Comments on Guam Blog: There is no Guam build-up battle in Washington

Great find. I guess the U.S. is paving the way for...

2010-02-06T07:37:15.037-08:00

Great find. I guess the U.S. is paving the way for blaming Guam when problems arise, thanks to Spain, Japan, etc.

Regarding this:

>Several GovGuam agencies have been put into federal receivership becaus of delinquent services or been cited for high-level administrative fraud.<

In the District of Columbia, my wonderful home, here are just a few of the things that happened:

-- For nearly two decades, employees in DC's tax office siphoned nearly $50 million dollars. According to the Washington Post, when they raided the home of one the people involved they found they discovered "13 luxury watches, including a platinum and diamond Rolex worth $26,000, prosecutors wrote, and more than 125 designer purses and wallets."

-- Just this year, a number of employees and contractors were arrested for bribery on city technology contracts.

-- And, of course, there's Rod Blagojevich the former illinois governor.

-- And what about the SEC? Which failed to investigate Madoff's Pozni scheme, depsite being repeatedly told that there were huge problems. Let's not even mention the SEC's contribution to the housing bubble and the economic collapse.

If the DEIS can blame a lack of experience on Guam's part for some management issues, what's DC's excuse?

The people who drafted the DEIS ought to be more worried about what they got wrong. It's probably a lot.

But this observation in the DEIS is scary in a way, because it reflects an underlying paternalistic, we-know-best, point of view of the build-up planners. That's a real dangerous point of view to have because it marginalizes, by default, the concerns raised by Gov Guam.

It's indicative of a superior attitude by federal planners. The military really doesn't give a hoot what Guam thinks.

I saw this quote from the DEIS and immediately tho...

2010-02-05T15:33:46.503-08:00

I saw this quote from the DEIS and immediately thought of your entry comparing the DoD's description of Bikini Atoll local governance to ours.

"Additionally, Guam's history as a remote colony of Spain for 400 years, its 20th century occupation by Japan, and being governed by US Naval Officers until the passage of the Organic Act in 1950 has temporally limited Guam's experience at self governance as compared to most US mainland local and state governments. This lack of governance experience has affected GovGuam's performance, especially in regard to handling of federal funds. Several GovGuam agencies have been put into federal receivership becaus of delinquent services or been cited for high-level administrative fraud." Vol.2 Chapter 16 Page 16-17.

Thank you -- I appreciate your efforts so much mor...

2010-02-04T06:04:35.058-08:00

Thank you -- I appreciate your efforts so much more.

Thank you again. Will circulate one of your posts...

2010-02-04T00:02:45.334-08:00

Thank you again. Will circulate one of your posts yet again. =o) They generate lots of discussion and they're appreciated.

si yu'us ma'ase

D.

Great post today! koohan

2010-02-03T23:57:31.223-08:00

Great post today!
koohan