|
October 08, 2009 HYPER LOCAL
This week's Rob Report discusses, among other things, a mystery surrounding the source of the biofuel Kahului-based Maui Petroleum has been contracted to provide the county. For details check out the Report, but I'll add a thought-provoking wrinkle: what if oil companies had to reveal the source of their fuel, similar to the way food, clothing and other consumer products are labeled? To be fair, I didn't come up with the idea. It's being trumpeted by Growth Energy, an ethanol advocacy group headed by former presidential candidate Wesley Clark. "The American people deserve to know more about the gasoline they purchase every day—where it comes from and where their hard-earned dollars ultimately go every time they fill up their cars and trucks," said Clark in a September press release. "Requiring country of origin labeling of our fuel supply will empower consumers with the knowledge and ability to make informed decisions." Though many experts say ethanol is at best a stopgap and at worst a resource-diverting, Midwest farmer-placating waste—calling into question Growth Energy's central mission—the idea of drivers being forced to read the words "Saudi Arabia" as they fill their gas-guzzlers is intriguing… Our thoughts are with the family of 20-year-old Na'ilima Kana, who died last week along with his brother, Jared, and another passenger, Tyson Latham, from injuries sustained in a car accident in Waihee. Kana was a producer at Akaku and worked as an editor on the Maui Daily segment, in which Maui Time makes a weekly appearance. In a statement posted on Akaku's Web site, station President Jay April called Kana a "bright light" whose "enormous talent…far exceeded his years."…
LOCAL
Though vindictiveness has always been one of her defining traits, lately Gov. Lingle has been firing off blame like buckshot, apparently in the hope that if she bloodies enough people on the way out, her legacy will be preserved. Teachers, legislators, us evil media types—no one has escaped unscathed. This week's target: the state's four island mayors. According to a Honolulu Advertiser report, Lingle says contract talks with the Hawaii Government Employees Association have stalled because no mayor will sign on, as is required before the union can hold a vote. The Advertiser says Lingle blames the holdup on "issues involving the counties that have nothing to do with the state." Exactly what the hell that means is unclear. What is clear: we've got issues… Even as Hawaii Tourism Authority ramps up promotion efforts on the Mainland, efforts that include "everything from bloggers to freeway billboards" according to a Pacific Business News dispatch, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) clamped down on bloggers who receive free goodies. For years, it's been an open secret that bloggers get products and services in exchange for writing reviews; sometimes the reviews are legit, sometimes they're transparent fluff. But there was no disclosure requirement—until now. On October 5, the FTC announced that bloggers have to indicate what and how much they've been given by the companies they review, or risk thousands of dollars in fines. Of course, considering the millions of bloggers clacking away as you read these words, enforcement will be difficult. But it's a step in the right direction. There's been a lot of discussion about recognizing bloggers as legitimate journalists, and in some cases it's justified. But with status comes responsibility…
NOT LOCAL
I've always found the phrase "God-fearing" to be simultaneously sad and telling. It's not "God-loving" or "God-revering"; rather, the motive for worship is all too often fear. (Wade through the sea of smiting that is the Old Testament and you begin to understand.) I bring this up because of a press release from the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) that recently landed in my inbox. For those unfamiliar, PJI is a legal organization that claims to champion "religious freedom." The group's president, Brad Dacus, has defended, among other noble clients, a group of students in Bakersfield, California who tried to boycott a gay teacher's class and a Nebraska family that had their teenage son's girlfriend arrested for getting an abortion, according to a September report in the East Bay Express. Anyway, the release outlines a case currently being considered by the D.C. District Court of Appeals in which a collection of atheist organizations is suing to end the practice of reciting prayers and swearing to God at the Presidential Inauguration. Whether this is a battle worth fighting is open to debate, but PJI doesn't merely dismiss the case as frivolous, it dismisses the entire secular community. Quoted in the release, Dacus calls "atheists, humanists and freethinkers" a "tiny minority in America" and says the "the vast majority of God-fearing citizens and public officials" should not "be silenced in order to appease them." "Tiny minority" huh? Interesting, because according to a study by Trinity College of Connecticut's Program on Public Values previously mentioned in this space, 15 percent of Americans identify as either atheists or agnostics. If that's a "tiny minority," it makes most other ethnic (and religious) minorities virtually nonexistent. Though, come to think of it, maybe that's exactly what Dacus and PJI want. Maui Time Weekly, Jacob Shafer
Tags: Maui Politics
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| Entertainment and lifestyle news for Maui, Hawaii and the surrounding Islands. Maui Time Weekly is Mauis only independent and locally owned newspaper.
Mail this link to a friend |
|
|
News
News
News
News
