guamblog

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The OVernight...because sometimes you have to program your own soundtrack for living

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DUA DOWN, BUT NOT OUT

DUA (Disaster Unemployment Assistance a.k.a. Help Before Xmas) UPDATE:

GUAMBLOG HAS RECEIVED NUMEROUS REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION REGARDING THE LONG-AWAITED/DELAYED DISASTER UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. HERE'S WHAT WE KNOW (as of Damenggo, Nub. 5, 2023)...

Similar to the successful Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, DUA is intended to help many who are still struggling to economically recover from the typhoon Mawar that swept thru Guam 5 months ago.

Here's 4-day old information regarding the DUA program: The first round of checks has only just now gone out, weeks later than expected. Be patient. Don't waste your time emailing or calling. Just....wait.

Highlighting the enormous decline in local news media reach, info regarding DUA is out there, but pretty hard to find without a lot of effort. DOL does a lot right; but communications is not one of them. Apparently, the agency is without a PIO or marketing team at this time - or, at least one that knows how to do the job.

Additionally, as of Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023, it appears that the DOL (hireguam.com portal) for filing claims, is experiencing issues that will not permit claimants to fill out the weekly benefits claim form. Claimants instead receive a message that they've already filed for the week of June, 3, 2023.

DUA DOWN. People trying to file their weekly DUA benefits claim, as required, are met with this bizarre snafu instead of the normal form questionnaire. No one at DOL seems to reply to "hotline" emails or phone calls any longer, so it's unclear if anyone at the agency is even aware of this issue yet. People have until Nov. 10, 2023 to file last week's claim.

There' no way to contact DOL to find out if they're even aware of the issue, as no one replies to the DUA emails or picks up the DUA phone "hotline". Try again later - you have 6 days left to file last week's claim.

Please LIKE and SHARE with your family and friends on social media to ensure this critical info is made more available to more people with questions and concerns - as we head into the critical holiday season.

Not knowing is the hardest part.

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DEADLY PRACTICE: A Halloween Tale of Grief & Caution

It was on a fateful Halloween night five years ago, that a family’s descent into an infernal nightmare began. That was the night, five-year old Asher Dean died in the deathgrip of Guam’s medical malpractice cabal.

HALLOWEEN is almost here. And, while most families eagerly await the sweet laughter of costumed kiddies on their doorstep, for one family, only the haunting spectre of loss looms.

October 31st, for David Lubofsky and his family, has ceased to be a season of joy. It’s a date that’s been transformed into a bitter memorial to his young son, Asher.

The five-year old’s fatal rendezvous with death began with a tragic visit to the Guam Seventh Day Adventist clinic, and a doctor of deadly indifference. His final destination would be Guam Memorial Hospital.

"Grief is the price you pay for love" ~ Queen Elizabeth II. The quote could very wel be the Guam Board of Medical Examiners new motto; but it is also the motivating logic behind David Lubofsky's relentless campaign to reform Guam's medical malpractice laws that are a veritable "license to kill" for reckless doctors, like the ones who are responsible for the death of his 5-year old son, Asher Dean.

Recent GMH hearings, at the Guam Legislature, cast a spectral light on the abominable realm the forsaken hospital has become. The hearings resurrected Asher’s haunting memory.

Bold testimony from two GMHA nurses, Isabel Flores and William Eric Lee, contrasted starkly with the obtuse assertions that fell out of the face of hospital administrators.

Nurse Flores, exposed the death of yet another child at GMH. Nurse Lee brought to light persistent and perilous health hazards – for patients and staff - resulting from inadequate planning and incompetent management.

BAD MEDICINE. GMH Admin tried to prevent hospital staff from attending the hearing by telling them it was clossed and private. Lies. Two GMHA nurses refused to be intimidated and bullied by hospital honchos and showed up to expose the pervasive criminal ineptitude running rampant at GMH.

Yet, the lack of accountability is ghost. Five years after Asher’s death, and in the shadow of one more child snuffed in the icy grip of medical negligence, no one is held accountable for his death, or that of the latest victim of negligence.

They don’t even want to talk about it.

Lillian Posadas, who takes down nearly a quarter million dollars a year as GMH boss, would rebutt Flores' testimony by completely ignoring the death of another child. Instead, her stunning response was an insane blather about sanitary wipes, toilet paper, and cotton balls. Then she " fake quit" when called out out by Senator Telo Taitague about her 5-years of dangerous failures as GMH administrator.

LIKE A BOSS. Sen. Telo Taitague contunes to be one of the few voices in the Guam Legislature that takes the fight forhealthcare and a better GMH seriously. Her frank, and honest, questioning of failed GMH administrator Lillian Posadas solicited a pettish outburst from the quarter-million-dollars-a-year hospital exec - who "fake quit" on the spot and ran out of the hearing room.

The hearings serve as a terrifying reminder for the people of the island, highlighting the risks of getting caught in the same deadly snare of political dishonesty, corporate incompetence, and the ever-present threat of death that took Asher's life.

Grotesque signposts of the consuming political pettiness, excuse-making, and ineptitude, the GMH hearings would be laughable, if patients weren’t so blithely dispatched with such cruel incompetence.

Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero's coven of inept cronies recklessly rule GMH. Management decisions are possessed by personal, and political, vendettas that assume a diabolical supremacy, over and above, the lives of patience and staff.

CRONY COVEN. A lethal malaise of cronyism has possessed GMH and needs to be exorcised, otherwise it will continue to metastasize and claim more lives, while bleeding Guam taxpayers dry for nothing in return. Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero seems more interested in protecting dangerously incompetent pals at GMH, and prioritizing personal scores and political vendettas, than safeguarding island patients and families.

The GMH hearings prove this lethal wasteland is devoid of empathy and competence, and dire need of an exorcism. In the five agonizing years, since Asher's life was extinguished, nothing has changed. A zombified institution, GMH continues to rot from within.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services creates health and safety guidelines for US hospitals. Their investigation into questionable deaths at the hospital, unearthed ample GMH sins in Ashers death, including the deadly practice of two negligent GMH doctors - Dennis Sarmiento and John Garrido. Like, the Seventh Day Adventist clinic doctor, Shishin Miyagi, their careless disregard for the child were at the root of his needless death.

DEADLY PRACTICE. (left to right) John Garrido, Dennis Sarmiento, and Shishin Miyagi played a critical role in the needless death of Asher Lubofsky. From rushed exams to not being present, and lying about the health of the health of child, these deadly docs continue to practice on Guam, safely protected by a shroud of secrecy that exposes patients to great risks.

Nonetheless, all three doctors, shielded and protected from any, and all, accountability thanks to friends on the Guam Board of Medical Examiners and non-disclosurement settlement agreements, ensure the roles in Asher’s death will remain, like him – buried forever.

Under the leadership of Dr. Nathaniel Berg, the Board of Medical Examiners enact a farce of justice, protecting monsters that place anyone under the “care” of these pernicious practioners at great risk.

Amidst a black sea of nearly 50 cases, during Berg’s tenure as GBME chair, they ever ruled in favor of a patient's cry for help. Even in cases reeking of blatant sexual criminal conduct, complaints against doctors magically disappear in their hands.

LICENSE TO KILL. Dr. Nathaniel Berg is the chair of the Guam Medical Examiners Board. Under his leadership, doctors who prey on patients, are criminally negligent, and chased out of other cities and states, have found a safe and welcoming home for their deadly practices.

David Lubofsky is Asher’s father. Since losing his son, he has been a tireless advocate for medical malpractice reform on Guam. Every night the malevolent specter of loss sits heavy upon his chest; by day, the sun a mocking grin.

Yet, through the charred ruins of his existence, he nonetheless, continues to traverse a contorted landscape of despair, in his desperate search for justice and accountability for all families who have suffered loss at the hands of the deadly medicine.

It’s a desolate panorama. A macabre spectacle, gazing upon with horror and amazement as GMH plunges deeper into the abyss with every passing day.

TRAGIC POSTER BOY. Tragically, sweet-faced Asher Dean has become the poster boy for medical malpractice on Guam.

While feeble lawmakers wring their hands, offering up empty repartee, Adelup resolutely drives the descent into chaos.

It's a sinister game, a choking quagmire of unceasing falsehoods, biting cynicism, and a distorted narratives extolled by trolls and apparatchiks trotted out by the Governor's office that quickens the deep dive into dysfunction and deception.

And like Asher, Guam loses.

LIL' SPIDEY. Asher's Halloween costume was waiting for him at home. Laid out on his bed. He loved that costume and couldn't wait to go out "twinning" with his best friend, brother Azrael. He never had a chance. And never will.

Rather, than donning his little Spiderman costume, five years ago, to go out in search of treats, with his cherished brother, Asher was buried with it. Instead of trick-or-treating with Asher, his brother, Azrael, sweeps his grave every Halloween.

Asher’s story is a banshee's scream; haunting cautionary tale of warning to Guam this Halloween. His spine-chilling parable admonishes us all who might one day find ourselves ensnared in the same nightmare of criminal negligence and cold indifference that stalks the halls of GMH - and Adelup.

Because at GMH – everyday is Halloween.

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COMMIE GEORGE EMBARRASSES GOVERNOR

TRAITOROUS COMMIE GOON EMBARRASSES HIS PATRON, GOV. LOU LEON GUERRERO IN HEATED DEBATE EXCHANGE.

Last night, in the first so-called debate of the election season, GVB board director and Communist China’s point man on Guam, George Chiu was used as political foil to skewer Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero.

The controversial commie sympathizer exploits his position as a GVB director to disrupt efforts by GVB president former governor Carl Gutierrez to revitalize and move the island toward a new age in regional tourism.

And to wholly embarrass and set up Leon Guerrero for brutal political hits in the 2022 race for Adelup.

Chiu, and his accomplices on the GVB board are all staunch supporters and major donors of the governor’s opponents in this election.

Leon Guerrero was heavily lobbied by Calvo admin leftover GEDA’s David John, to give Chiu a seat on the GVB board, with his sole aim to target and spoil any further developing relationship with Taiwan.

Taiwan remains a viable and attractive source market for a new direction in island tourism. Communist China’s point man on Guam wants to kill that development potential, at the expense of the island’s economic recovery.

To the consternation of Chiu - and his commie handlers - Gutierrez has cultivated a growing relationship with Taiwan; hence, Chiu’s efforts to try to embarrass Gutierrez and the Leon Guerrero administration into removing him from the agency.

Adelup challenger, Mike San Nicolas was quick to invoke the executive vice president of Tan Holdings and the turmoil he has fomented at the tourism agency in a spurious attack on Leon Guerrero last night.

Pointing out “the big fight” at GVB between Gutierrez and Chiu, bolstered by a shady alliance of board collaborators including, among others, United Airline managing director Sam Shinohara, and board chair Milton Moringa.

San Nicolas used their disruption scheme to promote a false narrative, citing what he called Leon Guerrero’s “lack of leadership”.

 In their capacity as GVB directors, George Chiu, Sam Shinohara, and others failed to disclose their conflict of interests as they voted to funnel wads of cash from GVB to another entity where they were also board members or held lucrative contracts.

Shinohara, a San Nicolas supporter, pretended great umbrage at a recent meeting claiming that, “...if management can arbitrarily act on their own and don’t need our advice and consent, I’m not sure why we’re spending time.”

His fraudulent accomplice, commie hit man Chiu quickly chimed in, further protesting that “We’re sitting on this board, and we’re doing it for free”.

NONE OF THEM DO ANYTHING FOR FREE

Chiu, Shinohara, and the others are directing their venom at Gutierrez because they want the governor to remove him before his investigation leads to more serious, even possible federal charges.

They are not alone in running scared. Other names associated with suspicious activities and billings at GVB include their cohorts, Steve Rudder, PIC general manager Ben Ferguson, Karl Pangelinan - and Sonny Ada.

GVB president Carl Gutierrez began investigating years of looting GVB coffers, after stumbling upon suspicious activities and missing documents, according to a longterm GVB staffer. The internal investigation by GVB leadership into evident malfeasance and illegal activities has corrupt board members running scared.

The cabal of corrupt miscreants have bled the agency for millions of dollars in illegal contract manipulations and blatant violations of open government laws.

And they shamelessly, and openly, continue to bilk the critical agency of taxpayers dollars by siphoning even more money from GVB.

Chiu also said that Gutierrez’s efforts to root out corruption and double dealing at GVB were making him “feel uncomfortable”.

Guilty much, comrade?

Chiu and his accomplices are now redirecting valuable GVB resources (money) from economic development activities so that they can “lawyer up” and bring in their own lawyer to fight GVB leadership - despite the fact that GVB  already having legal counsel under contract.

Feeling the heat, Chiu angrily told a village mayor and other board members that he wants “to go back to GEDA”.

No doubt, at GEDA, Chiu will continue to seed commie interests on Guam, while trying to strangle any economic growth opportunities with Taiwan.

Numerous other regulatory violations, unethical and illegal practices are traced back to the same confederacy of mendacious malefactors.

Following up the dirty groundwork laid for him by Shinohara and Chiu, San Nicolas thought he had trapped Leon Guerrero in the glare of political headlights.

Nonetheless, finding herself ensnared in a political set up ‘framed’ as a debate, Gov. Leon Guerrero pushed back on San Nicolas’ claim of a lapse in leadership.

Despite the deceptive attack by San Nicolas, Gov. Leon Guerrero remained loyal to her disappointing and malicious directors, while also reaffirming her decision to remain “out of it”.

Leon Guerrero reaffirmed her decision to count on the maturity, leadership and faith she placed in Carl Gutierrez to lead GVB - and Guam - into a new age of economic development and tourism.

Chiu, and his corrupt coterie at GVB will no doubt continue to continue to prove a major embarrassment to the Governor for allowing them to remain at the agency.

And they can discount Leon Guerrero all they want.

But, it’s at their own peril if they forget that the Man of Tomorrow has withstood far more worthy opponents than they will ever be. Opponents, all of whom are now nothing more than dust in the trash bins of history, while Gutierrez remains rock solid!

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GB Digizine Vol. 11 Issue 4

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A leaked investigators' report to the US Congress Ethics committee was leaked over the weekend and has gone viral. Here are just a couple of the juicy bits found in the report. Expect San Nicolas to make a mad push to find a running mate in the next few weeks...before he is forced to resign his congressional seat to avoid prosecution.

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guamblog24.7 Live Stream - PRE-LAUNCH [ Oct 21.2021 ]

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WHO (WHERE) IS MIKE SAN NICOLAS?

THE TARGET of serious criminal investigation in Washington, DC, Guam congressional delegate Mike San Nicolas has avoided coming back to Guam, since a $1,000-a-ticket fundraiser in January. Now, a recent paid ad circulating on Facebook suggests, Guam’s congressman may going through an identity crisis - again. “Gurl...is that you??”

Using misleading and flat out deceptive paid advertising on Facebook, and supported by manufactured false news stories on a popular social media gossip page, San Nicolas continues to dodge island media and his congressional opponents former UOG president Robert Underwood and Republican senator Wil Castro.

The scandalous first-term congressman from Talofofo, who is under very serious criminal investigation for numerous things, including soliciting, accepting, and falsely reporting illegal campaign donations from foreign nationals, filing false reports, trying to impede a congressional investigation, among other charges, cites in his Facebook ad, a quote of the House Majoirty Leader, Steny Hoyer, without actually using his name. Maybe Mike thinks he’s an old white guy, from Maryland now....who knows.

Either way, San Nicolas is clearly, delusional - or thinks Guam voters are stupid. Or both.

Or perhaps, with all that sleeping on the job, Mike has big dreams of being Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. After all, she is the one who is negotiating with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. There is no committee work nor any  votes left where he can vote. Final passage of any negotiated bill will not include delegates voting.

No - the drowsy liar is merely using coronavirus as an excuse to avoid coming home to face the people, to answer questions and to debate Robert Underwood.

The House - where San Nicolas sits - released its own second stimulus proposal, the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act...almost 80 days ago.  The second stimulus proposal from Senate Republicans is called the Help, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection and Schools (HEALS) Act. They are expected to try to get that worked out before Congress adjourns for a month-long recess on Aug. 7.

To see the truth, all we have to do is look to the north - to our neighbors in the CNMI. Their congressman, Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, who had done a lot more and for a lot less, and has no scandals or criminal investigations to haunt him, has returned to Saipan to face voters there in his re-election bid.

“Kilili” - who was unable to count on support from absent delegate on crucial bills and amendments - filed for re-election with his family by his side today.

“This election takes place when the Marianas is in the middle of a deep crisis. We are all trying to keep safe from the coronavirus and struggling to rebuild and reopen our economy,” the CNMI congressman told his island’s media.

“I have worked harder than ever over the last two years: Making sure the people of the Marianas had every possible form of aid from the federal government to recover from typhoons Mangkhut and Yutu,” Kilili said, not mentioning that this hard work was ignored by San Nicolas who missed this, and other votes that would have helped CNMI and Guam, in numerous critical ways.

Our lucky neighbors to the north’s congressman pointed out the tremendous success of his efforts to ensure, “More money than the Marianas has ever seen before. Money to help our hospital respond to the coronavirus. Money to rebuild our water systems, our power grid, our schools. Cash in people’s pockets.”

Meanwhile, Guam’s delegate can only ensure voters here one thing: That he will continue to outspend Kilili, to do far less. That’s how he earned the rank of the 2nd most absent person in congress.

Mike can also be expected to continue taking credit for the work of others in Congress through paid lies (false ads) on Facebook...boosted by equally untruthful and uncredible fake news stories and duped troll supporters on social media.

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Terribly wrong for a long while.

V FOR VENDETTA (2005) dir. James McTeigue

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“MASTER CHIEF”...the 7ft tall Spec Ops Venus Project hottie who has taken the internet by storm, leaving antifa legions and protests protagonists everywhere drooling and simping, for more after an appearance on the frontlines in DC. this week.

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GUAMBLOG ACCEPTED INTO GRANT PROGRAM

GREAT NEWS! Guamblog has been accepted into an international grants program for the creation of valuable spatial data and analysis tools for communities and organizations combatting COVID-19.

Geographical tracking and mapping have become valuable tools in understanding transmissions and the spread of coronavirus and Covid-19. These tools can also be used to help communities locate information and resources in their areas.

Guamblog has joined countless organizations, agencies, and individuals around the world to create a Guam map that will provide for our people, greater awareness, communication and to increase the effectiveness of our island’s response to this unprecedented public health emergency.

Many concerned island residents, including village mayors, are deeply disturbed by the lack of information, and the refusal of government and homeland secuirty officials to provide critical info about our communities. That means we have to do it for ourselves.

This interactive map was produced for Puerto Rico, using spatial data & analysis to provide the public with information about the spread of coronavirus and Covid-19 on that island. It also has a component that allows users to identify locations for testing, and even food services offering delivery in the various pueblos of the island. Guamblog has already created a Guam map - we just need to populate it with relevant data. That’s where you come in!

Guamblog has already created an important tool for gathering this critical information. The next step, thanks to the grant from Carto - the world's leading Location Intelligence platform for data scientists, developers and analysts - is to create an interactive map of Guam. This social epidemiology anlaysis can help map and identify risk areas for potential outbreak - and much more.

It will also provide valuable community awareness and information, like tracking cases in real time, and in which village; locations of testing centers/sites; provide a map of available food services. With your participation, it could also be used to help people in need in their communities with volunteer opportunities and other community events.

But, I can’t do it alone. I need your help. And your participation. I urge you to....

JOIN THE SURVEILLANCE NETWORK HERE: https://poll.app.do/pg/covid-19-on-guam-surveillance-network

The work has only just begun....and being accepted into this grant program just proves, it’s work that has to be done - for Guam. Please. Help. Join The Network, right now. Take the survey. Then come back twice a week and report on your health. It’s fast. Easy. Anonymous...but very valuable!

Let’s start collecting this data so we can make this map happen as soon as possible.

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CONFIRMED: Diagnosis Stupid, with complications from Dishonesty

I have received a great deal of feedback and emails about guamblog’s latest post regarding the epidemic of stupid that is ravaging Adelup, relative to the mishandling of the coronavirus threat to Guam. Mostly positive and appreciative feedback; but, some very critical of me, thinking I was being condescending or too harsh in my opinion of the governor’s leadership. I think not. Here’s proof…

Tonight, PNC News has a story, wherein the Governor reaffirms my diagnosis of the ghastly malaise she, and much of her appointees, are suffering from. That, coupled with a severe affliction of dishonesty. Gov. Lou has doubled down, and in a contemptuous spin effort, mistakenly identified the real pandemic facing Guam as “fear”. That cretinous faux pas was not enough, however; she goes on to peddle two more very misleading, and wholly uniformed statements.

The first, that $8 billion dollars in federal emergency funding is on its way. This is patently false. What Guam will see by way of that emergency measure remains unclear. Furthermore, she has not provided any proof that her administration has even attempted to clarify how much Guam will actually receive initially. But, one this is certain, at this point; it will not be more than the $4 million outlined to go to the 50 states, 30 days AFTER the measure is signed into law. And, as of the time Gov. Lou made that statement, Trump still has not signed that measure. Vice president Mike Pence said only a few hours ago, that Trump plans to sign the measure - tomorrow.

Secondly, the governor points to the SARS death rate, to allay fears of the impact of the Covid-19 virus, saying it is less fatal than SARS. To begin with, the SARS analogy is a false analogy. Coronavirus is more properly compared to the flu virus. AND - if the coronavirus ever reached the level of infection of the common flu, the death rate would dwarf that of the influenza-related deaths in the US, which averge between 35,000 -40,000 annual deaths; though for the 2018-2019 year, the number of flu-related deaths had surged to more than 60,000 victims. 

 If the coronavirus reaches the level of infection rate as the flu, the number of deaths would be in the range of 350,000 to 600,000. THAT is why world health organizations are in a near-panic as they struggle to control and/or prevent the spread of this virus. THAT is why island residents should be very concerned about the lack of transparency, competency, and intelligence in the handling of this growing crisis.

Guam’s governor, who is fond of reminding people that she is a nurse, is trying to silence, and edit, valid criticism from doctors and clinics who rightly understand the risk her leadership poses to an effective pandemic management strategy. Today’s PNC story underscores the point I was trying to make in my last guamblog post: This public health crisis is being overseen by stupid - and now clearly - dishonest people. Starting at the top!

I stand by my diagnosis: Stupid in the first degree.

[guamblog]

ONCE UPON A THUG: ELI MONGE

Earlier this week, I had a morning meet up with a senator at a popular coffeeshop in East Agana. I had anticipated the meeting all weekend long and didn’t want to be late or miss the 8:15am, Tuesday appointment, so I stayed up the night before reviewing the topic I would discuss with the senator. I arrived on time, and queued with the senator for some much-needed caffeine. That was when some scruffy looking bearded guy walked through the front door of Coffee Slut and gave me a strange stare.

My initial impulse was to nod my head in a greeting, but I wasn’t sure if I even knew this guy. I hesitated and watch him shake hands with the senator. I decided not to extend salutations or acknowledgment of him as the aura that enshrouded him was dark and negative. Whoever it was, my spirit told me that this was not a good person. So, I pretended to be more interested in the one and only hot coffee option available at Coffee Slut.

That person wormed his way over to me and began to accost me. He started with accusing me of not knowing him (which was an accurate assessment); then alternately kept insisting that I “stop pretending” because “you know exactly who I am!” ( I actually had no clue who this crass individual was in front of me).

So early in the morning with no caffeine in my system, I was thoroughly confused. Which was it, did I know him or did I not know him…? For the time being, I resolved that while he did look vaguely familiar, I did not know him. People with that kind of envelop of evil around them, like he had, are the sort of creatures I tend to avoid in life.

He then began to accuse me of writing about him. And his wife.

That still did not clear the fog. I had no clue who he was. Apparently, he thought of himself as someone of significance, as he grew even more irate by the fact that I had no idea who he was.

He continued to rage about writing about him and disrespecting his wife. He made physical threats against my person “the next time he sees me”….this time, not assaulting me, probably only because there were eyewitnesses, including a senator and the business owner.

Finally, exacerbated by the fact that I had idea who the heck he was, he blurted out something about being in charge at KUAM. Then, the light bulb flared. This was Eli Monge. He was married to a Calvo. Marie Calvo – the one who actually runs KUAM. Despite claiming we never meet, we had. In 2014. He looked very different now.

Then, he was fat. Now, most of the hair on his head was on his chin in a scraggly beard. And he was skinny; whether by means of MMA or his claimed, black belt training, or that special rapid weight-loss diet so popular on Guam, I don’t know and didn’t really care.

In anticipation of a physical assault, I discreetly gripped a pencil in my bag as he raged with his threats. The senator, probably expecting some low-life street brawl to transpire, as well, took a few steps back away from us. The business owner moved strategically into a position where he would likely be able to intervene to put a halt to such boorish antics in his place of business. And my mind raced. Where to stab this violent cretin if he would lay a hand on my person.

I’m not a fighter. I am too old for such silly shit. And I have issues and would have to ensure any fight ended as soon as possible before I had a meltdown. So, as the Calvo in-law continued his warnings and threats, I contemplated which eye to ram the pencil into; or if it should be in the ear; perhaps the throat.

I considered the pattern of blood as it might spurt out. Would it ruin my favorite shirt? Could I still have my meeting if I had too much blood on me? If I rammed it too deeply into the eye socket would it reach the brain? How quickly would it put an end to the encounter? Would I get in more trouble than the aggressor because this is, after all, where the justice system re-victimizes the victim in favor of the criminal?

I began to consider that this could be my relocation ticket off of this rock! As it would be so easy to push a troglodyte’s buttons, if I allowed the situation to escalate, a federal charge for violence against a senior citizen, and a civil lawsuit could lead to a settlement that would let me get outta here!

At the same time, I kept rolling over and over in my head, the feeling of embarrassment and shame of even being involved in this denigrating experience with a goon.

I didn’t understand why he kept saying I disrespected his wife.

Guamblog has nearly 5,000 posts and I could not recall in any of them disrespecting or disparaging Marie Calvo, who I always thought was one of the few truly nice ones in the entire bunch. In my head, I rifled through thousands of posts and could not think of one time I ever wrote something ill of the lady.

I was pretty sure he accosted me for a post that exposed his criminal dogfighting ring operations 6 or 7 years ago.  Still, I didn’t want to push back and elevate the heat without really knowing whether or not I had been disrespectful of his wife.

When I got home, I reviewed years of guamblog posts. And, as I thought, I had said nothing bad, ever about Marie Calvo. Then the irony sank in. One of the last times Marie Calvo’s name even appeared on the blog was in a post I did, reviewing Kandit News’ Troy Torres growing popularity and his putting on blast Eli’s own dishonorable, and disrespectful, adulterous affair with one of Marie’s best friends.

I mean, let’s get real. Me talking about another blogger’s gossip coverage is far less disrespectful to a man’s wife than that fellow sleeping around with multiple women, including one of her closest gal pals.

It was just the opposite. I, in fact, only said nice things about Marie - and even noted, how under her management, and along with Chris Barnett’s hard hitting investigative reporting, KUAM News was reclaiming the mantle of a being a legitimate news source.

Convinced then that Eli’s charge about disrespecting his wife was a fake out, and less to do with his anger over guamblog exposing his illegal, and horrific, dogfighting gambling ring. I looked up in the guamblog archives the dogfighting story. 

That dogfighting post received national attention and was picked up locally by PNC, and reported for several days by Kevin Kerrigan, much to the anger and chagrin of KUAM’s then-boss Joey Calvo – and Eli. But, what surprised even me about my own blog post on that criminal dogfighting gambling ring, was that I never once mentioned Eli Monge or Joey Calvo by name.

Not once….despite the fact that Eli was clearly identified in videos and photos by the individuals who provided evidence and information of his operations to guamblog and to PNC, as well. I was even called out by guamblog readers for XX’ing out the mention of Eli and Joey in a comment/message that was later posted.

The comments on the post, on the other hand, well…it is guamblog, and well-informed individuals who were quite familiar with Eli and Joey’s involvement in dogfighting on Guam put them on blast. Not me. Several of their associates, were named, too, including John Mafnas, who were identified as participants in the gambling and operations, as well.

With Eddie Calvo out of office; and Ray Tenorio safely ensconced somewhere in South Carolina, I thought I could finally be done with the threats to my safety and well-being. But, I guess, once a thug, always a thug.

Eli Monge, ranted and demanded that he was not a thug, which is why he was not pummeling me then and there Tuesday morning. Betraying his claims to the contrary, however, was his thuggish, boorish behavior and threats to exert violence on a senior citizen.

And at the end of it, no one said anything to him. Not the business owner or the senator. And, I am sure they felt that was perfectly fine to say nothing. Because that’s simply how it is on Guam.

The downwardly mobile social behavior, “thugging”, is common with rich and/or entitled individuals here. If you want to know what it wrong with Guam, all you have to do is consider this recent confrontation with this Calvo clan thug. It highlights how skewed the priorities of our “cool culture” wherein a light of respectability is permitted to shine on the thug, and not the victim.

It’s not just me. There is Bert Piolo. Monica Baza. John Paul Manuel. Asher Dean Lubofsky. Baby Faith Taitague. Just a few of the overlooked, disregarded and discounted. In favor of the thugs with money, the right family connections or the right friends in the wrong places to expect justice on Guam. In the silence afforded the fiend, victims of bullying and violence, and worse, are denigrated again through a mute complicity of the majority.

The graves and lives of the innocents are pissed on and the unending daily horror of families who must relive their loss every day are mocked. Mocked, by the silence of good people – good people, who represent an increasingly smaller portion of our society each year.

Cool-craving chuckleheads and their thug idols are nothing less than social strangling vines choking out what is good on Guam. Those who provide the villains a veil of silence and transparent cloak of tolerance, cover them with a veneer of depth; a shallow depth of character, defined by a bankrupt respect for what is wrong and for bad people, which in turn, is used by these bullies and thugs to create a mask in their attempt to make themselves appear as good and respectful people, when in fact, they are neither.

Guamblog noted in that 2013 post about a dogfighting operation on Guam linked directly to Eli, that there was a clear connection between those who support and promote this violent blood sport and the increase in violent crimes on Guam, particularly against women and children. It is part and parcel of a moral vacuity and deprived mindset that elevates violence in society.

I wrote then, that...

“Blindly turning our eye to the bloodsport of dogfighting because a prominent, wealthy political family, and their friends, enjoy watching dogs rip each other apart, contributes to the desensitization of our youth. It also represents a real threat to island residents no matter where they live. The same attitude that condones this sport, gives a wink and nod to human trafficking, sex slavery, prostitution and the depersonalization of women and children.”

Have we not since witnessed just this demise of our society and the increase in brutal violence as I stated would be a part of Guam’s future?

I also wrote, “Vindictive retribution and corruption from political leaders who don’t accept others disagreeing with them has fostered an increasingly hostile environment in our society that normalizes gross and violent behavior. The videos and photographs found on Facebook are just one more signpost on the path to a disastrous future led by hate.”

And here we are. Since 2013, violent crimes against the most vulnerable in our community have increased. Anti-social, depraved criminal activity among all communities and classes on Guam have spiraled out of control, even as our Justice system seems to foster and facilitate this horrendous decay of civility and community.

All of this is a direct fulfillment of my earlier warning on the social harm to be expected as a by-product of dogfighting activities and condoning it because you want to be “cool” with the rich kids, the golddiggers and their pals. Because you want to be silent, and tell yourself it’s none of your business; rather than admit your own fear of the bullies.

Dogfighting is a ghastly, deprived affair that is known to be an integral part of violent street culture. It sharply defines the true character of the persons engaged in this groteaque and horrid activity. With a strong appeal to an excrutiating low-bred class of thugs, these kinds of people typically also find expression of their savagery and anti-social tendencies through the use of violence against people, as well.

These sub-human elements in our society have no compunction with exerting their violent behavior in an effort to control others, their thoughts, opinions and actions by threatening and using violence. My recent confrontation, who warned me of the violence I can expect if I “write about him again” is proof of that; and how a thug will always be a thug no matter how expensive a mask they deign to wear or they marry in an attempt to gain fraudulent respect.

Continue to support violent, low-class goons. Buy ads and shop at their businesses. Embrace and hug them, and shake their bloody hands. As Guam sinks beneath the tide of evil and blood....just remember, you had a part in that, too. In your silence and tolerance of the intolerable.

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“United States” to Imperial America: Our Hidden Empire

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GUAM’S MEDICAL MALPRACTICE LAW IS “DEADLY MEDICINE!”

Almost 40 years ago, Guam's medical malpractice arbitration law was declared unconstitutional and struck down. Later, in 1991, local politicians resurrected the measure with very little change....and ever since, the island has been a haven for dangerously sloppy, incompetent and criminally negligent doctors and medical practitioners.

The number of people - including babies - that have been injured, maimed or killed, remains a secret to this day because of the secrecy affords bad doctors - at the expense of the people of Guam. It's time to repeal the dangerous arbitration law, which provides reckless doctors, clinics and hospitals a license to kill - us! 

This week Senator Therese Terlaje begins the difficult task of trying to fix this broken system that allows doctors to kill babies, injure and overdose patients -- and to get away with it. Time to end this....Call your senators. Show up this Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019, at the Legislature in Hagåtña, for the first of several public hearings on this critical matter. Share your comments below and please share this video on your Facebook and Instagram accounts, as well!

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LUCKY LOU’S BEST WEEK YET!

Since coming into office this year, the island’s first woman to be elected governor, has been on the wrong side of…well, just about everything. Lady Luck can be a bitch, but when she’s on your side, she’s a ride or die chick. And the fickled femme fortuna is ridin’ high with the beleaguered Maga'håga, smiling down on the sisterhood. With the recent passing of a record budget, and a number of other funds flowing into GovGuam coffers, Lucky Lou, is rollin’ in dough, just as a major political pain in her ass is rollin’ snake eyes.

The governor ups the ante in hopes of breaking a 9-month losing streak by strengthening her hand with the addition of a seasoned political scallywag  to the Front Office.

Guam Legislature executive director Carlo Branch moves up to Adelup, to reshuffle the deck and fold into the muck a bunch of policy and communications losers. While Branch is a notorious political operative, he is, nonetheless, also one of the Democratic Party’s prized political players.

The Maga'håga’s hand gets an added boost this week with her chief economic advisor, former governor Carl Gutierrez raising the stakes in his effort to realize a Filipino tourist visa waiver program to boost the island’s economy. He brings famed Filipino champion boxer Manny Pacquiao to the table for the cause.

What the governor spins next is anyone’s guess, but for now, luck is a lady and good fortune is shinign down on her, giving governor Leon Guerrero her best week yet!