Doing The Right Thing . . .

The Gadfly is saddened to see and hear about the tornado devastation wrought in Oklahoma today by nature's fury:

By LAUREN EFFRON and DEAN SCHABNER
May 20, 2013

A mammoth tornado carved a trail of destruction through the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, killing at least 10 people and ripping apart two elementary schools today, local authorities said.

David Barnes, the director of Oklahoma Emergency Management in Oklahoma County, told ABC News that a single twister tore through homes from Newcastle to Moore, a path of 12 miles. The damage was "widespread" and people's homes were completely destroyed, all the way to their foundations, he said.

At least 10 people have been confirmed dead in the storm's aftermath, according to the state's chief medical examiner's office.

"It is absolutely devastating, this is horrific," Oklahoma Lt. Gov Todd Lamb said. "We're going to have fatalities. ... We're going to have significant injuries. ... We just don't know what those numbers are. Schools have been hit, a hospital has been hit, businesses have been flattened, neighborhoods have been wiped away -- we don't have the numbers in yet but it is going to be significant and it is going to be horrific."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/oklahoma-tornado-10-dead-horrific-damage/story?id=19219367#.UZq387XYdBM


The Gadfly wishes the best to the people of Oklahoma affected by this tragedy and hopes that they keep their spirits high as they deal with their present unfortunate circumstances.

Also - let's ensure that these victims get all of the state and federal help that they need to put their shattered lives and communities back together again.  More importantly - let us be goddamn sure that we do not emulate the selfish and vindictive example of House and Senate Republicans who unnecessarily delayed relief to the victims of Hurricane Sandy just so they could appease their Teabagging pals by showing them how tough they could be on their dealings with President Obama. You do not play politics when people's lives are in the balance.  You do everything in your power to help them out of their tragic situation and you do the bean counting and politicking after the fact -- because that is what decent and caring Americans do when their fellow citizens need their help -- they stick together and do the right thing.


----TFG