Republican robocalling

68 thoughts on “Republican robocalling”

1. Off topic but maybe interesting read for all:

   1) Ayala 3-quarter profit jumps 87%

   http://business.inq7.net/money/topstories/view_article.php?article_id=31691

   2) San Miguel Q3 profit rise seen at 50%

   http://business.inq7.net/money/topstories/view_article.php?article_id=31692

   3) Foreign buying seen to spice up stock market trading

   http://business.inq7.net/money/breakingnews/view_article.php?article_id=31720

2. I agree that George W. Bush is to Iraq what Mckinley was to the Philippines. Even the Spanish American War was started as a result of reports that the Spanish Taliban were committing human rights atrocities in Cuba. (Now where would they get THAT idea? Aside from Randolf Hearst, I mean.)

   Elected in 1896, McKinley was assassinated by an anarchist on Sept 14, 1901, two weeks before the glorious Battle of Balangiga. But it was William Howard Taft who soundly defeated William Jennings Bryan in the Presidential elections of 1908. Taft became President almost surely on his record as the first Civilian Governor of the Philippine Islands (1901-1904). He was US Supreme Court Chief Justice 1921-30.

   In the Midterm elections of 1910, the Democratic Party seized control of the US House and Senate after 50 years in the wilderness prepared for them by Abe Lincoln and Negro manumission.

   In the 1912 Presidential elections, the Republican Party split into two wings, one going with William “Taft Avenue” Taft and the other with Teddy Roosevelt (“the Bull Moose Party”). So, Democrat Woodrow Wilson took 84% of the electoral votes that year and inaugurated a Democratic period of power that would completely transform the face and future of the far-flung and fledgeling United States colony in the Philippines. Vast changes in the colonial administration began with a new Governor General, FB Harrison (another famous street in Pasay city) in 1913, in consonance with Woodrow Wilson’s support for Philippine Independence.

   With a population of 8 to 10 million inhabitants the Philippines was no Cuba, Puerto Rico or Guam. If “big brown brother” Taft and that other crazy Republican guy, Michigan zoologist Dean Conant Worcester, had had their way, the Philippines would’ve become the biggest State in the Union, dwarfing even California of that era. A perfect lil Republican State run by brown indios and white men. But the Democrats would have none of that, nor the US Anti Imperialist League. (“What? Eight million new niggers? NO way!” they said in Congress). Besides, by 1910, or certainly by 1912, the US public had had enough of all that time, blood and money spent in some far away Archipelago building roads, schools, and even training in the United States the entire future ruling class, industrial and media elite of a new country or state. The American electorate wanted a change in course. No more staying the course in the Philippines!

   Imagine, the first appropriation of the Philippine Commission was $4 million (1901 base) to build Kennon Road to the future capital of the State of the Philippines (Baguio City). Where Manila is New York, Baguio would’ve been Washington DC.

   It was a weird colonization and conquest we suffered. But WHATEVER it was America was trying to do here, she spent a quarter of her existence doing it.

   She must do the same for Iraq. America is stuck in Iraq! Planting democracy, like planting rice is never fun.

3. peter wallace is aussie. good thing he migrated to the philippines, otherwise his accent can never be discernible.

   there goes again the argument for the promotion of english: turning pinoys into word class servants.

   i’d rather we have barok speakers but can think like rocket scientists. so yes, let’s relearn our science and mathematics by teaching these subjects in the language we understand best: our mother tongue. (heck, indonesia was ahead of us in the 2003 timss results, and so was thailand. has peter ever wondered the reason our students and teachers may have fared poorly in these subjects could be due to language factor? who says euclid–or for that matter, socrates and shakespeare–can be understood only in english?)

   as to global reach, why require all students to learn english, mandating it even to be the medium of instruction? wallace flashes back to the 50s and 60s. question: where did their english bring us, if our forebears were damn so good at it?

   the irony is, peter comes a multicultural nation down under that values and promotes various mother tongues. and here he is, asking filipinos to answer phone calls for him.

4. Karl Rove, in his desire to consolidate Republican power, may have overreached and made too many promises to the Republicans’ targeted constituencies. This is one reason why there was half-hearted support for Republican candidates during the mid-term elections. Among the broken promises and letdowns:

   Conservative Christian groups grumble that promised amendments to the U.S. Constitution banning same-sex marriages and abortion were not fulfilled.

   While taxes for the very rich were reduced, middle-income earners are now actually paying more taxes. As pointed out by C. Bradley Thompson: “. . . despite President Bush’s much vaunted tax cuts, Americans actually pay more in taxes today than they did during Bill Clinton’s last year in office.”

   With regard to promises to reduce government and cut spending, C. Bradley Thompson again points out: “Government spending has increased faster under George Bush and his Republican Congress than it did under Bill Clinton, and more people work for the federal government today than at any time since the end of the Cold War.” – – – Thompson cites figures to back his statements.

   As a matter of fact, with expenses for the Iraq war, Bush has run up the greatest financial deficits ever, surpassing the shortfalls incurred by Ronald Reagan’s “voodoo economics”. American debt has never been so massive as it is today and, if unchecked, could one day cause tremendous economic problems, not just in the U.S., but also worldwide. So much for fiscal conservatism from Bush, Rove & Co.

5. US elections, as weird as this may sound, have always been a joy to watch. it is democracy in action. a process based on a more-than-200-hundred year-old constitution, it is likely the oldest form of democracy in the world(well, i can be wrong. this is as much as i can remember from a semester’s worth of US history in colelge). it is the basis of most modern democracies in the world and one would think it is perfect, it really is far from it.

   don’t worry, i am in no place to put american democracy up on a pedestal, but really, if you get into it, it’s such a fascinating practice. let me count the ways: i love how each state on the TV screen turn either red or blue, i love how some tv journalists like to focus on insignificant things like what the democrat staff members ordered from KFC, i also love how they describe the difference, and i use this word very loosely, of democrats and republicans. but my particular favorite is the electoral college during presidential elections. how can new york state count for, say, 20 votes versus montana’s 10(again, i am no expert on how many electoral votes each state has). doesn’t it make more sense to just count every single person’s vote? oh i also love the punditry going on, everybody seems like a master of each subject with words strung together perfectly..words like gravitas, ethos, neo-conservatism,accountability, social contract, true diplomacy thrown around. admittedly, just listening to them speak increases my IQ by a good 10 points. it is a wonderland of words at its finest!

   although i am filipino(and YES, proud of it), i have an affinity towards american liberalism – i believe in individual rights, free enterprise, representative democracy, and the rule of law – so naturally, if i were an american, i’d be a card-carrying democrat. this US midterm elections was particularly fascinating. since 1994, there has been a growing republican tide taking over key political outposts in washington..from newt gingrich to two-terms of dubya. not that i am totally against lincoln’s party, what i think is more disconcerting about republicans is not their overall pioneering platform of small government, it is their lifestyle of hypocrisy. america, under the republicans, has become the wasteland of puritanical, hypocritical values – where the likes of jesus camp, mark foley, ted haggard, bill frist, karl rove, donald rumsfeld thrive in. god bless my catholic heart, but WTF. how can a country, which prides itself as being the land of the free and the brave, live with itself like that?

   after 12 long years, tuesday’s outcome has re-instilled my faith in democracy no matter how much vitriol ann coulter has put forth raining on the democrat’s parade. even with muddled platforms, the democrats have succeeded in being the voice of change for the people. and this result is actually more important to us, non-americans, than we think….it affects the iraq war, gas prices, immigration laws, north korea, trade with china, stem cell research, a woman’s right to choose, acceptance of gay marriage, the environment, the world economy..and these are just some of the issues on top of my head. but most importanly for us filipinos, we can learn a thing or two about tuesday’s elections. it gives us hope that democracy actually works and we need transparency and accountability in government.

   oh yah, and as a caveat, and it’s not so bad that nancy pelosi is going to be the first woman speaker of the US house of representatives. i’d like to see her kick cheney’s ass.

6. Jon Alter’s parody of Mark Hanna (Rove’s idol) at slate.com is too much fun of a read to pass. And the reference to imperialist warmongering and profitable army contracts is pure satirical brilliance.

   “At Democratic Convention in Kansas City Bryan lambasted imperialism as quote “profitable for the Army contractors” unquote. Does not your brother with the old bank troubles and the vice president receive gratuities from such companies? Question mark. To forestall inquiry I have transferred Standard Oil stock to Miss Ida Tarbell and 40 Armour hams to U. Sinclair and arranged quote “friendly” unquote midnight meeting at the docks between Pullman strikebreakers and this Lincoln Steffens. Stop. New policy toward yellow press comes from vice president quote “Muck off!” exclamation point, unquote.”

   This made me hum and sing, “Glory, glory, Halliburton…” Great read. Two thumbs up for a belly-full of laughs. Thanks for the link. And after seeing GW with his VP and cabinet the day after the midterm elex looking more disoriented than humbled, I cannot help but think that even the “yellow press” must be saying to them, “You mucked up! Now, muck off!”

7. It’s easy to see through the arguments of Peter Wallace if you imagine he was talking to the Germans, French, Japanese, Chinese or any other country that is able to get by without adopting english as their first language.

   Also think of what an affront Wallace’s notions would be to those people. We sgould be insulted too.

   Language is more than just a tool for communication it is also about cultural history, cultural nuances, emotions etc, etc. It is a nation’s identity. A transplanted language will not do it when you look at it from this broader perspective.

   So maybe Wallace believes that call centers are a fair price to pay for our cultural identity but I don’t.

   Let’s learn english or whatever as a second language but let’s not replace what we have for the latest business craze. Who knows in a few years Chinese might be the language of the world and where would that leave english – speaking people?

   Remember French and Spanish used to be the English of their day but today, outside of their language borders, they are only good for understanding menus and watching Latin American soaps and Julio Yglesia’s songs.

8. Cabagis you SIMPLY CANNOT Credit that to the FAKE PRESIDENT … Anything that is POSITIVE should not be
   attributed to GMA. Dollar Remittances from our OFW makes
   the PESO strong, NOT GMA !!!

   VOTE the SOLID OPPOSITION TICKET …. I WILL VOTE ON
   ANYONE WHO CAN GUARANTEES THE IMPEACHMENT OF GMA … KAHIT PA NAKAPIKIT …

9. Tell Wallace to go to India. There are hundreadas of dialects. But everyone is obliged to learn Hindi as is is the national tonque. So in Punjab the people speak Punjabi, Hindi and they can switch to English. In the State of Gudjarat they speak Gudjurati, then can switch to Hindi or to English. Hence the English accent spoken in India can vary from state to state. But not the Hindi. In Tamil Nadu the same is the case. Or in Kerala. Hindi unites the people under one language not English.By the way this state is where St. Thomas the apostle landed and when the Portuguese landed hundreds of years later the Coptic Chritians were already there. They have must have spoken in Aramaic, Hebrew or Arabic. By the way let us not forget the Farsis who desecended from the Persians. They still speak in their Parsi language and can easily switch to Hindi and English. The Arabs, a Indians with the Greeks invented Mathematics.

   The case is simple to understand. Those people have descended from the ancestors that were already in organized communities way back when thousands of years ago.

   Wallace is still so much a white man.

10. A message I received from friends in the U.S. Military:

    In case we find ourselves starting to believe all the anti-American sentiment and negativity, we should remember England’s Prime Minister Tony Blair’s words during a recent interview when asked by one of his Parliament members why he believes so much in America:

    “A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in… And how many want out.” Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you:

    1. Jesus Christ
    2. The American G. I.

    One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

11. Filibustero, I agree with what you say:
    “VOTE the SOLID OPPOSITION TICKET …. I WILL VOTE ON ANYONE WHO CAN GUARANTEES THE IMPEACHMENT OF GMA … KAHIT PA NAKAPIKIT…”

    All politicians should LISTEN and HEAR the voice of the people: WE, THE PEOPLE, OWN THIS GOVERNMENT! It’s NOT the other way around!

12. Max Soliven described Rumfseld’s firing in the following manner – “Well, his star has fallen – and at tremendous cost to America.” Actually, America was paying too high a price keeping the man employed.

13. Manuelbuencamino,

    Re: “Remember French and Spanish used to be the English of their day but today, outside of their language borders, they are only good for understanding menus and watching Latin American soaps and Julio Yglesia’s songs.”

    You are letting your innate sense of nationalism take over your more cosmopolitan nature (heheh!)

    Let’s go for a couple of facts: French is the official language of the UN hand in hand with the English language as well as one of the major, official working languages in the EU (after all, Charles de Gaulle was officiously the founding father of the EU); also, I doubt very much that Filipinos can understand a menu in French unless they speak the language.

    Spanish: one of the major languages spoken by a vast number of countries. It is a great advantage for anyone to speak Spanish not only to be able to understand the songs of Julio Iglesias or to watch Moldovar’s movies but also to do business with almost all of Latin America, excellent business opportunities there for Pinoys who speak the language. (Bit of Iglesiana: Julio is the brother in law of Carlos Butch Tuason, first cousin to Gloria’s greedy husband – Butch’s first wife is the sister of Isabel Preysler, the first wife of Julio.)

    That doesn’t mean that I disagree with you – indeed English, or some kind of language we call English, has become the international lingua franca of the world.

    In Europe, you will find 25 types of English. Real English as spoken by the English is no longer the mainstream English here – people who speak the real thing here are a distinct and disappearing species.

    Very often, you feel the need for an interpreter to understand the English spokne by say, an MP from Poland, a civil servant from Romania, a military rep from the Czech Republic and things really become confusing when the Danish who are known here for their dry sense of humor start cracking jokes in English. You will also definitely need an interpreter when the Russian Ambassador starts to deliver a lecture to a lobby group. And of course, when the Chinese are here on a visit, they add to the confusion because they have their own English language. The international women’s group I belong to have our own brand of English and believe me, you gotta be quite on the roll lest you are left out. The worse thing you can do is if you as much as hint that their English may not be the right English with “Beg your pardon?” as in “Please repeat, I didn’t understand”, eyebrows will raise …

    My husband who is from English public school sometimes wonders if we should call the language that sounds English, looks English but is not English, the English language. Why, he’s got problems with English-speaking Americans too. They may love the sound of his English in America but they still ask him where he learned to speak English “soooooo gooood and sooooo nice”! And of course, he sometimes can’t understand what Americans are saying either.

    So, let’s not be too hard on the Awssee, Mr Wallace, I think he means well.

14. People have ideas on what not to do (e.g. Peter Wallace is an idiot), but what should Philippine strategy include? Should English-language instructions be discarded or strengthened? To prevent brain-drain, should the Philippines not passports to its citizens only after they have worked for at least 6 years in this country? Is USA-style republican democracy for us, or should the Philippines implement Mao centralized democracy, or even Saudi-style religious democracy?
    Since we’re now blogging about Rumsfeld departure and the US-midterm elections, let’s review some US-of-A strategies and tactics and see what we can learn for the Philippines:
    (a) US Defense/National Security strategy
    (a-1) US does not consider itself the policeman of the world. [All nations have a lot of responsibility to govern themselves.]
    (a-2) US reserves right to first-strike if its security and national interests are threatened.
    (b) Politics
    (b-1) Republican democracy (not constitutional monarchy; not religious democracy, not Mao’s centralized democracy, not democracy via plebiscites) namely voters elects its representatives to Congress. Elected representative votes his/her conscience while always mindful of the will of his constituents.
    (b-2) Constitution is supreme. Separation of powers with tripartite government. Separation of church and state. And tactically, coups, be it by the military or with ‘people-power’, is discouraged.
    (c) Economy
    (c-1) National interests — local jobs, local economy — is always on the agenda. For example, accepting immigration who contribute to the economy is looked kindly by both the Democrats and the Republicans.
    (c-2) Republicans — low taxes; adults have personal responsibility for their financial/economic fate — “carry-your-own-canoe”. Democrats — minimum wage (government has some responsibility for cradle-to-grave coverage). Both parties — education is a vehicle to economic progress and to social justice. Cost/benefit analysis always runs in the background, e.g. costs to local jobs/economy of emissions standards.
    ————
    One thing that I believe the Philippines should copy from both the US and China-mainland politics is the extensive vetting process. People are considered viable candidates to the US Senate for the Presidency only after the candidates have demonstrated an ability to lead. It was Reagan with his track-record as governor of California that was elected to the US Presidency. [DubyaBush, Clinton, Reagan, Carter already had extensive track records in public service before they ran for the Presidency.]

15. manuelbuencamino said: “Remember French and Spanish used to be the English of their day but today, outside of their language borders, they are only good for understanding menus and watching Latin American soaps and Julio Yglesia’s songs.”

    Let’s not get carried away by riding roughshod over the facts, in an obvious attempt to make a point. Spanish is spoken by at least half a billion human beings. It’s spoken by North, Central and South Americans and even by Sephardic Jews. Spanish is at least the 2nd, 3rd or 4th most widely spoken language on earth, depending on whether you accept that Mandarin is spoken by all Chinese (which I doubt) and that Hindi is spoken by all Indians (which I also doubt). Undoubtedly, English is No. 1, the lingua franca of the entire world. It is the language of business and of technology. And any country that wants to be anybody encourages the learning of English – – – China, Latin America, Spain, France and India included.

    And, as pointed out by Madame de brux, French is the language of diplomacy. So French is still very relevant to world affairs – – certainly not just an enigmatic menu item (and yes, the language of Escoffier is the language of haute cuisine – which is emulated by so many people all over the world). So much for limited borders, these languages go beyond physical boundaries and have become a part of the world’s culture.

    And that is not to even acknowledge the fact that the French and Spanish languages do encompass enormous physical borders. These borders would extend around Africa, the Middle East, the South Seas, North, Central and South America, parts of Asia and, of course, Europe.

16. Much as I, too, favor increased attention and resources given to the promotion of English, it’s notions like those peddled by Peter Wallace that help discredit the proponents of the language.

    I agree.

    Aside from English, gusto ko ring ma-master ang Mandarin. Ni Hao Ma?

17. I propose an amendment to the Philippine constitution regarding the Philippine Presidency. In addition to all the current requirements, I believe that a Filipino can be President only if that person has already served at least 3 years of service either as Philippine senator, congressman, mayor, or provincial governor. [Same requirement for previous-government service for the office of the vice-president.]

18. UP student.. I agree! What does it take to run for president — $4million “only”, right? I hate to see a realtor-speculator from Florida or California to become Philippine president because of the disposable income he was able to generate. And I am really scared of a scenario where some Saudi- or Syrian-family, in order to federalize Mindanao away from Luzon, injecting a few of their millions to fund a puppet-President. Three years prior public service gives time for the Philippine media to uncover where the funding is coming from. The 3-year requirement allows voters to see how effective a politician-leader the candidate really is.

19. Did I miss something? Was Wallace advocating replacing Pilipino with English?

20. UP, you will find that outside of Cory, almost all Philippine presidents have served in one of the legislative capacities you mentioned. But am not sure about Pres Magsaysay, if he’d been a member of the legislature before being president.

21. Anna,

    Magsaysay became Liberal Party Congressman from Zambales in 1946 before becoming DND Secretary in 1950

22. Anyone can answer this question.

    Why are Filipinos, whether in the Philippines or in the US, pro-Democrats?

23. UP, re-posting 9:54 PM, I believed we have so many members of congress that were educated in the USA. What I do not understand is why are they not proposing legislations that are similar to what they have seen in America?

    On economy – the US is open to all foreign investmetns as long as they can control the activities of the firm (taxes, etc.) How about in RP, before an investor can come, he has to pass so many red tapes and bribings. The government should take a look on how to provide a business friendly climate in RP and not for politicians/facilitators to inrich themselves at the expense of collecting the proper taxes in favor of RP.

24. Amadeo, I think Filipinos are not pro-Democrats especially when you live in the US. Democrats wants you to pay more taxes to give it away. If not the Y2K scare, the economy during Clinton’s term was not that rosy. When Bush came to power, the economy starts to go down then US had 9/11. However bacause Bush reduced the rate of taxes to be paid, the economy started its uphill climb.

25. Thanks, Amadeo… didn’t know that.

26. Mlq3, Bradley Thompson’s “the decline and fall of American Conservatism” presents an interesting analysis.

27. Anna and Amadeo… And Erap was San Juan mayor as well as Vice President, so the Filipinos had information on his leadership- and personal-qualities when they gave him the presidency with 60% of the votes (defeating Roco, JdV, Alfredo Lim, Imelda, Lacson). This tells me the Philippines of today is according to the wishes of (many of) the Filipino voters.

28. UPstudent, Yep, it seems to point in that direction indeed. But isn’t that what democracy is all about? “This tells me the Philippines of today is according to the wishes of (many of) the Filipino voters.”

29. Grace, I liked your post; it was beautiful and meaningful.

    I won’t be surprised to know that your views reflect those of Filipinos at home who desire real change. Given the extremely “muddled” pictures of the political landscape and the forthcoming exercise we call “democratic elections” we have at home, it is easy to understand why our kababayans should become enamoured of Americans. The recent elections showed their indomitable spirit – in a sense, this is one of America’s great strengths, the ability to face things squarely when things go wrong.

    I also thoroughly appreciated the way you delivered the definition of, or the difference rather, between liberals and conservatives – simple, straight to the point, leaving no room for appeal.

    Lastly, I am with you entirely with regard to Nancy Pelosi. Yeah, I have no doubt she CAN and WILL kick ass…

30. In answer to “Why are Filipinos… pro-Democrats?,” I’m not sure to what extent this sentiment is shared by Filipinos or if, in the general sense, we ever are. But, I for one agree with mlq3 that it was McKinley and his political handler, Mark Hanna, who redefined the GOP’s politics by marrying it with big money and imperial expansionism. This party line is in itself the reason why I’d be considered a pro-Democrat.

    Add to this the Republican party’s hardline which I view as a dangerous mix of neo-conservatism and right-wing fundamentalist christian ideology which I think is a very provocative and highly polarizing concoction. Just imagine where moderates position themselves between the party line and its hardline.

    As for GW, his sheer arrogance is what turned me off. This is statesmanship unworthy of Abe Lincoln. And besides, I find his charisma only as good as his oratory skills.

31. Amadeo de la Cruz:

    You asked:
    “Anyone can answer this question.
    Why are Filipinos, whether in the Philippines or in the US, pro-Democrats”

    First, glad to know I share the same first name with somebody here in this forum. Nice name, right? Hehehe.

    Literally means “love of God”. BTW, if you are not aware its German equivalent is Gottlieb.

    Re your question above, I suppose that it arises from what you can extrapolate reading various media because as I far as I can discern, Filipinos and FilAms are not necessarily just pro-Democrats.

    As I noted much earlier in this same forum, prior to the run-up of the 2004 US presidential elections, a national poll in PI showed Bush, the Republican garnering a slight majority. In that same election, stats showed that Asian Americans (FilAms included) voted 50-50 for either party.

    And this anecdotal evidence may be helpful, too. When I voted last Tuesday here in Daly City (at least 30% of the population is FilAm), I made the point of scanning through the voters registration list posted outside the polling precinct. Aside from voters’ names, and addresses, it also showed voters party affiliations. And I was not surprised to see a good representation of both parties, and including registered Independents.

    One particular FilAm household, a family of three, was striking and got my attention because they live just across where our house is. The husband, a lawyer in the old homeland, is a registered Republican; the wife, who I believe works for a local gov’t agency, is a registered Independent’; and the adult live-in son is a registered Democrat.

    It is granted though that since the Democratic Party is traditionally the party of minorities, many of our politically-inclined compatriots will run under that banner, and thus get publicly visible and known as such.

    And yes, am glad to note that the Daly City mayor, FilAm Mike Guingona, a nephew of the former vice president, registered as a Democrat, won his re-election

32. And carl, Canada has both English and French as official languages, an mix and match and everytime our politician say something in english or french he or she translates it into the other, or have somebody translate it. funny, we Canadians, going to a lot of expense, speaking both languages not originally ours.

33. Amadeo,

    Even the Amadeo’s are split. I am a registered Republican surrounded by a lot of non-voting, non-citizen pro-Democrat Filipinos.

    Amadeo Dela Cruz

34. My understanding of some of the key differences between a Republican and a Democrat are as follows:
    (1) Taxes
    –1R Republican : minimalist : lower taxes; your money is your own (so you can use to buy a car, finance your business, buy books/”stuff” for education, or to donate to your favorite charities);
    –1D Democrat : tax-dollars can be directed to “level the playing field” and to further the social good; increase taxes on businesses and rich individuals and it is the government that decides whether to put into education, help the American Indians or the inner-city poor, etcetera
    (2) Government regulation
    –2R As a general rule, Republicans want less government regulation, e.g. “no” to regulation of the fat-content in McDonald’s fries or Nabisco cookies. However, while Republicans do not want to interfere with your breakfast or lunch or exercise regimen, they want oversight of your bedroom-behavior. [See “Regulation of Morals”.]
    –2D As a general rule, Democrats is in favor of government regulation of “Big Business”, e.g. in favor FDA-oversight of fat-content in fast-foods {Also see “Regulation of Morals”.)
    (3) Regulation of Morals
    –3R Republicans are “more conservative” and want to legislate what one does in the privacy of his/her bedroom and to regulate the various forms of sex between consenting adults.
    –3D Democrats are “more liberal” with regards sexual behavior. Democrats want Roe-v-Wade to remain the law of the land. (RoeV-Wade is women’s right to abortion.]
    (4) Right-to-bear-arms
    –4R Republicans — pro-right to own guns (including semi-automatic weapons);
    –4D Democrats — gun-control (although many Democrats, including Bob Casey/new Senator from Pennsylvania, are pro-gun. Bob Casey/Democrat (as well as Governor Kaine/Democrat Virginia governor) also anti-abortion.)
    5. National Security
    — Both parties are for a strong military, especially providing excellent support for American troops. Differences will be in how much to spend on Weapons Systems (e.g. Bombers, fighter planes and especially Star-Wars technology).
    — “Right to pre-emptive strike” is Republican (Wolfowitz/Bush). “Consult United Nations” was Kerry’s mantra.
    — Republican :”Send US troops overseas” only for national security.
    — Democrat : “Okay to send US troops overseas to save the oppressed from dictators or thugs”, e.g. Darfur.
    (6) Environment
    6R — policies on environmental issues should always be measured against impact to businesses.
    6D — policies on environmental issues are of concern even if it costs American jobs or result in higher costs.
    ————–
    Amadeo or Amadeo or elinca or ???? can give other items where Democrats/Republicans differ.

35. UP student,

    Here’s one link from the Green Party.

    http://www.cagreens.org/grow/flyers/Dem_v_Rep.pdf

36. UP student,
    I agree with 1R and some parts of 1D. Even the Democrats don’t want higher taxes for the rich people. They are afraid to lose the political contributions. So the middle class are screwed more when the Democrats are in power. Also, the Democrats at least in NJ are more prone to corruption. Any amount is fair game. The Republicans are more discreet when it comes to corruption. A good example is Halliburton in Iraq.

37. UP Student:

    Rather than pigeonhole a politician as either Republican or Democrat based on personal or economic philosophies, I believe it’s better to distinguish between whether one is conservative or liberal, or in between such as being libertarian, centrist, or statist.

    Here’s a little quiz to learn of some of their nuanced finer points:

    http://www.self-gov.org/quiz.html

    I believe that there are very few , if any, US politicians who advocate strictly the personal/economic tenets of any one single grouping. And I will go out on a limb to say that they are quite unpopular. Most, if not all, are mestizos, different shades of either or all. Schwarzenegger of California is a perfect example. A registered Republican but is considered a social liberal/progressive and who won big in very Democratic California; yet his party’s Lt. Governor candidate, a conservative in most aspects if not all, lost.

    Amadeo de la Cruz:

    We are not necessarily split, because my test on the above shows me to be more a centrist, and thus in keeping with my being a registered Independent.

    Corruption and wrong-doing are of course, equal opportunity and no respecter of idealogy.

38. John Nery stands up for free speech and excoriates the idea apparently widespread among the youth, that they have a right NOT to be offended. Hmmm, I seem to recall certain editorials by PDI regarding certain Danish cartoonists that might have taught the youth just that! Oh, but lemme send his post to my friends at Jyllands Postens. They will see it as progress and perhaps thank Benedict for Regensberg!

39. UPS,

    I don’t think Ex- Pres. Estrada got even near to 50% of the votes. He was a minority president too as far as I know.

    In a 2 corner fight, he could have lost.

40. UPS,

    Based on MLQ3’s election project; Ex- Pres. Estrada got only 39% of the votes for President.

    the entire votes of the next 3 candidates combined would have been enough to win against him.

41. One of the items that the dyed-in-the-wool Republican and the staunch Democrat disagree on will be over inheritance taxes. The Marx position (not the comedian Groucho but the communist Karl Marx) is that the children do not get any inheritance. What the father (or grandfather) has earned in his lifetime will automatically revert to the state, not to the offsprings. The US-of-A republican position is the exact opposite — the inheritance tax is causing many family businesses to fold (net result – loss of jobs) because the inheritors do not have throw-away cash to pay off the tax bill. Republican position — no inheritance tax of any kind.
    The issue of inheritance tax is also roiling England. Click here:
    http://observer.guardian.co.uk/cash/story/0,,1411550,00.html

42. justice league… I saw my mistake. A good source for historical election results can be found here:
    http://www.pangulo.ph/election_results.php
    ..
    For 1998 elections, Erap got 39.6%, next one – JdV got 15.9%.
    For 1992 elections, Ramos got 23.6%, next one – Miriam got 19.7%.
    For 1986, Marcos got 53.6%, next one Cory got 46.1%.

43. DT’s article in Phil. Star is crystal clear.

    Panganiban flipped flopped, justifying EDSA but ignoring 6.5 M people wanting to be heard. Carpio dealt with conjectures rather than being factual. Justice Puno’s consistency should ean him the chief justice position.

    Associate Justice Reynato S. Puno captured it well in his dissenting opinion. “This Court should always be in lockstep with the people in the exercise of their sovereignty. Let them who will diminish or destroy the sovereign right of the people to decide be warned. Let not their sovereignty be diminished by those who belittle their brains to comprehend changes in the Constitution as if the people themselves are not the source and author of the Constitution. Let not their sovereignty be destroyed by the masters of manipulation who misrepresent themselves as the spokesmen of the people,” he wrote.
    How many members are there in one voice?

44. “Opposition girding to bushwhack Arroyo”

    I doubt it so much if they can accomplish that.

    They should just put up or shut up….

45. James,

    Then why did Justice Puno concur in a decision that would invalidate the 1.5 million VOTES garnered by Mamamayan Ayaw sa Droga as party list in the 2001 Congressional elections?

    The people have spoken in an election no less and not just in a so called “petition”.

    Justice Puno should be asked why he would consider a vote worth nothing compared to a signature in a so called “petition”.

    Is the exercise by the people of their sovereignty through an election worth less than exercising it through a “petition”?

    Even if the people would still vote in a plebiscite for a so called “people’s initiative”; is the vote on a plebiscite worth more than the vote in an election?

46. democrat, republican…it depends on what stage of life you’re in.

    when you’re a student, you’re a democrat. you want higher taxes so the state can subsidize more of your education.

    when you start working, you turn republican. you don’t want higher taxes. you wanna keep most of your income to yourself.

    when you get old and retire, you go back to being a democrat. you want the government to tax the hell out of those that are working so you get better healthcare.

47. james,

    how many among the 6.3 million signatures are real?

    i rest my case.

48. english is important, but still… peter wallace needs to do a john kerry and go disappear.

    you’re turning people and your target audience off peter, with your clumsy and idiotic remarks.

49. GWB’s Republican is not a conservative, but only its name sake. 4 year of the highest deficit in USA history is not conservatism. They are just big corrupt thugs that is employed by big corporations that was given corporate welfare. Thanks to 9/11, they even went a great lenghts to stage the unending Iraq war to give enormous and endless unbid contracts to their employers. USA government has over payed Haliburton $1.8 Billion and counting.
    History is written by the winners. By the democrats win, let’s hope at least history will paint them as imperialist corrupt thugs and war criminals.
    Their strong is not sustainable, but a big bubble. Wait until the Baby boomers take their retirement money out of the goverment and the free market, and you’ll see a great recession.

50. Please don’t delete me again. It’s maybe my bad email

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