Puerto Rico is bankrupt [Archive] - SpursTalk.com Forums

Winehole23

03-04-2009, 06:49 PM

Crisis may cost Puerto Rico 30,000 jobs: governor (http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j4HxX9yqONe9ymibSvuffEYO2OBA)

8 hours ago

MIAMI (AFP) — More than 30,000 jobs are in jeopardy in the US territory of Puerto Rico as the governor warned that he must slash two billion dollars from the budget of a "government in bankruptcy."

The local government is largest employer in Puerto Rico, a self-governing US possession in the Caribbean with a population of nearly four million.
Governor Luis Fortuno told Puerto Ricans in a televised address late Tuesday that he encountered a 3.2-billion-dollar budget deficit -- four times larger than expected -- when he took office in January.
Puerto Ricans must "face the bitter reality of a government in bankruptcy," he said, adding that islanders face "the worst economic and financial crisis ever since the Great Depression of the 1930s."

He said he ordered across the board budget cuts and an end to government mobile phones, credit cards and vehicles.

"Our goal is to save two billion dollars a year in government expenses," he said.

To achieve savings government workers will be offered incentives to resign, and employees with seniority will be given the option to work one day less every other week.

But if savings are still not met then forced cuts will follow.
There are 300,000 government jobs in Puerto Rico, which Fortuno said is proportionally the highest in the United States.
"I cannot anticipate the exact number of employees that will be affected," Fortuno said. "But I'm going to be frank, the number could be significant and I fear it could exceed 30,000 jobs."

Fortuno warned that if nothing was done, "Puerto Rico would enter an unimaginable economic crisis, much worse than what we have now. If we lose our credit, the government would not be able to meet payroll obligations, pay suppliers or offer basic services."

Puerto Ricans are US citizens, but cannot vote in US national elections.

sook

03-04-2009, 06:59 PM

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m210/d_julien/450.gif

Bender

03-04-2009, 08:08 PM

us gov't should Stimulate them with a few billion... :rolleyes

Winehole23

03-04-2009, 08:56 PM

us gov't should Stimulate them with a few billion... :rolleyesWe did, last year (http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN1634112020080416).

Bender

03-04-2009, 09:59 PM

:wow jesus, I didn't even know that... I was just joking up above....

just shows that it's a never ending vicious circle.

TDMVPDPOY

03-05-2009, 02:37 AM

population of 4m, gets 3.2b handouts from govt every year? hahahhahahhaa fkn daylight robbery at its best without even attempting.....

these clowns should use that money and invest into infrastructure, state owned companys and start buying into another countrys infrastructure and live of the dividents/profits it generates........aka singapore.

boutons_

03-05-2009, 06:53 AM

America is bankrupt, but nobody admits it.

coyotes_geek

03-05-2009, 01:27 PM

America is bankrupt, but nobody admits it.

That's the beauty about the United States federal government. You're never bankrupt when there's always more money that can be borrowed. It's not like We The People are ever going to step in to put an end to it.

Blake

03-05-2009, 01:39 PM

puerto pobre

Winehole23

03-05-2009, 01:54 PM

That's the beauty about the United States federal government. You're never bankrupt when there's always more money that can be borrowed. It's not like We The People are ever going to step in to put an end to it.You're not bankrupt until your creditors find out. Have they?

LnGrrrR

03-05-2009, 04:25 PM

That's the beauty about the United States federal government. You're never bankrupt when YOU HAVE LARGE AMOUNTS OF NUCLEAR BOMBS. It's not like We The People are ever going to step in to put an end to it.

Fixed.

coyotes_geek

03-05-2009, 04:30 PM

How does the saying go? Nukes and a kind word will get you a bigger credit line than just a kind word?

temujin

03-05-2009, 07:08 PM

Winehole23

09-24-2015, 12:09 PM

UBS shared the pain with their customers:

UBS had a good thing going in Puerto Rico. The Swiss bank served as an adviser to the commonwealth’s Employees Retirement System, led the underwriting of a $2.9 billion bond issue for the pension agency in 2008, and then stuffed half of those bonds into a family of closed-end mutual funds it sold exclusively to customers on the island. It collected fees at every step.

Now, with the U.S. territory in the downward spiral of a government debt crisis, it’s all coming apart for UBS, long the biggest retail brokerage on the island. After UBS helped the government dig itself into a deeper hole and put island customers on the hook for the losses that followed, its Puerto Rico saga has become a cautionary tale of how risks can multiply.

Angry customers have filed hundreds of arbitration claims with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (http://www.finra.org/investors/investor-complaint-center). They’re seeking more than $1.1 billion in damages from UBS after huge losses in the tax-free bond funds, sold as high-income investments that would preserve their capital, and in the bonds themselves. Three of UBS Puerto Rico (https://www.ubs.com/us/en/wealth/misc/puertoricofunds.html)’s five offices have closed since 2010, and nearly 60 of the unit’s 140 financial advisers have departed. The bank’s retail brokerage market share on the island has dropped to 33 percent from 48 percent over that period.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-22/how-ubs-spread-the-pain-of-puerto-rico-s-debt-crisis-to-clients

Winehole23

09-24-2015, 12:10 PM

Putting bonds UBS had underwritten into funds UBS managed would have been forbidden by the Investment Company Act of 1940—if the funds were sold on the mainland. But Congress exempted Puerto Rico when the law was enacted. Bloomberg Markets (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a7jT9c2Pr1jg) first reported (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a7jT9c2Pr1jg) on UBS’s activities on the island in 2009.

hater

09-24-2015, 12:13 PM

Island ppls are usually lazy. But Puerto Ricans take it to the extreme

Winehole23

09-24-2015, 12:15 PM

I wouldn't know. Do tell...

Winehole23

12-29-2015, 04:44 PM

“In a legal brief filed before the United States Supreme Court on December 23, 2015, the United States Government abruptly reversed course, and took the position that the Constitution and laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico do not emanate from the people of Puerto Rico after all. The brief takes the position that, under the United States Constitution, Congress has no power to authorize the people of a territory to engage in an exercise of popular sovereignty by democratically enacting their own Constitution, which then serves as the ultimate source of their laws. Under this view, there can be no such thing as meaningful self-government by the people of Puerto Rico under the U.S. Constitution.”

– Excerpt from a letter sent December 26 by the governor of Puerto Rico, Alejandro J. Garcia-Padilla, to the United Nations Secretary General, reporting legal developments in Washington over the constitutional status of Puerto Rico – an issue that is before the Justices in two cases during the current term of the court. The letter could lead to a legal duty for the U.S. government to defend its current view of that status to the international body, as well as before the Supreme Court. (Read Full Letter Here (http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/PRico-governor-letter-to-UN.pdf).)

“The General Assembly recognizes that, when choosing their constitutional and international status, the people of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico have effectively exercised their right to self-determination….In the framework of their Constitution and of the compact agreed upon with the United States of America, the people of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico have been invested with attributes of political sovereignty which clearly identify the status of self-government attained by the Puerto Rican people as that of an autonomous political entity.”

– Partial text of the UN General Assembly Resolution 748, adopted on November 27, 1953, in response to notice by the United States government that it would no longer file required reports with the UN Secretary General under Article 73 of the UN Charter. That provision requires countries to keep the UN informed on conditions in territories which they hold that are not self-governing. The U.S government withdrew from that obligation by a memo dated April 20, 1953, saying that the adoption of a new constitution gave Puerto Rico “the full measure of self-government.”

“The United States did not characterize Puerto Rico as a sovereign. Instead, it noted that Puerto Rico had become self-governing while having no independent and separate existence from the United States.”

– Excerpt from a footnote in the federal government’s new legal brief filed last week in the Supreme Court opposing recognition of sovereignty for Puerto Rico, commenting on the position it had taken in the 1953 message to the UN.

http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2015/12/constitution-check-who-is-right-about-puerto-ricos-self-governing-status/

Winehole23

12-29-2015, 04:44 PM

Given how vital it is to have that constitutional question settled, it is remarkable that only now has it reached the Supreme Court and gained the Justices’ agreement to sort it out, at least in part. One case that the court will hear in January involved whether Puerto Rico prosecutors can charge individuals with the same crime for which they have already been convicted under charges filed in federal court. To be able, constitutionally, to stage its own independent prosecution for the same offense, Puerto Rico must be treated as a sovereign entity. Otherwise, the Double Jeopardy Clause prohibits sequential trials.

The other case, growing out of the island’s deepening crisis over its public debt, is asking the Justices to settle whether Puerto Rico can be treated less favorably than state governments when they seek to restructure their debt under federal bankruptcy law. (Congress debated doing something about the debt situation late in this year, but then decided to put off any action until March. By then, the Supreme Court will be fully engaged with the debt case pending there.)
Although each case at the court has a fairly narrow legal focus, both have led to a fundamental debate about just what constitutional status Puerto Rico is to have in 2016.

rmt

12-29-2015, 04:55 PM

Island ppls are usually lazy. But Puerto Ricans take it to the extreme

What a generalization. I take exception to that comment - we're not lazy, we just go at a different pace than others :-)

Winehole23

09-03-2016, 12:31 PM

Obama Appoints Social Security Critic to Fix Puerto Rico’s Budget (https://theintercept.com/2016/08/31/obama-appoints-social-security-critic-to-fix-puerto-ricos-budget/)

Andrew Biggs, an American Enterprise Institute resident scholar (https://www.aei.org/scholar/andrew-g-biggs/) and architect of conservative efforts to cut and privatize Social Security, has been named by President Obama to a seven-member fiscal oversight board for the debt-ridden U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. That board, which will work out restructuring for over $70 billion in debt, has widespread authority to institute additional austerity on the island’s citizens, including potential reductions in public pensions. And Biggs appears to be the only member of the board that has significant experience with social insurance.

Under the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act signed into law (http://money.cnn.com/2016/06/29/investing/puerto-rico-debt-promesa/) in June, the fiscal oversight board will be effectively in charge of the island’s finances, usurping its democratically elected government. The oversight board is tasked with balancing Puerto Rico’s budget and pursuing all avenues to pay off its massive debt, including cuts to the island’s education, police, and health care systems. It can sell off Puerto Rican assets, lower the island’s minimum wage, order layoffs, and enforce a ban on public employee strikes. Only as a last resort can the island obtain court approval for a debt restructuring agreement, and negotiate with creditors, which include several “vulture funds” that scooped up Puerto Rican debt at a discount in the hopes of a big payday.

https://theintercept.com/2016/08/31/obama-appoints-social-security-critic-to-fix-puerto-ricos-budget/

InRareForm

09-03-2016, 05:32 PM

Good time to buy house or apartment there

rmt

09-03-2016, 05:39 PM

Good time to buy house or apartment there

I wonder what their beaches are like? Dh says he'll go anywhere with me for retirement but must have excellent internet connection and be near to a mailing facility so he can order whatever from Amazon :lol A house on the beach in Jamaica sounds nice to me but doesn't qualify.

Winehole23

09-03-2016, 07:16 PM

Good time to buy house or apartment thereI laughed, then I cried.

boutons_deux

09-27-2017, 09:10 AM

The Law Strangling Puerto Rico

the United States needs to do more. It needs to suspend the Jones Act in Puerto Rico.

Section 27 of this law decreed that only American ships could carry goods and passengers from one United States port to another.

In addition, every ship must be built, crewed and owned by American citizens.

Under the law, any foreign registry vessel that enters Puerto Rico must pay

punitive tariffs, fees and taxes (https://nacla.org/article/puerto-rico-island-one-market), which are passed on to the Puerto Rican consumer.

The foreign vessel has one other option: It can reroute to Jacksonville, Fla (http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2015-01-21/story/john-mccain-plan-scuttle-100-year-old-maritime-law-unleashes-anger-first)., where all the goods will be transferred to an American vessel, then shipped to Puerto Rico where — again — all the rerouting costs are passed through to the consumer.

Thanks to the law, the price of goods from the United States mainland is at least double (http://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-shippers-push-back-in-battle-over-puerto-rico-import-costs-2015-7) that in neighboring islands,

the cost of living in Puerto Rico is 13 percent higher (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/12/puerto-rico-cost-of-living) than in 325 urban areas elsewhere in the United States,

even though per capita income in Puerto Rico is about $18,000,

close to half that of Mississippi (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/09/us/economy-and-crime-spur-new-puerto-rican-exodus.html?_r=0), the poorest of all 50 states.

This is a shakedown, a mob protection racket, with Puerto Rico a captive market.

A 2012 report (http://docplayer.net/494027-Economic-impact-of-jones-act-on-puerto-rico-s-economy.html) by two University of Puerto Rico economists found that the Jones Act caused a $17 billion loss to the island’s economy from 1990 through 2010.

Other studies have estimated the Jones Act’s damage to Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Alaska to be $2.8 billion to $9.8 billion (https://capitalresearch.org/2013/04/the-sinking-ship-of-cabotage-how-the-jones-act-lets-unions-and-a-few-companies-hold-the-economy-hostage/) per year.

According to all these reports,

if the Jones Act did not exist, then neither would the public debt of Puerto Rico.

Three American territories (http://www.globaltrademag.com/global-trade-daily/news/legislation-would-exempt-puerto-rico-from-the-jones-act) are exempt from the Jones Act, including the United States Virgin Islands.

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/09/25/opinion/hurricane-puerto-rico-jones-act.html

Blake

09-27-2017, 09:16 AM

Waiting for a million dollar donation from Trump

boutons_deux

09-27-2017, 09:18 AM

Trump refuses to lift the Jones Act as people across Puerto Rico receive 'nothing, nothing, nothing'

Donald Trump declared no fewer than a dozen times that he was doing a “great” job in Puerto Rico, and said that his actions there received ‘great reviews,’ the administration continues to block an action that could provide relief to the island. (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-maria-puertorico-shipping/u-s-denies-request-for-puerto-rico-shipping-waiver-idUSKCN1C12UI)

The Trump administration on Tuesday denied a request to waive shipping restrictions to help get fuel and supplies to storm-ravaged Puerto Rico, saying it would do nothing to address the island’s main impediment to shipping, damaged ports.

By keeping the fleet that can serve Puerto Rico small at a time when demand outstrips all possible supply, it drives the price of delivery upward.

The failure to lift the restriction makes many worry that

Trump is more worried about protecting profits than Puerto Rico.

this case more of a mystery.

The Department of Homeland Security, which waived the act after hurricanes Harvey and Irma, did not agree an exemption would help this time. …

The refusal to allow the waiver “is raising fears on the island that they are going to be left behind in this disaster.”

would love to see Donald Trump genuinely doing a competent, complete, and thoughtful job. :lol :lol

However, at the moment he seems to be

more interested in telling everyone how great he’s doing, than actually doing anything great.

“There’s been no help from the mayor or from the federal government,”

said 64-year-old retiree Maria Rodriguez as she held a coconut in her right hand and took sips from it.

“After Georges hit us (in 1998), they responded quickly. But now? Nothing. We need water and food.”

https://m.dailykos.com/stories/1702026

1998? That was Clintion's FEMA, which states said was very well run, organized.

Then the Repugs got hold FEMA, fucked it up, put Heckuva Job Brownie in charge, and NO got Katrina'd.

Sure looks like PR will be Trash's / Repugs' Katrina.

Heckuva Job, Trashie

hater

09-27-2017, 09:18 AM

Just print more money. Case solved

leemajors

09-27-2017, 10:26 AM

http://www.truth-out.org/progressivepicks/item/30925-how-the-united-states-economically-and-politically-strangled-puerto-rico

Blake

09-27-2017, 12:07 PM

http://www.truth-out.org/progressivepicks/item/30925-how-the-united-states-economically-and-politically-strangled-puerto-rico

^ Animal Farm type stuff

rmt

09-27-2017, 03:39 PM

Good time to buy house or apartment there

good thing you didn't buy house or apartment there

DMC

09-27-2017, 03:59 PM

500 dollars went quick.

Pavlov

09-27-2017, 04:18 PM

Damn, remember when everyone cared about hurricane victims?

Chucho

09-27-2017, 04:30 PM

Damn, remember when everyone cared about hurricane victims?
Everyone's busy taking knees now because a Clown called elitist millionaires sons of bitches. Pretending to care is a fad, has been since the onset of social media.

DMC

09-27-2017, 05:00 PM

Damn, remember when everyone cared about hurricane victims?

No. I remember when everyone pretended to and didn't do a thing about it but then claimed tu quoque.

Pavlov

09-27-2017, 05:01 PM

No. I remember when everyone pretended to and didn't do a thing about it but then claimed tu quoque.Of course you remember what happened on the message board.

Blake

09-27-2017, 05:50 PM

No. I remember when everyone pretended to and didn't do a thing about it but then claimed tu quoque.

You never said what the threshold for doing something was.

DMC

09-27-2017, 07:05 PM

You never said what the threshold for doing something was.

You didn't meet it.

Blake

09-27-2017, 07:54 PM

You didn't meet it.

It doesn't exist.

DMC

09-28-2017, 12:26 AM

It doesn't exist.

Do you honestly feel like you've done enough?

Blake

09-28-2017, 08:06 AM

Do you honestly feel like you've done enough?

I'm good.

But it's your claim that I'm not doing enough. What's your threshold to satisfy your fallacious question?

boutons_deux

09-28-2017, 11:04 AM

It took 8+ days, but white supremacist Trash lifted the Hatch Act ban for brown PR.

Fuck Trash

DMC

09-28-2017, 04:58 PM

I'm good.

But it's your claim that I'm not doing enough. What's your threshold to satisfy your fallacious question?

Well you haven't done anything so any threshold greater than 0 immediately disqualifies you.

Blake

09-28-2017, 05:16 PM

Well you haven't done anything so any threshold greater than 0 immediately disqualifies you.

Your threshold is currently 0.

DMC

09-28-2017, 08:34 PM

Your threshold is currently 0.

What does that even mean or do you know?

Blake

09-28-2017, 09:57 PM

What does that even mean or do you know?

You haven't provided a threshold, therefore yours is nil.

I don't know why this is so difficult for you.

DMC

09-28-2017, 10:00 PM

You haven't provided a threshold, therefore yours is nil.

I don't know why this is so difficult for you.

You've done nothing and feel ok about it. What's the point of a subjective marker that you can selectively ignore and dismiss?

If you hold person X to a standard, that's the standard you should hold yourself to as well. Whatever threshold that is, whatever comes out of your ass when you pop your head out of it, that's it.

Blake

09-28-2017, 10:05 PM

You've done nothing and feel ok about it. What's the point of a subjective marker that you can selectively ignore and dismiss?

If you hold person X to a standard, that's the standard you should hold yourself to as well. Whatever threshold that is, whatever comes out of your ass when you pop your head out of it, that's it.

Perfect example of tu quoque fallacy.

Not my problem you don't get it.

monosylab1k

09-28-2017, 10:05 PM

Just print more money. Case solved

They’ll do it to bail out Wall Street, why not hurricane victims?

Blake

09-28-2017, 10:07 PM

Shit, even if you tried to send someone money in Puerto Rico, they would be hard pressed to get it. There's no cash in the atms at the moment.

DMC

09-28-2017, 10:19 PM

Perfect example of tu quoque fallacy.

Not my problem you don't get it.

What is a hypocrite?

Blake

09-28-2017, 10:43 PM

What is a hypocrite?

Yeah, again I didn't have my yacht available to escort people off the island.

Round and round

TeyshaBlue

09-29-2017, 07:37 AM

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-28/mountains-of-aid-languish-on-docks-in-storm-stricken-san-juan

boutons_deux

09-30-2017, 08:46 AM

‘Shame!’ Trump Blasts San Juan Mayor, Blames Media for Puerto Rico Recovery

President Donald Trump appears to have woken up at his Bedminster, NJ country club to see a bevy of news reports critical of how his administration has thus far handled the recovery efforts in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria ravaged the island U.S. territory (https://www.mediaite.com/online/puerto-ricans-slam-trump-admin-for-insufficient-relief-efforts-people-are-suffering-outside/).

And true to form, Trump turned to Twitter to hit back.

Donald J. Trump (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump)
(https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump)✔@realDonaldTrump (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump)

The Mayor of San Juan, who was very complimentary only a few days ago, has now been told by the Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump.
6:19 AM - Sep 30, 2017 (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/914087234869047296)

Donald J. Trump (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump)
(https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump)✔@realDonaldTrump (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump)

...Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help. They....
6:26 AM - Sep 30, 2017 (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/914089003745468417)

Donald J. Trump (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump)
(https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump)✔@realDonaldTrump (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump)

...want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort. 10,000 Federal workers now on Island doing a fantastic job.
6:29 AM - Sep 30, 2017 (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/914089888596754434)

Donald J. Trump (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump)
(https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump)✔@realDonaldTrump (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump)

Fake News CNN and NBC are going out of their way to disparage our great First Responders as a way to "get Trump." Not fair to FR or effort!
6:48 AM - Sep 30, 2017 (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/914094625488502784)

Donald J. Trump (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump)
(https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump)✔@realDonaldTrump (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump)

The Fake News Networks are working overtime in Puerto Rico doing their best to take the spirit away from our soldiers and first R's. Shame!
7:07 AM - Sep 30, 2017 (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/914099295963553792)

President Trump sees the problem in Puerto Rico to be a PR problem of another sort: public relations.

he is ostensibly “leading” this effort via Twitter from his New Jersey based golf course is another Public Relations problem

https://www.mediaite.com/online/shame-trump-blasts-san-juan-mayor-blames-media-for-puerto-rica-hurricane-efforts/

ducks

09-30-2017, 08:53 AM

Mayor is not acting like other mayors hit by hurricane

Trill Clinton

09-30-2017, 09:23 AM

djohn2oo8

09-30-2017, 09:31 AM

sad but not surprising. fuck that guy.

I wonder if these circlejerk Trump cumbucket Hillbilly faggots are going to comment on Trump attacking Puerto Ricans.

ducks

09-30-2017, 09:38 AM

So you live on island owe tons on money refuse to upgrade eletric grid
Refuse to work demand to get bailed out because you live in hurricane area

Ever heard of moving?

baseline bum

09-30-2017, 09:47 AM

I gotta give Trump credit for how quickly he got aid approved for Texas and Florida instead of letting Ryan and McConnell drag it out to get partisan goodies thrown into the bill. I don't see how Puerto Rico is his fault. You're not going to get the entire electric grid back up and running overnight and as long as that's out getting aid to people there is going to be a nightmare.

djohn2oo8

09-30-2017, 09:49 AM

djohn2oo8

09-30-2017, 09:49 AM

So you live on island owe tons on money refuse to upgrade eletric grid
Refuse to work demand to get bailed out because you live in hurricane area

Ever heard of moving?

Trump hates Puerto Ricans. That simple.

ducks

09-30-2017, 09:50 AM

10,0000 people there helping

ducks

09-30-2017, 09:50 AM

Why is he attacking Puerto Ricans after a major disaster?

Why is the mayor
She got 10,000 troops
You attack him he will respond

djohn2oo8

09-30-2017, 09:52 AM

Why is the mayor
She got 10,000 troops

People are dying and Trump is calling Puerto Ricans lazy. Fuck that cumbucket.

ducks

09-30-2017, 09:53 AM

People are dying all the time

How many days warning did they have to get out

ducks

09-30-2017, 09:54 AM

The mayor should organize efforts on what to do ahead of time
She was lazy all she did was oh I call get bailed out why bother planning

djohn2oo8

09-30-2017, 09:54 AM

People are dying all the time

How many days warning did they have to get out

Hey stupid. Their Island is destroyed. Why is he calling them lazy after a major disaster? There are lazy people everywhere. Why Puerto Rico?

ducks

09-30-2017, 09:56 AM

Because the mayor called him out he fights back
She knew he would
Just because your island gets destroyed does not get you free pass to do anything

djohn2oo8

09-30-2017, 09:58 AM

Because the mayor called him out he fights back
She knew he would

Because his fatass was golfing while their Island was getting wrecked? Unacceptable.

Trill Clinton

09-30-2017, 09:59 AM

djohn2oo8

09-30-2017, 10:00 AM

how dare the mayor who watched her country get destroyed and her citizens dying and struggle, passionately plea for help from her president. from what i'm seeing, they are asking for the basics: food, toiletries right now..hurry the fuck up.
Exactly.

ducks

09-30-2017, 10:00 AM

Did very well on all natural disasters
Lots better then one in New Orleans

djohn2oo8

09-30-2017, 10:01 AM

Did very well on all natural disasters
Lots better then one in New Orleans
Nope. He fucked up with Fucked up with Puerto Rico.

ducks

09-30-2017, 10:01 AM

djohn2oo8

09-30-2017, 10:03 AM

Again on island 10,000 there why are you not?

Why is the President not?

baseline bum

09-30-2017, 10:03 AM

Why is he attacking Puerto Ricans after a major disaster?

Because he's a triggered snowflake. Still not his fault their electric grid got wiped out though.

ducks

09-30-2017, 10:04 AM

https://mobile.twitter.com/DeptofDefense?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsmax.com%2FNewsfront%2 Ftrump-puerto-rico-san-juan-federal%2F2017%2F09%2F30%2Fid%2F816805%2F

ducks

09-30-2017, 10:05 AM

Why is the President not?

He is soon when not a distraction

djohn2oo8

09-30-2017, 10:07 AM

Because he's a triggered snowflake. Still not his fault their electric grid got wiped out though.

He did deny them assistance and had to be forced to do it. He gets no credit for doing what any President would.

djohn2oo8

09-30-2017, 10:07 AM

He is soon when not a distraction

He's already a distraction this morning calling dying people lazy. Fuck him.

TeyshaBlue

09-30-2017, 10:27 AM

Trill Clinton

09-30-2017, 10:34 AM

The basics have been there for days languishing on the docks. Hurry the fuck up has been done since last week.

fema disputed those claims. trump needs to stop the immature twitter games and get shit done.

Trill Clinton

09-30-2017, 10:38 AM

913871652768878592

this. get them the help and stop fucking around.

baseline bum

09-30-2017, 10:44 AM

He did deny them assistance and had to be forced to do it.

You talking about the Jones Act?

He gets no credit for doing what any President would.

I give him a lot of credit for not using must pass legislation to advance his agenda like congressional Republicans wanted.

djohn2oo8

09-30-2017, 10:50 AM

You talking about the Jones Act?

I give him a lot of credit for not using must pass legislation to advance his agenda like congressional Republicans wanted.

Yes. And there was literally no time to advance anything. Trump wants to cut FEMA funding and don't doubt it will happen.

ducks

09-30-2017, 11:04 AM

913871652768878592

this. get them the help and stop fucking around.

I can not believe she has been mayor that long and has not figured out a plan lazy sob

Pavlov

09-30-2017, 11:11 AM

I can not believe she has been mayor that long and has not figured out a plan lazy sob:lol now she's responsible for the federal response and mayor of the whole island.

djohn2oo8

09-30-2017, 11:16 AM

:lol now she's responsible for the federal response and mayor of the whole island.

:lmao

rmt

09-30-2017, 11:54 AM

Here are my thoughts and experience:

There was a lot of warning for any hurricane but many (in particular, the men) don't take it seriously. Maybe it's because the women in general think about meals/food/water. But even when I gassed up, bought water, nonperishable food EARLY, one still has to gas up again (after driving around for a week). The key is the supply of GAS - gas to drive around getting stuff, gas for the generators, and after the hurricane, gas so that people who clear the highways/streets can get to work, gas to run all the trucks, tractors, heavy equipment necessary. The preparation for Irma was outstanding - gas kept flowing into the S. FL, Florida Power & Light had electric trucks from other states here BEFORE the hurricane, schools closed Thursday and Friday before (to convert to shelters) and less people on the road and to allow people to prepare. The day after the hurricane, all necessary employees reported very early in the morning, they were out clearing the highways and major roads, picking up garbage. And they cancelled all unnecessary government and school for that whole week.

Other than minor problems, the major catastrophe was the nursing home where 8 died because of no a/c. When FPL looks at its computers/electronics, the nursing home showed up ok - it had everything - electricity, water, etc but a fuse for the ac broke which could only be replaced by FPL. It's extremely difficult to get through to FPL with so many calling about downed lines, power outage, etc and when they look at their grid, everything looks like fine. Iirc, they're gonna pass some law to check on nursing homes, etc or put them on a special list.

I've never been to Puerto Rico, but if it's anything like Jamaica, the infrastructure makes it very difficult to get help to where it's needed - there are not the highways, major roads that we have here on the mainland. I think there are containers of food, water, supplies lined up now waiting to be distributed. But for an island, when the airport and ports are damaged, getting the gas necessary to recover is difficult. And the islands have disproportional amount of trees/vegetation than major metropolitan areas like Houston and Miami - even here, the city of Coral Gables (an old, expensive area with lots of trees) is suing FPL because they are the last to get back power - too many trees down, entangling the power lines and FPL did not want to risk their people - countering that CG doesn't cut back their landscape enough.

Of course, the PR mayor wants to put the blame on Trump to deflect her lack of planning and preparation. Maybe he could have signed whatever earlier (I still don't know what it does) but if the airport/ports are damaged, there's not much that can be done from outside. That should have been her priority - getting the airport/ports cleared for outside help to come in.

Spurminator

09-30-2017, 11:59 AM

Of course, the PR mayor wants to put the blame on Trump to deflect her lack of planning and preparation. Maybe he could have signed whatever earlier (I still don't know what it does)

Naturally you admit to not understanding the issues PR is facing, but still side with the President. Color us all completely surprised.

ducks

09-30-2017, 12:03 PM

Trump was slated to hold a series of phone calls Saturday from his golf club in New Jersey to discuss relief efforts with Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Brock Long, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló, Puerto Rico resident commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón and the governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Kenneth Mapp, reports The Hill.
O

ducks

09-30-2017, 12:05 PM

:lol now she's responsible for the federal response and mayor of the whole island.
Job to plan ask fed what if someone happens timeline for help

ducks

09-30-2017, 12:07 PM

He's already a distraction this morning calling dying people lazy. Fuck him.

Mayor has time to talk on tv surf the internet respond to social media
She not working then

Pavlov

09-30-2017, 12:08 PM

Now the mayor is responsible for airport radar and TSA scanners and all ports in general.

Jesus.

Pavlov

09-30-2017, 12:09 PM

Mayor has time to talk on tv surf the internet respond to social media
She not working thenThink hard about what you just posted, ducks.

rmt

09-30-2017, 12:13 PM

Naturally you admit to not understanding the issues PR is facing, but still side with the President. Color us all completely surprised.

I'm just sharing my experience with Irma and pointing out the differences between an island and mainland - I don't think one can expect the same level/timing of help because of geography. I lived through Hurricane Andrew and the difference in planning and preparation from government and FPL was like night and day.

BTW, when you're going through the hurricane - political differences fade into the background - you're all without power, all without ac - you aren't thinking about whether this person is a Republican or Democrat as you're cutting their branches with a chain saw - you just want to get back to normal as soon as possible. And I'd bet that Puerto Ricans aren't thinking that Trump could've signed whatever a day earlier - they'll be thankful to get their hands on water, ice and food. That's the way I thought when electricity first came back on. Florida's CC and universities are offering in-state tuition for PR and welcoming K-12 students into school - all these teacher's work/planning days have to be converted to school days (to make up for missed days).

rmt

09-30-2017, 12:16 PM

Now the mayor is responsible for airport radar and TSA scanners and all ports in general.

Jesus.

It's called thinking ahead, planning, preparation and coordination.

Pavlov

09-30-2017, 12:19 PM

It's called thinking ahead, planning, preparation and coordination.Why do you think she is personally responsible for airports and shipping ports in addition to the city? She not Jared Kushner.

rmt

09-30-2017, 12:23 PM

Why do you think she is personally responsible for airports and shipping ports in addition to the city? She not Jared Kushner.

Shouldn't the mayor of the capital and most populous city in PR be planning, preparing and coordinating with the Governor and leaders of other PR cities, counties or whatever they call their local governments?

And with their power company.

Pavlov

09-30-2017, 12:27 PM

Shouldn't the mayor of the capital and most populous city in PR be planning, preparing and coordinating with the Governor and leaders of other PR cities, counties or whatever they call their local governments?

And with their power company.Oh, you're going to act like they never did any planning and coordinating at all now. Lazy Puerto Ricans!

Nice.

Trump feels hurt and everyone has to attack on his behalf.

rmt

09-30-2017, 12:28 PM

Another hurricane aside is that Miami-Dade has outbid/paying more for debris removal than Broward County - I hear that Weston (in Broward) has told their residents that they are responsible for debris removal (that their city is not doing it). Needless to say trucks and whatever you call (like a claw) is in high demand. Some unscrupulous stuff going on too - reports of trucks picking up debris in one neighborhood and dumping in another - I hope they catch these cheats and take away their license.

rmt

09-30-2017, 12:33 PM

Oh, you're going to act like they never did any planning and coordinating at all now. Lazy Puerto Ricans!

Nice.

Trump feels hurt and everyone has to attack on his behalf.

Those are your words. It should be obvious that the priority must be to open up the infrastructure to speed recovery - that includes the airports, ports, highways and roads.

Pavlov

09-30-2017, 12:37 PM

Those are your words.Trump's words, actually.
It should be obvious that the priority must be to open up the infrastructure to speed recovery - that includes the airports, ports, highways and roads.What makes you think they aren't making that a priority?

rmt

09-30-2017, 12:37 PM

Pavlov

09-30-2017, 12:39 PM

Really, you're just using this as an opportunity to brag how awesome you are during a hurricane compared to Puerto Ricans.

rmt

09-30-2017, 01:04 PM

Really, you're just using this as an opportunity to brag how awesome you are during a hurricane compared to Puerto Ricans.

Me? Give credit to the awesome job that Miami-Dade and the state of Florida governments did? Surely you jest.

Seriously, though, I try to give credit where credit is due.

Pavlov

09-30-2017, 01:07 PM

Me? Give credit to the awesome job that Miami-Dade and the state of Florida governments did? Surely you jest.

Seriously, though, I try to give credit where credit is due.No jest. It's just been a mix of how great anyone but Puerto Rico has been after Trump got upset.

TeyshaBlue

09-30-2017, 01:16 PM

Think hard about what you just posted, ducks.

That would be the first time.

rmt

09-30-2017, 01:17 PM

No jest. It's just been a mix of how great anyone but Puerto Rico has been after Trump got upset.

Geography has a lot to do with it. When Andrew hit, help came from the north and the south and all around (all the connecting roadways). Key West was hard hit too but there is only one way in (over long bridge that had to be checked out). Right after the hurricane, when the cops were only letting in Key West residents to check on their property, there were reports of people using boats to get down there and loot.

clambake

09-30-2017, 01:20 PM

Job to plan ask fed what if someone happens timeline for help

what the fuck is this?

Blake

09-30-2017, 01:29 PM

We are all advised (on the radio, TV) to have 3 days of water and food - that's probably how long it takes to get the airports, bridges, docks, highways checked and cleared. Then the food, water and supplies can get to you or vice versa.

If only the Puerto Ricans had all thought to store 3 days of food water and supplies. There'd be no shortage of money, gas or electricity.

Blake

09-30-2017, 01:30 PM

No jest. It's just been a mix of how great anyone but Puerto Rico has been after Trump got upset.

Fucking Puerto Ricans ....wanting Americans to do all the work for other Americans that don't really feel like actual Americans.

We should force them to build a wall too, imo

ducks

09-30-2017, 01:35 PM

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Russello has praised the U.S. response to the crisis.

rmt

09-30-2017, 02:32 PM

If only the Puerto Ricans had all thought to store 3 days of food water and supplies. There'd be no shortage of money, gas or electricity.

That was for mainland US - not an island. That's the whole point of my posts - that Miami/Houston are connected in multiple ways/roads. And that Key West and Puerto Rico are not - severely hampering recovery efforts. It's not so much a response thing as a logistic (because of geography) thing.

Blake

09-30-2017, 02:37 PM

That was for mainland US - not an island. That's the whole point of my posts - that Miami/Houston are connected in multiple ways/roads. And that Key West and Puerto Rico are not - severely hampering recovery efforts. It's not so much a response thing as a logistic (because of geography) thing.

Your backpedaling is duly noted.

ducks

09-30-2017, 02:38 PM

Donald J. Trump realDonaldTrump
·
7m
Just spoke to Governor Kenneth Mapp of the U.S. Virgin Islands who stated that #FEMA and Military are doing a GREAT job! Thank you Governor!

1.8K

1.4K

5.2K

Donald J. Trump
Donald J. Trump realDonaldTrump
·
18m
The Governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rossello, is a great guy and leader who is really working hard. Thank you Ricky!

clambake

09-30-2017, 02:39 PM

trump says trump is doing a great job.

rmt

09-30-2017, 02:46 PM

As for your point, yes, having money always gives one more options. But when there's a rush on gas, canned food and water, having more money (I don't mean if you have your own plane) does not get you more of these items - you're still limited to a full gas tank, 2 gas containers and 3 cases of water (at Costco) and you're not getting electricity back any sooner than anyone else. In the case of Coral Gables, it'll take longer as older, expensive central areas tend to have very mature landscaping and are a pain to get to to restore power.

Another hurricane aside - my aunt never lost electricity since she lives in an area with a lot of FPL electricians and close to a fire station. She felt slightly guilty over it while everyone was suffering in the heat. I didn't begrudge them electricity and good nights' sleep since we were all dependent on them to get back power. Now she doesn't want to downsize and leave that area - lol.

ducks

09-30-2017, 03:18 PM

Pence visits FEMA headquarters as Trump defends response to Puerto Rico

pgardn

09-30-2017, 03:22 PM

trump says trump is doing a great job.

Yes.

This actually works for the Trumpeters.

boutons_deux

09-30-2017, 03:40 PM

Lost weekend: How Trump’s time at his golf club hurt the response to Maria

on Wednesday, Sept. 20, there was a frenzy of activity publicly and privately. The next day, President Trump called local officials on the island, issued an emergency declaration and pledged that all federal resources would be directed to help.

But then for four days after that — as storm-ravaged Puerto Rico struggled for food and water amid the darkness of power outages — Trump and his top aides effectively went dark themselves.

Trump nor any of his senior White House aides said a word publicly about the unfolding crisis.

Trump did hold a meeting at his golf club that Friday with half a dozen Cabinet officials — including acting Homeland Security secretary Elaine Duke, who oversees disaster response — but the gathering was to discuss his new travel ban, not the hurricane.

He spent much of his time over those four days fixated on his escalating public feuds with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/09/22/trump-warns-that-madman-north-korean-leader-kim-jong-un-will-be-tested/?utm_term=.42ca869dbbd8), with fellow Republicans in Congress and with the National Football League (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/09/22/donald-trump-profanely-implores-nfl-owners-to-fire-players-protesting-national-anthem/?utm_term=.3e1716f38d0e)over protests during the national anthem.

Even though local officials had said publicly as early as Sept. 20, the day of the storm, that the island was “destroyed,” the sense of urgency didn’t begin to penetrate the White House until Monday,

“The Trump administration was slow off the mark,”

We’ve invaded small countries faster than we’ve been helping American citizens in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.”

Trump’s public schedule Monday was devoid of any meetings related to the storm, but he was becoming frustrated by the coverage he was seeing on TV

At a dinner Monday evening with conservative leaders at the White House, Trump opened the gathering by briefly lamenting the tragedy unfolding in Puerto Rico before launching into a lengthy diatribe against Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) over his opposition to the Republicans’ failed health-care bill (https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/senate-gop-effort-to-unwind-the-affordable-care-act-faces-critical-test-tuesday/2017/09/26/097b2dc2-a25f-11e7-b14f-f41773cd5a14_story.html?utm_term=.99d209c50d4e)

He blamed the island’s financial woes and ailing infrastructure for the difficult recovery process.

It had taken until Monday — five days after Maria made landfall — for the first senior administration officials from Washington to touch down to survey the damage firsthand.

The administration still fumbled at key moments after stepping up its response. A week after landfall, Trump still had not waived the Jones Act, a law that barred foreign-flagged vessels from delivering aid to Puerto Rico. Such a waiver had been granted for previous hurricanes this year.

Trump said Wednesday that “a lot of shippers and . . . a lot of people that work in the shipping industry” didn’t want it lifted.

( :lol Trash supporting scammers, gougers, racketeers who have been profiting from the Jones Act since its beginning. )

“the government of Puerto Rico will have to work with us to determine how this massive rebuilding effort . . . will be funded and organized,” and he referred to the “tremendous amount of existing debt” on the island.

($Bs of PR debt was falsely created by the mercantilist Jones Act)

Trump’s rosy assessment of the federal response has also contrasted sharply with the comments of federal officials on the ground.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/lost-weekend-how-trumps-time-at-his-golf-club-hurt-the-response-to-maria/2017/09/29/ce92ed0a-a522-11e7-8c37-e1d99ad6aa22_story.html?hpid=hp_rhp-top-table-main_no-name%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.1e3eee94410c

iow, Trash is lying/gaslighting the world trying to prevent PR/Maria being his Katrina.

Heckuva job, Trashie

djohn2oo8

09-30-2017, 03:55 PM

Christ Trump is still tweeting about the mayor. Lol Captain Triggered

SnakeBoy

09-30-2017, 04:01 PM

fema disputed those claims. trump needs to stop the immature twitter games and get shit done.

914147173192880128

Pavlov

09-30-2017, 04:06 PM

:lmao nia4_trump #snapchatlensfiltertrust

Trill Clinton

09-30-2017, 04:11 PM

914147173192880128

and instead of helping solve the problem, the president is on lying on his stomach tweeting on his cellphone. hurry the fuck up and help them!

Blake

09-30-2017, 04:12 PM

Christ Trump is still tweeting about the mayor. Lol Captain Triggered

"Russel L. Honoré, the retired lieutenant general who took over the response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 after an initially inadequate federal effort, also noted the president’s weekend retreat. “The mayor’s living on a cot, and I hope the president has a good day at golf,”*he said*on CNN."

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/09/30/us/politics/trump-puerto-rico-mayor.html?referer=https://www.google.com/

rmt

09-30-2017, 05:01 PM

and instead of helping solve the problem, the president is on lying on his stomach tweeting on his cellphone. hurry the fuck up and help them!

And what would you have Trump do? The food, water, supplies are there - it's a distribution, supply chain, logistics problem. Do you want Trump to send the military in to clear the roads? That's what the local government is supposed to do.

Trill Clinton

09-30-2017, 05:04 PM

And what would you have Trump do? The food, water, supplies are there - it's a distribution, supply chain, logistics problem. Do you want Trump to send the military in to clear the roads? That's what the local government is supposed to do.

i would like for him to show leadership, get off his stomach, log off of twitter, put his phone down and get on the first thing smokin' to PR. and i don't want tohear that logistics problem excuse. figure the shit out.

Pavlov

09-30-2017, 05:06 PM

And what would you have Trump do? The food, water, supplies are there - it's a distribution, supply chain, logistics problem. Do you want Trump to send the military in to clear the roads? That's what the local government is supposed to do.
https://www.army.mil/e2/c/images/2011/09/02/218742/size0.jpg
New York Army National Guard Soldiers of the 204th Engineer Battalion clear debris from Mill Valley Road in Middleburgh N.Y. following floods caused by Hurricane Irene. Soldiers are assisting authorities by clearing debris so food and supplies can be delivered to flood victims. (Photo Credit: Dennis Gravelle, New York Army National Guard)

Stupid, lazy, ungrateful Puerto Ricans!

I would say if PR doesn't have this kind of National Guard presence the governor can deploy, yeah -- the military could probably be useful.

Trill Clinton

09-30-2017, 05:07 PM

914130429308960768

boutons_deux

09-30-2017, 05:13 PM

The one thing only Trump can do to help Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico needs more money — but Trump needs to ask first.

It's going to require Congress to pass a relief package to free up more federal dollars to fix the island's infrastructure problems. But

first, the White House needs to send a request to Congress for the money. Trump hasn't even gotten that started. …

So far, the White House hasn't announced plans to ask for similar help.

Until that happens, federal workers are doing what they can to help Puerto Rico respond with the minimal amount of resources.

But that won't be enough to rebuild the island. It won't even get the lights back on.

It's going to require Congress to pass a relief package to free up more federal dollars to fix the island's infrastructure problems.

But first, the White House needs to send a request to Congress for the money. Trump hasn't even gotten that started. …

So far, the White House hasn't announced plans to ask for similar help.

Until that happens, federal workers are doing what they can to help Puerto Rico respond with the minimal amount of resources.

But that won't be enough to rebuild the island. It won't even get the lights back on.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/9/30/16389688/trump-puerto-rico-congress-funds

Trash hasn't asked for funding for PR, but he has whined about PR's long-term debt and infrastructure crisis, which has been made worse, ever created by, over the DECADES, and the Jones Act.

===============

100-year-old Jones Act also fucks over another US island in big ocean, big water, lots of big water

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONES ACT

http://www.hawaiibusiness.com/keeping-up-with-the-jones-act/

rmt

09-30-2017, 05:16 PM

i would like for him to show leadership, get off his stomach, log off of twitter, put his phone down and get on the first thing smokin' to PR. and i don't want tohear that logistics problem excuse. figure the shit out.

Trump personally going to PR is not going to help matters. It'll make things worse if the roads are impassable with the security/secret service and media that follows him.

They need trucks and heavy equipment and people who can operate them to clear the roads so that this stuff can get to the people.

Pavlov

09-30-2017, 05:19 PM

Oh look, the military has already been helping in the effort to clear debris.

During the last week, the military has relied primarily on moving relief supplies and launching search-and-rescue operations from the Kearsarge, an amphibious assault ship staged between Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. National Guard members along with Marines and sailors from the Kearsarge had cleared runways at 10 of the island’s airports by Wednesday, drastically increasing the flow of aircraft flying onto the island, Davis said.

https://www.stripes.com/news/pentagon-deploys-army-general-and-more-troops-to-lead-hurricane-response-on-puerto-rico-1.489835#.WdAXr237a00

Nope. Puerto Ricans should get no help with this.

boutons_deux

09-30-2017, 05:23 PM

Army Corps: Puerto Rico looks a lot like Iraq in 2003

The power infrastructure is in ruins, and huge logistical hurdles lie ahead.

for Col. James DeLapp, commander of the Recovery Field Office for Puerto Rico at the US Army Corps of Engineers, the scene on the ground — and the challenge ahead — looks lot like what the Army Corps faced after the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.

“We had a very similar situation following the opening of the Iraq War,” said DeLapp. “This is very reminiscent of that type of effort.”

The island’s utility monopoly, Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, is $9 billion in debt and missed an interest payment in July, as Vox’s Alexia Fernández Campbell explained (https://www.vox.com/2017/9/6/16262954/irma-puerto-rico-electricity).

Its power lines, transformers, and generators suffered from neglect, making it one of the most expensive (http://money.cnn.com/2016/06/30/investing/puerto-rico-crisis-electricity-price-hike/index.html) and least reliable (https://www.citylab.com/environment/2017/09/hurricane-maria-puerto-ricos-grid-needs-a-complete-overhaul/540969/) electricity grids in the United States.

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/9/30/16384176/army-corps-puerto-rico-iraq-hurricane-maria

Trill Clinton

09-30-2017, 05:26 PM

Trump personally going to PR is not going to help matters. It'll make things worse if the roads are impassable with the security/secret service and media that follows him.

They need trucks and heavy equipment and people who can operate them to clear the roads so that this stuff can get to the people.

him going there shows the citizens of PR their president cares about them and lifts the peoples spirits. it shows leadership and gets the ball rolling. they have ports there...he can take stay on a cruise ship for all i care. tired of the excuses for this clown.

yes they need trucks and machinery and he needs to see it gets there ASAP...not tweeting and insulting the PR mayor or sucking his own dick.

Spurminator

09-30-2017, 05:32 PM

And what would you have Trump do?

How about start with acting like a leader instead of a petulant whiny bitch on social media? Or is that too much to ask from the leader of the Free world?

djohn2oo8

09-30-2017, 05:32 PM

him going there shows the citizens of PR their president cares about them and lifts the peoples spirits. it shows leadership and gets the ball rolling. they have ports there...he can take stay on a cruise ship for all i care. tired of the excuses for this clown.

yes they need trucks and machinery and he needs to see it gets there ASAP...not tweeting and insulting the PR mayor or sucking his own dick.

914214898674135040

Trill Clinton

09-30-2017, 05:37 PM

let honore take control. when katrina hit and bush was standing there with his thumb up his ass, honore got the job done.

ywpb1i-oB5Q

boutons_deux

09-30-2017, 05:38 PM

Hurricane Katrina hero Honoré defends San Juan mayor from Trump attacks: ‘She’s trying to care for her people’

https://www.rawstory.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/honore-800x430.png

Speaking from the ground in San Juan, CNN contributor and retired Army Lt. Russel L. Honoré, who lead New Orleans’ response to Hurricane Katrina a decade ago, defended the mayor that the president criticized online from his golf resort in New Jersey.

“She’s trying to care for her people,” Honoré said. “She’s putting out a cry for help.”

Cruz, he continued, is “going around getting medicine for her people.”

“Enough is enough,” said Cruz. “The world will see how we are treated — not as second-class citizens, but as animals that can be disposed of.”

https://www.rawstory.com/2017/09/hurricane-katrina-hero-honore-defends-san-juan-mayor-from-trump-attacks-shes-trying-to-care-for-her-people/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story% 29

djohn2oo8

09-30-2017, 05:48 PM

Trump is shook about something. 18 tweets today.

ducks

09-30-2017, 05:50 PM

You did 30 post here

boutons_deux

09-30-2017, 05:51 PM

Trump is shook about something. 18 tweets today.

He sees a PR disaster as his PR (public relations) disaster

Pavlov

09-30-2017, 05:52 PM

You did 30 post here
Get back to us with the total number of your kneeling protest posts, m'kay?

ducks

09-30-2017, 06:09 PM

Trump is shook about something. 18 tweets today.
Not working today just ask cnn

djohn2oo8

09-30-2017, 06:16 PM

Not working today just ask cnn

When is he ever working?

TeyshaBlue

09-30-2017, 06:18 PM

How about start with acting like a leader instead of a petulant whiny bitch on social media? Or is that too much to ask from the leader of the Free world?

This.

boutons_deux

09-30-2017, 06:32 PM

rmt

09-30-2017, 06:49 PM

the "ring" road is clear, tons of goods are there waiting, but not enough drivers.

how about paying mainland truck drivers big premiums and OT (like the electrical, network people get) to drive in PR?

You mean those who are getting big premiums to drive in Miami and Broward for the next few months? Who would go to PR when they can stay in the US and get paid a lot? And where are these people going to stay and eat?

boutons_deux

09-30-2017, 06:57 PM

You mean those who are getting big premiums to drive in Miami and Broward for the next few months? Who would go to PR when they can stay in the US and get paid a lot? And where are these people going to stay and eat?

how about European drivers? long-haul trucking in Europe is also a huge industry

I don't expect Trash's FEMA to get creative in the face of the crisis. They get paid with no accountability for results or lack of.

rmt

09-30-2017, 06:57 PM

And communicate - in Spanish?

Probably have problems because they will have to hire licensed/insured companies/drivers.

ducks

09-30-2017, 06:58 PM

Why not make the ones there drive

ducks

09-30-2017, 07:00 PM

Those people there to lazy to learn English?
And want my taxpayers money to bail their party life on an island life
Wow I guess people have balls to ask

boutons_deux

09-30-2017, 07:02 PM

And communicate - in Spanish?

Probably have problems because they will have to hire licensed/insured companies/drivers.

Lots of commercial drivers drive through and to countries that don't speak their language, like Norway to Turkey, England to Poland, etc, etc.

Plus English is the language of business, and people get by even in very bad English.

ducks

09-30-2017, 07:03 PM

the "ring" road is clear, tons of goods are there waiting, but not enough drivers.

how about paying mainland truck drivers big premiums and OT (like the electrical, network people get) to drive in PR?

How about people working for free lives at stake ask the mayor there when she has time
She likes to stay busy on tv and computer
Or maybe cnn might actually donate money for that

rmt

09-30-2017, 07:07 PM

how about European drivers? long-haul trucking in Europe is also a huge industry

I don't expect Trash's FEMA to get creative in the face of the crisis. They get paid with no accountability for results or lack of.

bou, there are rules that the government has to follow - those same licensing/insured requirement (which foreign companies don't have) probably apply and complicated by travel/visa stuff. That's why everything goes so slowly. I wonder how many people in the military are trained with heavy equipment and who can drive trailers. They are good with sheer manpower - distributing boxes, etc but driving trailers/operating heavy equipment?

rmt

09-30-2017, 07:13 PM

Lots of commercial drivers drive through and to countries that don't speak their language, like Norway to Turkey, England to Poland, etc, etc.

Plus English is the language of business, and people get by even in very bad English.

They speak Spanish in PR. And please don't kill me for saying that American black and English-speaking truck drivers won't want to go down there. The European drivers would probably be more comfortable with Spanish than the former but licensing/visa problems.

ducks

09-30-2017, 07:24 PM

Members of the board in charge of resolving Puerto Rico's debt crisis met this week with Trump administration officials and members of the U.S. Congress to ask for more financial assistance for the hurricane-struck island, the panel said on Saturday.

Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory that filed for the biggest-ever U.S. local government bankruptcy in May, was devastated when Hurricane Maria struck the Caribbean island 11 days ago, wiping out power, water and communications systems.

ducks

09-30-2017, 07:25 PM

Biggest ever money issue and now they want more money to live a party life

boutons_deux

09-30-2017, 07:26 PM

They speak Spanish in PR. And please don't kill me for saying that American black and English-speaking truck drivers won't want to go down there. The European drivers would probably be more comfortable with Spanish than the former but licensing/visa problems.

only spanish? goddamn, you're stupid

ducks

09-30-2017, 07:28 PM

The people should move to Mexico or Spain if they can not speak English

boutons_deux

09-30-2017, 07:29 PM

Lin-Manuel Miranda Says Trump Is ‘Going Straight to Hell’

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/10/01/arts/01xp-trumpreax/merlin-to-scoop-128157311-644471-master768.jpg

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/30/us/lin-manuel-miranda-trump-hurricane.html

clambake

09-30-2017, 07:29 PM

lazy partiers

ducks

09-30-2017, 07:30 PM

What does he know

ducks

09-30-2017, 07:32 PM

lazy partiers

Damm straight stop watching football learn English idiots

clambake

09-30-2017, 07:33 PM

Damm straight stop watching football learn English idiots
they should move to indiana and work for carrier.

oh, thats right, carrier is laying everybody off.

ducks

09-30-2017, 07:35 PM

Hell buy dvds and learn English at the beach in bikini or swimming gear

ducks

09-30-2017, 07:36 PM

they should move to indiana and work for carrier.

oh, thats right, carrier is laying everybody off.
Too cold for them there

clambake

09-30-2017, 07:37 PM

nothin but a goddamn party goin on.

Blake

09-30-2017, 07:37 PM

The people should move to Mexico or Spain if they can not speak English

K now you're just trolling

clambake

09-30-2017, 07:37 PM

Too cold for them there

yeah, and they'd be unemployed.

ducks

09-30-2017, 07:39 PM

Texas and cal farmers looking for workers

clambake

09-30-2017, 07:41 PM

Texas and cal farmers looking for workers

get those lazy bums off that island.......then nuke it for good measure.

rmt

09-30-2017, 07:50 PM

only spanish? goddamn, you're stupid

Went to Walmart to get my hair dyed this morning. Lady there did not speak any English. Young girl behind me had to explain to her that my son has asthma and could she please use the dye (with no ammonia) that I had brought along with me. I live in Miami - I can imagine what it is like in Puerto Rico for non-Spanish speakers.

ducks

09-30-2017, 07:50 PM

No prisoners should go there clean it up and then cells for them

Blake

09-30-2017, 07:53 PM

Went to Walmart to get my hair dyed this morning. Lady there did not speak any English. Young girl behind me had to explain to her that my son has asthma and could she please use the dye (with no ammonia) that I had brought along with me. I live in Miami - I can imagine what it is like in Puerto Rico for non-Spanish speakers.

You've got a rough life

clambake

09-30-2017, 07:54 PM

No prisoners should go there clean it up and then cells for them

like mcqueen and hoffman?

Pavlov

09-30-2017, 07:55 PM

I see the ST Political Forum brain trust has solved Puerto Rico in a few hours time.

clambake

09-30-2017, 07:56 PM

we outta let kim nuke it.

do us a favor

rmt

09-30-2017, 07:58 PM

You've got a rough life

I was giving an example of English speaking people in a Spanish dominated community. It's worse in Puerto Rico.

Blake

09-30-2017, 08:06 PM

I was giving an example of English speaking people in a Spanish dominated community. It's worse in Puerto Rico.

Yeah, that's why they don't have electricity.

Stop blaming trump :cry

clambake

09-30-2017, 08:12 PM

seriously, if we (or kim) just nuke it..........problem solved.

they're lazy fucks anyhow.

rmt

09-30-2017, 08:16 PM

Yeah, that's why they don't have electricity.

Stop blaming trump :cry

What? bou and I were discussing American/European drivers going to PR.

Trill Clinton

09-30-2017, 08:16 PM

seriously, if we (or kim) just nuke it..........problem solved.

they're lazy fucks anyhow.
why stop there? might as well nuke hawaii too before a tsunami hits that island full of partiers and they start begging for help.

ducks

09-30-2017, 08:28 PM

Yes especially they are lawsuits from there against USA

ducks

09-30-2017, 08:49 PM

http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/mlb/diamondbacks/2017/09/29/game-day-zack-greinke-diamondbacks-open-series-vs-royals-kansas-city/717068001/

Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick sends plane to Puerto Rico for Rey Fuentes' family

ducks

09-30-2017, 09:23 PM

SosGuy32 minutes ago
He may as well fight back. 99% of the media has been fighting him even before he was elected President. PRESIDENT TRUMP can hardly do anything right without the media criticizing his every move. No one hardly reports what the governor of Puerto Rico said - PRESIDENT TRUMP has been doing a good job in getting aid there - the real problem is logistics and unions preventing non union truck drivers from delivering aid. Bottom line: more fake news from the Huff and Yahoo.

ducks

09-30-2017, 09:24 PM

Brain plumber55 minutes ago
I am not a supporter of Trump but i.must agreed with him that many main stream n social media platforms are being used as political tools to disseminate fake news n to brainwash readers in favor of their hidden agenda. This included yahoo who used low unethical means to censor posting n comments that are not in their favor.
Less

ducks

09-30-2017, 09:29 PM

Black26 minutes ago
The media has been attacking Trump all week long on this issue, even while he's been coordinated, but as soon as he responds, he's characterized as "exploiting" the situation. I see why he calls you people fake and dishonest. This article was absolutely ridiculous. The media really needs to be checked in this country because they're getting really out of hand. I wish congress would do something about it. Amazing how republicans control both branches of government but still allow the media's foolishness to persist.

djohn2oo8

09-30-2017, 10:20 PM

Word going around Trump is deliberately trying to hide the official death toll count.

djohn2oo8

09-30-2017, 10:20 PM

Bodies in the streets.

Pavlov

09-30-2017, 10:32 PM

Word going around Trump is deliberately trying to hide the official death toll count.

Bodies in the streets.
You mean they were so lazy they couldn't even breathe for themselves.

ducks

09-30-2017, 10:32 PM

As many as Chicago ?

ducks

09-30-2017, 10:34 PM

Last count was 2708

Pavlov

09-30-2017, 10:34 PM

As many as Chicago ?

*ding*

djohn2oo8

09-30-2017, 10:36 PM

You mean they were so lazy they couldn't even breathe for themselves.

914220569402281985

ducks

09-30-2017, 10:39 PM

http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=468763&CategoryId=14092
100 killed so far crime bad

djohn2oo8

09-30-2017, 10:39 PM

914319186821812224

Pavlov

09-30-2017, 10:39 PM

Losers! They still have to pay back their debts.

djohn2oo8

09-30-2017, 10:41 PM

914320524251103233

Pavlov

09-30-2017, 10:41 PM

http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=468763&CategoryId=14092
100 killed so far crime badSo let them all die?

ducks

09-30-2017, 10:43 PM

This is what happens live on island and old electric grill destroyed
What about the dead babies in America that their mom aborted in abortion

ducks

09-30-2017, 10:44 PM

So let them all die?
10,000 are helping

Pavlov

09-30-2017, 10:47 PM

10,000 are helping
So why are you always trying to change the subject?

ducks

09-30-2017, 10:52 PM

When will Facebook give to pr

djohn2oo8

09-30-2017, 10:55 PM

914161582002892800
Jesus.

Pavlov

09-30-2017, 10:56 PM

When will Facebook give to pr
They're already there working on the Internet infrastructure. What is the matter with you?

djohn2oo8

09-30-2017, 10:56 PM

913852023350718464
???

djohn2oo8

09-30-2017, 10:59 PM

914330415841910790

ducks

09-30-2017, 11:05 PM

They're already there working on the Internet infrastructure. What is the matter with you?

Lives more important

Pavlov

09-30-2017, 11:08 PM

Lives more importantYou're kind of a piece of shit, ducks.

ducks

09-30-2017, 11:10 PM

Your saying people died
They are not driving food to busy trying to get Facebook working there so they can sell Facebook ads

ducks

09-30-2017, 11:12 PM

Think people would rather them drive food to them

ducks

09-30-2017, 11:14 PM

David Begnaud
David Begnaud davidBegnaud
5% of the electrical grid is operational
337 are open
150 shelters are open with 10,201 evacuees in them
46 dialysis centers are open

Facebook get internet fixed even though 5 percent have electricity

Pavlov

09-30-2017, 11:15 PM

Facebook not in the food business.

Pavlov

09-30-2017, 11:16 PM

Facebook not in the hospital business

ducks

09-30-2017, 11:17 PM

Facebook not wealth enough to give money?
Dude who owns it wants to Be president give millions

ducks

09-30-2017, 11:18 PM

Oh wait they just bash trump but I though Facebook was not in policallty business

ducks

09-30-2017, 11:20 PM

eplying to davidBegnaud and @Ellesun
An electrical grid that was already failing
70 bln in debt, wanting congress to bail them out, due to
corruption in govt., everywhere.

Pavlov

09-30-2017, 11:21 PM

ducks, do you think Puerto Ricans might want to communicate with family?

ducks

09-30-2017, 11:24 PM

Think would rather eat first

ducks

09-30-2017, 11:26 PM

Talk to family or die of hungry
See let’s think about that for a second
Could they not call with cell phone ?

Pavlov

09-30-2017, 11:27 PM

If you are relying in Facebook to give people food, you're an idiot.

ducks

09-30-2017, 11:31 PM

You said they were their fixing internet
I said food more important

Pavlov

09-30-2017, 11:34 PM

What could Facebook do with food distribution?

Trill Clinton

09-30-2017, 11:41 PM

768119463421943808

ducks

09-30-2017, 11:45 PM

What could Facebook do with food distribution?

They could drive food to people

ducks

09-30-2017, 11:46 PM

768119463421943808

Date is Tuesday he talked to them today
Pence went to FEMA headquarters

ducks

09-30-2017, 11:47 PM

768119463421943808

Who said he even golfed today?
Even if he did 3 hours to clear mind would nice
Job is stressfully

Pavlov

09-30-2017, 11:49 PM

They could drive food to people
With their fleet of Facebook semis?

boutons_deux

10-01-2017, 07:58 AM

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/880588329770782720/lxa-0ujI_normal.jpgHolly O'Reilly
✔@AynRandPaulRyan (https://twitter.com/AynRandPaulRyan)

1- I received a DM from a vetted source who wishes to remain anonymous.
S/he was on a conference call with FEMA on Monday, September 25.

Follow (https://twitter.com/AynRandPaulRyan)
https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/880588329770782720/lxa-0ujI_normal.jpgHolly O'Reilly
✔@AynRandPaulRyan (https://twitter.com/AynRandPaulRyan)

2- This is 5 days after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico. Others on the call: pic.twitter.com/geJvXDsgr4 (https://t.co/geJvXDsgr4)
10:36 AM - Sep 28, 2017 (https://twitter.com/AynRandPaulRyan/status/913427283548897280)
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DK0lI3YUIAE7P9R.jpg:small (https://twitter.com/AynRandPaulRyan/status/913427283548897280/photo/1)

28 Sep (https://twitter.com/AynRandPaulRyan/status/913427403065528320)
https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/880588329770782720/lxa-0ujI_normal.jpgHolly O'Reilly
✔@AynRandPaulRyan (https://twitter.com/AynRandPaulRyan)

Replying to @AynRandPaulRyan (https://twitter.com/_/status/913427283548897280)
3- "Then, after every department reported their activities and projections,
it was time for the White House to issue their report."

Follow (https://twitter.com/AynRandPaulRyan)
https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/880588329770782720/lxa-0ujI_normal.jpgHolly O'Reilly
✔@AynRandPaulRyan (https://twitter.com/AynRandPaulRyan)

4- WH answer?

No report, no activity.⁰⁰Nothing planned for Puerto Rico.

"We were all stunned", this source said.
10:37 AM - Sep 28, 2017 (https://twitter.com/AynRandPaulRyan/status/913427506526433281)

Blake

10-01-2017, 08:33 AM

Blake

10-01-2017, 08:34 AM

Who said he even golfed today?
Even if he did 3 hours to clear mind would nice
Job is stressfully

Dude if you're not trolling, you're a sad piece of shielding shit

Blake

10-01-2017, 08:35 AM

Oh wait they just bash trump but I though Facebook was not in policallty business

How did Facebook bash trump?

Blake

10-01-2017, 08:37 AM

When will Facebook give to pr

When will Trump

Blake

10-01-2017, 08:40 AM

When will Facebook give to pr

"Zuckerberg said his company is sending the Facebook connectivity team to deliver emergency telecommunications assistance to the storm-ravaged island nation.

The company also will donate $1.5 million to*NetHope*and the*World Food Programme, and is committing Facebook ad space to disseminate information to people in the region on how to get assistance and stay safe....."

https://www.google.com/amp/s/techcrunch.com/2017/09/27/zuckerberg-details-facebooks-response-to-puerto-ricos-humanitarian-crisis/amp/

ducks

10-01-2017, 09:26 AM

“It's why we have 10,000 people on the island right now. . we're doing things on Puerto Rico that we didn't even do in Texas or Florida,” he added.

“This was always going to be harder. And we knew that, which is why we positioned assets on the island before the storm,” he said. “But I think it's possible that folks just said, ‘oh, this will be easy’ and it's not going to be easy, it's never going to be easy.”

ducks

10-01-2017, 09:28 AM

The governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands heaped praise on President Donald Trump and FEMA for “tremendous support” in the wake of two devastating hurricanes.

In a statement released Saturday night, Gov. Kenneth Mapp pleaded for continued help with recovery efforts there, and in battered Puerto Rico.

“President Donald J. Trump, his White House team, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and our other federal partners have given us tremendous support,’ Mapp said in the statement.

He also hailed retired NBC player and Virgin Island native Tim Duncan, and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for having “stepped up to the plate to bring supplies and aid” to the territory.

ducks

10-01-2017, 09:30 AM

The people of Puerto Rico likely thought hurricane recovery “was going to be easy” after seeing the response in Texas and Florida, budget director Mick Mulvaney said Sunday.

In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Mulvaney pushed back on criticism of President Donald Trump’s attack on San Juan mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, and said it was “unfair to say that the president hasn’t given it his very best effort.

“There's more than 70 mayors on the island of Puerto Rico, and yet you seem to spend a lot of attention on the one from San Juan,” he said. “I think that's where the president's pushback is.”

djohn2oo8

10-01-2017, 09:32 AM

914494416617799681

Blake

10-01-2017, 09:32 AM

djohn2oo8

10-01-2017, 09:34 AM

914486247673954304
Trump lying yet a fucking gain.

Blake

10-01-2017, 09:34 AM

Great job governor!

djohn2oo8

10-01-2017, 09:35 AM

914230553863426049

boutons_deux

10-01-2017, 09:51 AM

914494416617799681

the major "ring road" around the island is said to be cleared

ducks

10-01-2017, 10:28 AM

San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, a Democrat, went on a tirade on Saturday, accusing President Trump of allowing Puerto Ricans to die because he just doesn't care.

But now it turns out Cruz is not in the loop and hasn't even bothered to participate in meetings with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency or other federal agencies.

clambake

10-01-2017, 10:45 AM

I've never seen somebody fall in line like this.

boutons_deux

10-01-2017, 10:53 AM

I've never seen somebody fall in line like this.

40% of polled Americans are solidly ducks-clones

America is fucked and unfuckable, under the tyranny of duckiness/Repug minority

proof: the 2017-18 SCOTUS rulings

djohn2oo8

10-01-2017, 11:01 AM

40% of polled Americans are solidly ducks-clones

America is fucked and unfuckable, under the tyranny of duckiness/Repug minority

proof: the 2017-18 SCOTUS rulings
that number has fallen dramatically. low 30's heading into 20's.

boutons_deux

10-01-2017, 11:28 AM

that number has fallen dramatically. low 30's heading into 20's.

35% to 40% STILL approve of Trash

http://news.gallup.com/poll/203198/presidential-approval-ratings-donald-trump.aspx

boutons_deux

10-01-2017, 11:55 AM

Puerto Rico is all our worst fears about Trump coming real

A real crisis comes and Trump can’t handle it.

To an extent, the United States of America held up surprisingly well from Inauguration Day until September 20th or so.

The ongoing degradation of American civic institutions, at a minimum, did not have an immediate negative impact on the typical person’s life.

But the world is beginning to draw a straight line from the devastation in Puerto Rico straight to the White House.

Trump’s instinct so far is to turn the island’s devastation into another front in culture war politics,

a strategy that could help his own political career survive. The rest of us will just have to pray for good luck.

Trump can’t un-ring the bell of a slow response

Now that Trump’s inadequate response to Maria’s devastation has become a big issue, the

Trump administration is full of excuses for why their response was so inadequate:

Trump emphasized in public remarks (http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-puerto-rico-island-surrounded-big-water) on Friday that Puerto Rico is “an island surrounded by water” which makes relief difficult.
An anonymous administration officials told the Washington Post that “the Department of Defense, FEMA and the federal government are having to step in to fulfill state and municipal functions that we normally just support.”
Officials have also cited the Posse Comitatus Act as a complicating factor that helps explain why Trump was so much slower to dispatch assistance to Puerto Rico than the Obama administration was to send help to Haiti after it was devastated by an earthquake in 2010 (https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/us-responded-to-haiti-quake-more-forcefully-than-to-puerto-rico-disaster/2017/09/28/74fe9c02-a465-11e7-8cfe-d5b912fabc99_story.html?utm_term=.a1c309a45e32).
Last but by no means least, the reality is that this was a really big disaster. The storm was huge and powerful and it knocked out electricity and communications — that’s hard to deal with.

This is all true and it goes to show that being President of the United States is a difficult job.

But none of the issues the federal response is wrestling with were unknown in advance.

The world had days of warning that a hurricane was heading toward Puerto Rico. The perilous state of the island’s electrical grid has been apparent for years — as has the weak financial health of its electrical utility and municipal governments.

A president who was focused on his job could have asked in advance what the plan was for a hurricane strike on Puerto Rico.

He would have discovered that since Puerto Rico is part of the United States, FEMA is the default lead agency but it’s the US military that has the ships and helicopters that would be needed to get supplies into the interior of a wrecked island. And he could have worked something out.

Instead he didn’t get worked-up about Puerto Rico until over a week after the storm hit when he saw the Mayor of San Juan lambasting him on television.

He lashed out with his usual playbook — one that will only make things worse.

Trump turns everything into a culture war

The substantive problem that Trump — and America — is now facing is that you can’t go back in time and do the preparatory work that should have been done. You can’t pre-position satellite phones, schedule timely visits from top administration officials, or quickly dispatch ships and helicopters once you’re starting with an eight-day lag.

The best you can do is admit you were too slow and throw everything you’ve got at it.

But admitting wrongdoing isn’t part of Trump’s playbook.

Defensiveness and counterpunching is.

Many people will see more than a hint of racism here in the implication that Puerto Ricans are too lazy to help themselves.

And the specter of Trump once again being called a racist by liberals will once again help rally to his side

the large segment of the white population which believes that anti-white discrimination (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/08/02/discrimination-against-whites-was-a-core-concern-of-trumps-base/?utm_term=.4d2482455925) is a big problem in the United States.

Trump, meanwhile, portrays criticism of him, personally, as criticism of heroic soldiers and first responders.

There are no “adults in the room”

Retired General John Kelly ... his final military assignment was as

commander of American military forces in South America, Central America, and the Caribbean basin

— basically perfect preparation for the crisis that happens to have struck.

Kelly’s experience does not seem to be doing any good.

And that should be a stake through the heart of the notion that some stable of “adults in the room” are going to save the country from having picked a spectacularly inappropriate choice to serve as chief executive.

We’re witnessing the Trump administration at peak performance and it’s appalling.

Bismarck supposedly said that God has a special providence for fools, drunks, and the United States of America. If we’re lucky he’ll be proven right and nothing much else bad will happen for the next three years.

https://www.vox.com/2017/10/1/16390006/puerto-rico-trump