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quote:
Originally posted by rainyjim
Internet addicted? I'm always surprised at how much people want rural to be urban.
Why is that a priority or discussed over things like hospitals, fire departments, evacuation route, schools / education? Much less GMO, thanks for refocusing the discussion.
As you may notice, I mentioned internet 4th, after all those things.
My partner is a builder, and having cell and data coverage in lower Puna would make his work much more efficient and require less driving. Having high speed internet via installed lines would also improve so many things, access to materials, shopping, self-education and home schooling, access to media, etc. I don't see that as an urban thing, but more critical actually in a rural setting than in urban areas where high-speed internet is nearly universal.
If any rep gets the highway widened and does nothing else, that would be the biggest accomplishment in Puna in many years.
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Provide incentives to spread LTE coverage island-wide.
With LTE, you can hit your monthly bandwidth quota in under 30 minutes; this is more than enough "incentive" for the carriers.
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Back to the topic of Sierra Club endorsements:
I was shown one of their surveys - one of the worst-designed surveys I have ever seen. Every question was loaded/biased. No place to voice alternatives to their choices. PLUS, I learned that not every candidate was sent a survey - only a select number. These candidates were pre-judged to be "viable" with absolutely no basis in fact. Only a select number were interviewed.
In a telephone discussion with Nelson Ho, SC's Political Chair (he called me), I learned the above. I told him that pre-judging was discriminatory, in my opinion. He disclaimed being the designer of the survey, but didn't say who was responsible. He said that they winnowed the roster because they didn't have time to survey or interview them all. My feeling is, then why bother to do it at all?
I am not disparaging the SC choices, because I was not privy to how the selected candidates responded to survey or interview questions. I do believe, however, that their failure to provide a level playing field has done a disservice to the voters, who will mis-assume that the SC choices are the best of ALL the candidates, when they are only, possibly, the best of a few pre-selected candidates.
I am walking my talk on this topic: the Malama O Puna candidate forums invited EVERY SINGLE CANDIDATE so that the attending public can make their own decisions.
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T too asked a SC member about this choice. The response was Joy seemed to most likely to beat the other candidate rather than split the vote. That in some ways it was a more against vote than a for vote.
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First, thank you Rene for the forums. I'm from Oahu and my wife was raised on Maui. We love that we actually meet, speak with, and get a first-hand feel for many of the Puna politicians. One of the many reasons why Puna is like no place else. Second, I really hope that Joy validates my initial support. I sense that many are tired of Faye Hanohano's act. If Joy presents herself favorably, as I anticipate, she will clearly be the strongest challenger. P.S. I am getting real tired of rehashing GMO.
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quote:
Originally posted by Rene Siracusa
I am walking my talk on this topic: the Malama O Puna candidate forums invited EVERY SINGLE CANDIDATE so that the attending public can make their own decisions.
Hey Rene thanks so much for all you do! I would like to point out that providing a forum is really the job of giving all the candidates an equal opportunity to shine.. or hang themselves... as the case may be. And again, thank you for doing that so well. Whereas, the endorsement of a candidate by a private, member sponsored, organization is an entirely different beast.. and imho in no way does it require equal opportunities for anyone. How a group comes to their decisions is their business alone. I do not think anyone can truly site them for that.
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@dakine. Granted, any private organization can use whatever criteria they wish to endorse any candidate they wish. They could throw darts or roll dice or use a Ouija board. However, Rene is also well within her rights to *cite* them for that, as her criticisms are not without merit. If something is inherently unfair, Rene has every right to shout that fact from the rooftops. And if in fact, a local chapter of a well respected, national organization such as SC chose to be so politically cynical as to abandon their own charter--protection of the environment--and instead endorse a candidate who may not have been the best environmentalist in the field, just because of some perceived political strategy designed to oust an unpopular incumbent, then I for one am dismayed. The endorsement is tainted. The local chapter failed in their responsibility to the Sierra Club charter. Let's move on.
I think it's very good to know that the Sierra Club endorsement might not be worth what it's printed on (or not printed on). Voters not privy to any of their process may just assume that the selection is very rigorous, and I would never have guessed that they out of hand dismiss some candidates out of the gate.
That is in no way meant to say that Joy did not deserve the endorsement. Even a skewed process may come up with the same results that a fair process would have done.
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Although I agree that the SC has the right to pre-select candidates, my concern is that they leave the public to assume that they did their due diligence and reviewed everyone. That is misleading the public, wherein lies my objection. Not to say that they are the only ones to do that: the unions do it all the time. This does not reflect on the candidates.
Caveat Emptor!
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Yes buyer beware, no matter who you elect look at the skewed system set up for them to "work with" I see even the most ideal of candidates being bogged down in the mess of affairs / corruption they call the hawaiian state / county government almost to the point of accomplishing little to nothing in their short terms.
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