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It is welcoming that Prime Minister Holness has decided that the National Honours and Awards need to be reviewed, and so conducted through a formal process.For recent decisions have only served to undermine the institution that was established in 1969 to recognise excellence and good work by this country's citizens, and some on the outside.The quality of honours has been diluted in recent years. In this year's list we have even seen one individual who is not qualified to receive a national honour, based on the criteria listed. And despite public outcry and the clear need for that to be addressed, it seems that things will go ahead as planned.My only fear in establishing what has been described as a broad-based review committee is that too many people who support the Government, rain or shine, could form the majority of those chosen.What such a committee needs is fresh thinking. Over the years a bias has existed for Government in power. Simply put, more Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) supporters and sympathisers get recognised when a JLP Government is running things. The same bias obtains when the People's National Party is in office - more of their numbers are called to the podium.So if there is no will to shed the kind of political bias that has existed for over 50 years, then establishing a review committee would be an exercise in time wasting.Jamaica needs to recognise more national heroes. Surely, the seven who now have that honour should not stand alone. Barbados, a country of around 290,000 people, has 10 national heroes. Jamaica has 10 times that island's population. What do Barbadians see in their people that Jamaicans do not in theirs?Apart from recognising more national heroes and reducing the number of political selections, the awards committee should move to have a single category for Order of Distinction, instead of that award and then one for Commander of the Order of Distinction. It's not everything from England that we need to follow. That country has its MBE (Member of the British Empire) and OBE (Officer of the British Empire). That's not necessary for us.Also, the committee might even want to consider separating the recognition of members of the military, constabulary, fire services, and correctional services to a separate ceremony for another day, to be called State Services Recognition Day. Those personnel often get lost in the elaborate Heroes' Day event, thereby diluting the projection of their real contribution to this country.Marlene Malahoo's 'Forte-in-mouth' diseaseYou can always count on Jamaica's attorney general to introduce comedy into the proceedings at a time when the people of this island are starved of good laughter.So, in her usual style, Marlene Malahoo Forte, the Member of Parliament for St James West Central, in the absence of a podium, but with a keenly attentive audience at a murder scene in Granville, St James, last Sunday, while standing beside Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang, decided that journalists should throw their pens, notepads, cameras, and recorders down, and instead reduce the work of police personnel by hitting the road in a bid to find out where gunmen hide their weapons. Oh God! Spare us! How much further will Mrs Malahoo Forte go with her outbursts of idiocy?To think of it, when I first heard the imbecile remarks of the Government's chief legal officer I was in the midst of putting away a slice of bun and two bits of cheese, items which usually form part of her precious gifts to constituents that she highlights as 'achievements' at Easter time. I said, my father in Heaven, this could not be happening. Why did I choose to have bun and cheese just when the overwhelmed lady was making another of the rubbish statements that she has developed a trademark for?For those who missed the classic comments, this is what the senior Government official said, word for word: "I would love the media to do a little investigative research to find out how is it that so many guns bark, so many gunshots ... and when the police go to search they can't find it. Investigate nuh man. Investigate it and find out what's happening... where they hiding them, because if somebody dies from a gunshot, a gun is involved. When you hear the shots being fired nightly, momentarily to just intimidate, and when the police come through, everything criss. So what it is in the culture of the community that make people think that it is OK? I beg you to get below the surface."I'm sure that Dr Chang wished that he were somewhere else. Maybe that's why he jumped in right after with comments that focused on what had really happened at the scene.Media managers may now be thinking that they will need to equip their staff with bulletproof vests, handguns, no, no, no - handguns can't work - high-powered ones must be introduced if journalists are to take on such assignments, because in the process of doing research, as the attorney general suggested, practical work must be involved. Journalists must be armed to the teeth - gold and diamond included - so that when shots are being fired they can jump in line right away and start the investigation.I don't know what it will take for the prime minister to do what is necessary to shed the unwanted weight that continues to embarrass him, as well as his AdministrationArchbishop Gregory is rightIt is not only admiration for Archbishop Howard Gregory, or the fact that his brother, Errol, taught me at Kingston College, that has led me to endorse his stance on a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination exercise.Simultaneously, those in the religious fraternity who are trying to dismiss the sentiments of the archbishop, and have even gone further to suggest that he should stick to preaching, must, themselves, look in the mirror, or pray for a light to be shone on them on the road to Damascus.Anybody who does not believe that there must be mandatory vaccination for COVID-19 is not looking around and seeing what is happening. Granted, there will be exceptions, as there are some among us who may have adverse reactions, which could result in death, if they take the vaccine. But those are rare cases, and at the risk of being slapped left, right and centre for not having a medical background or deep knowledge of the situation, like the minister of health and wellness, such a conclusion is based on information that I have researched.The Church is a powerful institution in this country, as it is globally. Its leaders can influence congregations to veer left or right, which is why many of us hope that they will try to convince those who are needle shy to go and get vaccinated, as long as the product is available and it is viable for them to do so.All the scientific evidence so far has shown that populations are better off taking the vaccine...whatever the brand. I chose to have the Britishdeveloped vaccine placed inside of me, but it was not my first choice. With the Cubanmade vaccines not yet available in Jamaica, the situation was looking dire. Something had to happen. Many of my friends were dying, others were getting real sick. In 100 per cent of those cases, none had taken the vaccine.For a country like Jamaica where there are so many people who are misinformed and do not understand the fundamentals, some of us have to lead them, and do so in the right direction. If convincing them through reasoning does not work, then that's when State leaders should step in, say enough is enough, and make it compulsory.Jamaica needs to be protected.Chris Gayle's logical bubble decisionStar cricketer Chris Gayle knows his limitations. That's why his decision to opt out of the Indian Premier League Twenty/20 League, following luke warm performance for his Punjab Kings team, was a good one.The ICC T20 World Cup in coming weeks will definitely be Gayle's last playing for the West Indies. He will want to bow out in style, and prepare himself for one final big hurrah. Gayle realises what is happening.He is aware that public sentiments against his selection, particularly in countries and territories outside of his native Jamaica, have not been encouraging.And you really cannot blame those who have criticised the decision to include him in the West Indies squad, for his returns with the bat in matches leading up to the final pick had not been good.So now he has a chance to refresh himself from the various COVID-19 bubbles that he had to endure in recent months. Knowing Gayle, he is going to make a special effort to have his critics eat their words.Taking himself out of a bubble situation and giving himself time to clear his head as he makes another huge effort to achieve tournament glory, is the best thing that he could have done at this time