Hi Evan,

My neighbor 120 miles to the south, Guam, is also a territory. In Saipan, we are a Commonwealth associated w/the US. People here are also citizens, but no US voting, except for our non-voting rep in congress.

Unlike the territories, however, the CNMI (so far) gets to control their own customs, labor and immigration (there was a lot of talk about changing the handling of immigration after 9/11).

Perks include receiving a lot of US grant money (as do the territories), and many other island nations (Palau, FSM, Marshals, etc.).

About 12 B-52's and 12 B-?1?'s arrived in Guam a few weeks ago. We heard HUGE sonic boom shortly after that - shocker! Now the US is paying for broken glass and some "personal hardship" cases caused by the sound/shock. US lawsuits are alive and well in Saipan ;-).

J
>I've often wondered what was the difference between a state and a territory like Puerto Rico. From NationalGeographic.
>- Puerto Ricans are citizens, but they do not vote for president
>- no federal taxes
>- non-voting rep in congress