• An open letter to the people of Kaua‘i • Obama’s record is despicable • GMO: Friend or foe?
An open letter to the people of Kaua‘i
When I ran for office, I wanted to make a positive difference and am proud of my work as your councilman. I recently made the difficult decision to file a civil rights complaint in federal court naming our current prosecutor, Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho, as a defendant. I know that politics can be tough — at times, even ugly. I had no idea that I would be the target of a major abuse of power planned and perpetrated by certain county officials for political reasons. These actions led by Iseri-Carvalho have had a distressing and damaging impact on my home, my family and myself.
Many people realize the prosecutor’s actions are hurting people, programs, institutions and our community. This needs to stop. It seems clear that investigations into her conduct are currently under way by more that one government authority, yet their outcome is unlikely to be known for several months.
When confronted with problems, it has been Iseri-Carvalho’s repeated practice to blame others. Although she has yet to take responsibility for any of the numerous problems at the OPA or the multiple judgments and financial settlements (over $200,000) against her office, she continues to point fingers at a growing list of individuals. I take some comfort in the fact that I am in good company.
One of the most important functions of the county council is to focus public attention and oversight. Yet council has been thwarted in its normal oversight of the Prosecutor’s Office by Iseri-Carhalho’s refusal to engage in public dialogue at council meetings. She demanded a council-funded attorney to represent her before she answered questions, and we provided it.
Her attorney authored a letter stating his opinion that there were not any problems in her office operations. Then in a press release, Iseri-Carvalho characterized her attorney’s opinion as an independent “decision” that “cleared” her and her office. This is not the case and she has yet to appear before council regarding the matters.
In my situation, being falsely charged and labeled a criminal required I hire attorneys. In the process of clearing my name, we discovered overwhelming evidence of misconduct by Iseri-Carvalho and her allies. The civil rights complaint we are filing (found at timbynum.com) speaks for itself.
Through civil action, I look forward to demonstrating how baseless the actions were against me. My hope is that this will prevent the abuse of others and ensure that this kind of political vindictiveness does not continue. I look forward to putting these issues behind me. Serving the people of Kaua‘i is a privilege that must be earned. I will trust the good judgment of our community about whether I continue to serve.
Tim Bynum
Kapa‘a
Obama’s record is despicable
You published a letter from Mr. John Gordon wherein he characterized Mitt Romney’s comments on the murder of our American officials in Libya as a despicable. While the timing of Mr. Romney’s comments may be subject to debate, they are hardly despicable.
Rather, what is despicable is the first statement out of Obama’s state department after the incident apologizing for the video used as the excuse for this barbaric attack. What is despicable is the last three-and -a-half years of apologist foreign policy in the Middle East that has resulted in our allies not trusting us and our enemies not fearing us.
And lest we forget, our nation faces 43 straight months of unemployment in excess of 8 percent, and the smallest work force in 31 years, while average wages continue to drop. Now that is truly despicable.
David Branchcromb
Orangevale, Calif.
GMO: Friend or foe?
Why is it that our beautiful piece of paradise is the experimental lab for the GMO companies? My feeling is these experiments should be conducted in a controlled indoor laboratory setting. These companies don’t know if GMO (genetically modified organisms) are safe for humans. It will take years (10 to 20) before we start seeing the outcome of these experiments.
What about the responsibility to the land? These companies aren’t controlling water run off or pollination issues. The genetically modified organisms are going right into our ocean and affecting our own agriculture. Who is benefiting from these experiments besides the chemical companies? If it’s not the citizens could it be our political leaders. Is greed clouding their judgment? Why can’t we put this to a vote? That way our representatives can hear the voice of the people and do the right thing. As far as labeling products with GMO in it, of course we need to know what we are feeding ourselves and our families. Why are these companies not mandated to label products? Well have you heard the old saying “He who has the gold makes the rules”!
I say GMO is FOE.
Linda Bothe
Kalaheo
