Hooray for the media! They managed to stop repairs to the Puerto Rican power grid. The problem is that the Puerto Rican power authority gave a repair contract to a company called Whitefish that happens to come from the same town in Montana as Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. That's it! Alarm bells went off. It must be corruption, right?
The problem, however, is that the federal government had nothing to do with the award of the contract. That was done by the power authority in Puerto Rico. Although the contract signed says that it was approved by FEMA, FEMA denies any involvement in the matter. In fact, FEMA says that it has never seen the contract.
Now, after the media storm, the governor of Puerto Rico wants to cancel the contract with Whitefish. The problem is that Whitefish has over 100 linesmen in Puerto Rico working nearly 24 hours per day on repair to the electric grid. If the contract is canceled, that repair work will stop.
Shouldn't there be something wrong before the contract gets cancelled? Shouldn't the work of repairing the grid continue so that all those without power can get it back sooner rather than later? Why must the innuendo in the media beat the reality of facts?
Look, I don't know how Whitefish got this contract. I know of nothing that indicates that Zinke was involved in any way in this matter. After a week of searching, the media has found nothing that indicates any involvement by Zinke. If that is true, there is no reason other than political machinations that calls for cancellation of the contract.
I've seen estimates that for each day the Whitefish workers continue many thousands of Puerto Ricans (maybe tens of thousands) get their power back. The work should not stop.
Of course, the media doesn't care about the people without power. They just want a good story, especially if it can be used to attack president Trump. It's really unfortunate that things have gotten to this point.
The problem, however, is that the federal government had nothing to do with the award of the contract. That was done by the power authority in Puerto Rico. Although the contract signed says that it was approved by FEMA, FEMA denies any involvement in the matter. In fact, FEMA says that it has never seen the contract.
Now, after the media storm, the governor of Puerto Rico wants to cancel the contract with Whitefish. The problem is that Whitefish has over 100 linesmen in Puerto Rico working nearly 24 hours per day on repair to the electric grid. If the contract is canceled, that repair work will stop.
Shouldn't there be something wrong before the contract gets cancelled? Shouldn't the work of repairing the grid continue so that all those without power can get it back sooner rather than later? Why must the innuendo in the media beat the reality of facts?
Look, I don't know how Whitefish got this contract. I know of nothing that indicates that Zinke was involved in any way in this matter. After a week of searching, the media has found nothing that indicates any involvement by Zinke. If that is true, there is no reason other than political machinations that calls for cancellation of the contract.
I've seen estimates that for each day the Whitefish workers continue many thousands of Puerto Ricans (maybe tens of thousands) get their power back. The work should not stop.
Of course, the media doesn't care about the people without power. They just want a good story, especially if it can be used to attack president Trump. It's really unfortunate that things have gotten to this point.
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