Trump attacks San Juan mayor over response

I realize the mayor of San Juan has skin in the game, however, there is no " ...something close to a genocide" occurring in Puerto Rico. That's just an absolutely idiotic statement.

I think the president is correct here. The mayor calling for Trump to take over is wrong. The US will assist, but it also falls on her and the other elected leaders to take charge and lead their people. You wanted to be the elected leader of the city of San Juan. Lead or resign and get someone in there who wants to do the job in bad times and good.

This is going to be a very contentious issue. Very emotional too. We're not just talking about a tourist mecca. We're talking about people's homes. Sadly, the devastation is so catastrophic that it will take years, decades to repair. Indeed, inasmuch as the island has been so poorly governed that it was bankrupt even before the storm arrived, that I cannot see any good outcome. It may be that the island must be evacuated until solutions can be found. A small colony must remain to maintain sovereignty and provide the nucleus of the recovery effort, but no one is going to be happy with the process. No one...

My daughter used to be a 911 dispatcher. About 1/3 of the calls dispatcher handle, where the person was actually in extremis; the person takes out their fear, anger and frustration on the dispatcher.

Example: if you live in a rural area 30 miles from the ambulance garage, swearing at the dispatcher calling the dispatcher incompetent, and accusing the dispatcher of "not caring" will not get the ambulance to the scene in 5 minutes.

As soon as you give the dispatcher enough information to determine what agency(ies) are needed she pushes a button and they are running to the ambulance.

As soon as she knows where they are going, she relays the directions.

Contrary to the belief of the victims, she is not asking for more information before she dispatches. She already dispatched. She is trying to give them as much information as possible so they step out of the vehicle and into the scene properly prepared, with a game plan in place.

When people are in a panic, they can get down right nasty. As an EMT I had a mother pull a gun on me because she wanted me to "DO SOMETHING" when her infant was having a febrile seizure. The only thing I could do is transport, which is what I was doing before she pulled the gun. (for those who do not know what a febrile seizure is; it is a seizure associated with a high body temperature but without any serious underlying health issue. They most commonly occur in children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years.) It is scary as hell for a mother to witness, but it isn't particularly alarming to a trained healthcare provider.

Whoever wrote "Trump's early praise of relief efforts does not appear to match the reality on the ground. Puerto Rico, which is home to 3.4 million people, is facing a humanitarian crisis, and many of its people remain without power and water. Sixteen people have died, according to government officials, but that number could well rise with the full range of devastation not yet known" is showing either incredible naivete or incredible bias. There have been three major natural disasters stacked one upon the other. President Trump is damned if he did, damned if he didn't.

Commit everything to the first disaster, and he "failed" to be "prepared" for the second disaster, and the haters would call for his head on the third disaster. Hold back reserves from the rescue and recovery effort on any one of the disasters, just in case another is rolling down the pike, and "He doesn't care about us."