Support Hale Kau Kau

In these very difficult times, Hale Kau Kau continues to feed the homebound (65) a hot meal every day, as well as 30-50 meals from the kitchen each evening. Despite the pandemic, we continue to follow the CDC guidelines and serve all of our clients with compassion and aloha.

This year, we are planning to have our fifth annual Stomp Out Hunger 5K & One-mile Walk as both an in person and virtual event.

The participants who are fully vaccinated will be able to participate in the event on Saturday, Oct. 30, by running or walking on the prescribed course starting at Hale Kau Kau.

The runners and walkers who are not vaccinated will participate virtually on their own course from now until Oct 31.

All participants who will be running or walking in person on Oct 30 will be required to show proof of vaccination status at check in.

Would you be interested in becoming a participant or a sponsor for this event this year?

All the funds raised from the Stomp out Hunger Event, both from the participants and from our sponsors, go directly to support the operating budget for Hale Kau Kau.

If you cannot participate either in person or virtually, please consider being our sponsor. Sponsors and all participants will be eligible for our wonderful drawing of prizes and a beach towel commemorating the fifth annual running of this event.

Thank you for considering us in our time of need. E-mail halekaukaufundraising@rcchawaii.org for additional information. HALE KAU KAU, Kihei

The infrastructure issue is government corruption

Over the years, since 1969 when I was first introduced to Maui and later worked with the politicians and locals at the State Capital helping implement environmental laws, I learned a lot about Hawaii State Government.

It was therefore a pleasure to read the intelligent letter from Linda Lyerly titled “Upgrade Maui’s infrastructure.”

Not playing politics, nor do I know if Linda voted for Joe Stalin — sorry, Joe Biden — the real problem is corruption.

That’s why Donald Trump was manipulated out of his presidency. He simply did what was right and correct and did not play politics.

Politicians on Maui are manipulated by the Hawaii State Capital, which is manipulated by the corrupt, Socialist Democratic Party that wants governments and the infrastructure to fail.

They want our students to remain ignorant. They want you, the general public, to rely upon government handouts.

I agree with Linda Lyerly and her message, but the cause of a failed infrastructure is due to the elimination of a great President that stands in the way of a society that wants to rule the world and could not for a minute care about our infrastructure. They care about power over you and I.

Look at China, where the people are enslaved and made to construct their inferior infrastructure. Look at Russia, where Putin completely dominates the society just to maintain control of the country, avoiding inevitable chaos. Look at South America, where the people flee Socialism and government dominance, raiding our country to get away from oppression.

The time has come for Americans to wake up and see that our established Republic is the greatest system to have ever existed, based on the goodness of the Magna Carta. And if you take the time, you may find that the Magna Carta was established on ten laws.

Best to you all. Read. Be educated.

RICHARD BODISCO, West Side

Military suicide: One more reason to abolish war

The Pentagon issued its annual report recently on suicide in the military, and it provides us with very sad news. Despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars on programs to stem this crisis, the suicide rate for active-duty U.S. troops rose to 28.7 per 100,000 during 2020, up from 26.3 per 100,000 the previous year.

This is the highest rate since 2008, when the Pentagon began keeping detailed records. In a joint statement, U.S. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth and General James McConville, the Army chief of staff, reported that “suicide remains a significant challenge for our Army,” and acknowledged they had no clear understanding of what was causing it.

Perhaps they should take a closer look at the impact of training, arming and employing young men and women to kill other human beings. There have been countless stories of the trauma caused by these practices.

Why do most Americans accept this as a cost of maintaining national security? Have we been brainwashed by the deep pockets and widespread power of the military-industrial complex, as President Eisenhower forewarned in his farewell speech in 1961?

Most Americans think that sacrificing the mental health and the lives of our men and women in the military is simply the cost of protecting the United States. Some die on land, some on the sea, some in the air, and some will take their own lives.

But do we really need to sacrifice the lives of so many people, in this country and in other lands, to keep us safe, secure and free? Can’t we find a better way to these goals?

Advocates of a democratic world federation believe that we can move from the law of force, which relies on the sacrifice of lives, to the force of law, where problems are solved in a court of law.

Can you imagine a world that solves its problems in a court of law instead of crushing the lives of millions of men and women? Imagine these steps to it.

First, we transform the United Nations from a confederation to a federation of nations with a constitution that guarantees universal human rights, protects our global environment and outlaws war and weapons of mass destruction.

Then we create the global institutions needed to establish and enforce world law with justice. If a government official breaks the law, that individual would be arrested, tried, and if found guilty, put in prison. We can end war and also secure justice. Of course, we’ll need checks and balances to make sure no country or authoritarian leader can dominate a world federation.

But we can make the world a better place without training, arming and employing young men and women to kill people of other lands and, thereby, leaving our soldiers to face the consequences, including not only death on the battlefield but mental anguish and suicide.

DONNA PARK, Citizens for Global Solutions Education Fund