Kauai Bus should be on Iniki status
Am I the only one who thinks the Kauai Bus should return to Iniki status? After all, aren’t we in a disaster mode situation? Geesh, the Kauai Bus has been so high hung and should consider assisting instead of talking points meeting, budgeting transportation.
This idea should have been automatic, but then again, our council was making “use of a bull whip in public” unlawful, exactly at the time where beefalo were being rounded up and hauled off the reef and down the streets and beach of Hanalei Bay.
Our government reps’ imaginations are so far gone, I worry. When you vote in this election, please be mindful of who you are as opposed to who people want you to be.
Debra Kekaualua, Wailuanuiahoano
Physician-assisted suicide bill should be repealed
What will it take to repeal Hawaii’s new law supporting physician-assisted suicide?
For humanity to evolve, we must relinquish violence which is rampant in our culture. Murder of others and murder of self are forms of violence.
Rather than contriving ways to remove people from the planet, we are invited to creatively and compassionately think of ways to support people on the planet.
Hawaii is a role model for “ohana” and “aloha” and family support; the exact opposite of physician-assisted suicide.
Having experienced the horrific suicides of two of my young adult nephews, I fail to understand why Hawaii’s new law is acceptable.
Our throw-away culture of convenience needs a wake-up call regarding the value of ALL life. If we humans are to advance as a species, we must give up all forms of violence, and reach out proactively to one another as members of a global community.
Please do yourself a favor and consider having an honest dialogue with your legislator about repealing the bill.
Terri Donovan Mansfield, Kapaa
Yeah, people in terminal pain should have to endure it to the end! Millenials overdosing and killing themselves is totally related to physician assisted suicide for the terminally ill!! Shame on anyone ending it or dying, the world is way underpopulated!
What gives you the right to decide what is best for another competent adult? Do not try and impose your morality on others. Every person should be able to decide what’s best for them, as long as it doesn’t hurt or infringe directly upon others. This is my pet peeve about religion (all kinds), politicians and others who try and tell others how they should behave and live their lives. Worry about yourself and keep your nose out of other folks business. Last I heard, we were still a free Country with a Bill of Rights.
I view the insistence that those suffering from painful, terminal diseases continue to suffer until they succumb is very much a form of violence, inflicted by those who feel self-righteous about the issue.
Please allow any individual in their right mind but unhappy with their physical degeneration to pass over when they please. To do otherwise is disrespectful of their personal freedoms.
Assisted suicide is nobody’s business but the individual who’s choosing to die in the method of their own choice. If I have a terminal disease that could result in a painful and prolonged bodily death, I deserve the option to end my life in this world strictly on my own, peaceful terms. Restricting this right is the violence, not the self-determined act of suicide.
Terri:
Have you witnessed your parents going downhill due to dementia? Have you witnessed your loved ones dying due to cancer? It is horrible! It is a physically painful existance for them. They lose all dignity. Some lose control of their bowels. Some are just a living brain locked in a body. Is that a way to live? That is not life!
Long ago old people would just walk away from their clans when they weren’t useful any longer. They would commit suicide because they believed they were a drain on their way of life, and that it was better to move on to the next life with dignity. By passing this law, we are giving people the OPTION to decide what is right for them. People don’t have to do it. They can decide on their own.
Terri, you don’t have to take your life when you are older. But, don’t tell someone who is dealing with cancer or some other horrible sickness how to deal with their life!
True some people may put pressure on elderly loved ones to end their life. Aunty or Grandpa we cannot afford to care for you you really should go peacefully. Also if life insurance is involved things could get sticky. Their are some terrible people in the world and this could certainly happen
You really should look into how life insurance works before making it part of your argument
Sorry Terri….but I’ve seen more than a few friends and family members suffer long and agonizing deaths from cancer and other terminal diseases. Near the end of their lives they are usually able to endure the pain by large doses of morphine, fentanyl. So despite your playing the violence card you have no idea what it means to suffer.
Moreover, I am not a slave of the state and own my body. Therefore it is my decision, and mine alone, whether I choose to suffer months (years) of agony which causes distress for my family or whether I can find a compassionate physician that, at MY direction, will administer a painless end to suffering.
I know you are probably well intended…but you need to “walk a mile in another’s shoes” before casting judgement. Who knows, God forbid, you may find yourself facing a painful terminal disease.
RG DeSoto
Physician assisted suicide is not violence. It is actually quite the opposite. An adult, any adult, should have the right to decide what can and can’t be done to their body. It is man-kinds one true freedom to be control of their own body. If an adult can pierce their body, scar their body, tattoo their body, shave their head, have plastic surgery, eat until they are obese, eat so little that they are very unhealthy, smoke, drink, etc., why can they not decide to end a pregnancy if they see fit or to die on their own terms.
Taking away any of these freedoms is to take away the basic right we all have to control our own bodies. Do you want someone that you don’t even know telling you what you can and can’t do to your own body? I didn’t think so. This law is a law of respect and should not be repealed.
I too experienced the suicide of a loved one. It was without doubt the result of clinical depression brought about by excruciating, unrelievable pain. Do you have an answer for that, Ms. Mansfield?
You most certainly do not. You don’t even acknowledge that excruciating, unrelievable pain is the chief reason for this legislation!
All 7 of the jurisdictions that have legalized physician assisted suicide falsify the death certificates not listing the cause of death as poison applied. This is an offense to the public well being disallowing ordinary academic review. Yes you may like the concept of assisted suicide/euthanasia until you learn that the administration of the non-transparent laws in HI, OR, WA, CA and CO brightly provide immunity for predators (corporations, strangers, caregivers, heirs, guardians…) to complete the killing all before the family knows. The safeguards are hollow and unenforceable. A simple reading of the laws confirms this to be true. I am not for that. Are you?? For more investigative reports mtaas org. Resisting saves lives everyday.
Bradley, there’s someone sneaking up behind you RIGHT NOW
Any person has the freedom to pray for an end to someone else’s suffering…or to pray that they do not choose suicide. One may pray for the skill and wisdom of a medical team. One may pray for the soul of those who choose assisted suicide. One may pray for strength for oneself in the face of protracted pain and suffering. These are among the ways one may exercise one’s religion with regard to the issue of assisted suicide.
One can go further by making a contribution to Hospice or by taking hospice training and then volunteering to provide support and services to those who choose the Hospice route. But seeking to eliminate choice for others, to force them into a protracted pain and indignity filled penury in order to follow one’s own religious beliefs? That is not compassion.
Good concerns. Hey, has anyone seen the documentary on Andy Irons yet? I hope it is a heart warming story. Not many people can surf in the Bilabong pro pipeline masters on North Shore of Honolulu. Just a thought.