Biden vows US won't walk away from storm-struck Puerto Rico

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By DÁNICA COTO

SAN SALVADOR, Puerto Rico (AP) — President Joe Biden said Thursday the full force of the federal government is ready to help Puerto Rico recover from the devastation of Hurricane Fiona even as Bermuda and Canada’s Atlantic provinces were preparing for a major blast from the Category 4 storm.

Speaking at a briefing with Federal Emergency Management Agency officials in New York, Biden said, “We’re all in this together.”

Biden noted that hundreds of FEMA and other federal officials are already on the ground in Puerto Rico, where Fiona caused an island-wide blackout.

More than 60% of power customers remained without energy on Thursday, and a third of customers were without water — and local officials admitted they could not say when service would be fully restored.



President Joe Biden speaks about Hurricane Fiona during a visit to the Federal Emergency Management Agency Region 2 office in New York, Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/floods-storms-hurricanes-bermuda-puerto-rico-a9d3d02464f300024e3b77a40cc8e05d?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=TopNews&utm_campaign=position_05

[Evolve Dammit]

1. PR should have been a state 40 years ago.

[onetexan]

5. Yup, PR be the 51st state & DC 52nd - both Democratic leaning :)

and we gain 4 more senators. Oh and add Guam while we're at it

[Evolve Dammit]

7. Agreed.

[former9thward]

9. Forcing PR to become a state would be colonialism.

They should be given their independence.

[Evolve Dammit]

13. Most wanted to become a state going back to the 1960's. I don't recall any discussions of "forcing.

[former9thward]

14. Not true.

"Most" have never wanted to become a state. The last advisory vote that was taken pro-independence forces urged a boycott and most people did. In the past votes have sometimes been against statehood and sometimes for its current status. Whats a big issue? The income tax. People in PR don't pay federal income taxes and don't want to.

[Evolve Dammit]

15. okay. Good to know. Do you live there or get the info elsewhere? Just wondering

[former9thward]

16. I don't live there but I have followed the issue for many years.

I do not feel in the year 2022 we should have "territories" which are really colonies.

[durablend]

2. TFG: "If I were in charge they'd get a BIGLY supply of paper towels!"

[Initech]

3. Just go throw them some Paper Towel brand paper towels!

[Ford_Prefect]

4. That's OUR president who said that!

[Bayard]

6. There he goes again...

Being all presidential, and all.


I have a question about Puerto Rico. Since they seem to lose power regularly, it makes sense to me for them to go solar. Why is that a problem?

[former9thward]

8. What about power when the sun is down?

And the reason PR loses power is hurricanes. Solar panels would be ripped away and fly around in hurricane winds like kites, except more deadly.

[Bayard]

11. The energy is stored

But, yeah--good point about flying panels.

[EndlessWire]

12. I was thinking

maybe they could bury the lines. I don't know how problematical that would be, but maybe a good project.

[sakabatou]

10. Whereas TFG would just throw people paper towels.

[RussBLib]

17. How about sending some electrical linemen down there?

Fix their fucking power grid already.