A popular book these days is Christopher Hitchen's "God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything". A very well written book that does not merely defend atheism, it also blames religion which he defines as organized superstition as mankind's true "original sin", the root of all mass killings and genocidal hatred, sexual perversions and the perpetual injustice that prevents the majority of people from enlightenment.

He totally dismisses any redeeming value in faith. “If one must have faith in order to believe something, then the likelihood of that something having any truth or value is considerably diminished” . As I said, the book is a dazzling read, crammed with historical and literary allusions but it reminds you of the old adage about being careful whenever you get what you wish for. Because for the truly poor, what will they have left if they turn completely materialistic and focused on their short lives? Auden began his poem Musee de Beaux Arts with "About suffering they were never wrong, The old Masters: how well they understood Its human position". What are we to do if we let go of our most dependable lifeline?

Horacio de la Costa claimed we have two jewels, our songs and our faith. Can our songs alone sustain us through all the suffering? As a betting people, we will be better off subscribing to Pascal's Wager. It may be the lazier pathway but I prefer to continue believing in faith because I am mortified to think about the hopeless consequences that atheism brings. So long as we continue to help others and do good and not commit evil in the name of our Faith, I don't see why we should stop believing.

Election Day was 38 days ago and the counting continues. If the votes in Maguindanao are counted, Miguel Zubiri, an administration candidate will win the 12th and final slot in the Senate. If the votes are not counted as per the Supreme Court petition of Aquilino Pimentel III, then Zubiri loses.

In most countries, this would be an open and shut case. Why even burden the Supreme Court with a seemingly simple question? Votes need to be counted because the foundation of a democratic system rests in the sanctity of every person’s vote that is expressed in every ballot.

Unless voting did not take place and election returns were fraudulently mass produced. This consideration is at the heart of the delay in the long count. Obviously, administration allies are frantically finding ways to justify counting what appears to be corrupted returns. Why won’t they for a change find some courage and proclaim Zubiri and dare the Filipinos to unleash a revolution?

Because this is how we deal with problems in our country. We don’t deal with them if we can and we resort to the long count. After 21 years, it’s only now that we’re slowly acquitting the Marcos cronies one by one. We still don’t know who killed Ninoy Aquino. We’re still waiting for the Erap Estrada verdict and Trillanes may already be our President by the time the prosecution rests its case.

Feudalism and oligarchies rely on the long count to remain in power. So long as those leading the dramatis personae are unchanged, waiting is just fine. Time is ever on their side.

This is why the conclusion to this little imbroglio is not that important. No big change is coming. You would have thought that since Pimentel’s father, Aquilino II was a victim to a similar scheme years ago he would have used all his powers as a leading figure in the Senate to forestall any possibility on such a fraud from being perpetrated upon his own son.

Time is on their side.

Anyone who frequently flies with Cebu Pacific Airlines will nominate John and Lance Gokongwei for a Ramon Magsaysay Award (many many times referred to as the Asian Nobel). This upstart airline is truly making it possible for every Juan to fly. It also gives non-traditional politicians a chance to compete with those trapos with their own fleet of airplanes. Check out their deal: you can book your flight online using their extremely friendly website, print your ticket, ride in a brand new Airbus, potentially win one of their cheesy prizes through their onboard fun flight games and until a month ago, drink free C2 (a flavored drink). All for PhP 1600 ($32) one way to Bacolod. If it were not for the fuel surcharge and the various taxes the regular price would have been PhP 580 ($12).

They have 4 flights daily to Bacolod and the aircraft is often full. No frills. No newspapers, no coffee, no frequent flier miles. Minor inconveniences compared to the ease of planning your flights at any time of the day and you don't get charged for using your credit card (explanation: many establishments here pass the credit card transaction fee normally borne by the seller to the customer!).

The Gokongweis have a big hurdle in Government. Taxes and duties almost equal the airfare at times. The Manila Domestic Airport is a disgrace. Every departing passenger is made to pay PhP 200 ($4). Where all that money goes is a mystery because the airport surely does not betray any appearance of luxury. The food that can be purchased inside the lounge is overpriced and the entire male population is serviced by three (3) urinals. Like most government facilities, toilet tissue is a rare commodity.

The Gokongweis demonstrate that there are a lot of money-making opportunities even in a country with a struggling economy. Billions of dollars in profit may be realized in relatively honest fashion. During the Marcos dictatorship, the Philippine Airlines, "Asia's First Airline" was nationalized and conveniently used as a cash cow and private charter service by those who held absolute power. It was run into the ground until another Taipan rescued it.

Go Cebu Pacific!

Breast has always been best. We even have a law for this, the Milk Code that was established to encourage mothers to nurse their infants for as long as they could. Now that the election is over, let’s see how many will raise cries of protest over the threatening letter sent directly to GMA by the head of the US Chamber of Commerce that pointedly reminded her of the employment, investment and trade implications that would result with the enforcement of new rules and regulations that will make it a little more difficult for giant multinationals to mislead the poorly informed.

Infant formula is big business worldwide. The Philippines is a tiny market for these big players (Nestle, Wyeth, Abbott-Ross, Mead Johnson) but money is money. In the US, infant formula is very expensive but 2 factors make them “sure buys”. The convenience it provides especially to working mothers and the direct support of the Federal Government in the form of food stamps (WIC program-Women with Infants and Children). Formula milk is not superior to breast milk. It will not make our kids more competitive in the future (education and healthcare will). As a matter of fact, formula milk kills children in our country because clean water fit for human consumption is a rarity in impoverished areas resulting in untold numbers of enteric infections. Likewise, in a desperate attempt to skimp and save, ignorant mothers purposely dilute the formula they feed their babies and unwittingly raise malnourished kids who possess among other complications under-developed brains and immune systems. Now you know why tuberculosis and pulmonary infections are so common around here.

Nursing babies is nature’s way of family planning. It is also the most effective manner to regain pre-puerperal measurements.

Powdered whole milk is a totally different issue. There is such an abundance of this product in other countries. There is no shame in asking for the enormous surpluses that the US, Australia and New Zealand have. Or in negotiating with these countries to let us purchase milk at a markedly reduced price. Instead of raising herds of cattle that will contribute to elevated levels of methane and require large amounts of feed, we should convince the people in these nations to share their largesse. Powdered whole milk is superior to the instant noodles which is the dietary staple of the majority of our youth today. The protein from milk will spur the intellectual and physical growth of succeeding generations. This is one product I have no problem importing.

Musa Dimasidsing a teacher in impoverished Maguindanao witnessed voting fraud that is common in the poorest areas of our country. He courageously volunteered to speak out against the cheating and he was shortly shot to death.

An overwhelming majority of our government employees are honest and industrious. They make very little money and their options are limited. Our teachers, enlisted soldiers and policemen are extremely underpaid and underappreciated considering the gravity of the responsibility placed on their persons.

So it is with particular dismay that I write this entry because our country appears to have moved on entirely, completely shutting out the sacrifice of one Musa Dimasidsing. Never mind that the election official in that area has admitted that certain certificates of canvass have been lost, and that there well may be reason to call for a failure of elections in that place, we have all come to accept these as never changing realities. What is deeply troubling is our collective resignation to the inevitable slaughter of decent public servants who, like many of us, were simply performing their duties. In any nation with strong institutions, every effort will be taken and every lead will be exhausted to find and punish the killers of Musa Dimasidsing. If the Commission on Elections cannot perform its duty as it expected Musa Dimasidsing to perform his, then there is no reason for them to continue acting to preserve the sanctity of our votes.