Letters for Tuesday, March 27, 2007

• Thanks humanity

• Congratulations, KIUC directors

• “Big Box” to the rescue

• Deadly Christianity, silly

• Blocking the scenery

• A lot of shabai

Thanks humanity

I just want to thank the person who returned my small purse to the customer service desk at the Princeville Foodland. It contained my driver’s license, credit cards and cash. Nothing was missing. Apparently, it fell out of my backpack outside of the store. My faith in humanity has been restored.

Mahalo.

Princeville

Congratulations, KIUC directors

A huge congratulations to the three newly elected board members to the KIUC.

In particular, for me, the highest kudos must go to Carol Bain who, along with husband Ed Coll, has been the staunchest supporter of open government of anyone on our Island. By getting elected, she epitomized the saying, “against all odds” and we hope that her crusade for getting more sunshine in to KIUC will be successful.

Bravo Carol Bain.

Kapa‘a

“Big Box” to the rescue

I recently purchased a bag of lawn fertilizer from a local “Big Box” store (which, for its protection, I will not name). After carefully reading the handling precautions on a side label, I asked a Sales Associate (SA) to explain its instructions. The SA read the precautions and promptly called over his supervisor, the Supervising Sales Assistant (SSA), who after looking at the label and asking the SA how much the fertilizer cost, skillfully directed me to take my purchase home and find definitive clarification on the fertilizer manufacturer’s webpage (whose name I will not give out to the general public). Such product mastery by the SSA was truly astonishing to me.

The SA helped me load the bag into my car’s trunk and departed with a brief comment that excessive heat may cause a potentially dangerous chemical explosion.

Although he was called back into the “BB” by the SSA (for an SA planning conference?), his last words earned my undying gratitude.

But, what was I to do?

Would the “BB” compensate me for my injuries?

Well, after 20 minutes of anxiety I hatched a plan to drive to a shady spot under a tree that the “BB” had thoughtfully installed for my benefit. The “BB” stood by me during the entire traumatic episode. I have only the “BB” to thank for its boundless consideration of my plight.

Long live the “BB.”

Unfortunately, after waiting for four hours until the cool dusk arrived, I was stuck in traffic for 1 1/2 hours (on a highway whose name will live in notoriety). The warning label cautioned against prolonged enclosed storage of the fertilizer. There I sat, doomed by the tyranny of the almighty automobile.

Down with the stranglehold of the black asphalt ribbon.

Kapa‘a

Deadly Christianity, silly

Ms. Rose’s letter on March 22 claims that Christianity and the Bible are just as outrageously deadly as radical Muslims and other religious extremists.

This is, at least, a silly claim, and, at most, a case of faulty reasoning.

There are no Christian suicide-bombers. There are no Christians going around shooting unbelievers or preaching that those who kill “infidels” will receive higher glory in Heaven. If a person were to kill someone, Christians would undoubtedly question whether that person is even worthy of Heavenly admission. One of the only cases of a “suicide-bomber Christian” was Eric Rudolph in the 1990s who, when interviewed, said he “prefers Nietzsche to the Bible.”

That seems to be the common thread in “radical Christianity.” When an activist or a fundamentalist does something in the name of Christ, further questioning reveals that he doesn’t really adhere to any of Christianity’s tenets.

As for the scientific attack on Christianity, everyone knows that it’s not so easily proven on either side. And for the same reason that I am opposed to the use of animals for medical purposes, I also oppose the use of babies for stem cell research.

Yes, Ms. Rose, most Christians are peaceful, loving people. The ones who take their faith to violent extremes aren’t Christians by definition. There is absolutely no Christian text that supports violence towards others.

In contrast, other extreme religious fundamentalists do have scriptures in their religion that support their deeds of violence.

Langley, British Columbia

Blocking the scenery

My wife and I have visited your beautiful island several times since we fell in love with it in 1976 on our honeymoon. But in our last visit while driving around the island I noticed that in most of the scenic outlooks the brush next to the road is growing so high it is blocking the view.

Kaua‘i has some grand vistas but they are getting hard to see. Can something be done to trim the brush back?

Orlando, Fla.

A lot of shabai

I for one am glad that Kaua‘i County has the courage to take on a huge global titan like Wal-Mart and discuss the merits of the pending big-box legislation.

The Wal-Mart people are out spreading innuendos that our County Councilmembers are getting contributions and kick-backs from kama‘aina grocery stores in the hopes that this will sway people to support them. Some Letters to the Editor allude to this, but they never offer one shred of evidence — even though it would be easy to find because all political donations are a matter of public record.

Shame on Wal-Mart and its cronies for accusing people of things without offering any evidence to support it. If this is the way you conduct business, I for one don’t want to have anything to do with you. Please don’t fall for Wal-Mart’s shabai.

Keep your courage in supporting this worthwhile legislation.

Waimea