LIHU‘E — Moloa‘a resident Mike Kruska stood on the lawn in front of the Historic County Building on Friday, holding a sign that read “BANKRUPT. NO PENSION 4 YOU.”
He cheered back at the long line of cars streaming up and down Rice Street, his voice almost getting lost in the constant honking of supporters in their vehicles. He explained it was anticipated consequences from the stimulus checks that brought him to the second “Walk For Our Rights Kaua‘i” event.
“There are a lot of negative consequences because of the lockdown,” Kruska said in between the noises from the street. “But I’ve been protesting the government bailouts since ’08. COVID is just the pin that popped the bubble.”
Kruska was one of about 150 people who were waving signs and milling around Rice Street near the county building on Friday, joining the “Walk for Our Rights Kaua‘i” event.
Some were there in protest of vaccines, others in protest of government mandates. Some residents spread the message of Native Hawaiian sovereignty and others were focused on finances. But everyone was walking together.
Four Kaua‘i resident organizers started the movement — Levana Lomma, Misty Cluett, Sarah Schroeder and Daniel Hashimoto — and had about 35 people show up on their first event. Three weeks later, that number has swelled.
Organizers say current state and county emergency orders, including the stay-at-home order and mandated masks, are oppressive, and are asking the lockdown be lifted and citizens be allowed to move freely and go back to work.
“There is no conclusive evidence that the stay-at-home order has had any impact on the number of cases on the island,” organizers said in a press release about the event. “It is the 230-year-old bedrock of this nation and the birthright of every human on Kaua‘i to be free to pursue a life of liberty guaranteed to them through unalienable, God-given rights.”
Kaua‘i resident Steve Yoder was wandering through the rally on Friday as well, but as a private citizen and not in his official capacity as a representative of the Kaua‘i Republican Party.
“This is the first time that I know of in history where we are quarantining the healthy along with the sick,” Yoder said, explaining his visitor-based, tour-guide business has been so impacted he doesn’t expect to be starting it back up again. He said: “I don’t know what I’ll do next.”
The number of active cases of COVID-19 remains at zero on Kaua‘i, and statewide the Department of Health reported Friday there have been 619 cases since Feb. 28, with 16 virus-related deaths in Hawai‘i.
Organizers of “Walk For Our Rights Kaua‘i” said they’ll be holding regular demonstrations, every Friday at 11 a.m. at the Historic County Building in Lihu‘e, until the Kauai stay-at-home order is lifted.
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Jessica Else, editor-in-chief, can be reached at 245-0457 or jelse@thegardenisland.com.
Arrest um. Dang fools.
Open up tourism and see how long Kauai has zero cases. What you will see is Wilcox Hospital overwhelmed. This isn’t going away until if, or when, there is a vaccine and everyone coming to Kauai has been inoculated.
There we’re at 40 people there..lol
You are still protesting vaccinations? What is wrong with you?
Steve Yoder eh? Well that’s not surprising because the Republican Party is organizing this rally and all the ones you see on TV across the country. I saw an ad on Instagram to attend this rally and get paid! They are literally paying people cash to show up! Now no one likes the lockdown but it’s ridiculous to say it hasn’t made a difference. It’s made Kauai have one of the lowest rates of covid ON EARTH!! So yeah, republicans paying a handful of people to come (they offered extra $ if you brought a native Hawaiian flag) doesn’t surprise me. What a tiny turnout they had – pitiful really- because 95% of us see our efforts rewarded. I want everyone to remember that Mr Yoder was out there because he constantly runs for office and seeing him participate in something this unseemly really shows who he is. True face of the Republican Party.
omg. You really think the democrats don’t pay the people in Portland? Be glad they aren’t paid to burn your business or homes down.
Government workers should also pay the price of shutting down!
Poor babies. Let’s see if the county has a spare case of pacifiers.
no idea, but have been wondering this theory: the longer a State stays “shut down”, the more federal money they might qualify for ? help us with testing, help us with under funded pension payments, this or that….. thus possibly one reason they want to stay shut down or slow to re-open in some cases, especially if you are a broke state to begin with….ie: Cali, HI, MI, IL…
Greed spreads much faster than a virus, and it’s a lot more deadly. Maybe halt tourism completely. Let’s get the locals who are trashing our island out of here. Starve them out. Unemploy them until they have to move to Vegas for casino jobs. Maybe then we can walk our beaches without finding piles of smashed beer bottles in smoldering pallette fires left in the sand.
In order for all of us to be in this together, all County, State, an
Federal workers, whether laid off, furloughed, working from home (yeah right…!), or any way not working otherwise must immediately have their wages, salary, or payments of any kind TERMINATED, and unemployment or stimulus checks, or any free monies for any purpose must be terminated. We gotta be all,k this together to end it as soon as possible.
(Do we allow the guy who got it all wrong on the Missile Alert, to keep it wrong on the Virus Scam.)
All people hospitalized, or have ALLEGEDLY died from this CoVid19-19, must have their statistics publicized weekly by state and national totals including all past cases this year. Keeping the Statistics Of this virus illness a Secret is clearly hiding the facts from us and the evidence to fully understand this Disease and eradicate it naturally even if it is a fake, synthetic, virus made by people in the US paying people in China to manufacture and disperse it.
Statistics must include:
1.) Age of patient or deceased In 10 year increments, e.g., 10-19, 20-29, 50-59, 60-69, 70-79, etc,.
2.) Sex: Male or Female
3.) Pre or Concurrent Diseases: Short or Long Term Degenerative Diseases, e.g., Heart, Vascular (stroke), Cancer, Iatrogenic Disease (doctor caused), Obesity, Diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Drug Addiction, Birth Defects, Permanent Injuries, Mental Problems, Self Care Incapacitation, and the others.
Chronic Diseases ACCELERATE the internal degeneration process driving people’s Health down bringing them closer to an early death.
Sadly while the CAUSES of most of the above Diseases are well known, they are ignorantly ignored by those very people inflicted with those diseases.
While we as a Society of formerly Free People, who are now with no end in sight, are mandated, or ordered, to Stay at Home, restricted by rules Not to Travel, not allowed to be employed or operate or attend legal business, restricted as to movement and even ordered to Curfew 1/3 of each day during the night hours; yet…Yet…YET…there is no mandate or order, or even education provided, that would lead to the cease of the manufacture, dispersal, or educated self restriction of use of that which causes the diseases that cause an early end to life, and a weakened IMMUNE SYSTEM that allows the diseased people to succumb to the
Mix of their current diseases, prescription drugs, and this, or any virus seasonal or otherwise.
Elected Authorities Restrict our Freedoms but “They” don’t restrict that which not only causes loss of Optimal Active Healthy Life Longevity, but also costs every taxpayer to sacrifice their work hours to pay for the sick and diseased that we allow to rampantly ongo in our nation. (A simple Sequence of events is watching people you know go from slender to overweight to fat to obese to gargantuan to diabetic to heart disease and amputations to Death…and we as a society can’t stop that? While Cancer remains unseen for the first 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 years before it can be discovered, many diseases are right in our faces…and we still don’t stop the proceed from Cause to Effect.
Clearly, by government inaction, they are saying that people with multiple End of of Life Diseases, combined with Toxic multiple Prescription Drugs, wherein each drug causes a side effect necessitating another drug (oh yeah, that’s OK); to the point where you add into that Cocktail of diseases and prescription drugs, a dose of otherwise harmless flu…and then they announce that the flu (this season CoVid-19 influenza) is what killed you, or your loved ones, when it was only the “straw that broke the camels back”.
That is a despicable chain of events allowed to happen; yet Capitalism allows a few segments of our society to Capitalize on doIng this…namely: Processed Food and Prescription Drug manufacturers, Chemical Food Additive companies, Agricultural Toxic Chemical companies, Pharmaceutical companies, and their dispensers…the Doctors, Hospitals, and Pharmacies…making large incomes while you are suffering from disease and loss of Optimal Life Longevity.
4.) List every Prescription Drug Medication being taken in the last 20 years (there are records kept that long by law) and every Over The Counter Medication taken daily or frequently (if known).
No Names need be given, of course, for our right to privacy. But we as a nation, a society of working people have the right to know what is making us ill and dead earlier than what God intended.
Perhaps even worse there are those we would otherwise trust, in the upper levels of World, Federal and State Agencies, such as WHO, CDC, HEALTH Departments, and professional associations and businesses that make their money off the misery of Disease, instead of Health and people being well.
Some of these people of this flu season are alleged to have created and began promoting this new virus back in 2015, by genetically alterating an existing flu and cold virus, and mixing into it the SARS, MERS, AND EBOLI viruses, and announcing back then their upcoming, now, new Pandemic Virus, that less than expected sickened and killed lesS than the regular seasonal flu virus the types of which have been Infecting millions and killing upwards of 650,000 people per year…but we do not quarantine the healthy, shut our businesses, and stop travel or put restrictions on arriving travelers for the worse regular seasonal flu.
Those few who are complicit in this Pandemic need to be investigated and charged with their crimes and persecuted, Ooops we mean Prosecuted.
But forget all that for awhile, in the meantime let’s destroy our economy, our families, our ability to own our own homes, businesses, employment, our freedoms, our dreams, our rights …while…
Those with Hitlerian Mode or Operation mentality would invisibly tattoo (Bill Gates?) our children with their disease carrying vaccine records And then to further restrict our freedoms by the absence of vaccine records.
Further, the race for the vaccine, and the lucky which vaccine chosen by the corrupt few to be the now and perennial seasonal flu shot vaccine sold by the billions$ annually…while the ignorant sheep line up of Baa-Baa-ing for more…and why the vaccine and other “shots” are always administered to the left arm…is because 8 out of 9 people are right handed, and when the flu or other shots cause a side effect that incapacitates or injures the arm it might as well not be the arm of the hand you favor for work and paying your taxes.
Health provides Happiness…Disease provides the End.
End all restrictions, it will end the Insanity. And give us the 4 statistics, we may getting “more birds with one stone” and wipe out or at least downscale, other diseases in one fell swoop.
Mahalo to Honorable Mayor Kawakami, who continues to protect our Kupuna. Businesses will re-open with proper safety precautions because we have a Mayor who knows what he’s doing.
Follow the money trail people. If small businesses like Steve Yoder’s aren’t receiving assistance, it’s because companies like the LA Lakers got a bailout over YOU, depleting the funds. Oh, they returned their $4.6 million Paycheck Protection Program money but WHY did they qualify in the first place when they are a multi-billion dollar organization?
These protests across the country w/their AR-15’s in hand are an embarrassment to law-abiding, civil-minded, science-believing Americans. Ask yourselves this: Why is the far right-wing of the Republican party attempting to dumb down Americans with conspiracy theories? Why?
Read about Michael Pack. Why does Trump want him in? So he can run Voice of America with his business partner Stephen Bannon. Why are over 200 judges being quietly appointed by Trump without notice? So when they hold another Wisconsin election the state judge can pass their judgement to the Supreme Court, who is weighted Conservative along idealogical lines & can force an election that is sure to be legally challenged…like they did. Don’t forget Republican redistricting strategist Thomas Hofeller & his gerrymandering efforts that became known when he died. Read up on these & get some INFORMED, TRUE information rather than continuing to regurgitate pablum conspiracy theories like 5G. Really?
We are losing America now, people, & it ain’t due to Coronavirus. Ignorance is far deadlier.
I wonder how many of the protesters work at the health clinics or hospitals?
I as everyone am feeling the economic brunt of COVID. What I would like to ask is have you watched the deterioration of someone with COVID? Have you talked with the families that have loved ones die from this vicious virus? Have you talked with the frontline men and women that are fighting for their lives and those that they are trying to save? Have you no respect. Money is meaningless if you or your loved one dies from this virus. How can you hold up a sign that says “State of Hawaii You are destroying business for no good reason”. If a human life is no good reason to you, then I feel very sorry for you and your lack of respect and empathy for those around you. I too, have lost my entire business and source of income; but I gladly do that to save your life and everyone around you. Mahalo to our Mayor here on Kauai for standing his ground and not being intimidated by thee protests. Mahalo for valuing Human Life over money.
this IS A PLANNED DEMIC.!!.. those of you who want to believe the “OFFICIAL NARRATIVE” go ahead while we all loose our rights . and businesses go under! do your research people Covid 19 = common cold as per the AMA medical dictionary! this is ALL BILL GATES and his death foundation’s doing!! I Am willing to Die to protect all our tights to be FREE!!!
OMG, please find help
HAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHA
get some medical help
Don’t you just love the sign that old women is holding up about the state of Hawaii destroying businesses for no good reason, such a shame she doesn’t think peoples lives are a good reason, just for once can’t these self centered whining people catch the virus and we can be done with it and get rid of those who do not care about society other than themselves. Boy it is hard to keep the tone down for people like these
you want thwm to catch the virus that has a 99.9 % chance of living thru? How scary. Let’s shut down the world forever cuz someone may die!!
Great to see! Thanks for spreading freedom TGI. It was a nice day too. More people going about their lives, free of doomsday media and dancing politicians.
A friend mentioned he knows a guy who died from the CoVid Virus, but then said, the guys a drug addict.
Sounded like He was quietly dismissing the death by putting it on the drugs and not the Virus.
The vast majority of CoVid Virus deaths are of the elderly, with pre-existing disease(s), and on multiple medications.
Seems logical to dismiss the death By virus and rightfully put it onto caused by the complicating features of existing disease and prescription drugs, since the younger people with the virus but not dying from the virus likely do not have ongoing diseases and daily use of prescription drugs.
Meaning are people dying from their Pre-existing disease conditions and prescription drugs, and just happen to have the virus at the same time.
So where do we draw the line between dying WITH THE VIRUS in comparison to DYING OF THE VIRUS.
The IMMUNE SYSTEM shows you can have the virus and have no symptoms, which is the majority, or they have mild symptoms, or need Bedrest only. All showing you have a food and functional Immune System.
Those hospitalized must surely have a compromised Immune System. Scientists say a virus alone is not capable of killing a person. Really…? Hmmm…!
So what is it that turns out ones LIGHT OF LIFE…? The moment of Death…Lights Out.
We know the Immune System requires exposure, that is, infection of a virus to initiate the natural Immune Response which takes out the viruses that are bad for us, and then replicates and multiplies by the billions the same correct immune defense cells that took out the virus, which those Immune defense cells are the immunity to that particular virus, now and into the future.
Why would a healthy person not want to be immune to the virus…well, it seems, only FEAR And ignorance of the immune system, and herd hysteria, would make a person want to not be immune.
A vaccine puts a disease in your body, but you only get immunity against that vaccine virus…but not the original virus you would hope to fight off with your immune system.
So what’s the sense of putting a manmade disease virus vaccine in your body, which many people who get vaccines still get the disease they are avoiding.
Solution to any virus and this one is to get natural immunity.
The safest and best Is to take the Natural Path, after all it was created by God…and supervised by Mother Nature. Who is more reliable than that.
Why give these kooks any publicity??!!!! Lets let a stream of sick tourists come to our island with limited hospital space. It’s like letting a keiki through a tantrum, you ignore them they don’t get the attention they want. These are the adult version of tantrums. The mayors done a great job of keeping everyone safe.. If they don’t like it then move to Texas or some backwards state.
I live in California and only people over 80 who were gonna die anyway have died. You are being lied to on the island so the government can control you and take over all your decisions and it sounds like you arw letting them.
I want you to list each and every single one of these peoples ful; names, the jobs they d and who employs them. Then I will know who to NOT associate with, speak to or do business with. Frankly most of these people have nothing to do with Kauai. They are Trumpist minions, who are so far out on the fringe. What scares me is they don’t social distance, dont wear masks and do not care who they infect or spread this disease too.
We have been lucky so far. That is about to change. DO NOT BE BULLIED MR MAYOR. WE THE TRUE PEOPLE OF KAUAI WANT RESTRICTIONS! WE UNDERSTAND!
We are not ignorant loser, wanna be whatever’s. And the guy with the Hawaiian flag? Shame on you. I know you. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? You know these people are white supremacists, part of the “bugaloo” crowd, that on the mainland is carrying guns and nazi flags, don’t you? You want to associate the Hawaiian Flag and yourself with such rubbish? I have no respect for you. Completely gone. The Hawaiian Resistance has NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS! HOW DARE you INSULT THE FLAG like that? SHAME BRAH!
SHAME AND HEWA!
NATIVE HAWAIIANS ARE MOST AT RISK FOR DYING FROM CORONA VIRUS DUE TO THE LIONS SHARE OF SERIOUS UNDERLYING HEALTH CONDITIONS!
What is wrong with you?
YOU DO NOT REPRESENT HAWAIIAN PEOPLE.
GO TO THE MAINLAND WITH THE REST OF THE GUN TOTING NAZI FLAG WAVING BUGALOO CROWD, brah with the Hawaiian flag, how can you possibly? You go and see how much those white nationalists love you over there.
To the rest of you. I will NEVER SUPPORT ANY BUSINESS who is protesting COMMON SENSE SCIENCE right now. NEVER! I don’t care HOW MUCH i may need your services. NEVER EVER EVER would I work for you, or purchase ANYTHING from ANY of you!
COMPLETE BOYCOTT OF ALL OF THESE PEOPLES BUSINESSES. Starting NOW.
wow. You have drank the Kool aid. You are a fear munger. So people don’t have the right to protest cuz you don’t like it???
You are the nazi. You want the government to take control of every ones life because you think covid19 is going to kill everyone? Only a few people over 80 have died with it and not from it. More people died on kauai from suicide than covid. You should change your dangerous way of following and learnthe real truth.
Good on these people for speaking the truth. The hard truth of the situation is: the negative impact this covid panic has had on our island population is much worse than “what could have been”. Need evidence, look at Sweden…
The general public (such as people who use the term “covidiot”) wrongly assume that quarantine measures were instated to prevent illness/death or to eradicate the virus. WRONG. A 2 min google search will inform you that the purpose of the quarantine was to, in a time predating our current knowledge of the virus, prevent hospitals from getting overwhelmed. Ask your nurse/doctor friends..Is KVMH/KMC overwhelmed? Quite the opposite, most of the hospital is much slower now than before the virus panic.
We’re forced to “Stay at home”, 9pm curfews, THOUSANDS on unemployment (with zero unemployment income, see: High Volume) and silly mask rules while THE AIRPORT IS STILL OPEN. I repeat. THE AIRPORT IS STILL OPEN. Anyone care to venture a guess as to where, considering our current infection count is zero, the virus could reenter our population? CLOSE. THE. AIRPORT. so at least SOME people can get back to work. My 10 year old came to this conclusion all on his own, how long will it take elected officials to do the same? Granted, my son doesn’t have to deal with political correctness and pandering. Maybe its time to rethink our choices next election cycle. Time to get some people in power who have half a brain and half a pair.
Why is the Island of Kauai still in lock down with zero (0) active cases on the Island. Businesses are suffering, some of which may never open again. 30% unemployment with residents still not getting any relief because our inept government is unprepared to handle this crisis. All we need to do is to carefully screen and test all incoming visitors and returning residents with the mandatory 15 day quarantine. Our residents should be allowed to carry on as before within their comfort level. Masks and “anti-social” distancing should be maintained for the time being just as a precaution. Open the beaches so residents can breath fresh air and enjoy the sunshine (which kills the virus and produces natural vitamin D). The lock down has served its purpose. It’s time to re-open our island before it declares bankruptcy.
Idiots.
Beyond all the drama there is is a simple truth. The gravy train has smashed into the fiscal cliff. The deadly virus is not Corona but the other viru$$$$$$$$$$$$
You’re being inconvenienced, not oppressed. There’s a difference, learn it.
Um, Mr. Yoder, you might want to get some schoolin,’ not least of which would be regarding what exactly ‘quarantine’ is — it is not as you claim intended for sick people but rather an isolation of any suspect travelers, e.g. mostly outwardly healthy people until time (originally 40 days, which is the literal meaning of ‘quarantine’ etymologically) proves that they AREN’T sick.
To the editor and author,
The choice of title ,”protesting oppression” was interesting. Clearly, this title gives credence to the protesters claims. It states as fact there is oppression. Should a journalist validate that claim and elevate it to fact? Would not a more impartial title and front page headline have been perhaps, protesting stay at home orders” or “protesting public health directives” or “protesting global pandemic mitigation “ or “protesting good faith efforts by well meaning public servants to save all lives including those of you protesting” The last suggestion a bit wordy, but definitely more accurate and truthful, wouldn’t you agree?
We are all learning that this covid is not as deadly as we were first told. From millions of possible dead Americans, Dr. Fauci downsized the expected deaths to 60,000, like an average flu season. Then we learned CDC and others were guiding doctors to say it was a covid death, just on a suspicion. That was the actually guidance. Then we learned hospitals would be paid $13,000 just to say it was a covid death, and doctors reported they were getting pressure. Then other doctors came out and said that the possibility, statistically, of dying and also testing postive was even less dangerous than a normal annual flu. So,
many people started doing research. What the H is going on! My research can be found at http://www.KauaiTruth.com and there you will find an interesting and informative petition, put together by Kauai researchers at http://www.forourrights.com. So check it out before you judge those protesting, and if you take the time to check it out, and if you are unamployed, you may want to attend the next protest at 11AM, every week, at old County Building in Lihue with your own sign, with your own concerns. Again, I worked hard on this, http://www.KauaiTruth.com Ray Songtree
I find it highly disingenuous that this article was on the front page of the garden island news site last night, and is now no longer there or even on the recent news pages. You have to actually search the title to find it (meaning you’ll never find it unless you knew about it before). So much for allowing an alternative view to be reported on. Kawakami ask you to make it disappear? I wouldn’t be surprised since he is censoring anyone who challenges his actions.
Are you a transplant with a Hawaiian name?
These people all forgot to wear their tin foil hats.
omg. You really think the democrats don’t pay the people in Portland? Be glad they aren’t paid to burn your business or homes down.