League Injury Report

Due to the December 26 Taiwan earthquake, internet connections were severely affected. I was supposed to post this last week, but, better late than never.

It’s week 9 of NBA action, and injuries continue to hound teams which could’ve been clear contenders, both in the NBA, and in the faculty head-to-head league.

The biggest loss clearly has to be Houston center Yao Ming (Blues Angles), who suffered a fractured bone in his right leg, putting him out of action for at least six weeks, longer if surgery is required. This is unfortunate for everybody involved, considering Yao was red-hot the past few weeks. With All-Star guard Tracey McGrady out with back problems, the Rockets will once again be challenged to battle for a playoff berth.

For Blues Angles, the Dojoboys’ opponent for week 8, it meant that, despite the team’s best efforts, they fell 7-2 to the ‘boys.

The Dojoboys, however, aren’t scot free, either. Denver guard Marcus Camby broke a finger in his shooting hand, and will be out 1-2 weeks, while Golden State guard Monta Ellis injured his shoulder in a collision with Miami forward James Posey, which may cause him to miss a few games. The ‘boys will be hard-pressed to maintain their winning streak against a determined Skylark Express, the commissioner’s team, which will be without Dallas guard Josh Smith, who has had surgery on his elbow, and will miss four weeks, and Toronto center Chris Bosh, out for another week with a sore knee.

The list of injuries is long, and here's a rundown of the key losses to the faculty teams:

• New Jersey center Nenad Krstic (formerly zyxwv), who is out for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament
• Seattle forward Rashard Lewis (formerly Blues Angles) who had surgery on torn ligament in his right hand and will miss 2-3 months
• Charlotte guard Brevin Knight (formerly Team JT), who is out for 4-6 weeks recovering from abdominal surgery
• Detroit guard Chauncey Billups (The Green Monster), who is out 2 weeks with a strained calf
• Clippers guard Sam Cassell (Ratboo Warriors), who continues to suffer from foot problems
• Boston guard Paul Pierce (Team Magis), who will miss 2-3 weeks with a left foot stress reaction
• Miami guard Dwayne Wade (asianbites), who sprained his right wrist, and is day-to-day
• New Orleans/Oklahoma guard Chris Paul (Blues Angles), who sprained his right ankle, and will miss 4-6 weeks

There appear to be a lot of guards getting injured lately.

The challenge here is for teams to scramble and make some tough decisions: stick, trade, or drop. Sticking with an injured player means that there will be some gaping holes in one’s lineup, but this might not be so bad, considering the rest of the league is also hurting. Trading an injured player is difficult to impossible, because few owners will be willing to take on damaged goods. Dropping a player should be a last resort, unless the player is out for the season, like Krstic, or will miss considerable playing time, like Lewis; the player will be back eventually, in most cases, and you don’t want to have to face that player in a future match up because someone else decided to snatch him up.

It’s shaping out to be an interesting season for head-to-head basketball, where careful planning, and strategic moves will win one the match-up. However, one cannot discount the influence of luck.

Update: Week 9 is over, and the Dojoboys continue their winning streak for another week. They're currently 13.5 wins ahead of second placers Rolando's Magic, and Team Magis. The rest of the league is pretty bunched up at the moment, and the battle for playoff spots is fierce; the last place linus12 is only 7 wins away from the 8th place Skylark Express.

Stuff

With school out for the year (2006, that is, not the school year), it's been a lot easier to go to Simbang Gabi. Only two more dawns to go, and I'm determined to complete the remaining mornings, even if I'd already missed one. Here's hoping that I can stay the course.

After much hemming and hawing, I've decided to get myself a Multiply account. One of my reasons is that some of my friends' blogs are on the site, and while I'd like to comment or reply to their posts, I can't unless I have a Multiply account; the same situation goes for Friendster, the sneaky bastards.

The other is that I'm intrigued by the possibilities Multiply has to offer for me, both personally and professionally. Maybe I can use the site for students to be reminded of their work; who knows? Anyways, the site is up and running, although it's pretty bare at the moment. I'm not sure if I'll post a blog there; this one is doing pretty well at the moment. We'll just have to see.

School ended last Wednesday with the Christmas Mass in the afternoon, which was followed by a program, and salu-salo. During the program, we teachers, along with students and staff members, put together a choir/dance presentation, singing "Joyful, Joyful Lord" from "Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit." I was part of the presentation, singing, of all voices, along with tenors. I didn't realize that singing and dancing combined would be so tiring; I felt like I had gone through a workout afterwards. Whether that's a sign of my declining physical condition, or whether it was truly tiring, I'm not sure. Still, it was a lot of fun, and it was nice for the students to see their teachers in a different light.

The program ended with the faculty and staff on stage, singing "Pasko na Naman," which, I believe, has become a tradition in the high school. With that, each class went to their own classrooms for the salu-salo. I visited my 1-F students, and had a sumptuous dinner of spaghetti, barbeque and fried chicken; I suspect my new year's resolution will probably be to lose weight and get back into shape.

I spent yesterday morning in the high school, cleaning up my cubicle, and making sure that the rats wouldn't have anything to go after; last year, they made a mess, chewing up my coffee sachets and making a nest in my cabinet. Hopefully, they'll leave it behind this year, and I can look forward to entering my cubicle without being hit by the stench of their passing.

Time has gone by so quickly, and we're rapidly approaching another year's end. What does the new year have in store for us? Only good things, I hope.

Break from Politics

Since it's the Christmas season, I'll be taking a break from my political posts, to focus on other things for a while. Unless there's something really interesting (or stupid) that happens between now and January 3, I will refrain from commenting on politics, and concentrate on the Christmas cheer.

Traded

Well, it didn't take long for the Philadelphia 76ers to find a new home for their disgruntled erstwhile star. The team ended its 10-year relationship with guard Allen Iverson, sending him and rarely-used forward Ivan McFarlin to Denver, getting guard Andre Miller and forward Joe Smith, as well as two 2007 first round draft picks.

It couldn't have come at a better time for the Nuggets, who will be missing the services of starters Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith for 15 and 10 games, respectively, a result of the Knicks-Nuggets brawl last Saturday. Adding Iverson will help ease the burden off the other Nugget players in terms of scoring.

Of course, when Anthony and Smith come back from their suspensions in January, it's going to be interesting to see how coach George Karl is going to keep his two stars happy, in terms of touches on the ball and scoring opportunities. Will Iverson and Anthony be able to keep their egos in check, or is it going to turn out like it did in New York, where Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis had to share playing time, at least until Francis got injured last week? We'll know in January.

On the fantasy side, how does the trade work for owners? For one thing, getting Iverson back on the court will be a plus for the owners who've had to suffer through his inactivity over the past two weeks; in our league, zyxwv is probably going to be really pleased about it. On the 76er side, Andre Miller will probably make up for the loss of Iverson in terms of ball play; although Miller's level of play has declined over the years, he's still an upgrade over Kevin Ollie or Willie Green (I think). I'm not sure how Joe Smith will fit into the 76ers plans; maybe he'll fill in for an injured Chris Webber, although Smith hasn't played all that much this year. The two draft picks will be a gamble, at best.

Only time will tell if this trade will go the way of some of the other disastrous trades the 76ers have made over the years (Barkley for Hornacek, Lang and Perry, and Chamberlain for Chambers, Clark and Imhoff), or whether it will spell a turnaround in a terrible season (5-18). One thing's for sure: at least, Philadelphia has finally put one of its troubling issues to rest. Now it's the Nuggets' turn to see what Iverson can (or won't) offer to Denver.

Disgraceful

The brawl between the New York Knicks and the Denver Nuggets in Madison Square Garden harkened back to the brawl between the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers at the Palace two years ago. Unlike that altercation, which was caused when Indiana forward Ron Artest charged into the crowd to go after someone who had thrown a plastic cup at him, this fight stayed mostly on the court.

The fight started when Knicks rookie Mardy Collins hit Nuggets guard J.R. Smith with a hard flagrant foul. Order disintigrated from there. Some of the highlights of the fight were Knicks guard Nate Robinson dragging Smith down to the floor, and Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony throwing a sucker punch at an unsuspecting Collins. You can see the fracas on YouTube for more details.

Ten players, five from each side (Knicks - Collins, Robinson, Channing Frye, Jared Jeffries and David Lee; Nuggets - Anthony, Smith, Andre Miller, Marcus Camby, and Nene Hilario) were ejected from the game, a 123-100 blowout.

In assessing the game, and seeing who's to blame, one might fault Nuggets coach George Karl for leaving his starters in the closing minute of a blowout game, and running up the score, which is considered unethical by many. However, while it may be unethical, it's not illegal, so the Nuggets could not be faulted for wanting a big win on the road.

On the other hand, one might suspect that Knicks coach Isiah Thomas might have ordered Collins to stop Smith at all costs, hence the flagrant foul. Moreover, what I didn't like about Thomas was that, after the game, he was whining about the Nuggets running up the score by leaving Anthony, Smith and Camby to do more damage. I find it poor sportsmanship on his part, and uncharacteristic of a former Detroit Bad Boy. Surely he's put up with worse crap during his playing career, and now he can't take it?

It's a black mark on a person considered to be a great player. However, being a great player doesn't mean that one can be a great executive; Michael Jordan is proof of that. Thomas has thoroughly screwed up the Knicks organization, first by offering huge contracts to malcontents Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis, and now this. It's too bad that his outstanding play on the court is now overshadowed by his mediocre performance off it.

This just in: the NBA head office has just handed out the suspensions for the players involved in the fight: Anthony - 15 games, Robinson - 10 games, Smith - 10 games, Collins - 6 games, Jeffries - 4 games, Jerome James and Nene - 1 game apiece. This is going to hurt the Nuggets more than the Knicks, as Anthony and Smith combine for an average of about 48 points a game.

From a fantasy viewpoint, in our league, it's going to be painful for zyxwv, who has Anthony, Smith, and Jeffries (good thing Lee wasn't suspended). Considering that he also has inactive player Allen Iverson (who's still waiting to be traded), it's going to be hard-going for zyxwv for the next three to four weeks.

Too Late

Well, I guess the hectic schedule was just too much for my system to handle. After two years of being able to complete the nine-day Simbang Gabi novena masses, I woke up way too late this morning to make it for the mass, just too tired from all of the shopping and Christmas activities I'd been doing the past few days. C'est la vie.

Still, I can finish the rest of the masses without being too sleep-deprived. Today is the last day of regular classes in the high school; tomorrow will be the Christmas mass and salu-salo, which will be in the afternoon. After today, I can catch up on my sleep during the day, and hopefully be ready to handle getting up at 3:30 in the morning to make it to the masses.

Fantasy Injury Report

It's been six weeks into the young NBA season, and teams are scrambling to adjust to various injuries to their players. I'm talking, of course, of the situation in the high school faculty head to head league, where an injury to a key player could spell the difference between a win or a loss.

The big question with injuries is whether one should drop the player for a replacement, or ride out the injury until the player comes back. In my case, the Dojoboys (35-17-2) were without forward Charlie Villanueva for three weeks, and I managed to make do with a rotating staff of Nate Robinson, Craig Smith, Rudy Gay and now Anderson Varejao. Now, guard-forward Grant Hill is day-to-day with tendinitis in his left knee, so he'll ride the bench because there's no one with whom I can replace him. Hopefully, Varejao will manage to make up Hill's numbers until he's well enough to come back.

Around the horn, my opponent for the week, linus12 (21-32-1), has to deal with the loss of guards Ray Allen (strained tendon, right foot, out at least a week) and Jameer Nelson (strained right groin, out indefinitely). Not that I'm complaining, though; coupled with a failure to field his lineup yesterday, the key losses could pretty much seal this week up for me.

The Green Monster (23-30-1) decided to pick up a rehabbing Shaquille O'Neal (knee surgery), hoping that the big guy will be up and running by January. The Monster has also dropped Hedo Turkoglu, who will be out for two weeks with a right ankle sprain.

The Ratboo Warriors (23-30-1) are without the services of guard Sam Cassell (injured left foot), but with both Kwame Brown and Brad Miller playing well coming off injuries, that might not be a big factor.

asianbites (25-29) has Corey Maggette (bruised left knee and left Achilles' tendinitis) coming and going on a day-to-day basis, but, with the Clippers' guard-forward a bit on the inconsistent side, that probably won't set back the 'bites that much.

burnik's kuyukots (26-28) has had guard-forward Jason Richardson miss five games because of bruises on his surgically repaired left knee. Since one of my players, Monta Ellis, is benefiting from the injury, I can't really complain.

Team JT (27-26-1)'s guard Joe Johnson has a right calf sprain, and hasn't played for three games, which could make a deep hole in Team JT's scoring.

Skylark Express (28-25-1), as his smack puts it, has four players injured, although I think two of them are back playing. The losses of center Chris Bosh (bruised left knee, out 1 week), and guard Brandon Roy (sore left heel), will make it difficult to keep up with his current opponent, the Blue Jersey Pwets (22-31-1), who are surprisingly healthy at this point of the season.

Rolando's Magic (31-23) was hardest hit, losing both Lamar Odom (sprained right knee, out 3-6 weeks), and Tracy McGrady (back, out indefinitely) in one day. With Pau Gasol (broken foot) still rehabbing, it'll take some creative lineup juggling for the Magic to hold on to second place, as the Warriors, their opponent for the week, have a 6-2-1 advantage at this point. Perhaps dropping guard Delonte West for forward Vladimir Radmanovic will mean some improvement to the Magic's standing.

Five teams, zyxwv (29-25), Team Magis (29-24-1), the Pwets, the Boston Coltics (24-29-1), and Blues Angles (30-24), don't have any significant injuries, and will probably find it easier going up against some of the other teams. Still, there's always a chance that a bit of luck will make all the difference.

Charter Change Fanatic

Have switched to Blogger Beta.

Watching ANC last night at 7 was entertaining because the news show featured a discussion between Renato Constantino, Jr., and Carmen Pedrosa. Both personalities were involved in an incident last weekend during the press conference wherein House Speaker Joe de Venecia and the rest of the pro-Charter Change gang announced that they were giving an ultimatum (JDV denies that it is one, but what else to call a 72-hour deadline?) to the Senate to pass a resolution calling for a Constitutional Convention. During the conference, Constantino stood up and spoke his mind at the representatives present, and at one point, Pedrosa attempted to shout him down, calling him out of order, that it was not his press conference. While Constantino was being escorted out of the conference, Philippine Daily Inquirer business columnist Vic Agustin splashed Constantino with a glass of water, in an apparent attempt to "cool him down." Of course, it only enraged Constantino further, after which he was bodily removed from the venue. As a result, Agustin was suspended for a day by the Inquirer.

ANC anchor Ces Drilon-Orena moderated the discussion. What I liked about Constantino was that he was fluent and eloquent about his actions, and that his views on Charter Change were very clear.

Pedrosa, on the other hand, seemed to show that her reality system is completely tied to Charter Change, and didn't really answer Drilon-Orena's questions directly; instead, she continued her soapbox spiel about how good Charter Change would be for the country. To the anchor's question about her feelings about Agustin's suspension, Pedrosa spouted some drivel about "freedom of the press." Does freedom of the press include splashing someone with water?

To Drilon-Orena's question about whether the process of how Charter Change is implemented is as important as Charter Change itself, Pedrosa merely repeated her sales talk about the benefits of Charter Change. So, it doesn't matter how Charter Change is done, as long as it gets done?

Unfortunately, Pedrosa came off as being too narrow-minded and dogmatic about Charter Change; during the interview, she was repeatedly introduced as a "staunch advocate of Charter Change." For me, the term seems to be a euphemism for "fanatic."

I'm glad I got to see the newscast last night, because it told me what I'd suspected after reading Pedrosa's numerous columns: that she is not objective about the issue, and seems hellbent on getting Charter Change through, at any cost. This is ironic, because she once fought against a tyrannical Marcos regime. Now, it seems that she's willing to put up with a tyrannical House of Representatives in order to fulfill her heart's desire.

Neither Conciliatory Nor Humbling

There was nothing “conciliatory” nor “humbling”, to quote Charter Change advocate (although I’m beginning to think more along the lines of fanatic) Carmen Pedrosa in the actions of the pro-Charter Change representatives, when they supposedly gave in to the Senate’s preference for a constitutional convention, and gave the Senate a 72-hour deadline in which to pass a resolution calling for such; otherwise, if the Senate doesn’t pass such a resolution, the House would continue on its constituent assembly route.

The House’s so-called conciliatory and humbling gesture is neither of the two adjectives because it’s akin to a kidnapper setting a deadline for a ransom to be paid. It’s an arrogant gesture, holding the Senate hostage to the threat of continuing with the constituent assembly. If the Senators were smart, and, in this case, I think they will be, they will ignore the Representatives’ call. Let the pro-Charter Change push through with their fraudulent assembly; the case will wind up in the Supreme Court, and, like the government initiative, it will probably be squashed.

It’s funny, though, because, originally, the House was all set to push through and go ahead on its course to revise the Constitution all on its lonesome. So why do the representatives, led by Speaker Joe de Venecia, suddenly backtrack and say that they’re passing the buck to the Senate?

Simple. They realized that it would be suicidal to continue in the face of the possibility of massive protests that would be called to fight against their selfish and dangerous actions. It’s not because they were being magnanimous and were calling the Senate’s bluff; it’s because they probably realized that their move was bound to fail, and, now, they’re bailing out, and trying to pass the blame for the failure of Charter Change to the Senate.

It’s not going to work. ABS-CBN covered the marathon sessions to change the House rules last week, and the administration representatives were exposed for the greedy idiots that they are. One could see Davao del Sur’s mercenary Douglas Cagas losing his composure, and shouting at the gallery members heckling him that they were only guests, that they had no right, forgetting that he is a representative of the people, and it is their voice he is ignoring. Perhaps he has gotten so used to buying his votes, that he’s forgotten that some of these people actually have voices, and demand to be heard.

With their most recent move, the pro-Charter Change representatives are trying to save whatever face they have left, but I think that they will only wind up with egg all over their rotten faces.

Laudable? Appalling is More Like It

Alex Magno, in his column in The Philippine Star today, lauds the audacity of the House of Representatives to convene itself into a constituent assembly, and continues to mock the minority for their supposed lack of intellectual capacity.

He also questions the ability of the Supreme Court to intervene in what he calls, "an internal matter concerning one branch of government."

He applauds the "tyranny of numbers" which has stymied any and all efforts of the minority to stop the Charter Change "juggernaut". He belittles the minority for being unable to come up with an effective counter-strategy against the juggernaut. He conveniently forgets the unicameral rubber stamp that was the Batasang Pambansa during Marcos' time; maybe it's that what he misses.

He also forgets that the Supreme Court can and probably will rule on the House's actions. This is because the House has cited Art. XVII Section 1(1) of the Constitution, which states that "Any amendment to or revision of the Constitution may be proposed by the Congress upon a vote of three-fourths of all its Members." It will be this provision which anti-Charter Change advocates will question before the Court, and the Court can rule on it, since it involves an interpretation of the Constitution.

It's appalling that an intellectual like Magno would lend credence to the travesty that the House is attempting. But then again, he was with the administration from its very inception, and it is understandable that he would defend something he helped build. However, by doing so, he seems more and more like a propagandist, much like Hitler's Joseph Goebbels.

Still, there are times when Magno apparently contradicts himself. Manuel Quezon III notes that Magno once wrote, "As the world rushes aid to the victims of the Leyte landslide, why are the political players of Manila more engrossed with power grabs?" Well, the Bicol region is reeling from the devastation wrought by typhoon "Reming," and where is Albay 1st District's representative Edcel Lagman? Staying up all night into the wee hours of the morning defending a naked power grab by the forces of Speaker Joe de Venecia. Oh, but Magno will probably say that Rep. Lagman is participating in a noble exercise, and is above such petty concerns such as entire families buried under mudslides. The fate of the country is at hand; his constituents can wait.

He wants intellectual articulation on the side of the minority? Let Dean Jorge Bocobo answer him; I've placed links to the pertinent entries of Dean Bocobo's blog below.

Proposed Rules of the Constituent Assembly: Insufficient in Substance
The Hardest Thing To See Is The Obvious
House Amends Its Rules On Exercising Constituent Power
A Vote on a House Resolution Does Not Poll ALL the Members of Congress

Self-Interest

What I find ironic about Alex Magno’s assertion in his column yesterday, that the Filipino people “wallow in the miseries brought about by poisoned politics, an unsustainable electoral system and a democracy driven by opportunism rather than vision.,” is that he’s placing his hopes and dreams of an improved Charter in the hands of the very politicians who are responsible for the “poisoned politics” and the opportunistic democracy that he rails against.

I’m referring, of course, to the members of the House of Representatives, a body referred to as the Lower House, but Magno refers to it as the “bigger house,” as if numbers are all there is to it.

It seems that, to the pro-Charter Change advocates, the House is the noble body, with the great intent of saving our country from disaster by changing the Constitution. Having seen the House in action, however, I’m inclined to believe that the Representatives’ Charter Change moves are anything but noble. Remember, these are the same Representatives who increased their pork barrel funds for the coming election year. These are the same Representatives who have frustrated any attempt at investigating or impeaching the President. These are the same Representatives who have continued to grandstand at the Filipino people’s expense. And these are the people we expect to improve the Charter? Does Magno actually believe that?

I can understand the frustration the current system poses to those who wish to have their way with the country. With a bicameral system, the system of checks and balances it provides reins in the excesses of our politicians. With a unicameral system, it would be easy, especially in this country, for the legislative body to become a rubber stamp, the majority acceding to the President/Prime Minister’s wishes. We’ve seen it happen before, during the time of the late Ferdinand Marcos. With a unicameral system, it would also be easier for the majority to do whatever it wants; the politicians simply have to use the “tyranny of numbers” to push anything through.

Magno ends his column by saying, “True, there might be self-interest as well in the move for Charter Change. But that should not invalidate the truly patriotic reasons for doing constitutional reform.”

I disagree. The problem with self-interest is that it poisons and corrupts the noble reasons for doing constitutional reform, and the reason why people, myself included, are against it is not that we prefer the status quo, but rather, we distrust the motives and the changes that the politicians would make, as there is a good chance that the changes they will make will ensconce them even more firmly in our political landscape.

This just in: Apparently, the Representatives stayed up until four this morning to debate the shift to a consitutent assembly. Wow. All this while our countrymen in Bicol are suffering in the wake of typhoon "Reming." You've got to hand it to the Representatives. They really have their priorities in order.

The Next Chief Justice?

It’s probably best that Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago doesn’t get appointed as the next Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Watching her rant and rave from her pulpit in the Senate, behind the safety of the privilege speech, Sen. Defensor-Santiago lambasted the justices of the Supreme Court, along with retiring Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban, calling them “idiots”, and insinuating that it was Panganiban who was responsible for influencing the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), of which he is a member, into excluding her name from the list of the four nominees submitted to the President.

After her speech, which was telecast during the news on ANC, she spoke to reporters, still fuming and shooting off her mouth, making insinuations that Panganiban was unfit for the position which he holds.

Such a loose cannon like Santiago is even more unfit for the position, because she is likely to cause untold damage to the institution.

The quoted portion from her privilege speech, which was printed in yesterday’s Philippine Star, goes as follows: “I spit in the face of Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban and his cohorts in the Supreme Court. I am not angry, Mr. President. I am irate! I am furious! I am foaming at the mouth. I am hitting the roof! I am homicidal. I am suicidal! I am ballistic! I am insulted. I am abased. I am degraded. And not only that, I feel like I am throwing up to be living my middle years in the country of this nature.”

Does that sound like a future Chief Justice? Not to me.

Aside: On ANC, the male anchor kept on misquoting one line from Santiago’s speech. Instead of “foaming,” he said, “fuming.” Apparently, he’s not familiar with the idiom. Oh well.

Con-Ass, Anyone?

It’s been a while since I’ve written about Charter Change, but I’ve kept current on the issue, and it’s crystal clear to me that those who are attempting to ram it through, come hell or high water, are doing it not because they believe that it will help improve the state of the country, but rather because they wish to hold on to whatever temporal power they possess. 

It’s not coincidental that next year is an election year, and a number of those pushing for Charter Change are ending their three-term hold on their positions. If the Charter were to be changed before the elections, it will, according to those pushing for it, postpone the May 2007 elections, which is a direct violation of our Charter, and it will extend the terms of those whose terms should end with next year’s elections.

It is desperation, then, that is driving this mass of Congressmen to disregard the fact that there is another body in the Congress, and, continue to push through with Charter Change through constituent assembly irregardless of the Senate. This, I think, is unconstitutional, because, if I understand Dean Jorge Bocobo’s reasoning correctly, an action of the House of Representatives is only an action of the House, not of the entire Congress. In order for the House to persist in the farce that is the Con-Ass, the Representatives must get the cooperation of the Senate; otherwise, their actions are as doomed to failure as the aborted government initiative.

It is desperation that drives the Representatives, because for some of them, there is no tomorrow. By June 2007, their terms will have ended, and their petty dreams will have been buried. Thus, they clutch to the idea of Con-Ass so that their political survival will be assured. 

It is for this reason that it is not a good idea to revise the Constitution with the elections so close; any move to change it is now tainted with political expediency. At the same time, the hurried rush with which the politicians are moving to ram the revisions through only tells me that any changes in the Constitution are probably about as rushed, and not that well thought out.

This is not to say that I am against Charter Change. I agree with Fr. Joaquin Bernas, SJ, when he argues that Charter Change will be more palatable if it is done after the politicians secure a fresh mandate for themselves in the 2007 elections. The Charter is in need of change, but not right now.

Requiem, 103.5 KLite

Last Thursday late afternoon, I got to catch the KLite disc jockeys get together for a final show, and reminisce about the good times. I would've liked to have called or texted in, but I couldn't, probably still in denial that it was actually happening, that my favorite radio station for six years was calling it quits.

Near the end, Vito of the Morning Brew, my wake-up show to get me going, thanked everybody at KLite, and you could tell on the radio that he was probably choking back some strong emotions, as he paused several times. And then, at the very end, he said, "This is 103.5 KLite, signing off." And then "New Black Car" by July for Kings started playing, "Are you listening to the radio?" After that, it was all over.

Thanks, KLite for the wonderful memories.