On September 22, 2018, two days after the one year anniversary of Hurricane Maria’s landfall—which leveled parts of the Caribbean, including the American territory of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands—busloads of Floridian protesters from Miami, Broward, Kissimmee, and Orlando stepped into the scorching sun in West Palm Beach. At the same time, in the act of defiance, dozens of vehicles drove past Mar-A-Lago, honking horns and blasting salsa and reggaeton music at Trump’s Palm Beach palace. People were furious at Donald Trump’s cruel and cold-hearted treatment of hurricane victims.
People lined up at the rally in W. Palm Beach to have photos of themselves giving the Trump Baby balloon the finger.
xThe “Trump Baby†balloon first appearance in #WestPalmBeach at the rally in support of Puerto Rico. @WPTVpic.twitter.com/l9O9zHzczU
— Jillian Idle (@JillianIdlewptv) September 22, 2018People chanted “Today we mourn but tomorrow we vote,” as speakers, including Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum and Senator Bill Nelson, took the stage. Adding fuel to the fire, Donald Trump had earlier disputed a George Washington University report estimating that 2,975 people died because of the storm and its aftermath. He tweeted:
3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico. When I left the Island, AFTER the storm had hit, they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths. As time went by it did not go up by much. Then, a long time later, they started to report really large numbers, like 3000........This was done by the Democrats in order to make me look as bad as possible when I was successfully raising Billions of Dollars to help rebuild Puerto Rico. If a person died for any reason, like old age, just add them onto the list. Bad politics. I love Puerto Rico!
Take a listen to the video and join me below for some thoughts.
x xYouTube VideoDid you hear Rick Scott offer one thing that he would have done differently than Trump in this presser? Neither did I, and you can bet Puerto Ricans heard that non-answer. Here is the exchange:
Reporter: What would you do different from the federal government in terms of helping Puerto Rico?
Gov. Scott: I don’t know what I would do differently. What I learned, I’ve been governor for seven and half years. So I’ve had quite a few storms and other disasters. And what I’ve learned the most is you’ve got to communicate. You’ve got to tell everybody your problem, and you’ve got to figure out how to communicate. And I know that’s what I’ve watched here, that’s what people have been trying to do the whole time, and to just solve problems. What I’ve learned in our state is just that every disaster’s a little bit different, but the more communication you have and the earlier you find a problem, the faster you can solve it. You’ve got to figure out how to build a good relationship with FEMA.
Rick Scott, has flown to San Juan 8 times since Maria and can't think of one thing he would do differently than Trump.American Bridge 21st Century provides a list of just some of Trump’s failures since hurricanes Irma and Maria made landfall.
Trump called Puerto Rico“an island surrounded by water, big water, ocean water.” He also said, “this is a thing called the Atlantic Ocean, this is tough stuff.” And Energy Secretary Rick Perry called Puerto Rico a “country.” (It’s not.) Trump infamously threw paper towels into the crowd at a relief shelter like Oprah during a TV special. …And defended his action by saying, “I was having fun, they were having fun.” Trump “lashed out“ at San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz for criticizing his administration’s response. And just weeks after the storm, he threatened to pull federal relief workers out of Puerto Rico, tweeting, “We cannot keep FEMA, the Military & the First Responders, who have been amazing (under the most difficult circumstances) in P.R. forever!” The Trump Administration deployed a hospital ship to Puerto Rico…that filled just 6 of 250 available beds per day. Meanwhile, FEMA spent $75 million to dock a half-empty cruise ship off Puerto Rico for 4 months. FEMA approved only 28% of hurricane relief applications in the two and a half months after the Hurricane. The agency also awarded a $156 million contract to a caterer who delivered only 50,000 of the 30 million meals requested. And nearly nine months after the storm, the recovery in Puerto Rico has all but disappeared from the administration’s talking points. According to a Politico investigation, “the Trump administration exerted a faster, and initially greater, effort in Texas, even though the damage in Puerto Rico exceeded that in Houston.” It took FEMA 43 days to approve permanent disaster relief for Puerto Rico, compared to just 10 for Texas after Hurricane Harvey. Trump was “focused less on the details of the relief effort than on public appearances.”The below Spanish language ad from Bill Nelson’s reelection campaign mocks Scott and Trump as “muy buenos amigos.”
x xYouTube VideoIn a Guest Commentary published in the Orlando Sentinel, Frederick Velez, a community organizer with Que Vote Mi Gente, a coalition of Latino Groups that rally Puerto Rican voters, shares what he sees on the ground with regards to diaspora engagement in the coming midterms.
As a result, Florida is under a political microscope. There are many complex factors playing into all these races in November -- the Trump Factor, the presumptive Blue Wave, etc. -- that experts cannot fully predict and understand how things will turn out. Recently, some have questioned the impact of the Puerto Rican vote in Florida come November. A recent Washington Post article used nine-month-old data that broke down voter registrants with a focus on Puerto Ricans in the state of Florida. They argued erroneously that the anticipated large uptick of Puerto Rican voter registrations has not materialized nor was there energy to turn out to vote.
This narrative discounts many real human struggles the community is going through in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Just off of the one-year anniversary, these families are more passionate than ever to bring about positive change for the Island through the casting of their ballot in November. There is a clear narrative among Puerto Ricans that this administration has failed them and their loved ones in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, and only through the elections will the Island be able to rebuild and regain its economic strength. Regardless of what any pundit may say, one thing is certain: The Puerto Rican community in Florida is registering to vote and will make a real difference this November.
If you want to ruin Mitch McConnell's day, and you can spare the coin, outspent Florida Democratic candidates could use some cash sent their way to enable them to take power away from the vicious and powerful that have somehow hijacked this country.
Sean Shaw for Attorney General
Nikki Fried for Florida Commissioner of Agriculture
The video below is from Puerto Rican lyricist and singer Anuel AA, an emerging hip-hop and reggaeton singer who is fast becoming a star in Miami’s Latin music scene.
"Reggaetón was highly stigmatized when it first came out. This is because it came from poor, urban and black communities that were subject to racial discrimination," sociologist Petra Rivera-Rideau, author of Remixing Reggaetón: The Cultural Politics of Race in Puerto Rico, tells NPR. She explains that the music and its fans were portrayed through several racial and class stereotypes. But as the genre became more commercially viable, it started to become more accepted across class and racial lines, leading to upper class youth listening and consuming it. "Some say reggaetón even became a national symbol in Puerto Rico," she added.
x xYouTube VideoTuesday, Oct 9, 2018 · 11:32:16 AM +00:00 · PakaloloFrom Kluger2 in the comments.
Kluger2October 08 · 07:58:23 PMI lifted this list from another diary. Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands can use our help:
Unidos Fund of the Hispanic Federation Operation Agua (AFT program: water filters for Puerto Rican households) LatinoJustice: Bilingual attorneys and paralegals offer pro bono help filing claims, etc. (Organized by Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund) United for Puerto Rico (First Lady of Puerto Rico’s fund) Solight Design: Donate a Light (buy innovative solar lanterns for PR and USVI) Carmelo Anthony Puerto Rico Relief Fund (on YouCaring) Tim Duncan 21 US Virgin Island Relief Fund (on YouCaring) USVI Hurricane Recovery100 roofsShelterBoxHurricane Maria Community Recovery FundWorld Central Kitchen (Chef José Andrés & Chef Network) This GoFundMe page lists other individual campaigns devoted to Maria victims