“What’s on Our Mind”, is the online magazine of KALIPI that features young liberal’s commentaries on various issues concerning the youth and society in general, whether social, economic, or political. It aims to address the need for educating the youth with liberal perspective using online technologies.

For its first issue, KALIPI has compiled commentaries on the recently concluded elections. Do we have peaceful and orderly elections? Is there any electoral improvement in the country? How political advertisement affects us? What is the importance of Internet in 2007 elections? Find out! Read the following articles.

The 8^th Little Big Thing
By Elena Abunda

I have been reading and putting into application the 12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do To Help Our Country as written from the book of the same title by Atty. Alexander Lacson. It is very much convincing that I had to sacrifice my personal bliss in order to do the 8^th Little Thing: During Elections, Do Your Solemn Duty. I have booked my flight abroad for a short hibernation from schoolwork when I suddenly thought of having it postponed just to vote on the 14^th of May Elections. Its quite out-of-the-ordinary for me to do in the out-of-school setting but I also changed my parent's flight schedule so we could all in the family have our voices heard. Read on…

Political Families Rule : A Democracy of Dynasties, For Dynasties and By Dynasties
By Prof. Jan-Argy Y. Tolentino

The election of George W. Bush as president eight years after his father left the White House, and the possibility of a Hillary Clinton in the White House after eight years of a Bill Clinton Presidency, proves that dynastic politics is not a preserve of Third World democracies and dictatorships.

Even industrialized democracies are not immune to the politics of dynasty. Although the Kennedys were the most famous Western political dynasty, the Bush election is the second instance in American history of a father-son presidency, the first being the Adams. Read on…

Philippine Media and the 2007 Midterm Elections
By: Robert Anthony L. Ramos

If there’s one thing that the 2007 Midterm Elections can lay claim to it is that it serves as a wonderful case study for a variety of… phenomenon (for lack of a better term). Foremost among this is the shattering of the age-old myth in Philippine culture that media, particularly a heavy advertising campaign chock-full of stars and clichés, can sell you just about anything.

There is much talk, especially among the intellectuals of the industry, about why candidates for the Philippine Senate who spent millions for prime advertising space ended up as the contest’s biggest losers. In the post-mortem of the elections done by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), the captains of our country’s nascent-but-vibrant Public Relations industry used terms like “dissonance”, “disconnect”, and “lack of planning” as encapsulated responses to the question of why the big spenders lost so badly. More on...

The Battle Between TEAM Unity and Genuine Opposition
By Councilor Pepe Del Rosario

Very recently the Filipino electorate had to go through another critical exercise directly affecting the history of this country. While it would be safe to say that the electoral process is a reflection of our democracy, ergo liberalism, such would only be true if we enclose the entire process in a tight vacuum. There are many factors affecting who gets what in a Filipino electoral process, and one of these is alleged widespread cheating. Even if we are to only consider this single element affecting our electoral process the assumption that the elections equals democracy equals liberalism becomes quite far-fetched. More on...

CAMPAIGN FINANCING

By Councilor Rhoda Dilidili

Generally speaking, elections involve the choice or selection of candidates to public office by popular vote. It refers to the listing of votes, the holding of campaigns, the act of casting and receiving the ballot from the voters, counting them, making the election returns and proclaiming winning candidates. During elections, the candidates and the political parties exert effort to win the support of voters using a variety of techniques; public appearance and rallies, a minute-long television advertisement, posters, leaflets, etc. More on…

The Importance of Internet in Electoral Exercises
By Larry Madarang

“When the PC was launched, people knew it was important.”—Bill Gates

From their inception as simple tools for computation, computers name evolved into a vital tool for communication and information. From packet switching in 1962 it now has grown to what is known as the Internet.

Computers continue to evolve, from desktop “personal computers” to laptops moving on to palmtops. These machines are getting smaller and handier, and as the years go by, more powerful than their older and bulkier counterparts. More on…

More commentaries to follow....

Please note that the commentaries featured on “What’s on Our Mind” were not the positions of KALIPI as an organization. It is only the opinion of the writer of the article.