"Haruna: I guess a formal welcome to GAMBIA-L is in  order." JDAM.
 
Verily Lamin, I will be remiss if I do not thank the coleague/s who  invited 
me in their austere company. I am grateful.
 
"You do have a pretty unique conversational style, and I must admit your  
pieces have the capacity to both amuse and educate. And so I'm glad to be  
reading you on GAMBIA-L." JDAM.

 
You're too kind Lamin. It's funny I feel the same way about you and our  
coleagues here. I guess one good turn yields another. Thank you all the  same.
 
"Clearly, your complaints about PDOIS are not practically addressable,  and 
having witnessed prior performances of yours on the matter, it appears that  
your views are set in stone. Under the circumstances, it is probably prudent to  
decline the invitation to convince you about PDOIS." JDAM.
 
Wait just a friggin minute. If you think you're gonna get off the hook so  
easily, you got another thing coming. I have no complaints about PDOIS. I share  
my perceptions and opinions of PDOIS because they claim to have the best  
interests of my friends and fellow citizens at heart. A few of the friends are  
yourself, Joe, Musa Sana, Musa Jeng, Jabou, Alpha, almost ad-infinitum. So I'm  
not gonna let them misguide my friends without a fight. If PDOIS takes them 
as  complaints, well I guess we're on the right track because ordinarily when  
complaints are forwarded to government by 'lesser ctizens', an aim to  
mitigate those complaints is afoot. If you believe then that  my concerns are not 
practically addressable, are you not in effect  abandoning the cardinal value of 
a political party? unless of course the NEW  PDOIS is not a political party. 
Besides, our coleague and friend Suntou has  shared that revolving centenary 
Gambians have shared those same concerns. Are  you prepared at this juncture to 
give up on those centenarians too??? What  grander achievement is there for a 
political party than the immunization of  etchings in parchment? That reminds 
me, does PDOIS know if the children of  Gambia are properly immunized? Suntou, 
I'm coming to golf later, I know you  can't wait. Closet golf-lover. Football 
my friggin pinky. By football I take it  you mean soccer? New Gambians! 
Lamin, you underestimate me. Remmember I have  been sympathetic to PDOIS' fortunes 
in electoral matters once. I did not  withdraw consciousness on fancy and 
grafignette. There is hope here. Carpe Diem  honore!
 
"I  am happy to have persuaded Malanding despite your belated attempt to 
muddy the  waters." JDAM.
 
I  didn't realize you had persuaded Kukeh of anything PDOIS yet. I could be  
mistaken. Kukeh don't take the bait. These PDOIS people take us all for 
idiots.  Unless Lamin can persuade you publicly here and you acknowledge that here, 
I am  not convinced. Besides, they have to persuade me, Suntou, Chongan, 
Kanteh,  Jallow, Gassama, Jatta, Joof, Jobe, Bunama, Musa Sana, Joe, Galleh, Bailo, 
 Kejau, Baldeh, Bah, Alpha, and all the folk in Texas too. If they think its  
been hard for them for the last 20 years, they ain't seen nuttin yet. Let us  
hold their worn feet to the fire or they can kiss our votes goodbye. And Sine 
 die for our friend Lamin.
 
"And neither Suntou, nor myself, considers PDOIS as a communist outfit."  
JDAM.
 
I  know. You're in defiant denial. The day you and Suntou come to that 
realisation  is the day PDOIS comes off the hinges. That prospect is too heavy a 
burden for  the two of you.
 
"There appears to be some religious zealotry in Suntou if his recent  
postings on Ahmadiyya's are anything to go by. In light of the monumental task  
facing us as a nation, what with the illegal arrests, detentions, torture, and  
unexplained disappearances and deaths, I am not the least concerned about which  
religion a fellow Gambian affiliates with." JDAM.
 
Why  are you following Suntou around men? I like Ahmadiyya you know. Just not 
at the  expense of the life of Gambia. Sorry Suntou. You guys are too funny  
men.
 
"I  am happy to have a nonbeliever for President if the person is committed 
to the  rule of law." JDAM.
 
I  agree with you here Lamin. I'm confident Suntou agrees too. Maybe this is 
the  only reason Suntou hasn't totally leaned over into the ditch yet. I got 
an idea  for you to totally coral Suntou. This one will cost you $1000.00 Lemme 
know  Lemme know.
 
"I  should content myself by informing you that PDOIS is not only the oldest  
functional party in Gambia, but also the only party whose leadership are 
invited  to share their views about politics with fellow citizens." JDAM.
 
Keywords Lamin: oldest, functional (merely existing), invited to  share views 
about politics with fellow citizens.
Let  us do some Rithmetic. Politics in Gambia happens within a two month 
window of  the entire five years. 2 out of 60, that is 3.3%. We assume that when 
they are  invited to talk outside that window, they talk about issues other 
than politics.  In that window, they need not wait to be invited because they 
share the stage  with other parties contesting the same offices. So out of that 
2-month window,  their message is disseminated for 1/3 of the value-yield or 
33%. PDOIS history  in the polls can be between 2 and 3% of total votes cast. 
Let's take the higher  3%. PDOIS' value so far is 3.3x33x3. PDOIS communicates 
its message in FOROYAA  and in language that only 1% of gambians can understand 
and utilize. We can  extrapolate this datum to the year where 2% of Gambians 
will be able to fathom  PDOIS' message and as the Russian Federation and North 
Korea move away from  communism. In effect, PDOIS' political value to Gambia 
and Gambians is  3.3x33x3x2. I'm not good at math so I don't know what that 
translates to.  Besides I shouldn't be giving this information for free because 
they're trying  to mislead my friends.
 
"In  a two-way free and fair electoral contest under a governance system 
grounded in  the rule of law, PDOIS of today has the ability to defeat the APRC 
nationally."  JDAM.
 
Lamin, you may be surprised but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say this  
could be true. It then brings us to the question: Is PDOIS for politics or the  
defense of the rule of law, or both? You premised this two-way contested victory 
 on the rule of law so I think PDOIS may be better suited to prepare the  
requisite rule of law for this eventual victory. This is where you will find the  
communist.
 
"The dominance of the PPP, and now the APRC, has more to do with their  
corrupt governance and lawless elections than acceptance by the people, and with  
your acumen, I thought appreciating this would be obvious." JDAM.
 
Trust me Lamin, that fact has not escaped me. PPP by benign default and  APRC 
by ignorant trepidation. That still does not recuse PDOIS from  demonstrating 
value and worth. Besides that two-way victory is not here yet. I'd  be 
working like crazy to get there.
 
"As  you have clearly made up your mind, I do not think you are realistically 
open to  persuasion about PDOIS obvious merits." JDAM.
 
Lamin, again you underestimate me. I am comprehensively conversant with  
PDOIS' actual merits and envisioned merit. And I have not made my mind up as to  
governing political party. I am focused on the life of the citizen at this 
time.  I suggest PDOIS, UDP/NRP, and APRC focus similarly. It is the erstwhile 
citizen  who will let PDOIS govern. This statement is loaded and full of 
actionable info  Lamin. PDOIS should treat it carefully and with circumspect.
 
If  anyone in PDOIS can convince me to come back to PDOIS, it will be you or  
Musa Sana or Alpha if he tries. It will not be easy because the lives of  
multitudes of my fellow citizens depends on it. I suggest you begin already. I  
luv you men.  






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