Previous Story
A widening ripple
There is at least one positive side-effect to the Nov. 7, 2019, FBI raid on a variety of public and private offices on Saipan. Print media coverage will provide teachers of all middle and high schools, as well as NMC instructors, with an opportunity to have their students create meaningful bulletin boards and subjects for a variety of term papers.
No matter the outcome, the FBI investigation will have a significant impact on the history of the CNMI, and perhaps Washington, D.C. The Federal Bureau of Investigation would not spend the cash required to send three dozen agents halfway around the world without due diligence. And our federal judge would not approve the search warrants without due cause.
With respect to the American philosophy of “innocent until proven guilty,” someone or some several someones will likely go down with the judge’s gavel. The court hearings that follow will be most interesting. The organizational changes that result will affect every person in the CNMI, directly or indirectly. Hopefully, the CNMI economy will survive and we retirees will continue to receive our benefits. And, hopefully, the CNMI will be better off as a result. But this event will cause change.
Be it history of the Northern Marianas, criminology, political science, or economics, all citizens can participate and perhaps should participate in the public dialogue. There may be some interesting challenge ahead for the CNMI Bar Association.
An enterprising educator might propose a symposium at the end of the next semester where top essays from students 7-14 could be presented. It could be repeated at the end of future semesters to compare changing attitudes and opinions, or to expand on existing questions and answers, similar to the biannual Marianas History Conference, including a compendium of the best papers.
Ultimately, a federal judge will make a decision and, undoubtedly, some of the 30 or so will go to jail. Does the CNMI government have to pay the bill, and, if so, how much, for how long?
So many questions, with such a wide scope of potential effects.
Don Farrell
Marpo Heights, Tinian
