Riot at Vieques navy base

New York Daily News ^ | 5/02/03 | NEWS WIRE SERVICES

[kattracks]

VIEQUES, Puerto Rico - Hundreds of protesters broke through a fence at the Vieques bombing range, destroying Navy vehicles and burning the American flag as they marked the end to nearly 60 years of U.S. bombing exercises.

The militants stole Navy vehicles and smashed the lights and windows with sledgehammers. They turned over a Humvee towing a boat and set them ablaze, and burned two American flags.

"Get out, Navy!" they shouted.

Vieques Mayor Damaso Serrano blasted the vandalism and pointed out that the damaged vehicles had been donated to the municipality by the Navy.

The vandalism by masked youths marred the beginning of a celebration that included fireworks and was to last through the weekend.

On Wednesday, the Navy handed its more than 15,000 acres of land on eastern Vieques to the Department of the Interior, which will help transform the range into a wildlife refuge. The eastern third of the land will be administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service, creating the largest federal wildlife refuge in Puerto Rico.

However, some activists now want that land turned over to Puerto Rican authorities and say the bombing has fouled the environment, stunted an economy limited to fishing and tourism and damaged the health of the 9,300 islanders.

The Navy denies that its practices have been harmful.

Originally published on May 2, 2003

[Lockbar]

Set all of Puerto Rico free. Revoke US citizenship. Let them fend for themselves. They will look like Haiti in about 10-15 years.

[4Freedom]

Puerto Rico will look worse than Haiti almost over-night, if the billions of U.S. Taxpayer's dollars they receive in hand-outs, federal government jobs, private sector American jobs lured to Puerto Rico by a gift of 90% of their yearly, federal, corporate taxes under the Puerto Rican Section 936 tax scam, etc. are withdrawn and given to struggling American states like Mississippi or Alabama.

Mississippi and Alabama should have the Puerto Rican 'chutspah' to demand a Section 936 tax scam to draw all those high-paying pharmaceutical jobs back to the continental United States where they would do some good for loyal, federal income tax paying Americans.

If we pull the U.S. Post Office out of Puerto Rico, maybe their yearly losses won't be so great that they'll stop crying that they need to raise the price of our stamps, again.

It's high time for the U.S. Taxpayers to stop spoiling the residents of Puerto Rico.

[ImpotentRage]

Let it happen. They wanted us out - let them know FULLY what that will mean to them and their economy.

[4Freedom]

Most of the population of Puerto Rico has no idea that most of their ($42 billion dollar?) GDP is dependent on either cash hand-outs directly from the U.S. Taxpayers or federal and private sector jobs stolen from the American people stateside, on the sly, by our panderers in the U.S. Congress.

Tourism is only 5% to 8% of the Puerto Rican economy.

Without all of our hand-outs and the jobs that have been sent there, literally behind our backs, Puerto Rico is nothing.

[Poohbah]

Poohbah, the residents of Puerto Rico, born in the unincorporated territory of Puerto Rico, have a different citizenship than the residents of an actual state that were born, in an actual state, to American citizens or legal residents of those states.

U.S. Code Title 8, Chapter 12, Subchapter III, Part I, Sec. 1401 does not agree with you.

The residents of Puerto Rico can be forced to choose.

If one can be summarily stripped of his or her citizenship, it isn't a choice, is it?

I cannot be similarly forced to make such a choice.

Ah, but you're saying that because your citizenship status is defined by a statutory provision, it can be revoked by a statutory provision.

[4Freedom]

It's all the choice the 'free-loaders' born in the unincorporated territory of Puerto Rico deserve, Poohbah.

[Poohbah]

It's all the choice the 'free-loaders' born in the unincorporated territory of Puerto Rico deserve, Poohbah.

Well, hey, what about all of the 'free-loaders' born in the several states? What makes a free-loader born in New York City more acceptable than one born in San Juan?

And what keeps OTHER CRITERIA from being applied--including loyalty, or lack thereof, to Hillary Clinton, for example?

Just answer me that question, which you have so vigorously avoided doing...

[btcusn]

Well, without Vieques Island, there is no reason to keep Rosie Roads open, close it down too. Hit em where it hurts remove one of the largest best paying industries.
Jack

[4Freedom]

You said it yourself. The 'free-loaders' born in New York were born in a STATE.

It's too late to do much of anything about the states we already have that are a net drain on the U.S. taxpayers, but that doesn't mean we have to tolerate the addition of yet another welfare state to the Union.

Only 24 states receive more federal U.S. Taxpayer's hand-outs than Puerto Rico.

24 wrongs don't make a right, Poohbah.

[tet68]

However, some activists now want that land turned over to Puerto Rican authorities and say the bombing has fouled the environment

Couldn't we use it as a Hydrogen bomb test range,
JUST ONCE! Plueeeeeeeeeeze!

[Enemy Of The State]

Its time to cut these lazy Ba$tar$ loose. No more benefits from Uncle Sam. No more Representation to the US house of Reps.

Sink or Swim suckers...your on your own!

[1rudeboy]

Poohbah has a point. Why not cut Mississippi loose? Arkansas? West Virginia?

[4Freedom]

They're states, Puerto Rico es nada!

[1rudeboy]

As I'm reading this thread, I'm listening to Bush on the radio say, "The greatest strength of our country is the compassion our citizens feel for one another." LOL

[1rudeboy]

They're citizens, Mein Fuhrer!

[RippleFire]

bump

[4Freedom]

They're Marxist, 'free-loaders' Mr. Stalin.

[skeeter]

I heard the navy might pull out of Roosevelt Roads, there being no reason to maintain the base if the range at Vieques was closed down. Anyone know if this is going to happen?

[1rudeboy]

Enjoying the protection of the Constitution of the United States of America, Papa Castro.

[Poohbah]

You said it yourself. The 'free-loaders' born in New York were born in a STATE.

The law makes no distinction in that regard.

Perhaps you are misidentifying the root problem. Meditate on Free Republic's mission statement for a while.