If U.S. national sovereignty continues, it is only as a state that Puerto Rico will have permanent 10th Amendment powers over its non-federal affairs, as well as voting power in Congress.

Federal program and services outlay in Puerto Rico is approximately $10 billion per year.

Internal self-government under a local constitution was authorized by Congress and approved by the residents in 1952, but federal law is supreme in Puerto Rico and residents do not have voting representation in the Congress.

Yet, Puerto Rico's economic convergence and political integration with the rest of the nation is in a state of arrest - even though the island has been within the national borders, political system and customs territory of the U.S. for a century.

Politics is a highly tribal business.

Banks don't come with an internal switch that says, 'Enough! Let's slow down a little.' Or, 'Let's just share this wealth around for the benefit of the community now.' That's the job of government.

A lot of politics in art is just institutional critique, which, in my opinion, is not all that political.

The lesson of the last year is this: foreign policy can't be managed through the politics of personality, and our President would do well to take note of an observation John F. Kennedy made once he was in office - that all of the world's problems aren't his predecessor's fault.