It's been brought to my attention that my comments may be too negative. That's not my intention, but I understand someone could think that.

Let me explain. I like Saipan, and I like the people of the Commonwealth, or I wouldn't have stayed here all of these years. A few folks are a little, er, insular. You know, suspicious of outsiders. That's understandable and much like the small towns where I grew up.

The islands are beautiful. I burned countless rolls of film when I first came here. Now I have a tendency to shrug and think 'oh, another gorgeous sunset'.

I'm wary of government, any government. They were invented to help us, to control us, to do things to us. I don't like that, even though it's necessary. So I criticize (you might say mouth off) sometimes. It's not the people, it's the system I'm criticizing.

I like Governor Fitial. He's smart and capable, and has always been charming and funny when I've seen him in small groups.

The Administration is reducing the size of the government. Some news reports show that the process is not perfect, but the trend is in the right direction. The current problems are not all of his making, they have just come to a head now. I say not all because he is a former Speaker of the House.

Many of these problems were evident when Governor Babauta was elected. I remember telling friends that the CNMI was headed for disaster unless the governor began a Reduction in Force or took other steps. The usual reply was that he couldn't because he didn't want to be a one-term governor. I guess there's always a danger of that happening.

It appears CUC will be privatized. I think that's a good thing, and overdue.

I'm following a lot of Jack Abramoff's doings, and not just concerning the Commonwealth. That sort of thing fascinates me, but I'm not on the sidelines cheering for any particular outcome.

I'll even try to be positive about the garment industry: though I think it should never have come here, I have to admit that our shipping has gotten better.