Stuff to Read

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Tom Price resigned from HHS. If only that were the entire cabinet.

Ryan Grim and Aída Chávez at The Intercept write that Lindsay Graham admits he had no idea what he was doing regarding health care reform.

A reporter pointed out that such ignorance at this late stage is hard to understand. “You’ve been working to overhaul this for seven years. Why is this so hard?” she asked.

“Well, I’ve been doing it for about a month. I thought everybody else knew what the hell they were talking about, but apparently not,” Graham clarified, adding he had assumed “these really smart people will figure it out.”

From the Washington Post:

After an earthquake shattered Haiti’s capital on Jan. 12, 2010, the U.S. military mobilized as if it were going to war.

Before dawn the next morning, an Army unit was airborne, on its way to seize control of the main airport in Port-au-Prince. Within two days, the Pentagon had 8,000 American troops en route. Within two weeks, 33 U.S. military ships and 22,000 troops had arrived. More than 300 military helicopters buzzed overhead, delivering millions of pounds of food and water. …

… By contrast, eight days after Hurricane Maria ripped across neighboring Puerto Rico, just 4,400 service members were participating in federal operations to assist the devastated island, an Army general told reporters Thursday. In addition, about 1,000 Coast Guard members were aiding the efforts. About 40 U.S. military helicopters were helping to deliver food and water to the 3.4 million residents of the U.S. territory, along with 10 Coast Guard helicopters.

Has Trump had his “heck of a job, brownie” moment?

If not Trump, did acting Homeland Security director Elaine Duke have it?

A White House official’s praise of the government response to Hurricane Maria drew a sharp rebuke from the mayor of San Juan, as Puerto Ricans grew desperate in the aftermath of the storm, struggling to obtain basic life-sustaining supplies.

Elaine Duke, the acting head of Homeland Security, said on Thursday that she was “very satisfied” with the government’s response so far and the progress that has been made.

“I know it is really a good news story in terms of our ability to reach people and the limited number of deaths that have taken place in such a devastating hurricane,” she said.

The Mayor of San Juan disagreed.

Big surprise, not:

The tax framework that President Trump and congressional Republicans rolled out this week would reduce federal revenues by $2.4 trillion in its first 10 years and provide the biggest tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans, according to an analysis released Friday by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center (TPC).

And don’t forget to get your flu shot.

10 thoughts on “Stuff to Read”

  1. Well, Price did the right thing. Once he heard of Dotard’s displeasure with him he figured out that he didn’t want to hang around for the verbal abuse like Sessions got. I think anybody with even an ounce of self respect would pack it up before they would allow an asshole like Trump to belittle them on the public stage. I never cared for Sessions anyway, but watching him snivel and cower as Trump publicly dominated him made me really dislike the little creep.
    There is no job worth trading your dignity for.

  2. Am I the only person who thinks lots of PR population should be evacuated just to get the place down to healthy self-care-capable people who can actuallly be involved in the rebuilding? Guessing half the population is of little capability in rebuilding, that means there are 1.6 million who simply must be looked after in the midst of the rebuilding. I don’t know where they can go, but is there really any way to support them in the whirlwind?

  3. Additionally, sanitation is lacking, and disease is a threat when you lack clean water and sanitary sewage systems.

  4. I’ll be in and out of commission for a while.

    I’m in a Hospital for lung issues – I went in on Thursday – thankfully, heart issues were eliminated from my list of problems.
    Testing will continue, once Monday rolls around.

    Then, I might end up in rehab, before they finally let me go home.
    My Mom’s with my sister until I go home.

    Send positive vibes, if you can.

    I’ll continue to read, and comment when I’m up to it.
    While I’m sidelined – GIVE ‘EM HELL, MAHA AND COMMENTERS!!!

  8. Pingback: Trump Is Angry With Puerto Rico for Making Him Look Bad | The Mahablog

  9. Get well, GULAG.

    I’m waiting for Trump to issue a refugee travel ban on Puerto Ricans who evacuate to the US. Can we set up PR opportunity zones in swing states so we put the voters where they can do the most good?

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