meetjopeblack

I love doing crazy things with Cathy. One of which was the idea of bathing au naturelle in our laundry area. (Okay, we wore our swim suits. We didn't want to satisfy any possible peeping toms out there and because sometimes, our kid neighbor climbs the tree on the other side of our wall, I dunno why. We don't want any case filed against us.) The faucet got busted and we had to line pails and basins to save the flowing fresh water. With no use for it, we decided (okay, upon my suggestion) to use them for bathing instead...

At noon, we left for Hyatt Hotel and Casino. Pics in my multiply. That overnight thing was another crazy idea. Being with Cathy for more than 36 hours straight is fun; staying at the Hyatt and dealing with their inefficient discourteous discriminatory staff is not.

but she's too beautiful to be gunned down.

Plugged into: Sweeney Todd's "My Friends"

Fascinated by the poster, I created my own version:

 

It's a far cry from the original but for my purposes, it's a perfect wallpaper for my 5310.

My old one is Michelangelo's David juxtaposed with Alexandros' Venus de Milo:

My new toy and past-time: Photoshop.

Plugged into: Martin Nievera's "Ikaw ang Pangarap"

meetjopeblack

Plugged into: Juno OST

meetjopeblack

I believe:

1.  Jun Lozada is a credible witness.

2.  the ZTE deal is beset with corruption and that the bureaucratic system is swimming in corruption.

3.  Abalos, being the COMELEC chair, whether he sought for a share in the deal or not, or explicitly asked for a bribe, should not be involved in any business deals the government is entering into, be it to invite investors to our country and more so, if it is for his personal gain.

I'm not sure:

1.  what PGMA's involvement is in this issue:  does she know or does she not know?  If she does know, did she intentionally give it a blind eye?

2.  what we are fighting for.  What is the "PGMA resign" about?  When they say, "Stand on the side of the truth,"  whose truth are they referring to?  It's a naivété to think that truth corresponds to reality and that the human person looking at reality comes not from a certain context without a particular agenda.

3.  what the noise is about.  What are all these things for?

What now?

1.  I believe the senate and other sectors are milking this issue so that PGMA in particular will be implicated and can be impeached and thereby be removed from office.

2.  I believe that because we twice failed in impeaching the president for real impeachable reasons, everyone's an eager beaver in the developments of this case reading the story with the PGMA-is-involved lens presumptuously.

2.  I believe that politicos are pushing their own agenda with the seat of the presidency in 2010 at the back of their minds, using the senate halls and the churches for media mileage.

3.  I believe the senate investigation has served its purpose i.e. to investigate the ZTE deal in aid of legislation and what they are doing now is over and above their mandate as senators.  Next time, the senate should be clear about its objectives every time it opens an investigation so that all the senators will work within the parameters of the investigation in aid of legislation.   Resource persons should not be made to answer for a host of problems which go waywardly in circles repetitiously.

4.  I believe it's right that we demand for a change in the government but this can only happen if we first ask ourselves and our moral guardians, i.e. the Church, what it has done to teach its flock about honesty, accountability, and fairness and what we have done to practice our worship.  

5.  I believe the time is not yet ripe to call on the ouster of PGMA.  Even Jun Lozada is not sure if PGMA has something to do with the Abalos affair.

May this be a lesson to the voting public:  once we get someone in office, we have given him/her up to the dynamics of power.  In our country, to get someone out of office is impossible to do.

Managing a government and running a nation is no walk in the park.  Every mistake is costly, irrevocable, and eternally imprinted on the psyche and history of the nation.  When will we learn?

Fast from judging others; feast on the Christ dwelling within them.
Fast from emphasis on differences; feast on the unity of all life.
Fast from apparent darkness; feast on the reality of light.
Fast from words that pollute; feast on phrases that purify.
Fast from discontent; feast on gratitude.
Fast from anger; feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism; feast on optimism.
Fast from worry; feast on trust.
Fast from complaining; feast on appreciation.
Fast from negatives; feast on affirmatives.
Fast from unrelenting pressures; feast on unceasing prayer.
Fast from hostility; feast on nonviolence.
Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness.
Fast from self-concern; feast on compassion for others.
Fast from personal anxiety; feast on eternal truth.
Fast from discouragement; feast on hope.
Fast from facts that depress; feast on truths that uplift.
Fast from lethargy; feast on enthusiasm.
Fast from suspicion; feast on truth.
Fast from thoughts that weaken; feast on promises that inspire.
Fast from idle gossip; feast on purposeful silence.

Gentle God, during this season of fasting and feasting, gift us with Your
Presence, so we can be gift to others in carrying out your work. Amen.

Isn't it clear even from the start that Jun Lozada is talking about the system and not about the president in particular? If the administration has nothing to do with the kickbacks, why is it trying the damnest to hide the truth? Why is the administration trying hard to shut Lozada up?

Answer: Because it will open a can of worms which ran governments since time immemorial. It might make the people lose confidence in the system. Because it is also trying to protect people who are clean. Because we probably can't handle the truth. Just look at how confused and directionless everyone is now!

When the gravity of corruption is exposed, this administration fears that this might legitimize corruption being already out in the open. Of course, no sound mind will accept corruption as morally right (and my conclusion as non sequitour and appalling). In theory, no person will approve of corruption. But in practice, REALLY, this exposé may be used as an excuse by anyone who wants to get his way: "This politician got away with it, why can't I?" Ours may not be as gross as the $130 million dollar deal, but one way or another, have we not given favors to officials or colleagues to have things done our way. Have we not pulled strings to avoid the hassle of lining up to Wowowee or to get a VISA at the US Embassy or to be allowed in the VIP section of Embassy?

I'm not saying that we should let the implicated officials in the ZTE deal go because we too are not clean. On the contrary, we should run after them, make them explain, and use the full force of the law on them. But this ruckus is more than the ZTE deal. The issue here is no longer about the truth--whether bribes and kickbacks were taken or not. What we should address heretoforth is how corruption should be stopped by enacting and implementing laws, strengthening the justice system, and intensifying moral education. The J. Lo. exposé is about how deals are made in this country (and God, I've heard this ever since I was a kid!). Finally, an insider denounced the unfairness of such trades.

Here, everybody has been tagged by J. Lo. This is like the Facebook of our country--one is linked with everybody else by virtue of being part of one's contacts. What Lozada's exposé did was tag all of us. We belong to this corrupt system and we all have our share in cuddling this disease directly or indirectly. Our enemy is corruption and how we all have turned a blind eye on it through history! Are we in the hunt for corrupt persons leaving no stones unturned and in our hunt found only one--PGMA? So by getting rid of PGMA we mean, we can have a renewed national spirit and a clean system? We have eradicated corruption?

C'mon! By now we should know that that corrupt person is in the bank, in our school, in the church, in businesses, beside you, around you, in you, in all of us! If we are sincere about this fight against moral decay, no one should be spared from the rod. My visual imagery here is the scene from the movie, La Reine Margot, when the grounds of Paris became a canvas of blood and gore as the Protestant guests of Marguerite de Valois were massacred upon the orders of Catherine de Medici. That I think is what we should do--gear up for battle, massacre the corrupt, shout ahoo! ahoo! ahoo!!

This issue here is not about the president or her administration. This is about us and how we want to clean up the system. This is about corruption eating the moral fiber of our nation. Don't be misled by opportunists both fame-seeking power-hungry individuals or know-it-all anarchists carrying the banner of liberation, truth, and justice for all.

And oh, healing the system cannot be done by prayer rallies and noise barrages alone. I think we know how we ought to be more proactive than that. Geez!