Tulsi Gabbard

[Frank]

She represents the Big Island as well...imo, we're Lucky!

http://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/3599...-snowflake

[KeaauRich]

What has she done for us lately? Or ever?

[kalakoa]

What have any of them done for Puna?

[Chunkster]

"Sitting on a sofa on a Sunday afternoon.
Goin' to the candidates' debate.
Laugh about it, shout about it
When you've got to choose.
Every way you look at it you lose."

- - Simon and Garfunkel, Mrs. Robinson

The calculus at work here is all about power, with helpful policy and public good only occasionally or coincidentally along for the ride. Ige, Hanabusa, Gabbard, Joy Sanbuenaventura, Harry Kim and a host of others are on the good old boy and girl power/gravy train. The only two politicians from Hawaii I respect are Russell Ruderman and Cindy Evans, two who have not been afraid to poke the good old boys in the eye.

In the case of Puna, we get nothing whether our representatives play the power game or whether they poke the good old boys in the eye. So I vote for the eye pokers because they at least loudly remind the rest that something might be amiss.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

I vote for the eye pokers because they at least loudly remind the rest that something might be amiss.

A campaign slogan for Puna in the 21st century:
Speak loudly and carry a poke stick

“Facts fall from the poetic observer as ripe seeds.” -Henry Thoreau

[Anxious Messiah]

Or...
Speak loudly and carry a big poke?

_________________________________________
Don't speak unless you can improve on the silence.

[Mendo]

"In the case of Puna, we get nothing whether our representatives play the power game or whether they poke the good old boys in the eye. So I vote for the eye pokers because they at least loudly remind the rest that something might be amiss."
I couldn't have said it better! Thanks Chunkster.

[Peter Easterling]

Tulsi phoned a dying fiend about a year ago. He was a long time Puna resident and a Viet Nam vet. She talked with him for over half an hour. He and his wife were really touched. Did you read about this? I didn't think so. Better to make up some half-baked whine. BTW, after witnessing the parade of buffoons we have had represent us in recent years, I had the chance to speak to a knowledgeable, involved community memeber. I asked her who she liked and respected of our current crop. "All of them." Smart, hard-working and honest. That's Russell, Joy, and Jen. Perhaps you perpetual complainers should drive down to Pohoiki. The park has gotten better and better. The County's vision and workers (and some volunteers) have made Isaac Hale Park a wonderful community treasure. Or don't.

[Chunkster]

Peter Easterling, I agree that Russell and Jen are good representatives, mainly because they are not afraid to challenge the good old boy Democratic party line. But Joy Sanbuenaventura? Not so much. She thought it was more important to do legal footwork for the well connected good old boys getting medical marijuana legislation passed for their own benefit than it was to educate herself on a dengue fever outbreak in her district. When Russell and Cindy Evans refused to cave in on the Honolulu rail tax bailout, Joy got in line behind the party bosses. I stand by what I said above about Joy being more interested in getting on the power train.

As for the county's "vision" and workers, you must be living in a different version of Hawaii County than the one the rest of us live in. I live in a place where the cops regularly don't come when called, the transit system has literally been allowed to fall apart, the building permit department has been cited as an unethical mess, and the county hiring process has been revealed to be corrupt. Yeah, Isaac Hale Park is nice, but that's a small corner of our Puna world.

[Peter Easterling]

4 or 5 years ago, when my wife and I moved from Oahu, I found Punatalk. Many contributors are generous, helpful folks (Carey comes to mind). As we became more involved in the community, I began to see this forum differently. Paranoid whining, often flavored with racism or parochialism, is far too common. I recommended the site, especially for malahini, but no longer. My suggestion for 2018: INSIDE EVERY SILVER LINING IS A BIG, DARK CLOUD.