EDITORIAL: Trump and the damage to the FBI
IT IS hard to know how to respond to the outrageousness that the Trump administration in the United States has become. This foolish president continues to insult the leaders of the nations who have stood beside America for nearly 75 years and assault the foundations of an American foreign policy that has made major contributions to world peace and prosperity for most of that same period. His rudeness and haughty behaviour on his recent trip to Europe cannot be excused.
EDITORIAL: Fred Mitchell urged to read ‘The Cocaine Wars’
INSTEAD of being ashamed of their ignorance and keeping their mouths firmly shut, the squabbling over the posthumous award of The Bahamas’ first National Heroes is continuing with Englerston MP Gladys Hanna-Martin claiming that to recognise the late Sir Roland Symonette, the longest serving member of parliament, with such a reward was “perverse”.
EDITORIAL: Beyond the row, something to strive for
IT was probably inevitable that the announcement of the country’s first National Honours would be met with a divided response.
EDiTORIAL: Fix the Real Property Tax debacle
DONALD Trump wants a wall to keep foreigners out. The Bahamas didn’t have to build a wall. All the government had to do was create a high enough rate for real property tax for residences owner-occupied for less than six months of the year and they could not only effectively keep those who might have been interested in a second home from choosing The Bahamas, they could entice those already invested in second homes to pack up and leave.
EDITORIAL: Changing faces - the story of the White House chaos
The sad, dangerous chaos that is the Trump administration was illuminated again last week when EPA administrator Scott Pruitt resigned. Pruitt, as venal and corrupt as any senior official in Trump’s government, was reportedly the subject of 13 different corruption or misconduct investigations when he finally resigned under pressure from the White House chief of staff.
EDITORIAL: International crises could affect us
IT IS unsurprising that Bahamians who are curious and well-informed follow closely the ebb and flow of the nation’s domestic politics.
EDITORIAL: No more free rides – accounting needed
WE hope it was just political banter when Prime Minister Hubert Minnis, in a recent exchange with Opposition leader Philip “Brave” Davis indicated he would agree to pay from the public purse for Mr Davis’ tour of the islands to inform the people why government’s 12 per cent VAT increase was not necessary. However, Dr Minnis seemed to catch himself at the end of the exchange when he joked: “I have to speak to the minister of finance to see what’s there!”
EDITORIAL: A shift in the US court balance
THIS is the time of each year when the United States Supreme Court wraps up its yearly activity with a rash of judgments to mark the end of its latest term. Often, these decisions do not garner dramatic headlines, because the issues may touch on obscure constitutional points of law or practically not affect too many people.
EDITORIAL: Inevitable firings and bitter medicine
IN this column on Wednesday, we drew attention to the opposition of four FNM Members of Parliament to the controversial increase of VAT that led to their voting against the Budget. We touched on the reasons why, under our Westminster system of government, they were subsequently sacked from Dr Minnis’s administration. Today, we explore further the workings of that system, which is the bedrock of our democracy, and also call on the Government to improve its public relations.
EDITORIAL: No one likes VAT – but would they prefer the IMF?
BAHAMIANS seem to have one thing in common – no one likes Value Added Tax, whether it be 7.5 percent or the 12 percent percent to which it was recently increased.
EDITORIAL: Bahamians have been politically asleep for too long
FROM the questions we are being asked about recent political events we realise that much is missing from the education of Bahamian students as to the history of their country and the political system under which they live.
EDITORIAL: Hurricane Warning for Bahamas Government
WHEN Prime Minister Dr Hubert A Minnis goes on the road this week to sell the budget, there is one tool in his doctor’s kit that he should be prepared to use – a strong dose of the often-overlooked costs of funding hurricane mitigation, recovery and rebuilding.
EDITORIAL: US immigration controversy
There is a superficial irony in the immigration controversy in the United States. Conventional wisdom says that anti-immigration sentiment generally peaks when economic times are tough. It is in such dire times that people already established in a so
EDITORIAL: IMMIGRATION REMAINS AN INTERNATIONAL PROBLEM
The immigration crisis in the USA involving the detention of children that has dominated the news agenda for days has attracted widespread criticism and condemnation. Audio recordings of young children in distress after being separated from their families attempting to enter the country from Mexico have inevitably provoked public outrage both in America and overseas. People have reacted with shock and horror to photographs of children held in cages and tents in so-called internment camps.
EDITORIAL: Trump looms over midterm votes
FOES and admirers of Donald Trump alike have since his inauguration 18 months ago been pointing to this November’s elections in the United States. While no national office is at stake, there is a broad perception that Trump himself is at the centre of this pivotal election.
