You'd have to be Elon Musk not to have great empathy for the people affected by flooding in Texas. The scenes of destruction are too close to home for many here.
As of this writing, 118 are confirmed dead and over 160 missing from an over 30 foot flash in the Guadalupe River which is lined with summer camps and campgrounds. It is also in an area known as "flash flood alley" because it leads the nation in flash floods since records of flash floods have been kept.
That's three flash floods in one sentence. They have a lot.
Not to be made fools of by a rainstorm, Texas politicians went into full thoughts, prayers, and blame mode. Most know there's not much you can do about 20 inch rain storms and 30 foot walls of water but you can do something about warning people it's coming. So Abbott and Cruz and the rest of the upright fools brigade went after the National Weather Service crying "Where were the warnings!"
That's the same National Weather Service who a) are over 50% down on manpower and resources from DOGE but b) still managed to get a flash flood warning out for the area 8 hours in advance followed by emergency alerts. Turns out, the NWS did their job but state and local officials didn't follow up with evacuations or warnings.
Certainly more embarrassing while illustrating the penny wise pound foolish mindset of the conservative is the fact a siren warning system could have been in place for a couple million bucks. One hundred lives for a million bucks. Fiscal conservatism wins again. We're all gonna die, right?
The painfully exquisite irony in this tragedy is Republican officials whining about being warned. These are the people who'd choose a hurricane party over evacuation and then complain the coast guard isn't there to rescue them when the siding starts to fly.The same people who said cigarettes didn't cause lung cancer.
These are the people who don't believe in the climate change that leads to these extreme weather events. These are the people who don't even believe in the science we use to study climate and weather. These are the people who are cutting the budget of the National Weather Service, the National Science Foundation, and have taken down public websites that track climate change effects across the country.
These are the people who, no matter how many warnings, ignore science and facts and evidence for conspiracy, innuendo and the kind of thinking only an idiot would find rational.
Speaking of, that guy who believes empathy is a disease and ketamine is a lifestyle is once again showing his business acumen by threatening to start a political party. Surprisingly, it won't be called the National Party. Elon is still trying to figure out what went wrong when he, making billions in EV and other high technology, decided to invest his dollars in the party that is still under complete control of the fossil fuel industry and fought the advancement of EVs tooth and nail.
Seems like one of his advisers would have pointed that out. Wait sorry, I forgot, Elon's a supergenius. Advisers are a sign of weakness.