FROM THE BARREL OF MY PEN
By Gonzalo “Jun” Policarpio


WAYWARD MALACANANG ALLIES

Jose Rizal, the Philippines’ National Hero once said: “There can be no tyrants where there are no slaves.” If a tyrant is perceived to be fast emerging in the Philippines today, then there must be another generation of Filipino slaves coming into being. Would they be the wayward Malacanang allies in the House of Representatives who follow everything at their little master’s bidding? A friendly caution to these fallen legislators: if they force charter change in to the Filipino people’s throats against their will, they surely will come back and line them up to be hanged. Nobody likes a Reign of Terror. But history is an excellent teacher and reminder.

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There is another Philippine senator aside from Sen. Ping Lacson who would like to be Mayor of Manila. He is Sen. Alfredo Lim. Both men are of Chinese extraction. So their candidacies will split the large voting bloc of the Filipino Chinese community. I hope one of them has to give in to deny any Arroyo crony even a bit of a chance to get Manila’s mayoralty. A clue to my recommendation: Sen. Lim was elected Mayor of Manila in 1992 and was re-elected in 1995. Is twice being Manila Mayor not enough?

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Former Philippine president Fidel Ramos stated in an interview that the May 2007 local and congressional elections should proceed as scheduled by law. He surprised me. I thought he is an Arroyo crony. Perhaps he is an avid reader of the Book of Proverbs in the Bible. He is becoming reasonable like Solomon.

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President Bush indeed has a soft heart for the immigrants. Because there is a lot of immigrant members in the extended Bush Family, mostly from Mexico. It was Prescott Bush, Jr., the president’s uncle, who is credited to have opened the gates of China to foreign trade. He is still a close friend of Jiang Zemin, former Chinese president. I believe Chinese Americans should correct their wrong perception of the President as anti-Chinese. Here’s my point: President Bush is pro-immigrant though he is surrounded by “neocon” advisers who are going down one by one. And here’s my prediction: the Bush Guest Worker Program will become a reality next year.

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FROM THE BARREL OF MY PEN
By Gonzalo “Jun” Policarpio


NOT A TRUE LINCOLN REPUBLICAN

An Arroyo crony named Gabriel Claudio stated in a radio interview in the Philippines that the candidates of the political opposition in the May 2007 congressional and local elections will lose contrary to the findings based on the latest opinion poll survey by PULSE ASIA. He announced that the Arroyo administration has the “political machinery “ to assure their candidates’ victory. Here’s a kind response to this guy’s reckless remark: never forget that democracy is a government of the people, by the people, and of the people. It is not a government of political machines, particularly cheating political machines. Here’s a less kind response to the same guy: cheating the Filipino people twice will invite a violent retaliation from them.

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President Bush’s pull-aside meeting with Gloria Macapagal Arroyo instead of a formal one-on-one meeting in a function room during the recent APEC convention in Vietnam clearly signifies the American President’s attitude to a de facto(not legitimate) leader of a country. I have a straightforward question to this “squatter” in Malacanang Palace. Does she feel any scintilla of shame to hold to something that does not belong to her? She failed to disprove in the halls of Congress or before the Filipino people that she did not cheat in the 2004 presidential elections. Without any solid defense, she remains as charged.


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An unknown Guyanese-American lawyer in Queens who lost by about 800 votes to long-time incumbent veteran Republican politician, Serphin Maltese, for a New York State senatorial district, plans to demand a recount of all the votes cast for both of them. Well, he truly deserves that since majority of the residents in that district belong to minority groups that advocate against Maltese Racial Profiling bill filed in Albany. Maltese bill aims to authorize law enforcement agents to arrest people because of their ethnic background. Isn’t this idea reprehensible for a Lincoln Republican? Perhaps he is not.


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I’m glad that Downtown Flushing, a booming commercial district in Queens, is now dominated by Asian American politicians. This is just right because majority of the residents are Asians. As I said before, Asian legislators can understand more effectively Asian needs, demands, and aspirations as Asians try to adjust and assimilate in the mainstream American society.

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FROM THE BARREL OF MY PEN
By Gonzalo “Jun” Policarpio


NEXT AMERICAN PRESIDENT’S NAME ENDS IN A VOWEL

Those dirty neo-Nazis and neo-cons who want to defy the constitution and declare children born to illegal aliens in the United States as illegals instead of being natural-born citizens should all be lumped together and dumped in the island of Dr. Moreau. Their minds are beginning to deteriorate to the level of a beast or even worse because animals value their young.

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A friend told me that a yarmulke-wearing crackpot from Manhattan Institute, a conservative think-tank, believes that illegal parents of US-born kids should be rounded up and kicked out of the country. When asked what will happen to the children, he said that they will be wards of the state. Is this person’s family a victim of the holocaust or he is another lost offspring of Hitler?

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It’s time that we all open our eyes and look at America as a nation of immigrants. Even the American Indians ,according to historical research, who first peopled our continent originated from Asia. Lou Dobbs and your believers, are you listening? America is no longer a white Anglo-Saxon America and the next president would carry a last name ending in a vowel.

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A lady nuisance candidate for the mayorship of Manila said in an interview that she, and not Senator Ping Lacson, will get the vote of the large and influential Filipino Chinese community because she has Chinese blood. To that I can say she is deadly wrong. In my interview with Mr. Romulo Lacson, Ping’s elder brother and confidante, the Chinese spelling of their family name is Son Lac originally from China.

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FROM THE BARREL OF MY PEN
By Gonzalo “Jun” Policarpio


THE RIGHT COURSE TO DEFEAT THE INSURGENTS


At a press conference held by President Bush the day after election, he announced the resignation of defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the oldest at 75 to hold that position. With the loss of Republican control of Congress next year, the American president listened to the voice of the American people who asked for the head of Rumsfeld to roll. With a newly selected man at Pentagon, former CIA chief Robert Gates, who served under the President’s father back in the 90s, the military strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan is up for improvements: “stay the course” may change to go on the right course to annihilate the insurgents. It is a question of military principle.

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Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, the senator remembered for bragging about her legs and showing her legs and a 45 caliber gun on television during events following EDSA 2, wants to be Chief Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court. Would normal minds notice any inconsistencies in the applicant’s previous behavior and the position she desires?


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Back to President Bush’s press conference the day following America’s midterm elections that sent on permanent vacation certain legislators unfair to immigrants, he stated that he would work with the incoming Democratic-controlled Congress on things they can agree such as his Guest Worker Program for illegal aliens and the minimum wage law. When he was governor of Texas, the American president gained a reputation of effectively pushing his favored legislations with the Democratic-controlled Congress in Texas. I believe he can do it again this time with the first woman Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.


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New York Republican State Senator Frank Padavan won his re-election for another term by a big margin of 50 % despite a tremendous Democratic sweep of all statewide contests. The other Republican State Senator Serphin Maltese in the other district barely made it over his unknown Democratic opponent with about 2 to 3 % margin of victory. How would you explain the disparity of the New Yorkers’ vote on the two Republicans in Queens? Is it because Maltese is for racial profiling and Padavan is not?. In 2008, Sen. Maltese may not be too lucky unless he abandons his racial profiling bill in Albany.


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FROM THE BARREL OF MY PEN
By Gonzalo “Jun” Policarpio


POWER THAT COMES OUT OF THE BARREL OF THE GUN


When more and more American soldiers are being killed in Iraq, it’s time to stop it. It’s time to come up with a better military strategy to crush the insurgents killing our peace-keeping troops with a better American military strategist. President Bush, it’s your call: please open your eyes to the reality of what’s happening in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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The daughter of de facto Philippine president Arroyo was right in complaining about a foreigner who cut in the line ahead of her and demanding an explanation from the Filipino immigration officer at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. If the immigration officer reacted rudely, an official reprimand is in order but not a full-scale investigation that would lead to the officer’s firing. Such possible action from the Filipino commissioner of immigration smacks of abuse of authority or an expectation of a reward from her lady boss.

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On November 7, Election Day, a requiem will be played for most of the candidates of the New York Republican Party, except State Senator Frank Padavan. I know him. He is a square guy unlike the others.

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The problem with the Philippine political opposition is lack of persistency in its efforts to expose the excesses and anomalies plaguing the current de facto administration. And most importantly the people involved need to be prosecuted. Whatever happened to the Garci tapes and fake passports, jueteng scandals, fertilizer fund scandal, and many more? Would you say that the opposition is just good in talking and not pursuing the bad guys in government? Or they have been intimidated by the power that comes out of the barrel of the gun?

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