Well, I’ve been off line for about 10 or 12 days and when I come back to blogging I find I am way behind. I left Angelo in Laos coming down the Mekong. Now I’ll want to spend a while following his trail down to Vietnam and beyond. GlenD wrote me an email letting me know I was Missing In Action, and I suppose I will need to spend a couple of hours going over the 250 posts he has put up in that time (:-)) . I’m not making any points over at Deece’s WWII contest. Same is true for Jeff and Boni and Mr. Outer Mongolia and Harry and Troglodyte Sherman and the 15 or 20 other blogsites I visit from time to time. I haven’t even read my own blog’s incoming comments. I suppose it will take me a few days to catch up on all this.
Should be a lot of fun. Plus it looks like I’ll get to do some fragging too. Stand by for action.
Should be a lot of fun. Plus it looks like I’ll get to do some fragging too. Stand by for action.
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11 comments:
goglad you cropped that picture, if you take another. Put a shirt on for God's sake. Oh, the humanity.
Yeah, its pretty scary. Not bad though for an 85 year old guy.
Now all I have to do is find the time to spend about 24 hours catching up on all the blog action. Maybe the catchup will be a bit less ambitious than planned.
we'll see.
Bruce,
I have been reading all the blogs lately about the Saipan Casino Act both for and against. I have read your Blogs too and there is one question that keeps popping up in my mind, and I could not find the answer to it in any of the blogs or blog comments I have come across (although I could have possibly missed it since there has been so much written lately) Anyway, I figured It best to just come right out and ask you directly. I'm very curious if you have actually read the The full text of the Saipan Casino Act as certified by the Office of the Attorney General (http://votecnmi.gov.mp/downloads/saipancasino_full.pdf) I'm not trying to be rude or sarcastic with my question (I hope I don't come across that way) I'm just trying to understand your reasoning for supporting this ACT (not casino's in general).
I have read it thoroughly, Tamara and posted a Url for others to go read it several weeks ago. While there are certainly elements in it that I would have penned differently had I written it and while there are provisions that I don’t agree with the point is that I did not write it and neither did anyone else take the time to try to put SOMETHING together to try and fix an economic ship sinking steadily for 10 years now.
The church didn’t write anything or come up with an idea, the legislature did not, no other citizen group could be bothered, silly Bennett did not, even the late coming critic Phlegmatic Playdough sat on his rump and did nothing…until his handlers and paymasters bade him go out and tilt.
This Act is not the best of all possible worlds, but what is? Better something that has a chance of helping than sitting on the sideline saying no to everying that is proposed. In the final analysis, that is where the No camp is…sitting on the sideline moaning that they don’t like this provision or that provision and doing nothing, squat, zip else. That just about sums up the positive ideas they have come up with….squat. Squat doesn’t feed the bulldog.
Should we sit and wait another 2 years as the place sinks around us or should we try something that has a chance of succeeding?
Bruce,
If you are not happy with this Act there is nothing that makes it impossible for you or me or anyone else to write up a better one that goes through public hearings and is passed through people with a legal background.
By endorsing a flawed Act you put the CNMI in jeopardy of having to spend enormous sums of money in lengthy court battles.
Some other "take the bad with the good" provisions you mention will also cost the CNMI a tremendous amount of money (commission, exec. dir., treasury, operating expensing, etc.). What would make you think this is a positive for our economy at this time.
You would vote yes and plunge the CNMI into years of legal battles and years of extra spending with no revenue over taking the time to put your energy in support of the act towards drafting proper legislation and having the legislature pass a legislative initiative that will put it on the ballot in 2009?
Then a properly drafted piece of legislation can reap the much needed harvest.
Your idea that it is okay to chance this because no one else is doing anything is like kicking a dog because no one else is paying attention to it. I would say it would be better to let the dog alone.
PP
Good to see you back..You do have a lot of catching up to do!!!
Glen, thanks, yeah this may take a while. There are 60 or 70 posts on your blog alone. Thank goodness not everyone is as prolific as you!
Playdough: Your analogy suffers, as do you, from myopia.
The unkicked dog is not sleeping, the dog is DYING. Two more years of this and the place will be an economic ghost town relying on handouts from its colonial masters in DC for sustenance. The question is do you pass by the dying dog and just let him croak, or do you administer some first aid even though you might not be near the Vet's office and thus can't give the best possible service? I say if the bird dog is worth saving...render some aid. I say this CNMI dog can still hunt birds. Now that would please the colonial masters and it would please the statists who like to see places like this as lapdogs, but it doesn't please me. IF you have such a wonderful rewrite in mind where the hell were you for the last 5 years while this place was going down the econ tubes? You, and all the others were sitting on you ass hoping SOMEONE else would take care of it. They didn't. Someone came along with an answer and you don’t like this or that or the other provision. Great, I don’t like all of the US Constitution. We try to change those parts we don’t like. If this Act passes, the Legislature can jump in there and dissect it and change what is necessary. Your answer to sit by and watch the maggots feed on the carcass just doesn’t cut it. Go back and tell your boss what I said. By the way, you can say whatever you want to on my blog, you may not, however, advertise your blog on my blog. Henceforth any post with your blog addy appended will be deleted and rewritten without the address as my time permits. Also by the way, I'm glad you like my pic, so where is yours?
Good to see you back and uttering loony rhetoric, Bruce.
Speaking of Colonial Masters, the fucking Red Cross keeps ruling colonially with all those fire, flood and famine victims.
If only San Diego or Darfur had a casino to liberate them.
I've noticed the red cross forcing themselves on unwary typhoon victems and think it should be stopped.
The moment the red cross begins to steal my money via taxation (as government 'programs' do) to pay for their chosen philanthropy is the day I'll stand up and fight it.
You have not read or you failed to understand the Saipan Casino Act. You display it rather obviously in this statement:
"the Legislature can jump in there and dissect it and change what is necessary. "
THIS WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE. Read my posts. Read the act. Here is the exact wording:
"Article X, Section 8. General – Amendment. Any proposed amendment to the “Saipan Casino Act” shall be approved or disapproved by the NMD registered voters only in the Third Senatorial District through local initiative." [Emphasis added]
That's right Mr. Pro-SCA. Once this goes through the legislature can not touch it. YOU can't even touch it.
A legislative initiative passed by NMDs in the 3rd Senatorial District will be the only way to amend it.
Do you realize how insane this is? Do you understand how nearly impossible it would be to have an NMD only special election? Do you realize how costly this endeavor would be? Do you know that their is no listing of NMD voters on file? Do you know that the AG will challenge this statute? Do you know that people the voted for or against this act will legally challenge this provision? Do you know how much the legal battles will cost?
Read the Act Bruce. If you have trouble understanding various provisions. Point them out and we can all dissect them.
Boycott Porky’s!
PP
PS: I like your analogy. The dog is dying. Rather than taking a step back and taking it to a vet to diagnose its problems you are rushing to euthanize it.
That is what the SCA passage will do to our already suffering economy. Where will the CNMI get the funds to fight this in court? It will go to court.
Where will it get the funds to fund the commission? What about the loss of public property that could have been leased for more than a dollar?
Boycott Porky's!
PP
"The moment the red cross begins to steal my money via taxation (as government 'programs' do) to pay for their chosen philanthropy is the day I'll stand up and fight it."
This ACT WILL BE STEALING YOUR MONEY VIA TAXATION. Do what you are saying you would do and fight against it.
Raising taxes will be the only way to fund a commission while the legal battles are being fought in court. The commission will be formed immediately. Legal battles will ensue. No casino will come in while this act is being challenged in court. Your tax dollars will be paying for the commission while this goes on. This is crazy.
Fight against it Bruce.
Boycott Porky's!
PP
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