{"id":30348,"date":"2013-01-16T09:14:08","date_gmt":"2013-01-16T14:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/?p=30348"},"modified":"2013-01-16T09:15:05","modified_gmt":"2013-01-16T14:15:05","slug":"web-shops-vote-no-to-greedy-criminals-and-crooked-politcians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/2013\/01\/web-shops-vote-no-to-greedy-criminals-and-crooked-politcians","title":{"rendered":"Web Shops: Vote No to Greedy Criminals and Crooked Politcians"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\u201cHe who loves money never has money enough.\u201d<\/h2>\n

\u2013 Sirach<\/em><\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The love and lust for money is at the root of the games seen and unseen by various criminal enterprises and certain politicians aggressively pushing Bahamians to vote against their self-interest and to instead feed the greed of those already gorging off the numbers business.<\/p>\n

In the game-playing on gambling, the question presented by the government in the person of Dr. B. J. Nottage, speaks to the regulation and taxing of web shops, curiously avoiding the word \u201clegalize\u201d.<\/p>\n

Though the minister of national security did not mention legalize in the first referendum question, the nation\u2019s chief law enforcement officer, Commissioner of Police Ellison Greenslade, helpfully noted in a news journal story entitled, \u201cGreenslade: I Have Been Too Tolerant of Numbers Houses\u201d:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have our work cut out for us.\u00a0 If it remains illegal, then I have to go after it and there is (sic) a lot of things to go after.\u00a0 If it is legal, it has to be regulated, and again we have to ensure the regulations are followed … \u201d<\/p>\n

Further: \u201cToday it is illegal on the books and we have an obligation to enforce the law.\u00a0 I have been very, very patient for a long time and I believe that by the end of January I will be a bit more impatient, but I have been far too tolerant.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the film \u201cJerry Maguire\u201d Cuba Gooding Jr. and Tom Cruise famously engage in a raucous exchange by telephone, Gooding Jr. dancing in his kitchen, and Cruise in his office with both shouting the infamous line, \u201cShow me the money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Intrigue<\/strong><\/p>\n

To understand the wheel-of-fortune that is the game concocted by certain politicians and numbers houses to legalize web shops, follow the money trail of greed and intrigue.<\/p>\n

Forget the side arguments in favor of legalization.\u00a0 It\u2019s all about making a few rich people richer.\u00a0 The poor be dammed.\u00a0 To hell with everybody else, as long as we can stuff our vaults with even more, and more, and more, and then some more.<\/p>\n

The new PBS series \u201cThe Abolitionists\u201d highlights the intrinsic role greed played in the institution of slavery, as described in an article by John Blake at CNN.com: \u201cWant to know why slavery lasted so long?\u00a0 The simplistic answer: racism. Another huge factor: greed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMany abolitionists didn\u2019t realize this when they launched the anti-slavery movement, the documentary shows.\u00a0 They were motivated by Christian idealism, but it was no match for the power of money.<\/p>\n

\u201cChristianity and slavery were two of the big growth industries in early America.\u00a0 The country underwent two \u2018Great Awakenings\u2019 in the early 19th century \u2013 while slavery continued to spread.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the spread of Christianity did little to stop the spread of slavery because too many Americans made money off slavery, the documentary shows.\u201d\u00a0 Blake summarizes: \u201cThe lesson: Don\u2019t reduce the issue of slavery to racism.\u00a0 Follow the money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Likewise, follow the money of who will benefit most and who will benefit the least from legalizing web shops.\u00a0 In terms of the latter, it is the mass of Bahamians who will benefit least.\u00a0 The big beneficiaries will be a select handful of numbers houses who will be granted licenses, and certain political associates.<\/p>\n

And, which politicians will likewise benefit?\u00a0 Follow the scent of the greed and the smell of the money.\u00a0 Typically, historically, when various parties seek to muddy the waters on an issue or keep things unclear, the two-step cum Three-card Monte involved is one of public confusion and private collusion.\u00a0 Be not distracted: Follow the money!<\/p>\n

As an imaginative aside, suppose the yes vote passes and the government is then set to grant licenses.\u00a0 Is it possible for certain interests to go to various numbers bosses and suggest that because the latter may have a public reputation for criminal enterprise, that they should allow others to front for a license, with the parties splitting the profits?<\/p>\n

If the game-playing before the referendum is one of intrigue, watch for even more intrigue if there is a yes vote on web shops, as the greedy and the grabalicious race to divide the spoils.\u00a0 Follow the money.<\/p>\n

Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s another item for the imagination.\u00a0 Suppose both referendum questions pass?\u00a0 Pray tell us, listening prime minister, what\u2019s the plan in the event of this scenario?\u00a0 And since we\u2019re imagining: suppose only a national lottery passes?\u00a0 Will the Christie administration license current web shop owners to run the national lottery?<\/p>\n

The government has alternatively played the fool and attempted to play the Bahamian people for fools on the gambling issue, initially abandoning an election promise for a vote that would include a national lottery.\u00a0 The same PLP which was allegedly furious over the process of the last referendum has outdone itself on hypocrisy and incompetence on this referendum.<\/p>\n

Dr. Nottage, with apparent sights still on becoming prime minister, took semi-charge in a dysfunctional and leaderless government, giving a national address on the referendum questions, a scant three week before the vote, an address of which the prime minister seemed blithely unaware.<\/p>\n

The government\u2019s credibility on the referendum sunk every time Christie spoke on the matter.\u00a0 With every utterance he fumbled and flip-flopped himself into a pretzel of contradictions.\u00a0 Not to be outdone, Opposition Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis is now known as Dr. Zigzag for his incoherence on the issue.<\/p>\n

The irony is that on the referendum, the chronically late-again prime minister desperately wanted to give the appearance of being decisive, even bragging that the opposition would have to get used to his decisiveness.<\/p>\n

Christie forgot that decisiveness is not simply making quick decisions.\u00a0 It involves also good judgement, being well-informed and competence, tests also failed by Minnis.\u00a0 Instead, the country watched in amazement as Christie displayed poor judgement, appeared poorly-informed and showcased his signature incompetence.<\/p>\n

Christie\u2019s disastrous performance in the lead-up to the referendum vote is one of the greatest reasons for the stumbles of the yes campaign, and why the initial vote was likely cancelled.\u00a0 The coalition of the greedy has had to move past him in order to secure their avarice.<\/p>\n

To know who are the beneficiaries and agents of such greed, follow the money, the love of which is the root of all manner of unseemly and detestable behavior by those who claim to love the very people they are fleecing and flamming.\u00a0 Follow the money.<\/p>\n

By: Simon<\/strong><\/em><\/span>
\nAuthor of the ‘Front Porch’ column in the Nassau Guardian<\/strong><\/em><\/span>
\nand contributor to www.bahamapundit.com<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The love and lust for money is at the root of the games by various criminal enterprises and politicians aggressively pushing Bahamians to vote against their self-interest and to instead feed the greed of those already gorging off the numbers business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10223285771444175_51037792744":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30348"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30348\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}