Thursday, September 08, 2011

Praise The Lard & Pass The Dissemblation (with updates)

Or how the left loves themselves some large government and will lie at both ends of the argument to "prove" how much we need a bizillion bureaucrats.

Texas Forest Service Budget As High As It Has Ever Been.
Trivia Tidbit of the Day: Part 940 -- Texas Did Not Slash Firefighting Capabilities-

There's plenty of (almost joyful, schadenfreude-inspired) chatter out there on the left, relishing the wildfires in Texas. One of the arguments liberals are making right now is that Texas "slashed" its wildfire fighting budget. So, is that so?


Well, one has to remember that they're attacking Texas and Rick Perry so what's just another lie between liberal friends, eh? But, that's what the geniuses at places like Fire Dog Lake and Crooks & Liars do and then all their little cut and paste eaters pass it on as gospel.

UPDATE: The Obama administration grounded one of the most effective fleet of fire fighting planes in the weeks leading up to the Texas wildfires and California's fire season.

Nearly half of the federal government’s firefighting air tankers are siting idle at a California airport, grounded by the Obama administration in a contract dispute just weeks before wildfires swept through Texas killing a mother and her child, and destroying 100,000 acres.

The massive blazes forced Texas Gov. and Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry to abruptly call off a campaign appearance in South Carolina earlier this week to respond to the crisis, and may force him to cancel his first debate appearance Wednesday night.

The U.S. Forest Service terminated the contract with Aero Union five weeks ago to operate seven P-3 Orions that are critical to the agency’s firefighting mission, leaving the federal government with 11 tankers under contract to help battle more than 50 large uncontained wildfires now burning nationwide.

That’s down from 40 tankers used by the Forest Service just a decade ago, according to Rep. Dan Lungren (R.-Calif.), chairman of the House Committee on Administration, who is challenging the decision to dismiss the largest provider of heavy air-tanker support to the federal government
.

UPDATE: Back in the month of May 2011 President Obama, in what many saw as a political move, denied to Texas federal assistance to further fight the ongoing wildfires (but Obama did squeeze in a fundraiser in Austin).

Texas Gov. Rick Perry's request denied  

UPDATE: Obama DID send planes to fight fires. In Mexico

Two specially equipped U.S. Air Force cargo planes left Colorado on Saturday to help battle wildfires in northern Mexico.

The C-130s were requested by the Mexican government and the U.S. State Department, a U.S. Northern Command spokesman said.

The planes can spray about 3,000 gallons of fire retardant in a matter of seconds from a system of pressurized tanks called Modular Aerial Fire Fighting System or MAFFS.

The MAFFS is designed for the cargo bay of a C-130.