Have Filipinos sold their souls to family bloodlines? And Mr. Aquino?

Posted by JoeAm on August 22, 2014 · 46 Comments 

“The world is in a constant conspiracy against the brave. It’s the age-old struggle: the roar of the crowd on the one side, and the voice of your conscience on the other.” [General Douglas MacArthur] An Aquino family endorsement of Jejomar Binay for president, along with the Aquino sisters’ recent off hand remark that they could … Continue reading →

Category Citizenship/Patriotism, Family/Parenting/Children, Laws and Ethics, Philippine Government, Philippine Politics

Why President Aquino is right to push back against the Supreme Court

Posted by JoeAm on August 20, 2014 · 55 Comments 

Context is everything. When we want to judge something accurately, we need to get the context right or we are likely to end up with the wrong judgment. I think that is broadly what has happened regarding President Aquino’s “push-back” against the Supreme Court on the Court’s DAP ruling. And his comments about a second … Continue reading →

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

Of wooden puppets, talking heads, and presidential candidates

Posted by JoeAm on August 17, 2014 · 34 Comments 

One of my more enjoyable acquaintance-ships here on line is with a young man who blogs and comments under the title “brianitus“. For some reason our mutual disdain for convention and like for noodles puts us on the same wave length, bridging many decades of age-gap. His off-the-wall remarks cause my brain to expand and … Continue reading →

Category Citizenship/Patriotism, Philippine Politics

Of second terms and judicial overreach

Posted by JoeAm on August 14, 2014 · 66 Comments 

One would think that a constitution ought to be a stabilizing document, a force for clarity and reason and good behavior. But the Philippine Constitution is not. It is a tool vested interests manipulate to get their way. You see, that is the problem with adopting American style democratic constitutional processes in a nation has … Continue reading →

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

Filipino ethics: inside out

Posted by JoeAm on August 12, 2014 · 38 Comments 

It struck me that I am a ship out of water when I argue for ethics in journalism, here, in the Philippines. Like other cultural constructs, the matter of “ethics” has a different shading in the Philippines. It is not comprehended in the same way that westerners grasp it. The definition is more along the … Continue reading →

Category Blogging/Journalism, Citizenship/Patriotism, Crime/Corruption, Culture and Arts, Laws and Ethics, Philippine Government