When I first started doing work in St Maarten, I got a lot of jokes, and a lot of warnings about working for the local politicians.
After seven months of dealing with these idiots, and their "principles" when it comes to payment for services rendered,
I feel am forced to write about the atrocious payment habits of the people who should be running St Maarten.
My sister warned me about "burning bridges",
but frankly if payment is not a priority to you, I will light the match myself.
Recognize the people that I write about, do exist, and they are in charge.
I would do an in depth analysis of their behavior, but I decided to use short excerpts from my journals:

EXHIBIT A.: Politician J.R1 (there are 2 of them).
That day, he was not quite up to date on his payment as usual,  and called me into town.
My payment was ready, meet him at parliament, his voice rang with "authority".
So I spend money to get to Parliament-again,
and of course I'm forced to wait, for hours.
When he does show up, he is with another "mastermind", political strategist.
 He plays the game where he's forgotten why I'm there, even though we've played this game over a dozen times.
J.R. then proceeds to go through the latest porn on his computer, emailed by his latest freak.
And yes, I am sitting there, anxiously awaiting my payment, as he complains about the quality of the pornography, and flips the computer around, to flash me a graphic picture of...uhums.....someones beaver.
As Mr. Politician continues the laborious tasks of paying me the hundred bucks that he's been saying has been waiting for me for awhile, he gets on his phone and calls his "clerk".
He makes a big show about it, saying make sure Ms. R's money is ready.

Now people..... tell me if there was any money waiting for me, when I got there?
No! He actually interrupted his online orgy to FAKE phoning his assistant, and FAKE getting my payment ready.
Mind you! This politician, I've been told drives a Jaguar!
This was not my first trip to parliament for this particular hundred dollar payment!
I spent 8 unproductive hours waiting to be paid, so that I could pay my bills, while this old sexed up moron felt that it was okay to keep me waiting like his personal assistant.
After spending my money, and all day in town, somewhere at around five-AFTER I STARTED TO SNAP! CRACKLE! AND POP!
THEN HE PAID ME.
But first I got a lecture about patience, and virtue and my temper.
Then I get told that I'll be "Blacklisted" in St Maarten, by one of his minions.
Fine, because I don't work for free, and life's too damn short to be wasting DAYS waiting for idiots, who cannot ever show up on time or pay for work done.
Now realize, this was not a one time incident. It's a habit and a pattern with not just this particular politician, but many who I dealt with during the past seven months.
And I have had many encounters, with several of the island politicians, who all have the same M.O.
Work like a slave for them,
get paid whenever- if ever!
Then keep you mouth quiet, if the man in the Lexxus or Jaguar, doesn't pay, because St Maarten is small, and you don't want to burn any bridges.
That's the wrong thing to tell someone like me....
Especially when you have NOT PAID ME, and now, you are actually costing me money.
Every time I show up for an appointment, or have to run around on one of your little B.S. errands,-
that too costs me money.
Now rather than writing about the "Oasis of the Sea", or the New Years,  I'm going to spend the rest of this year simply copying excerpts from my journal, on my experiences dealing with the retarded payment policies of these "Big Shots".
Now I don't have to waste time or money going out there and doing interviews
 and spending long hours in the library doing research.
All I intend to do for New Years, is to blog about the politicians who I've worked for, who are supposed to be our leaders, but who cannot  fulfill their payment obligations.
How does one play that "print only their initials not their names game" in St Maarten?
I don't know, and I don't care.
However in the spirit of Christmas, and due to the uhum...."illness" of this particular individual, I will not print his full name.
That policy might change, depending on how quickly this individual "recuperates".
Tomorrow I will blog about this other semi retired political figure L.C.G., yes the quiet one.
He's not so quiet, He doesn't like to pay employees, and tomorrow he will be our featured "non paying political dickwad".
And bring them fancy lawyers,
and figure out, how to work out a "cease and desist" letter when the author is printing the truth.
At first I was horrified by the way that I was treated by these so called professionals, and for a few months it truly bothered me, but now I see, that their douche-baggery was simply a blessing in disguise.
SO MERRY CHRISTMAS, Y FELIZ NAVIDAD ST MAARTEN DEMOCRATIC PARTY, YOUR CAST OF NON PAYING POLITICAL MONKEYS, WILL BE THE FIRST ON MY "SLATE'!
THEN I'M GOING TO SPEND SOME TIME TAKING THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE TO TASK OVER SOME OF THEIR B.S. AND POLICIES, AND A FEW VERIFIED, AND UNVERIFIED GOSSIP, AND MELEE SURROUNDING THEM.
IF THE PPA EVER STEPS OUT OF LINE, PLEASE LET ME KNOW, BECAUSE THEY WOULD BE "THE INVISIBLE" PARTY, maybe they do exist, or maybe they are like "Bigfoot", or the Yeti or maybe the Chupacabra, because I have yet to see them, or hear one policy statement from them anywhere.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OF OUR FOLLOWERS AND SUBSCRIBERS.
AND WE WILL BE BACK FOR THE NEW YEAR WITH SOME SURPRISES...F.T.B. STYLE!