Topic: Restroom Revelations

[Giff me dat fill-em!]

I recently purchased a book from Half Price Books titled The Great American Bathroom Reader, which is filled with small articles of varying interest to help pass the time while making ahh-ahh. While in the "library" today, I came across this tidbit:

There are only 46 states in the United States. Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Delaware are commonwealths.

A quick trip to the internet confirms Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia as commonwealths. Delaware, however, asserts itself as a state. Another quick trip to dictionary.com looking up the word commonwealth lists Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia as commonwealths. A search for Kentucky also confirms it to be a commonwealth.

Each one of these "states" have representatives in the US government, however, a websearch for Puerto Rico reveals it too is a commonwealth, but one that is self-governing, with basically its only affiliation with US government is that the US President is the Chief of State. They have no representation in Congress. (but they are exempt from the IRS codes)

How did this "state" of affairs come about, that some plots of land can call themselves a commonwealth and be fully represented in Congress, and at least one other can take the same moniker, but be allowed to self-govern?

[Shemoeley Fine]

Nice post Giff, I have won many wagers over the years knowing this bit of information, that's there's only 46 states in the US of A. Concerning Puerto Rico's status as a "commonwealth", that's a fancy term for what Puerto Rico and other US possesions like Guam, Samoa, Virgin Islands etc really are, colonies. Puerto Ricans like other colonists are US citizens, bound by US law, eligible for US miltary service/draft yet they can not vote for presidents nor do they have congressman or senators representing them in Dee Cee.

After the US conspired to explode the Maine in Havana Harbor as an excuse to enter the Cuban War of Independence similar to what occured 40-some odd years later at Pearl Harbor. After the defeat of Spain, US took control of former Spanish colonies like Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Phillipines. After WW2, The Phillipines were granted independence, Cuba was granted a pseudo-independence, appointed a US citizen as its first President, signed into effect the Platt Amendment allowing the US to over rule any law or policy Cuba passed they didn't approve of, and kept Guantanamo as a base of operations . Puerto Rico became a US possesion-colony it remains to this day.


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