Business as usual?
Well, the election is over. I voted for Joe Biden, and I’m relieved that Donald Trump will not be actively destroying America for the next four years, but I don’t see much to celebrate.
We live in a dangerously divided country, with little prospect of healing that divide, and those who just want to re-establish an uncorrupted democracy that doesn’t poison our planet until it’s destroyed are blasted by politicians and media as dangerous radicals.
Meanwhile, the working classes, having been cast off by their corporate-owned government, have become more angry and disillusioned year by year, until at last they are courting fascism.
For democracy to survive, we need, first and foremost, absolute campaign finance reform. Without it, we have no real democracy and no hope of reversing the damage already done to our political system and our planet, through the appeasement of every private interest, no matter how destructive.
And now into this mix sallies our unlikely hero, Joe Biden, who has made a very long political career out of satisfying every corporate interest that ever held out to him a dollar, saying he will be a leader for “all Americans.”
God help us if that’s just a signal to every corrupt private interest that his presidency will be business as usual because if it is, then his will probably be the last democratic presidency of the United States.
Harley Brent Hightower
Hilo
Testing woes
I recently sent the following letter to the owner of a Maui condo where I will be staying:
Thanks again for your information about the condo. I have read it all; everything is clear.
But I’d like to respond to your request for my COVID test result. I took the test Friday, at 2:30 Chicago time, per Hawaii’s requirement that tourists take the test 72 hours prior to their last flight to Hawaii. While I’m sure the test result will show I’m “negative,” can only HOPE that the result will arrive in my email before I arrive.
But I — nor anyone — can be sure of prompt arrival, and it is that uncertainty which you — as an owner and agent — should address to Hawaii’s government. Hawaii’s government seems totally oblivious to the following realities, all of which would discourage any tourist from flying there.
1. In Chicago, Hawaii’s two so-called “trusted providers” have not had ANY rapid COVID tests for WEEKS; its only “trusted provider” at Oakland airport is booked out well into January.
2. Because of the increasing COVID numbers, even 72-hour tests are difficult to book in Chicago; when booked, you often must drive some distance. In my case, the drive took me an hour one way.
3. But Walgreens and CVS — Hawaii’s only trusted providers in Chicago — are only open from 10 to 4. And their labs pick up all tests after 5 p.m. each day. If you do the math, that means that in my case, by the time I arrive in Hawaii the lab will have had the test for only 56 hours. Will the lab have my test done? Who knows? Even if they do, the time for results will increase as the number of infections increases.
4. To maximize the time you have between the time you take the test and the time you arrive, you should probably either stay overnight on the West Coast (expensive) AND leave in the morning. It’s no accident that Southwest’s Sunday morning flight is jammed. But once the airline stops blocking middle seats in December, Hawaii’s policies are going to increase the passenger load on these morning flights — and therefore increase virus transmission possibilities — significantly!
5. There are two solutions: (1) Hawaii must DRAMATICALLY increase its number of trusted providers, most of whom are still on the West Coast. Priority should be given to providers who can guarantee rapid tests to tourists. (2) Hawaii could increase the required time from 72 to 96 hours. An extra day would reduce the risk — and anxiety — to tourists. In February, I will be going to Ecuador, which has a 96-hour requirement. No anxiety on that trip.
I am, of course, completely in favor of doing tests and wearing masks. But if Hawaii is really interested in attracting tourists, it needs to re-think its entry requirements. From decades of traveling the world, I have never seen a more ill-conceived set of requirements for travelers now flying to Hawaii.
Mark Kolsen
Chicago
