President Trump- The Implications

[swake]

This has little to do with DHS or the assclown in the White House.  Right after Maria, officials were saying 4-6 months before the entire grid could be restored.

But it will slow and increase the cost of building materials and everything else that has to be imported for the rebuild. Including items like electrical transformers, poles, wire, cell phone towers, water pumps, etc.

[TeeDub]

But it will slow and increase the cost of building materials and everything else that has to be imported for the rebuild. Including items like electrical transformers, poles, wire, cell phone towers, water pumps, etc.

Not that it matters or aid should slow or stop...   But do you think it has anything to do with the fact they don't pay federal income taxes?

[bluelake]

Another example of Trump "doing all he can" for Puerto Rico.

The Jones Act waiver for PR expired Sunday. It's NOT being renewed.
Jones Act waiver for Puerto Rico expired Sunday, not being extended: DHS
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/09/jones-act-waiver-for-puerto-rico-expired-sunday-not-being-extended-dhs.html

A reminder, as of today, 3 weeks after the storm 85% of the island still has no power and 40% still has no water.
http://status.pr/

There is no excuse for this. None.

Sure there is.  Waiving it really does nothing as this washington post article discusses:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/09/28/trump-just-lifted-shipping-restrictions-for-puerto-rico-but-the-real-challenge-just-started

summed up, there are enough US-flagged vessels and waiver of the Jones Act didn't matter much.  The thing that is hampering PR is moving supplies once the supplies get there.


Let's also be honest, Puerto Rico has been a mess for a long time: rampant corruption, financial mismanagement, poor power grid maintenance, the list goes on and on.  $71,000,000,000 of debt and nearly defaulted last summer.  They are going to be a mess for quite awhile.  It doesn't help PSO/utility companies can't just put their multi-ton trucks on little dinghies and float them down there so, compared to Florida and Texas, they're screwed.


Some more on the corruption after the hurricane:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpwYHAN28As

Discussion on Puerto Rico, including an interesting video @6:55 mark:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXQYsmnFyuE

He also mentions a Spanish interview and the guy in the interview references the Jones Act and then goes on to blame the governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rosselló!

[bluelake]

But it will slow and increase the cost of building materials and everything else that has to be imported for the rebuild. Including items like electrical transformers, poles, wire, cell phone towers, water pumps, etc.

Since the Jones Act only applies to ships coming from the U.S. and not ships coming from elsewhere, and most of the stuff you mentioned are shipped to the U.S. from other countries, I'd wager a wooden nickel that large parts (at least) of that will come on ships from outside the U.S.  Enough ship capacity from the U.S exists for that small island.  I mean Puerto Rico is only 5% the size of Oklahoma so it's not like rebuilding an entire American state.   https://mapfight.appspot.com/pr-vs-us.ok/puerto-rico-us-oklahoma-us-size-comparison

[cannon_fodder]

  I mean Puerto Rico is only 5% the size of Oklahoma so it's not like rebuilding an entire American state.   

Yes and no... if it were a state it would be right in the middle by population, right next to Oklahoma actually.  By area it is smaller, only larger than DC, Delaware and Rhode Island.  But I'm not sure being densely populated makes it easier or cheaper to repair infrastructure.  In any event, either by size or by area, it is exactly like rebuilding an entire American state.

Does that change your analysis any?

[heironymouspasparagus]

Another example of Trump "doing all he can" for Puerto Rico.



There is no excuse for this. None.

No excuse but there IS a reason!  It's the Trump proven history of racism, bigotry, and illegal actions against people of color in all his business dealings for decades.  And he brought it with him to the Oval Office.  Thanks to the people out there who agree with him that there are good, fine people amongst the Nazi's and KKK.


Interesting short video by Trevor Noah highlighting the sneaky racism going so strongly now relative to the NFL.  Especially the particular comment at 3:30 by another one of those "good, fine, people"...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-Gx23vH0CE

[Townsend]

Trump challenges Rex Tillerson to IQ test

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41570266

US President Donald Trump has challenged his Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, to an IQ test, in the latest sign of discord between the two.

He made the remark in a magazine interview when asked about reports that Mr Tillerson had called him a moron.

"I think it's fake news," Mr Trump told Forbes, "but if he did that, I guess we'll have to compare IQ tests. And I can tell you who is going to win."

Mr Trump is having lunch on Tuesday with Mr Tillerson.

Reports have swirled of a schism in the Trump administration between the commander-in-chief and his top diplomat, as the US faces a host of vexatious foreign policy conundrums, from North Korea to Iran.

Last week Mr Tillerson called a news conference to deny reports that he was considering quitting.

But the former ExxonMobil chief executive did not refute an NBC News report that he had called his boss a moron after a July meeting at the Pentagon.

Earlier this month, Mr Trump publicly undercut the former Texas oilman by tweeting that he was "wasting his time" trying to negotiate with nuclear-armed North Korea.

Last week the New York Times reported that Mr Tillerson was astonished at how little Mr Trump grasps the basics of foreign policy.

According to the newspaper, quoting sources close to the secretary of state, Mr Trump has been irritated by Mr Tillerson's body language during meetings.

Mr Tillerson is said to roll his eyes or slouch when he disagrees with the decisions of his boss.

Donald Trump insists that the stories about Rex Tillerson insulting his intelligence - despite being heavily sourced - are "fake news". Now, however, he's lobbing one of his trademark counter-punches, just in case.

Mr Tillerson thinks he's a moron? Well, he's smarter than Rex, that's for certain.

It's classic Trump - a slightly less juvenile version of the "I guarantee you there's no problem" retort Mr Trump snapped off during a Republican debate, when Senator Marco Rubio questioned the size of his, er, manhood.

Mr Trump tends to get touchy when people doubt his intellect. That's probably why the "moron" line has prompted such a furious response from the White House and State Department. During the campaign he said he doesn't have to consult generals because he has "a very good brain" and told a rally in South Carolina that he was highly educated and has "the best words".

In August, he boasted that he was a "better student" and went to better schools than all his elite critics.

Mr Tillerson may have opened a difficult-to-repair rift with the president. While Mr Trump is quite comfortable with insult-trading, there's one topic that's clearly off-limits.

[bluelake]

Yes and no... if it were a state it would be right in the middle by population, right next to Oklahoma actually.  By area it is smaller, only larger than DC, Delaware and Rhode Island.  But I'm not sure being densely populated makes it easier or cheaper to repair infrastructure.  In any event, either by size or by area, it is exactly like rebuilding an entire American state.

Does that change your analysis any?

yes it could be considered similar to a U.S. state, depending on how you're looking at the info (size or area or population).  My point was simply that, compared to a state like Oklahoma, Puerto Rico simply doesn't have the miles of transmission lines (both high- and low-voltage) nor the pole count that we have.

It's interesting that the more digging I'm doing it appears a large part of their problem is their generation is in the south while most of their population is in the north.  As such their high-voltage transmission lines transverse the mountains in the center part of the country and it's difficult for them to fix these.

In some cases, repairing the structures will require sending crews to remote areas with treacherous terrain, said Brig. Gen. Diana Holland, commander of the Army Corps of Engineers' South Atlantic Division. Helicopters may be required to move poles into place. It will take another week or two for the first contract to be awarded for line-repair work, Gen. Holland said, even with streamlined procedures.

A quirk of Puerto Rico's electricity grid is that a large portion of generating capacity is in the southern part of the island, from plants built there decades ago in anticipation of an industrialization boom that didn't materialize, Mr. Sánchez said. Yet the island's 3.4 million people are more concentrated in the north. As a result, the grid sends a large flow of power from south to north through transmission lines that must traverse the island's main mountain range, which runs east to west and has peaks higher than 4,000 feet.

For the grid to function properly, at least three of the main south-to-north transmission lines must be in operation, Mr. Sánchez said. Yet along one line, 23 towers collapsed during the storm. Another lost 10, and yet a third lost four. "Some were literally lifted off concrete pads and dropped on the ground," he said.

Mr. Ramos said Prepa is trying to devise a road map for power transmission that would temporarily reroute electricity along lines that fared better. Then the power authority will work on permanent fixes, rebuilding lines to higher standards, he said.

Prepa has 230 crews, each with about four or five people, working on restoring transmission and distribution lines across the island.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/puerto-ricos-power-restoration-slowed-by-miles-of-downed-lines-1507318439

More information on the corruption in the power company there:

Puerto Rico's debt-plagued power grid was on life support long before hurricanes wiped it out

Puerto Rico officials say it will likely be four to six months before power is fully restored across the U.S. territory of 3.5 million people. The island's faltering electrical grid, now crippled by the twin blows of Hurricane Maria and Hurricane Irma, already was struggling to keep the lights on after a history of poor maintenance, poorly trained staff, allegations of corruption and crushing debt.

Problems accumulated. Cutbacks in tree pruning left the 16,000 miles of primary power lines spread across the island vulnerable. Inspections, maintenance and repairs were scaled back. Up to 30% of the utility's employees retired or migrated to the U.S. mainland, analysts said, and the utility had trouble hiring experienced employees to replace them.

The neglect led to massive and chronic failures at the Aguirre and Palo Seco power plants. The three-day blackout in September 2016 underscored how fragile the system was, and that the company was "unable to cope with this first contingency," the Synapse Energy report said.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-puerto-rico-power-20170925-story.html

Puerto Rico's Power Woes Are Decades in the Making

As residents grapple with power outages across the entire island, the task of turning the lights back on falls to an electrical utility saddled with rickety infrastructure, workforce reductions and financial troubles so deep it declared a form of bankruptcy in July.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/puerto-ricos-power-woes-are-decades-in-the-making-1506176140

[cannon_fodder]

Certainly having to transmit power over distance and therefore repair all those poles and lines is an issue - but they can string tens of miles of line in a day.  When they are in densely populated areas a single pole can take half a day.  So what I was trying to express is that I'm not sure which would be faster to repair - I simply don't have that knowledge but I can easily see it going either way.

Of course, being an island, after a minimal amount of reserves they have to import all the line, poles, and transformers.  Which they can only do after inventory.  The lag on that has to be magnitudes longer than shipping one from OKC to Tulsa (or whatever).

[swake]

Certainly having to transmit power over distance and therefore repair all those poles and lines is an issue - but they can string tens of miles of line in a day.  When they are in densely populated areas a single pole can take half a day.  So what I was trying to express is that I'm not sure which would be faster to repair - I simply don't have that knowledge but I can easily see it going either way.

Of course, being an island, after a minimal amount of reserves they have to import all the line, poles, and transformers.  Which they can only do after inventory.  The lag on that has to be magnitudes longer than shipping one from OKC to Tulsa (or whatever).

And the condition of the grid before the storm is pretty much irrelevant as any grid would have been wiped out by this storm. It also wiped out all the cell phone towers for example.

[swake]

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump  1 hour ago

With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!

22,874 replies 6,987 retweets 27,334 likes
Reply 23K   Retweet 7.0K   Like 27K

Does this bother anyone?

[heironymouspasparagus]

Of course, being an island, after a minimal amount of reserves they have to import all the line, poles, and transformers.  Which they can only do after inventory.  The lag on that has to be magnitudes longer than shipping one from OKC to Tulsa (or whatever).

Like Trump says, it's an island.  Surrounded by water.  Lots of water...big water...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-puerto-rico-hurricane-maria-comments-island-big-water-a7975011.html



Info;
PR is similar in size to Long Island, with about half the population.  One of the largest manufacturing concentrations of pharmaceuticals in the world.   Conserve your Humira for possible lean times!!

Since it is a territory, PR's are full blown, native born US citizens.  And since they are 97% Hispanic and Black, well,... we all know how Trump responds to people of color - same as he has his entire life.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump  1 hour ago

With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!

22,874 replies 6,987 retweets 27,334 likes
Reply 23K   Retweet 7.0K   Like 27K

Does this bother anyone?

Why would that bother anyone if this didn't?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX9reO3QnUA


What possible Bizzaro world did this go beyond that point??  It's OUR Bizzaro world where Nazi's and Klanners are "many good, fine people..."

[patric]

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump  1 hour ago
With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!

Does this bother anyone?

The first casualty in war is truth.

President Donald Trump asked his top national security officials to build tens of thousands of new nuclear weapons during a July 20 meeting, according to an NBC News report published on Wednesday morning. The president's request, experts say, is simultaneously impossible and terrifying.

"The insanity and folly of this ... cannot be overstated," Kingston Reif, the director for Disarmament and Threat Reduction Policy at the Arms Control Association, tweeted in response to the report. "Increasing [the US] arsenal would constitute [a] radical departure from U.S. policy and likely lead to [a] full fledged arms race with Russia and perhaps China," he added.

There is no strategic reason for the US to increase its nuclear arsenal by such a large amount: The current US nuclear stockpile, around 4,000 nuclear devices, is more than enough to deter attacks from any hostile power. Building 32,000 more, the precise number Trump requested, would take many years and cost trillions of dollars.

And indeed, there is no indication that such a buildup is going to happen in real life. The president's comments appear more grounded in Trump's almost childlike fascination with military hardware — he has repeatedly requested a military parade in his honor in Washington, despite the fact that such a parade would destroy DC's streets — than anything else.

Trump denied the NBC News report in a Wednesday morning tweet.

Of course, the president frequently refers to true but inconvenient stories as "fake news." But NBC News's report is sourced to three officials who were present during the president's remarks. NBC also reports that the July 20 meeting where Trump asked about building more nukes also precipitated Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's now-infamous description of Trump as a "moron."

The big question about the "moron" comment, prior to Wednesday's report, is why Tillerson was so disgusted by the president. As Adam Mount, a senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists puts it, "we now know why."

[Hoss]

The first casualty in war is truth.

President Donald Trump asked his top national security officials to build tens of thousands of new nuclear weapons during a July 20 meeting, according to an NBC News report published on Wednesday morning. The president's request, experts say, is simultaneously impossible and terrifying.

"The insanity and folly of this ... cannot be overstated," Kingston Reif, the director for Disarmament and Threat Reduction Policy at the Arms Control Association, tweeted in response to the report. "Increasing [the US] arsenal would constitute [a] radical departure from U.S. policy and likely lead to [a] full fledged arms race with Russia and perhaps China," he added.

There is no strategic reason for the US to increase its nuclear arsenal by such a large amount: The current US nuclear stockpile, around 4,000 nuclear devices, is more than enough to deter attacks from any hostile power. Building 32,000 more, the precise number Trump requested, would take many years and cost trillions of dollars.

And indeed, there is no indication that such a buildup is going to happen in real life. The president's comments appear more grounded in Trump's almost childlike fascination with military hardware — he has repeatedly requested a military parade in his honor in Washington, despite the fact that such a parade would destroy DC's streets — than anything else.

Trump denied the NBC News report in a Wednesday morning tweet.

Of course, the president frequently refers to true but inconvenient stories as "fake news." But NBC News's report is sourced to three officials who were present during the president's remarks. NBC also reports that the July 20 meeting where Trump asked about building more nukes also precipitated Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's now-infamous description of Trump as a "moron."

The big question about the "moron" comment, prior to Wednesday's report, is why Tillerson was so disgusted by the president. As Adam Mount, a senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists puts it, "we now know why."

Because he's a buffoon.  And his allegation that his IQ is higher than Tillerson's?  Mensa has already offered to IQ test both men.  I bet we hear crickets from 45s camp.