Page 2 of Hoy newspaper continues to be one of the best reads on any given day. Humor, satire, flat-out critiques and human interest grace this page daily, with today’s offering presenting a fine example. The eye first catches “Eloy,” the political cartoon, which features a gravestone with the inscription “Here lies a poor Dominican who could not buy his medicine.” Eloy just says, “Well!”
Writer Emilio Lapayese wades into the Supreme Court’s non-committal stance on the infamous Ley de Lemas, or electoral reform bill. In just 100 words, he manages to scorn the court, calling their actions “jurisprudence games” that are “stalling and elusive” ways of “drawing out processes.” But, he admits, they were admirably quick about it.
The oft-mentioned “Que se Dice” column (“What’s being said”) contains three paragraphs today, with each one pointing out something curious. In reference to the Cardinal’s remark about Dominicans being without any protection, the writer reminds the government of the situation facing most of the public school system’s retired teachers, who have not been able to collect their checks from January. He says they have no “mourners.” Next, he takes on the effects of the current exchange crisis within the diplomatic corps, reporting that dozens of minor officials are being sacked to lower the expenses of the ministry. He ends the paragraph by saying the measure will also serve to reduce the dimensions of the payroll that, as in so many other government institutions, suffers from a severe case of hypertrophy. The last paragraph is dedicated to those lining up at the various supermarkets across the country to take advantage of the specials being offered. He observes, however, that the ladies are not always ladylike in their hurry to obtain the items that are not always bountiful.
And today, Rafael Molina Morillo put together a column that shows the benefits of all these blackouts. He prints the tale of a woman whose small children must learn that they can sleep without airconditioning and live without cartoonnetwork.com, nick.com, NintendoR or Game CubeR. They no longer complain about running to take a bath while the electricity is on or about doing without TV so that there is enough current to run the fans at night. New games of hide-and-seek are played in the dark and even the dog gets into the action. No more “Mom is a pain” or “I don’t love you any more!” The answer is simple: There is no electricity. So now we know: All those spoiled kids were just the result of having electricity.
And, of course, the “Coctelera” is always worth a read since nothing escapes his pen:.