Will Puerto Ricans Vote?

US Attorney General Janet Reno is preparing the groundwork to allow Puerto Ricans to vote in this presidential election–November 7th. She said the preparation is being done in accordance with a court order that Puerto Ricans be allowed to partake in a democratic process as citizens of the U.S.

If Puerto Ricans successfully vote in the impending presidential election, then such voting should slam open the floodgates for other US Citizens in the various territories to exercise their rights to vote. The CNMI, Guam, Virgin Islands and American Samoa should follow suit using the Puerto Rico experience as the basis to claim a citizen’s right to vote for president.

I’m not a legal eagle, but the preparation being undertaken brings into question what happens when someone challenges the constitutionality of a recent court decision granting Puerto Ricans their rights to vote. Would the lack of a provision for this citizenship rights be sufficient to deny voting for president to US citizens outside the US mainland? Or would this citizenship’s rights aspect prevail even with the lack of a constitutional provision?

I certainly look forward to this bright new day for US Citizens in Puerto Rico. If it happens, then the floodgates to extend the same constitutional rights to the CNMI will be wide open.

Pete A. sets sight on Washington

It isn’t that we share similar views on many substantive issues, nor the fact that we’ve worked closely for many years, but he’s a bright, articulate and seasoned person for the job as the NMI’s Washington Representative.

We often engage in serious discussions about issues and where leadership has failed the people of these isles. Yes, we’ve shared disappointments about the lack of visionaries to carry the torch of leadership forward beyond conventional wisdom.

At least we have agreed on the basic setback that has dogged our relationship with the federal government: The lack of articulation of issues from leadership of the essence of these isles as founded under the Covenant Agreement. And so we quiz, as people in the wings, how we’ve missed the boat almost completely.

But I wasn’t willing to give up my pen and not when people of depth and experience like Pete A. are in the wings ready to set sail into familiar territory–leadership! As a Washington Representative, he would serve with exemplary leadership even far more superior than what we have seen since the establishment of that office 22 years ago.

Pete A. knows Washington from his stint as one of the founding fathers of the Covenant Agreement. He’s been in and out of DC all those years. He knows how to work Capitol Hill and Pennsylvania Avenue. He doesn’t leave any stone unturned until he secures real solid answers to questions or issues of substance affecting these isles.

My only problem with Pete is quite simple: He’s a workaholic and stops at nothing to get the job done. Well, at least I can sleep well at night knowing that a man of depth is representing my interest at the nation’s capital. Move on Pete and let’s get the job done for these isles. Si Yuus Maase`!