We're wrong; that's how we know we're alive
Saipan — New Zealand’s left-leaning prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, who is beloved by the mostly left-leaning international media, says...
Live From Saipan
By Zaldy Dandan
By Zaldy Dandan
- May 7
On and on: Fixing thing as they see fit
Saipan — Never underestimate humanity’s ability to ruin a well-intentioned public policy. In 19th century Vietnam, the French colonial...
By Zaldy Dandan
- Mar 7
R.I.P. (human) author
Saipan — In the summer of 2020, amid the Covid-19 global onslaught, the Wall Street Journal reported the rollout of an artificial...
By Zaldy Dandan
- Feb 5
Illegalize it!
When literary works are judged according to political viewpoint Saipan — Perhaps one of the best things that could possibly happen to...
By Zaldy Dandan
- Jan 3
Lend me your ears
Saipan — The CNMI’s new Legislature will be sworn in this month, and, as usual, each of the lawmakers will deliver their inaugural...
By Zaldy Dandan
- Nov 1, 2020
SCRAM!
Saipan — This month, voters across the U.S., including Guam, the NMI and the other territories, are electing their leaders, lawmakers...
By Zaldy Dandan
- Oct 3, 2020
The Trust Territory days
Saipan — In “A Reporter in Micronesia,” his 1966 book about the tiny islands administered by the United States, E.J. Kahn Jr. pinpointed...
By Zaldy Dandan
- Sep 20, 2020
Hope! and Change! in the Philippine 48 years ago
Saipan — Sept. 21st marks the 48th anniversary of Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos’ declaration of martial law which made him the...
By Zaldy Dandan
- Aug 2, 2020
‘At the beck and call of every lunatic with a vote in his pocket’
Saipan — “The best novel about American politics,” according to The New York Times, was published in 1956. The author was Edwin...
By Zaldy Dandan
- Jul 8, 2020
In the name of fiscal balance
Saipan — Staring into the financial abyss, the Northern Mariana Islands government has enlisted the help of Graduate School USA in...
By Zaldy Dandan
- Jun 11, 2020
Why the Philippines couldn’t be a US state
Saipan — On June 12th, the Philippines will celebrate the 122nd anniversary of its declaration of independence. But for one of my...
By Zaldy Dandan
- May 3, 2020
He told you so
Saipan — By the time you read this, it is likely that we’re still observing social-distancing rules, and a curfew remains in place. Many...
By Zaldy Dandan
- Apr 18, 2020
See you on the other side, boss
Abed Younis Saipan--They may call themselves Territorial, Popular, Democrat, Republican, Covenant, Reform or Independent, but since the...
By Zaldy Dandan
- Mar 9, 2020
Run. Run for your lives
Saipan — In a book published in 1884, Herbert Spencer wrote that the “mischiefs wrought by uninstructed lawmaking, enormous in their...
By Zaldy Dandan
- Feb 15, 2020
The continuing past
Saipan — So far, the news headlines here are about the Public School System’s funding woes; unhappy teachers who are on the verge of...
By Zaldy Dandan
- Jan 7, 2020
Doomsday? Our kind of day!
Saipan— Some of the Northern Marianas’ high school seniors were asked recently if they plan to return to the islands after graduating...
By Zaldy Dandan
- Dec 23, 2019
And a beeeeeeeeer in a tree
Saipan — The last time I experienced the Christmas holidays in Manila was 26 years ago. Which means that I’ve already lived half of my...
By Zaldy Dandan
- Nov 7, 2019
The world’s second oldest profession
Clearly, democracy is ridiculous and politics is senseless, but there are many people who truly believe that they can make a difference —...
By Zaldy Dandan
- Oct 7, 2019
How to be a popular social commentator
Saipan — Say something obvious. Say it because no one in his or her right mind will dispute it. “We should always think about the...
By Zaldy Dandan
- Sep 5, 2019
‘I read the news today, oh boy’
Saipan — After Typhoon Soudelor battered the island in Aug. 2015, someone complained, on Facebook, that the most horrible thing that had...
By Zaldy Dandan
- Aug 4, 2019
Fat chance
“None of the Robespierres of the world knew how to make a pencil, yet they wanted to remake entire societies.” — Lawrence W. Reed Saipan...
By Zaldy Dandan
- Jul 7, 2019
We are the ones we have been waiting for
Saipan — When it comes to politics and the government, many us believe that what’s happening now should be the worst thing ever. Not a...
By Zaldy Dandan
- Jun 4, 2019
The end is near (again)!
Saipan — If all you read (or watch) are news stories, you may wonder why the world has not yet ended. Airplane crashes....
By Zaldy Dandan
- May 24, 2019
So what’s new?
Saipan — Worried about your island and/or nation’s state of affairs? Read the news from other islands and/or nations. Do you tend to...
By Zaldy Dandan
- Apr 7, 2019
At what cost? How much do you have?
Saipan — Some critics of casino legalization ask, usually rhetorically, “At what cost?” Fair enough. In discussing any public policy, it...
By Zaldy Dandan
- Mar 10, 2019
And that’s the way it is
Saipan — Twenty-five years ago, there were at least six newspapers on island: Marianas Variety, Marianas Review, Saipan Tribune (then...
By Zaldy Dandan
- Feb 7, 2019
Meet the people
Saipan — In the last election campaign, certain supporters of certain candidates repeatedly stated — as if putting a hex on us all — that...
By Zaldy Dandan
- Jan 4, 2019
Unsolicited advice to newly sworn in lawmakers
Saipan — In terms of lawmaking, you should stick to introducing and passing spending measures, chief of which is the government’s annual...
By Zaldy Dandan
- Dec 15, 2018
Wishcaster
Saipan — Humans, to paraphrase Winston Churchill, can foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year —...
By Zaldy Dandan
- Oct 31, 2018
Drunkmocracy
Saipan — I experienced my first NMI election in 1993. The voters headed to the polling centers on Nov. 6, and I, like most people on...
By Zaldy Dandan
- Oct 5, 2018
The great debate
Saipan — Somewhere in the Pacific… Moderator: Good evening. We are gathered here today to get through this thing called democracy in...
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