"Thank you,candidates..."

We finally have our sidewalks back. No more loitering and trespassing and getting in the way of pedestrians by sign waiving politicians and their "sheeple.'(sic)

I must admit even though the politicians break the law when they obstruct a pedestrian's ability to walk, jog, or run safely, I miss having access and being able to confront them on my daily sojourn through Kapa'a Town.

The campaigning is over and now the ones who were blessed enough to be elected need to commence business and concentrate on what really matters most to them, their paycheck, car allowance and great health-care benefits.

I am looking forward to the next election when we can all wave in unison, honk our horns and smile once again.. Until then we will miss all of our wonderful self serving narcissists.

Thank you candidates!

"Don't I know you...?

Many of us including myself have become victims of para-social behavior.
We watch "Wheel of Fortune," "Hawaii Five-O," "Jerry Springer," "Jay Leno," "Oprah" and the list goes on.

We become familiar with our favorite TV personalities,even our elected officials and feel we know them. We can now follow our favorite celebrities on Face-book, My-space and Twitter and feel like they are our best friends.

This par-social behavior has created a generation of self serving narcissists that do not have many friends or much of a social life, not because they are shy but Because they feel this is their circle of friendship and social activities.

Just as I feel all of you reading this are my good friends, I know this is really not true, but like many have fallen victim to the Para-social phenomenon.

Don't I know you?

"The audacity..."

The audacity of a few gas stations on our cosmic island, charging for radiator water and air for inflation of tires.

I do not drive often, therefore I have not been to a gas station in quite a while. Most the time I take a bus or ride my bike for transportation.

This past week I was horrified after going to a local gas station with a friend and seeing the water and air pumps connected up to a change machine, charging seventy five cents for air, and another seventy five cents for water.

When I was a young man, they had service stations, you would drive into a gas station, they filled you up, washed your windshield, checked your tire pressure, checked your oil levels and said thank you, come again.

Now you go to a self service station, no mechanics anywhere, making you fill up your gas tank on your own and when finished having to walk into a quick save store where they hope to gouge you five dollars for a bag of chips.

Filling a gas tank can cost fifty dollars or more, is it to much to ask for a little air for a flat tire?

What's next charging to use the squeegee to wash your windshield, wait they didn't even provide a squeegee.

"Running for public office in 2012!..."

With the 2010 elections just around the corner excitement is at an all time low, I for one am not excited about any candidate. I am pushing for all the new people to create change, otherwise we have more of the same.

How many of these people running for public servants would be a council member, Governor,senator, congressman,or mayor without a salary, car allowance and health benefits?

If my health prevails I am thinking of running for county council in 2012. I am constantly criticizing government and like the old expression goes, "if you want a job done right, do it yourself."

The first thing our county and most cities need to do is privatize local government by contracting out to the private sector the jobs of fixing potholes and sewers, trimming trees, construction of and sidewalk repair, street cleaning and synchronizing traffic lights, just to mention a few.

Mayor Eva Galambos of Sandy Springs Georgia did exactly that. It was discovered that the private sector worked faster, cost the taxpayers less and had a 90% approval rating by it's residents. Imagine that the private sector working harder than government employees. She is being hailed a hero.

My first goal for the county of Kauai would be to privatize local government and use the city of Sandy Springs Georgia as a role model.

I look forward to the 2012 elections and look forward to many new faces this coming election. Remember the best way of change is to re-elect nobody, otherwise we have more of the same. Vote for the new people!

"A simple solution..."

It's all in the words. 'Marriage' is defined in the Oxford Dictionary Thesaurus as;"The Legal union of a man and woman."

Therefore there can be no gay marriage according to that definition.

Simple solution, make up a new word for gay marriage, may I suggest "Garriage," replacing the "M" in "Marriage," with the "G" from "Gay," hence "Garriage."

Give "Garriage" the same respect as Marriage, by having a new word, 'Marriage' remains the same holy bond between man and woman and "Garriage" becomes a new institution with a definition all it's own.

Get rid of comment boards.

One of the things I used to find most fascinating was the comments boards when reading the Garden island paper or any periodical  online.

I thought it was modern science, interacting and commenting to any story along with your fellow neighbors.

The comments boards have become nothing more than people fighting, threatening and being rude to one another.

There are a few who actually stay on topic and are humane, but they are few and far between.

I for one would prefer the comments section suspended enabling to let people read the paper in peace.

"A peanut coated marshmellow bank roll..."

What do all the recent sexual harassment settlements on Kauai teach us?

What is sexual harassment? Back in the 20Th century one could tell a person of the opposite sex they looked hot, now if you tell someone they look hot, or whistle at them it's sexual harassment.

I am constantly being hit on by older women, if i was a middle aged women being hit on by older men, this would be sexual harassment.

The question remains,where does harassment begin and flirting end?

Payday is a marshmellow peanut coated chocolate candy bar, but on Kauai it seems a way of life with the payday being a peanut coated marshmellow bank roll.