" My true condolences..." 'Obama Da Dog' (Not so Harmonic Wednesday)

My best friend is back as guest blogger echoing my true feelings  on war. Please enjoy Obama's blog.

This weeks Harmonic Wednesday is not so Harmonic but needs to be heard and seen! This blog also ran as opinion articles in both the Kaua'i Garden Island news and The Honolulu Star-Advertiser...

Almost every-night on the news there are reports of another Hawai'i based soldier killed in one of the two useless wars the United states is involved in.

My heart goes out to the families of these brave men and woman, my true condolences.

It's time to end these useless wars, it's time the news media photograph our young men and woman coming home in body bags and showing that on the evening news as they did during the Vietnam era.

When people see the visuals of body bags on a daily basis the horror of war will start to penetrate through the hearts and souls of every American, protests and demonstrations against the war will commence only then giving peace a chance.

This same blog ran in the Kaua'i Garden island news editorial section on; 07-23-11
http://thegardenisland.com/news/opinion/mailbag/article_fe80cc52-b506-11e0-89e3-001cc4c03286.html 
and in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on 07-24-11
http://www.staradvertiser.com/editorials/letters/20110724_Letters_to_the_Editor.html

Bonus, since many of you read this blog as my opinion article in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, enclosed is something to hopefully make you laugh!  "At Last, a Cell Phone for Seniors!"

I know some of you are not old enough to get this, but you can pass it on to some old person who needs a laugh today!!!

If you enjoy Dakinetalk please forward to friends, post on your favorite social networking site and print it out and give it to people at your local mall!   :D)

"Homosexuality, an abomination‏?" 'Chester Lau' (Cosmic Tuesday)

This blog was sent to us by our good friend, retired cinematographer from Honolulu, 'Chester Lau'   and  felt it was a good subject for  'Cosmic Tuesdays.'

Dakinetalk is an equal opportunity blog site. We like to hear all sides of stories and do not necessarily agree with all our guest bloggers but provide the avenue for alternative thoughts...

In her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura, penned by a US resident, which was posted on the Internet. It's funny, as well as informative:

Dear Dr. Laura,

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination ... End of debate.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them.;
1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of Menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?

6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination, Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there 'degrees' of abomination?

7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?

8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I'm confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your adoring fans.  

Please share this blog with all your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Google and talk about it at work, and  if you don't work share it with all your homeless friends!

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." -- Mahatma Gandhi

"Never Too Late,,!" Judith Whitehead (Inspirational Monday's)

Inspiration Monday's are back with guest blogger Judy Whitehead, this blog is about  never giving up on your dreams, this blog inspired me, I hope it does the same for all of you . Enjoy..

It's  Never Too Late To Go Back To School...

Choosing a career is one of the most important life decisions someone can make; it’s up there with choosing a partner and starting a family.  This important decision is forced on our children at a young teen age.  There is hardly a teen that knows what they want to do for the rest of their lives to support themselves when they graduate high school.  It finally clicks in their senior year. They grasp at anything they are remotely interested in and end up changing their minds half way through their college years. When you’re a teenager, you don’t realize what an impact education and training in a career will make on the rest of your life  It’s too hard to see into the future when you’re at a young age.  After several years of putting an  education on hold, regret starts to set in.  This exact thing happened to me as a teen.  I was anxious to marry and settled for a quasi career in the health professions.   In high school I was interested in some aspect of medicine and ended up going for an associate’s degree in Medical assisting. 

I specialized in Ophthalmology and had a wonderful mentor for many years who taught me the basis for what I know today.  It was only after several years of working in the field that I had the confidence and desire to expand my knowledge and return to college for that B.A. degree that I never got early on. In my late 30’s I decided to return to school, using all my credits that I had earned 20 years prior and started picking away at a Gerontology degree at night, one course at a time.  It took me about 6 years to finish, maintaining a family and working full time.  I was determined and ready to learn again.  Going to school as an adult was a wonderful experience; instead of bonding with the students, the teachers were closer to my age. The teachers spoke to me as if I were their friend; I treated them with respect but spoke to them as though they were my equal.  In high school, students usually fear their teachers and speak up only if absolutely necessary.   Many students wanted to befriend me because they knew I would never miss a class and always knew what the topic for the class was. Teachers admired me for tackling school at a “mature” age and wanted to help me all they could. You get good grades because mom and dad aren’t footing the bill this time.

  When you stop to think about it, we spend most of our lives performing our jobs.  It’s so important to choose the right career to become a more fulfilled person.  Your entire life has the potential to fall into place if you are happy at your career on a daily basis.  Your whole being becomes healthier and your relationships and daily lives are in a better place. There needs to be more time spent exposing our children in school to opportunities that may lie ahead of them and not wait until they are going to “Career Day” in high school.  By the time they reach high school, their minds are focused on social skills and making sure they fit in.  They are not interested in what their futures can hold and are too busy planning the weekend’s events with friends.  If we started exposing our children in middle school to what they can achieve in the future, maybe they would be better prepared to pick a more suitable career when the time came. I got married at a young age and became complacent.  If you constantly challenge yourself with learning new things, you become a more fulfilled person.  Going back to school was a big decision. If kept in perspective, picking away at a career, one or two classes at a time, it can be done.  It’s never too late to try. 

I might add that if you wait until your 60 years old, you can go to any university for free.  Knowledge can be learned at any age; it is never too late to make your goals a reality. The knowledge I collected in those classes help me every day in my career.

If you like this blog please forward to your friends, post on Facebook, Twitter, My-space, Google reader or print copies and hand them out at your local mall!  ;D)

"Everyone's a genius,Sticks and stone may break my bones,Hippocratic oath, seems more of a hypocritical oath..." 'Obama the Dog' (Serious sundays) Blog # 353-355

 Welcome to 'Serious Sunday's,' similar to your Sunday newspaper being bigger and fuller than the rest of the week, Serious Sunday's acts in much the same giving you more for your buck with multiple posts every Sunday on dakinetalk! (Blogs #353-#354-#355)

Obama the dog is our guest blogger for the day, her dad James "Kimo" Rosen helped with this guest blog submission. Obama currently resides on the cosmic island of Kaua'i and enjoys following her master along side his bike and chasing chickens. She is also the best friend of the guy who publishes this blog.   Enjoy. Blog #353

The Internet has changed my life and my belief it has changed every-one's life that has Internet access...

We can look up symptoms of any ailment and try to self diagnose, we can find the origins and side effects of any pharmaceutical drug, we can find numerous alternative health care remedies for every disease under the sun.

We can read thousands of newspapers, talk about every TV show and ask our computer questions and actually get answers. Encyclopedia's are no longer needed since any subject can be looked up on Google or many other search engines.

The average person has access to unlimited medical issues, legal, issues, business issues ,and anything the mind can think of.

Teenage boys no longer need to buy magazines with naked pictures of woman and hide them under the bed or in between a Mad magazine or sports illustrated. There is unlimited free porn on the Internet, a teenage boy's dream cum (sic) true.

We can now talk computer to computer via web-cams on skype for free, just like in the old Jetson's cartoons, but a reality. We can witness news while it is happening and watch many meetings political and otherwise in real time via live streaming.

We can participate in weddings, funerals and holidays via live streaming and no need to travel thousands of miles to witness family celebrations and reunions.

Recipe books are no longer needed, we just type meatloaf into a search engine and there are literally ten's thousands of recipes.

Facebook, twitter, My-space, skype and blogging has made the world a different place. There is so much more than what I have mentioned but basically the computer and Internet age has made everyone a potential genius, a potential pervert and a potential loner, even a potential comedian with forwarded jokes from friends.

40 years ago when I was a senior in high school there were no microwave ovens, no VCR's, DVD's, answering machines, voicemail, computers, digital camera's, phones that are capable of everything, HD TV, devices that give directions such as Map-quest and GPS devices. I have only mentioned a few inventions of the top of my head that the world relies on.

What will be in the next 40 yearss...

"Sticks and stone may break my bones, but names will never hurt me, or will they?  Blog #354

Society dictates we can no longer say the "R" word, it is not politically correct. The 'N 'word has been taboo for years unless of course your black and you are given diplomatic immunity and can use the word. Black comedians use the 'N' word all the time, does this mean that people who are mentally challenged can use the 'R' word but the rest of us cannot?

What about the 'H' word that is used as often as kimchi on the Hawaiian islands, should we start to say 'H-word 'when referring to Haole?

Whether it's an 'F-bomb', the 'N' word, the 'R' word, the 'H' word it's all dakine, or should I say it's all 'D-word.'

All I can say is 'WTF,' and what ever happened to the old childhood wisdom of, "sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me, or will they?

"Whatever ever happened to the Hippocratic oath, seems more of a hypocritical oath....   Blog #355 

 Dr. Rofgoff accepts, medicaid, medicare and cares for his patients...
Locating a doctor who takes public insurance proves difficult in isles." This was a recent article in the Honolulu Star Advertiser.

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110718__Locating_a_doctor_who_takes_public_insurance_proves_difficult_in_isles.html
According to this article half the state of Hawai'i is either on medicare or medicaid, "There are 204,491 Medicare beneficiaries in Hawaii and about 267,000 Medicaid recipients." With the state of Hawaii's total population approximately one million, that only leaves the other half to pay the rack rate per each doctor visit. It seems all most doctors care about is all the mighty dollar, whatever ever happened to the Hippocratic oath, seems more of a hypocritical oath.

We need a system of National insurance where every man woman and child is insured, similar to Canada's. It's time for our politicians to come to a decision that benefits all Americans when it regards health. It's ironic when prisoners of war and those incarcerated have better medical care than law abiding citizens.

Please remember to post 'dakinetalk' on your 'Facebook wall, 'Tweet' it, 'Google reader' it or forward to your friends if you enjoy this daily blog of dakine!

"Please be my friend..." James "Kimo" Rosen (Shabbat Saturday's)

Welcome back one of my favorite blogger, me! :D)  Shabbat Shalom, enjoy a day of rest...

They call themselves the Roving Rabbi's and are on Kaua'i for the next two weeks! They say enjoy the day of rest! Shalom or as Jews in Hawai'i say, "Shaloha."

Facebook has become an obsession of mine, I use Facebook primarily to promote my daily blog; http://www.dakinetalk.blogspot.com/  . I used to be cautious and knew all my friends personally on Facebook and could never figure how or why someone could have 600, 800, or even 2,000 or more friends.

In the right hand corner of every Facebook homepage, there is an icon of people you may know, it shows your current friends, friends of friends and their friends that may be friends with others. (Got that?) All you need to do is click on these rotating names and ask them to be your friend. I literally have hundreds of names since everyone one of your friends has friends, so all their friends are potential friends, it's a giant pyramid of potential people to call friends,

I now have 40 new friend in less than twenty four hours and don't know one of them personally, however I am hoping for a few of them to start clicking on http://www.dakinetalk.com/  . Not only may the  blog get more hits, but I now have bragging rights to say I have close to 300 friends, although I don't know most of them. Sometimes your best friends may be people you never met, this way there are no fights, animosities or drama, Facebook really isn't so bad after-all, or is it?  Will you be my friend, please!?

Please share this blog on your favorite social networking site, and don't forget to friend me on your Facebook page, follow me on twitter, or just a friendly tweet to say 'Shaloha....'

"Laughter and Tears..." 'Michael A. Herr' (Aloha Friday-4)

My favorite fiction writer Michael Herr is back as our guest blogger for this Aloha Friday. Michael's blog's seem to get better each week and dis (sic) week is no exception. If you enjoy reading entertaining and exciting fiction check out Michael's website at: http://www.michaelherr.com/    

"Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you cry alone." An old English proverb, fleshed out more completely by Ella Wheeler Wilcox in her poem "Solitude".

There is so much truth in Wilcox's poem. When we are happy, when times are good, everyone is our friend, and everyone wants to share in our happiness. But when we are sad, when times are bad, friends seem hard to come by.

And yet both emotions are beneficial to us. For example, laughter has healing powers. Some people, and I am one of them, believe that the very act of laughing can help cure disease. Laughter, really hearty laughter, does so much for a person both physically and mentally. It relaxes you, it boosts your immune system, it triggers the release of endorphins (the body's natural feel-good chemicals), and it increases blood flow which helps protect your heart. If you are stressed, a good bout of laughter relieves your tension and your stress leaving you relaxed long after the laughter has subsided.

Besides the physical and mental benefits of laughter there are social benefits. Shared laughter attracts others to us, strengthens our relationships with them and helps us to bond with those others. Laughter defuses tense situations and reduces conflict. I've often thought that perhaps all soldiers should be issued Groucho Marx masks to wear into combat. Fighting might be reduced to the use of pillows and pies.

But what about crying? Are tears so bad? Which is worse, crying because of something terrible that has happened to you, or holding in those tears, smothering the suffering that you feel?

"Big boys don't cry." Many men have heard that so often while growing up that they have completely submerged their emotions. As a result they can no longer cry— nor can they rejoice. Because tears often come along with happiness too. How many people have cried upon the birth of a child? Cried with joy and wonder. At weddings people cry, both from sorrow at losing a child, and from joy at seeing two people joined in marriage.

So many people have cried upon the death of a loved one. And their tears were from sorrow, but sometimes also from relief that their loved one's sufferings were over.

To laugh. To cry. To do both is to be human. To do both is to open yourself to Life. To do neither is to shut yourself away, to reject Life.

So whatever comes your way today, be it laughter or tears, embrace it and embrace Life.
Mahalo.                                               http://www.michaelherr.com/



" A Bit of Political Humor..." 'Chester Lau' (Facetious Thursdays)

Chester Lau, a.k.a (Unc) lives in Honolulu Hawaii. He is a retired cinematographer and is back as our liaison jokester guest blogger for another 'Facetious Thursday'

One day a florist went to a barber for a haircut. After the cut, he asked about his bill, and the barber replied, 'I cannot accept money from you , I'm doing community service this week.' The florist was pleased and left the shop. When the barber went to open his shop the next morning, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door.

Later, a cop comes in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay his bill, the barber again replied, 'I cannot accept money from you , I'm doing community service this week.' The cop was happy and left the shop. The next morning when the barber went to open up, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen donuts waiting for him at his door.

Then a Congressman came in for a haircut, and when he went to pay his bill, the barber again replied, 'I can not accept money from you. I'm doing community service this week.' The Congressman was very happy and left the shop.

The next morning, when the barber went to open up, there were a dozen Congressmen lined up waiting for a free haircut.

And that, my friends, illustrates the fundamental difference between the citizens of this country and the politicians who run it...

Please share this blog with friends and relatives, post it on your 'Facebook wall,' 'Tweet' it, 'Google Reader' it or forward it to your friends... After-all we are dakine!