Actions Actions ADVERTISING Consider regal action Many people respond to ethical discussion with the rhetorical question “What would Jesus do?” It’s a good start. There are many topics in Hawaii that might best be answered with “What would Kamehameha do?”
Actions
Consider regal action
Many people respond to ethical discussion with the rhetorical question “What would Jesus do?” It’s a good start.
There are many topics in Hawaii that might best be answered with “What would Kamehameha do?”
The king was a very astute man, and he had no problem absorbing 18th century Western ideas.
The Law of the Broken Paddle was a bill of rights for common people at a time when most governments were total dictatorships.
He tolerated Christians.
In warfare, he was quick to adopt firearms. He saw value in adding ships and schooners to his fleet of canoes, but he also used diplomacy to achieve his ends without bloodshed.
He welcomed the importation of Western livestock to improve his people’s diet and even proposed an alliance with Great Britain to protect Hawaii from the predation of other colonial powers like Russia and Japan.
His successors also adopted many Western ideas, like Christianity, modern medicine, a legislature, machinery and observatories.
So the next time the topic of windmills, or telescopes or geothermal, comes up, just ask yourself, “What would Kamehameha do?”
Ken Obenski
Kaohe
Hospitals
Why costs increase; read before you sign
When I saw an upcoming seminar on what to expect when you go to the hospital, I thought “if you’re not broke going in, expect to be broke coming out.”
Please read “Why Medical Bills are Killing Us” in Time Magazine, March 4 to learn about the incredible pricing and billing practices of hospitals around the country.
After reading the Time article, the news that Hawaii may privatize its hospitals or have them managed by out-of-state nonprofits got me worried. It points out that nonprofit doesn’t necessarily mean what you or I think: They may make more money (e.g., high executive salaries) and do less charitable work (less than 1 percent of income) than you think and their prices are often outrageous, bearing little or no relation to costs.
Who asks for a price sheet when you go to a hospital?
Medicare comes off looking pretty good, not only because it protects the elderly, but because it pays hospitals based upon their actual cost and not on a dream list of “chargemaster” prices.
The article doesn’t mention Hawaii hospitals. Maybe they are really great. But if so, and you have a say in the plans to change our hospitals’ ownership or management, please read the Time article before you sign.
Ron Shelden
Kailua-Kona
Earth
A planet in chaos
A depleting ozone layer, earthquakes, tsunamis, meteors striking earth such as the one that hit Russia and pollution literally are just some of the problems facing our fragile planet earth.
The way government is going, a one world government is just around the corner.
I predict the Chinese currency will take over the world and the once-popular dollar will fade into the horizon.
What scares me the most is the depletion of planet earth’s oh so important ozone layer. If earth’s ozone layer disappears, you can kiss modern human existence on this planet goodbye.
All this is due to the greed in the hearts and souls of modern human beings, which isn’t too smart. Like the great Bob Marley said, there is “so much trouble in the world.”
I am a graduate of the University of Hawaii at Hilo and disagreed with virtually all that was taught in classes. Today, what I preached seems to be coming true and the book on planet earth seems to be coming to a close.
Dean Nagasako
Hilo
Retreat
Fundraiser mahalo
Mahalo from Kokolulu Farm And Cancer Retreats for the March 9 fundraising gala at Pakalana Sanctuary.
We would like to thank all of the volunteers, venders, and more than 300 participants who contributed to the gala and fundraiser at Puako March 9.
More than $27,000 was raised to fund scholarships so those affected by cancer can attend Kokolulu’s cancer retreats.
Kokolulu Farm and Cancer Retreats offers people with cancer an escape to a peaceful environment with personal counseling.
Much of the work of retreat is mission work. The majority of KFCR clients has been wiped out financially by their disease and need the resource that KFCR offers.
Kokolulu relies on donations and contributions to be able to offer this invaluable service.
Lew Whitney, Karin Cooke
Hawi
