Analysis and opinion. By JoeAm By my definition, a leftist is a liberal with a pro-worker agenda. A liberal is a person who tilts in favor of government helping citizens to realize their potential rather than leaving this to the haphazard and self-dealing private sector. In the Philippines, leftists are 1950s holdovers, unable to adapt to changing Philippine conditions. They see US imperialism as a boogie man rather than point to the real bad guys, China, communism, socialism, and corruption. They work in opposition to the democratic system, without influence, rather than within it to better ..read more

Analysis and Opinion By Joe America A new ranking of American presidents is out based on a survey led by two US political science professors. Here’s an article about it: NEW SURVEY OF SCHOLARS FINDS LINCOLN REMAINS AMERICA’S GREATEST PRESIDENT This excerpt considers recent presidents: “The survey shows that while presidential scholars continue to consider Abraham Lincoln the nation’s greatest president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt has passed George Washington as the second-greatest president. President Biden enters the rankings at #14, behind recent Democrats Barack Obama (#7) and Bill Clinton ..read more

by Wilfredo G. Villanueva General Ely in brown shirt stands behind the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the left. Father Robert Reyes, the “running priest,” celebrates Holy Mass at Plaza Roma in the center of Intramuros, facing Comelec headquarters. Responding to observations that we are few, Gen. Ely is unperturbed. “It’s not the numbers; it’s the conviction and persistence in the right,” he said, “The people will come.” I see him all the time in our events with Father Robert Reyes and other members of Clergy for the Moral Choice, when we pray and celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass ..read more

Analysis and Opinion By Joe America The picture is by Bing (“create a scene in the Philippines of combat between dynastic forces and rebellious voters with the President to the side watching”), and the language is by Bard, who recites my prompt and writes: ________________ I can’t draw a poster, but I can describe it to you. The poster would have three circles, one for the President, one for the Dynasties, and one for the Voters. The President would be in the top center, the Dynasties would be on the left side, and the Voters would be on the bottom center. There would be three arrows. One ar ..read more

Analysis and Opinion By JoeAm If I were to dissect the goals of the opposition to the Marcos Government based on Twitter messaging, it would be: Make sure Marcos fails Stop Marcos from revising history Stop Marcos from partying Get Marcos to pay his Tax and PCGG debts Complain about Marcos not doing enough What the hell kind of agenda is that? Would it be offensive if I proposed an alternative agenda? Get organized and find a leader who is not Leni Robredo Get funded Free Atty Leila de Lima; frame a human rights platform Give visibility to corruption (hidden budgets, agencies, LGUs, pharm ..read more

Analysis and Opinion By JoeAm I enjoyed the discussion in the prior blog. Contributor LCX was back to promoting the tandem of VP Robredo and Mayor Duterte-Carpio as a way to ace Marcos, Jr. out of the presidency. Senator Pangilinan would have to slide to a Cabinet position or other assignment. LCX does not buy the premise that Sara is Rody. There is evidence to support his view that she is her own master. She does not bow to her father or anyone else. There is also evidence to support being wary of her. Well, speculation is fact to many these days, and I won’t take up anyone’s cudgel on it ..read more

Analysis and Opinion By Irineo B. R. Salazar “Could it be a picture in your mind, never sure exactly what I find” – these words from the Lyrics of the hit “Illusion” by Imagination, the song played a lot when I moved out of the Philippines almost forty years ago now, do these describe the Philippines best? This FB post makes me think so: Just my observations of the differences between Yolanda & Odette  – less TV and social media coverage (because there are no local ABS CBN stations) – less or no international aid pouring in – much le ..read more

Analysis and opinion By JoeAm “It is a soft, forgiving culture. Only in the Philippines could a leader like Ferdinand Marcos, who pillaged his country for over 20 years, still be considered for a national burial. Insignificant amounts of the loot have been recovered, yet his wife and children were allowed to return and engage in politics.” Lee Kuan Yew CEO’s of successful businesses don’t run things by task forces. They hire competent executives. Those executives hire competent staff. Individual accountability is key. President Duterte used task forces because he had no idea how government wa ..read more

Analysis and Opinion By Lance Corporal X Its all about Inday Sara in 2022. If you want BBM to fall, then it has to be Sara all. If you’re pro-VP Leni, and you want BBM to fall, then you have to be Sara all. Let’s call a spade a spade, the Philippines has no political parties. Politicians are opportunists, they go where it pays. This party or that, makes no difference. Thus no one is beholden to any party. As a result Filipino voters too are not beholden to any candidate, President or VP. Many voters sell their votes, via voting blocks, or carbon copy of their vote to the barangay captain, or ..read more

Analysis and Opinion By JoeAm President Duterte personally heads this unintelligible acronym that is a task force charged with ending the long-lived communist insurgency in the Philippines. It is a mess of an effort, not unlike other task force driven programs that blur accountability, understanding, and achievement with too many voices and disorganized output. It has a huge budget and spent it on a handful of activities with little known accomplishment. The task force is notorious for it’s ruthless red-tagging initiatives under the previous operations head, General Antonio Parlade. The tagg ..read more