• Presidential debate • Political ad • Verizon sale • Kerry’s record Presidential debate Thursday’s debate showed us that John Kerry was strong and persuasive, and he showed a firm grasp of issues. He presented a viable, powerful alternative to
• Presidential debate
• Political ad
• Verizon sale
• Kerry’s record
Presidential debate
Thursday’s debate showed us that John Kerry was strong and persuasive, and he showed a firm grasp of issues. He presented a viable, powerful alternative to Bush’s reckless policy of war.
More importantly he explained how the war in Iraq was a diversion from the hunt for Osama bin Laden. The war against the terrorists should have been waged in Afghanistan. The 9/11 commission report confirmed that there was no connection between 9/11 and Saddam Hussein. The president claimed the reason for going to war was because Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.
The president made a terrible error, and now we are paying for it with the loss of both American and Iraqi lives. 40 Iraqi children lost their lives this week (last week). What a nightmare for the people of Iraq, and for the American families who have lost their children, spouses and parents in this quagmire of a war we are now involved in. I remember Vietnam. We need to change direction.
Our former allies in the world no longer back us. We have lost the respect of many nations. We need a new president and administration, and a new direction to lead us out of this mess.
Carol Ann Davis
Koloa
Political ad
I just read a half-page political ad in which state senatorial candidate Kusaka does everything but come right out and call current state Senator Gary Hooser a crime monger!
If nothing else, this shows just to what length Mrs. Kusaka and her Republican supporters are willing to go to in order to quench their thirst for power — both at the state level and in Washington DC. Theirs has been a campaign of “single-issue” attacks and comparisons.
First, Mike Gabbard’s homophobic emphasis on the gay-marriage issue in which he spouts loudly about the “sanctity of traditional marriage” — yet makes no mention of how network television is raking in millions of dollars as American TV audiences sit mesmerized by such reality fare as “The Bachelor,” “Who Wants to Marry my Father?” and “Wife Swap” — where is the critical tongue crying out for the “sanctity of traditional marriage?”
Now, our former mayor, during whose tenure the seeds of such problems as excessive vacation rentals, unbearable traffic, loss of public access, grading violations galore, a shortage of housing for local people, and let’s not forget her deteriorating “volunteer-maintained,” soon-to-be-costing-the-taxpayers-money Gateway project, were planted, is accusing Sen. Hooser of being soft on crime!
The key thing to remember when deciding for which candidate to cast your vote is not one or two issues — but how that particular candidate performed overall — that is — even if you disagree with them on a particular issue — how many other things did they do to help you and your community? I find it ironic that Mrs. Kusaka’s own former teachers’ union is endorsing Sen. Hooser — and as far as being soft on crime? The police union doesn’t seem to think so — they too have endorsed Sen. Hooser. However you feel, agree, disagree, whatevas — don’t let the minority rule you.
Make sure you vote, Kaua‘i!
Stan Koga
Kapa‘a
Verizon sale
The purchase of Verizon Hawaii by The Carlyle Group is not in the best interest of the people of Hawai‘i for a number of reasons. Firstly I question TCG’s commitment to Hawai‘i. They recently unloaded Horizon Lines after only one year of ownership for a tidy profit. TCG’s investors expect high ROI (return on investment). Owning a telephone company will not bring you a high ROI.
Thus, it would not surprise me if they quickly unload Verizon Hawaii after a short period of time.
Secondly, I’m concerned how this will effect my DSL service currently offered by Verizon Online. Since Verizon will be out of the picture, I’m afraid my monthly DSL cost will go up from $29.95 a month. I could keep Verizon Online if I wanted to after the purchase. But the catch is it will definitely be higher than the $29.95 a month I’m currently paying. Currently, getting DSL from a local reseller costs more than double the $29.95 rate charged by Verizon.
Lastly, I know TCG promised no rate increases for 10 years. But the numbers do not add up. With the added cost of bringing the back-office operations currently on the Mainland back to Hawai‘i, among other things, the numbers won’t work unless TCG does do a rate increase, in my opinion.
I urge anyone who is concerned about this acquisition to attend the Hawai‘i PUC (Public Utilities Commission) public hearings (see more information at www.state.hi.us/budget/puc/puc.htm listed under Public Hearings -Docket No. 04-0140, or located here, tinyurl.com/4v9pn. The people of Hawai‘i depend on reliable telephone service. Allowing a company like TCG to purchase a critical utility like Verizon Hawaii is bad for the people of Hawai‘i.
Aaron Stene
Kailua-Kona
Kerry’s record
Most people will agree the coming election is the most critical in years. The public seems to be divided as to who deserves their vote. The recent debate only proves Kerry is more articulate than Bush. I would remind the public a leopard doesn’t change its spots.
In 20 years in the Senate, Kerry hasn’t authored one single piece of legislation. He has declared he is anti-war. He has voted against every single weapon system our military now uses to fight in Iraq, and voted to cut the intelligence budget that now handicaps our intelligence agency. After Saddam invaded Kuwait, Kerry voted against kicking him out.
Does anyone believe the U.N. would have forced Saddam out of Kuwait? Now Kerry believes we should have obtained permission from France, Germany and the U.N. to free Iraq after years and years of unenforced resolutions.
Germany and France are jealous of the U.S. being the lone super power in the world, and will never consent to helping in Iraq. Yes, the U.S. is bearing the brunt of the combat and the money in Iraq. We are also expected to fight for the protection of any other group of people who are being murdered by the thousands, as in Sudan.
Kerry says he will add 20,000 men to our army. The only way this can be done is to institute the draft, as not many people are willing to volunteer with the certainty of going to Iraq. It seems that Kerry’s plan for Iraq is to do everything Bush is doing better. I feel the combat in Iraq is a battle history will show as the time when the Middle East started turning to democracy. Was Iraq a mistake? Possible,but I think not likely.
Robert W. Yount
Koloa
