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So, another impeachment attempt is dead. So what else is new?

I guess it doesn't really matter. No one really expected the impeachment to gain ground in a House of Representatives dominated by allies and partymates of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Even with the damning revelations of former Speaker Jose De Venecia Jr., considering he was once the President's chief lieutenant in keeping the House and its members in check.

It's been four years in a row, and hardly any impeachment attempt ever made it to first base, thanks to the sheer number of congressmen loyal to Malacañang. I guess it's our fault as well. We "technically" voted these people into office. They supposedly should represent the collective will of the Filipino people, and if the past four impeachment attempts are any indication, it would appear that the people do not want President Arroyo to be impeached.

Of course, we may never really know. Elections in this country, except for rare instances, have never really been successful in reflecting the sentiments of the citizens of the country.

The determination of the sufficiency of the filed impeachment complaint in form and substance was never meant by the Constitution to be the determinant of the President's guilt or innocence. That would be the Senate's job, and yet, Presidential allies have been quick to vote against the complaint which has detailed accounts of President's misdeeds, thus derailing any opportunity for the Filipino people to learn the truth over accusations which have remained unresolved all these years.

From allegations of cheating in the last Presidential elections, to violations of human rights, to the fertilizer fund scam, to the botched NBN-GTZ agreement, to accusations of vote-buying in the House, Congress has collectively made the determination that there is no probable cause to warrant a full blown impeachment trial...which is frankly, a lot of bull.

The message it sends is that the most powerful person in the country can do virtually anything illegal without fear of being held accountable for her actions.

I'm disappointed, but hardly surprised.

Don't get me wrong. I do not hate the current President or administration, but I do find it very disturbing that they absolutely refuse to answer the accusations of wrongdoing which clearly point to at least some level of accountability and responsibility on their part. I also find the way they corrupt existing legal processes for taking the President to task highly distasteful. The provisions of the Constitution should not be used to perpetrate injustice in any form, and yet that is precisely what is happening.

And now, there is talk about the elections in 2010 being postponed, terms of office extended, and even charter change, which further creates a bitter taste in my mouth.

Alas, when former President Ferdinand E. Marcos declared martial law and for all intents and purposes consolidated the powers of the three separate branches of government into his office, there were hardly any pretensions as to what his ultimate objective was. The current President on the other hand, keeps trying to maintain an image of being subservient to the law and the Constitution, when her actions and the actions of her administration clearly show otherwise.

No one should be above the law, but when you're in power, the law appears to be nothing more than an optional formality.

We claim to be a country of laws and not of men. It's just too bad that when faced with the opportunity to put this maxim to action, we fall short...each and every time.

1. When I was born, I was given a choice - A big dick or a good memory. I don't remember, what I chose.

2. Your birth certificate is an apology letter from the condom factory.

3. A wife is a sex object. Every time you ask for sex, she objects.

4. Impotence: Nature's way of saying 'No hard feelings...'

5. There are only two four letter words that are offensive to men - 'don't'
and 'stop', unless they are used together.

6. Panties: Not the best thing on earth, but next to the best thing on earth.

7. There are three stages of sex in a man's life: Tri Weekly, Try Weekly, and Try Weakly.

8. Virginity can be cured.

9. Virginity is not dignity, its lack of opportunity.

10. Having sex is like playing bridge. If you don't have a good partner, you'd better have a good hand.

11. I tried phone sex once, but the holes in the dialer were too small.

12. Marriage is the only war where you get to sleep with the enemy.

13. Q: What's an Australian kiss?
A: The same thing as a French kiss, only down under.

14. A couple just married were happy with the whole thing. He was happy with the Hole and she was happy with the Thing......

15. Q: What are the three biggest tragedies in a mans life?
A: Life sucks, job sucks, and the wife doesn't.

16. Q: Why do men find it difficult to make eye contact?
A: Breasts don't have eyes.

17. Despite the old saying, 'Don't take your troubles to bed', many men still sleep with their wives!!

From my inbox.

Last November 4 marked a memorable moment in United States history. For the first time ever, Barack Hussein Obama II, an African-American, was elected to the most powerful political position in America, and arguably the most influential position in the world...the office of President of the United States of America.

Who would have thought that we would live to see it happen? In a country where black Americans have been classed as "inferior" from the days of slavery up to the civil rights movement in the late 1960s, to sporadic incidents of racial discrimination up to the present (the Rodney King riots, the O.J. Simpson murder case), the election of an African-American as President of the United States of America represents a watershed in modern history.

In a span of less than 150 years or six generations from Abraham Lincoln's monumental Emancipation Proclamation, black Americans have slowly but surely worked themselves up from being slaves to becoming prominent leaders and members of society, finally culminating in one being elected to the Presidency.

Am I happy to see a black man become President of the United States?

Definitely. No question about it.

Am I happy to see Barack Obama become President of the United States?

To be honest, I'm not so sure.

Am I happy to see the Democrats retake the White House, and for that matter, the United States Senate and Congress?

I'm not so sure either.

Of course, I'm not deluding myself. In the grand scheme of things, my opinion in these issues hardly matter. I'm not an American, much less a Democrat or a Republican, but nonetheless, I have been closely following the campaign and the election, close enough to actually feel as if I have a personal stake in it. Of course, with the global impact of the current economic recession, I probably do, even in the far off backwater country I call my home.

Being 36 years old, I'm old enough to be actually capable of relating to the conservative ideals the Republican party stands for, even if John McCain, or his campaign, didn't seem conservative enough. At 36, I'm also still young enough to retain some of my idealism and desire for change, and Barack Obama, if nothing else, is a living, breathing paragon of change, not only for American politics, or for the United States, but for the whole world.

Truth be told, the world is not the same place we used to know. Globalization has made possible the rise and fall of economies if there is even just one weak link in the chain. We live in a post 9/11 world, where terrorism knows no bounds. The threat of global warming is ever present, thanks to humanity's uncaring attitudes toward the environment. Simply put, it's a mess out there.

While conservatism may have its place, the present doesn't seem to be the right time for it. It's no longer about simply maintaining the status quo but changing the way we think, the way we do things, the way we plan for the future, and truth be told, the Democrats are far better at espousing change than the Republicans, probably because the Democrat's leanings towards social liberalism, what I tend to call "soft" socialism.

Barack Obama may not necessarily be the best man for the job. He may not necessarily have the best qualifications (Hillary Clinton, to my mind, is more qualified), or the most experience (John McCain without a doubt has more experience), but he was at the right time at the right place. Many talk of the race card as being an important issue in the elections and it is, but the most likely scenario is that Obama won because he is black, and not in spite of his being black.

It begs the question: If he was white, would he still have won? Frankly, if he was white, he probably wouldn't have been in the running for President as he would very likely have lost the primaries, and America would have had its first woman President, Hillary Rodham Clinton. History would have been made as well, and Democrats would probably still end up controlling the Senate and Congress, thanks to widespread anti-Bush sentiments.

The bottom line is simply that Americans want change, are desperate for it really, given today's difficult times. Unfortunately for John McCain, Sarah Palin and the rest of the Republicans, change is something the Republican Party can't seem to seriously offer.

If you think about it, nothing seems to represent change in America better than a black man being President, and as the last week's headlines will tell you, the American people got it, and got it in spades.

President-Elect Obama has made a lot of promises, and he will be hard-pressed to keep those promises, not to mention the eyes of the entire world will be on him, hanging on everything he says and does. He certainly has the potential to be one of America's greatest Presidents, but of course he also has the potential to be one of its worst, if he fails to live up to expectations.

It's a time for change, and with Obama leading the United States, change may very well be on the horizon. Will it be for the better, or for the worse? Only time will tell.

At this very moment I'm sitting here in Starbuck's sipping a sugar-free, skim milk caffè latte, when I should be in my office. Lately it seems as if no matter how early (or late) I get to the office, I always find myself without an available parking space.

You know, it's kinda ironic.

I can take the office politics, the back-biting and back-stabbing, the office gossip, being passed over for promotion, being floated, etc., but somehow not having an available parking slot when I get to work has a strange bitterness unique to itself.

One day you realize you only have a job and not a career. It is no longer a calling which gets you out of bed in the morning, more often than not just an alarm clock which you don't hesitate to put into snooze mode when it blares out the opening salvo in the daily grind that you call your life.

You get dressed, brave the morning rush hour, in the process avoiding a number of rushing buses who would soon run you over rather than allow a competing bus to get first dibs on waiting passengers, and after everything has been said and done, you find yourself in your place of work, without a place to park your ten-year-old clunker. Is there no justice?

Even if you resign yourself to your fate of being nothing more than a salaryman, fate sometimes deals you a hand so inane in its triviality, yet hitting right where it hurts.

Yet, I choose not to blow my top. What's the use anyway?

I go to the nearest Starbuck's, fire up my laptop, and over sips of a low-calorie, sugar-free, caffeine-rich brew, I type this post to help maintain my sanity over what seems to be an insane world.

I guess I should be thankful though. A lot of more experienced and more qualified individuals have lost their jobs, thanks to the global economic crisis. I may not have a career, but I still have a job, and for a lot of unemployed people, I'm on easy street. On the flip side though, a lot of no-skill, no-talent, no-common-sense people have been able to weasel themselves into high-paying corporate jobs, and for no other reason than having the right political connections. C'est la vie.

It still bugs me though, but I'll live.

What I want though, is to do a Datsusara, but that will come in its own time. For now, all I can hope for is an available parking slot when I get back to the office.

One day, a young man was cleaning out his late grandfather' s belongings when he came across a bright red envelope. Written on the front were the words, "To my grandson." Recognizing his grandfather' s handwriting, the boy opened the envelope. A letter inside read:

Dear Grandson,

Years ago you came to me for help. You said, "Grandpa, how is it that you've accomplished so much in your life? You're still full of energy, and I'm already tired of struggling. How can I get that same enthusiasm that you've got?"

I didn't know what to say to you then. But knowing my days are numbered, I figure that I owe you an answer. So here is what I believe..

I think a lot of it has to do with how a person looks at things. I call it 'keeping your eyes wide open.'

First, realize that life is filled with surprises, but many are good ones. If you don't keep watching for them, you'll miss half the excitement. Expect to be thrilled once in a while, and you will be.

When you meet up with challenges, welcome them. They'll leave you wiser, stronger, and more capable than you were the day before. When you make a mistake, be grateful for the things it taught you. Resolve to use that lesson to help you reach your goals.

And always follow the rules. Even the little ones. When you follow the rules, life works. If you think you ever really get by with breaking the rules, you're only fooling yourself.

It's also important to decide exactly what you want. Then keep your mind focused on it, and be prepared to receive it.

But be ready to end up in some new places too. As you grow with the years, you'll be given bigger shoes to fill. So be ready for endings as well as challenging beginnings.

Sometimes we have to be brave enough to move from the familiar to the unfamiliar. Life isn't just reaching peaks. Part of it is moving from one peak to the next. If you rest too long in between, you might be tempted to quit. Leave the past in the past. Climb the next mountain and enjoy the view.

Dump things that weigh you down emotionally and spiritually. When an old resentment, belief, or attitude becomes heavy, lighten your load. Shed those hurtful attitudes that slow you down and drain your energy.

Remember that your choices will create your successes and your failures. So consider all the pathways ahead, and decide which ones to follow. Then believe in yourself, get up, and get going.

And be sure to take breaks once in a while. They'll give you a renewed commitment to your dreams and a cheerful, healthy perception of the things that matter the most to you.

Most important of all, never give up on yourself. The person that ends up a winner is the one who resolves to win. Give life everything you've got, and life will give its best back to you.

Love always,
Grandpa

From my inbox.