By: Keith Kappes
Columnist
Carter County Times
The current flood emergency in Kentucky may not prove to be as damaging or as deadly as the floods of July 2022 but it is clear evidence to me that coping with natural disasters often is beyond the means of individual states.
President Trump might have been pondering that last week when he approved a request from Gov. Andy Beshear for a declaration of national emergency to make Kentucky’s citizens eligible for immediate federal assistance.
Like many other Americans, I’ve been concerned that the president’s advisors, particularly Elon Musk and his team of “whiz kid” computer engineers, are so determined to reduce the size of the federal government that they aren’t considering the impacts of eliminating federal agencies and the termination of the jobs of thousands of federal workers.
Several such actions already have been reversed after it became clear that Musk and his henchmen didn’t do their homework because they were in such a headlong rush to help the White House keep campaign promises.
It is abundantly clear to me that President Trump loves this country, and, in my opinion, he will clean house when he realizes that the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is operating with as much planning and discipline as a group of college fraternity brothers at a beer bust.
I also feel that the president’s political strategists did him a great disservice when they encouraged him to criticize the rescue work of FEMA and various state agencies in the aftermath of recent tornadoes and flooding and the California wildfires.
As a news reporter and a National Guard officer, I’ve seen FEMA at work firsthand in three major natural disasters and they have been a Godsend in each crisis. Yes, they sometimes have paperwork issues, but they are experts in coordinating federal and state resources to save lives and restore basic human services like food and housing.
In the case of FEMA and many other federal agencies, it is crucial that Mr. Musk and his “Muskrats” not be allowed to throw the baby out with the bath water.
Contact Keith at keithkappes@gmail.com.
