Opinion: Puerto Rico Is American. We Can’t Ignore It Now.

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

12 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

C'mon, folks, please.

 

Distance, logistics, port access, supply distribution, and lack of electrical power amidst tenuous infrastructure are plenty of objective hurdles to focus on.  The waiver of the Jones Act removed what was probably the biggest political impediment on "our" side of things, enabling direct aid from other countries... once the port logjams and trucking issues are resolved.

 

Let's have compassion toward those poor victims and do anything we can within our personal power to provide support to them.  Who else here has donated funds or supplies, and to which relief agencies?

 

Let's put our minds to work here:

1.  If you were in charge (as Governor of Puerto Rico, as commander of relief operations, as President, as FEMA head, or you pick it), what would you do to alleviate the above hurdles?

2.  When other Caribbean islands were hurricaned in the past, what procedures worked the best?  Are they transferable to the current situation?

Things are beginning to flow

 

Puerto Rico Is Getting a Surge of Aid, Governor Says

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Neighbors came together in Canovanas, P.R., on Saturday to help clean up after Hurricane Maria. Puerto Rico’s governor said on Sunday that more aid was surging into the island.

VICTOR J. BLUE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

 

By RICHARD FAUSSET

OCTOBER 1, 2017

SAN JUAN, P.R. — A surge of fuel and food supplies and federal government personnel has begun to arrive in Puerto Rico, the governor of the storm-battered island said Sunday morning.

Gov. Ricardo A. Rosselló told reporters that over the next two days, more than half a million barrels of diesel fuel and nearly a million barrels of gasoline would reach Puerto Rico. The fuel is badly needed to power emergency generators and to distribute food and other supplies across the island.

Mr. Rosselló said that the Defense Department had increased its footprint on Puerto Rico to 6,400 people, from roughly 4,600 two days earlier, with more coming, and that other federal agencies were also sending more staff to aid in the island’s recovery from Hurricane Maria, which smashed through the island on Sept. 20.

The Trump administration’s response to the disaster has become a heated political issue. Some Puerto Rican officials, including the mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulín Cruz, have made televised pleas for a faster and more robust response. Others, like the governor, have spoken more positively about federal efforts

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

20 hours ago, IDWAF said:

He doesn’t need to go to PR for help to be sent there, hopefully you know that.  In order to send so many thousands of Marines there within a few days of the storm happening is a massive logistical event.

Now the trouble is getting the stuff from ports to where it is needed.  And since the truckers in PR don’t seem to be willing to move it, there is a bit of a gridlock going on.

As for the bold part, that president isn’t in office any longer.

I didn't say he has to be there. He should since you mentioned it.
To say the truckers aren't willing to move it sounds totally misinformed.
They themselves are the victims stuck in the middle of nowhere not getting communication that there is anything to move and at what locations.

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

This roadblock may be part of the reason people think Trump is out playing golf while PR suffers without help:

 

"

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 (FEMA) or other federal agencies."

 

http://www.dailywire.com/news/21758/san-juan-mayor-admits-she-hasnt-met-federal-joseph-curl?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_content=062316-news&utm_campaign=benshapiro

 

Also, from a friend of mine in the military:

140 helicopters,  28 ships, 6 army field hospitals,  3 Navy Seabee batallions, 5 Army combat engineer batallions, 3 civil affairs batallions, 2 nuclear submarines, and 300,000 tons of food have all been sent to the island.

 

The above batallions number over 7,000 people. This, in addition the Marines I mentioned the other day.  We knew going into this storm that recovery would take up to a year.  Really don't see why people are attacking the president for the supposed lack of response.  Other than... he's Trump.

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

I believe the criticism was due to the 9 days it took to get to where we are at now in terms of military help.
It was a slow start.

[Dashinka 24,799]

37 minutes ago, IDWAF said:

This roadblock may be part of the reason people think Trump is out playing golf while PR suffers without help:

 

"

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 (FEMA) or other federal agencies."

 

http://www.dailywire.com/news/21758/san-juan-mayor-admits-she-hasnt-met-federal-joseph-curl?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_content=062316-news&utm_campaign=benshapiro

 

Also, from a friend of mine in the military:

140 helicopters,  28 ships, 6 army field hospitals,  3 Navy Seabee batallions, 5 Army combat engineer batallions, 3 civil affairs batallions, 2 nuclear submarines, and 300,000 tons of food have all been sent to the island.

 

The above batallions number over 7,000 people. This, in addition the Marines I mentioned the other day.  We knew going into this storm that recovery would take up to a year.  Really don't see why people are attacking the president for the supposed lack of response.  Other than... he's Trump.

Surprise surprise!  

 

I like this part.

 

The mayor of Guaynabo, Angel Perez, meanwhile, said in an interview with The Daily Caller "that his experience with the federal government has been different from Cruz’s, in part because — unlike Cruz — he has been participating in meetings with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other federal agencies."

 

 

 

Edited October 1, 2017 by Bill & Katya

[Dashinka 24,799]

Puerto Rican CEO: Local government 'corrupt' and 'totally inexperienced' in Maria cleanup

The head of an international engineering firm in Puerto Rico said in an editorial Saturday that when the time came to send 50 of his engineers to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, he bypassed local officials and went straight to FEMA.

The reason, said Jorge Rodriguez, the CEO of PACIV, in an editorial in the New York Post, is that “for the last 30 years, the Puerto Rican government has been completely inept at handling regular societal needs, so I just don’t see it functioning in a crisis like this one.”

“Even before the hurricane hit, water and power systems were already broken. And our $118 billion debt crisis is a result of government corruption and mismanagement.”

Puerto Ricans elected a new governor last November but, Rodriguez charged, he was inexperienced and had never been responsible for a budget.

Gov. Ricardo Rossello cannot exactly count on those around him either, Rodriguez asserted.

 

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/10/01/puerto-rican-ceo-sends-engineers-to-help-fema-efforts-calls-local-pols-inept.html

 

 

[jg121783 3,921]

Thousands of containers of food and other supplies are piling up at the ports while the Democrat run teamsters refuse to do their job and move the supplies. They demand more money while people are suffering. If the same thing happened in Texas and Flordia people would be outraged and rightfully so. I fail to see how this is in any way Trumps fault. The only criticism I have of Trump is that he should send more military in to do the job the piece of trash profiteering teamsters refuse to do. Unfortunately there are laws preventing him from doing that.

 

The left can't stand the fact that relief efforts in Texas and Flordia went so well and people of all races came together to help each other. The leftists are all over TV virtue signaling about how Trump helped the "white people" in Texas and Florida  (Houston and many parts of Florida are actually over 50% minority populations) but won't help the minorities in Puerto Rico. It is truly disgusting how many on the left are trying to gain political points at the expense of suffering people.

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

2 hours ago, Bill & Katya said:

Surprise surprise!  

 

I like this part.

 

The mayor of Guaynabo, Angel Perez, meanwhile, said in an interview with The Daily Caller "that his experience with the federal government has been different from Cruz’s, in part because — unlike Cruz — he has been participating in meetings with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other federal agencies."

 

 

 

Psst Turn around LOL

 

[spookyturtle 9,466]

3 hours ago, jg121783 said:

Thousands of containers of food and other supplies are piling up at the ports while the Democrat run teamsters refuse to do their job and move the supplies. They demand more money while people are suffering. If the same thing happened in Texas and Flordia people would be outraged and rightfully so. I fail to see how this is in any way Trumps fault. The only criticism I have of Trump is that he should send more military in to do the job the piece of trash profiteering teamsters refuse to do. Unfortunately there are laws preventing him from doing that.

 

The left can't stand the fact that relief efforts in Texas and Flordia went so well and people of all races came together to help each other. The leftists are all over TV virtue signaling about how Trump helped the "white people" in Texas and Florida  (Houston and many parts of Florida are actually over 50% minority populations) but won't help the minorities in Puerto Rico. It is truly disgusting how many on the left are trying to gain political points at the expense of suffering people.

So what do you figure, just Republicans, righties and Trump supporters helped? 

[Boiler 46,121]

10 minutes ago, spookyturtle said:

So what do you figure, just Republicans, righties and Trump supporters helped? 

Of course not, that would be silly. Just as silly as the MSM coverage.

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

19 hours ago, spookyturtle said:

So what do you figure, just Republicans, righties and Trump supporters helped? 

No.. But I didn't see any on the right whining about Trump not doing enough.

 

Reckon how long it takes a ship to sail to PR? And consider that 3 Navy ships were sent even before the status of ports were known...

 

Wonder how long it takes to clean up an airport enough that airplanes can land and take off?

 

Reckon how many here who accused Trump of failing actually did anything to get to PR and offer their own support?  Pretty easy to sit behind a keyboard and complain...

[spookyturtle 9,466]

2 hours ago, IDWAF said:

  Pretty easy to sit behind a keyboard and complain...

 

It sure is.

[Dashinka 24,799]

8 hours ago, spookyturtle said:

So what do you figure, just Republicans, righties and Trump supporters helped? 

Nope, I believe everyone from all political angles are helping, but it is really sad to see the DNC leadership following the "never let a good crisis go to waste" response.

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

16 hours ago, jg121783 said:

Thousands of containers of food and other supplies are piling up at the ports while the Democrat run teamsters refuse to do their job and move the supplies. They demand more money while people are suffering. If the same thing happened in Texas and Flordia people would be outraged and rightfully so. I fail to see how this is in any way Trumps fault. The only criticism I have of Trump is that he should send more military in to do the job the piece of trash profiteering teamsters refuse to do. Unfortunately there are laws preventing him from doing that.

 

The left can't stand the fact that relief efforts in Texas and Flordia went so well and people of all races came together to help each other. The leftists are all over TV virtue signaling about how Trump helped the "white people" in Texas and Florida  (Houston and many parts of Florida are actually over 50% minority populations) but won't help the minorities in Puerto Rico. It is truly disgusting how many on the left are trying to gain political points at the expense of suffering people.

Do you have a reliable source that backs up this pile of Horsepucky?

It is disgusting what you promoting.

 

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

14 hours ago, Nature Boy Flair said:

Psst Turn around LOL

 

You do know that the Goya factory is in San Juan don't you? That is not from FEMA or the mainland.