syr74 wrote:You’re primarily just proving my point. That the Federal response to the hurricane in Puerto Rico was insufficient, or that President Trump handled the situation poorly, has very little to do with how well the mayor did or did not handle her job. She can’t simply point to incompetence in others after the fact and claim to have done her job.
Having been mayor for several years prior to the hurricane hitting the island the city should have been much better prepared than it was and, were there need to sound an alarm regarding assistance from the mainland, the same should have been done by her long before an actual time of disaster and done so in a way that generated real results. That’s her job.
That people aren’t protesting her on the streets is hardly indicative of competence, these are the same people who voted in the troubled Governor she wants to replace after all. There’s enough incompetency to go around, I’m not excusing her role in that circus any more or less than anyone else’s.
I’m not picking her side and I’m not picking the side.of her rivals, I’m picking the side of a job well done. And thus far, sadly, no side that I’ve seen has threatened to do that.
No, the problem Syr74 is a long and incredibly important series of events. Do you want a run down of them for you to see who is responsible?
First of all the water system and the electrical grid system both went down with two Cat 4 and Cat 5 hurricanes set two weeks from each other. That has never happened before in the entire history of the Caribbean region. Never. It happened because according to climate change experts the waters are heating up faster and creating more enormous storms with a lot of power. It will continue to happen.
The island was unprepared especially with the electrical grid because Puerto Rico's electricity company is corrupt to the core due to the machinations again of the most Right wing pro statehood party and to the cowards in the PPD party in Puerto Rico--also because the USA mainland has a ridiculous law that doesn't allow the island to upgrade its electrical system at all to the best standards. Do you know why they don't allow it Syr74? Because Puerto Rico is run through Washington DC and they put crazy laws on Puerto Rico to favor weird interests that go against the Puerto Rican governments interest. Since Puerto Rico can't vote or have congresspeople in DC? They can do the crazy illogical stuff and get away with it. If you upgrade the electrical system you can't really justify privatizing it. Elon Musk form Spacex offered to create upgraded systems for the entire island. He was rejected in favor of some very weird shady electrical company from Montana with two employees and ties to a Montana Republican party member. Why? Is that a mainland issue or a Puerto Rican issue.
Here it is:
Syr74? You want to keep going on every single thing til you learn a lot and I get exahausted or we leave it for tomorrow? It is up to you.
Here is Carmen Yulin Cruz dealing with the corrupt bid from Whitefish. She protested that weird corrupt scene. What should she have done? Lol. Accept it?
@syr74 here is the electrical grid issue. This Oklahoma based company was into fraud big time.
It was a mainland Fraud problem and conviction for people left without power and for all that wheeling and dealing. The fraud was a mainland based fraud. Carmen Yulin Cruz questioned the companies who were aligned with this situation. PREPA is the panel that runs Puerto Rico and overrides the governor and the mayor on all political policy and financial policies. So again? Answer me Syr74--who is responsible?
Carmen? You are assuming Puerto Ricans have some power over federal disaster relief? We don't. The problem was a problem about the mainland knowing Puerto Rico is vulnerable and having disaster vulture people sweep in and profit off the tragedy. The way Carmen Yulin Cruz answers that is questioning the lack of power relationship and partnering up with people in the states committed to improving Puerto Rico's bad relationship problems with the USA. What would you have done in her stead?
https://www.govexec.com/oversight/2019/ ... ts/159777/taken from the above article:
“Tribble . . . performed official acts . . . including but not limited to, influencing, providing advice to, and exerting pressure on PREPA executives . . . so that PREPA would accelerate payments to Cobra, assign tasks to Cobra instead of using PREPA employees, and use Cobra in restoration tasks to the exclusion of other contractors,” the indictment stated. “[It] was further part of the conspiracy that . . . Tribble regularly provided [Ellison] with information she obtained through her position as FEMA deputy regional administrator, sector lead, and recovery manager, providing Cobra with information not readily accessible to it through other needs.”
President Trump has routinely claimed that Puerto Rican officials were corrupt and that disaster money “went missing.” Both governmental defendants in this case were federal officials, while Cobra is headquartered in Oklahoma.
Tribble and Ellison are both charged with conspiracy to commit bribery, four counts of wire fraud and one count of disaster fraud. Tribble also is accused of four counts of violations of the Travel Act, while Ellison faces two counts of making false statements to investigators. Patterson faces two charges of wire fraud, and one violation of “acts affecting personal financial conflicts of interest.”
Are you agreeing with the President Syr74? I think you need to start looking up information on what the actual Governor of Puerto Rico at the time Ricardo Rossello could do. And what the mayor of San Juan Carmen Yulin Cruz could do at that time?
PREPA runs Puerto Rico. Who are they? Bankers. Bank panel people. Why? Because Puerto Rico owes about $123 Billion dollars in bonds to bondholders. Why? Because of the way Puerto Rico's economy is run and how it is obligated to use the US Merchant Marine for its shipping and how that affects the price of goods. The depression of the Puerto Rican agricultural sector due to again, not being allowed free trade with its Caribbean neighbors and the rest of South America and Central America, Mexico, Europe, China, etc because it is a captive market for the USA. Period.
Disaster capitalism is here folks. To exploit people caught up in surviving with dirty water and no electricity and can't fight privatizations of schools and utility company takeovers....why? Naomi Klein discusses it here....
Is that the solution Syr74 and Carmen Yulin's fault?
She is the mayor. Protesting these problems. Could you handle it as a mayor? Yes or no? Who is responsible for this shit Syr?