Resolutions Politicians Should Make (And Keep) In 2010 and Beyond

Have consistent positions on issues
A tax or policy that's okay when you were/are in power doesn't magically become evil when you aren't, and vice versa. This applies to things like gas taxes, borrowing money from the NHT and garrison constituencies.


Country first
Vote according to your conscience, not whatever the party line is. If you agree with a Government bill when you're in Opposition then vote for it. If members of your party aren't performing then replace them with people who will. Party-line voting helped to get the country into the hole it's in, it sure as hell won't help get it out.


Attend all sessions of Parliament/Senate/Committees
Because it's your damn job.


Stop wasting time in those sessions
The country doesn't want to see or hear grown men and women bickering about who called who what name when the country is rushing headlong towards becoming a failed state. Grow the fuck up. This isn't high school.


Stop thinking that the country is stupid
We all know when you're bullshitting us, whether it's about why you fired the governor of the BOJ or the real reason you want to protest against new taxes. Just stop. Transparency (when coupled with intelligent decision making) will get you far more support and respect than spin.


Make the right decisions, even if that decision means losing political capital
There are decisions which have to be made by people on both sides of the political divide which will prove to be unpopular with their respective parties and party donors but which need to be made for Jamaica to make any significant progress.


Any other resolutions you'd like to see politicians make (and keep)?

To Be, Or Not To Be

We claim to be anti-gay but flock in droves to roots plays to watch Shebada.

We hate that politicians are corrupt but we're always trying the beat the system.

We want crime to go down but aren't willing to testify.

We give superb customer service to tourists but could care less about serving our own countrymen.

Baby Cham and Vybz Kartel record immensely popular songs glorifying fellatio but Lisa Hype gives head and is chastised.

No wonder we can't run the fucking country. We have no idea who we are or what we want to be.

New Year, New Style, New Tax a Lick

The new tax package which the PM announced on December 23rd takes effect tomorrow morning and everyone's bracing themselves for the "wicked" and "unjust" package. Yes, more taxes suck, but probably not half as much the rest of the "bitter pill" that Jamaica and Jamaicans will have to swallow when the rest of the IMF conditions are revealed.
I think the taxes are necessary given the corner that the country has painted itself into, but I also think that the PM and his team could have, and should have, done a much better job of communicating the taxes to the country. The mishandling of the situation, coupled with the predictably populist and politically motivated reaction of the opposition, leads me to believe that nothing has changed in Jamaican politics, and that is the bitterest pill of all.

Shock and "eew"

I was pretty happy to read in today's Observer that a step has been made towards fixing the Bogue intersection. Work should be completed within a year and the contractor says that he plans to do a lot of the work at night, which should help to minimize the disruption.

On another note, the issue of abortion has kind of been a hot topic these days, with pro-lifers playing shock-and-"eew" videos in a bid to convince parlimentarians not to legalize abortion.

Personally, I don't understand why pro-lifers want to dictate to the rest of the country what a woman should do with an unwanted pregnancy. Okay, so they believe that life begins at conception and that it's murder to abort a fetus, even within the first trimester. I get that. What I don't get is why they think that everyone else should subscribe to their belief. If you think abortion is immoral, then don't have one. Don't donate money to or support abortion rights groups. Why should the thousands of other women who don't share your belief be forced to carry a pregnancy to term, regardless of whether or not the mother and/or father are emotionally or financially able to provide a decent quality of life for the resultant child or if the pregnancy was a result of rape, incest or molestation?

That decision should rest with the mother, since she's likely going to be responsible for that child for the better part of the next 20 years, and not with some lobbyist who feels like a bunch of 10 cells is a human life.

Now I'm not supporting abortion as a preferred method of birth control, I think it should be a last resort, but the option shouldn't be taken off of the table because of the beliefs of a group of citizens. Banning abortions tramples on woman's reproductive rights and is just as bad as forcing women to have an abortion.

Legalizing abortion, with some measure of oversight, lets both sides have their way. Those who think it's wrong can feel free to not have one, and those who want or need that option are free to go down that road.