Puerto Rico's acquisition by the US in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War was a trivial incident in an era of ill considered American imperialism. Read Tuchman's "The Proud Tower" to inform yourself on that. The island is of no value to the US. We once had a couple of valuable military bases there (Ramey AFB and Roosevelt Roads Naval Station) but these are long gone. Tourism is the island's primary industry. The inhabitants of the island pay no federal income taxes for PR derived income. The island's elected government is so corrupt that it is a parody of places like the mythical island country of Parador. The public internal debt is nearly 100 billion dollars and the morass of corruption has absorbed a great deal of the hurricane relief that the US has spent there recently. Puerto Ricans are Americans? Look at the pictures of the recent street scenes. If you do, you will see more Gay Pride flags than you will see the Stars and Stripes. The US should cut the island loose. Present Puerto Rican Americans could be given the choice of the two separated citizenships. Puerto Rico's Olympic team awaits its destiny under the flag of an independent country. Viva Puerto Rico libre! pl
It has always seemed to me that Statehood is precluded by size or distance from CONUS for all of our territories but nationhood would be equally unlikely.
“Look at the pictures of the recent street scenes. If you do, you will see more Gay Pride flags than you will see the Stars and Stripes.” Granted, but isn’t that also true of many (most?) places in CONUS?
There are a lot of great people (I inspected two Brigade sets of equipment with a lot of help from an MP Detachment from the Puerto Rican Army National Guard in order to return from the Gulf War and worked with a company from 1-294th IN (L) (GARNG)in OEF) in Guam and Puerto Rico and the USVI, et al., but it seems like “Ground Hog Day;” always a territory but never a state or a nation . . . .
Get it together, Puerto Rico. I am rooting for you!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLeT4V9QnzA
(This is a remake El Gran Combo did of one of their own songs, changing the lyrics from celebrating taking it easy and feasting all day long (or something like that) to encouraging people to take up the joys of working and achievement.)
Yes, a great idea. Perhaps we could propose AOC as the new President of the new Republic and she and her 3 Amigos, to quote Trump, can “show us how it is done”.
John Minehan
“…but nationhood would be equally unlikely.” Oh, baloney! What world do you live in? There are tiny little countries all over the world. Try Fiji, Nauru, Andorra, Malta.
John,
The new government could save money by getting rid of their army, just like Costa Rica.
Somehow, I’m not sure how much demand there would be for that, although Malta is not a bad analogy.
John Minehan
Puerto Rico has too good a deal to leave voluntarily.
I say let them go if they want. But if they stay they should have the vote. I served with a Mayaguez-City born & raised corporal in Nam who was a hell of a lot better man and better US citizen than many of mooks I served with that had been born in CONUS. Plus they’ve been fighting in US uniform since 1917 when we gave them citizenship so that they could be drafted. Didn’t need it though as most volunteered.
But I doubt that SASC Chairman Jim Inhofe would ever let go of the Pearl. No way the Army wants to give up Fort Buchanan and their Puerto Rican ARNG units at Rosie Roads. The Coast Guard and DHS have some critical assets in Puerto Rico also.
If they get independence watch out for China turning the Port of San Juan into OBORs western terminus. And perhaps the Red Fleet would put a Gorshkov class frigate or two in the port. Or the GRU would set up a SIGINT Station on Cerro de Punta mountain.
GeneO
This is not about individuals. The GRU can set up a SIGINT station in many places. The PR National Guard? Are you joking? Fort Buchanan is a collection of run down buildings that provide quarters for ROTC instructors, NG advisers and the like. Like a lot of surplus facilities it exists to provide income for local vendors. DoD tried to re-locate US Army South to Buchanan and found it useless. The facilities you mention are trivialities. Let’s stop giving PR free money. The US does not owe PR anything.
I agree about GRU SIGINT. Bad example on my part. They gave up their Venezuelan site years ago. Cheaper to do it by satellite or ship maybe, not 24/7 continuous surveillance though.
And I agree about free money. The welfare queen states that suck up all that federal money and stick other states with the bill should be cut off also.
I disagree that this is not about individuals. Of course it is, individuals make up the group. Puerto Rico sent 18000 individuals to France in WW1. And in WW2 their 296th and 65th Regiments fought in North Africa. Another of your ‘individuals’, PFC Jose Martinez, had a DSC pinned on his chest by General Patton in person for destroying a German Tank and accompanying infantry unit in Tunisia. He was alone, and was nicknamed the ‘One-Man-Army’. They fought in Korea as part of the 3rd ID. They held a flank of the 1st Marine Division when they pulled back from the Chosin Reservoir.
As far as the Gay Flags you mention, there were more of those in Salt Lake City or Atlanta during their so-called pride parades. How the Sam Hill did we ever let that community co-opt the word ‘gay’. It used to mean something comp0letely different.
GeneO
The states are states, not territories of the US. You don’t understand the difference? The states are integral parts of the union, not possessions like PR, Guam and American Samoa. You are evidently unable to distinguish between individuals and political entities. PR people were not always so loyal to the US. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jayuya_Uprising Puerto Ricans were made US citizens in 1917. How many were then drafted and how many actually went overseas? Not many were sent to Europe. And then, of course there was the mass desertion of post on the part of G Company of the 65th Infantry Regiment of the PR National Guard from Hill 391 in the Korean War. 95 men were court-martialed and sentenced to prison. All were later released after the PR government negotiated with Truman.
GeneO,
“How the Sam Hill did we ever let that community co-opt the word ‘gay’.”
“We” didn’t; you should be asking where all the good communists went when the USSR collapsed. What you are describing is just more anti-Western agit-prop in action.
Fred –
Sorry but I am completely missing your point. I think “we” did let them co-opt the word. Who do you know in the US that uses the word to say that they are joyful or merry or laughing? Hasn’t happened since they corrupted its meaning.
Gene, a number of folks here on this blog. It really irritates my gay friends too, you should try it some time.
All
It ttook me a while, distracted by plumbers, etc, to comprehend that GeneO is the retired marine ground crew air wing NCO who harassed me for years. His goal in life seems to be to contradict anything and everything I write I have no time for people like that whose behavior reflects their life disappointments. BTW, in addition to the failure of G, 65th Inf in Korea there was a similar failure in the 24th Infantry Regiment that resulted in the dissolution of the regiment in 1951.