SHE'S A POWERFUL FORCE -- NATURAL DISASTERS

[Duchess]

When I'm feeling overworked, overextended, my mantra is, Cha-ching.

[Blindgreed1]

Puerto Rico is in pretty bad shape.

[Duchess]

Puerto Rico is in pretty bad shape.

Well, it's an island sitting in the ocean. A very big ocean. Surrounded by water. A lot of water. It's the most difficult job getting help there because it's an island in the middle of the ocean...out in the ocean. You can't just drive your trucks there.

Hope that explanation helps you to understand why people have no fresh water, food, gas, medicine, etc.

[SIXFOOTERsez]

The getting there part is pretty easy, not easy as having a convenient Interstate to roll down, but there are ships in the ports and airplanes trying to get in there. The Air Traffic is fucked up and running on manual and there is no power for gas stations and the roads are fucked. The local distribution is the big problem for supplies. So Yea, its pretty fucked up.
We are gearing up to deploy, pending a plan...

[HairOfTheDog]

Puerto Rico is in pretty bad shape.

Yeah, Puerto Rico is hurting bad. I read this update today summarizing the extent of the situation: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/puer...mg00000009

The U.S. Virgin Islands got creamed too. Very sad.

It's bad enough they've experienced multiple fatalities, huge losses to their main economic industries, and large populations are without homes or water or fuel or income. The destruction is expected to set the islands back for years and years.

It's even more dire considering, as Duchess and Six mentioned, their geographies and infrastructures make it difficult for people in other locales to render help and get supplies to them.

[BigMark]

They are lazy assholes who overspend and now because a hurricane hit were supposed to bail them out.

[HairOfTheDog]

Meh, Biggie. You've told us a few times about your belief that those damn Mexicans and Mexican-Americans on 'your' soil take our jobs. Matt and Trey got you pegged man.



So ....it's not surprising to learn that your disdain for 'others' extends to include Americans who don't live on 'your' soil, even when they're in seriously disastrous straits.

Seems like you dream of a world filled solely with.......... large, white, beer-swilling, gun-toting dudes who claim to work harder than everyone else and wear their ignorant superiority complexes like badges...........surrounded by half-naked or fully-naked young women who don't know any better, of course.

That's just not gonna happen naturally. BUT, I was recently made privy to a secret technique that's supposed to make such dreams come true. Even though your dream is my nightmare, I like you alright and feel it would be selfish not to share the secret technique with you. You may as well give it a try Biggie, it might be the only way.

Just walk down to a busy intersection at 5 p.m. (or drive, if you must), turn on your cell phone video and tape yourself as you strip naked, stuff three very large unpeeled prickly pears up your pimpled hairy ass, flap your arms up and down like a bird, and scream "I AM THE KING OF THE WORLD" 100 times while spinning in circles. Send me the video immediately thereafter and say the Lord's Prayer three times -- then maybe, just maybe, your dream will come true. What could go wrong?

[SIXFOOTERsez]

They are lazy assholes who overspend and now because a hurricane hit were supposed to bail them out.

Some of that for sure. Its a cultural thing in the islands and always will be. Its a pleasant non stressful life there if you have low standards. A nice idyllic life in a paradise that turns into a death trap when mother nature comes around to give you a lesson about who is in charge

[BigMark]

Hopefully she was just fucking with me, or she's got some Aussie going on.

[HairOfTheDog]

Of course I'm fucking with you Biggie. But, if you want to try that secret technique and send me the video, I'll watch it. And, I seriously don't view the situation and Puerto Rican people the same way as you do.

Puerto Rico's economy sucks, no doubt. It went downhill as manufacturing jobs were lost...then people turned to drugs, crime increased, debt soared -- same as many areas in the mainland U.S. and other places around the world.

That doesn't make the 3 or 4 million Puerto Ricans living on the island lowlifes looking for a hand-out and unworthy of U.S. assistance, as you suggested. They're American citizens in a terrible disaster situation which they didn't cause. One week after Maria hit..........and half of the population is still without water, the crops and local food sources have been largely wiped out, and heat is worsening the health crisis as fuel is not accessible by individuals and hospitals on much of the island.

Puerto Ricans living in Puerto Rico and Puerto Rico-based businesses pay most of the same taxes as other Americans. Puerto Rico relies on FEMA too and FEMA's got some presence there, but the agency is spread pretty effin' thin at the moment. The island's geographical, structural, and organizational challenges continue to impede life-saving aid efforts. One thing Puerto Rico reportedly really needs now is help clearing roads so supplies piling up at docks can be delivered.

Anyway, I hope major headway is made very soon in getting the necessary assistance and supplies to the Puerto Rican communities and hospitals in need of it so the suffering and loss of life can be minimized.

[BigMark]

The only thing that counts is a state or commonwealth be self sufficient. Yes we should extend the same help as other Americans should get, that should not however mean we should foot the bill for an entire new infrastructure that through laziness, incompetence and just plain greed has been neglected for 30 years. My feeling would not differ if it was the US Virgin Islands, for Christs sake who wouldn't want to help US virgins?

[HairOfTheDog]

That's the only thing that counts to you, not to me Biggie.

I do agree that Puerto Rico could have been much better organized and prepared for emergency management, just like the U.S. could have been when Katrina hit and can be said of most countries.

I'm not sure you understand the infrastructure differences on an island or the power of Maria. Puerto Rico got smashed, which isn't easy to manage under the best direction.

As for the Virgin Islands, they too could have been better prepared, but that doesn't mean they didn't deserve U.S. assistance. In my opinion, the fact that European countries tied to neighboring islands acted so quickly with aid helped the U.S. Virgin Islands to get the same from the U.S. government.

I think both American territories and their residents equally deserve U.S. assistance under the circumstances.

[Duchess]

It's even more dire considering, as Duchess and Six mentioned, their geographies and infrastructures make it difficult for people in other locales to render help and get supplies to them.

I'm very sorry to you, HotD. When I posted that comment up there ^^^^^^, I was only repeating what the Prez said. I was being a wiseass :(

I thought maybe someone would call me out on my stupid sounding bullshit.

[Duchess]

People can't get their cancer treatments, can't get their meds, babies have no food or diapers, the elderly are alone without food & water, hospitals are without power, the list goes on. I don't begrudge any of those people anything.

[SIXFOOTERsez]

I have a couple of my guys here that have families in PR still. Both are ok, one has his kids almost out of there, the other I don't know what the plan is.
The Governor over there is pleading for CDL guys, hundreds of containers at the port and not near enough drivers for distribution. The roads are another mess. Its going to take a long time to get them up and running on their own again.
Those people are our own, Ban the middle easterners for the time being, we need to help PR where we can

[Blindgreed1]

Puerto Rico is in pretty bad shape.

Hope that explanation helps you to understand why people have no fresh water, food, gas, medicine, etc.

I was there in 2013 remember?

[Duchess]

I was there in 2013 remember?

I was being sarcastic because I'm feeling pissy about those unfortunate people. I am disgusted that Americans weren't being cared for as others before them had been. When I'm feeling pissy & disgusted I tend to be assholy. I'm sorry to you too.

[Blindgreed1]

I was there in 2013 remember?

I was being sarcastic because I'm feeling pissy about those unfortunate people. I am disgusted that Americans weren't being cared for as others before them had been. When I'm feeling pissy & disgusted I tend to be assholy. I'm sorry to you too.

There are some legal issues that complicate getting them help.

[SIXFOOTERsez]

One of my guys here tells me that a big problem is that the gov over there is young, rich and inexperienced, he was voted in on bullshit. His family voted for him also it seems he is a relation.
All that said, the job of getting shit working over there is fucking huge, I don't know if I would be willing to take it on and that is what I do for a living.
Apparently the US Army is now in charge of the logistics on the ground which is a good thing and they are taking over with the distribution. One thing the army knows is moving a lot of shit to where it needs to be. They are setting up first responder fuel stations, water and food distribution out to the boonies. I would expect it to start getting better in a few days. Not good by any yard stick, but better. Trump did his job in this, time for others to do theirs now

[Blindgreed1]

One of my guys here tells me that a big problem is that the gov over there is young, rich and inexperienced, he was voted in on bullshit. His family voted for him also it seems he is a relation.
All that said, the job of getting shit working over there is fucking huge, I don't know if I would be willing to take it on and that is what I do for a living.
Apparently the US Army is now in charge of the logistics on the ground which is a good thing and they are taking over with the distribution. One thing the army knows is moving a lot of shit to where it needs to be. They are setting up first responder fuel stations, water and food distribution out to the boonies. I would expect it to start getting better in a few days. Not good by any yard stick, but better. Trump did his job in this, time for others to do theirs now

Yeah, and my cell phone was just a camera when I was there in 2013. No calls, text or GPS and that's when things were "normal." There's a naval base there as well and i'm sure they are knee deep in everything too.