The Free National Movement (FNM), Charles Maynard and the North Abaco Bye-election

By Dennis Dames

The official opposition Free National Movement (FNM) has raised the stakes tremendously for the upcoming by-election in north Abaco by sacrificing their Chairman – Charles Maynard.

Like a confident gambler in a poker game, the party has gone all-in in the Abacos.  Will the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) call the bet by sacrificing their very own big man in the Chairman’s seat; or will they fold?

The approaching by-election in north Abaco has just gotten exciting, and the FNM has let it be known that they intend to go all-out to retain the seat left vacant by the Rt. Honorable Doctor – Hubert Alexander Ingraham.

The FNM clearly believes that the PLP has not got the guts to answer their wager, or they could simply be calling them bluff.

In any event, Charles Maynard is on the table – and in order for the PLP to win the game in Abaco, their Chairman will have to be the bundle used to match the FNM’s stake.

It remains to be seen if the PLP’s wizards will be allowed to call the FNM’s pot at the north Abaco poker table.

The PLP has got enough chips to control the game for at least four more solid years; so – they could go south and leave the FNM and their dead chairman alone in the room.  Only time will tell if the PLP will hold-up, fold-up, walk away or run in north Abaco.

Caribbean Blog International

The Christie-led government has remained noncommittal concerning oil drilling in The Bahamas

PM still committed to referendum on oil drilling

By Candia Dames
Guardian News Editor
candia@nasguard.com

While a referendum on oil drilling is not currently the priority of the Bahamas government, Prime Minister Perry Christie told The Nassau Guardian he remains committed to such a referendum.

But he said “there would have to be serious indications that there is oil and natural gas in commercial quantities”.

“I committed my party to if we are going to have oil drilling in The Bahamas while we are in power, we will do so by seeking the support of the people of The Bahamas, so the answer is yes,” said the prime minister when asked recently by The Nassau Guardian whether the referendum was still planned.

He said,  “One of the dangers for The Bahamas is that concessions are being given to explore in the same area by the Cuban government and it would be a very interesting development as they are in a position to start exploring and digging a well before us.

“If they were to find a well then it makes it almost a compelling case for The Bahamas having to do the same thing.  And so, we’re not going to look a gift horse in the mouth and play crazy with it.

“But at this particular time we have to continue to assess where we are on that subject matter to see whether in fact the company (Bahamas Petroleum Company) is in a position to finance drilling because it’s a huge sum of money involved in that.

“This is not a $50 million or $60 million kind of enterprise.  This is a hugely expensive enterprise, particularly with the environmental safeguards that should be in place.

“And so, at some stage or the other the company will come forth to us to say,  ‘listen, we are ready to do the following things and this is the evidence we have that you have fossil fuels there’ and we’ll see.”

Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) has committed to spudding its exploratory well in Bahamian waters by April 2013, although recent reports from the company indicate this drill date could be pushed back later in the year.

BPC is looking to bring on an operational and equity partner for the drill, The Nassau Guardian previously reported.

The Christie-led government has remained noncommittal concerning oil drilling in The Bahamas.

“We do believe that the Bahamian people ought to be consulted,” said Kenred Dorsett, the minister of the environment, previously. “Whether it goes the extent of a referendum, that will have to be determined based on the costs. That is a matter for the Cabinet to decide.”

Prior to the election in April, the previous government suspended BPC’s oil drilling licenses. There has been no formal announcement from the new government as to whether these licenses have been renewed.

The Christie administration has also committed to a referendum on gambling, which the prime minister has said will be called by the end of this year; and a constitutional referendum on citizenship matters, which the government intends to call before the end of the term.

Aug 13, 2012

thenassauguardian

Caribbean Blog International

The local gambling debate: ...The number houses, Bahamian culture, the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and numbers kingpin and former PLP Treasurer - the late Percy Munnings ...and the call to legalise the native numbers business; tax it, and strictly control it ...so that it is not allowed to grow into an octopus of destruction

The Destructive Face Of Casino Gambling

Tribune242 Editorial



AS A follow up to our comments in this column yesterday a Tribune reader has sent us an interesting article from London’s Daily Mail on the Englishman’s destructive addiction to the roulette machine and Labour’s admission that it made a mistake by relaxing gambling laws thus allowing casinos to flourish.

All the observations in the Daily Mail article are among the reasons that we made it clear in this column yesterday that our comments about the ever present “numbers racket” to the growing presence of web shops did not include the more sophisticated casino tables of the hotels.

However, with the number houses becoming over the years almost a part of the island culture, it is going to be impossible to shut them down. It must be particularly hard for the PLP to even consider closure, considering that their party’s treasurer Percy Munnings was the acknowledged numbers boss and with his gains a generous financial supporter of his party for many years.

If Percy Munnings could get away with it, reasoned the little numbers man, then why couldn't he? It was a reasonable proposition. Despite the police raids, the back room numbers trade became bolder and more entrenched.

This is why we accept that it has been allowed to become so much a part of the fabric of the Bahamas that government might as well capitulate, legalise it, tax it, and strictly control it so that it is not allowed to grow into an octopus of destruction.

However, allowing Bahamians into the hotel casinos is another matter and we agree with Robert “Sandy” Sands, senior vice-president of external and government affairs of BahaMar, that Bahamians are not “disciplined” enough to be able to gamble locally. Not only are Bahamians not disciplined enough, but neither are Britons — in fact few members of the human race, unless they have entrenched religious convictions, and strong wills, can easily escape the temptation of easy money.

Mr Sands’ comments came after Prime Minister Perry Christie, while promising a referendum before the end of the year to legalise gambling and create a national lottery, vetoed the referendum being extended to open casino gambling in the hotels to the local population.

According to the Daily Mail article, written by Sarah Bridge and Abul Taher, the extent of “Britain’s addiction to controversial casino-style gambling machines” was revealed with the disclosure “by two bookmaker giants that more than £12 billion was wagered on their machines in the first half of this year.”

The figures revealed by the “bookies” was staggering.

But the most interesting part of the article was the admission by Shadow Culture Secretary Harriet Harman, who was a senior member of the Cabinets of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, that her government had made a tragic mistake.

“I think we were wrong,” the Mail quoted her as saying:

“We have made a mistake and we need to do something about it.

“If we had known then what we know now, we wouldn’t have allowed this.

“It’s not just ruining the high street, it’s ruining people’s lives.”

The Mail reports that this is the first time that Ms Harman, who is in charge of Labour’s gambling policy, has explicitly blamed the Labour government for the increase in gambling.

Ms Harman spoke out after hearing stories from people hooked on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOTNs) that encourage people to stake £100 at a time on roulette, blackjack or poker games hoping to win £500.

“I have received the most heart-rending letters and e-mails and calls that I’ve ever had in 30 years of being an MP,” she said, “just saying, “Please, do something about this. It’s ruined my life, it’s ruined my family, it’s really dangerous.”

“And the problem is, it’s getting worse,” she said, “that is why we need the law changed so that something can be done about it.”

Ms Harman told the Mail that FOTBs were “bringing casinos right into the high street.”

“These machines,” she said, “are like mini-casinos— they’re not like the small machines you have in seaside arcades. People get addicted and lose all their money.”

This is a matter that has to be studied carefully. If it is decided to allow the betting shops that we now have, they have to be strictly controlled so that they do not grow into a greater menace than they are now.

Government now has to decided whether to close down all local gambling, or strictly control and tax the numbers and web shops. But the ridiculous situation of turning a blind eye to open and defiant illegality can no longer continue.

August 08, 2012

Tribune242 Editorial

Caribbean Blog International

...the numbers business is not only popular and a cultural norm ...but is one of the biggest contributors to the Bahamian economy ...says - business consultant, Paul Major

Gambling Debate Intensifies


By: Theo Sealy & Rogan Smith
The Bahama Journal



Two top clergymen, a leading hotelier, a business consultant and a college professor locked horns tighter than ever last night over the controversial gambling issue.

Retired Anglican Archbishop Drexel Gomez, Bahamas Christian Council (BCC) President Dr. Ranford Patterson, Kerzner International VP of Public Affairs & Retail Services Ed Fields, business consultant, Paul Major and educator and civil activist, Margo Blackwell all participated in a Jones Communications Network (JCN) town meeting series at the Harry C. Moore library where they each took turns highlighting the benefits or pitfalls of gambling.

The panel was split.

Opponents argued that gambling was destructive and against God’s will, while proponents touted the economic benefits that could be gained from its legalisation.

The Christie administration has announced plans to hold a referendum before the end of the year so that Bahamians can decide whether they want gambling legalised.

The BCC has repeatedly stressed that it is “diametrically opposed” to gambling and it didn’t stray from that premise last night.

“To engage in this gambling . . . one is going counter to what Jesus stands for and for what the church is here to promote. We believe that gambling is, in its final analysis, an affront to God,” Archbishop Gomez said.

“Our problem in the church is we have been compromised by our members in that so many of our members gamble and so many of our members do not really believe what the church teaches us because if they really believed, they would apply it in our lives. So, there are a lot of persons who belong to the church who participate in gambling because they aren’t putting into practice the teachings of the gospel. Gambling produces social dislocation. That is not disputed even by persons who engage in gambling.”

Mr. Major, meantime, said the church cannot legislate morality.

“It comes down to a matter of civil liberty – people deciding what they want to do with their disposable income,” he said.

“The only ones who don’t benefit from gambling are the government and the citizens who don’t gamble. At this stage in our development and enlightenment we should not be so concerned about whether Bahamians gamble.”

Dr. Patterson said with gambling, “we can only lose, not win.”

“The negative effects outweigh benefits. It can destroy a family. Every day in our ministries we are confronted with persons who are marginalised, persons who are experiencing loss, persons whose lives are falling through the cracks and that is why we feel so strongly about this because we see the devastation. That’s where our passion comes from,” Dr. Patterson said.

“Think of the devastation that we now see and the proliferation of the web shops. We believe it’s only going to get worse and our people are going to suffer as a result of it.”

But, one audience member chastised the church for its weak arguments on the controversial issue.

“I have been listening to a lot of debates on this gambling subject and it seems that the church is relying on the argument of morality. As it stands right now those arguments are not standing up very well against the arguments that these other panellists are presenting. Why isn’t the church presenting strong arguments about the economic and social impacts of the numbers business? These are the issues we need to present as opposed to what is morally incorrect,” she said.

Mr. Major, meantime, sought to dispel the notion that the ‘house’ always wins.

He told the panel and attendees that two number houses “went broke” because they couldn’t pay out winnings.

“On average 60 to 70 per cent of winnings go back out,” he said.

When challenged to substantiate his claims by providing the statistics, Mr. Major responded, “Trust me, trust me.”

He later said the numbers business has attracted 150,000 account holders.

He said 120,000 of those individuals have online accounts, while the remaining 30,000 individuals are walk-in customers to various web shops throughout the country.

Mr. Major suggested that the numbers business is not only popular and a cultural norm, but is one of the biggest contributors to the Bahamian economy.

Ms. Blackwell, careful to “stay far away from moral and social values as possible,” said she felt that Bahamians are being denied a right to gamble.

“I am a young lady who has lived her whole life being discriminated against in an independent Bahamas by a constitution that allows people who are not Bahamian to do something in my country that I am not allowed to do. I have a real problem with that,” she said.

Mr. Fields, meantime, said the gambling issue is not about its decriminalisation, but its liberalisation.

Churches have over the years demonised gambling in The Bahamas, but many have turned to major resorts for donations even though a good chunk of their revenue comes from casino dollars.

Mr. Fields said in his 16 years at the Paradise Island resort, he has received a letter from every single denomination in The Bahamas requesting donations.

He later questioned the difference between church raffles and the numbers business.

“Either you are hot or you are cold. The reality is that if I buy a raffle ticket my intent is to win over someone else…we are in a quagmire trying to justify this thing. Either we like them all or we wipe them all out. It cannot be a case of juggling. It cannot be that it is okay for the church to gamble through raffling but it is not okay for Bahamians to do the same through gambling at numbers houses,” Mr. Fields said.

“Yes numbers is illegal and perhaps there is a problem with the concept that because it is illegal on the books the donation from that illegal gambling is a problem. But there is not a problem with the church asking donations from an entity that has legal gambling. So gambling is okay if it is legal? That must be what the message is.”

Mr. Fields said if Bahamians vote to legalise the numbers business, the government could take a percentage of the money and set up counselling for addicts.

Gambling proponents say if the numbers business is legalised it could fund various government initiatives and provide millions of dollars to the public purse.

“It would do well for us here in the country if we go ahead with legalising the numbers business. It can contribute significantly to health care, sporting and education, overall helping with national development. We need to move forward with this and try to look at the positive side of how beneficial gambling can be, economically, to The Bahamas,” attorney Wallace Rolle said.

JCN CEO Wendall Jones moderated the town hall meeting.

August 10, 2012

Jones Bahamas

Caribbean Blog International

To gamble or not to gamble: ...as it now stands, gambling, although illegal for Bahamians, is now so prevalent ...and has been for so many years, that to let it flourish while continuing the debate whether it should be outlawed ...is making a fool of the law

The Devil Has Had It Too Long, Turn It To Good

 Tribune242 Editorial


TO GAMBLE or not to gamble — that is the question. In the Bahamas today it is a question that has already been answered by a large number of Bahamians without need of a referendum.

A referendum has only become necessary because of government’s desire to avoid a clash with the churches, particularly the strong Baptist vote, which itself is now divided. Government wants the bitter chalice of who decides on legalisation to pass to the “Voice of the People” – hence the referendum.

As Minister Lavern Turner, whose letter is published on this page today, points out gambling has “grown from the number man to the web shop.” Now that people can gamble on the web, gambling cannot be stopped, he wrote.

“The permission was already given,” he said, “when the web shop obtained a licence, paid National Insurance and hired workers. The people already have the legal right and it should not be taken from them.”

We also agree with the reverend gentleman that now is not the time to open casino doors to Bahamians. The minister pointed out the seriousness of the economic downturn and the hundreds of Bahamians without jobs – “light bills, water bills, rent, mortgages, school uniforms and fees, education, food, car upkeep and other more important responsibilities take priority over casino gambling. Entertainment at that level can wait!” he said.

It is true, gambling does reduce the moral fibre of a community by making people believe that by the throw of the dice they can get something for nothing; it can destroy families, and turn a pathological gambler into a destitute human wreck. A gambler never learns that the odds are stacked in favour of the house, never for him. In the end he is the loser.

The Tribune was against the introduction of betting at Hobby Horse Hall many years ago because of the harm it did to the family unit. It was the late Nurse Alice Hill-Jones, who came to The Tribune to report that whenever Hobby Horse Hall was in season and betting was in full swing, babies arriving at the government clinics were undernourished — their milk money was going to the race track. The fathers were spending their meagre wages every Friday afternoon betting on the trifecta.

Today the government has no choice but to legalise gambling. The people have already spoken. Already the numbers and the web shops have defied the police. No sooner are they closed than they are open again. If gambling is denied, then everything has to close. And the gambling houses have shown they plan to go nowhere without a fight.

It was the same story with alcohol. Prohibition became so dangerous that in the end alcohol had to be legalised. This did not mean that alcohol was beneficial, in many ways its abuse does more harm to the human body than many of the drugs that are still illegal. However, alcohol is now within the law. Gone are the smuggling days when much of the alcohol was contaminated, leaving people, if not dead, then blind.

The religious can find the answer to their quandary in the soliloquy of the Grand Inquisitor in Dostoevsky’s Brothers Karamazov where the pros and cons of God’s gift of free will is argued. Many condemned such a gift believing it too great a responsibility for weak man. Others saw it as a great gift enabling each human being to accept or reject morality, and to individually decide whether to follow good or evil. God’s gift of free will was to the individual, not to his pastor. The most that a pastor can do is to advise his flock and try to lead them on what he considers the right path — even going after the one who strays. But that is the limit of his responsibility. The final exercise of free will is for the individual. If the individual strays — as suggests pastor Turner in his letter – the “responsibility to deliver them belongs to the Holy Spirit, so take the load off your head, their blood is not on your hands…” A good bit of advice. Each person is judged individually by the extent of his knowledge and the exercise of his own free will in making a final decision based on that knowledge.

Ministers who are against gambling are only responsible for their own congregations — and only so far as they can guide the free will of their members. However, they have no right to even consider trying to impose their beliefs and will on a nation. Each man has his own beliefs.

Of course, there will be laws and if an individual’s free will leads him down the wrong path, then the law will be there to punish him.

But as it now stands, gambling, although illegal, is now so prevalent and has been for so many years, that to let it flourish while continuing the debate whether it should be outlawed is making a fool of the law.

Either make it legal and control it, or declare it illegal and shut it down.

In our opinion the added expense of a referendum is not necessary — it’s just an easy way out enabling government to avoid the wrath of religious ministers and the loss of the Baptist vote at election time.

Those who believe that gambling is evil and against their religious beliefs won’t gamble, and those who see nothing wrong with it will continue as they are doing now. The only difference is that the government will tax their foolishness.

As one religious minister once said: “Give me the money so that I can put it to good use — it’s been in the devil’s hands too long!”

August 07, 2012

Tribune242 

Caribbean Blog International

The slave mentality in The Bahamas is alive and well...

Bahamians have a slave mentality

By DEHAVILLAND MOSS

Crime is out of control; it’s the master’s fault, aka the government. Illegal immigration is out of control; it is the master’s fault, aka the government. The economy is bad; it’s the master’s fault, aka the government. The master will fix the problem. He knows best.

But what are “you” doing about it? We should know by now that the change starts with us. During the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, Africans were illegally sold as slaves. Many of these Africans ended up in the Caribbean and thus were forced into a new way of life.

The indoctrination of Africans (Blacks) into mental slavery and European culture continues even today. The celebration of Guy Fawkes Day, Halloween and that “foreign is better” are just a few examples of the former in The Bahamas. We as Black Bahamians are mentally enslaved and even though we are free physically, we face some of the most dangerous times in our history. One hundred and seventy-seven years after the proclamation was read to free slaves in the British colonies, Bahamians still continue to have a slave mentality.

Slaves in The Bahamas worked on small plantations when compared to other Caribbean islands, and the treatment of Bahamian slaves was much better than their Caribbean counterparts. James Stephen, an abolitionist wrote, “the provisions and stock raised on the plantations did not provide the remuneration received by planters in other colonies, ‘but to slaves the effects were ease, plenty, health and the preservation and increase of their numbers, all in a degree, quite beyond example in any other part of the West Indies”. (Source from The Story of The Bahamas by Paul Albury, chapter 14, p126). In my view, this explains the basis of the way that we act toward our “Master” today.

Bahamian slaves accepted their master as a good person and viewed him favorably. Our Caribbean counterparts were treated more harshly than us and as a result they had a fundamental distrust of their master. Could this explain why they are more aggressive than us and the fact that our attitude is more laissez-faire?

Since 1967, in The Bahamas, the black master (government) replaced the white master (government). There was a changing of the guard, but most Bahamians have not seen the kind of progress that is to be expected. Black Bahamians in particular still do not possess the majority of the land; we still do not own a major hotel and we are still second-class citizens in our own country. We now have Black masters as our gatekeepers but they are continuing the historical trend of our demise, albeit in the same subtle nature. Yet we elect the same people over and over. When will the cerebral revolution come?

Look at the way that our country is run with little or no objection from Bahamians. The government sold BTC and there were only about 1,000 marchers on Bay Street. In fact, Minister of Labour Dion Foulkes literally squawked when asked about the effectiveness of the march for BTC. Lawyers illegally sold land owned by Arawak Homes to unsuspecting Bahamians. Due to the large scale of Bahamians who were defrauded, there should have been major campaigns initiated by Bahamians in protest of this. The government refuses to do all it can to help curb our crime and immigration problems and its policies have failed miserably, specifically over the last two decades. Additionally, government policies have caused the price of land in The Bahamas to soar so high that the average Bahamian can no longer afford to buy land (except for those in Mackey Yard); and yet Bahamians sit back and do nothing. Sadly, we still believe in the old slave adage that “Master (aka the government) knows best”.

Listening to the talk shows daily, concerns by Bahamians appear to be on the rise. They call in and seem to expect more accountability from the government representatives. This is a good thing and this type of activity on a wide scale can certainly help break this slave mentality that we continue to be suffering from. I feel proud as a Bahamian when callers suggest that the issues affecting us should be looked at for what they are worth. Forget party lines. For too long, we have been using our party biases and not looking at issues from a nationalistic point of view. We must realize that when our ancestors were enslaved, the underlying tone would have been to regain freedom for all in the British colonies and this bode well for all involved.

Bahamians by heart are not a fighting people when it comes to challenging “the master”. In fact, the only time I can say with certainty that Bahamians would come together and fight the master is when he “messes with their pay”. From the Burma Road Riot on June 1st, 1942 to the teacher’s general strike in the mid 80s, Bahamians came together in solidarity to protest wage disputes. In fact, before the Burma Road Riot, even the American workers who were earning higher wages were agitating for the Bahamian workers’ wages to be increased. Foreigners were given preferential treatment even back then. Does this sound familiar? In the case of the general teachers’ strike, the government of the day said that the Treasury was broke. Yet, after the teachers’ salary was increased, then Prime Minister Sir Lynden Pindling and his Cabinet increased the salary of all members of Parliament.

If the government had told BTC workers that they would be receiving pay cuts you would have seen a different outcome from the employees. Contract after contract can be given to foreign contractors without a whimper of dissatisfaction from Bahamians. Let me go on record as saying that I was utterly surprised that the present government was able to take overtime pay away from customs and immigration officers with virtually very little opposition from the Bahamas Public Service Union membership.

The recent debacle of the government in the Mackey Yard sub-division speaks again to our slave mentality. Here we are as Bahamians are just sitting back and allowing the government to do what it wants to. Let the “master” handle it is the conclusion of many Bahamians. There are Bahamians though, whose minds have bypassed this slave mentality, but these numbers are infinitesimal.

Just as the slave trade was supported by Africans themselves, who helped capture their own countryman for a few dollars, more we have replication going on in The Bahamas in 2011. Many in the remaining middle class in The Bahamas are utterly quiet as to the state of affairs because they are still getting their hefty salaries. They are still able to live their lives, buy what they want and travel when they want. In their eyes because they are not directly affected by these adverse policies, they choose to turn a blind eye. They are not speaking out and are allowing their “brothers” to be further humiliated and defrauded. In the same vain, thousands of people turned a blind eye to the slave master during the slave trade because they were thinking about self and not country.

The slave mentality in The Bahamas is alive and well and the time has come for Bahamians to open their eyes. We cannot just leave it in the hands of “the master” and hope and pray that the correct decisions will be made, and take for granted that we will always have bread to eat. Bahamians, we need to change our sorry, lethargic and lackadaisical attitude towards the myriad policy decisions that affect us. We will continue to suffer as a people in our own country if we don’t.

As Disraeli, the great English statesman said, “Nurture your mind with great thoughts for you will never go any higher than you think”.

Jul 20, 2011

thenassauguardian

Caribbean Blog International

In waging a fight on the road to the gambling referendum ...the numbers men are doing more than attempting to legalize their businesses... ...They are challenging the role of the church in the modern Bahamas

The church vs. the numbers men: A fight for legitimacy

thenassauguardian editorial

The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and Free National Movement (FNM) have historically dared not cross the church for decades on the issue of gambling for Bahamians in The Bahamas.  Instead, both parties as governments turned away and did not see the numbers houses.

In recent years, with the rise of Internet technology and steely boldness, the numbers men of old and their new contemporaries came from the shadows and openly set up illegal shops in front of the political parties and police, declaring to Bahamians that they are now forces who will no longer accept being repressed.

The numbers bosses now sponsor charitable events, advertise and one has even donated openly to at least one government agency.

The Bahamas is a very protestant nation with the overwhelming majority of its people identifying themselves as Christians.  Churchgoing is high.  Consequently, the political parties have not wanted to face-off against a church that, for the most part, has been rabidly against gambling.

Despite this fear by our great political parties, the numbers bosses have now decided that it is time to demonstrate to the church of Christ and its Bahamian leaders that they do not fear them.  They have set up a lobby and have let it be known that $1.5 million will be spent in an advertising effort to win the referendum.  Via this act, they have declared opposition to the church.

The Bahamian church is not used to this direct a challenge.  It has historically been able to shout down adversaries on the gambling issue.  Now, with a referendum having been pledged, the church has an opponent.

The stakes are high for this referendum.  In our modern history the church has felt it had the upper hand on issues such as this.  A defeat here will lessen the perceived power of the church.  It would also demonstrate that well-funded lobbies on moral issues could win against the church in a public fight.

What would a defeated church do?  If it preaches to its members to vote against the legalization of gambling and those members overwhelmingly disobey their pastors, that act of defiance by Bahamians would demonstrate that though many sit in pews on Sundays, they do not listen to the people who speak from them with full regard.

In waging a fight in this referendum the numbers men are doing more than attempting to legalize their businesses.  They are challenging the role of the church in the modern Bahamas.

The pastors who like to make statements on this and that moral issue need to know that on the issue of gambling they are in a fight for legitimacy.  Certainly, if the church loses it will not be totally illegitimate and irrelevant.  It would just fall a notch in influence.  And the next time a group thinks about challenging the church, if it loses this referendum fight, that group won’t be as afraid, further expanding secularism in The Bahamas.

Aug 04, 2012

thenassauguardian editorial

Caribbean Blog International