March 17, 2004

Dear Sir,

Beware the "ideas of March" and Alex Scott's remarks!

Does he remember that he speaks for all of us when participating in serious events, such as the "Swearing In" of the New Chief Justice? What an embarrassing and disrespectful remark he made with reference to the new man's small stature. Does he think he will win hearts and minds for Independence this way?

And before this Government ? in our name ? shakes hands with any more devils, it would bode well for every Bermudian wishing to secure some sort of international freedom of movement (the right to work and get an education overseas) to take advantage of the full British Citizenship now on offer, while it still stands. It is easy to do.

The Washington-based British Consular section, responsible for such matters is very obliging and efficient, even if the relevant passport application C forms keep mysteriously disappearing from the stands in the waiting area of the Department of Immigration.

March 16, 2004

Dear Sir,

It was with great trepidation (and yet unfortunately no surprise) that I read, in , our Premier raising the spectre of Independence.

The question that must be asked is why now? This reader can only surmise that it is Mr. Scott's cynical method of distracting Bermudians from the issues that have haunted the PLP throughout its tenure as the governing party ? namely the BHC, Berkeley/education and the continued decline in tourism, among other debacles (including the ongoing sage of the Cuban connection).

Mr. Scott is doing what every good politician does ? it is his role as a politician, Premier and Leader of the PLP to ensure that his Government and Party is put in as good a light as possible ? in other words, by distracting the voting public from the more pressing issues of the day, he is trying to hoodwink the electorate into believing that his Government is doing a good job.

Mr. Scott's tactics should be a cause for concern for all Bermudians since Independence has ramifications that cross political boundaries, age and the so-called racial divide, certainly in terms of the potential costs to the taxpayer and the reduction in opportunities for our young people that Independence would inevitably cause.

Independence is a topic that should have no place in a society that is struggling to provide adequate education for its young people or in a society that is failing miserably to deal with the housing shortage for both rich and poor alike. The Government is reminded that latest figures show that the cost of a house for "Mr. and Mrs. Average Bermudian" (as Mr. Scott recently put it in a Financial Times review of the Bermuda economy) equates to 17 times the average income. This affects us all.

Surely Bermudians should be spending time harassing Mr. Scott about this rather than concerning themselves with a debate on Independence. Simply put, Independence will not solve the housing crisis, the mismanagement, cronyism or nepotism that allegedly occurred at the BHC and Independence will not be the magic potion that cures misguided housing policy (or lack thereof).

Independence will not solve the education crisis either. I recall a speech in 1993 by Jennifer Smith when she was the Shadow Education Minister, in which she envisaged a New Bermuda where Government education would be envied by the world and where young people would be at the heart of PLP policy. Eleven years later and seven years into a PLP administration, this mantra does not look as if it will ever be realised.

Whilst the PLP pontificates, the Education portfolio is passed from Minister to Minister like a baton in a relay race. The $13 million extra to be spent on Berkeley (at least) could have perhaps gone towards university scholarships and bursaries to Bermudians to study abroad, perhaps even in the UK as British citizens. However with Independence, this seemingly far-fetched plan to give our youth the opportunity to be educated and work abroad for the least possible cost would never come to fruition, since with Independence surely we Bermudians would no longer be entitled to British citizenship.

Bermudians, rich and poor, black and white, young and old should consider carefully how their tax dollars have been squandered on various government initiatives (or again lack thereof) and how an Independence debate will disguise government negligence. With Independence, the gross mismanagement of public projects will not magically disappear and politicians on both sides of the political divide will not suddenly stop misleading the public. It is time to deal with issues affecting the daily lives of all Bermudians, not time to satisfy the megalomaniac fantasies of those in power.

Mr. Scott's slow push down the road to Independence is as misplaced now as it was when Sir John Swan went down the same road. Mr. Scott probably knows this, as does much of the voting public ? why else would he be afraid of a referendum? However I urge voters to forget the whole issue and concentrate on more pressing matters. Debating Independence now is wrong and it is false.

March 15, 2004

Dear Sir,

Recently there has been a lot of heat and noise on the topic of empowerment.

It occurs to me that in a real democracy, genuine empowerment would come through enabling every citizen to express their concerns and interests directly to their elected constituency representatives and the Ministers of the various government departments.

Democracy doesn't stop when the polls close. The election of representatives serves only to consolidate and channel the message, not to delegate all responsibility and creativity for the ensuing five years. The quality of the government we have is limited only by the expectations we have of them.

I only see my MP if I happen to be at home when he pushes his campaign flier under my door. I don't know his phone number or his e-mail address, nor that of the candidate who ran against him in the last election and will probably do so again in the next. While the phone numbers of Government ministries are available in the phone book, civil servants are implementers of policy, not shapers of it and there is little chance of catching a part-time politician in the office with the time to debate issues. Their ministerial shadows are even harder to find.

I would propose that the first step towards empowerment of all Bermudians would be availability of phone and e-mail contacts for all elected representatives, ministers, shadows and wannabes. If they are to be representative of us they should be willing to listen to us.

March 17, 2004

Dear Sir,

Please allow me to have a little bit of space in your paper to find the answer to these questions.

Why is it that people:

1. Refuse to drive behind a bus.

2. Let the bus out of lay-by.

3. Pull out in front of a bus

4. Cut a bus off.

When the buses are on strike they complain. They don't want them on the road. they don't want them taken off the road.

For the ones who go out of their way to give way to a bus, your kindness is very much appreciated. Thank you.

March 22, 2004

Dear Sir,

I have a suggestion for Mr. Ashfield which would solve the housing crisis immediately.

Why doesn't he just get landlords to charge less rent then everyone could aford (sic) somewhere?

He could call it his 'divide by two' plan. The way it works would be whatever rent you were thingking (sic) of charging, simply divide it by two and that would be the new rent.

This would mean if your old rent was $2,000 you would divide it by two and then it would be less than half that ? $800 at the most !

I'm sure if he did this everyone would be happy.

Why doesn't Mr. Ashfield just get on with this I'd like to know? I'd like to know!