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POSTED: Monday, April 12, 2010

Koa Ridge offers job opportunities

As a construction worker, I have witnessed firsthand the effects of the poor economy on our industry. I have seen my friends and neighbors out of work and unable to support their families; some of them have been on the bench for over a year.

That's why I was happy to hear that Castle & Cooke was creating a planned community called Koa Ridge in Central Oahu. This project will provide jobs and opportunity for hundreds of people, who like me want nothing more than to get off the bench and get back to work.

As a Mililani resident, I also had the opportunity to attend a community forum to discuss Koa Ridge. A lot of my fellow construction workers were also there because they wanted to express to neighbors and community leaders the importance of providing jobs for local workers and affordable homes for local families.

Koa Ridge will create the jobs that we need today and the homes that our children and future generations will need tomorrow. I hope that people continue to support this project.

 

               

     

 

 

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All state workers can't be essential

Hawaii state union leaders cannot tell me that every union member is essential. That's ridiculous.

In any company or organization you will have people who meet expectations and those who are mediocre at best. Is it fair for everyone to get equal compensation and benefits? Unions are vehemently opposed to any “;pay for performance”; and merit increases, like the private sector has.

Unions are ideal for people who strive to put in the least yet expect to keep their jobs when times are tough. We taxpayers have been paying for mediocrity and we're sick of it.

 

Banking reform is next necessity

My parents, who lived through the Great Depression, used to say that banking regulations were implemented to keep one from happening again. But that was before President Ronald Reagan and his Republican successors dismantled those regulations. It will be a long time before we recover from their lack of judgment.

Today there is an opportunity to restore prudent regulation to the financial industry. But there is an army of lobbyists on Capitol Hill fighting to maintain the status quo. Our financial crisis won't be over until reform is achieved. We need our congressional delegation to do the right thing and not cave in to the special interests.

 

Karzai statement long overdue

Afghanistan Prime Minister Karzai's recent public statement relative to America's involvement in the regime-change voting fraud of Afghanistan is way past overdue.

Regime change did not begin with the administration of George W. Bush but has been an integral part of American foreign policy for more than a hundred years.

Starting with the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893, then continuing through the entire 20th century and into our own time, the U.S. has not hesitated to topple governments that stood in the way of its political and economic goals.

Hawaii, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Nicaragua, Honduras, Vietnam, Korea, Okinawa, the Virgin Islands, Guam, Guatemala, Chile, Grenada, Panama, Afghanistan and Iraq are all victims of the hypocrisy of the fanatical American democracy.

The invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan are the latest, though perhaps not the last, examples of the greedy, high-stakes operations of American foreign policy.

Educate yourselves Americans. Read “;Overthrow”; by Stephen Kinzer. The American empire is on the wane.

 

U.S. still in Iraq after 7 years

In case it slipped your mind, because it's not on Page 1 anymore, slightly over seven years ago, the United States launched an illegal, pre-emptive, pointless war in Iraq. And for all you right-wing, Tea Party enthusiasts, it wasn't deficit-neutral. The cost of the war in Iraq for the U.S. has been more than $700 billion, more than 4,300 U.S. deaths, more than 31,000 seriously wounded, a very large number of soldiers suffering from some form of psychological disorder, and an over-stretched, weakened military.

And what about the collateral damage suffered by the Iraqi people—the 100,000 civilian casualties, the ethnic cleansing of neighborhoods, the hundreds of thousands of new refugees and the future impact on their society of post-traumatic syndrome cases?

Just a reminder: We invaded a sovereign nation, a nation that was being contained with U.S. enforced no-fly zones. We invaded under the premise of searching for weapons of mass destruction and al-Qaida. We found neither.

We did create a nation that became the poster child for recruiting future international terrorists. Because of this ongoing war, we are a weakened country, and until we are willing to address the “;who, what and why”; of our involvement, we will never be able to claim the moral and ethical position that we all believe this country is capable of.

 

Vanita Rae Smith deserves thanks

My husband and I have been season ticket holders for the Army Community Theater for several years now. We've always enjoyed the productions—many of them have been as good as some I've seen on much bigger stages!

The driving force behind ACT for the past 28 years has been Vanita Rae Smith. A tireless promoter of the arts, she has devoted herself to bringing smiles and first-class entertainment to Hawaii. Ms. Smith has been recognized locally and nationally for her work, and it is well deserved. She now exits the ACT stage and is retiring, heading to another chapter in her life.

Thank you, Ms. Smith, for all you have done for the community. You will be missed but not forgotten.