March 29, 2024

Twice in the past before Obama and Trump became household names, Joe Biden obsessively sought to be president of the United States, and fell short both times.
After serving as vice president under the leadership of first Black White House resident and commander-in-chief Barack Obama, the subsequent nomination of Hillary Clinton as the Democratic Party presidential standard bearer practically wrote “fini” to Biden’s political career.


But Hillary’s surprising loss to GOP (Grand Old Party) presidential bet Donald Trump, and largely because of Trump’s erratic and villainous governance, Biden’s dream resurrected itself from unmarked grace.
And the American electorate, quite eager to set aside their mistake four years back, came out in large numbers this time, unlike in 2016 where the greater majority – or at least a large portion of it – stayed at home, skipping going to the polls altogether.
Enduring long lines and hours of waiting, voters came out in droves to cast their ballots, many voting early, wanting their votes to be heard and read first.


Still, even after the smoke of battle had cleared, no one could really say – the Trump diehards particularly – that all is now just water under the bridge – not with Trump stubbornly claiming that the elections was rigged, and victory was stolen from him – even with defeat staring him in the face.
Funny, but there appears to be a déjà vu ring to Biden’s post-election pronouncements. For example, “Now is the time for healing, and to come together as a nation.”


When famed faith healer Jun Labo bombed out in his first political try, he redeemed himself years later with an upset win over an elite field of rivals in the 1987 mayoralty race.
But I do not recall him saying, “Now is the time for healing.”
And when Luis Lardizabal was elected mayor in the first Baguio local elections in 1959, and again after coming from a bitter loss to Berting de Guzman – beating LP mayoralty bet Raul Yaranon in the 1967 elections, I can’t seem to remember Tata Luis mouthing, “Let us all unite together as one people – genuine voters and flying ones, squatters and legitimate homeowners, Igorots and Tagudinians.”


And when Lardizabal was replaced as mayor by Vice Air Force Chief and Blue Diamond Squadron leader Ernesto Bueno, did I hear the late Ernie airily say, “Let us bring Baguio to greater heights”?
And what about erstwhile Police General Benjamin Magalong, who upon his election as city mayor, and after seeing the deterioration of Baguio over the years, were there words coming from his mouth that read, “We need gunnery support and reinforcements. Without help, our city will be massacred in a crossfire”?
Shades of Mamasapano. The new tracing czar is doing very well, publicity wise.


Hey, have you noticed that all the bad eggs are back in the city – Teng-Hwe, Gal-Soo, Sally-Sy?
Kay Bong-Xa pa rin ako, at least okay siya kay Lee-Gull.
Oh yes, the birds are back too – flying, flying, leading with their right foot, and kicking with their left, their knives shiny and sharp.
Strangely, however, there are no shouts, no spitting momma, coming from the cockpits.
The trend – or craze – currently is online sabong, recently gone global. We are now the cockfighting capital of the world, and the biggest bettors are in the Middle East or in Arab republics.
The whisper among breeders and aficionados is that a certain A.A. rakes in P1.8 billion a month, the kind of money I will never see even if I live three lifetimes.


Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust…
There is no vaccine that will stave off death, although medicine will extend your life a little.
No one is immune – not your parish priest, not your scum of a politician.
Vaccines, like what Pfizer has developed and claims to be 90 percent effective, saves lives, but not forever.
Sooner or later your body will perish, your good looks will crumble, and your beautifully blood red pedicured nails will turn black, while your toes fall off one after the other.
Your fame, your power, your money, you can’t bring along to where your rotten soul is going.


What, no caroling, no Christmas parties, no overcrowding during the Misa de Gallo?
The Yuletide season has just started, and we are already taking the fun out of Christmas.
Sure, better to be healthy than sorry, but the kneejerk reaction is just too much.
Sans meetings, sans suggestions, sans consulting with the experts, the people in government have suddenly become scientists and doctors – no explanations given.
You catch the cold when you go caroling late at night – but from 4 to 6, wearing face masks and shields, standing three feet apart from one another, preparing a bottle of alcohol along….
Sorry, I am the one going overboard, but Christmas is supposed to be fun time for the kids. Killjoy me or KJ you.
We bade goodbye to Valentine, the Panagbenga, Holy Week, the entire summer, and it’s goodbye to Christmas too.
Will a toddler require his or her lola to wash her hands with alcohol first before kissing it?
Merry Christmas, 2021.