Slashdot Mirror
US Geological Survey Unable To Provide Indonesia Tsunami Data Due To Government Shutdown (huffingtonpost.com.au)
An underwater landslide caused by activity from the Anak Krakatau volcano is being blamed for a tsunami that struck Indonesia late Saturday, killing at least 222 people and injuring more than 800 others. Normally, the U.S. Geological Survey would report on such events and provide any necessary data it had to the public. But it can't due to America's partial government shutdown, which began Saturday after President Donald Trump refused to sign legislation that didn't include funding for his southern border wall. From a report: The USGS website is dormant as of Sunday, except for a notice at the top. "Due to a lapse in appropriations, the majority of USGS websites may not be up to date and may not reflect current conditions," the note reads. "Websites displaying real-time data, such as Earthquake and Water and information needed for public health and safety will be updated with limited support." According to the government shutdown contingency plan, the USGS will retain just 75 of its estimated 8,032 employees, or 0.9 percent. "The USGS will suspend the majority of its activities with the exception of those functions to protect life and property," the plan states. The document also claims that 450 employees will be "on call" for natural disasters, but it's unclear if that process has been enacted, as the USGS website says the agency is not "able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted."
Trump would gladly sign legislation if Senate democrats cared one whit about border security. For some inexplicable reason they've done a full 180 on it over the past decade (Obama, Hillary and Biden all voted for a border fence) and now they propose to have no Southern border at all because "who's gonna pick my cotton" reasons. I get why they are doing this. Once legalized, illegals overwhelmingly vote Dem. There are some 15 million of them in the country already, and margins are razor thin in a lot of cases, so legalizing even a substantial fraction of illegals means permanent voting majority. But as a US citizen and taxpayer, I abhor this logic, and will do everything I can so they can't pull it off. This is bullshit, pure and simple. I demand a protected Southern border, now.
That's -our- southern border wall.
Border security NOW.
Democrats ruin cities, states and our NATION.
All the worst economies and crime filled cities are strongly Democrat run.
All the best and most prosperous cities are REPUBLICAN run areas.
Maybe its Black IQ, maybe its fiscal responsibility. It could be many factors. But it is a fact : DEMOCRATS ruin society and read the news the least and are the least informed.
Pulling out of Syria isn't What's-His-Name hitting back at them. It was done merely because he needed a headline with his name plastered on it that didn't involve criminal behavior. The fact that Erogan (the Whore) smoked him is beside the point, as is screwing over the Kurds (they'll never trust the U.S. again). Giving Iran a Christmas present never entered into his "thought". All the bluster over Iran was because Obama had an agreement with Iran that had Obama's name on it. It goes not further than, if he were any shallower, he'd owe the Earth a layer of topsoil.
You can see how myopic he is from what Mattis said but also he didn't really get upset at Mattis' letter. He probably needed someone to read it to him. He only got pissy when he saw the Press that was lauding Mattis and pointing to how Mattis was considered the adult in the playpen.
Similar to that is his pissy mood at the Fed over the Market. It doesn't have anything to do with the Fed, they were just a convenient punching bag to deflect attention to his own incompetence. That and he doesn't appreciate the Market decreasing his alleged wealth. Anyone with his alleged wealth doesn't act like such a grifter. He has an entire family of grifters, one less since his dad went all stiff and incommunicable.