"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

The Time for Action is NOW!

FOR decades, we have put up with the greed, selfishness, and overall corruption of our CNMI government. Our so-called "leaders" have been the main cause of the rapid decline of the CNMI, enacting laws that served themselves and reflected only their personal goals and desires. And yet we have voted these people into office over and over again countless times. So many times, in fact, that these people think that they can get away with anything. The time has come to give them a reality check and remind them who they really work for.

We are the people who elect them, and we demand that they listen to us!

The House of Representatives is intent on passing the fiscal year 2012 budget bill this Friday. Included in the bill are:

• a pay raise for the lawmakers while they cut down on discretionary funds

• a $4 million cut in PSS funding, a $400,000 cut in NMC funding

• an $11,000 raise in BOE funding

They are also intent on passing House Local Bill 17-44, the Saipan casino bill, even after voters voted against a casino twice in our history. "Representative" Froilan C. Tenorio said he knows there are people who are against casino on Saipan, but “this is not the time to be protesting against something that will generate revenue for the government.”

He knows that people are against it, yet he is intent on pushing forward with it? This is outrageous! We can clearly see that our legislators seem to have forgotten or otherwise do not care about the will of their constituents. There has been great discussion about all of this on online forums and social media outlets, but nothing has been done. It’s time to stop talking, and start doing something about it.

We must come together and protest against these lawmakers and their intent to pass these bills. It’s time, CNMI. We must show them who’s boss! Together, with a united voice, we will remind them that they work for us, and we are not happy employers. They most certainly do not deserve a pay raise, and we do not want a casino on Saipan. On Friday, Aug. 26, 2011, we will make sure that they fully understand this. Meet us in front of the Legislature at 1pm, and bring your signs and your voices. On this day, CNMI, we will make history. Join us.

Go to http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=164979866912694 to let others know you'll be there and to invite others to the event.

Welcome to my blog!

I created this blog because I have become quite the political activist lately, and I needed some place to post everything that I write.  I've been quite prolific with my writings as of late, and I can't exactly send a letter to the editor every day, now can I?  Well, I could, I suppose, but it would be quite impractical.  I could post it on Facebook, too, but it's a lot easier for me to just post whatever I write on here.  And so, I have created this blog for all of you to be able to read the things that I write.  I write things in response to current events and letters to the editor that are published in the Marianas Variety and Saipan Tribune.  I'll try not to write too often, but I can't make any promises.  :)  Please, feel free to leave comments.  Let me know what you think of the things that I write!  I look forward to hearing from all of you.  Also, please don't hold back.  If you disagree with something that I wrote, let me know!  A little bit of friendly debate is always good.