It’s Primary Day! Get Out And Vote!!!! And Tell Us What You Experience At The Polls
So now it begins.
At 7 am today, the 2012 Election Season kicks off with the Primary Election that will set the stage for the Big Show in November.
Voters in the St. Thomas/St. John district will pare down a field of 20 Senatorial candidates to seven, with a selection that includes only three incumbents, a significant change from recent primaries. The entire Territory has the opportunity to select one of four candidates for the Senator At Large position, with Andrew Rutnick, Iris Kearn and Ronnie Jones challenging incumbent Craig Barshinger.
And, in the race that has probably garnered the most attention, both the Democrats and Republicans will be selecting their candidates to run for the position of US Delegate to Congress; on the Democratic side, between incumbent Rep. Donna M. Christensen and challenger Stacey Plaskett and for the Republicans, between former Sen. Holland Redfield and Vincent Danet.
It will be the first test of this season for the paper ballots and will give us a glimpse of what we have to expect in what promises to be one of the most significant election cycles in recent memory.
Whatever your party, we encourage everyone to get out and vote.
And at a time when the credibility of the election system is a source of much debate, we ask that you send us your comments and observations from the polling places you attend. Let us know what you see and how you think this election is being managed.
So now it begins.
Get out and VOTE!
Loading ...
YOU are the one that asked what the rum revenue will be in 2021! So Batman, my imperfect clairvoyance bows. What will the rum revenue be?
Robin yu asked about Rum Revenues by 2021? Here is my musing on this important subject. First before 2021 Puerto Rico will be the 51st state in the union, By law, and as a state, they will lose their cover over payments per proof gallon on bulk rum imported into the mainland. There rum industry will still product products for international markets. Now here is the good part. The VI will give the PR rum industry the same deal as we give to Diageo. The VI will be in the cat bird seat producing branded bulk rum for Don Q and Ron Rico etc. They will do the bottling and labeling as they may require. Just like for Diageo, the VI will split the proceeds with our friends in PR and by this process we will end up with ore rum revenues that anyone ever dreamed of. Even if we concede the cover over to $10.50 to please the greedy feds, there will still be billions of dollars left over. We will have saved their de facto rum industry and share with PR the benefits for doing so. St. Croix, USVI will become the largest rum producer in the entire world…so get used to it, plan for it, and thank Herb someday when it all happens for letting you know that the future of St. Croix will be brighter than you think right now. Count on it.
thank herb? just because you see writeing on wall dosent mean you actully did the thinking, some one else wrote it. did anyone think that diagio came here for no reason? they could have built in numerous caricom locations, they could ahev ilt in on pr. cuba will be open soon, but no they built it here, partialy because bacardi had the bulk rum manufatureing gig sown up but they got greedy, leaving crucian as the other supplyer so along comes diagio who say wait a second we want a part of that. so pr gets stuck with two new bulk rim distilerys and few customers. its wasnt statehood that sank pr rum it was greed, kind of like the same greed being shown here about the federal returns, $1 is better than $0. dont get greedy
Herb, red states will not ratify Puerto Rican statehood. of congress. I quote Trent Lott, “we don’t want those people in the union”. Plus those people usually vote Democratic at the national level, so why would the GOP admit 3 million new potentially blue state Spanish speaking congressmen into the US? Nice speculation. So we should accept this loss of revenue from two bad rum deals by praying that Puerto Rico might get the two thirds margin in congress to become a state? Who says the Puerto ricans would even vote for it? Plus they would lose their pageant and Olympic representation. Weak. Herb can you defend these rum deals on their current merits? Or not? What if PR becomes a state, what if marijuana becomes illegal and people stop drinking rum? What if your nose were a doorpost? Where would you hang the hinges? Defend this dastardly Diageo deal based on the circumstances that we know today.
LMAO – I’m sure that you meant if weed became legal.
Do you really think people would stop driking and switch to weed? Really?
! at 2:17 am posted ” Herb, red states will not ratify Puerto Rican statehood.” Don’t be so sure of that. First of all many Puerto ricans living on the mainland are registered Republicans along with most Cubans. Even Mexican-Americans are split about about 70/30. Times are changing and past assumptions are not relevant anymore, neither is Trent Lott even though I never recall him making such a statement.
When Hawaii moved to become the 50th state not enough states were available to ratify the constitutional amendment as required. Opposition was from southern states run by Democrats, not Republicans,that held up the process citing the so called “yellow peril” of Asians who had made Hawaii their home after WWII. Republican President Dwight Eisenhower had promised Hawaii and Alaskan statehood. President Eisenhower made Hawaii a state via Executive order and kept his promise.
When Hawaii became a state they elected a Japanese American war hero Daniel K. Inouye to congress and later to the U.S. Senate. Inouye was a member of the fame “Go for Broke” Nesi Battalion, and won both the Bronze Star and Purple Heart on a mission to rescue the trapped Texas Battalion, and after having his right arm shattered by a Grenade he continued to charge up a hill in Italy and took out a German pill box by throwing a grenades with his left hand. In order to save his life his right arm had to be amputated at the shoulder. Another Japanese-American Senator from Hawaii was Spark Matsunaga, a decorated officer in the Niese battalion who was twice wounded in battle and who went on to both the U.S. House and Senate.
My point here is that the fears raised by some about how Puerto Rican Statehood will shift the balance of power against Republicans is just wrong. With Governor Luis Fortuno, a Republican who is rebulding Puerto Rico, there is no doubt in my mind that when (not if) Puerto Rico becomes a state he will be elected to the U.S Senate. Puerto Rico will get seven new House members and they will probably be split among both parties. Please read the firm commitment in the Republican Party 2012 Platform for statehood. I was on the Platform Committee, as well as the sub Committee on the Territories, and there was unanimous approval of this language and no dissent at all. Statehood for Puerto Rico is no longer a distant dream but now a short term reality.
Do the calculations include our subsidy of molasses and its potential rise in cost as well as to where the additional sums of $$ will come from in light of the fact we are firing people in critical services to our community?
The population grows larger every day, more people will drink, and the price of rum will go up, and so will the revenues.And plants employ people who pay taxes and hire local services, which employs people, which means more revenue to pay for critical services.
And all those long range gains (if they pan out) are of little value considering the enormous damage created by the ill conceived Diageo Debacle . The damage has already been done and its negative effects will stretch far into the future of these Virgin Islands. Anon 1:28 have you ran across anyone who has lost a home, car, employment or business due to the domino effect of the Diageo deal?
Some of the businesses that have been hit took many years, blood, sweat and in some cases multiple generations’s to get to a point of success. I don’t care how you spin it, John De Jongh is an inept, clueless waste of nine months that has destroyed these Virgin Islands. He cares about NO ONE . Not even you. Herb @ 8:53 You have left out two wild cards that could shred or dilute your assessment.
What about the matter of the Caribbean Rum producers putting a full court press on the VI and or PR over the subsidies? Secondly you seem to be forgetting the possibility of actions by the U.S Securities And Exchange Commission over the deal itself. Keep in mind other global rum producers have already cried foul over the deal from the beginning. Herb you never had chickens in deh yard growing up as a kid and your mother telling you not to count the eggs before they hatch? “who don hear does feel” .
Sorry BO1, i don’t have a negative attitude like yours.
As a kid, my parents planted fruit trees. I could not fathom at the time waiting 10 or 20 years for them to yeild. When i was 30, i saw the benefit and bought land and planted it completely with mango, avocado, breadfruit, and so on. Now at 50+, the benefits are doubled.
Some people never can see the future, and will only envy those that did.
And no, I don’t give the fruit away. Go buy your own, or plant some trees.
I haven’t heard that stop being “negative” mantra for a bit. I guess it’s gotten a bit worn out by the administrations people ….. all till people laughing at them behind their back. Not being negative ..just realistic which seems to an absent word from John De Jonghs dictionary. In any event I do agree with you that any prudent person or entity should have sound foresight and plan wisely for the future.
Unfortunately for you, your great financial guru has planted a whole lot of Tan Tan tree’s proceeding to convince you and many others that he has planted avocado lettuce , breadfruit and the whole nine yards. How ironic is it that there is a very good chance you will really need to count on those fruits and vegetables planted in your yard as a direct result of the utter failure of this administration to make sound decisions.
And about the fruits you have in your yard, good for you! I have plenty at hand and I always give to others from the goodness of my heart, especially in these hard time’s (aka guava crop) when families and friends have to make tuff decisions whether to buy food and medication or pay crippling WAPA bills or put gas in the family car. Listen…if you by chance get to the point where you have no more fruits I’d be glad to share some of mine with you.
Well then, only time will tell. If i had never planted because people said it was a waste of time, that storms and droughts would stop my success, i would not be where I am now.
By the way, i do not support DJ at all. Especially since he has rejected the Hovensa offer without any compromise. You misread me in comparing one business deal that will help grow the VI with the man who set up the deal.
BO1……..agreed. It is not about negative, it is seeing the situation for what is and not what we wish it to be. Sharing has always been part of VI Culture and it is good to know there are others keeping this value alive.
That’s interesting. The last time I went to Plaza and asked them to share some fruit with me I got shown the door. Business is business. I can’t give away my meager profits.
“Only until the last tree is cut down will we realize we cannot eat money.”
Unfortunately our society has been swallowed by “Your worth is based on the money one has in the bank.” When “we” relied on our own hard works, creative energies and productivity, “we” were less concerned about how much money we had in the bank.
Besides my grandmother becoming a teacher at 16, she also raised chickens, geese and ducks, vegetables & fruits, did some sewing on the side, making and selling baked goods, etc. it was about everyone doing their part so the whole survived. My grands thought they were rich based on the plans and decisions they were able to make without all this government intervention on what & what not to do. They were more content with living and providing for the village which in turn provided for them. Free to go crabbing on moonlit night, hunting for turtle eggs, hunting deer and waterfowl which were plentiful at one time. Gathering without fear of political/economical retribution, etc.
Who creates capitalism? Who created poverty? What is considered wealth? Is this wealth accessible by all? How many pairs of shoes or clothes can I wear at one time? Who determines my value? The Federal Reserve? The Bank of England? The WTF? The IMF? Who? How do 30% of our children end up in poverty without the whole family being in poverty?
If my neighbors and I decide to all grow different things and share, exchange, barter for things we have and need, why do I need Plaza? Keep your meager profits. What happens when a society has no money? Our leaders have pissed away our ability to become a self sufficient, self governing colony. We have to evolve or die. I prefer to take a page out of my ancestors book and while building another’s house, I will continue to build my own.
anonymous 12:21
Lol ..Talk about an apple and orange moment . They are talking about,for an example the sharing of items between neighbours friends and so on,not the grocery store silly . The concept must be alien to many. Lord help us.