Boricua Blogs

“Only Siths and Republicans deal in Absolutes”

And the absolute truth of the matter is…. you are an idiot. At least that is what some people think of you. WMD was the slogan to save the PEACE of the USA, but nothing was ever found and no one said oops, we made a mistake. No one apologized for the newly created amputees in the Armed Forces. Here’s another good one, “When Clinton lied, nobody died”.

 Lets try this one, “Do you think the world is a safer place with Sadam Husein out of power.” No, it’s actually less safe now. Even Bin Laden, in his most recent audio tape thanked George W for helping his cause, by deteriorating the economic strength of the US.  When asked about the state of the economy, our Leader in Chief said, with some pausing, the markets are strong. Okay, that wasn’t fair, no one told him that the question was about the US Economy. Yes, it is strong. So strong that Foreclosures are up, Unemployment is Up, Bankrupcies are up, fuel prices are up, medical health coverage (if you can find it) is up. Strong, strong strong.

Remember this “Trickle Down Economics” - problem was that it was just that, a trickle. Why didn’t the American Conscience listen to Jimmy Carter when he put tax breaks in place for solar heating in homes. Seems that looking back, this would have caused the US to be Less Dependent on Foreign Oil. Now this administration says we must reduce dependence on foreign oil by 20%, which should be real easy since it has risen by 40% since the Carter Administration. We must reduce the deficit by… wait a minute, wasn’t there a surplus when you took office. I love this guy and all the Republicans.

Here is what is in store for us next. I heard this from some one last week. But Obama will address the Muslim Agenda. Okay, now I’m stupid. What does that mean?

Congress has been recently considering another plebliscite vote for the Commonewealth Status of Puerto Rico. In past votes, the citizens of Puerto Rico have been given 3 options: Statehood, Independence and Status Quo. This time there will be a fourth option added, Revised Commonwealth Status.

Voters will be once again asked to vote on the status  of Puerto Rico. Do they want to apply for statehood for the island nation? Are they seeking independence? Is the current commonwealth status acceptable or do they feel that a revised commonwealth status should be considered? The question voters need to consider will affect the status of Puerto Rico as a Commonwealth of the United States.

Statehood has been gaining momentum among many of the politicians in Puerto Rico and the Independence Movement has been getting a lot more attention in the press the past few months. But are these realistic choices? Can Puerto Rico survive as an independent nation after so many years as a colony of Spain and since 1898 as a colony of the United States.  Does this island nation that needs to import food have the resources to be independent and self governing?

On the other side of the debate is the increasing call for statehood. In past plebliscite votes, the citizens of Puerto Rico have voted for the status quo, leave Puerto Rico as a Commonwealth of the United States. The choice for statehood has finished a close second, each time closing the gap between commonwealth status and the option to become a state.  What needs to be considered in the statehood question is whether or not Puerto Rico can live up to the standards required of statehood? Many federally funded programs will become the responsibility of Puerto Rico as a state. This may effectively remove the safety net that commonwealth status offers. Puerto Rico will need to find sources of revenue to replace these federally funded programs, a task that may overwhelm the finances of Puerto Rico and push the poverty level lower than it already is.

Puerto Rico has one of the highest voter turn out rates for elections. Everyone in Puerto Rico has an opinion on what should be done and what direction Puerto Rico should move in.  One thing is for sure, when asked what they want, the people of Puerto Rico will respond. The question is, will they respond in unison or will the island nation be strongly divided in their decisions?

As the childhood story goes, the emperor of the land ordered a set of new clothes from a local tailor. The tailor managed to convince the emperor that he would have a new set of clothes with a special effect. The clothes would be visible only to those who knew the truth and would be invisible to those who did not. The hoax was perfectly planned because even though no one could see the clothes, no one said anything because no one wanted to admit that they could see the truth and the truth was a lie. No one wanted to be the one to admit that the reality of things was not the truth they were being told. Everyone, that is, except a young child who announced, “The King is Naked”.

 Only after this innocent child spoke the truth did the rest of the empire agree and admit that the truth was a lie.  But no one ever admitted that they believed the truth, only that they now agreed it was a lie. So who was to blame for this blunder? Was it the taylor who spun the web of lies and sold it as the truth? or was it the people of the land who agreed that a lie was the truth because they did not want to be the one who admitted to believing the lie.

Did the people of the land help to build the confidence of the lie or were they just believing what they were being told? Is it the fault of the masses who are led by the hand or is it the fault of the leaders who spin the tale in order to accomplish what they need to do?

Regardless, now that the truth is out and the people are being led by a naked and foolish emperor, what can be done to correct it? How can the nation be taken seriously again by the rest of the world for supporting this naked emperor? Who will help move the nation back in the right direction?