"CVS spins end to tobacco...‏.‏" 'James "Kimo" Rosen

James “Kimo” Rosen is a retired professional photographer living in
 Kapa'a with his best friend Obama Da Dog, Rosen also blogs as a hobby...

Above photo, Rosen at Rocky River Alaska 1984

CVS spins end to tobacco

Headlines similar to  this are  appearing in almost every major newspaper in the country," "CVS Renames Itself CVS Health as It Ends Sale of Tobacco ..."

If CVS and Longs are so concerned about health, why are shelves still stocked with alcohol and pharmacies still dispensing addictive prescription drugs? And do I dare mention the rows of high calorie snack food and sugary candy?

Cigarettes are one of the most heavily taxed consumer products in the United States. Federal, state and local governments collect more money from the sale of cigarettes than retailers, wholesalers, farmers and manufacturers combined. 

 By eliminating tobacco sales in 8,000 stores CVS is getting free editorial space in nearly every newspaper from The New York Times to the Garden Island, ad space that would've cost a bloody fortune. 

 My spin is that CVS has found a way to look good at the tail end of statistics already in free fall. And we fell for it.

 According to Gallop trends annual Consumption Habits poll, cigarette smoking has gone from a high of 45% percent of our nation smoking in 1955 to 20% in 2011. And it is still dropping. The promotional itself states that 18 million people smoke. 

Despite the millions of research compilations proving the deadly health effects of tobacco use, CVS continued pushing the product until now, with tobacco sales so low shelf space can be better used by more popular consumer purchases. 

P.S.  This blog was also  featured as an opinion article in 09-18-14 edition of the Honolulu Staradvertiser

Check out my opinion article in the 09-18-14 edition of the  Honolulu Star-Advertiser; I copy and pasted it below for those who do not have a subscription;  http://staradvertiser.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

Tobacco ban at CVS a cynical maneuver

If CVS and Longs are so concerned about health, why are their shelves still stocked with alcohol and pharmacies still dispensing addictive prescription drugs?

And do I dare mention the rows of high-calorie snack food and sugary candy?

Cigarettes are one of the most heavily taxed consumer products in the United States. Federal, state and local governments collect more money from the sale of cigarettes than retailers, wholesalers, farmers and manufacturers combined.

By eliminating tobacco sales in 8,000 stores, CVS is getting free editorial space in nearly every newspaper, from The New York Times to the Star-Advertiser — ad space that would have cost a fortune.

Despite the millions of research compilations proving the deadly health effects of tobacco use, CVS continued pushing the product until now, with tobacco sales so low that shelf space can be better used by

more popular consumer purchases. James “Kimo” Rosen

Kapaa, Kauai

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"Time sure flies..." 'James "Kimo" Rosen' (Kimo's World #32)

James Kimo Rosen back at his portrait studio in Homer Alaska,1987.
Rosen is a retired professional photographer living in Kapa'a
with his best friend Obama Da Dog, Rosen also blogs as a hobby

Kimo's world #32
Time sure flies

The old expression, "Time sure flies," is as true today as it was  when my parents used to say it. Remember back when you were a kid time went relatively slow.

I remember being in grade school and the time from September until school was out for the summer in June, seemed like an eternity.

My ex recently sent me some photos of my past, one of the most  fun times in my life. Ironically I have no photos from that era or prior era's since all my belongings got lost in storage, long story, sore subject, especially having been a professional photographer for over 25 years and the keeper of family heirlooms.

Looking back seems like a lifetime ago and on the other hand it feels like it's still that same time in space.

We  have all gone through different phases in our lives. As you get older you realize how fast life passes us by. Our teens with acne. Our twenties alive with youth. Our thirties making us look mature. Our forties giving us that first gray hair.  Our fifties when we realize our mortality and  our sixties where most of us  realize  the winter of our lives is upon us...

Physically  every thing changes with age. Most of us get fatter, grayer, slower, more forgetful and until the invention of the great blue pill (Viagra) had very little libido left.

I recently spoke with a few friends from my past that I hadn't heard from in close to  40 years. We were talking on the phone and the thing I realized is that our voices were  pretty much the same as they were in our late teens. Although most of us get grayer and  fatter, one thing that remains the same is The human voice.

Now if some doctor or scientist could figure a way for our physical bodies to remain like our voices, we'd all be around  for another 100 years!   How cool being able  to share our meals on Facebook for another century!

Channeling Hawai'i in Alaska, 1987

P.S.

YouTube, Dramamine, a way to control drama;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hEUbezqd88

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"Last Will and Testament..." 'Chester "Unc" Lau' (Source)

Dakinetalks favorite Uncle (Chester Lau)

"Unc"  is really passionate about creating a national Caregivers day.

Any help , support or ideas would be greatly appreciated...

'Unc' currently resides on the Hawai'ian Island of Oahu. 
He is a retired cinematographer,
 and  enjoys giving the politicians a bad time...

Last Will and Testament

Doug Smith is on his deathbed and knows the end is near.  His nurse, his wife, his daughter and 2 sons, are with him.  He  asks for 2 witnesses to be present and a camcorder be in place to record his last wishes, and when all is ready he begins to speak:

My son, "Bernie, I want you to take the  Mayfair houses."
                   
My daughter "Sybil, you take the apartments over in the east end."
My son, "Jamie, I want you to take the offices over in the City Centre."

"Sarah, my dear wife, please take all the residential buildings on the banks of the river."

The nurse  and witnesses are  blown away as they did not realize his extensive holdings,  and as Doug slips away,  the nurse says, "Mrs. Smith, your husband must have been such a hard-working man to have accumulated all this property".
                    
Sarah replies, "Property ? .... The  #%@&* had a paper route !!!

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"Chattel‏... 'Bettejo Dux' (Classic Wednesday)

Bettejo Dux, a resident of Kauai for over forty years, is an award winning writer, columnist, novelist, peace and environmental 
activist who knows, and loves Kauai with a passion that shows up in her work.

Above photo; Bettejo signs her novella for a fan at her recent book signing

and 84th birthday bash at Birdies in Kalaheo.

Chattel

It’s kind of a silly sounding word, isn’t it? It does not roll trippingly off my tongue. There’s a sense of darkness about it. It means possession of something. Cars, cattle, or women…

…Today is such a wonderful time for women, at least in the West.  I would not care to be a Muslim woman in a long black robe- in which she can vote with a green thumb if she can see through the slits. A little less disturbing Sharia law, her hair must be covered and you shouldn’t see her feet.  Allah commands. Ever wonder what the guy’s got against hair and feet?

In our country today, many women are speaking out. I think they are more concerned about the future-the children, the environment, the health of the planet-than men. What do you think?

Women on Kauai are quite vocal in complaining about GMOs, air borne toxins, over-crowded, wrongly sited milk factories, and mass extermination of what ever’s in style to mass exterminate today.

I appreciate what articulate, intelligent, out spoken women have-or had- to say. I love their involvement in the goings on. “This world crisis came about without women having anything to do with it. If the women of the world had not been excluded from affairs, things today might have been different.” That’s a quote from Alice Paul before the passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave us the right to vote. I strongly suggest you find the film Iron Jawed Angels and watch it. Share it. We owe so much to this courageous young woman. We certainly need more like her. If you must identify with a female figure, identify with Alice.

Today, of course, women often play important roles in politics and law.  Think of Sarah Palin- EEEEKKK-an example of a female evangelist who tried her hand at public office. Failed, thank goodness. Hope you watched her exorcism ritual on the tube. It was an insult to human intelligence.

Which brings us back to chattel.

Some biblical quotes will work here. Here’s one: Ecclesiasticus 25:18, 19 &33. “And a man will choose…any wickedness, but the wickedness of a woman…Sin began with a woman and thanks to her we all must die.” 

Really?

The history of women as chattel is woven into many legal codes and cultures. In the Old and New Testament as well as the Quran.  Women are property. There’s a world- wide dominion over women by men. In fundamental patriarchal religious societies that live by the word women are valued as objects. A husband owns his wife...

…and she better shut up and do as told.

A quote from Thomas Aquinas is enlightening: in Summa Theologica, he wrote,  “As regards the individual nature, woman is defective and misbegotten, for the active power of the male seed tends to the production of a perfect likeness in the masculine sex, while the production of a woman comes from the defect in the active power…”

Thomas is a Catholic Saint so I assume he resides in a Catholic heaven. As a devout nonbeliever, who does not believe in either heaven or hell, I might pen a brief note:

“Dear Saint Augustine, to spend all eternity with you would be hell.”

What do you think?


P.S.
Go to www.hoike.org   scroll down and on the right of your screen click on Arts and Entertainment-

Bettejo  speaking on her weekly TV show
on local public access TV.
www.hoike.org

Go to www.amazon.com and your order
 copy of "Children of the Extinction!"

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"The Greatness of the Garden Island News & Gossip" 'James "Kimo" Rosen' (Kimo's world #31)

Editors note,

 This blog contains two blogs, "The Greatness of the Garden Island News" and "Gossip."

They were originally going to be run on two separate days, however they are so closely  related  I did not want anyone to read one without reading the other... Please note there is some tongue-n-cheek and fiction in

these blogs in hopes of reality.

James “Kimo” Rosen is a retired professional photographer living in Kapa'a
 with his best friend Obama Da Dog, Rosen also blogs as a hobby...

Kimo's world #31

The Greatness of the Garden Island News & Gossip

Island album is one my favorite sections in the Garden Island newspaper. It's a space devoted for photos submitted by the local community. The photos are all submitted pro bono, nobody is payed for their submissions. 

Since nobody is compensated for their photos the section should be available on the Garden islands web page  and the Garden island's Facebook page, however they are not.

The editorial  and Letter's  page is my second favorite.That page is available for free online!

 It's somewhat ironic that my favorite two sections of the Kaua'i daily newspaper are all provided by community members...Go figure?  

If you miss my column please call the editor,(808)-245-0457 or email The Garden Island News (letters@thegardenisland.com) and tell them you miss Kimo's world!

The greatness of the Garden Island news runs with fellow letter writers, Island album contributors,  guest columnists and at times even the paid staff as seen below;  ;-)  

Part two "Gossip," just scroll down...

Part two "Gossip," just scroll down...

P.S. 
Two  recent contributions by yours truly to Island Album that were published;

P.S.S.
My recent Letter to editor, "Tropical Depression and more;"
http://thegardenisland.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letters-for-saturday-august/article_6001c8b4-1f80-11e4-bc45-001a4bcf887a.html

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Part two Gossip

James “Kimo” Rosen is a retired professional photographer living in Kapa'a 
with his best friend Obama Da Dog, Rosen also blogs as a hobby.

Above photo 1987 in my portrait studio
Real Life Images in Homer Alaska 

Gossip   (Part-2) The Greatness of the Garden Island News!)

Gossip is one of the first things the Christian and Jewish bible denounce. Yet most "religious people" I know gossip quite a bit. Many of the Rabbi's and Pastors I know are the prime initiators of gossip.
"Did you know she's cheating on her husband," or "that guy checks into the hospital only for the free meals since he's on medicaid?"

The Coconut wireless is the major way gossip (news) spreads on the cosmic garden island of Kaua'i.

People are always making stuff up about people they don't like. Is this because there is a lack of activities to keep people occupied on Kauai or are people just plain evil? Why? I don't know.

People love talking... Listening to gossip is  fun, thinking you know things others don't. Be careful because listening to gossip is just as sinful as being the deliverer of gossip according to holy scriptures.

 My late beloved  father used to say, the surest way to get the word out is to tell 10 people, "Please do not tell anyone." Most cannot stand not telling, especially when asked not to.
This is how gossip is spread.

Although I do not like gossip, please spread the word  Kimo Rosen has his column back in the Garden Island news.  Just kiddin-not really, but sure would be nice!

Call the editor,(808-245-0457 or email The Garden Island News (letters@thegardenisland.com) and tell them you miss Kimo's world!


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"Celebrating 95 years young..." 'Judith Whitehead' (Inspiration Sunday)

Judith Whitehead lives in Amherst New York and has worked in

the ophthalmology field of medicine for over 30 years.

Celebrating 95 years young

This week my dad turned 95 yrs old, he has longevity on his side of the family. He has uncles who lived well into their 100’s. He is the last living sibling of 4 and a testimonial of perseverance and fortitude that can live a long healthy life.  

He takes few pills and although he does not walk any longer, he still plugs along.  My dad was used to living a very active life full of day trips and kibitzing (talking story) with friends all day long and until the last few years did just what he wanted.  

It seems that its either the mind or the body don’t stay in sink and one of them seems to regress.  It’s a very sad thing to watch of such a vital man. Sometimes longevity can be a cruel twist of fate.  

I am lucky that my dad is pain free but unable to do any of the things he once loved; reading the daily paper, read all his favorite magazines, talk with the ladies…these things have dwindled away and now we pretty much have the basics, TV, and eating meals, several a day.  

Yes it is a blessing we have had him all these years but is it a blessing that his quality of life has been reduced to existing? Only God can answer those questions?

P.S.

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"The Poker game..." ' Robert Bitos Gandia' (Source)

 Guest-blogger,Robert Bitos Gandia.
Robert is an avid cook (ono gandule rice) and always laughing!!
He works at Syngenta as a Research Associate.
Robert lives in Kekaha on Kauai's west-side and loves football!!

The Poker game

A man walks into a bar and notices a poker game at the far table. Upon taking a closer look he sees a dog sitting at the table. 

This peaks his curiosity and he walks closer and sees cards and chips in front of the dog. Then the next hand is dealt and cards are dealt to the dog. 

Then the dog acts in turn with all the other players, calling, raising, discarding, everything the other human players were doing. However none of the other players seemed to pay any mind to the fact that they were playing with a dog, they just treated him like any other player. 

Finally the man could not longer hold his tongue so between hands he quietly said to one of the players, "I can't believe that dog is playing poker, he must be the smartest dog in the world!" 

The player smiled and said, "He isn't that smart, every time he gets a good hand he wags his tail."

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