We miss the fireworks

By Alex P. Vidal

“The more efficient you are at doing the wrong thing, the wronger you become. It is much better to do the right thing wronger than the wrong thing righter. If you do the right thing wrong and correct it, you get better.”—Russell L. Ackoff

THERE have been so many interesting and explosive issues and controversies in the national level these past months that necessitated a congressional inquiry, but, sad to say, there were no more fireworks and quality legislative investigations when these issues were tackled recently, unlike in the past.

For instance, there seems to be a dearth in the quality of panel of investigators in the Senate, which has been noticeably relying on nondescript Bato dela Rosa (who is, so far, doing well in the ongoing Negros Oriental killings investigation) and showman nonpareil Robin Padilla.

When they were reinforced by the overrated Joel Villanueva and the highly strung Francis Tolentino, the anemic and lackluster Senate investigations became the order of the day and shattered all records in sloppiness and mediocrity.

It’s hard to imagine if Manny Pacquiao, Bong Revilla, Bong Go, Lito Lapid, Jinggoy Estrada would buttress the shindig. What has happened to the once illustrious and eminent Philippine Senate?

So many important and controversial issues, but so many inexperienced and incompetent Senate panelists grilling the barracudas, reptiles, amphibians, and hippopotamuses that mostly managed to elude the dragnet.

Second-rate Senate inquisitors wasted taxpayers money with prolonged investigations capped by abysmal and egregious questions and side comments.

We missed the fireworks and quality quizzings and cross-questionings of the likes of the late Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Dick Gordon, Rene Saguisag, Teopisto Guingona, Kit Tatad, Raul Manglapus, Joey Lina, Heherson Alvarez, Blas Ople, Frank Drilon, Nikki Coseteng, Leila de Lima, Leticia Ramos-Shahani, to name only a few.

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Some personalities who speak softly like they can’t kill a mosquito can be deceiving; they can be wolves in a sheep’s clothing.

We’re not saying they are closet wolves, but we have misgivings each time we hear former Negros Oriental governor Pryde Henry Teves and PNP chief General Rodolfo Azurin Jr. speak in public.

We noticed they were able to control the flow of their statements and the tempo of their voices if they were aware the people were paying attention.

But we learned from the new study in the journal Nature Communications that those who speak with a rising intonation, reduced emphasis at the beginning of each syllable, and a slower speech rate are generally perceived as dishonest.

Study authors concluded that people have the capacity to instantly clock a lie based on this melodic pattern, even if it is spoken in a foreign language.

Teves is the older brother of the notorious Arnie Teves, a suspended congressman from Negros Oriental and tagged by Department of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispen Remulla as the “executive director” in the Pamplona Massacre that killed nine people, including Gov. Roel Degamo on March 4.

Azurin, who will retire on April 24, is being suspected of protecting some PNP bigwigs involved in the foiled attempt to cover-up the arrest of a low-ranking cop caught last year in possession of shabu worth P6.7 billion, the biggest haul in the history of anti-drug enforcement in the Philippines.

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MORAL HANDS. In their book “The Impact of Great Ideas,” co-authors Laurence Behrens and Leonard Rosen wrote that Marquis de Condorcet, the biographer and friend of Voltaire, “was raised a pious Catholic and later declared himself an atheist and held that the salvation of the human race lies not in the hands of Providence but in moral hands.”

AFFAIRS. Forty nine percent of Germans are convinced that too little sex in a relationship leads to affairs. (Fur Sie)

April 20 — or 4/20 — is known in some circles as “Weed Day.” Recreational marijuana use by adults 21 and older is now legal in 21 states and the District of Columbia, and 37 states have legalized medical marijuana.

On April 21, Muslims will celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. On April 22 is Earth Day, an event created in the US back in 1970 to increase public awareness of environmental problems. It’s now commemorated around the world.

Since 1950, individual income taxes have been the primary source of revenue for the U.S. federal government. Together with payroll taxes (used to fund social programs like Social Security and Medicare), income taxes amount to more than 80 percent of all federal revenue, and are the essential fuel on which our government runs.

BEATING THE DEADLINE. I hope I was able to beat the April 18 deadline for filing of my income tax return with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). I was able to e-file my 2022 federal income tax return April 15, but separately mailed via US Post Service my state income tax return on April 17 due to some technical problems.

The history of income taxes in the United States goes back to the Civil War, when Abraham Lincoln signed into law the nation’s first-ever tax on personal income to help pay for the Union war effort. After it was repealed a decade later, Congress tried again in 1894, enacting a flat rate federal income tax. But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the tax unconstitutional the following year, because it didn’t take into account the population of each state.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)