One Liners

 

Expensive Preparation For His Coming?

If Paris is the City of Lights ... Ilonggos hope they don't mind if Iloilo City borrows this sobriquet only this Christmas - for how else could you describe a city whose ostentatious display of lights exceeded one's expectations.  A friend who has a penchant for hyperbole and exaggeration fired back to him the preparation had reached a blasphemous degree ... (or was it sacrilegious?)  To him, it was almost disrespectful and obscene because it was not in synch with humbleness ... the very first teaching Jesus wants us to imbibe this Christmas.

I don't blame his rhetorics ... because of his viewpoint and mindset that Jesus was teaching humanity humility and modesty... why Jesus Christ had to be born in a manger ... why his first visitors were shepherds ... why he was surrounded by lambs and animals, etc.

We just let him ... but the lights and sounds were just so breathless ... it is plain idiocy to ignore what was going around ... whether the NOW generation chooses extravagance over being economical ... wasteful and indulgent over frugality ... is beside the point.

Here are the photos:

One Liner

 

Christmas Time In Iloilo City

The sights and sounds of Iloilo City at night during Christmas. Everywhere you go is a tapestry of kaleidoscopic lights of different hues hanging in buildings and houses ... as if trying to say we are hospitable and trying our best to welcome the coming of the Messiah - lavish ... elaborate ... and showy - a far-cry and poles apart from olden days when all the inns were occupied and unfortunately Jesus was born in a manger in the stable. What a lowly accommodation for the man who would be king. Maybe Jesus wants it that way ... but who knows?

A Political Thought This Christmas

Question: Is the VP's impeachment losing momentum? 

This is the question that is hounding everyone this Christmas Eve especially dahil pagkatapos na mailaunch ang dalawang articles of impeachment (at may pangatlo pa raw) mukhang natetengga na ang usapin and the plan has lost its fervor (kung noon umnaapoy) busy ang lahat ngayon sa pag-celebrate ng Christmas holidays. 

And besides pagkatapos ng Christmas and New Year frolic ... magumpisa na ang campaigns sa eleksyon ... so sabi ng ibang political onservers mukhang maunsiyame ang plano dahil mukhang gahol na sa oras at iba na pinagkaabalahan.

Former Senator Trillanes volunteered to answer the question.

He said: "Yong mga ganyang hong ... ika nga sa lenguage ngayon mga NEGA ... mga pessimist ... mga cynics ... or skeptcis ... wala yang lugar sa isang functioning democracy.  Ang bottom line dito ... pinagusapan ng mga tao kung "ano ba yong tama at mali" na ginawa ng OVP on the moral side ... at ano yong tama at mali on sa legal side." (Sa ganang amin ... mukhang mali nga ... on both sides... kaya dapat lang na matuloy)

Kung hindi ito matuloy this is creating a bad precedence ... at yong mga tactics na ginagamit ng kabilang kampo ... kahil alam nang mali ... nagki-create pa rin sila ng kahit anong narrative para mapula lang ang apoy sa mga nakakapasong epekto ng mga ginawa nila. Kung matakotin lang ang ating mga congressmen sigurado may mga umaalagwa na ang mga yagba sa takot. Mabuti na lang ay patuloy silang naninindigan sa kung ano ang tama ... at kung ano ang nakakabuti sa bansa.

By the way ... it is just amazing na yong mga alipores ni Inday na patuloy pa rin ang ratsada at sinasabi na this is political persecution ... at sila ay pinopolitika lang ... kahit gabundok na ang mga umusbong na ebidensiya.  

At kahit mga religious leaders na ang nagsampa ng pangatlong impeachment complaints ... patuloy silang naninindigan na sila ang tama ... at mali itong mga ginagawa ng mga madre at pari ... a complete departure doon sa narrative nila noong si Quibuloy ang mayroong malawakang manhunt ... "how can they do this to the son of God?" sabi nila.  Very ironic.

Nakakatawa nga dati tahimik lang ang mga madre at pari noon sa kumbento. Pero ngayon nanindigan na rin sila that enough is enough ... at tuluyan na silang lumabas sa kanilang mga lungga.This is the war between truth and lies ... katulad din noong EDSA revolution ... pari at madre kapit bisig kasama ang mga tao sa paghanap ng hustisya ... at para sa tamang direksyon ng ating bansa,

It is funny how the VP supporters dismiss such efforts reigniting the need to revisit the tenets of the separation of Church and State: the government not interfering with the affairs of the Church and vice versa (the Church not interfering with the affairs of the State.

How convenient!

Definition: Moral Self Deception

In the continuing saga of the OVP's confidential funds investigation ... some people maintain their innocence despite the avalanche of evidence ... and some people believe they are patroness of virtues and righteousness ... na kailangan nating paniwalaan despite dissenting arguments from expert testimonies and whistle-blowers.  

The state they are in is a phenomenon called MORAL SELF-DECEPTION - a way of thinking where the person suppresses negative aspects of himself so they can attain and maintain a positive moral self-concept.

They are those people who falsely believe - in the face of strong evidence to the contrary - "na wala kaming ginagawang masama ... pero bakit hindi maexplain-explain." Hindi kami corrupt ... lalo na hindi kami magnanakaw ..." pero maraming  perang nawawala ... at bakit ayaw mag-take ng oath ... o kailangan magtago o ayaw sumipot sa hearing? Bakit kailangan pang mangibang bansa ... magpahospital at magpaopera at the middle of an important case and hearing?

Some of them say: "hindi po ako nagsisinungaling" ... pero bakit sila maglaro ng cat ang mouse sa Quadcom at bigla magkaroon ng nervous breakdown enough to railroad the ongoing hearing. "Na-stress po ako Ma'am ... eh bakit ka ma-stress kung nagsasabi ka man lang ng totoo? Nakakastress ba ang pagpahayag ng katotohanan ... the truth and nothing but?

Saan ka ba dapat kabahan: ang mag-attend ng hearing ng Quadcom or magwithdraw ng pera sa Land Bank unescorted ... pati ang magbitbit ng bulto-bultong pera sa bag (na alam ng lahat na milyones ang laman nito dahil galing ka sa banko) (bakit airport ba ang banko at kailangan mo ng luggage at traveling bag?) ... at hindi ka man lang natakot na may biglang rumatrat sa inyo at kunin ang perang hindi naman inyo?

Natatakot ka ba sa mga tanong sa Quadcom or natatakot kang bigla kang bumigay at maikanta mo ang lahat.. singing Dulce's familiar refrain "Kami Ang Nagwagi?" Nahihiya ka ba dahil meron kang pinagtakpan ... or nagtatakip ka para sa sarili mo dahil hindi mo matanggap that you are involved in the political scandal of the decade?

Hindi ka ba nahiya na bawat hearing pinagpiyestahan kayo ng lahat ng Marites at Marisol ng buong kapuluan at ginagawa kayong pang-himagas sa kanilang usapan? Yon ang nakaka-stress ... lalo na't nagtapang-tapangan ka pa sa hearing. Or nag-santo-santohan?

Sa totoo lang sawang-sawa na kami sa mga palusot na scripted katulad ng "I am not PRIVY sa meeting na iyan ... wala akong alam ... and I am not aware of this and that transaction kahit nakabuyangyang ang mga pirma nila ... patunay na alam nila. Yong privy na yan ... namamaga na ang tenga ko diyan ... I thought all the while only a chosen few uses the word ... aba halos lahat mula sa mga big honcho hanggang Usec and Asec ... naghahasec kayo ng lagim. Nagmukhang tuloy na ordinaryo na ang salita.

When the individual is headstrong and convinces themselves that their actions are valid & fitting despite the preponderance of evidence and statements to the contrary ... the person has moral self-deception - thus any statements he says have the hallmark of being untrue.

The psychology behind this phenomenon is plain and simple ... self-deception plays an important role in preserving a person's self-esteem by shielding the person from uncomfortable truths and criticism that frighten and jeopardize his positive self-image and good view of himself.

Other phrases with almost similar meaning include:

1. Cognitive dissonance is when the person feels uncomfortable when their actions collide with their values or beliefs. It happens when the person has two contradictory beliefs at the same time ... more like ambivalence (the only difference is that ambivalence involves two contradictory feelings instead of belief.)

2.  Confirmation bias - the tendency of people to favor information that confirms or strengthens their beliefs or values and is difficult to dislodge once affirmed. The person only seeks information that agrees and conforms with what he believes in. They prefer only information that supports their pre-existing beliefs and expectations.

3. Ethical blindness - It is sometimes called moral blindness. The person cannot see the ethical dimension and aspect and that includes the repercussions of their actions and decisions

4. Naive Realism - is a phenomenon where the person's mindset and viewpoint are the objective truth ... making the person believe that whatever they are doing is beneficial and without a doubt inherently good.

It Is Raining Placements!

It Is Raining Placements

Three more pageants before the year ends have included Filipino candidates in their esteemed winner's lists.

1. Markki Stroem - Fourth Runner Up Mister Universe 2024
2. Aidalyn Bustamante Barrido - First Runner Up Mrs. National Universe 2024
3. Kayla Jean Carter -Top 20 Miss Charm International 2024
4. Justine Carl Ong - Top 6 - Mister International 2024 5.Jahaziel Ceballos - First Runner Up - Man of the Globe International 2024

Congratulations!