The good-news campaign

A leukemia warrior, a great journalist and a good friend Ed Santoalla, writing for the ISLA/The Advocacy Channel, Inc., got noticed by my cyber pal David Murphy, M.D. who makes it a point to scan all Philippine major papers day by day from his base in America. Ed’s article was published on Monday, May 13, the same day that my own column titled "Good News" appeared in The STAR. "It seems that they launched Isla in December to spread good news, which they apparently call advocacy," said Dr. Murphy.

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As Dr. Murphy sees it, the interesting thing is "Indeed, good news not only sells, it infects as well." It is but a matter of time before the business not only of reporting, but of actually making good news becomes a nationwide movement for recovery and transformation." Even ABS-CBN has a cable channel reporting good news. "What a concept!" said Dr. Murphy.

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"I wonder if Ed Santoalla knows that he was not the first to recognize the importance of positive expectations and not the first to decide to deliberately and intentionally propagate this epidemic of good news. I wonder if you might have had a role in infecting him," Dr. Murphy wondered.

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There are always rumors circulating around the Philippines about underground movements seeking to undermine various aspects of Filipino culture, society or government. It is too early to tell but it seems possible that one of the most powerful movements to date – the media reinforcing positive expectations and increased self-esteem – has begun. "If this thing catches on, there is no limit to what can be accomplished! Gives me shivers just thinking about it," Dr. Murphy concluded.

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According to retired Ambassador Rodolfo A. Arizala, in other countries, the generation, distribution and billing of electric power are not in one and the same entity or company. In other words, there is no monopoly. Company "A" generates electric power: Company "B" takes care of its distribution; and Company "C" takes care of billing or collecting the payments.

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While generation and distribution of electricity may be privatized, the government still monitors and determines whether the price of such electricity should be increased and by how much. Supply of electricity might be a private business affair and should operate with profits, but still it is considered as part of public utilities which a government has the right to regulate to protect public interests and the consuming public.

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Arizala does not know how it is in the Philippines. That is, whether electric energy is lodged in one and the same entity or company. One single company or entity is generating and distributing the energy as well as determining  how much to charge the consumers for such energy.

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Here is a beautiful poem, which I would like to share with STAR readers, as a means of inspiring them this wonderful day.

It is entitled "It’s in the Valleys I Grow":

Sometimes life seems hard to bear,
Full of sorrow, trouble and woe
It’s then I have to remember
That it’s in the valleys I grow.
If I always stayed on the mountain top
And never experienced pain,
I would never appreciate God’s love
And would be living in vain.
I have so much to learn
And my growth is very slow,
Sometimes I need the mountain tops,
But it’s in the valleys I grow.
I do not always understand
Why things happen as they do,
But I am very sure of one thing.
My Lord will see me through.
My little valleys are nothing
When I picture Christ on the cross
He went through the valley of death;
His victory was Satan’s loss.
Forgive me Lord, for complaining
When I’m feeling so very low.
Just give me a gentle reminder
That it’s in the valleys I grow.
Continue to strengthen me, Lord
And use my life each day
To share your love with others
And help them find their way.
Thank you for valleys, Lord
For this one thing I know
The mountain tops are glorious
But it’s in the valleys I grow!
Have a blessed day!
REMEMBER...
The shortest distance between a problem and a solution
is the distance between your knees and the floor. 
The one who kneels to the Lord,
can stand up to anything.

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Thoughts For Today:

It’s true that we don’t know
what we’ve got until we lose it,
but it’s also true that we don’t know
what we’ve been missing until it arrives.

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Giving someone all your love is never
an assurance that they’ll love you back!
Don’t expect love in return.
Just wait for it to grow in their heart
but if it doesn’t, be content it grew in yours.
It takes only a minute to get a crush on someone,
an hour to like someone, and a day to love someone.
But it takes a lifetime to forget someone.

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My e-mail addresses: [email protected] and [email protected]