• SDS marks the time for this senior •
National Day of Prayer is exclusive,
divisive • Obama’s civilian
court fails to convict • Oppose shrimp farm permit
request
SDS marks the time for this senior
One day recently, at least to this senior, as I walked around Wilcox Memorial Hospital — leashed dog in one hand, picking up paper in the other — I noticed freshly painted SDS markings in many parking spots adjacent to the curb by the hospital.
Oh! Aging Students for a Democratic Society have relocated to Kaua‘i! So I mused on memories of stoop-sitting on my cousin’s Greenwich Village brownstone during that era, smiling widely as I realized that the local meaning of SDS here is Same Day Surgery. Aw, shucks.
Alice Parker, Lihu‘e
National Day of Prayer is exclusive, divisive
Jonathan Cender’s Nov. 21 letter claims that the National Day of Prayer service held earlier this year was a “multi-faith service” — “a fair and wide representation of the faith communities of our citizens today.”
He also claims that, if Thomas Jefferson were to attend such a service today, he would “find Native Hawaiians, Bahais, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, and others.”
Cender states that “the core principle of inclusion, or at least wide, representation remains the same now as it did at the U.S. Capitol then.”
That’s just hilarious.
The mission statement for the National Day of Prayer Task Force clearly says its mission is “…mobilizing the Christian community to intercede for America and its leadership.”
It goes on to list under Vision and Values: “In accordance with Biblical truth, the NDP Task force seeks to foster unity within the Christian Church” and to “Publicize and preserve America’s Christian heritage.”
There have been numerous reports of exclusion by NDP organizers around the country. Mormons were excluded in Salt Lake City. Unitarian, Muslim and Jewish leaders were denied requests to speak in Muncie, Ind. Non-Christians were not allowed to speak at the Springfield, Ill. event. Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and Sikhs were excluded from the Victorville, Calif. event.
Make no mistake… the National Day of Prayer that Mr. Cender offers as a “fair and wide representation of the faith communities of our citizens today” is a purely Christian event.
It is exclusive. It is divisive.
Brian Christensen, Lihu‘e
Obama’s civilian court fails to convict
Instead of going ahead with the traditional military court for the mastermind of the overseas embassy bombing that killed over 200 people, Obama and Holder decided to try the terrorist in civilian court.
They practically promised that they had enough evidence to convict. Well, well… the civilian court found the terrorist innocent of over 200 counts and charged him with one, conspiracy to bomb. This guy masterminded the bombing and actually saw to it that the bombing was carried out.
With only one count being charged, the terrorist will undoubtedly be successful in gaming our system with appeals after appeals.
Will someone, in the comment section, tell me the good of all this, please. What message are we really sending to the world?
Ron Agor, Lihu‘e
Oppose shrimp farm permit request
Sunrise Capital is applying to the state to discharge up to 30 million gallons/day of shrimp aquaculture waste water.
This waste water comes from the middle of shallow shrimp growth ponds and contains shrimp fecal matter, leftover shrimp food, and small pieces of dead shrimp. This water is discharged untreated into Kinikini ditch and empties across the beach at Kinikini reef.
Many surfers, fisherman and beach users experienced smelly polluted water due to this discharge when the previous shrimp farm was in operation. Also noticed was an increase in sharks at Kinikini due to the chumming effect of the discharge.
Continued discharge may also result in killing the reef system at Kinikini as this is within the “Zone of Mixing” where the pollution levels allowed to be in excess of clean water requirements.
We can expect the same polluted water if the shrimp farm is approved to operate under the existing permit. As many of us know, the ocean water at this point is very high quality, like the vast majority of the ocean water surrounding Kaua‘i.
The point of discharge is on PMRF property and directly affects all PMRF beaches and surf spots. The pollution is likely to travel north to Polihale State Park and south to Kekaha beach when side shore currents are strong.
If Kaua‘i citizens want our ocean water quality to remain clean and pristine as possible we must make sure that discharges such as this are not allowed. Many concerned citizens and fellow scientists oppose this plan and have written letters of opposition, but the Department of Health seems intent on rubber-stamping the permit no matter what the input is.
The public hearing is at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 23, at Waimea Theatre. It is important that anyone that wants to protect our clean ocean water attend and oppose this permit, especially those who experienced the previous polluted water and increase in sharks.
Doug Moore, Kalaheo
