When Lies Become Facts

I have been following the battle in Gaza. Being a guy kind of guy, I think that is what most of us manly types are inclined to do. If we are not following women around we are following the guns and bombs. Third in the hierarchy of manly interests is trucks and cars. Or maybe bikes, boxers and chickens.

Gaza Truth

But I digress.

I had one of those head shaking, forehead slapping moments last week as the brave warriors of Gaza were running around after the cease fire, shouting in glee as to their victory and firing their guns in the air in celebration.

Never mind that they were running around amidst the rubble of previously useful structures blasted back to useless rock, or wending their way among the funeral processions of military men and the women and children killed in the "victory battle".

I tell you, these guys are Filipinos on steroids, their esteem issues producing a re-interpretation of facts that is simply bizarre.

In the Philippines, this little conversion of lies to facts is a matter of building face, and Senators Sotto and Enrile are sterling examples of how it is displayed. Sotto by re-defining the facts of stealing other people's work as complete innocence, Enrile re-writing history in his book.

In Gaza, it is the same thing.

I'd guess the Gaza warriors actually believe what they claim. "Victory!"

The alternative is to believe they lost and grab hold of the brain rattling realization that provoking Israel was a really stupid thing to do.

Gaza Lie

And Sotto may believe people are making a big deal out of nothing when they file an ethics case against him. And Enrile may be writing politically, to an agenda, rather than historically. Politics, is, after all, the business of turning lies into laws.

Then the pundits arrive on the scene in Gaza. Love that press, the "Fourth Estate". It excels at rationalizing any event six ways from Sunday and proclaims that Israel really screwed up by attacking harshly, because now the Arab states are united against Israel. Indeed, they agree with the victory dance, that Hamas won. Even Abbas in the West Bank is categorized as among the "walking dead" because he chose to restrain West Bank Palestinians from revolt.

What a loser, arguing for calm and decency.

I look at this and here's what I see.

• Hamas militants fired rockets at civilians.

• Israel bombed their poor country into the stone ages, making it even poorer.

• The Hamas militants, like the Catholic Church in the Philippines, are re-writing truth in which they deny any responsibility for the outcome of their decisions.

• Next time Israel will show less restraint after having been shown up by the Palestinian need to gloat, that need itself a gross psychological malady.

I run around exclaiming to my wife that "decisions are facts, decisions are facts!" If you get to where you are going late, as most Filipinos do, it is a choice. The choice says, factually, "it is not important to me to arrive on time", or personalizing it, "you are not important enough for me to arrive on time". Decisions cannot be denied for what they are.

When you fire a rocket into a town full of civilians, it is a decision, and all outcomes arising from that decision belong to you.

You are not entitled to write the script for the other party that limits what they can do. That says "you can only fire one rocket back at me, otherwise it is excessive and brutal force".

Gaza Absurdity

No no no no.

Until you are dead, pal, any force is legitimate, because you are murdering scum.

Same principle applies to Sotto and Enrile.

The response does not have to be equal, a paragraph for a paragraph, a book for a book. No, indeed. The weight of the response does not have to match the offense. It should punish, the way courts assign actual damages plus a punitive fine.

When you behave badly, you have no right to call for mercy. You simply have the obligation to correct the error of your ways. Or be soundly punished for enduring transgressions.

When lies are twisted to become facts, mercy does not enter the equation.

Is President Aquino an Idiot?

From the Humpty Dumpty New World Dictionary:

• Idiot: (noun)  A person with a good education who applies it poorly.

The top cop in the Philippines is Justice Secretary De Lima. Well, she is in control of the attack dogs, the investigators, the public dicks, the prosecutors.  DILG Secretary Roxas is the top uniformed cop, the guy with the big baton and huge police force. Throw in the army under Secretary of National Defense Gazmin and we have all the muscular power and might of the Philippine State. It is huge. It is ready to pounce.

Sottocopied from Raissa's Top Blog

It is lined up against some skinny guy in a small room with a computer and a keyboard typing words that fly out of his brain as he does his best to agitate for a better Philippines.

The nation that shot an educated, sophisticated, articulate and passionate Dr. Jose Rizal for expressing  opinions is at it again, at its crude best.

  

Expression and oppression. The beauty and the beast. The free and the fear-inspiring.

Here is what Justice Secretary De Lima had to say about the new Cybercrime Law:

• “On a finer legal point, no legislator can unilaterally ask for a suspension of a law nor can we decide to suspend. . .On the ground, we will just be judicious on the first few cases to allay fears of abuse or excesses in the exercise of such power and also to gain trust." [Inquirer]

So the government's stand on this law is clear:

• "Trust us."

Never mind that laws are written in black and white to protect citizens. That is the whole purpose of the Constitution.  It is not written in the warm fuzziness of trust.

• Constitution, Article III, Section 4. No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.

I'm not an attorney, but i know when a law is suggesting ordinary people sit down and shut up and be obedient to their betters. The black and white of the Cybercrime Law is scary. And by being scary, it has the power to oppress and suppress simply having been written.

Look at how many commenters are asking, "can I say this now?"

• "Can I say that Senator Sotto is an idiot?"

• Joe knows. Senator Sotto is an idiot. An idiot is a man who studied Dr. Rizal's works yet does not grasp how oppression works, with the powerful intimidating and arresting the powerless. He inserted the libel section of the law. He whined about cyber-bullies.

Well, that's what Senator Sotto and other privileged lawmakers want. They want people to question, to think one more time, to error on the side of judiciousness. To edit out harsh words. They want protection for the powerful from the people.

The One and Only

They want the Philippines to be a nation of disingenuous sweet words where candor and hot opinion are censored from the public's mouth as if they were overgrown warts carved off the noses of hypersensitive legislators.

Who, really, are we protecting with the libel, snoop and "unplug'em" provisions of the Cybercrime Law? Are we protecting children? Women? The innocent and the helpless? Scam victims? Predator victims?

No. We are protecting the powerful who fear that their power is at risk from some skinny guy with a computer typing "Senator Sotto has no ethical clothes!!!" We are protecting the Good Senator and his colleagues from bullying by the millions of poverty stricken Filipinos and the only advocates they have, bloggers and columnists.

Time to crack down on perverts and bloggers, eh?

President Aquino, following his tried and true pattern of being the mouthpiece for his staff's questionable findings, fell into line on the law, too, with a good amount of equivocating wobble to cover his tender bases:

“We believe that we need to really address crimes that are not clearly covered by laws. But let me repeat, maybe on (online) libel, I’m not in favor of removing (the provision). For example, if you write something and it is libelous, you have a liability. If you’re a broadcaster on radio and TV, you also have responsibility. If what you said was libelous, even on the Internet, maybe it’s still libelous. . . .if what you said was wrong, maybe the one aggrieved or whose rights were impinged should have redress. . . . "

"Rights are always bounded when it impinges on the rights of others. So if the penalties are excessive, have them amended. If some of the procedures are arbitrary, there are (implementing rules and regulations) yet so we can include (provisions) to avoid abuse of the powers that the state will be exercising." [PhilStar]

Maybe this, maybe that. Somehow I am not feeling any lessening in the "chilling effect" that the law imposes.

I am hearing people . . . leaders . . . largely tone-deaf as to the most fundamental right its citizens have. The right to speak openly and freely. To opine. To use language that bites or stings. To advocate for progress by ripping to shreds those who would stand in the way. To call names and issue non-violent threats. "You'll be out of office in 2016, Bubba Sotto!"

Sharp, unkind words. For effect. Like these:

• The President is an idiot if he thinks this law will garner more investments for the Philippines.

• The President is an idiot if he thinks tourism will increase because of the protections this law imposes.

• The President is an idiot if he thinks this law will promote the kind of vibrant discussion that is necessary to bring the Philippines into the modern era of good governance, productive processes and constructive social values.

• The President is an idiot if he thinks this law will advance his advocacy for a better, more honest Philippines.

• The President is an idiot if he thinks a lot of educated people around the globe will NOT arrive at the conclusion "Ah, yes, the Philippines. That's the Banana Republic of Asia, right?"

This is a law with scant protections for little people. The protections for the little people, those of us without attorneys in the closet to advise us on when we are vulnerable to libel charges or having our internet unplugged, is "trust us".

Let's be perfectly clear here. The Cybercrime libel protections are for powerful people with the money to file a libel case and a raft of lawyers at their disposal. People with the authority to shut off criticism simply by filing a charge.

The protection is for Senator Sotto. It is not for JoeAm. Or Raissa. Or benigno. Or Ellen. Or Noemi. Or Angela. Or Cocoy. Or Rappler columnists.

It is not for Jose dela Cruz, whose family will sit down tonight to another meal of salt on rice.

It is protecting the very same people who are inadequate to the task of putting meat on Jose's plate. Inadequate to the task of passing an RH Bill. Inadequate to the task of passing a Freedom of Information Bill.

Bloggers have learned to deal with criticisms that are loud and emotional and insulting and even erroneous. It is their job. It is the nature of the environment they agree to work in. The words fly because they are sparks from the friction of new ideas grinding against old ones that don't work. Sparks of enlightenment. Sparks of progress.

And Senator Sotto is an idiot because an idiot does not grasp that it is HIS job to listen to complaints and insults from the people he represents. Within those complaints and insults are legitimate thoughts and passions that ought to be understood, not crammed into jail.  

The defenders of this monstrosity of totalitarian intimidation have not a clue as to the grace and wisdom of Jose Rizal or Thomas Jefferson. They've gone to the best schools in the world, many in the United States. They have studied law and passed the bar. They have more diplomas on the wall than Jose has plates in the cupboard.

And they are stunningly tone deaf about democracy requiring OPEN DOORS to expression. Not doors with huge, muscular body guards standing by with batons and telescopes and listening devices and pliers to snip the internet lines, determining who can pass through.

Look all you idiot bubba legislators, if there is an error in legal renditions the error MUST BE IN FAVOR OF THE LITTLE PEOPLE. Not the powerful.

Yank the obscene libel provisions and the right to unplug sites without warrant and get on with protecting children and scam victims and predator targets and the real people who need your help.

Stop your outrageous self dealing as if you were equal in vulnerability to a child being dealt naked and violated into the porn market.

Sexual Predators, Bloggers and Senator Sotto

You da man! You da woman! You da Filipino who is clued in.

Who be da most reviled man in the Philippines these days, eh? Clue: It is not Puno. It's not Enrile. It's not even Trillanes.

What entity of government be da least respected in the Philippines these days, eh? Clue: this body passed a bill threatening to send Philippine free speech back into the stone ages whilst simultaneously ignoring gross ethical violations by one of its own. It also featured a mud-wrestling match yesterday that was only missing the babes and boobs in bikinis.

Congratulations to Top Blogger Raissa Robles on her latest article detailing how Senator Sotto is acting to back up his threat to go after bloggers who criticize him.  He appears to have surreptitiously inserted an amendment into the Cybercrime Bill that includes online libel as one of the crimes to be policed. The amendment was not objected to when it was proposed during the heat of the Corona impeachment trial, so it was added to the bill. Then it was approved, all the way up through the President's signature.

It is now the law of the land.

It appears to be a case of fine print ignored, or if not ignored, not thought through as to how the provision can be used to suppress free expression. It is a step backward in the Philippine drive toward a more respected human rights standing in the global and investment communities.

The Cybercrime Bill creates a policing unit under the Executive Branch:

• SEC. 24. Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center. — There is hereby created, within thirty (30) days from the effectivity of this Act, an inter-agency body to be known as the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), under the administrative supervision of the Office of the President, for policy coordination among concerned agencies and for the formulation and enforcement of the national cybersecurity plan.”

So we will soon have a police force assigned to the internet. Rather like China. These cybercops will hunt down crimes. Hackers. Stalkers online. People peddling girls online. People selling sex online. Pedophiles online.  Bloggers issuing uncomfortable opinions online.

Here is what we are hypothetically likely to see:

• Senator Sotto once again steals another author's original work and uses it word for word without attribution.

• A blogger who runs a web site calls the senator a moron for doing it again. Commenters drop off their notes screaming "moron, moron!"

• Senator Sotto registers a complaint with the cybercops.

• The cybercops, knowing that a senator's reputation is of national security interest and must be protected, file a libel case against the blogger.

• The case gets kicked around for 5 years and eventually reaches the Supreme Court.

• The Supreme Court considers whether or not the description of Senator Sotto is disparaging. That is, is he a moron or not, in the context in which the word is used?

• The Supreme Court reads the Constitution and rules in favor of the blogger. The libel provision of the Cybercrime law is struck down as unconstitutional.

You see, this amendment has turned a well-intended law inside out, into a law that is potentially of use to suppress free speech.

Sex predators and bloggers, pulled together under one law.

Hell, this LAW is a libel to bloggers for equating online opinions with the acts of sex predators.

JoeAm will henceforth refer to the new law as the "Cybercrime and Totalitarianism Enhancement Law".

Well, the law is fact. And it will reshape what is said online. For sure, JoeAm will change his words.

Rather than say "Senator Sotto is an ethically challenged vindictive thug" he will say:

• "Is it possible that Senator Sotto is an ethically challenged vindictive thug?", or

• "Some might say Senator Sotto is an ethically challenged vindictive thug.", or

• "I fear that the good Senator Sotto will come across as an ethically challenged vindictive thug."

Or maybe my readers in America and Australia and Europe and the Middle East will send in comments calling Senator Sotto an ethically challenged vindictive thug.

To that point, I have amended the legal terms of this blog found in the tab "Policy and Terms".

The paragraph that once said:

• Comments are a shared property of the commenter and the Society of Honor. Excerpts from comments may be freely taken and re-published as long is attribution is granted to the commenter (name or alias) and the Society of Honor by Joe America.

Has been changed to read:

• Comments are the property of the commenter who grants the Society of Honor full right of re-publication and use. Excerpts from comments may be freely taken and re-published as long is attribution is granted to the commenter (name or alias) and the Society of Honor by Joe America.

This little tweak assigns responsibility for the content of comments to the commenter.

The problem with the Cybercrime and Totalitarianism Enhancement Law is that it puts bloggers who welcome robust commentary in a bind. The bloggers have a choice: (1) tighten up their editorial ship and exclude any comment that anyone might conceivably consider libelous (a virtually impossible task), or (2) allow robust and open commentary and significantly increase their risk of getting sued for publishing libelous words.

I am not an attorney and am wholly unqualified to parse comments for possible libelous content. I furthermore find it offensive that this law would insist that I become an agent of the State's newfound totalitarian twist to dampen free speech.

I am for free speech. I am for people being able to call JoeAm an unmitigated moron, an asshole of the Nth degree, and to instruct him to get his ass back to the States. You see, I can counter words with words. That is the beauty of freedom.

If my response to an insult is to try to jail or fine the author of the offensive words, I am, at heart, a totalitarian, vindictive thug.

It is too bad that senators who many would consider ethically challenged and ignorant as to the importance of freedom of expression don't get it.

They will, it time.

The internet. A new era. A new power.

Use it well.

That, after all, is the intent of the Cybercrime legislation. To stop crimes.

It is also a useful medium with which to call out the ethically challenged. After all, the Senate appears unwilling to take up this righteous task.

And so the entire Senate is called out, too. Some might say they are not much better than clowns when they see an ethical violation right on the floor of the Senate and merely turn their heads away.

Ignore a gross ethics violation. Pass a law that may be used to suppress free speech.

You can write your own description as to what kind of leaders these are and what kind of future the Philippines has with them at the helm.

Defending Sotto

It is my great pleasure to come to Senator Sotto's rescue. Enough of this hypocritical browbeating and whipping of an esteemed public servant who is only working diligently for the best interests of the Philippines. So he copied Bobby Kennedy's words, along with those other documented thefts of original thinking we've heard so much about. No big deal.

The blogging and massive media have gone bonkers over the good Senator's choice of words. Look, I grew up with Bobby Kennedy. Senator Sotto is no Bobby Kennedy. He is not even a Ted. Bobby was the bright young Kennedy brother, sincere, left of center, dedicated to civil rights and down with J. Edgar Hoover, the head of the FBI. He was good.

He died young. Bullets do that.

Sure, Bobby talked funny. Those Massachusetts democrats all have a puckered way of gabbing, rather nasal and pompous, as if the queen schooled them in diction.

But it was not the queen who schooled the Kennedy kids. It was their father, old Joe Kennedy who did that. Old Joe knew politics. He was the Ambassador to Great Britain until he got tactless and got fired. Until then, politics was his life.  Joe was Irish Catholic and had the requisite big-family ideals. He had nine kids, wow, yes sir. It's right there on wiki.  His family knew tragedy, for sure, as too many of the kids died young.

Three of the boys got to the national political stage. John ("Jack"), was President. Bobby and Ted were senators.

At home, old Joe would chair debates over the dinner table with his kids. They'd have to extemporize their debates. Like, make them up off the tops of their heads. The old man would give them topics and the kids would have to argue either side.

Joe Kennedy, US Ambassador to Gr Britain

They couldn't steal words. They had to make them up.

That is character.

But that is not the Philippines.

Oh, the Philippines has character, too. But it is a different character. Rather like Spiderman has to deal with the Green Goblin, a character for sure. The Philippines is not Spiderman.

So let me ask, Philippine bloggers and massive media opinion mongers.

How many of you buy pirated CD's? You know, where you can get a U.S. $13.99 music album for Philippine P100?

Ahhh. Do you know what that is called? It is called a theft of intellectual properties.  Rather much like plagiarism.

How many of you speed down the national highway at 100KPH when the speed limit is 40?

Do you know what that is called?

It's called breaking the law.

How many of you ride your motorcycle with no helmet?

You know what that is called?

I think you do.

Face it, this is not a nation of angels. The angels here all have soot on their wings and halos that tilt crooked. They have shifty eyes from always looking back to see if anyone saw them cheating God.

To say obedience to laws is loosey goosey in the Philippines would be to insult the goose. Law hereabouts only becomes operative if you happen to get caught. Generally, you don't have to worry about it because the police are busy looking away. And charging a mere P100 to do so.

So it is balls to the wall chopping illegal trees, dynamiting fish and coral as if they were ducks in a bombing pool, driving without a license, murdering anyone who blinks the wrong way during the election cycle, and all the other vices that are so numerous I could spend ten blogs writing about them.

Come to think about it, I probably have more than ten about them in the archives over there in the right column.

So if the social values of the Philippines are so loose, what in the world is the big deal about Senator Sotto?

Give the guy a break. He is just being Filipino. Rather like President Aquino when he tries to jam loyal good friends like De Lima into the Chief Justice Chair. Or puts his arm around his good pal Puno.

Culture is culture, and I used to be told all the time to take a hike back to America, because I didn't understand the one here. Now I do and I have not been invited out for some time now.  Well, except for yesterday when on Rappler I was declared an arrogant, ignorant, racist commie and told to sit down and shut up.

But I digress. Back to the point. Even Senators Enrile and Santiago have stated specifically that Senator Sotto's transgressions aren't a big deal. And Senator Marcos, the guy with the last name that will live in infamy but out of the memory  and conscience of Filipinos, did a stirring defense of the now famed Sottoman.

So the most revered personalities in the nation are testifying to the paltry, puny transgression that is eating up so much of our internet energy these days.

So I ask, why are you bloggers in such a super snit?

Get off it, otherwise you appear sooooo, soooo hypocritical. As if you thought Philippine values were law abiding or something.

So take a break.

Get off your keyboards and head down to Main Street where the CD's are cheap and the values cheaper.

Photo source: wikipedia

Private Venturing Politics in the Philippines

I'm going to make a connection here and invite you to extend your thinking a bit to grasp it. And maybe extend your acts, too, if you have that kind of influence.

The issue facing us is the fundamental ineffectiveness of Philippine democratic institutions and processes. There are three branches of government, supposedly co-equal. Here is a rough idea of the status of each:

• Executive. Led by a capable, honest family "name", Noynoy Aquino. Mr. Aquino tends to favor friends for high positions, whether because of confidence or comfort, it is hard to tell.  He rewards those who have worked to fulfill his ideals. He requires honesty and straight dealing and expects a lot from subordinates, so his picks are generally good ones. In that way, he is a good leader. He also has a lot of activity in the pipeline as all of his cabinet secretaries have their priorities and marching orders. Still, he does not press forward independently on important social programs like RH or FOI, and never something shocking like divorce. So progressive initiatives get bogged down.

Source: Mars One Project

• Legislature. Stuck up like an engine filled with Mighty Bond. The Legislature could correct the weaknesses of Executive by pressing forward with bills to modernize the Philippines, but it does not. Indeed, the Legislature is largely frozen in time, stuck between Catholic/Trapos values and sporadic efforts by younger thinkers to modernize. But the progressives have no power. When the majority leader of the senate, Senator Sotto, can bog RH deliberations down by making four lengthy speeches on a subject that could easily be dealt with in 10 minutes, we know we are dealing with an organization mired in political game-playing. That his arguments are stolen from others means he has little personal pride invested in thinking things through honestly and honorably. He's a master game-player. The Senate is not energized by public interest. The House of Representatives is younger, more flexible, and will march to the tune of the President because it is in their pork-laden interest to do so. But the Senate gums up good works. The Legislature is not effective. Period.

• Courts. This is the biggest nightmare imaginable. The courts are jammed with no sense of priority, corrupt methods, and damn little justice. People who are legitimately damaged cannot get damages corrected because it takes money and so much time that they give up. 25 years to deal with the Hacienda case and it is still open for judgments. New Chief Justice Sereno is facing jealousy and bitterness among the justices she is supposed to lead and, indeed, seems the lightweight they claim she is by calling to God for strength rather than intellect. Two glimpses of hope for a new environment: SALN's of Supreme Court Justices have been released, and a new bill has been passed to get some load off the courts, namely the requirement that courts certify citizen requests for name and date corrections to birth certificates. However the mass of the judicial mess is huge, and it will take years to correct.

So we have an Executive that is sound and honest, and could lead the nation strongly forward, but chooses not to in areas that provoke hostility from the Church (RH) or power-people (FOI). The Legislative and Judicial branches of government are lost to the public as their representatives, respectively, of social modernization and justices.

Switch gears entirely.

A few days ago, a Dutch consortium announced its plans to put people on Mars in 2028 as a private venture. Here is the link to the article. If you take the time to review the brief video imbedded in the article, you will hear one of the principals explain that by going private, the initiative can proceed forthrightly, faster and cheaper because it does not get bogged down in the political bickering, or the shove and push of vested interests who are behind the politicians.

The program will be funded by selling rights to video the mission as a reality television show.

Is there a lesson here?

Yes.

If you want poor women of the Philippines to be educated, and to have condoms, you would be better off to organize and fund the effort privately than beat your head against the congressional brick heads and walls. You can seek donations from wealthy Filipinos. If they don't have a passion for Philippine well-being, go to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation or the Clinton Foundation or other global organizations set up to advance the well-being of women on planet man.

Go around the Executive and Legislative blockades. Reduce them to the irrelevancy they are striving so hard to achieve.

If you want the FOI Bill passed, organize to publicize the critical information that is being held back and make sure people know: (1) why it is critical, and (2) who is hiding it. You turn over one rock at a time. And make sure that people know which legislators, and who within Executive, are supporting the hiding of information from the public. President Aquino made the point in his 2012 SONA that the public is boss.

• "I stand before you today as the face of a government that knows you as its Boss and draws its strength from you. I am only here to narrate the changes that you yourselves have made possible." (President Aquino, 2012 SONA)

Prove it. Prove that you are the boss.

The only organization I see that is proactive in representing public interest is the PCIJ, the Philippine Center of Investigative Journalism. A number of blog sites agitate for progressive acts but they are fractionalized and, not unified, represent irritating flies on an elephant's butt. They are not a tiger, strong and threatening.

That's the take-away I get in looking at the entire Senate ignoring the blogging firestorm over Senator Sotto's outrageously bad ethics.

There are no organized women's groups having heavy impact. We can hear a lot of sporadic shouting from here or from there. The noise is mostly ignored by leaders who are listening to the louder, organized cry of the CBCP.

There is no VOICE for women.

More flies.

Perhaps the Filipino penchant for doing things "my way" gets in the way of organizing to speak as a unified voice (refer to the recent blog "How Filipino Personal Independence Undermines Community").

Well, ladies, I'd say you ought to get your act together, privately.

And FOI mavens, build your own ship to Mars.

And RH backers? Forget about that irrelevancy called the Senate, organize, and go straight to poor women with your messages and assistance.

The Senate does not want to do its duty to drive the Philippines progressively forward?

Let them stew there in their own muck. Irrelevant.

Mars or bust!

Privatize, oganize and modernize.

The Legislature is Busted

I think Angry Maude's rant the other day got my blood boiling, too.

The Philippine Legislature is busted. The floor of the House and Senate are rat-pits of acrimony and showmanship. And really horrible ethics and productivity.  I'd recommend young people of the Philippines "duck and cover" rather than study the ways and means of the mud-stuck Senate or pork-motivated House.

Like the courts, which take 25 years to act on some cases, the Legislature cannot seem to get unstuck on any bill where there is objection. The Senate spends its time on the floor, not debating the final points of legislation, but mucking about in detail, fishing for solutions, like so many prosecutors dredging up information on CJ Corona in court rather than out of court.

Evidently there is no staff process, the backroom delegating and dealing that assigns competent staff the role of negotiating agreements on language. The staff appear to be engaged in the plagiarizing and writing of showmanship speeches.

The House is no more encouraging.

You can watch the allegiances of the House membership dance and move as Representatives track like a school of sharks sniffing blood in the water, following the Pork. Patriotism, thy name is peso.

We've beaten and battered Senator Sotto for two weeks, upset at his plagiarism and blame-mongering.  But he is still stealing other people's work and claiming it as his own thinking. The latest from the honorable JFK (John F Kennedy). I'm tired of Senator Sotto, our local Lord Voldemort, as a reader so aptly described him.

Think through who he is and what he is doing.

He is the majority leader. He represents the best of the best behind Senate President Enrile who bounces between dignity and partisanship like a government issued yoyo. Alas, the yoyo was issued while the grandfather of self-service in the name of patriotism was still around promoting his morality. That would be President Aguinaldo.

The esteemed Senator Sotto takes four speeches to state his objection to the HR Bill. Four. Over the course of two weeks. He holds court over the Senate, over the press, over the People. He holds court until the HR Bill is set aside.

A one-man wrecking crew.

You and I, if we objected to the HR Bill, could state the objection in 10 minutes. Me, much less.

Here would be my objection speech:

• "Hey, Ladies and Gents of the esteemed maroon Senatorial robe, the Government has no business peddling condoms. And there are laws in place already that protect women's health. We don't need another that will just overlay confusion on our health services. The Executive Office has powers. It has a Department of Education. Use them and let us get on with some important new initiatives. Like the Divorce Bill and FOI Bills and amending the Constitution to speed foreign money into the fuel tank of our economic machine. Let's put this baby up for vote and abort the stinker. Thank you for using your common sense. I yield the floor."

32 seconds.

The Senate is so stuck on protocol and process that it can't get the people's work done. It has become an institution that is heading directly toward irrelevancy. Even the Ethics Committee is unethical, refusing to act hold Senator Sotto to higher values.

"Duck and cover, kids. Duck and cover!"

The House, ah, the House. Bright young people, eh? Lots of them, and every damn one of them has two thoughts and two thoughts only: (1) how can I leverage myself into the Presidency, and (2) how can I get more pork money, to leverage myself into the Presidency.

We former business executives recognize the pedigree easily. These are the young, bright people who come into the office looking for a job. Great portfolio, on paper. Impeccable college and work experience. They say all the right things during the interviews. But on the job, they have no discipline. No patience. They are so ambitious that they lose enthusiasm for the work that needs to be done. They can't concentrate on today's output because they are busy dreaming about the next promotion.

That's the House in a nutshell. No enthusiasm for the job that needs to be done. No concentration.

Overly ambitious office workers last about 18 months on the job before quitting and running off in search of greener and faster pastures.

House people also lose enthusiasm and stop showing up at on the floor. Have you seen Colonel Doctor Champ Pacquiao there lately? He's one guy for sure already dreaming of the presidency.

And so they coast.

They bide their time, looking for ways to shine.

My Filipino friends, our Legislature is busted and there is no one here who can fix it. You can't fix a rat's nest or a snake's den or a hornet swarm with a hope and a prayer.

It is best to go around these barriers to progress, these inert democratic irrelevancies, if we hope to achieve anything progressive.

More on that later.

The Awakening Beast: Public Indignation (Angry Maude)

Guest Blog by: Angry Maude

(Editor: The scheduled blog "How Filipino Personal Independence Undermines Community" will be delayed one day so that this guest article can be run on a timely basis.)

I see that a lot of commentary has moved past Senator Sotto's transgressions to the willingness of our so-called esteemed Senators to turn their eyes, to duck their heads, to walk away from a blatant, arrogant insult to public honor and high values. Not to mention, Senate honor.

I like Senator Santiago. She is a bright woman and my role model. But today I have to disagree with her. Senator Santiago is correct in only one way. Copying a paragraph from a blog is not such a big deal.

ANGRY MAUDE

But every which way after that, she is wrong. It is a big deal if an entire speech is crafted on the creative efforts and knowledge of others, with the words twisted to mean what the writers did not mean to say. It is a big deal to deny first the theft, then  acknowledge it and dismiss it as innocent. It is a big deal to criticize the public for doing their duty to condemn bad behavior. It is a big deal to propose an act of vengeance against those who spoke out for higher values, a blogging bill to silence public expression.

No, no, Senator Santiago, that is a VERY BIG DEAL. Idol or not, you are wrong.

Blaming bloggers for the incident reflects a huge ignorance of what the public's role in a democratic nation is all about.

Condemning bloggers in this instance is very much like condemning a whistle-blower for having courage and high values.

Public expression is a vital check and balance in democracy.

To silence public expression would be like eliminating the courts. Just letting the police determine guilt or innocence. Who really needs that check and balance on justice? Cops have good values.

It would be akin to eliminating the legislature. Just letting the Executive Branch dictate laws. Who really needs a Legislature, especially if it is not interested in doing good acts?

To silence public expression would be to return the Philippines to the dark ages where leaders meet in secret smoky rooms and hatch dark schemes hidden from public eyes.

This is an attitude exactly the opposite of transparency and forthright governance.

It goes against the grain of stability and enlightenment brought to the Philippines by President Aquino's dedication to good governance.

The Senate is out of step. Out of step with the direction of the Philippines.

The Senate is not leading.

It is just sitting there. Or worse, hiding.

• Senator Sotto has spoken. He has held the floor for a long time.

• Four senators have mumbled a few words of support for the Sotto ideals.

• One senator has criticized plagiarism.

• Seventeen senators have remained silent.

Oh integrity, sweet integrity, I fear thy name is not Senator.

End of Month Ramble

I like to ease up on the last day of the month. Take my rest. So kindly allow me a little gossip here.

• I understand the bumble bees are after newly appointed Chief Justice Sereno, digging digging into history and some of her problems. Well, we can always condemn people, after all there is not a Jesus amongst us. But maybe we should apply a little Jesus-of-heart and let the Lady Chief Justice focus on her work rather than force her into a lot of bee-swatting. You know, for the good of the nation.

There is no benefit to beating her down and continuing the disruption that has characterized the Supreme Court for three years now. Leave that bloodletting stuff to ABS-CBN, the penetrating news that they do.

• Senator Sotto is a piece of work, eh? What a sneaky legislative priest he makes. Because he plagiarized and got slapped down, he now wants vengeance.  He wants to pass a "Blogging Regulation Bill" that restrains the free speech rights of the people who stung him. Perhaps he does not grasp that the public is one of the key checks and balances of a vibrant democracy. Or he does, and he is just a scam artist and thug.

I don't think I've ever seen a man with less humility. He makes George Bush look positively sweet.

• The Senate Ethics Committee is missing in action. You say you want to know why the Philippines is an undisciplined nation of lawbreakers and cheats and extrajudicial murderers? Just look for the trend-setters, the leaders without an evolved sense of right and wrong, or without the um . . . stamina . . . to act on it.

I love the clouds in the Philippines. If you have ever lived in Los Angeles, you understand. There the sky is usually a pasty shade of grey-brown, horizon to horizon. Here, you get those glorious cumulus monsters that pile high, dark gray at the bottom, crystal white on top. Grand puffy white islands floating in a sea of blue. The electrical charges from the monsters sparkle all night long, sometimes here, sometimes way over there.  The night skies in the Philippines are just huge.

The day is not bad, either.

Sunsets, rainbows. Silver off the sea. It is more colorful in the Philippines. No place does green better than the Philippines.

My wife has started talking about a trip to Hong Kong. She said "for Christmas." I said "No way." Travel during the Christmas break is a good way not to enjoy the holiday.

We'll yank the kid from school and go when every one else is not heading for the airport.

I was wondering what we would do in Hong Kong. Then I remembered all the jewelry stores with their shiny Chinese gold and I suspect my wife already has an agenda lined up. The kid and I will ride the ferry back and forth whilst the little lady applies her shopping skills.

• Memo to self. Double the budget.

I am constantly amused by the stupidity of mankind. Such intelligent creatures, murdering each other with increasing technological prowess.

Mitt Romney. I wonder what kind of president he would make. His campaign is just a pack of accusations and lies, thoroughly sottofied. But Americans are stupid in their desires for a glory candidate who will take the burden of no jobs and underwater mortgages off their backs, so he is competing well. No matter that it is all illusion.

President Obama made the biggest mistake of his career in accepting full responsibility for the economy a couple of years ago. If he had kept that thing plastered onto Republicans, he'd be a shoe-in for re-election. Now he has to work hard for it. I get beggar memos from Democrats every day asking for a $3 donation, or more. The classy Michele Obama and loose lipped but loveable V.P. Joe Biden are among my best pen-pals, even though I never write back.

I enjoy the blog comments y'all offer up. They keep the old cranial gears cranking. Lots of good, incisive thinking. No bitter attacks on each other, striving for wins by trying to impose losses on someone else.  The way it should be.

Nary a Sotto amongst us.

Thanks.