Posted originally on Oct 4, 2024 By Martin Armstrong
Let me explain something about the government. Elon Muck is outraged that FEMA has blocked humanitarian efforts in the wake of widespread devastation in North Carolina. Elon Musk has had a go at FEMA because their actions are outrageous, and people will die because of it.
Government employees have (1) myopic vision since they have no long-term vision, and (2) those in government cannot see Beyond What is Right In Front of Them, which is not a government attribute.
When those in the legislature write a law, they never look to see if it has any potential side effects. Then those in the Executive branch who enforce laws have no comprehension whatsoever of what they are decreeing, for to them, it is only a question of power. In this case, how dare Elon Musk try to save people? Who does he think he is? This is FEMA’s job, so stay out of it. When the legislature investigates why people died because of this decision, nobody will be fired or imprisoned. So, there is no incentive to do your job, and there is certainly no possible common sense.
DEATH TOLL IS MORE THAN THEY ARE REPORTING
Multiple reports from eyewitnesses indicate that the situation has become bleak. I can tell you that they would not allow anyone to go south from Madiera, Florida, for several days, where the land is lower. Contractors I know were shaken and said they were sending in refrigerator trucks to collect the bodies. I was told by one who was in that region of St. Pete Beach that there were bodies in the street. It appears that they are trying to hide the incompetence of the government, and perhaps the reason they are blocking Musk is because the people there are already dead, and they do not want this news out before the election.
Here is a photo of a typical street in Madiera. Every house has whatever furniture it had out on the street. As I said, Pinellais County has closed the dump because there is no room. They will probably take this stuff to a garage, sell it to someone else, turn their back, and dump it in the ocean.
Posted originally on the CTH on October 3, 2024 | Sundance
I want to start the Day seven conversation with something I am very familiar with. This is the phase when shock, turns to frustration, turns to a sense of being simply overwhelmed. This is the phase when critical fellowship is THE MOST important aspect to recovery operations.
As the adrenalin subsides, there will likely be a great deal of despondency, as people succumb to dark imaginings, get angry psychologically, and with empty reserves of hope begin to express thoughts on the anger side of their mental ledger.
Try not to focus on the whispers that want you to look at the impossible horizon. Instead, with a heart of God filled fortitude, force your gaze at the 2 feet around you and work that problem… then the next two feet… then the next two feet, etc. etc.
If you are a relief worker, GIVE GRACE, and an ear, to every voice that is shouting despair. Let them cry through the apex of their desperation, until they can pause to encounter your shoulder. Then GIVE HOPE. At the core, this is what makes Samaritans Purse so effective. They live this creed as they elevate much more than just crushed stuff. Day #7 is a day to remember the focus on soul food and the nutrition of fellowship.
Just keep going. Sometimes the knights in shining armor appear wearing jeans, overalls and boots. It doesn’t take an emergency beacon to activate them, just a need… and they come. Purposefully, without condition, ready to move, activate and respond.
Look and see them. This is the army that matters, the Christian America we know well.
See and embrace the people who represent what makes our nation unique. The usually invisible, salty, mostly scruffy and beautifully comfortable about it, yet critical network of Americans that keep it all operating. God, how I cherish them so.
At the core of our American purpose is a decency and unity. Critics don’t like to talk about it, but Americans are fundamentally good. When something seems impossible, for blue-collar Americans ‘impossible‘ is just another starting point, if you get out of the way. Don’t lose sight of that.
No other nation on earth was ever conceived on the principle of allowing people to manifest their own destiny, while keeping government out of their lives. The vision, the premise and the purpose, was to allow you the freedom to determine your place in life; and even, at any time, change that determination and strike off in an entirely new direction.
Our labor and aspirations would not be pre-determined by caste, tier, creed or social status; but rather by our personal vision for our own future. The right of self-determination. This is what is in our DNA. This is what other nations do not understand. We are Americans.
Almost exactly two years ago, to the day, THIS HAPPENED:
Ms. Veronica is a lady of impeccable generosity, identified not simply by the hospitality and greeting, but also by the few moments of grace deserved and afforded in polite request to make herself more ‘presentable‘ for unexpected company.
Upon return, Ms. Veronica immediately became Vera, a woman, widow, great grandma and neighbor who may not have enough, but she’d give a stranger half – and they would never know.
This is a powerful woman filled with a message. “Hurricane Ian did not create victims,” she immediately captured my full and undivided attention. She continued, “I am not a victim.”
“There are dead people, and there are survivors.”
Long pause. The depth of her eyes, intense.
I am wise enough to notice moments when my prior opinion of self, strength and fortitude are immediately being redefined. I am also smart enough to stay silent.
“Our loving God does not create victims, and apparently he is not finished using me.” Veronica’s eyes now alight. “In this moment I am filled with rejoicing,” she said, “because I know there is a purpose I have yet to fulfill.” From me, more smart silence. “How incredible is it for me at 90 to realize there’s more use, more purpose, and more time,” she concluded.
Then, just as casual as one might order a familiar coffee on any ordinary Tuesday, Vera asked…. “How is it I can help you boys?“…
All the Mr. and Mrs. Veronica’s are not victims; none of us are. God doesn’t create victims – people do.
How stark is the reality of hearing, “there are dead people, and there are survivors.”
If you are not in the former, none of us are, then we should rejoice and realize we have purpose yet unfulfilled.
I share that story again because I know the mountains of North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee are filled with the strength that Vera represents.
If you are alive in the impacted region, you are a selected as a survivor and you have a purpose yet to fulfill. Remember that!
Consider the strength and wisdom that follows in this interview. Three members of a North Carolina family, including a 7-year-old boy, died in the disastrous flooding from Helene. Now, the survivors share their story of immense grief and comforting faith.
…”this is a backfire for the devil.”
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In Day #7 of any recovery effort, fellowship and prayer are the fuel that matters. As the grieving survivor, daughter and mother so accurately and eloquently noted, “this is a backfire for the devil.”
Rebuke evil when manifest. Focus on your purpose!
♦ Turning toward another issue, inasmuch as the devil must be rebuked, any voice that amplifies the dark imagining and attempts to diminish the importance of fellowship must be rejected.
Appalachia is strong stock. Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina is the home region for some of the strongest faith-filled people in our nation. However, there are some very small people in positions of assumed power that do not understand the nature of this region; they too must be rejected:
🚨 Drone pilots: Do not fly your drone near or around rescue and recovery efforts for Hurricane Helene.
Interfering with emergency response operations impacts search and rescue operations on the ground. For more information on temporary flight restrictions follow: @FAADroneZonepic.twitter.com/muxHefL1sH
— U.S. Department of Transportation (@USDOT) October 2, 2024
The voices of a corrupt and malevolent government obviously do not want people to: (A) see the lack of FEMA response; (B) get immediate assistance from ordinary Americans; (C) feel the empowerment of community and fellowship that unites the nation.
This is a BIG painful PICTURE to accept; however, I must repeat:
We are in an abusive relationship with government. The abusers need isolation to retain control, power and dominance over their victims. Fellowship and community break the stranglehold of abuse.
Dear Lord, You say in Isaiah 40:31, “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.”
Today we turn to You as our strength. Help us to fill our hearts with fuel so that we may be a source of Your true hope for all. We ask Your will to renew and restore us.
When we feel we are near our end, when we are weary, tired, or heavily burdened, give us firm reliance in You. Strengthen our bodies and our spirit in the way that only You can provide. We thank You for the ways You give us all we need each day.
Clear our eyes and souls. Give us the vision to see Your perspective in all things.
In our time of despair, we turn to You. When these moments feel hard or taxing, seed our minds with the reminder that You are beside us. ~ Amen
Posted originally on the CTH on October 2, 2024 | Sundance
Anyone who has ever worked in long-term disaster recovery and response well knows what Day #6 and Day #7 bring to the psyche. As the crisis in Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina is now understood, the rescue and recovery work continue.
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While rescue workers still attempt to find access points into some of the most devastated towns and communities of Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina, Joe Biden was in Greenville, South Carolina today for a briefing [SEE HERE]. There remains a worrisome absence of overall federal action when overlaid to the scale of the problem.
Day #6 and 7 are generally fraught with anxiety and the sense of being overwhelmed when contrast against the tasks at hand. It is understandable that PTSD would begin to settle in the psyche of those in the hardest hit areas. We have many friends in the region and send our deepest prayers of support and assistance to those in need. You are not alone.
On Tuesday, I-40 was reopened east of Asheville, but I-40 at mile marker 3 in Haywood County will remain closed indefinitely.
Both I-40 East and West are closed from mile marker 432 in Tennessee east to mile marker 3 in North Carolina. I-40 West is closed starting at mile marker 3 in North Carolina west through mile marker 435 in Tennessee, according to TDOT.
While the major thoroughfare is closed for the foreseeable future, there are ways around it.
Interstate 81 offers a bypass to I-40. Those in the Northwest section of Western North Carolina, can look for a safe route to I-81 into Tennessee which connects with Interstate 77, providing an alternate route to other areas in North Carolina.
Those in the Southwest part of the state can still travel on part of Interstate 26, but sections of the road may be closed. People can also seek out safe routes to Interstate 85 and then head Northbound to the Charlotte area.
Those south of Hendersonville can take U.S. 74 ALT to U.S. 74 East toward Shelby and then connect with I-85 to Charlotte and other points North and East.
U.S. 64 to U.S. 74 ALT just north of Hendersonville is impassable at this time due to landslides. The road is also impassable between U.S. 74 ALT and Slick Rock Road according to NCDOT. (link)
We have many Treepers in the identified severe impact zone. If your communication situation has improved, please let us know your status. Additionally, if there is any general information that people feel could be of benefit to those in the area, please use the comment section to provide your updates.
Prayers continue for everyone in the region.
You gotta appreciate the American spirit here. They needed a way out so they got together and made a makeshift road instead of waiting for the government to do something pic.twitter.com/EAaF9LFe7Z
You gotta appreciate the American spirit here. They needed a way out so they got together and made a makeshift road instead of waiting for the government to do something pic.twitter.com/EAaF9LFe7Z
The US government prioritizes foreign entities over their own citizens. President Joe Biden and his handlers have pledged over $17 BILLION to Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel in the past week alone. Meanwhile, Joe Biden has already gone on record to tell American hurricane victims that they should not expect any additional resources from the federal government. “We’ve given everything that we have,” Biden unsympathetically said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky abruptly visited America ahead of the election to beg for additional aid before the end of the federal fiscal year on September 30. He walked away with over $8 billion, including $5.6 billion in weapons and $2.4 billion worth of aid. Joe Biden enacted the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allowed him to draw additional weapons from stockpiles that were meant to help allies in an emergency. He has used this countless times but most recently pledged $375 million in military supplies for Ukraine.
Not to be outdone, Israel received $8.7 billion from the United States in the past week. The package includes $5.2 billion to secure Israel’s air defense systems and $3.5 billion for essential wartime procurement. Incredible that the US government can pledge billions to secure the Iron Dome while completely ignoring its own borders.
Our Commander in Chief has sent about 3,000 troops to the Middle East, according to the Pentagon. There are already 40,000 soldiers positioned in the region, although Kamala Harris insisted during the debate that this marked the first time that US soldiers have not been deployed to foreign wars.
Then President Joe Biden approved $567 million in defense support for Taiwan on Sunday as countless states were being swept away by Hurricane Helene. Let’s involve America in another war as the nation is distracted and grappling with tragedy. The specifics regarding this package remain vague, but rest assured it is moving the US in the neocon’s intended direction.
Imagine if these resources were invested domestically. This is a mere fraction of what the federal government has provided to these three nations and will continue to provide so long as a neocon remains in power. We have seen this happen countless times with other natural disasters at home, such as fires in Maui, where the people received a small one-time payment of $700 after losing absolutely everything. The government no longer needs to pretend to care about its citizens as people continue to vote for AMERICA LAST policies.
Posted originally on the CTH on October 1, 2024 | Sundance
Everything about the state of failed non-response in WNC makes sense when you honestly “look” at this video. Folks, I’m not kidding.
Maybe it’s just me, but it just seems odd to see people in leadership reading from a teleprompter during an extreme crisis. Both North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and DEI hire Health and Human Services Secretary, Cody Kinsley, literally read prepared remarks from a teleprompter while holding a press conference. Together with other officials they outline the latest updates in WNC Hurricane Helene rescue and recovery operations.
North Carolina DOT is reporting at lease 425 roads remain fully closed and likely many more are compromised. Communication into and out of the region is not nearly good enough to make any quantification of problem areas possible. Several communities are still unreachable unless by air. WATCH:
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Seriously. If you want to see DEI in action, watch the guy at 23:20. This is like something out of a cheap Hollywood version. Unreal. I had NO IDEA North Carolina was this far gone.
Posted originally on the CTH on October 1, 2024 | Sundance
In the past 36 hours information to understand the context of devastation in Western North Carolina/East Tennessee has started to slowly come out. Today, we hope more families are able to contact their loved ones, as the number of missing persons continues to rise.
As communication lines start to open up, consider this thread an open discussion link for any information about the isolated impact zone. If you are in the region, let us know how you are doing. Tens-of-thousands remain trapped and isolated.
Thousands of rescue and recovery workers are now arriving just outside the area as officials attempt to patch together a way for relief efforts to reach impacted communities. Most mountain roads and bridges have failed or become severely compromised. Stay safe. Our entire CTH community is united in prayer and support.
Below is a solid representation of status for multiple families.
One Story: “My parents are ok but completely trapped. Yesterday, I hiked up to check on them. Brain spew coming; I’m still processing it all and was just locked in on go-mode yesterday.
Still not having heard from my parents in 48 hours, I was drowning in worry. My parents live in an absolute gem of the NC mountains — the Little Switzerland, Spruce Pine, Burnsville area — halfway between Asheville and Boone. Under normal circumstances, it’s pleasantly very isolated.
Little did I know that up there, Helene has demolished roads, homes and utility networks. **This area is completely cut off from resources in every direction.** I tried multiple routes to drive up but had to settle on parking in Marion at the base of a closed road (Hwys 221/226) and hiking 11 miles and 2,200 feet to find my parents thankfully ok but surrounded by devastation. I have never been so relieved to see anyone ok.
Crews weren’t even close yesterday. I can’t tell you how many failing roads and deep mudslides I had to cross, how many fallen trees I had to take off my backpack for and navigate through. While hiking up 226A, I met multiple people trapped by devastation in both directions of the highway.
In this part of the mountains with steep terrain rolling off the Blue Ridge Parkway, not only did water rise, it RAGED to tear up roads, earth and homes. Then, the winds (I’m certain tornados in some places) have brought down up to half the tree canopy.
I’m still processing it all. I’ve never seen anything like it. Power is a couple weeks out. I cannot fathom how long it will take DOT to repair the curvy roads that hug steep mountainsides with the most amazing views. Most of all, I want my parents to have the same basic needs they always provided me — food, water, shelter (house is mostly ok) and the ability to explore! But they can’t even leave their home right now. The steep part of their gravel road has braided channels only 18″ wide but up to 5′ deep from rushing water.
It’s just a waiting game now. If you are or you have family in the mountains, I feel for you. Know that crews are chipping away.”
A small portion video from Lake Lure to Asheville:
Posted originally on the CTH on September 30, 2024 | Sundance
Perhaps anticipating that a political administration will drag heels and deflect funds, according to press secretary Karolin Leavitt, President Trump has authorized a GoFundMe campaign to assist victims of Hurricane Helene.
GoFundMe – “President Donald J. Trump has launched this GoFundMe campaign as an official response for MAGA supporters to offer their financial assistance to their fellow Americans impacted by Hurricane Helene. With so many across the Southeastern U.S. facing challenges after the storm, President Trump is on the ground in communities to see the aftermath firsthand. All donations will be directed to help those most affected by Hurricane Helene. Any level of generosity will go a long way for your fellow Americans who are suffering.”
Posted originally on the CTH on September 30, 2024 | Sundance
Likely unknown to most readers, tens-of-thousands of Florida residents have homes and cabins in Western North Carolina (WNC). It is an inside joke in the region about the number of Florida tags on cars there. This is a smart move in principle and in politics by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Giving an update from Steinhatchee, Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis was asked about communication from Joe Biden. Governor DeSantis pointed out that he has not spoken with Biden; however, he would recommend that all available FEMA and Federal recovery efforts be directed immediately to the Western North Carolina region.
DeSantis accurately describes and contrasts the unique challenges faced by people living in the WNC area. WATCH:
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This is one of those situations where good policy is good politics.
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