NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

Some recent articles about budgets and bills and the yinaoyao between the Legislature, most notably Senator BJ Cruz and Governor Eddie Calvo and his team at Adelup. Ti menhalom yu' put este na asunto siha, pues tåya' otro sinangån-hu. Taitai este siha, ya hagu un diside håyi gaitinina yan håyi mambebende dinagi. ******************** September 10, 2016 The Honorable Edward J.B. Calvo Governor of Guam Ricardo J. Bordallo Governor’s Complex Hagåtña, Guam 96910 Re: Response to Lapse Message on Substitute Bill No. 250-33 (COR) Dear Governor Calvo: Håfa adai! On September 1, 2016, I delivered a letter to you relative to the concerns you identified regarding Substitute Bill No. 250-33 (SB250), now the Annual Appropriations Act of FY 2017. I had hoped my clarifications would have prompted you to direct your fiscal team to reconsider its initial findings on SB250. Unfortunately, based on your lapse message to Speaker Judith T. Won Pat, you have disregarded the fact

This is particularly interesting/na'chalek in the context of current problems in the Government of Guam. As I've often said, politicians are fortunate that peoples' memories are very short for the things that matter and long for those that don't. *************** Guam Lawmakers Push Financial Reform By Gerardo R. Partido The Marianas Variety March 21, 2007 With the administration still finalizing its fiscal recovery plan, the Guam Legislature has taken the initiative by passing Bill 15, which contains various measures to reform the way the government of Guam manages its finances. Sponsored by Vice Speaker Eddie Calvo, R-Maite, the legislation requires the administration to implement revenue tracking report and a fiscal realignment plan that would ensure greater clarity and accountability of Government of Guam’s finances. Calvo describes the bill, which was passed unanimously, as the culmination of a collaborative effort between majority and mino

The idea of pay raises for politicians is always out there. People fell like politicians are always getting them, even if they aren't getting them at that precise moment. It is one of the things that if you asked people what is wrong with government or what politicians are good at, chances are very good they would cite "giving themselves raises" as one of their main skills. Part of what is always so odious about this is the fact that raises for politicians are something that always lies within the control of the politicians themselves. The way this issue is always present even when its not is tied to the level of trust of government leaders. The issues of GovGuam raising its wages last year was very interesting because of how it was an rare moment of harmony within branches of government, where they seemed to be eager to work together to keep this issue as quiet as possible. There was a small amount of protest about it, but ultimately it simply reconfirmed the apathy th

 Even though almost everyone in the world will probably tell you that democracy is the greatest system of government in the world, that doesn't mean that people don't loathe it. People will generally loathe their own particular forms of democracy and only praise or love it when its existence is being shaded or overshadowed by some competing alternative. But even though they may loathe the ideas of Senators, Mayors, Governors or Presidents as being positions that are often held by cheats and liars, they tend to either tolerate or like the people who actually hold those positions. In a purely commonsensical level you might assume that since Congress is so incredibly unpopular, people would be in a hurry to vote out all incumbents and bring in fresh blood. You may think that since nearly everyone on Guam complains about Senators or Governors as being self-interested crooks who don't do anything more than wave by roadsides, no one in Guam's history would ever g

$18M savings turned down by lieutenant governor and governor:  The elephant in the room Senator Ben Pangelinan Published in Marianas Variety August 22, 2013 WHAT we have seen over the past week during budget discussions is a desperate attempt by the Republican governor and senators to cover up what is truly a travesty of epic proportions, which is the governor’s intent and selection of a non-exclusive health insurance contract for GovGuam employees and retirees that costs all taxpayers $18 million more than an exclusive contract, which the governor just last year said is the best way to go and recommended by health insurance actuarial experts. The Guam Legislature recently passed the FY2014 budget ahead of the deadline of Aug. 31, which has apparently shaken up the governor to the point of his endorsement of an all out propaganda war to try and draw attention away from the health insurance injustice and to discredit a budget plan that increases the amou

Decolonization today Monday, 15 Jul 2013 03:00am BY MAR-VIC CAGURANGAN | VARIETY NEWS STAFF Hits: 211 (First of a two-part series) ON JULY 21, Marine Corp Drive will be filled with parades to mark the day the U.S. Marines took Guam in a bloody 1944 battle that liberated the island from the Japanese forces during World War II. Sixty-nine years since Guam’s liberation, political leaders are again seeking liberty – this time for self-governance. “Our journey will never be complete unless we undertake to resolve our political status and to decolonize Guam,” Guam Delegate Madeleine Bordallo said during her congressional address before the 32nd Legislature on May 30. “We must renew our determination to take the necessary steps that will define our political relationship with the United States, and to give the people of Guam the political dignity that they deserve,” she added. 17 colonies Guam is one of the 17 remaining colonies in the

"Support Tritons of Today, Tomorrow" by Robert A. Underwood Editorial Guam PDN October 24, 2012 The University of Guam has faced a dramatic reduction in Government of Guam support over the past decade. We are a public corporation chartered by the government of Guam and our base operational support comes from government of Guam appropriations. Without this funding, our student learning, academic quality, federal grants and public service are not sustainable. We are appreciative and we recognize our public obligations. But the GovGuam appropriation has declined over the past two decades. In 1994, UOG received $31.9 million in general operations appropriations and the annual amount has been consistently less than $28 million in subsequent years. Moreover, the GovGuam portion of current total University expenditures has declined significantly even as our enrollment has grown by 20 percent over the past decade. The year 2002 was the last year in w

September 4, 2012 Transcript of San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro's keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention, as prepared for delivery: My fellow Democrats, my fellow Texans, my fellow Americans: I stand before you tonight as a young American, a proud American, of a generation born as the Cold War receded, shaped by the tragedy of 9/11, connected by the digital revolution and determined to re-elect the man who will make the 21st century another American century — President Barack Obama. The unlikely journey that brought me here tonight began many miles from this podium. My brother Joaquin and I grew up with my mother Rosie and my grandmother Victoria. My grandmother was an orphan. As a young girl, she had to leave her home in Mexico and move to San Antonio, where some relatives had agreed to take her in. She never made it past the fourth grade. She had to drop out a

Last year I was confirmed as the new Chairperson for the Independence Task Force for the Commission on Decolonization for Guam. The Decolonization Commission is tasked with guiding the process by which Chamorros will exercise their right to self-determination and select the next future status for the island. As part of the Commission there are three task forces, one for each of the three potential options: independence, statehood and free association. There is pretty much taya' support nowadays for these task forces, but I'm trying to do my best to get things started without any budget. A temporary website will be up soon that myself and my girlfriend are working on. A meeting will hopefully be taking place before the end of the month of Task Force members to start work on creating a position paper on why independence is the best option for Guam. I'm also creating a listserv for events and news related to decolonization and independence. I have also decided to start a i