Dear Sir,

I find myself in a position where I have to respond to a letter that appeared on Saturday, November 19 that was titled “What is the purpose of the Broadcast Commission?”, written by Wayne B. Scott.

I find it strange at times to try to understand the logic of some people who seem to just drift way out of whack only when it serves their purpose.

Correct me if I’m wrong, could this be the same Mr Scott who made use of all media to trash the Progressive Labour Party daily, almost to no end, and then on top of that he runs his mouth during the 2012 election with some nonsense about “transparency in the sunshine of day”.

Where have you been all this time, Mr Scott? You have been very silent. Mr Scott complains in his letter how appalled he is at what he hears coming over the airwaves from the Sherri Simmons radio talk show. He goes on to suggest, based on what he hears coming from that talk show, that it should somehow be censured by the Broadcast Commission because he does not like the way the callers to that show criticise the One Bermuda Alliance.

My, my, no kidding. Should Mr Scott be reminded just how the Broadcast Commission had failed in a silly attempt to shut down talk radio during the 1998 election through the courts, and how its case was thrown out in favour of free speech by Mrs Justice Wade-Miller?

So where are you now going, Mr Scott? Maybe I should start complaining about the Shirley Dill talk show, where she allows her callers — and I now will borrow some of Mr Scott’s own favourite words — to lampoon and ridicule the PLP to no end. Then she goes into incoherent defence mode when someone calls her show to complain or challenge the OBA.

So you see, Mr Scott, what goes around comes around. To show you, Mr Scott, that I value freedom of speech far more than you do, and even though I’m no real fan of the Shirley Dill talk show, when it seemed that VSB was going off the air for good, I was going to approach the management of that same Inter-Island Communications company to see if it could find space for Shirley’s Sunday morning talk show to continue so that her battle-hardened OBA callers could have a venue to be able to vent from.

What Mr Scott and his kind need to understand is how the game of politics is played — all is fair in love and war. And so it goes in politics as well: you hit me, then I hit you back,

I guess if one hits Mr Scott a little too hard, instead of running home crying to his mother, he goes hollering to the Broadcast Commission looking for relief that really isn’t there.

Mr Scott, the reason why the Broadcast Commission has not censured the Sherri J Show is because it has not broken any of the broadcast rules, period.

E. MCNEIL STOVELL

Pembroke

UPDATE: this story has been amended to insert a more appropriate photograph. Our apologies to R. Wayne Scott, the Minister of Education