Bob Tacto's columns

  Gene therapy is a highly controversial topic and there are reasons why people are either for or against it. All of us carry defective genes and may not know it. Gene therapy is a route to tackle the fundamental biological cause of the disorder: the faulty gene being replaced by a healthy gene. Genes are the fundamental physical and functional unit of heredity. Each genetic makeup of a person is unique and this is what makes us different from one another. A mutation in any one of these genes can result in a disease, physical disability or shortened life span. These mutations can be passed from one generation to another. With germ-line gene therapy, the inherited diseases or physical conditions due to these mutations could be eliminated. Germ-line therapy should be practiced despite the ethical claims, because it is a long-term solution to save the future generations from dealing with the defective gene pool. Gene therapy is an experimental form of treatment that uses gene transfer...

  This time Neville Chamberlain is in the White House whining about Putin attacking Ukraine. I remember every United States President from Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Joe Biden feared being labelled like Neville Chamberlain when it came to defense and diplomacy issues. That label was considered the death of their reputation in past cases and especially true when it came to the lead up to World War II. Appeasement and Isolation has been revelaed to be some of the causes that made World War II into the biggest war of the 20th century. Now the Associated Press and Reuters even with limited White House access managed to dig more dirt on Trump. This time showing how Trump was begging for Putin to stop the attacks in Ukraine. However this is not how you deal with Putin because Putin will do whatever the Duma and his mercinaries tell him is the best move here. Previous Presidents, Pentagon leaders, diplomats and members of congress have suggested two things like sanctions to Russia, boyc...

  Back in the late 1980’s to the mid 1990’s there were sitcoms like Full House that were oriented towards families on a Friday Night. I especially remember the time when the writers used core cities as its setting and had characters who had some wit with them. Yes the characters won’t work today like it did in the area when it was originally filmed. Some of the plotlines won’t work today too given how culture and customs has changed in the past 40 years. In this case we will focus on location. One the median price for a home in places like San Francisco where Full House was set would be at $1,234,246 as of 2023. Also in able to live in places like San Francisco you would need to work at a Venture Capitalist operation given it is one of the main industries in the city. Back when the show was done it was likely that the average middle class family could live in the city. Today in able for an average middle class family that Full House wants to portray on TV to live they would most li...

  Boycott Amazon? When Entertainment, Politics, and Power Collide There are moments when consumer choices stop being just about convenience and start becoming about conscience. Amazon’s reported exploration of a reboot of The Apprentice —the reality show that helped launch Donald Trump’s political career—may be one of those moments. People.com The Guardian The Daily Beast MarketWatch Let’s be clear about the facts. Amazon says the reboot is not currently in active development , and any details about hosts—such as Donald Trump Jr.—are speculative. ( People.com ) But the company has confirmed that internal discussions have taken place since it acquired MGM and the rights to the franchise. ( The Guardian ) That alone would be unremarkable in Hollywood—studios revive old IP all the time. What makes this different is the political context. From Reality TV to Real Power The Apprentice was never just another reality show. It was central to Trump’s transformation from businessman to poli...

  There’s a cruel arithmetic to the politics of the current moment. In the machinery of the modern MAGA movement, enemies are not just opponents to be debated—they are human targets to be eliminated. And right now, two very different groups are being subjected to the same vicious playbook: Americans who are transgender, and Republicans who dared to say “no” to Donald Trump. The idea that these two groups could, or should, form an alliance might seem fanciful, even offensive to some. A painful history exists here. Many of the same establishment conservatives now being driven from office were, at best, silent on the dignity and civil rights of transgender people, and at worst, they echoed the very stereotypes that have made trans Americans one of the most maligned groups in the country. That sin is real and must be confronted. Yet, the stark political reality of 2026 demands a brutal honesty. The Trump machine has made it clear: it intends to purge both groups from public life. In th...

  There was a time when boycotting a company meant taking a moral stand against a specific atrocity—unsafe working conditions, environmental destruction, or funding a brutal regime. Today, the call to boycott Amazon is different. It isn't about one scandal; it’s about the fact that Amazon has decided to swallow American democracy whole, digest the remnants of a free press, and spit out a "reality" show that is nothing more than a White House infomercial. This time, the catalyst is the grotesque plan to reboot The Apprentice with Donald Trump Jr. as its host. But this isn't just bad television—it is a flashing neon sign that Jeff Bezos has fully transformed his trillion-dollar empire into a patronage machine for the Trump family, obliterating any ethical boundaries between the White House, the media, and Silicon Valley. It’s time to cancel your Prime subscription. Here’s why. 1. The Art of the Quid Pro Quo A good place to start is the math, because it suggests that Ama...

  Last week, the Philippine Senate—the nation’s bastion of democratic deliberation—descended into a theater of armed chaos. Gunfire echoed through its halls. Security forces clashed. And a fugitive senator wanted for crimes against humanity slipped away in the dead of night, allegedly with the help of his colleagues. The events of May 11-15, 2026, were not merely a political embarrassment. They were an insurrection orchestrated to obstruct justice. To allow the escape of Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa—the self-confessed top enforcer of Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war—Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano and Senator Robin Padilla actively subverted the rule of law. For their roles in this conspiracy, all three must be impeached. **The Crime: Obstructing Justice on an International Scale** Let us recall the facts. The International Criminal Court (ICC) unsealed a valid warrant for Dela Rosa’s arrest on charges of crimes against humanity. The Philippine government, under President Ferdina...