Abstinence Education

Tuesday's editorial on the Star Bulletin describes the phony abstinence ed so well

http://starbulletin.com/2004/12/28/editorial/commentary.html

Imagine a driver's education course where teachers show students grisly photos of traffic accidents but never teach them how to actually drive, stop at red lights, use turn signals, buckle their seat belts -- but then put them behind the wheel.

Now you have a pretty good idea of what abstinence-only sexuality education is like. Abstinence-only programs try to scare and shame the sex out of teens and adults, teaching only the negative consequences of sexuality without ever telling young people what they can do to stay safe and healthy.

Researchers at Columbia University found that while virginity "pledge" programs did help some participants delay sex for six months, 88 percent still had premarital sex. The rates of sexually transmitted infections among those who pledged abstinence showed no difference from non-pledgers. However, those who pledged virginity were less likely to use contraception when they did have sex, and were less likely to seek testing and treatment when they had an STI.

My comments - just look at Britney Spears comment when she first started to become popular. She said that one should wait until marriage to have sex. Of course, later on, she admitted that she did the opposite.

Conservatives want you to think Britney Spears is the only person on Earth who pledged virginity but later had pre-marital sex. In reality, THOUSANDS of girls did just that - pledged to remain abstinent before marriage, then later have pre-marital sex after making the pledge.

Why does this happen? It's easy to repeat what your parents and your ministers say when you are 14 years old. At that point in life, you still didn't have much life experience. But as one gets older, one will likely have a boyfriend/girlfriend, do the kissing & hugging, be in a room alone. Then once that happens, NATURE takes over. All virginity pledges of the past is ignored or forgotten. Sex happens.

The only difference between Britney and all those other girls who break their pledge is the papparazzis follow every move Britney makes.

And girls who grew up with conservative thoughts are just as likely to get horny with a boyfriend when in a room alone. NATURE takes over. Any conservative thought NATURALLY goes out the window when NATURE takes over. However, the conservative girl isn't mentally prepared for it all to happen because all the lectures of "sex being bad". So she isn't likely thinking of contraception when things get hot, because she hasn't mentally prepared for that moment. Meanwhile, the more liberal girl probably thought through the whole thing many times before the moment even happens. So that girl is mentally prepared to bring up contraception when the moment gets hot.

So the best way to get kids prepared for THAT MOMENT is to (gasp) talk about the (gasp) existence of contraceptions. Just like we give shoulder pads and helmets to kids playing tackle football, we give contraceptions to the even greater number of kids who sooner or later, will have that moment where nature takes over and sex begin. It will happen regardless of how much conservative correctness the kids have heard throughout their lives.

Blank Slates?

An email from a friend

I wish more parents understood what you do, particularly about children having their own personalities that must be respected. Too many parents assume that their kids are soulless blank slates that just move around a lot, which should be molded and manipulated into something that not only do they not want to be, but would not even benefit from being.

AMEN!

Just as one of my older brother's two daughters just demonstrated by their behavior. One was born in 2003, the other in 2004. Yet the younger one cries a lot more often, the older one being a lot more playful. Yet both are the same gender, have the same exact parents, and are only a year apart.

People are born with personalities. Some are born to be more active, some are born to be more reserved.

And seemingly, in the case of a former friend from high school, some are born to be excessive complainers!

Yes, the social environment does play a role. But it's not the end-all, be-all of everything. As my nieces grow and grow, they'll most likely live with the same parents and in the same neighborhood, and likely go to the same schools. Yet, they'll probably have different interests, different friends, and end up working in different occupations.

As in my case, my father and my brother (my nieces' father) are both working in occupations that involve a lot of mechanical work. My dad works construction, my brother works as an auto mechanic. Though I spent my pre-adult years living with them, I NEVER want to work as a mechanic or a construction worker. Those jobs have NEVER interested me. I never took a mechanics class, nor was I ever interested in taking them.

So it's safe to say, that it is an inborn trait in me to not like mechanical work. It's not my personality.

It's probably not hereditary, it's probably more a chance of luck. Chances are, if my parents did the wild thing a month later in both cases, it'll be my older brother being the non-mechanic and me being the mechanic. Maybe.

Or maybe it's God putting my brother on earth for mechanical purposes, me for other purposes.

My letters on naivete

In a recent edition of the Honolulu Star Bulletin, there has been some mega-naive letters written.

Here's a sample

http://starbulletin.com/2004/12/26/editorial/indexletters.html

And here's my response to those lame letters

Two letters in the 12/23/04 edition of Star Bulletin expressed wishful thinking at it's worst.

The first letter, by Paul M. Gundlach, said that high-rise buildings should be banned because people have died falling off the lanais of those buildings. Nevermind that those in single family homes are more vulnerable to flood damage (and flood drowning) than those living on the 20th floor of a high rise. And let's not forget that high-rises are there because we dont have enough room to give everyone single family houses, nor can everyone afford it.

The second letter by Wilbert W.W. Wong, said that a one-world government will bring world peace. In reality, a one-nation government can't even stop gang warfare, so how is a world government going to stop tribal warfare? And Wilbert Wong says that a world government can by led by "highly principled leaders possessing high intelligence, common sense and humility." More likely, a world government would be lead by a corrupt person possessing excessive arrogance. If you thought Hitler or Stalin were scary ruling one nation, just imagine someone like them ruling the world!

The Star Bulletin only printed my response to the 2nd letter, which is reprinted at

http://starbulletin.com/2004/12/26/editorial/letters.html

Movie & Music Review

Finally, an article that tells the truth about film critics

http://home.frontiernet.net/newsdetail.asp?cat=1&id=2168

and some excerpts

Critics of critics say professional reviewers have snooty tastes, applying the same criteria to an Eddie Murphy comedy or Vin Diesel bust-'em-up as they would to a Kurosawa or Fellini film.

AND

"You can't take a movie which is designed to be an action-adventure film and have it critically reviewed by somebody who's interested in independent, intense, dark, in-depth character portrayals like `Taxi Driver,'" said Nicolas Cage, whose adventure film "National Treasure" opens just before Thanksgiving.

Unfortunately, the same phenomenon occurs amongst music critics. All those alternative indie-rock loving critics are given full power to comment on genres like teen pop. Who the fuck are those indie-rock lovers to even comment on teen pop or other music genres?

The magazines, newspapers, etc should just have the alternative indie-rock lovers to review alternative indie-rock, reggae lovers to review reggae records and (sarcastic gasp) teen pop music lovers to cover teen pop.


Let's also remember that most film/music critics are hippies from Berkeley, Greenwich Village NY, Madison, and other hippie-town and they don't relate to the average American. Magazines need to start recruiting late teens/young adults who are into the non-hippie trends to respectfully review the pop scene. There has got to be some in that crowd that can write.

My Christmas

My Christmas vacation started off good with the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve, with Hawaii defeating Alabama-Birmingham 59-40. If you're not into football, try learn about it and watch some games. The game is more complicated than soccer or basketball, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes fun.

Then on Christmas, I visited some relatives. One of the visiting relatives was my cousin Don from Waianae, who was fighting in Iraq. Earlier this year, his arm was shot. Now, he has to wear a brace for his elbow.I was talking to Don about his experiences in the military, boot camp, his travels to Atlanta & New Orleans, the time he was in South Korea and his time fighting in Iraq. I now consider Don Wegesend one of my heroes.

I was also talking to Don's father, "Uncle Puddy" who was once in the military and is now a bishop in the Church of Jesus Christ & Latter Day Saints (aka Mormon Church). I also got some "dont give up advice" from my uncle Warren, which was great since that motivates me to work on my goal in the music industry.

As for presents, I got some gift cards from my parents and my brother & his wife. I'll go on a shopping spree, mostly to buy clothes. I now need to buy some professional-looking clothing now that I'm out of college.

I Graduated

Earlier this morning, I have graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

If you've never been to a UHM graduation, you gotta go to at least one. There is the Hawaiian oli chant in the beginning, the usual national and state anthems, and speeches. And it ends with the UH Alma Mater and the graduates walk to the athletic fields to recieve leis from family.

Baseball legend Tommy Lasorda was the speaker at our graduation. It was a relief to hear non-political rants at a UH graduation ceremony. Lasorda was funny and inspirational, though he spoke louder than neccessary.

I took a lot of pictures, though I didn't get a chance to take pictures of everyone I knew there.

Now I'll have to enter the real world. I'm going to miss school now, though I wont miss the exams. I'm going to miss all the good people I've met and all the fun memories I had.

My Graduation tomorrow

Tomorrow (Sunday, December 19,2004) I will be graduating from the University of Hawaii at Manoa with a bachelor's degree in sociology.

I'll have to change the words on the top of my blog.

I'm glad to accomplish my childhood dream of graduating from UHM.

I'll be glad to not have to put with studying for exams for now. More free time.

However, I'll have to enter the real world and be economically self-sufficient. Scary stuff for me. Especially with me having my own apartment, one bad move, I can be homeless.

But forget that gloom & doom nonsense, I'll be more independent, and I could possibly make more money that I ever had sometime in the near future.

I'll be job hunting , while still working on my rap career.

See you tomorrow :)

The passing of musicians

1) It's been more than a month since Ol Dirty Bastard passed away. I was too busy to post a comment on the blog. He was a funny guy!

I'll always remember the remix he did with Mariah Carey's "Fantasy", though it was the original version of that song had the better beat.

And the Grammy awards in 1998 when he ran on stage upset that his group Wu-Tang Clan didn't win. He said he wasn't against Puffy, just that he wanted his group to win.

2) Dimebag Darell, formerly the guitarist of Pantera, then Damageplan was shot to death a few days ago.

I remembered from 1992, when my older brother introduced me to Pantera! They were one of the greatest and under-rated heavy metal bands in the 1990's. However, MTV was too chicken-shit to play their videos while playing over-rated crap from over-rated alternative bands. MTV was also too-chicken shit to play stuff from Sepultura (a Brazilian metal band) and Biohazard (an NY rap-metal band who talked about the dangers of the NY streets).

If you dont know much about Pantera's music, I suggest you get their greatest hits CD. You get to know classic stuff from Pantera.

Talent Show

Last night I was performing the song "I Like That" by Houston, Chingy, Nate Dogg and I-20. I was good at memorizing the words and did a few funky dances.

That was my last talent show as a UH student. Now I must look for other forums to perform.

Unlike last year, however, this time around I didn't win any awards.

My last editorial on the Ka Leo

My last editorial on the Ka Leo

I will be graduating from the University of Hawaii at Manoa on December 19, 2004, which is 9 days from now.

And here is my good-bye editorial. I could make a big book about my experiences at UH, but I only have so much space to write about it in an editorial. Plus, I wanted to say a few things I didn't get a chance to write about in previous editorial.

So here is my LAST Ka Leo editorial (unless I come back for graduate school years later)

http://www.kaleo.org/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/12/09/41b805cd8ad34?in_archive=1

Goodbye UH Manoa, oh how I've learned so much
Pablo Wegesend
Ka Leo Staff Columnist
December 09, 2004
This will be my last editorial in Ka Leo. I will be graduating this semester after five and a half years at this campus. I started attending UH in fall 1999. Back then, the world was different. We were still in the previous millennium. Ben Cayetano was the governor, Bill Clinton was the President and 9/11 hadn't occurred yet. The June Jones era was just getting started.

As the world changed, I also changed. Before coming to this university, I was very unfamiliar with the Internet. I even told a friend in high school that I didn't care about the Internet. Now, I'm using the Internet everyday. In fact, I use the Internet a lot more often than I watch TV. This came about because the computer labs on this campus gave me an opportunity to explore. Some new friends also told me what Web sites to check out that got me hooked to the Web.

Before coming to this university, it never occurred to me that I would be writing editorials. I didn't even read that many editorials before coming to UH. However, reading Ka Leo editorials inspired me to write Ka Leo editorials myself. Since spring 2000, I've been an editorial writer for Ka Leo. Of course, I always wish I had more time to write more editorials.

This university exposed me to different types of people. A recent editorial in the "Star Bulletin" said that local kids should attend mainland college to meet people who are different. That editorial implies that all people in Hawai'i are the same.

My experience at McKinley High School and at UH tells me that's not true! McKinley High School, located near Ala Moana Shopping Center, is probably one of the least "local" high schools in Hawai'i. Most students fall into either one or both categories; 1) immigrants and/or 2) residents of low income communities.

Most of the boys at my high school listened to gangsta rap, hardly anyone ever listened to Jawaiian (Hawaiian reggae) music. Most dressed like South Central LA gangstas rather than local boy surfers. While some speak pidgin like the rest of Hawai'i, most either spoke a foreign language or talked as if they're from South Central Los Angeles.

When I entered this university, I met people from other parts of Hawai'i. They are very different from those who went to McKinley. In my first year at UH, I met a few people from the neighbor islands (one was my roommate), and they indirectly exposed me to Jawaiian music that most of my high school classmates ignored. Before I never owned any local CDs. Now I have a small collection of Jawaiian CDs.

Not only are Honolulu kids different from neighbor islanders, they're also different from those from suburban O'ahu. Suburban O'ahu students grew up with a lot more luxury than I did, which is why I had to laugh when some of those students complained about "being poor" or that the "dorms look like a ghetto." I also had to laugh when they said that urban Honolulu is "too crowded." How many people from Shanghai or Calcutta would ever say that?

Also, at this university, it is the first time I've been around a large number of white people. (I know that some of you from the mainland will laugh at what I just said.) Some white mainlanders said that being in this university was the first time they've ever been in the minority. However, in my high school, only 1 percent of the students were white. Never did I see an all-white clique in my high school because there weren't enough white people to make up a clique.

So it was a culture shock when I met some white people at the university who came from Oregon or Washington. Before meeting them, I didn't know anyone my age who had hippie-ish hair. Nor did I knew anyone who faithfully listened to the Dave Matthew Band or the ladies of Lilith Fair tours. But now, I work alongside such people at my job at the Marine Option Program.

But regardless of the differences, we all shared this university. I could go on and on about the adventures I had at this university - the sports events, talent shows, the freshmen seminars, the funny moments in class, the amazing things I learned, the sit-downs by the fishponds, leaving the campus late after hours in the library or the computer lab, the walk-around in the dorms that got one RA suspicious, reading the interesting magazines at Hamilton, the Entrepreneurship Club, the professor strike, riding the campus shuttle, etc.

Goodbye to the University of Hawai'i at Manoa! I will miss you.
P.S.: Keep the weight room at Stan Sheriff open longer on the weekends. Please get the professors to stop being so biased! And remember my suggestion for more one-person dorm rooms.

Of course I should've mentioned that at the beginning of my college career, that Ken Mortimer was UH President, Hugh Yoshida was UH athletic director, but I forgot about that when typing the editorial

Violence against Violence OK

Here is my latest editorial on Ka Leo.

It has some re-hashes from stuff I said from earlier blog posts

And in the new web version of the editorial, they took out a idiotic, hideous line that appeared on the print version. I didn't even write that line, a copy editor added it in. Anyways, that line no longer exists in the web version and a correction will be printed in Ka Leo soon.

Anyways, here's the editorial


http://www.kaleo.org/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/12/06/41b3c7837cd0e

Violence against violence OK
By Pablo Wegesend
December 06, 2004

There are times when violence is wrong. It is wrong to attack someone just to people's possessions. It is wrong to use force on others just to get sexual satisfaction. It is wrong to attack someone based on race, gender, sexual orientation or religion.

But there are also times when violence is necessary.

Statements like that, however, are considered blasphemy by some in our university. Two events, one in Hawai'i, another in Iraq, illustrate the occasional necessity of violence.
First, let's go over the incident in Iraq.

In Fallujah, a U.S. Marine killed a wounded Islamic militant who appeared to be unarmed because there was no gun in his hand. Because of that one fact alone, there has been outrage directed toward that U.S. Marine.

That outrage is misdirected -- for one thing, this incident happened in the Middle East, where Islamic militants don't hesitate to blow themselves up! That Islamic militant probably had an explosive device hiding under his clothing.

How would the U.S. Marine know if that's the case? The Marine would have to go very close to that Islamic militant to find out. Once that happens, chances are very high that the Islamic militant would've blown himself up and killed the U.S. Marine in the process. That could've happened if the U.S. Marine gave first aid or arrested that Islamic militant.

Under those circumstances, most people would've shot and killed that Fallujah terrorist! I would -- it's my life or his! Or at least, his life or me coming home being a medical burden on my family and society.

Some would call that "racist" or "anti-Arab." Those who would say that don't realize that those Islamic militants don't just brutalize Americans. They brutalized Arabs more often than anyone else.

Let's not forget that Islamic militants blew up a Christian church attended by native Iraqis. Let's not forget that ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his sons severely brutalized and killed thousands of Arabs and Kurds.

These Islamic militants aren't nice to their own people.

Closer to home, there's another incident where necessary violence occurred.

On Sept. 6, a Kahuku farmer, Khamxath Baccam, shot and killed an intruder who was stealing crops and equipment. The intruder, Marcelino Pacheco, was a known crystal methamphetamine user. So what would we expect Baccam to do with someone intruding on his property?

He could plead all night long with the intruder, trying to reason with him to leave. But anyone living in reality knows that won't work. And you wouldn't want to get near someone who is intruding on your property. Chances are, as in the case described, the intruder is on crystal meth and is capable of violence.

You might say "Call the police!" However, in a rural community like Kahuku, it'll take forever for the police to arrive.

So chances are, if Baccam didn't shoot the intruder, he would've been slashed to death by the time the police arrive. Criminals know that.

Would you take that chance? Would you know if the intruder is on crystal meth and carrying a hidden weapon? You wouldn't know until the intruder attacks with fast, violent rage.

Some might say, "How dare you stereotype someone who is intruding on your property!" Excuse me, if that person has no moral qualms about intruding on others' property, what makes you think he would have any moral qualms about slashing your face, stabbing your kidneys, or killing you?

Baccam says he feels bad about killing the intruder. But he also understands that in the real world there might be situations where you have to protect yourself with deadly force.
However, too many people have been sheltered from that reality, which is why some of them say, "Just give the robbers what they want and you won't get hurt." Nonsense!

Remember, it's not Vice President Dick Cheney or Massachusets Sen. John Kerry getting robbed on the streets. Criminals know that those people are well protected. It is the average person that has one percent of the money Cheney or Kerry have who is getting robbed on the streets.

That fact alone shows you that it's not about the possessions that common people have, it's about their vulnerability.

I remember a former coworker told me that when he was in middle school, he would threaten other kids for money. He did that even though he had more than enough money in his pockets to buy himself snacks and soda at 7-11. He did that because he thought it was fun.

Money wasn't his motive, bullying others for fun was his motive.

Does any thinking person think that kid would rob rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight or actor "The Rock," both of whom have way more money than most robbery victims? No way! Knight or "The Rock" would've given that kid a severe beat down!

That former coworker agreed with me when I mentioned that you can't reason with thieves, muggers, rapists, or other criminals. Those violent criminals think that reasoning is for sissies. The only language they understand is fear and violence.

So when a group of violent thugs steps up to you, it's either 1) run and hope they don't catch up, 2) knock them out, or 3) point a pistol in their face.

It doesn't matter if you don't like those options. You can be politically correct all you want. But muggers, rapists, burglars and terrorists never were, aren't and never will be politically correct.

Passing of Arafat

I thought back in 1993, with the famous handshake between Yitzak Rabin and Arafat, with Bill Clinton in the background, that Arafat was changing his ways and becoming a man of peace. It got me optimistic.

Until I learned later that Arafat has rejected peace deals that could've been a roadway to a Palestinian state. I also learned that Arafat rules over the Palestinians with an iron fist. So much for Arafat being a great man.

But anyways, I really hope that one day Palestinians and Israelis can live in peace, where Israelis dont have to be worried about suicide/homicide bombings and Palestinians dont have to worry about being racially profilled by Israeli authorities.

Electoral Threats

On Monday, November 1, classes at UH were cancelled, and I assumed there would be no Ka Leo that day. Few days later, I found an issue of Ka Leo that day.In it, there was an article about ex-UH football player Craig Stutzmann who ran a "say nothing" campaign for State House.


http://www.kaleo.org/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/11/01/4185e74362021?in_archive=1


A telling excerpt was this

Reports say he has been threatened by a high profile supporter of the Democratic Party and told he should not challenge Saiki.Stutzmann told the Hawai'i Reporter on Oct. 15, that he received a phone call from a prominent businessman, who told him that running for the Republican Party would not be "good for his career."

It makes me ashamed that I didn't read the Hawaii Reporter as often as I should.here's the Hawaii Reporter article

http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?f9c485a0-ca4c-41b3-858b-615a0d9fc210

But what is a shame is that Stutzmann didn't stand his ground! This is a guy who isn't scared to be tackled on the football field, so one would assume that he wouldn't let threats stop his campaign for office!

Do I regret voting against Stutzmann? The better question would be - should I vote for someone who said nothing and didn't even stand his ground? That is worse than Kerry's flip-flops!

Stuttzmann should've made the news of the alleged threats public a lot earlier. People would've joined his side, knowing that he once made big plays for UH against big-time rivals BYU and Fresno State!

Mayor Mufi

My prefered candidate, Mufi Hanneman will be the next mayor of Honolulu.

If I'm not mistaken, he will be the 1st Polynesian mayor of Honolulu. That should give hope to many Polynesian youth, to know they can go beyond negative stereotypes and accomplish great things.

Bush WON

Though I voted for a minor candidate (Badnarik), I do feel a smile on my face when I think of the reactions of folks like Tobin Jones! Hey Tobin, you can't blame me again!

Kerry accepted the loss like a man, unlike Gore who kept demanding recounts in 3 counties of Florida that favored him.

It seems that most blue (Democrat) states remained blue, most red states (Republican) remained red! NY Times already had an article about NY residents dissing the red states. The regional rivalry will get heated all over again!

Hopefully, the draft scares are BS. But only time will tell!

I voted today

At 9:45 am I filled out the ballots at Kuhio Elementary School.

This is who I voted for

President : Micheal Badnarik (Libertarian)- this was one of the toughest decisions I had to ever make! Though Bush did some good things as President (something the Radical Left would get mad at me for saying), and it isn't easy to vote against that, I had to do what I had to do. I sincerely hope all the draft scares turn out to be total BS, but I can't be certain at all! For self-protection, i chose Badnarik, even though some of his statements are loony. But only time will tell if the post-election secret draft plans are even true.


As for John Kerry, I cant trust a guy who is inconsistent throughout the campaign on multiple issues. Is he going to flip-flop on the draft too?

US Senate Hawaii: Jeff Mallan (Libertarian) I struggled with this one because in one of the local newspapers, Mallan's profile was missing, while it showcased arrogant pork-king Dan Inouye (D), morality fascist only motivated by same sex marriage and abortion - Cam Cavasso (R) and mega-left liberal Jim Brewer (Independent). Luckily the other local paper had his profile, so I chose Mallan

US House - Hawaii District 1 : Dalton Tanonaka (Republican) Tanonaka ran for Lt. Gov. but lost to current Lt. Gov Duke Aiona in the primary 2 years ago. I liked Tanonaka's economic expertise, and his moderate image. I also liked it when he slammed incumbent Neil Abercombie (D) for even bringing up the draft proposal in Congress (along with NY Dem Charles Rangel)! Abercombie is always friendly when replying to my e-letters to Congress even when I dont agree with his views. So in a way, I do feel a bit bad voting against him, but this is politics so I vote on who I think who will be a better Representative. Tanonaka was on the ballot, so I chose him,
The race also had Libertarian Allysa Young, a former stripper. Of course, that got my attention! But I found out that she declared she was going to leave the US for good after the election, so I decided not to vote for her. Plus, Tanonaka was on the ballot, and it was someone I could be satisfied with for now.

State House -District 22 - Scott Saiki (Democrat) I know, you all heard me criticize Hawaii Democrats. I stand by those criticisms. But Saiki's opponent Craig Stutzman (R) had said ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in this campaign. He refused to answer ANY questions from the media. He sent no fliers. He doesn't seem to take this election seriously! I had him in my Journalism class at UH, and he was SILENT when the topics was politics. However, that silence was non-existent when the topic was sports. (side note: Stutzman was UH football player) Though I do appreciate all the catches Stutzman made in UH games against BYU and Fresno State, this election isn't about football! If Stuttzman even made an effort to say something in this campaign, chances are, I would've voted for him! Meanwhile, I'll keep a close eye on what Saiki is doing as a legislator.

Honolulu Mayor : Mufi Hanneman This was a non-partisan race between two long time Democrats, Hanneman and Duke Bainum. I voted for Mufi ( as everyone calls him) because of his opposition to the idiotic BRT system, the endorsements by state senator Sam Slom (king of pro-capitalist advocates) and the interesting idea to have a ferry for workers to commute from Waianae to Honolulu. Anyone who can get the endorsement of Sam Slom and still get a lot of support from low income communities (including my former home in Kalihi) is definitely someone I will support.

Board of Ed. (at large- can vote up to 3)Lei Ahu Isa, Darwin Ching, Guy Kaulukukui - Isa once repped my former district as a Democrat, but later defected to the Republican Party and support more local control of schools. Guy Kaulukukui and Darwin Cing said that "one size cant fit all" meaning what schools might work for one person, another person might benefit more from a different school. That should but hasn't been acknowledged by many people! Kaulukukui even wants to do away with district requirements to attend certain schools, AMEN for that!

Board of Ed. (Honolulu) Keith Sakata - not a far-right case like his opponent Denise Matsumoto who once proposed teaching of creationism in PUBLIC schools.

State Constitutional Amendments

I voted for 1,2 and 3 because 1 allowed convictions for each separate case of sexual assault of repeated assaults by the same person. 2 allows the public to be informed of sex offenders living nearby, and 3 protects confidentiality of rape victims.I voted against 4 because I dont want to be in a situation where I am accused of something and not know what the accuser looks like before the trial begins. It could be just someone you passed by at the mall that's made an accusation, and you wouldn't know who that was before the trial begins.

I'll talk about OHA and city charter amendments some other time.

Election Update

When I wrote that Ka Leo editorial (10/27/04),

http://www.kaleo.org/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/10/27/417f50257bbbd?in_archive=1


I wrote that the 3rd party candidates inclued Micheal Badnarik (Libertarian) David Cobb (Green), RalphNader (independent) and Micehal Peroutka (Constitutional)

But in Hawaii, only Badnarik, Cobb as well as Bush and Kerry would be on the ballot!

And I also wrote that Ventura said he wouldn't vote for either Kerry or Bush! He did say that! However, weeks later, Ventura said he prefers Kerry!

I'll vote Badnarik (Libertarian) tommorrow for President, even though I dont agree with his agenda 100%. But check out his webpage http://badnarik.org/

Though I did agree with Bush in getting rid of Saddam, and criticized the Left for their loony comments on this issue, I want to protect myself from a possible draft! Both Bush and Kerry promised not to have a draft! But one guy's dad said "read my lips", the other guy is even more well-known as a flip-flopper!

Plus on domestic issues, I tend to agree more with Badnarik than with Bush or Kerry!As I 've mentioned in my editorial

http://www.kaleo.org/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/10/27/417f50257bbbd?in_archive=1

The Libertarian Party has Michael Badnarik. He is antiwar, wants to privatize many government services, wants to legalize marijuana, and wants a bigger tax reduction than Bush. He believes the federal government should stay out of the abortion and gay marriage issues.Republicans fear that the Libertarians take away potential voters worried about taxes, gun control and government bureaucracies. But the libertarians also out-liberalize the Democrats on the military draft, drug legalization and opposition to the Patriot Act.

AND

In my opinion, the best minor candidate is the already-mentioned Michael Badnarik of the Libertarian Party. I agree with him on medical marijuana, abortion, same-sex marriage, guns and the draft. I hope he takes a gradual approach to privatizing certain government services. Going too fast on that can be a disaster;

The "privatize everything now" approach, will only lead to a mega-strong anti-privatization backlash! If privatization is done slowly, the anti-privatization opposition wouldn't be as strong! But MORE IMPORTANTLY, it gives the people time to adjust to privatization of services.

UH Classes Cancelled

The last 24 hours have been mind boggling.

I decided to visit Centerfolds in my Halloween make-up (as Vili The Warrior), then I left because I thought school would be in session the next day.

Then this morning I woke up later than usual (6:30 instead of 5:45) then i got a phone call from a friend saying classes are cancelled. I was only up 10 minutes when that call came, so I turned on the radio. UH classes are cancelled.

And though I didn't yet read the newspapers, I saw a picture of Hamilton being damaged! BAD!

Third party candidates

Back on Ka Leo
After so long, my stuff is finally printed on Ka Leo.

My latest editorial discusses the alternatives to voting Bush or Kerry.

http://www.kaleo.org/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/10/27/417f50257bbbd

Third party candidates offer choices
Polarized voting between Kerry and Bush sideline alternative candidates, with help from mass media
Pablo WegesendOctober 27, 2004

By the time you are reading this editorial, all three of the presidential debates for the 2004 election will have finished. Of course, those debates involved only Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry and Republican incumbent President Bush. Because of this, many people get the wrong impression these two are the only two candidates running for president.

There are others running for president.

There is Ralph Nader, who is running as an independent. His claim to fame is his battle with big corporations. He ran for president in 2000 with the Green Party. Nader made many democrats angry because he supposedly took votes away from then Democratic nominee Al Gore.

The current Green Party nominee is David Cobb, another anti-corporate lawyer. Like Nader, Cobb also has a far-left agenda. Cobb and Nader think the Democrats aren't liberal enough on foreign policy, environment, civil liberties and economics.

The Libertarian Party has Michael Badnarik. He is antiwar, wants to privatize many government services, wants to legalize marijuana, and wants a bigger tax reduction than Bush. He believes the federal government should stay out of the abortion and gay marriage issues.
Republicans fear that the Libertarians take away potential voters worried about taxes, gun control and government bureaucracies. But the libertarians also out-liberalize the Democrats on the military draft, drug legalization and opposition to the Patriot Act.

The Constitution Party has Michael Peroutka. Peroutka is the far-right alternative to the Republicans. He thinks that Bush is too liberal on the federal deficit and immigration. He also dislikes the Patriot Act and thinks that Bush isn't vocal enough against abortion, homosexuality and secularization of public schools.

We have all these other choices and more; however, the media is next to silent on the so-called "third parties." They pretend they don't exist. They pretend that all of America is totally aligned with either Kerry or Bush. That is impossible in a nation of 280 million.

Yet, there are political pundits who consider undecided voters as "stupid," never mind that many people are conflicted between voting for a lesser-known candidate or voting for the "lesser of two evils." Many, like me, may agree with Bush on certain subjects but agree with Kerry on others. We came to that conclusion through an enormous amount of time spent reading newspapers, searching the Internet and watching the news. Yet these pundits call millions of us "stupid" just because we refuse to totally align ourselves with the two over-publicized candidates? These mega-partisan pundits are acting stupid by implying that one must totally agree with Bush or Kerry.

Those of us who have the nerve to vote for a lesser-known candidate are demonized for wasting our votes. The partisan pundits blame third parties for taking away votes their parties are supposedly entitled to.

In 2000, the Democrats demonized Nader for taking away potential Gore votes. Notice that the pro-democrat pundits didn't even bother to encourage Gore to explain why his ideas are better than Nader's. It's as if they're not even confident in Gore being a better candidate issue-wise. It is ironic that the Democratic Party claims to be for the little man, yet they demonize smaller parties for taking away votes.

The Republicans are also guilty of the same thing. It is ironic that the Republican Party claims to be against the entitlement mentality, yet they criticize the Reform, Libertarian and Constitution parties for "taking away votes" from Republicans. As if Republicans are entitled to power. The republicans claim to be for personal responsibility, but in reality blame others for their loses. The Republicans claim to be for the free market, but they aren't willing to effectively market their ideas.

It is this arrogance of the two big parties plus the media's refusal to cover minor parties that is reducing voter turnout. In 2000, in the United States, only half of those eligible to vote actually voted.

Yet, in 1998, in Minnesota, 70 percent of those eligible actually voted. Why? Because in that year, Jesse Ventura was running for governor of Minnesota. Ventura was neither a Democrat nor a Republican. He was less for government bureaucracy, pro-privatization, pro-choice, and pro-gun. He even took the risky positions of being for legalizing prostitution, marijuana and same-sex marriage. With all that, he was able to defeat the two major parties. Plus, being a former pro-wrestler didn't hurt.

Imagine someone like that running for president. I think someone like that can win the presidency.

As for Ventura, he recently stated he wouldn't vote for Kerry or Bush.

As for me, I like Bush for being tough on Islamic terrorists and being pro-immigration; however, Bush is wrong when using the federal government to restrict abortion, same-sex marriage and medical marijuana.

As for Kerry, I agree with him on abortion, civil unions and being tough on al Qaeda; however, Kerry was too inconsistent on too many issues throughout his campaign.

In my opinion, the best minor candidate is the already-mentioned Michael Badnarik of the Libertarian Party. I agree with him on medical marijuana, abortion, same-sex marriage, guns and the draft. I hope he takes a gradual approach to privatizing certain government services. Going too fast on that can be a disaster; however, he doesn't seem tough enough to take on Islamic terrorists.
Hopefully, someone can reason with me on which candidate to vote for on Nov.2

It's My Birthday! :)

I am 24 years old today!

Now, you all got to give me a present :)

Dam, time goes by so fast, I'm feeling old already. Well, that's how I feel among younger folks, though I feel like a youngster among older adults!

KRS-ONE on 9/11

 

KRS-ONE made some controversial statements on 9/11


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/gossip/story/241962p-207504c.html

KRS-One, decency zero

If Osama Bin Laden ever buys a rap album, he'll probably start with a CD by KRS-One.
The hip-hop anarchist has declared his solidarity with Al Qaeda by asserting that he and other African-Americans "cheered when 9/11 happened."

The rapper, whose real name is Kris Parker, defiled the memory of those who died in the terrorist attacks as he spouted off at a recent New Yorker Festival panel discussion.
"I say that proudly," the Boogie Down Productions founder went on, insisting that, before the attack, security guards kept black people out of the Trade Center "because of the way we talk and dress.

"So when the planes hit the building, we were like, 'Mmmm - justice.'"

The atrocity of 9/11 "doesn't affect us [the hip-hop community]," he said. "9/11 happened to them, not us," he added, explaining that by "them" he meant "the rich ... those who are oppressing us. RCA or BMG, Universal, the radio stations."

Parker's screed drew a loud boo from novelist Tom Kelly, who was in the audience. "I lost six friends there on 9/11," Kelly told us afterward.

Parker also sneered at efforts by other rappers to get young people to vote.
"Voting in a corrupt society adds more corruption," he added. "America has to commit suicide if the world is to be a better place."

Ex-Nirvana rocker Krist Novoselic, who was on the panel, yelled back: "That is wrong, man. Suicide is not the answer."

But, judging by Parker's downward-spiraling career, he's already bent on self-destruction.

My comments: 

Hey, sometimes security piss me off, like that punk at Varsity Theatre I mentioned in this blog last month. But I'm not going to advocate destroying Varsity Theatre when film fans are inside. Why can't KRS-ONE have that mentality?

But then again, like other has-been celebrities, KRS-ONE is taking his popularity decline so hard to the point where he is, well, on path of self-destruction.

And I remember a while back, KRS-ONE dissed Nelly for being "too commercial". Nelly dissed him back! I'm siding with Nelly on this issue.

It's been a while


As of now, I am too busy to update this blog as much as I'd like

And for editorials, I sent in one to Ka Leo, but the editor said it was "too short". And so is he.

Anyways, check out this quote from Billy Bob Thornton.

http://www.salon.com/ent/col/fix/2004/10/05/tues/index.html

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2004461322,00.html

I think Shakespeare's overrated. It's bullshit. I'd never go and see a Shakespeare play," he said, adding that he wasn't inclined to star in one either (not that it's clear that anyone's asked or anything). "Who'd want to see me in 'Hamlet'? Who cares? I don't know why actors do it. Shakespeare is just a bunch of soap operas." And don't go suggesting that the Bard's work is over his head. "It's not that I don't understand it. But people think if you speak with an English accent it somehow makes you smarter," Thornton said. "I don't believe in all the flowery language."

Of course, this would be considered by blasphemy by a lot of literature profs!

But if you like Shakespeare, good for you. Your life, your interests!

Varsity Theatre Drama

 This month, Varsity Theater hosted the Cinema Paradise film festival. I was there to watch   "2pac Ressurrection", a documentary made by Afeni Shakur and MTV Films! It was very interesting to learn about 2pac's life from childhood, his early career, his troubles with the media, the law and the Bad Boy crew (Biggie and Puff), and his death! It showed a lot of 2pac's fun side, with a lot of hoochies coming on to him.

But the real drama was while waiting for the film to start. 

This was what I sent to the 2 local papers. Hopefully one will print it.

On Friday, September 17, the staff at Varsity Theatre was very disorganized. On that day, there was a film festival going on. Films earlier that day started late, which caused delays for those waiting to watch films later that night. Because of those delays, me and others who were waiting for a 10pm film weren't let into the theatres until 10:20. To add insult to injury, I went to use bathroom after finally entering the theatre, and a big burly staff member didn't even let me into screening room until a co-worker told him to let me in.

If this is how Varsity Theatre usually operate, then I'll support any plans to knock that theatre down and replace it with housing for UH students.

A Day to Remember

It was 3 years ago today, when Islamic terrorists slammed airplanes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania!

Take a moment of silence to remember the innocent victims of the attack, to remember those who attempted to rescue those stuck in the buildings, and all those whose loved ones passed away!

Shoot the Crop Thieves

Earlier this week, a farmer in Kahuku shot and killed a crop thief.

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Sep/10/br/br04p.html

He was arrested and recently out on bail! He might go on trial!

I say LET HIM GO ALREADY!

That Kahuku farmer doesn't belong in jail!

That crop thief DESERVES TO BE SHOT AT! That's what he gets for taking things that aren't his! You don't ask for permission and you take, you should get a beat-down or be shot at!

If that Kahuku farmer is found guilty and put in jail - THE CROP THIEVES WIN! They will celebrate by stealing more crops, knowing that the farmers would be reluctant to defend what's rightfully theirs!

But of course, gun control fanatics, and the mega-left don't care about the livelihood of farmers who live FAR from the nearest police station! It doesn't matter to the mega-left that many crop thieves are dangerous psychopaths!

People whine about vigilanteeism! I say Vigilanteeism is NECESSARY! Cops don't arrive on time! Criminals KNOW THAT! By the time cops come, you're already severely injured, raped or even killed!

And peace pansies say "just give the robbers what they want and you wont get hurt" I say BULLSHIT! When someone ask you for your possessions in an aggressive manner, it has NOTHING to do with getting your possessions! The robbers say "give me your $$$" to see if you're scared! As soon as you show signs of fear, not only they'll take your stuff, they'll beat the living shit of you, even if you gave them your stuff!

Remember, it's not Dick Cheney or John Kerry getting robbed in the streets. Criminals know those people are well protected. It's the common person who has 1% of Cheney's or Kerry's wealth, that get robbed by street thugs! Why? It's not the possessions the common person has, it's the vulnerability the common person has!

I remember my former co-worker told me that during his middle school years, he would step up to some kids and say "give me your $$$, muthafucka"! He said he did that because he thought it was fun! That same guy told me that at the same time he was robbing other kids, he himself had more than enough $$$ in his pockets to buy snacks and soda! Money wasn't his motive, bullying the other kids for fun was his motive! He wouldn't even dare rob The Rock or Suge Knight for $$$, even if both those celebrities he WAY MORE $$$ than the kids he was robbing. Why? Because The Rock or Suge Knight would give him a beat down if he even dared! So he robbed kids are LOT LESS RICH and a LOT MORE VULNERABLE!

You cant reason with thieves, muggers, rapist, etc. Those people think reasoning is for sissies! The only language they know is fear and violence! So if a robber steps up to you, DONT EVER THINK giving him your stuff, pleading for respect, etc would ever work! The only thing you can do is 1) run like hell and hope they wont catch up, 2) knock them out or 3) point a pistol at them! You don't like those options? IT DOESNT MATTER! This is reality, you can't sing "give peace a chance" to someone who is threatening you! Criminals aren't politically correct!

Republican Convention

1) some great comments by Arizona Senator John McCain

Our choice wasn't between a benign status quo and the bloodshed of war. It was between war and a graver threat. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Not our critics abroad. Not our political opponents. And certainly not a disingenuous film maker who would have us believe that Saddam's Iraq was an oasis of peace when in fact it was a place of indescribable cruelty, torture chambers, mass graves and prisons that destroyed the lives of the small children held inside their walls. Whether or not Saddam possessed the terrible weapons he once had and used, freed from international pressure and the threat of military action, he would have acquired them again

.2) Arnold again used the "girlie men" comment in reffering to Democrats. I admit, it was funny to hear Arnold say "dont be economic girlie men". But the feminists do have a point in saying that the "girlie men" comments gives the image that women are weak and therefore, weak men are "girlie men". Maybe next time, Arnold can call his opponents "cowards" and "whiners"!

Bush Saved Iraqi Lives

Of course that title is blasphemy to the Radical Left

Anyways, here are some facts, courtesy of Stuart Hayashi

Saddam Hussein became presdient of Iraq in 1979. His reign ended in 2003. Within that duration -- those 24 years -- Saddam Hussein killed 1,000,000 people. That is worth repeating. Saddam Hussein killed ONE MILLION innocent Iraqis on account of their disagreeing with him. That means that, within those 24 years, Hussein killed an average 41,666 people every year.

And with the invasion

In 2003, Bush had the U.S. military invade Iraq. As a result, an estimated 10,000 Iraqi civilians were killed by accident.

But do you know what would have happened if Bush did not invade Iraq? If Saddam Hussein continued killing Iraqi civilians at the same rate that he did from 1979 to 2003, he would have killed an estimated 41,666 Iraqi civilians in 2004 ON PURPOSE. That is over four times the number of Iraqis whom Bush killed accidentally. And Saddam Hussein would have continued murdering tens of thousands of Iraqis in every succeeding year. And let's not forget that after he died, Saddam would have been replaced by Uday Hussein -- an even bigger reputed sadist and serial rapist -- to kill even more Iraqis.

In 2004 alone, GEORGE W. BUSH STATISTICALLY SAVED THE LIVES OF AN ESTIMATED NET TOTAL OF 31,666 IRAQI CIVILIANS.

My comments: Those facts will be ignored by Bush-hating Radical Lefties, who care more about promoting anti-Americanism than saving Iraqi lives,

Safe Olympics

With the exception of one lunatic trying to tackle the Brazilian marathon runner, and a post-match fist-fight between the wrestlers from Russia and Belarus, this Olympics that ended yesterday has been very peaceful.

No terror act, no bombing, no chemical/biological/nuclear attack!

Olympics 2004

I've been so busy, I haven't had time to comment on the Olympics on this blog!

1)Iranian judo guy refused to compete with an Israeli because of Israel's human rights violations against Palestinians. Hey, Mr Iranian judo guy, look in the mirror! It's Iran that has one of the worst human rights record in the world! You don't see the USA chickening out of competing with China, Iran, Cuba or anyone else

2) Congrats to local boy Brian Clay for his silver medal in the decathlon. He is a Hawaii boy of multi-racial heritage (part black/part Japanese) so the mixed race folks have another athletic role model in addition to Tiger Woods.

3)with the gold medal win, there might be a professional softball league for the women in the USA soon. Though I think they should start small and grow gradually. The Major Leagues didn't get to where they are overnight! The expectation of overnight growth has hurt WNBA and the women's soccer league! They should've started in smaller stadiums, and gradually graduate to bigger stadiums once interest increase.

4) The biggest individual hero of this Olympics might be Michael Phelps the swimmer. He'll be the one with the biggest hype after the Olympics. Will he continue in 2008?

5)The torch will soon go from Athens (the birthplace of the Olympics) to Beijing in 2008. Will Taiwan be playing? Will there a Tibetan athletic hero or will China continue to oppress the Tibetans?

Diseases and Stress

This semester, I am taking a medical sociology class. Today's class, we were going over the history of medical care!

It brought my mind back to an idiotic thing I kept from hearing that anti-immigration fanatic talk show host Mike Savage! Savage blames immigrants from Asia and Latin America for bringing in disease!

But what Savage NEVER addresses is the fact that Europeans brought diseases to the Americas and the Pacific - diseases that ended up killing many natives.

But Savage will ignore all that! To him, diseases are bad only when they kill Euro-Americans. But if they kill non-whites, Mike Savage doesn't give a dam!

Anyways, back to that medical sociology class. The professor said that stress and going through major life changes increases vulnerability to tuberculosis (TB) He mentioned that the Irish immigrants to the US had higher rates of TB than those Irish who remained in Ireland. Same with Asians, Asian immigrants have higher rates of TB than Asians who remain in Asia. Same with Native Americans forced into reservations. The massive lifestyle changes immigrants go through can decrease their immunity to TB!

But Mike Savage will ignore those facts because his anti-immigration hysteria has NOTHING to do with saving anyone from diseases. His anti-immigration hysteria is based on hatred towards non-whites!

Race Card Pimp vs the SATs

Another race card pimp/politically-correct fanatic (Joe Rodriguez) has dumped on the SATs again

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0804/rodriguez1.asp

or

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/columnists/joe_rodriguez/9449551.htm?1c

I sent the following to Joe Rodriguez at jrodriguez@mercurynews.com
============================================================
Joe said:

And it won't make much difference today for students in schools like mine. They don't have as many advanced placement classes or experienced teachers. Nor do they have affluent parents who can pay for expensive SAT preparation courses, as they do at privileged schools. Poor schools that can't teach reading and mathematics aren't going to teach writing any better.

Pablo: I got an 1160 on my SATs (good enough for U of Hawaii) without any expensive SAT prep scores. I just borrowed a few prep materials at a public library for FREE! But asking non-whites (which I am) to go to the public library is considered "racist" by race card pimps like Joe Rodriguez. And poor schools that can't teach? Improve them, DUH! Blaming the SATs is just blaming the truth-teller! And Rodriguez cant handle the truth!

============================================================
Joe said:

Although the test has its roots in the racist eugenics movement of the early 20th century - they thought Jews and African-Americans were inherently dumb and college-incapable - the supporters of scholastic testing doggedly pursued an exam that would measure how much a student had learned in 12 years

Pablo says: Take your race card and shove it! That statement is as stupid as saying that the game of football is racist just because blacks outnumber Latinos and Asians on USC or UCLA football teams. Or calling football racist just because Polynesians outnumber Asians on the U of Hawaii football team! What next? Or we gonna call the game of basketball "racist" just because blacks outnumber Latinos in the LA Lakers?
=====================================================

Joe said
A major flaw of today's SAT is that it's vulnerable to coaching and short-term improvements. How can you trust a test that, for the $800 price of a quickie prep course, can produce a gain of 100 points?

Pablo says:

So what next, do we get rid of sports camps just because it helps some kids get recruited by more college sports programs?

==============================================================
Joe said:

A few years ago, plucky little Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania measured the first-semester grades of freshman with SAT scores of about 1000 against freshmen with 1200 scores or better. The results were virtually identical.

Pablo says: Thomas Sowell data found that those with higher SATs do better in college. He also mentioned that it's true not only in the US, but also in the Phillipines and Indonesia.

============================================================

Joe said:
But the absolute, worst assumption of the SAT is that any young person's potential can be reduced to a number

Pablo says:
young athlete's have their performance reduced to a number ALL THE TIME! (seen the sports page lately?) Sometimes, those numbers can make the difference between getting recruited by a NCAA Division 1 program or being ignored even by Division II programs!
========================================================
Joe said:
It assumes that, after four years of college, a 900-point student from a poor school cannot catch up to or surpass the 1400-point student from a wealthy school.

Pablo says: The politically incorrect reality is that those with low scores can hardly even keep pace, much less surpass those with higher scores. Sowell's research about the Phillipines found that rural Filipinos with low scores dont do well as urban Filipinos with high scores. The rural Filipinos who do as well as high-scoring urban Filipinos are (gasp) high scoring rural Filipinos, not low scoring rural Filipinos. The results are the same in Indonesia.

But race card pimps like Joe Rodriguez will ignore those facts, because his anti-SAT agenda are not based on facts, but on a politically correct religious faith!

Graduation Speakers

Graduation Speakers

My latest editorial on Ka Leo

http://www.kaleo.org/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/08/12/411af58193e96

Commencement speakers should encourage, not rant
By Pablo Wegesend
Ka Leo Staff Columnist
August 12, 2004
love to attend graduation ceremonies.

I love them because they celebrate a happy occasion. The graduates are proud about their recent accomplishments! Their families and friends are proud!

I love to attend graduation ceremonies, because I get a chance to say goodbye to someone I might not see again for a while.

I love graduation ceremonies because they promote school pride for its new alumni, old alumni, current students and future students in attendance.

I love graduation ceremonies because sometimes in the audience I see someone who I haven't seen in a long time.

However, there is a negative trend at college graduation ceremonies. That trend is having guest speakers talking about things which are off-topic.

You see, graduation ceremonies are supposed to be about praising the new graduates and giving them some advice for the future. But what some past UH graduation guest speakers have done is talk about topics unrelated to graduation.

In the most recent graduation ceremony--Spring 2004, the guest speakers spent a minute or two denouncing America's "arrogant foreign policy".

In a graduation ceremony last year, a guest speaker criticized the military use of Hawai'i lands for training. And in another ceremony, a guest speaker criticized the "with us or against us" rhetoric of the Bush Administration.

And President Bush himself talked in some mainland universities about his faith-based programs, economic policy and the war on Iraq.

Graduation ceremonies are NOT times to talk about foreign policy, military policy, economic policy or anything else political. Want to talk about politics or foreign policy? Do it somewhere else!

So those political rants were only for a minute or two. I say that's a few minutes too long. There should ZERO political rants. Not for one second.

Some say that politics and foreign policy are too important to ignore at graduation ceremonies. Nonsense.

What else is next? Spend time in political science talking about auto mechanics? Talk about agriculture during an accounting class? Or discuss ocean ecology in fashion design?

Do you want your waiter to talk about abortion policy? No, you want the waiter to get your food and drinks. The waiter's view on abortion is irrelevant when I'm waiting for my food. Do you want the firefighters to talk about the war on Iraq when your house is burning? No, you want them to put an end to the fire. I could care less about their views on the war on Iraq, as long as my home is saved from the fire.

So, my take on political rants during graduation speeches has nothing to do with importance. It has to do with appropriateness. And while politics, agriculture, ecology, auto mechanics, foreign policy and birth control are important, discussions about them should take place in the appropriate forum.

Asian-Polynesian relations
Today, my latest editorial has been posted on www.hawaiireporter.com on the ignored conflict between immigrant Asians and Polynesians at many Honolulu high schools.

If you have any comments, please dont hesitate to contact me at madtiger99@yahoo.com

http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?288cd50e-90e7-4f02-a858-413e44584dfa

The Ignored Inter-Racial Conflict
A Fresh Perspective - Aug. 6, 2004
By Pablo Wegesend, 8/6/2004 1:41:11 AM
Whenever there is a discussion about race relations in Hawaii, it is about either 1) Hawaii as a melting pot, where every gets along and inter-racial marriages are common, 2) the white landowners stole Native Hawaiian land and later exploited Japanese and Filipino plantation workers or 3) Caucasians getting harassed, mocked, bullied and even assaulted by Native Hawaiians.

But there is a rarely discussed inter-racial conflict in Hawaii. It is the conflict between immigrant Asians and Polynesians.

This has greater significance in Honolulu schools than non-Honolulu schools.
You see, in most of Hawaii, most Asians are local and have adapted to local culture. In suburban Oahu and in the Neighbor Islands, a lot of Asians and Native Hawaiians speak pidgin, wear surf shorts, tank tops, and love the beach. They share a common local culture.

I ask my fellow UH students who come from suburban/rural Oahu and the Neighbor Islands about ethnic relations at their high school, they told me everyone gets along.
In many Honolulu high schools, however, things are different. At McKinley High School (my alma mater) as well as Farrington, and Kaimuki, a large portion of Asians there are recent immigrants from Vietnam, Philippines, China and Korea. Also in those schools are recent immigrants from Micronesia as well Samoans and Tongans, many of whom are living in public housing like Kuhio Park Terrace, Mayor Wright Housing Palolo Valley Housing, Kalihi Valley Housing, etc.

In the 1990s', there were fights between Filipinos and Samoans at Farrington High School, and fights between Vietnamese and Samoans at McKinley. The specific incidents that started the fight, I don't know.

But I have witnessed other evidence of this racial conflict. Being that I'm neither Asian nor Polynesian, I get to hear what Asians think of Polynesians and vice versa.
When riding the School Street bus, I heard some Polynesian kids from public housing mocking the Filipino and Chinese languages. There were elderly Asian people in those buses who ignored the mockery.

I heard Asians from my high school express hatred of Polynesians. They said they were bullied by Polynesian kids. They made racist jokes about Polynesian culture. They view Polynesians as ignorant bullies. Most of the Asians expressing these thoughts were either immigrants or from immigrant families.

This is a very serious issue that can lead to bigger conflicts if they are not addressed. Yet it is almost never discussed in the major newspapers, nor are they widely discussed in academic circles. 

I am assuming that most in the mainstream Hawaii media are clueless on this issue. After all, there do not seem to be many Vietnamese, Micronesians, Samoans, Tongans or immigrant Filipinos working in the local newspapers. It seems that most of the people in the local media are either 1) Caucasians from the mainland, 2)Local Caucasians from middle class areas like Hawaii Kai or Kailua or 3) local Asians from suburban Oahu! Most likely, they went to private school. If they went to public school, it's probably not McKinley, Farrington or Kaimuki.

With those circumstances, it's likely that the media people have not witnessed any race conflicts that I have been discussing, and therefore is not something on their mind.

As for academia, in the one ethnic studies course I took at UH, NOTHING was mentioned about conflicts between Polynesians and immigrant Asians! Same with that one sociology course on ethnicity. All that those classes discussed were the hardships Native Americans, African Americans, Latinos, Asians and Hawaiians faced from the White Man!

Nothing about how much people from those groups accomplish! Nothing about European immigrants. Almost nothing about blacks looting Korean stores in the LA riots, and NOTHING about Samoans fighting with immigrant Asians in Hawaii! Too many professors teach ethnic relations courses with the assumption that the only race conflict worth analyzing is white persecution of the non-white. They forget that their job is to look at the whole picture.

It is time for all, including professors and news people, to address the facts and the truth.

Check out

http://www.grassrootinstitute.org/

www.hawaiireporter.com

The Conventions

The last week's Democrat Convention had it's moments, with John Kerry's speech (all about his military service, and very little about his ultra-liberal voting record) and Barak Obama's moderate speech calling for unity.

Some say that the Democrats are making themselves look more moderate than they really during the convention.

The Republicans will do the same in their convention. They'll have famous moderates like Arnold (the Terminator and Cali governor), Rudy Guliani and NY gov George Pataki on prime time but not radical right wingers like Tom DeLay, Rick Santorium and Jerry Falwell!

Neither of the major parties wants to show it's more extremist side now that they'll need the centrist voters to bring them victory!

News from Iraq

The bombing of Iraqi Christian churches by Radical Muslims prove that the Radical Islams aren't just against Israel and the US (which is what the Euro-lefties want you to think) but also willing to terrorize Third World non-whites NON-MUSLIMS as well. It's all about Islamic World Order! Anyone who doesn't go along with it (white, non-white, rich, poor, etc) will be killed!