As Hurricane Milton barrelled east to hit the west coast of Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis addressed the people of his state from a Florida Power and Light facility, with linemen in the background. As this article goes live/hits the web, the storm’s center would have made landfall near Sarasota, pounding a densely populated stretch of the state.
DeSantis’s 15-minute address was a masterclass on what the government could and should do. Even the late Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman, a bitter critic of all governments, would have been impressed [though he would likely have been upset to know that the storm’s name coincided with his].
DeSantis was a picture of quiet efficiency, a master conductor of a disparate orchestra with hundreds of thousands of players. He starkly contrasted with Vice President Kamala Harris, who tried to show leadership on a Zoom call with senior federal officials also preparing for Hurricane Milton.
On that call, Harris whispered to an aide behind her hands, covering her mouth: “It’s a live broadcast,” aware that the media was in attendance. Then, she read from prepared notes:
To the people of Florida, and in particular… the people of the uh Tampa region… um, we urge you to take this storm seriously.
Back in Lake City, DeSantis took control. He pointed out that during Hurricane Helene, which hit Florida just two weeks ago, his staff got to work so quickly that much of normal life was restored shortly after the storm’s landfall. It was another stark contrast to North Carolina and Georgia, which are still reeling from the disastrous effects of Helene, with dozens of counties still without power, running water, roads, fuel, food, or internet.
Electric power: In addition to the direct harm caused by winds, rain, tornadoes, dangerous storm surges, and fallen trees, residents are most vulnerable to the loss of electric power. In rural areas that rely on wells or tanks to supply running water to the home, a lack of power means that bathrooms and the kitchen will stop working. Public facilities, including hospitals and shelters, also need power to operate. Food can spoil in grocery freezers.
DeSantis said he has now assembled over 50,000 linemen from around the country, all ready to go work on downed power lines as soon as the storm cleared and made it safe for trucks to deploy. It was the largest mobilization of linemen in the country.
Fuel: As residents evacuated earlier this week and hit the highways, many gas stations ran out of fuel. DeSantis assured his citizens that the state already held in reserve over a million gallons of gasoline and diesel, and using Florida State Police, gasoline trucks had farmed across the region to keep pumps full. Besides, fuel had already arrived at the various docks before the storm brewed in the Gulf, and that had also been sent away for safekeeping.
Landfills: A story about DeSantis ordering Florida Department of Transportation trucks to physically tear down the gates of a landfill whose operator had locked the place up went viral. With debris lying around from Hurricane Helene and impeding the movement of emergency vehicles in disaster zones, DeSantis’s order paved the way for thousands of workers to clear up debris from the streets and dump it into the landfills.
“This is not even our responsibility—it is the responsibility of the local governments—but we’ve done a total of 270,000 cubic yards of debris throughout the state with just our Department of Transportation and other assets. We picked up half of the debris that was there, and that would not have been picked up unless we did it.” It was another lesson in how to use the levers of power to benefit the state’s residents.
Emergency shelters: DeSantis said the state had opened over 150 shelters with space for more than 200,000 persons. As of his press briefing, only about 30,000 residents had taken advantage of them, leaving a substantial amount of capacity unused. All the shelters have emergency power and Starlink so that people can stay connected.
Coordination with the Federal Government: The Governor said he continues to work directly with President Biden and the Director of FEMA.
The Harris campaign tried to make this a wedge issue yesterday when Harris walked up to reporters on the tarmac to criticize DeSantis: “During moments of crisis…should really be the moment that anyone who calls themselves a leader, presidential politics aside, puts the people first…playing political games at this moment…is utterly irresponsible and selfish.”
There was just one problem. President Biden had already spoken with DeSantis and praised him for the work: “DeSantis has been cooperative” and “is doing a great job.” When Biden was asked if DeSantis should take calls from Kamala, Biden said, “All I can tell you is I’m talking to Governor DeSantis. He’s been very gracious. He’s thanked me for all we’ve done. He knows what we’re doing, and I think that’s important.”
The next few days will show the extent of Hurricane Milton’s wrath on the Sunshine State. Like in any disaster, the metrics will be around the number of lives lost and the billions of dollars in property losses.
However, DeSantis’s steady hand in Florida will clearly limit the loss of life, and knowing his track record, the state will bounce back relatively quickly. This is what citizens expect of their government.
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TIPP Takes
Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, And More
1. U.S. Says It “Will Not” See Lebanon Turn Into Another Gaza, But Fears Mission Creep – Al Arabiya
The U.S. said that it would not allow Lebanon to become “another Gaza” after Israel launched another invasion of the country last week, and it has since shown no signs of easing its bombing campaign in the capital of Beirut and large swathes of the south.
During a call with Lebanese-Americans, a senior U.S. official said Washington was concerned about civilian casualties as a result of the Israeli bombing of Lebanon’s capital of Beirut, as well as so-called “mission creep.” Mission creep is often referred to in military terms when a campaign’s goals are expanded beyond what was initially stated.
2. Bolivia Joins South Africa’s ICJ Genocide Case Against Israel – Al Jazeera
The South American nation applied to intervene in the case, which accuses Israel of perpetrating “genocidal acts” in violation of the Genocide Convention in its war on Gaza.
Bolivia’s move puts it among a growing list of states engaged in the case, including Colombia, Libya, Spain, Mexico, Palestine, Nicaragua, and Turkey.
In January, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel must do everything in its power to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza and ensure United Nations-mandated investigators have “unimpeded access” to the enclave.
3. Ukrainian Military Says It Hit Shahed Drones Stored In Southern Russia – RFE/RL
“According to available information, nearly 400 strike drones were stored there,” the General Staff of the Ukrainian military said.
Earlier on October 9, Ukrainian forces struck a Russian military arsenal in the southwestern Bryansk region. Ammunition for missile and artillery weapons, including some that came from North Korea, as well as guided aerial bombs, were stored on the territory of a warehouse. A significant portion of the weapons were in the open air, the General Staff said.
4. Ukraine Summit Postponed After Biden Cancels Germany Visit – D.W.
Officials confirmed that a summit at the U.S. Ramstein military base in Germany will not occur later this week as scheduled.
The meeting was to be attended by the leaders of Ukraine’s allies, who would discuss further measures to aid in the country’s defense against Russia. The event, originally planned for October 12, has been postponed due to President Joe Biden’s decision to stay in the U.S. and deal with the extreme weather situation in Florida.
5. EU Members Approve $38bn Loan For Ukraine Backed By Russian Assets – Al Jazeera
The EU’s loan – signed off by most ambassadors at a meeting in Brussels – is part of a bigger $50bn initiative agreed by G7 powers in June.
The EU is the first of the G7 powers to announce how much it is putting forward as its share of the plan and is still waiting for others, including the United States and Britain, to do their part. The EU has frozen roughly $235bn of Russian Central Bank funds, the vast bulk of immobilized Russian assets worldwide.
6. Russia Blocks Discord Messenger Amid Growing Pressure On Tech Platforms – RFE/RL
According to the Russian communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, Discord had been involved in distributing content that violates Russian legislation, with almost 1,000 “illegal materials” found on the platform.
The service had already been fined 3.5 million rubles ($36,270) in mid-September for alleged similar violations. The move to block Discord comes amid a broader trend of the Russian government intensifying its control over technology platforms to control online information flows and enforce laws on content it does not want to be accessed by the public.
7. Taiwan’s President Vows To Resist ‘Annexation’ – BBC
Since taking office earlier this year, President William Lai has pledged to uphold Taiwan’s self-governing status in his most high-profile public address.
In a thinly veiled reference to China’s claim over the island, Lai said he would “uphold the commitment to resist annexation or encroachment upon our sovereignty.” Lai was speaking to a crowd in Taipei to commemorate Taiwan’s National Day, which was celebrated only nine days after Communist China’s 75th anniversary.
8. North Korea To Cut Off Roads, Railways Connected To S. Korea – Yonhap
North Korea’s military said it will cut off all roads and railways connected to South Korea starting Wednesday and build “strong defense structures” in the areas in response to South Korea-U.S. military maneuvers.
North Korea said it was taking a “more resolute and stronger measure” in response to the “acute military situation” on the Korean Peninsula, citing South Korean military exercises staged near the border and visits by U.S. strategic nuclear assets to the region.
9. Argentina’s Congress Fails To Overturn Milei’s University Funding Veto – Al Jazeera
Argentina’s lower house of Congress has failed to reverse a presidential veto of legislation that would have shored up public university funding – a win for the country’s libertarian leader after mass protests opposing university cuts in recent months.
The vote upheld President Javier Milei’s veto of a bill that would have brought public university funding in line with Argentina’s inflation rate, one of the world’s highest. Argentina faces an economic crisis with annual inflation close to 240 percent and more than half of its population in poverty.
10. Common Acne Creams Might Become Carcinogenic At Room Temperature – HealthDay News
Researchers tested 111 products from major U.S. retailers and found that creams containing benzoyl peroxide (BPO) can contain high levels of benzene while sitting on a store shelf or in a medicine cabinet.
Brands tested containing benzoyl peroxide included products from Clearasil, Clean & Clear, Neutrogena, Proactiv, Up & Up, and store-brand equivalents. Researchers reported that benzoyl peroxide degrades into the carcinogen benzene over time when stored at room temperature, at elevated temperatures, and when exposed to sunlight’s ultraviolet rays.
11. Heat Stress During Pregnancy Might Affect Baby’s Development – HealthDay News
Babies are more likely to be delivered at low birth weight as an expecting mom’s average daily heat stress increases during the first trimester, researchers found.
Results showed that growing infants regularly exposed to heat stress can experience stunted growth. At the age of 1, infants regularly exposed to average 86-degree Fahrenheit temperatures were likelier to weigh less for their height and age than those exposed to an average temperature of 77 degrees.
Republished with permission from TIPP Insights
