The 'very big ocean' between here and Puerto Rico is not a perfect excuse for a lack of aid

[Eugene]

Source: Washington Post

The ‘very big ocean’ between here and Puerto Rico is not a perfect excuse for a lack of aid

By Philip Bump September 26 at 4:28 PM

Twice on Tuesday, President Trump offered an excuse for why government aid to Puerto Rico has been slow to arrive after Hurricane Maria: Puerto Rico is an island.

“It’s very tough, because it’s an island,” Trump said during a meeting with members of the House. “In Texas, we can ship the trucks right out there. And you know, we’ve gotten A-pluses on Texas and on Florida, and we will also on Puerto Rico. But the difference is, this is an island sitting in the middle of an ocean. And it’s a big ocean; it’s a very big ocean. And we’re doing a really good job.”

-snip-

FEMA is flying C-17 cargo planes into Puerto Rico, bringing food and water. An update from the agency on Monday indicated that 148 airlifts from eight planes had delivered 44,177 pounds of relief supplies and cargo to both that island and the Virgin Islands.

That’s important. But it’s not a lot of cargo. In January, a cargo ship operated by the U.S. Navy delivered supplies to researchers in Antarctica totaling nearly 7 million pounds of supplies.

So couldn’t the government have either sent supplies in advance (as it did for Texas and Florida by truck) or sent cargo after the fact that could have gotten to Puerto Rico by now?

The answer is yes and yes.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/09/26/the-very-big-ocean-between-here-and-puerto-rico-is-not-a-perfect-excuse-for-a-lack-of-aid/

[jberryhill]

1. It's in the middle of the Atlantic?

Umm, it's between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

I'd love to see someone ask him to find it on a map.

[Mister Ed]

2. I know a country with a very big navy.

I wonder if the commander-in-chief of that navy might be able to help the folks in Puerto Rico?

Maybe send a couple of very big helicopter carriers and very big supply ships across the very big ocean.

That would help bigly!

[locks]

3. Just posted on this subject:

Wondering what Hawaiians are thinking. They're way out there on those islands surrounded by a really BIG ocean. Surely they wouldn't expect us to help them if they got smacked by a hurricane would they?

[DavidDvorkin]

4. The UK already sent a navy ship to one of its islands in the area

I don't know if it came from the UK or from a naval base closer by, but in either case, the very big ocean didn't seem to be a problem. We are talking about navies, after all.