Statement from Pedro Pierluisi Regarding Obama’s Trip To Puerto Rico

His constituents by-proxy are not thrilled about this visit. Puerto Rico’s population is about four million; what happens in the Unites States is affecting the island as well, so now they’re not happy campers. Puerto Ricans expect the same empty promises that Obama gave us. To make things more interesting, this is also Hillary Clinton‘s turf as she beat Obama in the Democrat Party’s presidential primaries in 2008 with a  3 to 1 margin.

Puerto Rico has also a lamestream media that is covering this four-hour visit as if he is staying for a week. Folks, it’s all about the money (read my Nancy Pelosi‘s blog post about this). There’s also that issue of Puerto Rico’s self-determination process that is in its infancy. Puerto Rico’s Resident Commissioner, Pedro Pierluisi (D-PR) gave this statement:

After noon, the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico in Washington, Pedro Pierluisi confirmed the information given ahead of time by EL VOCERO.  “I know that President Obama’s intentions is to show once again to the people of Puerto Rico that he identifies himself with us, with our causes and with our aspirations, and he wants to help us with our social and economical challenges that we face. I am positive that he will also use this trip to support the report of the Special Workgroup of the White House about Puerto Rico, and  to see firsthand how we’re benefitting from his initiatives of his administration”, said Pierluisi via written statement.  

Puerto Rico’s Resident Commish has “voice” in DC, but cannot vote on anything related to Puerto Rico nor the United States; he has to knock on a lot of doors to get things done.  What few people know on this side of the pond? That Puerto Rico’s Governor, Luis Fortuño (R-PR) has been friends with Pedro Pierluisi (D-PR) ever since their teens. It is a positive but awkward professional relationship.

I don’t expect the GOP to jump in and make a strong statement about this four-hour trip. The only cool thing will be that kids will finally see Air Force One in all its glory. Obama’s visit will certainly be a part of Puerto Rico’s 21st century but it will be exaggerated, as is with everything involving politics.

Barack Obama Will Travel To Puerto Rico

President Obama will make a four-hour stop in Puerto Rico on June 14. This is a very unusual visit for a US President to visit the island so quickly-Nancy Pelosi visited the island last year, gave a speech, grabbed Democrat fundraising for the past November elections, and left.

Obama’s visit will coincide with the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy‘s trip to Puerto Rico in 1961. The 43rd President of the United States will be the second president that visits Puerto Rico on official affairs, since the creation of the Commonwealth. Obama made a stop in Puerto Rico twice as a pre-presidential candidate during the Democrat Party’s primaries.

Now that Obama’s visit is confirmed, the logistics for Obama’s safety and security are put in place. The US Air Force, the Secret Service, Puerto Rico’s Department of State along with the FBI. Local police will be also on a serious alert and will provide security for the whole visit. All information regarding Obama’s visit is trickling in-so far the trip was in his agenda for weeks-but more details of this four-hour trip are trickling in, so stay tuned.

 

Related articles

• Puerto Rico governor announces Obama visit (politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com)
• Puerto Rico governor announces Obama visit (via CNN Political Ticker) (techweev.com)
• Obama to Make Rare Presidential Visit to Puerto Rico – NYTimes.com (policyabcs.wordpress.com)

Wanna Strike? You’re Fired, Along With Your License

Puerto Rico‘s Secretary of Education fired all the top brass of the Teachers’ Federation. Unprecedented!

 

Secretario de Educación, Jesús Rivera Sánchez

 

They won’t be able to teach. Education Secretary, Jesús Rivera Sánchez, canceled teachers‘ certifications to the Executive Committee of the Teachers’ Federation.  (Primera Hora / Archivo / David Villafañe)

 

NOTE: This is a rough English translation to the original news article in Spanish, which can be read here.

 

In an act without precedent, the eleven members of the Executive Committee of the Federation of teachers were decertified as teachers, and may not exercise their profession in public or private schools.

 

Education Secretary Jesús Rivera Sánchez dismissed ten teachers’ career positions on Friday and cancelled (voided) their certifications as teachers permanently, so they will be unlicensed to teach. In the letter of dismissal against them, their offenses of abandonment of service, participated in a teachers’ strike on August of 2010 – a strike in which about 30,000 teachers were absent from their work – and recommended a vote of strike by enrollment in an Assembly of delegates.

 

“This is not an isolated incident, it also comes with the deprivation of the right to have all our members pay dues to the Teachers Federation,” said the leader of the guild, Rafael Feliciano, in a press conference together with the other 10 teachers that were fired. Feliciano indicated that they will continue to remain in their trade union posts, even if they don’t get paid with salaries and continue the administrative procedure before the appellate commission of the public service, without discarding to go to court. “They will not intimidate us. We are going to fight and are going to win,” said their leader, Rafael Feliciano. He added that this action has the goal to frighten other teachers so that they won’t fight against the current administration’s plans to privatize schools and eliminate the teachers’ retirement system.

 

“The members of the executive committee knew we were going to be exposed to all these evil things and their repressive brutality on the part of the Education Secretary, since these disciplinary hearings are nothing but a firing squad,” said Feliciano at the press conference, located at the headquarters of the Employees’ Union of Water and Sewerage’s Authority Systems in Hato Rey, where yesterday the same federation would have an assembly of delegates.

In the afternoon’s meeting, Feliciano said that they will discuss any other attempts to stop more firings, including the possibility of a workers’ strike of 24 to 48 hours and a boycott to the Puerto Rican tests of Academic Advantage that students must take on the first week of April.

Feliciano dismissed complaints coming from a group of teachers from “The Commission of Teachers of the Communist Party,” which announced yesterday that they planned to disaffiliate themselves from the Federation. “The Magisterial repudiates attitudes and anti-democratic actions of the de facto leader of the Federation”, said Félix Arroyo  which is their speaker, in another press conference.

If You’re Challenged With Love Vs. Greed, Say This

Love, clouded by selfishness

A post for those that are heartbroken during Christmas; a response to those that believe that they have it all, but there’s one thing that they lost along the way: Love for another.

This is an English translation from a Spanish quote that comes up when there’s a break-up in a relationship, where power and greed overcome love, or there’s a need to point out to someone else that selfishness (or self-interest and ego) can grab a hold on love, and break it.  The Spanish version is this:

“El amor y el interés se fueron al campo un día; y más pudo el interés que el amor que te tenía”.

So I will translate for you the English version:

“Love and greed walked to a field one day; and more power had greed, than the love that I had for you.”

Related Articles

• selfish- only for a moment (pamweigle.wordpress.com)
• Hypocracy of Near and Dear Ones.. (socyberty.com)
• A Heart Don’t Break Even (tasithoughts.wordpress.com)
• Here’s a Quick Way Over a Broken Heart (theinvisibledragon.com)

SEIU President Is In Puerto Rico

From:  Primera Hora (PR newspaper), rough translation

SEIU President visits the island to get to know firsthand social and political situation in Puerto Rico 

Monday, August 23, 2010
Inter News Service

The president-elect of the Service Employees International Union, Mary Kay Henry, started today a two-day visit to Puerto Rico with the purpose of learning about the social and political situation on the island, and of more of their 30,000 affiliates to its two Puerto Rican unions:  The Puerto Rican Workers’ Syndicate (SPT in Spanish), and the General Workers’ Union (UGT in Spanish).

Henry will hold informative meetings with both unions’ leaders, as well as with leaders of other syndical organizations, religious, professional and from some communities.  She will also meet with both Secretaries:  One is the head of the Department of Work and Human Resources, and the other is from the Department Of Health.  Both agencies’ employees are represented by the local General Workers’ Union 1199.

Last June, the SEIU chose Henry as their new President of this organization, in substitution of Andy Stern, who retired after being a leader of SEIU for more than a decade.

The new President comes from California; she held the position of Executive International Vice President of this organization, which counts with 2.2 million members (one million in the healthcare industry alone), in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.INS

News From PR’s Resident Commish: House’s Date For Bill H.R. 2499

I just checked Pedro Pierluisi’s Facebook page. After a short hiatus in the island after the bill passed, and attended his nephew’s baptism, he is back in DC and he wrote this:

Es oficial: COMISION DEL SENADO DE ESTADOS UNIDOS ATENDERA EL H.R 2499 EL PROXIMO 19 DE MAYO. EL TIEMPO APREMIA Y NUESTRA CAUSA ES JUSTA.

I know that we know that he supports statehood for Puerto Rico as well as I do; in Puerto Rico there’s a Republican governor, with majorities in House and Senate.  That governor, Luis Fortuño is like Obama here in the states; very unpopular.  Economy, jobs, budget, crime-all these are the same issues that the US highlights as very important to deal with as well. I don’t have a poll related to these items in Puerto Rico, because polling there is not done on a daily basis, like Rasmussen does.

So watch out for May 19, that’s when the whole new enchilada (I don’t want this topic to be mixed with illegals in the south border of this country!), rice and beans will start again.  Expect the same crap:  That there is only “statehooders” advocating on this matter, that there’s no lobbying on the other two political parties (this is absolutely NOT true), since lobbying involves phone calls, mail and in-person visits to the DC offices.  And these are  PAID lobbyists (like Charlie Black for the Popular Democratic Party), and paid out of Puerto Rico’s party funds, and also from Puerto Rico’s pockets that they barely have. 

(Check cartoon to the left to what I understand, reflect his sentiments on this).  Since Glenn Beck took this way out of proportion and does not care if there is a very long time frame if there is a drastic change in Puerto Rico’s status-ten years or so-I also expect the Tea Party movement won’t allow 4 million people to have their voices heard in a referendum or two.  I will not and haven’t watched Glenn Beck because of this injustice.  I have slowed down considerably on FOX News as well.

Keep things in perspective:  If people continue the “mantra” that PR does not want statehood and have voted against it several times, I say this:  If independence is chosen, as soon as it’s declared:  Expect a mass emigration of LEGAL US Citizens to the mainland.  Also, if the bill is “skewed” toward statehood for Democrat seats, that’s really crossing a bridge before getting there.  These are seats and just like any other state, they get picked by either party or Independent.  Add to that, because of intense lobbying on the behalf of the Popular Democratic Party, their status is on the ballot on the second time around-which will lead the island nowhere.  That’s the term I use for “Congress’ Puerto Rico bailout”.  If on other occasions Puerto Rico has voted for status quo (meaning US Territory/Commonwealth/colony) has been because of several circumstances during those different years.  It’s as bad as to have the PR Governor fail on the option they support because of a bad job on the island, meaning the referendum was not meant for real for a change of status, but to punish a governor’s performance.  That’s a factor Pedro Pierluisi has to talk to PR endlessly.

That is why it is so important to have Congress involved.  Then Puerto Rico will see this is the REAL DEAL.  I have heard so many times on their political rallies that the New Progressive Party supports and wants a US Congress-availed plebiscite to make sure that if statehood is chosen, then they can look into it and receive the results properly.  It serves no purpose to do this on Puerto Rico’s sole mandate.  It won’t be taken seriously.  

Remember this:  If it was a Statehood vs. Independence plebiscite, the Democratic Popular Party would have to be destroyed and split, and annihilated because it would break into three, basically.  That is exactly what the other two political parties want!  Americans in the mainland (understandably so),  would go hysterical and so in Puerto Rico. Those will not accept any other option and see their political party destroyed, and FORCED to make a choice.  Either keep their American citizenship, or resign to it, along with all the responsibilities and benefits.

Links to any news on this matter would be in Spanish; I don’t want to neglect them but it really would serve no purpose, as to just have you have a hard time with translation; Altavista is not that reliable. If I receive lots of comments on links, then I will be very happy to provide and translate for you (too many news articles to mention).

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