Progressive Minds

Below is the report submitted to the speaker of the house on MP Salaries. There have been complaints of lack of "Constructive" debate so hopefully this will help. This is the full majority report, and the PDF can be downloaded at the bottom of this page. If I get my hands on the Minority Report I'll post it as another attachment.

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28th August, 2008

Report of the Ministers and Members of the Legislature Salaries Review Board

TO: HIS HONOUR THE SPEAKER OF
THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY

Introduction

When a member of the UBP's Shadow Cabinet compared a programme similar to the US' Green Card system to Nazism, Grant Gibbons was silent. When the Premier pointed out a fact about voting patterns in Bermuda, Grant Gibbons was appalled. That tells you all you need to know about the character of Grant Gibbons, a scion of Bermuda's aristocracy.

This is rich. Bob Richards the builder of the "Nazi" Computer system.

From the RG!

http://www.royalgazette.com/siftology.royalgazette/Article/article.jsp?a...

Immigration Minister David Burch has called for Bob Richards to resign after he likened a plan for expatriate ID cards to “Nazi Germany” — without disclosing that one of his own companies would make $3 million from the project.

As we reflect on a decade of solid governance, our party must also forge ahead and modernize

On November 4, 2008, I was fortunate to be in Washington DC to witness the instantaneous mass celebrations as the United States and the world celebrated Barack Obama's election as President of the United States. As I enjoyed the festivities marking the 10th anniversary of the PLP's ascendancy to government, I saw the pictures and watched the footage of the momentous night 10 years ago on the November night in 1998, and it was clear that what the United States experienced last week was what Bermuda experienced 10 years ago.

Did you read Grant Gibbons' response to our argument that the UBP is the party of exclusion? He said that he brought in a speaker from the United States! That's it! He didn't say they apologized for the sins of the UBP. He didn't say that they held public meetings to reach out to all citizens on our island. No. He said that the UBP BROUGHT IN A SPEAKER FROM THE UNITED STATES and that a few of his relatives voted for Barack Obama and somehow that means that the party of exclusion has become the party of inclusion. What rubbish.

Why is the Royal Gazette so obsessed with the independence issue? No member of the PLP government ever brings it up. It's only ever discussed when the Premier is asked about it at forums and meetings. Then - whatever the Premier says - instantly becomes big news. The Premier and the PLP haven't changed their position on independence, yet, despite that lack of news, the newspaper is obsessed with reporting on the Premier's every word.

UBP MPs sure like to show off their expensive watches.

... and then they wonder why they have such a hard time connecting with and understanding working and middle class Bermudians.

The UBP says they're open minded. They say they're tolerant of diversity. And, they claim to encourage pluralism. Rubbish.

A party struggling to gain support - and not further alienate Bermudians - is considering casting aside one of their strongest black voices because he spoke his mind. The mere fact that they're considering a party purge shows that they are neither tolerant of opposing viewpoints nor accepting of healthy debate.

Its been a while since I posted here. But now I have some time to express thoughts on the blog.

I think the PLP Government has done more for Bermuda's youth than any Government in Bermuda's history, and in recent years, has been more accessible to young people than it waas before. I truly believe the PLP is a viable option for young people, because they are willing to listen. For example, YOM which is a youth group came about through young people having a vision and idea and the Governemnt listened.

The push for domestic fees in the UK happened with this Government

The drumbeat of the dim bulb former UBP candidates continues. Decades ago, white Bermudians who disagreed with strong black men regularly used the derogatory term "boy" to silence strong voices. Today, the polite term du jour seems to be "childish."

Did you know Bob Richards' consulting firm gets big money government contracts? It's true. The PLP government is fair with it's tendering process and, so, lots of qualified UBPers receive contracts to serve Bermuda.

Today, Bob was singing his same old tune, attacking the PLP while offering no solutions of his own. But, what's curious is the dapper new photo of Bob:

In addition to being the most right wing member of the House of Assembly, Trevor Moniz also has a history of racial insensitivity.

In 2003, the Bermuda Bar Association publicly disassociated itself from comments made by Mr. Moniz. Mr. Moniz had claimed that a capable civil servant was only appointed to his position because he was black.

But, that's not the only example of Mr. Moniz's racial insensitivity. In 2002, he alleged that a group of "radicals" bent on "black empowerment" were going to take over the PLP upon the conclusion of Dame Jennifer Smith's Premiership.

Our Opposition Leader is missing! Has anyone seen him? He skipped out on the ordination ceremony for Bishop Lloyd Duncan. He wasn't at the Queen's Certificate and Police/Fire/military long service award. And, of course, he reportedly skipped out on Dame Lois' Heroes Day Ceremony to PLAY GOLF!!! Where's Kim been? Shouldn't be out in the community serving his constituents and the people of Bermuda instead of playing golf?

We just heard that Opposition Leader Kim Swan SKIPPED DAME LOIS' COMMEMORATION TO PLAY GOLF?!?!?! If this is true, he owes Bermuda an explanation. For the sake of national unity, please, let's home he didn't skip a ceremony to honour a national hero to play golf.

Kim Swan's job was to turn the UBP into an effective opposition. He has failed. Miserably.

Kim, results matter. Your polling is in the gutter. And even the Bermuda Sun is calling your party shameful. The Sun says that you're speaking out, but, your old party stalwarts seem not to care and you've been unable to motivate them or your few new members to speak out.

The UBP just went to a conference and partied with CONSERVATIVE Party leaders in London. We know their true allegiances. They talk the progressive talk because they'll say and do anything to get power. But, the UBP has never been and will never be the progressive party in Bermuda.

Inspiration for today's post comes from Bill Zuill and The UBP Gazette.

On their own, the latest political poll results commissioned by The UBP Gazette and conducted by research.bm didn't tell the story the island's daily wanted.

So, The UBP Gazette manipulated the figures and lied to the Bermudian people. This type of behaviour raises questions about Mr. Bill Zuill and his fitness to be an editor of a supposedly unbiased entity.

Kim Swan has a laughable hit job on Dr. Brown in today's UBP Gazette. It's ridiculous. But, it's interesting to note that Kim presents NO GOOD IDEAS - instead, all he does is attack Dr. Brown. Kim should stop wasting ink on political attacks and bring some constructive ideas to the table.

Here's what Kim proposed:

Bring together hospitality professionals and have them discuss how to improve tourism. Pssst, Kim, we already do that, it's called the Tourism Summit.

You won't believe what I read in the paper today. Get this - the PLP website is biased in favour of the PLP! Can you believe that? That's terrible, isn't it? The PLP website should clearly be a place full of criticisms of the PLP, because, after all, the RG, the UBP site, and most of Bermuda's blogs are so clearly full of PLP propaganda that we just need a place where the combined Opposition can have a voice too. And, it's terrible that the PLP website refuses to be that place.

There is another e-mail being circulated regarding the Ministry of Tourism’s decision to outsource its sales function in the New York offices.

Bermudians should be aware of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Bermuda Government and the Bermuda Public Services Union (1st October 2005 – 30th September 2008) states as follows:

Article 27: Advance Notice
Technological & Other Changes/Privatisation/Contracting Out – Consultation