People of Size, Character-Wise

I admire Mother Teresa. She would get out into the field, out with the flies and mud and disease, and help people. I admire Bill Gates, a zillionaire who is giving his money away to help the neediest people around the world. I admire artists who give of their inner soul  so that others may … Continue reading →

Filed under Family/Parenting/Children

“What’s Your Bag?”

I love idiomatic expressions. Sancho Panza is my idol. Well, one of them, along with Barak Obama, George Carlin, Grace Poe, Ambrose Bierce, Charles Dickens and a bunch of people rich of character who are both compassionate and drop dead intelligent. Well, I suppose it could be argued by some that Carlin and Bierce were … Continue reading →

Filed under Blogging/Journalism

Racial Discrimination by the U.S. Embassy in Manila

The American Embassy in the Philippines has a huge problem. It is overwhelmed with applications for tourist and other temporary visas. It is a processing nightmare, something like 1,000 to 1,500 applications a day. This is complicated by the fact that, historically, a large number of Filipinos granted a visa to visit the U.S. have … Continue reading →

Filed under USA/Americans

The Pork of July

Kindly allow me to slip this brief unscheduled blog into the blogpile. It’s a slow, contemplative weekend, and I have an idea. This is the land of pig and honey, a peculiar brand of patriotic fervor. The oink and I. Emphasis on the I. And the oink, come to think about it. Sty and the … Continue reading →

Filed under Crime/Corruption, Philippine Government

Breaking up Dynasties by Breaking up Campaign Contributions

Compiling this blog has been fascinating as I was forced to confront my own presumptions and discover them to be, if not wrong, at least a bit shaky. The headline was written in anticipation of what the blog would conclude.  Let’s go through the facts and arguments and see where we come out. Philippine democracy … Continue reading →

Filed under Citizenship/Patriotism, Philippine Politics