SENATOR Barnes would like to expand the size of the executive branch a bit with her bill to create a national museum, along with lots of ancillary baggage to theoretically make it run properly. Initial funding would come from a $3-per-night new tax on hotel rooms. That’s just what we need: more hotel taxes to lure savvy tourists. And what’s with the ‘national’ bit? What nation would we be showcasing in this new museum?
If it’s meant to display and preserve Guamanian history and culture, wouldn’t it be more appropriate to call it a Territorial Museum, or maybe Guam Territorial Museum, or perhaps Guam Cultural and Historical Museum?
What’s next? Renaming the Guam Hymn to the Guam National Anthem? From whence comes this preposterous urge to present ourselves as something we’re not (as in ‘Guam National Olympic Committee’)? Who are we trying to fool? Ourselves, perhaps? Let’s try to resist the temptation to inject yet more cultural artificiality into a society that’s already largely bogus and superficial.
With due recognition of lawmakers’ compulsion to begin re-election campaigns rather early, let’s defer some of these grandiose schemes until we begin to get a handle on how to efficiently and effectively run the government we now have.

DAVE DAVIS
Yigo, Guam