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THE GONG SHOW: TINY BUBBLES

Many have told me that I live in a bubble that resembles Don Ho’s iconic song: “Tiny Bubbles”, that the only pressure I have is dictated by how much nonsense I want to listen to during Sunday toana’i, if I decide to attend or even listen. I usually eat, say hello to my mother and family — and then go back to my bungalow, citing work.

 

In my bubble, I may not go to church every Sunday and donate to the faifeau’s cost of living, but I do believe that each and everyone of us, no matter our color, our culture, our religion, our anything, has the right to live a ‘good’ life that is reflected in the work one does, by the words one speaks, and by the love and kindness one gives to his or her fellow people. We are indeed what we make of our lives.

 

Which is why it’s hard to stomach the racist remarks by Senator Soliai Tuipine Fuimaono during a hearing of the Senate Judicial Committee, of which he is the chair.

 

He asked the AG about Chinese parents who have an infant child born here, that he thinks that “child should not be considered a U.S. national or American Samoan but a citizen of the parent’s birth place — in this case it's China.” Soliai said there has been an increase in the number of Chinese migrating to the territory.

 

He continued, “Can this be done — having Chinese babies born here maintain citizenship of the parent’s home country? That’s the question that we should look at, and then see if it can be done,” he said and requested that the Attorney General’s Office look into this issue, as well as reaching out to Congresswoman Aumua Amata to see if this matter can be addressed through appropriate federal legislation.

 

Soliai also made it clear that this shouldn’t apply to “our brothers and sisters” from Samoa because “we all have families and close ties with Samoa.”

 

If any of us are drinking Kool-Aid while living in the same tiny bubble this man is, we are in serious trouble… and need to revisit our belief in God that he created all of Us… not “with the exception of the Chinese…” GONG!

 

BTW: I’m part Chinese, my grandfather, a U.S. citizen, who served in the U.S. Navy, was full-blooded Chinese.

 

And I’m calling out the ASG too for living in tiny bubbles at the bottom of the kava bowl…

 

I mean where else in the world would you have a government talking about creating a Charter Bank, selling bonds — while sitting there with a track record of yearly deficits, high risk status in most of its departments, losing grants left right and center for misuse of funds, has a retirement fund that is continuing to drop in value to-date, 1602 low income housing scandal, and has its Chief Executive — that’s the governor —stating in his State of the Territory Address, “We’re in the black!”

 

Really… how many in the Public actually believe that? I’m not saying it isn’t true, I’m just saying… “Do YOU believe it to be true?” In the world of finances, confidence in your ability to “pay back” or “deliver the product” is 99.9% of the game — the rest is all illusion…

 

And talking about ‘drinking the Kool-Aid’: I’m assuming the governor made his ‘in the black’ statement based on financials his esteemed Treasurer, Ueligatone Tonumaipe’a gave him — who insists on telling the Fono, “No problem - we have a lot of money”.

 

This is the same man who told the House during the Charter Bank hearing last week that the reason Zion Bank will only support the government bank is because “they are only here to help American Samoa (Government)… only the American Samoa (Government). Once we involve the private sector, they (Zions), will pull out, because the private sector — ALL THEY WANT IS PROFIT — but the government’s vision behind this bank is to help out the public.”

 

Hey Tonumaipe’a, why do you think you (ASG) have a lot of money? It’s from businesses that employ people, who pay the government taxes, if they make a profit; the business then pays the government taxes. The rest is federal money that the U.S. government gets from its taxpayers.

 

And by the way, the Charter bank’s correspondent bank, Zions Bank, is about to make the lion’s share of the profit from that deal — you know those services through VISA and Master Card and other credit cards and ATM machines, which can be used all over the world — that’s one of the most profitable areas of the banking business, other than mortgages; and, in case you don’t remember: Zions Bank is a private sector bank that is in the business of making money… and it’s about to have a clear path to government money — local & federal — remember the local government is the largest employer, if not depositor on this island… GONG!

 

A final call out: I can understand the public has a problem with a government-run bank when it hears the Chief Procurement Officer of the government say, “he was not the one directly managing the accounts, but he did consult with his wife on such matters…” when explaining how he and his wife ended up using the 1602 federal funds as a ‘short term loan’. Sentencing: No jail time, just stuck at home after 10 p.m until 6 a.m… oh wait… that’s My Life… GONG!

 

So — we can sit here and debate numbers and decimals back and forth, but it comes down to ‘confidence’. And I don’t think many in the community have confidence in the government… Good luck with the bond ratings ASG! The charter bank may be a moot point… GONG!

 

“Tiny bubbles, In the wine, Make me happy, Make me feel fine, Tiny bubbles, Make me warm all over… So here’s to the golden moon, And here’s to the silver sea, And Mostly here’s a toast, To you and me…” — “Tiny Bubbles” a song written by Martin Denny and Leon Pober, released in 1966 by Don Ho.