Ambrose M. Bennett
THE TRUTH of the matter is this entire economic mess we (the CNMI) are in today is because of Republicans. The GOP schemes to legislate the casino and all their other schemes have contributed to the casino’s demise and the first ever pending RICO Case that includes a number of unknown Republicans. That kangaroo trial of Ralph that could have prevented his scheme with BOOST from ever materializing looms BIG now when we are counting pennies. It’s like the more we learn the worse it gets and even pathetic with these Republicans but there are people still supporting our GOP and, on the mainland, even though they clearly betrayed their oath to protect & serve.
If the Republican Senate lead by Jude Hofschneider had impeached then Governor Torres, he would not have been able to complete doing the damage he intended with the BOOST Program. But I believe with others that Ralph knew “it was OVER facing a RICO indictment,” so he was just giving away as much money as possible as I agree with others that some of OUR Money found its way back to Ralph. Heck, Hofschneider is still touting gambling over the “Internet” as if the Local people need something that we KNOW will prey on their meager earnings unless Tinian is “Blocked” to protect the local population from themselves. I KNOW my friend & recruiter, the late Bishop Camacho, would agree with me that gambling has preyed on Locals for entirely toooooo long in the CNMI.
There is a saying that “we gain trust & honor by the teaspoon, but we can lose it by the gallons,” which is TRUE as that is what has happened to the Republican Parties here and on the mainland — it’s truly pathetic what they have done and still doing. So, Senator Cruz, I would advise you to just be quiet and accept the reality of being held accountable for what you have done, as you only provide a platform for TRUTH to finally come to the light — its ALL the Republican’s fault. Just think back on how they promoted the casino and the promises even though they KNEW it would KILL the casino on Tinian, yet the People of Tinian reward these Senators who betrayed them with re-election, which was just another reason I’m THROUGH with CNMI dysfunctional politics at the legislature and among citizens. I am sooooo disappointed, but I still love the people of Tinian & Luta who can’t get it right because Republicans have their minds & hearts regardless of what they do, just like we see on the mainland with the GOP.
I totally agree with the Chamber of Commerce, as the CNMI’s is literally crashing and teetering on the need to administer ICU methods (Bankruptcy) to keep us afloat figuratively. KUDOS to the Governor and Chris at MVA for continuing efforts to “court the Japanese Market,” which is the closest thing to a Plan-B that we have. However, the reality is Republicans led by Hofschneider, the GOP Candidate for Delegate, and the Business sector have us “on-course for China,” AGAIN — they better PRAY it works out, unlike their casino. Republicans don’t care about working with our allies, just greed for $$$, but those who attend mass know that greed is a deadly sin, a lesson we just learned with the Republican’s casino. This overwhelming commitment to China is gambling and a scary economic thought for me being an economist. We teach students to “never depend upon one crop” in Social Studies because if something goes wrong then the economic system will collapse, which is what the Chamber & I can both see on the horizon due to the casino’s collapse & no new tourists and why I keep asking about Plan B beyond China.
But just think back, Republicans KILLED La Fiesta, our Retirement Fund, they prevented Sugar Docks’ restoration & upgrade for Ferry traffic, killed Tinian’s Tourism & Dynasty Hotel, and under Ralph they literally wasted nearly 2 billion of OUR dollars. Now it’s clear Republicans have even CHANGED our primary tourist market from Japan to China, contradicting the politics of our nation of Japan being an ally while China is a foe and the social reality that Japanese & Chinese DO NOT mix to put it simple. Senator Cruz, Hofschneider and Republicans have decimated Garapan that was fine until Republicans decided to fix something that wasn’t broke! But I’m just glad our Governor had enough sense to jump ship before it finally sank, as he is on the right track to keep Japan within our reach. We just need to stop rewarding Republicans for continuing to mess-up OUR CNMI, as it’s their politics that got us in this mess. 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 Scholar who resides in Kagman III in the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
