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Investigation shows FEMA spent millions on puppet shows, bingo, yoga
sun-sentinel.com ^ | 10/08/06 | Sally Kestin

Posted on 10/08/2006 2:41:52 PM PDT by Ellesu

At the Pinitos Learning Center in Boca Raton, disaster workers dressed as "Windy Biggie" and "Sunny" teach 30 preschoolers a song about how the wind is good, even during a hurricane.

"Windy Biggie is our friend.

"Windy Biggie is strong wind.

"She turns, turns, turns, turns around.

"She's knocking things to the ground."

This is FEMA tax money at work. It's also paying for Hurricane Bingo, puppet shows, "salsa for seniors," and yoga on the beach.

Last year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded Florida $22.6 million for "crisis counseling" for victims of hurricanes Wilma and Katrina.

Florida's program, called Project H.O.P.E. -- Helping Our People in Emergencies -- is still in operation with about 450 workers across the state who spend much of their time leading games and performing shows for groups of residents -- regardless of whether they're in crisis or even experienced the storms, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel has found.

(Excerpt) Read more at sun-sentinel.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; US: Florida
KEYWORDS: bingo; fema; kareina; wilma; yoga

1 posted on 10/08/2006 2:41:54 PM PDT by Ellesu
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To: Ellesu
Our tax dollars at work.

L

2 posted on 10/08/2006 2:45:24 PM PDT by Lurker (islam is not a religion. It's the new face of Fascism in our time. We ignore it at our peril.)
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To: Ellesu

Sounds like "make work" for liberal arts majors.


3 posted on 10/08/2006 2:49:38 PM PDT by Thombo2
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To: Thombo2

As a philosophy major you wouldn't catch me dead dressing up as Windy Biggie.


4 posted on 10/08/2006 2:52:56 PM PDT by Tijeras_Slim (Dancing through life like a street mime with tourettes syndrome.)
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Comment #5 Removed by Moderator

Comment #6 Removed by Moderator

To: Ellesu

I've had a "Windy Biggie" weekend so far, out my butt that is.


7 posted on 10/08/2006 3:03:29 PM PDT by King Moonracer (Bad lighting and cheap fabric, thats how you sell clothing.)
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To: Tijeras_Slim

What if they were willing to pay $50K a year?


8 posted on 10/08/2006 3:12:39 PM PDT by Thombo2
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To: Thombo2

Depends, what benefits? ;)


9 posted on 10/08/2006 3:15:28 PM PDT by Tijeras_Slim (Dancing through life like a street mime with tourettes syndrome.)
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To: Thombo2

Why not, considering that science majors allowed the city to flood?


10 posted on 10/08/2006 4:04:15 PM PDT by satire (I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.)
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To: satire

How's that?


11 posted on 10/08/2006 4:09:22 PM PDT by Thombo2
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To: Ellesu

One problem is the mindset that a government agency needs to spend its whole budget.

Agencies like FEMA are there just in case something happens. This isnt a license to spend gobs of money for one emergency.

If we had a year with no issues, FEMA should be giving back lots of money with no issues. It shouldn't affect their budget for next year.


12 posted on 10/08/2006 4:15:31 PM PDT by art_rocks
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To: satire

Put the bottle down. It's time for the frontal lobotomy.


13 posted on 10/08/2006 4:18:51 PM PDT by delacoert
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To: texastoo
Here you go.

Your favorite federal agency...

14 posted on 10/08/2006 4:23:08 PM PDT by Czar ( StillFedUptotheTeeth@Washington)
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To: Ellesu
Yep, they're advertising on the radio for traumatized Floridians to come forward and use their services. They sound real disappointed the storms left us alone this season.
15 posted on 10/08/2006 4:23:38 PM PDT by NonValueAdded (Treaty Fetishism: "[The] belief that a piece of paper will alter the behavior of thugs." R. Lowry.)
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To: Thombo2

I doubt that they hired liberal arts clowns to engineer, design, and construct the system that was supposed to keep the water out of the city.

They hired science clowns to do that!


16 posted on 10/08/2006 4:28:11 PM PDT by satire (I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.)
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To: Ellesu

Windy Biggie and Sunny at work.

17 posted on 10/08/2006 4:46:30 PM PDT by Sender (Error 404: tagline not found)
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To: thecrow2006
So I don't want to hear about President Bush's failure's with FEMA. This was a Democrat disaster in the works for decades, as far as I'm concerned. Now they are trying to set up Bush to take the fall for their own failures?

I agree, and many of those failings were exposed during Katrina and Rita; now lets examine what the two Bush administrations and 10 years of Republican Congesses have done to fix it.

18 posted on 10/09/2006 5:38:06 AM PDT by Small-L (I love my Country and our Constitution, but I despise what our politicians have done to it.)
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To: Ellesu

big government is big government - if there is money to be tossed around liberally, the government will find a way to do it.


19 posted on 10/09/2006 10:57:02 AM PDT by af_vet_rr
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