• Constitutional violation • Reagan brought prosperity to U.S. • Injured Humpback Whale? • Aloha spirit alive and well Constitutional violation Let me get this straight. My tax dollar is lighting and cooling a building so Rep. Jimmy Tokioka can
• Constitutional violation • Reagan
brought prosperity to U.S. • Injured Humpback
Whale? • Aloha spirit alive and well
Constitutional violation
Let me get this straight. My tax dollar is lighting and cooling a building so Rep. Jimmy Tokioka can waste more of it on his salary, to introduce legislation that is clearly a violation of the first amendment.
Have you read the constitution, sir? That’s sarcasm, because at this juncture I’m not sure you can read. What you are going to accomplish is lining a few lawyers pockets and wasting a ton of the judiciary branch’s time. Just more tax dollars. Nice work.
If you’re lucky, the measure might make it to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals before they dismiss it. Do your homework, and stop wasting our money.
I suggest you appeal to the publishers to put better warnings in their publications.
I would also suggest you not try to violate the constitution. It’s not in your best interest as a citizen, but certainly 10-fold not in your best interest as a politician.
Joseph Lavery, Kapa‘a
Reagan brought prosperity to U.S.
Gene Lyons attributes the Reagan deficits to the reduction in top marginal tax rates. It’s true that Reagan was successful in cutting those rates from the absurd level of 70 to 28 percent.
What Lyons intentionally ignores is the doubling of revenue to the treasury that resulted from those cuts and the explosion of the private sector. So if revenues doubled, it follows that it was spending that exploded the deficit. Democrats controlled Capitol Hill and therefore the purse strings.
It’s also true that military spending increased since Carter and the Dems had decimated the military. But that is not the majority of what increased the deficit. Reagan did agree to certain tax increases as part of an agreement with the Democrats which was to include spending cuts. Predictably Reagan was stiffed on those cuts only to see the deficit rise even more.
As to Iran-Contra one can argue the policy but no money wound up in any administration pockets. It went to the anti-Communist Contras in Nicaragua and anti-Islamist forces in Iran. Both were pro-U.S. Not a peep out of Lyons when his heartthrob idol Bill Clinton sold missile guidance technology to Red China and got campaign cash in exchange. Any Iran-Contra sins pale in comparison to that act of treachery.
Leftists like Lyons can’t accept the fact Reagan accelerated the collapse of the Soviet Union and brought about the greatest prosperity in our history which continued through Clinton’s reign.
It was the Republican congress that forced Clinton to stay the course. Lyons makes a petty reference to Reagan’s stateside military W.W.II service but omits the fact that Reagan was 4F due to deafness in one ear. Where was Gene when his hero Clinton was shown to be a craven draft-dodger? Clinton’s cowardice caused some teenager, either a white Arkansas hillbilly or underprivileged black to take his place.
John Burns, Princeville
Injured Humpback Whale?
The Feb. 8 frontpage headline “Pilot suspects boat collision broke back of whale spotted off Port Allen” and the photo of the humpback whale immediately struck me as being incorrectly matched.
I suspect this whale was not at all injured, but was suffering from a severe spinal malformation from a congenital condition known as scoliosis.
The “S” shaped curve of its spine, along with no identifiable external marks, scars, or lesions, and a disproportionate lack of muscle mass in the hind end of the tail area led me to believe this whale never was normal.
I cannot conjecture on the lack of pigment of the skin being from parasitism, sloughing, or again it could be congenital abnormality.
If this 50-foot whale has scoliosis it must be an extremely rare individual. It is miraculous it has survived to reach its reported 50’ length.
We all should be protective of our visiting humpback whales. Thank you to the pilot who spotted this one.
Leilani Sim-Godbehere, D.V.M., Kapa‘a
Aloha spirit alive and well
Recently, while trimming my hedge I lost my wedding ring. It could have become lost in a number of places; my yard, the neighbor’s yard, the truck or trailer load of rubbish.
We made a fruitless attempt to look through the green waste as we emptied the truck and trailer at the green waste facility in Hanapepe.
While folding our tarps and coiling the ropes, a county employee drove up in a small loader. He had noticed our futile attempt at sorting through our loads and asked if we’d found what we searched for.
When we responded no, he insisted on spreading out the debris with the loader to aid in our search. To our amazement after about the 6th “bite” into the pile the wedding ring fell from the bucket and rolled to my wife’s feet.
We, of course, were absolutely elated with our find as this ring represents nearly 50 years of our marriage. But the greater find was the true aloha of this employee, Mr. Stan Tomacder.
He not only observed our plight but also had the caring and compassion to inquire and then assist us; indeed a shining example for us all.
Yes, the aloha spirit is alive and well on Kaua‘i. A heartfelt thanks to you, Stan Tomacder.
Leon Osowski, Kalaheo
