https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=163&v=658YZO_CmOk

Some may have been surprised by Puerto Rico’s history. Note American invasion as soon as a democratic government was elected.

In contrast, Hurricane Maria has inflicted far greater damage over a much wider region. Total damage estimates for Maria now range between 30 and 95 billion dollars. Maria’s winds were close to 150 mph at landfall and the thunderstorms associated with this very powerful hurricane dumped as much as 40 inches of rain over Puerto Rico. As of one week and a day following Maria striking Puerto Rico, the Department of Defense had only mobilized 4,500 troops. Members of the U.S. Congress, meanwhile, recommend sending 50,000 — which would be an appropriate response.

Due to a failure to immediately mobilize the forces necessary to deal with such a massive disaster, Puerto Rico remains on its knees.

I don’t think RickA or L.Long had any idea of the complexity of the Puerto Rico case and the inadequacy, at best, of the POTUS response which could be described as negligent, but then that is one thing Trump is good at.

When was that? The last referendum had a whopping 1.5% of people voting for independence. 5 years earlier it was about 5.5%.

Don’t they plan for events that happen almost every year?

I’m sure that they do. Except that Maria-force hurricanes don’t happen every year, and probably wouldn’t have happened even once in a half century except that we’ve warmed the planet and juiced up the power of hurricanes.

Of course, if Maria-force hurricanes do happen every year, one wonders why it’s only this year that clowns like you are bleating about the cost of aid… And if Maria-force hurricanes happen every year, one wonders why the infrastructure of Puerto Rico isn’t almost entirely less that 12 months old…

And if Maria-force hurricanes happen every year, one wonders where is the catalogue of the dozens of such hurricanes that have apparently visited Puerto Rico over the last few decades. Perhaps you could list the cyclonic storms that constitute the annual Maria event to which you allude?

Don’t they encourage people to make storm resistant homes instead of those silly NewEngland [sic] style piles of destruction?

Yes, Levittown is a peculiarly Puetro Rican development…

The country wanted independence from USA now they cry for our free help?

1) Mainland USA benefits greatly from having its fingers in Puetro Rico.

2) As long as Puetro Rico is not sovereign, the mainland owns its problems.

3) Ever heard of international cooperation and support?

4) As it seems to be nonapparent to you I’ll let you in on an elephant in the room – you sound like the type of white male libertarian turkey that doesn’t want any of the girl turkeys or bronze turkeys coming near the top of his shit-heap. Unsurprising for someone who endorses the drivel to which RickA is prone.

Twitter allows our head twit to get endless attention. When NFL players grab attention with their non-violent protest, King Twit senses a distortion in the fabric of the attention universe and he reacts to his resultant fear by lashing out at the interlopers on his media turf. And now the Mayor of San Juan has had the audacity to challenge Donald’s rosey misprepresentation of a hell scape, thereby pulling even more attention away from his royal presence. So he lashes out with his small childish psyche , puts his small hypnotic hands to a small keyboard and unleashes a CME into the giant twitter universe..

So, does Donald think that he is the chief priest of the flag religion? or God?

And what of the billions of non-US citizens who are and will in future be disproportionately and negatively affected by the carbon emissions of the First World? Will they be welcome to flee the climate mess thus created and settle with the rich 20% of the planet?

We have already seen the response to that. But in RickA world people are going to die anyway, so what if they die younger than the average. This is epitomised in his responses at:

Why is this year’s hurricane season so much worse?

In the meantime don’t panic.

…

Relax – don’t worry.

In the vain hope that there was some humanity in the man and that his attitude was simply from lack of exposure to global realities that I offered this book as a learning tool:

What’s Really Happening To Our Planet?

Where facts are presented in a way that even a lawyer could grasp – or so I thought.

The global problems facing humans, and all other species, are multidimensional because humans have had multidimensional impacts on the planet. Clearly the lawyerly mind is amongst those, “who have been educated far beyond their capacity to undertake analytical thought.” Peter Medawar. Probably why so many are politicians.

Does it make sense to rebuild if it is all going to get ruined in another hurricane in a year or two?

This is a question that becomes more and more important as human-caused climate change progresses.

Did it make sense to rebuild the portions of New Orleans that are 9 feet below sea level?

This is a question that becomes more and more important as human-caused climate change progresses.

Should Federal flood insurance rebuild the same 60,000 home 40 times?

This is exactly what will happen in terms of response to extreme climatic events as human-caused climate change progresses.

These are indeed big decisions.

Indeed.

And the questions would be better-answered if climate change deniers and dissemblers ceased and desisted from their nonsense, and the problems would be far less severe if society and its political and business leaders had paid attention several decades earlier to the science of climate change.

As US citizens they can move wherever they want. They are welcome to come to Minnesota.

And what of the billions of non-US citizens who are and will in future be disproportionately and negatively affected by the carbon emissions of the First World? Will they be welcome to flee the climate mess thus created and settle with the rich 20% of the planet?