Blackie’s timeless insight on elections

It’s election time again. “Maui Blackie” Gadarian (1921 to 2013) was known for his sharp commentary. Here are some of his letters that appeared in the news in the past. They are timeless.

“It happens every election. The politicians kiss our okoles to get our vote. After the politicians get elected, we the people have to kiss their okoles to get them to do what they promised us.” (August 1998)

“It’s election time again. Political candidates make speeches that sound wonderful. They go on and on. However, these speeches are like a Chinese dinner. It’s great at the time, but it doesn’t stick with you.” (March 2000)

“Here we are again in an election year. Candidates will be talking about many problems they would solve if elected. They will speak of millions of citizens going to bed hungry every night. I am one of those citizens. I am on a diet.” (February 2004)

“It’s election time again. Politicians are making promises that they know are outright lies. We, the public, know they are lies. But we vote for the politician who tells us the most appealing lie. We deserve what we get for being gullible again.” (October 2008)

“It’s a sad commentary on people’s behavior at this election time. Families are fighting over the election. Lifelong friends have broken up for good. It’s too bad there is enmity, sometimes for life. But just think: after the election is over, many politicians will get back to socializing with each other, while you and your family have lost your friends.” (October 2012)

MAUI SARA GADARIAN, Lahaina

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Meat industry is scary

I have no fear of all the goblins, the witches or even the evil clowns lurking on Halloween. What really scares me are the latest reports about the meat industry.

Like news of pig farms dumping millions of gallons of pig feces into North Carolina’s water supplies during Hurricane Matthew. Or of saturating their neighborhoods with windborne fecal waste spray. Or of animal farming accounting for more greenhouse gases than transportation.

Like recurring media exposes of horrific atrocities against animals on factory farms. Or of subjecting slaughterhouse workers to crippling workplace injuries at slave wages. Or of exploiting farmers by controlling prices.

Like repeated reports of studies linking consumption of animal products with elevated risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer and other killer diseases. Or reports of the meat industry bullying health authorities to remove warnings from dietary guidelines.

Now, that’s really scary.

I fought back by dropping animal products from my menu, and my local supermarket has rewarded me with a colorful display of fresh fruits and veggies, as well as a rich selection of plant-based meats, milks, cheeses and ice creams. I am no longer scared, though I still fear for my friends and neighbors.

LESTER NAITO, Lahaina

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Halt excessive rent increases

As a resident here for 20 years, the letter about rent prices skyrocketing hit home. My studio went up 7 percent this year and last. I was published in The Maui News for complaining about California owners that do not take care of our properties. I reached out to Elle Cochran and Angus McKelvey and got nothing! I appreciated Tulsi Gabbard getting back to me, but unfortunately, she was the one to told me to write Elle.

Will someone step up to this problem? Will the people of Maui get together and make this “the main issue” of Maui? Otherwise, where are we all going to live? You have to have us “working people” around!!

NAME WITHHELD BY REQUEST

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The history of Hillary Clinton

In 1962, Hillary Clinton met Martin Luther King Jr., and it changed her life.

In 1963, she went to Wellesley College. In 1965, she formed an organization called Wellesley Against Racism. Her sophomore year, she was elected to the Student Senate, and by her junior year she was president of the college Government Association. Her senior year, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, so Hillary and members from Wellesley joined a massive march of mourners in Boston. After that, they started a Black Studies Program at the college, and they started a summer tutor program for inner-city children. In 1969, she was chosen to be the first student graduation speaker at Wellesley. She went on to Yale with a student loan and a scholarship.

In 1970, she gave a talk at the convention honoring the 50th anniversary of Women Voters. Later that summer, she worked for Walter Mondale in Washington, D.C. When she returned to Yale, she worked at a medical center and proposed a way hospitals could help abused and abandoned children, volunteered for legal services to help poor people and wrote an article about children’s rights.

In the summer of 1972, she investigated segregated schools in Alabama and also worked for McGovern in San Antonio, Texas, where she staffed the headquarters and worked 18 hours a day. After law school, she worked for the Children’s Defense Fund for children who were excluded from schools because of their disabilities. Because of her report, they passed a law that required public schools to teach children with disabilities.

In 1974, she moved to Arkansas, where she worked as a law professor and as a legal aide, providing advice to poor people, handling 300 cases that year. One year later, she married Bill Clinton.

Gov. Jimmy Carter asked Hillary to run his presidential campaign in Fayettesville, Indiana. Bill Clinton ran for attorney general of Arkansas, so they moved to Little Rock, where she became the first female attorney for Rose Law Firm, where she organized the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families that promotes health and welfare for children.

As a governor’s wife, she became head of the Rural Health Advisory Committee to establish health clinics to hire nurses and midwives for the poor.

In 1982, he got re-elected for ten years and then became president. Hillary took on all the responsibilities of First Lady for eight years, then senator for eight years and secretary of state for four years. These accomplishments are well-documented on your computer.

I wrote this because I wanted people to know what a good person she has always been. As Republican Lindsey Graham said, “She was one of the most effective secretary of states, and the greatest ambassador for the American people I have ever known, and extremely well respected throughout the world, and handles herself in a very classy way, and has a work ethic second to none.”

PEG ROBERTSON, Lahaina