A Texas county devastated by deadly flooding earlier this month rejected federal funds in 2021 that could have helped install a flood warning system, with local officials and residents arguing they didn’t want to be “bought” by the Biden administration.

  • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
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    2 hours ago

    While the county ultimately kept the funds, they allocated the majority, about $8 million, to sheriff’s department upgrades and public employee stipends.

    So they decided fraud was better than safety.

  • Maple Engineer@lemmy.world
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    6 hours ago

    While the county ultimately kept the funds, they allocated the majority, about $8 million, to sheriff’s department…

    Is that the same sheriff’s department that didn’t send the flood warning when asked to do so?

    • HasturInYellow@lemmy.world
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      5 hours ago

      I’m sure the good ol’ boy had his reasons. We should just trust in him and Jesus. And give him another $10 million.

      • gAlienLifeform@lemmy.world
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        4 hours ago

        The sad part is this is how the Biden administration actually thought. They could have restricted these funds from being wasted on stupid bullshit but instead did the moderate Dem thing and just let douchebag Republicans do whatever the hell they want so they could campaign on how bipartisan they were. At the end of the day, nobody in a position of power gave a shit about the safety of these people.

  • fartographer@lemmy.world
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    7 hours ago

    I remember this happening. I remember thinking “who the fuck is trying to buy you? These are your tax dollars.” I remember realizing that the problem was giving Biden the W.

    Perhaps from their high moral ground, God can hear them asking what part of his plan this is.

    When I was in elementary school back in the 1900s, I went to a friend’s house in Kerrville. My parents made me promise that I wouldn’t tell anyone that I’m Jewish. The old freethinker German towns around San Antonio are such weird, corrupt, stupid places.

  • Mog_fanatic@lemmy.world
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    10 hours ago

    “We don’t want to be bought by the federal government, thank you very much,” a resident said. “We’d like the federal government to stay out of Kerr County and their money.”

    While the county ultimately kept the funds, they allocated the majority, about $8 million, to sheriff’s department upgrades and public employee stipends

    I… what? “We don’t want your stinking money. We’ll still take it tho… We just won’t spend it on what we said we would. That’ll show you dumb idgits!”

    • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      6 hours ago

      This is extremely common rightoid behavior, even at a personal level.

      Make a big outward show of being independent, self-made, wholly responsible for your own success…

      … and the reality almost always is that this person is in fact getting subsidies or assistance or help from a wealthy friend or family member, but, they’re lying about this, and very often mismanaging the money, which is ‘ok’ in their minds, because ‘nobody knows’ that money even exists.

      Every Republican voter who is on welfare, but hates everyone else on welfare.

      Every Republican business owner who gloats about being successful all thanks to themselves publically, but privately, amongst close friends, laughs about how good they are at manipulating their taxes or legal business structure so that they can get as many tax breaks and subsidies as possible.

      Or, the ‘dumbass’ variant of that:

      I’m a big tough hard blue collar worker who works real hard and real tough, and thats the right way to have a life and make a living… wait, what? That only even kind of works if the corporation I work for gets massive tax breaks and subsidies, or my own company gets tons of Federal grants and subsidies and tax breaks directly? I thought that was the free market?!

      Also every ‘entrepreneur wunderkid’ story that ultimately boils down to: daddy gave me a whole lot of money and also knew a whole bunch of key figures in relevant industries.

      … every mega church pastor that is very obviously fleecing their impoverished flock, but claims that they are so wealthy because god loves them so much.

      … every rightwing raido talkshow host / podcaster who gloats about how successful their business is, but never mentions that they get a massive, stupidly large amount of money from wealthy right wing individuals and/or lobbying groups/think tanks… or by selling scam health products, scam financial products, etc… or, more recently, just literally gets directly funded by Russia’s FSB.

      It is literally a core tenet of being a Republican that you lie and gaslight about where your money comes from, or at bare minimum be just actually so stupid that you don’t even realize where your money comes from, so I guess those ones arguably not intentionally lying… they’re just actually too stupid to be trusted with any kind of non rote task.

      Like it is essentially impossible to be a Republican and not do this. Its a fundamental aspect to their personalities.

      Hence why it is just a social faux pas to even have a frank and transparent discussion about finances with them, and why they get so blustered snd indignant when the idea of ‘fiscal responsibility’ is applied onto them, instead of just projected outward as a demeaning attack on everyone else.

      Thats my 2 cents anyway, from having grown up in a rightoid, fundamentalist family. Of course this behavior is not unique to Republicans, but it is essentially a mandatory requirement of being a Republican.

      • exothermic@lemmy.world
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        1 hour ago

        Well said. I also grew up in a ‘rightoid’ family and can confirm.

        I would also add that they tend correlate wealth as a sign of intelligence and hold wealthy people in the highest esteem.

        They also try to emulate wealthy people via conspicuous consumption, creating an outward illusion of wealth and success. I have a family member on section 8 who buys luxury goods to lord their ‘success’ over their friends and neighbors. It’s absolutely mind blowingly insane.

    • Kyrgizion@lemmy.world
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      10 hours ago

      It would be really swell if those people would then blame the correct persons or instances… but you just know they’re going to blame the dems or the libs or w/e. Post-truth society and all that.

    • karashta@piefed.social
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      9 hours ago

      They don’t want federal money…

      Where exactly do they think money comes from in the first place?