Common Sense wrote:

Can't get much lower than this. Withholding supplies from people who need them.

FBI Reviews Allegations Of Puerto Rican Officials Withholding Hurricane Relief

http://dailycaller.com/2017/10/12/fbi-reviews-allegations-of-puerto-rican-officials-withholding-hurricane-relief/

WASHINGTON — The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Puerto Rico received multiple allegations from residents across the island who say local officials in the territory have withheld needed FEMA supplies.“People call us and tell us some misappropriation of some goods and supplies by supposedly politicians, not necessarily mayors, but people that work for the mayors in certain towns,” FBI Special Agent Carlos Osorio told The Daily Caller Wednesday.

Osorio explained, “They’re supposedly withholding these goods and these supplies and instead of handing them out to people who really need them, [there are claims] that [local officials] are assigning them to their buddies first–people that have voted for them or people that contributed to their campaigns or what not.”He added, “So what we’re doing is looking into these allegations. That I can tell you is happening.

Again, I cannot say that we have any ongoing investigation. We’re just corroborating these allegations.”
 

If this is true, they should investigate and prosecute anyone who did anything illegal.  It is curious the story has only been picked up by conservative news sources, but that doesn't necessarily mean it is untrue.  

Brady Bunch wrote:

tennyson wrote:

I notice that Common likes to point things out like this when he thinks it means D-party corruption but this could go either way. I would be surprised if any of the corruptness (IF it exists) winds up being more R-tribers than D-tribers if he will pay any more attention to it. My guess is no. 

I think most of us whether Democrat, Republican, or Independent would like people that withhold or mismanage emergency supplies to see swift prosecution. Somehow I don't think that was the spirit in which the article was posted. 

Of course Common is pointing it out because it fits into Trump's narrative that Puerto Rico is a mess, this is why this story is picked up by all the conservative news outlets.  Common is a Trump supporter and wants to defend his guy.

I did notice that you are quick to point out that Common is very partisan in what he posts, but I'm pretty sure I don't remember you pointing out that Goose, Just Fred, and Rongone like to point things out if they think it means Trump and/or the Republicans look bad, but they don't do that with Dems.  I don't expect them to come on here and post about things that would make the Dems or Bernie Sanders look bad.

I see no issue with Common pointing out things he feels are important and everyone else pointing out things they feel are important.  I think everyone is smart enough to understand the political bias of other individuals and factor that into how they treat the information being presented.

 

A couple of points from my perspective:
1. I am a registered independent voter and have pointed out things that democrats have done or not done while on the job “for the American people”. I have said that I believe the strong two party system is ruining our representative republic due to the increased partisanship they inject into politics. Elected officials, regardless of party, should be serving their constituents and not their party.
2. I have no problem with people expressing their different points of view on this forum. In fact, when different points of view are debated, it makes the site more interesting.
3. What I object to is when some posters continually utilize cut and paste downloads from websites that have been proven to be without factual references and are nothing more than ultra biased rags. At least, if a poster is going to use one of those sites as the base for your position, be available to discuss and defend your position in your own words and be prepared to provide verifiable proof of your position.
4. Personal attacks or outright derogatory statements about another poster is not part of the debate process. A posters inability to support their position with reasonable information concerning the topic of the thread is not debate or discussion. It is a cop-out.

BTW, I'm getting the sinking feeling that this thread is about to descend into acrimony.

If someone is going to directly address a poster, and call others out by name to offer generalized judgment of their posting behavior as was done in post 13, maybe it should be done in the general business section.
Just my two cents

Brady Bunch wrote:

No acrimony here, as I said I am fine with you guys mostly posting stuff that is almost exclusively negative to Trump and Republicans, just like I am fine with Common doing the same thing with Dems.  I have no problem being skeptical of everything someone posts until I research it further for myself.  As they say, knowledge is power.

I just found it curious that Common was called out for doing it, but not others.

And as I posted in my response, just why are we assuming it is Dems behind any of the alleged improprieties rather than Republicans or for that matter BOTH. I believe that the article wants people to blame one party vs the other without offering evidence. Obviously Puerto Rico IS a mess and someone wants to point the blame to specific individual political alignment. Meanwhile people are suffering big time as critical items are still in short supply in many areas of the country. Politics be damned, let'st get the help there and THEN point the fingers. 

Desparate Times in Puerto Rico
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/13/us/puerto-rico-superfund-water/index.html
 

Brady Bunch wrote:

tennyson wrote:

Brady Bunch wrote:

No acrimony here, as I said I am fine with you guys mostly posting stuff that is almost exclusively negative to Trump and Republicans, just like I am fine with Common doing the same thing with Dems.  I have no problem being skeptical of everything someone posts until I research it further for myself.  As they say, knowledge is power.

I just found it curious that Common was called out for doing it, but not others.

And as I posted in my response, just why are we assuming it is Dems behind any of the alleged improprieties rather than Republicans or for that matter BOTH. I believe that the article wants people to blame one party vs the other without offering evidence. Obviously Puerto Rico IS a mess and someone wants to point the blame to specific individual political alignment. Meanwhile people are suffering big time as critical items are still in short supply in many areas of the country. Politics be damned, let'st get the help there and THEN point the fingers. 

Desparate Times in Puerto Rico
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/13/us/puerto-rico-superfund-water/index.html
 

I took the article differently.  It didn't appear to me they were trying to blame Dems for this (unless you think they are assuming all local officials in PR are Dems, which I didn't get that feeling).  I think the political slant of the article was probably more in line with the narrative "PR is a political mess and they are making the recovery efforts hard, not Trump".

Efforts should be concentrated on helping the people of PR, but like many issues that our country deals with, people on both sides are more concerned with how they can use the event to make the "other side" look bad.  Until people realize we are all on the same side, it will only get worse.

A good indication at leas to me is who is running the article. If it is just one side exclusively, that is the tell tale sign for me. 

The assigning of the General to the overall mission should have been done a least a week prior to his actual assignment. FEMA did a good job of getting the materials there, but that is where it stopped short. The needed effort is now underway with a group trained to do what is needed. I feel the Admin as done everything it can to deflect from the fact that they failed in an important mission there and Trump's comments have only served to act as coverup. 

I guess you know I am no Trump fan. I think he thus far has been a miserable failure and will continue to be one. Besides not being able to work with the other Party he is not even able to coordinate support within his own party or articulate his plans.  

I at least like Rongone and Goose have supported both sides of the political spectrum in my voting life and will continue to do so. 
 

Last edited by tennyson (10/14/2017 9:43 am)