Vance visits WNC while FEMA departs (12-06-2024--Hour2)

[00:00:04] What's going on? Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon to 3 on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, go to thepetekalendershow.com. Make sure you hit the subscribe button, get every episode for free, right to your smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for your support.

[00:00:28] So Vice President-elect J.D. Vance is expected to be here. Well, not here in Charlotte. Well, maybe. I don't know. But he's going to Fairview, North Carolina, which is right outside of Asheville. He's going there to survey Hurricane Helene recovery efforts. That's according to NBC News. Vance is scheduled to meet with first responders and visit a home renovation project.

[00:00:53] He'll also meet with the family of Tony Ray Garrison, a fire battalion chief who died while rescuing victims during a mudslide brought on by Hurricane Helene.

[00:01:10] Vance had surveyed Helene damage during an October campaign trip along with Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin. He was in Damascus, Virginia.

[00:01:20] And he said that President Joe Biden's administration could be doing a whole lot better, making people feel like they matter for so long.

[00:01:28] This community has been ignored and they feel like their government is ignoring them once again. We have got to change that.

[00:01:34] That is still true. It was true when he said it. It's still true now. People in Appalachia and particularly Western North Carolina, I can personally confirm this to you.

[00:01:47] They do not believe that the state government, let alone the federal government, gives much of a rip about them or that part of the state.

[00:01:59] One of the things I heard in 2012 when I first went to work in Asheville for I spent eight years as a radio host up there.

[00:02:10] 2012 was when Pat McCrory won. And because I had known Pat McCrory when he was mayor of Charlotte, he ran for governor.

[00:02:18] He would come out to Western North Carolina to campaign and I would interview him. I'd have him on the show and we would call him up from time to time and we would talk with him.

[00:02:31] And I can tell you that the people in my listening area there and the people had called and emailed, they were super appreciative of that.

[00:02:40] They really appreciated that. A statewide candidate spent that kind of time talking to them.

[00:02:50] They they really do. And look, when I first went up there and I heard this sentiment that, oh, you know, Raleigh doesn't believe we exist.

[00:02:59] They think the state ends at I-77. That's what they would always say, that North Carolina doesn't exist west of I-77.

[00:03:08] And when I first got there, I thought, oh, they're just, you know, exaggerating.

[00:03:13] There's you know, they just they're they're just saying that it's hyperbolic because I had heard much the same thing here in Charlotte for years.

[00:03:21] That there were a lot of people that have their kind of their nose at a joint over the lack of attention or respect or whatever for Charlotte.

[00:03:32] You've heard the great state of Mecklenburg County. Well, if you haven't now, you have.

[00:03:37] That's the way a lot of people outside of Mecklenburg look at Mecklenburg, specifically Charlotte.

[00:03:43] I mean, all of Mecklenburg kind of gets that rap, even though it's really about Charlotte.

[00:03:48] So they call it the great state of Mecklenburg County.

[00:03:52] And there is outside of Mecklenburg, there's this view that Mecklenburg gets everything it wants and is super powerful and big city and really rich and all of this other stuff.

[00:04:04] But also crime ridden. But anyway, the but I remember when I was doing news here back in the early 2000s.

[00:04:11] 2000s and I would hear people in various venues, people who work for government and were in nonprofits and people come to speak at city and county meetings and such.

[00:04:25] And they would express the same sort of belief that Raleigh doesn't care about us.

[00:04:30] Raleigh ignores us and all of this.

[00:04:32] And I remember back then we couldn't even get 485 finished, right?

[00:04:39] I-485, the outer and inner loop around Charlotte.

[00:04:42] That was, I think, still to this day, it is the longest running loop project in American history.

[00:04:50] Did you know that?

[00:04:51] It took us like 30 years.

[00:04:54] So.

[00:04:55] I had heard this before I go to Asheville.

[00:04:58] I hear the same complaint and I thought, oh, well, I heard the same thing in Charlotte.

[00:05:04] So it's probably, you know, the same perception, maybe some truth to it, but not a lot.

[00:05:11] It's just hyperbole.

[00:05:12] And then after being there for a while, I realized, oh, no, it's actually true.

[00:05:17] There.

[00:05:17] Yeah, there there is.

[00:05:20] A level of ignoring or ignormant.

[00:05:25] Would that be the word?

[00:05:27] Ignormantation.

[00:05:29] Of Western North Carolina.

[00:05:32] And so Pat McCrory, he'd come out to the Western residence.

[00:05:36] The governor's got a house there that was donated to the state.

[00:05:39] And so they would go out and he'd come and visit and stuff.

[00:05:44] That goes a long way.

[00:05:46] That goes a long way.

[00:05:47] Maybe if North Mecklenburg had had a governor's residence and Pat could have gone up there to visit,

[00:05:52] maybe they wouldn't have turned on him in that election.

[00:05:54] But anyway, J.D.

[00:06:00] Vance is coming to town to Fairview and his roots from Appalachia might be a very positive thing in the recovery of Western North Carolina.

[00:06:15] Because he knows, I think, very well the people of that area because those are his people.

[00:06:50] So.

[00:06:52] Until the end of the year.

[00:06:55] So, like.

[00:06:57] Like what?

[00:06:58] Four weeks?

[00:06:59] Three weeks?

[00:07:00] Is that?

[00:07:02] Well.

[00:07:03] Okay.

[00:07:04] Well, the committee is going to convene Wednesday at 10 a.m.

[00:07:08] Wayne County.

[00:07:09] Where's Wayne County?

[00:07:11] That's not.

[00:07:12] I don't recall that being around Western North Carolina.

[00:07:15] Maybe I'm incorrect on that.

[00:07:16] I don't believe.

[00:07:17] I thought Wayne County was to the east of us.

[00:07:20] Is it not?

[00:07:21] No?

[00:07:22] John Moore doesn't even know.

[00:07:23] Does Wayne County even exist?

[00:07:26] That's the question.

[00:07:27] It's east.

[00:07:28] McDowell County.

[00:07:29] Oh, that's on the way up there.

[00:07:32] So that's a little bit closer.

[00:07:33] I just, I'm curious as to why some people, I know you want some leadership, obviously, members of the House leadership on the committee and even to be chair of the committee.

[00:07:46] It gives it some juice.

[00:07:47] I get that.

[00:07:50] But I don't know.

[00:07:51] I haven't seen the membership list.

[00:07:53] So I would hope that it would be like stuffed with lawmakers from Western North Carolina.

[00:08:00] I would hope.

[00:08:02] What else do we got going on regarding the recovery?

[00:08:05] Oh, FEMA is extending Transitional Sheltering Assistance Program, the TSAP, or as I call it, the SAP.

[00:08:15] It's like SAR, T-S-A-R, but with a P.

[00:08:19] So it's SAP.

[00:08:20] At the request of the state of North Carolina, FEMA's SAP has been extended to January 11th, 2025.

[00:08:31] This allows households additional time to identify other housing solutions or make repairs to their home.

[00:08:36] This will continue providing free hotel and motel rooms to more than 4,900 families who are already checked into area hotels.

[00:08:44] To date, FEMA says, more than 10,000 households have taken temporary shelter in the SAP hotels, the participating hotels.

[00:08:55] Approximately half have found suitable longer-term housing and moved on with their recovery.

[00:09:00] In a related story, The Blaze reports that FEMA is beginning to leave Western North Carolina.

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[00:10:08] Theblaze.com

[00:10:10] Headline

[00:10:11] With people still living in tents, FEMA begins exodus from Western North Carolina.

[00:10:18] Now, okay, just as an aside here, I saw a lot of people complaining when FEMA started setting up all of the FEMA camps.

[00:10:27] And they were like, what's going on?

[00:10:29] I don't understand.

[00:10:30] I see these camps.

[00:10:32] What are they doing?

[00:10:33] So people were all freaking out when FEMA set up the camps.

[00:10:37] And now there's apparently a little bit of a freak out that they're leaving.

[00:10:42] So, which, like, I'm just looking, like, we have to decide here what is it that we want, you know?

[00:10:50] Do we want them there?

[00:10:51] Do we not want them there?

[00:10:52] Can they set up a camp?

[00:10:54] Can they not have a camp?

[00:10:58] Can they implant us with chips?

[00:11:00] Can they not?

[00:11:00] I mean, we really need some guidance, okay?

[00:11:02] That's all.

[00:11:03] Anyway, the FEMA, I'm just kidding.

[00:11:06] The Federal Emergency Management Agency has closed four Western North Carolina disaster recovery centers

[00:11:15] and is tearing down its employee housing village west of Asheville in the town of Candler,

[00:11:23] while nearly 5,200 storm-displaced households are still living in hotels with no other shelter options.

[00:11:32] Covered this the other day about the temporary shelters that are not being permitted or permitted.

[00:11:43] The local and state building codes prevent these more durable yet still temporary shelters,

[00:11:52] these tiny homes or, you know, insulated sheds that have been sort of retrofitted a little bit

[00:11:58] to allow for electrical hookups and that sort of thing.

[00:12:02] And so you got building inspectors that won't clear them.

[00:12:06] They won't give permits.

[00:12:07] And you could blame the building inspectors, but they're following code.

[00:12:12] They're following the law.

[00:12:14] And you got counties and cities that have all of these codes on the books.

[00:12:19] And for some reason, nobody has figured out a way to craft some sort of an exemption

[00:12:25] for catastrophic natural disasters where people are living in tents in sub-freezing temperatures.

[00:12:34] I don't understand how that could be the case.

[00:12:37] Maybe the newly constituted House Select Committee on Helene Recovery could tackle that.

[00:12:45] Maybe?

[00:12:47] Just spitball in there?

[00:12:51] The exodus of FEMA staff from the region comes on the heels of the late November withdrawal

[00:12:57] of the National Guard and the pullout of U.S. Army Airborne Corps service members in late October.

[00:13:05] Some local residents say they feel abandoned by the federal and state governments.

[00:13:08] Okay, look, I know that's how you feel.

[00:13:11] But there is a perfectly rational explanation for why it looks like that.

[00:13:23] It's that you have been.

[00:13:24] It's that you're right.

[00:13:26] That's why.

[00:13:27] That's the explanation.

[00:13:28] They are leaving.

[00:13:31] Storm victim advocates say a massive crisis is brewing

[00:13:36] with more than 5,000 families slated to lose FEMA hotel vouchers as Christmas approaches.

[00:13:41] But, as I just told you, this story, by the way, was from two days ago

[00:13:46] at TheBlaze.com by Steve Baker and Joseph Hanneman.

[00:13:52] But FEMA just put out a press release.

[00:13:56] I believe this was yesterday.

[00:14:01] I saw it this morning.

[00:14:02] But they've extended the vouchers through January 11th.

[00:14:09] Now, part of the problem here also, and I think you're going to hear about this in this story

[00:14:13] from The Blaze, is that there comes a point where the hotels are no longer interested

[00:14:18] in taking the vouchers.

[00:14:21] And some of these hotels are far away.

[00:14:25] They're not all local.

[00:14:26] And so, if you're trying to clean up, you know, your home that's been completely obliterated

[00:14:37] from a mudslide, and so you're trying to sift through and recover what you can,

[00:14:43] and you're afraid of getting looted, you're afraid of people coming and stealing stuff,

[00:14:50] you don't want to be in a hotel that's 50, 60, 70 miles away.

[00:14:57] It's not a viable option for you.

[00:15:01] And if you've got to go to work, that's still, you've got a job in Asheville

[00:15:06] or in the area, and you can't be driving from Charlotte where the voucher is.

[00:15:15] So, these hotel vouchers are not going to accommodate the need.

[00:15:21] The pace of the housing, the federal housing help, is outstripped by the need.

[00:15:27] Do you know how many FEMA mobile homes and trailers have been delivered to Western North Carolina families?

[00:15:34] 27.

[00:15:36] 27.

[00:15:38] 27.

[00:15:39] I think there's probably a greater need than 27.

[00:15:42] What do you think?

[00:15:43] I'm just going by the footage I've seen.

[00:15:45] All right, hey, real quick.

[00:15:46] If you would like to get your product or service in front of about 10,000 people multiple times a day,

[00:15:52] send me an email at pete at thepetecalendarshow.com and ask me about advertising.

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[00:16:12] Again, that's pete at thepetecalendarshow.com.

[00:16:15] Only 27 FEMA mobile homes and trailers have been delivered to Western North Carolina families whose homes were destroyed in the devastating flood spurred by Hurricane Helene in late September.

[00:16:26] A FEMA official said victims must file for storm aid by January 7th.

[00:16:31] A FEMA official told Blaze News that just under 5,200 households are still using FEMA hotel vouchers and have no long-term housing available.

[00:16:45] The agency has helped just under 5,000 households find suitable longer-term housing as part of its SAP program.

[00:16:55] The program typically provides 60 days in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, according to this official quoted at the Blaze.

[00:17:05] Unfortunately, the program cannot continue indefinitely, and typically partnering hotels will reduce their availability to the program as business patterns resume.

[00:17:16] During Thanksgiving week, as FEMA dismantled its employee housing village in Candler, which, by the way, there's a mall there, the outlets.

[00:17:32] If you've ever been to the outlets outside of Asheville, that's Candler.

[00:17:36] I believe that's where they set up the village.

[00:17:40] They also closed four disaster recovery centers throughout the region.

[00:17:46] There's a federal contractor out of Katy, Texas, called Cotton Logistics, and they began tearing down the FEMA employee housing village in Candler before Thanksgiving.

[00:17:56] That, according to local relief volunteers who visited the site.

[00:18:00] Cotton Logistics provides turnkey housing solutions for FEMA staff and contractors who respond to disasters around the nation,

[00:18:09] according to the company's website.

[00:18:10] The company supplies housing units, laundry trailers, dining facilities, restrooms, showers, and other support services.

[00:18:20] In a November 22nd news release, FEMA said that it was closing its disaster recovery centers in Sparta, Dallas, Silva, and Old Fort.

[00:18:32] Storm survivors can visit any FEMA assistance center or use the agency's website to register for help.

[00:18:40] The Responder Village site in Candler was one of several that were built in October with single unit housing for FEMA employees and federal contractors.

[00:18:51] The sites were built to allow as much hotel space as possible to be dedicated to storm survivors.

[00:18:56] That makes sense, right?

[00:18:58] That makes sense.

[00:19:00] You don't want to put up all the FEMA.

[00:19:02] Could you imagine the PR of that?

[00:19:04] That you have FEMA personnel staying in all of the hotels while people who lost their homes have nowhere to stay?

[00:19:13] Now, here's an idea, though.

[00:19:16] You have all of these shelters that you built for the FEMA people.

[00:19:19] Why don't you just leave that?

[00:19:20] If you're going to pull the people out, go ahead and pull the people out.

[00:19:23] Why not leave all of that stuff there for all the people that didn't get the mobile units?

[00:19:33] During mid-October, FEMA had more than 1,400 staff in the region.

[00:19:40] Blaze News reached out for more details on the closing of the Candler site but never got a reply.

[00:19:45] During Thanksgiving week, local residents who noticed the Candler site was abandoned found pallets of food left behind that were apparently slated to be thrown away.

[00:19:56] So the volunteers loaded all the food onto trailers and distributed it to needy families.

[00:20:05] Groups such as Operation Shelter and EmergencyRV.org were busy during the long Thanksgiving weekend delivering RVs to bring some of the families in from the bitter cold.

[00:20:20] They've been living in tents.

[00:20:23] Woody Faircloth, the founder of EmergencyRV.org, said that as of December 1st, his charity had delivered 56 free RVs to Western North Carolina families,

[00:20:34] which is more than double the number of units placed in the field by FEMA.

[00:20:40] There are still more than 700 families registered with EmergencyRV.org.

[00:20:45] So, by the way, if you're looking for a charity to help, EmergencyRV.org.

[00:20:51] And Operation Shelter is another.

[00:20:56] Max, welcome to the program. Hello, Max.

[00:20:58] Hey, how are you?

[00:21:00] Hey, I'm good. What's going on?

[00:21:01] Good. Well, I was just listening to your program.

[00:21:04] I'm driving through Battlestar Gastonia over here back to Charlotte.

[00:21:08] And this won't surprise probably most of your listeners, but I would just offer a word of maybe encouragement to the Orange Man bad contingent, if any of them are listening.

[00:21:20] I'm optimistic that for the first time in my lifetime, a bunch of businessmen are going to be in Washington, D.C., from Trump to Elon, Vivek.

[00:21:31] And I guarantee you, if they'd been on the watch when this thing happened, every park, every football field, every space would have had multiple housing units, portable whatevers, for people to stay warm and dry.

[00:21:46] And just like when the COVID thing broke out, the governor of New York said, we need ventilators.

[00:21:52] Trump got them in no time.

[00:21:54] Trump got the mercy ships to sail around the country from the West Coast to the East Coast to be in the New York Harbor.

[00:22:00] And most people, if you're a career bureaucrat, I think you can get activity confused with results.

[00:22:07] If you're a businessman, you know if you don't identify the need and feel the need, you're out of business.

[00:22:13] Right.

[00:22:13] Yeah, you're exactly right.

[00:22:16] There's a different mindset.

[00:22:17] It's just a different mindset.

[00:22:19] And yeah, you are right about bureaucrats as well, that the process matters, the results not so much.

[00:22:26] Yeah.

[00:22:27] And I'm, you know, there's plenty of things I don't like about Trump, but I am optimistic and encouraged that.

[00:22:34] But I hope we'll see some results.

[00:22:38] And I'm just looking forward to that.

[00:22:42] And only in the government can you go millions, billions, and trillions of dollars spending more money than you take in.

[00:22:50] Who does that?

[00:22:51] I think that's about to change.

[00:22:53] So I'm hopeful and I appreciate you guys spreading the word and I'll hang up and keep on driving east.

[00:22:58] All right.

[00:22:59] Well, stay safe.

[00:22:59] Drive safe.

[00:23:00] I appreciate the call, Max.

[00:23:01] Thank you.

[00:23:02] Safe travels.

[00:23:04] Yeah, it is a good point.

[00:23:06] It is a different mindset that people in the private sector, particularly business owners, have.

[00:23:13] When you start your own business, you run your own business, you get presented with all sorts of problems.

[00:23:19] They just arise out of nowhere.

[00:23:21] And you're like, all right, how do I fix that?

[00:23:24] Because you have to fix it so you don't go out of business.

[00:23:29] Failure is not one of the options available to you.

[00:23:31] So you see the problem.

[00:23:34] All right.

[00:23:34] Throw something at it.

[00:23:35] Fix that.

[00:23:36] Move on.

[00:23:39] And I do wonder what the response would have looked like.

[00:23:42] And I also wonder whether this may be the last time we see FEMA operating in the manner it is operating.

[00:23:49] Because the way it operates and has been, it is suboptimal, let's say.

[00:23:55] It needs an overhaul.

[00:23:56] It needs a reform if it is to remain at all.

[00:23:59] I would just say block grants for states.

[00:24:03] Send the money to the state.

[00:24:05] Not that Roy Cooper is doing a much better job.

[00:24:08] Okay, never mind.

[00:24:08] We're going to have to think of this differently.

[00:24:10] Okay.

[00:24:11] My bad.

[00:24:13] TheBlaze.com quotes Matt Van Swole, a Nashville resident who helps to coordinate and publicize the local disaster response,

[00:24:21] said he does not understand why FEMA is downsizing when the region is still badly hurting.

[00:24:27] Quote, we are literally driving in an RV from Utah this week for a family of six.

[00:24:32] Alex, why is FEMA leaving?

[00:24:35] The work hasn't even begun.

[00:24:39] Let's go to the phone, 704-570-1110, and talk with Buddy.

[00:24:44] Hello, Buddy.

[00:24:44] Welcome to the show.

[00:24:46] Hey, Pete.

[00:24:47] Thanks for taking my call, man.

[00:24:48] I love your show.

[00:24:49] Thanks, man.

[00:24:50] I'm sorry if you've already covered this.

[00:24:52] I came in a little late today.

[00:24:53] But I heard you talk about the FEMA thing.

[00:24:56] And it's like, you know, I'm part of a group that, you know, for the past month or so,

[00:25:00] they've been hauling campers and sheds and trailers up there for people to stay in so they're not staying in tents.

[00:25:07] So I'm wondering, these handful of FEMA housing, are they automatically zoned properly?

[00:25:14] Because they've been having a big problem with the zoning issue that people can't stay in these shelters that are being taken up there,

[00:25:21] these trailers, because they're not zoned for their land or something like that.

[00:25:25] Yeah.

[00:25:26] It's just, it's, I don't know, it's just, it's so frustrating.

[00:25:30] So the permitting and building codes and inspections issue, we went over some of that a couple days ago,

[00:25:39] actually for a couple hours, going over the problems with permitting.

[00:25:45] And you got these shelters that have been built.

[00:25:49] There's one tiny home community.

[00:25:51] And they've got like 100 homes.

[00:25:53] They had, what, like, they had like 20 or so that had moved in or something.

[00:25:58] And then they were basically removed because they didn't meet code.

[00:26:02] And nobody now can live in these little tiny homes.

[00:26:07] You had the Amish that came in and built some stuff, right?

[00:26:09] You had RVs and sheds being donated.

[00:26:13] And we all acknowledge these things are not permanent housing, but they're better than tents.

[00:26:18] And so...

[00:26:19] Oh my gosh, yes.

[00:26:20] Yeah.

[00:26:20] So, like, all right, so what, I don't know the answer to your question.

[00:26:24] It's a very good one, though.

[00:26:25] These FEMA camps that they had set up for their volunteers to stay in,

[00:26:31] and now they're tearing them all down.

[00:26:32] But did they get the proper permits necessary?

[00:26:35] The same thing?

[00:26:36] Or did they, yeah, I don't know.

[00:26:38] I don't know.

[00:26:39] Exactly.

[00:26:40] Well, you know, hey, that makes you wonder, hey, and you mentioned that the hotels that are staying in,

[00:26:45] or the time's running out.

[00:26:47] So is that because they're in North Carolina or because they're legal residents that the time's running out?

[00:26:55] Well, the...

[00:26:56] Because New York, they're still staying in hotels up there, you know.

[00:26:59] Oh, I got you.

[00:27:00] Yeah.

[00:27:00] No, these are people that are getting the, yeah, the hotel rooms, these vouchers,

[00:27:04] and the hotels then could turn around and stop accepting them.

[00:27:07] Yeah.

[00:27:07] No, it's true.

[00:27:08] I'm being very facetious about that.

[00:27:09] But, yeah, I guess the only silver lining you can take out of this is now that the corruption in FEMA is finally being exposed.

[00:27:16] Yeah.

[00:27:17] And incompetence.

[00:27:19] It really is stark.

[00:27:22] I tried to give them as much benefit of the doubt as possible, and I understand it's such a widespread area that has been devastated.

[00:27:32] And so it's a huge lift.

[00:27:34] I get it.

[00:28:03] I understand that.

[00:28:04] So I'm curious, though, buddy.

[00:28:06] You said you've been running these...

[00:28:07] You've been running shelters up there?

[00:28:10] Yeah, it's a convoy.

[00:28:12] Well, I haven't personally.

[00:28:13] I'm part of a group that is.

[00:28:14] And we're actually doing a big toy drive specifically for kids up in western North Carolina for Christmas.

[00:28:22] Yeah.

[00:28:22] So, yeah, it's just frustrating all these people trying to help and donating all this and getting up there.

[00:28:29] And you've got bureaucrats and legislation getting in the way of people not trying to freeze this winter.

[00:28:37] Right.

[00:28:37] Yeah, it's the stupidest explanation I've heard where, hey, you've got to live in a tent on the side of a river with all your possessions strewn all around,

[00:28:47] and you've got food in your tent, and that's attracting bears, so you're going to have to fight off bears.

[00:28:51] You're going to have to fight off sub-freezing temperatures, and you're not allowed to use that insulated shed that somebody gave you because we care about your safety.

[00:29:00] Yep.

[00:29:01] Oh, yeah.

[00:29:01] Oh, yeah.

[00:29:02] Well, thanks for taking my call.

[00:29:03] Yes, sir.

[00:29:04] Keep up the good work.

[00:29:04] I love your show.

[00:29:05] Thanks, buddy.

[00:29:06] You too.

[00:29:06] Keep up the good work.

[00:29:07] I appreciate you.

[00:29:08] Let me go over to Kirk.

[00:29:10] Yeah.

[00:29:10] Kirk, welcome to the program.

[00:29:12] Hey, thanks for taking my call.

[00:29:14] Yes, sir.

[00:29:14] I was just curious.

[00:29:16] I'm hoping that, like, when Trump does take office that maybe they'll sit there and have FEMA discuss tactics with, you know,

[00:29:24] with, like, Samaritan's Purse, the Baptist Men's Association, because, you know, I've been a member for a long time,

[00:29:30] and what really gets me is, like, way back when Katrina happened and you had Bush sitting there saying, FEMA will be here in three days.

[00:29:38] If you looked in the background, you saw two different colors.

[00:29:41] Sure.

[00:29:41] Sure.

[00:29:41] One was Samaritan's Purse and one was the Baptist Men's Association.

[00:29:45] And they were there hours after the event, you know, in full force building stuff.

[00:29:50] And I'm like, when they've got it down to a science because it's what they do, you know, this is what they do.

[00:29:56] And it seems like they have their acts so much better, you know, down pat than FEMA could even think of.

[00:30:03] Yeah, that's why I wonder if some sort of reformation might be best that includes just giving these local organizations that have, you know, make them vetted.

[00:30:15] That's fine.

[00:30:16] You want to look into them because we don't want to, you know, be giving millions of dollars to some fly-by-night grifters and stuff.

[00:30:23] But why not support these organizations that obviously are making a difference and have a track record of doing so?

[00:30:31] Yeah, or at the very least have FEMA sit there and have a sit down with these organizations and go,

[00:30:37] okay, Howard, why are y'all so much more efficient than us?

[00:30:40] And just copy, you know, what they do.

[00:30:42] Well, that means they might have to incorporate some biblical teachings, and I think they're not allowed to do that.

[00:30:49] Well, no, that's the whole thing.

[00:30:52] If you ever get a chance to see the warehouse in Wilkesboro, it is extremely organized.

[00:30:59] I mean, like there's a place for everything and everything has a place.

[00:31:02] Yeah.

[00:31:02] No, I got you.

[00:31:03] Yeah.

[00:31:04] Yeah, Kirk, I appreciate the call, buddy.

[00:31:05] Thank you.

[00:31:06] I got to run.

[00:31:06] All right.

[00:31:07] That'll do it for this episode.

[00:31:08] Thank you so much for listening.

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[00:31:23] Again, thank you so much for listening, and don't break anything while I'm gone.