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Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: What went wrong in Kerr County, Texas? [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-07-10
We begin today with Gabe Cohen and Michael Williams of CNN reporting that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem just couldn’t be bothered with approving FEMA expenditures when Kerr County, Texas needed them.
As CNN has previously reported, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — whose department oversees FEMA — recently enacted a sweeping rule aimed at cutting spending: Every contract and grant over $100,000 now requires her personal sign-off before any funds can be released. [...] In essence...the order has stripped the agency of much of its autonomy at the very moment its help is needed most. “We were operating under a clear set of guidance: lean forward, be prepared, anticipate what the state needs, and be ready to deliver it,” a longtime FEMA official told CNN. “That is not as clear of an intent for us at the moment.” For example, as central Texas towns were submerged in rising waters, FEMA officials realized they couldn’t pre-position Urban Search and Rescue crews from a network of teams stationed regionally across the country. In the past, FEMA would have swiftly staged these teams, which are specifically trained for situations including catastrophic floods, closer to a disaster zone in anticipation of urgent requests, multiple agency sources told CNN. But even as Texas rescue crews raced to save lives, FEMA officials realized they needed Noem’s approval before sending those additional assets. Noem didn’t authorize FEMA’s deployment of Urban Search and Rescue teams until Monday, more than 72 hours after the flooding began, multiple sources told CNN.
Joshua Fletcher and Paul Cobler (w/graphics by Carla Astudillo) of the Texas Tribune note that individual Texas counties have little power in stopping home construction in flood-prone areas.
Nearly 1.3 million Texas homes are similarly situated in parts of the state susceptible to dangerous floodwaters, according to a state estimate. A quarter of the state’s land carries some degree of severe flood risk, leaving an estimated 5 million Texans in possible jeopardy. [...] While cities can largely decide what is built within their limits, counties have no jurisdiction to implement comprehensive zoning rules that could limit people from living close to the water’s edge. [...] Some guardrails exist when it comes to building on flood plains. For property owners in flood-prone areas to tap federal flood insurance, localities have to enact minimum building standards set by the federal government. And counties can use a limited supply of federal dollars to relocate residents out of flood zones. However, those programs have had mixed success. Other programs to fortify infrastructure are tied to federally required hazard mitigation plans, which most rural counties in Texas do not have on file. Keeping people out of the state’s major flood zones altogether is unrealistic if not impossible, experts in flood plain management and infrastructure said. For one, it’s human nature to want to be near water — whether it’s to live or vacation there.
John Timmer of Ars Technica went to a “science fair” held by Congressional Democrats for researchers who had grant money canceled by the Trump regime.
From a distance, the gathering looked like a standard poster session at an academic conference, with researchers standing next to large displays of the work they were doing. Except in this case, it was taking place in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill, and the researchers were describing work that they weren’t doing. Called "The things we’ll never know," the event was meant to highlight the work of researchers whose grants had been canceled by the Trump administration. [...] While many of the scientists were perfectly willing to identify themselves at the event, more than one asked us not to name them in any coverage. Another noted that, while she wasn't concerned about retaliation from the federal government, she was at a state university in a state with a Republican governor and so could still face problems. As a result, we're not identifying any of the scientists we talked to in this article. [...] Many of the grants were focused on STEM education, and it's extremely difficult to imagine that people will be better off without the work happening. One involved figuring out how to better incorporate instruction in quantum mechanics into high school and college education, rather than limiting this increasingly important topic to a handful of physics specialists. Another was focused on trying to help engineers communicate better with the communities that would ultimately use the things they were designing (she cited Google Glass and the Segway as examples of the problems that result when this doesn't happen).
Sam Skove of POLITICO reports that over 2,000 senior staff at NASA will be leaving the agency, jeopardizing future missions.
The 2,145 employees are those in GS-13 to GS-15 positions — senior-level government ranks that are typically reserved for those with specialized skills or management responsibilities. The losses are particularly concentrated at higher levels, with 875 GS-15 employees set to leave, according to the documents. Those 2,145 employees, in turn, make up the bulk of the 2,694 civil staff who have agreed to leave NASA under a slate of offers that fall within broader administration efforts to trim the federal workforce, according to the documents. NASA has offered staff early retirement, buyouts and deferred resignations Those 2,145 employees, in turn, make up the bulk of the 2,694 civil staff who have agreed to leave NASA under a slate of offers that fall within broader administration efforts to trim the federal workforce, according to the documents. NASA has offered staff early retirement, buyouts and deferred resignations.
Natalie Sherman and Nadine Yousif of BBC News detail the reasons why the tacky shoe salesman is levying 50% tariffs against Brazil.
..Trump accuses Brazil of "attacks" on US tech companies and of conducting a "witch hunt" against former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, who is facing prosecution over his alleged role in a plot to overturn the 2022 election. Trump sparred with Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva about Bolsonaro's trial earlier this week. At the time, President Lula said Brazil would not accept "interference" from anyone and added: "No one is above the law." He had also said Trump was "irresponsible" for threatening tariffs on social media. [...] Unlike many other countries, the US enjoyed a trade surplus with Brazil last year, selling more goods in the country than it purchased from it. In the letter, Trump called the 50% rate "necessary ... to rectify the grave injustices of the current regime".
Javier G. Cuesta and Ignacio Fariza of El País in English say that the Russian economy is becoming increasingly war-weary.
Little remains of the Russia of late 2021, when verbal clashes with Kyiv were intensifying, but few — very few — suspected the step Putin was about to take. Today, in July 2025, the Russian Central Bank finds itself in a paradoxical crossroads: waging a double battle against inflation and against the Kremlin itself. Something like dancing a waltz on a barrel of dynamite. [...] It’s been less than three weeks since the central bank — supposedly independent from government control — symbolically lowered interest rates: from 21% to 20%. In doing so, it fulfilled a long-standing demand from the Kremlin. It was the first rate cut since September 2022, the year of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This marked a break from a long cycle of interest rate hikes aimed at curbing rising prices. The situation, however, remains dire. Official inflation still hovers around 10% year-on-year, although several independent institutes estimate the real figure to be above 15%. With military spending still running wild, “risks remain skewed towards inflation,” warned Nabiullina. “Our rate cut approach requires greater caution.” The contradiction facing the central bank is a true reflection of the current state of the Russian economy, which has long dropped out of the world’s top 10 in terms of size. By now, even the Kremlin is beginning to acknowledge the obvious: that the economic boom driven by the war industry is coming to an end and that the savings made before the war are no longer enough.
A seven-reporter team from Der Spiegel documents the rise in anxieties by Germans about the state of the world.
"Never again.” The pledge became the single most important avowal in the early days of West Germany following the end of World War II. Never again National Socialism. Never again fascism. Never again Holocaust. And never again war. It is a promise that society made to itself. And it is worth recalling, because it provides an insight into the fundamental changes that are currently afoot in this country. A new unease has gripped the German population, making itself felt around kitchen tables, in classrooms and in offices. It is a focus of late-night talk shows. Many are trying to imagine the unimaginable: a war in Europe, triggered by Russia, involving German soldiers, German sons and daughters, sent to the front to defend democracy. [...] That is already happening in many areas and the consequences can be seen everywhere. Such as industry: Rheinmetall, Germany’s largest arms manufacturer, reported record revenues of around 10 billion euros in 2024. And in academia: Researchers are producing theoretical scenarios in which present-day conflicts could spin out of control and produce World War III. The situation is also changing the look of the country: At train stations and on the country’s roads, the sight of camouflage vehicles is becoming more common, with troops of all stripes heading for exercises. In March, a military convoy of more than 100 vehicles rolled through four German States. In September, the Bundeswehr intends to practice troop transfers in Hamburg under the codename "Red Storm Bravo.”
Finally today, similar to the presidential candidacy of former Vice-President Kamala Harris, there is a lot of interest in India about the mayoral candidacy of Zohran Mamdani but Kavita Chowdhury of The Diplomat notes that right-wing Indians are livid with Mamdani’s criticisms of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Indians in India usually respond to any person of Indian origin, however distant the link might be, if they makes it big in politics, business or entertainment in the West. Mamdani has evoked a response as well. [...] For a section of Indians, Mamdani’s meteoric rise is reminiscent of the rise of Aam Aadmi Party (Common Man Party) Chief Arvind Kejriwal in New Delhi, who captured the imagination of voters with his pro-poor policies of providing them with free electricity and water, neighborhood clinics, and good government schools. [...] While Mamdani’s progressive positions have been welcomed by Indian progressives, his castigation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has drawn the ire of the Hindu right-wing. Mamdani described Modi as a “war criminal,”,,, “Narendra Modi helped to orchestrate what was a mass slaughter of Muslims in Gujarat,” he said, referring to the 2002 Gujarat riots. Identifying himself as a Gujarati Muslim, Mamdani said he would never share a platform with Modi. This has enraged Modi’s supporters. They have labelled Mamdani an Islamic fundamentalist. Some have criticized him for being anti-India.
Ummmm...a drag queen lovingly called Mamdani a...well...see for yourself...Mamdani smiles, but he’s an “Islamic fundamentalist?” GTFOH!
I guess that it might be a good thing for Mamdani that a plotline of N.K. Jemisin’s The World We Make has not happened.
Everyone have the best possible day that you can.
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