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History, Rewritten

The adoption by the PLP of the UBP's means tested daycare election proposal continues to be the subject of flat out lies by the PLP.

I don't get the compulsion to rewrite history - just admit it and move on - but that is quite literally what is happening now with an update to the party's 'official' history just published online:

As usual, the language itself of the history is completely overspun, but check out the second to last bullet point of 'chief promises':

The party launched it platform on December 9, 2007. A comprehensive and expertly crafted document titled, 'Patterns of Progress', it outlined the party’s vision, plans and promises to the people for its next term of government. Some of the party's chief promises in the platform were:

...

* Free day care for means-tested Bermudian families though neighborhood based childcare providers such as churches;

...

I know they say that history is written by the victors, but that's simply factually incorrect, and they know it.

As Phil Wells pointed out in a Letter to the Editor recently, and the PLP website was forced to concede (before attacking UBP MP John Barritt for (correctly) 'misrepresenting' their misrepresented but later corrected website statement), they didn't promise 'means tested free daycare' at all.

They promised universally free daycare for Bermudians and went to the lengths of pointing out that this was a key difference between themselves and the UBP.

Not so different after all

July 10, 2008

Dear Sir,

I was intrigued to read in today's newspaper (July 10) that the PLP's free child care will only be available to Bermudian parents with a gross income not exceeding a 'maximum prescribed amount'. While restricting free child care to needy families may be an entirely sensible thing to do, it is nevertheless not what the PLP promised before last year's General Election.

On 13 December 2007, the PLP published a statement on its website which said, "The PLP will provide free DayCare for all Bermudians. That's a big difference between us and the UBP. The UBP will only provide day care for so-called 'needy' families." It seems that the PLP is not so different from the UBP, after all.

PHILLIP WELLS

St. George's

As a reader asked recently, what is it with the lying. Is it just a compulsion. Have they forgotten what the truth is?

It's no wonder the Bermuda rumour mill is running on hyper drive. No-one believes a thing the Government says anymore. And they'd be justified.