I COULD only think of the words by Dr. King when my wife woke me up to tell me that Arnold & Dave and had won — “FREE at Last, FREE at Last — thank God almighty WE are FREE at Last.” The one person who has caused the most damage to the CNMI’s economy and quality of life is finally gone and the one person who has figuratively “high-jacked control of our Economic Planning” FOR his business that earned over 100-million during the pandemic alone thanks to you-know-who’s favoritism, is gone too and its common knowledge which is why I don’t even have to say his name. But just check-out Tan Holdings as it is a matter of public record if you doubt me on the 100-million. The CNMI is finally free to “change our course for a NEW Direction” it’s just disappointing that WE are still not one people, as too many voters still wanted the “same-old-thing” when life itself is about learning, changing and improving. The majority of voters have LEARNED that WE the People must Change and do BETTER!
The end of an era of corruption & poli-tricking is finally coming to an end as the AD Team are offering real change and improvements with trusted leaders over the CNMI. The GOP, as we know it, is now “dead-in-the-water” which is poetic justice FOR the People of the CNMI after over two decades. I will say, Ralph did go-down swinging but it wasn’t enough to overcome all the “unethical and even criminal behavior that continues to pile up and the Court Cases that are still pending. But at least the CNMI won’t get embarrassed too much now when he is arrested.
I’m truly appreciative of the money Tan has donated over the years but if one looks at the numbers, WE are just getting the “crumbs-off-the-table.” Our Economy and even MVA have been under his influence and the best he could do for reopening our Economy was the “Deer Hunting & High-end Tourism” that only Tan was prepared to conduct. Kanoa got without bidding what seems to have been a “sole source contract” over 100-million during the pandemic that even included making millions in repairs with OUR ARPA funds. GOP Governors have been spending more time at Tan Holdings than with their own Cabinet for years and the list of corruption and favoritism is tooooo long to list but no MORE!
As for those who believe in luck, the CNMI has been experiencing the worse bad luck ever-since Torres took office. In fact, the CNMI experienced the worse typhoons in the written history of the Marianas that was compounded by a World Pandemic. The pandemic may not have hurt or killed that many people but it brought a “death-blow” to our Economy. We no longer have a “solid and permanent base for our Tourism Industry,” thanks to Torres and his cronies who put their greed first with China. Torres has been nothing but “bad-luck” and now WE are finally free of the “taboo” that comes with Evil and the people who promote it.
For the first time in over two-decades the CNMI has something to celebrate about our politics that has been turned into “poli-tricks” with NEW & BETTER leadership. I can’t wait to see what happens in our State Court and in the Federal Court, as vengeance is God’s and it’s coming soon, as its always served up best when It’s cold. Free at last, Free at last — thank God We are Free at last! One People One Direction for NEW & BETTER Leaders!
AMBROSE M. BENNETT
Kagman, Saipan
