Positivity And Negativity
News out of the homeland with that whole wiretap scandal involving the beloved President (note sarcasm) and the COMELEC commisioner. Apparently the military tapped into calls made by the commisioner during the 2004 presidential elections, and found a lot of dirt. If true (I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt, but c'mon) not only will this rock the political climate of the country, it will gave anybody who scoffed at notions of conspiracies something to think about. This is the closest the Philippines has ever gotten to proving widespread corruption persists in our government. Not since Watergate has there been such insider access to the hidden world of elections and government corruption given to the public. Whispers of this stuff happening are so pervalent in our culture, it's long ago been known that the winner of elections is not the most beloved but the richest. Sad. And like Watergate, this story has it's own version of "Deep Throat", yet this secret did not take 30+ years to uncover. It would not surprise me at all if this guy was found dead on the outskirts of the city in about a week or two.
Stories like this will never reach the public if it is buried with enough money, favors and gifts.
Related anecdote: My grandfather used to be the mayor of a small provincial town in the upper Philippines called Bayombong. He won the first time he ran for office and lost his re-election bid; twice. During those two times that he tried to get re-elected, I heard my Dad (who of course was helping out) on the phone all the time talk about guarding the ballot boxes before during and after people elected. The candidate that we were up against was the richest in town and had a lot of influence. The first time we tried to get re-elected, my grandfather's party spent most of the budget on throwing parties for the townfolk and giving medicine, giving free medical check ups, etc. When that didn't work, they spent almost all of the budget hiring bodyguards with guns, ballot watchers and handlers. Yet we still lost. I remember, after the second election, going up to Bayombong during All Saints Day with my Dad. We had just lost and apparently the winner kicked my whole family out of town for something. We stayed there for barely a day. the trip was longer than the stay. And all the time, I remember sitting beside a guy in the car I barely knew with a semi-automatic on his right hand, just out of sight from me but visible when we hit bumps, and a .45 on his left side, brushing against my arm when we make turns. I was barely 15. I'm guessing my Mom got pissed at that.
So, does this little bursh with controversy teach anything to the leaders of my homeland? Yes. Always remember to pay the bills.
Whew, that was a mouthful and a load to take. On to something a little more positive. I hope that this bit of news has already reached you since it came out last week. If not, then please please please take the time to read Alicia's story over in www.sfgate.com. Great, inspiring, funny and honest read. I won't spoil it. Just to say that it took 7 days and multiple chapters to publish but it'll hook you on the first page. I'm not even done with it but it's highly recommended. If there's one thing you have to read on the net, it's this. And if nothing else, she's a pretty good writer.
This saturday will be the first golf tournament I'll be playing. It'll be at Poppy Hills and hopefully I can remember to bring my notebook and give a hole by hole diary. This should be fun. I've been practicing everyday and will have one more instructor lesson tomorrow to work on the driver and woods. This course is real long and I have no faith in those clubs so I need this to have a decent day.
What else, what else. If you want to read the wiretap trasnscipts, I've got a copy and www.philstar.com has one too. They also have audio but it's nearly three hours. And trust me, you'd want to read Alicia's story more than hear that negativity. They even have audio released from the president's office of the "real" tape. The "" thing is my opinion. And if you're interested in this story as it develops, check back into philstar and stay away from the Inquirer. Their coverage is so bad, you'd think they were in the president's payroll. Are they republican like Fox News? I'm not in that loop so correct me if I'm wrong but I just found the Star's articles and coverage more detailed and well, more. As a side note, apparently not only presidents are prone to wiretapping and government snooping. So are we. And some good news on the downfall of corporate monopolies. I checked an old entry here about this topic and apparently it is truly great progress. Firefox rules! IE sucks! I need to work on my rally cries.
Finally, my Lola's doing ok. She's at home now but still on a feeding tube and receiving dialysis for her kidney. She's seeing a specialist because that's where they think the bleeding originated from. I wish her the best, hope she does ok and never loses that will to live.
Because even if this place we live in can be crappy at times, I think it's still worth fighting for.
Stories like this will never reach the public if it is buried with enough money, favors and gifts.
Related anecdote: My grandfather used to be the mayor of a small provincial town in the upper Philippines called Bayombong. He won the first time he ran for office and lost his re-election bid; twice. During those two times that he tried to get re-elected, I heard my Dad (who of course was helping out) on the phone all the time talk about guarding the ballot boxes before during and after people elected. The candidate that we were up against was the richest in town and had a lot of influence. The first time we tried to get re-elected, my grandfather's party spent most of the budget on throwing parties for the townfolk and giving medicine, giving free medical check ups, etc. When that didn't work, they spent almost all of the budget hiring bodyguards with guns, ballot watchers and handlers. Yet we still lost. I remember, after the second election, going up to Bayombong during All Saints Day with my Dad. We had just lost and apparently the winner kicked my whole family out of town for something. We stayed there for barely a day. the trip was longer than the stay. And all the time, I remember sitting beside a guy in the car I barely knew with a semi-automatic on his right hand, just out of sight from me but visible when we hit bumps, and a .45 on his left side, brushing against my arm when we make turns. I was barely 15. I'm guessing my Mom got pissed at that.
So, does this little bursh with controversy teach anything to the leaders of my homeland? Yes. Always remember to pay the bills.
Whew, that was a mouthful and a load to take. On to something a little more positive. I hope that this bit of news has already reached you since it came out last week. If not, then please please please take the time to read Alicia's story over in www.sfgate.com. Great, inspiring, funny and honest read. I won't spoil it. Just to say that it took 7 days and multiple chapters to publish but it'll hook you on the first page. I'm not even done with it but it's highly recommended. If there's one thing you have to read on the net, it's this. And if nothing else, she's a pretty good writer.
This saturday will be the first golf tournament I'll be playing. It'll be at Poppy Hills and hopefully I can remember to bring my notebook and give a hole by hole diary. This should be fun. I've been practicing everyday and will have one more instructor lesson tomorrow to work on the driver and woods. This course is real long and I have no faith in those clubs so I need this to have a decent day.
What else, what else. If you want to read the wiretap trasnscipts, I've got a copy and www.philstar.com has one too. They also have audio but it's nearly three hours. And trust me, you'd want to read Alicia's story more than hear that negativity. They even have audio released from the president's office of the "real" tape. The "" thing is my opinion. And if you're interested in this story as it develops, check back into philstar and stay away from the Inquirer. Their coverage is so bad, you'd think they were in the president's payroll. Are they republican like Fox News? I'm not in that loop so correct me if I'm wrong but I just found the Star's articles and coverage more detailed and well, more. As a side note, apparently not only presidents are prone to wiretapping and government snooping. So are we. And some good news on the downfall of corporate monopolies. I checked an old entry here about this topic and apparently it is truly great progress. Firefox rules! IE sucks! I need to work on my rally cries.
Finally, my Lola's doing ok. She's at home now but still on a feeding tube and receiving dialysis for her kidney. She's seeing a specialist because that's where they think the bleeding originated from. I wish her the best, hope she does ok and never loses that will to live.
Because even if this place we live in can be crappy at times, I think it's still worth fighting for.
posted by Ryan at 10:43 PM
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