Solving Puerto Rico 007: Laura Gorbea and James O'Malley

MERRY CHRISTMAS, Y'ALL!

The James Bond vidcast presents two of my favorite people, the husband-and-wife team of Laura Gorbea and James O'Malley. Both are talented, well-educated, entrepreneurial souls that also happen to be the parents of four lovely children. In this video, they discuss their idea about fostering Fine Arts education in Our schools. And as you shall see, they don't just talk about ideas: listen and you will discover what their wonderful oldest daughter did.

To get to know Laura and James a little, click here or just click below:

And with this family-oriented theme, I want to wish all of you the very Merriest of Christmases.



The Jenius Has Interviewed.

Solving Puerto Rico 005: Ramphis Castro

The best thing about talking with smart people is that you come away with an enhanced perspective on the issues discussed. That's the case with Ramphis Castro, an energetic explorer of ideas who takes action. As you'll see in the vidcast, I give him the idea of "the 5--", uh, actually, Ramphis gives Me the idea of identifying "the 5%," the folks who know what's up and are either doing or are willing to do what's needed to make Puerto Rico better.

Yeah, I want credit for every great idea out there.

Here's the link or just click on the bearded man below:

 You'll be hearing more about "The 5%" (now capitalized, which was MY idea) in future Jenius posts.



The Jenius Has Interviewed.

Puerto Rico Needs Me

Go ahead: read the title again. "Typical Jenius," you might say, "As self-centered as ever." Maybe you shake your head. "Thinks that all this messed-up Island needs is Him! Like He's going to wave some sort of Jenius wand and fix it all!"

Yes, I do have a magic Jenius wand and yes I do think I could eventually fix what's wrong with My Island, but it would take the kind of dictatorial effort that is (a) anathema to My general inclinations and (b) ridiculous to think could ever come true.

No, I mean what the title says: Puerto Rico Needs Me...referring to You.

You who sees what the problems are and are already hard at work making solutions happen.

You who sees what the problems are and can spare the brain-time to seek solutions.

You who can see the problems and can spare the time to tell others where the solutions are coming together.

You who can perceive the problems and wish with all your heart that someone would let you help with the solutions.

You who perceive the problems and would help if a practical solution would be presented to you.

You who perceive the problems and would help only when its convenient, meaning when your chips are in the fire...as they are or soon will be.

And you who only occasionally perceives a problem, but gets all riled up about it and wants to do something now. You at least have a form of monkey-rage that can be useful, if properly guided.

As for the rest of you, those who perceive the problems and shrug their shoulders, shake their heads or make plans to live in Orlando, We don't need you. Those of you who perceive the problems and are waiting for "someone" to fix them, We don't want you. If the "someone" you expect to fix the problem is from the U.S. of part of A., do Us a favor and drop dead. And if you don't perceive any problems, but complain and moan and bitch that everything sucks while cashing your unearned checks...well, I already suggested another group drop dead, so why be redundant?

It is an inescapable fact: We are Puerto Rico, We are Our problem and thus We need Us to solve it. Too few of Us see that, fewer if Us accept this basic Truth and woefully--pitifully--very few of Us are trying.


But We are trying. It is a hard thing to do, this saving of a nation from itself, from its indifferences and biases and venalities. Nobody has to do it, but all of Us are required to.


The Jenius Has Spoken.

The More We Do, The More We Can

[Note: My very belated Thanks to Janine-Mendes Franco for picking up a recent Jenius post on the local "strike."]

The More We Do, The More We Can. Mientras Más Hacemos, Más Podemos.

That's the name of My "Let's get more grant proposals written and submitted" plan, mentioned in My previous post.

The purpose of this plan is to significantly increase the number of federal grant proposals dealing with Puerto Rico's social and economic woes and not only gain much-needed experience of how to be successful at it, but also gain the much-needed funding to correct or halt the downward spiral We see in so many areas.

My initial point was to reduce My fee per proposal from $3,000 to $600. The expertise is the same, the writing ability is the same, but the accessibility has changed. By making My abilities more accessible, it opens the door to more organizations and individuals to participate and learn. And for those concerned about My income, I can always fall back on "I'll make it up on volume." Maybe, maybe not. But the goal is "more proposals," and that's the only measurement I count on My side.

There are four additional points that make up the core of this plan. The second point is that the increased number of proposals means an increased level of feedback. My goal is to take that feedback and share it with every participant that submitted a proposal with Me. The benefit is that they will (eventually) learn in days what could take them months or years to absorb: the bottom-line details and fine-tunings that make the difference between a grant and "good try."

The third point addresses a weakness I have dealt with before, but must do so again: few people know where to look for grant funding. And beyond that, they also need to know/imagine what would work in Puerto Rico and what won't. For that, I have started a daily Twitter feed under @FederalFundsPR that quickly lists grant programs that I believe have high applicability to Puerto Rico. In some cases, Puerto Rico has the "minority" advantage, in others it might be related to socioeconomic factors. In any case, follow @FederalFundsPR (you can see it at the top of the left sidebar here on Gil The Jenius, under "Federal Grant Programs") and learn what's available.

I'll point out that the programs apply as well to the Greater U.S. of part of A. My focus is My Island, but proposals that could help Puerto Ricans or others in the States are equally valid in My plan. The money might stay "there," but the experience will come "here."

A fourth point is the launching of a Facebook page and a website--www.factorefectivo.com--to help support the plan and extend the levels of contacts to reach as many entities as possible. I'm not happy so far with the Facebook effort and the website has a broader application that is under development, but they will become part of the plan.

And the fifth point is a PDF I wrote, which I will update periodically, titled Cómo Conseguir Fondos Federales (How to Get Federal Funds.) It is free. Yes, free, for now. Just leave your e-mail address in the Comments, send Me a Direct Message tweet over in @FederalFundsPR or wait for Me to update this post with a link to download a copy (free; I mentioned that already, right?) from Facebook and/or FactorEfectivo.com.

The More We Do, The More We Can. Mientras Más Hacemos, Más Podemos. 

Join Me.



The Jenius Has Spoken.

Clusterboinging Fault

So before I go back to My usual 3-posts-a-week schedule, where are We in this whole "Who's running Puerto Rico?" clusterboinging?

Yes, a double question mark question. Jenius.

On the political side, it is beyond debate that the Fool calling the governmental shots is Thomas "Tantrum" Rivera, senate president in the way you combine the words "dog" and "pound". He has opposed Luis "The Larva" Fortuño since the grub was a primary candidate and openly challenged The Larva as early as Election Night.

Tantrum continued his, uh, opposition by threatening to hang The Larva's original Health Department nominee...and doing so easily. And then repeating the dose in budget and other legislative issues. The trend has continued and escalated to the point where The Larva backed down like a sissy from merely the potential threat of upsetting Tantrum with his latest Education Department nominee.

Staying on the Education debacle for another paragraph, it took The Larva until April--more than three months after his inauguration--to get an Education Secretary confirmed--by Rivera in a split-second, damn-the-law ramrodding through the senate. Given that delay and how quickly The Larva threw his latest nominee under the bus, who in his or her right mind would want to take the job now? Like I said long ago: only a mediocre, unqualified drone looking to make a name for himself or herself.  The patient's dying and the only doctor We'll find is a snake oil salesperson.

By having a spineless chicken (or Larva) as (non)governor, We don't have a government of direction and drive--the Executive functions--but one of stops and deviations, the perversion of the legislative functions of checks and balances.  By allowing a mad dog (I'm full of veterinary similes today) twist the legislative function into a personal exercise of power and plunder, We don't have a government of the people and for the people, but a government preying on the people for the benefit of the chosen people. And by being slack-jawed automatons watching the carnage, We don't have a government, We have prison guards.

Where's the judiciary in this clusterboinging? Playing with itself, like a retarded monkey with its foreskin. The judiciary can be bought and sold like cheap skanks to the closest bidder. (Yes, "closest," not "highest.") They will play-for-pay on the side they favor. Am I implying justice is money-based? No: I'm affirming it.

And the Fourth Estate, that all-important independent watchdog of government? Puh-lease. Our media isn't a watchdog, it's a flea: as smart as a flea, as observant as a flea and as dependent as a flea on the big dumb animal it barely feeds off of. I may even start a Pukelitzer Prize to reward the sycophants and asskissers that abound in that laughably tragic "fourth estate."

This bears repeating because it's obvious We're too stupid to get it the first 12,000 times: We elect the government. They work for Us...if We pay attention. Not "paying attention" in the usual boricua way of "My guy is always right!", but in the sense of "What is he doing, why and to what purpose?" 

Now I know some of you have already slumped inside, intuitively sensing that you are not capable or willing enough to make the effort. I'd insult you, but what's the point? You're the reason We're in this mess and you're the main reason We won't get out of it. You and your flatliner passivity, your cowardice to face reality, have elected the perfect representative: The Larva. And to some of the rest of you, who turned off your brains at the "My guy is always right!" sign are also to blame, because your ilk elected Tantrum.

And some of you, stop shaking your heads, smiling, thinking "I didn't vote for either!" Yes you did, by supporting the types of Fools that allow each other to act like dirty screws in a chicken-shit county prison. You voted and walked away from the whole mess, but the mess is every day, not every four years.

To the few of Us who want to make changes, who advocate kicking Fools in the groin if need be to make them obey the Constitution and rule of law, to forcibly remind the herd that We are the bosses, masters and owners of Our government and that they are nothing more than Our servants, well, We keep at it because We simply cannot accept descending to the levels of the rest of you.

Hmm, I guess I did insult you after all...

The Jenius Has Spoken.

Larva "Leadership" Lowdown

From the blog Dumb Little Man, The 7 Signs of a Leader. Let's compare the list to Our very own (non)governor Luis "The Larva" Fortuño, shall We?:

1) Vision
Leaders are visionaries; they know where they’re going, and their committed to bringing others along. They have a clear vision of what they want to accomplish and their vision is so compelling that it inspires others to participate in the fulfillment of the vision.

Leaders (a) know where they're going, thus (b) have a vision and (c) the vision is crafted so as to inspire others. The Larva fails at (a)...thus failing at (b) and (c).

2) Discipline
Leaders are disciplined individuals! They are the first partaker of what they preach and they exemplify unprecedented discipline, focus, and commitment in the achievement of their vision.

If by "discipline" one means "stubborn use of inactivity and mealy-mouthiness," then We have a winner.

3) Emotional Strength
Leaders are not easily shaken. Leaders anticipate challenges and are not derailed by obstacles. Leaders remain strong when things get tough; they don’t faint when adversity strikes.

Leaders have an amazing level of emotional strength.

I don't think The Larva has fainted when confronted with challenges, but We can make a case for "lost his mind," "went catatonic" or My favorite "Set brain on 'Stun'!"

 
4) Experience
Leaders have experience. In other words, they’ve been around the block a few times and they know where they’re going. Their experience has taught them how to get things done and they can differentiate between activity and accomplishment, between efficiency and effectiveness.

Leaders focus their efforts on the tasks that produce the greatest rewards.

The "hidden" aspect here is that a leader embodies the "Been there, learned from that" principle, whereas  The Larva is more a "Been there and here I am again" kinda guy.

5) Respect
Leaders are respected and trusted individuals. Leaders have earned the respect of their followers by becoming an “example.” They chart the course, follow their destiny, and inspire others in the process.

Leaders are respected because they earn respect. The second they demand respect is the second they are no longer a leader.

The Larva has lost this battle: before the elections, when his party openly resisted his campaign and when he won, when party members made it very clear he was nowhere near being "The Man." Course not: he's The Larva.

6) People Skills
Leaders have great people skills; they are friendly to the unfriendly, they know how to respond in every situation. Leaders do not engage in personal battles, they save their strength for the task at hand.

Leaders treat people with respect and dignity; they connect with others on a personal and emotional level.

Really good "people skills" don't include hiring--and tolerating--people with verbal diarrhea, pre-taping a key policy speech on the firing of government workers and blaming the media when an egg whizzes by. Nor does it include changing your "final" decisions several times.

 
7) Momentum and Timing
Finally, leaders know how to create momentum, and they know when to act. Nothing great is ever accomplished without momentum and timing.

If by "momentum" you mean "not advancing at all, like a bald-tired, underpowered clunker on glass sprayed with WD-40," then yes, The Larva is momentum personified. As for timing, he uses a calendar for 3-minute eggs. 'Nuff said.

Okay, thus endeth the Leadership Lowdown for today. Please head for the exits. Next showing in 48 hours.

The Jenius Has Quoted.

The Larva = The Legend

(Non)governor Luis "The Larva" Fortuño is the only other of Puerto Rico's governors who directly compares to Our legendary first-elected governor Luis Muñoz Marín.

That statement offends statehooders, who hate the idea of a jíbaro with a better understanding of "their" U.S. of part of A. than they have ever had.

That statement offends commonwealthers, who hate the idea of anyone comparing to El Vate, though his concepts and plans have been proven sterile and the end results a proven dead-end.

That statement offends independentistas, who hate th-- Aw, who cares what those four people think?

Now before We get off on the wrong tangent, there's only one specific way a neophyte wannabe (non)governor with barely 10 months of residence in La Fortaleza can compare to a four-term,  hugely popular (pun intended), internationally-renowned society-changer. And that is:

Neither man had to worry about getting re-elected.

In the case of LMM, it was because he had no real challengers. In the case of LTLF, it's because he has no chance.

Now I wrote about this with former (un)governor Aníbal "The Jellyfish" Acevedo before he was charged (and subsequently cleared) of electoral fund fraud, stating that he should use this "freedom" from trying to cling to power to make some serious changes in Our Society.

Now imagine what would have happened if he had tried that instead of playing politics-as-usual. Take the government jobs issue, for example. The Jellyfish could have pushed the idea forward--because it is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the RIGHT thing to do--and let the statehooders bleat and bray to their jackasses' content...only to have to turn around and actually propose doing it anyway.

End result: a step in the right direction and a political coup for a dying party. 

Then again, maybe it was best for The Jellyfish to just sink slowly into oblivion.

Back to LMM and The Larva. By casting aside all considerations for electoral success, in essence focusing on the job of doing what's best for the nation rather than what's most expedient for a political career allows a leader to make deeply significant changes. In the case of LMM, he did, to a historical degree still discussed. In the case of The Larva, well, We're dissing him daily.

The Larva has approval ratings that match median college ages for undergraduates and they are not even close to bottoming out. His own party despises him, his hand-picked "advisors" redefine loose cannon as "big mouths with rusty iron for brains" and he's chosen "isolation" as his preferred form of dealing with the public, akin to a priest consorting with whores in terms of raising his image in Our eyes.

So why not go for true leadership rather than polls? Why not stand up and educate Us on what's really going on, what the government really is and what this all means to each of Us? Why not take a stand against the entrenched imbecility and lead a charge against it? 

True, LMM had a poor country desperate for change, eager investors greedy for profits and an eventually-friendly Congress to further support his vision and intelligence. The Larva has only shown glimpses of intelligence and maybe--maybe--We are desperate for change. But that's two partial scores in a realm of potential progress versus huge zeros in the political arena he wallows in now. There's no doubt he'd be better off with a small percentage of something instead of zero percent of a whole lotta nothing.

And what would We gain from it? A champion in the government highly-placed enough to make Us fully aware of how Our government treats Us like servants, how they mismanage Our present and future and how they--Our elected Fools--must be reduced and eliminated before they finish Us.

Will We like it? Maybe. Will the Fools? Hell no. But unless someone like The Larva makes the effort, We will continue with petty political pettifoggery covering up the massive destruction of Our future.

The Jenius Has Spoken.

Laws of Power(mongering)

My 800th post...

There's a movement locally to unite serveral Municipalities into discrete regions based on proximity and socioeconomic factors, in essence, the possible creation of counties (or what in Loo-zee-ana are called parishes.)

Based on the level of enthusiasm shown by the Fools at the Municipal level, maybe the word movement should be preceded by the word "bowel."

The problem can be defined simply as "holding on to power." No mayor is willing to subsume his or her inadequate personality and bird-brained political shenanigans into a larger unit where decisions are made by a committee or a County Board. They will deny the "power stranglehold" angle while emphasizing the "inefficiency of group-think," although none of them could define group-think in under 6 minutes.

And they are partially right...because they are so unanimously wrong. Because nearly all of Our mayors are sub-developed political freaks, seeking a position where the opportunities to actually make a change are nil (centralized control at almost every level and agency), the primary task is vote-getting (for their equally bird-brained parties) and with the sole benefit of fame/notoriety, mayors here are glad-handing party hacks with rhino hides to take on the constant barrage of criticisms they receive.

Very few rise above that and they do so through just one long gutter: become mayor of a large city and gain more power through political party in-fighting. Mayors from large cities, such as San Juan, Bayamón, Caguas, Carolina and Ponce, have been able to leverage their "voting bases" with party politics to try to make larger changes, with varying degrees of success.

But given that model, what chance do smaller towns have of being change models themselves?

Strike One: Mayors are seldom honest workers and very seldom visionaries.

Strike Two: Small voter bases = small central party and government attention.

Srike Three: Attempts at unity are basely self-serving and thus fall apart.

So, rather than having another law on Our disastrously heavy books that We don't pay attention to, how about We nullify that law and simplify the process to create autnomous municipalities, a process so laden with bureaucratic barnacles that only 8 of 78 towns have been able to complete the process...in 19 years?

I know, why eliminate one badly-implemented idea for another badly-implemented idea? But at least an autonomous municipality can reduce central government costs and seek its own path to development. Which means mayors can become more important...and serve as examples of party power...to attract voters. 

Seems that would work, except that there are Fools in (out)house and (kennel)senate, not to mention in the (non)executive branch, that don't want to share their power, either.

Laws without teeth aimed at wrenching power from rabid clutchers of it: yeah, like that will ever work...

The Jenius Has Spoken.

Lateral As in "Sidestep"

Back in WWII, the British Navy was concerned about its lack of aircraft carriers, those American and Japanese behemoths of the sea that allowed nifty fighter planes to launch and engage the enemy in new ways. Since building one (or a few) would take years and the German threat was literally days away, the British were brainstorming for ideas.

One did come up: Use icebergs. Drag one out of the North Sea, flatten the top to accommodate airstrips and several buildings and tow it into position. You'd have a massive unsinkable aircraft carrier in weeks rather than years and save tons of (British) pounds to boot.

Quoting the source I read this in: "The idea was too lateral for the British Navy to accept!"

We in Puerto Rico have lateral thinking. Tons of it. Megatons of it. I'm talking metric megatons of lateral thinking that We couldn't throw away if We ever set Our minds to it.

That is, We have all that if by lateral you mean "stepping to the side." Lateral as in "moving aside." Lateral as in "dodging or avoiding." And I might add "Like Satan flees from holy water." (I had an metaphor here about the Pope and his kidneys, but passed [water] on it...)

Yup, We sidestep thinking. Not all of Us, but almost all of the people who should be thinking, like legislators and business leaders and mayors and governor-plus-staff, etc. You see, to engage in lateral thinking you have to at least have some modest acquaintance with actual thinking, with peering deep into a problem and finding a reasonable solution. Once you can do that, then you can toss in some imagination and let your thoughts romp like fluffy lambs in fragrant clover and pretty soon, something new and clever will appear. Might not be reasonable, might not even work, really, but it will be different. And different--when things are looking damn bleak--is very good.

Instead, what We have leading the Charge of the Light(Weight) Brigands is a posse of flatliners with self-delusions of adequacy, burnt-out sparkplugs in an engine crusted through and through with decades of sludge. If these lead-heads had been faced with the British aircraft carrier problem, they could have never come up with an idea as quirkily brilliant as that of using icebergs. I'm not talking about lack of brainpower, in this case: what Our so-called leaders lack is the will to see beyond the obvious.

It takes a mature mind--or a child-like one--to blend imagnation and thought into a powerful process for creativity. We can blame the educational system for quashing creativity--for destroying that most powerful of tools--because creativity is hard to control and hard to control means threatening. So Our children are bashed over the head with "facts" that often resemble "crap" and when too many questions are asked (and one is often too many), the response is to stop that nonsense right now.

Then Our business environment takes the tone of "the boss knows best" when it is often patently evident that "the boss has no clue and given a map to a stapled clue on his right butt cheek, s/he couldn't find it in a month of Mondays."

And finally, Our political swamp has the heightened awareness of a dozing sloth clinging to a mossy rotted branch, and woe betide any upstart who deems to bring new ideas to the political swamp for s/he shall be drowned in mustiness and kicked over to dry land. 

No one needs to wonder why We are stuck where We are once boricua "lateral" thinking is explained. As Einstein is reputed have said: The significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them. If idiots created them--and they did--then idiots will never--never--be able to solve them.

Quoting the inimitable Linda Ellerbee: And so it goes.

The Jenius Has Spoken.

 

True Leadership Needed

To wit: two charts that say much about the U.S. of part of A. and by Jupiter's right kneecap, I don't think any of it is good. Chart #1 tells Us something horrendously wrong happened in 1980-1981 and Chart #2 tells Us where monies are going that make...no...sense.

On to the next subject: leadership. Or lack thereof. From Slow Leadership, a blog that's much better than the title might imply, comes this essay on "The Mark of a True Leadership Role." A couple of quotes suffice:

"The distinguishing mark of a true leader is the ability to function where all existing ideas and past experience stop being any help.

It’s pretty obvious, once you think about it clearly. For any role to be a leadership role, or for any situation truly to demand leadership to deal with it, it needs to be solvable only by thinking the answer out for yourself. If you can deal with it on the basis of applying a known rule, technique or approach—or you can find the right thing to do by copying what someone else has done before you—it isn’t a true leadership situation...

...Faced with this kind of situation (an unknown), it’s little wonder that the most visible characteristics of many leaders are acting ability and fear. They become good actors (after all, they’ve studied the part extensively), but they’re terrified most of the time. When things are humming along nicely, they can maybe get by through their acting. There are no genuine leadership situations to be dealt with. It’s all management and administration. But when things go wrong and the only way forward is through true leadership—thinking out the answer for yourself—they are lost. All they can do is repeat what they have learned, copy what others have done or look for someone ‘safe’ to tell them what to do. That’s not any kind of leadership."

Now Carmine Coyote's take on leadership (and yes, that is the author's real name) is not only sensible, it is downright abusive of the so-called "leadership" We "enjoy" now. Though the essay is primarily aimed at business leaders, one can clearly see the application of this very basic trait to political leaders; in Our case, to a Jellyfish and a Larva.

The Jellyfish, former (un)governor Aníbal Acevedo, whose fraud charges trial is pretty much in a jury's hands right now, couldn't think his way into a paper bag, for though his political savvy is regarded by even enemies as top-notch, that save-the-skin knack had nothing to do with true save-the-nation thinking skills. In one you seek to avoid drowning; in the other, you build a lifeboat.

The Larva, current (non)governor Luis Fortuño, who could face impeachment if We get (non)lucky, couldn't think his way out of a paper bag. Lacking political savvy, he deems it enough to have dozens of people tell him what to do and then...nothing. He can't make a decision simply because he can't think "out of the box--bag--whatever." Where The Jellyfish had "survival imagination" to keep his fraud-filled political career going, The Larva is lucky to have any imagination whatsoever, and what little he has seems to be used to pick a new tie every week.

Why are We--in Puerto Rico and the rest of the world--saddled with half-half-wit leadership? Because We train people to rely on "experience and expertise" rather than "facts plus imagination." The first is subjective layered with subjectivity; the second is reality layered with "what could and should be." The first is--at best--mechanical; the second can be magical. The first is id-based, with vices as often primary movers; the second is rational and demands virtues to make its impact. We teach and train and trundle under the first; We seek and strive and seriously need and should have the second.

The Jenius Has Spoken.

Puerto Rico Is Poor

Hold your horses until I've had My say. 

Puerto Rico is better off than 80% of the world's population, so in that sense, We are definitely not poor. But since poverty is very much a relativistic perception, and Our standard of comparison is the U.S. of part of A. and similarly industrialzed nations--all of them larger and with greater resources--then We, by comparison, are poor.

But We are poor because We--primarily Our so-called leaders--chose to be.

Singapore is a lot smaller and much more densely populated than Us; they have a higher standard of living than We do, though 40 years ago, We left them in the dust. So size and population density are not obstacles. Our obstacles are largely self-inflicted, just as many times the poverty level of an individual is largely self-inflicted.

Here, from the desk of Armstrong Williams, comes a simple, common sense list of ways that show you how to be poor. I'll list only the reasons, substituting My commentary on each to focus on Puerto Rico:

Step 1: Live on Credit: Credit means you lack the cash--and discipline--to avoid spending. It means you spend what you don't have, you over-buy, you over-extend yourself by promising too much. Our government has done that for four decades with the consistency of a cretin playing with its nipples. They romped and looted, padded and spreed, then when things got tight, they jiggered and faked, begged from Uncle Sam and ultimately tapped into Our pockets to pretend to stay afloat. No matter: those "easy credit" bonds brokers nailed Our increasingly-worthless fiscal hide to the wall because credit may be sweet, but cash is always king.

Step 2: Never Develop a Good Work Ethic: A work ethic--or any ethics system, for that matter--begins with accepting personal responsibility for what happens. A work ethic needs to acknowledge that one will make an honest effort, that one strives for productive, positive results and that one encourages the same in others.

What We have at Our "leadership" levels is a culture of opportunism, of short-cuts, of under the table and boot(y) licking craven greed. It trickles down to others as a sense of entitlement, of "They owe  Me" when "they" could be anybody from the feds to the Mayor and easy checks for non-work are just a lie or two away.

Step 3: Don’t Set Goals: Another way of saying this is "don't make commitments." Fill the air with words, bandy about concept and ideas from cheap to stupid with the frenzied abandon of macaque monkeys flinging poo. Keep the howling loud and constant, so that nothing of substance is discussed with any semblance of intelligence. That ensures that commitments are both ridiculous and weak, outlines instead of targets, penciled-in appointments rather than written in stone.

Goals require discipline and brains to both set and achieve. Not having them makes everything spurious easier, though nothing serious really gets done.

Step 4: Give Up On Yourself and Your Family: Divorce rises to 50% of all marriages? Focus on gays! Drugs cause hundreds of shooting deaths a year? Gated communities! Dropout rates surpass 40%? Beg for more funds to hire more people to not teach! And keep your own kids out of public schools!

Our leaders are endless fountains of hypocrisy when it comes to family issues.  Particularly worthy of scorn are the religious "leaders" who ignore the rising trend of divorces, of shattered families and community despair to parade their holier-than-cow mugs in political events or anti-gay marriage marches. Yes! Let's focus on politics and 1% of possible marriages and ignore the Island's real needs and 100% of actual marriages!

Step 5: Fail to Plan Ahead: Status? Someday. Agriculture? Maybe soon. Energy? We'll get there. Education? Eventually. Health care? On the front burner. Unicamerality? On someone's desk as We speak. Tourism? On the agenda. Economic solutions? The check is in the mail.

But on the other hand: Legislative raises? Now! Taxes? Now! Super-(stupid)-projects? Now! Additional lotteries? Now! Stifling business laws?* Now! Short-term gain, long-term loss? Now! Now! Now!

Watch a person buy what they can't afford, act as if the world owes them something, drifts aimlessly without a thought for the future and add people to the population without regard to their future needs and you have an unimpeachable formula for poverty.

We've watched Our leaders, Our lazy, greedy, short-sighted, hypocritical leaders obfuscate and practically obliterate Our future.

Puerto Rico is poor...because We let it become that way.

The Jenius has Spoken.

* From "Poor Planning: How to achieve the miracle of poverty," in Reason Magazine:

"...In addition, your legal system should make it nearly impossible for anyone to license a new business, however small. This will offer opportunities for your bureaucrats to make a living through corruption and will protect your cronies from domestic competition. An added advantage is that most commerce will be made illegal and subject to arbitrary enforcement."

False Dilemma, True Options

So the headline stated that 40,000 government jobs had to be eliminated or the sales tax raised to 25% (up from 7%).

That's known as the "false dichotomy" or "false dilemma" error in logic. What the headline implies is that "For Puerto Rico to survive, 40,000 parasites must be dumped or We get slammed with a 25% sales tax." That is a false "black or white" framing of the situation. 

Let Me give you statehooders an example: "For Puerto Rico to survive, Luis "The Larva" Fortuño must resign or be abducted by space aliens." 

Okay, wait a minute, that doesn't prove My point.

This one does: "For Puerto Rico to survive, 400,000 people must leave the Island or We declare bankruptcy." What the false dilemma does is frame a larger debate into a convenient window, an either-or limitation meant to prove an often indefensible point.

Note that the false dilemma occurs even if one of the options is actually true. In the headline's case, at least 40,000 government workers need to be fired. There's no rational argument against this, for not only does Our (non)government employ far too many people, Our economic morass simply cannot continue to feed that many blood-sucking mouths.

"But, Jenius," you say, "What will those 40,000 workers do? Most of them support families. Think about the children!" Economic corrections never satisfy everyone. And the longer they are delayed, the larger the impact of the correction.

What could have been easy in the 1970s, after (pseudo)governor Luis "Hire 'Em Sideways" Ferré packed the government with walking vegetables (his percentage increase in government workers over 4 years is exceeded only by the increase seen in 1952-1956, the first four years of Our stupid commonwealth "experiment" in colonialism), and may have been difficult-but-manageable in the 1980s, became a Godzilla in the 1990s and a catastrophe under Sila "Quitter" Calderón and Aníbal "Jellyfish" Acevedo. At this point, We have four decades of political cronyism, corruption, outright theft and rampant cowardice to overcome.

And it demands a correction We can no longer delay.

Raising the sales tax to 25% is not an option. To state that is to blather and babble like an acephalic cretin (a synonym for "politician" or "journalist" in Puerto Rico.) Firing 40,000 workers is just one possible option, but it is virtually a requirement now. Here are others along those lines:

A) Close or consolidate government agencies: Why do We have a Public Buildings Authority, when practically every agency owns, manages or supervises its own buildings? Why do We have separate agencies for Planning and Permits for each of residential, commercial and industrial needs, not to mention environmental issues? Why do We have agencies in Ports and Agriculture that do nothing but mirror Federal government personnel who are the only ones who can carry out the legal functions? 

B) Privatize: It's a dirty word to unions--who should be banned from government--and it's a dirty word when the government keeps its grubby tentacles in the pie. I've said it before and it bears repeating: Privatization of government functions (such as utilities) works well when the government leaves operations entirely in private hands and retains the consumer protection oversight function. There may be problems (cable TV, anyone?), but part of the oversight is to seek out competitive options to improve overall service.

C) Fire sub-contractors: From consultants to advisors to supervisors, Our government hands out sub-contract work like the money to pay them isn't theirs. Here's the golden standard: Unless they're building something, no sub-contractors allowed. 

D) Fix the government's budget to GDP: The fallacy We have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt is that government-based jobs help an economy grow. They don't, because for every dollar in "consumerism" supposedly created by a parasite, two or three times that is lost in wasted time and money. (Bureaucratic deadbeats, anyone?) However, if the government wants to grow its budget and (gasp!) actually help the economy, increasing the Gross Domestic Product--the value of what We produce--is a great way to go about it. A rising tide lifts all boats, but the ebbing tide We have now is creating a "too few lifeboats on the Titanic" feeling.

E) Cut taxes and drastically reduce government spending to energize the economy: Yes, that means government shrinks all over. If it worked for The Great Depression--and it did--then it will work for Us. Especially since We get a $5 billion+ free ride on Uncle Sam(e Old Same Old)'s musty wallet.

That We lack credible leadership is a given. That We have for decades is beyond question. That We can continue with such, with airheads and numbskulls playing the "either-or" game to suit themselves, is not an option. Either We step up and make positive things happen, or We watch what's left of Our future spiral down a gutless drain.

False dilemma? I wish...

The Jenius Has Spoken.

Not Rational, Not Sane

What happens in a society when serious discussions of long-term issues disappears?

What does it mean when the public debate  about an issue of transcendental importance--such as education, long-term security, industrial development and environmental protection--ceases to be about facts and rational progression of ideas and becomes nothing more than a contest to outshout, out-talk and even cut out any and all opposition?

What happens to a nation when the primary form of dissemination of ideas is gossip, innuendo, mockery, demagoguery, bluff and ribaldry?

Where is a society heading when ideas are worth nothing and emotions are the standard for deciding policy?

When rationality is subtracted from the public forum, sanity at the policy level becomes intermittent, then nonexistent.

When ideas are demeaned to the point of instant rejection, debates are no longer about the merits of issues (pros and cons), but about prejudices, i.e., whims and  lusts.

When debate ceases to be a rational search for meritorious resolution, the creation of policy via "debate" is not a progression, but a regression, a downward spiral where reality is the starting point and the path downward is fueled by ids and egos.

And in that rush to feed the bottom of wretched souls, the most extreme ids and most extreme egos lead the way. Sanity is not the realm of extreme ids and extreme egos.

Sanity is not Our realm now, not at the public level. We are led by ids and egos that deplore rationality in favor of "what I want, no, what I lust for" and on that basis, We are like the crewmembers on the Pequod or the Caine, caught in the rantings of madmen (and unhinged women) who are obsessed with their own psychotic visions, caring little or nothing about where they lead Us.

And if you think I exaggerate, do this the next time you hear a "public debate" on some large issue facing Us as a nation: notice how much is constructive rather than critical or of an emotional appeal. Serious debates are meant to build a solution, a plan or a process. What We have are slashfests, where mud-slinging criticism is sprayed without regard to hitting a specific target; rants, where anger and volume are the poorest of substitutes for analysis and veracity, and We have whines, where the idea is to shame the opposition through inane complaints and mindless sarcasm.

Listen, if you can, to what passes for public debate. Listen, if you can, to loquacious lunacy masquerading as leadership. Listen, for as long as you can, and then wonder how We got here...and how We'll get out.

The Jenius Has Spoken. 

7 Traits of Great Political Leaders

Is there a chance that Our (non)governor, Luis "The Larva" Fortuño, will eventually wrap himself in a cocoon and emerge a mariposa, i.e., a full-fledged, effective political leader? (Let's ignore the fact that in Our slang, mariposa is also a word for a gay man, something some members of The Larva's party already call him. Oh, don't worry: people in other parties call him that, too. But since The Larva's sexuality is of no concern to anyone, We'll not mention it.)

A chance? Beyond question, indubitably, make no mistake, without a doubt, without any fear of error (as usual for Me) and sans hesitation: not a snowball's chance in hell.

Good-to-great political leaders combine 7 traits in a unique blend, and argue as much as you want, great political leaders have all 7 of these traits to a visible degree. The traits are: intelligence, integrity, will, charisma, "savvy," ruthlessness and egotism.

"Savvy" is shorthand for political acumen, that recognizable ability that struck raw fear in opponents of a Lyndon Johnson or Our past (un)governor The Jellyfish (on trial now for fraud charges; so much for integrity there, right?) It's that slick-slimy way some people have of making every situation a political knot that wraps their opponents and leaves them free. Not the true trait of a leader, but certainly a defining quality in a political leader.

Of the seven traits above, The Larva has only one: intelligence. (Mentioned first because in My book, it's the most valuable. Read on to find out how valuable it really is in this case.) The Larva obviously lacks charisma, "savvy," ruthlessness, will and egotism. The jury's still out (oh how clever of Me to link The Larva to The Jellyfish by mentioning a jury!) on whether The Larva has integrity. My money is on "yes," but I'm not wagering more than 22 cents...

On a scale of 70 (maximum 10 points per trait), I'd give The Larva a 22. (See the cleverness again? Man I have fun being Me!) So who's a better political leader? Let's look no further that two of Our favorite nicknamed targets, senate president Thomas "Tantrums 'R' Us" Rivera (didja notice the "T-R" sequence in there? Marvelous touch, huh?) and house president Jenniffer "Gluttonny" González.

Let's rate them, shall We?

Intelligence: I'd give "Tantrum" a 5 and "Gluttonny" a 4. Both could be lower, but I'm being generous in My specialty only because I can afford to be.

Integrity: I'll rate "Gluttonny" at 5 and "Tantrum" at 3. Both have inserted so many feet in their mouths they qualify as centipedes, but neither has really tossed all their integrity on the trash heap of ambition. Yet.

Will: Here "Gluttonny" takes a clear lead, rating at an 8 to "Tantrum"'s 5, largely because the latter hitched his will to former (mis)governor Pedro Stupid Rosselló while "Gluttonny" only pretended to hitch hers to The Larva's barely-existent will.

Charisma: Whereas "Gluttonny" has the grace of a bull in a china shop, "Tantrum" is more like a pit bull in a chain store. Neither attracts admirers so much as generates frowning curiosity. I'll give her a 3 and him a 4 only because men still attract more attention than women in Our political backwaters.

"Savvy": The clear lead here is for Gluttonny," deserving a 9, with "Tantrum" bringing in his rear at 5. He's getting better, but he's learning whereas "Gluttonny" is cruising.

Ruthlessness: Although his reputation is for being a maniacal hatchet man, "Tantrum" is actually measured in his actions. His pit bull bark is worse than his bite. (I'm so self-referential I may write Myself into this post...) On the other paw--hand--"Gluttonny" has shown to have a mean streak a mile wide. He gets a 4, she gets an 8. Moving on...

Egotism: "Tantrum" gets a 4 because he has yet to make a full break from Stupid's shadow (the same size as Stupid, but weighs nothing. Thanks, Steve.) "Gluttonny" is keeping her egotism under wraps, but it practically rumbles like a pre-earthquake tremor. So I'll say 6 for her.

Totals are: "Gluttonny": 43. "Tantrum": 30. However, the lead is greater if you take the importance of each trait for a political leader, where the list would be arranged from most to least important in this manner: will, savvy, egotism, charisma, ruthlessness, intelligence and integrity. In that order, "Gluttonny" leads "Tantrum" easily in 4 of the top 5 traits.

Now does this mean "Gluttonny" is a great political leader? Puh-lease. She's not. Does she have the capacity? Sure, just like I have the capacity to climb Mt. Everest on a pogo stick. (It's humanly possible, but juuuust barely.) And "Tantrum"? Ditto, only Me on a left-handed pogo stick. No, the whole "political leader traits" example is to show what makes a political leader in order to highlight and contrast what makes a true leader.

For you see, a true leader's trait list from most important to least, would be: integrity, will, charisma, savvy, intelligence, ruthlessness and egotism. The biggest difference is integrity, and political animals such as "Gluttonny" and "Tantrum" have already tossed that by the wayside. They can be good political leaders, and if struck by lightning in the forebrain, could mutate into great political leaders, of the kind that drag their societies and nations in new directions, not usually good ones.

But will they ever be good leaders, the kind that make their society an example for others to follow? No. And neither can The Larva. In that sense, whether it's 7 traits or 2 or 12, We're left with the certainty of Our so-called leaders falling far short--very far short--of what's so urgently needed.

The Jenius Has Spoken.

Some Not-So-Random-Thoughts, Again

---Here's a screenshot of "What's wrong with America," referring, for what what you will see is an obvious reason, to the U.S. of part of A. If it doesn't make you sick, you vote Republican and are an idiot.

---Has anybody noticed how absolutely awful Our ungovernor Luis "The Larva" Fortuño is at this running the government deal he fell into? He can't even seem to get his face to mask the confusion he's wallowing in. I'd call it "a deer in headlights" look, but deers at least know how to jump out of the way...

---Long-time readers of The Jenius may remember I wrote about Billie, an enchanting soul of a lady I met on a flight from Jacksonville. Earlier this week I received an e-mail from Steve, stuck in Oklahoma. To his surprise, his first encounter with The Jenius was to read about Billie, a woman who helped him so much he literally credits her with saving him. His contact with Me was to help find her so he could speak with her again.

Could I say no? Steve and I talked for over an hour and a half about Billie, her impact on Us (a lifetime for Steve, a life-moment for Me), past jobs, words, how states differ from each other, hospitality, jokes and several things more. Best damn 90 minutes of My week, I can tell you that. And all because some seemingly-random events (flight delays by weather, different seats, My uncharacteristic choice to chat instead of read) led to Me blogging about a woman's wonderful legacy, one that so touched Steve's life. And now Mine.

I'll keep trying to reach Billie, and stay in touch with Steve. I hope We find her.

---There's a big orange "Call Me!" button up there on the left. Yup, if you choose, you can pick up your telephone of choice and ring Me up. No joke. Several of My readers already do this, but they're the ones who know Me from way back and have My cell phone number on speed dial. (Or maybe not. But they should.) 

In any case, the rest of you can just click on the friendly orange button and reach Me. Don't say you never got the chance...

The Jenius Has Spoken.

Phasing Out

While on the non-existing topic of Luis "The Larva" Fortuño's leadership, Let's consider what will happen if--as expected--The Larva never reaches pupa stage, or does and and never emerges from his cocoon.

Phase 1: With The Larva making a fetish of weak-willed decision-making and side-stepping intra-party confrontation, We can expect three results:

1) A paralyzed government: Similar to what The Jellyfish and the legislative Fools put Us through, We'll see a government unwilling to move forward because it would mean the loss of political face to one side or the other. Imagine a country where the overall welfare (pun not intended) of the people takes a deep backseat to politics. Well, We're one of those countries.

2) A weakened economic infrastructure: Since the government here is the prime mover of economic factors, a senescent government is a dead end for economic prosperity. The only favorable light We'll see is that gas prices and power bill rates will drop a bit, but that's not because of anything The Larva or the Fools do.

3) An increase in corruption: There is no doubt that the level of corruption has been steady--so to speak--in the past few years. Why will it spike now? Because the opportunities to game the system are worth more now. We've basically had 2, maybe 3 years of inertia, and to people who have money and want to make more of it in Puerto Rico, the "easy" option  is  to pay to cut through the ever-growing pile of crap the government keeps throwing in Our paths. And, Let's face it: The statehood party has an institutional bias towards being corrupt because that's how they made things "work" under Pedro Stupid Rosselló.

Phase 2: The Larva finds himself increasingly dependent on Head Beggar in Washington Pedro "What? Me Hurry?" Pierluisi, who is an avowed Democrat, in contrast to The Larva who is an avowed "Limbaugh is a liberal" Republican.

As The Larva's scant power wanes even further, his meal ticket will become the Head Beggar, since that is the (pitiful) job The Larva "knows" how to do and because Congress will be more willing to listen to a Democrat than to a Christian right wing neocon. That is, if they listen to anything at all concerning Puerto Rico.

We'll know We've hit Phase 1 full-force when the senate (no capital letters until they earn them) guts some of The Larva's Cabinet nominees and force-feeds him the candidates they want to approve and when the poppycock bond ratings once again list Us as a declining credit risk. In other words, We'll be reliving the basic clash of 2005. (We'll find out about the corruption in 2010-2011...)

And We'll know We've hit Phase 2 when the Head Beggar announces some "major" pittance thrown down at Us, not through La Fortaleza, the ungovernor's mansion, but through tthe senate and the house of Even More Fools.

At that point, We can begin looking at a familiar Phase 3: Sticking Our heads even deeper in the sand.

The Jenius Has Spoken.

Larval Leadership...Not

My Friend, Kevin Shockey, calls Me up to give Me the news: I was right. About Luis "The Larva" Fortuño and his now obvious to most of you lack of leadership ability. The trigger point: The Larva withdrew his "economic stimulus proposal" barely a day after presenting them.

Now you might say that everyone's entitled to correct a mistake and I would say that since I don't make any, why should you? The point isn't that a mistake was corrected, but that this was The Larva's first big act as governor--one he's been preparing since early November--and he screwed it up royally.

This comes on top of a three nominees to key posts that reek, stink and emit bad smells from here to El Yunque. Fortuño has so far shown a distinct incapacity to do three things:

1) Control "his" party: Thomas "Mad Dog" Rivera has already bulldozed The Larva behind the party's closed doors; he's set to do that openly in the Cabinet nominee process.

2) Present real solutions to Our very real problems: See the retraction and listen to the white noise he emits about the future.

3) Define himself or his "team": No central theme or key goals are brought up, with everything in a fog of "change" and "hard work." Uh-huh. And Mars has methane. So what?

Now if this were something only We (in Puerto Rico) were looking at, as it usually is, We'd be copacetic about the whole thing. But when the Wall Street Journal points to The Larva as "an example to Republicans" and "a person (they) should be emulating," then I've gotta say "Hold the toilet!"

The Larva as the model for Republican candidates? My first thought was Good way to get those retards out of the way. Then I read the rest of the article... and giggled. Couldn't help Myself:

--At a forum Monday, (Republican Party Chairman Mike) Duncan said he was inspired as he watched the Fortuno inauguration in San Juan. The governor, he said, "ran a very conservative campaign in a state, a territory, that has severe economic problems right now. But he said, 'We don't need these 11,000 new government employees put on by the opposition party. We can't tax our way to prosperity. [HAHAHAhahaharight. So what does The Larva offer off the bat? Taxes... for "prosperity." The Republican model since Bush, Sr.: Lie, lie, LIE about taxes.]

--Saul Anuzis, who is vying with Mr. Duncan for the RNC chairmanship, says Mr. Fortuno represents "the direction we need to be going in." Mr. Fortuno won by 11 percentage points, a margin that Puerto Rico hadn't seen since 1964, and he was sworn in 35 years after the island's last Republican governor left office. [HAHAHAhahahadork. Uh, you mean "Republican" or "quasi-Republican? In Puerto Rico, both parties have delegates in both national parties. I'd call it incest, but this a family blog...]

--The timing couldn't be better for Mr. Fortuno because the GOP is turning to telegenic, high-wattage outside-the-Beltway politicians -- including Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal -- to light a new path to power. [HAHAHAHAHAHAhahahahahafucktardsall. "Telegenic"? Maybe Sarah "Moose Girl" Palin is telegenic, but The Larva looks like somebody's well-washed appendix. "High-wattage"? Palin's a dim bulb and Jindal's on some radars, but The Larva is just bland. He's got the radiance of a night light.]

--Mr. Fortuno's advantage in running against an opponent who faces federal corruption charges -- former Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila -- is another selling point as Republicans seek to portray themselves as clean crusaders. That theme emerged strongly after political newcomer Anh "Joseph" Cao surprised a number of analysts by defeating indicted Rep. William Jefferson in New Orleans to become the first Vietnamese-American congressman. [HAHAHAHAHAhahahahahalunatics. Running against a man accused of corruption is "a selling point"? Is writer Easha Anand an idiot? And do Republicans ACTUALLY see "a theme" after some dark horse candidate beats a guy who was found with illegally-obtained cash in his fridge, a guy considered the most corrupt member of Congress? In other words, Republicans want to run against a crooks in order to win, but the problem is, they got most of the crooks? I'd say that's a problem...]

As Kevin pointed out, larvas, like jellyfish, also lack spines. (That's why I call Fortuño The Larva...) Not two weeks into his only term as faux-governor, The Larva is already proving Me right. At his current best, he can only continue to do so, by limping headlong into a battle with the Mad Dog and getting swatted like a bug. Unless his larval form can generate some testicles and insight, The Larva will remain spineless, clueless and hopeless. 

What a model for Our future. What a model for the Republican's recent past and near future.

The Jenius Has Spoken.

Should Not Based on Absent Shoulds

A current senator is in jail on charges of fraud, has been re-elected and though still in jail, the debate right now is whether he should be allowed to swear in as Senator.

You're kidding, right? There's a debate? For the love of dumplings, why?

Yes, I know the basic judicial doctrine of "innocent until proven guilty" applies to everyone--even politicians as stone-headed as Jorge "Il Castrao" Font. But there's another doctrine that applies, or should apply: Leaders need to be held to higher standards. 

Obviously, even a plusperfect idiot like Il Castrao can win an election, despite looking as guilty as all get-out. But instead of debating whether the jailbird can or should swear in as a member of the Senate, We should be placing a substitute for Il Castrao on the dais for swear-in and if--if--the jerk is found not guilty by a jury of his superiors, then he can re-occupy the slimy chair he was elected to.

Is this fair to the people who elected Il Castrao, having someone they didn't pick represent them? Is it fair to them to have a fraud and a cheat do so, like the rest of Us have?

Okay, mark Me down for being cynical. If the person you elected--say a senator or a governor--is facing a judicial process, what should happen is that the person resigns their position, with the proviso that if they are not guilty of the charges or the charges are dropped/cleared, then the person can return to their position, if allowable. 

The reason Il Castrao was on the ballot in the first place was because he lacked the integrity, dignity and courtesy to resign, as he should have. The second reason is that his party lacked the integrity, dignity and leadership to make him resign. As they should have. 

That the debate I'm appalled with is wafting around Us now is because the electorate--My fellow citizens--have the political savvy of dung beetles, slapping votes on subnormal vermin simply because they are affiliated with the insignia the dung beetle prefers. And the reason the debate on whether Il Castrao can swear in, can do so from jail, can do so with a day pass or work pass or replacing a conjugal visit with a chance to hose Our collective dignity is because the party he is embarrassing is too gutless to do the right thing.

Now, as for having all Our Fools in jail, I think We could do that. Hell, I think We should. But you knew that already, didn't you?

The Jenius Has Spoken.

Larva Lowdown

In the kind of coup you see in Three Stooges films, governor-elect Luis "Larva" Fortuño showed two serious problems before he takes office:

1) He has no control over his party.

2) His biggest supporters are numbskulls. Even by statehood party standards.

Squabbling on the victory platform turned what should have been a crowning political moment (akin to winning Miss Pork Sausage 2008) into a hissy-fit, led by the usually-offensive Thomas "Tantrum" Rivera. "Tantrum" has the demeanor of an S.S. trooper and the behavioral pattern of a rabid dog with itchy butt. A loyal supporter of former governor Pedro Stupid Rosselló, "Tantrum" is best known for acting all hinky and snarly when his limited intelligence or vocabulary is challenged.

Given that, you can see why he's the next Senate President. No? Well, golly gee, slap My tushie and call Me Tammy! He's there because soon-to-be-former Senate President Kenneth "Slow-brow" McClintock is a traitor! To the party! Useless! (I'm imitating "Tantrum." No, I'm probably quoting him.)

So Stupid supporters--and the party "elite" is filled with them, leaving dregs of dregs for the Larva--have their strong lever in the Larva cabinet. Over in the House, former Stupid puppet José "Scarecrow" Aponte, whose Christmas list used to be only "I wish I had my own brain", battled feebly against the ponderous juggernaut known as Jenniffer "Gluttony" Gonzalez, the 32-year old bulldozer who's best known for her championing of... herself.

Glued to the Larva from way back, "Gluttony" set her sights on leap-frogging (with hydraulic assistance, naturally) more experienced representatives and achieved that goal. She brings no clear platform other than naked self-interest. At least in that sense, We know what to expect.

So dismal is this scenario that one local paper weakly defended the mutiny by saying that the Larva would have "approval and control of the budget," decided at the House level, ignoring the fact that it is at the Senate level that specific appropriations--the earmarks and handouts--are doled out. "Control of the budget?" Dream on.

Four years ago, We saw a weak-willed governor take office with a hostile Legislature as opposition. In about 7 weeks, We will see a weak-willed governor take office with a hostile Legislature as opposition. And if you think because they all nominally belong to the same party that this will mean greater cooperation between them than what We had these past four years, let Me remind you that the crudest, bloodiest and most injurious wars are, without question, civil wars.

The Jenius Has Spoken.

The Leader We Need, Revisited

I've touched on this topic not once, but twice, the latter just a few weeks ago. It comes up again as the product of a conversation I had with My good friend, Alfredo. To his question of what kind of leader We needed to right Our foundering ship, I replied "Someone who meets two conditions: A visionary first, who, second, is willing to surround himself/herself with people smart enough to say "No" to him or her."

When he asked "What is the next step?" I confessed to not knowing, for after those two conditions are met, the plans can take virtually any shape. It boils down to someone with extraordinary talents rising above the muck of local politics who evinces enough self-confidence and maturity to seek out differing viewpoints in order to polish the end result of planning and execution.

In other words, We need a miracle. Catch me on a bad day and you'll hear Me say We need a fucking miracle. 

But, as the song says, miracles do happen, so when could that miracle occur? My best estimate is that the earliest a visionary leader could arise would be late 2009, after the current legal prosecution of two local political animals comes to a close. Why? Because each party will need to "freeze" itself as "proof" of innocence until the final gavel falls. It's basically the group reflex that multiplies the abject stupidity of the individual response of "I'm innocent because I stay."

Read that again, because it is correct.

Could a visionary leader appear outside of the two major (major as in herds, not major as in quality) parties? No. At least not one capable of generating the critical mass needed to start a positive change process against Our cultural/historical inertia and make it stick. A capable leader from a non-major party--if one ever appeared and shut up you Rubén "I Sink My Party" Berríos apologists--would end up a curiosity, a respected "voice" most often subjugated to minor issues. From that vantage point, We're better off learning history (something We don't do) because We're certainly not going to see any being made (except in the crime arena.)

Lastly, if the visionary leader who can change Us for the better appears, it will happen only after We receive a severe shock to Our psyche. Given how passive We are, that shock will have to be huge, on the level of political or economic disaster. Imagine "Katrina-rocked New Orleans" and you'll get a frame for what I think is needed. Anything less than that will basically elicit a response amounting to a deep sigh, a resigned shoulder shrug and the muttered curses of the perpetually-downtrodden. In other words, We'll find ways to put up with almost any negative in order to avoid actually doing something about it.

Now you can see why I answered "I don't know" to what happens after a visionary leader appears and selects a working group that combines intelligence and the will to challenge his or her efforts. Not because the leader will face constant opposition (s/he won't), but because what will emerge from that combinaton is the results-oriented friction to polish ideas and actions, to streamline concepts and processes. And that, people, is something We don't have now, so who can say what it will lead to?

The Jenius Has Spoken.