprotesters, often referred to as antifa or antifascists, significantly outnumbered the people who had come for the rally, many of whom wore red clothing indicating support for President Trump. The anarchists chased away the right-wingers, and in one case four or five pummeled a man with fists and sticks before a radio host for Reveal, Al Letson, jumped in to shield the victim. Anarchists also attacked reporters who documented their actions.

By the time the confrontations wound down in midafternoon, police had arrested 13 people, including one for assault with a deadly weapon, Coats said. Most were accused of bringing banned items into the park. Six people reported non-life-threatening injuries, Coats said, including two taken to hospitals.

Say what you will about "Russian propaganda", but it is the violence of the Leftist Antifa groups that is talking much louder.

Jesus Christ said it best:

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them."--Matthew 7:15-20

Most of us already know the dangers of racism, as espoused by far Right groups like the Nazis or the KKK. Those dangers include race-based violence, similar to the kind of ideological violence being perpetrated by Antifa. These are the fruits of the false prophets of Leftist ideology.

But the danger here runs far deeper. We have to be prepared to reject both the racist ideologies of the Right and the violent authoritarianism of the Left. Hatred, whether centered in the ideologies of the Right or the Left, is never a good thing.