‘Kill list’ disgusting ‘Kill list’ disgusting ADVERTISING I’ve been struggling with this letter about President Obama’s “kill list.” Discussing the issue in 300 words is pathetic, but a 5,000-word essay on this atrocity would not be enough. Thousands of books
‘Kill list’ disgusting
I’ve been struggling with this letter about President Obama’s “kill list.” Discussing the issue in 300 words is pathetic, but a 5,000-word essay on this atrocity would not be enough. Thousands of books have been written about the Gulag, the Holocaust, the Inquisition and Hiroshima. Thousands more will discuss the destruction of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Who would have thought an elected U.S. president could casually end the right to habeas corpus and re-institute the Star Chamber? Unilaterally, no less! Bush’s supporters were not even invited to sign on. But the damage to our reputation due to the unconstitutional assassinations pales beside the moral issues.
Are we going to stand silently by, as the Germans did during the World War II, and then claim we didn’t know? Or, will we speak out now?
Drawing a card, and declaring that the person pictured may be a terrorist, might be rational — if the person was then extradited and tried in a court of law. That’s not enough for the new ruler of the world, though. No! The person is marked for death by drone missiles, and any innocents murdered in the vicinity are considered less than human — certainly of far less value than an American. Rather than exposing one of us to danger or harm, some kid at a Nevada airbase simply plays a video game, launching the drone.
I wonder how long before Obama brings the video game to the Oval Office, so he can push the button and manipulate the “joy stick” himself?
Educate yourself at counterpunch.org and read the June 19 article: “In drones we trust; Christians and the kill list.”
Our County Council thinks it is inhumane to shoot wild animals from the air. Perhaps, when the state uses drones, it will be no worse than shooting Muslims.
Carol R. Campbell
Keaau
Respect the culture
When I lived in Portland, Ore., there was a street named Couch Street. Of course, I pronounced it like “couch” (as in a sofa), only to be quickly corrected that it was pronounced “kooch.” Not wanting to offend Portlanders, I pronounced the word the way they say it.
I wish people who come to the islands would show equal respect. Case in point: The area on Government Road from Kahakai Boulevard is Wa‘a Wa‘a, and is pronounced “VA-AH, VA-AH” … not “WA WA” like how a baby will ask for a glass of “wa wa” because it hasn’t yet learned how to properly say water. (I actually saw this misspelling in a newspaper ad for someone who represents Puna on the County Council.)
I have kindly corrected people, only to hear, “Well, that’s the way I like to say it,” or “It’s too hard to say it the other way.” This attitude reveals a measure of disrespect and arrogance that causes Native Hawaiians and locals to roll their eyes and think, “See what I mean? Why live in Hawaii if you refuse to show any regard for its culture.”
As the saying goes: When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
Michelle Pokipala
Pahoa
