Back in February 2010, my newfound home of Washington, DC and I had something in common: We were both crippled.
On Feb. 3, I was crippled by a negligent and dishonest State Department employee named Mike McGuinn. A few days later, the rest of the town was crippled by a massive snowstorm. Well, “massive” by DC standards, anyway. The city was completely unprepared for two measly feet of snow, and the whole place ground to a halt.
The one good thing about being confined to a hospital bed all that week was that I didn’t have to go out in the snow. It was so bad, a lot of the nurses couldn’t make it home and had to sleep on cots in the hospital. (The doctors just got hotel rooms, I think.) Everybody said it was the worst snowstorm in 100 years. “Snowmageddon,” they called it.
Do you think that means DC is ready for this snowstorm, a mere 6 years later? Heh.
Maryland, D.C. and Virginia have declared states of emergency as the area braces for a major winter storm this weekend.
D.C. also declared a snow emergency that goes into effect Friday morning.
By declaring states of emergency, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser authorize state and federal agencies to position resources for quick response anywhere they are needed.
Oh, so now they’re responding quickly? That’s a big help to everybody who’s already had to pay for their negligence. Margaret Chadbourn and Marian Khan, ABC News:
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser apologized for last night’s traffic meltdown, speculating that if the city had deployed road crews earlier yesterday, the nightmare experienced by commuters would never have happened.
“We are very sorry for an inadequate response,” Bowser said. “We should have been out earlier with more resources.”
Well, how could she have known? It’s not like there’s any way to, I dunno… predict the weather.
Listen to your betters in DC, you peasants. They might not know how to deal with a weather forecast, but they can definitely save you from climate change.
And to all my friends still stuck in that horrible place: Hunker down. Or better yet, get the hell out of there. The closer you are to the government, the less they care what happens to you.