A few months ago, a gentleman we shall call Lancelot Murray (not his real name) telephoned me. He said he heard me on TV and looked up my number in the phone book. He described himself as someone who loved politics and followed it closely. We had a long talk, and then I said, "Your views are very interesting. Why don't you write down all you are telling me and have me run it as a column?" He agreed. Things take time, and this week he sent it to me. So me get it, so me give it.

West Indies cricket once conjured up memories of halcyon glory. Nowadays, it usually means shameful humiliation. But, what one win can do. The Windies' victory over Australia on Wednesday put a smile on everyone's face and once again sportscasters waxed deliriously about the 'glorious uncertainty of cricket'.

It's human nature to seek truth, or at least plausibility. So when we hear about fairy godmother multi-nationals flying from abroad unasked to donate US $585,000 with no strings attached, the natural response is 'bull shoots'. Trafigura won't be history until Jamaicans hear a convincing explanation from the Prime Minister. Nowadays not even eight year olds believe in fairy tales. And governments that take voters for fools get laughed at on election day.'

It was billed as 'All About Trump'. But in recent historical context, the US 2020 presidential election was a pretty normal battle of Democratic and Republican voter bases. The combined vote percentage of the two main parties was about 98.3%, similar to 98.3% in 2012, 98.6% in 2008, and 99% in 2004. The outlier was 2016, when Democrats and Republicans combined for only 94.3% of the total vote.

Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller is clever enough not to make specific promises.

Question: Will Jamaica ever experience a people-power revolution à la Tunisia and Egypt? Answer: Yes, when hell freezes over. Since the first in 1944, Jamaica has held 13 universal adult suffrage general elections. Six of these were won by the party in power, six by the opposition, and in 1949, the incumbent party won the most seats but lost the popular vote. There have been no assassinations, coups, or revolutions. Not once has the legitimacy of an elected government ever been challenged. Post-World War II, no country on the planet can boast a better democratic scorecard.

Since becoming independent in 1962, Jamaica has remained uprising free, suffered no major political assassination, adhered to the rule of law, maintained a free press, and held regular multi-party elections in which the incumbent party has been voted out more than once. This might seem a rather common-place achievement. But over the past 46 years, few of the over 150 nations with more than a million people can make such a collective claim. In fact you can count them on fingers and toes: Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Holland, Finland, Norway, Switzerland, Costa Rica and Jamaica.

Slackness has always been present in Jamaican music. Mento, for instance, was as sexually obsessed as you can get. Obeah was not the main theme of 'Healing in the balmyard'! And while Rampin' Shop may be more to the point, its focus is no different from tourist staples like "All day all night Mary Ann, down by the seaside shifting sand", and "The big bamboo stands up straight and tall, and the big bamboo pleases one and all".

Jamaica has its problems, but for the most part our political system works pretty well. The Budget Debate so far has been a case in point. Finance Minister Audley Shaw's almost-excellent presentation was countered by Opposition spokesman Dr Omar Davies almost-excellent critique.

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) defines garrison as 'a body of troops stationed in a fortified place'. However, Jamaican garrisons like Tivoli and Jungle are inhabited not only by 'armed fighters', but also by ordinary citizens trying to live normal lives. Trying is the operative word. For collectively, our garrisons have a higher violent death rate than most places officially at war.