Winter storm Atlas
Posted by Diana Elwood (+27) 9 years ago
I'm just wanting to know how many people in the area are following the devastation to the ranchers in SD who lost thousands of head of livestock from the snow storm Atlas. There has been very little media coverage until just today I finally saw something on CBS. Please folks check out what these ranchers are going thru and help out any way you can. The SD Stock Growers have ways to help, and KBHB radio web site has sites to go to. Thank you.
Top
supporter
Posted by Bridgier (+9508) 9 years ago
Here's what South Dakota's at large representative had to say when the time came to vote to help other victims of circumstance:

http://noem.house.gov/ind...cbb4f14d46

http://clerk.house.gov/ev...oll023.xml

People are hurting all over. I guess them's the breaks.
Top
supporter
Posted by Jeri Dalbec (+3266) 9 years ago
It was that darn bit where they put Food Stamps back into the bill..and, even with the clause about monitoring the jobs portion...it was apparently too generous. It is all so very sad.
Top
Posted by Bill Bloom (-305) 9 years ago
In response it the post, a neighbor sent me some pictures of the dead livestock,as bad as I have ever seen. Feel really sorry for those folks and all the livestock loss and suffering, and hardships they`re having.Hope they find a way to cope with it all, power outages , deep snow ,on and on, wildlife, everything. Wish them luck
Top
Posted by Elizabeth Emilsson (+791) 9 years ago
I saw a little mention of the disaster on the weather channel, but Amber Dixon sent us e-mail asking for prayers for the people affected by the snow storm. Of course the country has been too tied up with the shutdown to take notice of any thing else. Is this a sign prelude for the next disaster or another tempest in the tea pot wrought by the tea partyers?
Top
supporter
Posted by Bridgier (+9508) 9 years ago
Wish them luck

That's the new American spirit I'm talking about! +1 for Bill
Top
Posted by Diana Elwood (+27) 9 years ago
These folks need our prayers and whatever else we can do, the count is up to 75,000 now and they have to dispose quickly of their beloved cows, horse and sheep. They need a designated third party to witness the numbers of the all the dead so if the government does come through with some kind of help these people have proof of their losses. Here are some sites that show what is going there and the heartbreak. animoto.com, realamericancowboymagazine.com, cbsnews.com, and Black Hills Fox news. This could happen in area as easily as it did there, we need to have some compassion for our neighbors in SD, NE,and WY.
Top
moderator
founder
Posted by David Schott (+18539) 9 years ago
The Guardian: South Dakota's cattle cataclysm: why isn't this horror news?

Carrie Mess
theguardian.com, Monday 14 October 2013 13.17 EDT

If you aren't in the ag world, you most likely haven't heard about the devastating loss that ranchers in western South Dakota are struggling with after being hit by winter storm Atlas.

For some reason the news stations aren't covering this story. I don't understand why they wouldn't. This story has heartbreak, tragedy and even a convenient tie into the current government shutdown. Isn't that what the news is all about these days?

But the news isn't covering this story. Instead, it is spreading around on social media, and bloggers are writing from their ranches in South Dakota. Bloggers are trying to explain how the horrible happened. And now I am going to join them to tell you the part of the story that I know, and I am going to ask you to help these people, because if you are here reading this, I know you give a crap about these people.

Last weekend western South Dakota and parts of the surrounding states got their butts handed to them by Mother Nature. A blizzard isn't unusual in South Dakota, the cattle are tough and can handle some snow. They have for hundreds of years.

Unlike on our dairy farm in Wisconsin, beef cattle don't live in climate controlled barns. Beef cows and calves spend the majority of their lives out on pasture. They graze the grass in the spring, summer and fall and eat baled hay in the winter.

In winter these cows and calves grow fuzzy jackets that keep them warm and protect them from the snow and cold. The cows and calves live in special pastures in the winter. These pastures are smaller and closer to the ranch, and they have windbreaks for the cows to hide behind. They have worked for cows for hundred of years.

So what's the big deal about this blizzard?

It's not really winter yet.

The cows don't have their warm jackets on. The cows are still out eating grass in the big pastures. Atlas wasn't just a snowstorm, it was the kind of storm that can destroy the ranchers that have been caring for these cattle for hundreds of years.

Last weekend Atlas hit. It started with rain. The rain soaked the cows and chilled them to the bone. Inches and inches of rain fell. The rain made horrible mud. Then the winds started - 80mph winds, hurricane force. When the wind started, the rain changed to snow. A lot of snow. The cows were wet, muddy and they didn't have their winter jackets when the wind and snow came. Wet snow. Heavy snow.

The cows tried to protect themselves. They hid in low spots away from the wind. The low spots where the rain had turned the ground to thick mud. Some got stuck in the mud. Some laid down to get away from the wind, to rest a little, they were tired from trying to get away from the weather when they were already so cold.

The snow came down so heavy and so fast the the low spots that the cattle were laying in filled with snow. Not a few inches of snow, not a foot of snow. Enough snow that the cows and their calves were covered in snow.

The cows and calves suffocated or froze to death.

The caretakers of these cattle had no power to save them. They had to stand by and take the lashings from Mother Nature. They had no options. When it was all over, they went out to discover what they had left.

Can you even imagine what that would feel like? Standing with your hands tied as your life's living, breathing and mooing work is destroyed. I can't imagine, I don't know how I would recover from a loss like that. This wasn't just one or two herds of cows. This wasn't just one or two families that lost animals. This wasn't just a few cows. Tens of thousands of cows are gone. Some ranchers lost their entire herds. All of their cows, gone.

In the fall, a cattle rancher sells their calves to someone who specializes in raising them for market. It's how a ranch generates income. Calves are the lifeblood of a cattle ranch. Most ranchers had not yet sold their calves when Atlas hit. Their calves are gone. The cows that made those calves were pregnant with with next year's calves. Those cows are gone, those calves are gone.

Meanwhile in Washington DC, the shutdown has doubly screwed the ranchers. The people that are supposed to try to help these people are unable to do their jobs. The farm bill is held up again. No one knows when, how or if help is going to come.

Insurance? Not likely.

When a flood comes and your corn is flooded out, you have some options. Insurance for cattle is expensive and it comes with hundreds of loopholes that make the gamble of farming without it the most practical choice for many.

There is no way around it, this storm has put some ranchers out of business. Time will tell just how many.
Top
supporter
Posted by Gunnar Emilsson (+18477) 9 years ago
I think I agree with Bridgier. I don't give a crap about these people. For they voted for Republicans of the Tea party variety, and are getting exactly whar they deserve.

What goes around, comes around. Turn your back on your fellow citizens, don't be shocked when they do the same to you.
Top
supporter
Posted by Richard Bonine, Jr. (+15490) 9 years ago
"Praying" is the absolute least you can do, literally. Here is a more pragmatic solution:

http://teespring.com/ranchersrelief#

Top
Posted by Winslow (+382) 9 years ago
Gunnar: That is really a cold-hearted statement to make.

"People do not seem to realise that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

[This message has been edited by Winslow (10/15/2013)]
Top
supporter
Posted by Bridgier (+9508) 9 years ago
You know, I know a lot of conservatives who are, objectively, great people. They'll give you the shirt off of their back, if they see that you need it.

But - if they don't know you, or don't have someone to vouch for you, or if you are a step or two removed from their social/economic circle, then you're probably just trying to cheat the system or lazy or something.

Hell, I've seen it right there on facebook - an appeal to remember the farmers of south dakota, followed immediately by something ignorant and snarky about people on food stamps.

Wonderful people, if you look like them, or they can somehow make an emotional connection to you and your circumstances, but there's only so much so much empathy to go around you know, so share this if you love jesus, comment if you hate satan, etc, etc, etc.

The world isn't fair, and it's a rough place, particularly if you're at the mercy of storms, be they natural or economic. It would be great if we could all pull together into some sort of common union to reduce the risks associated with those storms, but the good people of Wyoming, Nebraska and South Dakota (and Idaho, and Texas, etc, etc) consistently send people to speak for them in Washington who believe that everyone else should be the mercy of the various and sundry locusts that consume their lives, because they're lazy, or poor, or didn't get lucky enough to inherit vast amounts of capital and real estate.

If only we had some means of focusing our collective resources for the common good, but in the meantime, are there no bootstraps left in the great state of South Dakota?
Top
Posted by DJB (+93) 9 years ago
So Gunnar if they would not have voted for Republicans this disaster won't have happened? Sounds like you think it depends on the "party" that is running this country being responsible for weather conditions? Thus SD being a Republican state they get hammered with a horrible, horrible storm. Are you referring to "weather control"???? Maybe your turn will be next or is your state run by Democrats and thus your safe? I don't think it matters....its much deeper.
Do you have any idea of all the aspects of running a ranch; do you have no compassion for animals both domesticated and wild? As well as people who care for them?
I'm for helping these people out!

[This message has been edited by DJB (10/15/2013)]
Top
supporter
Posted by Bridgier (+9508) 9 years ago
It's like he read gunnars comment and then just stopped!
Top
Posted by DJB (+93) 9 years ago
I have read each reply and mine was directed to only Gunnar.
Top
supporter
Posted by Bridgier (+9508) 9 years ago
And yet, mine is a further exploration of gunnar's (and my, from above) point. If you respond to gunnars, without responding to mine, having claimed that you've read them all, it would appear that you didn't really understand what gunnar (or I) was trying to say.

It would, in fact, appear that you ONLY read gunnars, and then ONLY applied the most cursory amount of analysis to arrive at the point you always wanted to make in the first place.
Top
admin
moderator
founder
Posted by MilesCity.com Webmaster (+10014) 9 years ago
DJB wrote:
Maybe your turn will be next or is your state run by Democrats and thus your safe?

Gunnar lives in Montana.
Top
Posted by DJB (+93) 9 years ago
Oh, I'm so sorry. I noticed the little flag by "from" and thought it was another state, just clicked on it and it says "Germany" and he lives in Montana....I am so sorry for my mistake.

Enough is enough the point is this is terrible and people/livestock/wildlife are all suffering.

I'm done the rest of you can carry on.
Top
supporter
Posted by Buck Showalter (+4455) 9 years ago
I'm having a spaghetti dinner to benefit the victims of the dumbass Congress they elected. DJB, it's not that the weather is their punishment, it's that this government is their punishment. They elected the people who are currently f*cking them over.

That's probably a pretty legitimate way for the Teabaggers to justify their actions, though. They seriously believe this is God's message to leftist ranchers.

[This message has been edited by Buck Showalter (10/15/2013)]
Top
supporter
Posted by ike eichler (+1232) 9 years ago
Bridger and Gunnar have to be 2 of the biggest douche bags ever to post on a thread on MC.com.

Must be hard to claim to be a compassionate human being, that has empathy for all, let alone a citizen of Montana, and grew up in Miles City. The majority of the mentioned 3 hold them it utter contempt.

Their posts are the exact same as what they claim others to be. F-U I got mine, Wish them luck, Ignorant and snarky, Tough S--t, Pull your self up by your boot straps. If they had voted differently this would not have happened. Et al

I suspect, the affected folks are just the same as around here or anywhere, not all conservative, many are liberal or non political. Who cares when a tragedy occurs what political party you voted for?
Top
supporter
Posted by Richard Bonine, Jr. (+15490) 9 years ago
Here is another pragmatic solution:

http://www.bhpioneer.com/...f887a.html

MILES CITY, Mont. - With most of winter storm Atlas' deep, heavy snow gone, and power restored to nearly all who were without, the blizzard is all but a memory for most South Dakotans. But not for ranchers; with an estimated 80,000 head of cattle lying dead from the storm across the state, the nightmare is still very real. After hearing of the South Dakota ranching community's devastating losses, one Montana rancher decided he was going to try to make a difference.

On Oct. 8, 33-year-old Miles City, Mont. rancher Ty Linger set up the "Heifers for S. Dakota" Facebook page, hoping to start a campaign in which ranchers in the surrounding area unaffected by winter storm Atlas could pledge to donate cattle to South Dakota ranchers suffering a loss of 25 percent or more of their herd. As of today, exactly one week later, Linger is reporting more than 130 head of animals, valued at more than $200,000, have been pledged to his cause, he's set up a standalone website (www.helpforsouthdakota.com), his Facebook page has more than 4,300 "likes," his project is 90 percent of the way to official establishment as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and he has 17 communication/organization/outreach branches set up - eight in Montana, two in Wyoming, one in south central South Dakota, one in western North Dakota, one in Nebraska, one in Minnesota, one in Iowa, one in Utah and one in Virginia.

To say there's widespread support for Linger's project would be an understatement.
It all began when Linger saw the images on Facebook: dozens of bodies of deceased cattle nearly stacked on top of one another in many of the photos - and there were many photos. Then he got word of the numbers.

"We were just thinking about what we could do that would make a difference, something that would matter," Linger said. "A lot of times you hear about hurricanes, tornadoes, and you want to help, you want to send money, but to a ranching community - if you were running say 200 head, and suddenly 150 are gone or dead, that's a tremendous loss. Most haven't even been able to sell their calves, so their one big paycheck this year just isn't going to come."

Linger knew monetary donations could go along way to helping out, but that donations of animals, from rancher to rancher, could go a lot further in picking ranching families up, getting them back in the game and keeping them there.

The ranching community has always been dedicated, tightly woven, and largely oblivious to state borderlines. Linger's project is showing just how true this is. Ranchers from as far away as Oklahoma, Virginia., and Arizona have pledged not only bred cattle, they've pledged to help haul, they've pledged to donate fuel, to donate the use of their trucks, to help organize the effort and distribution, and more.
And that's good, because the project that Linger's set out to tackle requires a massive amount of effort in so many ways - before several ranchers established the first branches of Help for South Dakota last week to help with organization of the effort, Linger was spending six hours a day on the phone and answering e-mails, while still trying to raise two young boys and manage his own ranching operation full-time. And with more and more people contacting Help for South Dakota to pledge animals, time, equipment or money, the workload hasn't changed much, but it's something Linger is all too happy to take on.

"I think this is the most important thing I can be doing right now," he said. "A high goal would be that everyone that has suffered a traumatic loss - a quarter of their heard or more, to this storm . I would love to be able to give an animal to every individual that suffered 25 percent or more loss."
Accomplishing this goal will require lots and lots of hard work, and dedication by many individuals, and there are many hurdles, logistical and otherwise, to jump over and much red tape cut through. Linger is looking for more help to make his goal a reality. He needs help with coordination, he needs more volunteers for hauling, more pledging to donate the use of trucks and trailers, more pledging to donate fuel, and of course, more pledging to donate cattle.

"It's really encouraging to me to see the amount of people who want to lend a hand," Linger said. "There's a lot of good folks out there, and it's humbling to be an instrument to be used to help organize some of that."

Linger said one of the best ways individuals can help him achieve his goal right now is by identifying ranchers who could use his help. He needs names, numbers and details, because without a list of those in need, a list of pledges is worthless.

Linger can be contacted through e-mail at [email protected]. More information on Help for South Dakota can be found at www.helpforsouthdakota.com, as well as on the project's regularly updated Facebook page: www.facebook.com/pledgeheifer.
Top
supporter
Posted by Bob Netherton II (+1911) 9 years ago
"Who cares when a tragedy occurs what political party you voted for?"

Remember that big storm that tore up the Jersey Shore or the massive tornadoes this summer, Ike? Which party wanted to hold up FEMA funds for those folks? The president showed up to support those folks. Remember?

Remember the big manure blow-up in Texas? The president also showed up there. Not exactly blue-state territory.

When a tragedy happens, I don't care what party the victims voted for. These are the situations the government can help with. 10,000 church bake sales aren't going to cut it.

But if you vote republican, especially tea-bag republican, you are demonstrating that you do not take seriously the hardships others go through, especially those that aren't just like you, when a tragedy like this occurs.

I'll tell you one reason this tragedy isn't getting coverage. The republican party, especially the tea baggers, are having a giant look-at-us party. The "news" is obliging them.
Top
Posted by Elizabeth Emilsson (+791) 9 years ago
I can't agree with Gunnar's seemingly cold hearted response to the plight of the ranchers. Knowing him well , I know he cares about the sadness of seeing so many animals suffering and dying. But many of these ranchers seem immune to the suffering of children and the poor people who have been caught by other disasters. I remember a joke from a Dakotan that was forwarded to me and made its rounds came out on the internet after Katrina was "when we get a snow storm and no one asks the federal government for help" Sometimes our words come back and bite us.













'. Sometimes our words come back and bite us.
Top
supporter
Posted by Bridgier (+9508) 9 years ago
if you think i don't 'care' ike, then I think you can't read.
Top
supporter
Posted by ike eichler (+1232) 9 years ago
Bobby 2 and others,

The cows, sheep, horses, and wildlife, deer antelope, elk, game birds that were victims would not have recognized a republican from a democrat-nor cared. They did not vote.

Why is it, when things like this happen folks must inject partisan politics into the discussion? The old blame game or politics for gain thing.
Top
supporter
Posted by Buck Showalter (+4455) 9 years ago
Ike, I know you dislike the way Gunnar and Bridgier deliver the message, but its time you do a little more to understand the message itself. It's great someone has collected 130 cows to make up for the losses in SD, but the victims of this disaster deserve better and partisan politics is why they aren't getting it now and won't get it in the future.
Top
supporter
Posted by Gunnar Emilsson (+18477) 9 years ago
Ten years ago, partisan politics never needed to enter the discussion. People would come together, and Congress would overwhelmingly vote to provide assistance.

Then the Teabaggers came around, and the game changed.

I can't state it any better than Bob II did.

The Tea party is the American Taliban.
Top
Posted by Bill Bloom (-305) 9 years ago
Wow, almost 10,000 members of this site, and a couple know it all`s, how nice and sweet you are .Wonder why so few of the others post, da. Everybody suffered that was caught up in that storm, one of them was my sister, I have an idea of what she went , I say **** ***,to you political hacks, politics , name calling, go for it, for your the smartest , greatest, nicest guy and gal on here. Your brush isn`t wide it`s very narrow. A+ , there, did it for you . Still hoping better luck goes those folks way. Ranchers are busy working and living their lives, I doubt they spend all their time sitting at a computer, most of them are great people. Wishing harm or saying they deserve it because of how they voted is insane . Deer don`t vote, some people don`t vote , they all don`t vote the same way, or at least not if they don`t know you two, and even if they did not vote your way, its there dam right to vote how they choice , good luck getting people to think like you too.
Top
supporter
Posted by Buck Showalter (+4455) 9 years ago
Well, I guess all these people really taught their faces a lesson. I'll organize a spaghetti dinner for all those without noses.

[This message has been edited by Buck Showalter (10/17/2013)]
Top
supporter
Posted by Bridgier (+9508) 9 years ago
Oh for...

SOMETHING POOPTY HAPPENED TO THESE PEOPLE.

WE COULD CREATE A SYSTEM WHEREBY THE IMPACT OF POOPTY THINGS COULD BE MINIMIZED.

THESE PEOPLE TEND TO LOOK UPON SUCH SYSTEMS AS SOCIALISM FOR LAZY MOOCHERS

SO IT SUCKS WHEN POOPTY THINGS HAPPEN TO THEM INSTEAD, BECAUSE NOW THE SHOE IS ON THE OTHER FOOT.
Top
supporter
Posted by MRH (+1563) 9 years ago
Forget the 'size' of the paint brush, in taxonomic terms, some of you would be known as 'lumpers vs. splitters'. Remember there is 'diversity' within all groups.
Top
supporter
Posted by Bridgier (+9508) 9 years ago
And I realize that not EVERY rancher in South Dakota is a tea-bagging zealot.. but the majority are, and they get the government, and the government response, that they deserve - after all, it's what they wanted.

I don't, however, want to live in society where the only response to someone's cancer diagnosis is a bake sale or a spaghetti dinner. That does exactly zero, in the grand scheme of things, for the person effected.

We don't need to live every man for himself, always suspicious that our neighbor is getting a free ride and an excess of government cheese, but certain people choose to, and choose to elect people who tell them that's the way it should be, and when the unexpected bill comes due for THEM, we're supposed to offer them the hand up that that they deny to others, without comment or delay?

Maybe. Maybe it would be nicer to wait until later to point this out, just like we should always wait until later to talk about maybe having a conversation about guns whenever there's a shooting. The problem with that is that 'later' never seems to arrive.
Top
supporter
Posted by ike eichler (+1232) 9 years ago
Bridger,

DO YOU KNOW ONE RANCHER-FARMER IN WESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA OR 5 OR 10? HOW MANY TEABAGGERS IN THAT GROUP DO YOU KNOW? IF NOT, YOU'R JUST BLOWING WIND. STEROTYPES ARE WHAT YOU CALL RACIST.
Top
supporter
Posted by Buck Showalter (+4455) 9 years ago
It takes more than 10 teabaggers to outlaw abortions.
Top
supporter
Posted by Gunnar Emilsson (+18477) 9 years ago
Geezus. I just feel like banging my head on the kitchen table, over and over again.

Ike, I know you are old, so I am going to give you a pass. Try breathing more deeply, to try to get some more oxygen to your brain.
Top
supporter
Posted by ike eichler (+1232) 9 years ago
Gunnar,

Reread your responses on this thread and maybe continue to pound your head against something. Maybe it will hurt a little and find a little empathy for your fellow man. . Don't let age difference deter you, I need no pass. I stand by everything I have posted. Do you? Or just another wise a-- post. Other than your hunting-fishing, beer making posts the rest are just, as all can see, Trying to be smarter than you actually are.
Top
supporter
Posted by Bridgier (+9508) 9 years ago
As I pointed out above - conservatives have empathy... for people who look/think/live just like them.
Top
Posted by Diana Elwood (+27) 9 years ago
Ok folks, this is not what I had in mind for this thread. The media was late in getting this disaster out to the world, I really just wanted to know if people were hearing anything about this. I know those folks in SD that lost livestock, I don't care what political party they belong to, they are all good people and whether this government helps them or not they will survive. They will pick themselves up, help the survivors, bury their dead, cry some, wipe their tears and carry on. Why does everything have to go political. I hope that most all the people that look milescity.com are praying people and thats what those people need most. And I guess people praying could stir up another hornets nest, but thtats what I believe in and I believe in the ranchers all over this nation. They will find a way to take care of one another. So lets just end this thread and pray for all affected by Atlas. Thank you.
Top
supporter
Posted by Buck Showalter (+4455) 9 years ago
Pray in one hand, poop in the other...
Top
supporter
Posted by Richard Bonine, Jr. (+15490) 9 years ago
Again, praying is the absolute least you can do, literally. I'd rather find tangible ways to help.
Top
Posted by shannon (+76) 9 years ago
I currently live in South Dakota. Was born and raised in Miles City, MT and went to school with Bridgier and Gunnar. Shame on both of you and for the rest of you that made this into a political bashing. This was a horrible winter storm that was not controlled by a government party. I also happen to work for NRCS. We have now been back to work for 2 days. Do you know how many ranchers have called our office for government help? NONE.ZERO. I guess we found our bootstraps and have pulled ourselves up by them. But you wouldn't know that since there has been NO NATIONAL NEWS COVERAGE.
Saying we got what we deserved because of who represents our state in Congress is a new form of racism. And why limit it to the state level? Why not take it to the national level? Maybe our nation is getting what we deserve because of the so-called President that was elected and it just happened to be South Dakota's turn on the Karma merry-go-round. Doesn't that just sound assanine? Yeah, that's is exactly how you ignorant asshats sound to me. Idiots.
Top
supporter
Posted by Gunnar Emilsson (+18477) 9 years ago
Why is reading comprehension so hard?

All we are saying, is that we are happy to pay more taxes to help folks in need, to allow a coordinated effort to help these people in the best and most efficient way possible.

But, if you prefer for us to keep our yaps shut and just mail our $6.95 for the spaghetti dinner that Buck is willing to host, so be it.

Seriously. You all should try reading a book with big words, instead of watching Dancing with the Stars.
Top
Posted by shannon (+76) 9 years ago
Yep...would rather have you keep your yaps shut rather than minimize what we are going through or belittle our intelligence. Do you feel like a big, smart man now? Idiot.
Top
Posted by cbt (+88) 9 years ago
I hesitate to post on this forum since people tend to be so mean here but little has been brought up on the efforts and generosity of others...here it goes. The Black Hills Area Community Foundation has established a fund in which 100% of donations go directly to the ranchers affected by this storm. It is being administered by three groups: South Dakota Stockgrower's Assoc., South Dakota Cattlemen's Association, South Dakota Sheep growers Association. Some of the contributions I've seen through various sources but mostly on facebook Rancher Relief Fund include $30,000.00 from a company in Aberdeen, $17,500.00 from a roll over auction in Mobridge, $2,500.00 from the Real American Cowboy Magazine, $2,500.00 from The Pioneer Woman and $100,000.00 from CHS foundation.
Clearly, lots of people within the ranching industry are not waiting for the federal government to make things happen.

Gunnar nice to see you've had a change of heart and are "happy" to help through the federal government...I read your earlier posts...I think in your first post you stated "I don't give a crap about these people."

[This message has been edited by cbt (10/18/2013)]
Top
supporter
Posted by Bridgier (+9508) 9 years ago
I'm pretty sure Shannon wasn't able to go to school with both Gunnar and me.

Could I have made my point a little less abrasively? maybe, although I don't think I was particularly abrasive about it in the first place.

Let me try this again.

I do feel bad for the farmers and ranchers of South Dakota - it's terrible when the world that you've worked for and built is wiped away.

This happens to people all over the world, not just in the US, and in general, people respond to these needs when they arise, and they respond very generously.

Unfortunately, retail charity of this nature is inefficient, and doesn't always adequately address the needs to rebuild infrastructure and other large scale needs.

The representative from South Dakota has a track record of voting against people in need, whether it be recovery efforts in New York, or properly funding nutrition benefits. My point here, is that the people affected by this storm have returned her with a significant majority to Washington where, I assume, they approve of the job she is doing.

Further, I noted that have met many conservatives who are great people, with vast wellsprings of empathy... for people that they connect with. Is it someone in Miles City's job to organize a benefit auction for people recently laid off by my company, for example? No, absolutely not. If they voted for Steve Daines who then turns around and works to eliminate unemployment insurance, or reduce those benefits, is the person in Miles City responsible for that? Well... no raindrop's entirely responsible for the flood, and surely the gallons of good they've done for the good citizens of SD should outweigh one moment of selfishness in the ballot box, right?

I don't know. But don't tell me to pray for the people hurt by the storm, and then turn around and tell me we need to kick the moochers off of welfare, and thank god for the tea party holding the line, etc, etc, etc - because storms come in all shapes and sizes, and your empathy shouldn't only extend to people you'd be happy to go to church with.

[This message has been edited by Bridgier (10/18/2013)]
Top
supporter
Posted by Richard Bonine, Jr. (+15490) 9 years ago
currently live in South Dakota. Was born and raised in Miles City, MT and went to school with Bridgier and Gunnar.


Umm... gonna throw the challenge flag here and hope I don't lose a time out... how is this possible?
Top
supporter
Posted by Richard Bonine, Jr. (+15490) 9 years ago
I hesitate to post on this forum since people tend to be so mean here but little has been brought up on the efforts and generosity of others


Really? I guess I should just go back to praying.
Top
supporter
Posted by Buck Showalter (+4455) 9 years ago
So shannon repeated the 10th grade a couple (dozen) times. Doesn't seem that unlikely.
Top
Posted by cbt (+88) 9 years ago
Yes, Richard, clearly you have brought up some "pragmatic" and "tangible" efforts of others. I was not trying to be dismissive of those when I said "little" has been brought up, I was trying to show additional pragmatic and tangible efforts. Sorry it came across as being dismissive of your posts.
Top
supporter
Posted by Denise Selk (+1664) 9 years ago
Perhaps shannon is confusing the Emilsson boys.
Top