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Make Mine 25
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Still Life With Robin:
Statehood for PR, Statehood for DC
by Peggy Robin
The good news is that
talk of a 51st state is back in the
news. The bad news for us is that the focus is on Puerto Rico, not DC.
For the first time a majority of Puerto Ricans are in favor of
statehood: CNN: Puerto Ricans Favor Statehood For the First Time.
However, it's entirely possible that the surge of interest in a 51st
state could be converted into good news for DC as well. Among the many
reasons that DC has been frustrated in its attempts to gain the
benefits of statehood for its citizens are three seemingly trivial but
widely, even stubbornly, held arguments:
1. That "50 states"
is a nice round number and we should stop there.
2. That the nicely
symmetrical design of the field of stars in the US flag would be thrown
out of whack by any additional stars.
3. That DC would no
longer be the District of Columbia but would get a ridiculous new name,
"New Columbia" if it became a state.
Statehood for Puerto
Rico could work to counter all three of these arguments. [I'd rather suck the
carbuncle on Janet Napolitano's ass]
42,672 words (not written) go here.
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