Why has the President’s own top economic officials written to him to veto the granting of universal free clean air? In a similar vein, why have economists been against the granting of free tertiary education as they were adamantly so (and still are) in a previous epoch? Are economists such an insensitive lot who care more about saving taxpayer money than helping others to breathe?
From the topmost branch of the tallest lawaan in Pantaron, the king eagle Haribon observes everything that happens in the plains and valleys below, as though by his eyesight he measures the entire breadth and length of the Big Island. He even notices the goings-on beneath the roofs and canopies of the forest – the big and small creatures crawling on the ground. Nothing escapes from his keen and sharp eyes.
Growing up in gold-rich Compostela Valley was an adventure filled childhood. We used to play in the rivers, collecting and inspecting stones to look for gold, mimicking old people looking for fortune. One very popular mineral back then that we were so fascinated was pyrite. It has the appearance of a polished gold, more of a fancy jewelry with all its luster. However, pyrite is known as fool’s gold.
The concept of “the legal” has become paradoxical in itself. It serves as a license of the state to declare whether something deserves acceptance, dispute or some kind of authoritative might. In instances when something “already legal” contravenes the new will of the powers that be, the state is quick in rallying its force just to abolish what it sees as a stumbling block to its mission of preserving its doctrinal power. The state, then, has a double-edged power in this sense. It has the overarching might to decide what is legal, and the power to destroy what it considers a threat to its survival by proclaiming such as illegal.
I often write about reasons why children, especially from age zero to 11, are highly discouraged from watching TV or movies. I remain that for TV and cinemas, the content is not the main concern. The medium itself is the problem. This time though, allow me to discuss a certain content in the news from the national TV.