Ambrose M. Bennett
THE Truth is WE, the CNMI, have gone from BAD to WORSE given the continuing DECLINE in virtually every aspect of OUR Economy & LIFE in the CNMI, as Tourists numbers continue to plummet into the abyss and the migration to the REAL America continues and even increases. People can see it wasn’t this bad under Ralph which is living PROOF for your “lying eyes to see” unlike what the Governor wanted you to believe in his SOCA. Believe it or not, I don’t CARE what a person’s party affiliation is, as my concern is “the Good & Better” FOR the People as I have worked with & for Republicans when there was no Democrat Party and I have worked with & for the Democrat Party. I’m just a Democrat who believes the “liberalism of Democrats is the KEY to real Progress,” as the “conservatism of Republicans” by its very meaning is “NOT to Change.” WE must BE Better, especially Dems, and DO Better if the CNMI is to grow & prosper. WE can see how Trump’s conservatism is taking America backwards from “Bad to Worse” too the days of “Jim Crow & KKK style of leadership” and in the CNMI, Arnold is kissing-up to Trump to “no avail” and he’s not touting any New Proactive Reforms to Rebuild our Economy other than giving our taxes away to the rich for promises – so pathetic! Trump is also trying to add over 4.2 Trillion to the deficit and Arnold has already added over 50 million to OUR deficit and looking to add another 50 million or more — so don’t cry, just LOL for the so-called “Fiscal Responsible GOP,” as the Motto WE are seeing is “Bad to Worse GOP”!
In fact, it seems Zoning thinks it doesn’t need to REFORM either when they contributed to the MESS of Garapan with some of their outdated rules that need to be UPDATED, as the CHANGES in the CNMI’s dynamics & growth need to be addressed. Just look at the Chinese Architecture of the Hotel/Casino that did NOT sit well with our primary tourists from Japan at that time, as I could go on but it’s obvious Reform is needed. In fact, Zoning needs to get busy creating the conditions for “FREE Local Standardized Stands on specified easements for Locals to sell their Arts & Crafts to tourists.” HELP the Local People play a REAL Role in our Tourism Industry for REAL that will even eliminate a lot of the “Made in China” souvenirs! I’m also learning the powers-that-be not only don’t listen to me, Ambrose, but they don’t even listen to THEMSELVES, duh! The Editor Zaldy shared a list of cost-cutting measures from the 2020 Fiscal Response Summit, which the Governor and other leaders participated. Yet they didn’t follow their OWN advice which is really SCARY as it exposes the MAIN reason, WE as a People, can’t prosper due to the silence in practicing “safe-politics” on issues driven by the Poli-tricks to keep sitting instead of Proactively Fighting FOR the People. The Legislature was elected to “CHECK the Governor” not to rubberstamp his activities, especially his ILLEGAL acts!
But there is real HOPE for the Good & Better to prevail, as I want to offer my sincere KUDOS & Thanks to Senate President Dennis James C. Mendiola for sponsoring the Legislation FOR NMDs. Readers know I’ve been yelling the injustice at MPLT for over two decades maybe even before the Senator was out of high school and certainly before he was elected but he may NEVER admit “Mr. Bennett was Right nor say thanks for my efforts” and that’s OK. I get it that he couldn’t say Ambrose was Right for years about MPLT due to the UGLY Politics against me in the Legislature which is WHY it has taken so long for someone to simply Do Right BY Their People. But I would like to believe he really listened to my appeals for NMDs to capitalize on THEIR money at MPLT when no one else bothered which is pathetic given how long it’s been since MPLT was established. But Senator Mendiola did it in his first term, which puts a lot of Senators & Representatives, past & present, to SHAME for “FAILING to Do FOR Their People.” In fact, it’s mind-blowing to think that they actually created MPLT but didn’t put in the law a means for the NMDs to use the money — sad. I can tell the Law was “political shortsightedness” instead of the needed “critical-analytical thinking and political execution for practical usage of the funds” just leaped to do it FOR Politics before even looking with no oversight to HELP the People. But it’s CLEAR now like I’ve been saying “NMDs have literally missed DECADES of real financial support in an array of areas that they could have & should have gotten help — for TRUE! Kudos & Thanks Senator Mendiola and Keep-it-up with the Good Fights FOR Your People and don’t stop listening to the TRUTH! Maybe NOW readers can see WHY I keep saying Time is on my Side, as the TRUTH I share can’t DIE and will always win in the end! Being educated to “think ahead of the times,” I may always be years ahead of our leaders who are NOT Economists, Political Scientists nor Sociologists and they are toooo you-know-what to even listen & accept Good & Better, thus WE suffer!
Another KUDOS, as I was glad to see Uncle John Gonzalas become the SAA and there is no doubt that he knows the job and what to do to HELP the People. However, will the Governor really listen to him patronize his ideas or just “poli-trick him around” like he tried to do with me. I also do sincerely hope since he will be helping Arnold with his speeches that he can get the Governor to “learn-how to use the teleprompter” that Ralph purchased around 6 years ago but no one has ever used. I was actually setting it up for Arnold to use the teleprompter for his inauguration speech but he “chickened-out” and now he’s reading & fumbling with a computer to read the SOCA which is SOOOO archaically outdated in this day-and-age for Mayors, Governors & the President. But it tells a chilling story that if Arnold can’t change & grow to use a simple teleprompter it spells real trouble for generating real change & growth FOR the People & the CNMI — the conservatism that prevents real progress that I keep mentioning and WHY the Liberal Democrats getting their act together is so important for OUR future to be Good or even BETTER!
One People, One Direction.
Ambrose M. Bennett is an Economist who minored in Sociology, a Political Scientist, a retired teacher & former CNMI Board of Education Member, a James Madison Fellow (U.S. Constitutional Scholar), a Fulbright-Hays-lifetime Humanities & Religious Scholar who resides in Kagman III in the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
