My conflict with a Jeremiah Wright wannabe

The news about Jeremiah Wright got some special attention from me because his rants remind me of another Radical Leftist of African-American ancestry that I once knew at UH! That Radical Leftist's name is Tobin Jones!

Back in 2000, though I casted my 1st presidential vote for Harry Browne (Libertarian), I was also annoyed by Al Gore during the Florida recounts! Al Gore only wanted recounts in counties that favored him! So I wrote an editorial on Ka Leo expressing my irritation at  Al Gore!

That's when Tobin Jones started writing nasty letters against me, accusing me of being a "right-wing conservative".

NEVER IN MY LIFE did I ever agreed with right-wing Republicans on issues like abortion or sex ed! By the time I was in college, I also started to support legalizing prostitution, medical marijuana, and same-sex marriage!

And on immigration, I side with George W Bush and John McCain against Pat Buchanan, Tom Tancredo, and Ann Coulter!

Yet, because I was irritated by Al Gore's calling for recounts in only in counties that favored him, and I was later irritated by the Blame-America-First fanaticism of the Radical Left @ UH, as well as professors that indoctrinate their students on the latest leftist rants of the day, Jones wrote hateful letters about me to Ka Leo, falsely accusing me of being a neo-Confederate sympathizing right winger!

Anyways, I wrote an editorial about America being a great country on Ka Leo, published November 1, 2001

http://media.www.kaleo.org/media/storage/paper872/news/2001/11/01/Editorials/U.s-Not.Best.But.Better-2806056.shtml

Here is Tobin Jone's silly rant
http://media.www.kaleo.org/media/storage/paper872/news/2001/11/05/Editorials/Letters.To.The.Editor.11.05.01-2806085.shtml

And this is what I sent to Ka Leo, in response to Tobin Jones's nonsense. It wasn't printed on Ka Leo, but screw it, I'm posting it right now!

Too many pessimists, too little time.

In response to my article praising America, communications major Tobin Jones replied back with nothing but negatives as if the negatives of America automatically erase all the positives of America.

It is unfortunate that many who had the good fortune of being born in America have nothing but hateful things to say about it.

For example, Mr. Jones said "Wegesend seems to forget that there were times when speaking out against the government landed people in jail." Mr. Jones, did the US government put Trask, Susan Hippenstelle, Lance Collins, Chris Johns and other anti-war activist in jail since 9/11? Will you ever criticize the governments of Cuba, China, Afghanistan, Iraq and Lybia (all countries I mentioned the last time) for putting critics in jail?

Mr. Jones then said "I was quite impressed also with how Wegesend singled out non-European countries as places where freedom doesnt exist", then he went on to talk about Hitler. Excuse Mr. Jones, but I was talking about America today, not Europe 60 years ago. Stop trying to change the subject! Stick to the subject, will you?

I mentioned China, Cuba, Lybia, Iraq and Afghanistan because dictators rule those nations TODAY. [ 2008 note: this was written before Bush Jr overthrow Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein ]Dont blame me if the US and most European nations today have more freedom than most non-Western nations.

Mr. Jones then talked about his adventures in housing projects. He acted as if most Americans lived in the ghetto. Far from true! He went on to talk about "massive drug sales and usage, crime and prostitution". Mr. Jones, what country doesnt have any of those things? Where in my previous editorial did I say those things didnt exist in the US?

(also, I mentioned Kuhio Park Terrace, Mayor Wright's Housing and Kalihi Valley Housing in my editorial because those were neighborhoods that most Hawaii residents will warn you not to enter! Also, I spent my childhood in a lesser known housing project Puahala Homes [better known as "Lanakila Housing"] which is commonly seen as a "ghetto". It also had it's share of drugs and crime! But that doesn't erase the fact that it is seen as a "step-up" by many immigrants from the South Pacific, Micronesia and Southeast Asia! If it wasn't a "step up", those people wouldn't migrate to the US"

Mr. Jones went on to mention about "war veterans, that have to eat dog, and cat food so that they could afford medicine. But this is the land of economic empowerment, right Wegesend?" 

You see, Mr. Jones is taking a few isolated cases and act as if everyone in America lived like that. Mr. Jones, just because a few veterans have to take desperate measures to survive, that doesnt erase the fact that many in America came out of poverty and were able to open their own restaurants, stores, record labels and many other business. And when will Mr. Jones praise the fact that many veterans have been able to move to the suburbs, go into business, and even become well known politicians? Ever heard of Jon McCain, George Bush Sr., Dan Inouye, and Bob Dole? All were war veterans and today, and I dont think they need to eat dog food TODAY.

Mr. Jones, then asked "If this is such a place for economic progress, why are there so many people struggling to pay their bills?" What are the bills Americans paying for, Mr. Jones? Credit card debt? Car insurance? Electricity to power their microwaves, cable TV, refrigirators, and VHS? Those bills are a result of Americans taking advantage of luxuries. How many people in Rwanda, Kosovo or Bangladesh even have a credit card, a car to insure, microwave,cable TV, etc. If Americans are paying bills for those things, that means America has made more progress than the rest of the world.

Mr. Jones went on to say that even Americans with college degrees have to struggle. Who said college degrees guaranteed a life of the rich and famous? Most people in other countries don't even have the opportunity to attend college And quick, what college did Bill Gates graduate from? Answer: he dropped out of Harvard, but that didnt stop him from being a multi-billionaire! And neither not graduating college nor growing up in the rough streets of New Orleans stopped Master P from owning a successful record label. How many Bill Gates and Master P's are coming out of Sudan, Mr. Jones?


Mr. Jones went on to talk about pay differences between a white American and a black American. Is saying that supposed to erase the fact that Black Americans make a lot more than blacks in Rwanda, Somalia, Uganada, and most other black countries? Does that erase the fact that blacks are coming from Haiti in makeshift boats trying to come to America?

On amnesty for illegal aliens, Mr. Jones said "Bush was only considering it because he knows he need more Hispanic voters to win the election, period point blank." Mr. Jones, I'm not talking about Bush's "greatness", I'm talking about the fact that in America, those who want to be President cant be elected if they bash immigrants. Don't believe me? Why hasnt Pat Buchanan been elected President after 3 tries? [2008 update: Let's not forget that pro-immigration John McCain won the Republican nomination, not the anti-immigration folks like Tom Tancredo, duncan Hunter or Fred Thompson]

Meanwhile, in Australia, Italy and other countries, immigrant bashing can still get you elected Prime Minister. [2008 note: those Prime Ministers have since been replaced]

On women's rights, Mr. Jones said "it took all the way until last century to realize that a woman's vote is just as good as a man's." Mr. Jones, I'm talking about today, not a 100 years ago. And which women in Afghanistan are allowed to be as outspoken as Maxine Waters and Dr. Laura?

Mr. Jones, lighten up, will you? You need to learn to put things in proper context. When I'm talking about America and the world TODAY, stick to the subject, will you? If you hate the way things are in America, why dont you go on a raft and move to Haiti? Many Haitians would love to trade places with you.

That you would demonize me for actually praising the progress that America has made shows me that you are allergic to good news. It seems like saying positive things makes me an evil person in your eyes. You and others on the Far Left need to stop calling those with at least one positive comment about America "part of the monolithic propaganda machine". One more thing, before you take the raft voyage to Haiti, make sure you take a copy of "Ten Things You Cant Say in America" by black radio talk show host Larry Elder, just in case you get bored on your way.

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Since the time I wrote that, the Kanye Wests, Jeremiah Wrights, (and most likely Tobin Jones) are saying about Hurricane Katrina that "Bush doesn't care about black people"

One question for those folks : WHO WAS THE MAYOR OF NEW ORLEANS WHEN HURRICANCE KATRINA HIT? (answer: Ray Nagin, a liberal Democrat of African-American ancestry)

Fine, the Bush Administration could've handled things better! Bush did hire inexperienced people at FEMA! Bush isn't blameless! But why haven't Kanye West, Reverend Wright, etc held Ray Nagin responsible for the screw-ups in emergency response? He's supposed to be in charge of New Orleans! Or is blame only reserved for Republicans of European-American ancestry?

Also, who was the governor of Louisiana when Hurricane Katrina hit? It was Democrat of European-American ancestry named Kathleen Blanco! Why haven't the Kanye Wests and Rev. Wrights of America held Blanco responsible for the screw-ups in emergency response?

Who is the governor of Louisiana now? Bobby Jindal, a dark-skinned Republican, whose parents are immigrants from India! Yet, the Tobin Jones and Reverend Wright claimed America is not a land of opportunity for non-whites?

And where did the Katrina victims go after the storm hit, Tobin Jones?

Did they go to Haiti? Mexico? Jamaica? The socialist paradises of Cuba and Venezuela? NO!

They moved to Baton Rouge, Houston, San Antonio, Atlanta, Memphis! In other words, THEY MOVED TO DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE USA! They understood, despite America's flaws, they're better staying in the US!

Meanwhile, Atlanta (the city Tobin Jones is from) which was once a segregationist city, is now the center of African-American culture! There are middle-class African-American suburbs around Atlanta. Many African-Americans are leaving California, Northeast, and the Midwest for the opportunity to live in Atlanta! Yet, Tobin Jones tell me there is no progress in the USA?

And let's not forget that Barack Obama has been winning primaries in extremely European-American states like Iowa, Kansas, Utah, and Idaho! So there's progress! 

And the irony of all this, is if we don't have a black President in 2009, Reverend Wright will have to look in the mirror and blame himself!

More on Barack Obama & Reverend Wright

1) The common question asked is "why didn't Obama leave the church after hearing such anti-American rants by Reverend Jeremiah Wright?"

Kathryn Lopez had an interesting explanation.

http://jewishworldreview.com/0308/lopez032408.php3

Obama's speech was in defense of a man he has known for two decades, a man he has made a part of his wife and children's lives, and a man he has made a part of his campaign. Wright is also a man who has said some pretty despicable things about America and about public servants. Obama explained that a YouTube video or two from an inflammatory sermon is not the measure of the man. He talked about Wright's military service and ministry to the poor and sick.

But Obama's story was incomplete. Nothing he said excuses the lack of judgment that is inherent in a man choosing to expose his children to angry, anti-American tirades and off-color rants. Had he gone one step further, however, he might have had me. He should have told us why Wright was an important man in his life — because he was the father figure Obama needed as a young man, and that is why he loves him above all else.

Obama told us that he is "the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas." He didn't go any further talking about his father. Instead, he threw his maternal grandmother under the media bus, saying that she had "once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and ... has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe."

He left me asking, "But what about the father? Why didn't he talk about his father's abandonment of him and his family, and how that made his later relationship with Wright all the more important in his life?" That, I suspect, is why Obama will never repudiate Wright. The fact is, Obama grew up without a father. And, I assume, Wright for him was a father figure. That may be how Wright got to be such an influence in his life. This would not have answered all concerns about Wright and Obama, but it would have presented a more compelling narrative and, more importantly, he could have delivered an important cultural message about the impact the absence of male role models has on a child.

2) Many right-wing conservatives have complained that "Obama threw his white grandmother under the bus" when Obama have mentioned that his white grandmother expressed fears of black men and was prone to stereotypical thinking!

Throwing her under the bus?

If you were a bi-racial kid who hears a relative express negative feelings about your other half , that's gotta sting! That's not something a normal person can shake off easily! It's like being told "1/2 of you is $#!+" That's not victimhood to be traumatized by that! That's normal human reaction, and anyone who doesn't understand that, doesn't understand basic psychology!

3) Right-wing conservatives love to mention that Obama's white grandmother mentioned being harassed by a black man, and claimed that "it was rational for her to be scared of passing by a black man"

Excuse me? What about a black, brown or yellow person being harrassed by a group of young white men? How do you think their mind will react the next time they walk by another group of young white men? Exactly the same way Obama's white grandma reacted when passing by a random black man! Yet, the conservative correctness crowd get mad at paragraphs like this!

Some white conservatives who makes excuses for "white grandmas being scared of a random young black man" would go beserk hearing about a "non-white grandma being scared of a random young white man".

Now, this is how a rational person is suppossed to react when passing by someone who looks like a person who bullied him/her!

"Calm down, he/she might look like that bully, but he/she isn't that bully, so let's calm down! It's not that person's fault he/she looks like that bully who harrased me"

That's how a rational person supposed to react! Yet, that's considered fighting words by the conservative correctness crowd, and all other racial supremacists!

Barack Obama & Faith

It was only a month ago when pundits were arguing over whether Barack Obama was a Muslim.

Now it is acknowledged that Obama isn't Muslim.

That's because now the attention is on Obama's spiritual advisor, Jeremiah Wright, who is a Christian with radical left-wing views.

Wright says "God Dam America" even though this country allows him to say such things.

If Wright was in Zimbabwe yelling "God Dam Zimbabwe!", he would've been jailed & tortured! Same as if he went to Iran and yelled "Allah Dam Iran!" He might've been executed!

1) The smear about Obama being a Muslim was silly to begin. It's all because of his first name (Barack) rhymes with Iraq, last name (Obama) rhymed with Osama, and his middle name (Hussein) is the same as the ex-Iraqi dictator Hussein.


Right-wing pundits like to talk about Barack Obama's middle name being "Hussein" in efforts to scare people!


But Hussein is a common name in the Muslim world. It's just like Smith & Jones in the English speaking world!


The idea that we shouldn't vote for Barack Obama because of his names is ridiculous as refusing to vote for anyone named "McVeigh", "Kaczinsky", "Booth", "Oswald" or "Hinckley" -- all last names of European-American terrorists and assassins!

As Leonard Pitts said, even if Obama was a Muslim, so what?

http://www.appeal-democrat.com/articles/muslim_59458___article.html/obama_american.html

All-American Muslim athletes like Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Muhammad Ali aren't screaming for jihad! And many Muslims aren't screaming for jihad either!

Yes, Islamic terrorists are a serious threat to the world, but it's because they're terrorists, not because they're Muslims!


2) Another reason people suspected Obama was a Muslim, was that his European-American mother was married to men from Muslim countries --- Kenya & Indonesia.

But those men were not very religious to begin with. They were agnostics. They weren't screaming for jihad!

There was a story about Obama attending a school in Indonesia. Because Indonesia is 90% Muslim, people assumed that Obama was indoctorinated into radical Islam as a child.

But where did Obama spent most of his childhood & adolescence?

In Hawaii, where Muslims are less than 1% of the population!


Obama mentioned being a racial minority at Punahou School. He mentioned having only 4 other African-American males at his school. If Obama was really a Muslim at that age, he would've most likely been a Minority of One!


An average Mainland US city has more Muslims than Hawaii does.

Hawaii has mostly Christians and Buddhists!

Hawaii never had a major wave of immigration from Muslim countries!

3) Why did Obama join Wright's church to begin with?

He was a community organizer in Chicago's South Side, a mostly African-American community. People advised him to join a black church to gain credibility with South Side residents.

Obama wanted to spend more time with the African-American community because he felt something missing within. While he was part-African, part-European, he spent most of his life in a European-American world.

His Kenyan father deserted the family. His mom and grandparents who raised him were European-Americans. Even his Hawaii school, Punahou School, while considered "multi-racial" by mainland standards, has more European-Americans than your average Hawaii school! Then Obama went to Ivy League colleges, which is seen as a "bastion of white privillge".

Obama never lived among the "black community" until his adulthood in Chicago. He had to find a black church in Chicago to fit in.

Obama knew Jeremiah Wright was doing great things for the community, from day care centers, helping the homeless, outreach to recently released felons, helping AIDS victims, and inspiring people with his sermons!

Obama attended Wright's church and felt inspired by the sermon of "Audacity of Hope" which became the title of Obama's book.

Unfortunately, all that is overshadowed by Wright's anti-American preaching and silly conspiracy theories!

Obama preaches national unity and racial reconciliation. Wright's infamous preachings contradicts Obama's political rhetoric.

It seems like now, Wright is a liability for Obama, but Obama feels guilty for turning his back on the man who helped him adjust culturally to Chicago's South Side, the man with a history of servicing the people of Chicago's South Side!

President's Day

Regretably, I don't have as much time to comment on the US Presidential race on this blog, but since today is President's Day, I might as well express a few observations

1) Anti-immigration fascists like to say "the majority of Americans want less immigration, more restrictions on immigration, and to deport every illegal alien"

If that is true, then why isn't Tom Tancredo or Duncan Hunter the Republican nominee for President?

Don't give me this nonsense about those 2 guys not having name recognition. 5 years ago, hardly anyone knew Barack Obama existed! But now, he's known worldwide!


If the anti-immigration fascists really were the majority, Tancredo and Hunter would've become overnight sensations within GOP circles the last 12 months!

Let's not forget that in 2000, Pat Buchanan left the Republican Party because he thought its then nominee George W. Bush, was too liberal on immigration. Buchanan ended up being 4th place, and getting less than 1% of the vote!

John McCain supported immigration reform that might've make it easier for immigrants to legally immigrate, and give amnesty to illegal aliens who have proven that they didn't commit violent crimes, learn English, and be employed!

As governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee supported giving children of illegal aliens living in Arkansas the right to attend public universities with in-state tuition rates.

Even with that, Huckabee was able to win primaries in very conservative states in the South and Great Plains.

However, after Bhutto's assassination in Pakistan, Huckabee warned of Pakistani terrorists entering the US through the Mexican border. Nevermind that he didn't even bother to name any Islamic terrorist who sneaked through the Mexican border.

Mitt Romney flip-flopped on the immigration issue, just like he did with abortion, gun control, and gay marriage. It is his flip-flopping, not his Mormon faith, that prevented him from gaining the support he needed to win the GOP nomination!

2) Many have doubted whether America is ready for a "black President".

Some even doubted whether Barack Obama was even "black enough" to get African-American support.

So far, Obama have been getting overwhelming support from African-Americans. But that's not all! Obama also have getting votes from overwhelmingly European-American states like Iowa, Utah, Kansas, Maine and Idaho.

But let's not forget that those are just votes from the Democrat primaries. Would the general population of those states support Obama in the general elections?

However, many are questioning whether Obama can get the Latino and the Asian-American vote. While Obama has got the majority of Latino and Asian vote in his current home state of Illinois, he had difficulty getting their support in California.

Some have commented about racial conflicts between Latinos, Asian-Americans, and African-Americans in inner-city areas in California. Some have speculated that some Latinos and Asian Americans who had bad experience with African-Americans have been taking it out on Obama in the voting booth!

Now, not all Latinos and Asians who voted for Hillary Clinton were voting against Obama for racial reasons. Some Latinos and Asians remember the positives of the Clinton Administration. Also, just like voters in other demographics, some have legit questions on whether Obama is ready to be President.

However, if there are Latinos and Asians voting against Obama for racial reasons, they ought to be ashamed of themselves. Obama has done nothing wrong to them! Obama has been doing all he could to support immigrants, many of them coming from Latin America and Asia.

Obama have been supporting immigration reforms that will make it easier for immigrants to come legally, and to give amnesty for illegal aliens who have proven that they are learning English, are employed, and not a convicted felon.

Latin American and Asian immigrants better show some grattitude towards the African-American civil rights activists. It was because of those activists that Congress started to reform immigration laws in the 1960's. Before that, the immigration laws blatantly favored the Northern European immigrants. However, as anti-discrimination laws were starting to pass, the Congress decided to allow more non-white immigrants. It is the Latinos and Asians who benefitted most from that immigrant reform, which wouldn't have existed if it wasn't for Martin Luther King and the other African-American civil rights activists!

3) I'm not ready to make an endorsement.

I wish I spent more time researching the "third party " candidates! While the Internet makes it easier, I also wish the mainstream media would at least profile them.

John McCain pretty much got Republican nomination. We just got to wait for the convention for it to be official.

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are almost tied for the Democratic nomination.

There will be a caucus here in Hawaii this Tuesday. I'm predicting an Obama win in Hawaii, due to his local ties. I also predict that the voting patterns for Asian-Americans in Hawaii would be different from the ones in California.

Obama and Clinton's policies are almost alike, the main difference is that Clinton wants to require everyone to get health insurance, while Obama say that individuals should make that choice.

While I don't want people to suffer financially to pay for health care costs, I also don't think government should force people to get insurance. That is over-management of people's lives, and I have to agree with Obama on that one!

Matin Luther King Day

Today is officially Martin Luther King Jr. Day. His actual birthday was on January 15.

In the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. I want to link on an article in the Honolulu Advertiser about church groups in the Samoan and Micronesian community promoting peace.

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2008/Jan/13/ln/hawaii801130365.html

On December 26, 2007, Fusitogamala Iosefa Savea (who is Samoan) was stabbed to death by RJ Ham (who is Chuukese) right in front of Kuhio Park Terrace (KPT).

There have been conflicts between Samoans and Micronesians in various public housing complexes in Honolulu, including KPT, Mayor Wright's and Palolo Valley Housing.

Savea's death may or may not be connected with those other incidents. But people have been worried that Savea's death would cause some Samoans to retaliate against Micronesians who were not involved in Savea's murder.

Religious leaders from both the Samoan and Micronesian communities came together and try to promote peace and reconciliation! A Micronesian church group attended Savea's funeral to show unity with the Samoan community! They even followed a Samoan ritual called ifoga .

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2008/Jan/13/ln/hawaii801130365.html

In the Samoan tradition, an ifoga is a ritualized formal apology where those seeking forgiveness humble themselves before the person or family that was hurt. An ifoga can take days. Those seeking forgiveness may have to wait in the hot sun or through the rainy night and there is no guarantee that the apology will be accepted. There is no guarantee there won't be retaliation on the spot.

If the matter is very serious, the high chief from the village of the accused would perform the ifoga.

It is a very humbling gesture on the part of those asking for mercy.

Environmental Thoughts

1) There are some environmentalists who want the government to ban stores from using or offering plastic bags. They claim that those bags will only get wasted and fill our landfills.

Some on the Honolulu's City Council want to go along with that idea.

Here is my letter to the Honolulu Star Bulletin on it

http://starbulletin.com/2008/01/17/editorial/letters.html

Plastic bags reusable, keep things dry

Those who attempt to ban plastic bags say that most plastic bags are never used again. But I, as well as some other people, reuse those bags. I usually carry my water bottle in a plastic bag because it's easier to carry it that way. Also, if I enter a store that bans beverages, my water bottle is covered. It's also good when I enter a store that sells beverages to have my own water bottle in a plastic bag, so the store employee knows I had it before entering the store.

I also like carry my rain jacket in a plastic bag. Also because it's easier that way. Why not carry them in paper bags? Because paper bags are useless in wet conditions.

Those who complain about plastic bags need to understand that banning things usually isn't the best way to go. If you don't like plastic bags, then don't use them. Otherwise, leave everyone else alone and mind your own business!

Pablo Wegesend
Honolulu

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2) Al Gore keeps saying that the debate over global warming is over.

There been reports of glaciers melting in Alaska, droughts in the state of Georgia, and that the plants in the Western US is getting so dry, it makes wildfires worse.

However, the debate is NOT OVER!

Just recently, there is snow in places that usually don't get snow.

There has been snow in El Paso, Texas. That's right on the Mexican border

http://mhutch.blogspot.com/2007/11/texas-snow-makes-el-paso-kids-smile.html

There have been snow in southern Mississippi. That state is so deep in the South, it hardly get snow.

http://writenow.wordpress.com/2008/01/20/its-snowing-in-mississippi/

There have even been reports of snow occuring in Baghdad. Yes, the one in Iraq!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080111/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_first_snow_in_memory

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In Hawaii, it has only snowed in Mauna Kea in the Big Island.

However, we've been getting cold winds, with mornings being 60 degrees. That's not normal in Hawaii! That's way below average in Hawaii winters!

3) Yet, we have Al Gore and Bill Maher lecturing us that the debate on global warming is over.

No i'ts not!

So maybe I might be experiencing a heat wave this summer and I might die of heat exhaustion.

But that doesn't erase the fact that this past winter, it was snowing in areas that usually doesn't snow!

The whole point of what I'm trying to say, is that sometimes places can get hotter than usual (and make us feel that the Earth will be eternally hot as hell from now on!), it can still get colder than usual!

Climate does change, and sometimes it goes in cycles!

The debate is not over!

The End of the June Jones Era @ UH

This past week, June Jones, the head football coach of the UH football team, has resigned and became the head football coach at Southern Methodist University (SMU)

1) June Jones started the coaching at UH the same year I started attending UH. (1999). At the university, you can sense the pride being restored at the school.

In the previous year, the football team was coached by Fred von Appen, and the team was 0-12! That was the last of 6 straight loosing seasons. Top high school football players preferred to play on the mainland rather than be humiliated as a member of a loosing team. Even high school students who didn't play sports stated that they don't want to go to UH because of it's "junk football team". Some people even thought it wasn't even worth it for UH to have a football team if it kept loosing like this!

However, in the June Jones era, the UH football team is a source of pride. 7 out of 9 seasons under June Jones were winning teams. UH football team won 2 WAC championships and was able to make it to a major mainland bowl game, the Sugar Bowl!

Now, even people who never attended UH are wearing UH shirts, UH football jerseys, and other UH merchandise.

Many top high school football players now want to play for UH, and in recent years, even some football players from the continental US have sent unsolicited videos to the UH football staff hoping that they'll get a scholarship!

2) Though June Jones grew up in Oregon, he has become a "local boy".

He first came to Hawaii as a visitor with his high-school basketball team playing in a local tournament. His teammate was Artie Wilson who later joined the UH basketball team and is now a well-known real-estate agent and a sports radio talk show host.

Jones later played football for UH for 2 years, then left for Portland State. However, he loved Hawaii so much, it was his second home.

June Jones is loved by many in Hawaii because he is comfortable with diverse cultures.

While the stereotypical European-American (called "haoles" in Hawaii) is seen as an arrogant outsider who doesn't respect the local culture, June Jones is a European-American known to have great respect for the many local cultures here.

He is seen as someone who would show up at local plate lunch places and eat Hawaiian food or the popular local-style Asian plate lunches. He is seen as someone who is as comfortable being in various communities in Hawaii from the rich Kahala, to middle class Pearl City, inner city Kalihi, as well as the rural areas of the Neighbor Islands. He is known for taking his shoes off when entering someone else's home, which is a sign of respect in Hawaii.

He was able to recruit local boys from various communities in Hawaii, as well as from American Samoa. He was also able to recruit mainland players of various ancestries, including Polynesian, African-American and European-American. His mainland players came from areas like California, Texas, Mississippi, Virginia, etc.

Jones ability to adapt to various cultures is what me and many other people of Hawaii will miss most about June Jones.

3) Those who hate sports view June Jones as greedy for signing a $800,000 a year contract in 2003, and for accepting a $ 2million a year contract at SMU!

Is Jones really a greedy person? Let's look at a few paragraphs from Stephen Tsai's article from 1/8/08 Honolulu Advertiser. This was about what June Jones requested from UH Athletic Director Herman Frazier in March 2006

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2008/Jan/08/ln/hawaii801080344.html

Jones wanted to rehire Dennis McKnight, who left the program in 2000, to become the offensive line coach. Jones also wanted to create a fundraising position for his mentor, Darrell "Mouse" Davis, who had served as offensive assistant coach in 2005.

Jones approached Athletics Director Herman Frazier with a unique offer. Jones was entering the fourth season of a five-year contract in which he earned $800,016 annually, half of which was paid from donations.

Jones offered to sign a new five-year contract, taking a large pay cut that would reduce his annual salary to $500,000. The savings, Jones said, would be used to hire McKnight, create a non-coaching position for Davis, and boost the recruiting budget. The only stipulation was the deal needed to be completed in time for the start of spring practice in April.

Frazier rejected Jones' offer.

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To all the June Jones haters, READ THAT AGAIN!

Jones offered to take a pay-cut so that the Athletic Department can hire 2 people, and fund football recruiting. Herman Frazier rejected those ideas!

If anything, the recruiting budget should be increased. Georgia has a larger recruiting budget, though the coaches don't have to travel thousands of miles for out-of-state players! A lot of their players are from the South (though their running back that scored multiple touchdowns in the recent Sugar Bowl is from outside the South, he's from New Jersey) so they don't need the large recruiting budget that UH needs.

While Hawaii has plenty of college-football prospects, UH also wants to invite athletes from other places that want to be a part of the Hawaii atmosphere as well! There will always be a few Hawaii-raised athletes that want to have the "mainland college experience", so why not take a few players from the continental US, as well as American Samoa as well from foreign lands?

4) The size of the paychecks wasn't even the main reason June Jones left. While he is grateful for the $ 2 million he'll be getting from SMU, the more important reason he left UH was that he was tired of dealing with Herman Frazier!

The rejected deal mentioned above was one issue!

Jones also felt Frazier didn't do enough to get the facilities renovated. Ironically, when the state legislators took a tour of the athletic facilities earlier this week, they said that they didn't even hear any requests from the Athletic Department for additional funding. This makes Frazier look like someone who wasn't proactive enough to take the initiative to get things done!

Jones wasn't the only coach who had a problem with Frazier. Former men's basketball coach Riley Wallace said that Frazier lacked people skills, and hardly did anything to maintain facilities.

In December 2006, (in the middle of basketball season), Wallace announced he was going to retire after the season's over. The local gossip was that Frazier pressured Wallace into retirement (or "fired" Wallace, depending on who you ask). When asked about it Wallace said he wasn't pressured into retirement, and that he was going to retire anyways.

When Wallace announced his retirement, he said he wanted his assistant coach Bob Nash to be his replacement.

That was in December 2006. What did Fazier do? He waited until March 2007 to officially announce the job vacancy for head basketball coach ! He waited until March 2007 to start a committee that will screen and interview candidates for head coach for men's basketball!

You would think if someone announced their retirement that will take place in a few months, you'll start searching for replacement now!

While Nash was hired, it wasn't even officially announced on April 13, 2007.

To make problems worse, that was after the recruiting period started. Some basketball players who were interested in playing for Hawaii didn't want to wait any longer to find out who was going to be their coach, so they ended up signing up with other colleges.

It took 4 months to hire someone?

5) Frazier also had controversy over the scheduling of weak non-conference opponents in the 2007 football season. However, Frazier was able to schedule big-name opponents for the 2008 season!

But the bigger controversy that got many fans upset at Frazier was the Sugar Bowl tickets.

For bowl games, the 2 universities involved get a certain amount of tickets to sell. Both Georgia and Hawaii were offered to sell 17,000 tickets to their fans.

However, Sugar Bowl officials doubted that many Hawaii fans would be able to show up in New Orleans to watch the game.

Frazier apparently agreed with them, and decided to just take 13,000 tickets. This was before UH even started to sell any tickets. Those 13,000 tickets sold out fast! And Hawaii fans were ANGRY that Frazier didn't bother to take the maximum # of tickets to sell to UH fans. As one fan yelled to the TV cameras "He didn't even give us a chance!"

6) June Jones quitting UH was the last straw. With all those controversies, people got fed up with Herman Frazier. Because of that , Frazier was terminated from the Athletic Director position.

Now UH is looking for an Athletic Director and head football coach.

Gregg McMackin, who was last year's football defensive co-ordinator, has applied for the head coach position. I think he should be the one! Since most of the other assistant coaches say they'll stick around if McMackin is hired, UH should hire him!

The current players are accustomed to those assistant coaches, they already have a tradition of winning with those assistant coaches! So there's no need to hire any outsider to head football coach position.

This also make recruiting easier. High school football players will know, if McMackin is hired, that the same system that went 12-1 in 2007 will still be in place for the 2008 season.

Some say that Norm Chow should be head football coach. Chow was born & raised in Hawaii, he was an assistant coach at BYU & USC, and is an assistant at the NFL's Tennessee Titans.

However, hiring Chow will likely be expensive! He's making $ 2 million as offensive co-ordinator for the Titans. Imagine how much he'll get paid as head coach. People already complained about Jone's $800,000 a year contract signed in 2003.

I'd rather have Gregg McMackin.

7) Artie Wilson said on the radio that UH needs to spend $$$ to make $$$. Meaning, if UH spends big-money on a coach, they can make profits in the long-run.

Wilson mentions that Georgia pays it head football coach about $3 million a year, and the team brings in so much revenue that taxpayers don't have to pay any athletic department's expenses.

People whine about Jone's UH contract! But while UH football doesn't bring in as much $$$ as Georgia does, it still bring revenues in indirect ways.

For example, all the UH merchandise(including those obviously connected to athletics) . All revenues from such merchandise goes into UH's general fund. It doesn't go straight into the athletic department! So that $$$ goes into academics, maintenance, etc.

What drives sales of UH merchandise? The success of UH athletic teams drives sales of UH merchandise!

You see a lot more UH shirts, jerseys, etc being worn these days. It's not a coincidence. The successful 2007 football season has contributed so much to sales of merchandise, that $$$ goes into the general fund.

Plus, UH will get $4 million from the Sugar Bowl.

Do you think the UH general fund will get all that revenue by paying it's football coach $1 a year?

Be grateful that June Jones rejected a $1.5 million a year contract from the NFL's San Diego Chargers for the lower paying UH football contract in 1999.

8) June Jones did a great job at UH! While he moves on to a new challenge, I hope the next coach can continue the winning tradition that June Jones has started!