Aloha Daze

Science Fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke has died. The world of science fiction has lost an icon.

RLR

So the New York governor, Eliot Spitzer… the crime fighting warrior… is up to his eyeballs in crime.

Ok.

The moment this story broke yesterday, the first thing I noticed was.. I couldn’t find a reference to the party with which he belonged.

I finally found it… once I visited Michelle Malkin’s page: a Democrat.

Ok.

So my prediction was - and is - that he’ll fight tooth and nail to stay in office and not resign. After all, as a Democrat, he’s a victim, not a criminal.

Whereas if he had been a Republican… he would have been resigning by now. Not to mention the fact that, as a Republican, his party designation would have been plastered across every news story across the country.

With Republicans now saying “Quit or Be Impeached,” I think he’ll receive some heat from his own party to do just that… otherwise he could further damage the Democratic Party more than he already has.

I expect him to fight. We’ll see.

RLR

With the power grid problem in Florida that caused a nuclear plant to shutdown.. how long, I wonder, before the nutroots point at the nuclear power plant and start complaining? I can hear it now:

“See?! Nuclear power is bad, man. Like, real bad. All we need is love!”

Of course, it’s clean and efficient power… but logical arguements are usually pointless with environmentalists.

Especially since everything - including the human race - emit carbon dioxide. How a naturally occuring gas formed by humans over the past few thousand years is supposedly just now triggering a warmer Earth (the sky is falling!), I have no idea.

I think we should just place logic and common sense aside, and see what happens.

Oh wait.

We already have.

Bigger government, higher taxes for the rich [because, y'know, all they do is pay salaries and create jobs], and more government programs to help people that don’t want to help themselves…

Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s Tuesday, and I have an odd number ending on my license plate. I need gas for the car.

Then I think I’ll stand in line for a few hours to get a loaf of bread.

But at least health care will be free for everyone.

Yep. If I need any kind of life saving operation, all I need to do is sign up and wait for it… for a few months.

Of course, I may be dead by the time my turn comes up… but that solves two problems:

1. It’s free!

2. Government saves money, since more people will be dead [no operation performed], and that means less bread to have to give away, and - of course - lower health cost to the government, since there will be less and less older people.

Welcome to the new progressive America, comrade.

RLR

Do you have one? I liked Fred. I also liked Tom. Not so much Rudy.

Ron? He’s got… interesting ideas. But they’re a bit too radical for my taste.

Mitt? Yeah… although I must admit that at this point, it’s less about what I want, than it is about what is available that is best.

But all of them can easily be considered “conservative.” (Well.. except for Rudy.) Not, of course, Republican… because one doesn’t always mean the other.

Then there is McCain.

I’m not amused by this “choice.” Between this joker, Obama, and Hillary… there is no choice. There is no difference.

Perhaps the next few months will help me figure out what I am going to do with my vote.

The Hawaii caucus is, I think, February 19th.

I wonder if there will be any choices available.

Perhaps we conservatives will just need to vote for the best liberal [a contradiction in terms if there ever was one], and then do what we can to get some Conservative Republicans (because I don’t want more McCains) to be in charge of the House and Senate.

Having Democrats in charge of the entire government? If that doesn’t give you nightmares, then you must have your head buried in the sand.

RLR

I went to a local produce market the other day, here in Honolulu, Hawaii. The open market is located on the Kapiolani Community College parking lot.

On the walk from my car to the market, I saw a person handing out some newspapers. I didn’t get a photo of her, or her publications, but they had the usual Bush Derangement Syndrome pictures and text.

I asked her what this was all about. She said that we needed to close Guantanamo Bay, and prevent the United States from attempting to conquer other countries, etc. etc. etc.

If she’d given me one of her newspapers, I’d have happily taken it and displayed it here, for easy ridicule. But she asked me if I’d like a paper; it only cost a dollar.

Um, no. I’ll not be financing a group that wants to place a failed government system here in the United States.

I did ask if she had a website. And she said yes. Revcom.us.

It doesn’t take any measure of investigative journalism to see that the website she was supporting on the sidewalk is the “Voice of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA.”

Now, it doesn’t come as a surprise to me that a communist party has found a home on the parking lot of a college. Especially here in the liberal state of Hawaii. I just irritates me to find someone that actually believes the crap being spewed from some cheesball group that thinks that communist/socialism is the best solution. The truth of the matter is that communism hasn’t worked, doesn’t work, and will never work. It’s a failed government system. (Failed for the people that it supposedly supports. Not for the ones in charge of the government, of course.)

If I see her again when I visit the market, I’ll try and take her picture. After all, she’s in a public location. She must be so proud of the bullcrap she’s pushing. After all, it’s the freedom of living in the United States that has afforded her the ability to be clueless about living here.

Update Yes, that picture now appears in this posting. I wrote this article when my site was down, and have since taken that photo. Note just how many people are interested in the things she’s selling. Yep. They’re standing in line, alright.

RLR

Well, after much frustration with my old web host, I’ve moved to another one. In fact, I’m still moving. But the 800 pound gorilla that is Aloha Daze seems to be back online. (Nothing like moving around mySQL databases, and relinking them to the code…)

Now, if I can just remember all the things I wanted to say for the last two months…

They say the first thing to go is the mind…. well, I did mind… and that’s why I moved.

RLR

In Hawaii legend, rain is considered a blessing from the gods.

On Black Friday - the Friday after Thanksgiving - the people of Hawaii celebrated the win of the University of Hawaii Warriors football team, as they won the WAC championship at Aloha Stadium for the first time since they joined the WAC twenty-nine years ago. It was, arguably, the best game in the history of the University.

Minutes later, in Honolulu, the showers that were forming came together, and the rain fell.

The blessings were well received by everyone.

RLR

Coors. Then there is Coors Light - the Silver Bullet.

Hey, I enjoy a good, cold Coors. Not exactly a dark lager, but it’s got a good flavor.

Then there is Miller. Owned by SABMiller PLC.

They sponsored the Folsom Street Fair. An… alternative lifestyle event.

Ok, well, fine. I don’t agree that they should be doing that, though. Why?

Well, for one, the Fair created an advertisement for their 2007 event by recreating The Last Supper as marketing material.

Only instead of anything religious, it was entirely blasphemous. Instead of food, a Saviour, and disciples… we have leather-bound people and sex toys.

Yeah, hey, how about that Miller. Sponsoring a real family event like that, eh?

I refuse to link to the Folsom website: it’s just beyond the pale for me. I don’t agree with that lifestyle, and I certainly don’t agree with Miller’s marketing department that found it a good idea to sponsor the Fair.

See Michelle Malkin’s articles on this insult. Particularly the one titled Miller Lite-approved: Toddlers at the Folsom Street Fair.

Why am I bringing all of this up?

Because Coors and Miller are trying to team up. (See article.)

All this got my attention so much, I sent a note to Molson Brewing - the company that owns Coors.

Aloha from Honolulu!

My family and I have enjoyed drinking Coors for well over 30 years. It’s our beer of choice, while relaxing on the weekend, sitting under a Hawaiian sunset on the beach.

Recently, Miller sponsored an alternative lifestyle festival called the Folsom Street Fair.

I have no interest in that function, and really don’t concern myself with Miller/Molson’s marketing endeavors.

However, in this case, they sponsored a festival that included not only poor taste towards people of faith, but poor taste towards people of family values.

Case in point: If you’re going to sponsor a festival, where sex is publically paraded in the street, it might be in the best interests of the company not to sponsor a festival where children are also present during these questionable, on-display, and public activities.

I realize that companies such as Molson have such a high revenue stream, that they can’t be bothered by every individual that complains about every little thing that doesn’t fit the individual’s definition of “acceptable.”

Nevertheless, sex and children may be acceptable in other parts of the world - although for the life of me, I can’t think of where - but we should strive to be better, and make better decisions, shouldn’t we?

I’m not a big fan of Miller, and their recent support of this festival has much to do with my opinion of them. Choosing to support the best places to market your product should also include the wisdom to know what is - and is not - appropriate.

Miller chose poorly in my opinion, and then chose to ignore requests that they reconsider their sponsorship or, at the very least, remove their logo from public displays.

Their choice to ignore public outcry, and support such a questionable combination of sex and children, has lead me to never choose their product for any use ever again.

And now Coors chooses to combine with their marketing efforts.

What will Coors do if this issue comes up again - and it will - next year, during the next Folsom Street Fair?

I can only hope that wisdom will prevail.

I welcome any comments or replies on this subject.

Thank you for your time.

What do you think my chances are for a reply from Molson?

RLR

The University of Hawaii voted yesterday to approve the plans for an ARLC.

I’m surprised, and shocked. Like most universities in today’s society, UH is very liberal. As a result, anything to do with the military is usually frowned upon as being nothing less than evil.

In fact, Kalani Makekau-Whittaker, associate director of the Native Hawaiian Student Center in Hilo, referred to the contract as “blood money.”

Writer Kevin Dayton, Advertiser Big Island Bureau, reported that Makakau-Whittaker said “…[this] project means the university is contemplating participating in “murders” by the U.S. military around the world, and compared that with the willingness of Nazi Adolf Eichmann to exterminate Jews to advance his own career.”

Well, obviously comparing the US Military and UH to a monster of the Nazi party bent on murdering Jews is nothing less than a level-headed argument.

If you’re an idiot.

Please see Dayton’s complete article in the Honolulu Advertiser:

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Sep/28/ln/hawaii709280386.html

RLR

In celebration of Air Force Week - the 60th anniversary of the United States Air Force - the Thunderbirds put on a show for us here in Waikiki.

I took some photos and video clips of the event. Enjoy.

RLR