Fatwas and War Plans

Oh my..Oh my....

Someone issued a fatwa without a war plan! Any guesses...The UDP! Now they have to live with the consequences. The UDP thought that a magical Esquivel TV endorsement would overcome Mayor Moya's ground war and television campaign. They were sorely mistaken and now the rogue councillors, Manuel, Boots and the others have to eat some humility. They have to live with democracy.

It can't be said that the Moya win was a product of Southside roots. Mr. Michael even lost in Caribbean Shores and Freetown which are the bastions of the middle class. So, she had solid base....a base that was loyal to her and willing to punish her detractors.

Furthermore, in my humble opinion, the only thing that the voters hate more than a thief is a traitor. So sure Moya was a thief, but Michaels was a traitor. He showed no political loyalty and he paid the price for that...and he wants a division now? Pu-leeze! If he can't handle a damaged Moya, how would he be able to handle a Fonseca or a resurgent Jorge?

So the next general elections might be closer than we all think. If the Espats can gain control of the new PUP and if the UDP continue to self destruct, then the PUP might be closer to regaining control than anyone believes.. The writing in on the wall. If the UDP can't beat back a mayoral candidate, then.....well, we must all calibrate those conclusions. 

Finally a note to all Representatives, please don't go sit outside Jules' offices with your personal bank account statements in the belief that because you spent $30,000 that month and only have $1800 left that you are not taking illegal money. Think about it people, these are the people leading our country and they can't even make decent decisions about their own lives. 

One can only shake your head with the absurdity of Belizean politics.

Issues of Salary, Cleanups and Domestic Help

City Council

Have you seen the list of those running for the UDP slate this weekend? I went through them all and I could only find 6 that I would even consider.  The rest are either crooks, unemployable, political flunkies or just plain ole idiots.

Now on the the salary scandal. To begin with, I am not condoning any form of illegal payments. Nor, am I justifying what was done. The mayor and her team signed on for a specific job at a specific rate. Period. End of that part of the story.

But what is more apparent is that we need to make Councillors, Mayors, and Representatives full time employees. No other "side" jobs should be allowed. If they have a business, then let them hire a manager. AND, we must pay them more. The only way we are going to get decent, honest and qualified people to run for office is to pay them what they would be worth in the public sector. Paying them a decent salary is not popular, but it is the only hope we have of getting people running who MIGHT, just MIGHT be good for the country. 

For sure we are going to get at least 6 good crooks this weekend. Lord help us all.

Coastal Cleanup

This weekend marks the day the annual coastal cleanup is done. What a joke this is. Students and youth groups will go out for a couple of hours and do the job the city councils, central government and citizens should do everyday. Clean up after themselves.  We should clean up every day...not once a year. In fact, if  we all just quit being pigs, maybe this would not be necessary. I challenge you all, when you see someone throw a piece of trash on the ground, especially kids (cause the adults might get ignorant on us!), tell them to pick it up.  I have done this three times this week and it feels good to at least try to make a difference.

The Unemployables

I am trying to hire a house keeper to replace the last one who was helping herself to some currency. All I am looking for is an honest hard working individual willing to work for a fair wage (not this $150 a week crime). I have interviewed no less than 40 people. Every one has been a total disaster. Some said that they don't go to work before 9am, one wanted $500 a week, one had on more bling bling that my house costs, two "couldn't remember" their last employer's name (you do the math!), one was 32 and had 12 kids (we know where her free time goes), one young lady even asked "could she live in?" What the heck? No wonder these folks had no jobs. So my search continues....probably in vain.

Rest assured each one of these 40+ ladies had a top of the line cell phone on them. Now there are some priorites!