DEAR FBI, We-the-People of the CNMI need your help NOW more than ever before in the history of the CNMI since WWII — for REAL! First, I must THANK and offer KUDOs to Senator Edith DL Guerrero on her efforts to try and HELP the People — she is truly an AWSOME Senator just like she was an AWSOME Secretary over Labor. Senator Edith’s Resolution requesting for the 2-million that was TAKEN back, not forfeited, along with her efforts to try and HELP NMDs gain some access to THEIR money is clear PROOF that the Democrats are truly “the People’s Party.” The 2-million that was taken-back by the Governor is clearly a case of FRAUD by the Governor whom I truly believed violated Federal Banking Laws. The card-date is the date established for ending the use of the card that was in “individual’s name,” not the Governor and these individuals should have been the ONLY-one able to take money from the card. Issuing a phony deadline date for using the card that was not the same date on the card is what fooled most of the Card-holders who were budgeting the use of their Stimulus money.
Shame on YOU Governor, why give people money and then take it back for no good reason as you violated the very commitment & intent of the Stimulus Funds to help the people. It was bad enough that you-Governor is trying to “dictate how people can use THEIR money” but to have the nerve to take the money back because people weren’t spending it fast enough like you wanted reeks of arrogance and narcistic behavior. The sad part is you-Governor have forced people to find methods like “buying things for other people so they can get the cash and other means to get cash to pay for a service or purchase a product.” It’s truly pathetic that you-Governor literally hurt YOUR own People who are trying to make-ends-meet with this card-mess, as there are many Locals who do “cash-only businesses because they are only sparingly making a small amount of money” for things like “hot-pepper products, Local Jewelry, ALL the Fish-Stands and other small Local operations” that also contribute to Stimulating our Economy. But you should know Governor that your secret is out, as people now know you are only going forward with this card-mess again is because Ambrose Milton Bennett, the Activist, was the first to speak-out against the cards. I pray the Feds will investigate this FRAUD and even Theft of illegally taking money from cards and force you to give it back, as the Governor has no legal authority to tapper with issued cards.
While there has been some progress that WE the People can appreciate in “healthcare, sanitation, utility services, public roads, transportation, communications, emergency and disaster response, housing and education” the CNMI is still far behind the mainland in all of these categories. The fact remains that the actually quality of life remains the same as it was over a decade ago and even worse for 2% of the CNMI’s population. The CNMI still has the LOWEST minimum-wage in America that has been moving at a “turtle’s-pace” and in fact, the average poverty level has actually gone up from 52% in 2010, to 54% in 2020. The numbers don’t lie and they are PROOF that the quality of life is getting WORSE and I’m sure if there was a Census now the number would be even higher. Heck the poverty rate on Rota was 61% in 2010 and I’m sure it is higher as people continue to FLEE to the mainland for a better quality of life. We can brag about how our top students get scholarships to prestigious Universities but the reality is they ARE NOT coming back to the CNMI with no hope of deserved financial rewards and a quality-career and even having to compete with CWs for a job. We are losing our BEST minds to the mainland and that is the true travesty of Republican leadership FOR the People and our Commonwealth.
The Secretary of Finance was able to gain an “un-fair bid” to house Medical Referral Patients, which is just more of the “self-interest schemes of this Governor to steer contracts to his family and Republican Loyalists.” The Lt. Governor Arnold got Government Land for One Dollar and turned around and “sub-leased the property that literally amounts to STEALING from the CNMI Taxpayers.” IPI owes the People of the CNMI 57-million, while the Feds and others are getting their money, the Governor nor the Casino Commission are trying to collect FOR the People. It is also WRONG to the other businesses in Garapan that will be adversely affected to allow IPI to open a Mall that clearly violates their contract with the People.
The newly proposed Japan Tourism promotion is good, but it’s wasn’t the Governor’s Vision, as I was saying from the very START, not to give the Exclusive Casino License to Chinese Investors as it would KILL our Japanese Market. I was also the FIRST to say when the Casino first faulted that WE the People needed to restore our Japanese Market and even pursue Kan Pacific to take back the Mariana Resort for the Japanese as it was the last totally Japanese Owned Hotel on Saipan. Give credit where credit is due to Ambrose Milton Bennett, as my MaDear would say, “sometimes you have to toot your own horn Ambrose” especially when the Governor is trying to STEAL all the credit when he KILLED the Japanese market in the first place.
Acting Governor Hofschneider thinks it’s OK to veto the Bill for the Mayor and the Kagman Project because he’s not sure if a Republican will be mayor and he doesn’t care about Kagman. But it’s OK to claim a “fake-emergency” for a fire that was put out with no long-term damage to the island nor the people just to get brownie-points for votes. Hofschneider also doesn’t care about all the NMDs on Tinian and his refusal to address the Bill by Senator Edith is PROOF he doesn’t really care about the People as virtually ALL the people on Tinian are NMDs. Hofschneider & Cruz are also trying to make his people think the new Casino is the answer for votes when history has already proved different for Tinian with the Dynasty.
The Governor continues to NOT even TRY and lease the Mariana Resort nor La Fiesta that could bring in a few million because Ambrose Milton Bennett is the only one pushing this OVERSIGHT! IPI also needs to be forced to “surrender the collateral equipment & furnishing to the CNMI Government that they purchased in a secret meeting as part of their failure to fulfill their contract agreement.” I could really go on-and-on with real factual evidence of fraud, theft and poli-tricking but it should be clear that our Government under Torres and our Justice System has failed us miserably to let things even get to this point. The Feds and/or a New Governor & Senate may be our only hope for putting a real end to this gigantic mess that has been made of our Commonwealth by the Governor and HIS Republicans. One people One Direction for a BETTER Governor and a BETTER Commonwealth!
The writer is an Economist, Political Scientist, retired teacher, former CNMI Board of Education Member, James Madison Fellow (U.S. Constitutional Scholar), a Fulbright-Hays & Humanities Scholar who resides in Kagman II.
Ambrose M. Bennett
