Ah finally our poll is right this time. It's the BE tandem that reigned supreme in this year's tight race to rule 'em all...
Congratulations to all the brave candidates that showed interest in helping make this little world a better place....
HA-wonder what's g'na HA-ppen to HA-vryone this new term....
HA-ny thoughts?
Is it g'na BE a more BE-a-utiful term this time?
;-)
60 comments:
Un-BE-lievable!
Un-BE-coming!
BEneficial
Stop worrying about whether Governor Fitial will do good or not!
He will do better than most of you assholes!
Don't forget how hard it is to run a government that doesn't have much money!
Let it BE!!!!
Anyone have the scoop on who will be arrested by the FBI and will not be going to the swearing in party?
doesn't have much money... you're kidding right... $150M in ARRA... $53M in CIP... slurp your kool-aid ya green shirt freak...
Yes, I heard the FBI had Heinz on the catch-man list.
Poops.
BETTER ENJOY IT: FILIPINOS ARE HERE!
My thoughts are that nothing will really change? We've got proven leadership, the best leaders money can buy. Time to dole out the patronage for another five years and inflict some payback!
Inflict some payback... yup... that's begin... Thanks Sam, you were a good instructor and will be missed.
OK, who's next...
Biba Small African Despots and Uncle Ben!!
Everyone has known that the next few years will be extraordinarily challenging.
Under Federalization our economy will continue to decline for at least 2 or 3 years.
Will the "change" advocates continue their bitterness and temper tantrums?
Or will they finally begin working to improve themselves and their own lives, in the process making our Commonwealth a better place?
Actually, the change advocates were not all political, but did demand federalization here due to the well document history of abuse and a broken system of labor and immigration.
I guess some are bitter over the election, but our elections are the spoils system of give aways, so unless a person lost a job over the election, I don't know why they would worry about it.
We have survived Ben, Bush twice, and Nixon 1.5 terms, so let it be.
ah, Ron, can't go with that logic... not when each dissenting voice is hunted down systematically and punished.
As in most Democratic elections the guy with the most money to spend won.
But Heinz's campaign was a complete and utter failure from the start. His talk of dreams in lieu of promises betrayed his lack of political acumen- voters want something concrete they can pin their hopes to, and as Obama's recent victory has proven, damn any realistic chances of delivering. If he was attempting to emulate MLK's 'I Have a Dream' angle he again failed miserably- MLK openly alluded to his 'not making it to the Mountain' and in fact his views only gained traction after he was shot dead. Heinz the Martyr lacks any star power.
But his biggest failure was as a Republican. Republicans are meticulous in their detailed analyses of opponents' real, perceived and potentially developed political vulnerabilities, and relentless in attacking them with constant moral and righteous outrage. They excel in using the media to their ends.
Heinz could have kept ten full time PIO's busy with the fodder Ben presented him to work with, but when crunch time finally came his guy, usually beside himself with loathing for Ben, didn't bring it at all.
It's tough to call it- did Ben win it, or did Heinz lose it?
I think you're on to something, g00$e.
Shadow PIO Edwin Propst and Chief-Technology-Officer-in-waiting Glen Hunter were so extreme and over-the-top that they actually garnered sympathy for Fitial.
By comparison with his attackers in the blogs and Marianas Variety, Fitial seemed a model of respect, decorum, and civility.
Bitter Ed and Smart Glen literally cost Heinz (and Tina) the election.
Poops!
WHAT HAPPENED TO MR. POOPOOHEAD?? COME ON OUT BITTER ED! WE MISS YO LEG!!!
WHAT HAPPENED TO MR. POOPOOHEAD?? COME ON OUT BITTER ED! WE MISS YO LEG!!!
WHAT HAPPENED TO MR. POOPOOHEAD?? COME ON OUT BITTER ED! WE MISS YO LEG!!!
WHAT HAPPENED TO MR. POOPOOHEAD?? COME ON OUT BITTER ED! WE MISS YO LEG!!!
The above government worker is back at work. He just had to come back to this blog.....
Why does this all caps poster click the send button 4 or 5 times?
The all caps poster is to be forgiven, he's still learning the finer art of political satire... "Mr. PooPooHead?" You can't be serious?!
The multiple sends are part of his modus operandi.
The increase in comment count is likely to be immediately noticed by casual observers, as if there were a lively debate going on.
So it gets him more readership when they open the comments.
I just wish SMR would patrol their blog occasionally and delete such annoying duplicate comments.
You know senility is creeping in on you when you repeat your self....
Really, so you blame the election results on Edwin and Glen, huh? Had nothing to do with the ballot stuffing and vote buying, huh? Nothing to do with fraud, huh? Not even a little bit, huh? This was a totally clean election, huh? Either Fitial won it fair and square, or Heinz lost it fair and square?
Gimme a friggin break.
Still Bitter?
First the voters were not as smart as you. Now it's fraud and ballot stuffing? HA!
The chairwoman of the Commonwealth Election Commission supported Heinz.
Each party had its supporters throughout the precincts and election officials.
There were checks and balances, OAG, OPA, DPS, CEC.
Everything is recorded and available for review, election challenge, or federal grand jury subpoena.
Both parties and everyone in the CNMI has a vested interest in a fair contest, and that is what we got.
Your complaint is the epitome of “sour grapes.”
And the very reason the next five years will be very little different from the last four.
Thank you for your participative citizenship and really making a difference.
NOT!
Hey Noni 11:05 PM ( a.k.a. Sour Grapes),
How's the bar business?
HAHAHAHA!
HA!
There he goes again!
Attacking the messenger.
YOU, more than anyone else, are responsible for any upcoming failures in the CNMI over the next five years.
Ah, so if the economy and government continue to fall apart, it's the anonymous blogger's fault, not the guy who's actually been charge for the last four years, who will continue to be in charge for the next five?
What a joke. You were kidding, right?
No joke.
A leader cannot succeed without the support of his people.
Constructive criticism based on actual facts and delivered in a manner reasonably likely to effectuate positive results is helpful.
Non-stop vitriol by anonymous bloggers is not. Bomb-throwing by the likes of Bitter Ed, Smart Glen, his beloved, Zaldy Dandan, or “the island’s thinking class” is not. Such destructive conduct got us to where we are today and truly has negative ramifications many such commenters, activists, opinion leaders, and politicians fail to understand and appreciate.
Actions have consequences. Federal receivership of CUC?!!!
Fitial's success or failure is more up to us than to him.
Without prayers for him by both supporters and opponents, the next five years are almost guaranteed to be worse than the past four.
No joke.
And 51.4% of the voters knew this when they voted for him.
The 48.56% of voters who voted for Heinz and Arnold were not, not, NOT voting for a Federal Utilities Corporation.
CUC should have been privatized three years ago but was stymied by the usual suspects in the Legislature and their minions.
The administration will start sweeping and trash the undesirables beginning next week. Respect will be provided to them as they did not know what respect means.
LOL. The administration should start sweeping out the trash in its transition team! Who's doing the "top to bottom" review of the guys who are supposed to be doing a "top to bottom" review of the government?
Look at this gang of winners:
http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?cat=1&newsID=95876
What does the Covenant Party chairman know about the Office of the Attorney General?
Why is a convicted felon and known thief/con artist (Oscar Rasa) in charge of reviewing the Department of Public Lands?
What the hell does Ana S. Teregeyo know about the Office of the Public Defender?
What does Danny Buniag know about natural resources?
What does a fisheries guy (Jack Ogumoro) know about running airports and seaports?
Why is scam artist and government leach Jack Manglona in charge of reviewing CDA? (Someone check if he owes them money too!)
What the hell does Pete Paduna know about MVA and the tourism industry?
Why, Lord, WHY is Oscar Babauta in charge of the Commonwealth Election Commission?
What a joke! Let it be, let it be -- let it be a friggin nightmare!
HA!
What does FUC stand for?
More importantly, what does Oscar Rasa stand for?
In spanish? It means to vomit objects? :)
Federal Utilities Corporation.
Receivership now!
CUC is long overdue for federal receivership. Yes, receivership is extreme, but so are the public health hazards we are exposed to every day because of CUC.
Maybe some of us have become so accustomed to undrinkable water, sewage overflows and backflows, red flags, a dirty power plant with stockpiles of used oil and hazardous waste that are out of control ...
As for me, I've lived here all my life, and I still can't accept it.
Hundreds of millions of dollars pouring through CUC from Uncle Sam and CNMI customers since the 1980s ... and nothing to show for it except third world conditions and a state of emergency with no end in sight. Thank god for EPA and the federal court.
Receivership? Hell yes.
It is too bad the Legislature blocked Fitial's attempt to sell CUC. Maybe things will go better this time.
Receivership is designed to solve specific problems, such as non-compliance with environmental statutes when a defendant refuses to do so.
It is not a fix-all remedy for poor management, and cannot create money when the ultimate problem is a poor economy or an inability to comply.
We cannot tax ourselves to prosperity. Nor will federalization counter the economic realities of living in a remote area without a major industry such as garment factories or military bases.
you can't convince me that not hiring an accountant per regulations is an "inability" to do so for fiscal reasons.
Just like it cannot be reasoned that a $29K fine was unavoidable because CUC lacked the capacity to produce a PLAN.
It's simply a deduction that CUC's woes stem from either the insidious-- the outright refusal to comply; or the galling-- the severe lack of knowledge (that is, professional incompetence) on how to comply.
Or one more possibility you haven't considered -- lack of resources overall.
CUC is still in triage.
Hey, No Fuc -- "lack of resources" is the government's favorite excuse for not doing its damn job.
It will be the same excuse we will hear for 64-hr work weeks ... except that government hiring and contracts as political rewards will miraculously continue.
Ironically, it will be the same excuse we will hear for not spending MILLIONS in federal CIP and ARRA funds. "We just don't have the resources to comply with that federal reporting requirement... We lack the resources to properly account for that money." Blah blah BLAH.
It's not a lack of resources my friend, it's a lack of competence and vision. It's a joke and a crying shame.
Open your eyes and do at least a little bit of research. The cost of noncompliance is greater than the cost of compliance. It costs MORE to violate federal orders than it does to comply. Consider that. You don't even have to be an accountant to figure out that math.
The use of the term “excuse” reflects your own lack of research, my friend.
If you haven't noticed, the government budget has dropped from about $250 million to $150 million from 2005 to 2009.
Name me one other state, commonwealth, or territory anywhere in the USA that has experienced that percentage of reduction!
Yet you snidely repeat “Blah blah BLAH.”
That's the joke and crying shame. If more of our citizenry would get better informed (tough with our local media) and truly understand the problems, and act supportively instead of destructively, we'd have a much better chance of overcoming our challenges.
As for unspent CIP and ARRA funds, check out the Buy America Act.
Again, like so many issues affecting our Commonwealth, the issues are economics and geography -- two fundamentals that are very closely intertwined in the CNMI, though many know-it-alls prefer to ignore them.
Hey Let it BE --
Receivership is an excellent remedy for solving all kinds of serious, egregious, and historic problems. CUC is a serious, egregious, and historic problem.
In the end, "intent" to comply doesn't matter -- it's RESULTS that count. We're not arguing a criminal case here, buddy (not yet, anyway) so let's not pretend that we need to prove intent of any sort to make a case for receivership. All that matters is that our utility agency is clearly failing to comply, and history/present trends are usually a good indicator of the future. Are the violations intentional? Who cares! The sewer system is on the brink of collapse! Some people still don't have running water for hours every day! Used oil disasters are a threat to public safety EVERY SINGLE DAY!
Read the orders, and you will find a paragraph that clearly states that financial hardship is NOT an excuse. It should NEVER have been an excuse. It should NEVER have taken a federal court order to tell us that. Not when the basic health and safety of the people are at stake.
Got money issues? Raise rates. Stop wasting money and fuel. Stop hiring people you don't need to hire. Crack down on theft. Spend CIP funds. Here's a thought: BILL EVERYONE FOR WHAT THEY USE. No more flat rates.
You will also find, contrary to your opinion, that the orders are also designed to address management issues. CUC has to hire a whole bunch of people, and they gotta be qualified and they gotta know how to set a budget and make a plan. What a concept!
This is not about taxing ourselves to prosperity or being "unable" to comply. That's all nonsense. This is about political will and professional know-how. It's about protecting public health and putting in place the right people who can do the job. There's no price for that, and no room for excuses. Not anymore.
LOL. So you don't like my “Blah blah BLAH” comment, eh? That's the mildest thing I said!
If you haven't noticed, CUC is supposed to be a full-cost recovery agency. The dramatic drops in government revenues? -- sad, but irrelevant. CUC does not rely on government subsidies, remember? Ask the executive director. He'll tell you so.
First it was NEPA, now we don't like the Buy America Act? Cry me a river. Or get a waiver. Or follow the law and spend the damn money. CNMI government acts like it's the only place in the nation that has to follow these requirements. Enough with the excuses!
Call me a know-it-all and complain about my destructive ways of communicating - I don't give a damn! If you are a government official who is in a position to get the job done - all the whining in the world will NOT get your job done.
Do your job, and I will be much MUCH more supportive.
Have you done the research?!
Intent is absolutely an issue for a receivership.
You don't just decide willy-nilly that it would be nice for the feds to manage any institution anywhere in the USA. You have to have a legal basis to do so!
The problems at CUC are well known.
And they all come down to money. Just as you can't tax the CNMI to prosperity, you can't raise the rates to CUC solvency.
Customers will just pull out and even move away!
That is the whole problem with the anti-CNMI-government folks. They just don't see economic reality.
It all goes back to decades of federal failure to observe Covenant Section 701.
Thank you for trying to maintain a civil discourse.
No, I don't work for CUC. But as a consumer, I know that a receivership would just mean more costs to be passed on to me.
Just like this thoughtless would-be class action by Jorgensen is just milking the resources of all the NMIRF members.
Lawsuits are not the solution to the world's ills, nor the CNMI's.
You'd be on a lot better ground supporting the Fitial administration's calls for a desk audit.
No Fuc,
Yes. I have done the research. I know that you can't fend off receivership just by showing that you're "trying." "Trying" ain't good enough. The orders (and the penalties) show us that. Please read the orders. It's there, I promise you - financial hardship is not an excuse.
But let's go with your argument and say that intent is required to make a case for CUC. That's actually easy enough to do. Find out what the violations were that we're getting fined for. A lot of the violations are absurd ... inexcusable ... you might even say, "intentional."
We've been "trying" (and failing) to follow the law and protect public health for three decades now. I assure you there will be nothing "willy-nilly" about imposing receivership.
You can't blame the feds for everything. You can certainly "try." But you would be wrong.
As a CUC consumer, I know that the rising costs of noncompliance and incompetence will be passed on to me... and sadly I will still have to collect water in my bucket, check for red flags every weekend, buy my drinking water from the store, and pray that there is no typhoon that will cause a used oil disaster.
As a CUC consumer, I am tired of excuses.
P.S. I wish Fitial would do the damn desk audit already. He said he would do it four years ago. Why hasn't he yet? Let me guess... "Lack of resources."
Sounds like you should volunteer to work at CUC!
Ultimately, it all comes down to economics.
Do the people of the CNMI have the resources to comply with costly federal mandates that, on the mainland, are attenuated by economies of scale?
Here there is no power, water, or sewer “grid” to tap into.
It is really an inherently different situation than most places you are familiar with on the mainland.
No, that's where you're wrong. Ultimately, it all comes down to
leadership, political will, professional know-how, and all the hacks who can't do the job getting the hell out of the way.
No, that's where you're wrong. Ultimately, it all comes down to
leadership, political will, professional know-how, and all the hacks who can't do the job getting the hell out of the way.
Noni 6:42AM (NO FUC and any other alias you use):
If you don't realize it, you may want to reread this thread with special emphasis on the last 15 comments...
Your ass was handed to you.
umm, yeah, still not buying the new "economies of scale" defense. If Abe says CUC is too political, I'm listening.
That contention has nothing to do with how they do it in the Mainland.
Then thank goodness for the Fitial Administration's transition team and CUC desk audit!
Thank goodness for the Fitial Transition Team? Are you nuts? Aside from the fact that there really isn't a transition (someone tell Fitial he was governor), have you see the Transition Team members?
GOOD GRIEF!
Here is a re-post in case you missed it:
"Look at this gang of winners:
http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?cat=1&newsID=95876
What does the Covenant Party chairman know about the Office of the Attorney General?
Why is a convicted felon and known thief/con artist (Oscar Rasa) in charge of reviewing the Department of Public Lands?
What the hell does Ana S. Teregeyo know about the Office of the Public Defender?
What does Danny Buniag know about natural resources?
What does a fisheries guy (Jack Ogumoro) know about running airports and seaports?
Why is scam artist and government leach Jack Manglona in charge of reviewing CDA? (Someone check if he owes them money too!)
What the hell does Pete Paduna know about MVA and the tourism industry?
Why, Lord, WHY is Oscar Babauta in charge of the Commonwealth Election Commission?
What a joke! Let it be, let it be -- let it be a friggin nightmare!"
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