the sign of 666

Everytime on a Sunday morning I just feel so good to talk craps. I felt the earth moved under my feet last week. But it wasn't enough. Maybe my feet moved instead. 8.7% down in popular vote. Is this a strong mandate or a strong dip. It all depends on what kind of kopitiam head one has. It also depends on what kind of yardstick one uses. It also depends on the motive behind the person calling the it. For those kopitiam heads who expect 85% win, this is a big failure. It must be. It is less than 75% or 70%, not enough to get an A grade. For those who think 65% is a strong mandate, 66.6% is a strong mandate. And for those who just want to call it a strong mandate, any figure will still be called a strong mandate, even if it is 55%. But I don't like the sign. Last week someone told me that the sign of Satan were flashed all over the place. Now 666 is in the front page of the newspaper. Ooooohh me God! What is really important is that the people have spoken. And the victors are thanking the people profusedly, humbling themselves by saying that it is the people's vote. Now after the election, will the people be forgotten? We can expect a few more days of thanking the people, humouring the people that they are the masters of the land. But will the real masters now take over and tell the people to behave? Will the new masters again adopt the attitude that they know what is best for the people and continue to shaft down the throat of the people what they want? For the next five years, the people must watch carefully and make their assessments of the real masters and their actions. Would they listen to the plight and wishes of the people? Would they reverse their thinking that efficiency, big profits of big organisations takes priority over jobs for the people? Will they continue with another round of restructuring to make sure that the big organisations continue to spread their activities and encroaches into every other little businesses to make more profits, and in the process destroying more jobs? Is economics priority, or profit priority more important than political considerations, the welfare of the people? Will the people be allowed to make a decent living by restraining the giant corporations from elbowing everyone out of business? This is a watershed election. It registers the beginning of a shift. Small it may be. But if not arrested, the difference will be seen in the next election. It could be a big shift, not so much of Gomez, but the $10 bil package, with a few thousand dollars in everyone's pocket that makes the difference. It is a very expensive election and could have turned the other way without the heroin jab. Everyone is still feeling a little high. But the effect cannot last long.