I like your thoughts and I feel the same way, these aren't horrible choices. Not all the best choices but none that will make me HONESTLY change the channel.
In fact, I'm over the moon that a couple of them are back.
Not to mention the 10 other castaways who will not be familiar to us but will build instant status through their relatives.

Tina was an amazing behind the scenes strategist, whom made many allies, allowed for the decisions to seemingly be run through others Or at least the blame laid at others feet. she was booted first during AllStars because she was a serious threat AND she was a previous winner, which is exactly how AllStars progressed, getting rid of the previous winners first.
She could do great things, it's been long enough and so many other openly strategic winners have emerged that she becomes a non-threat.

Gervase was the lazy guy during his first stint waaay back in season 1. I seriously doubt he'll be any different one and two the game has drastically changed since he first played.

Laura was a victim of one of her own forging off on his own. Had no cracks opened, Samoa would have turned out DRASTICALLY different. She was "in control" of her alliance up to John changing his vote after the tie.

Monica was simply placed on the wrong tribe. No, the wrong season. She is strong, strategic and survivor saavy. If she hadn't been so judgmental of Colton, Kat and Christina, she could very well have slipped under the radar of Kim and Sabrina during the boot choosing process.

Kat and Colton. The One World Brats. I hope and pray that both have either grown up a smidge or perhaps are playing with someone that will help even them out a bit. Kat is incapable of playing under the radar, so she's gonna have to really try to keep her alliances tighter. Listen more, talk less. And as for Colton, well, he deserves to be pointed at as the guy no one wants to trust. If he has learned a thing or two in the past year or so, let's hope he uses those lessons. Again... more listening, less talking.

Tyson, during HvV, ended up getting himself voted off. He was told how to vote and had he stuck to it he would have stayed and guess what...Russell would have been voted out! Bet he won't make that mistake again.

RC got effed by befriending Abi. Who knew the b1tch was gonna become a b@t-sh1t crazy paranoid?! And obviously, everyone learned not to be friends with Abi. Artis? Pete? Lisa?
Honestly, RC played hard and from the very beginning too. I think she'll be saavy enough to turn her game around this time.

Rupert is a character and stands ZERO chance of winning. He has shown that he remains completely unaware of how "annoying" he can be. Like Phillip, he will be delusional right up to his demise. However, it should be noted that during All-Stars, it was him with Jenna, Amber and B'Rob in the F4. And had Jenna not really thought he could win, she would not have chosen to go with the Marianos. I also credit B'Rob for talking her into believing she had a chance against him and Amber versus against Rupert. But whatever.

and finally...
Aras, to me, was a great winner. He managed to somehow keep together crazy Shane, demented Danielle and crazy Cirie.
Those 3 were VERY strong players and keeping their 3 strategies focused was a mountainous job. Good for him listening to Cirie, great on him for keeping Danielle for trust and good on him for keeping Shane as the target/goat.

It's gonna be interesting with the family/loved ones twist. Going into this game (or any game) as a pair instantly creates a target for 1 of them. And that strategy will never disappear even when the game turns individual.

Overall, I think the returnees will be the first targets of each couple. I also predict that there will be some initial One World targeting.

I think people will target the better player/bigger threat of each pair and/or the previous winners. This season, if the cast is as spoiled here, doesn't have the wackjob potential of most of the last several casts, but it definitely has characters and could be a better season. I'll be interested to see how BB12 winner Hayden hacks the much greater physical rigors and more intense scheming and backstabbing of Survivor.

I think Kat is more capable of learning from her past mistakes. She showed it in her jury speech. Colton -- not so much.

Well, Rupert already won his million in the one and only million dollar Player With the Biggest Fanbase award. If he'd had a head for the game he and Jenna would have voted for Amber at F5 in All Stars, she ties with Big Tom and they boot her on the revote.

Gervase was lazy in S1 as part of his strategy, he did not want to be thought of as a big threat. At least that's what he claimed. He's older now and his metabolism has probably changed.

Colton is someone for whom I have no respect. Granted, it could have been just a side of his personality came out in One World, a different Colton than the one known by his friends and family. If that Colton comes out again he's doomed. (If he got some therapy in the meantime, got in touch with himself, can control it now, maybe he'll turn out to be someone I can like.)

The men from One World in general were a pretty hopeless bunch. Taking that first IC win when Kourtney broke her wrist was just about the only smart decision they made as a tribe.

Glad to see RC again, she is game savvy at least. She got her game blocked the first time by a mean trick and Abi turning out to be a spitfire, so she learned some hard lessons. (On the other hand, because she didn't get things her way RC at the Ponderosa proved she's someone who just can't let things go, she's probably still nursing that grudge.)

If he'd (Rupert) had a head for the game he and Jenna would have voted for Amber at F5 in All Stars, she ties with Big Tom and they boot her on the revote.

Well, at the time I can understand some of the reasoning behind an Amber vs. Tom boot decision coming down to Tom being the ultimate choice. For Jenna and Rupert, Rob was the biggest threat and Tom was the next biggest. (And for Tom, choosing between Amber or Jenna would come down to Jenna as well). His actual choice. And the person that Amber suggested he Tom vote for. Without the hindsight, it's impossible for either one of them to know that Amber was going to be received as the "nice guy", Rob played the same game he did in Redemption just with a much more bitter jury. He WAS the guy to beat and he was winning immunities.
But it does say something against those players that do not take into account the Jurors perceptions when they were voted out. Kathy and Lex were beyond furious that Rob (through Amber) had promised them longevity and gave them bootation instead. Bitterness reigned supreme, a little bit like this last season did as well.

Gervase was lazy in S1 as part of his strategy, he did not want to be thought of as a big threat. At least that's what he claimed. He's older now and his metabolism has probably changed.

Well, judging by past returnees, outside of Cochran and Dawn (and Coach during SoPathetic) their gameplay does not change much, if at all.
Sure, it can be less annoying this time, or it can be more harmful the next but basically the same.
Gervase will be "lazy" (and openly judgmental of his fellow tribemates) and will only make it to merge if there are enough weaker people to either give him a bigger target area to work within (China/Gabon) OR grab the weak together and make a move on the strong (Marquesas).

Colton is someone for whom I have no respect. Granted, it could have been just a side of his personality came out in One World, a different Colton than the one known by his friends and family. If that Colton comes out again he's doomed. (If he got some therapy in the meantime, got in touch with himself, can control it now, maybe he'll turn out to be someone I can like.)

Me either. And worse for me is that he is "technical-family". As if straights are proud of every member of the straight community...sheesh.
I stand by my assessment that Colton spends waaay too much time thinking about how he thinks about things.
Not 1 iota of that time is spent thinking how others might perceive him during his breakdown/tirade/strike/avowal/etc.
I mean... Even Dogs can perceive how others might interpret their motives. Proving that they can wait until you aren't looking (or even if merely the lights turn off) to steal your sandwich.
Colton cannot help himself. He will take your sandwich from your mouth and blame you for eating in front of him.
He also has a very low-gauge filter between brain fart and mouth diarrhea.

The men from One World in general were a pretty hopeless bunch. Taking that first IC win when Kourtney broke her wrist was just about the only smart decision they made as a tribe.

Kudos to that. And if I remember correctly it was Troyzan and Jonas (and Jay) whom were most vocal about taking that immunity.
Whereas the rest of the season they guys listened to (or cowered to) the opinions of both Tarzan and Colton. Giving them more power than either deserved.

Glad to see RC again, she is game savvy at least. She got her game blocked the first time by a mean trick and Abi turning out to be a spitfire, so she learned some hard lessons. (On the other hand, because she didn't get things her way RC at the Ponderosa proved she's someone who just can't let things go, she's probably still nursing that grudge.)

Luckily, it's a grudge she won't have to be carrying in this game. Oh she'll be nervous about making strong alliances in the beginning (which could also spell doom) but she won't have to worry about a situation similar to her's and Abi's ever again. The biggest thing about next season is that every one of them is going out there with 1 person they KNOW will not backstab them. Only 1 but enough to stop them going crazy. (Like Brandon)
That is a feature of all newbie seasons that I like. That you NEVER know if the person you are choosing to trust is trustworthy enough to save you.
I am excited to see what RC can do when not confronted with Hurricane Abi and rather plays with along between Pete/Artis and Michael/Lisa.
She was playing the game. That is for sure. But how does someone prepare for someone like Abi (or Brandon (mikayla) or Phillip (francesca))?

Colton cannot help himself. He will take your sandwich from your mouth and blame you for eating in front of him.

To me, one of the saddest parts of this concept was seeing the picture of Colton's SO and having the following choices:

A. Someone was stupid enough to date that.
B. Someone else is just as ignorant and bigoted.
C. A & B combined with the option to add an even more depressing D later.

I'd currently bet on those two as the ones Most Likely To Backstab Their Own Partner. Twice.

LAST EDITED ON 05-19-13 AT 09:16 PM (EST)

Tina must be in her fifties now so I fear she'll be out first again. I hope she can show she knows how to play to all the young viewers that missed her game in the Outback but I doubt it'll happen.

According to Burnett, Gervase was the only player in Borneo besides Hatch to understand that the key to the game was to surround himself with people that would never vote him out. If he gets in the leading alliance he will be one to watch.

Laura is probably the best decision here. She was playing a great game in Samoa until production filled Russell's pockets with idols.

Monica is so much like Laura that I can only think she was casted because she brings a "celeb" husband. Why not Taj and Eddie instead?

Tyson could be funny but he'll probably only be heard when he talks about his HvV demise.

I'm glad Aras is back. His personality was drowned in all of Casay's craziness but I liked his game.

I found Kat to be an interesting character. She would have been dangerous if Kim hadn't ended her game so abruptly.

I am not happy to see RC again. She's really only a young version of Sherri. Someone that thinks is better than the others and played much too hard much too soon. Sherri was lucky that Laura and Matt flipped. RC was lucky that her tribe dominated.

Rupert and Colton? I'd vote both off now if I could.

ETA: Looking at this again, I feel that if the Survivors are on one tribe and the relatives on the other, the women will dominate the men because they are much more game savvy. Tina, Laura and Monica should get along and Tina and Laura are very good alliance makers. Kat could join in so they would need only one or two guys to run with it. Of the guys there, Aras, Tyson and Gervase are the most likable and the most athletic so they'd fit in well. I'd be glad to see it evolve that way because it would mean a quick exit for Poopert, Colton and RC.

Tina is now 52, that's not so old. Lisa was older and made it to the end of the game in Philippines.

At Fever they are postulating that Gervase will actually be playing with his niece not his nephew. Well, even the best source spoilers get things wrong at times, that would fix the uneven gender mix.

I hope Tyson learned his lesson, when you have a solid plan in place stick to the plan.

Kat is good casting, her taking life for all its best one day at a time attitude is perfect for playing Survivor.

I'd have to disagree about RC being a younger version of Sherri, though I get why you say that. RC knew her game had taken a hit, tried to work it out, Sherri just forged ahead with delusional expectations.

Rupert proved in HvV that he doesn't care about the game so much as he cares about recharging his celebrity.

I'll give Colton a chance at redemption, not really expecting it will happen.

>Tina is now 52, that's not
>so old. Lisa was
>older and made it to
>the end of the game
>in Philippines.

Lisa turns 50 a week from today, was 48/49 during filming last year....but yeah, age is no obstacle if you've got game and alliance mates on your side as Benedict Tina had during her first go-around.

>Kat is good casting, her taking
>life for all its best
>one day at a time
>attitude is perfect for playing
>Survivor.

Agree, I'm curious to see if Kat will do anything differently this time around. She clearly was immature during her time in the game but I was really struck by the tone she displayed during the final jury questioning as she really sounded like she "got it" then.

>I'd have to disagree about RC
>being a younger version of
>Sherri, though I get why
>you say that. RC
>knew her game had taken
>a hit, tried to work
>it out, Sherri just forged
>ahead with delusional expectations.

Wasn't too crazy about RC but she's way ahead of Sherri, no question in my mind, in terms of ability to play the game.

>I'll give Colton a chance at
>redemption, not really expecting it
>will happen.

Not holding my breath. KKKolton knows exactly why he's brought back to play again.

My only issue with RC is her laugh. I don't mind her always wanting to talk strategy and I know she's eye candy for some but when she laughs, I want to stick a fork in my ear! Most annoying laugh ever.

What about her attitude at Ponderosa? Didn't that show us the real RC? An insufferable control freak who thought she did no wrong.

LAST EDITED ON 05-24-13 AT 10:46 PM (EST)

I don't care one bit about what people do or are like outside of the game, we've seen people worse than RC in real life but that didn't change our opinions about them within the game. Brian, Dicque, Jenna L, just to name a few who got into legal or moral trouble outside of the game but that didn't stop fans from clamouring to have some of them come back to make another appearance. So RC was loud and annoying in Ponderosa. Who cares?

ETA: And I find KKKolton to be infinitely worse than RC because of his crass, racist attitudes that he displayed IN the game. I'll take RC over him or any of the Hantzes by a country mile.

LAST EDITED ON 05-25-13 AT 07:02 PM (EST)

It is worth noting that RC is a control freak, though. It did get annoying at the Ponderosa, but that aspect didn't show in the game. Pete didn't outplay her because she was annoying but because he wanted to be in control.

Playing with her father creates a unique dynamic, children defer to parents. She has the game experience, of course. They could be a strong control freak pair, we'll just have to wait and see.

I thought Colton was extremely ignorant in some ways. He made a claim that racism doesn't exist in the affluent circles with whom he associates, as if they have attained some sort of perfection. But he fell into some attitudes (expressions) which exposed the fact that he had clearly been around some of it enough that it affected him (even if he wasn't fully aware that there were racists around him in his life). There's homophobes in affluent society as well, how he could be that ignorant is something that is difficult to believe.

What if he wasn't ignorant but was playing to the cameras? His comment that his maid was black sounded so much taken out of a bad comedy that I think it was a line he had prepared for the right occasion.

Playing ignorant for the camera? Because he thought it was funny? Because he knew how it would look?

Nah. Colton wanted to impress the whole world with his game, when he got into a position of power it went to his head and he thought he could do no wrong.

It's ignorant any way you cut it.

LAST EDITED ON 05-25-13 AT 10:45 PM (EST)

It would be ignorant but in a different way. I think his goal was to get airtime more than winning the game so, if that was the case, he certainly got what he wanted. He didn't expect to be in power so that could have gone to his head but, from the start, he was playing the diva role.

Considering Colton had no problems socializing with Sabrina and Alicia, I think his hate for Bill came mainly because Bill was a professional comedian. Colton would have been afraid of being upstaged if Bill had stayed longer.

You are right that what people do outside the game doesn't really matter but RC was STILL involved in the game. She was a juror. The season ends at the reunion and the first reason I had to hate Hantz was his reaction when he lost to Nathalie. Before that, he was just a clever player that didn't understand how the jury works but the reunion showed that he was a sore loser and a dumbass. Likewise, RC was a sore loser.

Kolton and the Hantzes are worse than RC, no doubt but that doesn't make her good. I'd take many, many women over RC.

My only issue with RC is her laugh. I don't mind her always wanting to talk strategy and I know she's eye candy for some but when she laughs, I want to stick a fork
in my ear! Most annoying laugh ever.

I couldn't agree with you more! One can only hope she heard herself during the replay and decided to tone it down a lottle.

Redemption Island is rearing it's ugly head again. Or so says a recently retired BeatleBum. (Spoiler for both S25/S26)

Let the wave of strong emotions follow...

It figures since its the only way Poopert can win. Voted out, win last duel, win a couple of ICs, get in the F3. Problem is he was never that good in challenges!

LAST EDITED ON 05-20-13 AT 11:17 AM (EST)

Ug. Even if not true, this is a statement about the problem of Probst as showrunner; namely that he can't just test one new twist at a time, he has to find a way to sink it if he can. One World was a twist worth trying, for example, but then they had to go and divide the tribes initially by gender (a tried and true twist, granted), which meant having a tribal swap and separating the two new tribes for awhile, totally messing up the entire experiment. Too much tinkering (nevermind the casting issues).

BvW on merit is either an interesting variation of the fans v faves format for mixing returning players with new players, or it introduces a new untested format for mixing returning players with new players (even without the relatives angle). Throw in redemption island (a nearly universally loathed twist) and guess what -- no tribal swap, the nature of the twist itself basically forbids it.

The fans v faves format practically demands a tribal swap. If it is this format with RI, how will production resolve the conflict? The new mixed format could go either way insofar as tribal swaps.

The sad part is that Probst won't listen to anyone until CBS puts its foot down.

Found that thread, lot of crying and cussing out Probst.

Found another post from BeatleBum (different thread), he was told filming of S27 would begin (has now begun) May 19. This conflicts with another who spoiled May 22. Anyway, it's either going on now or will be shortly.

I tend to believe the 19th was the start date. It gives them exactly a week to get everyone down to Cagayan , make final casting choices and begin filming.
The shooting schedules run Sunday through Saturday and they almost always begin filming on Mondays (aside from a Sunday start for Philippines), but have never begun on a Wednesday.

If it wasn't the 19th (which coincides with the Sunday start for the first of the back-to-back filmed seasons (Philippines/Caramoan)) then it will begin filming today. Monday.
The 22nd just makes no sense at all.

Makes sense. Start Monday 20th AM in Philippines, it is still Sunday 19th PM here.

LAST EDITED ON 05-21-13 AT 01:01 PM (EST)

http://www.interaksyon.com/entertainment/after-caramoan-survivor-us-edition-shoots-new-season-in-cagayan/

A source familiar to the production told InterAksyon on Tuesday that the 27th season of the award-winning program — officially called “Survivor: Blood vs. Water” – is currently being shot in secluded areas of Cagayan Valley.

The source said the CBS production will wrap in August but declined to specify the locations for security reasons.

However, a Facebook post on Monday by the tourism page of Cagayan North said the cast and crew led by Emmy Award-winning host Jeff Probst are “now taping in Palaui Island, Anguib, Poso Robo and Gotan”.

The post also said “the new season will feature returning survivors playing against their family members and loved ones”.

The wrap in August must mean back to back filming of 27 and 28 with a break in-between to get the 27 cast home and the 28 cast in and prepped and take care of some other things.

Looking up the nearest forecasts I could find to Palaui, looks like the first week's weather has highs in the 90s, lows in the 70s. Cloudy, chances of rain most days.

http://www.wunderground.com/weather-forecast/PH/Cagayan_De_Oro.html

This was the closest station to the island I could find. Over the weekend, highs in 90s, lows in 70s. Chances of rain, 40% to 60%. Chances of thunderstrms.

LAST EDITED ON 05-24-13 AT 04:56 PM (EST)

Hi dabo! I just wanted to tell you that Cagayan de Oro is not the same as Cagayan Valley. In fact, the two locations are geographically very far apart from each other. Cagayan Valley is in the northernmost part of the Philippines; Cagayan de Oro is in the southern island (Mindanao). If you want to look at Palaui Island, these locations would be a much better benchmark. In the image below, Palaui island is just off the coast of Santa Ana (#28).

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=aparri

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=buguey

http://www.wunderground.com/weather-forecast/PH/Calayan.html

Thank you! I guess I should have dropped Cagayan out of the "weather philippines cagayan palaui" search. But the "weather palaui island" searches weren't any good at all.

Wow...the closest I got to Cagayan was in the town of Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte back in March 2013.

LAST EDITED ON 05-27-13 AT 08:57 PM (EST)

This week, early in the week chances of thunderstorms. Then overcast with chances of thunderstorms back again on Saturday.

Highs in the 90s, lows in the 70s.

Yep, typhoon season has finally arrived after a very dry summer. Most of the weather reports indicate that it's the central part of Luzon that is most likely going to take the heaviest rainfall. Expect most thunderstorms to happen during the afternoons and late into the evening.

Two news tidbits I'd like to share. A week or so ago, a Taiwanese national was killed by the Philippine Coast Guard. The foreigner was suspected of fishing illegally within Philippine waters. Major backlash has since occurred, with reported incidents of violence against Filipinos living in Taiwan, and a sudden drop of incoming tourists from the country. This is interesting because Palaui is very close to Taiwan, such that they actually get Taiwanese radio stations.

Also, http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/05/27/13/8-elite-cops-killed-cagayan-npa-ambush

I don't know what to make of that report as far as the show goesd, except that increased security would be needed, and probably less cultural stuff as a result. Damn shame if they have to pull things in even more than planned.

As far as the weather goes, it seems to be pretty much the same everywhere except the northernmost islands, at least so far.

Over the second weekend, more of the same, highs predicted in the 90s and lows in the 70s. Some chance of rain on Saturday. Thunderstorms become a possibility again on Monday, week 3 of 6.

It has been a pretty static weather system over the first two weeks, so the players in the early game should have acclimated reasonably well.

weather week 3

Temps again remain in the 70s to 90s range. Chance of rain Monday, clear/overcast on Tuesday, chances of rain and storms Wednesday through Friday.

LAST EDITED ON 06-07-13 AT 09:24 AM (EST)

weekend 3 is predicted to be pretty much the same for temp ranges, 50% chance of rain/thunderstorms for Saturday, 20% chance on Sunday.

LAST EDITED ON 06-09-13 AT 01:23 PM (EST)

Week 4 predictions

Aparri
Monday 95 partly cloudy
Monday night 79 chance of t-storms 60% chance of rain
Tuesday 95/81 chance of t-storms 20% chance of rain
Wednesday 93/79 partly cloudy
Thurday 93/81 partly cloudy

Calayan has pretty much identical forecast with slightly lower temps

weekend forecast Aparri

Friday 91/79 mostly cloudy
Saturday 93/79 mostly cloudy
Sunday 95/81 chance of thunderstorms, 40% chance of rain

Calayan has Sunday as chance of thunderstorms, 30% chance of rain

week 5 Aparri

Monday 91/79 chance of thunderstorms, 50% chance of rain

Tuesday 90/79 chance of thunderstorms, 60% chance of rain

Wednesday 91/79 chance of thunderstorms, 60% chance of rain (90% at Calayan)

Thursday 91/77 chance of thunderstorms, 40% chance of rain (70% at Calayan)

Friday 91/79 60% chance of rain (70% at Calayan)

We've been experiencing very heavy rainfall over the past couple of days, especially at night. Here's the PAGASA (our equivalent of your NOAA/NWS) website, where you should be able to see if any major weather formations exist in the country.

http://www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/

From what I've been gathering, Palaiu has been outside the bad weather zone. But there sure is a big mess off in the east heading north northwest. Thanks for the new link!

This is one of the reasons why I found the S25/S26 filming dates quite ideal. You saw quite a lot of rain in S25 and that was filmed earlier in the year. Just imagine filming in Caramoan in June to August, especially considering that most typhoons at this time of the year form at the eastern part of the Philippines.

Caramoan is getting clobbered right now. Somehow at Palaiu Island this year they seem to be in the sweet spot, the worst of it just keeps missing them. Went west, went east, fizzled out just south of them.

From the looks of things they dodged the bullet today, but there is a big cell in the SSW that could impact them in time.

LAST EDITED ON 06-21-13 AT 11:00 PM (EST)

final weekend

Aparri

Saturday 90/79 mostly cloudy

Sunday 91/77 70% chance of rain (Calayan chance of t-storms)

LAST EDITED ON 06-23-13 AT 08:37 PM (EST)

final week forecast Aparri

Monday 95/81 mostly cloudy (40% chance of rain at Calayan)

Tuesday 97/79 chance of t-storms, 30% chance of rain

Wednesday 97/79 chance of t-storms, 20% chance fo rain

Thurday 95/79 chance of t-storms, 20% chance of rain

TDT'S just posted the S27 calendar today ... And take a look at what he's got for Days 3 and 5. Hmmmm. First time we've seen that happen if he's correct with the calendar.

http://truedorktimes.com/s27/calendar.htm

Two players voted out the first two TCs? That would work in a three tribe set-up where the two losers go to TC but with 20 players, the 3 tribe idea doesn't work.

It'll work in the way that BB did it, voting for "pairs" to be booted.
Which may make redemption quite interesting right off the bat. The first pair to be voted out may just have to play against each other in the first redemption.
Or maybe they'll wait until 2 pairs have been voted out and will have them play against each other as pairs.

Off topic: My system isn't working correctly and I need help, please. In post#40, at the end of my post, I used brackets. I guess I should not have done that... because now I can't see that part of my post, and I can't see anyone's post after #40. I used brackets which now I see go along with HTML tags.... and this has obviously messed up my whole viewing. Can anyone help me? (And please don't post here, because I can't see it...) Please? Thank you!

At least according to CNN:

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/417695/3-ph-beaches-make-it-to-cnns-list-of-worlds-best

Congrats! WTG! We should never have allowed you to break off as an independent country instead of continuing to be a US territory. You missed your chance to have your own quarter dollar coin, so there.

Politics is weird though. Puerto Rico should be the 51st state by now but it never makes the news.