Sound Off: March 19, 2025

FEMA

As a FEMA contractor for 15 years, I believe it would be a travesty to eliminate this federal agency. If not for FEMA, who would coordinate disaster relief as many states experienced this past week with multiple tornadoes in several states that claimed at least 40 lives? Tornadoes and hurricanes do not recognize geopolitical boundaries; neither does FEMA. MS relies heavily on FEMA when disasters strike. I have little confidence that our state could handle disaster management on its own.

Finestkind

Thank you, Kat Bergeron, for teaching me a new word. I wish your column appeared in the Local section of the digital Edition, so I could click and get an easy-to-read version. You make it fascinating and fun to learn about Coast history. I’d say that makes you finestkind.

DOGE successes?

Thanks to the reader who pointed out doge.gov where we can view all the successes DOGE has accomplished. I looked through all of them back to mid-February and would have to agree with most of them. They are primarily things like termination of extra credit cards, elimination of excess software licenses and termination of a lot of contracts and grants - particularly those that don’t fit with Republican sensibilities. However, I think I spotted only one instance of fraud identified I would applaud that it seems that most of the successes were accomplished by the various Departments with the aid of DOGE rather than unilateral DOGE action itself. I did find it interesting that nowhere was mention of cuts to the Federal workforce as a success. At least back to mid-February.

Don’t bash our VA

In regards to the Sound Off from the combat vet saying people are hiding and doing nothing. I have been going to the Biloxi VA for many years. I have never seen anyone hiding or doing nothing. If some one has a weedeater, he or she is weedeating, if it’s a buffer, they are buffing .If it’s a receptionist, they are doing their job right in front of you. Chances are that’s another vet doing that job. I had a serious operation there last fall and everyone did their job. They are there for you., and are with you every step of the way. If anything, they go beyone what is expected of them. It’s a crying shame to put your politics ahead of what’s in front of your face. But I guess that’s where we are now.

Shutdown

Very funny post about the Republicans who control the House, Senate and White House blaming Democrats for a potential government shutdown. Every time the situation was reversed, especially under Biden and Obama, Dems always blamed the Republicans for the government shutdown. Cuter.

MAGA

Inflation, egg prices and the number of measles cases are soaring under the new administration. The stock market, on the other hand, is tanking. So much winning.

Unequal city services

In my neighborhood, I witness city workers cutting grass and edging sidewalks on Courthouse and Cowan roads all the time. Tegarden Road, though, gets no maintenance. All these roads are used heavily with many trucks using Tegarden to avoid the other two busier routes. Why is Tegarden neglected? The easements are not wide enough, there are no sidewalks and trash is everywhere. We pay taxes like the businesses on the other two roads. Tegarden is predominantly Black, by the way.

Constitution, anyone?

The U.S. Constitution establishes a government with three distinct branches: the legislative (makes laws), executive (enforces laws), and judicial (interprets laws), with each branch having specific powers and responsibilities, and a system of checks and balances to prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful. I want to know why our Congress is not doing their job and not putting a stop to the destruction of our country by President Trump and Elon Musk?

Better oversight?

So, President Trump thinks the states will have a better handle on avoiding fraud and misuse of distributed federal disaster funds if FEMA is eliminated? Ask Brett Favre how that works.

Lessons from the past

Doonesbury was a great cartoon in this past Sunday’s paper. It was a purported phone interview with former Vice President Al Gore about his Reinventing Government initiative of the 1990s. While some of the claims in the cartoon differ from various web summaries, the effort did eliminate nearly 400,000 Federal positions and consolidate over 800 agencies. Lots of red tape was eliminated, procurement procedures streamlined and implementation of internet applications focused on improved service to Government employees and citizens alike. The cartoon was spot on that few noticed any turmoil in these accomplishments. The efforts were well planned and responsibly executed with close participation of Congress. Overall, the initiative recommended, and Congress adopted savings of about $136 billion. The goal was to create a government that “works better, costs less, and gets results Americans care about.” Trump’s current efforts seem to focus entirely on “costs less” and totally ignores the other two objectives with a lot of turmoil in the implementation thereof.

No escape from reality

According to European publications, the Trump administration is begging Denmark for eggs. Yep, the same Denmark it is threatening to take Greenland from. Sounds like a great plan, Cotton. Let’s see how it works.

On the bottom

Mississippi has the highest rate of STDs nationwide. We are on the bottom of so many categories, yet our governor refuses to accept federal dollars for healthcare and food for the needy. Unbelievable.

Send your Sound Offs to soundoff@sunherald.com.