• MMA events offer structure • Ferry: Smart planning? • Tribes, now and then II MMA events offer structure This is in response to the recent letter “MMA events cause violence in youth” that ran March 31. Apparently the author
• MMA events offer structure
• Ferry: Smart planning?
• Tribes, now and then II
MMA events offer structure
This is in response to the recent letter “MMA events cause violence in youth” that ran March 31.
Apparently the author must have submitted this letter prior to the event. Had he attended the event he would have seen how we run our shows and not be so quick to judge without any evidence to back up his opinion.
The author is again blaming my shows for the violence in the youth today, so I will use my own kids as an example. My three daughters are involved directly with my production, ages 16, 15 and 10. My oldest daughter does martial arts routines during half time for the audience. My 15-year-old daughter sells programs and my 10-year-old sings “Hawaii pono‘i” in the beginning of our event to start the show.
All of my kids are honor roll students, Little Miss Kaua‘i Pageant winners, do community service on weekends such as working the Wilcox Hospital gift shop every Saturday. They all assist me when I help teach the mayor’s summer DARE program where I teach our youth martial arts along with the negative effects of drugs and alcohol for the past three years.
Now, since my daughters are directly involved with the show, wouldn’t they be the first ones to, how you say, “Take on the world”?
Bottom line, parents are the main influence with their own kids, to teach them right and wrong.
Letter writer, I don’t see you helping with DARE programs with our youth. You are only a cheerleader in your own little world. At least I know that I get involved with our youth, showing respect, honor, humility of the martial arts, showing them that there are choices other than drugs and alcohol. and to channel their energies in martial arts or other sports.
Stop blaming me for the world’s troubles and get a life.
Vance Pascua
Hanapepe
Ferry: Smart planning?
It’s time to fuel up the boat and light up those clean burn diesels (smokeless) to give us an alternative way to get to O‘ahu and other islands. I promise you that now that it is back to two airlines by Christmas you will be paying $90 plus for each segment and you can’t even take your vehicle. You will be an airline hostage again. By using the ferry, shipments of produce and dry goods to Kaua‘i could be on Kaua‘i the same day right from the warehouses to the shops.
What I want to see is that the state and the Superferry makes sure they keep on schedule, rain or shine. I want to be able to count and depend on the service or I would not board the ferry with my equipment to do business on O’ahu with no guarantee that I will get back to Kaua’i in a timely manner.
Should there be a hurricane, I would feel good if we had a ferry to bring in the National Guard with their water purification plants and generators for the schools and water pump stations at our wells. No one is addressing that little tidbit, are they? The generators at our schools, for example, are buried by high grass and stored in the open, exposed to the elements. It doesn’t look like they are even started up and tested; it’s been almost 16 years.
In other words, to have an alternative way getting to the other islands is nothing but smart planning. The heavy hitters or green people fighting the Superferry will be the first to leave the island in catastrophe such as ‘‘‘Iniki. They did it then and they will do it again. You will be left without a great Superferry that could take the stranded tourist off the island; bring in food, utility poles, utility repairmen with their equipment (cranes and trucks).
How quickly we forget.
Hans Hellriege
Kapa’a
Tribes, now and then II
Carlos Nosie Sr.’s response to a letter I wrote entitled, “Tribes, now and then” relating to “leadership” vs. “manipulators” is appreciated and deserves additional comment, a luxury not offered in a short “opinion” format.
I praise Sen. Obama’s style of campaigning, his air of confidence and poise, his putting together a truly fantastic campaign and the distance he has traveled from an obscure U.S. senator to a presidential candidate. I do not think anyone can deny him neither his accomplishments nor the fact that he is surely a formidable opponent.
His campaign message of “hope” and “change we can believe in,” to me is a masterpiece, the likes of which I have not seen since 1960 during the John F. Kennedy campaign’s, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” coupled with a race to the moon.
And that’s where the rub lies in these present days: “For your country,” not for yourself.
John F. Kennedy was the first president of the United States I ever voted for and “they” shot him: “They” assassinated my president for their own agendas and got away with it. Today, “they” are still assassinating our “hope” for “change we can believe in.”
The turmoil disrupting our lives today is felt by every American, it is unavoidable, it is unconscionable, it is devastating, especially to our children.
As to Mr. Nosie’s question of, “do we need to be sure to elect Obama and leave the manipulators out so change can finally occur,” I can only say this.
At this point in time, Sen. Obama needs to define himself further as a leader, removing any doubt of special interest control, and that he is not a manipulator. Today, I do not feel that many voters know enough about Sen. Obama to make an intelligent decision. In many ways he is an enigma, a mystery that has the ability to sway and impress people. In today’s world we need more than this, we need substance, strength of positive character, loyalty, persistence and one who will live up to his or her oath of office. A choice for president must be based upon explicit goals, objectives and actions, not just words and poise.
How the national election will go, I do not know. How I will vote, I do not know. We do not even have two legitimate candidates yet. What I do know is that I do have questions of two particular candidates that will be running and until they provide more legitimate, honest information concerning present issues and past actions I will vote for neither.
In closing, I ask Mr. Nosie to read the last sentence of the second paragraph in my letter: “Odds for such an event (electing Obama) taking place appears stronger nationally than locally in our community.” By this I feel that meaningful change is probably more likely to occur on the Mainland, nationally, compared to meaningful change occurring on our island of Kaua’i. There seems to be more energy, excitement, commitment, recruitment occurring there than here locally on Kaua’i. Having said that, there is a high possibility that Kaua‘i will end up with the same caliber of leaderless incumbents in our County Council which will, regretfully, intend to “do their best” but in the end accomplish nothing.
Where is the “new blood” that is needed that will fix Kaua‘i’s problems, that will guarantee “hope” and “change we can believe in”? Where are our young voters that keep crying for affordable homes, decent jobs, and want to preserve our rural lifestyle? We must elect five new council members to turn our lives around and take back our island community. Throughout Hawai‘i we must make sure the assassins’ bullets miss their targets killing our children’s futures. Aloha.
John Hoff
Lawa’i
