Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson: “My Party Is Full Of Racists.”

Retired Army Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson

General Colin Powell, one of the most respected public figures in America, one of the most revered Black men in the world, a longtime Republican, has again endorsed President Obama for his reelection; he wants him to continue with the work he has been doing to move the country forward.

For this endorsement, John Sununu, one of the top Romney surrogates, went ballistic. He said that General Powell’s endorsement of the president is racially motivated, which he understands as he (General Powell) and President Obama are both Black.

Retired Army Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, General Powell’s Chief of Staff, a member of the Republican Party, has rejected Sununu’s statement on the endorsement of General Powell of President Obama and said what he thinks of the today’s Republican Party. On the Ed Show on MSNBC, he stated: “To say that Colin Powell would endorse President Obama because of his skin color is like saying that Mother Teresa worked for profit.”

Here is the part of Colonel Wilkerson’s statement which I think these Haitian Republicans need to pay attention to. With respect to the Republican Party, he said: “My party, unfortunately, is the bastion of those people (not all of them, but most of them) who are still basing their decisions on race. Let me just be candid: my party is full of racists. And the real reason a considerable portion of my party wants President Obama out of the White House has nothing to do with the content of his character, nothing to do with his competence as commander-in-chief and president and everything to do with the color of his skin, and that is despicable.”

Colonel Wilkerson’s statement has made my moment. That is why when I think of the Republican Party, I think of three things: whiteness, wealth and racism.

These lunatic fringe elements have long taken over the Republican Party, causing its decent members to either leave its ranks or turn independent. Today, the party of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan has become the Tea Party of Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, Rand Paul & Co.

Yon Mesaj Pou Pastè Ak Lidè Relijye Ayisyen Yo

Mesye e dam, ban m fè yon ti pale avèk nou. M panse n ap eksplwate mizè ak inyorans moun nan kongregasyon nou yo -yon fason pou sitiyasyon lavi yo ka vin pi mal ke jan li ye a. Ak yon filozofi parèy, m pa kwè n ap travay nan eterè moun sa yo vre non.

Kilè n ap sispann preche levanjil reziyasyon nou an, levanjil Bondye bon nou an pou nou kòmanse òganize kongregasyon nou yo pou yo ka pran destine tèt yo nan men yo?

Moun yo pa gen manje pou yo manje, pa gen djòb pou yo fè pou yo ka chanje sitiyasyon sosyoekonomik y ap viv la, olye pou nou òganize yo pou yo vini “vectors of development,” pou yo kapab pran destine tèt yo sou fòs kouraj yo, n ap pale yo de yon Wòyòm Bondye ki gen pou vini, kote pa p gen mizè, grangou ak lanmò.

Sa n ap fè a pa bon non, mesye dam. E nou konnen trèbyen sa n ap fè a, poukisa n ap fè l e nan entere ki moun n ap fè l.

M pa ka di pa gen yon Wòyòm Bondye ki gen pou vini, kote pa p gen mizè, grangou ak lanmò non. Ki moun m ye pou m ta di yon bagay konsa? Men sa ke m ka di nou sèke li pa fè okenn sans pou n ap fè moun yo kwè nan yon sipozisyon alòske sa ki pi enpòtan pou yo a, ki se kijan pou yo chanje sitiyasyon sosyoekonomik y ap viv jodi a, nou fèmen je nou sou li.

Premyèman, se pou n fè moun yo konnen ke se pa Bondye ki vle ke y ap viv nan mizè atwòs sa a ke y ap viv la, e ke pa gen moun k ap chanje l pou yo si yo pa pran destine tèt yo sous fòs ponyèt yo atravè yon “self-reliant philosophy for a self-sustaining economic development.”

Oganize kongregasyon nou yo nan yon filozofi de konbit pou yo antame aksyon sivik, sosyal ak ekonomik pou yo fè pou tèt yo e arive devlope zòn kote y ap viv la -yo rele sa a nan lang anglèz la “collective civic activism for change.”

SISPANN preche moun yo pou yo aksepte sitiyasyon mizè ak grangou klowòks sa a y ap viv la paske se Bondye ki vle l konsa. Se MANTI n ap bay moun yo. Se pa Bondye ki vle moun yo pòv e viv nan mizè. Si se vre sa nou di a, moun yo pa gen okenn rezon pou y ap sèvi Bondye sa a paske se yon move dye dye sa a ye.

Se pou nou kòmanse antre nan reyalite bagay yo, se pou nou sispann ap fikse lesyèl tankou yon dal zonbi pou nou mete 2 pye nou sou latè pou n ap di moun yo ke pa ka gen devlopman sosyal ak ekonomik san travay e ni tou pa ka gen travay si n ap preche yo teyoloji reziyasyon nou an.

Mesye e dam, tanpri chanje lin mesaj nou yo paske yo kenbe Ayisyen an nan soudevlopman ekonomik, sosyal ak politik. Si nou pa sispann, n ap sispann jan nou vle sispann nan paske nou pa p pran bagay sa a nan men nou ankò. M kwè se pa animal nou ye -nou gen 2 zye pou nou li, 2 fèy zòrèy pou nou tande, ak yon entelijans pou nou konprann. Alòs, balon won an nan pye nou.

Disip May Not Live To Celebrate Its 5th Anniversary

Abdel & Gazzman Couleur

Whatever issue the DISIP management has causing the band not to be able to keep its musicians needs to be rectified.

After the dissension that went down between the leadership of the band and La Porte, Pluviose, Ti Dou, and others, having caused them to part ways, it is now the turn of ABDEL, the band’s sole saxophonist, to leave, and that is on some very bad terms. Explaining the reasons for his decision, Abdel said:

1. “After I expressed my thoughts publicly on KM [Kompamagazine.com], GAZZMAN and I were uncomfortable with each other…”
2. “There is no camaraderie in the band…”
3. “They don’t want you to express yourself if you are not happy with something…”
4. “Manager Patrick Fabre is very rude to the musicians. He speaks to them however he wants. They want ZOMBIES in the band…”
5. “I was just uncomfortable in the band…”
6. “NEG YO SE YON MOUVEMENT KAP FET. YON MOUVEMENT POU YO KOURI FE ANPIL KOB…LE PLUS VITE KE POSSIB [These guys put this movement together to rake in as much money as they can in a very short time]. It’s not like a real band….”

This is what you call bad press, and such does not help to preserve the DISIP brand. These guys need to get their game plan together to prevent nonsense like this one from occurring. We have seen enough of these mishaps already.

How can I tell if a business institution is not doing well with its employees? All I need to do is to  see its Employee Turnover Report. That will tell me how difficult it is for the institution to keep its employees. If the report is looking gloomy, that is an indication that the management or leadership team is not up to par with the job of managing the staff.

Employee satisfaction is a must for the progression forward of any business institution. If the work environment is not conducive to employee satisfaction, you will definitely have an increase in your employee turnover rate. Making sure your employees are satisfied cannot be that hard. All it takes is respect and good interpersonal skills.

How can a business institution be productive if its employees doing the buck of the work are not satisfied? If the employees are happy with the work environment and the way they are being treated, of course, that will reflect in their work performance and productivity. And the opposite is just as true.

After ABDEL, who else is next to leave the band? If the reasons he gave to Kompamagazine for leaving the band are factual, it is very unfortunate things had to come to this. My prognosis is this: if DISIP does not get its act together, if they do not address the problem at the management level, they may not live to celebrate their fifth anniversary. The band will disintegrate, and that will be a big loss for our music. So the management team needs to take the business of managing the band very seriously. Managing a team composed of people of different and unique personalities is not a cakewalk. It is a challenging affair, requiring savoir faire, not charlatanism and amateurism.

President Martelly: Great Leaders Are Great Listeners

President Martelly needs to exercise his sense of leadership by taking the high road of wisdom to spare the country an unneeded and unnecessary political crisis of no return.

As someone who has been an avid proponent of the institution of the Permanent Electoral Council, as stipulated in the Amended Constitution, and as a political realist, I don’t see how the political conjuncture [the Senate not being able to hold meetings for lack of quorum; the president of the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSPJ), Anel Alexis Joseph, being accused of not following the right procedure to choose the institution's 3 representatives to sit in the CEP, creating a tension and situation of revolt inside the institution] is going to allow such institution to be born without generating a crisis that may be too complex to resolve. So stopping it (the crisis) at its gestation stage is highly warranted.

I read Senator Steven Benoit’s letter to President Martelly with great attention (see letter below). For someone whom I barely agree with, this time around, I think he is on the side of logic, realism and wisdom. So I am urging the president to follow the sound advice of the senator. Everything in the letter makes perfect sense. He has said it all.

Where we are right now, what’s important is to organize credible elections, not the type of CEP (provisory or permanent) that is going to organize them. President Martelly should get everybody (the presidents of the Senate, Chamber of Deputies and CSPJ; the leaders of the political parties represented in the parliament; members of the civil society; etc…) together and extract a consensus that could result in the creation of a Provisory Electoral Council to organize the congressional, mayoral and CASEC elections. Once the effective in the Senate is complete, then we can proceed with the formation of the Permanent Electoral Council. If this is something all the vital forces in the country could agree with, the president should go with it. In politics, for the sake of appeasement, when in doubt, avoid taking the controversial or contentious route.

==================================================================================

Senator Steven Irvenson Benoit of the West District

Port-au-Prince, le 9 août 2012.

Son Excellence

Monsieur Michel Joseph MARTELLY

Président de la République

Palais National

 

Excellence,

Une fois de plus, j’ai l’honneur de m’adresser à vous en tant que responsable de la bonne marche des institutions républicaines de ce pays, et du bon déroulement de son processus démocratique. J’espère donc que vous recevrez cette correspondance dans un esprit d’ouverture pouvant faciliter un dialogue pacificateur et stabilisateur qui nous permettra de réussir la traversée de la conjoncture actuelle.

  Quelques antécédents

Permettez que je vous rappelle qu’en avril 1997, lors des élections devant justement permettre le renouvellement du tiers du Sénat, les résultats du 1^er tour ont été contestés avec tant de virulence que les deux (2) Sénateurs élus n’ont jamais pu prêter serment. Quant au 2^ème tour il n’eut jamais lieu. Résultats décriés, Conseil électoral provisoire décrié tout autant. 

En mai 2000, le pouvoir en place avait tenté de rafler tous les sièges du Parlement avec des résultats affichant 81 Députés en sa faveur, sur les 83 siégeant, et 18 de ses candidats élus Sénateurs sur 18 sièges en ballotage. Une fois de plus ces résultats furent contestés et il s’en suivit trois années de troubles politiques ininterrompus, jusqu’au départ forcé du Président élu.

Aujourd’hui nous voici face au défi de la formation d’un Conseil électoral qui donne lieu à une intense controverse et crée des frictions entre les trois pouvoirs. Si nous ne faisons pas très attention, ce Conseil électoral risque de ne jamais voir le jour et le pays pourrait retomber dans une crise politique.

En effet, au sein du CSPJ règne un conflit d’importance et le comportement du Président de cette institution en qui la nation est censé placer son ultime confiance est peu rassurant; il semble même attiser davantage les dissenssions internes (et externes). Le CEPJ doit se ressaisir et recouvrer sa dignité et la confiance de la nation, même au prix de grands sacrifices.

Au Sénat, il est jusqu’à ce jour Impossible de réunir au complet les 20 membres y siégeant actuellement. Il est encore plus difficile d’obtenir la majorité des deux tiers qui permettrait que soient désignés les trois  représentants de l’Assemblée nationale au Conseil électoral permanent. Rappelons-nous que, comme le Président du CSPJ, le Président du Sénat ne peut voter que pour départager un vote dans l’impasse. Or, douze Sénateurs et trente-six Députés se sont déjà déclarés ouvertement hostiles à la formation d’un Conseil électoral permanent et exigent que ce soit de préférence un Conseil provisoire de consensus qui organise les prochaines élections. 

La voix (ou la voie) de la Sagesse 

Personnellement j’étais en faveur, et je suis encore en faveur de la mise en place d’un Conseil électoral permanent. Étant donné  qu’une majorité de mes collègues avait voté les amendements, considérant que la majorité des Parlementaires avait demandé la publication de la loi mère amendée,  je m’étais plié à la volonté du vote majoritaire comme tout bon démocrate. Par respect pour ce vote et pour les prescrits de la constitution amendée, il n’y avait pour moi d’autre voie que d’aller jusqu’au bout des décisions prises et former un Conseil électoral permanent. 

Cependant, tenant compte de la situation qui prévaut au sein du CSPJ et des réactions qu’elle ne cesse de susciter, considérant la crise qui se profile au Parlement si les diverses positions exprimées ne peuvent être conciliées, je ne peux que souhaiter un dialogue entre l’Exécutif, le Parlement, le CSPJ, les partis politiques et la société civile en vue de trouver un compromis.  

Ceci éviterait des contestations inutiles, néfastes au bon fonctionnement du gouvernement et de l’Etat haïtien en général. De même, Il serait fort sage que vous reveniez sur l’arrêté nommant une Directrice générale au Conseil électoral, avant même que celui-ci soit constitué. Il reviendra aux Conseillers eux-mêmes de se choisir un Directeur général, tout comme cela se fait dans les autres institutions indépendantes que sont la Cour supérieure des comptes et du contentieux administratif, l’Université d’Etat Haiti, l’Office du protecteur du citoyen.

Ce sont là la voix et la voie de la Sagesse …

Gouvernance

Une fois ce Conseil électoral formé, ses membres soumettront dans les plus brefs délais au Parlement, pour ratification, la loi électorale devant régir les joutes qui permettront le choix du tiers du Sénat, l’élection des Maires et des Casec.  Dans l’intervalle il y aura beaucoup à faire.

Le Parlement devra voter : la loi sur les Collectivités territoriales – la loi Organique du CEP permanent  – la loi contre la Corruption – la loi sur les Partis politiques – la loi contre l’Evasion fiscale – la loi contre le Vol de l’électricité. De son côté, l’Exécutif devrait aussi publier les lois votées par le Parlement mais non encore imprimées au Journal officiel tel la loi sur les Frais scolaires (pour bien montrer qu’il appuie l’éducation) – la loi sur l’Habeas corpus – la loi sur la Détention préventive – sur le Kidnapping, et toutes les autres lois votées au Parlement et non encore publiées au Moniteur.

Un tel tableau ne fera que renforcer le bilan du Président Martelly et de son gouvernement. Durant le processus électoral, vous aurez le choix de vous maintenir au dessus de la mêlée ou de travailler en vue de la victoire des candidats de votre parti aux élections. L’expérience de 1997 et celle de 2000 mentionnées plus haut indiquent clairement que l’Exécutif a tout intérêt à laisser parler librement les urnes et à se contenter du nombre de sièges qu’il aura démocratiquement obtenus.

Renforcement institutionnel

Après la publication des résultats des élections le cap devra immédiatement être mis sur la formation du Conseil électoral permanent, du Conseil constitutionnel, et la tenue des élections indirectes qui permettront au pays d’avoir les Assemblées municipales, départementales et le Conseil interdépartemental, dont les membres pourront finalement siéger au Conseil des Ministres  en lieu et place des Parlementaires que nous y observons actuellement, ce qui constitue une grande anomalie. 

Avant de terminer, je tiens à rappeler à votre Excellence et à l’opinion publique nationale que le document qui devrait s’intituler Constitution haïtienne de 1987 amendée n’existe nulle part. La reproduction des amendements pour erreur matérielle a bien eu lieu, mais il reste à publier la Constitution de 1987 avec tous les amendements incorporés! A ce sujet, je voudrais attirer votre attention sur le fait que le retard mis dans la ‘’reproduction pour erreur matérielle’’ est à l’origine de cette grave crise actuellement en gestation. Elle aurait pu avoir eu lieu bien avant la fin du mandat des dix Sénateurs qui avaient si farouchement rallié la cause de l’Exécutif.

Ces conseils vous sont adressés, Excellence, dans un élan patriotique en vue de trouver dans votre conscience d’homme d’Etat, un écho favorable qui ne fera que garantir davantage la réussite de votre mandat, tout en assurant le bien-être de ce peuple qui attend beaucoup de vous, de nous.

Patriotiquement,

Steven Irvenson BENOIT

Sénateur de la République

 

cc :         Le Président du Sénat

              Le Premier Ministre

             La presse

LOVE PEOPLE Wants To Fight Obesity

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the nation’s leading agency working on the prevention and control of diseases, including obesity (yes, obesity is a disease), there has been a striking and frightening rise in obesity in the United States.

The CDC has put out in 2009-2010 that the number of adults suffering from obesity in the country is more than 35.7% or one-third of the adult population and approximately 17% or 12.5 million children and adolescents aged 2-19 years old.

Obesity must not be confounded with overweight. To determine if someone is either obese or overweight, the person’s Body Mass Index (BMI), a relationship between the person’s weight and his or her height, is to be calculated. This figure is important in that it gives indication on the person’s amount of body fat. For example, an adult with a BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight, whereas one with a BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese.

The disease has some serious and costly implications on the health of the population. An obese individual is prone to or has a natural inclination to many conditions -such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes type 2 and certain types of cancer, some of the leading causes of death in the country.

Four years ago, precisely in 2008, the CDC confirmed that “medical costs associated with obesity were estimated at $147 billion.” That being said, any smart approach to reducing health care costs in America must take into account the prevention of obesity through a system of health promotion to include healthy eating and exercise, which can be hugely impacted by socioeconomics.

In the spirit of keeping its members healthy, the discussion group Love People on Facebook is inviting everyone to take part in its 2^nd Love People Power Walk at Prosper Park in Brooklyn, New York on Saturday, August 11, 2012 at 6:00 PM sharp. Point of meeting:  corner of Ocean Ave and Parkside Ave (inside the McDonald’s). To register, inbox Star Point on Facebook.

Gabby Douglas: It’s About Talent, Not Hair

16-year-old Gabby Douglas

Think about what you were doing when you were 16 years old. Well, Gabby Douglas, the young African American woman who, along with her US gymnastics teammates, has dominated the Olympics, is only 16 years old.

At such a young age, she is on the verge of becoming the first African American woman ever to win the all-around gold medal in gymnastics.

When you think that great accomplishment of hers would have earned her the respect and recognition she deserves, some in the African American community, her own community I must add, are focusing on something as petty, meaningless and ludicrous as her HAIR.

Some of the tweets I read from some in the African American community about her hair are beyond appalling. Let me share with you some of the low jabs:

theSecretLifeof … [@BReeMonroe] tweeted: “Gabby Douglas, you made history w/ your impeccable talent & hideous hair.”

Young Skipper [@Sarocious] tweeted: “We, as a community, gotta fix Gabby Douglas’s hair.”

Brandy [@shestaken] tweeted: “Congrats to Gabby Douglas on her gold medal! I wish I could say the same.about that hair! Omg horrible!”

DeAnt [@wht_Idid_rollEM] tweeted: “lmfao Gabby Douglas shouldnt be the standout in those commercials she get her hair done.”

Obviously, here is someone who knows how to set her priorities straight with a high sense of discipline and dedication –already at such a young age. When these folks who are now disparagingly talking about her hair were probably spending hours in front of a mirror taking care of their hair, Gabby was spending these hours in the gym sweating getting herself in shape physically and mentally for the Olympics. Today, all these efforts pay off. She is giving the world something to talk and write about. Unfortunately, her critics are stuck talking about her hair. Petty people do, indeed, talk about petty things.

Congratulations, Gabby!!! You have made history. Please do not let what these low-lifers have to say about your hair affect your self-esteem. You have nothing but years of great accomplishments ahead of you. Keep working hard while these folks are spending their times talking and discussing about nothing but nonsense and pettiness.

Carnival of Flowers: An Economic, Not Political Factor

I have zero problem with the Carnival of Flowers currently going on in Port-au-Prince. In fact, I support it 100%. I’m not a politician, so I leave the politics surrounding the necessity of holding it to those who want to make it a political matter.

In my opinion, we need to push this event even harder. So I propose that we hold next year a week long of festivities, rather. That means, in a Summer Break spirit, along with the Carnival of Flowers, let’s hold a series of events to be ended with a big time international music festival (possibly on one of our beautiful beaches). And the promotion for this package of events for next year needs to start right away, right after this one.

These represent opportunities for the private sector to make money. The government should not have to spend a dime to organize them -other than providing security/logistical support to the private sector. That should be the extent of the government’s involvement.

These types of festivities could be organized on a larger scale and promoted on the global stage as our traditional cultural landmarks to encourage people all over the world to come and experience them.

Of course, this first time around is not going to be as successful as expected. But for the subsequent times to be, there has got to be this first time, which many are very critical and hostile to.

If many tend to look at this Carnival of Flowers as a waste, I see it as a business investment with great economic potentials . The product seems to look good to my standard; like any business investment, its success will depend on how hard and smart we are willing to work in order to market it around the world to attract potential buyers (the national and foreign tourists).

Yes, the country is facing one of the worst economic moments in its history, but nothing is wrong with holding the Carnival of Flowers to try to attract potential tourists; we only need to change our approach to organizing and marketing it. So let’s put politics aside and stop wasting our time criticizing the administration for something our shortsightedness has not allowed us to grasp.

World Wide Village: NGO To Be Investigated In Haiti

This article “Confession of a Haitian working for an American non-profit organization in Haiti” by Myrlande Charelus is the type of story these politicians in Haiti need to read so they could wake up from their coma. She has made some serious revelations in her blog, which the authorities in Port-au-Prince can use to start an investigation on the operation of World Wide Village (WWV) in the country.

I am not one to unjustly bash these non-government organizations (NGOs) in Haiti because I think they are instruments that must be put to good use by the people they are there to serve. However, when they are taking advantage of the misery of the people for their own selfish gains, then we have a problem.

Where is the Haitian government on this? When will we start seeing some structure put in place to coordinate and oversee the activities of these NGOs currently operating in the country? What is the sense of having hundreds of NGOs in the country, yet the dire reality they are there to tackle is getting worse? One does not need to be a rocket scientist to realize that something is not going right.

The majority of these NGOs are not doing anything concrete to render the situation in Haiti better. Most of these workers, in my opinion, are over there vacationing and enjoying the nice weather while getting paid mad money for not doing a damn thing. Who would not love such a job?

If, following a thorough investigation by the Haitian authorities, the charges can be proven factual and accurate, that non-government organization known by the name of World Wide Village, the NGO being exposed in this aforementioned blog, needs to be asked to leave the country.

President Martelly needs to remember that he had made a campaign promise to regularize and structure the operations of these NGOs in the country; we are IMPATIENTLY waiting for that day to come. We will not forget.

URGENT: Call For A Popular Uprising In Haiti

It has been 70 days since the Senate in Port-au-Prince has managed to hold their last legislative meeting, and that was for the ratification of Prime Minister Lamothe. Some of the senators have been AWOL (Absent Without Leave), infirming the quorum inside the chamber. Meanwhile, the people’s pressing and urgent problems are not breaking -one only has to walk our streets to see them raging.

What are we paying the members of this institution for -for not doing anything? Imagine what would have been these guys’ reaction had Prime Minister Lamothe been nowhere to be found for a week, just for a week. Hell would have broken loose.

It is obvious that the Senate has become right about now the people’s number one problem. There is a solution to any problem, and the solution to the problem the Senate represents is in the hands of the people. They can turn things around for the better in a blink of an eye if they really want to.

We are living a legislative dictatorship in Haiti, and we should fight it with everything we have at our disposal -just like we did in 1986 to force the dictatorship Duvalier regime out of power, after it has lived its political life expectancy.

The intent of the drafters of our Constitution was to put in place a structure that could prevent the erection or emergence of another dictatorship of any kind from either one of the three branches of government -executive, legislative and judiciary.

The current structure or system, as stipulated in the actual Constitution, is not working in the best interest of us all; it is only beneficial to a small circle of crooks and corrupted politicians. It constantly fails the state. And when the state keeps failing to deliver, the people must act swiftly and boldly to take the destiny of the nation into their own hands.

We must not rely on one man or woman to do what needs to be done. The president, whether it be President Martelly or someone else, regardless his or her impeccable political will, will not be able to do anything as he or she will have both his or her hands tied up; the Constitution creates a powerless executive. It takes all the power and places it in the hands of the legislative branch, creating a legislative dictatorship.

Power is not given; it is taken by any necessary means. So let us not expect the legislature to amend the Constitution to return to the executive some of its power to level things out. That will not happen without a fight, which only the people can give.

Needless to say, we need a popular uprising in the country similar to the one that took place in France on July 14 of 1789, known by the historic name of Storming of the Bastille, to rectify the mess that is going on right now in the country.

The people need to take matters into their own hands. They need to take the streets, storm and DESTROY the Senate and demand that a new Constitution be voted on and adopted immediately. We do not need a Senate anyway. What for? We only need a House of Deputies -just like the British have it -to bring to the political forefront the people’s problems. We created a bureaucratic layer we do not really need, slowing the pace of things for the people. It is simply a waste of time and resources, which we do not even have.

One does not need to be a rocket scientist to realize that this Constitution is the stem of ALL of our political setbacks. We need to break ties with the staleness if we must move forward. This Parliamentarian structure as we have it and this Constitution must go so we could start anew. Again, the brave people of Haiti have in their hands the solution to the problem the Senate represents. They just need to activate it, and they do know how.

Justice Roberts: A Man Of Political Character

Chief Justice John G. Roberts

Chief Justice Roberts, a G. W. Bush appointee, is a man of political character. His vote on Thursday morning to side with the liberals to split the vote (Yay: 5 – Nay: 4) and uphold President Obama’s health care law is historical -the true exemplification of what we often refer to as “legislating from the bench” rather than from some type of a party ideology.

As someone who was appointed to the Supreme Court by a Conservative president for his Conservative values, Chief Justice Roberts has demonstrated such a great sense of statemanship and leadership.

Just when many may have thought he was likely to side with the Conservative justices in the likes of Scalia, Thomas and Co. to slash the president’s signature legislation, he swayed the other way.

On September 22, 2005, during the confirmation fight of Judge Roberts, then Senator Obama voted against putting him on the Supreme Court. In a speech on the Senate’s floor, the senator said about Judge Roberts:

[W]hen I examined Judge Roberts’ record and history of public service, it is my personal estimation that he has far more often used his formidable skills on behalf of the strong in opposition to the weak. In his work in the White House and the Solicitor General’s Office, he seemed to have consistently sided with those who were dismissive of efforts to eradicate the remnants of racial discrimination in our political process. In these same positions, he seemed dismissive of the concerns that it is harder to make it in this world and in this economy when you are a woman rather than a man[...]The bottom line is this: I will be voting against John Roberts’ nomination.

Today, the man whose nomination to the highest court in the land Senator Obama was trying to stop seven years ago is the one to have casted the historical vote to save President Obama’s landmark legislation during his tenure as President of the United States. Isn’t that something? Why did he not opt to make President Obama pay for the vote he had cast against him, which most people would have done?

People can say whatever they want, but this is indeed what you can call a functional democracy -when all the independent institutions are strong enough to operate on their own and in the best interest of the country.

The American democracy is sure not perfect, but it is working for the most part. I can only hope the people of my country Haiti can one day get to understand that strong institutions breed strong democracy.