NotiPR :: That's All Folks! :: 24-0 - Puerto Rico Loses AGAIN!

10.22.04

24-0 - Puerto Rico Loses AGAIN!

By Keith W. Tyras Romanello 2004: 10.29 11.5 11.12 11.19 11.26 12.3 12.10 12.17 12.24 12.31

2005: 1.7 1.14 1.21 1.28 2.4 2.11 2.18 2.25 3.4 3.11 3.18 3.25 4.1 4.8 4.15 4.22 4.29 5.6 5.13 5.20 5.27 6.3 6.10 6.17 6.24 7.1 7.8 7.15 7.22 7.29 8.5 8.12 8.19 8.26 9.2

I just happened to be up this past Monday morning at around 4 a.m. and began reading ENDi.com and PrimeraHora.com and noticed that a total of at least 24 people were either murdered or killed in car "accidents" during the weekend. That's all folks!, just 24. It could have been more -- it has been more in the past.

So this weekend, the score was 24-0. 24 dead, 0 politicians held accountable -- That's all folks!, 0 politicians -- which means, as usual, the people of Puerto Rico lose. The recent local polls indicate that some politicians ARE being held accountable -- however, when a failed politician is held accountable, they always go on to bigger and better things. Not a bad job! Not a bad job at all.

In Puerto Rico, a failed governor has the choice of remaining on the Island, living in the same environment they created, maintained or improved during their term in office or they can move to the United States, where they can live in a community where they can come and go as they please because few if any would recognize them. I'm still waiting 20+ years for a governor to continue living in the same environment they IMPROVED. It hasn't happened yet.

A failed U.S. president stays in the same country they governed along with their Secret Service detail, their expense account which pays for their office, traveling, etc., and they get to build a presidential library for future generations to visit and marvel at how great a president they were. Remember, I a referring to a failed president.

The U.S. government doesn't furnish the numbers of exactly what is spent on Secret Service detail for former presidents. It's probably safe to say the amount runs into the millions of dollars each year. The presidential library is paid for by donations from some of the same people they failed and they get to spend the rest of their lives trying to improve their images by either pretending to be Bob Vilá or traveling as their own self-appointed Secretary of State overseeing elections in countries whose leaders hate the United States.

Sometimes they do more that that, sometimes they just fade away quietly -- but not before cashing in with book deals, speaking fees, etc.

My definition of a failed politician is someone who leaves office with things measurably worse than when they arrived -- where not even the best written press releases sent out every 2 - 3 weeks touting some major good deed or accomplishment will convince anyone that things have actually improved.

Someone who is elected into office offering a million promises made during a campaign and with few promised kept is a failed politician. Someone who gets into office by merely criticizing their predecessor and not coming close to equaling their predecessor's accomplishments, however small they may have been, is a failed politician.

As far as I am concerned, a politician is a product. Just like a product you might purchase at Pueblo Xtra or Sam's Club.

When you purchase a food product, somewhere on the colorful label, box or bottle is THE TRUTH about the product. It's printed in black and white and it is MANDATORY. These companies do not furnish the information on their own. They are required to by law.

These labels list the exact and accurate numbers for "Total Fat," "Sugars," "Sodium," "Calories," etc. It helps a consumer make a healthy, educated choice in what they ingest.

These same labels should also be MANDATORY for all politicians. These labels should be required by law to be included in all print and Internet advertising. For radio and television advertising -- a website address would be given for a consumer to follow-through and read. This website would be a politician's "Nutrition Facts" website, apart and independent of their campaign website -- although both sites would have these required labels posted.

This way, every politician would have to -at the very least- display some truthful statements regarding their run for office.

Just as you would find on a can of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup, the truthful product information researched and gathered by an independent organization so would you find such a truthful label describing a candidate and their actual position on the various issues of the day.

If you look at the "Nutrition Facts" label on a can of Campbell's Soup, it also includes the toll-free number 1.800.257.8443 and the company's campbellsoups.com website address. The same toll-free number and "Nutrition Facts" website address would be required for every politician.

This way while a candidate for public office spends a year or more running for office and in that time coming up with new and improved positions that are tailor-made for every audience they speak to or every interview or press conference they give -- their actual, original positions and views will be published and saved at the time they file their papers to seek political office.

And just like when a soup ingredient changes, so does the "Nutrition Facts" label -- an updated label will be used by the candidate -- with one exception, the candidate's label will contain all the previous positions they originally had -- and they will be dated.

And unlike a can of Campbell's Soup, the toll-free telephone number and the candidate's websites -political and "Nutrition Facts"- will have Spanish and English speaking telephone operators and word-for-word Spanish and English website content.

Campbell Soup Company has their Canada website in English and French, but their United States website is only available in English. Campbell Soup Company has the right to do as they see fit -- politicians should be forced to include a Spanish and English version -word-for-word- for every voter in the United States who speaks, reads and/or prefers Spanish.

Well, that's all folks! Until next Friday.

Keith

For motivational speeches, conferences, media requests and other things such as eating disorders, you'll have to contact someone else. My only qualifications for writing a weekly column are based solely upon having a lot of free time, unlimited Internet access and very little else.