The political medley of \u201cSpeedy Gonzales\u201d and \u201cMidnight Hour\u201d led to the quick approval of the casino law by the incumbent leadership. It\u2019s a combined action gift-wrapped in conspiracy against \u201cwe the people\u201d\u2014a willful suppression of transparency, and violation of fiduciary duty.<\/p>\n
While it matters what they know (meetings with HK and Macau businesses) it\u2019s what they don\u2019t know that I find especially perturbing.<\/p>\n
Now, there\u2019s a move to amend it in light of inconsistencies and ambiguities. But legislators aren\u2019t sure if the proposed amendments are legal. (Can you legislate a wrong into a right ex post facto, meaning \u201cafter the fact\u201d). It includes the Lottery Commission spending money disallowed under the law and lawsuits that have already been filed and in progress. It must be desperation!<\/p>\n
Governor violates OGA<\/strong><\/p>\n The governor blatantly violated the Open Government Act by declaring it \u201cunconstitutional.\u201d That he disagrees doesn\u2019t grant him the right to change the law by fiat. His authority is limited to the enforcement of laws. He can\u2019t pick and choose what he wants enforced. It\u2019s a government of laws! Following the law is constitutional, sir!<\/p>\n The AG\u2019s opinion is just that\u2014an opinion\u2014fudged in favor of the boss, though easily rendered completely off base by a competent court of law. The law is the voice of \u201cwe the people\u201d approved via an initiative. People want transparency!<\/p>\n \u2018Huh? Did we do that too?\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Meanwhile, my mind was racing through torture land as I struggle to understand muddled answers from pro-casino legislators. Their inability to articulate what\u2019s in the measure or what\u2019s missing confirms their tacit submission to servility to rush it at all cost. And I thought they\u2019d be conversant on the issue as policymakers. Humiliating!<\/p>\n Did the measure take into full view the need for huge sums of CIP money for the emplacement of basic infrastructure? You poke this query mirrored against the planned 2,000-room hotel and you hear thematic trembles: \u201cHuh? I don\u2019t know, lai\u201d.<\/p>\n You jab them the more technical queries about \u201csoft\u201d and \u201chard\u201d money count and you hear the redundant ignorance, \u201cHuh? I don\u2019t know, lai.\u201d You quiz why tax is limited to 17 percent (normal rate is about 35 percent) and out comes the exasperating repetition in ignorance. Did they know China signed a $2 billion deal with the government in the Bahamas on a casino with a 40-percent tax fee? \u201cHuh? I don\u2019t know, lai!\u201d<\/p>\n The discussion now attracts tons of flies peeling off the skin of the decomposing carcass of corruption. It seems the centerpiece is to corral dissenting views into the slaughterhouse of a fledgling statist government. Troubling!<\/p>\n If further confirms their inability to articulate the foundational mission of the measure and their obvious failure to come to terms with the gravity of the issue. They\u2019ve become complaisant to the whims of their new Asian bosses. Is this why the participation of the general public was aborted at all cost?<\/p>\n You quiz of our share of the regional market and you hear the same dumb answer, \u201cHuh? I don\u2019t know, lai.\u201d But then could you share what you know? Sickening!<\/p>\n The despicable redundancy shows the dismal caliber of policymakers, sadly, too. The sale of the island and its people for 30 silvers! \u201cHuh? Did we do that too?\u201d<\/p>\n Throw the bums out!<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s an infuriating journey trying to comprehend the power trip of greed, self-serving interest, and conflicted agenda of pro-casino legislators. They\u2019ve suspiciously basked in their bubble of invincibility ignoring that the public knows its heinous agenda. Remember midterm election 2012? Well, voters are sufficiently energized today to render the same decision to cleanse their governmental institutions of corrupt politicians. No compromising here either!<\/p>\n Why is there the powerful shift to \u201cthrow out the bums?\u201d Let\u2019s see you respond by answering what you have done to lower power bills, health insurance, restoration of the 25-percent pension cut; mitigate the horrendous cost of living; improvement of the income of the 52 percent underemployed or anything that would help families whose income has gone Deep South out of your negligence and apathy. If you don\u2019t have signature measures to resolve these issues, it\u2019s best you exit your offices quietly through the back door. Dalai `ste!<\/p>\n Indeed, there may be room for rationalization. This turns into a task like trying to lecture to the dead folks at a cemetery why they must wake up early tomorrow morning. It won\u2019t work against the tide of an economic mess that sinks family wellbeing because their representatives are too busy shuttling between Saipan and Macau. In brief, you\u2019ve overstayed your welcome while violating your own standard of transparency. <\/p>\n Forte of \u2018ad hoc\u2019 planning<\/strong><\/p>\n The central deficiency in the deepening mess is in the lack of a set of plans to use as a blueprint to move things forward. It\u2019s \u201cPlan By\u201d eventualities or what happens, so far removed from the more thoughtful exercise of \u201cPlan For\u201d our future.<\/p>\n The forte of ad hoc disposition has done more harm than good for these islands. Interesting that teachers do lesson plans weeks in advance. Maybe we should ask them to help out on the hill.<\/p>\n Lack of conscious leadership<\/strong><\/p>\n There\u2019s confidence that a majority of our people with common sense are committed to anything above rock bottom or the way things are today. I hear and see this in their facial expressions daily. They yearn for leadership. We don\u2019t want to repeat royal failure. At least we owe this much to our children.<\/p>\n One could hear the silent prayers of the multitude daily or at sunset hoping for another day of hairline resiliency to pull through the abyss of hopelessness. With a commitment for brighter break of dawn we shall recapture and rebuild our Bridge of Hope to move the lot of our children\u2019s future into the level playing field of economic prosperity and opportunities. Let\u2019s re-establish our collective vision to rebuild paradise! Yes, we can! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The political medley of \u201cSpeedy Gonzales\u201d and \u201cMidnight Hour\u201d led to the quick approval of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[256,529,67,50],"class_list":["post-38696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion","tag-casino","tag-macau","tag-people","tag-power"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38696\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}