January 26, 2018

Trump at Davos — not as hated and hateful as hoped.

When Trump first announced that he was going to Davos, the NYT ran commentary that seemed to predict and hope for failure:
It’s hard to imagine an audience less receptive to Mr. Trump’s "America First" agenda.... His threats to raise barriers to the movement of goods and people, his rejection of the Paris climate change accord and his belligerence toward North Korea have convinced the gathering’s wealthy and mostly liberal delegates that the United States is giving up on global leadership. Indeed, this year’s Davos theme — "Creating a shared future in a fractured world" — seems an attempt to mitigate Mr. Trump’s influence.
How did the NYT react when Obama went to Davos? Trick question: Obama never attended. But that's a reason to attack not Obama but his antagonists: "Imagine the vitriol that Barack Obama would have endured at home if he had put in an appearance."

Now that Trump is in Davos and things don't seem to be ugly, I search the front page — past reports that Trump "ordered" the firing of Robert Muller ("fake news," per Trump) — and find "Trump and Davos: Not Exactly Best Friends, but Not Enemies Either."
As the executives tucked into grilled beef tenderloin or fried Swiss pikeperch with purple carrot purée, Mr. Trump flattered them as “some of the greatest business leaders in the world” and invited them to talk about their businesses, much as he does at cabinet meetings back home. Like his cabinet secretaries, many of the guests volunteered praise of the president and gratitude for his efforts to cut taxes and regulation.....

“I found him to be a different person from his public persona,” Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi of Pakistan said at a breakfast on Thursday, recalling their encounter at the United Nations, while putting aside Mr. Trump’s threat this month to suspend most security aid because of what he called Pakistan’s “lies and deceit” in dealing with terrorism. “He is a very warm person and he engaged me.”...

77 comments:

Derek Kite said...

Public persona: how the media portrays him.

Oops, another reason to ignore them.

AllenS said...

Outside of the GOPe, the American Media, and the Democrats, people generally like Trump. He get shit done, and people notice.

rhhardin said...

America first means America first for the head negotiator, Trump. It means deals have to be deals, but still they're deals. The other side comes out ahead too.

That's what they're doing.

rehajm said...

Global prosperity is returning and its due to Trump policies.

Also, Davos is a place to suck up to power.

Kevin said...

How many scoops of ice cream did Trump get? And how many were accorded the rest of the guests?

That's the kind of in-depth Davos reporting I'm expecting from the American media.

Ambrose said...

You have to wonder if the Mueller story is intentionally distracting from a not so awful performance and reception st Davos.

Kevin said...

You have to wonder if the Mueller story is intentionally distracting from a not so awful performance and reception st Davos.

Lower taxes showing up in paychecks
Schumer shutdown failed
Trump offers citizenship to dreamers
Infrastructure bill looking good
Trump offers to testify under oath
Trump doesn't get shunned at Davos

NYT: Hey, Trump wanted to fire Mueller last June!!!!!

Derek Kite said...

Ambrose: There are very ugly things being exposed about the FBI DOJ and the media. There will be some people fired, and maybe even criminal charges. Look a squirrel.

David Begley said...

Full blown TDS today and last night. Foaming at the mouth. Maggie Haberman repeating gossip that John Kelly might quit or be fired.

exhelodrvr1 said...

Just another straw on the back of the "don't trust the MSM" camel. Although it has already collapsed from the weight.

iowan2 said...

President Trump is a serious person. A person of depth. If he were shallow, as the Dems insist, he would quietly rebuild his committee of business CEO's. Those that folded like teenagers because the cool kids were mocking them and abandoned the President because the media invented a controversy. The President should reconstitute the group, inviting CEO's that are direct competitors to those that resigned. Having a direct line to the President of the United States, sitting at meetings in the White House, is an invite that would be considered a breach of fiduciary responsibility to refuse. I'm thinking of the CEO Under Armor. The President could invite the CEO of a direct competitor. Reconstitute the group. Then those that were spineless wimps can explain the their boards why they are sitting on their thumb instead of sitting at a meeting with the President. But alas President Trump, is a person of depth and has important things on his plate.

Clyde said...

I think that what is throwing his adversaries, both foreign and domestic, off a bit is that Trump doesn't play the role of "good cop" or "bad cop" in his policy negotiations. He plays BOTH roles. For Trump, "bad cop" is a negotiation tactic to get to "good cop" and the results he wants It makes him seem kind of schizophrenic to his opponents, who invariably claim to be surprised that Trump one-on-one is a warm, engaging person who is far different from the public bull-in-a-china-shop persona.

Darkisland said...

Let us take two commodities, e.g., corn and iron. The proportions in which they are exchangeable, whatever those proportions may be, can always be represented by an equation in which a given quantity of corn is equated to some quantity of iron: e.g., 1 quarter corn = x cwt. iron. What does this equation tell us? It tells us that in two different things – in 1 quarter of corn and x cwt. of iron, there exists in equal quantities something common to both.

Marx, Capital, Chapter 1

In other words, we buy a tube of toothpaste for $1.99 because it the tube of toothpaste has the same value as $1.99.

This is the first and probably gravest error in Capital and RHardin reminded me of it when he said:

but still they're deals. The other side comes out ahead too.

The only reason we exchange $1.99 for toothpaste is because it is worth more to us than the $1.99. It has more than $1.99 value. If we were to believe Marx, that would mean that the $1.99 has less value to CVS than the toothpaste.

If that were the case, we win, they lose. So why would they make the exchange?

They make it because the toothpaste is worth more than $1.99 to us AND, at the same time, the $1.99 is worth more to CVS than the toothpaste. (or the toothpaste is worth less than $1.99 if you prefer)

Marx' idea that deals or exchanges take place on the basis of equal value is the fundamental fallacy on which Marxism founders so badly. If it were true, the labor theory of value, Marx's concepts of use and exchange value, of "objective value" and much of the other nonsense in Capital would be true. It is not and scores of millions were murdered by people trying to wish it to be true.

Exchange, or deals, takes place only because each side gets more value than they give up. President Trump understands this. Too few other politicians do.

Deals are not zero sum.

John Henry

David Begley said...

The only way I would believe the “ordered to fire Mueller” story would be if the White House lawyer swore to it on a stack of Bibles and on live TV.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

I was just thinking Wednesday that we were due for another "OMG!!! Trump is going to fire Mueller!!!" story due to all the negative stories about the FBI coming to light. I guess the media's Davos disappointment pushed them over the edge.

David Begley said...

And where were all the stories on stuff Barack didn’t do?

The Trump narrative is chaos and obstruction of justice. Stories must feed the narrative.

Darkisland said...

OT but odd:

When I went looking for a copy of Capital to quote that snippet above, I found that Gutenberg.org does not have it in English. They have it in German and Greek, but no English.

Seems strange.

John Henry

David Begley said...

Let’s compare and contrast what Trump didn’t do with what the Dems actually did. The DNC and the FBI together conspired to spy on Trump and his campaign. Real news.

M Jordan said...

Hey, John Henry,

Thanks for that toothpaste example. I had never really thought about the fact that every deal is win-win to some degree.

Hagar said...

So, Trump announces he might impose 30% tariffs on Chinese solar panels and South Korean washing machines and jets off to Davos, arriving just after Rick Perry has told them the US intends to be the world's prime exporter of fossil fuels for the foreseeable future, and sits down with Theresa May to tell all the world what a wonderful person and PM she is, thereby giving Mrs. May a big hand up managing her own fractious party and nation during her "Brexit" negotiations.

And the suckers are lapping it all up with hardly a mention of any of these beautiful people giving The Donald the cold shoulder.

A good week for Trump so far, I would say!

Big Mike said...

I don’t think the world works quite the way people who write for the Times think it works. This leads to problems with their reporting.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

People who know him or meet him say Trump has a personal magnetism. I disliked the public Trump on TV before the primaries. But I warmed to him throughout the process, as I got used to his unusual style of communication, and he convinced me he would do the things he talked about (the wall, tax cuts, and good judges).

But obviously there is something to the personal and close-up Trump. After all, NBC thought enough of his charisma to make him the star of a reality show. His presence there was enough to attract a wide variety of people who wanted to be The Apprentice to Mr. Trump. My assumption is that there is a type of magnetism some people project, like Bill Clinton, of whom people say being in his presence was almost electric. Trump has that and is able to charm and cajole people in who meet him. People say Obama had it too although he projects a coolness more than the warmth Trump and Clinton are known for.

TrespassersW said...

This is not possible. I mean, the man eats steak with ketchup! The Democrats and their Lickspittle Media (BIRM) have assured me that Donald Trump is a horrible, horrible person.

Unknown said...

10 years ago a group of students from our Lutheran school went to NYC for their 8th grade trip. All 5 of them were standing in front of Trump tower. Up rolled a limo. Out jumps the Don. He sees the kids standing. Comes over shakes their hands. Asked if they liked NY. Did they like his building. Took pictures with them. And he went into his building. Yea. Not what was expected.

MadisonMan said...

A Big Business meeting. Why wouldn't Melania want to be there? (that's sarcasm, by the way)

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Modest economic results last quarter:

The U.S. expanded at a 2.6% annual pace in fourth quarter. Imports jumped 13.9%, doubling the 6.9% rise in exports.

traditionalguy said...

The Never Trumpers are literally going out of their minds and furious that the USA is becoming great again. They need to demonstrate that Americans are ignorant and stupid...either that or the Globalist's assholes nasty assumption that their leadership is needed FAILS.

Rusty said...

M Jordan said...
Hey, John Henry,

Thanks for that toothpaste example. I had never really thought about the fact that every deal is win-win to some degree.

It has to be or one side just walks away. That is why free markets are essential.

Rusty said...

I think ARM is liking this economy.

Big Mike said...

@John Henry, has there been progress in getting power back in Puerto Rico since the feds raised the warehouse where the necessary tools and parts and equipment were being hidden away by your politicians and other heir cronies?

jaydub said...

"Modest economic results last quarter"

Speak for yourself. If your investments didn't grow at an annual rate of 16% or more last quarter you should either fire your financial advisor or hire one. Even a communist can make money in this market.

Big Mike said...

I think ARM is spinning the following report from MarketWatch:

“The U.S. expanded at a 2.6% annual pace in fourth quarter, extending one of the best stretches of growth during the current eight-and-a-half-year-old upturn. GDP fell short of MarketWatch's 3% forecast, however, owing to lower inventory production and a bigger trade deficit. Consumer spending, the main engine of the economy, rose a strong 3.8%, the biggest increase in almost two years. Investment in new housing increased 11.6%, business spending on equipment surged 11.4% and outlays on structures edged up 1.4%, according to Commerce Department data. Yet the value of inventories declined by $29.3 billion. Trade was an even bigger drag on GDP. Imports jumped 13.9%, doubling the 6.9% rise in exports.”

[emphsis mine]

Anonymous said...

“I found him to be a different person from his public persona,” Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi of Pakistan said ...while putting aside Mr. Trump’s threat this month to suspend most security aid because of what he called Pakistan’s “lies and deceit” in dealing with terrorism. “He is a very warm person and he engaged me.”...

One must kiss up when one needs to kiss up!

Amadeus 48 said...

It's amazing. Tillerson is still at work even though he was fired in December.

Unknown said...

This perpetual confusion about "America first" reminds me of a story about the Secretary of State in a previous Republican administration (I don't remember which, but it would have to have been Reagan or one of the Bushes)....

Before departing the U.S. for his posting, the newly-confirmed ambassador to country X would have an interview with the Secretary in his office. SecState would a some point invite the diplomat to point to his country on a map of the world. Invariably the mark would point to X.

"No," the Secretary would gently remind him/her, "This is your country," pointing to the United States.

Michael K said...

"The DNC and the FBI together conspired to spy on Trump and his campaign."

The Fix was in and Trump won anyway.

Don’t look now, but Donald J. Trump may be the first person in world history to win an election rigged against him. Hillary — with the backing of Barack Obama and the leadership of the FBI and Department of Justice — fixed the general election so Trump couldn’t win. And Trump — this relentless bull in a china shop — won anyway.

No wonder Hillary was so confident in the days leading up to Election Day. No wonder she was so shocked and distraught on election night. Keep in mind the point of fixing the election. It wasn’t just about Hillary winning. It was about covering up her crimes.


Interesting times. More coming.

Darkisland said...

Big Mike,

I think you spend too much time reading the Intercept. The story about the hidden warehouse is bullshit and untrue. The off island contractors have been drawing supplies from it all along. Since September. The Intercept is aware of this but has not run a correction AFAIK.

I suspect that the whole incident was similar to a "swatting" and done by someone connected to the union just to stir up trouble. It worked!

https://www.elnuevodia.com/english/english/nota/prepawarehouse5wasnosecret-2390311/


However, the Director of Transmission and Distribution of PREPA, José Sepúlveda Aponte, showed this newspaper documents that prove that, shortly after the passage of hurricane María, crews from PREPA and from private companies hired by the public corporation, as well as the Corps of Engineers, started looking for materials at that warehouse.

"All the new metal (transmission) towers that have been installed came from warehouse 5. It is the only warehouse with that material," he said.

Between September and October, about 200 requests were made, mostly by PREPA crews, according to the logbook shown to this newspaper. There are also entries made by Whitefish and Cobra companies.

As of October 28, there are entries of private crews hired by the Corps of Engineers, such as one made by Flour-Pike on October 28 for works on line 36800 in Canóvanas. There is also an entry on November 11 for that same line.

Meanwhile, on November 18 a crew of the New York Power Authority, also subcontracted by the Corps of Engineers, appears. In another document he highlighted that Fluor was also in the warehouse in December, as well as Con Edison.

There was no information available about entries made after December.


The governor announced Monday that the utility will be privatized, confirming union fears. The union has been stirring a lot of shit for 40-50 years now and has been working overtime at stirring since the hurricane.

The govt has been working on microgrids for a while now and recently announced the proposed new regulation. This would allow anyone to generate power and sell it. I thought it was a backdoor way to privatize PREPA. Two of the main generating plants (AES-Coal and EcoElectrica-LNG) are private and provide about half the island's power.

For more on the microgrid regulation and why I support it, see my blog at
http://darkislandpr.blogspot.com/2018/01/microgrid-regulations.html

As an aside, I am happy about the proposed tariffs on solar that President Trump announced. ANYTHING that will put a crimp in our governor's plans for 30% solar is welcome to me. Even if it involves a tariff, which I am strongly opposed to. Solar is expensive (18c/kwh vs 9-12c for coal&LNG), it is fragile and it takes up far too much space at 5acres per nominal KW. More detail with pictures here

http://darkislandpr.blogspot.com/2018/01/80-square-miles-of-solar.html

BTW: I developed one of the first microgrids in PR in the 80s.

http://darkislandpr.blogspot.com/2017/12/alcon-v-prepa.html

John Henry

Darkisland said...

OT but:

For those wishing to know how we are doing, the status.pr website has daily stats on the recovery. For example, 92% of puerto Ricans have running water. Cell sites are at about 88% and so on.

The main one is electric and that is at 82% normal generation and 68% of customers (abonados) That is, about 32% of Puerto Ricans are still, in month 5, without power.

John Henry

Big Mike said...

@John Henry, thank you for the correction.

Kirk Parker said...


Roy J,

And not just any old steak, but well-done! I can't even.... [flounces off...]

Rick.T. said...

I've read that there is always a deal to be made unless both sides want the same thing. I fail to remember who said it. Maybe Trump?

John Pickering said...

Ann of course is more interested in the sex and cultural coverage provided by the MSM and ignores the legal news while taking the President's word for things, because she views him as a subtle thinker and an honest man. Ann asserts that when the President denies something, then he must be believed, because in her experience he's a straight-shooter - he tells it like it is! It's pretty odd, this business about Ann's thanking him for the permission he has given, and her commenters have taken, to speak without restraint about the blacks and the jews and the immigrants.

Anyway, here's Fox News, regrettably:

Fox News is told, however, that Trump did have conversations about firing Mueller – but it might not have amounted to an outright directive.
A source told Fox News that Trump did not tell White House Counsel Don McGahn to fire Mueller, but did discuss the possibility of doing so during a meeting with McGahn and others.
Trump asked McGahn if he would talk to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein (who has authority over the special counsel) about it, the source said.
McGahn, though, told the president in no uncertain terms that firing Mueller – the head of the probe into possible collusion by Trump associates with Moscow – would be a horrible idea and blow up in his face, the source said. Trump took McGahn’s advice and dropped active consideration of firing Mueller, though continued to reserve that as an option if Mueller’s Russia investigation took an inappropriate turn, Fox News is told.
Trump also told participants in the meeting that “I could fire Mueller if I want to -- I have the authority,” another source said. Fox News is told McGahn did not threaten to quit.
Another source close to the White House relayed a similar account, saying Trump told top officials this past June that he wanted to fire Mueller, but was talked out of doing so by McGahn and other aides.
The source added that then-White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and chief strategist Steven Bannon also believed last summer that Trump would fire Mueller and were worried about the political fallout.
"They said, 'This is going to blow up,'" the source recounted to Fox News.


Gahrie said...

It's pretty odd, this business about Ann's thanking him for the permission he has given, and her commenters have taken, to speak without restraint about the blacks and the jews and the immigrants.

Fuck you and your casual unsupported accusations of racism.

Gahrie said...

The main one is electric and that is at 82% normal generation and 68% of customers (abonados) That is, about 32% of Puerto Ricans are still, in month 5, without power.

Due to two things:

1) The shitty status of the electrical grid before the hurricane due to fraud and corruption.

2) The attempt by the power company to hoard the supplies needed to fix the system.

John Pickering said...

Ann could do her readers a service by informing them about how frequently Trump has revealed his prejudices against people because of their ethnicity and immigration status, going back to way before he became president. That she doesn't, and instead seems to prefer to egg on those readers who don't have her intellectual advantages, partly explains her conceit that Trump is simply being funny. That, and totally honest, too.


Gahrie said...

Ann could do her readers a service by informing them about how frequently Trump has revealed his prejudices against people because of their ethnicity

You could too. Cite or shut up.

and immigration status, going back to way before he became president.

Immigration status is not race, and everyone should be prejudiced against those who disrespect our nation and laws by coming here illegally.

hombre said...

John Pickering wrote: "It's pretty odd, this business about Ann's thanking him for the permission he has given, and her commenters have taken, to speak without restraint about the blacks and the jews and the immigrants."

"... It’s the big fact of American life now, isn’t it? That we are patronized by our inferiors” Peggy Noonan, WSJ, 2016.

Pickering goes on to discuss the meanderings of the Fox News folks about Trump discussing or thinking about firing Conflicted Mueller as though it has some actual significance other than to establish the soundness of Trump's assessment of Mueller and his game.

Thanks for sharing, John.

Gahrie said...

Next we're going to be lectured about the fact that the most gay friendly president we have ever elected is anti-gay.

John Pickering said...

This vituperative fellow revels in ignorance while proclaiming the need for a universal prejudice.

But OK, FYI, here are some of the top results of a Google search ("Is Donald Trump a racist?"), please try yourself.

Not sure how Ann's readers generally regard Google as far as being reliable, but not very confident:


http://fortune.com/2016/06/07/donald-trump-racism-quotes/

https://www.axios.com/trumps-history-of-racial-controversies-1513304853-5b1bf656-bb83-478c-ae06-32b8fe1540d9.html

http://www.refinery29.com/2018/01/187739/trump-racism-history-shithole-comments-haiti-africa

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/01/donald-trump-is-a-racist.html

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/1/12/16882840/donald-trump-shithole-daca

http://prospect.org/article/trumps-anti-immigrant-racism-has-long-ugly-history

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-trump-racism-remarks-20180111-htmlstory.html


Didn't see a Breitbart story on the issue. But remember, as Ann never tires of reminding us, that whenever Trump says something that the snowflakes find offensive, all he's really trying to be is funny.



FullMoon said...

But OK, FYI, here are some of the top results of a Google search ("Is Donald Trump a racist?"), please try yourself.

All right, I took one for the team and went to thLATimes link.
Same ol' same ol'.

Repeat of the usual stuff, including this partial quote which AA included in the full text recently.

“I think there is blame on both sides.…You also had people that were very fine people on both sides.…Not all of those people were neo-Nazis, believe me. Not all of those people were white supremacists by any stretch.”

These mis characterizations and spins are from same people who gave us white hispanic Zimmerman while editing tape to make him appear racist. Innocent little Trayvon Martin, Gentle Giant Micheal Brown. Same media who lied in order to create rage and hate in the black community.

Roy Lofquist said...

I would not be at all surprised if Trump said, in private, "Take that son of a bitch out back and shoot him". It's called blowing off steam. We all think it sometimes, even about people we love. The Donald, like people I know, like and respect, voices it.

Gahrie said...

If Trump called Haiti a shithole, not only is that not racist, it's fucking accurate.

That's why millions of people aren't trying to move to Haiti, and almost everyone who lives in Haiti is trying to get the fuck out.

Gahrie said...

But what the fuck do I know? I'm just a bitter gun clinging Deplorable.

Gahrie said...

It's pretty odd, this business about Ann's thanking him for the permission he has given, and her commenters have taken, to speak without restraint about the blacks and the jews and the immigrants."

I'm still waiting for all the racist comments we have made on Althouse about Blacks and Jews.

I guess we are supposed to ignore that Trump has a Jewish daughter and Jewish grandchildren and is seen as a good friend to Israel by Israel.

DavidD said...

"exhelodrvr1 said...

Just another straw on the back of the "don't trust the MSM" camel. Although it has already collapsed from the weight."

Is that like beating a dead horse?

John Pickering said...

Many of Ann's readers genuinely don't believe that the president has said and done lots of racist things, because they think characterizations such as Innocent little Trayvon Martin and Gentle Giant Micheal Brown are clever and accurate. She encourages those views because they reinforce the view of Trump as a sound thinker and an honest and subtle humorist that we need to thank (in Ann's dream, she embraces him) for giving us permission to have some fun with the minorities. My view is that Ann herself is better informed than she lets on, and throws red meat to her crowd simply for laughs.



Michael McNeil said...

I have no trouble (at least potentially) believing lots of things. But is it true? Is Trump racist?

As it happns, our hostess (with the mostest!) has already addressed this question of Trump’s constantly alleged “racism.”

As Althouse wrote here less than half a year ago (quoting…):

I'm reading “Circling the Square of President Trump’s Relationship With Race” in today's NYT. […]

Now, let's get to the meat of this article. It seems apparent that the NYT set out to find out if there's any evidence that Trump is a racist. Read the article. They found strong evidence that he is absolutely not any sort of a racist. The headline ought to come out and celebrate his excellent record.

(/unQuote)

Q.E.D. Thus: the New York Times.

tcrosse said...

Syllogism:
I hate racists
I hate Trump
Ergo
Trump is a racist
QED.

hombre said...

John Pickering wrote: "...."

Ye gods! The professor has delivered up another caricature of the humorless progressive elitist. Although maybe that's the only kind.

Gahrie said...

Innocent little Trayvon Martin

Trayvon Martin wasn't a criminal thug who was portrayed as an innocent teenager?

and Gentle Giant Micheal Brown

Michael Brown wasn't a huge aggressive thug who had just assaulted and stole from a shopkeeper? I suppose you think he actually had his hands up too?

are clever and accurate.

Clever is a personal judgment....accurate? ...more accurate than the coverage by the MSM.

FullMoon said...

Doggone it, I thought commenter "John Pickering" was serious..
He is an Inga.

"John Pickering of New Hampshire was a public embarrassment. Pickering's behavior on the bench was often marked with “ravings, cursings, and crazed incoherences” brought on by drink and growing mental instability."

Gahrie said...

Trump has done more in one year to improve the lives of American minorities than Obama did in eight years.

Darkisland said...

Gahrie,

Absolutely correct on the first point. PREPA, the PoCo, has been doing shitty maintenance for 50 years. They have been corrupt for as long. Monday the gov. announced plans to privatize and 82% of Puerto Ricans, in a poll taken Tuesday said Hallelujah!

It is the inoperability of most of the govt owned power plants, not due to the storm but due to shitty maintenance that caused a lot of the problem. If the northcoast plants had been operable, the downed north-south transmission lines would have been much less problem.

As to the second point, you know this how? The Intercept? Did read the article about the alleged hoarding in the Palo Seco warehouse? That was bullshit?

Perhaps you can share some sources with us?

Really getting off topic here and delete if you want Ann but this kind of thing is unhelpful, Gahrie. When nobody else would come, Whitefish came with Antonovs full of truck, crews, helocopters and more. For purely political reasons people started bashing them to the point where even though

1) It would cost us PR taxpayers an extra $30mm
2) It would delay, by an additional 2-3 months getting lights back on
3) Whitefish was on schedule and on budget
4) Whitefish's rates were competitive with others

Even though all of that, because folks in the upper 50 ginned up a fake controversy, the governor cancelled the contract. Not because there was anything wrong with the contract or the work, the governor's reason was the "distraction" caused by the fake news. (He did not call it "fake news" though he was crystal clear that it was fake)

I got my lights back after only 110 days in the dark. Unfortunately, a million Americans still sit in the dark. We might have gotten them on sooner and there might be fewer still without power were it not for this fake controversy ginned up by people who have probably seldom experienced a 4 day power outage much less a 4 month outage. People who can score political points on the backs of us who are bearing the brunt.

Am I pissed off? You bet your motherf***ing bippy I am. To all who are responsible, perhaps even some on this blog, go fuck yourselves.

We have a few politicians here, in the opposition party, that contributed to the distraction.

Want to know more about PR, our utility and such? darkislandpr.blogspot.com

John Henry

Darkisland said...

One last thing and I will shut up,

President Trump came to Puerto Rico about a week after the storm.

He is the first sitting president to visit Puerto Rico since Gerald Ford in 1976. And Ford flew in, gave a speech to a group like the G-7 who were meeting at a Rockefeller hotel in Dorado. He didn't even tell the governor he was coming. Just flew in, gave his speech and flew out again. The governor found out after the fact.

John Henry

Anthony said...

What the ^$(@ is a 'pikeperch'????

Rusty said...

John Pickering said...
"Many of Ann's readers genuinely don't believe that the president has said and done lots of racist things,"

Actually you don't have a clue as to what we believe. However we are waiting for you to inform of the proper way to talk about race and illegal immigration.
Please enlighten us.

Martin said...

When the history is written, whatever else people write about Trump, I expect they will note how successful he was in managing expectations. Maybe inadvertently.

He has been under-estimated by all the so-called "smart" people at every turn, and always out-performs their expectations.

Jim at said...

John Pickering wrote .... something I skipped over again.
And again.

John Pickering said...

Rusty makes an excellent point and shows a receptivity to enlightenment that reflects well on him. The only way to improve the prospects and the psychological health of people who are aggrieved and angry about our polity is for the people who are prospering to genuinely show that the grievances are justified and can be ameliorated. People whose lack of access to, or lack of interest in, the U.S. wealth-creation nexus need to be made aware that their plight isn't necessarily permanent. What's needed is a new civil rights movement that aims to address the legitimate alienation felt by certain white people in the same way earlier generations tried to improve the conditions of black people after Jim Crow.

And yes, that's my ancestor from New Hampshire, the first federal official (he was a judge) to be impeached! Parts of our family first arrived in Salem, Mass., about 1630.

Big Mike said...

Thanks, John Henry. I get your anger, and I get why.

Anonymous said...

"His threats to raise barriers to the movement of goods and people, his rejection of the Paris climate change accord and his belligerence toward North Korea have convinced the gathering’s wealthy and mostly liberal delegates that the United States is giving up on global leadership. "

Actually, all that sounds like strong leadership to me.

I guess to the NYT's, the invertebrate Obama exhibited strong leadership with North Korea.

FullMoon said...

People whose lack of access to, or lack of interest in, the U.S. wealth-creation nexus need to be made aware that their plight isn't necessarily permanent. What's needed is a new civil rights movement that aims to address the legitimate alienation felt by certain white people in the same way earlier generations tried to improve the conditions of black people after Jim Crow.

In other words, jobs.

Big Mike said...

Wife says Davos is for billionaires to suck up to world leaders and for world leaders to suck up to billionaires. Trump gets sucked up to from both sides!

Josephbleau said...

When I read Mr. Pickering I hear Gunnery Sgt. Hartman yell "Show me your War Face!" "AHHG" "Work on it, you haven't convinced me."

Rusty said...

And just how do you intend to do that Mr. Pickering?

Bad Lieutenant said...

John Pickering said...
Rusty makes an excellent point and shows a receptivity to enlightenment that reflects well on him


Rusty, chill. Picky John has officially outed himself as a troll. My instincts were correct as usual and everyone's best course is to set phasers to Ignore.

Bad Lieutenant said...

As to the second point, you know this how? The Intercept? Did read the article about the alleged hoarding in the Palo Seco warehouse? That was bullshit?


John Henry, I think I told you that I referred the Intercept author to your site. Anything from them since?