Discriminatory Acts? Whose Church is it?

Yup. These are the questions going around the community right now, especially the alien workers' community. Someone has been passing along emails to almost every one on the island with regard to a recent incident within the Kristo Rai Parish Church in Garapan.

The email and the request are petitions to boycott the Kristo Rai Parish Church. Allegedly, one devout who is from here blurted in public that the apparent church is theirs and not the "Filipinos." I asked around if this really happened and one Filipino caroler attested to the incident inside the church.

Now question is, perhaps people are just being too sensitive? Or is it discrimination?

While I personally have different opinions on religion and churches, should the community be bothered at all? Sources said that the group had relayed the incident to the bishop but he has not acted on it nor included it in his homily.

The email you can read below:

After the Aguinaldo mass last Saturday at Kristo Rai church, a member of the Parish Pastoral Council berated and humiliated in public Ate Shirley, a Filipina who works in keeping the church clean and orderly. It is not very clear why the Parish Official was upset but whatever the reason was, he should have reprimanded the poor lady in private and not in full view of other church goers. What shocked every Filipino who were there was when the Parish official told Ate Shriley:
"THIS IS OUR CHURCH, IT IS NOT FOR THE FILIPINOS. YOU CAN TELL THAT TO THE PRIEST, I DON'T CARE"
This statement was heard by many Filipinos. All were speechless and shocked. The general feeling was frustration and anger. How can a parish official say such a thing when majority of church goers are Filipinos, HOW CAN HE CLAIM THAT KRISTO RAI IS THEIR CHURCH?
[a]DOES GOD DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN FILIPINOS, CHAMOROS, CAROLINIANS, KOREANS, ETC? I DON’T THINK SO.
[b] Even if they have contributed to the church more in terms of monetary value (because how much does an average Filipino earn in Saipan compared to the income of locals?), does that make them more holy and pleasing in the eyes of God?
Kristo Rai Church is not the building. It is the people that gathers there to worship the Lord. They are the faithful, the altar servers, the choir members and all church goers no matter what their nationality is.
A CHURCH CAN EXIST WITHOUT A BUILDING; BUT EVEN THE MOST BEAUTIFUL STRUCTURE CANNOT BE CALLED A CHURCH WITHOUT A PRIEST AND FAITHFULS WHO WORSHIP THE LORD.
The Parish Pastoral Council of Kristo Rai is also attempting to petition for the removal of Father Glen as Parish Priest. Please let us not allow this to happen. We urge all Filipinos and Catholics to unite in condemning these discriminatory acts. Kristo Rai Church is the house of God. It should be open to everyone regardless of nationality or creed. In support of Father Glen, we urge all Catholics to stop attending mass at Kristo Rai Church until the issue is resolved by the Bishop. There are other churches in saipan where Filipinos are more welcome. We also encourage everyone to refrain from donating during the masses at all churches. This will show our unity and our desire to have the matter resolved immediately. Without our contributions, the parish councils will realize the value of the Filipino in the religious community. Please pass this message to all concerned. E-mail this to all your friends and relatives in Saipan.

Power Outage...How We Miss 'Em!

As we welcome the year 2009 we are welcoming back the ominous power outages around the island. Last week there was a four-hour blackout in Garapan area and the hotels were affected. Reports said that felled trees had something to do with the outages.

One of our friends booked an overnight stay in one of the prominent hotels on the island and as the power went out the incident triggered a fire alarm in the hotel. Consequently all the guests rushed down to the lobby in their night gowns and sleeping attire. It was midnight.

Then the hotel management apologized that it was indeed a false alarm. Then the guests went back to their rooms. After so-so minutes the fire alarm went off again. Thus, the guests had to get up and gather at the lobby. Yes, false alarm. The hotel management apologized dearly and explained that due to the power outage the alarm went off inextricably.

According to our sources, the fire alarm went off three times. Hence, my friend and her family decided to leave the hotel that night.

Imagine the inconvenience to our deteriorating number of tourists....

Quick Note: Teens with Guns?

Folks are asking here on the island that how come it was not in the news that two high school students from MHS were detained for bringing in guns in school?

How true? Sources said that MHS students confirmed the incident.

What's happening to our teens these days...?

Funnyman Deanne Siemer

The email snafu between CNMI Government "volunteer" attorney Deanne Siemer and Congresswoman Tina Sablan is getting more bizarre. For those who haven't followed the story, Sablan sent a letter to CNMI Deputy Labor Director Cinta Kaipat on certain immigration issues. Siemer drafted a response for Kaipat to sign, and emailed it along with instructions. The problem was that Siemer emailed the draft letter and instructions to Sablan instead of Kaipat. Oops! Here's an excerpt from Siemer's instructions:

In my view, Tina has decided that you are a rising political star, and she's upset that someone she tried to brand as a racist is succeeding in persuading her colleagues at the Legislature. So we'll be on her radar screen for awhile. It is useful not to answer too promptly, but promptly enough. Letting her wait for a week or 10 days sends a message that we are respectful of all legislators, but we help productive people first and she is not in that line.

Siemer now claims that the whole thing was a joke. Siemer claims that she drafted a fake, satirical letter in order to be humorous, and purposely sent it to Sablan as a joke.

This piqued our interest. We had to see this brilliant piece of satirical humor that Siemer had sent to Sablan as a joke. Our intrepid investigative reporters dug it up. Here is Siemer's idea of comedy:

The Department is considering a policy change with respect to cases that have been on the docket of federal administrative agencies for over three years. It seems to us that three years is sufficient time for an agency to act. In the absence of action, unemployed foreign workers remain in the Commonwealth, often incurring medical and other expenses that Commonwealth taxpayers must shoulder. However, there may be countervailing policy considerations, and we are discussing these with the agencies involved. When you next have a conversation with one of these agencies, you might want to urge them to act on cases from the Commonwealth with more dispatch. It has been our experience that nearly all the cases filed with these agencies ultimately either are dismissed by them or a no-action letter is issued. Waiting for years for an agency to decide that it will not act is an administrative waste.

Wow, Deanne, that's funny stuff. When we read that, we laughed so hard that we peed in our pants. Shame on you, Tina Sablan, for not appreciating Deanne Siemer's hilarious sense of humor.

And to think, some of you thought that Siemer had sent this to Sablan by mistake, and didn't have the honesty, integrity, humility and courage to admit that she had made a mistake.

US Justice Department Mocks Anti-Federalization Lawsuit

The U.S. Justice Department has moved to dismiss Governor Fitial's anti-federalization lawsuit against the Federal Government.

Justice cited several reasons why the case should be dismissed. For example, Justice asserted that only the CNMI Attorney General can bring such an action on behalf of the CNMI. This suit was filed without the involvement of the Attorney General, with Howard Willens listed as the CNMI's attorney.

Justice also noted that the damages the Governor claims will occur as a result of federalization are speculative, based largely on a GAO study that contains numerous disclaimers stating that the report has no predictive value whatsoever. As we all know, the CNMI's current economic troubles began quite some time ago, and federalization has not even gone into effect yet.

The Governor has asserted that he has no objection to the Federal Government taking control of CNMI immigration law, as clearly allowed by the Covenant. Fitial and Willens assert, however, that the new federalization law also takes control over CNMI labor law because it would impact the number of foreigners who could work in the CNMI. According to Justice, this argument makes no sense, and reflects a fundamental failure to understand U.S. immigration law: "Laws pertaining to whether aliens are authorized to be present in the United States and, if so, whether they are authorized to be employed in the U.S. labor markets, is exclusively the subject of federal immigration law," according to Justice. "U.S. immigration laws affect labor markets. That is one of their primary purposes, but it does not make them 'labor laws.'"

As others have pointed out, no community in the U.S. gets to decide how many foreign workers will be admitted to work in that community. That is controlled entirely by U.S. immigration law.

Clearly, the Justice Department is not impressed with Howard Willens' legal arguments. Might even opponents of federalization concede that this lawsuit is a waste of the CNMI's scarce fiscal resources?

Diego to Go!

It's former Lt. Gov. now Congressman Diego Benavente's turn to spin local politics as he has announced his intention to run for CNMI Governor next 2009. The most interesting of this move is that it will be a three-way competition among former Gov. Babauta, 2005 Gubernatorial Election runner-up Hofschneider.

A local primary is now expected within the local Republican Party.

I heard that Benavente if selected would have a chance for the much-coveted seat up at Capital Hill. However, Hofschneider as they say is the man to beat. They also say, the former governor will have to get back in the limelight for a chance of a close fight.

Well, what do you think?

Survey Says: What Are You Putting Off from Your List This Christmas?

So, it is Christmas and the world is in the midst of a financial crisis, what would you be putting off or at least not going to do or spend for this holiday?

We want to know....