Nisei for a new century?

Somebody please tell me I'm wrong.

I just pulled up the Pacific Times on the internet, realizing I keep forgetting it's around. It's easy to do, because I can't take that rag very seriously. You know, the people who thought things were Pretty Darn Good before the gubernatorial election and let the voters convince them that they were Pretty Darn Better instead. It seems a broadsheet can make an excellent weathervane.

But if you want to know the Covenant Party Line there's probably no better place in print.

The headline 'America will be just'* caught my eye. Normally I don't pay much attention to politicians' speeches at a soldier's funeral. They're meant to be a comfort to the family, and I hope they are. And, of course, no one is cynical enough to try scoring political points:

"Our boys will continue to fight and die for American policy objectives in Iraq and around the world, wherever they may be called into action. And I do know that our local community will continue to support our troops as loyal and patriotic Americans, in much the same way that second generation Japanese-Americans served during World War II," Gov. Benigno R. Fitial said in a speech during a solemn mass held at the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Cathedral.

The emphasis, of course, is mine. Did the U.S. declare war on the Commonwealth? Maybe I'm reading too much into that. Or maybe not:

He added, "And in the end, I believe America will be just and that the sacrifice of our boys will not have been in vain."

Is this where the administration is headed on labor and immigration issues?

*Sorry, you have to navigate to it through the Local News tab, none of the stories link. Well, Maybe they do. One of my browsers helpfully shows a choice of titles like 'most read story' with an identifying number, but that looks like the sort of thing that's temporary.

All the news that fits

It seemed like old times when I plopped down in front of the Saipan Tribune and read "GOP meeting ends in shouting match As leadership railroads proposed amendments".

I had to glance at the masthead to be sure I wasn't reading the late lamented Commonwealth Examiner. (I also checked for JJ Cruz in the letters to the Editor, but couldn't even find Holani Smith.)

The story, headline included, was so slanted I'm surprised the words didn't slide off of the page.

Now, from the little I know, I'm inclined to sympathize with the Precinct IV club (club? nevermind), but my BS detector went off so loudly that dogs a block away started barking.

So, some questions for someone, anyone, who was there: Was former House Speaker Rasa given as much time as the other speakers? Were there other people waiting for a chance to speak? How and why did Mr. Pangelinan "cut Rasa short"? What did Mr. Camacho say when he "spoke in defense of the amendments". "Several others" spoke, but what did they say?"

Enquiring minds want to know.

An unpacific truth

The U.S. policy toward Micronesia is driven by military and strategic concerns.

Nothing new there, but it's never stated so baldly. Let's don our red-white-and-blue glasses and peer at labor and immigration issues in the Commonwealth, particularly Saipan.

A mid-level garment executive was a fellow guest at a dinner. Somebody, it could have been me, asked him if he was a member of the Communist Party. "Of course," he said. He was surprised at the question, and I had been naive. How else would you get ahead in China Inc.?

It's no secret that prostitutes rode in on the wave of Chinese immigration. They're working class, of course, and unlikely to be card-carrying members. But they're vulnerable, trying to make money illegally in a foreign country, and they have family members back home. Those are pressure points, and cause concern to anyone planning a military buildup. As they say, "loose lips sink ships".

There are thousands of Filipinos, some of them Muslim. Hundreds of Bangladeshis, and those that I know are Muslim. To the best of my knowledge, these are fine God-fearing, hard-working people who have caused no trouble. They also come from poor countries, the sort of places that breed radical Islamists. This should trouble military planners and State Department policy wonks.

They wouldn't be doing their jobs if they weren't looking hard at all of those facts. They're not the folks running with the election cycle. These are career civil servants, military officers and Congressional staffers whose stay in Washington is longer than most Congressmen. The people who make up the government's institutional memory.

They work behind the scenes, don't make speeches and seldom make the headlines, unless it's through something leaked to a reporter. I wonder what they're doing now.

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.

Don't look behind the curtain

Thanx to the Marianas Variety for my laugh of the day.

Evidently the governor's Press Secretary responded to a question about the FBI coming here to follow the trail of Jack Abramoff by saying "Why not investigate how they can help Gov. Benigno R. Fitial save this small and fragile economy for the 70,000 people that live here?"

So we change the name to Federal Bureau of Invigoration?

I get the impression he thinks the 'federal government' is a person who can't walk and chew gum at the same time.

An arm of the Justice Department is investigating, well, something. They haven't told me, but the newspaper says it's Abramoff.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Congress is revisiting labor and immigration provisions of the Covenant between the CNMI and the U.S. The tree is the same, but different branches are addressing different issues.

Note: When saying Abramoff is not important, past history and nobody cares, try not to mention his name a half-dozen times. You don't want to draw too much attention to such a nonissue.

What do I know, but a simple 'we see nothing wrong with Mr. Abramoff's efforts on behalf of the CNMI and will cooperate with any investigation' would seem to dispose of the matter. Then again, if he hadn't mounted the soapbox I'd probably still be in a bad mood.

The dearth of the middle class

Saipan really doesn't have a middle class. Have you noticed?

It's less true on Tinian and Rota, but still true.

The incredible success of the United States has been credited to abundant resources, to the political system, to the economic system, to the mix of people, or to all of those. Whatever the reason, it has led to a huge middle class compared to the rest of the world.

That's something I look for whenever I'm studying a country. It's a pretty good indicator of a lot of things including whether an oligarchy runs the place and the degree of social and economic mobility. I think of it as a sort of flywheel keeping a society running straight.

It seems to me that countries without a strong middle class are more unstable, more unfair and generally less developed. In Lebanon and Iraq you read that things are so bad the middle class is packing up and leaving. Uh, oh.

It's easy to get bogged down in definitions. They vary from country to country. You could say it's only shopkeepers, professionals, clerics and white collar workers. I say I know it when I see it. To me, carpenters, plumbers and other skilled workers are now part of the middle class. That's in the mainland; it would be a joke to say that here, and that's why I'm thinking about the subject.

Walk down a street and enter the next ten shops you pass. Please note, who is the owner? That's who runs the economy. I'm not attacking the Koreans, the Filipinos, the Chinese, ah whatever, it's a long list. They were allowed to start businesses and they did it. If they were hyphenated Americans, e.g. Korean-American, I would say no problem. But where are the local companies?

I'll bet that you were listing off local businesses while you read that, and some of them are very successful. There are also a lot of middle class workers in the private sector. I'll also bet that the lists aren't that long.

Look at the problems Fiji has had in recent years, and look at the cause. From my reading, Fijians felt that they had lost control of their economy, and many couldn't deal with the idea that the Indians would also control the government.

But some local businesses have prices set too high, or are run poorly. That's simple, they'll fail, as most new businesses do. The owners will learn some lessons, pick themselves up, and many will try again. Read some books by successful entrepreneurs and you'll usually see stories of early failures.

You may have noticed I haven't mentioned government workers. There's a reason: they don't have any economic mobility. Nobody's going to quit Finance tomorrow and find an equivalent mid-level private sector job. Sure, they're middle class by income, but realistically they're working class like every contract worker.

Bota?

I hate to be an enabler, but I can sense the desperation behind his plea for votes. I refuse to get involved in the sordid details, but if you're interested, go to his website