Hanabusa bailing on her job to run for Congress

How can the people of Hawaii stand behind Colleen Hanabusa for her run for U.S. Rep. Mark Takai’s seat for Congress?

She was just appointed to the board of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, and now she turns her back on such appointment to run for Congress?

She needs to fulfill her commitment to the board first before bailing for a new job. Suppose she would quit Congress to run for president? Finish a job first!

ROBERT P. POTTER, Lahaina

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Build a tunnel from West to Central Maui

After 17 years of construction, a 35-mile-long tunnel has opened in the Swiss Alps connecting Northern and Southern Europe.

Trains traveling at 155 miles per hour will reduce travel time between Zurich, Switzerland and Milan, Italy by one hour.

Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a tunnel between Wailuku/Kahului and Lahaina that would reduce travel time, be impervious to storms and tsunamis, and, with separate tunnels for each direction of travel, reduce or eliminate the dreaded four-hour road closures whenever a vehicle collision occurs?

Oahu has tunnels to reduce travel time; why don’t we?

MIKE SOWERS, Kaanapali

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Hawaii a battleground for spiritual warfare

“Aka, o ka poe manaolana ia Iehova, e loaa ia lakou ka honua.” (Psalm 37:9b)

There’s a movement to “restore” the Hawaiian Nation. It sometimes promotes ethnic-cleansings, dissentions and selfish ambitions. The world has plenty of examples of hatred, conflict and greed.

Hawaiians’ greatest resource to justify land tenure is in their culture: LOVE. God is Love. He never changes; His covenants are everlasting.

Avoid endless genealogies and arguments about the law. They’re unprofitable and useless, promoting controversy rather than LOVE.

Hawaiians worshipped Jehovah with Jewish-like laws and customs. Return to Him. Rebellion and those who pridefully oppose God… God will oppose.

“If My people will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

“RESTORE” for the love of God. Then all will see and say: “Great is the LORD – even beyond the borders of Israel!” (Malachi)

Like Israel surrounded by physical enemy forces, Hawaii is the battleground for spiritual warfare. “The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the LORD.” (Proverbs)

“Saddle up!” – do your part and leave the results to God.

Hawaii means created by God. “Through Him (Jesus), all things were made. In Him was life, and that life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness.” (John 1)

This dark, chaotic world needs to see His Light shining through us. That’s the Spirit of Aloha – hope of nations!

MICHELE LINCOLN, Lahaina

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Community supports LIS teachers and staff

The Lahaina Intermediate School PTSA hosted a staff appreciation luncheon on Friday, May 6, and a wonderful time was had by all who attended! This event was made possible by the generous donations of delicious food and awesome door prizes from local businesses in our community!

The LIS PTSA would like to send our heartfelt thank you and appreciation to the following businesses who did not hesitate to support our staff!

Mahalo to CJ’s Deli, Dr. Brendan Krause, Hard Rock Cafe, Koa’s Seaside Grill, Kimo’s, Lahaina Pizza Company, LIS Cafe, Maui Jim, Maui Ocean Center, No Ka Oi Deli, Pacific Whale Foundation, Penne Pasta Cafe, Polynesian Adventure Tours, Royal Lahaina, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Sullivan Properties, Teppanyaki 2 Go, Thai Mee Up, Thai Chef Restaurant, UFO Parasail, Westside Glass, Westside Hoops Maui, and Williams & Associates!

Thank you for all your support!

LAHAINA INTERMEDIATE PARENT TEACHER STUDENT ASSOCIATION

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Remember the Mother’s Day Peace Proclamation

Every year in May, peace activists circulate Julia Ward Howe’s Mother’s Day Peace Proclamation. But, Howe did not commemorate Mother’s Day in May… for 30 years, Americans celebrated Mother’s Day for Peace on June 2. It was Julia Ward Howe’s contemporary, Anna Jarvis, who established the May celebration of mothers, and even then, Mother’s Day was not a brunch and flowers affair. Both Howe and Ward commemorated the day with marches, demonstrations, rallies and events honoring the role of women in public activism and organizing for social justice.

Jarvis’s vision of Mother’s Day began when she organized Mothers’ Work Days in West Virginia in 1858, improving sanitation in Appalachian communities. During the Civil War, Jarvis convinced women from both sides of the conflict to nurse the wounded of both armies. After the end of the war, she convened meetings to try to convince the men to lay aside grievances and lingering hostilities.

Howe shared Jarvis’ passion for peace. Written in 1870, Howe’s “Appeal to Womanhood” was a pacifist reaction to the carnage of the American Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War.

As time went on, Congress approved the annual commemoration of Mother’s Day in May, and businessmen quickly capitalized on sentimentality and eradicated the powerful calls-to-action both women intended in the original Mother’s Day concepts. Jarvis’s daughter would campaign for years against flowers and chocolates, seeing clearly the commercialization of honoring women and mothers would lead us further from the call to take action.

Consider these stories as the wheel of the year turns around. By next May, perhaps you’ll find a way to honor your mother for her social and political activism, her engagement with resolving injustice, her care for the sick, elderly, or infirm, or perhaps even her staunch opposition to the carnage of war.

RIVERA SUN, PeaceVoice