Happy National Piña Colada Day! This is the holiday when I write about the prospects for Puerto Rico statehood. For some background on the subject, watch NBCLXs The History of Puerto Rico's Second-Class Status.
The status of Puerto Rico has been a subject of debate since the U.S. took control of the island in 1898. In 1901, the Supreme Court wrote that Puerto Rico and other new U.S. territories were “inhabited by alien races” and so may be impossible to govern “according to Anglo-Saxon principles.” The island has remained a U.S. territory ever since.NBCLX Bianca Graulau returned to the topic of Puerto Rico's exploitation in In Puerto Rico, U.S. Companies Profit While People Still Don't Have Reliable Power.*
Following the recent disasters on the island – including a devastating hurricane and a series of earthquakes – Puerto Rico’s second-class status is once again in the spotlight. Should Puerto Rico become America’s 51st state?
NBCLX storyteller Bianca Graulau examines the history of the island’s unusual relationship with the U.S., and the statehood debate that has divided even Puerto Ricans.
Critics say Puerto Rico's power grid isn’t much more resilient than it was before Hurricane Maria, despite billions of dollars awarded in contracts. After Maria, some Puerto Ricans went nine months without power, and they fear it could happen again this hurricane season. NBCLX storyteller Bianca Graulau spoke to a family who lost a loved one when he had an asthma attack after the hurricane and no electricity to use his breathing machine.It's been a long time since I've mentioned Chris Christie on this blog, but I was neither that surprised that he got involved in consulting about Puerto Rico's power problems nor surprised that Puerto Rico may not be getting all that it paid for.
As for the question of statehood, that's on the ballot this November. Ballotpedia has a page on the referendum, which will be held concurrently with the general election in November. While I'm rooting for statehood, I'm not Puerto Rican. I suspect that, should the opposition to state fully participate, which I hope for the sake of a legitimate result they do, the outcome will be just as likely for continuing the Commonwealth or negotiating for Free Association. On the other hand, if statehood wins, it will be the third time in a row that the voters chose the option I favor. That written, whatever the people of Puerto Rico choose, I'll support it.
Enough about the history and politics of Puerto Rico's relationship with the rest of the United States. Follow over the jump for the piña colada recipes to celebrate today.
The same week that Tipsy Bartender uploaded the Red, White & Blue Bomb recipe I used in Drink to the never-built Disney's America on the 4th of July, Skyy and Emma uploaded the video for the Red White And Blue Jello Colada. As soon as I saw it, I knew I would use it for today.
Some of the coolest piña coladas ever!
Drink responsibly and stay tipsy while waiting for posts about World Population Day, National Mojito Day, Souther, and the Louisiana and, Puerto Rico primaries. As I wrote yesterday, I love holidays, but they will keep me busy!
*In addtion to these videos convincing me to subscribe to NBCLX's YouTube channel, they induced me to search for Graulau's videos on the channel. She's covered a lot of environmental topics as well as Puerto Rico's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and protests and demonstrations. I'll probably use those videos in the future. Stay tuned.
"The measure of the state's success is that the word anarchy frightens people, while the word state does not." - Joseph Sobran
ReplyDeleteWhat Nietzsche Said
“There are still peoples and herds somewhere, but not with us, my brothers: here there are states.
The state? What is that? Well then! Now open your ears, for now I shall speak to you of the death of peoples.
The state is the coldest of all cold monsters. Coldly it lies, too; and this lie creeps from its mouth; ‘I, the state, am the people.’
It is a lie! It was creators who created peoples and hung a faith and a love over them: thus they served life.
It is destroyers who set snares for many and call it the state: they hang a sword and a hundred desires over them.
Where a people still exists, there the people do not understand the state and hate it as the evil eye and sin against custom and law.
I offer you this sign: every people speaks its own language of good and evil: its neighbor does not understand this language. It invented this language for itself in custom and law.
But the state lies in all languages of good and evil; and whatever it says, it lies – and whatever it has, it has stolen.
Everything about it is false; it bites with stolen teeth. Even its belly is false.
Confusion of the language of good and evil; I offer you this sign of the state. Truly, this sign indicates the will to death! Truly, it beckons to the preachers of death!
Many too many are born: the state was invented for the superfluous!
Just see how it lures them, the many-too-many! How it devours them, and chews them, and re-chews them!
…It would like to range heroes and honorable men about it, this new idol! It likes to sun itself in the sunshine of good consciences – this cold monster!
It will give you everything if you worship it, this new idol: thus it buys for itself the luster of your virtues and the glance of your proud eyes.
It wants to use you to lure the many-too-many. Yes, a cunning device of Hell has here been devised, a horse of death jingling with the trappings of divine honors!
Yes, a death for many has here been devised that glorifies itself as life: truly a heart-felt service to all preachers of death!
I call it the state where everyone, good and bad, is a poison-drinker: the state where everyone, good and bad, loses himself: the state where universal slow suicide is called – life.”
Ed, my troll who is better than a spammer! I was wondering where you were. You just demonstrated your worth by quoting a famous philosopher. Too bad he lost his mind from staring at the abyss and noticing that it stared back at him.
Delete