You would think that's common sense, right?
Especially if you have a job that pays a MIDDLE CLASS salary, that allows you to afford a middle class home (in places like Mililani, Kapolei, Hawaii Kai, Kaneohe, etc), your own personal automobile, and travel to exotic locations.
But certain members of the Hawaii State Teacher's Association (HSTA) think they should be immune from the effects of a slowing economy. They refuse to compromise with reality and accept a pay-cut!
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110709_HSTA_mounts_legal_challenge.html
They think we should charge higher taxes on the rich! But the rich can leave at anytime, and when they do, they don't have to pay any taxes. You can't tax your way out of every problem. Sooner or later, those who do the hiring (that'll be the "rich") and leave for greener pastures that have lower taxes. That means less taxpayers and less taxes in the long run!
Look, you price something too much, less people would buy! And you'll see less money in the long run!
You keep raising taxes, less people will stick around! And you'll see less money in the long run!
HSTA needs to understand that! The private sector in Hawaii has faced major declines. They're not able to afford more employees!
So, being that there's less money, there's only 2 realistic choices when it comes to spending on teachers' salaries 1) give them a pay cut or 2) lay off some teachers.
Sometimes in life, you gotta take lesser of 2 bads. Pay cut it shall be!
Of course, teachers will cry poverty!
NONSENSE!
I work as a substitute teacher and a para-pro tutor in our public school system. I've listened in to conversations involving full-time teachers. In those conversations, those teachers talk about living in places like Mililani, Kapolei, Kaneohe, Kailua and even upper-class Hawaii Kai. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING GHETTO ABOUT THOSE PLACES! Those teachers are NOT living in places like Kuhio Park Terrace, Kam IV or Mayor Wright's!
Nearly every Full-Time teacher arrives to school in their own personal car! THAT'S NOT POVERTY!
I also hear full-time teachers talk about trips to Las Vegas, California, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, Europe, etc. You can't afford those trips (involving plane tickets, hotel reservations, etc) while living under the poverty line!
If there's anyone who is truly under-paid in this business, it is the substitute teachers and para-professional tutors. As a substitute teacher, your work hours are NOT guaranteed! You could have weeks where you work 5 days a week, and the next week - NOTHING! It all ebbs and flows. And getting called to work the first and last few weeks of the semester is RARE!
As for par-pro tutors, you only work if the student you're assigned to shows up to school. If he/ she is absent (and especially your student is a chronic absentee), you're only getting paid the first hour of the school day, and you're sent home!
You want to buy a middle class home with a substitute teacher or para-pro tutor salary? You want to buy a car with a substitute teacher or para-pro tutor salary? You want to afford vacations to exotic locations with a substitute teacher or para-pro tutor salary? You might as dream about purple oceans and pink dirt while you're at it!
Yes, some of my thoughts are envy related! But that "envy" is what made me want to enroll in a master's program that could qualify me to be a full-time teacher. (if all goes to plan, I'll start that program in late August)
I respect that teachers are working hard! That was why I was reluctant to become a full-time teacher when I first started being a substitute! But being a substitute is nowhere as profitable as being a full-time teacher, so that's why I want to change directions!
But even with all that, the HSTA and its members need to look at the big picture! The state is going broke! Full-time teachers make a middle class (NOT poverty) salaries. If it comes down to a pay-cut or a layoff, they should just take the pay-cut already and save themselves (or their colleagues) from getting laid off!
Saturday, July 09, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Your senator doesn't want to read the bill
Do you believe your senator or representative should read the bills before they vote on it?
Well, if you're from Hawaii, one of your senators ADMITTED that it's not a good idea that he be required to read the bills before voting on it.
Through the Downsize DC website ( http://www.downsizedc.org/), I e-mailed all my Congressional representatives (Senators Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka, Representative Colleeen Hanabusa) on voting for "Read the Bills Act" that (gasp......omg.....noooooooh!) would require all members of Congress to read the bills before making them law.
For more info on the Read the Bills Act, check out https://secure.downsizedc.org/etp/rtba/
And this is the response I got from Senator Daniel Inouye
----------
-----
In other words, Inouye is defending corruption with all bunch of useless excuses.
Let's go over such useless excuses.
Inouye said:
My response:
The senators, the lobbyists and other such people have MORE THAN ENOUGH TIME to write up 1,000+ pages into a law that ALL OF US ARE REQUIRED TO FOLLOW yet Inouye is worried about the time spent having the bill read aloud?
If Inouye is worried about how long it would take to "having each bill read aloud", then the bills are too long!
If ignorance is no excuse for breaking the law, then how we do expect the average citizen to memorize 1,000 + pages of Ph.D. level vocabulary?
This shows that Inouye doesn't care about the effects of the law? He cares about just voting for whatever law that has an appealing title, just so he can brag about it come election time!
----------
Inouye said:
My response:
How often does Congress vote on "time-sensitive matters"?
Congress usually stall for months on various bills, giving lobbyists, activists, and legislative staff to add a whole bunch of restrictions, special favors, and other stuff to be described with Ph.D. level vocabulary, which ends up to 1,000+ pages of boring material that you can't expect the average high-school graduate to comprehend it.
After they're done with all that, they don't even give us time to understand the bill before they vote on it!
This "time-sensitive matters" nonsense is just an excuse for Inouye and his pals to corrupt the process!
This is proven when Inouye objected to "requiring publication of legislation seven days prior to a vote".
In other words, Inouye DOES NOT WANT US TO HAVE THE TIME to understand the law Congress is about to vote on! Inouye just wants to "pass the law and get it over with" before people can have time to read the laws and figure out the negative side effects of the law! In other words, Inouye wants to pass the law before people can speak out against it! Inouye is supporting tactics that would basically silence the opposition. Inouye wants us to be uninformed about the laws he is voting on before it's too late!
There's no other to interpret it: Inouye is defending corruption!
And sadly, this is normal in the US Congress. They let their staff, lobbyists, activists, etc put all kinds of junk into 1,000+ page bills that most of us obviously have no time to read! Then they refuse to let us have the time to learn about what's in the 1,000+ pages before they vote on the bill!
There's no other way to interpret it: Members of Congress want us to be UN-INFORMED citizens.
-------
Herman Cain, a former CEO who is trying to run for president has proposed that all laws be only 3 pages long.
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/06/herman-cain-i-wont-sign-any-bill-more-than-three-pages-long.php
For saying that, Cain has been ridiculed as "someone who doesn't like to read" by John Stewart and other comedians!
But look at the main point: Cain believes that bills should be something an average person can understand BEFORE Congress can vote on it! Cain wants bills so easy to understand that "You'll have time to read that one over the dinner table".
It isn't "ignorant" or "illiterate" to turned off by the idea of reading a 1,000+ page bill. Most people don't even have time to read 100+ pages a day, much less 1,000+ pages. As Cain implies, most of us are too busy working and taking care of our family to read over a 1,000+ page bill!
Many of us want to be informed citizens. But many of us have to deal with multiple distractions on a daily basis. For many of us, watching the news is the only time we have to get informed. And even then, the news isn't obligated to tell us everything. After all, they have ratings to think about!
This is why Cain and others believe in shorter bills that most of us can read or print from the internet and that we can understand it before it becomes long.
I will be a bit more lenient, and say that all bills should have a maximum of 10 pages, all typed in 12-sized font (preferably Times New Roman or other easy to read fonts).
Anything that "requires" more than 10 pages shall be divided into different sections that SHALL BE VOTED ON SEPARATELY! (In other words: Law Part 1 (10 pages), Law Part 2 (the next 10 pages) all VOTED ON SEPARATELY!
Anything more than that can EASILY BE CORRUPTED by politicians, lobbyists, activists, etc who want us to be uninformed about the bills they're trying to manipulate!
If their idea is so great, why not just keep it simple! If they can't do that, maybe their idea wasn't so great to begin with!
----------
As I mentioned earlier Members of Congress almost NEVER vote on a bill based on what's truly within the 1,000+ pages of the bill. The vote based on "does it make me look good come election time?"
So let's pretend if you're a member of Congress, and you got this 1,000+ page bill in front of you that you got to vote on! You like certain parts of the bill, but other parts you don't like! You tried to talk with the other members of Congress about it, but not enough of them were convinced. So you're voting on that bill - ALL OR NOTHING! What would you do?
You vote for it, the negative parts of the bill become law, and the side effects of that bill will be a reality that caused people to suffer, and YOU VOTED FOR IT!
But if you vote against that bill (even though you like some parts of it), your next political opponent will tell the voters you voted against this bill with a Great Sounding Title, and that you're a bad guy for it?
So what would you do? If you're like most members of Congress, whatever side effects of the law come up doesn't matter. What matters is your next election is coming up, so just vote for that 1,000+ page bill!
That's why we really should do away with 1,000+ page bills. That's why I prefer a system of each bill being only 10 pages.
Anything that "requires" more than 10 pages shall be divided into different sections that SHALL BE VOTED ON SEPARATELY! (In other words: Law Part 1 (10 pages), Law Part 2 (the next 10 pages) all VOTED ON SEPARATELY!
That way if you like Law Part 1 (the first 10 pages) but don't like Law Part 2 (second ten pages), you can vote that way a lot easier, than just vote "ALL OR NOTHING" on a 1,000+ bill!
---
STICKING TO THE SUBJECT
Coincidentally, a few days after I started a draft for this blog post, I got another letter from Senator Dan Inouye.
This time, it's about the "One Subject At a Time Act", which will make each bill being voted on to (....... omg........noh!) to just stick to one subject!
Otherwise, it will be easier for bills to stacked with laws dealing with totally different issues, and members of Congress just voting for it, ALL OR NOTHING, just based on the title of the bill!
For more info on "One Subject at a Time Act", check out http://www.downsizedc.org/osta-legislation
Here's what Inouye wrote
---
---------
Inouye said :
Well, what is the most effective means of limiting federal spending or the size of our government? Inouye doesn't have an answer for that, because that's not a concern of his! His main concern is getting re-elected based on what sweet-titled bills he voted for, and how much taxpayer's money come back to Hawaii. Which by the way, only happens because of this "I'll vote to fund this project in your state, ONLY IF you vote to fund this project in my state that most of your voters would probably never visit in their lifetime".
No, Inouye doesn't want to stick to one subject per bill, because that reduces HIS power to manipulate the process! He wants him and his allies to put multiple issues under one 1,000+ bill without having us to understands what's in the bill!
Having us understand what's in the bills REDUCES HIS POWER!
Giving us time to understand AHEAD OF TIME of what Inouye is about to vote on, will REDUCE HIS POWER!
Having him just focus on one subject per bill will REDUCE HIS POWER!
Which is why Inouye and other members of Congress will NEVER agree to have short bills, will NEVER agree to have the bill read aloud so that there's a public audio recording (that can be on YouTube) before they vote on it, will NEVER agree to give the general public time to understand the bill before it gets voted on, and will NEVER agree to stick to one subject per bill!
While the US Constitution is great in that limited the government's power, it didn't limit it enough. The biggest flaw with the US Constitution is that it didn't require bills to be of limited length, it didn't require a 7-day notice to the public on the bill before it gets voted, and it didn't require bills to just stick to one subject!
A whole bunch of headaches could've prevented!
Well, if you're from Hawaii, one of your senators ADMITTED that it's not a good idea that he be required to read the bills before voting on it.
Through the Downsize DC website ( http://www.downsizedc.org/), I e-mailed all my Congressional representatives (Senators Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka, Representative Colleeen Hanabusa) on voting for "Read the Bills Act" that (gasp......omg.....noooooooh!) would require all members of Congress to read the bills before making them law.
For more info on the Read the Bills Act, check out https://secure.downsizedc.org/etp/rtba/
And this is the response I got from Senator Daniel Inouye
----------
Dear Mr Wegesend,
Thank you for your communication regarding the proposal for legislation to impose restrictions on legislative activity.
At this time, the Read the Bills Act, legislation proposed by Downsize D.C., has not been introduced in either the House or Senate. I believe Members of Congress should understand the various implications legislation may have on their constituents, as well as the United States as a whole. However, I do not believe the requirements placed on Members of Congress by this proposal are the most effective means of achieving Downsize D.C.'s goals of limiting federal spending and the size of our government.
Having each bill read aloud to a quorum of Members would consume so much time that it would hinder efforts to develop and pass legislation and meet our oversight responsibilities. Moreover, the change in procedural rules requiring publication of legislation seven days prior to a vote would prevent the Congress from addressing time-sensitive matters and hinder the amendment process.
While I am concerned with the last-minute insertion of controversial provisions in legislation, I do not support the draft Read the Bills Act. Although we do not agree on the best way to improve our legislative process, I appreciate that you took time to share your views with me.
Thank you again for sharing your thoughts on this matter.
Aloha,
Daniel K. Inouye
United States Senator
-----
In other words, Inouye is defending corruption with all bunch of useless excuses.
Let's go over such useless excuses.
Inouye said:
Having each bill read aloud to a quorum of Members would consume so much time that it would hinder efforts to develop and pass legislation and meet our oversight responsibilities
My response:
The senators, the lobbyists and other such people have MORE THAN ENOUGH TIME to write up 1,000+ pages into a law that ALL OF US ARE REQUIRED TO FOLLOW yet Inouye is worried about the time spent having the bill read aloud?
If Inouye is worried about how long it would take to "having each bill read aloud", then the bills are too long!
If ignorance is no excuse for breaking the law, then how we do expect the average citizen to memorize 1,000 + pages of Ph.D. level vocabulary?
This shows that Inouye doesn't care about the effects of the law? He cares about just voting for whatever law that has an appealing title, just so he can brag about it come election time!
----------
Inouye said:
Moreover, the change in procedural rules requiring publication of legislation seven days prior to a vote would prevent the Congress from addressing time-sensitive matters and hinder the amendment process.
My response:
How often does Congress vote on "time-sensitive matters"?
Congress usually stall for months on various bills, giving lobbyists, activists, and legislative staff to add a whole bunch of restrictions, special favors, and other stuff to be described with Ph.D. level vocabulary, which ends up to 1,000+ pages of boring material that you can't expect the average high-school graduate to comprehend it.
After they're done with all that, they don't even give us time to understand the bill before they vote on it!
This "time-sensitive matters" nonsense is just an excuse for Inouye and his pals to corrupt the process!
This is proven when Inouye objected to "requiring publication of legislation seven days prior to a vote".
In other words, Inouye DOES NOT WANT US TO HAVE THE TIME to understand the law Congress is about to vote on! Inouye just wants to "pass the law and get it over with" before people can have time to read the laws and figure out the negative side effects of the law! In other words, Inouye wants to pass the law before people can speak out against it! Inouye is supporting tactics that would basically silence the opposition. Inouye wants us to be uninformed about the laws he is voting on before it's too late!
There's no other to interpret it: Inouye is defending corruption!
And sadly, this is normal in the US Congress. They let their staff, lobbyists, activists, etc put all kinds of junk into 1,000+ page bills that most of us obviously have no time to read! Then they refuse to let us have the time to learn about what's in the 1,000+ pages before they vote on the bill!
There's no other way to interpret it: Members of Congress want us to be UN-INFORMED citizens.
-------
Herman Cain, a former CEO who is trying to run for president has proposed that all laws be only 3 pages long.
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/06/herman-cain-i-wont-sign-any-bill-more-than-three-pages-long.php
Cain said:
Don't try to pass a 2,700 page bill. And even they didn't read it! You and I didn't have time to read it. We were too busy trying to live, send our kids to school. That's why I am only going to allow small bills -- three pages. You'll have time to read that one over the dinner table.
For saying that, Cain has been ridiculed as "someone who doesn't like to read" by John Stewart and other comedians!
But look at the main point: Cain believes that bills should be something an average person can understand BEFORE Congress can vote on it! Cain wants bills so easy to understand that "You'll have time to read that one over the dinner table".
It isn't "ignorant" or "illiterate" to turned off by the idea of reading a 1,000+ page bill. Most people don't even have time to read 100+ pages a day, much less 1,000+ pages. As Cain implies, most of us are too busy working and taking care of our family to read over a 1,000+ page bill!
Many of us want to be informed citizens. But many of us have to deal with multiple distractions on a daily basis. For many of us, watching the news is the only time we have to get informed. And even then, the news isn't obligated to tell us everything. After all, they have ratings to think about!
This is why Cain and others believe in shorter bills that most of us can read or print from the internet and that we can understand it before it becomes long.
I will be a bit more lenient, and say that all bills should have a maximum of 10 pages, all typed in 12-sized font (preferably Times New Roman or other easy to read fonts).
Anything that "requires" more than 10 pages shall be divided into different sections that SHALL BE VOTED ON SEPARATELY! (In other words: Law Part 1 (10 pages), Law Part 2 (the next 10 pages) all VOTED ON SEPARATELY!
Anything more than that can EASILY BE CORRUPTED by politicians, lobbyists, activists, etc who want us to be uninformed about the bills they're trying to manipulate!
If their idea is so great, why not just keep it simple! If they can't do that, maybe their idea wasn't so great to begin with!
----------
As I mentioned earlier Members of Congress almost NEVER vote on a bill based on what's truly within the 1,000+ pages of the bill. The vote based on "does it make me look good come election time?"
So let's pretend if you're a member of Congress, and you got this 1,000+ page bill in front of you that you got to vote on! You like certain parts of the bill, but other parts you don't like! You tried to talk with the other members of Congress about it, but not enough of them were convinced. So you're voting on that bill - ALL OR NOTHING! What would you do?
You vote for it, the negative parts of the bill become law, and the side effects of that bill will be a reality that caused people to suffer, and YOU VOTED FOR IT!
But if you vote against that bill (even though you like some parts of it), your next political opponent will tell the voters you voted against this bill with a Great Sounding Title, and that you're a bad guy for it?
So what would you do? If you're like most members of Congress, whatever side effects of the law come up doesn't matter. What matters is your next election is coming up, so just vote for that 1,000+ page bill!
That's why we really should do away with 1,000+ page bills. That's why I prefer a system of each bill being only 10 pages.
Anything that "requires" more than 10 pages shall be divided into different sections that SHALL BE VOTED ON SEPARATELY! (In other words: Law Part 1 (10 pages), Law Part 2 (the next 10 pages) all VOTED ON SEPARATELY!
That way if you like Law Part 1 (the first 10 pages) but don't like Law Part 2 (second ten pages), you can vote that way a lot easier, than just vote "ALL OR NOTHING" on a 1,000+ bill!
---
STICKING TO THE SUBJECT
Coincidentally, a few days after I started a draft for this blog post, I got another letter from Senator Dan Inouye.
This time, it's about the "One Subject At a Time Act", which will make each bill being voted on to (....... omg........noh!) to just stick to one subject!
Otherwise, it will be easier for bills to stacked with laws dealing with totally different issues, and members of Congress just voting for it, ALL OR NOTHING, just based on the title of the bill!
For more info on "One Subject at a Time Act", check out http://www.downsizedc.org/osta-legislation
Here's what Inouye wrote
---
Dear Mr. Wegesend,
Thanks for your communication regarding the proposal for legislation to impose restrictions on legislative activity.
At this time, the One Subject at a Time Act, legislation proposed by Downsize D.C., has not been introduced in either the House or the Senate. I believe members of Congress should understand the various implications legislation may have on their constituents, as well as the United States as a whole. However, I do not believe the requirements placed on Members of Congress by this proposals are the most effective means of achieving Downsize D.C.'s goals of limiting federal spending and the size of our government.
I appreciate that you took the time to share your views with me. Please, be assured that I will keep your concerns in mind should similar legislation come before the full Senate for consideration.
Thank you again for sharing your thoughts on this matter.
Aloha,
Daniel K. Inouye
United States Senator
---------
Inouye said :
I do not believe the requirements placed on Members of Congress by this proposals are the most effective means of achieving Downsize D.C.'s goals of limiting federal spending and the size of our government.
Well, what is the most effective means of limiting federal spending or the size of our government? Inouye doesn't have an answer for that, because that's not a concern of his! His main concern is getting re-elected based on what sweet-titled bills he voted for, and how much taxpayer's money come back to Hawaii. Which by the way, only happens because of this "I'll vote to fund this project in your state, ONLY IF you vote to fund this project in my state that most of your voters would probably never visit in their lifetime".
No, Inouye doesn't want to stick to one subject per bill, because that reduces HIS power to manipulate the process! He wants him and his allies to put multiple issues under one 1,000+ bill without having us to understands what's in the bill!
Having us understand what's in the bills REDUCES HIS POWER!
Giving us time to understand AHEAD OF TIME of what Inouye is about to vote on, will REDUCE HIS POWER!
Having him just focus on one subject per bill will REDUCE HIS POWER!
Which is why Inouye and other members of Congress will NEVER agree to have short bills, will NEVER agree to have the bill read aloud so that there's a public audio recording (that can be on YouTube) before they vote on it, will NEVER agree to give the general public time to understand the bill before it gets voted on, and will NEVER agree to stick to one subject per bill!
While the US Constitution is great in that limited the government's power, it didn't limit it enough. The biggest flaw with the US Constitution is that it didn't require bills to be of limited length, it didn't require a 7-day notice to the public on the bill before it gets voted, and it didn't require bills to just stick to one subject!
A whole bunch of headaches could've prevented!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Statements & Sports
Today, I want to go over some sports-related statements that has been in the news lately
1) Abercrombie and the Pro Bowl
Last week, Hawaii governor Neil Abercrombie, has publicly stated that the state government should stop paying subsidies for the Pro Bowl.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/123582634.html
---
As you can see on the comments section of that website, this has gotten many people very angry! They mention that hosting the Pro Bowl brings in $31 million to the state and many have screamed that Abercrombie's statements would put all that in jeopardy!
Also, just doing a Yahoo search has shown that ESPN, Chicago Tribune and Forbes has reported on the issue. Yep,people in the continental US know about this.
Now, I totally understand people's concerns about having taxpayer's funds going to a recreational event, especially in these hard economic times where funding for education and other social services have been cut!
I also understand many people's anger at the NFL over the lockout, as well as NFL owners (billionaires) who keep begging for taxpayer funded salaries.
However, one commenter said it best
(from the comments responding to Dave Shapiro's "Govern your mouth, governor"
http://blog.volcanicash.net/2011/06/09/govern-your-mouth-mr-governor/#comments
Thank you El Guapo! I do think a more behind the scenes approach to solicit more private funding for the Pro Bowl would've been a smarter move! That way, taxpayers are relieved of a burden, there's more funding available for social services, and the governor would've avoided needlessly antagonizing sports fan. And keep the Pro Bowl in Hawaii too!
----------
Abercrombie also said this Abercrombie told reporters that he discounted the importance of the Pro Bowl in comparison to other economic stimulus, such as civil union ceremonies being performed here.
I doubt it! The NFL has a bigger fan base than civil unions do! While I'm for legalizing civil unions for same-sex couples, I don't think they'll bring in more tourists in a weekend than the NFL will!
And Abercrombie also needlessly making the issue "sports fans vs gays".
Here's a great letter to the editor on that issue
http://www.staradvertiser.com/editorials/letters/20110614_Letters_to_the_Editor.html
2) LeBron James answers to the haters!
After losing the NBA championship game, Miami Heat player LeBron James was asked by a reporter about the haters who want to see him fail!
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2011/06/lebron-james-to-hating-fans-worry-about-your-own-lousy-life/1?csp=hf
LeBron James responded with this!
This got some people upset, saying that James is telling people "I might've lost, but I'm rich, you're not!"
But I do agree with LeBron James on this one!
Professional sports is entertainment! Whether the Heat win or lose is not going to make the biggest impact in your life!
From the comments on "The Quote Heard around the World" http://www.thenation.com/blog/161374/lebron-james-and-quote-heard-round-world
The most silliest comment from all this came from Jalen Rose who said about Lebron James "He needs to learn to speak to the media. He puts his foot in his mouth time and time again,"
The same Jalen Rose who publicly admitted to considering Grant Hill "a bitch" and referring to African-American players who play for Duke as "Uncle Toms"?
3) Jalen Rose and "Uncle Toms"
The Jalen Rose comment I was referring to was part of a documentary of the University of Michigan's Fab Five team in the early 1990's. The team included Rose, Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson. They were famous for bringing a hip-hop swagger to college basketball.
In the documentary (which came out in March of this year), Rose said this about Duke University's team and its star Grant Hill
http://espn.go.com/espn/print?id=6270285&type=story
This Uncle Tom stuff was the pre-Obama-era stereotype that any African-American that lives an upper-class lifestyle is a "suck-up to the white man", someone who "abandoned African-American culture". Because Grant Hill grew up in a rich family, he was tagged as an "Uncle Tom" and a "bitch" by Jalen Rose, who grew up in a ghetto community in Detroit.
I think it's silly to expect everyone of an ethnic group to be the same! It was silly to question Grant Hill's "blackness" just because he doesn't fit the ghetto hip-hop culture. You can't expect every African-American to be the same!
Former Duke player Jay Williams responds
http://espn.go.com/espn/print?id=6270285&type=story
----
However, I do relate to some of what Jalen Rose was feeling, but NOT about the "Uncle Tom" stuff. Like Jalen Rose, I did have some resentment towards the suburbs during my younger years. (Though I've grown out of it)
You see, I spent the first 14 years of my life living in a small housing complex (Puahala Homes aka Lanakila Housing), then my parents decided to move to a suburban community in the western half of Oahu. I WAS PISSED OFF!
Even though that housing complex would be considered a "ghetto", I actually liked growing up there. Sure, things happened, but it wasn't like living in Gaza Strip or Somalia. I (as any other human in my situation would) was ANGRY that I was taken away from my roots at a young age.
I go into more details on that issue on that issue in Part 5 of the following blog post at
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-first-3-decades-of-life.html
This caused me to have resentments to the suburban life. I was thinking "shit, everyone is telling me to be "more of a man" yet I'm being moved to the sissy-ass suburbs"
Yes, I know, that is VERY offensive! I truly apologize to all my suburban friends for admitting having those thoughts when I was younger. I hope it can be forgiven.
But that's how I felt at the time! I felt that environment was sucking the manhood out of me, just when I'm supposed to grow into a man.
That's why I felt I could relate to Jalen Rose being disrespectful to the suburbs, though I do think it's silly for him to question someone else's "blackness".
And ironically, I have spent the last school year working in an upper-class suburban middle school, though this one is in the eastern half of Oahu!
And Jalen Rose is a multi-millionaire who is raising kids in an upper-class community instead of the inner-city Detroit he grew up in.
4) Sugar Ray Leonard on being sexually abused.
Legenday boxer Sugar Ray Leonard has recently publicly admitted that he was sexually abused by his trainer when he was training for the 1976 Olympics
http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/feature/2011/06/13/sugar_ray_leonard_sex_abuse_memoir/index.html
[warning: the next paragraphs has graphic details]
Of course, there are people out there who have difficulty believing that a young male boxer (the symbol of toughness) can be sexually abused.
But as the story showed, this was a SURPRISE ATTACK!
The Element of Surprise is the most powerful weapon out there! It is more powerful than a gun, sword, knive, big muscles or fighting skills!
Once someone catches you off guard and violates you, by the time you figure out what to do, it's too late, the damage is done!
Mary Elizabeth Williams made some good points in refuting those who doubt Leonard's story
http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/feature/2011/06/13/sugar_ray_leonard_sex_abuse_memoir/index.html
[skipped paragraphs]
----
So yes, the Element of Surprise is a huge factor in this. Also this macho attitude of "real man can't get hurt by others" make many males ashamed to admit they've been victimized! Especially those who practice a sport that emphasizes toughness!
1) Abercrombie and the Pro Bowl
Last week, Hawaii governor Neil Abercrombie, has publicly stated that the state government should stop paying subsidies for the Pro Bowl.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/123582634.html
Gov. Neil Abercrombie said if he had his way he would stop the $4 million payments to the National Football League given to support holding the Pro Bowl in Honolulu.
Abercrombie, during a news conference this morning on early childhood education, said it is a matter of the state’s priorities.
The governor said the Pro Bowl was “an easy target.”
“This happens to be an easy target because it is so stupid. You can’t do things like give $4 million to a $9 billion football industry and not give money to children,” Abercrombie said.
---
As you can see on the comments section of that website, this has gotten many people very angry! They mention that hosting the Pro Bowl brings in $31 million to the state and many have screamed that Abercrombie's statements would put all that in jeopardy!
Also, just doing a Yahoo search has shown that ESPN, Chicago Tribune and Forbes has reported on the issue. Yep,people in the continental US know about this.
Now, I totally understand people's concerns about having taxpayer's funds going to a recreational event, especially in these hard economic times where funding for education and other social services have been cut!
I also understand many people's anger at the NFL over the lockout, as well as NFL owners (billionaires) who keep begging for taxpayer funded salaries.
However, one commenter said it best
(from the comments responding to Dave Shapiro's "Govern your mouth, governor"
http://blog.volcanicash.net/2011/06/09/govern-your-mouth-mr-governor/#comments
el guapo Says:
June 10, 2011 at 6:15 pm
Neil should have had Mike McCartney quietly go to the bigwigs of the visitor industry and get them to put up part of the $4 million.
Thank you El Guapo! I do think a more behind the scenes approach to solicit more private funding for the Pro Bowl would've been a smarter move! That way, taxpayers are relieved of a burden, there's more funding available for social services, and the governor would've avoided needlessly antagonizing sports fan. And keep the Pro Bowl in Hawaii too!
----------
Abercrombie also said this Abercrombie told reporters that he discounted the importance of the Pro Bowl in comparison to other economic stimulus, such as civil union ceremonies being performed here.
"Please, we will get more out of civil unions in a weekend than we will get out of those guys," Abercrombie said of the Pro Bowl.
I doubt it! The NFL has a bigger fan base than civil unions do! While I'm for legalizing civil unions for same-sex couples, I don't think they'll bring in more tourists in a weekend than the NFL will!
And Abercrombie also needlessly making the issue "sports fans vs gays".
Here's a great letter to the editor on that issue
http://www.staradvertiser.com/editorials/letters/20110614_Letters_to_the_Editor.html
Don't belittle civil unions
Gov. Neil Abercrombie brings out the worst in his latest rant against the Pro Bowl. He states, "We will get more out of civil unions in a weekend than we will get out of those guys" ("Governor flays Pro Bowl deal," Star-Advertiser, June 10). Really — $30 million more?
And to belittle civil unions as a money-making scheme rather than the closest thing to marriage that gay couples have, and to knock the years of struggle to have it passed, is just wrong.
Abercrombie makes light of this situation but it seems like a slap in the face to people on each side who support either gay marriage or the Pro Bowl in Hawaii. Why the need to choose? Both would be welcome to the islands as they bring what is needed more than ever — more opportunities for the people of Hawaii to come together, make a little money and show why Hawaii is the best place to live, work and play.
Vanessa Matautia
Waipahu
2) LeBron James answers to the haters!
After losing the NBA championship game, Miami Heat player LeBron James was asked by a reporter about the haters who want to see him fail!
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2011/06/lebron-james-to-hating-fans-worry-about-your-own-lousy-life/1?csp=hf
LeBron James responded with this!
"All the people that were rooting on me to fail, at the end of the day they have to wake up tomorrow and have the same life that they had before they woke up today. They have the same personal problems they had today. I'm going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things that I want to do with me and my family and be happy with that. So they can get a few days or a few months or whatever the case may be on being happy about not only myself, but the Miami Heat not accomplishing their goal. But they got to get back to the real world at some point."
This got some people upset, saying that James is telling people "I might've lost, but I'm rich, you're not!"
But I do agree with LeBron James on this one!
Professional sports is entertainment! Whether the Heat win or lose is not going to make the biggest impact in your life!
From the comments on "The Quote Heard around the World" http://www.thenation.com/blog/161374/lebron-james-and-quote-heard-round-world
5. posted by: pam0012 at 06/13/2011 @ 4:50pm .First, I live in Dallas and am a die-hard Mavs fan--way to go, Champs!--and second, I watched the interview in which LeBron said the quoted text above. He was answering a direct question from a reporter: "What do you say to all those fans who were rooting for you to fail?" It was a jerky question to ask of someone who has just lost a championship in humiliating fashion. And granted, LeBron's answer seems harsh when you read it. But when he said it last night, I thought, "Well, he's right!" What good does it do for people to "hate" LeBron--someone they don't actually know--and root for his failure, as if their schadenfreude would change their lives in any way? It doesn't, and I think that was his point. Go Mavs.
The most silliest comment from all this came from Jalen Rose who said about Lebron James "He needs to learn to speak to the media. He puts his foot in his mouth time and time again,"
The same Jalen Rose who publicly admitted to considering Grant Hill "a bitch" and referring to African-American players who play for Duke as "Uncle Toms"?
3) Jalen Rose and "Uncle Toms"
The Jalen Rose comment I was referring to was part of a documentary of the University of Michigan's Fab Five team in the early 1990's. The team included Rose, Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson. They were famous for bringing a hip-hop swagger to college basketball.
In the documentary (which came out in March of this year), Rose said this about Duke University's team and its star Grant Hill
http://espn.go.com/espn/print?id=6270285&type=story
Rose, as part of an ESPN Films documentary "The Fab Five" that aired March 13 (Rose was an executive producer), said black Blue Devils basketball players recruited in the early 1990s were "Uncle Toms."
"I hated Duke and I hated everything Duke stood for. Schools like Duke didn't recruit players like me. I felt like they only recruited black players that were Uncle Toms," Rose said in the documentary.
This Uncle Tom stuff was the pre-Obama-era stereotype that any African-American that lives an upper-class lifestyle is a "suck-up to the white man", someone who "abandoned African-American culture". Because Grant Hill grew up in a rich family, he was tagged as an "Uncle Tom" and a "bitch" by Jalen Rose, who grew up in a ghetto community in Detroit.
I think it's silly to expect everyone of an ethnic group to be the same! It was silly to question Grant Hill's "blackness" just because he doesn't fit the ghetto hip-hop culture. You can't expect every African-American to be the same!
Former Duke player Jay Williams responds
http://espn.go.com/espn/print?id=6270285&type=story
Williams also said that there is a debate in the African-American community on what it means to be "black." He said he lived in a black neighborhood as a kid but went to a predominantly white school. When he played basketball in his neighborhood he was razzed for "talkin' white."
"How is it to be less black?" he said. "If the definition of an Uncle Tom is me coming from a dual-parenting home where my mother and father worked harder for me to receive a better education; if the definition of an Uncle Tom is for me going to a prestigious school like Duke or Harvard or learning how to flow from being in the inner city and also being on TV and in the corporate world, I'll be an Uncle Tom all day long."
----
However, I do relate to some of what Jalen Rose was feeling, but NOT about the "Uncle Tom" stuff. Like Jalen Rose, I did have some resentment towards the suburbs during my younger years. (Though I've grown out of it)
You see, I spent the first 14 years of my life living in a small housing complex (Puahala Homes aka Lanakila Housing), then my parents decided to move to a suburban community in the western half of Oahu. I WAS PISSED OFF!
Even though that housing complex would be considered a "ghetto", I actually liked growing up there. Sure, things happened, but it wasn't like living in Gaza Strip or Somalia. I (as any other human in my situation would) was ANGRY that I was taken away from my roots at a young age.
I go into more details on that issue on that issue in Part 5 of the following blog post at
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-first-3-decades-of-life.html
This caused me to have resentments to the suburban life. I was thinking "shit, everyone is telling me to be "more of a man" yet I'm being moved to the sissy-ass suburbs"
Yes, I know, that is VERY offensive! I truly apologize to all my suburban friends for admitting having those thoughts when I was younger. I hope it can be forgiven.
But that's how I felt at the time! I felt that environment was sucking the manhood out of me, just when I'm supposed to grow into a man.
That's why I felt I could relate to Jalen Rose being disrespectful to the suburbs, though I do think it's silly for him to question someone else's "blackness".
And ironically, I have spent the last school year working in an upper-class suburban middle school, though this one is in the eastern half of Oahu!
And Jalen Rose is a multi-millionaire who is raising kids in an upper-class community instead of the inner-city Detroit he grew up in.
4) Sugar Ray Leonard on being sexually abused.
Legenday boxer Sugar Ray Leonard has recently publicly admitted that he was sexually abused by his trainer when he was training for the 1976 Olympics
http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/feature/2011/06/13/sugar_ray_leonard_sex_abuse_memoir/index.html
Sugar Ray Leonard is a boxing legend. Like many professional athletes, he has smoothly transitioned in his later years into a likable sports commentator, "Dancing With the Stars" contestant, and now, bombshell memoirist. Early on in his new book, the former champ, who has had to be public in the past about his failed first marriage, his incidents of hitting his wife, and his struggles with cocaine, reveals a secret he says he's kept for decades: sexual abuse at the hands of a "prominent Olympic boxing coach."
[warning: the next paragraphs has graphic details]
Leonard says that he first suspected something unusual about the much older coach when, during a boxing trip when he was 15, the man had Leonard and another boxer bathe together while he watched them from across the room. Years later, likely sometime in his late teens, Leonard says he sat in a car with the same coach discussing his prospects for the 1976 Olympics. Then, he says, "Before I knew it, he had unzipped my pants and put his hand, then mouth, on an area that has haunted me for life. I didn’t scream. I didn't look at him. I just opened the door and ran."
Of course, there are people out there who have difficulty believing that a young male boxer (the symbol of toughness) can be sexually abused.
But as the story showed, this was a SURPRISE ATTACK!
The Element of Surprise is the most powerful weapon out there! It is more powerful than a gun, sword, knive, big muscles or fighting skills!
Once someone catches you off guard and violates you, by the time you figure out what to do, it's too late, the damage is done!
Mary Elizabeth Williams made some good points in refuting those who doubt Leonard's story
http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/feature/2011/06/13/sugar_ray_leonard_sex_abuse_memoir/index.html
What, then, about the theory that the coach wouldn't make such a blatant overture to someone who could potentially physically retaliate? How about because people do illogical things all the time? People, in fact, do horrible, career-threatening, criminally risky things in the name of their own pathologies every day. And sexual abusers don't just prey on their victims' bodies, they play with their trust. They know that if their victims speak out, they will be doubted. They'll be asked if they fought back, or fought hard enough. The onus of blame for what happened will be on them. Abusers count on silence and shame, knowing well how young people are raised to be polite and deferential to authority and not make a scene.
[skipped paragraphs]
So let's clear a few things up. Someone who is big and strong can be abused. Someone who doesn't scream can be abused. Someone who doesn't talk about the abuse until years afterward can still have been abused. In fact, anyone who doesn't conform to any convenient notions of how a victim is supposed to look or behave can be abused. In an interview on CNN last week, Leonard said, "I had to get that out. Because it was killing me inside. I was dying inside. I told no one ... A guy don't talk about those things, especially me, as a fighter."
It's entirely possible to be one of the greatest fighters in the world and still, just like any other victim in the world, in a moment of shock and shame and fear, not know how to fight someone you trusted not to hurt you.
----
So yes, the Element of Surprise is a huge factor in this. Also this macho attitude of "real man can't get hurt by others" make many males ashamed to admit they've been victimized! Especially those who practice a sport that emphasizes toughness!
Saturday, June 04, 2011
OMG, a male is coming!
It's hard to top the title of a Wall Street Journal editorial named "Eek! A Male" by Lenore Skenazy! That title is even more eye-catching than the title of this blog post!
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703779704576073752925629440.html
"Eek! A Male" was published in Janurary of this year. I did mention it on facebook, but haven't got around to mentioning about it on my blog until now. I was reminded to revisit this issue after borrowing Skenazy's book "Free Range Kids".
Anyways, back to "Eek! A Male!" While the title was very funny, it did highlight a serious anti-male sexism, and I'm glad that a female like Lenore Skenazy took a strong stand against this anti-male paranoia.
Some excerpts from "Eek! A Male!"
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703779704576073752925629440.html
----
Those paragraphs really hit home with me! I worked as a substitute teacher with various age levels. I've worked preschools to high schools!
At some of the preschools I've subbed at, there has been gossip that some parents didn't want ME to change their kids diapers. Nevermind that the schools already done a background check! Me being a male was enough to arouse their suspicions.
Here's what I want to say them : You don't want me to change your kids diapers? GOOD! I NEVER WANTED TO CHANGE YOUR KIDS DOO-DOO DIAPERS ANYWAYS! TOILET TRAIN YOUR KIDS ALREADY!
I like everything about working at preschools EXCEPT FOR CHANGING DIAPERS! That would be true for 99.99% of all male & female staff members of preschools. We do enjoy seeing the kids play around, we enjoy nap time when the kids are resting, and we ALL think of changing diapers as a "neccessary evil that nobody wants to do, but it's gotta get done anyways" Remember, changing diapers = smelling stinky waste! Even males HATE smelling stinky waste!
-------
more from " Eek! A Male!"
So, who's the real pervert? It's NOT the male preschool worker changing diapers! It's the paranoid anti-male parents who are the real perverts!
So, who's the real pervert? It's NOT the male store worker restocking shelves with panties! The real pervert is that lady screaming at the male store worker!
Skenazy concluded "Eek! A Male!" with this great point
We think we're protecting our kids by treating all men as potential predators. But that's not a society that's safe. Just sick.
--
A belated thank you to Lenore Skenazy!
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703779704576073752925629440.html
"Eek! A Male" was published in Janurary of this year. I did mention it on facebook, but haven't got around to mentioning about it on my blog until now. I was reminded to revisit this issue after borrowing Skenazy's book "Free Range Kids".
Anyways, back to "Eek! A Male!" While the title was very funny, it did highlight a serious anti-male sexism, and I'm glad that a female like Lenore Skenazy took a strong stand against this anti-male paranoia.
Some excerpts from "Eek! A Male!"
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703779704576073752925629440.html
And so it goes these days, when almost any man who has anything to do with a child can find himself suspected of being a creep. I call it "Worst-First" thinking: Gripped by pedophile panic, we jump to the very worst, even least likely, conclusion first. Then we congratulate ourselves for being so vigilant.
Consider the Iowa daycare center where Nichole Adkins works. The one male aide employed there, she told me in an interview, is not allowed to change diapers. "In fact," Ms. Adkins said, "he has been asked to leave the classroom when diapering was happening."
Now, a guy turned on by diaper changes has got to be even rarer than a guy turned on by Sponge Bob. But "Worst-First" thinking means suspecting the motives of any man who chooses to work around kids.
----
Those paragraphs really hit home with me! I worked as a substitute teacher with various age levels. I've worked preschools to high schools!
At some of the preschools I've subbed at, there has been gossip that some parents didn't want ME to change their kids diapers. Nevermind that the schools already done a background check! Me being a male was enough to arouse their suspicions.
Here's what I want to say them : You don't want me to change your kids diapers? GOOD! I NEVER WANTED TO CHANGE YOUR KIDS DOO-DOO DIAPERS ANYWAYS! TOILET TRAIN YOUR KIDS ALREADY!
I like everything about working at preschools EXCEPT FOR CHANGING DIAPERS! That would be true for 99.99% of all male & female staff members of preschools. We do enjoy seeing the kids play around, we enjoy nap time when the kids are resting, and we ALL think of changing diapers as a "neccessary evil that nobody wants to do, but it's gotta get done anyways" Remember, changing diapers = smelling stinky waste! Even males HATE smelling stinky waste!
-------
more from " Eek! A Male!"
Maybe the daycare center felt it had to be extra cautious, to avoid lawsuits. But regular folk are suspicious, too. Last February, a woman followed a man around at a store berating him for clutching a pile of girls' panties. "I can't believe this! You're disgusting. This is a public place, you pervert!" she said—until the guy, who posted about the episode on a website, fished out his ID. He was a clerk restocking the underwear department. Skenazy later made this point - What's really ironic about all this emphasis on perverts is that it's making us think like them!
So, who's the real pervert? It's NOT the male preschool worker changing diapers! It's the paranoid anti-male parents who are the real perverts!
So, who's the real pervert? It's NOT the male store worker restocking shelves with panties! The real pervert is that lady screaming at the male store worker!
Skenazy concluded "Eek! A Male!" with this great point
We think we're protecting our kids by treating all men as potential predators. But that's not a society that's safe. Just sick.
--
A belated thank you to Lenore Skenazy!
If it Happened Somewhere, It can Happen Anywhere
When it was over, a woman was dead, two other people were seriously injured and the lives of four Oahu families were shattered after a roadway shooting spree that police said appeared to be random attacks by a gunman.
Tammy Nguyen, a 54-year-old Palolo mother of 10, died of gunshot wounds she sustained when a man walked up to her van — idling at a red light in Kaimuki — and opened fire. A 16-year-old girl was in the van with Nguyen; she was not shot.
Amielou Asuncion, a 24-year-old Kalihi resident, was in serious but stable condition at the Queen's Medical Center after being shot by a passing driver as she was driving west on the H-1 freeway in Kapalama.
Samson Naupoto, a 38-year-old Salt Lake man, was in stable condition at the Queen's Medical Center from gunshot wounds, also along H-1 in Kapalama.
Being held in connection with the shooting of the three motorists was Wahiawa resident Toby Stangel, 28, the son of a North Shore minister.
Stangel is facing a second-degree murder charge, first-degree attempted murder (in the case of multiple victims) as well as several firearms violations, police said.
Police Maj. Richard Robinson, head of HPD's Criminal Investigation Division, said the shootings appear to be random acts.
----------
It seems like anytime a violent incident in Hawaii happens, you always hear people express shock that something like that happened in Hawaii.
Well, I'm not shocked at all!
My attitude is - If It Happened Somewhere, It Can Happen Anywhere!
Just because we live in some tropical paradise, that doesn't mean all the negative side of human nature goes away! Stuff happens!
I don't want to spread paranoia! I just want people to put away this BS naive attitude of "this is Hawaii, it doesn't happen here"
-----
It reminds of this attitude before Columbine shooting in 1999. Before the Columbine shooting, people thought of gun violence at schools as something that only took place in schools in "ghetto minority schools" or "rural Southern white schools". But Columbine High School didn't match either profiles. It was located in an upper-class European-American community in Colorado. Now, all of a sudden, the average middle-class American wants to take school violence seriously.
That should've been enough to alert anyone that If It Happened Somewhere, It Can Happen Anywhere!
Yet, people in Hawaii act like "school shootings only happen in the mainland, we're not like that"
But last month at a middle school located in a middle class community of Pearl City, HI some kid found a gun in a park and brought it to school to show off to his friends. Obviously, that kid had no training in gun saftey since he accidentally shot his friend.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/Gun_causes_minor_injuries_at_Highlands_Intermediate_School.html
And yet, many people in Hawaii are soooooo shocked something like that happened in Hawaii. I'm not! If It Happened Somewhere, It Can Happen Anywhere!
---
I also notice many people here get paranoid about tourists being scared of by anything negative about Hawaii.
You might think I'm exaggarating. But I still remember people expressing concerns about "tourists being scared away" after the UH football team got into a fight after a game shown on ESPN!
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2003/12/hawaii-bowl-scrap-weve-heard-all.html
The fact that 2pac was killed in Las Vegas didn't scare many Hawaii people from visiting their favorite vacation spot, which happens to be Las Vegas.
The fact that Hurricane Katrina exposed the violent disfunctions of New Orleans (usually nicknamed "Murder Capital of America") didn't stop many Hawaii people from visiting that city when the UH football team played in the Sugar Bowl.
If people are curious, and they got the money, they'll come, regardless of whatever scary stories they might hear.
I wrote on the topic back in August 2005 at http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2005/08/images-of-hawaii-everytime-something.html
Plus, with all this "ghetto tourism" or "slum tours" occurring in places like Los Angeles, Rio De Janeiro, Mumbai and Nairobi, it's less likely that tourists would be scared to visit Hawaii.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/travel/09heads.html (on slum tours in foreign nations)
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/dec/05/local/la-me-southla-tours5-2009dec05 (tours of South-Central LA)
Friday, May 27, 2011
The Closing of Liliuokalani Elementary School
Yesterday was the last day of the 2010-2011 school for all Hawaii public schools.
It was also the last day ever for Queen Liliuokalani Elementary School, located in Kaimuki!
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110527_tears_fill_final_day_at_liliuokalani_elementary.html
One year shy of what would have been its centennial anniversary, Queen Liliuokalani Elementary held its final day of classes ever, with teachers, parents and students gathering for a tearful send-off to mark the end of another school year while mourning the closing of their beloved school.
At an assembly in the Kaimuki school's cafeteria Thursday, the last-ever awards for citizenship and most improved students were given out, the last-ever QLS basketball team was told their purple jerseys would be retired, the last-ever fifth-grade class celebrated its graduation and Liliuokalani's last-ever principal, Raelene Chock, addressed students, telling them to "remember where you came from. Always remember QLS."
---
1) Why did it close?
In great economic times, no one would consider closing this school.
However, these are NOT great economic times. We just can't pay for everything we want! Tax revenues have declined, but more importantly, the private sector has declined! Something had to be cut!
Also, population trends come into play. Within the last 3 decades, the population of Oahu has shifted from east to west. So many young families are moving to West Oahu, that the schools are running out of room for all those children. Some new schools are being built, but the state can only build so much new schools at a time!
So the state is being pressured to build new schools in areas that have growing populations (West Oahu), yet it's still pressured to keep funding schools in areas that don't have as much young families as before (East Honolulu). East Honolulu's average population is also getting older, and whatever young families are still around, many are rich enough to send their children to private schools.
Wailupe Valley Elementary School already closed down due to low enrollment. Other East Honolulu elementary schools, like Koko Head and Kamiloiki, also had declining enrollment, but they also had high test scores, and it wouldn't look good if schools with good test scores got closed down. Those 2 schools got saved!
2 elementary schools in Kalihi (Kalihi Elementary and Puuhale Elementary) also had declining enrollments, but many parents in the area felt closing their schools while saving East Honolulu schools is a form of economic discrimination. So those 2 Kalihi schools got saved!
Liliuokalani had small enrollment, average test scores that were outshined by nearby schools. And in the era of reduced budgets and populations moving west, it was Liliuokalani that was to be shut down.
2) My Time at Liliuokalani Elementary Schools
I was enrolled as a student at Lilioukalani Elementary School for my preschool and kindergarten years. I never lived in the school's district. I was enrolled in their program, because I started talking late (at age 5, when many kids start at age 2) and there was room in their preschool program.
My memories over just consisted of the classrooms, the basketball courts and the bus I took to get there. I wouldn't remember any of the students names.
Starting from 1st grade, I attended Lanakila Elementary School, which was the school of my district. I was there until 5th grade. Obviously, I have much more memories there! And I'm still in contact with many of my peers from Lanakila!
----
I did return to Liliuokalani Elementary School as a substitute teacher. I was there 2 times, once in December 2006 and December 2008. The school did feel a lot smaller than it did when I was a kid there. (of course, everything to a kid is big). It did feel like traveling through memory lane, even though it was so long ago.
The 1st time I subbed there, things went pretty smooth. The 2nd time, there was 1 kid who kept talking out of turn, I wanted earplugs, LOL! Both were upper elementary classes.
3) Comments on the closing
There are some comments about this issue from the internet that I want to address.
Some said the school's closing was done for the purpose of "dishonoring Queen Liliuokalani" who was the queen overthrowned in 1893 by European-Americans.
It's got nothing to do with that! It's all about location. If that school was located in West Oahu areas like Ewa, Kapolei or Mililani, all of which has seen an increase of young families, it wouldn't be closed down at all! No matter what is was called!
Other comments on the schools closing goes something like "they're closing the schools so that kids be deprived of an education". No! The kids will still get an education, they'll just go to nearby schools like Liholiho Elementary School or Waialae Elementary School!
4) Conclusion
Even though it was totally understandable that the school closed down, it is still a sad moment for everyone who had associations with Queen Liliuokalani Elementary School. The schools are a major part of the students life, it is their 2nd home, their "home away from home". Schools are not only a place of academic studies, they're also a place of friendship, fun activities and many memories!
Even though I was at that school for a very short time, and even though I had more memories at other schools I attended later in life, I will still miss the existence of Queen Liliuokalani Elementary School :(
It was also the last day ever for Queen Liliuokalani Elementary School, located in Kaimuki!
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110527_tears_fill_final_day_at_liliuokalani_elementary.html
One year shy of what would have been its centennial anniversary, Queen Liliuokalani Elementary held its final day of classes ever, with teachers, parents and students gathering for a tearful send-off to mark the end of another school year while mourning the closing of their beloved school.
At an assembly in the Kaimuki school's cafeteria Thursday, the last-ever awards for citizenship and most improved students were given out, the last-ever QLS basketball team was told their purple jerseys would be retired, the last-ever fifth-grade class celebrated its graduation and Liliuokalani's last-ever principal, Raelene Chock, addressed students, telling them to "remember where you came from. Always remember QLS."
---
1) Why did it close?
In great economic times, no one would consider closing this school.
However, these are NOT great economic times. We just can't pay for everything we want! Tax revenues have declined, but more importantly, the private sector has declined! Something had to be cut!
Also, population trends come into play. Within the last 3 decades, the population of Oahu has shifted from east to west. So many young families are moving to West Oahu, that the schools are running out of room for all those children. Some new schools are being built, but the state can only build so much new schools at a time!
So the state is being pressured to build new schools in areas that have growing populations (West Oahu), yet it's still pressured to keep funding schools in areas that don't have as much young families as before (East Honolulu). East Honolulu's average population is also getting older, and whatever young families are still around, many are rich enough to send their children to private schools.
Wailupe Valley Elementary School already closed down due to low enrollment. Other East Honolulu elementary schools, like Koko Head and Kamiloiki, also had declining enrollment, but they also had high test scores, and it wouldn't look good if schools with good test scores got closed down. Those 2 schools got saved!
2 elementary schools in Kalihi (Kalihi Elementary and Puuhale Elementary) also had declining enrollments, but many parents in the area felt closing their schools while saving East Honolulu schools is a form of economic discrimination. So those 2 Kalihi schools got saved!
Liliuokalani had small enrollment, average test scores that were outshined by nearby schools. And in the era of reduced budgets and populations moving west, it was Liliuokalani that was to be shut down.
2) My Time at Liliuokalani Elementary Schools
I was enrolled as a student at Lilioukalani Elementary School for my preschool and kindergarten years. I never lived in the school's district. I was enrolled in their program, because I started talking late (at age 5, when many kids start at age 2) and there was room in their preschool program.
My memories over just consisted of the classrooms, the basketball courts and the bus I took to get there. I wouldn't remember any of the students names.
Starting from 1st grade, I attended Lanakila Elementary School, which was the school of my district. I was there until 5th grade. Obviously, I have much more memories there! And I'm still in contact with many of my peers from Lanakila!
----
I did return to Liliuokalani Elementary School as a substitute teacher. I was there 2 times, once in December 2006 and December 2008. The school did feel a lot smaller than it did when I was a kid there. (of course, everything to a kid is big). It did feel like traveling through memory lane, even though it was so long ago.
The 1st time I subbed there, things went pretty smooth. The 2nd time, there was 1 kid who kept talking out of turn, I wanted earplugs, LOL! Both were upper elementary classes.
3) Comments on the closing
There are some comments about this issue from the internet that I want to address.
Some said the school's closing was done for the purpose of "dishonoring Queen Liliuokalani" who was the queen overthrowned in 1893 by European-Americans.
It's got nothing to do with that! It's all about location. If that school was located in West Oahu areas like Ewa, Kapolei or Mililani, all of which has seen an increase of young families, it wouldn't be closed down at all! No matter what is was called!
Other comments on the schools closing goes something like "they're closing the schools so that kids be deprived of an education". No! The kids will still get an education, they'll just go to nearby schools like Liholiho Elementary School or Waialae Elementary School!
4) Conclusion
Even though it was totally understandable that the school closed down, it is still a sad moment for everyone who had associations with Queen Liliuokalani Elementary School. The schools are a major part of the students life, it is their 2nd home, their "home away from home". Schools are not only a place of academic studies, they're also a place of friendship, fun activities and many memories!
Even though I was at that school for a very short time, and even though I had more memories at other schools I attended later in life, I will still miss the existence of Queen Liliuokalani Elementary School :(
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Profiles in cowardice
Parents are supposed to teach their kids courage! That's the ideal.
But too many parents don't even bother to teach their kids to show courage. Too many parents don't even teach their kids how to stand up for themselves.
I'm guessing that many parents don't want to teach their kids to stand up to themselves, otherwise the kids might stand up to them!
But kids aren't going to be kids forever, and they need to learn how to stand up for themselves, especially under extreme duress!
But what's even worse, is when parents DISCOURAGE their kids from standing up for themselves.
This profile in cowardice is focused on a French politician named Anne Mansouret.
Mansouret admitted to discouraging her daughter (who was a victim of an attempted rape) from filing a police report! In other words, she taught her daughter to act like a coward! That's just wrong!
http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/05/16/france.imf.2002.allegation/index.html
Anne Mansouret, a member of parliament for the Socialist Party, said she cautioned her daughter, Tristane Banon, not to file a police report at the time, saying it might adversely impact her career. At the time, Banon was an aspiring journalist.
(skipped paragraphs)
Mansouret said she arrived about an hour and a half later to find her daughter still locked in the car and looking "roughed up." The heel of one shoe was broken, Mansouret recalled to CNN.
But Mansouret told her daughter not to file a complaint out of concern she would become known as Strauss-Kahn's victim.
===
In other words, Mansouret encouraged her daughter to Act Like a Coward!
Oh, but now Mansouret is all apologetic now!
This is becuase the guy who attempted to rape her daughter (who happens to be the IMF chief who wants to be the next French president) has been caught attempting to rape another woman!
Mansouret, you got blood on your hands!
Because Mansouret discouraged her daughter from filing a police report on her attempted rapist ( Dominique Strauss-Kahn aka DSK ) was free to go around sexually assaulting more women.
In other words, DSK was free to force unwanted pregnancies and spread whatever STDs he might have on any unsuspecting woman he could launch a surprise attack on behind close doors!
And because DSK went unpunished, he thought he could get away with attempting to rape a hotel maid in New York!
But, here in the USA, we take rape more seriously than the French! So DSK got busted and he's on the notorious Rikers Island prison! DSK's fun gotta end sometime!
The maid who filed a police report against DSK should get a Profile in Courage award!
Mansouret, in her discouraging rape victims to take a risk and filing police reports against rapist deserve a Profile in Cowardice award!
=============
PS: While all of us have a coward within us, I truly despise those who encourage cowardice in others!
It's understandable when crime victims are reluctant to file a police report. Especially when the attacker is a celebrity or a politician, and especially when this can come with unwanted publicity. But there's no excuse for the victim's mother to be encouraging cowardice. A true mother should saying "I hope you file a police report against your attacker, I am with you in spirit, so don't be afraid!"
However, Ms Mansouret did the exact opposite, encouraged her daughter be a coward in the face of adversity, especially in something as important as making sure her daughter's rapist get brought to justice!
It's serious enough to involve CPS if you ask me!
But too many parents don't even bother to teach their kids to show courage. Too many parents don't even teach their kids how to stand up for themselves.
I'm guessing that many parents don't want to teach their kids to stand up to themselves, otherwise the kids might stand up to them!
But kids aren't going to be kids forever, and they need to learn how to stand up for themselves, especially under extreme duress!
But what's even worse, is when parents DISCOURAGE their kids from standing up for themselves.
This profile in cowardice is focused on a French politician named Anne Mansouret.
Mansouret admitted to discouraging her daughter (who was a victim of an attempted rape) from filing a police report! In other words, she taught her daughter to act like a coward! That's just wrong!
http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/05/16/france.imf.2002.allegation/index.html
Anne Mansouret, a member of parliament for the Socialist Party, said she cautioned her daughter, Tristane Banon, not to file a police report at the time, saying it might adversely impact her career. At the time, Banon was an aspiring journalist.
(skipped paragraphs)
Mansouret said she arrived about an hour and a half later to find her daughter still locked in the car and looking "roughed up." The heel of one shoe was broken, Mansouret recalled to CNN.
But Mansouret told her daughter not to file a complaint out of concern she would become known as Strauss-Kahn's victim.
===
In other words, Mansouret encouraged her daughter to Act Like a Coward!
Oh, but now Mansouret is all apologetic now!
This is becuase the guy who attempted to rape her daughter (who happens to be the IMF chief who wants to be the next French president) has been caught attempting to rape another woman!
Mansouret, you got blood on your hands!
Because Mansouret discouraged her daughter from filing a police report on her attempted rapist ( Dominique Strauss-Kahn aka DSK ) was free to go around sexually assaulting more women.
In other words, DSK was free to force unwanted pregnancies and spread whatever STDs he might have on any unsuspecting woman he could launch a surprise attack on behind close doors!
And because DSK went unpunished, he thought he could get away with attempting to rape a hotel maid in New York!
But, here in the USA, we take rape more seriously than the French! So DSK got busted and he's on the notorious Rikers Island prison! DSK's fun gotta end sometime!
The maid who filed a police report against DSK should get a Profile in Courage award!
Mansouret, in her discouraging rape victims to take a risk and filing police reports against rapist deserve a Profile in Cowardice award!
=============
PS: While all of us have a coward within us, I truly despise those who encourage cowardice in others!
It's understandable when crime victims are reluctant to file a police report. Especially when the attacker is a celebrity or a politician, and especially when this can come with unwanted publicity. But there's no excuse for the victim's mother to be encouraging cowardice. A true mother should saying "I hope you file a police report against your attacker, I am with you in spirit, so don't be afraid!"
However, Ms Mansouret did the exact opposite, encouraged her daughter be a coward in the face of adversity, especially in something as important as making sure her daughter's rapist get brought to justice!
It's serious enough to involve CPS if you ask me!
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