I am not criticizing or trying to intimidate anyone, especially our lawmakers. I dreamt that I was a congressman. I will refer to myself as Congressman John Doe. We were in the House chamber for a session and 27 members were present, including the Speaker of the House. The Speaker opened the floor for discussion. At first, we discussed old business, and then we moved on to the next item on the agenda called the “new business.” The speaker asked if anyone would like to bring up any “new business.” Congressman Ed Moe rose up his hand and said, “Me, Mr. Speaker.” Congressman Moe expressed his desire to amend his House Bill-14-65 and introduce a new bill, HR-14-69. The speaker said, “Let’s hear your HR-14-65 motion to amend. “ Congressman Moe said, “Mr. Speaker, today, in order to obtain a death and birth certificate, it costs $50 I want to amend this fee to $100.” The Speaker asked Congressman Moe if he could give a good reason why he should amend HR-14-65. Congressman Moe replied that the government would have more revenue. The Speaker asked the members of the session if anyone has any concerns or opinions regarding the motion to amend the bill. Congressman John Doe replied. He said, “Mr. Speaker, these death and birth certificates are only pieces of paper that are copied from their original versions with stamps or a seal. The cost is too much, people of the Commonwealth would complain and say this is a highway robbery.” After hearing this comment, the Speaker asks if there are any more comments on this amendment, if not, they would move to a vote. The Speaker then asks, “Those in favor of the HR-14-65 amendment to raise the Birth and Death certificate fee from $50 to $100 say “Aye,” and those who oppose this amendment say “no.” The vote turned out to 17 members saying “Aye” and 10 members responding with a “no.” The Speaker then said, “This HR-14-65 amendment has passed and will now move on to the senate.”
“Now, Congressman Moe, let’s hear your new HB proposal,” the Speaker states. Congressman Moe says, “Mr. Speaker, House Bill 14-69 proposes to have all properties in the CNMI taxed, except Managaha Island and government properties. Residential, business, hotels, golf resorts, and other remaining properties should all be taxed with differing amounts.” The Speaker then says, “Give me a good reason why we should pass your proposal.” Congressman Moe explains, “The government would benefit from the increase in revenues. Our government is now broke. We have accrued so many deficits from our mistakes. With the new revenue, we can pay our debts to the retirement fund. We can now travel and see the world.” The speaker then asks if there are any concerns or opinions from the other members. Congressman A claims that we are already implementing the reduction of work hours and unpaid holidays. Congressman B states that the people of the CNMI will become angry. Congressman C says the people will surfer. Congressman D states people voted us into these offices because we promised them better times. Congressman E claims that some of us will lose our candidacy in the next election. Congressman F states that the people would ask us what happened to the campaign promises. Congressman G says that people would criticize us and say we are only good at introducing House Bills.
Congressman John Doe then rose up to say, “Mr. Speaker, have we forgotten the speech of President Abraham Lincoln given at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on November 19, 1863?” The Speaker asked, “What did he say?”
Congressman John Doe states, “On the last paragraph of his speech he states, ‘and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the Earth.”
Suddenly, I felt someone shaking me. I opened my eyes to see that my wife was trying to wake me up. I asked her why she was waking me up. She said I was hitting her with my left arm. I told her that I was sorry, and that I was dreaming. I got up, lighted a candle in front of my saint and prayed. After praying I went to the kitchen, drank a glass of water, and returned to my room. My wife asked me what I was dreaming about. I told her that I was dreaming I was an instructor conducting a lesson to about 100 students about leadership, on topics of how to be a good leader principles from “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” and principles from “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living.” My wife asked why I was shouting and hitting her with my left arm. I told her that one of my students was trying to take my Gordon book and that we were fighting.
My brothers and sisters, that is the longest dream I ever encountered in my life. Again, it is not a criticism or an intimidation, but only a dream.
RAY R. AGULTO JR.
Kanat Tabla, Saipan
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