Libertas

“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies.” ~Groucho Marx

Diamond Head

I arrived in Honolulu yesterday. It’s good to be back. As much as I love Texas, I feel more at home in Hawai’i. The sad thing, however, is watching the deterioration of Hawai’i's economy and its increasing homelessness.

Texans, or at least a greater percentage of Texans than Hawaiians, understand that government is more of a cause than a solver of problems. There is more of an inclination here to have one more program, one more law, and never ever cut anything. The results are becoming obvious, but not to the politicians or enough of the people.

Living in downtown Honolulu, I see the homelessness problem getting worse and worse. After visiting Bangkok, Saigon, Kuala Lumpur, and Mexico City, I can safely say that the grossest most disgusting sights I’ve seen have taken place in Downtown and Chinatown Honolulu. I will spare you the graphics, but I do suggest to visitors of Hawai’i, especially those who go to Chinatown, Ala Moana, and Downtown by bus, not to sit on the bus stop benches. Again, I won’t go into the details, but if you take a look again at the title of the post, you should be able to connect the dots.

So, when I returned yesterday from the Mainland after being gone for five weeks I had lots of junk mail. Mainly offers for more credit cards. I hadn’t realized that my credit score had gone up that much, either that or they are more desperate. I also wonder if they would be so inclined to offer me credit if they knew how much I was entertaining the thought of a nation wide end to paying back the credit card companies. The loss of my $450.00 bill, however, probably wouldn’t scare them. I need more followers!

Then I found this little jewel from my state representative, Karl Rhoads:

May 1, 2010

Dear Resident:

I am pleased to announce that two of my bills have passed the House and the Senate. Both House Bill 1863, which strengthens the penalties for soliciting prostitution, and House Bill 1862, which extends the prohibition against urinating or defecating in public within the boundaries of downtown Honolulu, have passed their final readings.

I want to thank everyone who bla bla bla bla bla.

If you support this legislation, bla bla bla bla bla.

With warmest aloha,

Karl Rhoads.

I will skip commentating on House Bill 1863. I don’t know why the idiots would pass such a bill anyway. It only puts them in greater danger of having to pay higher penalties when they get caught.

But House Bill 1863 has captured my attention. You see the last letter I remember receiving from Representative Rhoads was about a year ago when he was so proud of getting a law passed that outlawed public urination and defecation. That’s how I remember Karl Rhoads, he’s my anti-defecating representative and he represents me in the State House. I am so proud.

"I wouldn't even bet the outhouse on Mondale." ~Richard M. Nixon

Now I don’t enjoy stepping over streams of urine or stepping in piles of something worse. I don’t enjoy the smells of what you would think to be from third world cities in downtown Honolulu. I do not like to ride down a street a four o’clock on a Sunday afternoon and glance to see a semi-nude elderly man – shirtless but he did have pants – up to his knees – about to . . . how can I say this?  . . . well, let’s just say he was squatting against a new Volkswagon Bug and he left his mark.

None of that should be happening in Honolulu or any city in the United States. We have come so far.

Now, I agree something needs to be done, but “prohibition against urinating or defecating in public within the boundaries of downtown Honolulu” isn’t going to solve the problem. I can safely assume that everyone has experienced an emergency. Most of us have had the opportunity of finding a place of deliverance, but what if you couldn’t? Where would you go? What would you do? Would a prohibition solve your problem?

I have one friend who likes to shop in Chinatown. At times he’s had to come to my apartment in an emergency because he had no place to go. Thank God I don’t have more friends shopping in Chinatown. There are no public restrooms. Sometimes the one at the police department is available, but sometimes not. What to do? Oh yes. Representative Rhoads has the answer: prohibit the call of nature, so simple, problem solved, fait accompli.

I do wonder though about this new House Bill 1862. The wording is “extends the prohibition against urinating and defecating in public within the boundaries of downtown Honolulu.” Does that mean the previous bill was limited in time? That after a certain date it would have been legal? Or, does it mean that the prohibition was only in Chinatown and now it’s in all of Downtown? Does that mean we can publicly urinate and defecate outside of Downtown, say at Ala Moana Beach Park or even in Kahala (For non-Kama’ainas, Kahala is a rich neighborhood)?

These are things I wonder about when reading Representative Rhoads’ letter. I also wonder about his sanity, his intelligence, and pride. Perhaps it’s a politician thing, and unfortunately a common belief among the general population, that merely making a law will solve a problem. Maybe because he’s a politician he can’t help it. But there is a time for personal responsibility. Just like the drunk driver can’t blame the alcohol on his actions, the politician, who was once was a normal human being before he took up parasitism, must face the consequences of his decision to legislate and live off the people. One of the those consequences is derision, contempt, and ridicule.

Still, even though Mr. Roads knew that politicians are not the most respected members of society, and even though he knew that a good percentage of the people would be automatically be against him, I still don’t understand why he would make things worse by sending out a letter, with his name on it  and with his picture on it publicly shouting to the world that he had prohibited “urinating and defecating in public.”

Instead of addressing the root causes, instead of finding ways to help people suffering in poverty, he prohibits, he outlaws, he forbids. He writes the bill, but the House and Senate are guilty of the same stupidity and lunacy. Governor Lingle will probably sign it, because there is pressure for the government to do something, and making a law is doing something. But I tell you one thing, after the bill is passed, I will still have to watch where I step.

Recommended:

Defending The Undefendable by Walter Block