I don't fully understand what's going on in Puerto Rico. . .

Uhhh, nothing?

Pretty standard, really.

Very off-topic aside to my man, Rawk:
Damn, I've been listening to what Palmieri did with Lalo Rdz during the late 70's these past couple of months: holy f**k, have I been missing out!!! Man, Eddie P. is *ripe* for re-appraisal. I must've had an ear infection the yr I gave him a try. That is seriously some of the best music I have ever listened to, punto. Since Jan., I've been in the process of cocol-izing myself on a real tip. Marvin Santiago+ Frankie Ruiz+ Lalo+ Richie Ray & Bobby Cruz+ Maelo---->all dis salsa gun' gimme gastric pangs...Unfinished Masterpiece is about the greatest thing in my life right now.

NO TAXES, NO CRED
-- JW (jo...)

so true...and yet, in PR, not everyone can afford to pay them...a lot of PRicans are dirt poor, which is why they off of guv't subsidy ...FACT

Marvin Santiago: only really started to get into last year, but he did some amazing stuff, usually very danceable too (Fuego a la Jicotea, Vasos de Colores, Mentirosa, El Jibaro Y La Naturaleza. . .), Frankie Ruiz: has been a favorite for a while now, mostly because of massive exposure to him from dancing, Richie Ray & Bobby Cruz: I'm not so familiar with, Maelo: still a little hard for me to get into in a big way, but I enjoy him a lot more than I did initially. I can't genuinely call him a favorite though, much as I want to.

You do know about the Fania/Emusica remasters, right?

Happy listening. Also, as long as I have your attention, I have been learning to rock again, thanks to Shiina Ringo and Tokyo Jihen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyf9M7mt_RY&search=sounan

(Borderline authentic Szechuan Chinese takeout is giving me gastric pangs.)

So - - - will statehood really happen? What would it mean for Puerto Rico? What would it mean for the US? Would it be a good time to also do something about DC statehood? Can we look forward to The Compromise Of Ought-Thirteen? I don't fully understand!

my puerto rican friend on fb said that statehood got a plurality but not a majority because lots of people submitted blanks as a symbolic 'idk'

Any change would require approval by the U.S. Congress.

republicans are not against it iirc

According to Wiki, both Democrats and Republicans feature "statehood if they want it, sure" language in their platforms, with the Dem 2012 platform stepping that up a bit:

As President Obama said when he became the first President to visit Puerto Rico and address its people in 50 years, Boricuas every day help write the American story. Puerto Ricans have been proud American citizens for almost 100 years. During that time, the people of Puerto Rico have developed strong political, economic, social, and cultural ties to the United States. The political status of Puerto Rico remains an issue of overwhelming importance, but lack of resolution about status has held the island back. It is time for Puerto Rico to take the next step in the history of its status and its relationship to the rest of the United States. The White House Task Force Report on Puerto Rico has taken important and historic steps regarding status. We commit to moving resolution of the status issue forward with the goal of resolving it expeditiously. If local efforts in Puerto Rico to resolve the status issue do not provide a clear result in the short term, the President should support, and Congress should enact, self-executing legislation that specifies in advance for the people of Puerto Rico a set of clear status options, such as those recommended in the White House Task Force Report on Puerto Rico, which the United States is politically committed to fulfilling. The economic success of Puerto Rico is intimately linked to a swift resolution of the status question, as well as consistent, focused efforts on improving the lives of the people of Puerto Rico. We have made great progress for Puerto Rico over the past four years, including a sharp, historic increase in Medicaid funding for the people of Puerto Rico and fair and equitable inclusion in the Recovery Act and the Affordable Care Act. Going forward, we will continue working toward fair and equitable participation for Puerto Rico in federal programs. We support increased efforts by the federal government to improve public safety in Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, with a particular emphasis on efforts to combat drug trafficking and crime throughout our Caribbean border. In addition, consistent with the task force report, we will continue to work on improving Puerto Rico's economic status by promoting job creation, education, health care, clean energy, and economic development on the Island.[27]

They also list endorsements of the idea from every president since Ford, with the exception of Carter.

http://fusion.net/story/159325/the-tragedy-of-puerto-rico-americas-very-own-greece/

is there any chance Congress might grant statehood to Puerto Rico?

The FEMA "meals" my brother received today... #HuracánMaría pic.twitter.com/X7eXcFmDD9

— Sujei =) (@sujeilugo) November 10, 2017

https://www.villagevoice.com/2018/03/19/a-cartoon-history-of-colonialism-in-puerto-rico/

que pasa, may?

https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/18/us/puerto-rico-mass-power-outage/index.html

beating the odds

https://theintercept.com/2018/07/25/puerto-rico-debt-cancellation-bill/

An update on the US government forcibly privatizing Puerto Rico’s electricity grid without our consent. The transition has resulted in so much voltage & grid instability, that it destroyed one of the water pumping stations on the islands, leaving THOUSANDS without water for DAYS.

— PAOLETTE (@deviIette) July 17, 2021

after the storms of '17 wrecked their power grid the vultures sniffed an opportunity for a profitable monopoly (and it seems a private takeover was already in the pipeline) and now they've had a privatised dysfunctional grid with voltage instability that is frequently failing + burning people's houses down imposed on them. Literal disaster capitalism.