Speaker Mike Johnson says that federal aid to California should be "conditional"

So do you also fault the residents of New Orleans for living below sea level and getting pummeled by Katrina? Or people in Florida who live smack in the path of so many hurricanes? What about those who live in Tornado Alley? It is unconscionable for politicians to try to politicize disaster aid based on their political beliefs. These are Americans who need assistance. F the politics. Many southern Republicans voted against aid for this area after Sandy. They asked for it right away when hurricanes hit their states though. I was just going through FB memories for today and found this quote from former GOP rep from NJ: "To my colleagues ... who have decided that we need to change the rules of the game, shame on you. Florida, good luck with no more hurricanes. California, congratulations, did you get rid of the San Andreas fault? The Mississippi is in a drought. You think you're not going to have a flood again? Who are you going to come to when you have these things?"

@porwest How exactly was Newsom supposed to prevent a power tower from igniting? How exactly was Newsom supposed to control the Santa Ana winds?

@NJChicaa That's a different situation. Those are and were people who make their own choices that endanger themselves willingly and knowingly. In the case of California, the GOVERNMENT, who people entrust their safety to, made these decisions that caused them to be endangered. Hurricanes are natural disasters. No one can prevent them. Wildfires, in the case of California cannot be ENTIRELY prevented. But they CAN be allowed to become more severe and more possible to become out of control situations if you make decisions that CAUSE them to become more severe and out of control. Tornados are also NATURAL DISASTERS. People choose to live in any of these areas fully aware there may be tornados, earthquakes, hurricanes, typhoons or any other naturally occurring event you can think of. I live in an area rich in abandoned mines. I know I am subject to mine subsidence and even being sucked into a sinkhole. A woman was recently killed in Missouri when she had a lost cat, went looking for it, and was found 30 feet buried from a sinkhole that opened up beneath her feet. As for politicizing catastrophic events, who does that? Ah. The MEDIA does. When Katrina happened the media couldn't wait to blame it all on Bush. When Covid happened they couldn't wait to blame it all on Trump. But in California? Gavin Newsome responsible? Nah. Give him a pass and go and blame republicans for other things they did that have nothing to do with the situation at hand in California. If a Republican is in charge the media says, "How COULD he? What a lowlife POS with no heart." But in California, because it's a Democrat, "He is doing all he can," and as Harris said, "We need to have patience, these things take time." They didn't say that when Katrina happened. But they DID say it when the train derailed in Palestine, Ohio. Why? Again, because it wasn't Republicans who were in charge when it happened. NO ONE politicizes disasters better than Democrats, and they not only jump at the chance, they LEAP at it.

You have class and I appreciate that.