The Puerto Rico situation is interesting, and it is a good example of a situation where Trump seems callous, cold, and unfeeling, but at the end he ends up being correct.
Puerto Rico has been through a lot in recent years, from Hurricane Maria's devastation to the numerous earthquakes recently.
Many on the left have called for billions of dollars of aid to be given to Puerto Rico to help them recover, and Trump at times has been reticent to do so.
Of course, the immediate narrative was that Trump doesn't care about brown people, or that he sees Puerto Rico as a land of second class citizens who aren't real Americans, and he'd prefer they die rather than supply them aid.
The truth, it turns out, is that Puerto Rico is horribly corrupt, and there's a very real and legitimate concern that much of the aid will get commandeered by government officials who will use it to enrich themselves and/or their associates, and that the average Puerto Rican will get little assistance.
Time and time again, we are seeing Puerto Rican officials arrested for corruption, embezzlement, and theft. It's not just a few bad apples. Sadly, it has become ingrained in the culture over there. Many average citizens hate it, but similar to Chicago, corruption in local government is a decades-long way of life over there, and it ain't changing anytime soon.
The problem is that the left is often incapable of seeing shades of grey when it comes to so-called victim groups. The left sees the Puerto Ricans as good but downtrodden people perpetually victimized and exploited by the US government, and definitely deserving of any aid we can send their way. However, it's possible for the Puerto Rican people to be downtrodden and somewhat forgotten while ALSO living in a culture of corruption. No matter how dire the need, you simply can't send aid to highly corrupt local governments unless you have a strict structure in place to make sure that the money is spent properly.
Too often I see the left opting for the policy which feels good or compassionate, without really thinking about the potential downsides.
Trump ended up being correct about Puerto Rico, and I don't want to see a penny of federal aid sent there until we have a way to be sure it's not going to be stolen.
As I've said many times, the right is sometimes guilty of thinking too much and feeling too little, and the left is often guilty of feeling too much and thinking too little. The latter is much worse.
unreal. our government is truly fucked if this is seriously happening. I could tell when reading my posts from fall 2017 a bit ago that I was much more optimistic that "draining the swamp" was a possibility. how is Schiff the smarmiest dude on the planet rn? does he have the worst blackmail out there on him that's why he has to do this??
https://twitter.com/twt/status/1220588364774223873
SOBCHAK SECURITY 213-799-7798
PRESIDENT JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., THE GREAT AND POWERFUL
the dems have to be losing party members by just the common sense angle. i smh with amazement each and everyday at what they're doing.
i just can't believe how bad it's gotten. never in my life did i think i would agree and back most anything newt gingrich says. also, tucker carlson went from being an annoying conservative prep that went to triniy to becoming the voice of reason. he doesn't even have to jackass performing now like he used to be. the dems give him so much ammo to work with, he just tells it like it is.
Trump is a clueless idiot and only cares about himself.
Trump doesn't give a shit about Puerto Rico and probably thought it was a foreign country until someone told him it is a U.S. territory.
Can Trump trade U.S. Virgin islands, American Samoa islands, Guam and Puerto Rico for Greenland?
i really don't want to keep posting the same stuff. it's not fun for anyone.
but i'm not saying trump broke the law. i'm saying he abused his power. i also made numerous posts, which i'm sure you saw, in which i explained why you don't need a crime to be impeached. (i agree with lindsey graham on this.)
i showed where the phrase "high crimes and misdemeanors" came from.
i showed examples of impeachments that were not for crimes.
i gave you quotes from alexander hamilton, james madison and other founders explaining that they believed impeachment could be for things other than crimes.
if you can show me contrary authority, i'd be legit interested in reading it. i haven't seen it.
i also don't understand your premise, and i'm not sure you get what the democrats are accusing trump of. i never cheered when a past president tried to pressure a foreign government into helping him win an election. that's what trump is being accused of. facts matter.
Two thoughts:
1. why are we giving (borrowing the $ to give) the Ukraine $400 million dollars to buy offensive weapons? I mean seriously, wtf are we doing and who's paying for this? Our citizenry is so clueless and likely getting what they deserve as a result. But i digress.
2. is everyone alright with the red Chinese contributing to the Clinton foundation and the DNC during his bid for re-election? I mean seriously, think that through for a minute. But again, see above.
The thought process is that stopping Russia from taking over a democratic country is in the best interest for us, t's cheaper to stop Russia by helping Ukraine with a few hundred million a year than it is to let them start bulldozing weaker countries and possibly be forced to spend much more money down the road.
It's like a mini version of 'why are we giving money and lives to fight Germany in WW2.'
$400m for potential domestic social welfare like student loans but Tulsi was mocked here.
Yes, indeed. The Clintons political and media power is generational talent. I’m not kidding.
In contrast and in fairness.....
Despite Obama letting the mortgage crisis players skate he has not collected the rewards that would automatically be given if he just asked. Obama has stayed pure. He’s not suffering but he’s not collecting Clinton type cash
decent article citing examples of some founding fathers and judges from the 1800s who didn't think impeachment could be for anything other than a crime
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2...esident-trump/
i don't like the reasoning but i guess that viewpoint has always been out there
quick reminder, maga's kinda in their feelings these days:
https://twitter.com/twt/status/1220194928577470464
"Birds born in a cage think flying is an illness." - Alejandro Jodorowsky
"America is not so much a nightmare as a non-dream. The American non-dream is precisely a move to wipe the dream out of existence. The dream is a spontaneous happening and therefore dangerous to a control system set up by the non-dreamers." -- William S. Burroughs
The waste and corruption in the defense budget makes Puerto Rico look tiny by comparison. Lots of people are lining their pockets.
The coastal bailouts are giving money to people who refuse to acknowledge reality and consistently oppose doing anything that would help, and they will expect to be bailed out again and again.
Both are huge wastes of public money.
Those are no problem, but "Chicago" corruption is a problem and "Puerto Rican" officials stealing money is a problem and it justifies denying badly needed aid.
I wonder what the difference is?
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PRESIDENT JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., THE GREAT AND POWERFUL
#WINNING
"Birds born in a cage think flying is an illness." - Alejandro Jodorowsky
"America is not so much a nightmare as a non-dream. The American non-dream is precisely a move to wipe the dream out of existence. The dream is a spontaneous happening and therefore dangerous to a control system set up by the non-dreamers." -- William S. Burroughs
Yeah, I'm daily worrying about Russia marching an army towards a place 95% of Americans couldn't find on a map. I feel better now. Oh, how about this: them using the offensive weapons against Russia to get us involved in a bigger conflict? Or, try this, Europe can borrow the money to give them for weapons. Sigh, I give up.
you dont want to know how many of our thermonuclear war games projections start with russian aggression against the ukraine. and if we just fuck off and let them take ukraine, other adjacent nations are fair game. and once they get away with that, it's domino theory all over again but we have no allies, no treaties, no leverage, a crippled intelligence community, and a civil war brewing.
its weird to me that people want to see that happen but i live on 2 wooded acres with a trout stream, an organic garden, and a lot of wild game so its really not my problem all said and done.
"Birds born in a cage think flying is an illness." - Alejandro Jodorowsky
"America is not so much a nightmare as a non-dream. The American non-dream is precisely a move to wipe the dream out of existence. The dream is a spontaneous happening and therefore dangerous to a control system set up by the non-dreamers." -- William S. Burroughs
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