Detective Sensenbrenner and the Flood Aid Police
Congressman F. Jim Sensenbrenner must have way too much time on his hands. He must be spending it reading all of the right wing blog hysteria over flood victims in Milwaukee actually getting aid. Earlier this week people in Milwaukee’s central city stood in line to get food vouchers. There was apparently some confusion and frustration at the site which led to some pushing and shoving prompting a police response. After the incident right wing bloggers went completely nuts. Suddenly they declared the incident a full blown ‘riot’ even though it had very few of the traits that one would associate with an actual riot.
Next they started overanalyzing pictures in the paper, doing fashion checks on those that stood in line. They began to show outrage because some of the people seeking aid actually had cell phones. Oh the horror! They even went to another sleazy low by commenting on the flood victim’s weight, and wondering why they would need food. It has really been a disgusting display feeding into all of the same racist stereotypes that apparently still plague our society. Now F. Jim Sensenbrenner has decided to jump in, trying to give some legitimacy to many of the fowl things being said on the right.
As if literally ripping a comment right off a right wing blog, Sensenbrenner is now calling for the DA to investigate the food aid distribution in Milwaukee. He says that he is doing this because he is ‘concerned’ that people with no flood damage received aid. What makes him think that? Doesn’t he know that Milwaukee also got a record amount of rain and experienced a lot of flooding? Didn’t anyone tell him that a disaster declaration was made for Milwaukee? Does he think that this was done for fun or that all of the property damage somehow missed the poorest areas of the city? Why is Sensenbrenner doubting the victims in Milwaukee but hasn’t said anything about people seeking aid in other parts of the state? Did any of his blogger sources take a magnifying glass to pictures of victims in those areas? Is Detective Sensenbrenner going to call for DA’s all over the state to investigate their flood victims?
Sensenbrenner isn’t going to stop with calling for an investigation; he also plans to introduce an entire piece of legislation inspired specifically by the flood victims standing in line in Milwaukee’s central city. His extreme overreaction makes me wonder if his legislation will only be applicable to poor people of color from Milwaukee.
UPDATE: JSONLINE is reporting that a new disaster center is opening in Waukesha. I wonder if any right wing bloggers or talkers are going to stand guard outside doing fashion and weight checks. Is Detective Sensenbrenner preparing his investigation team to make sure that those victims really suffered from the flooding?