38 Minutes

Some moron flipped an emergency alert switch in Hawaii and had the whole state running for cover in anticipation of an incoming nuclear missile.  

People were rushing to shelters, the interstates (yes, Hawaii actually has interstates, though they're all on Oahu) were clogged with traffic, and parents were sending their children down manholes (which must have been cool for the kids, since they probably thought they were going to meet the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), with all of this mass hysteria over a North Korean attack that didn't actually happen!

And it took thirty-eight minutes - about the time it takes to watch "This Is Us" with all of the commercials taken out - before anyone in Hawaii could let people know it was a false alarm. 

Oh dear, imagine if this nimrod at the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency had spilled Pepsi on the controls? (A similar false alarm also occurred in Japan.)

Did Trump do anything to reassure Hawaiians that they'd be safe?  Of course not; he was too busy playing golf in Florida.  But then why bother taking care of the hysteria in Hawaii, a state that voted for your opponent in the 2016 presidential election and was (allegedly) the birthplace of your predecessor?   Not to mention the least white state in the Union?  

The act of an emergency alarm pulled by mistake in the second-closest state to North Korea at a time of heightened tensions between their lunatic leader and our lunatic leader could have been a miscalculation that could have led to all-out war.  It's very sobering . . . as well as the fact that if Kim Jong Un ever does fire a missile into the Aloha State, it's going to be pretty hard for anyone to escape in a state comprised of volcanic islands in the middle of the Pacific.

Sorry for all of the black humor here . . . but laughing at what scares you is sometimes the best way to keep going. 

A Matter of Priorities

The earthquake in Japan and the tsunami that it spawned, which threatened both Hawaii and the mainland Pacific states and caused some formidable waves in both areas, show how important it is that we prepare for the worst and how we should always make sure that we have the resources to make our warning systems work . . . and work well.

So why did the Republicans propose a spending cut of about $126 million for the National Weather Service, which runs the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii, before the tsunami was generated?

Why do the Republicans want to cut $454 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, of which the National Weather Service is part, which could cause intermittent closures of weather service offices? Why would they make it more difficult, if not impossible, to get people to safety in the event of a tidal wave - like if, say, Rush Limbaugh goes back to Hawaii for a vacation and decides to go cannonball diving off a pier?

Well, let me let House Appropriations Committee spokeswoman Jennifer Hing answer that:

"The nation is in an historic fiscal crisis, and it is imperative that the Congress roll back spending in virtually every area of government — including NOAA — so that we can help our economy back on track."

Hing added that the House Republicans recognize the need to keep critical lifesaving and safety programs, which is why their proposed budget would not cut spending for a network of tsunami-detecting buoys in the Pacific Ocean.

Gee, I feel so much better.

It should be clear that the Republicans have no regard for the general welfare in any circumstances - even when the lives and safety of millions of people are involved.

Next, you'll be telling me that they want to cut spending for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, even though the accident at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant shows how badly things can go wrong with nuclear energy even in countries where it is strongly regulated.

On second thought, don't. . . .

Aloha!

I finally found the Hawaii state quarter.

That's it, my fifty-state quarter collection is complete! :-)

Now to the presidential dollar coins.