Zany: There have been a lot of articles about severe weather recently. I’m curious if it is having any impact on the climate change deniers out there. If a tornado hit and destroyed Mar-a-Lago that might be the turning point. Convince Donald Trump and you convince the climate change deniers that it is real and all of the world’s scientists aren’t making it up to destroy the fossil fuel industry.
Which brings us to another issue. Trump supporters believe him over all others, even if what he says is obviously false. I’ve often said that the people who believe the Big Lie will only change their minds if Trump comes out and admits that he lost. I know. That will never happen. Trump did such a good job of delegitimizing the media that no matter what is reported, it’s “fake news.” Even if his sycophants in Congress came out and admitted that climate change is real and the 2020 election was not stolen, all Trump has to do is call them RHINOS and their words mean nothing.
I wouldn’t say Trump is smart, but he somehow set everything up so that he is the only truth-teller. His supporters might believe Fox News and Newsmax, but if Trump says they’re lying, that’s it! We literally have no way of proving to millions of people that the election was not stolen and climate change is real and we’re in crisis mode. All we can do is wait until Trump is gone, then get these people deprogrammed somehow. Otherwise it could be years before they see the truth. It could also be never. That’s my take on it. Now back to the news coming out of Arkansas.
ARKANSAS ADVOCATE
State and federal officials said partnerships will be key to recovering from severe weather that caused widespread damage Sunday morning and killed eight people in north Arkansas.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at a press conference at the Benton County Sheriff’s Office Sunday night that there’s a long road ahead, but officials are committed to helping affected Arkansans get back on their feet.
“In the midst of total devastation, the bright points are all of the people coming together and taking care of one another and looking out for their neighbors and their community and doing whatever it takes to help get people taken care of,” Sanders said.
The National Weather Service found EF-3 tornado damage in Benton County and confirmed one tornado in Boone County. Additional details will be released as surveys of the damage are complete.
Arkansas Division of Emergency Management Director A.J. Gary said a team from the Federal Emergency Management Agency arrived around 3 p.m. Sunday and was working with local officials to conduct a preliminary damage assessment.
State emergency management officials and the governor on Monday are scheduled to survey the destruction in Northwest Arkansas, where there is an abundance of damaged trees and downed power lines.
About 68,000 Arkansans remained without power in eight counties Sunday night, according to PowerOutage.us.
According to state officials, Benton and Marion counties each had three confirmed deaths and Baxter and Boone counties each had one. Benton County Judge Barry Moehring, who declared a disaster Sunday, noted that two of his county’s fatalities included deaths related to the storm, such as a local resident with COPD who did not have oxygen when the power went out.
Sanders signed an executive order Sunday to declare an emergency and authorize funds for the severe weather, tornadoes and flooding caused by the storms.
Former Rogers mayor and current Congressman Rep. Steve Womack at Sunday’s press conference asked Arkansans to be patient because recovery will not happen overnight. He also promised to work with federal officials to support his home state.
“Sen. (John) Boozman, myself, Sen. (Tom) Cotton, and other members of the federal delegation are going to engage the federal bureaucracy and whatever we need,” Womack said. “I’m absolutely confident that we will put the right pressure on the right people to make sure that we get a speedy, a very timely response to this particular disaster.”
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Antoinette Grajeda is a multimedia journalist who has reported since 2007 on a wide range of topics, including politics, health, education, immigration and the arts for NPR affiliates, print publications and digital platforms. A University of Arkansas alumna, she earned a bachelor’s degree in print journalism and a master’s degree in documentary film.
Excerpts or more from an article that was originally published on Arkansas Advocate is included in this post under a Creative Commons License.
