Impeachment: An Ant in the Briefs

The impeachment trial of Chief Justice Corona is good for the Philippines in so many ways. First of all, it is democracy in action, at the highest level. The World Championship of checks and balances. The trial is being conducted in a dramatically tense, often confrontational tone, but also in an amazingly civil and mature … Continue reading

Pinoy Pride: A Floppy Ball of String?

I will resist the notion of looking up what psychologists say pride represents in favor of just thinking about it. Indeed, let me fall back on the Humpty Dumpty New World Dictionary to concoct a definition of pride. It is a noun, which means it is something of itself. It is not an adjective or … Continue reading

The Woman with 14 Kids: A Short Story

Published concurrently on blogwatch.tv.  Once upon a time there was a woman with 14 kids. She was Catholic, living in the Philippines. The woman’s doctor said, “Madam, you have severe high blood pressure, and if you have another child, there is a good chance you will die.” The woman was only 46, so this frightened … Continue reading

Rating the President: Round IV

I’ve been working on a more rigorous way to evaluate President Aquino’s job performance. In the first article, I identified seven areas of responsibility: Presentation Global engagement Infrastructure Health and security Wealth building Social cohesion Timeline architecture In the second article and thethird article, I evaluated the first four areas of responsibility. In this write-up, … Continue reading

China and the Catholic Church

Make no mistake. I like the Catholic Church. I think priests and nuns are among the best people on the planet. They work hard and heartfelt to ease the troubles of people with lots of them. I like the grand cathedrals and local churches, and the spiritual rites, which I can succumb to like a … Continue reading