We lost a good man
We lost a good man
I was saddened to see the death notice of Stephen Sands in WHT. As one of the most recognized name of artists in Hawaii, he has brought happiness and joy to many of us who have his paintings hanging in our homes.
I sincerely hope WHT will publish an article about him, honoring his contribution to Hawaii and our society. R.I.P. “Stephen” (as he was known to his friends) and thank you. I am honored to have several of his paintings, and will cherish them for the rest of my life!
John Rabi
Kailua-Kona
Trump, Clinton should debate other candidates
The presidential debates are the most important events in our election process. We can’t have real democracy without a free exchange of ideas and an informed public. The debates should give voters the opportunity to see all the candidates on the ballot, representing the diversity of American political thought, discussing important issues in an unscripted manner so that the people can make informed decisions about the direction of our country. The right to vote means little unless we have the right to know who we can vote for.
The presidential debates should include all candidates who are on enough ballots to be able to win the presidency. In 2016, that would mean four candidates in the debates, including Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Jill Stein and Libertarian Gary Johnson.
The Commission on Presidential Debates, which is actually a corporation controlled by the Democratic and Republican parties, stifles democracy by locking out independent candidates from the debates. The Democrats and Republicans created the Commission on Presidential Debates to seize control of the debates from the nonpartisan League of Women Voters, which called the commission “a fraud on the American voter.”
The debates commission sets arbitrary polling requirements and uses some polls that don’t even offer the Green Party as an option, which shows how this system is rigged to protect the establishment parties from competition. Trump and Clinton should follow the example of Ronald Reagan, who insisted in 1980 that independent candidate John Anderson be included in debates. When President Carter refused, Reagan debated Anderson without Carter.
As de facto leaders of their parties, Trump and Clinton could be champions of democracy by working to end the monopoly of the elitist Commission on Presidential Debates that prevents voters from hearing a full debate on the issues facing the nation, and demand four-way debates in 2016.
Will Clinton and Trump stand for American democracy — or against it?
Donald Erway
Kailua-Kona