There were about a dozen moments within this interview when FEMA Director Brock Long could have easily broken out with: “I ain’t got no time for that“, as the insufferable Chris Wallace demands Long talk about the politics of disaster relief.
Mr. Brock Long and the entire organization of FEMA workers have been doing outstanding work with a ‘no quit’ attitude for months. Great interview:
Governor of Puerto Rico Ricardo Rossello, FEMA Region II Acting Administrator John Rabin, Federal Coordinating Officer Alejandro de la Campa and Commander of Joint Force Land Component Command Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan provide current updates on the status of Puerto Rico relief efforts after Hurricane Maria, Sept. 30, 2017.
A very emotional female police officer from Puerto Rico’s police department in Guaynabo calls in to a U.S. spanish speaking radio station to tell listeners what is going on in Puerto Rico. The police woman is very upset, crying and sobbing often, and shares how the Mayor of San Juan is politicizing the situation and not offering help.
The call and video was recorded September 28th, and highlights the corruption within government within Puerto Rico and the Municipal authority of San Juan. The video is English closed captioned (hit “CC” option) and a transcript is below:
CNN attempts to spin a narrative, FEMA Director refuses to engage. FEMA Director Brock Long explains how the Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Carmen Yulin-Cruz has intentionally disconnected herself from the unified chain-of-command for Hurricane Maria relief efforts in favor of playing politics.
Additionally and incredibly, Mayor Yulin Cruz has never even visited the San Juan Headquarters where FEMA, Dept. of Homeland Security, Dept of Defense, National Guard, Army Corps of Engineers and PR state governors office are communicating, prioritizing and responding to the urgent needs of municipal leaders and the citizens of Puerto Rico.
Ridiculously, Mayor Yulin Cruz chooses to remain a few blocks away talking politics to media cameras instead of engaging with local, state and federal officials on recovery efforts. FUBAR.
Notice at 09:00 where Director Long specifically discusses the need for disaster response action from the local community, and how citizens should participate instead of remaining dependent on federal government. Quickly CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield jumps in to cut him off so that CNN producers can continue selling their narrative. WATCH:
…They have the generators, water, food, medicine, and fuel on the ground, yet the supplies are not moving across the island as quickly as they’re needed.
“It’s a lack of drivers for the transport trucks, the 18 wheelers. Supplies we have. Trucks we have. There are ships full of supplies, backed up in the ports, waiting to have a vehicle to unload into. However, only 20% of the truck drivers show up to work. These are private citizens in Puerto Rico, paid by companies that are contracted by the government”.. (link)
The ports are so full of relief supplies they can’t fit any more on the available space. CNBC ground report confirms Colonel Valle’s ground report. WATCH:
President Donald Trump discusses the short-term (relief) and long-term (recovery) efforts for Puerto Rico. As everyone is aware, even before the storm the island territory was under financial collapse as a result of Democrat mismanagement and generational political agendas’ creating a culture of dependency.
Hurricane Maria has exacerbated Puerto Rico’s problems and is showcasing a governmental structure incapable of governing during crisis. The media hypes the suffering, yet omits the Island’s inept systems of governance and the culture of dependency. The only way the U.S. federal government can assist effectively is by taking over almost every aspect of state and local government.
As President Trump points out in this impromptu press conference, congress has some decisions to make on the long-term future of Puerto Rico. Throwing money at the problem is futile when the recipient systems are fraught with ineptitude and corruption.