"Mahalo Nui to Oahu Publications..." 'Obama Da Dog'

Mahalo Nui Loa to Oahu Publications
for keeping our local newspaper alive...
http://www.kauaiworld.com

Extra Extra, Read All About It...


Mahalo Nui to Oahu Publications for rescuing The Garden Island  newspaper from a possible bankruptcy and potential financial meltdown. It's sad that many TGI employees lost their jobs, but it's also a blessing that everyone didn't lose their jobs, which very easily could had been a reality if Oahu Publications had not come to the rescue. 

The Publishing business has been struggling with the advent of the internet and all the free websites and blogs to chose from. Many papers have ceased printing altogether and are totally electronic with pay walls. The  New Orleans only daily newspaper  the Times-Picayune's new reality is an online-focused newsroom and  only prints a hard-copied newspaper  3 days a week. Remarkably and in contrast The Garden island news still has six days of hard-copied news.

Kaua'i is blessed to have Oahu publications care enough to keep our cosmic daily paper alive. Please continue to support your local paper in whatever way you can, either purchasing an electronic or hard-copied subscription or by placing ads.

Aloha Kakou and  Mahalo Nui Loa to Oahu Publications.

'Judith Whitehead' (Inspiration Sunday)

"Guest-blogger Judith Whitehead lives in Amherst N.Y. and has worked in the

 ophthalmology field of medicine for over 30 years...

Today she talks about the Tragic Continental Airline crash that happened
 4 years ago very close to her home. Included is a link to a story 
about the 4 year anniversary of the tragedy in the Buffalo news. 

   

Flight 3407 survivors are to be commended

http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130212/CITYANDREGION/130219743/1002

I can't believe that 4 years have already passed since that tragic crash in Clarence, NY only a few miles from my home. What is even sadder is the prolonged fight for safer skies that has been fought for ever since that day. The families are to be commended for their tireless efforts to improve the safety for all of us when we fly the skies. 

The legislation that is on the table seems to be so straight forward and yet has been made so difficult to make happen. Thank you for all your tireless efforts to make aviation safer and rest assured that you are making a difference in every ones' lives that do fly every day.

"Abuse sells..." 'Obama Da Dog'

This blog originally  ran on May 27, 2011, Blog #295, "Everyone's been abused..."This is an updated version of the same blog.

http://dakinetalk.blogspot.com/2011/05/everyones-been-abused.html

The talk shows all interview celebrities with new books, it seems every celebrity who writes a book suddenly remembers some sort of sexual abuse while growing up, whether by a parent, sibling, uncle, cousin, clergy member  or gym teacher.

They say in most cases sexual abuse is somebody the victim knows. A baby-sitter, a baseball coach, scout leader even the clergy are many times perpetrators of the such.

Thinking back on my childhood I can remember many instances that in these days would most likely  be construed as sexual abuse, but were in actuality just part of growing and being part of the human race.

My parents and many of your parents would be guilty in this day in age of child abuse if we were currently children.

If parents yell at their children, they are accused of verbal abuse, if they spank their children they are accused of physical abuse, and sometimes a simple hug may be interpreted as sexual abuse.

How many in my generation were spanked in public, or had the belt for punishment from their fathers? How many played doctor with their neighbors, "I'll show you mine if you show me yours?" How many played spin the bottle?

I remember my sister at age 16 going out with men in their 20's, of course with my parents approval. 

Times were different back when, nowadays a teacher cannot even hug a student with fears the child will tell their parents and the parents interpret it as abuse and may ruin the teachers career.

Everyone is a victim these days, especially celebrities when it comes time to pitch their new books!

We have all either been physically, verbally or sexually abused. Next time you write a book, write a song or even blog, mention any kind of abuse and you are sure to prosper! I am hoping this blog has many readers for the sheer reason it's about abuse and abuse sells.

If all the abuses fail, you can always make up an addiction...

"The republican party has gone to hell... 'James "Kimo" Rosen'

I am proud to be an Independent voter who  tends to support many Democrats.
Above the late and great Hawai'i Senator Dan Inoyue and Senator Mazie Hirono
along with Obama Da Dog, yours truly and a secret service dude.

The Republican party has gone to hell and is the devil incarnate. That's right,I said that.

How can a politician, yet alone a political party want to deny children and the  elderly many  benefits from programs such as "Head start," "Meals on wheels" and a host of other government programs to  be lost all because the republicans don't want millionaires paying the same tax rate as the common working person.

If the Republicans get there way another 750,000 jobs will be lost and America will well be on it's way to yet  another major recession . All thanks to John Boehner, Mitch McConnell and the Republican party. 

The Republican party should all  be ashamed.  America take note!

"Rainy Day in paradise..." 'Bettejo Dux' (Classic Wednesday)

Bettejo Dux  one of Kauai's true gems, Today she 

guest-blogs about  the weather, and when Bettejo talks weather it's actually interesting!  Enjoy...

www.bettejodux.com

Trust me on this one, dear reader. It rains in Paradise. We’re not called the Garden Island for nothing.

I live just below the wettest spot on earth, Mount Kahili. I think I live in the wettest valley on earth. I’ve watched a big black cloud enshroud the mountaintop and slide down the mountain, like a slithering snake, to come to a screeching halt directly  atop my roof and rain over me. I’ve lived in a plantation ‘mansion’ on the Alexander Dam Road that was mostly buried in drippy fog, while at the bottom of the muddy drive Bill drove to work every morning, the sun was shining.

Well, it is the age of Aquarius,I was born to be drenched.

I hope many of you, reading this, tune in to the Garden Island news paper Forum-the most well read page in the paper-and become familiar with the voice of Kauai. Our little  struggling  newspaper  is the heart of Kauai. The Forum-our voices- are it’s soul.

I think newspapers have souls.

Anyway, it’s pouring on Kauai today. Flash floods, mud slides and collapsing old dams are the order of the day. Downpours so heavy windshield wipers can’t keep up and you can’t see through the windshield are clouding our vision.

Well, there are fewer drownings- that’s a plus sign-who goes to the beach when he/she can sit in a warm, comfy, unsmoked- filled bars, dives and restaurants complete with food and drink and gossip? Hey, on Kauai we feed on gossip. Who’s screwing who, who’s ripping who off, who’s headed for skid row? Or already there.

Otherwise it’s just a normal day in paradise. Greedy politicians are on the take. angry voice take to the airwaves, public television screens and others to the Forum. House bound, cabin fevered  Kauaians  vent their spleens. And, in the darker region, communists , atheist, protesters, rebels and conspirators abound.

We could be, without a doubt, the most contentious, diverse-racially, religiously, politically island in America. In the world. Good thing Hawaii has good gun laws, otherwise we’d probably all be out there shooting at each other.

We don’t agree on anything.  No how. No way.

We need more highways. We need more development. We need more tourists. We need more bucks. We need to get the damn homeless off the beaches and out of the parks. Wal Mart’s suffering. So many shops and stores closed down at Kukui Grove- our Ala Moana Center- you wonder how they pay their bills. J.C. Penny’s gone. Borders. What next?

We are micrcosmic America.

But on the upside. We have an excellent community college.The best amateur theater. We love our artists and celebrities and they love us.

Mike Bond will visit Talk Story Book Story tomorrow night. I’m going to be there. Buy a signed book and I need another book like my valley needs more rain. My library needs a library.

But we have Hanapepe and Kimo’s blog and my column and Jeffrey Pears.

We are the richest island in the country.

"Why Do You Think They Call It Dope..." 'Obama Da Dog'

Prohibition doesn't work, I'm a dog and I know that!

Aloha, Check out my opinion article in today's (02-26-13) edition of the Kaua'i Garden Island news,"Not A Dope."
http://thegardenisland.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letters-for-tuesday-feb/article_1062a5aa-7fe8-11e2-a2cf-001a4bcf887a.html

Prohibition doesn't work, why keep the sales from marijuana  in the hands of organized crime?

I personally do not smoke cigarettes or marijuana but highly support the decimalization of the herb. 

They say why do you think they call it dope? Because we are not smart enough to legalize it and use the tax monies to bail us out of the financial mess our country is in. They call it dope not because the people who use it are dopes but because the people who want it to remain illegal are dopes.


http://thegardenisland.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letters-for-tuesday-feb/article_1062a5aa-7fe8-11e2-a2cf-001a4bcf887a.html

"Life is a gift, Freedom is a responsibility." 'Chester "Unc" Lau' (Source)

Dakinetalks favorite Uncle (Chester Lau)

Unc talks about  life and enjoying  all of it!

"Unc" is a retired cinematographer currently living 

on the Hawai'ian Island of Oahu.

As I've aged, I've become kinder to, and less critical of, myself. I've become my own friend.
I have seen too many dear friends leave this world, too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it, if I choose to read, or play on the computer, until 4 AM, or sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 50s, 60s & 70s, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love, I will.

I will walk the beach, in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves, with abandon, if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set. They, too, will get old.
I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And, eventually, I remember the important things.

Sure, over the years, my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break, when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength, and understanding, and compassion. A heart never broken, is pristine, and sterile, and will never know the joy of being imperfect.
I am so  blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore.  I've even earned the right to be wrong.
So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day (if I feel like it).

MAY OUR  FRIENDSHIP NEVER COME APART, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S STRAIGHT  FROM THE  HEART!