By Bear Howard
Sedona, AZ — The deadly floods that surged through Central Texas this week were terrifying, tragic, and all too familiar. Neighborhoods disappeared under muddy waters. Families were caught off guard. Lives were lost. And as rescue efforts struggled to keep up, one thing became painfully clear: this wasn’t just a failure of nature—it was a failure of leadership. A failure built on years of deliberate neglect.
Donald Trump and his Republican enablers love to talk about “big government,” but what they’ve built is something far worse: a hollowed-out shell of public service, gutted from within, all in service of obscene tax breaks for the rich.
This flood is just the latest example of the cost we all pay.
NOAA, the National Weather Service, FEMA—these are the agencies that exist to protect us in moments like this. They track the storm systems, issue the warnings, coordinate with first responders. But under Trump’s second term and the GOP’s “Project 2025” style blueprint for American governance, they’ve all faced deep staffing cuts, vanishing budgets, and politicized leadership. Weather forecasting is slower. Emergency coordination is clumsier. Warnings arrive later—if at all.
And it’s not just floodwaters that are rising.
This past winter, California burned through one of its worst fire seasons in a decade. But the U.S. Forest Service—crippled by hiring freezes and budget rollbacks—was already understaffed by thousands of seasonal firefighters. Firefighting aircraft were grounded. Crews were stretched thin. Entire communities were left with little more than hope and garden hoses. Once again, the price was paid in ash, in property, and in lives.
Then came the crash.
The FAA—long the gold standard in global aviation safety—hasn’t been immune to this anti-government frenzy either. Budget slashes, delayed tech upgrades, and a steady bleed of experienced staff left America’s air traffic control system in a fragile state. When that airliner went down near Washington D.C. in March, investigators found a toxic mix of overworked controllers, outdated radar, and broken communication protocols. It was a disaster waiting to happen—and the wait was over.
The truth is, these aren’t isolated incidents. They are symptoms of a much deeper disease: the deliberate dismantling of government competence.
Trump and his party don’t just want “less government.” They want less governance. Less oversight. Fewer experts. Fewer protections. They dream of a nation where billionaires keep more of their wealth, and the rest of us live with more risk—more floods, more fires, more crashes, more chaos.
Why? Because everything is cheaper when you don’t care who gets hurt.
The MAGA budget priorities are a study in cruelty masked as freedom: slash NOAA and FEMA, and then act surprised when people die in floods. Cut the Forest Service and FAA, then offer thoughts and prayers after fires rage and planes fall from the sky. All while making sure that the ultra-wealthy can still write off their third yacht as a business expense.
Enough.
America needs more public servants, not fewer. It needs more science, more planning, more coordination—not tax cuts for hedge funds and grifters. The real world is getting more dangerous by the day—climate disasters, infrastructure strain, aviation congestion. These are not abstract policy debates. They are real-world crises, and they require serious adults in charge.
So no, this flood wasn’t a surprise. It was the result of choices—cruel, greedy, shortsighted choices. And until voters hold those responsible to account, we’re going to keep reliving these disasters, over and over again, with fewer people left to clean up the mess.
This isn’t governance. It’s abandonment.
And it’s time we call it what it is.
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15 Comments
Another great analysis Bear. To me all of this has been crystal clear since Trump weaseled his way out of being Twice Impeached, convicted of business and tax fraud, treason and insurrection as well as bulk theft of Classified Materials from NARA. The things he makes the biggest deal out of are the things he is most likely guilty of. Such as his 2016 Russian Collusion, siding with Putin over US Intelligence Agencies and Authorities and the so called “witch hunt” trials and judges.
It is all to apparent what the end goal is. He has gutted, shuttered, fired the very people and agencies long responsible for counter intelligence and national security so that Putin can decimate our Democracy even further than He, Trump and MAGA already have with their lies, propaganda and misinformation that has 50% of Americans believing the sky is green, oceans orange and sun blue. They’ve been brainwashed into believing every lie sold and told them by Criminal Billionaires whose only goal in life is to grift America and Americans out of their hard earned money while they get the permanent millionaire/billionaire tax breaks. They’ve eliminated all work place oversight and safety measures so they’re not held liable for injuries and death occurring in their for profit businesses. They’re exempt from environmental regulations and oversight as well because they’re losing large portions of their personal profits having them.
Everything they’re doing and have done is straight out of the tyrannical regime play book known as Project 2025 which they didn’t even have the courage of owning and denied it’s very existence up until King Dump took his place upon his Golden Fleeced Throne again.
They’re typical tyrants! Complete Cowards who have others do their dirty work for them while they are sickly aroused by their own hate and disdain of everything and everyone outside of their sycophantic inner circles. They even actually despise those who do their dirty work for them and see them as “useful idiots” up until they speak out of turn or out of line and then they get tossed into the dumpster fire of the Fascist tyrant they helped rise to power with the rest of our Democracy and Constitution!
Just look at the thousands of MAGA tools who now regret voting for King Dump after seeing how the Big Beautiful Grift bill has eliminated social support programs for them and those they know and love.
Wow! You really hit the nail on the head, Howard. You bring reason and purpose to this forum. It’s great to see you back . You are right. America is drowning. The sheep are being prepared for sheering. All those detention centers being. build around the country are not just for immigrants. They are for Americans who protest against the coming dictatorship. People are so blind. Thank you for helping open their eyes. Keep them coming.
What is happening now is ICE is running out of bad guys to detain so now they are going to concentrate on the hard working immigrants to fill their detention camps.
And now that people are shooting at them Ice and military personnel are going to get even more lethal. They are setting those of us who care for our country and humanity, up.
Beware America.
Shooting at law enforcement officers or anyone else is despicable to say the very least. However, ICE and DHS agents have brought this wrath upon themselves through their refusal to wear an actual identifiable uniformly worn uniform to include name tag and badge. Hiding their identities and refusing to identify themselves forces people to go into fight or flight mode thinking they’re being abducted. If a group of men without any visible law enforcement identification, wearing masks grabs me there’s naturally going to be severe consequences for all.
The shooting at the CBP station was a criminal act as the shooter(s) clearly knew what they were shooting at. But then again if a group of unidentified armed men grabbed one of my family members off the street and attempted to deport them to Sudan or El Salvador never to be seen or heard from again and my family member was not guilty of any violent crimes, I might be tempted to attempt to rescue them from their captors. You cannot sweep people up en mass because of the color of their skin and then deport them without their due process deportation proceeding as they have done to many deportees who have no criminal record whatsoever. Entering the country illegally is a misdemeanor crime and does not warrant deportation without due process. The danger does not come from those angered by illegal deportations! The danger comes from a country and President who feel they are above the law and can do whatever to whom ever they so choose based upon skin color, sexual orientation, political affiliation or religion like the Criminal Trump Administration does every day all day.
Karma is coming for them and nobody is going to care one iota how it does so no matter how much they scream and whine and cry witch hunt!
Geee, I sure remember all those right wing loons, saying Obama was building concentration camps very clearly!
And low and behold its the right wing loons doing it!
With Republicans every accusation is conviction!
Now if you ever wonder why the right is so hateful, and angry, they listen to lies that never pan out! And after all these years, they still believe them!
Hows that child porn ring under pizza parlor? Oh yea those Epstein files also! LOL…..You are so gullible it would be funny! But your so lost, we will never get you back to reality!
WS Dave,
MAGA sycophants have told sooooo many lies, falsehoods, disinformation, conspiracy theories, alternative facts and propaganda that they have lost track of reality and truth. They fell prey to Q Anon and the Rusher/Trump propaganda machine and have basically become hypnotized by the hate filled power grab and greed that is MAGA inside and out. There are dozens upon dozens of historical examples of dictatorships throughout history dismantling their countries Democracies and Governments from the top down in order to assure themselves absolute unchallenged power obtained by having their thugs do their hate filled bidding for them in order to paralyze the masses from any form of disobedience to their “Supreme Leader” “Orange Messiah” or whatever they call the greedy corrupt bastard sitting on their ill gotten golden thrones.one by one they will ultimately fall out of favor like Tulsi Gabbard, Chris Christie, Anthony Scaramucci and dozens upon dozens of other former MAGA sycophants some of whom have gone to prison for lying on his behalf like Paul Manafort.
I’m soooo hoping Elonia and his DOGE boys managed to get a copy of the Epstein client list that Pam Blondi had said [she had sitting upon her desk] but now claims there isn’t one! If proven it would be one of the biggest lies and cover ups since Bill Clinstones blowjob lies and cover up.
Soooo much corruption! Soooo many lies! And way too many apologists out there making up lies and excuses for their very very corrupt Orange King Minus!
Was just watching Texas Gov. Yeah But make Uvalde school shooting excuse after excuse for the State’s apparent failure to provide timely adequate warning for the flooding that has taken the lives of 109 souls and counting. Whatever happened to Ike’s slogan “the buck stops here”? Oh yeah that was from a different time when we had an actual President and Government. How sad it is that a so called “devoutly religious” man hates migrants enough to use row upon row of concertina wire in and around the river they frequently cross rather than humanely deter them with signage and a Border Patrol presence. A man of true faith would accept responsibility rather than “passing the buck” as he and all of MAGA does when confronted with their shortcomings. And a man of true faith would not despise brown skinned people enough to risk shredding them into pieces as they drown attempting to seek asylum in the home of “the free”!
Top Trump Aide Finally Confirms He Was Born a Soviet Citizen
ТОВАРИЩ!
https://www.thedailybeast.com/top-trump-aide-sergio-gor-finally-confirms-he-was-born-a-soviet-citizen/
So much Rusher in King Trump’s orbit for such a so called hoax!
JB you’re 100% on this! So many cawinkie dink instances of a Trump/Russia collusion. And remember, Robert Mueller never exonerated Trump. He just said he could not 100% prove his evidence to be solid enough to hold up under Judicial scrutiny especially that of a Trump appointed Judge. But from his pre election meet in Trump tower with Russian FSB Agent Natalia Vladimirovna Veselnitskaya, convicted felon and former Russian Foreign Agents Manafort and Flynn to his handing FSB Director Labrov and assistant classified information regarding Israeli intelligence services right smack in the middle of the oval office to his public statements about what a nice guy Putin is and how he believes the psychopathic murderous maniac over US Intelligence. And most importantly his playing hard arse with Ukraine while saying “he’s unhappy with Putin” despite doing squat to stop him from continuing his blood lust genocide Ukraine. And for the Trump apologist and protectionist out there, ask yourself this one simple question-
If Trump and Putin are not in cahoots i.e. “colluding” then why hasn’t Trump berated Putin to his face as he has with Zelenskyy? And why did he shut down every single intelligence apparatus poised against Russian attacks upon the US be they all out military strikes, zeroing out our entire grid or worse- a nuclear attack against us using their 3M22 Zircon, also spelled Tsirkon Hypersonic Cruise Missiles? Since when is Russia our ally?
Trump Tower Meeting-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_Tower_meeting
Links between Trump associates and Russian officials
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Links_between_Trump_associates_and_Russian_officials
You see JB, MAGA thinks we have forgotten all this shite and shame or want us to believe it never happened as the crimes, grift and corruption continue on with their blessings.
Trump’s ‘Cosplaying Queen’ has IQ questioned over latest tragedy
https://www.nj.com/politics/2025/07/trumps-cosplaying-queen-has-iq-questioned-over-latest-tragedy.html
From Trump to Hegseth, Noem and every other incompetent criminal unqualified moron currently running our Government the ignorance is absolutely ASStounding to say the least. The FEMA Director didn’t even show up despite Trump permitting a FEMA response to Ruby Red TexASS while denying Blue and Purple States FEMA assistance such as MAGA Sycophant Governor Sarah Huckster’s state of ArkansASS. Lucky for Trump he plans to do away with elections and Democracy. Because, there are a lot of people who voted his corruption into office and now regret it as things begin to directly affect them and their families (from Natural Disasters, Federal Employees being fired en mass without cause, deportations without due process and so on and so forth)!
If you just woke up to the fascist agenda Trump and MAgA are carrying out- welcome to reality and the “obliteration” of our democracy, historical government, constitution, rule of law and equality. I don’t and won’t forgive you for having voted for this nonsense but again welcome back to reality!
Ted Cruz and birthright citizenship: Be careful what you wish for
https://apple.news/AokmKeSOvS0G-Frhl9C4dnQ
From Ted Cruz to Marco Rubio, they’ve sold their souls, sold out their families, heritage and their legacy to be corrupt hypocrital MAGA loyalists who bent their greedy knees and kissed King Trumps corrupt criminal ring. How sad it is seeing them lie and distort reality on behalf of an Orange Putin Puppet who has done nothing but insult and degrade them and their families. Oh well, they get what they lie for I guess?
Trump officials to send home half of the 4,000 National Guard troops in L.A.
The Pentagon on Tuesday announced that 2,000 National Guard troops will be sent home after an unprecedented deployment in the Los Angeles area.
https://apple.news/A6BNEdyczShuvdeJN2HfKCA
So I guess M’erica is going to be free of crime after all of deportations of the “violent Criminal Migrants” are carried out? Yeah right 😂😅🤣!!!
GOP rep says he doesn’t trust Trump DOJ
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5403831-tim-burchett-donald-trump-doj-jeffrey-epstein-files/
Also said live on CNN Outfront with Erin Burnett – we need to send a message to the godless dirtbags that raped girls with Epstein. Then said the rapists should all be hung! And he hopes they meet their creator soon!
Probably why King Trump and Pam Blondie won’t keep their word and release the client list they said was on Blondie’s desk nor the entire unredacted Epstein report. Think the MAGA Criminals who stormed the capitol for Criminal Convicted Violent Sex Offender Trump are seriously considering an insurrection upon their Orange King and his White’s house!
Trump diagnosed with vein condition after noticing swelling in legs https://www.azfamily.com/2025/07/17/trump-diagnosed-with-vein-condition-after-noticing-swelling-legs/
When your legs swell especially around the ankles or cankles in this case it is indicative of cardio edema which is fluid retention caused by things like enlarged ventricle’s, blocked arteries and or heart failure. But miss sycophant Karoline Leavitt (Billionaire Oligarch via marriage) says he’s as fit as a fiddle as she professed her love for Trump while continuing to attack Sleepy Joe and everyone else for Trumps crimes and everything else.
More accurately he’s as fit as a greezy bucket of KFC and half a dozen Big Macs with fries and the all important slimming Diet Joke he loves to drink by the gallons daily. So he’ll likely die an Elvis toilet death if he’s lucky.
After watching George Clooney’s live performance of Good Night and Good Luck, it’s incredibly obvious how relevant that what happened under McCarthyism and all of the government led criminal manipulation of our legal system is exactly what is happening today under convicted criminal Trump and his MAGA loyalist!
Think the full contents of the Epstein report still exists? Ha that’s funny! A week ago it contained a “list of names sitting on my desk” according to Pam Bondi who has already shown herself a proven liar on behalf of Trump numerous times now. Her promise to not go after others on behalf of Trump (because they caught him in lies and criminal acts) has been proven her biggest lie yet! Now we have corporations and television networks paying arbitrary law suit settlements on behalf of Trump in order for their very corrupt criminal CEO’s to continue being very wrongfully very wealthy by paying millions to Trump so they can carry out their multi billion dollar mergers of network monopolization. And it’s a twofer for King Trump as they not only pay him for frivolous nonsense, they also eliminate political foes like Stephen Colbert whose only crime is exercising his First Amendment rights!
This is why normal people are drawing direct comparisons between King Trump and every other DICKtator ever! And many current ones like fellow criminal Insurrectionist Bolsonaro and cold blooded serial murderer Putin are his BFF’s!
Thank you MAGA! We won’t forget what you have done!