We, the people of the CNMI, are to blame for this failed and corrupt government.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."

I already know I'm going to get some backlash for this, but oh well, I have been silent for far too long, and with the recent turn of events that took place on Capital Hill, I simply cannot be silent any longer. The blame MUST fall on the voters this time around. WHY, you ask? Here's why:

1. For YEARS, generations, even, the voters of the CNMI have played their part in the growth of this cancerous government and its corrupt politicians. We saw what was happening, but we turned a blind eye to it all because we were living the island life, and that's just the way the cookie crumbles, right?

2. We continue to place our trust and our faith in this disastrous government, hoping that it will do the right thing, and obviously, it's getting us nowhere. Why must we insist that the government do everything for us? Why can't we rise up as a People and demand and end to this corrupt government? Why can't we take a page from Iceland's book and replace the entire corrupt government with a government that is TRULY of the People, by the People, and FOR the People?

3. We, as the people of the CNMI, need to realize our true strength and our true potential. We NEED to realize that a government, ESPECIALLY a corrupt one, only has the authority to rule based on the CONSENT of the governed. The blame must fall on the voters because we have put up with and accepted this corrupt government for YEARS and generations, simply submitting ourselves to all of its absurdities, when we SHOULD'VE been saying, "This is a corrupt government, and I no longer give it consent to govern me." (which would have been followed up with the complete overthrow of this corrupt government).

TO ALL CNMI VOTERS, I highly suggest you go read some stuff by Thomas Paine, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Locke, and even Thomas Hobbes, before this upcoming election. Actually read, in its entirety, and understand, the Declaration of Independence. See if you can still bring yourself to participate in this System by casting your vote, after you have read some of these works and fully understand them. The Founding Fathers of America fought so hard to free themselves from the Tyranny of the King and to establish the United States of America, a nation which we CHOSE to be a part of, a nation which we based our own laws and ideals on, and for what? So we can just spit in their faces and say, "To hell with revolution, that's just the way things are here in the CNMI!"? If we CHOSE to be a part of the American family, shoudln't we strive to follow the example of the Founding Fathers and revolt against corruption in our own Commonwealth? Shouldn't we, as the Founding Fathers did, free ourselves from the rule of the "King" who is unfit to rule over us? Who is unfit to be a ruler AT ALL?

As much as I supported the whole impeachment thing, I knew from the start that it was all just another exercise in futility. Another big waste of our time. How could we honestly expect that this corrupt government would suddenly turn on itself and impeach its head? Did we really believe that the snake would just suddenly bite off its own head? If we REALLY wanted the Governor out of office, we SHOULD HAVE done it by means of a recall, not by impeachment. How much longer will we let ourselves be fooled by all of this bread and circus?

WE THE PEOPLE must take these islands back!

WE THE PEOPLE must put an end to this tyranny!

WE THE PEOPLE must completely do away with this corrupt government!

ANOTHER CNMI IS POSSIBLE, my brothers and sisters. We only need to want it badly enough. I would really like for you all to read Gene Sharp's booklet "From Dictatorship to Democracy," because it could REALLY help us. In closing, I leave you with the words of Frederick Douglass:

“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.”

"WE'RE MAD AS HELL, AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!" ….RIGHT?

Dear People of the CNMI:

Congratulations, our collective refusal to get off of our couches and into the streets to protest against this abusive, corrupt, and severely mismanaged government has resulted in the shutdown of some of our Commonwealth Health Center's clinics. We can now add this incident to the long list of government abuse that we’ve had to put up with. Mostly everyone said they weren’t protesting because they had a family to feed. I hope no one in our families gets sick anytime soon, now that we have no health care in certain areas. I really hope that this will be the tipping point for us all; that we will finally, after so many years of silence and inaction, be able to stand up and protest.

Please, people of the CNMI, please, I’m begging you. How much longer can we possibly wait? How much more of this storm can we possibly weather? How many more days can we go without our hospital's clinics? What will happen if our children get sick while the hospital's clinics are closed? Please do it for your children, if anything. Do they not deserve a better future? Do they not deserve a better PRESENT? Don’t let them grow up with contempt in their hearts because we didn’t do anything to stop any of it. Let us set a proper example for our kids!

This has now literally become a matter of life or death, and I hope everyone can see that. Will we still not protest, fearing the loss of our jobs? Or will we protest, fearing the loss of our lives? Would we rather keep our jobs or our lives? The time has come to make a decision, and I hope we all choose our lives. Stand up and speak out against this government! If we truly love the CNMI, we WILL protest. Protest is the only way in this situation. Nothing else will work. Nothing else has worked. Protest NOW, CNMI, please! Do not let this government step all over us any longer!!! It’s time to tell the CNMI government and the world that “WE’RE MAD AS HELL, AND WE’RE NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!!!”

Mad as Hell,

Kelvin Rodeo

Glendale, CA

An Open Letter to the People of the CNMI

To the People of the CNMI:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.” - The Declaration of Independence

These are words that every American should know and understand. As Americans, we love to take pride in being able to say that we are a part of the United States. We take advantage of our political relationship with the United States in numerous ways, the most common one being our acceptance of federal funds intended to improve the livelihood of our people and the services that are available to us in the CNMI. But as Americans, how many of us actually truly understand the words in the document that birthed our parent nation? How many of us actually understand that the government only gets away with whatever WE, the governed, allow them to get away with? These words at the beginning of the Declaration of Independence speak more truth for the CNMI than any of our career politicians will ever be willing to speak. Indeed, all experience has shown that our people are more willing to suffer for as long as we can take it, instead of making things right by ridding ourselves of these cancerous things that we have gotten used to through the years. When will enough be enough? When will we decide, as the people of the CNMI, that we are no longer willing to suffer at the hands of our elected officials? When will we stop putting all the blame on the government, and realize that we are to blame as well, for allowing such things to go on for all these years? We are not as powerless as we think we are, though I’m sure the government would love to have us continue to believe that.

Going back to the Declaration of Independence, one of the most notable sentences is the following: “But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.” Haven’t we had a long enough train of abuses and usurpations in the short history of the CNMI so far? Let’s take a little look at just a few of the recent abuses and usurpations we’ve had to experience already: our elected officials and their friends go on junket trips on a regular basis and enjoy a lavish lifestyle while away from the CNMI, they have considered allowing Japanese tsunami debris to be dumped on Pagan, our governor offered to lease some of our islands to China, he ordered the release of a federal prisoner because he needed a massage, our Deputy Commissioner of DPS and his cops aided our AG’s escape from the CNMI, our Attorney General doesn’t follow election laws, he approves unethical contracts, and runs away from court summons and bench warrants. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to everything that our government has done that we have just allowed to happen! All of these things have happened, and yet we still remain silent, just accepting these occurrences as the usual state of affairs in the CNMI. This begs the question, WHY?

We take pride in knowing that the CNMI is different from any other member of the American family; however, we are very much alike in terms of the mindset our people have. We have had in place in the CNMI a culture of unquestioning acceptance of the status quo. Whenever someone asks the tough questions that need to be asked, they are met with some variant of “That’s just the way it is, it’s never gonna change.” In our culture, to question such things is viewed by the older generation as a disrespectful act. “Show some respect,” they tell us. What they fail to understand is that respect is a two-way street. If you want the younger generations to respect you, you had first better show that you respect them by doing everything in your power to ensure that the CNMI that they grow up in is not the CNMI that we have today. Do we really expect our younger generations to respect us if the Commonwealth that they grow up in is as messed up, if not messier, than our Commonwealth of today? Don’t you think they will instead grow up with scorn in their hearts, knowing that we allowed the CNMI to end up that way; that we knew it was happening, but did nothing to put a stop to it all? There is already evidence of this happening today, as more and more high school graduates vow to never return to the islands when they leave for college. As the Native American saying goes, “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors: we borrow it from our children.”

We have an obligation to our children and to all future generations in the CNMI to do everything in our power to ensure that they live in the best environment possible. It is this obligation, coupled with my general desire for a better life for all people, that is at the heart of all my social justice and political activism. It is this obligation that, whenever I feel like all hope is lost, reminds me that I must continue with my efforts no matter how futile they may seem at times. I don’t want my children, when I end up having them, to have to go through all of this turmoil, or to grow up thinking that corruption is acceptable or just business as usual. I don’t want to be a parent who has to decide between standing up for what is right or staying silent so I can keep putting food on the table. I don’t want to have to explain to my children when they ask me why the CNMI is so messed up, that my generation and the generation before mine saw what was happening but did nothing to correct the problem because we were too busy caring about ourselves instead of trying to help the CNMI prosper as a whole. I don’t want my children to feel like the only option for moving forward in life is to move away from the CNMI and never return. I don’t want my children to live in a CNMI where a large portion of people live with the government’s foot on their necks and are afraid to call public officials out because they could lose their job. No, that’s not the kind of CNMI that I want my children to grow up in.

The CNMI that I want my children to grow up in is a CNMI that thrives off of multiple (successful) industries, not just tourism. I want my children to grow up in a CNMI in which everyone is treated as equals and everyone has an equal opportunity for success. In my children’s CNMI, education is a top priority and the curriculum and programs set for the Public School System are some of the best in the Pacific. I want the CNMI to be a place where laws are upheld and enforced regardless of who is breaking them, by the time my children come into this world. I want my children to live in a CNMI where it’s not who you know, but what you know that lands you the job. I want the CNMI of my children to be a place where voters are well informed when it comes to the politicians, their platforms, and political/voting history; where people vote for who they believe is the best choice for the CNMI, instead of voting by party lines or strictly by family lines. The CNMI that I want for my children is a CNMI where the elected officials truly represent those who vote for them and are completely open with their constituents about what they are doing in regards to their office. Lastly, I want my children to grow up in a CNMI where everyone works together for the continued success of the Commonwealth as a whole, as well as the success of all its inhabitants.

I think it’s time for each of us to ask ourselves if this is really the CNMI that we want to leave for our kids. If the answer is no, then I say it’s time to start changing our ways now. We must overcome our fears and take a stand against the corruption of our government! It’s not exactly a secret that a revolution is needed in the CNMI, and with everything that has been going on lately, it’s pretty obvious that now is as good a time as ever to finally have one. There is a Global Day of Protest coming up on the 15th of September; maybe we can finally shed a positive light on the CNMI globally by participating in this Global Day of Protest and finally letting all our frustrations out. We can finally show the world that “We’re mad as hell, and we’re not going to take this anymore!” The “AG Escape” scandal should have been an eye-opener for everyone in the CNMI. Have we really let ourselves slide for so long that when our corrupt Attorney General tries to escape from a court summons by fleeing the island, he is assisted by our own police, who also harass a member of the press who tries to cover the story? Have we really gotten so used to all this corruption and abuse of power, that even upon hearing about this scandal, we still cannot manage to rise up as a community and say enough is enough? Have we really been so abused by our own government that we do not speak out against the injustices that it carries out against other people?

The foreign workers are just as much a part of our local community as any of us US citizens are. They have been here for many years, some even decades, contributing to the community in many ways. Despite the many struggles that they have had to face over the years, whether it be horrible living and/or working conditions, wage issues, forced labor, or any of the other things they’ve had to endure during their stay, they still continue to live and work in the CNMI to this day. These people came to our islands with no intent of staying here for so long, but after their first year of employment, they had liked the CNMI enough to be willing to stay longer. They have contributed to our islands in ways that many of us take for granted today: they built the infrastructure, they staff the tourism and hotel industries, they operate the taxis that transport the tourists, they fix our cars, they raise our children while we go off to work, and they account for a large percent of the private sector. They have done all of this and stayed in the CNMI all this time because they want to be there. They are now deeply rooted in the community, and many of them have children who went to school with your children. It is obvious that these people love these islands as much as we do, and truly wish to stay. Despite all of that, the US government just wants to kick them out, and the CNMI government wants them to stay, but remain as second-class citizens for the entire duration of their stay. Voiceless people can’t complain, right?

The foreign workers are seeing through it all and are finally starting to decide that they will no longer accept being a second-class citizen forever. They are opposed to the extension of the Transitional Worker Program, which only prolongs their status as second-class citizens in the CNMI. They are instead urging the US government to grant them permanent residency status so that they will finally have a pathway to citizenship. Some of you say that if they are granted improved immigration status, they’ll just pack their bags and leave the CNMI. I doubt that this would be the case, considering how deeply rooted these people are in the CNMI. They have been around for so long, and many of them are your friends. They desire to be permanent residents because they want to continue to live in the CNMI, but they are tired of their stay depending on how willing they are to accept abuse and injustice. Is it so wrong for them to ask for that? Wasn’t it Jesus who said “Love your neighbor as yourself?” Are we not a predominantly Christian community? Why are we not supporting our friends and neighbors in their fight for their right to stay in the CNMI as proper citizens? Have they not been living and working in the CNMI long enough to be considered as permanent residents? How would you want them to act, if the roles were reversed? Archbishop Desmond Tutu said it best: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” In the spirit of the religion and the God that most of us profess our never-ending faith to, should we not join them in solidarity, and ask that our elected officials in the CNMI fully support their cause?

The CNMI is a diverse community, a melting pot of the Pacific, and everyone is just trying to survive, resident and nonresident alike. However, no one can survive in the current environment of the CNMI, with all of the corruption and shady deals in the government that we all allow to continue. To my parents’ generation: are you guys happy with the way the CNMI turned out? Are you ok with the CNMI that your kids grew up in? To my generation: many of you are starting to have kids now; are you ok with your children growing up in a CNMI like this? Unless we all come together and rise up to crush the status quo before it’s too late, the CNMI will never change--not in our generation, at least--and that’s a very scary thought. I don’t know about you all, but I don’t want my kids to have to put up with the kind of government abuse I’ve had to put up with. Please stand up, all of you, and tell this government that you’re mad as hell, and you’re not going to take this any more! Some of you will say, “I have a family to support, and bills to pay! I can’t do it!” It’s exactly because you have a family to support, that you should all rise up as a community and put an end to government corruption and abuse. We are all residents of the CNMI, regardless of our citizenship, and we all want to see this place prosper.

How can we bring about a prosperous CNMI? The first step is being able to admit that we have a problem, and the next step is taking corrective action to solve that problem. Our residents need to be able to speak up about issues that they are concerned with. We need to be able to come together and work towards solutions to these problems, instead of just staying silent or just criticizing the government and playing the blame game. I propose that we utilize a direct action approach to our problems by organizing a General Assembly on a weekly basis, where residents can meet up, discuss the issues, propose solutions, vote on those proposals, and then carry them out. The General Assembly model is what the Indignados in Spain and the worldwide Occupy movement have been using to successfully mobilize the citizens into action. It’s easy to learn, and easy to use. This is participatory democracy at its finest, because everyone is encouraged to participate and all voices are heard on a level playing field. Using this model, we can discuss, as a community, what kind of changes we desire in the CNMI, and we can formulate and carry out plans to bring about those changes. We can build a CNMI that really is a paradise in the Pacific, one that we all helped to create together, instead of this nightmare that the politicians and businesses created for us.

I have said all that I could, and I hope that there are at least a few people who agree. I hope I see the rise of the General Assembly in the CNMI someday, and I hope I start seeing changes being brought about by the concerned residents of the CNMI. Change is going to be a long process for us, especially after all these years of the status quo prevailing in our Islands, but it is important that we start now, if we truly want our children to live in a better and brighter CNMI. Change is possible, but not unless you believe it is. Let’s stop being slaves to the status quo. Another CNMI is Possible. Let’s make it happen, people of the CNMI. In closing, I would like to quote Paul Laurence Dunbar’s “Sympathy:” I know why the caged bird sings, ah me, When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,—When he beats his bars and he would be free; It is not a carol of joy or glee, But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core, But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings—I know why the caged bird sings!

Start singing, CNMI. We have been silent for far too long. To see the cage is to leave it.

Kelvin Rodeo

Another CNMI Is Possible.

As you all know, things in our beloved CNMI are not as they should be. I don't have to tell you things are bad, because everyone knows things are bad. Things have been bad for so long, that many of us, especially the youth in our community, believe that "it's just the way things are" and that "it's never going to change." Have we really been victims of this corrupt system for so long, that our people honestly believe that there's no way out of it? I have heard many people, both young and old, say something to the effect of "it's useless, just go with it." I refuse to "just go with it." It is NOT useless. Another CNMI is possible. I truly believe that with every fiber of my being.

I will never give up on our islands, no matter how impossible it may seem, or how bleak our future may look. No matter how much of an uphill battle it is, I will keep on fighting for another CNMI. I will not stop until we have achieved our collective goal of bringing forth a new age of success and prosperity for our beloved islands. Our children deserve better than this. We owe it to them to fight for a better future for us all. Things weren't this bad for us when we were growing up, so why should we allow them to be this bad (or worse) for our children as they grow up?

No. We know that this is not the way that things are supposed to be in the CNMI. I know that better days are possible, but do YOU know that? I believe another CNMI is possible, and I want to see how many others out there also believe that. That's why I have decided to launch a new campaign called Another CNMI Is Possible. The purpose is not to make a political statement; it's not to criticize any government officials or agencies.

The purpose of this campaign is to show everyone in the CNMI just how many of us BELIEVE that another CNMI truly IS possible. The purpose of this campaign is to see what other people believe the CNMI could be like. The purpose of this campaign is to cast aside all our differences and come together under one unifying statement: WE BELIEVE ANOTHER CNMI IS POSSIBLE.

We don't represent any family, any political party, or any government agency. We simply represent ourselves, the people of the CNMI who believe that there is hope for the CNMI, and that another CNMI is possible. Are you one of us? Do you believe in your heart that another CNMI is possible? If you do, please join us as we launch this campaign. Head over to http://anothercnmiispossible.tumblr.com/post/19958384756/we-believe-another-cnmi-is-possible for more information.

Spread the word about our campaign on Facebook and Twitter. Upload your picture onto your Facebook and put the link in the description/caption of the picture. Get the word out to as many people as possible, and get them to join us in this campaign as well. Let's show everyone who thinks that this is just the way things are and it's never going to change, that they are WRONG. We have been divided for far too long. It's time to unite, brothers and sisters. Join us.

The main website is http://anothercnmiispossible.tumblr.com/. Check it out, add yourself to the wall, and then spread the word. We hope to see you there soon.

To the Foreign Workers of the CNMI

To the Foreign Workers of the CNMI:

You all know (more than I do, in fact) that there have been countless injustices and much abuse done unto you over your stay in the CNMI. Long hours at work only to be treated like garbage by your employer, sub-par wages, withheld or stolen wages, delayed paychecks, SEVERELY delayed tax rebates and refunds, scams, and whatever other injustices that have been done unto you behind closed doors that have gone unreported due to the fear that most of you possess of losing your job and whatever other reasons you may have; the list goes on and on. You are truly one of a kind; I do not believe that there are any other people in the world who live in a supposedly free nation who have to endure as much suffering and abuse from their host government. Your suffering has not gone unheard or unseen. In fact, there are numerous people who have heard of your plight and sympathize with your cause. However, we outside observers can only do so much, as we ourselves are not the ones directly involved and suffering the fate that you all must suffer through.

The most that we can do is tell your story to others, get the word out about your plight, and hope that these other people will also sympathize with your plight and in turn spread the word to other people. The ultimate hope of spreading the word in this fashion is that one day, someone important enough and with enough power and authority will hear of your suffering and do something to help you all. This is a process that could take years. Indeed, what little we have accomplished for you all so far is the product of decades of spreading the word and fighting the good fight in hopes that your cries will not fall on deaf ears. This is the way it has been for so long, and I can only see it continuing even longer if we go on the way we have: simply telling your story to others all over the world in hopes that someone will hear you and help you. We have reached a point in our lives where we can no longer afford to just sit back and tell your stories to other people. We cannot afford to wait for more years or decades for some savior to come in and give you your justice.

No; the time has come for us to try something new. The time has come for us to stand up and fight for ourselves. The sad fact of the matter is, no one is going to come in and save us all. Everyone, everywhere has problems of their own to deal with as the state of this world is rapidly declining. Everywhere around the world, in Greece, in Egypt, in Spain, in Tunisia, in Yemen, in Libya, in England, in Poland, and in Russia, among other places, people are standing up and shouting at the top of their lungs that they're mad as hell, and they're NOT going to take it anymore. These are everyday ordinary people just like you, who also have families to protect and futures to keep safe. But one thing sets them apart from all of you: they have cast off the shackles of their fears; the very same fear that has kept them from standing up and fighting back until very recently. And just look at all the change that has made for them! They are the true testament to PEOPLE POWER, as they set aside all their petty differences and banded together by the thousands (and in some places, by the tens and hundreds of thousands) to fight their common enemy. I believe that you, the foreign workers of the CNMI, have that same exact power within you all; you simply have to wake up, realize this Truth, organize, and mobilize.

Show the people (and especially the government) of the CNMI that you are NOT just disposable labor units! Show the Governor of the CNMI that you are HUMAN BEINGS who deserve every chance at a better life for yourself and your families here in the home that you have established in the CNMI. Yes, you are only contract workers here. Yes, your time was only supposed to be short in our Islands. Yes, you were only supposed to be guests here as part of the CNMI's Guest Worker Program. But as we all know, none of that matters anymore, because many of you are not currently under contract, and ALL of you have been here for more than just a short time and are no longer guests here. You have all grown to love the CNMI and now call it your home as well. Are you just going to continue to sit back and let whatever happens, happen? Are you just going to continue to be bound by your fears and let your oppressors continue to trample all over you and your families?

Governor Fitial has recently declared that he is ready and more than willing to deport over 9,000 of you. He is ready to tear your families apart or rob your children of their rights and privileges as US citizens. The worst part about this is that he wants to deport not just those of you who no longer have legal immigration status in the CNMI; he wants to deport those of you who HE considers overstayers, including everyone who was granted parole and those who have applied for parole. And my best bet is that he has no plans whatsoever to give any of you the money that is still owed to you before he deports you. Are you REALLY going to sit back and let this one evil man steal your money, your future, and your HOME from right under your feet, all because you were too scared to do something about it?

There is strength in numbers, and I can guarantee you that there are at least a thousand of you who feel the same way about everything that has happened to you during your residence in the CNMI. I can guarantee you that once one person steps up to the plate and says the right things and declares his or her stand against the oppression of this government and certain individuals in it and in the community, THOUSANDS will rally behind that person and that fight. Most of you are Filipinos; you should know more than I do, since you were the generation that lived through it, what PEOPLE POWER is and how strong we are when we come together to fight for change.

A brighter future is on the horizon; a secure future for you and your families is VERY possible, but only if you WANT it. My parents were lucky because they were able to wait for me to turn 21 so that I could petition them for a greencard, but most of you do not have that luxury now. The time for waiting is over. The time for action is NOW. Please, I implore you, for your sake and the sake of all of your friends and families and children who must suffer the same plight, STAND UP AND FIGHT!!!!

Sincerely,

Kelvin Rodeo

22 year-old son of two former Contract Workers on Saipan

Glendale, California

EDSA I (People Power Revolution in the Philippines, 1986)

EDSA II (Second People Power Revolution in the Philippines, 2001)

Re: Fitial: NMI illegals now over 9,000

An article came out in the Tribune today called "Fitial: NMI illegals now over 9,000," in which our beloved genius of a governor says that he is more than willing to deport over 9,000 people from the CNMI. This man would be removing many people who have been living and working in the CNMI (and thus contributing greatly to the community and economy) for decades, and separating parents from their US citizen children or otherwise forcing the children to decide between their home or their parents; and he is perfectly fine with doing so! We knew he was bad news before, but now we see just how heartless and truly evil this man is. How he won a second term in office, I will never understand.

“I told them that if you cannot deport overstayers, give me the authority to do so because I am very good in deporting overstayers,” he said in an interview on Saturday. (From the article) If that's the case, why don't you go ahead and deport yourself, since you're an overstayer too…. an overstayer in public office! You don't deserve to be our governor, and our people KNOW that. YOU know that. So, since you're so proud of being "very good in [wrong article, by the way; you're supposed to use AT, not IN…..learn some English, it'd do you good] deporting overstayers," PLEASE, Governor Fitial, do everyone in the CNMI a huge favor and deport yourself outta office!

“I don't understand what humanitarian parole is. My humanitarian issue here is my people who are not working because we have an underground economy going on because of too many legal overstayers,” he added. “Everybody who is not contributing to the community should not be here. In other words, get out. I cannot be more clear than that.” (From the article) So, everyone who is not contributing to the community should not be in the CNMI, eh? Are you going to tell that to the thousands of people of Northern Marianas Descent who are unemployed and living off of food stamps and other forms of welfare? People who have been doing it for years, and some even for GENERATIONS? Because last I checked, they don't contribute to the community, either. IN FACT, most of the foreign workers in the CNMI have contributed a whole LOT more to our community than those career foodstampers, so if your main concern and priority is getting everyone out of the CNMI who doesn't contribute to our community, why don't you start with the career foodstampers? Oh, that's right, that's because you're NOT actually concerned about people who aren't contributing to the community; you're actually concerned about foreign workers because you hate them so much and you just want them all gone. I think someone's forgetting where one of his loved ones came from….

“We need to remove all these overstayers because they are not contributing to this community,” he said, adding that when the Department of Homeland Security found out that the CNMI government was planning to sue over the one-year parole that USCIS has been starting to grant, “they requested that we talk. So talk is continuing.” (from the article) Yeah, because that is this GEINUS's idea for solving everything: sue the federal government as much as possible, as often as possible, for whatever reason possible! Yeah!! Let's go ahead and waste the CNMI taxpayer money with pointless lawsuits! You spend millions on these lawsuits, and then complain that our economy is bust and you blame the foreign workers for it? These people have been contributing to society in the CNMI since way before you even started the Covenant Party, you fool. You want to see who the REAL cancer to the CNMI is, go look in a damn mirror!

And also, if you're going to deport these thousands of people, what do you plan to do about getting them their tax refunds and rebates? And what about the wages that their employers owe some of them? Are you just going to brush that off as well and say "Oh too bad, better luck next time?" What a disgrace. If you're going to say that you're going to deport all these people, you'd better get them their money first, or you're going to have more problems than just people "not contributing to the community."

These 9,000+ people have been living in the CNMI for decades and contributing to the community in more ways than one (culturally, economically, socially, etc.). The REAL reason he doesn't want them to stay is because he knows that these people are finally waking up from a long slumber; the very slumber that living and working in the CNMI has put them in…. they are starting to wake up and realize their true power, and they know that they CAN fight for their rights. And that scares the bejeezus out of our beloved Governor, because he knows that when these people win their fight and get their long overdue rights, the entire political arena in the CNMI will change and Fitial & Co. will lose the stranglehold that they have over politics in the Islands. He can't have that happen, so his simple solution to it all is to just try to deport them. That's a HUGE slap in the face to the thousands of people who have been living and working in the CNMI for decades, who have raised families there, and who have been contributing to the country for all this time. He's basically saying to them: "Thank you for your help with developing my country, but your usefulness has run out and I have no more need for you here (HAH!); no get the hell off my island and go back to where you came from!"

Is this really the kind of person you want running your country, CNMI? What happened to being a good Christian (Catholic) and living up to the words of your supposed savior and religious figurehead, Jesus Christ? I guess that your religious devotion, much like your political tact, is just a huge sham. Way to go, Governor. Making the CNMI look worse day by day…. You need to step down from office, I think.

That is all.

My little rant on Education

Let me just start by saying that yes, it's about damn time that CUC finally take a stand and say enough is enough. It's about damn time that CUC starts shutting off power to the government offices that haven't been paying their fair share for electricity. Most definitely. In fact, it's something that they should have been doing from the start.

That said, with the long list of customers and government offices that owe CUC for utilities, WHY on earth would they choose to start with the KIDS? Why did they choose to start by stealing a day of education from our youth? It just doesn't make sense to me, when our government always claims that the education of our children is a very high priority. If it were such a high priority, why would CUC choose to cut off power to the schools, interrupting the education of our youth?

I'm really tired of the government always giving students the short end of the stick. Every year at election time, we always hear the politicians spout off about how important education is to them, only to have the very same people place education as the first thing they attack when the government comes up short on money. I don't know about you all, but I'm tired of this game. So tired, in fact, that I took a trip up to Sacramento on Sunday to get ready for a state-wide protest and rally. The rally took place at the Capitol Building on Monday, and I joined thousands of students from all over the state of California as we converged on the Capitol and protested against all the attacks on our education. It was an awe-inspiring show of student power. Thousands of people from all over the state and from different walks of life all came together and united because "When education is under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!"

It really upset me that I was on a bus heading home to LA after the protest and finding out that while I was fighting for our education here in California, the education back home in the CNMI was under attack, and this time the kids in primary and secondary education were the victims. Shame on you, Commonwealth Utilities Corporation, for not valuing the education of our children. I'm sure the children enjoy having the day off, but perhaps they just don't quite realize yet how important every single day of education is. I am hoping that it won't take the cutting of hundreds of classes and the firing of dozens of faculty when they're in college, before they realize that education is a very serious matter and every second of it should be cherished.

College students, don't just sit there and scratch your head when your SHEFA money and CNMI Scholarship money doesn't get to you on time! Take a stand for once and demand that you get your financial aid on time! Being a college student myself, I know how much is set off course when financial aid doesn't come in on time. The most important tool used in classes these days is the textbook, and with the ever-increasing cost of textbooks these days, we can hardly afford to buy them WITH the financial aid money that we get. When financial aid doesn't get to you on time, you are at a very high risk of falling behind in your classes because you can't afford the textbook that your course is being taught with. Is that right? Hell no! Why should students have to suffer because our government doesn't know how to spend within its means?

Insufficient funds for SHEFA? GET MAD!!! CNMI Scholarship money delayed? GET MAD!!! The government continues to get away with marginalizing our education because they depend on you NOT saying or doing anything about it. "Oh, that's just the way it is," they want you to think. But NO! That's NOT the way it's supposed to be! It's been happening for so long that you all believe that's the way it is, but it's not supposed to be like that! If they TRULY cared about your education, do you think your financial aid would be delayed with the reasoning that "there's simply no money for it?" HELL NO! If they really cared about your education, they would know how to spend within their means, how to NOT throw away money on wasteful expenditures, and how to ENSURE that there is ALWAYS enough money for the financial aid programs in the CNMI. But has any of this happened? NO. Why? Because none of you have ever said or done anything about it, and that's exactly what they depend on.

The only way they keep getting away with attacking our education is with OUR consent. By remaining silent about the things they pull off, we are, in effect, giving our silent consent to it. SO the next time you see that your checks aren't arriving on time, GET MAD! Organize a protest or rally about it and demand that your education be a priority in their budget! Our education should be a TOP priority because WE are the leaders of tomorrow!

"All I know is that first, you've got to get mad! You've got to say, I'm a human being, goddammit! My life has value! ...I'm as mad as hell, and I'm NOT going to take this anymore!" - Howard Beale, Network