Good timing

Posted at 7:27 PM on August 31, 2008 by Bob Collins (0 Comments)
Filed under: The political conventions

I threw alway almost all of the swag from the Democratic National Convention in Denver, except for the paper card with wildflower seeds, the water bottle, and this little item, which I didn't pay any attention to until today.

An emergency radio to be used in case of a natural disaster.

What did the Democrats know and when did they know it?

It was distributed by ProtectingAmerica.org, a group headed by former FEMA boss James Lee Witt.

The organization is advocating for state legislation to create disaster funds. In Texas, it's lobbying for a privately-financed disaster fund.

You can sign up to get one of the radios, but you're also going to get spam and copies of speeches, which will do nothing to help you in a disaster unless you need something to burn to stay warm.

On the radio -- made of cardboard (how well is that going to work in a flood?) -- it says:

Please keep this FM radio in your home disaster kit so that you can be kept abreast of developments if catastrophe strikes.

With Hurricane Gustav bearing down on the U.S., I finally tried it out tonight: and got a show on MPR about trout fishing.

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