HOOSER: Time to cut a deal; lessons from L’Amour
Louis L’Amour’s novel “Sitka” should be required reading by all who serve in elective office.
HOOSER: Answer to national craziness is to think global, act local
On Oct. 11, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order banning any entity in Texas, including private businesses, from requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for employees or customers.
HOOSER: Hoping for a quick return to normalcy
COVID numbers once again are on the decline! Hopefully, sometime soon, we can return to normalcy, gather again in groups with friends and family, eat out more frequently, and perhaps even testify in person before our government officials.
VOICES: Pro-choice and Pro-life: Full Reproductive Rights for Women
In 1996, after certifying as a women’s health nurse practitioner, I came home. Completing training and a first job at a women’s health clinic associated with Stanford University Hospital, was an eye-opening experience. Grand rounds with the Stanford Medical School visiting OB/GYN professors was heaven…so much to bring back to Kaua’i.
VOICES: The climate crisis vs. military spending
The Climate Crisis is the most-certain and the most-immediate of any of the threats the U.S. faces, including the military.
HOOSER: ‘Just any ole blue won’t do,’ litmus tests or not
With the 2022 primary election less than one year away, candidates from around the state are starting to step forward.
VOICES: Religion-neutral Constitution is intentional
Ex-Vice President Mike Pence often said “I am a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order.” I view myself as an American constitutionalist, a rationalist with moral choices. The difference is telling.
HOOSER: The myth of Democrats controlling politics, government
Hawai‘i is a blue state dominated by Democrats and the Democratic Party. Conventional wisdom though this may be, it’s only half true. And even the half that’s true is not really true. Dwell on that for a moment.
VOICES: On ‘King Ige’s’ vaccine passport
Governor Ige’s vaccine passport appears to be a pilot project expected to go national in the next year or so.
HOOSER: The Case against “Build Back Better Agenda”
Today, if you are a senior citizen on Social Security and Medicare, you have no dental, hearing or vision coverage unless you purchase it yourself.
VOICES: COVID on Kaua‘i and your medical care providers
The undersigned medical care providers have spent much of our professional lives caring for the families of Kaua‘i. We are writing this letter to the Kaua‘i community and, in particular, to our first responders (especially firefighters and lifeguards) and to the parents of our school students. You have come to us for medical care for years, please trust us now as we face our greatest healthcare threat.
VOICES: A dab of COVID humor, or mirror, mirror on the wall?
If any of you letter-readers are here to have your opinion changed about anything, you are in the wrong place!
VOICES: ‘Please give us back our path’
I just returned home from my daily ride on the bike/walking path (Ke Ala Hele Makalae) that lies between the ocean and Kapa‘a.
VOICES: One out of every five people
Until the day he died, my grandfather never took a Bayer aspirin. He also refused Novocain at the dentist and denied a host of other drugs and medical treatments.
VOICES: Closed UI offices a black eye for state
On this Labor Day week, a day to commemorate and celebrate the struggles and accomplishments of the labor movement in Hawai‘i and the U.S., we must sadly note that the state of Hawai‘i continues to fail thousands of unemployed workers by keeping UI (Unemployment Insurance) offices closed and refusing to provide direct, in-person services and assistance to these workers in filing their claims and receiving payments.
HOOSER: Time for Coco Palms permit revocation, demolition
Twenty-nine years ago on Sept. 11, 1992, Hurricane ‘Iniki, the most powerful storm to strike Hawai‘i in recorded history, demolished much of Kaua‘i, including that property formerly known as the Coco Palms Hotel.
VOICES: Climate change happening fast, 4 years to act
The internationally accepted authority on the climate crisis is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The IPCC includes scientists from 195 countries who do a systematic review of all relevant published literature to provide a comprehensive update on climate change, its effects and potential strategies.
VOICES: ‘Obsolete’ radar-defense system would need much electricity
The Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency has proposed a massive radar complex, the Homeland Defense Radar-Hawai‘i. If funded, it’s likely to be located at the Pacific Missile Range Facility. Kaua‘i’s infrastructure and resource capacity would be overwhelmed by this project. Electricity is one example.
VOICES: Hawai‘i should return to testing all travelers
Hawai‘i’s leaders need to figure out what their goal is: limit coronavirus numbers or line the pockets of Pfizer and Moderna executives.
HOOSER: Hating on each other is not helpful
It’s time to take a deep breath, I think. Perhaps a second and a third are also in order. I would suggest taking a “chill pill,” but unfortunately too many are probably already headed down this path of self-medication. And the situation is not the least bit funny.