Take action to help people

Gov. David Ige, there’s no doubt you’ve been dealt the greatest challenge as a governor. There’s no doubt that we the people of Hawaii are facing an economic crisis.

On March 23, you issued a Stay-at-Home order, effective March 25 to April 30. We have complied with your order. We have shut down our businesses. We have been laid off. We have stayed home.

Upon that time, we were instructed not to worry – unemployment is coming. @BrianSchatz sent a great e-mail filled with false hope of a $10,000 grant for small business. The federal government gave the state $1.4 billion for additional unemployment benefits to HELP the people of Hawaii.

You had time (beginning on March 10, when Congress began working on the stimulus package) to implement a plan. The bill was not signed until March 27. Why wasn’t a plan of action put into place?

You had two senators and two U.S. representatives that knew the details of the stimulus package. These four people should have been advising YOU and your labor director, @Scott Murakami, on the details of the stimulus package.

What did you think was going to happen when you shut down a state who’s primary source of revenue is tourism? Unemployment skyrockets! What was Murakami doing to prepare for the inevitable? You guys knew a tsunami of unemployment was coming, and you did NOTHING.

Every one of you works for the people of Hawaii, and every one of you should be embarrassed by your derelict of duties. You have failed the people. It’s time for a real plan of action.

Three-hundred people on phones does nothing except pacify the callers and make them think their claim is going to be processed. Computers process claims, not people.

So here I am writing this for my brothers, sisters, freelancers, gig workers, independent contractors, small business owners and the self-employed who are waiting for UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS, STIMULUS CHECKS, LOAN APPROVALS, GRANT MONEY. We the people say TIME IS UP! Do your job now!

How are we supposed to survive as the rent comes due, bills keep coming and the fridge goes bare? You need to take immediate action! Where are our representatives? I don’t want another e-mail from Schatz filled with false hope. If you guys don’t have the intellect to do your job, then resign. Do your job and take care of the people before a real crisis hits the streets.

Please share and tag: @david ige, @brian schatz, @tulsi gabbard, @ed case and @scott murakami.

BLAKE HILL, Lahaina

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Animal protein is beneficial

Plant-based diets have become more and more popular, not only for humans but even for pets. The bottom line is that neither has been proven to be healthier for human or pet. Sometimes, quite the opposite!

Weak epidemiological studies condemning red meat have been refuted in large scientific studies like the one released this year in the Annals of Internal Medicine, saying that there is no evidence that red meat is bad for health nor does it cause cancer. Vegans, however, are very often (90 percent of the time) deficient in B12 and folate, leading to bone loss, soft tissue injury, compromised nerves and mood disorders. The leading grain-free pet food, comprised mostly of pea protein, lentils and potatoes, is causing DCM (heart failure) in dogs. What’s alarming is that the leading plant-based burger has the same main ingredients!

Humans are not faring much better than the dogs, with heart disease still remaining the leading cause of death. Vegetarian societies have some of the worst cases of heart disease in the world (Baker, 2018). How can this be- when we have been taught to eat the plant-based diet called the food pyramid and have dropped in meat consumption for all of these years? “Experts” told us plant foods like margarine were healthy, only to later ban these trans-fats as detrimental to our health. How long did these experts know trans-fats were bad for us? Since 1950. When were they banned? 2018.

Rather, in my professional experience, it is animal protein diets, coupled with fats and little to no grains or sugar, that have proven to produce the best bloodwork and healthiest lifestyles in humans. Processed foods with artificial ingredients, even vegan ones, are found to be the worst. Movies like “Game Changers” are fictional and have an agenda to sell the producers’ $140 million pea protein investment. Meanwhile, all of the athletes featured became injured or performed worse since the movie.

We are lucky to have Maui Cattle Company here on our island. Grass-fed beef is found to be higher in Omega-3’s and other key nutrients. Not only that, but grazing ruminants are carbon-negative. That means eating meat is not bad for our environment, but when sustainable, is even better for our planet than eating plant foods by building soil and taking carbon out of the atmosphere!

Finally, the quality of protein that comes from animals is much better than the quality from plants. (See the work of Dr. Donald Layman and Dr. Gabrielle Lyon.) Protein is important in preventing sarcopenia (muscle loss) as we age. Since our muscle mass is the key for things like hormone balance, and osteoporosis, we must intake the proper amount of quality animal protein.

I am happy to answer any questions or to provide more evidence for why quality animal protein is beneficial to your health and happiness. It is rewarding to see other humans thrive and be at their strongest and best.

CYNTHIA MONTELEONE, World Champion Sprinter and Metabolic Analytics Practitioner to Olympic and Professional Athletes, Lahaina

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Gas prices are too high

Gas prices went down a little. But with oil trading between $11 and $15, to ask $3.55 is criminal.

I know I said it before, but nothing is happening. Where is our attorney general? Is there no price control, or enforcing the anti-trust act?

Especially in these times, the greed is just despicable. And our esteemed politicians play along. I wonder what else they are doing (or not doing) that is wrong!

JOHN BLAHUTA, Lahaina