Now all eyes and ears are out for House Hearing here in the CNMI with Rep. Christian Dior. Oh, is it Christensen? Anyway, the hearing is just a side trip for the congresswoman, hitting two balls with one bird (oh whatever).
Everyone is going to be watching this hearing this coming Wednesday to be held at the Guma Hustisia Bldg. in Susupe.
It's the clash of the titans this Wednesday:
1. Tina Sablan vs. Tao Tao Tano's Greg Cruz
2. Dekada leader Boni Sagana vs Dr. Doom (oh i don't know who else is taking the stand)
We'll see what happens next on the CNMI's federal takeover possibilities///
The Reveler
41 comments:
Looking forward to the update. Thanks for keeping us in the loop with a chuckle along the way.
Time to do some laundry and eat up. Wish Memphis Blues was still open :(
;-) wanna beer?
It is sad... federal takeover isn't a possibility... it is a given. This is all a dog and pony show.
It has been a given for a decade...but it still hasn't happened. I'll admit that it sure looks like it is going to happen, but remember, it has to pass the House, Senate, and get signed by Bush. That is not an easy task, especially when immigration is such a hot button issue in the Mainland.
Preba Hao
would they [US admin] even bother to hold such hearing if it's not an issue as well here for them? The Senate had passed it before but the House blocked it [thanks to Abram-Off] However, now both Senate and House have brought it out in the open again. The two of them.
So pray for a presidential veto.
W: V-Toe? Isn't that one of those things the ladies get when they hike up their stretchy pants? Hehehehehe.
That made me laugh outloud, Brad. V-Toe indeed. (:-))
In six years, Bush has only V-toed one bill...do you really think his only other veto will concern the Marianas?
Still, this thing hasn't even gotten out of committee yet...but it might.
Furthermore, remember that the min. wage bill got tacked onto a "war" appropriations bill...this may end up going the same way. That way it slips under it stays away from the larger Immigration debate.
i couldnt agree more Angelo.
Let's hope it stays aligned with the wildly unpopular full scale immigration debate. US Senators might shoot it down then.
The current Congressional version is a knee jerk reaction to the possibility that it would not go thru in the Senate. Pete A., who would probably gut his own mother for a chance to be a non-voting rep (Big Deal) goes to his political bunk mate, Christian Dior (thanks Writers) and asks her to toss him a bone, for which she gets a gravy train trip to our Pacific Isle and probably a hefty PAC conotribution. A la Abramoff/Delay. Note the similarity?
i lost all faith in pete a. never again will i waste a vote on him.
(music playing) "It's the final countdown"
The chance of a veto is less than that of Karl Rove rescinding his resignation.
It's now or never. And "just in time" for the Hearings, the indomitable Wendy Doromal has started a new blog at the Daily Kos, entitled seeking justice. Let us hope Angelo and others will add it to their lists of CNMI-related links.
Reasonable minds may differ, however, on whether a collective of five federal bureaucracies or the CNMI government would have greater agility in coping with rapidly-changing economic developments over the years to come.
Oh, I forgot. The pro-federalization crowd has lost confidence in the ability of democracy to function here in the CNMI.
Why not just have the legislature hold an advisory plebiscite on immigration takeover and be done with it?
Do you think she'd get hits?
anonymous 006 is right... i thought it was quite humorous how at the last hearing Cohen talked about how the federal legislation is "flexible"... give me a break! the federal government is about as flexible as granite. it takes literally years and decades for any changes to take place. look at how long it took for our plebescite, look at how long they've debated a washington rep for us... the federal government is just about the most unresponsive unflexible institution on the planet. do you think they're going to make a necessary visa change if we request it for tourists from timbuktu who'd like to visit...it'll take years.
One post does not a blog make...and why am I continuously getting called out on this blog?
Anon #006 may be dead wrong about the damned-able Windy Doromal, but his/her idea about a plebicite is a good one. Chances of that happening....zero. The feds have the bit in their teeth and a gun in their hands and the chances of finding out whether we want it or not via a vote are zilch. Too bad.
Our legislature could let us have an advisory plebiscite on federalization ourselves -- without any U.S. government authorization to do so.
As for today's hearing on H.R. 3079, it was heartening that Delegates Faleomavaega and Bordallo really seem to have the interests of the CNMI people at heart, as opposed to Cohen and Benedetto, who seem intent on ramming this bill through to puff up their own resumes.
Imagine, the Stayman-Cohen bill would impose major changes, without even a study at the level of an Environment Impact Statement that is required for the most minuscule project on the mainland.
At least now we have some hope of a study by the Governmental Accountability Office (GAO) before Cohen and Benedetto succeed in jamming something down our throats on an urgency basis.
You're wrong with Benedetto...
And if you were at the Supreme Court today you might have heard that Bordallo was more interested in Guam than the CNMI.
It sounded to me like she was positioning Guam to be the steward of the CNMI in the near future...
...while Pete A. sold out the locals opting to gain more clout in congress by favoring Federalization.
correct me if i am wrong, but hasn't pete a been singing the some song since the issue of federal takeover of immigration and labor were brought to the fore-front once again a few months ago, prior to the introduction of the house bill that includes a non-voting delegate? he has consistently (as far as i can tell from media reports, forwarded emails, etc.) endorsed and pushed for our local administration to work with the federal government and issue alternatives to any parts of the legislation that they believe may be potentially harmful to the cnmi?
for you now to say he is "selling out" to gain more clout is a bit of a stretch, to say the least. this is not an easy issue to tackle and he is one of the few that is not taking the "hell no, feds go home" stance and not attempting to work with the federal government on any legislation that may impact the cnmi. he instead was one of the first to issue proposed amendments to the initial legislation and i would venture to guess has been one of the most open to communicating individuals from the cnmi that the federal government has regarding this issue. aren’t issues like this the main reason he is there in washington representing the cnmi? is this not what he was elected to do? so many have voiced that it is unfair and not just that the cnmi does not have a non-voting delegate (of course the truth of the matter is that when legislation was going to be introduced to allow for a cnmi non-voting delegate was being presented to us congress years ago the frolian administration axed it via lobbyists). so we have a elected government official that is doing his job and we call him a sell out for doing it?
i wish i could have watched the hearing today. i instead have hearsay to go off of so i will wait till i get all the documentation from the hearing to make any direct comments about it. but as far as what i have followed i do not agree with the "sell out" comment from brad.
i would also like to delve deeper into whether or not he would have much if anything to gain seeing as he is up for re-election in 2009 and the implementation of a non-voting rep may not take effect until 2008 or later. one can also argue that since their currently is no non-voting representative that it will be a new position and may have to wait till 2009 to elect someone to this newly created office. i am not a lawyer but i can look further into this and i’m sure there will be many ways to interpret this from a legal standpoint.
glen hunter
here are some links that state explicitly pete a's stance (and include his proposed changes) on this issue dating back to feb 2007:
http://www.resrep.gov.mp/press%20releases/hearing%202-2007,%207%20points.htm
http://www.resrep.gov.mp/press%20releases/immigration%20draft%20bill.htm
http://www.resrep.gov.mp/press%20releases/immigration%20bill%20chage%20requests.htm
and in jan 2007 he actually asked anyone that would like to submit written testimony to him on these sensative issues to do so. when have our locally situated officials ever done so? ( http://www.resrep.gov.mp/press%20releases/february%202007%20hearing.htm )
Thank you, Dick Cheney.
Pete is running for Governor in 2009, right? He and Tina are buddies, right? You're Tina's boyfriend, right?
I'm glad you've finally started attaching your name to your posts, noni.
Where is Rep. Tom Delay to defend the "petri dish" of capitalism?
Where is Rep. Don Young to articulate CNMI's position of this issue?
Where is Jack Abramoff to buy influence for us?
BTW, who's the majority in the US Congress now?
hahahaha...u r an idiot sblogger...
quit fancying yourself one of the intelligencia... your little nonsensical blog comments and responses don't serve to disguise your lack of substance.
and I am "noni" nitwit
...and with regards to "g's" comments... I remember quite clearly Pete A. being very pro-CNMI and anti-federal takeover. i'm not talkin' the last year or two... i mean four, five and six year's ago.
he is just itchin' for that rep's seat.
yawn
moron
mor-yawn?
Three democrats heard the CNMI during the hearing. hint, hint.
glen, thanks for your comments. angelo, thanks for the morning breath with that yawn. Nony, thanks for the juice ;-)
folks..at the end of the day, whether the Federal Government takes over Immigration or if they give us some time to run are own show..tomorrow, we still have a killer CUC bill that will put us out of commission and businesses and residents alike will continue to leave the CNMI.. sure Federalization of Immigration may accelerate the demise of our economy..but, even if they give us some time.. in the future, based on Covenant provisions, they can still come in and takeover at any time (w/homeland security as the reason).. So imagine that we have built a successful China/Russian Market..things heat up between China and Taiwan and then our immigration becomes an issue again.. if it isn't today..it might be tomorrow.. and the cost could be greater, especially if we invest so much in other markets.. Lets address the real issues that are hurting the CNMI today - CUC and Article XII... Lets get the U.S. to help step in with $$ and expertise (alternative energy options) and get are utilities squared away.. or at least get the machines up to par so we aren't burning the expensive stuff... When was the last time load shedding occurred in any of the States on a regular basis..seriously, that calls for a "state of emergency" and a plea for immediate assistance from the U.S... If Federalization occurred and non-residents were given FAS type status, they might leave just to go to another location with better living conditions (24hr Power), while paying a lower kwh rate.. and why would they want to call Saipan home when they can't even buy and own a home (due to Article XII)... once again..the issues go beyond Federalization of immigration.. if we want to turn this boat around we need to fix the real problems that are curbing economic growth..
Load shedding? ask brad ;-)
huh?
just for clarification purposes.. the load shedding referred to is the "g-rated" definition...
"cutting off the electric current on certain lines when the demand becomes greater than the supply."
- as defined by: wordreference.com
lol
Can't you trace the IP addresses of normal internet surfers like Noni and G by clicking on sitemeter or tracker programs embedded on the website? Maybe if you compared the two, when laid down back to back, can resolve the dispute, as to whether they are the same person.
Just asking a silly question,
Silly Socrates
Unless they use a proxy server or post behind a firewall and router which uses the same IP address for multiple members of an organization or employee cohort.
we're not the same person... i am noni... and will remain noni, silly rabbit.
silly is also the sblogger
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