Say It Ain’t So: FEMA Waste?!?!
In a shocking development, FEMA gave out lots of money to people who didn’t need it
WASHINGTON (CNN) — A $200 bottle of champagne from Hooters and $300 worth of “Girls Gone Wild” videos were among items bought with debit cards handed out by FEMA to help hurricane victims, auditors probing $1 billion in potential waste and fraud have found.
The cards — given to people displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita — also bought diamond jewelry and a vacation in the Dominican Republic, according to the Government Accountability Office audit.
You know, a billion here and a billion there; pretty soon it adds up to real money. Your money, and mine.
I’m not sure I agree that all of the money was wasted, though:
The GAO uncovered records showing that $1,000 from a FEMA debit card went to a Houston divorce lawyer; $600 was spent in a strip club and $400 was spent on “adult erotica products,” all of which auditors concluded were “not necessary to satisfy legitimate disaster needs.”
It seems to me that those expenditures were for some legitimate disasters…
Anyhow, this is the natural result of the MSM and politicians screaming at FEMA to throw money at the recovery, as if that was somehow all that was needed. So of course it was easy for people to feed at the trough, especially when I’m sure that the FEMA officials (much like cops with tickets) were under a lot of pressure to show via big numbers that they were ‘doing something,’which of course led to them completely ignoring their guidelines for checking out the validity of claims. So now the MSM has something else they can point to to show this Administrations incompetence, however much a hand they may have had in its creation.
Nanny State | Mr. Bingley | 
June 14, 2006 9:24 am
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CNN missed the sex-change operation that was paid for with FEMA money.
Ahh, the Twinkie defense. FEMA’s waste is FEMA’s responsibility, not politician’s, not MSM’s, not private citizens. Guidelines are retarded, anyway. One community may need clean water, another medical assistance, and another may need bulldozers.
Sure, that’s true, Rob, and I’m clearly not laying all the blame on forces outside of FEMA, at least I wasn’t intending to. but guidelines are retarded? guidelines like checking that ss numbers were valid or not those of people in jail? that addresses existed? paying people who listed po boxes as their addresses? FEMA clearly clearly screwed up here in a big way, but i think it’s clear that they were egged on to it by the constant screaming from politicians and msm that they ‘do something’. that’s what i was trying to say.
Misunderstood the guidelines you were referring to, Mr B. Sorry. Authentication is a good guideline.
Bah, I don’t even understand myself most of the time. 🙂
CNN missed the sex-change operation that was paid for with FEMA money.
And how are you feeling now, Kendice?