For more than a month now, Puerto Rico has been experiencing daily earthquakes — please note that tremors are just small earthquakes. The latest one was a 5.0 magnitude quake that occurred Saturday. The seismic activity began on 28 December and the worst was a 6.4 magnitude quake that occurred on 7 January.

The series of quakes have caused more than $110 million in damage and left more than 8,000 people without shelter. In addition, the island has been experiencing flash floods. On Friday, people were forced out of temporary shelters due to the heavy rains, for example. Since the island still hasn’t recovered from Hurricane Maria, suffice it to say, they are going through some things.

You might recall that Hurricane Maria was in 2017 more than two years ago. Part of the slow recovery has been the difficulty in getting aide to the island and once there to the people. While FEMA and Congress have made billions available to the island, the Ol’ Pussy Grabber has been reluctant to let them have it as part of his New Cruelty program. And, even when he does release the money — Wednesday 22 January 2020, he released $16 billion that Congress had approved in 2017! How’s that for outrage? — he puts severe restrictions on how it can be spent.

• No money can be spent on the island’s electrical grid while rolling blackouts continue to occur throughout the island — What? If that’s not insane, I don’t know what is.
• Relief workers paid with federal funds cannot be $15.00 per hour because WTF?!?
• Budget plans have to be submitted to Puerto Rico’s federally mandated fiscal control board further slowing the process of actually helping the real live American citizens who live and have been suffering greatly for over two years in Puerto Rico.
• All of the restrictions imposed on the aid will be difficult for Puerto Rico’s government to carry out allowing the Ol’ Pussy Grabber to be able to claim that he’s given the aid, the Puerto Ricans just haven’t used it. It’s the very model of a modern stable genius, no?

As usual, when the Ol’ Pussy Grabber fails America, it is time for America to step up and fill the void. Please call your members of Congress and urge them to oppose these needless harmful restrictions.

The Script

Calling or Writing

Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m a constituent from [PLACE YOU LIVE].

I’m calling to urge [YOUR SENATOR OR REPRESENTATIVE] to oppose the stringent restrictions the Trump administration has applied to disaster relief funding for Puerto Rico. These restrictions ensure fellow Americans will not get the immediate help they need to recover after the series of devastating earthquakes that began in December. Trump’s aid restrictions will only make it impossible for the island to fully recover.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

IF LEAVING VOICEMAIL: Please leave full address to ensure call is tallied.

Social Media

As a constituent from [PLACE YOU LIVE], I urge, @[SENATOR OR REPRESENTATIVE TAG] to oppose the stringent restrictions Trump has placed on disaster relief spending for PR. These restrictions will only make it harder for the Americans to recover from the recent earthquakes.

Tips for Calling

When you call your representative’s office, please remember the following:

• Only contact YOUR MoC! They only listen to their constituents and dismiss requests from non-constituents.Ask for the aide working on the policy-related issues.
• Be polite! No matter whose office you’re calling. No matter what their positions are. No matter how inflamed you are about the issue — and you should be very passionate — be polite.
• Remember that the people you are talking to are people! So, be nice.
• Call during business hours of the area code their office is in. Typically, that is 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
• Have a script or notes to follow so you don’t forget anything.
• Maybe call with friends. You know like a party.

In Addition to Calling

I’ve heard back from readers that some MoC’s voicemailboxes are always full! It’s as if they don’t want to hear from their constituents. Kinda like those MoC’s who don’t hold town halls or other open forum meetings. Here are some other ways to contact your MoC:

• Send a postcard to their office. Nothing says I care like kicking it old school and using snail mail.
• Email their office. Lay out your concerns in a brief email and send it in. We all know how easy it is to email. Make sure you include the issue you are addressing in the subject line.
• Use the contact page on their website. This is the surest way of getting a message to them. Each MoC has an official government website and each has a contact page that comes with it automatically.
• Contact them using social media. It’s hard to break through all the noise on social media, but it can’t hurt to try given all the time we all spend using it. Be sure to tag your MoC’s when social mediaing about about a specific issue. Be clear and respectful, though, when addressing an issue that you want your MoC to act upon. Make sure you let them know you are a constituent.

Contacting Your MoC

Find out how to contact your MoC using these links!

• Common Cause will give you the names, party affiliation, direct phone number, website link, and social media platforms of all of your federal, state, and local elected officials.
• USA.gov is the official guide to information and services of the US government. This page explains clearly how to contact everyone from the Ol’ Pussy Grabber to your representative to specific government agencies. Through it you can find the following information about your MoC’s:
  • Their phone numbers: DC and state offices
  • Their mailing addresses both in DC and their state offices
  • Official website with their contact page including email, request a meeting, town hall schedules, and social media
  • And, the committees they sit on
• 5 Calls: Sign-up for 5 Calls because they help you contact your member of Congress and keep you abreast of on going issues that are important to you! Now, that is a good deal.
• The Capital Hill Switch Board: (202) 224-3121.
• MassacreMitch and #MoscowMitch: His DC office, (202) 224-2541.
• Nancy Pelosi: Her DC office, (202) 225-4965; her California office, (415) 556-4862
• The Ol’ Pussy Grabber: The WH switchboard, (202) 456-1414 or the comments line at (202) 456-1111 during business hours

Join Indivisible

Follow the link to Indivisible to find a group near you, their campaigns, events in your neighborhood, and download their handy-dandy booklet!

Donations

I’m sure of two things: 1) You want to help the real live American citizens who live in Puerto Rico. Unlike the Ol’ Pussy Grabber and the Repubes, you do not support the New Cruelty. And 2) there are many organizations that will take your donations and provide help to the good people of Puerto Rico. Here are two:

• The Hispanic Federation’s Puerto Rico Earthquake fund
• Chef Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen Puerto Rico Earthquake relief program

Image Attribution

The image was found using a Creative Commons search. It was provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in an article on PR earthquake damage. I could locate no further information on its copy right or licensing.