It was almost a month ago that the New York and New Jersey coastlines were mercilessly pummeled by Hurricane Sandy. Immediately following the storm, the liberal media spin went into overdrive commending the leadership and compassion Obama displayed in the aftermath. But reports have been surfacing since the election, revealing how conditions in the afflicted regions are still not much improved and the majority of the broadcast media's acknowledgement of their prolonged trials and tribulations has been minimal at best.
For their part however, Fox & Friends welcomed Donna Vanzant on Tuesday morning's program. She just so happened to be the woman President Obama was photographed consoling during his official visit to survey the damage in New Jersey. To say the least, she has not been pleased with FEMA's fickle response. [ video below the page break ]
I was very excited and felt warm by the embrace thinking this is really going to happen. I'm going to get the help I need because he promised that. And it's been almost a month now and I've gotten no help and gotten nothing but no, you're not covered for this. No, you're not covered for that. And it's because of the way the storm hit and the water rising that I'm not covered for any contents in the entire business. I expected, when I was introduced to the director of FEMA and the president told him to get me immediate help, I thought I was getting help from FEMA itself. Not that I would have to go get a loan. And it's just greatly affected so many people.
The extensive amount of damage caused by the superstorm will cost the two states an estimated $70 billion combined to repair, including preventative measures for future storms. FEMA has approved hundreds of thousands of claims already, but countless others are being overlooked or rejected due to bureaucratic red tape.
In one of his recent columns, Chuck Norris described the gloomy conditions that these Americans have been enduring for the past four weeks. Displaced neighborhoods in New Jersey have been moved to FEMA tent cities, power has not been restored, and lines for gasoline have reportedly been horrendous.
In response to the delay, some communities have banded together to take matters into their own hands. Frustrated with the government's inactivity. Staten Island residents have organized their own donation drives, started the clean-up process, and worked with local churches and businesses from other states in order to collect much-needed supplies. Both American and Israeli military veterans have even given their time, energy, and money to the reconstruction effort.
The aftermath of Hurricane Sandy shows just how incompetent the federal government is when it comes to handling disaster cleanup, and how effective citizens and their communities can be when they work together without federal or state oversight.
These lessons are worthy of media coverage, but are largely being ignored seemingly in an attempt to ignore the Obama administration's shortcomings. A luxury that was never bestowed upon the Bush adminstration in a similar circumstance.
