Pacific Island Times January 2019 Vol. 4 No. 1 | Page 6

Insights
I
Columnist admits it:
‘I’m really a conservative’
n the interest of journalistic integ-
rity, I must finally drag myself out
of the closet and ‘fess up what re-
cent events have made oh so obvious.
After decades thinking of myself as a
decidedly middle of the road liber-
al, recent events have
forced this realization on
me: I’m really a conser-
vative.
I come from Wis-
consin, once known as
a progressive bastion.
Robert M. LaFollette,
the U.S. senator who
once had a shot at the
presidency, the great
grandpappy of “Pro-
gressivism,” started his
political career as district
attorney in my home-
town. I was one proud
13-year-old when I had a
chance to shake hands with presiden-
tial candidate John F. Kennedy who
went on to win the state’s primary
and then the presidency.
Later, as a reporter, I covered a lot
of presidential candidates and wan-
nabes who regularly descended on the
state. In hindsight, this was before the
discovery of “fake news” as a cud-
gel with which to beat the media for
reporting negative but true stories.
In hindsight, I’ve worked with a lot
of reporters and editors and with only
a couple of exceptions, they’ve taken
a good deal of professional pride in
leaving their personal opinions home
and delivering straight news to their
readers and viewers.
So what prompted this profound
personal realization?
As some would immediately guess,
the presidency of Donald J. Trump
had a lot to do with this. My head
hurts when he is to this day regularly
described as “conservative.” In New
York for many years Trump was
identified as a Democrat, but that’s in
the cynical New York sense of giving
big bucks to the dominant party
6
candidates. Quid pro quo. Anything
I heard over the years about the man
suggested he was anything but a
liberal or a conservative, but a rich
guy focused on getting richer without
regard to the means of doing so.
And that’s before all
the things that should
have been put out there
by the New York media
years ago started coming
to light. I am not talking
about the things being
investigated by Robert
Mueller, but the obvi-
ous facts that should
have been laid before
voters in 2016, but that
Trump’s public relations
efforts over the years ob-
scured. I fault the local
media there for not get-
ting the story earlier that
this self-proclaimed highly successful
businessman in fact was fueled for
years by hundreds of millions by his
father which he proceeded to blow
as he presided over multiple casino
bankruptcies and other failed enter-
prises. Raise your glass of Trump
vodka to celebrate your graduation
from Trump University!
Is a man with two failed marriages
and multiple affairs requiring bribes
to silence mistresses as well a pro-
pensity to brag about it conservative?
I would have expected the much
vaunted Evangelicals to jump ship
over this, but it sure hasn’t happened.
How about unprecedented, well doc-
umented, constant lying? Is this now
preached as a virtue from fundamen-
talist pulpits?
In office, Trump has brought in a
cast of grifters and con-artists that
would have embarrassed President
Richard M. Nixon (Watergate) and
President Warren G. Harding (Teapot
Dome). Anyone who watches this
circus and regards this as conserva-
tive (or normal) has lost their mind in
my humble opinion.
Fiscal conservatism? Check out the
federal deficit that Trump’s Republi-
can party created through last year’s
tax cut.
Over the years I watched Wiscon-
sin’s polluted rivers get cleaned up
due to bipartisan efforts. The state’s
ousted Republican governor Scott
Walker did his damndest to undo
the environmental efforts of the past
and that’s been a template for what
Trump is trying to do nationally,
though fortunately the court system
has at least slowed this down. The
objective is really to further enrich
those who profit from fouling the
environment. That’s sure not conser-
vative. It’s really corruption in action.
I would question the sanity of any-
one living on a Pacific island who has
serious questions about global warm-
ing at this late date. We’re seeing the
evidence every day that it’s a reality
and to me, moving to deal with it is
a rational choice, regarding whether
you view yourself as a liberal or a
conservative.
The passing of President George
Herbert Walker Bush also prompted
some further thought. Eulogies for
Bush reminded us that he was basi-
cally a decent guy who treated people
in a civil fashion. I had my differenc-
es with him, notably over his inaction
at the height of the AIDS crisis, but
I witnessed others who avoided this
due to legitimate if cowardly fear
over its political impact on them.
While in the heat of a campaign he
cried “no new taxes,” he later faced
reality and the political damage to
do what needed to be done to run the
government. Can you imagine Don-
ald Trump doing such a thing?
So to me, civility to others, protect-
ing and cleaning up the environment
and an overall commitment to run
an honest government not dedicated
to feathering the nest of friends and
family define conservatism. I don’t
detect these things in Donald Trump
or the current GOP, so I’m claiming
the conservative mantle for myself.
rom the
comment box
The Rise of The
Maga’håga
I just read the article, “The Rise
of The Maga’håga.” What a nice
piece. However, in reference to the
CHamoru creation story, the article
should revise the incorrect spellings
of “fu’una and puntan.” Those are
the Spanish spellings. The correct
spellings are “fo’na and pontan.”
Fo’na means “first” while fu’una
is meaningless. Pontan means
“ripe coconut.” Please have writer
Gwen Lucas make those revisions.
She can also refer to CHamoru
orthography via Dr. Laura Souder.
The spellings were also codified
by the Commission on Teaching of
CHamoru Language History and
Culture.
— Brandon Cruz
Visa cap reached:
petitions from
Guam, CNMI still
accepted
I’m hoping to provide some
clarification relative to Guam and
the CNMI. Specifically, you’ve
written: “ Cap exemptions apply to
petitions for foreign workers who
are recruited for projects associated
with the military buildup on Guam.
Under the 2019 National Defense
Authorization Act, the USCIS is
allowed to issue up to 4,000 H-2B
visas for defense-related work.”
However, page 3 of the USCIS
Policy Memo, states: “The NDAA
also amends this provision by
extending its effectiveness by close
to three months and by eliminating
the numerical limitation (or “cap”)
that had previously been established
for each fiscal year from 2018
through 2023, by which not more
than 4,000 H-2B workers could
be admitted annually to Guam
or the CNMI pursuant to the
exemption from the temporary need
requirement that generally applies to
H-2B nonimmigrants.”
Hope this is useful for perhaps
future coverage of the H-2B situation
in the region.
—Catherine Cruz Norton,
NAVFAC