Thread by @mikamckinnon

Relevant to current events:

Key US laws on national disaster preparedness, including the role of federal government in facilitating an integrated, all-country, capabilities-based approach to preparedness that optimizes use of available resources:
doi.gov/recovery/about…

I am so confused (read: furious) about how the federal government is choosing to support (read: selectively decide who lives & dies based on political preference) overwhelmed states during the pandemic.

Turns out impeached Presidents keep breaking the law if yo don't remove them

Federal agencies are empowered & restricted by their mandates. If it's out of scope, they can't do it. If it's in scope, they must do it.

Sometimes we retroactively realize fuckups. Both Katrina & Sandy resulted in re-scoping FEMA's mandate to better match needs & expectations.

"The mission of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is to enhance the health and well-being of all Americans."

HHS has the medical responsibility for federal preparedness & disaster response efforts.

"All" is not ambiguous.

FEMA's mandate is beyond direct:
"Helping people before, during, and after disasters."

The statutory authority goes on to specify "orderly and systemic" assistance for state & local government.

This is not ambiguous.
EVERYONE gets help, even if the state votes against you.

There are a fuckton of national agencies & departments whose entire purpose is helping everyone who needs it via supporting the state, local, and tribal governments that are overwhelmed.

None of them say "but only the people we like."
disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov/us-government-…

Post-9/11, the National Disaster Recovery Framework was literally created for interagency cooperation on making it easier to share resources.

Go go rah rah it's patriotic to coordinate sharing PPE & ventilators based on local capacity & need. Hoarding lets the terrorists win.

For fuck's sake, the massive structural reorganization creating the Department of Homeland Security was about coordinating how to "prepare for, prevent, and respond to domestic emergencies."

That's the whole point! Literally the entire purpose of DHS is for shit like this!

I have a list of people I'd like to go fuck themselves quietly in a corner somewhere so the rest of us can get on with the business of minimizing how many people die.

Either help or get out of the way, but either way don't cause more harm.

Especially if you're a "leader."

If you're also confused (read: furious):

This is a very good time to register for absentee voting. Get that paperwork in and processed very, very early.

And call your congressional representatives telling them this is beyond bullshit.
But maybe politer.
Maybe.