Puerto Rico As A Province Of China: An Extended Look With Captain High

From a recent post in which I suggested that Puerto Rico should become a province of China came some comments made by Captain High. In the exchange the good Captain brought up some questions and points that merited a more thoughtful set of responses than the space allotted by Blogger. So I moved the salient section here, with Captain High's comments in bold and Mine in some combination that the NSA probably thinks is a code.


a) What is the draw for China?
Making Puerto Rico their new province means acquiring territory that combines an economic advantage (to be determined, but largely based on privileged access to the U.S. of part of A. economy) and a political thumb in the eye of that same rival.

b) More importantly, how do you suppose that this state of affairs would come to be a reality? Do you believe, for example, that the United States would really allow China to just have it? What of the military relevance the island holds? It seems unlikely that the US would be inclined to give that up, and that might be the only reason why China could want the island (I am still unclear as to what attraction Puerto Rico holds for China).
First things first: why would China want Us? The simplest answer: We are an import-dependent economy with pretty much a single-source supplier. Even with a recession, We are the 4th largest buyer of the U.S. of part of A. and We have been for a long time. And We've shown, for a long time, that We don't care that Our economy is handcuffed and hobbled so long as We get easy credit and layaway terms. If you think about it, all China would be doing is cutting out the middlemen and selling directly to Us.

Along those lines, one thing people don't understand about China is that they have been practitioners of capitalism for barely 30 years. Their culture does not have several centuries of market-based activities, so any chance Chinese businessmen can find that lets them (a) exploit a well-defined market and (b) learn to identify, enter and exploit other markets, is great.

The Chinese mentality is not that of daring leaps of imagination, but of rational increments. Puerto Rico would represent a rational increment, easily-controlled (We have been for 5 centuries, except for one day when We actually rose up and took arms in Lares and...No, that was nothing more than a tiny whisper-fart in a 500+-year windstorm), a captive market that would allow for great cash infusions once the sucking sound of U.S. of part of A. companies finish making their moves off-island and one whose highly-educated, bicultural people can serve as "faces" for Chinese interests in the New World. Are the advantages clear? Maybe not, but they certainly aren't much more obscure than those of being a screwed-up colony in the 21st century.

Now, how would this come about in reality? Although China could inquire about absorbing Us into their geopolitical sphere, like a neighbor asking about a lawn mower, but that has a 0.01% probability. The other option is We ask China if they're interested. We ask politely, formally and make sure the whole fucking world finds out within 12 hours of China receiving the inquiry. We tell them that the broadcasting of Our inquiry is not to pressure them (they won't believe Us), but to make the U.S of part of A. stop and take a good hard look at Us (they'll believe that.)

Here's the kicker: what the hell can the U.S. of part of A. do about it? Yeah, the options are plenty, but they boil down to just two angles: (1) let it happen and see where the chips fall or (2) step in and intercede...thus proving that We really have no self-determination, i.e., We're just their fucking and fucked colony.

Think about it. No matter who We petition, any obstructive response by the U.S. of part of A. will clearly define just how much "freedom" We have. Now Uncle Sam has a long, very long, history of being an obnoxious busybody jamming his nose in where it doesn't belong, and in Our case, the temptation to do so will overwhelm rationality. The best response would be to let Our petition slide by, unremarked, and back-door a response to China in 4 pages of ambassador-speak that boils down to "No way, but with the right offer..."

And why would the U.S. of part of A. entertain "an offer"? Why not? Since 1898, no territory on the continent or off of it has ever waited 116 years (and counting...to infinity) for statehood. Hell, it took the Oklahoma Territory until 1907 only because it was given as a sop to Native Americans and when Congress got tired of that charade, they scattered the remaining tribes someplace else. Statehood for Puerto Rico is as likely as smoking being the only cure for cancer. 

I once said Cuba had a better chance of becoming a state (closer to the mainland, larger than PR, still has exploitable resources, slaps communism down and many stateside Cubans are wealthy businesspeople) and now I'd toss in Panama, too (the Canal and its shipping-crucial access). Puerto Rico no longer has any military value in this age of 2,000-mile ranged missiles, drones and subs that can circle the planet without coming up for anything. Would it be a threat to the U,S, of part of A. to have a Chinese province in the Caribbean? Yeah, but so fucking what? They've had a Communist island-nation barely 100 miles away since 1959, so yeah, they can get over it.

Once again, We're back to why China would want Us. Here's My final point on this: We won't know unless We ask. Like many great deals, this one could come about from imagination, seizing opportunity or sheer chutzpah.

Then there is this: al jazeera article.
Al-Jazeera loves to pretend objectivity while slashing away with hidden agenda razors. As with Our media, both gringa and boricua, I take the "Uh-huh, Let's see what unfurls" stance. The article is not bad, it's just not good enough to be truly useful.

Tourism? Maybe, if Puerto Rico could - in terms of land mass - sustain it, it would be more along the lines of creating jobs for the Chinese migrants to take.
So? It would mean an influx of people who want build a new life/career on Our soil, bolstered by Chinese investment, with a common goal of making Our island better. What's the downside? That We'd have to learn Chinese? Puh-lease. We haven't learned English in 116 years (and counting), so My over/under on Chinese is in the 4-digit range.

Immigration is one of the few truly productive economic forces, provided the process is largely even-handed. We're losing folks at a rate of some 260,000 a year, many of them well-prepared and capable. It would be nice to turn that outflow around, even if the inflow is just "filling gaps," a notion that makes enormous sense for a culture that currently has one way into PR: working as an indentured employee in Our version of Chinese restaurants.

There must be hundreds of thousands of Chinese who would love a chance to make a new life for themselves and their families, away from the regimented policies of their home districts, but still within a disciplined system. And as for taking jobs away from Us, puh-lease. We're too bumfuck lazy and coddled to pick coffee or clean streets or do heavy manual labor because, you know, We're boricuas pa' que tú lo sepas. The Chinese wouldn't be "stealing" jobs: they'd be doing the jobs My Brethren think are beneath them. That's called "the immigrant experience" and it has happened for centuries around the world.

The hidden part in all this: the Chinese will eventually force Us to work harder and better, because they play a long game and We don't. It's only a matter of time before their vision starts pushing Us aside. Is this a bad thing? No. Since We haven't learned that We can do things on Our own without sucking on Uncle Sam's dic--tatorial fiats, We'll have to learn to do it by watching the Chinese come here, learn Our ways and beat Us on Our own playing field. They've already done a good job with eateries: I'm betting they can teach Us a lot more.

About My original tourism point, We're no longer the #1 U.S. of part of A. tourism destination in the Caribbean. We have the potential to receive about 9 million tourists a year and We're barely in the 3.8 million visitor range (the Dominican Republic gets more European tourists than We get total tourists). The thing is, a large chunk of gringos are just passing through to what they think are more interesting destinations. Can We get 3 million Chinese to drop in every year, as a start? Just 3 million from a "market" that's probably in the 275-350 million range...and growing? Shit, even Our feckless hyena horde of a government can set something up that can manage those paltry numbers. Then the Chinese come in, play their game and ramp it up to world-class status in a decade. Economic progress ensues.

And you can not forget to note that although they have invested money into Africa, they did not actually colonize it (or express an interest in doing so). For lack of need, want or capacity...
I haven't forgotten that. What the Chinese have done with this general policy is three-fold: (1) Provide financing where Western nations/institutions have refused; (2) Secured strong(er) positions on key resources, and (3) Provided an outlet for Chinese rural workers unable to participate in their country's growing but still localized (urban) economy.

Many of China's investments in Africa have been of the "We'll do everything" type, from financing to workers, support crews, shipping and logistics. When finished, they leave. The reasons range from practical and economical to political and cultural, but a key point is: none of the African countries they have invested in is truly stable. That's why they were able to get in in the first place, but that's a good reason to stay out afterwards.

Puerto Rico is not Africa, or at least, not like post-colonial African countries in strife. We're a colony, but We have an economic and political stability that matches that of South Africa, for example. If the Chinese could find a way to invest strongly in South Africa, they would jump at it, for an opportunity like that combines stability and safety. Puerto Rico would represent a stable and safe investment environment, modeled on U.S. of part of A. practices, thus allowing a new way of exploring business options within the largest export market China has (single nation, as the European Union is larger).

It is nice to entertain possibilities, but at the end of the day you need to be realistic about what is probable.
Here's the thing, Cap: I am being realistic. Very much so. At the risk of beating the dusty remains of a dead horse: statehood for Puerto Rico is not going to happen, ever. Ever. Period.

Here's another stark reality: Our "Let them make the choice" attitude is fucking stupid. "They" don't want to choose, don't care to choose, can't be bothered to even think about choosing what Our new status should be.

One more: Our idea that We can force them to change Our status is even more fucking stupid. They hold almost all the cards and they know it. They also have the wallet that too many of My Brethren worship. "Force" them? Yeah, that's like tugging a warship with a wet noodle.

Another one: We don't believe We can go it alone. No: We are terrified of even trying to go it alone. Like children, We romp and prance and pretend, but when it comes time to act like an adult and take on the risks and responsibilities thereof, We hide beneath Uncle Sam's skirt or bury Our faces in Our hands. That's fucking pathetic, but it's reality, pure and simple.

So what's left, Captain? The U.S. of part of A. doesn't want Us in their over-valued republic, We don't want to take Our rightful place as a nation on the world stage and We are nothing but a fucking and fucked colony. What's left is to make Our decision and find another partner/owner, because nothing more will satisfy Us. That means We hitch Our little wagon behind some other horse's ass, but choosing one that at least feels happier about Our load.

Yes, We could petition Spain, again, but have you seen their economy? How about Germany, the banker of Europe? But have you seen their investment policies in foreign economies? Japan was once an expansive economic powerhouse and that was the first choice of this idea back in the 1980s. (Yes, the 1980s.) Now Japan is a shell and they need immigrants, not the other way around.

Go ahead: pick an economy somewhere in the world and compare it to China. Because that's what it boils down to: economics. My Brethren have always based their votes on their wallets and purses and live in the fantasy world of political bullshit that promises many rich trappings and delivers mainly bitch slappings.

Realistic? I'm all over realistic. It's the rest of Us that are tripeando con kechup.



The Jenius Has Spoken.


P.S. - Doing research after writing this post--I am a Jenius, you know--I encountered this Mike Robles post hinting that the U.S. of part of A.holds  on to Us to avoid massive China investment here. His angle is more "shot in the dark" witty than "pie in the sky" solution, but it has its own charm. And I borrowed the dual flag pin above from his site, so thanks, Mike.

[Update: 6 December 2014: Hey, gringos, wake the hell up! "The Chinese economy just overtook the United States economy to become the largest in the world. For the first time since Ulysses S. Grant was president, America is no longer the leading economic power on the planet."]

A Jenius Solution To The Puerto Rico Status Problem

Puerto Rico should become a province of China.

The Jenius could stop right there and let My Brethren debate that simple statement, but given the pajas mentales that pass for political debate on My Island, I'll have to provide some context.

First, Let's dismiss the long-suffered fartfest spewed by the three major gangs/herds that address Our status issue. The statehooder party's drooling solution is to bellyflop north and kneel to beg Uncle Sam to shove his Big Co...ngress into Our ass...ociated free state in exchange for nothing but an already-paid for bill of goods. Commonwealthers don't offer a solution--they claim one is already in place, the morons--and offer instead a whiny pitiful plea of "Gimme more" while offering nothing in exchange, an effort reminiscent of nothing better than a tired bulimic whore with a bored pimp. And the independence party checked out two decades ago and can only be bothered to stir their collective shit-for-brains ridiculousness every 4 years when the election gravy train spits out those so-terribly-"""hated""" U.S. of part of A. dollars that they guzzle down exactly like a dog eats its own vomit.

Done and done and done. Since none of these gangs/herds is aimed anywhere near finding a solution, the idea of Puerto Rico becoming a province of China can take a step forward and become a true topic of debate.

The salient points are:

1) The U.S. of part of A. doesn't want Us. For a recap of whys, just click the "Status" label in the word-cloud on the right, enter "status" or "statehood" in The Jenius Search box or Google "Jenius statehood". The arguments you'll find are drop-dead undeniable and spot-on correct. (Spoiler alert: Statehood for Puerto Rico will never happen. Ever. Full disclosure: I am 100% right on this.)

2) Given Point 1, We are more attractive to China. It is simply common sense, but look beyond the obvious. Despite its insular mentality (a trait shared by almost every country in history and particularly prevalent on islands...ahem), China is not adverse to extending its influence and even its borders to secure advantages. The country has long been a serious investor in Africa and a canny investor in North America, Europe and especially Asia.

Although a Caribbean foothold would have been a better deal a few years ago, when China was just beginning its booming phase, it is still an economic, political and even social coup. China would gain a new province, easily-controlled (this is realpolitik here, not fartfesting) through economic means and yet still a province with tremendous growth potential...for China's interests. As nearly every major decision in China is based on economics, power and preserving stability, adding Puerto Rico as a province largely fits the dominant decision-making scheme.

3) Puerto Rico's democracy is not threatening to China. We have democracy like riots have tear gas: as an occasional reminder that order should be preserved. If the purpose of democracy is to allow the people a truly representative voice in government, We have failed. Our shit-faced excuse for a government is like a slow-motion riot, with pillaging, plundering and sacking galore. So We need to tear gas these hyenas, over and over again, to wrench order from criminal chaos. Or, better yet (according to Our local zeitgeist), have someone do it for Us.

But what to My Eyes appears to be a fubar failure is a framework for success to Chinese eyes: a power class acting with feeble restraint upon a population too distracted, indifferent and uncaring to truly scrutinize their actions. Toss in a subservient media, lapdogs of power when not being truly venial, and you have a colony China can absorb without much trouble.

Unlike Hong Kong, which most Jenius readers know but My Brethren mostly don't, is currently having massive protests demanding more democracy, Puerto Rico would be less-inclined to massive riots so long as gossip-slander TV shows, subsidized beer and a month of paid holidays a year were still in play.

4) Economic potential and control are win-win-wins. The U.S. of part of A. has pretty much maxed out its investment here. China has enormous cash reserves and a need to spread its footprint around the world. When We petition Our colonial masters for the chance to become a Chinese province, the short version of their response will be: "No way--Well, if it's what you want--Your decision is final--Sorry to see you go."

Pro forma posturing and empty statements about "America", "political rights" "Founding Fathers." "compacts," "shared history," and "U.S. of part of A. interests in the Caribbean" will cover up not-so-secret meetings with China, essentially along the lines of "Take them away and keep the economy open." Done deal.

Uncle Sam will dick Us again pretending one thing and doing another, but in the end, China will get a platform in the New World, the U.S. of part of A. will still be able to rake in the dollars, albeit at a lower rate (but with fewer expenses and a more open--read "unrestricted"--economic environment) and We will be on the receiving end of billions upon billions of yuan/dollars.

Remember: Chinese culture opts for the long-term view. This isn't a lottery with a one-time payout: this is major investing for at least 25-30 years. And as for the control, yes the Chinese government will take control of Our economy, but so fucking what? We've never--never--had control of it and if We really cared about that, We would have done something about it already. Let's for once skip the hypocrisy and match words to actions, okay?

5) Yes, they are Communists and We are not. Big deal. China learned with Hong Kong that a hands-off approach can work, but expecting a culture change to adopt perceived retrograde control is too much to manage. With Puerto Rico, they have a colony with far fewer resources than Hong Kong (money-wise) and a built-in, "better level" safety net: moving Stateside. That means that most of the local population will be easily managed so long as economic conditions--controlled by the Communist government in a way not applicable to Hong Kong--provide at least a reasonable facsimile of opportunity.

Add to that this key point: the growing middle class in China's growing economy  is estimated to be about 310 million people, or roughly the population of the U.S. of part of A. Here's the one-word big-ass benefit you can focus on: tourism. Yeah, you got it.

China would do almost nothing detrimental to Our government, except make the Communist Party the ruling power. All Our parties would disappear, with maybe a few years of independentista resurgence. But like a bubble, it will pop on its own and leave only an oily slick behind. New parties would emerge, centered on a diversity of interests, a process that China would encourage as it uses Our natural lack of affinity with each other to stay divided. And within a decade, when the local economy is booming, the population drops to about 2.5 million (yes, many people will leave, but they're leaving anyway) and the China Province of the Caribbean experiment proves successful,  the """political""" debate on this point will practically define "moot."


Robert Heinlein once wrote in a novel that Hong Kong and Puerto Rico would form part of a 52-state U.S. of part of A. I nodded at Hong Kong and giggled at Puerto Rico. The best way to make something happen for yourself, when you can't make it happen by yourself, is to pit people's ambitions on you against each other. In short, a bidding war. In Our case, the current owner of My Island will bid only enough to make it seem like it wants the property, but is really only driving up the price. As for the winning bidder, all We have to do is keep reminding China that the U.S. of part of A. took over 50 years and two World Wars to turn Us into the paper tiger of Latin America. If We bet then they can't do better in 30 years, do you think they'll play to lose?

I don't.

I know the current puppet masters here and there play to win only for themselves. But as a province of China, "their" win is really and truly "Our" win. And We haven't been able to say that about Our current colonial shafting in well over 30 years...



The Jenius Has Spoken.


[Update: 23 Oct 2014: Reinforcing the economic argument, China has become the world's #1 economy in production, Look at the list and marvel at how Indonesia has moved up to #9, replacing Great Britain.]

Beware Our Cooties

"But the Puerto Rican economy does matter for the United States—and particularly for U.S. security. Given the island’s proximity and ties to the United States—not to mention the perennial (and highly controversial) debate over Puerto Rico’s status as a U.S. commonwealth and the ease of entering the United States once on the island—drug trafficking and violent crime in Puerto Rico have direct implications for U.S. security policy in the region. In the absence of a healthy economy and given the shrinking private sector in Puerto Rico, the growth of informal activities—drug trafficking and organized crime chief among them—is the unfortunate consequence."

That little fillip comes from a recent publication titled "Shit! The 'Ricans Are Comin'!" The actual title of the butt-wiper is "Why Puerto Rico's Economy Matters for U.S. Security," written by local economist José Villamil and with a forward by the above-quoted Carl Meacham.

The report was issued in last week just as the junk-bond bomb of Our overwhelming debt was starting to become a palpable reality to folks who are too dense to absorb news other than from Our gossip-rag media, lamebrain talk radio or the corner bar.

The report itself is a typical Villamil production: up-to-date with data, leaning more on style than substance and the finest expression of the economist-as-whore. When you pay Villamil to write a report for you, he writes the report you want. Satisfying clients is very high on the Villamil short-list of priorities.

As an example of his sloppiness as window tint, here's this quote, from page 5: "Even this complacency came to an abrupt end in 2005, when rating agencies raised an alarm concerning the high level of appropriations debt with no source of repayment. And in May of the following year, the Puerto Rican government had to close for two weeks because of budgetary difficulties."

Notice how the bond debt crisis is juxtaposed directly with the government shutdown, a gross over-simplification of what was undeniably a party politics shitfest between a dickhead governor and a dickhead senate president. (No. No capital letters for these assholes.) Was the debt part of the problem? Yes. But the shutdown was totally unnecessary and caused mainly by an infantile bout of dick-swinging between guys with microcephaly and micropenises.

But of course, what Carl pays for, Carl gets. He wants to paint a picture of Puerto Rico as a rogue narco-estadolibreasociado whose millions of cocaine-infested criminals are poised to swarm the pristine shores of the U.S. of part of A. in a mindless rampage of raping and pillaging. It will come as no surprise to smart folks that Carl is a true-blue Republican. Or as their ilk is known in Jeniusville, a dickwad.

Carlitos, whose mom is Chilean, speaks fluent Spanish, so I can make My point to him in a language We both can enjoy: Cágate en tu madre, cabrón.

Google Translate for the rest of you.



The Jenius Has Spoken. 

 

  

Solving Puerto Rico 008: Michael Castro

There are only a handful of local bloggers that I admire. First, because I know it is not easy to blog extensively and with quality content. And second, because I stand upon My (self-defined) lofty perch and seek to use My standards, more journalistic than entertainment-oriented, to evaluate other blogs.

To use an analogy, I'm more "BBC than MTV." Deal.

At the top of the very short list is Michael Castro, a teacher whose passion runs in broad but well-defined channels. His blog, Poder 5, not only exceeds The Jenius' output, it also is a closer reflection of local zeitgeist. My Brethren are emotional folk, and Michael often captures and expresses these emotions with a keen critical eye.

In Our vidcast, Michael discusses how We can solve Our status problem, beginning with a change in Our educational focus. If you've watched other Solving Puerto Rico episodes, you will have noticed how often "education" crops into the equation. That gives people who don't live here the barest glimpse of how some of Us feel about a system that has consistently and purposefully undermined Our Island.

Click below to watch Michael and I discuss his solution, or check it out on YouTube.

It may take many more years, but someday, most likely by external fiat, We will dump the colonial status My Island currently """enjoys""" and finally move forward to being something more than an afterthought.



The Jenius Has Interviewed.

Statehood For Puerto Rico? Nuh-uh

I'll give you a hint about where this post is going: the first title for it was "Statehood For Puerto Rico? Fuck Off."

Based on the overhyped, overwrought and oversold November 6th referendum, the White House hand an online petition going asking if statehood for Puerto Rico should be considered. I would have added the words "seriously" and "by Congress," but that's just Me: I'm a stickler for actually saying what I mean and doing what I say. I'm funny that way.

In all, the petition had a target number of signatures it needed to make it "official," as in "We'll write up something and give it to someone who will forward it to some person," but--and you know where I'm headed with this--the petition failed to reach its goal and the White House shut the "offer" down. Closed. Cerrado. Fuck off.

Now it's true that a ton of people, a majority I would say, don't believe that online petitions, even from the White House, are truly tools of democracy. On the other hand (a phrase replaced nowadays by "Having said that," which is moronic use of English along the lines of "At this point in time" for "Now." which would make "nowadays" be "atthispointintimedays"...) online petitions have forced policy changes, the reversing of corporate decisions and--yes--swayed referenda. So even if most online petitions are useless, there is plenty of evidence that if you care enough, they can be useful.

Obviously, statehooders don't care enough. And neither do the potential statehood approvers at the government and citizen levels. And this second group, the most important one? They've never cared. Never will, either.

The problem with statehooders--aside from their obvious lack of self-respect, national pride and ignorance about the country they slobber to join--is that they truly, deep down, want the U.S. of part of A. to impose statehood, to simply say "You are mine, now" in the way a stupid addle-headed useless gash of a girl moons over a glittery pasty-faced gutless douchebag vampire. Statehooders don't want to make statehood happen, they want it to happen in the pseudo-magical way that boons are dispensed in fairy tales.

Now here's the thing: that paragraph above, with minor changes, applies to another of Our groups on "political activism":

The problem with independentistas--aside from their obvious lack of self-discipline, cowardice of convictions and total ignorance about the country We could create--is that they truly, deep down, want the U.S. of part of A. to impose independence, to simply say "You are not mine, now" in the way a stupid addle-headed useless gash of a girl moons over a glittery pasty-faced gutless douchebag vampire. Independentistas don't want to make independence happen, they want it to happen in the pseudo-magical way that boons are dispensed in fairy tales.

And yes, some independentistas will say "We have heroes who fought for independence!", but I'll retort that "Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent" and point out that if criminals--people who preyed upon their own brethren--are your heroes, you need new heroes. Or decapitation.

So.

What are the odds now that statehood will be seriously placed before Congress, what with the """61%""" support in the November 6 referendum, which melts to 45% in the light of objective reality? 10-to-1? 25-to-1?

Allow Me to toss this out: how about 50-t0-1?

HAHAHahahahahahahanochanceinhell



The Jenius Has Spoken.

The Big Lie, Or "61%" Of Statehood

"On June 15, 2009, the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization approved a draft resolution calling on the Government of the United States to expedite a process that would allow the Puerto Rican people to exercise fully their inalienable right to self-determination and independence. Subsequent actions by the governments of the United States and Puerto Rico paved the way for the Puerto Rican status referendum, 2012, scheduled to be held on 6 November 2012."

Okay, Wikipedia is far from the end-all and be-all of reliability, but this brief paragraph manages to confuse an already muddled issue. To wit: "Subsequent actions by the governments of the United States and Puerto Rico paved the way for the Puerto Rican status referendum, 2012, scheduled to be held on 6 November 2012." What amounted to "U.S. government action" was a barely-mumbled "Go ahead." Nothing more. But it sure sounds like the U.S. of part of A. was fully on-board, huh?

Now Let's go to the "Recent Developments" section of the Puerto Rico entry, where We'll find the Big Lie: "For the first question, 54 percent voted against the current Commonwealth status, and in the second question, over 61 percent favored statehood."

As an Anonymous commenter said about My post "33.1% Statehood = Nothing":

"(At the time of the comment) 1,730,245 people voted in the 1st question. In the second question, 802,179 voted for statehood. Therefore you need to divide 802,179 by 1,730,245 to get the % of voters that wanted statehood, which equals ~46%." (Emphasis Mine.)

Anonymous was spot-on, with less than 46% statehood "support". Where did the 61% come from? From the enormous dropoff between the first tier of votes  (Yes/No to current status, with over 1.74 million votes) to the status options, where only 1.3 million votes were cast. Yes, over 480,000 people left the second tier blank, or in My case, wrote IMPOSSIBLE across all three options.

[Note: I wrote a lengthy response for the Comments section of that post where I (a) acknowledge that 33.1% is NOT the right figure and (b) indicate that I was trying to play the "numbers lie" that the statehooders were trying to pull, only I did a poor job of giving that context in the post. Where that comment went, I have no idea. But the gist of it is repeated here.]

So the true percentage of statehood votes can be calculated: how many votes for statehood divided by the total number of NO votes. And that comes out to about 45.6% or less.

Not a mandate by ANY stretch of the imagination and another bitter defeat to shove down statehooders' throats. Although given their losing record on Election Day, their throats are way over-jammed with defeat.

So what the statehood party did was to quickly embrace "The Big Lie." Grab a number that somehow puts the best face on denying reality and run with it. For recent expertise on this propaganda technique, reference FoxNews(hit); for historical perspective, track down one Joseph Goebbels.

What it all boils down to is knowingly lying loudly and repeating the lie as often as possible to make people believe it is the truth. 

But it didn't take long for media outlets to catch on that "61%" was another example of--in Twain's words--"Lies, damn lies and statistics." From ABCNews to Yahoo! to The Huffington Post and even some dim-bulb backwater like Red State figured out that, no, Puerto Rico had not asked for statehood; that in fact, it hadn't even come close, since after all, the referendum or plebiscite or whatever was non-binding. Again.

And yet...they kept repeating The Big Lie, that "61%" that made it all seem like Puerto Rico was marching on Congress to pound the doors down with their "Our statehood demand." Dramatic story. Stirs emotions, both pro and con. Is all a lie.

The goal of The Big Lie is to frame context, to force-fit an issue in an angle and perspective that benefits the propagandist. It is a deliberate distortion, a bare-faced fib aimed at tricking the unwary, the mentally lazy, the largely-indifferent and inflame the fanatical base. That's why it works: because most of Us fall into one or more of those categories. Harsh, but true.

Ultimately, The Big Lie either becomes its own reality--see FoxNews(hit) and the "America" they present--or comes crashing into Truth and pops like a soap bubble. Either way, The Big Lie is a short-term strategy, aimed at tilting a battlefield to preserve or extend or steal an advantage. It cannot win a war, much less when the battlefield, like Ours, is neither defined nor powered by will.

For The Big Lie to work, it has to matter to enough people to act upon it, rightly or wrongly. When it comes to Our status, We don't care enough to want to act, even to make a firm decision, much less see it through. And when it comes to statehood, well, neither We nor the U.S. of part of A. gives anything close to a damn about it. If anything, too many of Us are willing to debase themselves to achieve "dignity" and "self-respect," a Big Lie that has led to the "61%" Big Lie...that will lead to another in this chain of political fibs.



The Jenius Has Spoken.


[Update: 15 Nov 2012: U.S. of part of A. Republicans in the House are "doubting" the plebiscite results, basically doing the "When you make up your minds" shuffle-dance that's been the staple cover-up for decades.  Sadly, the only men that can dance well enough to hide the truth are named Astaire or Kelly. And they're dead.]

Thoughts On Statehood...

...that aren't Mine. Here, for the unwashed, uninformed and unimpressive statehooders that insist on begging/whining for inclusion in the U.S. of part of A., is a sample (errors and all) of comments from a Yahoo! News article about the recent plebiscite:

Discombobulation Incorpor... • 5 mins ago  
The majority of the residents on the island are under some sort of government help (just like the Puerto Ricans in N.Y. City). Even among other Spanish speaking nationalities, Puerto Ricans are considered "lazy" and "inefficient". They're dominance of the Spanish language is considered the worst.  

David • 5 mins ago
Just what the US needs; an island that has 13% unemployment!  

Antoni • 5 mins ago
THATS ALL WE NEED - MORE CRIMINALS

OU812 • 6 mins ago
Do I get to vote not to let them become a state? 1 Million new liberals looking for the next government check.

H • 6 mins ago
great 437,000 more people on welfare we have to pay for

Mack • 8 mins ago
Hey...here we go again. Just what we need to stabilyze the economy. A few more million people on food stamps!!!!

Robert • 9 mins ago
Why would they want Statehood??? They have all the benefits without the Taxes!!!

Bolden • 10 mins ago
Thanks, but we don't need MORE division. Cut them loose and let them be a free independent nation of the Caribbean.

PaulS • 10 mins ago
I have always felt that Puerto Ricans wish to have all the benefits of statehood without any of the obligations and duties, i.e. the way things are now.

Coigne • 13 mins ago
This is crazy. We don't need to incorporate non-English speaking countries into our union. What for? Divorce Puerto Rico and let it find it's own way among the Spanish Cultural heritage of Latin America. It is our decision to make.

Charles H • 15 mins ago
why would we want the toilet bowl of the world to be a state? Isn't there enough of them here already. Selling drugs, stealing and breeding like roaches.  


Now one can say that these comments--many of them blatantly racist and stupid--are not an accurate reflection of what all "Americans" feel about Puerto Rico becoming the 51st state. That would be correct. Many people in the States actually believe Puerto Rico can and should become a State.

But they aren't--by ANY stretch of the imagination--a majority. 

Look at those comments above. They represent ignorance and indifference of and to Puerto Rico. The comments may not represent the majority, but the attitudes most definitely do.

Remember, it takes 38 States to approve a new one, a super-majority of 75%. To most "Americans," Puerto Rico is a tiny infrequent blip on their U.S.-of-part-of-A.-centric view of the world, one that is myopic about anything other than "U.S.A.!"  To a majority of the population, Puerto Rico is simply not something they think about at all, or give a damn about.

But if the topic of statehood for the Island comes in, they will. And what do you think will be their reaction after years of ignorance and indifference to Us, Brethren?

Read those comments and tell Me--with a straight face--that they won't have a significant impact on forming public opinion. Read them and tell Me that a smear campaign--a Republican Party specialty--won't make the idea of statehood for Puerto Rico tantamount to treason, fiscal disaster, unwanted miscegenation and pandering to welfare bums. Tell Me there won't be an overtly racist knee-jerk reaction by many who are forced to come face-to-face with the possibility of Us becoming the 51st state. Go ahead: tell Me.

It won't matter if you do, because you'll be wrong. You can deny it by being willfully blind or criminally stupid, but you'd be wrong anyway. This isn't about Me or any of Us feeling "like a victim": it's about people reacting to a concept by making a snap judgment on it. Human nature being what it is, that snap judgment will be hard to change and will carry enormous weight for years to come.

Oh, you want proof? Okay. Do a little Googling to find out what "Americans" thought of Puerto Ricans circa 1898-1908, Our first decade together. Go ahead. Then stick this in your pipe dream and smoke it: when it comes to statehood for Puerto Rico, it's been 114 years and counting.



The Jenius Has Spoken.


[Update: 9 Nov 2012: Over at the Latino Rebels Facebook page, I've been exchanging barbs with some spineless grub named Julio Fig Figueroa, a statehood supporter. Yes, I understand that most of you knew what he was after "spineless grub." I'm consistent that way.]

[Update: 10 Nov 2012: And the stupidity, the racially-oriented gut-level shit-for-brains stupidity continues, even under the lying guise of """satire""". I won't even bother giving the title, to avoid adding to the Google juice, but stop a moment, statehooders, and notice how quickly and how vitriolic this response is. Your party lies about "statehood winning" and the response has covered the gamut from "No, not really" to "Uh-uh" to "Fuck y'all brownies." Are you listening? Have you ever listened? That's the root of My problem with your "kneeling/open-mouthed/servile" stance: it lacks any sense of dignity, integrity and self-respect. And yes, I am implying exactly what that stance implies. Deal.]

The Last Colony...Yawn

Over at Kickstarter, a dazzling example of Web-based business development that transcends computers and broadband, a man by the name of Juan Agustín Márquez is seeking $77,000 to do a political documentary about Puerto Rico, to be titled "The Last Colony."

Now Márquez is a successful non-fiction filmmakerhttp://juan.mixform.com/, an Emmy-winner for his documentary "100,000," on Our horrible plague of abandoned dogs. He also did "Los 17," a film about 17 students , along with teachers, parents and the community, taking on the challenge of saving their public high school from closure by dramatically raising their test scores. This film and its story was a presentation at the San Juan TEDx conference in November 2011.

So Márquez has the chops to go on Kickstarter and make a decent effort at collecting the $77,000 he's budgeted for the documentary. In his favor, using Kickstarter shows self-confidence and frees him up from "strings-attached" money which normally comes from corporate sponsors, and in the case of political topics, pinheads.

It is obvious that Márquez is blazing his own path and looking to do important projects, developing his skills and occupying ever-higher plateaus in his chosen fields. Good. That's what he should do and I believe his future successes will greatly exceed his current impressive successes. But as for "The Last Colony"...

I don't care. Not a whit.

Hope he makes it happen, which means I hope he gets enough pledged money by September 22nd to go out and do the documentary he wants to do. But I won't give him a dollar and when--I firmly believe when--he finishes it, I won't care to see it.

To Me, the bottom line about the documentary topic--and rest assured, We are a colony--is that it's importance is disconnected between reality and opinion. In reality, Our status is important: it underlies the fundamental positions We can have as a nation on the geopolitical stage. But in Our minds, in Puerto Rico and the U.S. of part of A.--Our status is unimportant, merely an ugly tool used by pandering thieves to whack other idiots over the head with.

And since reality is ultimately created by Our minds, Our status is thus--yawn--unimportant.

Because We and "They" don't care about it.

We don't care 'cause We got dollars and welfare and a false sense of security and Wal-mart and Burger King and flat-screen TVs and don't need passports to "know" Disney and the Bronx and...whatever.

And "They" don't care because they make dollars off of Us by making an island client use only their shipping and buy primarily their products from their stores and their companies while employing Us at lower wages and keeping Us from dealing with anyone else...whatever.

Can We change that? Hell yeah. We could have--We can--anytime since the Jones Act of 1917, that made Us conditional U.S. of part of A. citizens (Congress can revoke Ours, but not "Theirs") and locked Us into economic straitjackets in exchange for Our men being sent to the front lines in World War I and every war since.

We could have changed that before We "negotiated" a status with all the trappings of a colony but the name, stretching the term "commonwealth" (that Massachusetts uses) to disguise "colony," a bit like saying "politician" to disguise "crook."

We could have changed it with any referendum--including the one coming up in November--by insisting that it be binding, bringing "Them" and Us to the table as equals. We could have changed it by voting overwhelmingly for one "solution" or another, understanding that the current status is a colony, statehood is ONLY up to "Them" and that independence is not suicide, as too many of Us stupidly believe.

We could have changed it simply by having the courage, dignity and vision to say to "Them": Enough. This is Our time to take the world stage on Our own terms. And if they balked, We could have changed that by simply having the courage, dignity and vision to assert a simple: You can't stop Me.

We could have, We can, but We haven't and We won't. The status will remain a faux issue in the hands of microcephalic and immoral dirtbags that so many of Us cheer on because they are "My side", failing to grasp that the vermin are only out for themselves.

A documentary to make Our status "part of the national conversation"? Noble goal, but ultimately out of the reach of anyone, be it Márquez, Fellini, Welles or Kurosawa. It's not a matter of talent: it's a matter of indifference. Unless a documentary shows a hideous injustice of torn and mutilated bodies, broken buildings and abject despair, it won't evince the emotional reaction needed to launch a truly meaningful discussion.


Our status doesn't have the torn and mutilated bodies of a genocide or war zone...but it has murder victims in the thousands. Our status doesn't have broken buildings from bombs and bullets, but it has broken buildings housing poverty unlike any in the U.S. of part of A. And in Our status, the faces of abject despair are not the beaming slack-jawed bovine squeals of party supporters waving a blue, red, green or some other colored flag en masse like crazed monkeys, but the scattered thoughtful miens of Our folks who know We are trapped and don't have the collective will to escape.

So good luck, Mr. Márquez. You won't need it to make the documentary; you'll need it--and much much more--to achieve your ultimate goal.

Yawn.



The Jenius Has Spoken.

Relative Or Not, Poverty Is Real

Over at Microsoft Money there's a slideshow of the "Poorest County in Each State," using data from the Census Bureau. Short version: the poorest county in each state, based on median household income (MHI) have incomes ranging from $56,564 (Windham County, CT) to the lowest, $21,611, in Wilcox County, Alabama.

According to the Census Bureau, Puerto Rico's MHI in 2009 was $18,314. What this means is that the poorest county in the U.S. of part of A. has a roughly 16% higher MHI than Puerto Rico.

No surprise there. We know We don't have the income of Statesiders. But the deep individual economic problems We create for Ourselves stem from the notion that We do.


However, regardless of Our political status or lack thereof, Our economic status is basically one of playing "Monopoly" with 10s and 20s when "the other guys" are playing with 100s and 500s.

And that, My Brethren, is a sure-fire recipe for...problems.

Think about it: the poorest county in Connecticut has a median household income roughly 309% higher than Our MHI. The U.S of part of A. MHI average is $46,723 and the poverty level for a family of four is defined as $22,314.

Or exactly $4,000 more than Our MHI. Which means, you statistical freaks, that at the very least well over 50% of Our households are in poverty.

We knew that already. But the ramifications and implications, though clear, are being debated as if they involved differential equations and higher-order philosophy by lunkheads who can't read without moving their lips or add three single-digit numbers without a calculator.

The ramifications all stem from being the limited-resource stooge at a no-limit game. When "they" can play with everything they have and We can only play with what "they" allow us to, We lose. Eventually and every time. Doesn't really matter who "they" and "We" are: it's just a mathematical certainty when the game goes on long enough.


For the lunkheads, a translation: We are poor because We are playing their game, by their rules and accepting their control. If that sounds like I am accusing the U.S. of part of A. of being a bully, tyrannical and abusive, you are right.

But.

The implication is that if the game is rigged against Us--and it is--then the only two options are to either change the rules or change the game. Given Our situation, changing the rules could only happen if "they" allow it. They haven't and they won't: they are winning. Therefore the only rational, the only effective and the only pragmatic and dignified course of action is to change the game.
Meaning We tell "them" to take a flying leap at the freaking Moon and make Our own game, with rules more favorable to Our side and negotiated with other players in more equitable fashion.


For the lunkheads, a translation: If that sounds like I'm advocating independence for My Island, then what the hell took you so long?

Yet, as We know so very very very well, the notion of being an independent nation, of standing on Our own and shouldering the burdens and joys of Our development, facing the world as equals rather than as semi-obscure adjuncts of imperialism, that notion is as appealing to Us as jumping into a frying pan appeals to largemouth bass.

For the lunkheads, a clarification: Independence is not as agonizing and fatal as a frying pan is to a fish. You just think it is. That's why you're a lunkhead.

And that's why We continue to be poor: because We are playing a rigged game, with limited resources, with rules set to favor "them." And We are stupid enough to try to play the game "their" way.

Their poorest counties average roughly 180% more income than Our "richest" ones. And yet We supposedly play at the same table.

Lastly, for you lunkheads who fart "Well what about statehood to level the playing field?", let Me copy-paste this and have somebody with a modest 2-digit IQ explain it to you: "Changing the rules could only happen if "they" allow it. They haven't and they won't: they are winning."


Now shut up, lunkheads.



The Jenius Has Spoken.

Colonialism? Let's Keep It!

Jenial Friend Kevin Shockey, over at Dondequiera, touched on this topic as I was developing this post... Great minds do think alike.

In short, for the upcoming "status plebiscite," scheduled to be voted on the same day as the 2012 general elections (My take on that timing here), the Popular Democratic Party--neither one nor the other nor the other--have decided that they will make no changes in their definition of the commonwealth status that has shackled Puerto Rico since July 25, 1952.

Yes, I said "shackled."

Big deal, right? Okay, add this: the PDP has been pushing for "enhanced commonwealth" since the mid-1970s, primarily under the banner of 3-time governor Rafael "Spain Is My True Home" Hernández Colón (I toss in the matronymic to avoid confusion with the truly-talented composer born where I was born). Good old Rafito even went so far as to seclude himself in various favored locations (nearly all outside of Puerto Rico) to develop his "New Thesis," where he would once and for all define "enhanced commonwealth" in a vision so pure and perfect that rocks would weep and birds would be stunned in mid-air.

"Enhanced commonwealth"? HAHAHAahahahacolony

Or maybe it was "birds would weep and rocks would be stunned in mid-air"?

No matter. What did Rafitito come up with for his "New Thesis," to boldly advance commonwealth to launch a new Puerto Rico? Some 400+ pages that amounted to "Give Us more money and more autonomy and We'll do nothing in exchange."

"Enhanced" commonwealth, a.k.a, a whiny brat puling for more and offering less.

Since the Rafititito fiasco, the discussion about "enhanced commonwealth" is like trying to dissect the magic system in the world of Harry Potter: it all sounds stupid because the magic works. But the analogy breaks down because unlike Harry's magic, commonwealth doesn't work. And enhanced commonwealth is an even bigger fantasy than Hogwarts.

We are a colony. Dress up the word with the longer "commonwealth," We are still a colony. The most basic definition says that a colony sends raw materials as exports and receives finished goods as imports, with the requirement that both imprts and exports are controlled by another nation.

Bingo.

So the PDP, with four decades plus of sniveling smarmy lip service to a colonial status and even smarmier fetid verbal diarrhea about "enhancing" it, when faced with the opportunity--or requirement--to put their definition where their money is, have """opted""" for a gutless "The usual, not shaken, not stirred."

Again.

In 1997, the PDP used a tactical error in the plebiscite set-up to push the idea of voting for "None of the above," and succeeded in exposing the mockery these "electoral" events really are. But this time, there was no wriggle room: the parties themselves got to define their status offers. And this time, what's being exposed is that the PDP has nothing.

Nothing. Not a damn thing.

Call it political bankruptcy, or moral bankruptcy, the reality remains that the PDP and its commonwealth status are empty shells. The status is colonial. Period. The commonwealth party has no solution to offer. Period.

And to top it off, the plebiscite means nothing whatsoever for it is as binding as invoking any of Harry Potter's spells to change Our status.

Welcome to the slow-motion train wreck of Puerto Rico politics, 2012 edition.



The Jenius Has Spoken.

Being "Latino"

I created a Paper.li "newspaper" called Puerto Rico Now(ish), through My @gilthejenius Twitter handle. You can find it here.

Several days ago, there was an article about statehood for Puerto Rico, on the online magazine known as Being Latino. You can find it here.

I made a comment that took the article to task, with 6 links to Jenius posts dating back to 2005. (Should I point out that Being """Latino""", aside from using a nonsensical term in its title, is only 2 years old? Then again, I'm "The Jenius," right? Six years and counting...) The comment was rejected because the links were treated as spam. Website policy, as the editor Libby Vázquez pointed out to Me when I called them "cowards" for not allowing the comment. She clarified the rejection and invited me to submit a response. Libby even sent Me the submission guidelines.

I wrote My response by editing the 6 posts to fit within a 500-word limit and divided My piece into three parts. Going back to Being Latino, I noticed that a Ms. Mercedes Lebrón--a name that could ring a bell related to the town of Arroyo--had asked about My potential comment. I goosed the issue and received a response the next day, from Ulises Silva, via Libby Vázquez

The response is too long. It doesn't merit a three-part, three-week segment, especially since many of the things it raises are opinions. There's little substantiation of the claims and assertions being made, which makes the piece sound like a soapbox speech than a balanced response to Julio's piece. The claims need to be backed up with the right links to references. This could work if the response is shortened to one 500-word piece (as opposed to three), and if it includes more references.

My response?

Fair enough. I don't work for you, so I can take my words and work and place them elsewhere. Thank you.

Am I showing an attitude here? Good. I may be trying to become a "nicer, kinder Jenius," but the bottom line is I don't suffer fools, Fools or stupid ideas. At all.

So here's My distillation of previous posts, whittled to fit the 500-word limit Being """Latino""" endorses for publication on the site:

Puerto Rico: Never a State – A 3-Part Column

By Gil C. Schmidt

Bio: I lived almost 20 years in the U.S., spanning states from Nebraska to Texas to Mississippi. My appearance and name are those of a White, Anglo-Saxon Protestant, the proverbial W.A.S.P. But I was born in Puerto Rico, a fourth-generation Puerto Rican and have lived on the island continuously since 1987. You can find more of my writings about Puerto Rico at Gil The Jenius: http://gilthejenius.blogspot.com

Puerto Rico: Never a State – Part One                 [500 words]

By Gil C. Schmidt

Understand this: the U.S. will not grant statehood to Puerto Rico. Ever. It is not a “right” Puerto Rico has earned, it is not a “debt” the U.S. has to pay and it is not their "obligation" to take on a nation (a concept many Puerto Ricans shamefully deny we have) as part of their republican federation because of a simple reason: it is their house and they can say who comes in and who doesn’t.

Statehood for Puerto Rico is not going to happen for three unimpeachable reasons: 1) Ethnic and economic differences, masked or open; 2) History has spoken and 3) Under domestic and international law, the ultimate decision is not “theirs”: it’s ours.

Ethnic and economic differences: The average American doesn’t know about or care a thing for Puerto Rico. But you can bet that their ignorance will quickly change to expertise based on a single issue: We are not like them. To the average American, we are not Americans. We are outsiders. Strangers. Parasites even. For though the U.S. was founded on humanistic ideals and principles, in fact, the ideals and principles are often expressed as “If you ain’t one of us, you don’t count and we don’t want you.” Ask Arizona.

For statehood, the procedure says that 38 States have to approve. It’s easier to find 38 States to vote against Puerto Rico. First off, none of the 9 Southern states (Louisiana to Kentucky/North Carolina) would approve. If you have to ask why, you’ve obviously never lived in those States.

Large Western states, like Montana, Idaho and Wyoming are famous for having a strong sense of freedom, “America First” sentiment and an array of militia radicals. They’ll vote NO with nary a split-second’s thought. That makes 12, so Puerto Rican statehood is finished.

But to make the point clearer, take your pick of almost-certain “No” votes: New England states that are as ultra-conservative as the winter is long or some of the other 21 States that would see their comparatively small representation overwhelmed by Puerto Rico’s in the House of Representatives, where the number of votes is based on population, not State seniority.

Furthermore, unlike the Senate, which could rise to 102 Senators, Puerto Rico’s five "representatives" would be taken from high-population states, namely California, New York, Florida, Texas, Illinois or Pennsylvania. These states have high Hispanic minorities, but would these states allow one of their “voices in government” to be given to a fledgling state with a comparative poverty level that makes Mississippi look like Monaco?

And let’s not ignore the question of race. It matters. It matters a lot. Maybe 50 years from now, when the majority of the population of the U.S. is non-white, maybe it won’t matter as much. Or then again, it will, as the difference between “Them that have” and “Them that don’t” could very well make the race issue seem trivial by comparison. But for now, it’s a deal-breaker, whether it’s carried out openly (“English only”) or quietly.

Puerto Rico: Never a State – Part Two                           [499 words]

By Gil C. Schmidt

Statehood for Puerto Rico is not going to happen for three unimpeachable reasons: 1) Ethnic and economic differences, masked or open, covered in Part One; 2) History has spoken and 3) Under domestic and international law, the ultimate decision is not “theirs”: it’s ours.

History has spoken: Oklahoma, 1907. New Mexico, 1912. Arizona, 1912. Alaska, 1959.  Hawaii, 1959.

Puerto Rico has been the property of the U.S. since 1898. Three States were added since the Spanish-American War to form the contiguous 48. The addition of non-contiguous states happened once, for Alaska and Hawaii, 61 years after Puerto Rico became war booty.

To complete the nationalization and permanence of the territorial limits in geopolitical terms, essentially, to make everybody belong to the same government, it made perfect sense to add Oklahoma (in the central portion of the country) and Arizona and New Mexico in the southwest (on the border with Mexico.)

Adding Alaska, a landmass equal to roughly 25% of the entire "lower 48", and Hawaii, a Pacific sinecure, also made sense, as both were long-held territories where American interests were ripe for development. In the case of Alaska, it turned into federal reserves; in Hawaii, tourism-related development.

So, if Puerto Rico were to ever become a State, it is clear that post-1898 decisions about statehood have shown what the basic criteria are for being invited:

1) Political expediency, i.e., the forging of a potentially stronger geopolitical unit, or…

2) Economic enhancement.

Do we satisfy either or both of them?

No.

Are we being invited?

No and no and no.

By 1959, we were already being plucked by American interests and as they say in my neck of the woods: Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free? There's no doubt the U.S. makes tons of money off of Puerto Rico, so statehood is really not an economic enhancement for them and in fact, it is widely portrayed and considered as either a mistake that leads to carrying welfare freeloaders or a bottomless pit of economic rehabilitation expenses. Usually both.

So what about political expediency? Well, check out point #1 above. We're not Anglo-Saxons. Or Protestants. Or native English speakers. Or descendants of the same parts of Europe that they are. Toss out all that as a unifying factor. We are way south of the border, and unlike Alaska, we are tiny with no natural resources and unlike Hawaii, we don't occupy a strategic location under U.S. interests. We did in 1940; we didn't by 1945.

If Puerto Rico--in the eyes of its political owners--were deemed worthy of statehood, it would have been decided between 1912 and 1945, when our economy was nonexistent, the potential for American investment was very high, our strategic location could have been considered vital, our population small enough (and in their eyes, malleable enough) to absorb and the "lower 48" were a unitary done deal. That it didn't happen then means it isn’t going to happen at all. Ever.

Puerto Rico: Never a State – Part Three                        [500 words]

By Gil C. Schmidt

Statehood for Puerto Rico is not going to happen for three unimpeachable reasons: 1) Ethnic and economic differences, masked or open, discussed in Part One; 2) History has spoken, as per Part Two and 3) Under domestic and international law, the ultimate decision is not “theirs”: it’s ours.

3) The law says the ultimate decision is ours: During its 8th session, the U.N. General Assembly recognized Puerto Rico's self-government on November 27, 1953 with Resolution 748 (VIII). This removed Puerto Rico’s classification as a non-self-governing territory under article 73(e) of the U.N. Charter.

Puerto Rico held its plebiscite concerning a new constitution in 1950. The constitutionally-based commonwealth was inaugurated on July 25th, 1952. However, the U.N. recognized Puerto Rico's self-government in November 27, 1953.

Neither domestic nor international law recognizes a right to a plebiscite before a transfer of sovereignty. In short: In 1950 we weren’t empowered to choose our status.

Up until that day in 1953, we were not considered self-governing. Under domestic law (Supreme Court and Congress), we were “an unincorporated territory,” and as such, were not guaranteed anything by the U.S. So the process between the U.S. and Puerto Rico that led to the commonwealth "experiment" was not, as the pro-commonwealth party has always insisted, a deal between equals, it was merely a hand-me-down fait accompli between a sovereign nation and its territory.

Therefore, if according to international law we stopped being a colony in 1953, then we have to face up to certain truths:

--As a self-governing territory, it is up to us--and no one else--to make the focused effort to establish our permanent status. And by “us” I mean the Puerto Ricans who live, work and own property here, not “weekenders” waving our flag a couple of times a year during some New York parade.

--The only binding plebiscite the U.S. can offer—and never has--is a Congressionally-mandated referendum wherein Puerto Rico can automatically put into motion whatever ultimate status the voters choose. No such offer is being made now and won’t be: the fear of pledging itself to grant statehood to Puerto Rico is not something any U.S. politician wants to see looming ahead. Puerto Rico cannot force Congress to do this and Congress simply cannot be forced on this issue. History proves it.

I think it is way past time that we moved beyond all this statehood fantasy. For deep down, it isn’t a matter of pride, heritage, history or anything equally lofty: it simply boils down to a matter of money. They have it, they know many Puerto Ricans want more of it, and they don’t want—or have—to share it. On that basis alone, the U.S. will continue to reject seriously considering any Puerto Rican request for statehood.

And they should. Because we can do better.

Except that most of us don’t believe—or don't want to believe—that.

Not becoming a state is not Puerto Rico’s loss; not knowing how to be ourselves is.

Opinion? A good part of it, yes. Soapbox? I'd say so, definitely. References are there, mostly of historical veracity. But does merely placing quotes around a statement that is largely opinion  suddenly turn it into fact? Example, from the Being """Latino""" article itself: “We want to offer a solution, because the bottom line is that no matter what the White House Report says, it still does not go far enough to deal with Puerto Rico’s ambiguous state,” (Rafael) Rodríguez added. “We want to highlight Puerto Rico’s economic status, once it is released from its current status that is hampering that potential. We want to send a clear message for folks to understand.”

Maybe I should resubmit the articles with quotation marks around certain statements, right? 

But why bother. Being """Latino""" is what it is. However, it will be interesting to note what direction this sterile (113 years and counting; Ulises can look up a reference himself) statehood "effort" takes within the nuanced pages of Being """Latino""". Maybe. 

Wake Me up if they make it to 6 years. And counting.

The Jenius Has Spoken.

[Update: 10 February 2012: For those pseudo-intellectuals that took Me to task for implying and stating that the "American" feeling for Puerto Rico was wrapped in racism, here's the Tea Party phrase of what statehood for the Island would be: "...a Trojan Horse for the Hispanicization of the United States." Read that phrase again and see if there's any positive angle, any form of acceptance of Puerto Rico or Hispanics at all. Then bite Me.]