Hurricane Harvey has caused record damage to the people of Texas. It has also harmed many in Louisiana and some of the other states.
Thankfully, the stories have mostly been about neighbors helping neighbors, first responders showing up for duty even when their own homes have been flooded, and competent local, state, FEMA, military, and presidential responses to the needs of the people in this tragedy.
Wonder Woman couldn’t help out because she was in Hollywood. But many thousands of men could, and did. They saved many thousands of lives. Nothing says “toxic masculinity” like the guy carrying a mommy and her little one to safety, huh?
Houston Hero (photo by AP)
However, the predictable scavengers and predators are showing up.
Price gougers have stolen from people by charging exorbitant prices for necessities in the disaster. Some looters reportedly shot at volunteers trying to rescue people from Houston’s flooded streets. There are reports of scam calls to people threatening them with all sorts of trouble if they don’t send money or allow their credit cards to be drained. And look for some dishonest insurance adjusters and their companies to try to short people on insurance claims.
Then there are those who fund-raise off of victims’ misery and pocket the money, or use it for a dubious cause. There is a group out there called the Lilith Fund panhandling money for abortions in the wake of the disaster. Nothing says “I want to help disaster victims” more than offering to kill the children they are carrying. Is the death toll not high enough, harpies?
Islamist activist Linda Sarsour, not to be ignored, advised people to donate to the “Harvey Hurricane Relief Fund.” Reportedly, a leftist activist group named “Texas Organizing Project” (TOP) is getting the money from this appeal. TOP reportedly did do some work advocating for more disaster relief from Hurricane Ike to go to poorer victims. But if you give to them, apparently quite a bit of the money will go to paying activists, attorneys, lobbyists, and other bloodsuckers who most people probably wouldn’t think of as the needy after a disaster.
Ms. Sarsour’s appeal also seems to be a racist slap in the face of Houston’s black political leaders. Are Houston mayor Sylvester Turner, and members of Congress Al Green and Sheila Jackson Lee really such shrinking violets that they won’t speak up for the people they represent?
If you think donating to TOP’s lawyers and lobbyists and activists instead of helping victims directly is the best way to provide flood relief, have at it. But if you would rather ensure you are really helping the suffering with your donation instead of helping political scavengers, use the Internet to check on “charities” looking for your wallet. A number of websites use the “charity’s” IRS Form 990 (which is a public record) to analyze how much goes to charity and how much goes to administration. You can also call the attorney general’s office of the state where “charity” people are looking for donations, to see if any “charity” group you want to check out has a background of real charity, and if they have a track record of being looked at for questionable practices.
Odds are the churches and charities with a well-deserved record of helping out are where your money will go the farthest in helping folks who could use help.
Hurricane Harvey should have two effects on you, besides the obvious one of making you count your blessings if you weren’t a victim of its ravages. It should have prompted you to review your insurance and personal plans in case of disaster. Check your home owner or renter insurance to make sure your place (if you own it) and your personal property are covered properly. Check your flood insurance too (and your earthquake insurance if you live in an area that is prone to shakers).
Likewise, Harvey’s havoc should have prompted you to review your own plans for preparedness in case of disaster. Meeting places, stashed food and adequate clothing and footwear and money in bags for travel, first aid kit and tools and supplies as needed, weapons you feel meet the security needs of you and your loved ones, valuables you can carry, and important papers are all things you should think about.
I hope none of these problems ever assail you. But if you are prepared, you have more options than if you are not. Say some prayers for the suffering, and do what you can to help out.
One last thing: Those of you who can, ensure your local police, county prosecutor, state attorney general, and appropriate federal agency hear from you about potential illegal behavior by phone or Internet disaster scammers, price gougers, insurance company welshers, and other low crawlers.
On 9/11, a gas station weasel tried to gouge me by upping the price while I was getting ready to fill up my truck. I hadn’t paid yet, so I threw the hose out of the tank, and berated him enough he locked himself in his building and called the cops. I pointed out to the cops this parasite was a price gouger, and left. I reported the gas station to the county authorities (who did nothing, because this was Summit County, Ohio, which has had corrupt and disordered leaders for decades). But I did take a bite out of his business by calling a radio talk show in the Akron area, and letting the audience know this gas station operator was an un-American parasite taking advantage of the deaths of thousands of Americans to steal from customers. The gas station soon had new management and a different name.
Those of you in Texas and other states affected should call your local law enforcement people about price gougers and others who are white collar looters. Don’t overlook insurers who welsh on coverage, or the phone and Internet scammers. The attorney general of your state, insurance commissioners, and others in state and federal agencies that exist to fight white collar crime like the Federal Trade Commission should hear from you if you have evidence to report about a price gouger or a phone or Internet scammer or an insurance welsher. Their phone numbers and e-mails are available on the Net.
Likewise, provide evidence of looting and identities or pictures of looters to local, state, and federal authorities if you have them. This will enable lawmen to go after the perpetrators. Many states have stiffer penalties for looting during a natural disaster than under normal conditions, so your complaint could ensure the guilty get punished the way they deserve said punishment.
And call your local talk shows to spotlight the cockroaches who price-gouged, scammed, or welshed on insurance coverage. You’re entitled to tell the truth to all those listeners out there.
Encourage your friends to do likewise. You don’t have to tolerate scammers, gougers, welshers, and looters.
FOLLOW-UP
FEMA during the Bush 43 and Obama years stood charged with lowballing victims with flood insurance, or with helping insurance companies do likewise. Supposedly they have been reforming their policies.
Hurricane Katrina cost the feds a lot of money, so they tried to limit payments. Hurricane Sandy in 2012 brought out the worst in some insurance people and in FEMA. Engineering firms or adjusters falsely claimed many people’s homes did not suffer structural damage, and FEMA offered ridiculously low sums for rebuilding. Louisiana’s 2016 flood victims saw much the same.
Any victim whose home has been flood-damaged and is offered a settlement that won’t allow the restoration or replacement of the home even if he or she paid for such services has a legitimate beef. The state insurance commissioner may be able to help people with proper insurance from being lowballed by an insurer and/or FEMA.
Members of Congress aren’t good for much. But they do offer constituent services. So flood victims with proper insurance who have been lowballed should get some help from case workers in the local offices of their congress people.
FEMA has websites telling people their rights and sort of admitting to their past flaws. They also give detailed advice to people looking to rebuild.
The best contractors to help victims rebuild are usually local guys who have reputations for good work at fair prices. However, a flood overwhelms local people, so a lot of building trades guys come into an area in the aftermath of a disaster to help with the repairs and restorations. Some come in who are scumbags. And there are local scavengers out there too. You probably shouldn’t be doing business with people going door to door.
Don’t make cash payments to building people. FEMA says a good rule of thumb once you have hired a general contractor to get your house back in shape is 30% down, payable on delivery of supplies. Besides asking for licenses, proof of insurance, and references, like FEMA advises, you can also check on any builder’s license with the agency in your state that gives building contractors licenses. Often this is the Secretary of State. See if there are any complaints against him. You can get on line in many instances and see what other customers have said about the building trades guy in question. You can also check civil records by going on line to a clerk of courts website for the county he hails from, or by calling the clerk of courts in the county he hails from to see how often he has been sued for failure to do work properly.
FEMA has looked much more prepared for Hurricane Harvey than it has looked in past natural disasters. We have a builder as president. Hopefully FEMA’s insurance and other aftermath work will also be better.
Please pray for the people of the Caribbean and Florida, that they suffer little or nothing from Hurricane Irma, and for the people of L.A. County as they deal with another large wildfire.
SHERLOCK JUSTICE
WE CAN SHOW YOU HOW TO BE YOUR OWN DETECTIVE
END NOTES
Sources on Lilith and Linda Sarsour and TOP: Fox News 9/1/2017, Newsweek 9/2/2017, and Washington Examiner 8/30/2017. Source on FEMA problems in New York, New Jersey, and Louisiana is WWL-TV (New Orleans) story “She needs $250,000; she was given $87,000 and she HAS flood insurance,” by David Hammer.
