By Colin Hyde
The present administration in the US is giving Belizeans an upfront view of a system that numerous “educated elite” Belizeans tout as the alpha of systems to run a country. Forget personal opinions about the president of the US, he has both adorers and enemies here; we di laan about how things roll immediately north of the Rio Grande. America for the Americans; I like the British system. Dammit, no; this corner votes that we don’t throw away Parliamentary Democracy, definitely not before giving it a proper try.
You know that one vote can decide an election. If we go back to the year 2000, the US presidential election had to be decided in court. Britannica says in this race between Al Gore and George Bush II, Gore had called and congratulated Bush II, before realizing how close the vote was. It had come down to one of their 50 or so states, Florida, to decide their election.
It’s some fascinating story here. Britannica said, “by November 10 the machine recount was complete, and Bush’s lead stood at 327 votes out of six million cast … County officials tried to discern voter intent through a cloud of ‘hanging chads’ (incompletely punched paper ballots) and ‘pregnant chads’ (paper ballots that were dimpled, but not pierced, during the voting process) … Also at issue was the so-called butterfly ballot design used in Palm Beach county, which caused confusion among some residents who had intended to vote for Gore—leading them to inadvertently cast some 3,400 votes for an ultraconservative third-party candidate, Pat Buchanan, which amounted to about 20 percent of his total votes statewide.”
On December 12, 2000, the US Supreme Court decided that George Bush II was the president of the most powerful country on the planet. And oh, what power! In the Republican System the power of a president is immense. He can pardon murderers, rapists, just about anybody he wants. We’ve learnt that the president also has immunity from being prosecuted. The president can forgive who they want, and do what they want. That’s the kind of power you give to a single individual in that system. In that system ONE vote can make a king.
This individual who becomes president, even with the slimmest margins, they pick all the individuals who will serve in their Cabinet. A people can hope that a president will choose people of capacity and integrity, but after they have cast their ballot they have no say for four or five or six years; no say until the president’s term runs out. Bah, you can dash hope out of the window; presidents pick people who will say YES to the agendas they are pushing.
In 2003, George Bush II, King George Bush II, surrounded by his handpicked unelected Cabinet (our Cabinet comprises of individuals who are elected representatives of the people), decided that their intelligence showed Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, and ordered the smashing, obliteration of Iraq and its leader. BBC said, “About half a million people died in Iraq as a result of war-related causes between the US-led invasion in 2003 and mid-2011, an academic study suggests …”
It is my personal view on that war that what the US did was terrible, but all the blame doesn’t fall on them. After the invasion of the US on September 11, 2001, the Americans were angry and wanting to lash out; and Iraq’s leader, instead of recognizing that he was dealing with irrational people, he acted macho. Yes, a country has rights, but there are times a leader has to take one, be humble for the team.
If all of the people are behind a leader … whoa, in democracies there are no landslides. Near everyone don’t vote to give anyone the kind of power a leader in the Republican System has. Naa, like nobody ever gets 80% of the votes in an election. Please to put aside certain results we have seen in Belize; for various reasons they are not representative.
There are the much touted checks in that foreign system; and talking the US Republican System, there are the Senate and the House of Representatives. Checks, my batam! The individuals in these bodies always support what the president and his crowd are pushing. Any political leader who bucks the agenda can kiss their seat goodbye in the next election because the full weight of the president’s office will be brought against them.
Coming home, you know how reluctant people are to give up a position they have held for years; and, surprise, surprise, the ones who are last to yield to the sense are not the analfabetos, it’s the highly educated. Ouch, the more educated a person is, the more stubborn they are. It should be that these ones are the most receptive to ideas that don’t dovetail with theirs. But, no, it’s like what they have learned in school is who they are. It’s quicksand under their feet when something the holy professor taught them gets debunked.
Because the educated elite have so much power, our country will have to spend a lot of money and waste a lot time to block them from their poorly thought out mission. I think we might have to get dirty to foil these, these tapirs. There, I about started the hostilities. Long live Belize! And, and long live the King.
P.S. They will want to come with their little amendments, tweaks. Get away! Give the Parliamentary System a proper try.
US libel law as protective of the status quo as ours is
We were duped into thinking that one could say what they wanted to in the US because their libel law allowed much more liberty than our system did; but over there, just like us, whoever said something, has to prove that what they said is true. Yup, that’s what is coming out of this case that Trump has brought against the Wall Street Journal.
Focusing strictly on the potential meeting of the lawyers in court, David Bauder, AP, said Jameel Jaffer, the executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said, “It’s all part of a broader pattern of trying to intimidate news organizations that report stories Trump does not like … These are lawsuits that have no hope of actually succeeding as lawsuits, but nevertheless have the potential to chill media organizations from doing what all of us need them to do.”
Respect to Mr. Jaffer’s opinion, you don’t want to get dragged in for libel anywhere. You don’t want the lawyers to get their claws into you. Apart from the stress of facing a judge who might enjoy intimidating “lesser” intellects, you are going to lose time – pray you are an employee of the government or someone, so you get paid for your squandered hours – and you will have to sell the house and lot just to pay a lawyer to prove what you already know, that you noh guilty.
The reason our libel law is more stifling is because of our lack of transparency. You can try to hide in the US, but good luck in that vast country. Good luck trying to get the information you need to defend what you said in little Belize. If you don’t know the meaning of obfuscation, yu will laan di haad way.
Southern Pine Beetle problem in the north has to put us on alert
A story in TCD Newsletter by Laurelle Stelle, titled, “Officials issue warning over tiny insect that can cause massive devastation: ‘The most dramatic wildlife mortality that’s ever been documented’”, should have our Forestry Department and entomologists countrywide on alert. Around the turn of this century, a beetle caused millions of dollars in damage to our pine forests; and you better believe it – forewarned, forearmed, if we have the sense.
Stelle said the population of the beetle has exploded in the state of New York, that “Earth’s rising temperature is one factor, as milder winters fail to kill off as many beetles; but the real issue is that their natural predators have gone missing.” Stelle said the northern long-eared bat was“One of the major players keeping the southern pine beetle [I think it’s this same beetle that went wild on our pine] population down … But in the last two decades, the bats have all but vanished—98% of their population wiped out.” Stelle said, “In 2006, researchers discovered that the area’s bats had been plagued with a fungal infection called white-nose disease. Thought to be brought to the Americas by cavers from Europe who failed to disinfect their equipment, it has wiped out huge swathes of America’s bat populations.”
Taiwan noh happy with Koumintang (Chiang Kai Shek) paati
Wayne Chang, in a CNN story, “Taiwan is paralyzed by political gridlock. A mass recall of ‘pro-China’ lawmakers could break that”, said, “using an unusual quirk of Taiwan’s democratic system – a recall vote … This Saturday, Taiwan goes to the ballot box to decide whether 24 lawmakers from the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) – around 20 percent of Taiwan’s legislature – can keep their jobs.”
And why do they want the KMT out? Chang says, “Supporters of the recall movement have portrayed their campaign as ‘anti-communist,’ seeking to get rid of ‘pro-China’ opposition KMT lawmakers they perceive as collaborators of Beijing’s ruling Communist Party, which vows to ‘reunify’ Taiwan, by force if necessary.”
Of course, there’s a lot of internals here. I think we need to borrow just a bit more from Mr. Chang to improve our sense. Chang said, “The ruling DPP party is openly loathed by Beijing … The DPP views Taiwan as separate from China and has seen repeated success in recent years at general elections, especially among younger voters … The KMT favors warmer ties with Beijing and sees Taiwan as part of a ‘one China,’ though both sides agreed to disagree what that China means.”
Chang said at the moment “Taiwan has been paralyzed by a political gridlock, with disagreements in parliament turning into brawls at times, hampering Lai’s [President Lai Ching-te] ability to push forward agenda items, including those that address key US concerns over Taiwan.”
