Letters for Monday, Feb. 18, 2013

• What is the mayor up to now? • Thanks to the aloha of a stranger • Facing reality

What is the mayor up to now?

I find it interesting that Karen Matsumoto is an applicant for the vacant position on the Civil Service Commission Board, being that she retired from the Personnel Department recently and served on the Human Resources Task Force formed by the mayor to justify the formation of the new HR Department, and interestingly enough, alongside Janine Rapozo, the mayor’s political obligation who is after the Personnel Director’s position.  

Makes you wonder what the administration is up to now? Will Karen be a appointed to ensure Janine’s appointment or will she be there to ensure a selection for the new Personnel Director will be done honestly? Either way, the mayor will be committing suicide politically if his political obligation, Janine Rapozo, is selected.

All of Kaua‘i will be watching to see who will be appointed the next Personnel Director. Definitely the merit system will be even more corrupted if indeed she is selected and it will be affirmed that our administration is also corrupt.

Kaua‘i needs a a new team player and a leader who can lead as the county Personnel Director.  

Janna Greene

Kalaheo

Thanks to the aloha of a stranger

I was a fervent reader of your Letters section for years.

Born and raised on Kaua‘i 85 years ago, I lived and breathed aloha.

Reading your section of so many the bad and the ugly, with few the good, I stopped reading your paper.

But something happened to me this week that compelled me to write to you. This is one of the good.

I was returning to my home on Kaua‘i from Straub Hospital along with my part Chihuahua, terrier in a carrier.

I was ordered not to carry anything five pounds and over. On the plane, this young man, originally from Montana but now living on Kaua‘i, just took my purse and placed it at his feet, placed my pet in her carrier at my feet, without saying anything.

We talked all the way to Kaua‘i, I’m afraid of flying, but he kept me so busy talking I didn’t even know we were back on Kaua‘i.  

During our flight, I found out he is a pilot for Blue Hawai‘i Helicopters.

Oh, how lucky they are to have such a person to be flying their crafts and showing our beautiful island with the aloha he has for the ‘aina.

When it was time to disembark, He carried all my carry-ons along, with his own and walked with me till the curbside till my ride came for me. I felt like the Queen of Kaua‘i. He treated me like royalty.

I very loudly spoke up, “Everyone that comes to Kaua‘i should be like you, Brandyn. Thank you so very much and I will never forget you.”

And my brother, the “Ambassador of Aloha,” Larry Rivera, thanks you.

Anna Thuente

Koke‘e

Facing reality

Janos (Samu) my friend (“Denying reality,” Feb. 13), do you remember telling me the story of how you went undercover through a number of countries to escape the yolk of Communism? That was very brave of you.

Now let me set the facts straight about your assertion that the two countries you mention are proving them more economically successful than American capitalism.

First, Russia is selling oil and gas at an impressive rate because they do not have the same restrictions on drilling we do. They are doing what is good for the state, not the environment. But, are their people benefiting? Not really.

And China, lending us huge amounts of money earned by having a cheap labor force and American capitalist corporations investing, creating and buying their products. Without these capitalist investment there would be no growth in China, which, by the way, as the middle class grows is beginning to slow down.

 Our Progressive administration is borrowing money to continue to bloat our government and print money. They call this  Quantitative Easing. We are paying billions of dollars every minute in interest. The Fed is pumping this fake money into the economy by buying Treasuries and lending to banks with extremely low interest rates and for banks to then lend to corporations and buy stocks which makes the stock market look good and the allusion the economy looks like its growing.  

It’s a trick used by an administration which is interested in moving our country into a more European style socialistic economy. Is that how America became a great nation of entrepreneurs and led to the great standard of living we enjoy?

Bob Bartolo

Kapa‘a