• Know the truth • Have a nice bike ride Know the truth In Pete Antonson’s reply to a recent letter by Fred Dente, Mr. Antonson praised the Rev. Kaleo Patterson for his membership in the “council of Hawaiians” advising
• Know the truth • Have a nice bike
ride
Know the truth
In Pete Antonson’s reply to a recent letter by Fred Dente, Mr. Antonson praised the Rev. Kaleo Patterson for his membership in the “council of Hawaiians” advising U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii Commander Col. Mulbury and for also having blessed some military installations subsequent some time earlier to a protest at PMRF in 1993 led by the Rev. Patterson at PMRF in which Mr. Dente had also participated.
It was obvious that Mr. Antonson is pleased that the Rev. Patterson had since chosen a friendlier stance with the military despite Patterson’s being a proponent of Hawaiian sovereignty. Mr. Antonson appears convinced that the path of conformity to military authority is responsible for the Rev. Patterson having become a voice of reason and reconciliation albeit with “a degree of wisdom.”
Nothing could be further from the truth than to equate reason, reconciliation and wisdom with unquestioning conformity to military authority and Americanism. The American Empire with all its military might is on the verge of collapse. This is due to her teetering foundation of multi-trillion dollar debt which cannot be sustained and can never be repaid. Therefore, how worthwhile is it to spend obscene sums of money which is not even worth the paper it isn’t printed on to support military efforts in bombing a few mud huts leaving contractors to grab what they can? It has become obvious that the United States can never control nor govern Middle Eastern countries who will never respond to unattainable democracy via war.
War is the ultimate terrorism that breeds the very terrorists which become America’s unavoidable enemies. War’s true purpose is designed to kill in order to grab oil, rare earth minerals and other natural resources. Mr. Dente recognizes this truth!
Mr. Antonson criticizes Mr. Dente as being “closed-minded, anti-American and anti-military.” The fact is this: Mr. Dente possesses an open mind to know the truth. Mr. Antonson makes the unfounded assumption that Mr. Dente takes an “extremist” stance and remains “in a shrinking, insular, provincial community of contented extremists.”
Considering Mr. Antonson’s clouded view of the military, it surely appears it is he living in a shrinking, insular, provincial community while an unsustainable America and its military are poised for imminent collapse.
Janet Ashkenazy, Kilauea
Have a nice bike ride
Mr. Clark in his Sept. 18 letter “Tourists like to bike too” makes some very good observations about biking.
But his comparing the tiny island of Lord Howe off the Australian coast to Kaua‘i in its usage of bikes over cars is ludicrous .
A Google search shows Lord Howe Island to be 21.6 square miles with a permanent population of 347 people. No more than 400 tourists are allowed on this island at any one time (can you imagine Kaua‘i doing this?) thus making the population no more than 700 to 800 people.
Kaua‘i on the other hand is 562.3 square miles with a permanent population of 67,000 plus unlimited visitor access so it is completely unfair to compare these two Islands.
As I have said before, In the real world, as proven by 95 percent or our population, people will use their vehicles to freely move around .
And yes, Mr Clark, I am a strong proponent of exercise — have been jogging and walking for my 22 years on Kaua‘i. People do not need a bike or “path” to exercise on especially with the miles of rural roads on this beautiful Island.
Exercise is self motivational and all the bikes or exercise machines made will not get anyone to use them — only the individual with the desire and will power can make it happen.
And I agree with you that some of the plantation roads may have made this “path” more realistic than to try and retrofit it into an area already built or by disturbing Hawaiian Burial Grounds.
But political motivation seems to have negated this idea plus the 80 percent Federal funding for this project is a big question at this time.
And I take great offense with anyone (Mr. Mann) suggesting that I said the existing “bike routes” along our highways “are safe for public use”. In places these routes are wide and bicycle safe and in others they are not.
I do factually stand by my remark that these “routes” for lack of use were left under maintained and narrowed by the widening of the highways for traffic flow.
Had “thousands” of bikers used these routes when DOT built them for commuting or for pleasure as you suggest, then they would have been cared for and probably expanded.
With money being a finite factor every project undertaken must by prioritized. Bike riding though enjoyable for some (who I commend) is not on this list and for locals and tourists will not replace the car.
Have a great time biking on Lord Howe Island, Mr. Clark.
Glenn Mickens, Kapa‘a
