Mathias: ‘History Is Known For Repeating Itself’
“We’re seeing that the sketchy past of PLP re-emerging today,” Future Bermuda Alliance Chair Justin Mathias said, adding that “history is known for repeating itself and the signs are all around us.”
Mr Mathias said, “We have reached the first milestone of the new PLP administration – the end of its 100-day plan. Or as I like to call it ‘The Plan To Start A Plan’.
“For the record I strongly dislike the 100 day deadline as I don’t believe the US style of politics is one to mirror, especially in their current state of affairs. But PLP have done a wonderful job of emulating and implementing Trumponian tactics to our shores.
“Some have asked ‘What does this plan mean for my children, the Country, and me?’ Unfortunately, very little.
“The PLP said that they would fully execute their 21 initiatives. However, to date only six of those 21 have been implemented; 11 have merely been started; and the remaining four, well, it’s unclear where they stand on those or if they’ll ever be acted upon. That’s your 100 days folks.
“Not much has changed between the Government of today and the PLP we knew and started to distrust after the coup in 2003 and their ultimate demise in the 2012 election. History is indeed on repeat. Its amazing they find themselves in this position so fast.
“Over the last three months we’ve seen them tackle the simple administrative task of going with the OBA legislative agenda. However, with as much inaction and deflection as humanly possible. They even have to resort to using others words and misconstruing them in order to make their points. Is this because they can’t rely on their own convictions? The November 1st Senate session would be a good example of this.
“Don’t get me wrong, they have done some good things. $300,000 in bursaries were handed out to students looking to study at Bermuda College, but the question must be asked: is this sustainable as this was their position when they were last in Government?
“I thought that we learnt that not everything can be free but we must provide those with the lack of financial resources the opportunity and access to something that is universally required.
“To add to this sustainability the striking thing about this endeavor is the low expectation level placed on our students – our future leaders of Bermuda. In order to receive financial support, they must simply obtain a 2.0 GPA. I’m concerned about the message this sends to our youth.
“We should be encouraging them to reach and strive for excellence. Not simply jamming them through another systematic passing system that doesn’t offer no real world value if they don’t know how to use the ‘paper’. We want to provide young Bermudians with a solid foundation to succeed in their futures. Because in the competitive, technologically advanced world we’re living in today that’s what is expected.
“When it comes to the Bermuda First Advisory Group, it seems like another instance of history repeating itself. Under the last PLP Government, this group’s recommendations on how Bermuda should respond to the global financial crisis weren’t adhered to. In fact, they were left to die on the kitchen floor. One can only hope they finish what they start this time.
“We’re also seeing the same old antics from the PLP playbook recent changes to the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation [BEDC] board. As echoed by Senator Nick Kempe, the important body that was formed to develop the small business sector in Bermuda, didn’t have a board for the last three months to approve any guarantees, as the PLP has done a clean sweep, getting rid of all its members.
“Interestingly enough, this isn’t the only board that has been forced to go through such drastic changes, in order for the PLP old guards to take back their old seats at the tables, which some have no professional or social merit to sit on. Having boards filled with your own people isn’t consultation, it is simply autocratic.
“The PLP has hired a slew of consultants – and it’s shaping up to be an amplified version of the Friends and Family Plan we experienced under previous administrations.
“The idea to put Wi-Fi in all schools was an initiative right out of OBA’s platform, and already started under the last administration. While the task is quite the undertaking due to our schools infrastructure, it cannot happen overnight, even though some think it can.
“It’s no surprise that the PLP are touting this initiative as if it were their own – as the PLP’s platform was simply a copy and paste job. The point here is this: key initiatives started under the OBA Government are being repackaged with a PLP tag on it.
“Here are some other ways the PLP is back to their old tricks in their first 100 days:
“The PLP started the first 100 days with a rollout of Cabinet which was larger than the previous one [another point on the hypocrisy scoreboard].
“Questionable appointments. One of the PLP’s Cabinet Ministers is in a questionable position of awarding himself a Government contract that he ultimately profited off of. Do we care about ethics or integrity or was that just a criticism against the OBA?
Mr Mathias said “we have the Attorney-General who was appointed to the Senate, and serves at the pleasure of the Premier [not the people]” who is handling cases of alleged corruption “against her own colleagues on behalf of the Country, in which she has dropped for her own ceremonious ‘review’. ”
“This makes me doubt my trust in Government who has our youths’ future in their hands. But this speaks more to the truths, and each week it seems the same bad actors are finding their way back in power.
“How can you blame them when you paint yourself as being more transparent and independent of past PLP actions, but on the other hand those bad actors have been rewarded in their position. Furthermore, don’t these appointments and those within the PLP who support them in their silence now become complicit to past actions?
“The PLP created a new ministerial position to tackle the oversized bureaucracy, or at least that would be my interpretation of what Government Reform is, but it seems we will have to wait and see on that.
“So let’s dig more into other actions that happen during these 100 days…
“We had a Minister of Immigration, who started his tenure with waiving the work permit requirement for Reverend Tweed, because he finally remembered that he was a spouse of a Bermudian. It is a Government’s duty to abide by these processes or how do we control fairness and equality in our country?
“Then he gave Preserve Marriage, a group that has made the headlines recently for major controversy and hypocrisy, charitable status to solicit donations to protest same-sex marriage.
“This all has come from a Government Minister who says he has fought for minority rights all his life, while his actions speak another tongue. Giving charitable status to an organisation that belittles and denigrates a minority group is your definition of fighting for rights?
“The Minister then took charge on the British and the Governor on the printing of passports, the need to free himself from his colonial oppression and was joined by high ranking people within his Party. The Premier then had to come and backtrack from the statements made within their own party – seems to be a hallmark of the 100 days.
“Will the real Leader please stand-up?
“On top of this, we have a Minister of Education who has wasted no time in creating chaos and confusion whilst actually prematurely announcing that Dellwood Middle School was cleared of mold. Another Trump moment of reinventing history, as the PLP told us they found and delivered thousands of dollars that in reality had already been budgeted for under the OBA administration.
“He has also made other premature statements regarding the handling of the Commissioner of Education saga which he has been silent on for 31 days.
“Real leadership should be concerned about what happens now to our children, teachers and parents as they have waited long enough for the Vision and Strategic plan! But wasn’t that under the Commissioner’s leadership? So, whose guidance is it under now?
“What happened to the PLP plan of ending middle schools next year with no data to back up this band-aid approach? Empty rhetoric with no data, plan, or clear direction for our future. Is that what we want for our youth?
“The people elected the PLP Government into power on July 18th in good faith and with the heartfelt belief they would do the work of the people.
“Sadly we’re seeing that the sketchy past of PLP re-emerging today.
“They have a thirst for absolute power, one that can never be quenched. Don’t take my word for it. History is known for repeating itself and the signs are all around us.”
In response, a PLP spokesperson said, ” The Progressive Labour Party was given a mandate to execute change, and we will deliver on our election promises.”
On point Mr. Mathias!
The PLP will borrow themselves to “success” in the next few years. Truth is the PLP will be increasing the debt ceiling (you just watch!). Once the PLP have savaged the credit card, Bermuda will face an epic financial and fiscal crisis. You were warned.
So true but to say this somehow makes us “haters” and Mr. Mathias will be called a “surrogate” or some equally offensive name. 100 days and counting……
So we have to listen to this guy B!+€# and complain for de next 5 years, well where was his voice when his party was F!@#ing up.
So your definition of History is 20 years, so how do you think most of us felt and STILL feel when a certain segment of this society had and STILL have absolute power.
Dont feel good does it.
So didn’t the debt double under your OBA? How quickly do we forget. And I guess the global recession that affected damn near every country in the world didn’t affect us neither and it was all the PLPs fault. I guess the plp created the recession too right…lol ok
$800M plain disappeared under a plp govt. but that does not bother you either because you somehow benefitted or do not understand.
Well done PLP….this weak poor response from the OBAubp clearly indicates they lack any political Direction. or Focus….
Cannioner and Baron do not come to the house of parliament…. Which indicates a spilt in the OBAubp….a party falling further apart…..I think your got enough to fix there….. Really
Using the face of Justin to raise their profile why engulfed in the same old bitter OBAubp Rheortic….truth
PLP HAVE MADE PROGRESS that has NEVER beepn SEEN BY THE OBAUBP….FURTHER THE PLP ARE MOVING SWIFTLY TO ACCOMPLISH THEIR ELECTION PLATFORM AGENDA FOR THE PEOPLE…..BUT WE NEVER SAW THIS FROM THE OBAubp….
KEEP PUSHING FORWARD THE PLP AGENDA FOR THE PEOPLE …
PLP..
BRILLIANT PLP…..
Of course they will..its at its limited.. oba increased the debt by a billion in 4 years
So how far back in History do you want to go mate, how do you think most of us felt and feel after one segment of society have had and STILL have ABSOLUTE POWER.
Dont feel good does it?
You really ought to get those voices in your head under control . They’re controlling your life.
On what point? Lol exit stage left Mathias
Good summary. I’ll add the deliberate (and thus telling) action of holding back on releasing the AC economic impact report to the public. The Gov. have had it for almost 3 weeks now. We all know what will happen to this young man. The messenger will be attacked, and the message will be ignored.
de truth hurts de plp
Why don’t you show Bermuda the truth and allow the media to take pictures at your next oba=UBP conference. We want to see the truth.
“We want to see the truth.”
Why don’t you grow some b#lls and show up?
The Premier clearly articulated the government’s progress in the House of Assembly today.
Mr. Mathias rambling shows a lack of political understanding, and unfortunately his Party continues to push him forward as the face and voice of the new OBA but they show no humility nor acknowledgement of the fact that the public voted overwhelmingly against them in July.
Keep doing what you are doing PLP! The OBA can continue their online assaults and comments, but as long as you keep focused on the tasks at hand you will be fine.
I mean this is what they did before the 2012 election is just ramble and spread propaganda. OBA got into power and failed horribly. I for four and a half years all they did was deflect, deny, and straight up lie about stuff and these lil idiot calls the plp tactics similar to Trump? The hypocrisy is real with the OBA
And this is it! The OBA obviously hasn’t learned anything in their 100 days in the wilderness, so let’s let them stay right where they are for a little longer, maybe the’ll get it, lets cross our fingers.. *reluctently crosses fingers*
Trumponian tactics? Can we just take a moment to consider the fact that you’re comparing things to someone who has an extremely ethnocentric approach and almost zero diplomacy, as his actions in the news and Twitter have clearly displayed?
Again this all seems very emotionally charged.
In the end, true politics is about working towards reaching the objective for the people as a whole – no matter which party does it, and ideally parties building off of each other to make the path easier; not mud slinging and trying to one-up one another.
Justin I can see where you’re trying to vouch for the young people of Bermuda, but as someone who’s of your generation, your approach still needs some work.
Politics is also about diplomacy – forget that and all you’re doing is fanning the fire for political, “one party vs. the other” arguments…
…not constructive debates that help move towards positive milestones and goals.
Stop complaining! We are in charge now!
Who is “we”? Are you a PLP MP? I highly doubt it…
“Stop complaining! We are in charge now!”
lol, moron.
RIP Bermuda
RIP UBP/OBA
LMFAO
RIP OJ…the truth is coming out about you . LMFAO
When not in power: “We want bipartisan reform!”
When in power: “Stop complaining! We are in charge now!”
The hypocrisies never stop.
It does not matter lol. Him and his will suffer most. Just sit back and smile. It angers them more. Once again when it all hits the fan, someone else will have to fix what they broke. Just let it happen lol.
Col. Burch…is that you?
Hey, how do you feel about gays being treated as second class citizens?
i think you completely misunderstand the role of the public in a democracy, chief
We remember that last time you were in charge DEBT DEBT DEBT
Just stop! The public debt when the OBA were kicked out of power was doubled. Don’t you forget it! Contracts were given to the OBA friends and family and the ACBDA lined all the OBA supporters pockets! Mathias is joke; a real koolaid drinker!!
It would have been even funnier if you had thrown in ’24-12′ and ‘so long, bye bye’
24-12 SO LONG, BYE BYE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And there we have it folks…Col Burch all over again. Remember what happened last time?
I think the philosopher and writer George Santayana should be required learning. In particular his observations that “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it” and “A child educated only at school is an uneducated child” I find instructive.
Were doomed.
Mr. Mathias, if you are going to write about education you may want to have someone proof what you write otherwise your message may get lost. See if you can figure out what is wrong with this sentence: “Not simply jamming them through another systematic passing system that doesn’t offer no real world value if they don’t know how to use the ‘paper’.”
So this is the OBA’s tactic of putting out young shields to do your dirty work of spreading propaganda. How low will the oba go…
But it’s OK for the other guys to use that Eron character ?
Probably not as low as PLP with Eron Hill.
Enron hill is a junior politician he did all of that on his own. Just like the rest of the young ppl who voted against the OBA. So poor deflection. But that’s all u guys do is deflect
What a stupid and ignorant thing to say…You’re mistaken, you’re thinking of the PLP, putting seniors out front and encouraging them to break the law.
Better than thowing seniors in front of pepper spray tho right?
But it’s ok for you to put 70 years olds at the front when you block Parliament.
I mean im really sitting here and laughing my behind off at this article. I really feel the oba and their supporters are straight up pathelogical liars and the biggest hypocrites. Trump like tactics? Are u serious? It seems you have selective memory. How many times did the OBA get caught out in blatant lies they told to the public including you? How many times did they back out on campaign promises like tendering contracts which they didnt do for the airport, referendum on gaming which they didnt do, gay marriage, 2000 jobs, fixing the economy, stopping the shootings, i mean so much more. They did the complete opposite with this totalitarian mindset which is what Trump has. The debt doubled under the OBA in just 4 years and the unemployment in Bermuda doubled but every week they came out of the side of their mouths with lies and propaganda from their press and trolls trying to convince us everything is fine and better when it clearly wasn’t. Wouldnt that be alternative facts by definition? So who has really applied trump like tactics here? Completely laughable coming from this young man. This is going to be a long 4 years of professional trolling from the OBAUBP
Sour grapes syndrome.
“The debt doubled under the OBA in just 4 years and the unemployment in Bermuda doubled ..”
meh stopped reading there. Fundamentally stupid statement.
At least you managed to get most of the way through the comment. Congrats.
Yup! How quickly the OBA peeps forget…. #wevotedthemout
U pretty much described the plp from 98′ to 2012. Shut up and sit down
The Plp are no good for Bermuda! They make us Bermudians look Bad.
The only thing the PLP accomplished in their first few months was giving themselves all a big pay rise, AGAIN. Like last time. And again bringing up the same cliche issues that always covertly or openly revolve around race.
new government lmao! no sir its your 15 year! its just round 2!
” I really feel the oba and their supporters are straight up pathelogical liars and the biggest hypocrites”
Funny, that’s how we feel about the plp and its supporters.
How old is this silly bill.You were in Pampers when PLP was in power how do you remember because someone told you so. So long bye bye!
He doesn’t know what he’s talking about–huh–this is a game!–Lol You don’t have the information!
This guy is trying to make himself relevant and is failing miserably lol poor sight
who are you?
Mathias for leader of the OBA. He has a bright future as the poster boy for the OBA. Keep on keeping on young man; your future is b-right!
More like Alt-right.
You know that saying better to keep quiet and be thought to be a fool than to open it and remove all doubt? Lol yea that’s what came to mind here
Poorly written and no consistent theme; he’s eating food (no pun intended) and so he’s saying whatever the one feeding him is telling him
Does it really surprise anyone that the party of “We had to deceive you” is getting an A+ in deception.
24-12
Your IQ range.
Lol
I wasn’t even about to read the bs in this article. Your absolutely right, history definately repeats itself as it did with the OBA/UBP in power. Take from the bottom and give to the privildged. Things were worse under the OBA and I look foward to PLP’s continued good governance.Well done PLP.
Wow you are easily pleased.
Well the PLP government can claim a better track record for their first 100 days than the former one term OBA government which left in it’s wake Scandal and more scandal and many broken promises as well as the selling out of Bermuda’s assets first to the Canadians who have made a billion dollars for the selling of Bermuda’s yet to be built new airport to the Chinese who will sell it to who?
You wanna allege scandals?
FourSeasonsGate. Two days after the election was called.
It stinks.
The question remains that if that trip is now public knowledge, how many previous trips were made by the same 4 people? No need to declare the costs as they involved 2 Opposition MPs and 2 Independents. How convenient.
More lies from a PLP stalwart. The PLP have been a Government for over 14 years. Why did they need a hundred day plan to look busy? Trying to come up with solutions when they have had 5 years to do so? Think they can do so now? While the OBA certainly had problems but from what has been reported lately it seems 2 MPs who resigned to be Independent appear very frequently in those scandals. As regards selling the airport to the Chinese I wish it were true. It would be built in 2 years at half the cost using Chinese laborers. Ask Jamaica. Bermuda was sold to faceless foreigners under the PLP by way of debt, created by incompetence, not directly caused by the worldwide recession. Revenue did not drop very much but self inflicted debt skyrocketed.
When can the public see the AC35 Report currently hidden by the Government? Too much good news obviously or it would have been released within a day. What about the Port Royal lawsuit to recover tens of millions of dollars identified by the CoI and DPP? Or the Lahey lawsuit? Talk about scandals.
Yes if only we could build a bus shelter in under 100 days. Chinese don’t sell anything they buy buy buy ask his awesomeness.