"Kauai county council meetings being live-streamed..!"

Kaua'i county council meetings are now available via live-streaming on your computer every Wednesday morning commencing at 9:00 a.m. What a great asset being to observe council meetings live! This saves gas and time for anyone interested in local politics.

Watch county council meetings at;
http://www.kauai.gov/tabid/400/Default.aspx  

The only thing missing is being able to testify from home, with the price of gas and most people do not have a 500.00 a month car allowance as do the council-members.

There is a simple solution, the county could download "Skype" so people from home could testify. It would be an added asset to the live streaming process. Skype is free computer to computer and would actually be more controlled than live testimony, since the chair could easily enforce the 3 minute limit by use of 'skype,' people would have to stay within the three minute limit or be cut off.

Please consider adding skype to council live-streams.

One more question for the county council, does public testimony really matter? Has any-ones public testimony ever changed the mind of any council member on anything? My guess is not.

"G-d Bless the Nihon-Jin (Japanese People).."

I have found myself with tears in my eyes many times  since seeing all the news and images of the recent Japanese earthquake and tsunami

The Japanese are very proper people, with this being said, It makes  me not believe what I see on the news.

The prime-minister is acting calm like it's a problem but not a huge catastrophe, the possibility of a nuclear meltdown.

I know the Japanese nationals better than most Japanese Americans born in this country, living and teaching there in  2002-2003 was one of the most enlightening experiences of my life.

I know when they say no it means yes and when they say yes it means no. They do not want to bother others.

When this first happened the prime-minister said 200-300 dead. I knew and every Japanese National knew this was false, it's just their way of communicating.

To understand the Japanese mind-set, I will quote you out of my 2004 book, "Planet Japan.

"Bowing not handshakes or hugs provided a more hygienic way to greet a person. People consumed raw fish and cooked their vegetables, answered yes when they meant no, no when they meant yes and maybe when they meant never. The emergency phone number is 119, not 911. Japan is opposite land, another planet."

G-d Bless the Nihon-Jin (Japanese People), please say prayers send positive energy and if you have time and money go volunteer and help our great neighbors in whatever capacity you can.

Arigato Gozaimashita!

Garbage-men making more than teachers!

The local Kaua'i Newspaper  reported that some solid waste employee's, also known as garbage-men, make close to $40,000 in overtime alone, not to mention their salary which is close to the same.
Garbage-men making more than teachers, where's the logic or justice?

You've got to love it, overpaid council-members looking into overpaid garbageman! This should get interesting as this battle continues we will get to see whose garbage smells worse, the garbage-mans, or the county-councils. Another case of the pot calling the kettle black.

I remember when I was a kid, the joke was that you could make $1.50 an hour and all you could eat, if you wanted to be a garbage man.

Now Garbage men make more than many PhD's.

There's something wrong with the system when garbage-men, bus drivers and part time county council members make more than teachers.

"One Tsunami, two Tsunami, tree Tsunami more..."

 "editors note, tree is suppose to be tree, please do not correct to three, tree is Hawaiian Pidgin for three." 

One Tsunami, two Tsunami, tree Tsunami more, within the last two years.

This past dress rehearsal was less dramatic than the one in February 2010.

One of these times it will be the real thing and we will need to ask ourselves, "would we take supplies airdropped in plastic bags, or accept assistance from a ferry-boat?

One Tsunami, two Tsunami, tree Tsunami more....

This may sound silly, however now that I have your attention please remember to voice your opinion and testify to amend county bill #2400 that bans supermarket plastic bags. You can testify by email at; counciltestimony@kauai.gov  if you cannot make it to county chambers this coming Wednesday.

We may have weathered the Tsunami weather, however we still face the political Tsunamis on a daily basis.

Please do not continue to allow 7 overpaid public servants to make all our important choices, let your voice be heard now!

"Thankful to sleep through tsunami warning..."

Hawaii Public Housing authority(HPHA) worked tirelessly through the evening of the states most recent tsunami warning.

The expensive emergency generators and power tools were moved to higher ground from their Kapa'a office to their safe and high ground housing project "Hale' Nana Kei' O' Kea" locate behind 'Mahelona' hospital.

The public housing in Kapa'a had all the gas turned off for safety should the tsunami had moved him full force this would prevent fires.

The gas heaters at the higher ground housing did not need to be turned off.

I am thankful I was able to sleep through the tsunami warning this time, earplugs really work!

Pictured are Davis Shima and Norvin Manuel packing up generators and tools after a sleepless night in Kapa'a.

"Councilmembers hypocrites over plastic bag ban..."

The Garden Island newspaper recently published an article titled, “Residents torn over plastic bag ban.” This article tells it all, the story of a dysfunctional county council. This whole plastic bag ban mess should had been decided by the people of our great cosmic island, not seven overpaid narcissists who won a popularity contest.

The County of Kaua‘i in association with the Kaua‘i Humane society supplies free plastic bags at approximately six dispensers along the beautiful pedestrian trail. It’s ironic our dogs are allowed plastic for their feces, but we can’t use plastic for groceries or food items.

Trees are used to make paper bags. I thought we originally switched to plastics because we didn’t want to destroy the rain-forests.

We went 100 giant steps backward, the grocery stores are now using paper bags, 1,000 paper bags piled high, or 1,000 plastic piled high, guess which is smaller and costs less to freight?

If council is so concerned about the environment quit being hypocrites and ride a bike, walk, or bus to the next county council meeting, and donate your $500 a month car allowance toward the state budget crisis

note this blog appeared an an opinion article on 03-09-11 in the Kaua'i garden island news!
http://thegardenisland.com/news/opinion/mailbag/article_984b1cae-4a11-11e0-b53c-001cc4c002e0.html

"Duh, winning..!"

The recent media blitz showing Charlie Sheen In his numerous rants and meltdowns has created huge ratings for network and cable news shows, along with many parodies on comedy and talk shows.

Charlie Sheen was fired from his sit-com, "Two and a Half men" he was the highest paid actor in sit-com history at 2 million a show, most of us don't make that kind of money in a lifetime. I watched his show one time, and really did not see any reason to watch again.

Charlie is melting down before America's eyes, sure his rants are entertaining and actually think his real life drama is more funny than his award winning sit-com.

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/duh-winning-cold-open/1311305/
(recent SNL skit)

The fun is over, if we maintain putting all this attention on Charlie and keep being drawn into this para social phenomena, not only will Charley Sheen self destruct but we as American people are on our way to much of the same.

Call it an Obsession by the American people, call it a meltdown, call it what ever you wish, we are encouraging his rants and laugh. I am guitly myslef, but when Charlie is six feet under who will have the last laugh?

"Duh, winning...."