AdminMay 3 Every chance to ‘milk’ the fedsLife is pretty much back to normal. With Covid-19 infections consistently dwindling and yielding statistics that bring a certain level of...
AdminApr 7A ghost of the dark yearsI remember that day— Feb. 25, 1986. I was then a teenager. My family stood outside the iron gates of Malacañang Palace among a massive...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganMar 6The politics of public health in the time of Covid Public health has often been the staple of politics and our government— regardless of the political party and no matter who is running...
AdminFeb 5Some are more equal than others America loves to talk about “equality,” a subject that is ironically difficult to talk about in America. Last month, Reps. Carolyn...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganJan 1From the beat: Gerry writes 30Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. I have...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganDec 9, 2021The worst year? 2021 around the PacificWe thought 2020 was the worst year ever. We heard it from friends and commentators. We read it on social media. We even said it...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganNov 7, 2021When abnormal becomes the new normalDr. Anthony Fauci said we are likely to return to normalcy by May 2022. We are not holding our breath. When we’ve lost confidence even in...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganOct 4, 2021In memory of Abed Younis The late Abed Younis, my former boss and founder of Marianas Variety, never caved in to intimidation. In his typically deadpan tone, Mr....
AdminSep 9, 2021Convincing the inconvincible: Carrot and stick or a Rousseauian solutionNo one trooped into the streets when the government dangled $10,000 in cash and brand-new cars to lure the vax stragglers to come out,...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganAug 13, 2021Information crisis amid Information AgeThe world of ideas and beliefs is like a flea market, where hawkers and barkers try to out-scream one another, each trying to pull the...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganJul 5, 2021It was the worst of times, it was the best of timesHeaded to recovery, Guam is submerged in an unexpected tsunami of resources it has never seen in history The Covid era is a perplexing...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganJun 30, 2021Murder of the mind(Following is an old column originally published May 22, 2014 in Marianas Variety News and Views. ) WARNING: This column can be offensive...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganJun 7, 2021‘Simple people' vs the simple-mindedIn March 2015, an episode of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” perfectly captured the comedic essence of the Insular Cases...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganMay 23, 2021Blast from the past: Memories of the old newsroom I worked with Arnold Moss at Today (one of the Philippines' major broadsheets before it was acquired by another company), where I was a...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganMay 7, 2021 Stopping MicronexitIt took them three months to apologize, but for the “Fiji faction” of the cleaved Pacific Islands Forum, it’s probably better late than...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganApr 8, 2021The colonial legacy: Political corruption dates back to the Spanish periodIn 2019, the University of Guam’s Regional Center for Public Policy released the results of a survey indicating that two-thirds of...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganMar 7, 2021The backbone of economyRunning a small business isn’t a walk in the park. Small scale entrepreneurs have to confront high rents, taxes, other collateral...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganFeb 2, 2021OK, Kamala Harris is a woman. And?U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ election to the nation’s second highest office “is a testament to how far we have come,” said Felicia...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganJan 6, 2021The baffling contradictions of the Covid-era economyThe Covid-stricken economy is full of dizzying paradoxes and ironies. More than 400 Guam businesses have blinked out of existence. Yet,...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganDec 6, 2020The Matrix 2020A sinister hacker released a malevolent virus that caused the world to stop and thrust everyone into a treadmill. We are going nowhere,...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganNov 1, 2020A picture that paints a thousand words"As a reliable compass for orienting yourself in this life, nothing is more useful than to accustom yourself to regarding this world as a...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganOct 11, 2020Stranger than fictionThe truth, according to author Mitch Albom, is at the bottom of the pile, the first victim of the Covid-19 pandemic. Indeed. The truth...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganSep 1, 2020The social contract: What people expect in exchange for surrendering their freedom “Man is born free, and he is everywhere in chains.” The famous opening line to Rousseau’s “Social Contract” sums up our inescapable...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganAug 13, 2020The lone rangerGuam Delegate Michael San Nicolas made a mark for defeating the once unbeatable Madeleine Bordallo, who everyone thought was glued...
By Mar-Vc CaguranganJul 10, 2020Think againPalau and the Federated States of Micronesia are among the last countries standing, sharing the hall of fame with just a few other...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganJun 10, 2020The risks of emergency powersGov. Lou Leon Guerrero invoked her public health emergency directive when she faced public scrutiny over her administration’s business...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganMay 4, 2020The irony of it all: Lessons from small Pacific islandsFrom Wuhan, Covid-19 has embarked on its atrocious journey around the world, reaching as far as it could get, swirling like a tornado and...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganApr 30, 2020News blackoutThe people of Guam tune in to the governor’s daily press conference not only to catch daily updates on the status of Covid-19 pandemic,...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganApr 3, 2020Testing negative and retrieving squandered timeMy heart raced when the Joint Information Office released the latest Covid-19 tally last week. It listed the numbers of confirmed...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganMar 8, 2020Buzzword: Indo-Pacific“Rebalancing to the Pacific” was tossed around a lot after President Obama announced in 2011 that the United States would turn its...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganFeb 12, 2020Shrinking bureaucracy and other fleeting plansIn five years, the government stands to lose a large part of its workforce due to retirement, according to Sen. Sabina Perez, who is...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganJan 3, 2020The year ahead2020 will be a year of optimism and anxiety. If nothing impedes the Department of Defense’s schedule, the Marines from Okinawa would...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganJan 2, 2020Cheers and jeers2019 has been a busy year for Guam tourism. The Guam Visitors Bureau announced in October that the final two months of Fiscal Year 2019...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganNov 10, 2019Debunking the wage hike bogeymanNone of the scenarios painted by those opposing the minimum wage increase transpired when wage earners received additional $1 per hour in...
By Diana G. MendozaSep 30, 2019An ode to the coffee shopManila— Ernest Hemingway was said to have spent time in coffee shops writing. I read up somewhere his story about how he went to a...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganSep 6, 2019ColoniesOn Dec. 4, 1960, the United Nations issued a declaration setting a 2010 deadline for “Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganJun 30, 2019The atrocities of politicsExecutive and legislative leaders hastily called a press conference last month to announce a brilliant plan. Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganApr 19, 2019Holding the line; in support of Joyce McClureWe regret the Council of Pilung’s demand to have Joyce McClure sent out of Yap and declared persona non grata. We regret such an attempt...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganMar 5, 2019History repeating itselfAn entirely new generation of Filipinos, without realizing it, is seeing the resurgence of tyranny that oppressed the country and muted...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganFeb 3, 2019A breath of fresh air“Transparency,” “honesty” and “accountability” are common ingredients of the political ballyhoo often heard on the campaign trail. After...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganJan 5, 2019What defines 2018?In one of its last announcements for 2018, the outgoing Calvo administration hoped to end the year (and its term in office) on a happy...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganDec 7, 2018Transcending genderI did not pop the champagne nor gather my female friends to celebrate women’s blast to power in the 2018 local and national elections....
By Mar-Vic CaguranganOct 19, 2018A matter of life and voteAbortion did not figure in the early stages of this year’s election season until Frank Aguon and his running mate Alicia Limtiaco...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganSep 6, 2018Free press and public discussion“Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganAug 11, 2018The case for privatizationIf GTA were still a government-run corporation, it would likely be among the agencies lining up at the legislature to ask for subsidy...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganJul 5, 2018Whistleblowers“We are only faced with the absurd when we take both our need for answers and the world's silence together.—Albert Camus First, Ted...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganMay 31, 2018Revenue leaks: $111 million and moreAll tax revenue, according to the American humorist P.J. O’Rourke, is the result of holding a gun to the taxpayer’s head. “Not paying...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganMay 6, 2018Force-feeding the babiesThe Trump administration’s fiscal 2019 budget pitched a “bold, innovative approach” to reform the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganApr 3, 2018The anthemIt was quite amusing if not woeful to watch. Gov. Eddie Calvo tried all sorts of scare contrivances to convince the skeptical senators...
By Mar-Vic CaguranganMar 4, 2018Capricious tax hikeAdelup has been spewing out hysterical press releases, warning of payless paydays, furloughs and possible cuts in government programs and...