The government bureaucracy is filled with hypocrisy, that’s nothing new.
It was on full displaying during the darkest days of Covid-19 when left-leaning, Covid-happy Democratic officials would issue mandates for masks and distancing, then be photographed maskless the next day at parties or other social gatherings. Rules for thee but not for me, that’s the motto of the modern Democratic Party.
It can be understandable, then, when the residents of East Palestine, the Ohio town which is now under what is essentially a chemical Chernobyl from a train derailment earlier this month, are skeptical when Biden administration officials claim all is well with water and air yet seem hesitant to drink it themselves or bathe their kids in it.
Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance made the point a few days ago with a video where he stirred up the mud in a nearby stream:
Visited a local creek in East Palestine today. These waterways are still very polluted. It’s time for Norfolk Southern to finish the cleanup. Check this video out: pic.twitter.com/4lsHBmrMJj
— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) February 16, 2023
No fear, though, as Michael Regan, Biden’s EPA administrator, says to “trust the science” that the water is fine for kids to drink and bathe in:
A reporter asked EPA administrator Michael Regan if he would allow his children to drink or bathe in the water in East Palestine, OH pic.twitter.com/PEvcDZsRiz
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) February 16, 2023
Vance as later asked again and challenged officials from the Biden administration to come to drink it themselves:
Boom!@JDVance1 calls out the EPA," I think if the EPA administrator wants to stand here and tell people the tap water is safe, by all means they should be willing to drink it." pic.twitter.com/dfszHuIU83
— Woke Societies (@wokesocieties) February 16, 2023
Trust the science? Where have we heard that before?
That’s right, on all the things the government now says were bogus like claims that masks would protect from Covid, the vaccine would protect from infection, or that children needed to remain locked out of school for dangers of a virus that was less lethal than a bad flu strain.
These are the same bureaucrats telling citizens that all is well in the town of East Palestine, and maybe it is. The problem is that the trust has been so broken by several years now of lies and political agendas surrounding health policy that people remain skeptical.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, known as FEMA, has denied repeated requests to issue a disaster declaration for the affected area. This move is atypical for an agency that often swoops in quickly and helps get the wheels of federal aid and assistance rolling to those who need it.
Why is the Biden administration holding up assistance?
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has denied assistance as Gov. Mike DeWine seeks federal help for the residents of East Palestine, according to a release from his office.
According to the release, DeWine spoke with White House officials early on Thursday morning to request additional help amid concerns over the release of toxic chemicals following a Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment, in which about 50 freight cars derailed, 10 of which were carrying hazardous materials.
DeWine also requested assistance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Health and Emergency Response Team and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“The DeWine Administration has been in daily contact with FEMA to discuss the need for federal support,” the release stated. “However FEMA continues to tell Governor DeWine that Ohio is not eligible for assistance at this time. Governor DeWine will continue working with FEMA to determine what assistance can be provided.”
This is not a good look for President Emptahy, a man who once droned on about the oil refineries he grew up near in Delaware that allegedly gave everyone some kind of oil slick cancer. Where’s Biden? Where’s Buttigieg?
The ongoing environmental disaster in Ohio is a prime example of the incompetence and disregard of this administration for anything that doesn’t fit into a left-wing agenda. There’s no climate change to fight, there are no electric vehicles to sell, just some red-state voters mad about dead animals and contaminated water, nothing to see there.
The issue will continue bubbling up and Biden will be forced to answer for his administration’s slow response, eventually.
It would probably take one phone call from Biden to get things moving in terms of FEMA aid and other federal assistance, the things people pay tax dollars for, yet, so far, the requests go unfilled and denied.
