Anna, been wondering what email you use these days.. been trying to use your yahoo email, but seems it doesn\'t work.. (care to email me and provide me the address: nick at tingog dot com)

Elaborate, if it will be the same, what can citizens do?

You know Dean, despite those who say we cannot, this has never been a hobby for me.. some days, I just want to turn away.. but then I always remember my motherland.. and blogging has become probably one of the most important aspect of my life.

I do it for one reason, some days it is different, depending on the mood.. but all in all, I truly want to make a difference, and I see the great possibility for this tool of democracy, which is why we do what we do.

I want to learn, I want to be inspired, I want to know that there are Filipinos such as myself, who cannot let go, and who wish something better.. and even if we are a million miles away from our goal, I fervently hope that there is one thing we all have in common, a love for our nation and our people, such that we just cannot let go of the issues...

most specifically for political and social bloggers, I truly believe they want to understand the issues in a more profound manner, that they are willing to dive into this arena, knowing full well, that there are days, where inspiration is nowhere to be found.. where it seems like it is always an uphill battle.

I\'m at a point in my life, where I feel a civic duty, and while I always planned to take a more active role in public policy and politics later in my life, I figured, why not start now.. for some, blogging is part of that civic duty, whether we couple it with other concrete steps like an advocacy we believe in, it is still, I believe, a way to take active participation in what happens to our nation and our kababayans..

So, this is my reason, a more specific reason really, as to why I blog..

We are not there yet Dean, but that journey of a thousand miles has already begun..

We\'re switching back to the old system until all errors are fixed and tested first..

We need leaders who will use the aristocracy to grow this nation. I’m not saying our leaders need to be ethical. I’m not saying they should be morally clean. I’m not even saying the drama that they perpetuate on television and the farce that is the news should be stopped. I’m not even saying they should explain or raise the standard of discussion or understanding of our people. All i’m saying is that given positions of power and public trust, they should advance this country’s interest.

Now, Cocoy, wouldn't you say, that the nation's interest are also all of the above? For how could ethics be separate from the interest of a nation? This specific line is troubling only because of the fact that it is indeed the ethics of previous politicos and current politicos that have contributed to the failed situation that we see ourselves in.

It may be that there are able bodies out there that can act in an unethical manner and still pursue a nation's interest. There are those such as Bill Clinton who failed the ethics test, and yet is still considered one of the best presidents in modern era.. But, in a nation such as ours, ethics is a must, only because we have a system that does not have the rigorous checks and balance that other nations have. While Bill Clinton may have stopped the unethical behaviors at mere felato, our politicos have a system where unethical behaviors can reach higher limits, and these higher limits often entail the contribution to the further stagnation or decline of our nation.

Thanks Leytenian.. mao lagi, abi nako moabot ra ug diyes na minuto pero ni taas hinuon..

nag lisod ko ug podcast mao stick to writing nalang ko.

pero, I hope the message spoke for itself.. there are indeed so many things far important than our own disagreements, that we should find common ground..

agree on the part of excessive on both sides.. overdoing things when, even in the criticism of government, without offering solutions is something we should shy away from..

interesting...

my apologies JCC, we are still trying to work out the kinks with this system, rest assured, this will be fixed at the soonest possible time..