The case for a State-owned newspaper in the Philippines

Posted by JoeAm on March 22, 2015 · 224 Comments 

“In 1841, Thomas Carlyle wrote, ‘Burke said there were Three Estates in Parliament; but, in the Reporters’ Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important far than they all’. . .  Carlyle saw the press as instrumental to the birth and growth of democracy, spreading facts and opinions and sparking revolution against tyranny.” (Stanford University, … Continue reading →

Filed under Blogging/Journalism, Citizenship/Patriotism, Philippine Government

20 ways to demean the Senate

Posted by JoeAm on March 21, 2015 · 252 Comments 

Each of 20 senators who signed the “Poe Report on Mamasapano” is complicit in attempts to deceive Filipino citizens. They have taken the public’s trust, in the name of fact finding, and twisted it for opportunistic reasons. Here’s what they agreed to: That the primary responsibility for the 44 SAF deaths should be placed on … Continue reading →

Filed under Citizenship/Patriotism, Foreign Affairs and Defense, Laws and Ethics, Philippine Government, Philippine Politics

Senator Grace Poe and her impeachment remarks

Posted by JoeAm on March 19, 2015 · 377 Comments 

  by crispinbasilio As Sen. Grace Poe read out loud the executive summary of the Senate Mamasapano report, JoeAm wondered why she mentioned impeachment at all, when the report presumably made no mention of it. This writer wondered, too. The following might help put recent events in perspective… Coincidence? First, notice how the approval rating of Pres. Aquino … Continue reading →

Filed under Citizenship/Patriotism, Crime/Corruption, Laws and Ethics, Philippine Government, Philippine Politics

Mamasapano: on proximate cause and the butterfly effect

Posted by JoeAm on March 18, 2015 · 144 Comments 

 Why Napena’s Oplan is the “proximate cause”, and not the break in chain of command by Andrew Lim With the Board of Inquiry’s report and the Senate Committee’s report now both out, everyone has an opinion on: who is to blame (to hold responsible or to place responsibility for; very imprecise and can be based solely … Continue reading →

Filed under Citizenship/Patriotism, Foreign Affairs and Defense, Laws and Ethics, Philippine Government

The raging of the righteous: Senator Alan Cayetano

Posted by JoeAm on March 17, 2015 · 138 Comments 

right·eous ˈrīCHəs, adjective, (of a person or conduct) morally right or justifiable; virtuous. “He is a good, righteous man, I am sure”, synonyms: good, virtuous, upright, upstanding, decent.   We have a condition, a rather unnerving one, that seems to be arising more frequently within democratic institutions lately. Let’s call it “the raging of the righteous”. Reader mcgll wrote: “. . . it … Continue reading →

Filed under Citizenship/Patriotism, Laws and Ethics, Philippine Government, Philippine Politics, USA/Americans