Draft Constitution On Its Way Back To Territory For Reconsideration
The draft Virgin Islands Constitution is on its way back to the Territory with direction from the US Congress to reconvene the Constitutional Convention and revise the provisions deemed questionable because of their conflict with the US Constitution.
On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives passed a Joint Resolution (SJ 33, attached) that “urges the Fifth Constitutional Convention of the United States Virgin Islands to reconvene for the purpose of reconsidering and revising the proposed constitution in response to the views of the executive branch of the Federal Government.” The Senate unanimously passed the resolution June 17.
The provisions highlighted for reconsideration mirror the comments made in a Justice Department review that was requested by President Barack Obama after he received the document in December, 2009. Those provisions include the absence of an express recognition of United States sovereignty and the supremacy of Federal law; provisions for a special election on the territorial status of the United States Virgin Islands and; provisions conferring legal advantages on certain groups defined by place and timing of birth, timing of residency, or ancestry.
It is interesting to note that while local controversy has centered on those provisions related to native and ancestral native rights, the Congress focused on the fact that the document does not recognize the supremacy of Federal law, specifically the US Constitution. This has been a sticking point since the draft document was completed, as the status of the VI as an unincorporated Territory of the United States requires that the US Constitution remain the overall governing document, irrespective of any local governing initiative.
So what happens now?
The Fifth Constitutional Convention has been asked to reconvene and reconsider those provisions noted in the joint resolution. This will require funding and Convention President Gerard “Luz” James has asked Congress for some $600,000 for Convention expenses and a public education initiative. At this writing, we are not aware of any funds that have been committed.
Whenever the funding question is resolved, the Convention will reconvene and consider the items noted in the resolution. The Convention has the option to revise the document or leave it in its current state. Once the group completes the reconsideration review, the document must be resubmitted to the President and the Congress, which then has 45 days to review and return to the Territory. Ideally, there would be a series of public meetings to explain the document to the public after which time, the document would be put to a vote.
The draft Constitution will be the topic of discussion at a session during the Emancipation Day commemoration this Saturday, July 3, at 4 p.m. in Budhoe Park.
Positive voted against Diageo. Ancestral natives like deJongh did bad. Get that out of the draft and replace it with residency requirements and lie detector tests and financial statements
What percent of ancestral natives 35 years or older own property to benefit from the property tax exemption?
Brother Q…how many wives do you have. I hope you don’t believe in stoning one of them when you see her hugging up Senator Nelson as so many of his fans do. He is a popular charismatic figure in V.I. politics, a labor leader, and very pragmatic. He is very intelligent, good looking, and has significant political capital. He will not win for governor…but he is young and determined to make changes. You have not heard the last of him. He *has* a political future.
Shukrun Ofendi……en Sh’alla!
…..was that muslim parlance for hailing up Allah?
No….it is in broken English…”Thank You Sir…as Allah wishes. “en S’halla” is one of the most spoken words in sub Saharan and Saharan Africa. “Ofendi” is actually Turkish-Egyptian and was spread across much of Africa by the Ottoman Turks.
If you go to the Casbah or Hesbah (market place)in North Africa you can navigate well with only a few words:
Ke fah lak Sebeke
Frata
Shukrun Ofendi
and of course
Mas Salama and En S’halla
What would I be doing in North Africa? I have enough difficulty trying to ‘navigate’ through the various aisles in my local flea market..let alone journeying to some foreign land not knowing the spoken language?
Appreciate the translation.
Marhaba (Greetings)It works at the gas stations and convenience stores on St. Croix as well.
http://freestateproject.org/about/essay_archive/three-fifths.php
Still Just Three-Fifths of a Man
NOTE: The opinions and commentary expressed in this essay are those of the author and are an exercise of free speech. They do not necessarily represent the views of Free State Project Inc., its Directors, its Officers, or its Participants.
Still Just Three-Fifths of a Man
(Originally published at The Multiracial Activist) by Steve Cobb
The US Constitution, a glorious document that for over 200 years has provided the basis of the most successful political system in human history, was marred by the inclusion of a couple of clauses hinting that slavery was wrong, but failing to condemn it, let alone prohibit it. Under the “Three-Fifths Compromise,” slaves were counted as three-fifths of a human being for the purpose of determining a state’s representation in Congress. The same Founders who cried “no taxation without representation” must have seen the irony in giving representation to the slave-masters based on the quantity of their un-free, non-voting chattel. The injustice continues today: despite Emancipation and the civil rights movement, I remain but three-fifths of a man, and it gives no consolation that so many whites have joined me in slavery.
A slave is not entitled to the results of his labor, an essential element of humanity. Since the average American now works to pay off his taxes until late April, exactly two-fifths of the year, he remains just three-fifths of a human being. A slave is not expected to have his own dreams to work for, and neither is the taxpayer, no more than would a sheep. In any event, the small dreams that an individual might have are of no interest to those who exploit his labor. They have grander plans, and lack only money to realize them. These predators also lack the imagination, energy, and honesty to make their own money, and find it easier to take it from others.
Slaves could not escape their masters or choose a better one, and runaways were returned to face punishment. In the modern age, the United States are one of the few countries in the world to tax based on citizenship rather than residency. If a US citizen moves to another country that provides better services at lower cost in taxes, he still must pay US taxes, or give up his US citizenship. Even high-tax European countries do not try to shake down their citizens living overseas; this is unique to the “land of the free”. Although I reside in Russia, it is the US that tries to tax me most: Russia has only a 13% flat tax!
Of course, modern slavery does not end with taxation. American slaves were prohibited by law from learning to read or write, let alone pursue an education. Today, black parents cannot freely choose the school that their children attend, being compelled to use the closest outlet of the public school monopoly. Most whites have access to better schools, so the white majority constituency does not feel the same urgency to fix the problem, but they suffer under the system as well.
A slave’s well-being is dependent on the whim of the master, and today we are largely dependent on Social Security. We do not invest into a fund that we own, we “contribute” into a pyramid scheme that we hope to get something out of before it collapses. On average, every working black American transfers $10,000 to whites in Social Security benefits, because blacks have a shorter life expectancy, and Social Security is not a private account that could be passed on to one’s heirs. Die early, and the “investment” you made all your life gets shared by longer-lived retirees, not your children. Thus we are handicapped in trying to accumulate family wealth across generations.
A slave does not own or control his own body. Today, we cannot freely choose our own medicines or recreational drugs (woe to those who prefer marijuana over Prozac, or crack over powder cocaine). We cannot even end our lives voluntarily with the aid of a doctor.
A slave may not possess a weapon and defend himself. Today, gun ownership is restricted primarily in the large cities, precisely where most blacks live. Unlike in past times, when rural blacks needed guns to defend themselves against the Klan, it is now inner-city blacks who are in greatest need of defense, but likewise they cannot fully rely on the police. They are denied their fundamental right to self-defense.
A slave cannot vote. Today, a large percentage of black men have permanently lost their right to vote for the rest of their lives because of felonies they committed as young adults. These crimes may have been non-violent or even victimless, in connection with the drug war, but there is no possibility of redemption. Again, they are subject to laws made against their interests, but without their representation.
Why does our loss of our humanity and human rights bother us so little? Perhaps because we see everyone else now in our same condition: unlike 150 years ago, there are no free men left to envy. If some people wish to live as slaves, that is their business, but those of us who do not should be free to group together and associate with other liberty-minded people. Let the peasants and slaves have their false security, we will exercise our rights and choose freedom.
Slaves were only *counted* for the purpose of enumeration at a rate of 3/5ths to 1,nothing else. It was so important that with the population distribution this compromise was worked out as had it not the south, not the north, would have controlled government. Do you understand why this was untenable to our founders. The representational control by the south would have squelched those who used their position in Congress to create the Mason Dixon line of freedom. It would have stopped cold the anti-slave movements because the south interested in protectionism of their free labor would have legislated to defeat the anti-slave initiatives.
Again, nowhere in the US Constitution is there any such thing, i.e. labeling a slave as “3/5ths of a human being.” What about the tens of thousands of former slaves or freemen who were counted. Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution is only for the count enumeration for the purpose of congressional representation.
Read it carefully and you will see that the “hate rhetoricians” have misled you once again. I wish they would come and tell you where in the world there is better freedom, liberty, and the chance for the pursuit of happiness than in America? No all they can do is spread hate, distrust, of our country by a clear distortion of the truth.
The Indians, white women and children were not counted. Besides that, there were free black men counted. It is a lie that that slaves were considered 3/5 human. African Slaves to the Southern planters were mere property. The Bible also supports this concept. The bigots and racist propagandists cannot hide the truth from those who can read.I am not a slave. I am brown and proud that I can read and not be fooled by the morons.
Whoever wrote the information on July 9, 2010 @ 8:21am and 9:41am, wrote nothing but lies!!!
This is the dirty game that is played.
You are such a coward, you can’t even man up or woman up to state who you are; you have to hide behind lies, and use ‘Brother Q’, as if it’s the true person writing the lies you posted.
I am posting this now because I must have really gotten to you, for you to stoop to such a low Shaitanic level as to fabricate a bold face lie.
Remember, the Creator does not sleep; you might have fooled the readers of the posted misinformation, but you can’t fool the Creator who knows who you are.
It comforts me to know that you are the offspring of the Shaitan (your mother and father must be Shaitans to have produced you) and I pray to Almighty Allah that you enter into the Hell Fire (with all your family) for the lies you posted.
The real Bro. Q never wrote those posts!!!
Is this what you need to win?
‘When truth rocks fiction, it always causes friction’.
Burn in Hell you liar!!!
Mr. Michael Springer, you need to check this situation!!!
The man lives in Russia. That tells me alot.
Is there an update on the constitution and it’s funding? Where are the convention delegates? How come they don’t pay for the reconvening since they are the wons who wasted all that time and sqaundered all the funding the first time they convened?
I hope the convention delegates get funds from the U.S. Government. They’ll have to account for every penny.It would show that the USVI cannot be independent from the USA.
Interesting to read on the subject of dual citizenship:
http://www.richw.org/dualcit/
I was listening to a commercial about a shipping service. The catch phrase was “send your things back home to Antigua, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Maarten, etc.” This is the thing that really sent the message home for me. Many people living here benefitting from our status quo continue to refer to “home” as somewhere else and yet feel the entitlement to vote on our constitution and our status.
How does that allow for the path of self-determination for the Virgin Islands and her people who have “no” other “home” or rights to go back to?
The call has gone out to all people who truly love our “home” with heart, soul and body, our time is now. Determine what you are willing to sacrifice to make the Virgin Islands the shining star of how “we” can turn our current system around in the best interest of those that reside here.
Through a revolution of thoughtful planning and strategy, we can do “all” things. Let us not be baited into petty divisiveness, that is what PTB (Powers that Be) count on to divide us from pursuing what is rightfully ours. Let us put all our answers to our challenges together and focus on the spiritual, mental as well as physical emancipation of the United Virgin Islands. Born here or Born there, do you love the VIrgin Islands with your whole selves or just the benefits of living in a colony?
We are rising to our consciousness as the Phoenix rising out of the ashes of the old way of doing things. We cannot be stopped. We were born for now and we have much work to do. There will be moments of frustration, know that, but as long as we do not give up, we will succeed. Our ancestors sacrificed their lives on this journey for us to bring healing to this place. Let us not let their lives be for naught.
jus soli: means rights of the soil. And this language has been used in the 1927 US Citizen Act regarding the territories and the proof is in the pudding and USA can not fight which is written in the Law. So all Naturalized Citizen, be aware that it’s a losing battle for you and the white Americans. For they didn’t realized their own laws coming back to bite them in the a*@.
other’s in the struggle.
A Historic Bid for Home Rule
This is not new. For over a century the people of Guam have sought to improve their political and economic relationship with the United States.
Before the establishment of the colonial administration of the United States, one of the first Chamorros who tried to give voice to the stirrings of political consciousness was Joaquin Perez, who made an effort to establish an independent legislature (1899).
Several more moderate attempts were made through the 1920s and ‘30s, with an emphasis on limiting the power of the U.S. Naval Governor. The push for home rule after World War II was aided by the U.S. promotion of the right to decolonization for colonial peoples – a right which was included in the United Nations Charter. In Guam, efforts for more home rule have been realized with the election of a legislature following the Organic Act of 1950; the lifting of the military’s Security Clearance program in 1962; the Elective Governor Act of 1970; and the establishment of the Guam Supreme Court in 2005.
In the early 1970s, Guam’s leaders discussed political status, but in 1976 the U.S. government instead authorized a Guam Constitution. In 1979, Guam voters rejected a proposed constitution primarily
because it did not change Guam’s political status. A plebiscite on political status options in 1982 led to a draft Commonwealth Act in 1987. Nearly 10 years of unsuccessful discussion and negotiation with
officials in Washington, D.C. (1988-97) on the issues of concern to Guam made it clear that commonwealth status for Guam was not going to be realized.
In Article 1 of the draft Commonwealth Act, the ultimate right to self-determination by the Chamorro people of Guam was recognized, and was to be exercised according to provisions to be contained in the
Commonwealth’s constitution. Thus, the Commonwealth Act called on the U.S. to also recognize the rights of Guam’s colonized people. In view of the unsuccessful efforts to gain passage of the Commonwealth Act for Guam, the Commission on Decolonization was created under Guam P.L. 23-147 (1997) to give the colonized people the opportunity to exercise their right to self-determination and select aself-governing political status for their island homeland.
Read the rest @
http://www.decolonizeguam.com/historicalbackground.html