Walton Brown
OPINION COLUMNIST
Walton Brown is a social and political commentator and PLP candidate in the next general election. Follow his blog on respicefinem1.blogspot.com.
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Oct 25, 2012 8:00 am
Debt, deficits and ideology
The ideology embraced by a political party is perhaps the single most important factor in determining the policies that party promotes. All parties have an ideological outlook — whether its members are conscious of it or not — and that outlook is positioned somewhere along the left-right spectrum. And, no, Bermuda is not an exception.
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Oct 18, 2012 8:00 am
A right and not a privilege
The right to vote is the most powerful expression of democracy for a country. It is sacrosanct, inviolable and should never be fettered in its expression. We have come a long way from the dark and oppressive pre-1968 era and while we still have a way to go, Bermuda’s strength as a vibrant democracy rests on the bed of democracy we have made over the decades.
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Oct 11, 2012 8:00 am
PLP does have a recovery plan
In an opinion piece published on Tuesday in this newspaper, the OBA asserted, under the authorship of candidate Leah Scott, that “the Government has not told the people of Bermuda what it is doing to address Bermuda’s most vexing challenges”. This of course is untrue and the OBA knows this. The PLP government has developed plans for virtually all of these ‘vexing challenges’ and many are well underway. Today I will...
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Oct 4, 2012 8:00 am
We need an international view
One area seemingly never raised over successive elections is that of international relations. While our elected government has little direct control over external affairs, owing to our colonial status, Bermuda is impacted daily by global forces; how Government acts to address such challenges has important consequences for the lives we live.
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Sep 20, 2012 1:01 pm
Debunking the myths
We are truly immersed in the silly season. No doubt inspired by the tremendously creative political tactics permeating the American political landscape, Bermuda will clearly see more hyperbole coming from competing political forces. Alongside this, there is a sort of petulant propaganda masquerading as an economic recovery strategy. We see this in the series of arguments made recently by former Premier John Swan and Larry Burchall.
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Sep 12, 2012 12:01 am
Insurance fact and fiction
I recently had the opportunity to review the 2011 Economic Impact Study put out by the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers a few months ago. There is something rather odd going on: their narrative is at odds with their own data.
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Sep 7, 2012 6:00 amOBA bereft of economic plans
At Wednesday’s OBA press conference on the economy Shadow Finance Minister Bob Richards and candidate Sylvan Richards detailed the impact the global recession has had on Bermuda. They went on to posit that our current circumstances have a clear “Made in Bermuda” stamp on them and that the PLP government is to blame. Not a surprising position given the current climate. But what is surprising is that the OBA is bereft of any...
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Aug 30, 2012 6:00 am
Protect freedom of speech
We are now immersed in an intense debate surrounding free speech issues. Social media, comment pages on electronic news sites and talk radio have created a wide arena for public debate, banter and a great deal of mudslinging. While many of these comments can best be described with a depressing number of negative adjectives — sexist, racist, homophobic, xenophobic, etc. — they share common ground in that this freedom to express...
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Aug 23, 2012 8:00 am
Lessons from the Olympics
There is much we can learn from the recently concluded 2012 Olympics. These games were impressive on many fronts — from the opening ceremony, to the daily and perfectly executed competitions to the behind the scenes efficient management — and London, indeed Britain, has a great deal to be proud of. The spirit of the Olympics extends well beyond the competition among nations for gold and it makes sense to reflect on what...
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Aug 16, 2012 8:00 am
Disagree, but keep talking
Let me first thank Kevin Comeau for his response in the Tuesday edition of this newspaper to my earlier comments. This is precisely the sort of engaged debate we should be having around critical issues rather than the diatribes passing for discussion and the exchanges burdened by the non-sequitur. I therefore accept his invitation to respond.
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Aug 10, 2012 8:25 amCricket, Cup Match and life
Whenever decision day draws near each year, both sides roll out their team and there is an unrelenting fight to see who will emerge victorious. The Island will clearly be divided, we will be saturated with a litany of colorful commentary- both positive and negative - and there will be a great deal of handwringing as the numbers come in. The people, however, will have to content themselves as passionate observers from the sidelines. This, after...
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Jul 26, 2012 8:00 amComeau speeches miss the point
Kevin Comeau’s speech this before Rotary was designed to be both provocative and the subject of sustained debate. I am not sure he wants to be helpful. Race remains the prism through which many of our social, economic and political issues are refracted and we seem set to have to endure this for the immediate future.
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Jul 19, 2012 7:55 am
Social media’s pros and cons
A large part of the unofficial election campaign is being conducted through social media. Talk radio, Facebook, online news sites and blogs, for example, are now bastions of extended commentary and no doubt an important component of a more participatory democracy in the 21st century. There are some challenges with social media, however, that do impact on the nature and extent of our debates. And it is worth reflecting on these, if only to better...
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Jul 5, 2012 8:01 am
Your policy will arrive in due course
Anyone familiar with the classic British television series, the satirical “Yes, Minister” will know that at its core the show was about the efforts by a government Minister to lead and his battles with often recalcitrant civil servants. This fictional series was not too far from the truth. Where politicians lead and civil servants are meant to implement policy, the process is rarely smooth and without its own internal...
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Jun 28, 2012 8:00 am
Class and human rights
Over the past few decades, more and more rights have been won by people through their campaigns for a more just society. Globally, these rights have taken on many different forms; here in Bermuda we too have made steady progress along the rights continuum. Extending rights, however, is meaningless if people do not have the capacity to actually benefit from such rights.
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Jun 21, 2012 8:00 am
Voting rights should not be restricted
The ability to vote is a sacred, hard won right; it is not a privilege. Once reserved for the wealthy and well-to-do, the right for all citizens to vote is a cornerstone of strong democracies. Any attempt to withdraw this right should be viewed with grave concern.
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Jun 14, 2012 7:00 am
We need a global perspective
There is an old cliché which says we cannot see the forest for the trees. We focus so much on the detail of that which is directly in front of us that we fail to see the larger picture. Many of us are guilty of this on our little island and a necessary outcome is our failure to fully grasp the problems we face. Our failure to do this directly impacts our ability to find workable solutions o these problems.
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Jun 7, 2012 9:15 am
Referenda should be clear
A referendum is a simple yet powerful means of giving a direct voice to the people on key issues. Properly worded, there should be no ambiguity on what the sentiment is of the electorate and governments are obliged to act accordingly. Our government has now introduced legislation to formalise the adoption of referenda as an additional means of voter input into the decision making process. For this they should be applauded.
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May 30, 2012 8:00 am
Improving our democracy
Every so often we hear the argument that Bermuda’s political system is broken and that we need to find an alternative that works better. While alternatives do exist — even if they are not as plentiful as some imagine — none is inherently superior or more democratic. It might just make more sense to explore how we can fine-tune our current system into a more effective vessel of the people’s will.
- Should liquor stores be able to sell alcohol on Sundays?
- Yes
- 71%
- No
- 27%
- Don't Know
- 1%
- Total Votes: 2016
- Poll Archive