The Puerto Rico Thread

Darth Rotor said:
Troll much?
So why aren't they a state? (It's been a few years since I was following the internal PR politics, but if that much positive response to this very old issue is what's coming along now, what's the obstacle to becoming number 51? FFS, they are closer to CONUS than Alaska or Hawaii.)
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There are lots of reasons that might contribute to them not being pushed for statehood, but the "overwhelming majority" that voted for statehood in the last election on the issue was due to the fact that the anti-statehood parties called for a boycott of the vote. Turnout was 23%, and about 97% of that was for statehood.
 
Captain_Swoop said:
BBC: Trump lashes out at San Juan mayor over Maria response

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41452995

Donald Trump has lashed out at Puerto Rico politicians over their criticism of US relief efforts on the island following Hurricane Maria.
In a series of tweets, Trump said that Puerto Rican officials showed "poor leadership ability" and "want everything to be done for them".
Trump suggested the mayor had been told "to be nasty to Trump" by his Democratic opposition.
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Even IF what he said was true, those tweets were so horribly inappropriate. It's as if he thinks of the worst response a petty leader could make and starts typing.

The people of Puerto Rico need empathy and reassurance to hang in there. He needs a real speech - to tell them civilian and military forces are making the best effort to restore their basic needs. That he understands they are frustrated and the people are suffering. He could say that the extended loss of basic infrastructure masked the unprecedented scale of relief efforts needed. That the eventual response is much much larger than anyone would expect or even know to ask for- even for a devastating hurricane. That all the red tape is cut to 'make it happen' however it can be done until every citizen of Puerto Rico is safe and secure. Then he can ask them for their cooperation and assistance, in whatever capacity the local citizens can help at this stage. He can end it by saying he will follow the progress closely, especially with the governor and local leaders concerns on the ground, and put the full force of the US Gov't to remedy any bottlenecks as they happen - and then Godspeed (or something like that without the 'god').

But he did not do that. He could not even fake empathy nor rise above his critics. Instead he pointed his little fingers and made personal tweet attacks in the middle of a humanitarian crisis. Unbelievable.
 
Sherkeu said:
Even IF what he said was true, those tweets were so horribly inappropriate. It's as if he thinks of the worst response a petty leader could make and starts typing.

The people of Puerto Rico need empathy and reassurance to hang in there. He needs a real speech - to tell them civilian and military forces are making the best effort to restore their basic needs. That he understands they are frustrated and the people are suffering. He could say that the extended loss of basic infrastructure masked the unprecedented scale of relief efforts needed. That the eventual response is much much larger than anyone would expect or even know to ask for- even for a devastating hurricane. That all the red tape is cut to 'make it happen' however it can be done until every citizen of Puerto Rico is safe and secure. Then he can ask them for their cooperation and assistance, in whatever capacity the local citizens can help at this stage. He can end it by saying he will follow the progress closely, especially with the governor and local leaders concerns on the ground, and put the full force of the US Gov't to remedy any bottlenecks as they happen - and then Godspeed (or something like that without the 'god').

But he did not do that. He could not even fake empathy nor rise above his critics. Instead he pointed his little fingers and made personal tweet attacks in the middle of a humanitarian crisis. Unbelievable.
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Perfectly constructed speech! That is exactly what people need. We care. We know you need help and we are doing our best to get it to you. You will be helped. Things will be better.

It's not even that Trump has to figure this all out himself. There are many examples of appropriate speeches by other leaders in their responses to disasters. And saying the right words is the easy part! Bush was able to do that. Delivery the aid is the hard part.

We knew that Trump fails to provide the moral leadership expected of Presidents. Apparently he can not provide morale leadership either.
 
She's waist deep in water (literally) helping as much as she can. Meanwhile the Arse in Chief is golfing, criticizing and tweeting.

She's a woman, and she criticised the orange skinned windbag.

How DARE she criticise the tiny penised one? I bet he was shaking with rage as he was typing with his tiny, and yet still pudgy, fingers..
 
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Curious how Fox was reporting this so I channel surfed over there. And while they had a pundit noting how hard the Mayor was working and how little Trump was doing besides golfing. But then they had two pundits noting things like somehow the Mayor accidentally had all those supplies in the background.

That's nonsense, of course she could have stood anywhere for the press conference. It's never been a secret the supplies are there but not getting distributed.
 
Stacko said:
This is trending in the wrong direction:

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That's not good. although it's a bit tough to tell exactly what it mean. I would hope they mean drinkable running water, but it may be about access to some source of such water.

According to a FEMA conference today, 9 hospitals are back on the grid. The DOE report on electrical power had 95% of customers still without power, unchanged from Friday.
 
Skeptic Ginger said:
Curious how Fox was reporting this so I channel surfed over there. And while they had a pundit noting how hard the Mayor was working and how little Trump was doing besides golfing. But then they had two pundits noting things like somehow the Mayor accidentally had all those supplies in the background.

That's nonsense, of course she could have stood anywhere for the press conference. It's never been a secret the supplies are there but not getting distributed.
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Fox just can't imagine that reality might be more important than "the optics."
 
I wish human beings could be as happy about anything as they are when someone from "the other side" is screwing up.
 
Captain_Swoop said:
She's waist deep in water (literally) helping as much as she can. Meanwhile the Arse in Chief is golfing, criticizing and tweeting.

She's a woman, and she criticised the orange skinned windbag.

How DARE she criticise the tiny penised one? I bet he was shaking with rage as he was typing with his tiny, and yet still pudgy, fingers..
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And he is indeed an Arse!!! In fact a Complete Arse....a Whole Arse, if you will!!!!!!!
 
JoeBentley said:
I wish human beings could be as happy about anything as they are when someone from "the other side" is screwing up.
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I don't know of anyone happy about the delayed responses to the Puerto Rico humanitarian crisis. Can't we be united in just this, the importance of helping fellow Americans who are in dire straights? I never hoped Trump would screw up and I will gladly praise him if he now gets things right. These are people's lives, not a political humor sketch.
 
This whole thing about the truck drivers not showing up causing delays at the port really stuck in my brain as it just didn't make sense to be the main bottleneck. The dock workers and hospital workers showed up fine. Many of the roads were clear enough, but still the cargo sat there. No doubt trucks were damaged, but not 80% of them. Then I thought about how it would work without electricity or communication systems.

My theory:
The bottom line is that a modern supply chain doesn't function without electricity. It barely limps. There is just no way to order, move, receive, store, and sell efficiently without it. Further, if the big grocers and pharmacies do not have any cool storage at 40 degrees or less, then those containers won't be picked up. If it's 90 outside, how hot are those buildings right now without a/c? Food and medicine will stay where it is. No trucks will come. Same for the distributors. Everyone along the line needs power and the power requires a stable supply of diesel. The port has it, so that's where they remain. There is no 'normal' functioning area nearby to put it or pull from like Texas and Florida had. The workarounds are so limited. (I'm sure FEMA can work around it, but these thousands of containers are not FEMA)

They could patch up the communication with some effort, but without diesel to run generators for electricity, they aren't opening up for business and, therefore, no reason to send the trucks.
Having electricity, but no communication systems up, they would need to be 'cash only' which at this point may require armed guards for a large store. Even just giving it away may start a dangerous riot they aren't prepared to deal with. They need FEMA and military help for that.

So now you have all these businesses and hospitals requiring millions of gallons of diesel over an extended period, this sudden brand new demand, and not enough fuel trucks or drivers to bring it to them. They don't have the capacity for it.

FEMA and the military cannot provide for everyone on that island. Their best bet is to try to piece the system back in place ASAP and supplement the gap. Oh, and bring in their own trucks and drivers too.
What a mess!
 
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Sherkeu said:
The bottom line is that a modern supply chain doesn't function without electricity. It barely limps....
FEMA and the military cannot provide for everyone on that island. Their best bet is to try to piece the system back in place ASAP and supplement the gap. Oh, and bring in their own trucks and drivers too.
What a mess!
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Exactly. If this were managed perfectly, it would be a terrible disaster. As it is, well, what's the next level up from terrible?

The thing about the administration response is that it is, as Tom Bossert said at Thursday's press conference "textbook". They're patting themselves on the back for rapidly moving large quantities of bottled water and such. The problem is that this is not a textbook situation. Thursday morning, i.e. last Thursday morning, the day after the hurricane, they should have appointed a general to take charge, and started getting heavy equipment into place to get at least a small portion of the grid up and running.

Bossert was asked why they didn't appoint General Buchanan earlier, and he responded that they didn't need him earlier. Yes, you did. You just didn't know it.
 
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Noztradamus said:
Good to know the essential services like printing message t-shirts are restored.
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If your job is to elicit help, I doubt silk screening a tee shirt is difficult. If you need an army unit to plow the roads open and trucking resources to distribute fuel, food and water, your can't do that by simply wishing it so.
 
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