Our Left Foot

Death and Tax

2014-05-13T14:53:00.004+08:00

If we allow people to smoke, acknowledging people's inalienable right to harm themselves, would it be so abhorrent to allow people to undergo euthanasia for as long as they're taxed for it?

Euthanasia tax, anyone?

Logos

2014-04-28T09:01:00.003+08:00

PDAF ng Ina Mo

2013-07-18T03:37:00.000+08:00

Disbursement done.

At first I thought PDAF was needed to keep conscientiously challenged members of congress at bay. A sitting president will need to have the power of the purse to prod or restrain key people in the pursuit of his or her programs. I thought without the PDAF, a sitting president would be powerless to effect change. No PDAF, no carrot, no stick.

And I thought some more. Maybe we don't have to abolish the damn thing. We just have to change the way it's used. If we state in the guidelines that the PDAF can only be used for the hospitals and schools in the respective districts of our representatives, maybe that'll be easier to track. That way we can be sure that every district's health and education sector gets financial support from congress. Heck, every government hospital I know needs financial assistance badly. And it's no secret we lack classrooms and other education tools. Yes, we've run out of trees to hold classes under.

But then again, without pork, congress will cease to be a beacon (there's a misspelled pun in there somewhere) of earthly pleasures to a lot of people. Without it, half the population of congress will wither and die. The remaining half will become emaciated and hallucinate; hence, harmless. Without PDAF, there may no longer be a need for the carrot and the stick. Without the promise of not-so-hidden treasures, we can be sure that the people trooping to congress (or most of them, anyway) will actually have lawmaking in mind. I'm quite sure imaginative citizens will still find ways to rob the nation's coffers, but hopefully with less vaults to protect, the government will be able to come up with better safeguards.

So, Mr. Congressperson, you don't have to be the ninong or ninang of every newborn in your district. But if you wish to be so, you need to bear in mind that the pakimkim will have to come from your pocket, not mine.

A Few Armed Men

2013-03-11T11:21:00.001+08:00

Hammertime!

On Valentines Day, the Sultan of Sulu sent a few armed men to Sabah to 'reclaim' it. Mr. Sultan claims that Sabah belongs to the Sultanate and that it is merely on lease to Malaysia for Php70,000 per year -- which tells me that I've been renting the wrong place this whole time! It appears nobody remembered to consider inflation when they were hammering out the lease agreement. Big mistake.

Some argue that the island (which was originally owned by the Sultan of Brunei, but was gifted to the Sultan of Sulu as a reward for being such a helpful fellow) really was ceded to Malaysia, not leased. Well, actually the transfer was from the Sultan of Brunei; then to the Sultanate of Sulu; then leased/ceded to a British company; then to Great Britain, who was 'overseeing' some other islands in the area also; then Sabah was granted freedom and decided to be part of the Malaysian federation -- but who cares about details like that.

Now, the question is: If Sabah really was sold to the British North Borneo Company, how much was it sold for? One does not buy something without a definite price. In 1898, the Philippines was ceded by Spain (the bastards) to the United States for $20 million dollars. That is an exact sum, and it is huge, 1898 huge. Having said that, 5,300 Malaysian ringgit or Php70,000 per year sounds like rent money to me -- which still tells me I'm renting the wrong place!

Anyway. So, Mr. Sultan sent a few armed men to Sabah. Malaysia naturally didn't like it. Both the Malaysian and the Philippine governments urged Mr. Sultan Kiram to send his men back to Sulu to avoid extreme awkwardness. No go. And more than two weeks after Valentines Day, violence erupted, both sides suffered casualties.

Then on March 06, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon came out with a statement urging people to just stop being such toddlers. Mr. Sultan heard that and promptly declared a unilateral ceasefire, which is his way of saying I don't have to consult with you but I'm telling you that I'm having this ceasefire. To which Malaysia replied: "Neknek mo." So, no, that did not work.

As of today, the Malaysians are still irritable and still hunting down Kiram's men in Sabah -- and being assholes to other Filipinos there along the way. Well, Kiram still wants that ceasefire and is urging UN to intervene. To this day, Malaysia is still pointing to its neck -- universally accepted signal for 'neknek mo.'

***

This wonderful excursion of Kiram's men into his very own Sabah is nothing more than an act of price haggling -- no less, no more.

I will not be so presumptuous as to assume that Kiram is stupid that he believes that he can rule over Sabah and its inhabitants.

I will not be so presumptuous as to assume that Kiram is stupid that he does not realize the headache it will bring us if we go ahead and 'subdue' Sabah. We will have seen a secession movement far more violent and fatal than any secession movement we have ever experienced.

Kiram knows it is foolhardy to claim and actually take over Sabah. He is much too shrewd to not know that. He is shrewd enough, though, to send a few men to their death to start the haggling process. Heads have turned, attentions have been gained, let's hope the haggling can start.

Anyone who believes that Kiram did not know what would ultimately happen to his Sabah excursionists is not fully appreciating the Sultan of Sulu.

Legislating Prejudice

2013-02-18T10:35:00.001+08:00

The issue of political dynasty is not about politicians and their relatives. Political dynasty is a reflection of our problematic voting culture. No matter how hard we try, and even if there prevails an antidynasty law, we would still be in deep doo-doo simply because we have missed the real issue.

It's not about stopping relatives of politicians from running for office; it's about changing the way we vote. It's about voting for the candidate best-suited for the job regardless of his or her last name.

An antidynasy law can not and should not substitute for voters' maturity. We should never legislate discernment. Sadly, an antidynasty law will only succeed in legislating prejudice.

Guardian Angels

2013-01-28T11:37:00.001+08:00

It's a classic case of barking up the wrong tree when we start ganging up on the guard on duty everytime something bad happens in a mall. Really, what can guards do to prevent determined people from bring in guns to the mall? Given the rules they operate by, it's not so hard to slip in a gun.

Exactly what do we want from our mall guards? Do we really want guards to start groping on our crotches? Because that's one of the ideal places to hide a gun -- or a knife (but that would really be uncomfortable). Also, would we relish enduring long queues going into the mall? If we wish guards to be thorough, then they would have to spend more time with each mall patron, frisking them and poking around their things, before they are allowed in. Doing that would undoubtedly irritate customers, bother the mall admin as a consequence, which would result in Kuyang Guard getting whipped.

Now, why not compel malls and similar commercial establishments to install those huge doorway metal detectors (whatever they're called) in every entrance? Instead of making scapegoats out of security guards, why not address the issue directly, admit that the rules are defective, and then revise them accordingly? Well, blaming the guards (not the security agency, mind you) makes more sense. It's cheaper.

Here's the context that my sister said this article lacks. :)

10175

2012-10-05T16:48:00.002+08:00

RA10175 is more than just an online libel law.

It also deals with Cyber-squatting, Internet fraud, Identity theft, Child pornography and others.

Yes, RA010175 needs revisions and some passages are extremely jologs, but to repeal the whole thing is just plain counterproductive.

Let's go for revision rather than repeal.

Revise RA10175.

Sottonism

2012-09-06T17:01:00.000+08:00

The saddest thing is: if we compel our senators to take a stand on any important issue facing the nation today, we will find out that a good number of them are very much as pathetic as Sotto.

Hopefully, this episode teaches the voting public to take elections seriously. Hopefully, this little situation comedy reminds the voting population that we deserve better and that we must expect more from our public servants.

I suppose, if only for this, Sotto deserves a little bit of gratitude.

Senior Action Stars

2012-05-23T12:57:00.002+08:00

Although childish, extremely unlawyerly and completely unbecoming of a Top Magistrate, the twist Corona tried to facilitate in the IC yesterday was quite impressive. The whole presentation, though, ended with a whimper when he tried to leave the Senate but was foiled. He then had to come back in a wheelchair (panindigan na ung hilo) to face a very irked JPE. Spit and run is not an actual legal maneuver. He should have stood his ground and insisted on the waiver challenge before going on with the trial. That would have earned him at least 86 macho points, I think.

On a connected note, bat kaya hindi si Pnoy ang hinamon niya ng bukasan ng dollar account, e si Pnoy naman ang major character sa istorya ng impeachment niya?

He ranted about how the vengeful Haciendero President used and abused his executive powers to persecute a hapless, airconless, diabetic Chief Justice, yet he shied away from a no-holds-barred bank acount duel.

Nabackground check niya na kaya si Pnoy at nalaman niyang walang dollar account ito? Di niya naisip kasi kapos ang imagination? Natakot? Nahiya?

Anyare?

Para kay Denis, Desiree at Mommy.

2012-02-26T10:23:00.005+08:00

I can never really claim to know how you feel, but based on the horror I feel when my daughter is hurt (no matter how trivial), I can only imagine the pain you have been carrying every single day for the past several weeks.

Sana ang mga nakalipas na mga araw, ang mga pagpapakita ng pagmamahal kay Daniel at pagdamay sa inyong pagdalamhati ay nakatulong upang mabawasan ang sakit na nadarama mo at ng iyong pamilya.

Daniel will never be forgotten, and he will always be missed.

Someday, we shall remember Daniel and no longer feel grief, but rather remember the beautiful moments we have shared with him and smile.

From me and my family, we hope that all is well with you and your loved ones.

Old Blasphemous Jokes Don't Die

2012-01-17T20:00:00.000+08:00

Jesus stepped in front of the woman to protect her from the angry mob's resolve to stone the unclean woman to her death. The mob, upon seeing the rabbi protect the woman, held their anger and fell silent. Jesus gazed upon them, and he called out to the sinless to cast the first stone.

Silence.

Thwuck!

And then another: Thwuck!

Suddenly, crimson was flowing from the woman's forehead. The rabbi turned his bewildered gaze from the bleeding woman to the confused crowd. The crowd parted, Jesus drew near, and he saw a woman about to pick up another rock.

"Nay naman, wag ka na kasi sumali!"

Oweyanonaman

2012-01-09T14:10:00.014+08:00

I don't get pro-GMA people. I just don't.

Well, there are those who were able to benefit from her one way or another. Some of her cabalens visited her in St Lukes and declared their loyalty -- loyalty stemming from a dole-out culture. Silang mga nabigyan ng salapi, scholarships, basketball courts, waiting sheds, pustiso, etc.

Siyempre, yung mga politikong nakadikit pa din ke GMA ay ibang hayop ang mga yun. Maaring nakinabang sila ke GMA o me alam si GMA tungkol sa kanila (or both).

Then there are those who are pro-GMA simply because they're anti-Pnoy. It's a stupid way of going about it, but here we are. People should realize it's not always an either/or situation. One can actually be anti-Pnoy and be anti-GMA at the same time. The maxim "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" is something that you use in war, methinks. In the pursuit of good governance, it shouldn't be as simple as that.

I rooted for Aquino during the last election. The operative word is "rooted," past tense. I stopped rooting for the guy when the Comelec declared a winner. After that, I decided to give the government the benefit of the doubt. I would have done the same thing regardless of who won the election. There are people who are still wearing their campaign shirts, still smarting from the election results, and it is through this lens that this present government is being appraised.

Baduy.

So far, wala pa namang nag-akusa ng pagnanakaw sa gobyernong ito, not even made-up ones. Kadalasan, personal na pambabastos ang ginagawa. Nandiyang tawagin ang presidente na abnoy, autistic, bakla, panot, etc. Pati playstation dinamay.

We gave GMA 9 years, what's wrong with giving this government 6 years?

Bah...

2011-12-08T16:27:00.000+08:00

I'm starting to hate Christmas.

Salamin

2011-04-30T16:22:00.007+08:00

Ang pagaayos ng sariling salamin ay hindi madali kung malabo ang iyong mga mata.

In-laws et cetera

2011-04-26T14:55:00.002+08:00

In-laws.

Imagine life without them.

In a way I'm grateful that they brought my wife into this world, and I promptly brought their daughter into mine. I really am grateful for that.

(And here is the rant - sa wikang mahalimuyak sa pandinig)

Pero por diyos por santo, nang nagpaulan si bathala ng kakayahang makipagtalastasan at makipagusap sa paraang naangkop sa mga taong nasa hustong gulang na, tulog sila, nakakapote at nakapayong pa. Simpleng palitan ng tanong at sagot para maintindihan ang ilang pangyayari ay di pa magawa. Direktang pagtatanong para maliwanagan ang mga bagay bagay ay di magawa.

Bilang mga taong nasa hustong edad na, dapat naiisip natin na ang mga kwentong nasasagap ay may dalawang bersyon. Malamang sa hindi ay pamilyar sila sa konseptong ito, subalit ang pagiging pamilyar dito at ang aktuwal na pagsunod sa konseptong ito ay lubhang magkaiba.

Ang pagiging pamilyar dito ay mas madali, konseptong kayang himayin, nguyain at lunukin nang walang anumang kapaguran sa umiintindi. Ang pagsunod dito ay may kahirapan sapagkat kinakailangang ipakita ang pagintindi sa pamamagitan ng pagkilos na naayon sa konspetong nabanggit.

Patas ba. Magtanong sa magkabilang panig.

Hay naku. Tumataas ang hairline ko.

Now, imagine life with my new hairline.

2011-03-26T14:19:00.002+08:00

Walanjo, it's been a year and seven months since the last time I added something to this blog. Antagal na din nun at andami na ding nangyari. We've had disasters, we've seen heroes, we buried an icon, we've seen Willie's tantrum on national TV, we've elected a new president, I found a new job, and my waistline has taken over my life.

Life, oh, life.

2010

2009-08-27T08:25:00.001+08:00

Why not? Kaya din naman namin magsinungaling.

No Offense...

2009-07-03T23:53:00.004+08:00

... but mother nature missed it mark, missed by a few office doors, I suppose.

This country just has too many malice-infested offices, too many malicious public officials. Mother nature has a way of leveling things up, a way of making sure that corruption does not totally eclipse out the population of activists and apoliticals.

She sent AH1N1 to even things up. AH1N1 found the right buiding, got in and found it's supposed mark (first of many). But, alas, it got the wrong one. It missed its mark.

Mother nature missed Members of Congress. I'm sure the virus waited and waited in the dark and dingy halls of the Batasan Pambansa waiting for its congressmen. But what Mother Nature failed to take into account was that Members of Congress do not attend sessions. They're Congressmen (or women). They do not have to go to congress. They've already won. There is no more need to keep the pretension of being civil servants. They can be congressmen anywhere: They can be congressmen in a golf course, a beach resort,a five star hotel, even abroad.

My condolence to the first casualty of the dreaded AH1N1. My heart goes out to your family and friends.

I hope next time the AH1N1 gets its mark.

I think there's a list somewhere.

http://tsikot.yehey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59730

The Best Medicine

2009-01-27T09:29:00.006+08:00

We are known for being a race that can laugh in the middle of great swirling manure. We like the fact that we can still find humor even in the face of really mean-looking odds. It helps us be resilient, we say. Tenacious, to be redundant. Tough, to be really redundant.

Why are we not known as a butt-kicking race?
A nation of doers?
The Republic of We-are-so-doing-great-things?

We like being funny. I do, too. We like it when people acknowledge that we have a great sense of humor. We consider that a compliment.

Sure. After Marcos, we had Macoy jokes. After Cory, we had, well, Cory jokes and brownout jokes, etcetera. When the current president said hello to a certain Garci, we readily had a sackful of jokes about that. We even had that recording remixed. We still have those Jocjoc jokes around. We exchange them, we laugh at them and then we move on to that joke about the giraffe's sore throat.

This is not to say that we should stop laughing. Skulking sucks. I mean, some Gloria jokes are okay, don't get me wrong. I love it that we can laugh even under lousy circumstances, but wouldn't it be better if we were known for other things aside from our laughter. Let's laugh at some Gloria jokes, but let's not stop there. Let's laugh at some jokes about a very expensive fiscal/judge, but don't stop there. Laugh at some pork barrel jokes, kotong jokes, MMDA jokes, LTO jokes and some really tasteless jokes about a Pinoy seaman and a South American whore, but remember why the joke was created.

We laugh when we are in deep doo-doo.
We create jokes about that particular doo-doo.
Laugh at the doo-doo jokes, but do not forget the doo-doo.

Fear Factor : Quiapo Edition

2009-01-11T18:05:00.003+08:00

I just saw the Feast of the Black Nazarene “procession” on TV. It was quite an event. Devotees were risking life, limb and children just to get near the Black Nazarene. It would have been hilarious if it weren’t for the number of injured devotees.

Naman. It’s a religious event. It shouldn’t be as dangerous as the yearly bull-running festival in Pamplona, Spain. It’s a way of showing the creator or the son or both our rabid devotion. But like most religious event that we have here, we forget the essential thing. We forget faith, and we stick to the ritual with the single-mindedness of an infant. People forget why we flock to Quiapo Church. People forget why we insist on touching the wooden Christ. People forget everything but remember the routine.

Faith is hard, routine is easy.

Imagine what would happen if the Quiapo Church decides to stop holding the yearly procession? What could happen? The devotees and the faithful would certainly go berserk. They couldn’t even change the procession route. The crowd a.k.a. mob just won’t let anyone interfere with their ritual.

Are we a nation of unthinking devotees? Have we a culture of rituals?

I hope I’m wrong.

I should be wrong.

Christmas 2008

2009-01-11T17:11:00.001+08:00

It's been two weeks since Christmas 2008. I haven't really written anything during the Christmas season. My christmas season has been fun and way nice. You see, i don't like writing nice things, I prefer ranting. But, all in all, as I've mentioned, my Christmas 2008 went really great. My family and my wife's family spent Christmas together in Baguio. My wife's from Baguio and they have a house there. The weather was great, freezing to some, and the atmosphere was generally calm and jovial. Well, there were a few religious-schism moments, but things worked out okay. We had several turista moments: boating, horseback riding, sight-seeing and mind-numbing picture taking.

Christmas 2008 was nice. Hope to have better ones in the future.

I've Been Plagiarized!

2008-12-08T22:55:00.000+08:00

Yes, I've been plagiarized!

I went and googled my article one day (yeah, yeah, for narcissistic reasons) and used a sentence in my article as keywords. The google search displayed an article, my article: the Kotong article. The strange thing about it was that the article wasn't under my blog’s name. It was under somebody else's blog. Somebody with just the right level of IQ to be able to create a blog but not enough to write his or her own entry copied my ‘kotong’ article.

I don't know how to feel.

I'm no Norman Mailer, I know, and my articles aren't really Pulitzer Prize contenders, but it's not right that somebody with an IQ of a malnourished toad copy an article of mine and pass it off as his or her own. There wasn't any acknowledgment of some sorts. Not a drop of acknowledgment whatsoever. Not even "I plagiarized this from 'OurLeftFoot' and I have the IQ of a malnourished toad" or "I stole this article, somebody set me on fire."

If plagiarism is the highest form of flattery, then stabbing should be the highest display of gratitude.

Okay. Now, I feel flattered. Who should I thank?

Lies We Like Part One

2008-12-04T09:50:00.000+08:00

If you're running for anything and you say you're pro-poor,
chances are you're full of horse manure.

The term "pro-poor" has been bandied around so much for the past few decades that it has completely lost its meaning. Its definition fell off simply because of excessive overuse. Does that refer to families earning P300 or less per month? P3,000? P30,000? The word has become a pendant: something you wear on your neck to add to your character. A bling-bling for political hip-hoppers.

What it has retained is its drama, that's all. But in a nation filled with rabid soap opera-loving voters, people still believe that pro-poor is a proper word. Those who use it don't even take it seriously.

So, the question is: When somebody uses the term pro-poor, is he referring to you or to nobody in particular?

My House is Now Wi-Fi Enabled

2008-12-01T12:48:00.002+08:00

Yes, folks, I just bought a router. Not just any router, mind you, a Wireless Router. (Insert thunderbolt and lightning here) Now, that doesn’t seem to be something to be crazy about, you would say. That's because you don't know me and my computer skills. Although I’m not much of a computer or an internet expert, I do know a few elementary things about this technology. I take time to read what pops up on my screen, which is a good habit, and I understand simple instructions when repeated several times. Me no Einstein, Tarzan, BUT I single-handedly installed my Wireless Router! (Thunderbolt and lightning)

I connected everything to the router. I looked at the manual and the diagram on the manual several times, and a few times more. Thank God for diagrams. After hooking everything up, I checked to see if my desktop has internet connection. Yes, it does. Now, that wasn’t so hard, you say. That doesn’t really merit the thunderbolt and lightning bit earlier. But I’m not done yet. My wife uses the laptop with Wi-Fi capability. Her laptop has Vista. I went over to her laptop and checked. Of course, it does not have internet connection. Why should everything be easy? Where is the fun in that?

I am able to surf the net, so that means the router is working. My desktop is hardwired to the router and it is working fine. So, I went back to the manual, stared at it some more, stared at the diagrams and drawings again and again. And a few more times again. It said I had to go to the Graphic User Interface or GUI of the router. I bet I’m starting to impress you, huh? I used my internet browser to reach the GUI and I set up the wireless configuration of the router. It turned out that while the router is already working, it was not broadcasting wireless internet signal yet. After doing all those techie and intelligent stuff on the wireless router’s GUI, grunting every now and then to add to the seriousness of my task, I went over to my wife’s Vista laptop again. (Okay, I can’t remember what I did so I can’t write them down here) No internet connection on my wife’s laptop still. And then I remembered somebody giving me a very high-tech advice: Restarting Vista usually fixes internet connection issues. I did that. And then (yes, thunderbolt and lightning), nothing. A very large nothing. Same thing. No internet connection. I fiddled with the network and connection settings of the laptop...again. (I must have blacked out while doing it, so I’m not able to tell you the steps I did) Fiddled, fiddled, fiddled and fiddled some more. Drank coffee to look really, really busy and then fiddled some more. Then I decided to snoop around the laptop. Snoop, snoop, snoop. And there it was, the actual switch for the Wi-Fi capability of the laptop. I flicked the switch, and then (I inserted this useless sentence to really create suspense, blah, blah, blah) the laptop recognized the wireless signal coming from the router. (Yes, yes, thunderbolt and what-not right here) My desktop and my wife’s laptop can now surf the net at the same time. We no longer have to whine on the side to be able to go online. Friendster, here we come! Are people still using Friendster?

Well, thanks to my computer skills and finely honed tsamba, my house is now Wi-Fi enabled.

Starbucks, eat your heart out.

Oh, my Wi-Fi broadcast is password-encrypted, so if you wanna go online for free, go find a Starbucks or a Burger King.

What’s Wrong with Kotong?

2008-11-24T21:34:00.000+08:00

Yes, indeed, what’s wrong with kotong?

I hear it every now and again: people dislike kotong or mulcting. They don’t like it when policemen or the blue and pink boys of MMDA take their hard-earned money in exchange for leniency. A wrong turn on a one-way street here, a swerving violation over there, driving a vehicle that’s supposed to be resting in the garage (if you have a garage) because it’s Wednesday and your car plate ends in 6. Everybody hates kotong, but when a policeman or an MMDA person stops you on the street, your first impulse would be to reach for your wallet (or purse if you’re a girl) and take out that hard-earned 200 pesos (depending on the particular policeman or MMDA brat).

But then again, what’s wrong with kotong?

People want a better EDSA, we want better roads and road officers. But when one gets stopped by road officers, they expect these officers to take their bribes. They don’t want to meet an honest road officer when caught. In other words, we need honest road officers when we’re not on the road. I’ve heard tsupers complain about kotong cops and MMDA officers and then lament about a cop that took away his license because that particular cop was an honest one. We need to understand what we’re wishing for. Wishing for honest road officers means that when you get caught, you will be given the just penalty according to the gravity of your offense. Let’s expect honest road officers. Moreover, do not give these road officers the chance to go corrupt on you. Stay away from traffic violations and kotong moments will be a thing of the past.

There are a million and one things wrong with kotong, with kotong cops and kotong MMDA officers, but there is something very wrong also with corrupt motorists.

Now, there are road officers who will gladly pull out phony, hairy violations from their hats, but that’s another story.