government is controlling the weather

I can imagine that in this new century when in a job interview you might not be asked, “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” Today, I would not be surprised if someone asked instead, “What is your superpower?” I guess my response to that question is that, “I can control the weather!”  Sounds stupid? Well it is, but that is what is just one of the rumors out there on the Internet, along with FEMA is confiscating property from people and hoarding disaster supplies.  I wish I could control the weather, but if I could—it would not be to send successive hurricanes to Southern States within one month of a Presidential election.

It is doubtful that FEMA is addressing the “controlling weather” issue on their rumor control site, since people who believe that likely cannot read anyway.

Which brings me to another Washington Post article on the unfortunate state of affairs in our nation at a time of crisis: Local Republicans decry hurricane falsehoods — as Trump spreads them

What are responsible people saying about these rumors?

Quoting from the above article, and this is not me saying it or Democrats trying to clarify truth from disinformation. These are Republican elected officials:

“The most serious situation is the hurricane response. Top Republicans have increasingly spoken out in recent days against misinformation that’s aimed at criticizing the federal government’s (read: the Biden-Harris administration’s) response. They have often spoken broadly and not invoked specific people such as Trump. But their comments come as Trump and his allies have lodged a multitude of false claims on the same topic, and they often reference specific claims Trump has promoted and politicized.

The message seems to be: Cut it out.

“The last thing that the victims of Helene need right now is political posturing, finger-pointing, or conspiracy theories that only hurt the response effort,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said in a letter to constituents Sunday.

Appearing on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Tillis was asked specifically about Trump’s false claim that the Biden-Harris administration diverted funds from hurricane relief to deal with migrants. Trump said Friday that, because of this, “they don’t have the money” to deal with the hurricane response.

Tillis talked around the specific claim but contradicted Trump by saying that “we have the resources that we need.” He added that federal money spent on migrants is not “affecting the flow of resources to western North Carolina.” His letter to constituents, which started with his plea about misinformation, was released hours later.

Other Republicans pointed to a specific claim about the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) supposedly confiscating supplies and property.

“There’s a lot of misinformation,” Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) said Thursday, citing that claim. He added: “There’s nothing but commitment to serving the people in this state, and those who spread that kind of misinformation, it’s deeply unfortunate that that’s happening.”

Knox County, Tenn., Mayor Glenn Jacobs (R) also referenced the claim in a statement Friday, urging, “Please quit spreading those rumors as they are counterproductive to response efforts.”

These officials didn’t cite Trump by name, but this is a claim Trump has promoted. It really took off in MAGA world thanks to his top ally Elon Musk last week, but Trump has repeatedly pointed to claims that aid is being blocked and even confiscated.

North Carolina state Sen. Kevin Corbin was among the first prominent Republicans in the area to speak out, decrying the “conspiracy theory junk” on social media and calling it “distracting to people trying to do the job.” Corbin cited the purported confiscation and blocking of supplies and the idea that the government can control the weather (which Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has promoted).

Rep. Chuck Edwards (R), who represents hard-hit western North Carolina, was asked Monday morning on CNBC about the confiscation rumors and called them “totally unsubstantiated.”

We truly are an “exceptional nation.”