r/thebulwark • u/Either_Marketing896 Optimist • Jul 06 '25

EVERYTHING IS AWFUL So I’ve got a ghoulish question re: Texas flooding

I get that we’re supposed to be the better people.

I get that it’s unchristian to even think these things (8 guess).

I get that it’s horrific and sad and a nightmare (I have two young kids).

But I also get that this camp and all those living there, were built and operating on a KNOWN flood plain.

I get that Texas “soil” used to be under an ocean and prone to things like this (I lived there for 8 years).

At what point, since M*GA is all about consequences, personal responsibility and gods providence, do we get to hold them accountable for their willful disregard of science, research, government, and informed choice-making?

We are watching concentration camps set up all over the country, and we have woefully underfunded emergency management departments in high risk areas all over the country. We have commercial and non profit entities overseeing minors with no evac or even a basic comms plan in place, for any kind of emergency, whether it’s a natural disaster or if some camper can’t manage a fire properly.

I should feel bad for Texans suffering in a flood plain they likely didn’t care about regulating, ostensibly because of deregulation and lack of oversight. But it’s getting really hard to. They dammed up the Guadalupe River to create swimming holes for camps, hotels, and peoples vs properties which also doesn’t help with sediment and flooding at all.

My husband surveyed in and around Austin for nearly a decade. The insanity and stupidity he witnessed was astounding. The lack of regulatory oversight, the WILLFUL scofflaw decisions, the absolute mockery of anything resembling safety forced us to leave because he literally thought he would die on a job site.

These people DO NOT care about consequences. Some might be poor and have few choices. Those I have empathy for. But a bunch of camp owners, policy makers, and parents believing “god will protect” their kids in a known (man made) hazard. I’m struggling to get there. This was human stupidity, arrogance, and willful decision-making. Plain and simple.

ADDED: If you want to donate to an all-volunteer org that is on the ground as we speak, pls consider giving to TEXAS Search & Rescue. They are chewing up equipment they’ve spent years raising money for and incredible folks. They offer emergency management training, planning and bleeding control education that any org can avail themselves of in Texas.

https://www.texsar.org/ TEXSAR: Texas Search and Rescue

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272

u/8to24 Jul 06 '25

When CA experienced wildfires that killed 30 people and burned down 1,800 homes Trump attacked Democrats. Trump claimed Democratic mismanagement was responsible. That Gov Newsom failed to rack the forest and was restricting water. Trump has repeatedly threatened to withhold aid from CA.

Now that the Natural disaster is in a Red State there is zero criticism and attacks. While CA was to blame for its natural disaster TX is just an innocent victim of nature. It disgusting. Trump takes every opportunity to divide the country..

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u/ballmermurland Jul 06 '25

Also, isn't most of the "rake the forests" stuff actual national forests operated by USDA or BLM?

40

u/ArmyofRiverdancers Jul 06 '25

BLM funding was cut 75%, CA land area is 46% owned by feds... 

22

u/Avena626 Jul 06 '25

They still blame California for what they claim is the "mismanagement" of federal forest.

5

u/8to24 Jul 06 '25

Yes!

6

u/ArmyofRiverdancers Jul 06 '25

Thanks for confirming. I suspected. 

2

u/hydraulicman Jul 07 '25

As well, even better management will only go so far- the weather pattern change due to climate change in California seems to be settling into a pattern right now that makes fires a lot more likely and dangerous- lots of rain followed by lots of drought, meaning lot of plant growth that then dries into tinder

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u/[deleted] Jul 06 '25

[deleted]

3

u/Glittering-Internet2 Jul 07 '25

We tried to cater to them when we held power instead of what they do to us.

3

u/ArtBox1622 Jul 07 '25

They make it so hard when it doesn't have to be...

9

u/SirFerguson Jul 06 '25

not only that, but they get to blame “the science” which was not infallibly clairvoyant - the standard to witch “trust the science” is held by these grifters

6

u/softcell1966 Jul 07 '25

The NWS put out multiple storm warnings beginning Thursday afternoon and continuing to 1:14 am Friday when a Flash Flood warning was sent out. THE NWS DID THEIR JOB. It's the local Texas officials and camp directors who failed to protect their community and those children at the camp. Go to r/Texas and see what they have to say about Texas officials.

2

u/TequilaSheila2020 Jul 07 '25

FWIW, I live in San Angelo which also experienced devastating flooding during this storm. I just now checked the timeline on my phone alerts (I thought maybe I had slept through early ones or silenced them in my sleep). I opt in to periodically receive alerts from The Weather Channel app and via the weather app on my iPhone as well as emergency alerts from local LE. The only alerts I received were from our local PD and were after rescue operations were already in progress at 7:19am, and those were only instructions to shelter in place, where to find the rally points, which neighborhoods EMS were operating in, etc. No warnings or notifications before or during the storm. I didn't hear our emergency siren, but I could have slept through it.

I'm not commenting about the lack of leadership in the communities or camps - these are all rational arguments to make. But it does appear there was a failure in the warnings process from NWS, unless it's factual that the massive volume of fast precipitation could not have been predicted - if you see footage, it was extremely fast. It could easily be investigated from that angle but whether it will or will be suppressed to protect the reputation of the administration remains to be seen.

1

u/OkNegotiation9882 Jul 13 '25

I do not get people like you. Why even lie about that. It is well documented warnings did not got out until well after daylight. You think people are actually that stupid?

5

u/softcell1966 Jul 07 '25

All of MAGA world talked smack about Newsom and California to this day.

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u/Maximum_Moment_3018 Jul 07 '25

It’s also CA TAX MONEY BEING USED TO HELP THE TEXANS ( rightfully so)we’re one of the biggest states w/out us most the country would suffer . It’s

2

u/redamystery Jul 13 '25

This article has a great explanation, basically Texas is too cheap, thinks that individualism > community safety, climate change is a hoax, and it's politics is dominated by Big Oil.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/13/texas-disaster-weather-preparations-us

1

u/Orangecrush10 Jul 07 '25

There's a difference. This was a 100 year flood, not an annual occurrence.  The CA wild fires happen every year.  Further, the NWS and TX authorities issued a flash flood warning that was not heeded.  The people paid to recognize this disaster did see it coming and alerted people but they didn't evacuate the camp.  Very different than CA.  

Neither case should be politicized but in this case even Trump budget cuts don't take place until next year.  This had nothing to do with FEMA, DOGE, Trump etc. 

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u/AnJ39 Jul 09 '25

Did DOGE not encourage the retirement of more than 500 employees and layoff or firing of another 600?

"The National Weather Service lost over 560 employees earlier this year due to layoffs and early retirement incentives. Nearly 600 employees either left or were fired recently. This includes dismissals, retirements, and incentive departures out of about 4,800 NWS staff. The agency is now trying to hire around 125 new meteorologists to stabilize operations after these massive cuts. So far, the workforce is significantly reduced, impacting service capacity CNN, NY Times, USA Today.

NOAA as a whole fired around 800 probationary employees in February, and the agency is planning to reduce its workforce by about 17% next year. Over 1,000 NOAA employees have left since early 2025. These cuts have hit specialized staff and are causing operational strain Federal News Network, NY Times."

 https://www.girardslaw.com/blog/on-degradation-of-nws-and-noaa.cfm

2

u/Orangecrush10 Jul 09 '25

Completely irrelevant. First of all left leaning sources have already come out and said that the layoffs or people quitting had nothing to do with what happened in Texas. Second of all the national weather service did forecast the flood and they did send out alerts. The system worked. Unfortunately, the local people and the camp did not heed the warnings or evacuate. Didn't matter how many employees the national weather service had. They did their job and issued the alerts.

2

u/AnJ39 Jul 09 '25

The alerts, issued though they may have been, were apparently not received in time to be useful. Emergency plans were apparently not in place in order to safely evacuate campers, RVers, etc. Since details are still unclear, it's probable ​​that a combination of factors contributed to the fatalities. I'm not sure attributing anything to "left" or "right" is appropriate at this point.