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I support the following:

1. Make English the official language of the U.S., via a constitutional amendment.

2. Allowing Puerto Rico statehood if they agree to the above, and prove that they can survive without extensive transfer payments.

You know where I stand. If I were an inhabitant of PR, I would vote to maintain Commonwealth status. Get the best of both worlds that way. Between independence or statehood,however, I would choose independence, whether as a Boricua or, as I am, a gringo from the mainland.

Clemenza, give me a break. You would choose independence over statehood if you were a resident of Puerto Rico? Given the fact that you haven't moved to Italy or Poland, nor have you campaigned for Long Island's independence from the U.S., it's risible for you to make that claim.

Puerto Ricans have been U.S. citizens since 1917 and have participated in every military conflict in which the U.S. has been involved since World War I. Saying that Puerto Rico should become independent would be like kicking Mississippi out of the Union because a large percentage of the population is below the poverty line.

As for "commonwealth status," trust me, it's not as good as you think. While residents of Puerto Rico do not pay federal taxes, the lack of voting representation in Congress means that residents of Puerto Rico get far less in transfer payments than residents of any state, and that the government of Puerto Rico gets far less federal funding than the government of any state. This results in state taxes being absurdly high. And putting aside economics, how would you like to be governed by a Congress and a President for which you do not have the right to vote? Maybe you think that not paying federal income taxes is a small price to pay for being a colony, but I certainly don't think so, and neither did the Founding Fathers---even had Parliament not taxed the colonists, it violated their principles not to have consent of the governed.

Make English the official language of the U.S., via a constitutional amendment.

English is already the language of commerce. As such people seeking to improve their lives have always sought to learn the language, or insist their offspring learn it to have the best opportunity within our nation.

That formula has worked well in our nation for over two centuries. The proof is found simply by looking at a map to find cities with non-English names like Baton Rouge, St. Louis, Sacramento, and St. Augustine, it's clear that no Constitutional Amendment was necessary to bring the original inhabitants to speak English.

The absolute best laws are those which are self imposed, not government imposed. The economy of our nation has always brought people to learn the language of the land.