Letters to the Editor for Sunday — February 15, 2004

• Dieting

• Community comment

• School trip thanks

Dieting

I have watched with interest the pros and cons regarding the Atkins Diet. There are many trying to trash his diet, especially since he died. According to what I read he was in a coma before death and gained 60 pounds of fluids prior to his death, he was not obese. I have heard most all Physicians vigorously condeming his diet. I am curious why the AMA and other medical groups do not do a long term study, they just condemn it with evidently no proof. I can recall some twenty years ago a Physician in Australia came up with the idea that ulcers might be caused by bacteria. He was immediately labeld as insane by the world medical community. It was supposedly an established fact that no bacteria could live in stomach acid. That is until he was curing patients of their ulcers by treatment with antibiotics. What a turnaround, the medical community could hardly believe they could have been so wrong, but they all were. One doctor in all the world had shown the medical community to be wrong. Could this be the case again.

Robert Yount

Po‘ipu

Community comment

Maybe letters like the one Michael Wells wrote are harmless. What can not be condoned or ignored are hate, divisiveness and delusion. Racially charged slurs, even against Caucasians should not be tolerated.

Would this newspaper print a racial slur about another ethnic group? Would they use the “N” word as freely as they used the “H” word? There is a racist undertone that is very prevalent in the discourse that frequents this newspaper. The new bigotry is class warfare.

Surely, it is rich people who should be blamed for Kaua‘i’s problems n more precisely, the rich white people. The wealthiest people I have met are Hawaiians or people of other ethnic groups who have lived for generations on Kauai who bought and kept land in their families.

Many have found scapegoats to blame for their lot in life. Mr. Wells blames rich “haoles” and people who don’t garden. He blames public servants. He blames you.

It may take generations to correct some of Kaua‘i’s problems. It may take voters supporting leaders that understand that jobs are created in an environment that is not burdened by socialistic tendencies. It may take a perspective that developers are only middle men between vacant land owners and people who want homes.

Mr. Wells is well intended. He wants you to take charge of things around you. To do that, one must first take responsibility. You should meet your neighbor. And, if they are manufacturing ice or growing pot in their shed, call the police. Sit down and talk to your children. While we talk to them, let’s instill values and give them a good example of moral adult relationships so that children stop having children. Tell them hard work buys a home.

Rest assured though, if you are able to keep your family from ruin so that your child grows up, gets an education, starts a company providing non-tourism jobs for others and buys a home on the North Shore, they will be labeled and blamed for everyone else’s problems.

Dwight Holloway

Kilauea and Florida

School trip thanks

Aloha, and thank you for the opportunity to share this with the community. I am a teacher coordinating Close Up 2004 trip to Washington, DC for Kapa‘a High School, and in the process plenty folks have been helping us. I wanted to take the chance to thank all of them up to now; on behalf of my students and their families, may I acknowledge the following people for their help.

Olinda Higashi, Sarah, Dominic, and their OHANA for ALL their incredible support and lokomaikai

Sylvia Gibboney and her family for their generous coordination and hard work; Cost-U-Less for their help with our laulaus; Glenn Kojima, Haraguchi Farms, Gary Koga, John Contrades II, Bernard Goo, Charlie Spencer for the same. Also with laulaus, Don and Rose Merkel, David Kaneholani, Sean and Evy Conant, Sophie and Leilani Josselin, Sandra Palmeira and Frances Spadaro; also all the parents who worked hard selling and delivering laulaus.

Big mahalos for Tommy and Malia, and Dustin Mahi for their DJíing our dance, Mr. Youn and Lynn Antonio for their support, Kaeíe Calica, The Creamerís, and all the chaperones, Big Save for the sodas.

Big thanks to the PTSA, especially Laurel Brier and Kim Kain for their relentless, loyal dedication and support. Also importantly Janine and everyone at Safeway for all our escrip sign up shifts!! Also to everyone who donated (and bought!) items for our rummage sales! Thank you!

Mahalos to Haulani Fernandez for her support and the Kapa‘a Neighborhood Center.

To Diane and the gang at FM-97 for their support; Pastor Steve at KHJC for his incredible patience and last-minute assist; and to Kong Radio.

The Garden Island Newspaper, Kendyce Manguchei, Chris Cook, Classified Ads and Anolani Higashi for her assistance.

To the following for their generous donations:

KIUC and Annie Crain, Kapa‘a Rotary Club, The Margaret Nelson Trust, Kauai Community Federal Credit Union, First Hawaiian Bank, Pacific Café, Papaya’s, Hanalei Surf, Larry Hawelu and Starbucks, and the Close Up Foundation.

Mary and Michelle Dubois, the Lanai ladies, the Body of Christ on Kaua‘i for all their pules. And most importantly, a BIG Mahalo to Ke Akua, Iesu and Hemolele Spirit for all the help and protection and aloha.

To all those I overlooked, we’ll get you in the next letter!

We love you!

Kapa‘a