“Good bye, Hong Kong. It was good to know you.”

Posted by JoeAm on September 4, 2019 · 292 Comments 

By JoeAm Those of us who have been around a long time can tell of huge changes in the way we were until now. Black and white television is now streamed Netflix. The farm where I grew up is now city, so congested that I have trouble finding my way back home again for lack … Continue reading →

Category China, Culture and Arts

Self-dealing defeats humanity

Posted by JoeAm on September 2, 2019 · 51 Comments 

By JoeAm Democracy has proved to be rough going. It is a political process. Politics is agenda pushing, agenda-pushing becomes self-dealing, and self-dealing defeats democratic values. Human rights then get in the way. We see it in the US and UK. We are living it in the Philippines. Actually, the Philippines has had a self-dealing … Continue reading →

Category China, Citizenship/Patriotism, Crime/Corruption, Culture and Arts, Ecology/Global Warming, Economy, Philippine Government

Rubba dub dub, three men in a tub: Albayalde, Lorenzana, and Locsin

Posted by JoeAm on August 26, 2019 · 81 Comments 

By JoeAm There are any number of secretaries I could pick for this little lesson, I suppose. But I chose three whose characters and acts help frame the discussion. There are three forces that define the men and women of government high offices: (1) the people and institutions that shaped them as younger people, (2) … Continue reading →

Category China, Citizenship/Patriotism, Foreign Affairs and Defense, Laws and Ethics, Philippine Government

When people are smarter than their government

Posted by JoeAm on August 12, 2019 · 44 Comments 

By JoeAm People complain a lot about social media. I like the stuff myself. On Facebook, I can keep tabs with the life and adventures of my friends and acquaintances, know their activities, their successes, and their jokes. I can share my own. Still, I don’t use FB for news. It’s unreliable and hard to … Continue reading →

Category Blogging/Journalism, China, Education, Foreign Affairs and Defense, Philippine Government

The three burdens we leave to our youth

Posted by JoeAm on July 22, 2019 · 101 Comments 

By JoeAm Adults of today are losers. They are leaving the kids of today three huge burdens: Global warming Poisoned discourse Dysfunctional government (Philippines, US, UK, etc) None of these burdens will be cured by the next president. Or the next. They are built into our way of life. Global warming Disasters are coming. Heat, … Continue reading →

Category China, Citizenship/Patriotism, Education, Philippine Government