Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[SeattleLionsFan]

Kap likes erecting strawmen based on what people think without ever clarifying what people think, but you are probably right.

[SeattleLionsFan]

I wouldn't say swimmingly, but I expect that this task is going to take time, and I am not holding anyone responsible for not replacing PR's entire power grid within a week or a month, or pretending as if this is the same thing as a power outage in Detroit.

Who is? And it's been three months and half the island is still without power. That's a long time without power.

[Kapture1]

Kap likes erecting strawmen based on what people think without ever clarifying what people think, but you are probably right.

right, because people weren't acutally talking about it. Invented it out of whole cloth...

Jeff: To your credit, I have been thinking about the Puerto Rico situation, with the "refugees" flowing to Florida. I'm still reading about it, and haven't formed an opinion yet, but I want to compliment you as the moderator for bringing up such a tough question. Thank you.

My initial reaction is that the PR refugees will flip Florida toward the Democrats. Thus it will be in the Republicans interest to "restore" PR and incentivize refugees to return. Cutting against this is the profoundly corrupt Democrat administration of PR that has effectively put the island into bankruptcy. I think the Rs would choose to bail out the island if they could ensure that the refugees return.

Or, we could send all these 800,000 DACA superheroes to PR and let them create heaven on earth.

reference to the idea of "Trump is doing such a bad job with PR, he hasn't even restored power all by himself, so refugees stay in Florida and flip the state blue" argument

Geezer.... Since Trump is in charge, nothing will be done and Florida will flip. In the end, D's are better off remaining somewhat quite on the issue.

All those R's who are siding with Trump and going along for the ride are setting back the party, not only because of Trump's behavior, but flipping a battle ground state to a most likely lock for the D's. And the R's are to blame for this... no question in my mind.

Any inattention to the Puerto Rico situation is ridiculous for any side, it shouldn't matter about future electoral results. Unfortunately coverage has moved on from this and media coverage drives the government to do things it wouldn't ordinarily do. The citizens in Puerto Rico deserve the same type of response as any other American citizen.

correct.

[Kapture1]

Who is? And it's been three months and half the island is still without power. That's a long time without power.

the engineering estimates put full power restoration sometime in May of 2018. I don't think you quite appreciate the issue they are dealing with. it's not like calling someone up and flipping a switch

[froot loops]

Talent might be the only one that will appreciate this. As the question of who leads the alleged progressive faction, I will not accept if nominated and will not serve if elected.

[hack]

I like this dance. Fine.

[froot loops]

The power situation is a tough nut to crack, but the bill that passed the house in December isn't and should be passed in the Senate pronto regardless of the ulcoming CR.

[hack]

Froot, please. We need you and your leadership. Nobody else can do it.

[SeattleLionsFan]

the engineering estimates put full power restoration sometime in May of 2018. I don't think you quite appreciate the issue they are dealing with. it's not like calling someone up and flipping a switch

In sure I don't. In large part because there has been little coverage of the issue and no attention paid to it from the leadership.

Id love to know the difference between PR and st. Marten St Marten's electricity was restored three months ago.

[Kapture1]

In sure I don't. In large part because there has been little coverage of the issue and no attention paid to it from the leadership.

Id love to know the difference between PR and st. Marten St Marten's electricity was restored three months ago.

judging on the coverage of PR, they were blaming Trump for not having full power and running water restored 3 weeks after the hurricane.


Also, St Martin is 34 square miles, PR is 3515 square miles

[entropy]

Once again I post the article that Talent originally posted: http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/09/30...-the-outgroup/

Entropy, it is important you read this. I recall when you talked to 4 of your friends at a soccer game, and they still had an animus toward Trump. The author of the article has 150 friends, none of which disagree with him. IMO, you are in the same situation as the author with your wife being bombarded with NEA nonsense.

I've sent that article to every progressive friend I have. One, in particular, was my golf league partner during the Clinton Scandals. He is a (now) retired teacher, as is his wife went to Hope College with me. We have determined to be friends, no matter what.

One of the best things about this forum is that we disagree. Do you have any friends who say things contrary to what you believe? How about arguing? The value of this forum to me is that I can hear from persons with whom I disagree, and I can hear it unvarnished. What other "relationship" do you have in which you can express your opinion in an unvarnished manner? I have none.

And, to get personal, EVERYONE on this forum wished you well when you had a cancer scare. EVERYONE. AA likes to use the analogy of a bunch of guys sitting at a bar and discussing politics. That is right. But we all value this way of expressing our opinion and arguing about what we think. Where else does this happen?

?

I?m not sure of this response in relation to the context of my post...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[iam416]

SLF:

I?m sorry for injecting comments. As a lawyer I know lawyers. I just wanted to see the discussion moved along to where you call each other blazing idiots.

[SeattleLionsFan]

SLF:

I?m sorry for injecting comments. As a lawyer I know lawyers. I just wanted to see the discussion moved along to where you call each other blazing idiots.

Lol!

[iam416]

Froot:

Well done. Heavy is the crown.

[Jeff Buchanan]

SLF & re-St, Martin electricity....... St. martin is 87 Sq. KM, PR is 8600. Apples to oranges.

I know a bit about the PR electrical grid. It has not been upgraded since the 50s and while it was mainly functional before Irma, it was about 85% destroyed by that storm. It is a massive rebuilding project that requires a public/private effort to get it done. Slow going as I understand it no one want to invest in the PR.

Is it local government's fault? Partly but the US has contributed with restrictions on trade included in the Jones Act whihc I have heard described to me by a Puerto Rican fellow I know who lives there and in the US: I want to buy a Seiko Watch. I cannot have those shiped in bulk to PR. They have to go to the US first, then they can come here. It trples shipping costs and instead of the watch costing $25, it cost $75. No one want to open a small buisness in PR becasue of the unintended consiequences of that.

When I asked him what the most important thing that needed to be done to get the PR recovery moving more quickly it was to repeal the Jones Act. There have been temporary exceptions to the Act during the recovery period but the exceptions are restrictive. The whole thing needs to be changed. I'm not an expert on this Act so I can't explain it much further than in generalities.

Before the storm and maybe 5 or 6y ago, the government there abandoned the breaks it was giving to companies to open up in the PR. Since then, most of them that were there, in particular pharmaceuticals, have left and set up shop in more tax friendly locals. This sort of approach wasn't very well thought out as the unintended consequences of trying to raise more revenue were corporations bailing and leaving thousands unemployed. It's been downhill since then.

I'd have to say DJT is party correct in naming PR government in general inefficient and costly but his remarks were ill-timed. Shocking, I know. IMO, there is going to have to be a lot of smart thinking and public and private investment to get PR back up and running. Right now it is an American Haiti and DJT would be correct in calling it a shit-hole but, wait, it isn't a foreign country sending HIV infected immigrants to the US. It is, if anything, a US state by any meaningful definition of one with a few exceptions of course. But it is in America's back yard.