CQ reports that Republican Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana has blocked Craig Fugate’s nomination to run FEMA. Quite a surprise, since he sailed through the Senate Homeland Security earlier this week.
Check out the alleged reason for Vitter’s hold, as reported by the Miami Herald
“Vitter’s concerns…apparently relate to FEMA’s maps of controversial ‘high-velocity flood zones,’ a designation related to coastal areas that are at high risk in a hurricane or an area that faces significant risk in the event of a flood. Federal regulations currently prohibit FEMA from funding new construction in such zones, and…
I’m thinking it’s no coincidence that I woke up yesterday wishing I lived in Hawaii (here in the DC metro area, we’ve been having a ton of that April rain) and was greeted with the news that where you live impacts your mental health.
According to a new study, the differences between geographic location and mental health were so great that even the researchers were surprised. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveyed more than 1.2 million people, concluding that where you live determines whether you experience Frequent Mental Distress (FMD), defined as “
All over the country, programs are being cut, buildings are being abandoned. To save money, people need to make hard choices, and some of them will be wrong.
What you don’t often hear are the ways that regular people are creating new things to save the old ones, one YouTube video at a time. Over the past month, my friend Suzy has harangued her friends, pestered her neighbors, enlisted her children, spoken at rallies, organized petitions, and driven bureaucrats to the brink…
I didn’t know a simulated explosion could include a 20 to 30-foot “fireball” that lasts for 2 minutes. I thought that would fall into the category of an actual explosion.
Well, we’ll find out Wednesday morning apparently, as DC continues its inexorable march to TV fame and flame-out. The following alert is being sent around to various DC-area residents and buildings:
For the filming of a TV pilot, there will be a simulated explosion on Wednesday, March 25, 2009, between 9:30 a.m. and noon near Key Bridge in the…
Check out Hanna Rosin’s Atlantic piece about the deep, dark gap between the rhetoric and the data on breastfeeding. It’s a classic example of how emotion can trounce facts, especially when it comes to parenting.
After all, the brain is wired to rank emotion over facts, which is why we fear airplane crashes more than heart attacks—and why we end up with a generation of yuppie women knocking themselves out to breastfeed, even if it’s not working for them or their children. It’s a reminder that whenever emotion is high, it is worth…
Yesterday’s education speech by President Obama left me on the edge of my seat. The man is saying all the right things. The man knows how to talk, and he made some bold declarations about national standards, merit pay, and getting rid of bad teachers.
