We have just passed the 13th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of New Orleans, and are approaching the one-year anniversary of the double whammy of Hurricanes Irma and Maria wiping out Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. While much ado has been made about the lowering of flags to half-staff in honor of the late Sen. John McCain (who is being buried today at the U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis, Maryland), many people have forgotten what was done for Katrina’s dead.
Here’s an excerpt from a 2005 proclamation by President George W. Bush:
As a mark of respect for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, I here by order, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and on all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, Tuesday, September 20, 2005. I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same period at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad,including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.
Yes, we know that Bush and his inept FEMA head “Brownie” will go down in history as a major fail. However, we should also remember this tribute. The deaths were not shoved under a rug or buried beneath a pile of thrown paper towels.
Fast forward to Hurricane Maria.
What has the Orange Pomposity Monster occupying the White House done for Maria’s victims, other than dismiss and denigrate Puerto Ricans whenever he can?
He’s now celebrating—with more lies. These were actual words he said:
“Don’t forget, their electric plant was dead before the hurricane. If you look back on your records, you’ll see that plant was dead, it was shut, it was bankrupt, it was out of business. They owed tremendous amounts of money. They had it closed up. And then when the hurricane came, people said, ‘What do are we going to do about electricity?’ That wasn’t really the hurricane. That was gone before the hurricane.”
Most of the people in Puerto Rico would gladly throw Trump to the Chupacabra.
The nation’s media dropped the ball after Hurricane Maria and quickly moved on, and Puerto Ricans have essentially been left to sink or swim on their own, aside from private charities’ assistance and strong support from New York State. However, none of that can equal the power of the U.S president and the federal government.
Almost a year later there has been a crack in the media’s failure to accurately cover the reality in Puerto Rico, even though it was just last week that we saw headlining lies about full power being restored. Yes, we are finally getting stories that report on updated death tolls. Puerto Rico’s dead are speaking to us with yet another set of new numbers.
You can read the full report here.
No one knows how long we will see coverage of the revised death toll, and I cynically believe it won’t be for more than a few days.
But I am listening to the dead.
And others who care are writing about the dead.
They ask for fitting revenge, as well as to be remembered. They ask for justice.
The only way to do that is to kick every single Republican who has been unsupportive of Puerto Rico out of office—and to hold Democrats who are running for office to a commitment to enact legislation for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Need a refresher?
Here is the full list of Representatives that voted against disaster relief for United States citizens:
Justin Amash (R-Michigan)
Jim Banks (R-Indiana)
Andy Barr (R-Kentucky)
Joe Barton (R-Texas)
Jack Bergman (R-Michigan)
Andy Biggs (R-Arizona)
Mike Bishop (R-Michigan)
Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee)
Rod Blum (R-Iowa)
Dave Brat (R-Virginia)
Mo Brooks (R-Alabama)
Ken Buck (R-Colorado)
Ted Budd (R-North Carolina)
Steve Chabot (R-Ohio)
James Comer (R-Kentucky)
Warren Davidson (R-Ohio)
Scott DesJarlais (R-Tennessee)
Sean Duffy (R-Wisconsin)
Jeff Duncan (R-South Carolina)
John Duncan (R-Tennessee)
Tom Emmer (R-Minnesota)
Virginia Foxx (R-North Carolina)
Trent Franks (R-Arizona)
Mike Gallagher (R-Wisconsin)
Thomas Garret (R-Virginia)
Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio)
Louie Gohmert (R-Texas)
Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia)
Paul Gosar (R-Arizona)
Morgan Griffith (R-Virginia)
Andy Harris (R-Maryland)
Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas)
Jody Hice (R-Georgia)
French Hill (R-Arkansas)
George Holding (R-North Carolina)
Richard Hudson (R-North Carolina)
Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana)
Walter Jones (R-North Carolina)
Jim Jordan (R-Ohio)
Trent Kelly (R-Mississippi)
David Kustoff (R-Texas)
Doug Lamborn (R-Colorado)
Jason Lewis (R-Minnesota)
Barry Loudermilk (R-Georgia)
Kenny Marchant (R-Texas)
Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky)
Mark Meadows (R-North Carolina)
Luke Messer (R-Indiana)
Alex Mooney (R-West Virginia)
Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma)
Kristi Noem (R-South Dakota)
Ralph Norman (R-South Carolina)
Gary Palmer (R-Alabama)
Steve Pearce (R-New Mexico)
Scott Perry (R-Pennsylvania)
Robert Pittenger (R-North Carolina)
John Ratcliffe (R-Texas)
Todd Rokita (R-Indiana)
Keith Rothfus (R-Pennsylvania)
David Rouzer (R-North Carolina)
Mark Sanford (R-South Carolina)
David Schweikert (R-Arizona)
James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisconsin)
Jason Smith (R-Missouri)
Chris Stewart (R-Utah)
Mark Walker (R-North Carolina)
Jackie Walorski (R-Indiana)
Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio)
Roger Williams (R-Texas)
I don’t even know how many of my fellow Americans give a damn. Those of you who do: never forget.
Why are we being sold a false bill of goods? Journalists aren’t covering stories like the one below, posted by a resident who says, ”We are being left to fucking die/”
Take a few minutes to watch. She has no fancy equipment and the sound gets distorted by wind, but please watch and hear what she has to say.
Democrats in Congress have made efforts to address the Trump-created mess.
Back in June:
Four Democrats in Congress on Friday introduced legislation to establish an independent commission, similar to the one created after 9/11, to investigate the federal response to Hurricanes Irma and Maria in Puerto Rico.
Reps. Nydia Velázquez of New York and Bennie G. Thompson of Mississippi introduced the bill in the House, and Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts did so in the Senate.
The bill seeks to create a bipartisan commission with eight members appointed by Congress that would look at the federal government’s preparedness in responding to the two storms.
Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez has been raising her voice since Day One, and Republicans are ignoring her efforts.
Other Democrats have spoken up and called for aid, and the response has been from the racist side of the aisle has been crickets.
All the bills and wonderful ideas are meaningless unless we have a sweeping blue wave that will reach the Caribbean. Should that happen, we have to also ensure that Democrats make Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands a priority.
What can you do?
Other than fight like hell to GOTV and vote for Democrats, you can also contact your elected official (if a Democrat) and any Democrats running for federal office in your state to find out where they stand on Puerto Rico and the proposed legislation. It doesn’t matter what state you live in, it should not be only the responsibility of Democrats who either are Puerto Rican or who live in states with large Puerto Rican populations to take a position.
Get them to commit to making Puerto Rico a priority, not an afterthought, in the new Congress.
Another thing you can do is amplify the message. How many Puerto Rican journalists do you follow on social media?
How often do you share information about the situation in Puerto Rico with family, friends, co-workers, and folks you randomly meet, like cab drivers?
Silence ensures continued death.
Pa’lante, Puerto Rico