He pits them against each other, which only makes them more dependent on his good will. Meanwhile, he has a finger in every questionable pie — Saipan casino, pot legalization, ETC suspension, Marpi power poles, etc. — but no one’s calling him out. Instead, everyone’s bashing his minions — the designated fallguys.
Well played sir. If not for term limits, you would probably get another four years in office.
***
Ed Propst made a good point regarding the $350 charged by the driving school. It is way “cheaper” than the cost of hiring/training BMV employees who must run the program, which will also require a car or two, fuel, insurance and other costs. (This is the reason why PSS, which is no longer getting an adequate local budget, doesn’t want to be saddled with yet another unfunded mandate.) Moreover, what and who can prevent a BMV employee to “graduate” impatient students — for a “fee”?
Before overriding the governor’s veto of S.B. 17-20, lawmakers should admit that they were wrong when they passed the driver education law or that they have changed their minds about the importance of ensuring safety on public roads. They should simply say that their reelection is a more vital consideration in the grand scheme of things even if it means pandering, once again, to voters who still believe that the North Pole is on Capital Hill and the elected officials there are all Santa Clauses.
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A House bill will create an Education Tax Credit Account in which all ETC donations will be deposited. It will be like the account for tax rebates that are not supposed to be used for other purposes. However, like all the other government accounts that were supposed to fund specific agencies and programs, it still ended up in the general fund.
Lawmakers, no one’s fooling anyone. You want to end or, as you would put it, “suspend,” the ETC program because the administration needs all the money it can grab to meet government payroll and buy fuel for CUC.
Spare us the bleeding-heart bullkaka.
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The people of the CNMI, according to some of our online commentators, are not “really” represented in the U.S. Congress because their delegate has “no vote.” This is like hearing someone complain about a half empty glass of water while standing in the middle of the world’s finest drinking water factory.
Again, as in the case of U.S. presidential elections, any U.S. citizen in the CNMI who wants to be represented by “voting” members of the American Congress can go to any of the states and register as a voter there. You have 50 to choose from. The CNMI, by the way, is not your “homeland.” It is your hometown. The entire United States of America and its territories are your homeland. Stop belittling your citizenship. Although as an American, you are free to do so.
You should also realize that the states, not the people, are represented in the U.S. Congress. (The people are represented in their respective state/territorial legislatures.) For a better appreciation of the federal union that is the U.S. and federalism itself, I strongly recommend “The Federalist Papers.” Its magnificent prose and lucid insights are now available online for free.
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When someone runs out of a good argument in the CNMI, he can always resort to race-baiting. Such, alas, is now the case with the Marpi pole controversy.
The issue, however, is not about ethnicity and no one is trying to deprive someone of something. It is about preserving and maintaining the natural beauty of a tourist attraction. It is also about consulting the public, hearing everyone’s concerns and ensuring that the laws and rules are being followed.
What is required now is real leadership on Capital Hill that can rise above the gathering pettiness and demagoguery and help all the stakeholders reach an acceptable compromise — exactly what the Friends of Marpi have been advocating from the get-go.
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