"President Trump’s message to Puerto Rico was clear: pay up and drop dead. The island is expected to pay its imaginary debt for the dubious “privilege” of being an imperial colony in the way it’s always done so: in blood. . . " Why are we supposed to take this article seriously in 2017? Puerto Rico is a large island in the ocean with three million inhabitants. Getting them back on their feet is many times more difficult than on the US mainland, and certainly more time consuming, due to lack of overland access. You can't blame that on the Trump administration, however tempting. Fortunately, Puerto Ricans have a right of immigration to the United States in the meantime, and no doubt many will avail themselves of this privilege at least in the short-run, if only as a matter of necessity. As for the Puerto Rican government's bankruptcy, it is a result of decades of financial irresponsibility no different than Detroit's or the state of Illinoise's and a number of other US jurisdictions. To propose that the Federal government (that is, the American people) assume responsibility for these debts is no more justifiable than in the case for these other entities, though it certainly argues for temporary delays that might last several years. Otherwise, not only will Detroit and Illinois demand equal treatment, but local and state governments all over the United States will no longer be legally required to balance their budgets. It would mean the end of their financial (and hence political independence) and hence of the federal structure of the United States upon which our whole system of government is based. This is the kind of political discussion we should be having instead of repeating tired old anti-colonialist left-wing rhetoric and launching premature attacks on the Trump administration, which may or may not acquit itself well in the months ahead.. Lambasting Trump, especially on grounds that may not be justified (as in the case of the Russian thing) is not a winning strategy for the Democratic Party, which needs to begin addressing the very real problems caused by our current trade and immigration practices, which can only grow worse the longer they wait. Trade and immigration are what got Trump elected and they may well get him elected again along with a lot of new Senators and Representatives if the Dems don't smarten up.