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Just a few days after Hurricane Sandy devastated parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, the New York Times' Paul Krugman crowed triumphantly about the federal government's response to the disaster. "[A]fter Katrina the government seemed to have no idea what it was doing; this time it did. And that's no accident: the federal government's ability to respond effectively to disaster always collapses when antigovernment Republicans hold the White House, and always recovers when Democrats take it back." What a fairy tale. Mature adults understand that earthquakes, hurricanes and other natural disasters are an unfortunate fact of life. They...

Whether he's publicly recapitulating the hallucinations of an imaginary friend, or wrongly assuring the public that various government programs are "fully funded," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tends to struggle with the truth.  The recent high-octane bout of partisan wrangling over whether to pass a porked-up Sandy relief bill is finally complete, and Reid is unhappy that Congress didn't spend more money.  To emphasize his frustration, he downplayed the severity of Hurricane Katrina's destruction in order to cast Sandy as far worse -- thus indicting those who opposed even one cent of unrelated "relief" spending as uncaring, heartless bastards:  ...

Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) criticizes Congress for not hastily appropriating federal money for Hurricane Sandy relief efforts in New York and New Jersey while praising a more prompt response to Hurricane Katrina. REID: It's too bad that it's taking so long. When we had that devastating [Hurricane] Katrina, we were there within days taking care of Mississippi, Alabama, and especially Louisiana -- within days. We are now past two months with people of New York and the people of New Orleans and that area, they were hurt but nothing in comparison to what happened to the people in New England....

President Barack Obama has signed into law a $9.7 billion bill to pay flood insurance claims from Superstorm Sandy. … The House has yet to act on a larger, more comprehensive Sandy aid package. Republican leaders did not bring the bill to the floor before the last session of Congress adjourned. …

Hurricane Sandy victim Scott McGrath unloaded on President Obama and Washington elites in an interview with Neil Cavuto today on "Your World." Here are some great quotes from Scott McGrath. Full Transcript to follow McGrath: 'This country is in debt. We are so eager to help other countries that we forget our own people.' 'They have to change this and cut out the pork. We can't accept it if it's gonna put us in more debt down the road.' 'A quick fix is not gonna help us....in the long run I don't want to be paying more taxes down the...

Living in this city your entire life gives one the opportunity to experience things you would not normally encounter in any other part of the country. Many of these experiences are deeply unpleasant and disturbing, including periodic attempts, with varying degrees of success, by terrorists to blow up large sections of it, along with its inhabitants. Putting aside the preternatural feeling that I’m living in a very bad Michael Bay film-as if there is any other kind-there aren’t many things that occur to or in New York that shake me out of the existential torpor which stems from spending most...

A pork-barrel feast of goodies for federal agencies to fix museum roofs in D.C. and aid fisheries in Alaska, cooked up in the middle of the night, is not the way to aid hurricane victims or run a government. As if the fallout from agreeing to a bad deal that raises the debt by $4 trillion and accepts a 41-1 ratio in tax hikes to spending cuts weren't enough, Speaker of the House John Boehner has New Jersey's Chris Christie on his case. "There's only one group to blame," the New Jersey governor said of the Sandy relief bill that...

Am I the only one who notices just how smoothly and effortlessly the Democrat Party plays the American people and establishment Republican leadership?Basic timeline:Last week of October: Hurricane Sandy visited destruction upon the East Coast, most severely New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut.First week of November: With the presidential election just days away, Obama lands in New Jersey to get bear hugged by Gov'r Chris Christie in order to give off a semblance of "bi-partisanship," and to secure extra votes from stupid Americans who actually thinks Obama caaaares about them. (Indeed it worked: Exit polls showed many still-undecided voters ended up pulling...

“Superstorm” Sandy killed more than 100 people, destroyed thousands of homes and businesses, and left millions without food, water, electricity, sanitation or shelter for days or even weeks. Our thoughts and prayers remain focused on its victims, many of whom are still grieving as they struggle with the storm’s wintry aftermath and try to rebuild their lives. Unfortunately, too many politicians continue to use the storm to advance agendas, deflect blame for incompetence and mistakes, and obfuscate and magnify future risks from building and development projects that they have designed, promoted, permitted and profited from. Sandy was “unprecedented,” the...

Nearly two months after homes in Staten Island, NY were devastated by Hurricane Sandy, residents say they’re still struggling with red tape as they try to get the government to help. … Victims are shuffled from one desk to another for registration, an identification check, and one-on-one interviews—then referred to something called a “Mitigation Desk,” a FEMA official at a local Disaster Recovery Center explained to MRCTV. …

Last December, as you may remember, I went to my old neighborhood of Dyker Heights to share some of the more ostentatious seasonal displays with our readers. This year I decided to stay on the island and visit a local hair salon which was holding a toy drive for families who’ve been impacted by Hurricane Sandy, whose devastation encroached into nearly every part of Richmond County. This was an extraordinary event for a number of reasons, not the least being its rapid turnaround. To have planned and successfully executed a fully-catered party with live entertainment-including a DJ and magician-which hosted...

An effort by a Livingston billionaire to hand out free $100 gift cards to Jersey City residents affected by Hurricane Sandy turned into a fiasco last week after some residents who spent hours on line say they were later not able to obtain the gift cards. The effort led to long lines at some community groups last Monday night as people sought to register for the cards and long lines again two days later when residents showed up to pick them up, according to residents, community leaders and organizers of the charity effort. Two City Councilwoman blasted the effort at...

With emotions running high in response to the heart wrenching events that took place at the Sandy Hook Elementary School December 14, many of my liberal friends and family members believe now is the perfect time for gun control legislation. As heartbreaking as it is that 20 children in Connecticut will not have the chance to open Christmas presents, celebrate birthdays, go on a first date, drive a car, graduate, get married, and have kids, there are millions of kids out there who will. And they are the reason why the rest of us need to fight for the...

I'm curious about this 12.12.12 relief concert. Why do they need financial support from private citizens? New York and New Jersey voted for a candidate that promised big government is the solution to their problems. Has the government not provided for all their needs after the hurricane destruction?

The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Paul McCartney, Bon Jovi, The Who, Roger Waters, Billy Joel, Eric Clapton, Kanye West and many other artists will perform at the benefit to the Robin Hood Relief Fund and victims of Hurricane Sandy. The broadcast will be accessible by an estimated 2 billion people worldwide, according to the concert's website http://www.121212concert.org. U.S. television viewers will have a difficult time missing the event. The broadcast will be carried on 34 channels, from AMC to VH1 Classic. Even pay channels HBO and Showtime 2 and the newsy Bloomberg will carry the...

President Barack Obama asked Congress Friday for $60.4 billion in federal aid for New York, New Jersey and other states hit by Superstorm Sandy in late October. It’s a disaster whose cost is rivaled only by the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the 2005 Hurricane that devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Obama’s request adds a huge new to-do item to a congressional agenda already packed with controversy on how to resolve the nation's budget woes and avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. “Our nation has an obligation to assist those who suffered losses and who lack adequate resources...

Mayor Bloomberg made an impromptu visit to the Rockaways this week—although he was predominantly there to discuss Sandy recovery efforts with local paper The Wave (and declare that the age of the wooden boardwalk is so over), Bloomberg also was confronted by some Occupy Sandy members. And for once, he had nothing but praise for them: "Thank you for everything you've done. You guys are great," Bloomberg told them, as you can see in the video below. "We really do appreciate it, all kidding aside. You really are making a difference. Goodbye," he said. (VIDEO AT LINK) Bloomberg probably would...

Hurricane Sandy victims in Staten Island are suffering far more than is being reported. Won’t you please help? We need help feeding our neighbors whose lives have been destroyed. We need your prayers as well. The Red Cross and FEMA are doing very good work, but even they are falling behind. I am a volunteer at a relief center set up by and for ordinary Staten Islanders with no government help. We are retired New York City Police Officers and Firemen. We serve 800 to 1000 meals a day from our own pockets and the generosity of other ordinary people....

Throughout his tenure as Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo has chosen to maintain a suprisingly low profile. Think quick: how much footage have you seen of him in the Hurricane Sandy aftermath compared to his cross-George Washington Bridge buddy, Chris Christie? But has Cuomo finally decided the time has come to make himself more visible? A PSA for Hurricane Relief, aired on Morning Joe today, featured a star-studded cast of Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Whoopi Goldberg, Edie Falco, Michael J. Fox and Julianna Margulies and Nathan Lane. One panel, devoid of reference to the relief organization, starkly read "Join...

Stopping veteran Dem retirements is top priority for Reid, SchumerBy Alexander Bolton - 11/25/12 06:00 AM ET One of the highest immediate political priorities for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Democratic political guru Charles Schumer (N.Y.) is to persuade veteran colleagues not to retire in 2014. Democratic sources identify four senators as most likely to retire: Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa). Another possible veteran retirement is Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.), who has yet to announce his decision. But Democratic aides expect him to run...