<[link removed]>Friend,

In 2017, Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico and sawed through the island. Millions were trapped by floods and mudslides. Medical facilities were destroyed. Power was down across the island and it would be 11 months before it was fully restored.

When the initial death toll was reported to be 64, we knew that was a lie.

It took a year of sustained pressure from elected representatives, media, academics and even lawsuits before the official death toll was finally corrected to over 3,000.

We are living through that outrage again, right now, in the wake of Hurricane Helene.

The official death toll for Helene stands at just over 230 – not a small number for natural disasters, but suspiciously small for this one.

Helene dumped vast quantities of rain and shocked Appalachia with what was widely described as “Biblical” flooding and destruction. There were multiple dam failures and whole towns wiped away. Early warning systems broke down and failed to notify people to evacuate.

It’s been 20 days, and we are just now getting citizen reports across social media about severely undercounted deaths. We’re seeing accounts of people’s homes being swept away by the floods as they clung, terrified, to their roof. We’re hearing of slow-moving recovery efforts and people being told they won’t have power restored for months.

Multibillion dollar corporations like Walmart reportedly chose to let their food rot instead of handing out their inventory to hungry people who just lost everything. Police were called out to guard their stores from “looting” – not to render assistance.

We don’t know yet what the real death toll will be from Helene. What we do know is that Helene is just one of many such devastating super-storms to come.

And we know why.

Experts estimate that at least 3 million Americans have already been internally, permanently displaced because of the climate emergency. Forced to leave their homes and communities behind and start over from scratch – without their support network and certainly without adequate assistance from our government.

Those numbers will continue to climb, as storms and wildfires increase in intensity and frequency.

Republicans are gleefully blaming Joe Biden for the destruction caused by Helene and Milton (and trust me, I’ve got plenty to say about Joe) – but these same Republicans deliberately blocked emergency FEMA funding the day before Helene made landfall.

It’s a sick and twisted game where the corporate uni-party has so thoroughly politicized the climate emergency that it’s becoming impossible to respond to – let alone prepare for – these super storms.

And yet, when it comes time to ship billions of dollars and bombs to Israel to continue slaughtering Palestinians, Lebanese, and whomever else, both parties rush to write the checks.

We need a fundamental reordering of our priorities and our society. We need to urgently end fossil fuel extraction and begin aggressively developing our infrastructure to better withstand the storms still to come.

We need to take decisions about emergency humanitarian aid out of the hands of partisan ghouls. We need human-centered policies from government agencies that are fully resourced and operate with trust and transparency.

That’s the kind of government we will build in my administration. And with only 20 days left in this election I still need your help to reach a critical mass of voters who haven’t yet decided who to vote for. <[link removed]>

<[link removed]>DONATE NOW <[link removed]>The stories being reported by residents in Appalachia who are still trying to dig their way out from this disaster are heartbreaking – and much like the voices of Gaza, they are being ignored by our mainstream media.

Cable news anchors would rather give airtime to DNC smears against our campaign and fawn over the latest poll numbers than do the hard work of investigating these reports and demanding transparency.

I don’t know when we will have the full picture of the death and destruction wrought by Helene. But I know we don’t have any more time to waste on Republicans AND Democrats working together to accelerate the climate emergency.

A Stein Ware administration will be committed to addressing the root cause and will guarantee the necessary resources for people forced to migrate or rebuild in the wake of these extreme weather events. In the process, we will restore trust in our federal agencies with truth and transparency.

If you share this vision of a government centered on human rights and serving the greatest need – one dedicated to people, planet, and peace – then donate now to power our grassroots campaign through these final weeks. <[link removed]>

In solidarity and gratitude,

Jill

<[link removed]>Support Jill Today! <[link removed]>Paid for by Jill Stein for President 2024

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Jill Stein for President, www.jillstein2024.com
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