Half the Story from Amy Goodman

For John, BLUF:  I like to sample various news sources, thus getting a broader gage view of the world.  I am often disappointed.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

Rafael Cancel Miranda (RIP)

(July 18, 1930 – March 2, 2020)

Listening to Newsreader Amy Goodman this morning (Democracy Now!), I learned that Domestic Terrorist Cancel Miranda has passed away.  Every passing is a sad event.  However, he had a good run, especially considering his gun fight in our Nation's Capitol, in which five US Congressmen were wounded.  The Capitol Police could have shot and killed him that day.  But didn't.

I am all for pushing Puerto Rico out of the nest.  Let the island become a State, if they really want it.  Otherwise, set the island free.  Free to be independent or free to associate with some other Caribbean nation or nations.  That said, I don't feel the same way about Guam, where America's day begins.

What I found disappointing about Ms Goodman's reporting is the way she glossed over the 1 March 1954 shooting in the US House of Representatives, as well as the related effort to assassinate President Harry S Truman in Blair House, 1 November 1950.

I would judge Democracy Now!, at least this morning, as not fair and balanced.

Their web page blurb on Mr Cancel Miranda did a better job of covering the history.

Still, I am disappointed.

Regards  —  Cliff

California Dreaming

For John, BLUF:  Given the mood of voters these days, Californians could vote to split up.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

Reuters: The Never-Ending Effort To Dismember California Continues To Never End

From Hot Air, by Captain Ed Morrissey, 12 June 2018.

While the topic of a California breakup is interesting (and is as old or older than Captain Ed suggests) I wanted to look at this issue:

Everything they claim about California is true, of course. It’s an economic wreck, where regulation has strangled small business and where income inequality is fourth-highest in the nation, right behind New York, Connecticut, and, er … Louisiana.

So, for all the whinging about income disparity, three of the most progressive states, New York, Connecticut and California, along with Louisiana, are the four highest in the nation for income disparity.

As to the breakup itself, I am not sure Congress will look with favor on such a split-up.  For me, if it knocks folks off top dead center WRT Puerto Rico it will be worth it.  Regarding Puerto Rico, I say make them a State or kick them lose (over five years, to allow their economy and government to adjust). End that vestige of colonialism.♠

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Yes, I would allow the Commonwealth of Guam, where America's day begins, to remain in its current status, if it wishes.  If it ain't broken, don't fix it.

Puerto Rico—What did the President Say?

For John, BLUF:  If it can't sustain itself, over the long term, bring the citizens to the US and quarantine it.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

Puerto Rico can’t get aid ‘forever,’ Trump says

This is a Washington Post article by Reporter Philip Rucker, published on 12 October 2017 in The Boston Globe.

I am trying to see the President's sin here.  The headline says, to me, the fifty states can't afford to underwrite Puerto Rico for ever.  And I agree.

Here is the lede plus two:

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump served notice Thursday that he may pull back federal relief workers from Puerto Rico, effectively threatening to abandon the U.S. territory amid a staggering humanitarian crisis in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

Declaring the U.S. territory’s electrical grid and infrastructure to have been a ‘‘disaster before hurricanes,’’ Trump wrote Thursday that it will be up to Congress how much federal money to appropriate to the island for its recovery efforts and that recovery workers will not stay ‘‘forever.’’

In a trio of tweets, Trump wrote, ‘‘We cannot keep FEMA, the Military & the First Responders, who have been amazing (under the most difficult circumstances) in P.R. forever!’’

Para 1 seems to overstate the case.

Para 2 has the President stating the obvious, the Puerto Rico infrastructure was a problem before the Hurricane.  And, in this nation the Congress appropriates and authorizes the funds, not the President.

Para 3 is also true, unless the US Congress provides for more FEMA folks and Service Members and those First Responders on loan never go home.  At some point Puerto Rico has to return to normal and the residents, overwhelmed by the Hurricane, have to pick up their normal responsibilities.  Otherwise the relationship will continue to give people like San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz a reason to decry American colonialism.

And speaking of San Juan Mayor Cruz, I do think the United States should declare Puerto Rico an independent nation.  Immediately after this Hurricane disaster is cleaned up.  And we should take five years of decreasing Federal Payments to ease them into their new status.  At the end of five years we should provide them one shot at statehood within the United States, with English as the official language.  It would require a two-thirds vote in favor of statehood, with a two-thirds turnout of registered voters.

In or out, but no more this straddling of the fence, by any side.

UPDATE:  Fixed a typo.

Regards  —  Cliff

Paying Attention

For John, BLUF:  I think Mr Trump can chew gum and walk at the same time.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

A friend of mine, perhaps echoing criticism he had heard elsewhere, complained that President Trump was going after NFL football players for kneeling during the National Anthem and ignoring Puerto Rico.  I countered with the fact that President Trump had talked to Governor Ricardo Rosselló, and the Governor said he was happy with the effort so far.

From the Associated Press, Friday, the 22nd of September of this year:

Trump speaks with Puerto Rico governor

The White House says President Donald Trump has spoken with the governors of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Trump said earlier Thursday that Puerto Rico was "absolutely obliterated" and the Virgin Islands were "flattened" by recent hurricanes Irma and Maria.

Then there is this item from The Wash Post, Reporter Ed O'Keefe, on 24 September 2017.

Puerto Rico governor:  ‘We still need some more help’ from Washington

Rosselló said he has had “great collaboration and communication” with FEMA and the Department of Health and Human Services, which have been on the island since the morning after the storm assessing damage and setting up shelters.

But after several intense days of preparation, response, rescue and cleanup, Rosselló said, local law enforcement agencies are strained and hampered in their ability to reach far-flung areas that may still need relief.  Even as he asked for more assistance from the Defense Department, he stopped short of requesting that the Trump administration declare martial law.

However,

If the situation isn't addressed in the coming weeks, there could be “massive migration to other states, which will bring a whole host of other problems to Puerto Rico and the states.  It is within everybody’s interest that we handle this situation for what it is — an unprecedented situation, where two hurricanes back-to-back hit Puerto Rico on an island that was under fiscal turmoil.  Those considerations need to be taken into consideration when Congress puts together its aid bill.”

The Governor of Puerto Rico, Mr Rosselló, is worried about Congress as well as the Executive Branch.

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló is warning that his government needs broader assistance from the federal government, calling on the Pentagon especially to provide more aid for law enforcement and transportation.

Rosselló said he's also worried that Congress will shortchange his island once the initial wave of emergency relief is gone.

“We still need some more help.  This is clearly a critical disaster in Puerto Rico,” he said on a shaky cellphone connection Sunday night from San Juan.  “It can’t be minimized and we can’t start overlooking us now that the storm passed, because the danger lurks.”

Did you pick up on “massive migration to other states"?

What is our Commonwealth doing to prepare for a possible influx of American Citizens from Puerto Rico?  The population of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is 3.4 million.  If 1% came here it would be 34,000, who would have to be dispersed to various Cities for shelter and support.  I don't think Otis AFB, down on the Cape, is big enough to meet all the needs of these Americans.  Just think of schools alone.

Regards  —  Cliff

Cut Them Loose

For John, BLUF:  Time for Puerto Rico to be independent.  Then they can decide about coming back in, as a state.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

A news organization known as Latin American Press had the following news item on Puerto Rico, with a dateline of 20 June 2013.  The issue is the relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States and the UN Decolonization Committee♠ has issued a report.  It can be found here.

The unalienable right to sovereignty

The UN Decolonization Committee described the relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States as a “subordinated” one.

In a resolution approved on June 17, the United Nations Decolonization Committee reaffirmed the unalienable rights of Puerto Rico to free self-determination and independence, ratifying it as a Latin American and Caribbean country “with a distinct and well-defined national identity”. In addition, the committee described the relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States as a “subordinated” one.

The initiative put forth by Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Venezuela referred the non-binding ballot carried out in Puerto Rico on Nov. 7, 2012 — the same date as the elections for the country´s new governor — in which the majority of voters rejected the country´s free association status with the United States, held since 1952, due to the inability of Puerto Ricans to vote in US presidential elections and lack of representation in Congress.

The always reliable Wikipedia tells us♥:

On 6 November 2012, a two question referendum took place, simultaneous with the general elections.  The first question asked voters whether they wanted to maintain the current status under the territorial clause of the U.S. Constitution.  The second question posed three alternate status options if the first question was approved: statehood, independence or free association.  For the first question, 54 percent voted against the current Commonwealth status, and in the second question, of those who responded, 61.1% favored statehood.  On December 11, 2012, Puerto Rico's Legislature passed a concurrent resolution to request to the President and the U.S. Congress action on the November 6, 2012 plebiscite results.  But on April 10, 2013, with the issue still being widely debated, the White House announced that it will seek $2.5 million to hold another referendum, this next one being the first Puerto Rican status referendum to be financed by the Federal government.

It has been my long-standing view that the current relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico is wrong and needs to be changed.  While there are advantages to the United States of having Puerto Rico as a Commonwealth, as part of the United States, the fact is that the relationship does not conform with our Declaration of Independence.

It isn't like people haven't tried to fix this.  In 1936, US Senator Millard Tyding (D-MD) introduced legislation to grant independence to both the Philippines and Puerto Rico.  For the Philippines it past and the island nation became independent on 4 July 1946.  For Puerto Rico there was opposition from within the island and it did not pass.

So, we have a Senator Tydings, an attempt to assassinate President Truman, the November 2012 referendum and a President's Task Force on Puerto Rico.  Let us cut through the fog and just grant the nation independence.  Then, and only then, if they wish to become a state within the Union, invite them in.

Here is what I have advocated.  The US Congress should pass legislation putting Puerto Rico on a five year path to independence, decreasing US subsidies to the nation progressively over those five years.  At the end of five years, Puerto Rico is independent.  At that point, and only at that point, they may, if they wish, hold a referendum to join the United States as one of the several states, becoming the 51st.  The legislation—I would call it the Millard Tydings Memorial Puerto Rico Act (MTMPRA)—would allow for automatic acceptance of Puerto Rico as an English speaking state in the United States.  There would be no special deals, aside from what new Puerto Rican Congress members could gain through the pork barrel.  There would be no separate teams in the Olympics.  Just another state, like Montana, albeit smaller and warmer.

Guam, on the other hand, is a different case.  Guam is where America's day begins.  Guam is good.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  There is a web site, but they would do well to hire Lynne Lupien to help them update and maintain it.  Heck, they would be money ahead to hire me.
♥  Actually, that was a little slight of hand.  I quoted from the Wikipedia article on Puerto Rico, but linked to the article on the November 2012 vote.