Raising the ante…

…on elections rigging
To those who hoped the PNC could be weaned away from their old politricks to hold on to power by any means necessary, Volda Lawrence’s latest outburst must’ve popped THAT bubble!! Lawrence is the Chairman of the PNC – a most strategic position, for which she’d beaten out that other ambitious conniver, Basil Williams and even the heir apparent Joseph Harmon. They didn’t cry “RIGGING!!” as Aubrey Norton had done a decade before when she beat him out for the Georgetown District Chair!! Norton, of course, was also rigged out from the leadership of the PNC by David Granger a couple of years later!!
With her solid record of rigging, Volda Lawrence is obviously PNC to de bone!! Her claim to fame is her extreme partisanship, which she expresses in a no-holds-barred style. Typical was the outburst some time ago when they’d just gotten back into Government: “The only friends I got is PNC, so the only people I gon give wuk to is PNC!” Well, Volda is now preparing for the “mother of all elections” –- as she and her party have dubbed the March 2nd polls – to which they had to be dragged kicking and screaming through all the Courts in the land – and then outside!
With billions and billions in the offing to be raided with oil revenues coming on stream, what else would Lawrence be thinking but rigging?? So, chairing the PNC’s Kitty rally, she told her Georgetown faithful – especially the lumpen elements: “And after 6 o’clock hit, Comrades, you should already have your bath and put on your nightshift clothing. YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I AM SAYING TO YOU? This is not a time to be caught sleeping; they must not catch us sleeping. At 6 o’clock, you return to work at the places of polling and you will remain out there and let our staff inside know you are out there; just let them know everything is covered APNU+ AFC!!”
This is the coded esoteric Burnham had introduced to the party in the 60s when he didn’t want to spell out the depredations that were to be committed. What Lawrence is telling the “nice strong men”, as she put it, was to come out at the close of polling to rush the stations to vote illegally in multitudes after intimidating the PPP scrutineers and overseas observers. Since when did polling stations need protection by citizens in the city? Who does Lawrence think she’s fooling?
But in reality, she doesn’t even care to fool anyone: As Burnham would say, “Back to back; belly to belly; ah don’t give a damn; ah done dead a’ready!!”
The rig is on!! Mattie tell mattie!

…to survive
Game theory studies how and why people cooperate or compete with one another. And the classic game to illustrate the concept is “Prisoners Dilemma”. Basically, two fellas are busted, but if they cooperate and keep their mouths zipped, their sentence is lessened, but if one finks on the other – he gets off scotch free. The sad reality is that in most cases, folks just don’t believe the other fella will cooperate so they both fink and they both remain in jail!!
The mini-parties that sprouted like “Jumbie Umbrellas” during the last year – mushrooms do flourish in sh*t! – faced this dilemma over the last month as Nomination Day rolled around. If they’d all cooperated and coalesced, they certainly would’ve come out with the maximum number of seats. But of course, they didn’t – they each finked on the other and entered the polls separately. Which is how they’ll perish!!
Three of them, however, used an obscure clause in the electoral laws, to go separately but pool their votes.
Too esoteric for the voters!!

 …for MLK
Did you notice the PNC has blanked MLK Day?? Every year, they genuflect to the great man and his strategy of non-violence, gleaned from Gandhi.
But not this year?? Is it “war” as Winston Jordan said in Bartica??