It’s Time for More Reporting and Less Distorting by Media

Big media, methinks you do a disservice to Americans in your coverage of the Puerto Rican hurricane damage.

You carry a lot of criticism of Washington’s rescue efforts. Too little, too late you tell us. You are quick to show us people who lost their homes wailing that nobody was helping. You lace your coverage with endless criticisms.

Your commentators claim racism and deliberate neglect by President Trump and his people.

Methinks you do not have a clue about how much the U.S. government can quickly do — or not do — to help an island in this disaster. You could find out with a few phone calls. To people who know this stuff, it’s obvious you never made the calls.

First, FEMA is not a huge agency. It can only work with local governments. In Puerto Rico, the local government was wiped out for several days. So there was not much to work with. First-responders could not respond and could not travel. No petrol, no electricity, and no homes for many of them.

Second, FEMA had already been strained to the max dealing with Hurricane Harvey’s destruction in Houston.

Next, you suggest government do this or that. When this or that is utterly impossible. You insist government should have been prepared. Should have had ships ready to sail in with emergency supplies. Should have flown in more supplies. Should have sent in many thousand more troops.

Right. Do you think Navy ships cruise around loaded with diapers and emergency rations? Do you think they hang around an island when a hurricane approaches? Ships get sunk by hurricanes too, you know. They steer well clear of them. Which means they cannot cruise in the next day to offer help.

And then Navy ships are full of ammunition and military equipment, not emergency supplies. Nobody loads ships with emergency supplies expecting a hurricane may or may not strike an island.

So, ships have to go to a port. It takes hours. They load supplies, which also takes hours. They sail to Puerto Rico. Last I looked, Miami to San Juan was 1,000 miles. The speed of most cargo ships is 25 mph. Do the math. They finally offload supplies. Who delivers the supplies? Trucks that are not running. Because there is no fuel.

Well then, fly in the supplies. Okay, but San Juan’s airport was out of commission. Where do you land the planes?

Well then, use helicopters. Yes, but they carry one or two pallets at a time. For 3.5 million people; oh boy.

You media guys wave your magic wand and move ships and men about as if in a Hollywood production.

Do you have any idea how tiny the amount of supplies ships on a rescue mission can deliver? Compared to the needs of 3.5 million people? A few containers a day. Puerto Rico consumes many hundreds of containers of supplies every day in normal times.

And troops? Suppose we land another 5,000 troops tomorrow. And what will they do? The same work hundreds of thousands of local men and women are doing. How will they be fed? Food is in short supply on the island. Where will they get water? Water is short. Who will feed them next week? How will they travel across the island? Fuel is short.

Meanwhile the Navy lands 10 bulldozers. Little wow, because the island needs the work of thousands of bulldozers.

I recognize Big Media types who suggest we send in troops. They also think we should order up 10,000 troops for Afghanistan next week. Poof, send them by FedEx.

I wish more reporters would do more reporting. And less distorting. It would be refreshing.

From Tom…as in Morgan           

Tom Morgan writes about political, financial, and other subjects from his home near Oneonta. You can write to Tom at tomasinmorgan@yahoo.com. You can read more of his writing at tomasinmorgan.com