Obama DOES Have Negative Ads

In my column for Oct. 31, 2008, I said that Obama was principled because he does not run negative ads. However, according to the Chicago Tribune, it would seem I was mistaken.

Since the start, the Wisconsin Advertising Project at the University of Wisconsin at Madison reports that 73 percent of the ads McCain has aired and 61 percent of Obama’s have been negative.

A reader of my column, who calls himself Father Martin, also emailed me about my statement on negative ads, saying the following, among other things:

I read the article and found it to be okay until I got to the part “(he has, so far, refused to run a negative campaign against McCain.)” If that be the case then why do the CNN and independent monitors of the campaigns surveys of negative ads show the Obama camp has aired more negative ads than McCain’s camp. Of course the Obama camp has aired far more ads positive and negative due to Obama having more funds. They both have degenerated into negative ads. For you to say that Obama has not is totally false.

The Nielsen Wire website also says roughly the same thing:

Despite finger-pointing from both sides, Barack Obama and John McCain’s presidential campaigns have run almost the same number of negative local campaign ads, Nielsen Monitor-Plus reported Thursday.

From June 3, when the primaries ended, through Sept. 7, the most recent reporting period, the McCain campaign ran 76,192 negative ads against Obama. During the same time period, the Obama campaign placed 75,246 negative commercials against McCain.

And finally, Katherine, in a comment on the Brazen Careerist website on my article on Barack Obama, said this:

I have to agree with Amir in that you can’t count your chickens before they hatch. Although I think it’s unfortunate that race may be the biggest variable on election day, there is a definite chance that either more people will vote in support of Obama than the polls show or the exact opposite will happen. And many of the national polls are tightening as well, although the exact differences vary depending on the poll. The reality is that no one will know who our next president is until November 5.

Also, every campaign in recent years has engaged in negative campaign tactics and despite his principles you mentioned earlier, Obama’s campaign is no different. As a percentage of total ads, Obama’s campaign has aired 12% less than McCain’s , but in comparable terms, he’s only aired approximately 1,000 negative campaign ads less than McCain, which is minimal when you consider the sheer number of ads both campaigns run. Regardless of who’s getting your vote on Tuesday, it’s important to recognize that negative campaign tactics are a political reality these days (not to say they’re effective), and neither campaign has better principles than the other in this case.

In the end, I made a BIG mistake, and all I can say is I’m sorry. No excuses. I apologize for that error, and would like to assure my readers I will be more careful in the future.

But in any event, it seems that currently Obama has been on the receiving end of more negative ads than McCain. But both parties do engage in it, which is sadly, a political reality.

President Barack Obama

Babble On for the Sunstar Davao, Friday, October 31, 2008

We are at the dawn of a new era.

Although the U.S. Presidential election and its campaign season is not yet over, it is clear to any person that America will soon have its first Black President, Barack Obama.

Nevertheless, against all odds, John McCain still believes he can pull off an upset.

Unfortunately for him, history is not on his side. Few American presidential candidates have ever come back from a large deficit in the polls to win an election. (He is said to be trailing anywhere from 5-10 percentage points as of this writing.) Al Gore came close in the highly contested 2000 election against George W. Bush, but in the end he still lost that one and he became the man who SHOULD have been America’s President.

Perhaps McCain is thinking he can emulate Ronald Reagan who beat Jimmy Carter and became President despite trailing in nearly double-digit percentage points in the Gallup polls prior to the Election proper. But Reagan’s comeback can be traced to his clear victory in the debate with Carter, where Reagan told off Carter with the question “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?”

This debate victory was fresh in the minds of voters when they went to the polls. McCain will have no such luck when voting begins, as the three debates he had with Obama were inconclusive draws with no clear victor.

Many now consider the race all but over, even some quarters of the Republican party, which is McCain’s own party, believe it’s over. It would take a major miracle for McCain to pull off a win, which is too bad for him.

McCain, who is 71 years old, is unlikely to be able to run for the Presidency again. This is his last race for the presidency, and it is probably the closest he can ever get to the White House.

So it will soon be President Barack Obama. And the world may well be better for it.

Frankly, it may be time for our Filipino leaders in the government to pick up copies of Obama’s book “The Audacity of Hope,” in order to get a better idea of how he thinks and of his stand on specific issues. I’ve gone through it myself, and though I disagree with some of his opinions in the book (his stand on abortion is one example), he is clearly an intelligent person who has given great thought to the issues of the day, carefully considering the angles involved before making a decision.

This would be in stark contrast to the current U.S. President, who is said to make decisions based on his personal beliefs, looks at the world in black and white, and does not always weigh all the pros and cons before making a choice.

I, for one, am excited at the possibility of a Black President, who is not only smart (he was a graduate of Harvard Law School and a member of its law review), but also principled (he has, so far, refused to run a negative attack campaign against McCain), and a careful decision-maker, who will engage the world rather than bully it as Bush did.

History is about to happen. And although we can’t help make it happen (Filipinos obviously cannot vote in the U.S. Presidential Election), we at least get ring-side seats.

Where To Work: Government or Law Firm?

I’m at that point in my life that I have to decide where to work, what field to go into, and whom to work for.

I hadn’t actually planned on dealing with these questions for a while. However, I have a number of “job offers” which require categorical answers of either yes or no soon, if just for politeness or propriety’s sake.

There are basically 2 options on the table: work for the government (i.e. public office) or work for a law firm.

Both options have their advantages and disadvantages.

Government work means a relatively manageable workload, a little less work pressure than law firm work (although the amount of pressure would depend on which government agency or person you work for), reasonable hours, and a certain amount of prestige depending on the office you work in.

Government work can also offer more educational opportunities either abroad or in the country, such as scholarships or educational grants. One friend of mine just came from a study-tour of Japan to observe that country’s legal system. That study-tour was open only to government workers and was not available for the private sector.

The disadvantage of government work however is that you don’t gain the killer edge that law firms seem to hand out to new lawyers. Since government work has stable working hours and is relatively simple, it is easy to get complacent if your own ambition doesn’t push you forward.

You also have a much lower salary than anyone lawyering in the private sector would get. You also have to deal with a stagnated bureaucracy, hurdle redtape and suffer rules which can sometimes stifle creativity. Government is often the last place that encourages creativity (as a general rule).

Law firm work on the other hand, is often a pressure filled timebomb, especially for the first few years as an associate. As the lowest man on the totem pole in a firm, nearly all the grunt work will be piled on the newbie lawyer or underbar (someone who is waiting for the Bar results).

This means very long hours and very stressed out lawyers.

Law firm work can be rewarding though. It offers more opportunities to gain knowledge and experience in the legal profession. You tend to learn more and do more.

But the biggest and most obvious upside of law firm work is the money.

Like in the movie Jerry Maguire, most new lawyers would say “show me the money,” and work for the firm which offers the highest salary and the best benefits.

I know a number of lawyers who have dealt with similar dilemmas, and they have all dealt with it differently.

Atty. Kris Ablan, for example, worked in both the public and private sector. He did stints in the Office of the Solicitor- General (OSG) and at a law firm before running for public office and winning a seat in his Province’s Provincial Board.

Atty. Ronald Chua received job offers from several large law firms, but turned them down to work in the Office of the Ombudsman. He also teaches in the Ateneo School of Law now.

Different strokes for different folks, as the cliché goes.

I still haven’t decided where I will ultimately go. But whatever decision I make, it will be made together with my dreamgirl. After all, I have chosen to balance both career and love (or at least try!).

And I really wouldn’t have it any other way.

Another Teng Hun Pic

Here’s another picture from the day of the Teng Hun (engagement ceremony). It was one of the few times in my recent memory where  my immediate family was all dressed up formally at the same time. I’m the one in the suit by the way.

It was an exciting but exhausting day, full of smiles and greetings and picture-taking. I wouldn’t do it again (too stressful for everyone involved) but it is one event  my dreamgirl and I plan to relive for a long time to come.

Tenghun Sin-Na (Engagement Container)

Sin-na

This is the sin-na which contained some of the stuff we had to carry into the bride-to-be’s house. It looks nice but according to my cousin who carried it, it was really heavy. Will try to upload some more pictures and write more about the engagement (tenghun) soon.

Eulogy for my Grandma Luz Lee

I gave the eulogy for my grandmother who died and was buried a few weeks back. I was one of three grandchildren who gave eulogies. It was hard accepting the fact of her death.

EULOGY:

To tell you the truth, I had a hard time writing this. I don’t know if it’s because I’m still in denial or because I am already grieving inside. I faced a blank computer screen for a few hours, unable to write anything about Luz Lee, whom we lovingly call Angin.

And so I thought I would start at the beginning, and introduce you to our Angin. She was born here in Davao City, the eldest girl of her family.  She already showed her dedication to the family by taking care of her younger sisters, Lourdes, Alice and Anna. She quit school to take care of the household when their mother died. She was, in that sense, everyone’s mother. She was, even at a very young age, Mama Luz.

She later married a very kind man whom we called Ayah. Out of this union came three children, James, Frank and Nelly. And from these three children came the many grandchildren and great grandchildren you see today. All of whom love her very very much.

As Mama Luz, she spent much of her time quietly taking care of  her actual children and grandchildren. Most of our photographs show her holding a baby or a toddler. She was very devoted and dedicated to the family, her children and her grandchildren. And although she always seemed reserved with most of her grandkids, we knew that deep down, she was very happy just being with us.

In fact, the highlight of her week, and even ours as kids was the Sunday family gettogether. The family would all troop to Toril on Sunday afternoon for two things: to spend some quality time with Angin, and to feast on the many delicacies she spent all day lovingly preparing and cooking for us.

Now she didn’t just make the normal Cantonese style home-cooked dishes. She would go out of her way to cook spaghetti and fried chicken, because she knew this was what we as little kids loved to eat. Every Sunday became a little party for us, and Angin would just smile at the way we devoured all the food.

After eating, the kids would then walk around Nelly’s commercial, which has been the department store of Toril for the last few decades, and look at all the cool stuff that was there.

Sometimes we would even be lucky enough to go home bringing new toys or komiks from the store because Angin gave them to us as gifts. We never had to say anything, that we liked this toy or that thing, because we weren’t allowed to by our parents, since Angin might wind up giving us nearly everything in the store.

But even though we couldn’t say anything, somehow, Angin knew.  And on the car ride home, as little kids we would sleep soundly, holding on tightly to the new Toril toy treasure which our Angin wanted us to have.

The family saw death approach Angin several times in the past week, and yet she met those moments with quiet strength and courage. She stayed with us in this mortal plain, even when God was beckoning for her to rest. She was waiting, it seemed, for all her beloved grandchildren to be by her side, for close relatives from Hong Kong to arrive and say their farewell.

It was only when everyone was here, that she finally followed God’ call to come home.  She slipped away quietly, not suddenly because she didn’t want to shock us; nor violently because she didn‘t want us to cry nor breakdown.  She left the same way she lived her life. Quietly, and lovingly, and with the same dedication for her family.

Randy Pausch, the author of the Last Lecture, once wrote about how he won the parent lottery. I believe my fellow grandkids would all agree with me when I say that we all won in the grandparent lottery, and that we were born with a winning ticket that God granted us. That winning ticket, was our beloved Angin.

We love you Angin, and we miss you.

Support Our Own

Babble On for the Sunstar Davao, Friday, Oct. 17. 2008

At a time of worldwide economic turmoil, when even our vaunted OFWs are unable to help our economy with their remittances, it is time for the Filipino people to seriously consider supporting our own. Our own industries, our own products, and even our own country.

Our people have always preferred foreign things. If we could afford it, we would buy Armani instead of Bench, Havaianas instead of Banana Peel, Minute Maid instead of Zesto, Maxim magazine instead of Manual magazine, Starbucks instead of Bo’s coffee club or Brew Crew.

Our choice of food also reflects this mindset. Filipino food is considered simple cooking and no one would go eat at an classy Filipino restaurant like Sentro or Abe, when they could eat instead at Friday’s or Italiani’s, or at fancy and expensive hotels which are owned by foreign conglomerates.

And when money is an issue we Filipinos buy the cheapest product out there instead, which is never the Filipino product, but the Chinese one. Most of the popular commodities which Filipinos purchase now like milk or luncheon meat is from China and is the preferred choice not only because it is foreign but also because it is dirt-cheap.

Even in our choice of travel destinations Filipinos prefer foreign over local. Filipinos often choose to travel abroad and go to exotic locales like Paris or Britain. And yet most of us have not fully explored our own country.

The Filipino loves the foreign over the local.

Some people call this mindset the colonial mentality. I just call it short-sighted thinking. The more we support or love foreign things, the more we buy foreign goods. The more foreign goods we buy, the more Filipino money goes out of our country. The more money that goes out of our country, the less money there is to run our economy.

Yes this is a fairly simplistic characterization, but we must remember that sometimes it is the simple idea that makes the difference. It is sometimes the simple idea that people can grasp. And to clearly spell it out, the simple idea is this: the more money goes out of the Philippines, the less money there is in the Philippines.

It is that simple, and that clear.

Despite this simple idea, our colonial mentality spurs us to keep buying or supporting foreign goods. I say enough. Let’s support our own.

There are countless top-notch Filipino products and places out there. You like nice clothes? Buy Bench or Folded & Hung. You like hamburgers? Eat at Jollibee or Burger Machine. You into beaches? Go to Antulang Beach Resort in Dumaguete or Boracay Island or Pearl Farm.

Let me repeat. It is a simple idea. If we support our own, we put more money into our own economy. With more money in our economy, it is less likely that the Philippines will drown under the tidal wave of economic pain that is engulfing the world.

There is a Chinese saying, “Don’t let fertile water flow into other’s fields.”

Let the Filipino water flow into Filipino fields. Let’s support our own.

***

I was on an early flight to Manila from Davao a few weeks back and was checked in very quickly and efficiently by Mr. Butch Casimiro, a ground manager for Philippine Airlines in the Davao International Airport.

He has a tip for passengers on popular, and consequently very full flights. When you purchase your tickets you can already pre-book your seats on the plane. This way, you are assured of a seat on the plane no matter what.

I hope Mr. Casimiro’s tip can be of help to travelers on very busy flights.

Name Change: Kelvin Legal

Name Change: Kelvin Legal

Yes, I changed the blog’s name. Again.

For those who didn’t know, I originally named this blog Babble On, which is the name of my column for a newspaper. Then I changed it to the Bizness Blawg because I thought I would focus on business and law. But after I got an invitation from Filipino Voices to blog for them once in a while on Philippine matters (mostly current events and politics) I realized that I couldn’t focus the blog on just business and law anymore. So the name didn’t fit.

After some thought, I decided to change names again because I didn’t want to make another blog just to put my more political writings. I went with the name Kelvin Legal, since my name is Kelvin Lee, and I have a legal background (Yes, it’s a pun, but hey at least it’s one that fits!).

So there you are. Kelvin Legal. A blog that has everything I will write about. I even changed the about me  (Who is Kelvin Lee?) section.

More posts will be up soon within the week. Feel free to look around or to drop me a line, or even better, subscribe to this blog so you can keep updated. Thanks and God bless folks.

I’m Back

I’m back. Finally.

After several looonnng months of not writing my column or posting on this blawg, my writing skills have gotten rusty. So it may take a while for me to be able to start posting regularly again

For those wondering what happened the last few months, I was busy reviewing for an exam that would make or break my future career in the law. I won’t talk about it much until I get the results in a few months. But in any case, let me just say this much about those exams: they were hard, and I really really don’t want to do that again. Ever. So I hope and pray I passed. So there.

I’ll start writing my column regularly soon and will post more regularly as well. Until then, here’s some links to pictures taken by my dreamgirl the night before the exams, and some taken shortly after the exams ended.

1.) Bar Preps or do you call it bar ops?

2.) bar exams are over.